Pakistan’s crucial role in the death of Tamil Tigers: The News

By By Amir Mir
It was the Pakistani defence cooperation with Sri Lanka as one of the largest suppliers of high-tech military equipment that has played a major role in the ultimate defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the hands of the Lankan army.

The three decade long quest of the LTTE to carve out a separate state for Tamils, as well as the myth that the Tamil Tigers are militarily invincible, has effectively been laid to rest, along with its supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, and the entire LTTE top brass. According to well placed sources in the Pakistani establishment, defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan had grown significantly in recent years as Islamabad, unlike New Delhi, had no problems supplying the Lankan army state-of-the-art weaponry to accelerate its counter-insurgency operations against the LTTE which has finally ended with the killing of the most wanted Tamil guerilla fighter Vellupillai Prabhakaran. The sources say it was exactly a year ago in the first week of May 2008 that Sri Lankan Army Chief Lt-Gen Fonseka came to Pakistan and held detailed talks with his Pakistani counterpart Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to finalise the purchase of high tech arms for the Lankan armed forces, which were embroiled in an intense battle with the LTTE forces even at that time.

During his talks with Pakistani military authorities, Lt-Gen Fonseka had finalised a deal as per which Pakistan sold 22 Al-Khalid tanks to Sri Lanka in a deal worth over US$100 million. General Fonseka also gave a shopping list of weaponry worth about US$65 million to the Pakistani military authorities. While the Sri Lankan army chief’s shopping list for the army was pegged at $25 million, the inventory for the Lankan Air Force was worth $40 million. He had further sought 250,000 rounds of 60mm, 81mm, 120mm and 130mm mortar ammunition worth US$ 25 million and 1, 50,000 hand grenades for immediate delivery to the Lankan army within a month. Pakistan also accepted the visiting General’s request to send one shipload of the wherewithal every 10 days to bolster the Lankan military efforts to take over Kilinochchi, the headquarters of the LTTE.

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Pakistan guarantor of Lanka's sovereignty: Asian Tribune

Tue, 2008-08-05 05:34 

By Janaka Perera in Colombo

Colombo, 05 August, (Asiantribune.com): Sri Lanka Broadcasting Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe said yesterday (August 4) that India cannot threaten and bulldoze her way into Sri Lanka in the same way she did in 1987 because the world has changed much since then. 

Samarasinghe recalled how the Indians – during the "Operation Vadamarachchi" - 'appealed' to the then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa, "Please tell your President to stop the war" That was the start of the Indian interference that prevented Sri Lanka from nipping the Tiger menace in the bud. (Premadasa, along with the National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali, was among the strongest opponents of Indian intervention). 

The SLBC Chairman made this observation during his usually hard-hitting, daily news analysis over the Isira Sinhala Radio Channel of which he is the CEO. Participating with him in the program regularly is Shan Wickremasinghe, Chairman / Proprietor, Teleshan Networks Limited (TNL) which operates Isira.

Samarasinghe however stressed the need for Sri Lanka to prepare to defend herself if Tamil Nadu one fine day secedes from India. In the event of TN becoming an independent State there is absolutely no doubt that she will invade Sri Lanka over the Tamil issue, he warned. 

These comments came in the wake of the reported results of a recent survey conducted by the Tamil Nadu magazine 'Ananda Vikatan' which stated that 54.25 percent of people there support the LTTE and that many of them were proud that the Tigers possessed a standing army.

Samarasinghe also drew attention to the BBC report on Tamil National Alliance Leader R. Sambandan meeting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his Sri Lanka visit. Sambandan has reportedly told the Indian Premier that if the LTTE is branded a terrorist organization then the Sri Lankan government was a terrorist organization three times over.

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