With the assassination of Maj. Gen. Parami
Kulatunga, the country has lost another efficient military
officer. He was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army
and third highest ranking military officer. Yesterday’s attack
came exactly two months after the abortive attempt on Army
Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka’s life.
The LTTE stands condemned for the dastardly
crime, having blown its pretence of being interested in peace
making, sky high. Similarly, the assassination has exposed the
failure of the Army to protect its top brass let alone the
general public against terrorism. Not even that shameful
security lapse which almost cost the Commander’s life inside the
Army Headquarters, galvanised the Army into adopting a better
strategy to protect its high ranking officers. Maj. Gen.
Kulatunga had been travelling a long distance to work through
busy suburbs along congested roads during rush hours, thus,
inviting the LTTE and giving it ample time to pursue him.
The Tigers are a desperate lot. The wheel of
their terror has turned a full circle after two decades of
conflict: Yet their goal is far from achieved. They are losing
ground internationally with bans being slapped in the very
countries which were once its willing hosts. Its terror machine
is badly in need of a turbo boost by way of a massive backlash
in the South, which will help it regain the lost sympathy
abroad. Hence, its brutal terror attacks on civilians. At the
same time, it is all out to demoralize and debilitate the
military and create uncertainty in the South through high
profile assassinations like the killing of Maj. Gen. Kulatunga
and attacks on economic targets.
Yesterday’s blast also points to a serious
security lapse. The Intelligence had reportedly warned Maj. Gen.
Kulatunga of threats to his life. Even a child knew that an
officer of his rank was a terrorist target. But there were no
extraordinary security arrangements to protect him. Why? Had the
Military Intelligence assessed the threats to his life
accurately and specified them?
But for the weather gods who made the seas off
the western coast rough the other day, the Colombo port would
have suffered a devastating attack. The Tigers who abandoned
their mission because of bad weather would have escaped to
return another day, unless a group of vigilant civilians had
tipped off the police. Such is the efficiency of our
Intelligence!
It is baffling why the military and political bigwigs have
failed to see the LTTE strategy. In a country, where a head of
state was blown to smithereens and another President escaped
assassination by the skin of her teeth, we have a President
making a beeline to sites of LTTE slaughters in the immediate
aftermath. He also cannot resist temptation to go among the
people in public places. Such gestures are, no doubt, reassuring
and appreciated by the people. But the crouching Tigers must be
licking their chops. On the other hand, in this era of
Information Technology, why should political leaders venture out
at all, running tremendous security risks, to deliver speeches
at public functions? All it takes to link them to their audience
is a camera as well as a screen. Likewise, why can’t the
military officers, facing terrorist threats, be given
accommodation within the military complexes, where they work, so
that they won’t be sitting ducks in congested roads? In fighting
an organisation led by a man who has been condemned to spend his
life in an underground bunker—Prabhakaran is his name—they must
also restrict their movements and abort the LTTE’s plan to
render the country and the military rudderless. But, they seem
to be flirting with danger or wishing away threats to their
lives. Disaster, here we come!
