Home Minister Shivraj Patil resigns over Mumbai Attack

(November 30, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) Home Minister Shivraj Patil, under tremendous criticism over a spate of terrorist attacks in the country since last year, resigned on Sunday in the wake of the Mumbai terror strikes.

Patil, who had offered to step down at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting last night, sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning, sources said.

The 74-year-old Patil was inducted into the Union Cabinet despite his defeat from Latur in Maharashtra in the 2004 Lok sabha polls and has been a target of the opposition as also the detractors within the party over his handling of the internal security situation in the country. - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Do not politicise military victories

by W.G. Chandrapala

(November 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) When closely observing the present political situation in the country, it clearly indicates an election that could be held at a moment's notice at the whim of the government. The government appears to be continuing the war to strengthen its election propaganda campaign since it wants to establish a strong government at the next general election.

The government inquired about its popularity at the last provincial council election when troops were advancing towards Kilinochchi town. We were told that the troops were two kilometres away from the Kilinochchi and the town could be "seen" by the troops, on the day of this election. The security forces captured Pooneryn, a strategically important military base of the LTTE, rather coincidentally when the second reading of the budget 2009 was passed by parliament.

No doubt that all people in this country whether they are Tamil, Sinhala or Muslim will express their gratitude to our heroic soldiers who have gained a number of military victories during the last few months, liberating many areas in the north from the LTTE.

Unfortunately, the government seems to be degrading the troops by giving unnecessary 'publicity' on these military victories through the media. The only thing the government should have done is increase their salaries and allowances in a reasonable manner to motivate the soldiers without putting up banners in every nook and corner.

The declaration of Ranaviru Sathiya is mere political propaganda that will not help to improve the morale of our soldiers. Sri Lankans have a short memory, and one or two weeks later these banners and posters will be seen hanging on lamp posts and walls torn to bits. Is this not ingratitude to our brave soldiers.

Some politicians who pretend to be patriots make strong speeches in parliament but do not mention about the casualty figures of the troops and families of the dead soldiers. Maj. General Janaka Perera was treated as a traitor when he entered politics. Why these double standards?

It is true the government is facing severe economic crises due to this war against terrorism. Corruption, bribery, waste and malpractices have risen to unprecedented levels due to politicisation of the public sector. Most of the government institutions run at a loss and they are gobbling up state funds. The 17th Amendment to the Constitution was introduced with the intention of de-politicising the country, but that piece of legislation is yet to be implemented.

Now it has become a dream, since the President has sought more time from the SC regarding this important issue.

The situation would further deteriorate if a general election is conducted without the Independent Elections Commission since the ruling party will use all its state power to win the election by hook or by crook. - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Ghouls stalk Sigiriya Water Gardens again

by Gamini Weerakoon

(November 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Water Gardens of Sigiriya are once again being stalked by ghouls who want to make this unique landscape - a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO - into a gaudy night carnival. This stunning manifestation of nature's beauty, left to itself for centuries after its ancient monarchs and monks departed, retained its unique features until discovered by the British who in their good sense left it basically untouched for future generations to take in its natural splendo-urs.

But with the creation of the so called Central Cultural Fund in the '70s, some academics and pseudo archaeologists have been attempting to contribute their two-cents worth and convert this pristine architectural wonder, adding on modern day vulgarities, to make it look a gaudy fun fair city. The ostensible purpose is said to be to earn scarce dollars from tourists for the government.

Cheap stunt

Last week a well known environment lawyer, Jagath Gunawardene, was reported objecting to the revival of the proposal for staging 'cultural shows' at the rock fortress for the purpose of attracting tourists. He had said that there were plans to put up spotlights on the famous rock. The rock is a part of an animal and bird sanctuary and loud music and bright lights would have a devastating effect, he had pointed out.

Even Shalin Falcons, an endangered species, breed in the crevices of the rock. There were deer, elephants and other mammals living in the sanctuary. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has not put up an impact assessment report on the wild life. 'Nowhere in the world have they used cheap stunts as this to attract tourists to World Heritage Sites,' Gunawardene had said.

The proposals to 'modernise' Sigiriya became known around 2003 which resulted in a public uproar. Environmentalists, archaeologists, historians and nature lovers made vigorous protests against the proposed move which was called: 'Sunset Walk In Sigiriya.'

The concept had been envisaged by two foreign experts, Sevin Sturia Hunges and Stein Rogers-Bull. It envisaged Sigiriya gardens to have daily visitors numbering 400; flood lights flashing down from the rock into the gardens below; electric trains to take tourists around the moat surrounding the rock; illuminated trees; soldiers dressed up in ancient regalia dating back to the days of King Kasyapa; music to be piped in to work up the tempo of sunset walk; choreographed nymphs dancing with water flowers in hand and ending up like the Apsaras in the frescoes above.

