January 7, 2008: Having raised the defense budget 20 percent
this year, to $1.5 billion, the government announced it would crush the LTTE
this year. As if to reinforce that point, it was also announced that the head
of LTTE intelligence and espionage was killed in an ambush.
The government is also formally ending
the peace negotiations and truce, both brokered by Norway in 2002. The
government always believed that it had the short end of the deal, and that the
LTTE wasn't really serious about negotiating an end to the violence. This was
confirmed for many Sri Lankans when a civil war broke out within the LTTE three
years ago. The moderate wing, based largely in eastern Sri Lanka, was willing
to accept an autonomy (for Tamils) deal. But the hard core LTTE, based largely
in the north, insisted on partition of the island. By the time the ceasefire
fell apart in 2005, the LTTE had over 3,000 ceasefire violations, compared to
144 for government forces. Then the LTTE was finally classified as an international
terrorist organization by most Western nations, interrupting their fund
raising. In the last week, the army has advanced into LTTE territory in the
north, inflicting several hundred casualties and capturing LTTE bunkers and
ammo supplies.
The LTTE is believed to have only a few
thousand armed fighters left, and these are suffering from a shortage of
ammunition and morale. But the LTTE still has a formidable commando force,
willing to take on true suicide missions, and with an impressive track record.
There may only be a few hundred "Black
Tigers" available, but their ability to hit heavily guarded targets is
apparently undiminished. Even if defeated, the LTTE could unleash its Black
Tiger commandos for a final round of attacks.
