‘Reduced to ashes’; this was how Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara described the way in which the remains of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran were disposed of by the Lankan military following the terror chief’s killing, which signaled the end of the prolonged, bloody military conflict in Northern Sri Lanka. Those with a fixation for procedural niceties may very well raise their eye brows at this practice of not allowing even a trace of the dreaded terror chief to remain but the circumstances in which the ‘mopping-up’ action took place by were by no means ‘normal’ and the person concerned happened to be the most wanted criminal in Sri Lanka.

Considering that the former leader of the JVP Rohana Wijeweera shared Prabhakaran’s notoriety and criminal record, one is involuntarily compelled to compare the final minutes of the two men and the manner in which their lives ended. In contrast to Prabhakaran, Wijeweera, when captured alive by the military 20 years ago, was called on to address JVP cadres over national TV and direct that they give up their orgy of murderous violence, before, apparently, being killed. Not a murmur was raised in any quarter about the manner in which the JVP chief’s tumultuous life ended because Sri Lanka was heaving a huge sigh of collective relief that the ‘Reign of Terror’ in Southern Sri Lanka had finally drawn to a close. For the majority of Lankans, Wijeweera was a notorious terrorist and mass murderer, and they just could not care less as to how this personification of evil met with his end. A huge blight on their lives had been lifted and this was all they were looking forward to.

As in the case of Wijeweera, Sri Lanka is profoundly relieved that the Tiger terror chief who brought overwhelming sorrow and suffering to almost all in this country is finally no more and there is no doubt that they would have been wishing that he would without a trace’, as has literally taken place.

The action taken by the military to incinerate the remains of Prabhakaran, moreover, recommends itself as conforming to common sense, despite sections of the Western-based Tamil Diaspora even questioning the veracity of the news that the Tiger leader is, indeed, dead. We believe that the persisting skeptical doubt among these quarters is sourced more by their disappointment over the sudden death than based on any rational considerations. After all, for the more credulous of LTTE sympathizers, Prabhakaran even enjoyed immortal status; so tenacious and alluring to the gullible were the myths that came to be woven round this terror leader.

It is on account of these reasons that one could not fault the military for cremating the remains of Prabhakaran. For, Sri Lanka just cannot allow a personality cult to be built around the LTTE chief, as explained by Brigadier Nanayakkara, and the possibility of this happening would have been great if the remains of Prabhakaran or ‘souvenirs’ connected to his life were allowed to be around and accessed by, particularly, impressionable minds. Sri Lanka just cannot afford to have around any more Prabhakarans and this could very well have been the case if facilitatory factors were allowed to prevail which would enable misguided minds to emulate the terror leader. It needs to be also remembered that last rituals of any kind were not adhered to even in the case of Wijeweera.

Besides, the immediate physical liquidation of lawless elements in times of war, amid national emergencies, is almost standard practice on account of the fact that these intransigent personalities find reconciliation of any kind hard to come to terms with. After all, the LTTE and its leaders were given the option of surrendering by the Sri Lankan state but this offer was rejected with scorn. Besides, there was every reason to believe, given the LTTE’s penchant for breaking promises, that even if the Tigers were given some kind of a breather, it would have been only a matter of time before they regrouped and re-targeted the Lankan state.

The sections of the Tamil Diaspora which are flummoxed by the LTTE leaders death, would do better to think of how they could help in bringing healing to Sri Lanka than persist in the absurd exercise of disbelieving the evidence of their eyes. Obviously, sources such as Tamilnet would like to keep the Diaspora in a state of bamboozlement over Prabhakaran’s death because of the fat cash that has been flowing into LTTE coffers from these quarters and on account of their continued fixation with these irresistible greenbacks. ‘The Island’ of yesterday provided on its front page a good example of a Tamilnet sleight of hand which could easily convince credulous sections that the terror leader is alive and kicking, whereas he is already history.

We believe the time is right for all well intentioned Lankans to come together in an effort to put Sri Lanka on the path to reconciliation, rejuvenation and prosperity. In this connection, the Diaspora would do well to respond positively to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s call to return to Sri Lanka and help in the process of national rejuvenation. It should be abundantly clear to all quarters concerned that war and strife would take the country absolutely nowhere. After all, how well has the 30 years of armed confrontation by the LTTE served the Tamil people? Clearly, it has only brought misery, wretchedness and death to the ordinary people.

All sections of the Tamil people, including their political leaders, should now look towards positively engaging the Sri Lankan government in the latter’s efforts to address Tamil grievances. We believe that talks should immediately begin to address such needs. Delays in getting down to this task could prove disastrous, as our history has already proved and the misery and bloodshed of the past 30 years needs to be viewed as the proverbial writing on the wall by all concerned. It should be a constant reminder of the error of their ways and none in the Lankan conflict could afford to adopt what is called a holier- than- thou attitude.