All this may be highly entertaining to tourists seeking cheap thrills and some of our noveau riche local-yokels but is this the culture we want to project to the outside world as Sri Lankan culture?

Perhaps the plans for the sunset walk may have undergone changes since 2003. But the people must be made aware of what will be staged. Sigiriya is not only the heritage of the Ministries of Cultural Affairs and Tourism but the heritage of all Sri Lankans.

Different cultures

Perhaps Sri Lankan culture is changing. No longer do we appreciate the simple and aesthetic values as is evident in the elegant sculptures and architecture of Anuradhapura. These simple but elegant values were retained by us till the '70s when loud music, loud colours and gaudy/vulgar shows became the order of the day.

Earlier Buddha statues sculpted from granite were far and few between and sculptors followed the ancient guidelines and traditions. Now it is the age of the Concrete

Buddha. 'The taller, the better,' as a reader had recently pointed out. Perhaps they will match the cut-out political productions of Mervyn Silva at Maradana junction!

In 2003 definite alterations to structures at Sigiriya were attempted but after the outcry we are informed that they were halted. The question now is whether these 'improvements' will be renewed.

If 400 visitors are to be permitted entry into Sigiriya what would be its impact on the environment? Tourists may not come - for sometime at least. But what of the ubiquitous Hi-Ace van kothu-rotti eating generation polluting every known landscape of Lanka from Horton Plains to the beaches?

Would Sigiriya be inundated by them during the day and now at night as well?

Whither Archaeological Dept.?

The Archaeological Department dating back to the days of the legendary H.C.P. Bell and others was looking after our ancient cities and temples quite well till the advent of the Central Cultural Fund. The Archaeological Department, under the Antiquities Ordinance, had full jurisdiction over these sites but now the Cultural Fund that has emerged has muscled in and is collecting funds from visitors which is illegal.

Even poor vendors such as vatti-ammas are compelled to buy tickets and this money goes to this Cultural Fund. Tourists openly object to double standards - an exorbitant rate for them and another for the locals.

Then and now

It would be of interest to readers what a Sri Lankan academic wrote to the Indian journal Frontline in 2003 on Sri Lankan architecture.

'We are concerned that archaeology had turned out to be a money spinner. There are some archaeologists trying to push out an agenda for a large private role in management of museums and World Heritage Sites. The priorities of our hoteliers and tour operators are totally different and I am not too happy about the integrity of the private sector in Sri Lanka. Archaeologists must be in control of the heritage sites for many good reasons. I have nothing against the private sector involvement in certain areas which we have strictly under our control.'

The writer of those comments was Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne, at that time, the head of the Peradeniya Faculty of Architecture. Today he is the Director General, Central Cultural Fund that much before his appointment to the fund, muscled into the Sigiriya complex. The question that would interest readers is: Would Prof. Seneviratne be still concerned about 'archaeology turning out to be a money spinner'?

If so he should leave the natural environment of Sigiriya untouched, leave the Apsarasin peace and let the wild animals roam their traditional habitat freely. - Sri Lanka Guardian

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CPC plays while the consumer pays

"An independently and professionally managed CPC with a price formula in place, will reduce costs, reduce wastage and above all the banks will back it up with good credit terms and thereby benefit the consumer."

by Daham Wimalasena

(November 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Everyone is clamouring for a drastic reduction of fuel price in this country, consequent to the dramatic drop in crude prices world wide. The current price is about US$ 58 per bbl. Every country has positively responded with substantial price reductions except Sri Lanka. Let us examine as to why the Sri Lankan government which always claimed that domestic prices will go up and down with World Market prices is now reluctant or unable to bring down prices to substantially low levels as was prevalent last year.

For the last four years CPC has done nothing to reduce prices other than to indulge in hedging which, in my opinion, is nothing but speculative gambling, as there is nobody competent at CPC to handle such risks. The initial success of the hedging operation was publicized and celebrated by both the Minister and the Chairman, with massive 'cut-out' cheques being presented by the banks to the CPC as one would see like the the end of a cricket match, with the winners carrying away cheque cut-outs. Last two months with hedging causing massive losses to the CPC, we have not seen such scenes between the Bank and the CPC - as the massive payouts by the CPC to the banks are now done in high secrecy!!

Hedging is not a long term solution to volatile oil prices unless there is a fully fledged Risk Management Department at CPC, who do tracking daily prices of the various terminal markets.

