"Prabhakaran to be eliminated soon"

by Dhanya Rajendran

(December, 31, Colombo- Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) In what could spell the beginning of the end for the LTTE in Srilanka, the country's army chief has warned that LTTE supremo Prabhakaran could be eliminated within the next 6 months. Speaking to state run media, General Fonseka has said the Tigers are trapped in a small radius in the north and north-western part of the Sri Lanka.

The twenty-year-old ethnic strife in the tiny island nation of Sri Lanka has seen many ups and downs - but will this one be the proverbial beginning of the end for the LTTE? With the Sri Lankan army pumping up its offensive, Tigers are definitely on the backfoot.

The dreaded LTTE have lost many of their strongholds. Their writ runs now only along a narrow strip between Wanni to Elephant Pass just south of Jaffna.

Another major cause of worry for the Tigers is loss their top leadership - the death of theoritician Anton Balasingham a year back, and recently the killing of their political head S P Thamilselvan in an air raid has come as a major blow.

A supremely confident army chief now says LTTE chief V Prabhakaran may not even survive the next six months clearly indicating they are hunting his head.

"The LTTE may not be able to prevent losing their remaining 3,000 cadres and there is no assurance that outfit leader V Prabhakaran would survive for the next six months as the Sri Lankan Air Force plans to attack all the LTTE bases," said Sri Lankan army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka.

And as the stage is set for what seems to be an end game in Sri Lanka, back home political temparatures are already on the rise especially in Tamil Nadu, where most political parties sympathise with LTTE.

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, who has always taken on LTTE has alleged that this open support by political parties is a dangerous proposition, as wounded LTTE will be further encouraged to make Tamil Nadu a safe haven.

"Every political party is ready to roll a red carpet for the LTTE. This is a dangerous situation... And considering the stand taken by even the Centre, only God can save Tamil Nadu," Jayalalithaa has said recently.

The war in Sri Lanka is intensifying with each passing day and with the Lankan army now saying that they will kill Prabhakaran in a matter of months - the conflict in the island nation is sure to have its repurcussions on Tamil Nadu and its politics.