Prabhakaran’s fate: Differing perceptions

The topic of the day is the impending fate of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Sinhala and English language media are filled with stories of his possible end. The Tamil media is cautiously silent.

Five possible options have been discussed. Of them, the first three- flight from Mullaitivu, captured alive and surrender- are improbable, as they are in conflict with the character, thinking and philosophy of the Tamil Tiger leader.

I wish to refer to a few recorded incidents and events from the life of 54-year-old Prabhakaran, to portray his character and thinking, which could help readers form their opinion of the possible end of Prabhakaran.

Firstly, three incidents from his school boy years: the formative period of his character. At 14, he and his classmates experimented with making bombs with chemicals stolen from the science laboratory. They placed the chemicals inside an empty bottle, corked it and inserted an incense stick through the cork. They placed the ‘bomb’ inside the school toilet and lit the stick. It exploded. When Prabhakaran was 15, he and seven others formed a secret society to collect money to buy a pistol. They contributed 25 cents a week. When they had collected Rs. 40, they heard that a village ‘chandian’, Sampanthan, from Point Pedro, had a pistol for sale.

Prabhakaran and a friend approached him and asked him to sell the pistol to them. He asked them why they wanted it. “To fight the army,” Prabhakaran replied.

“Why?”
“To liberate the Tamils.”

Sampanthan told them that there were elders to look after the Tamils, and chased them away, advising them to focus on their studies.

When he was 15, he and his friends decided to bomb a night bus. When the bus approached, his friends bolted. Prabhakaran stopped the bus, chased the driver and the conductor, and burnt the bus. (Source: Velicham and interviews to Anita Pratap and N. Ram) Three more events in his adult life follows:

The first concerns the burning of the Jaffna Public library in May 1981. Prabhakaran was in the neighbourhood and saw the leaping flames, and vowed to take revenge. At 10:00 a.m. on October 15, the very hour Tissa (Bull) Weeratunga took office as the new Army Commander, he opened his attack on the Army. His trusted deputy, Charles Antony, alias ‘Seelan’, after whom he named his elder son, killed two soldiers- LCpl Hewawasam and Pvt Tissera and snatched their machine guns, the first such weapons they got. (See Maj. Gen. Sarath Munasinghe’s ‘A Soldier’s Version’ for details).

In 1989, when the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) surrounded Nithikaikulam, in the bosom of the Mullaitivu forest, Prabhakaran was left with about 30-40 cadres. He went about with a bodyguard carrying a can of petrol, with instructions to burn his body, soon after he swallowed the cyanide capsule, which he always carried with him.

One of the female cadres with him at that time, recorded this incident in an article she wrote in an LTTE publication.  “I was cooking. We had only cow pea. While draining the water, I spilled some grains. I saw the leader coming. I covered the grain with ash. He came, gathered the grains, washed them and ate them, saying, “This is sufficient for my lunch. Temper them before serving to others.”

The purpose of recalling these incidents is not to glorify Prabhakaran, but to show the readers what he is, and help them gauge the possible options Prabhakaran may resort to, when cornered.

The Sinhala and English media have also mentioned two other possibilities: his death while fighting or suicide. They are more probable. But, he would ensure that his body is burnt in such eventualities.

With 50,000 soldiers, belonging to eight Divisions, surrounding Mullaitivu in a box-like formation and inching forward, the above five possibilities seem probable. But, taking into account, the resistance the Tigers are putting up, the Tamil media has, to date, refrained from speculating on Prabhakaran’s fate.

The Tamil media is giving wide coverage to the developments in Tamil Nadu. Thirumavalavan’s four-day fast had created a new situation in Tamil Nadu. Tamil anger is turning against the Congress party headed by Sonia Gandhi. Youths belonging to Thrumavalavan’s Viduthalai Siruthaigal  (Freedom Panthers) Puthuchery branch, had garlanded the Rajiv Gandhi statue with slippers. Congress Youth Leaguers demonstrated against it. Viduthalai Siruthaigal staged a counter demonstration, resulting in a clash between the two groups.

The Communist Party of India has decided to stage a demonstration against the Central government on Friday. Its followers will try and prevent the Central government offices in Tamil Nadu from functioning on that day. General Secretary, Indian Communist Party, D. Pandyan, delivered an inflammatory speech on Saturday.  He said, “We are born not to die. We are born to put to death those who kill the Tamils, Do not regard this as mere rhetoric.  Every Tamil should prepare himself to die a martyr.”

Tamil Nadu chief minister is in a dilemma. Viduthalai Siruthaigal and the Congress are supporters of Karunanidhi’s government in Tamil Nadu.  If Congress pulls out, his government will fall, He has warned  Thirumavalavan to go soft with the Congress.  If Congress pulls out in Tamil Nadu, the DMK would be forced to pull out from Manmohan Singh’s government.

Delhi is not likely to yield to Tamil Nadu pressure. Its Foreign Secretary avoided talking about a ceasefire to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom he met on Saturday, and he dodged the Tamil Nadu media at Chennai airport on Sunday. What is Delhi upto?  Are they doing some sort of the proverbial rope trick?  And remember that Indian Prime Ministers act on the advice of the RAW. If you want proof, read J.N. Dixit’s ‘Assignment Colombo’.