5th Column

Murder, mayhem and the call to respect the truce
My Dear Velu,
I thought I must write to you not to wish you for the New Year but just to tell you how successful you have been in your plan to create murder and mayhem over the past few weeks.

We all now know that your plan to have you-know-who elected was part of the grand design aimed at ensuring that you retain control of the North and East, instead of being forced to accept a federal solution and end your long and bloody war.

So, you were really worried that the wrong horse will win and you had to ensure that the voters of the areas you control were kept out of the equation. Of course you succeeded in doing that and with the South overwhelmingly siding with the Southerner, your task was done.

Then, while everyone waited with bated breath for your grand 'policy statement', you declared that the Southerner was a 'pragmatic' politician and said you would give him some time to deliver the goods to 'your people'.
And then, just when everyone thought that meant a few more months of peace and quiet, we began to hear reports of grenade attacks and claymore mines exploding. And now, the all too familiar spectacle of coffins coming home has begun again.

You, I am sure, have your reasons for all this, but what I cannot understand is how Colombo is responding to Kilinochchi. While mine attacks are killing dozens of soldiers, we send the 'suddas' to you to ask you whether you really respect the ceasefire. And your political puppet, Thamilselvan keeps a straight face and says yes and explains that the mines were planted by civilians distressed by the military's actions. And we are supposed to believe this too!

And then there is this issue with Norway. We tell them we don't want that Solheim chap and he tells us that he is coming here anyway. And, instead of saying that we simply don't want him around, we say alright then, if he wants to come we shall lay the red carpet for him!

And then there was the Southerner visiting nearby India, begging bowl in hand. And what does he get? A big 'no, thank you, but we don't want to intervene in your problems after we got our prime minister and forces killed over there'. And it is only now we realise the wisdom of assassinating Kadir, from your point of view, he would have been a terrible roadblock to all your plots and schemes.

And what distresses me most is that all this comes with the Southerner at the helm. Just imagine, Velu, if this is what we get with someone who promised to chase the Norwegians away and tear up the ceasefire agreement, you would have had your separate state by now under the 'ali-koti' givisuma had we elected the Green Man -- or so we must believe, to pacify ourselves!

But I am sure this is just the beginning and as they say, we haven't seen anything yet. I am sure more peace envoys will visit you and who knows, even the Southerner himself may pay a visit and you will all so charmingly smile for the cameras in Kilinochchi.

The world at large will issue statement after statement asking you -- and the government, of course -- to act with restraint to keep the ceasefire. And you will continue to assure us that while you respect the ceasefire in its entirety, you cannot prevent civilians taking the law into their own hands.

Tell us Velu, when do you plan to make the final push? My guess is that you want this state of affairs to continue for as long as you can before you go ahead with the war but then, who has ever been able to predict what you have in mind?

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS-And right now even if we gave you a separate state you wouldn't want it, would you? After all that would mean elections and democracy and you wouldn't want that after enjoying absolute power for over twenty years -- why, by now you must be the longest reigning 'revolutionary' after Fidel Castro!

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