Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
New Delhi
23 February 2009
return and the troops won't rest till terrorism of the LTTE kind was eradicated, Sri Lankan
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said, rejecting the Tamil Tigers' call for
ceasefire.
In a telephone interview from Colombo, Mr Rajapaksa told this newspaper that the
government troops were "almost 98 per cent there" and the only option for the LTTE was
to lay down arms and surrender.
"It (call for ceasefire) is some kind of joke. It is very clear they cannot do anything. They
are surrounded. The leaders (of LTTE) are in safety with civilians and they've all moved
into a small area," he said.
Defending Colombo's outright rejection of ceasefire, Mr Rajapaksa said the LTTE would
use the cessation of hostilities to reorganise and regroup. "That has been our sad
experience for the last 30 years," he said.
He went on to suggest that India, the only major power Sri Lanka was concerned about,
had unequivocally made known her position and thrown her weight behind the campaign
to eliminate the LTTE.
"India's position is clear. [It] is concerned about the civilians. India has said the LTTE is
a terrorist organisation," he said, when asked whether there was pressure on Colombo to
go slow on the military offensive.
"We are only concerned about India [because it] is home to 60-odd million Tamils. India
is a major power and it understands. The West is out of step, it has its own agenda," he
added for good measure.
He insisted that the Lankan troops were moving cautiously to minimise civilian
casualties. "We have taken all precaution ... we are doing it at the cost of sacrificing our
own [troops]. Otherwise the war would have been over in no time."
He blamed "opportunistic political leaders who were shouting for LTTE" for the recent
unrest in Tamil Nadu. In particular, he accused the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance
(TNA) of instigating the people.
"The correct picture has not been told to the people," he insisted.
Mr Rajapaksa, a retired Lieutenant Colonel and brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, thought the LTTE's leaders might escape. "That's their plan ... to flee. The
misled cadres will die and the leaders will [want to] escape for sure."
He also said the February 20 suicide air attack by LTTE could not have materially
changed the military situation. It could at best be described as an attempt at giving "a
psychological boost" to the pro-LTTE Tamil diaspora, he said.
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