The answer lies in refinery expansion; expediting exploration activities; rigid cost control; financial discipline of the highest order, and adhering to a reasonable and consistent pricing formula. Hedging operation of the CPC was ill-conceived, as it was managed by a 2-member team who claimed to be experts, just because they roamed the world for two years. The hedging itself was for a long period of one year. Hedges at best are for a few cargoes over two or three months period and certainly not for one year!! Who hedges for one year in a product which is unpredictable and volatile? The end result of this bungling gamble gone wrong, is that CPC has to pay out as much as Rs. 40 billion to the banks whereas this Rs. 40 billion should have rightfully benefited the consumer instead of contributing to the profits of foreign banks involved in hedging.

CPC and the Ministry must take the blame for this extraordinarily expensive fiasco. To put the blame on the Cabinet of Ministers and other institutions such as the Central Bank is totally wrong. It was the CPC and the Minister's recommendations that the Cabinet approved. This irresponsible action of the Ministry and the CPC is comparable to an equally irresponsible cabinet paper presented by the CPC and Ministry recommending an Iranian Refinery proposal which was inflated by over Rs. 1 billion. Today we have a chairman who claims hopefully that crude oil price will reach US$ 120 per bbl by end of the year - merely to save his skin! Sri Lanka can do without such experts. Hedging has placed CPC on the edge of disaster and destruction.

Financial indiscipline at the CPC is another reason why consumers do not benefit from low crude oil prices. CPC customers like the CEB, Railway, RDA, Mihin Air, Armed Services, Maga Neguma have to pay as much as Rs. 80,000,000 for fuel supplied. Why CPC allowed such credit and why it was allowed to go up to such dizzy levels is the million dollar question and is due to nothing but lethargy and incompetence. All the defaulted customers are funded by the Central Government Budget and the Treasury transfers money on a regular basis as per the Budget. It is the duty of the CPC to collect their dues in time. This massive debt is temporarily overcome by the CPC by borrowing from the banks at a high interest rate averaging 20% +. This is a massive and unnecessary cost is recovered by the CPC from the consumers by including it, in their costs when fixing fuel prices.

Over-dependence on Iran for our crude oil requirements is another major reason for the local consumer not benefiting from low fuel prices world wide. The CPC now buys over 90% of its crude oil from Iran because it has given extended credit terms (7-month credit). While Iranian crude oil is not the cheapest in the market, Iranians impose a massive premium as much as US$ 2 per bbl on their sale price when the normal premium about as US$ 0.50 cts per bbl. So the benefit given to CPC on credit terms is taken away by the high premium imposed at the time of delivery. Apart from the negative financial implications of Iranian crude sale terms, buying almost all our crude oil requirements from Iran has certain strategic implications in case of armed conflict or sanctions against that country. As you know, even now Iran is subject to certain UN sanctions due to its nuclear ambitions. It is most undesirable that we should rely almost solely on Iran for our crude oil when there is a doubt even price wise. In the past we relied on Iran for about 2/3rd of our needs and we should reverse the current adverse trends quickly. More so because it is Iran which is in the forefront of OPEC nations calling for production cut levels and thus for higher crude prices!! CPC has put all its eggs in the very basket that is vigorously advocating higher crude prices!!.

It is a well known fact that Iran's economy is as badly managed as ours in Sri Lanka. Even imported fruits are subsidized. Gasoline queues are common despite Iran being one of the biggest exporters of crude oil in the world. To expect Iran to help us in our time of need is ridiculous. Their entire economy is dependent on high oil prices and when it dips below US$ 68 a bbl, their economy is in negative territory. Over reliance on Iran is almost as dangerous as over reliance on hedging.

CPC also appears heading for liquidation when one considers its outstanding financial commitments. To Iran, CPC owes Rs. 110 billion; to finished product suppliers - Rs. 50 billion; to commercial banks including hedging -losses Rs. 40 billion; while significant loans have been also taken from EXIM Bank, AAB and India, payments are also due to the Treasury on account of PAL, custom duties etc. Making a grand total of over Rs. 200 billion. All these commitments and loans need to be repaired, but has the CPC the ability to do so? They can only meet these commitments if they keep retail prices artificially high, depriving the consumer the benefit of low fuel prices found elsewhere in the world.

Whatever price reductions the CPC offers, it will never reflect the true position. CPC prices will have to include costs of inefficiency, financial indiscipline and other acts of omission and commission.

If the CPC is to survive and the consumer is to benefit, a reasonable price formula enforced independently, is a necessity. Politics should have no place. If the government wants a political price, then it should be backed by a subsidy from the Treasury.

An independently and professionally managed CPC with a price formula in place, will reduce costs, reduce wastage and above all the banks will back it up with good credit terms and thereby benefit the consumer.

In today's context, our local retail prices should be in the range of Rs. 50 - 60 per litre and nothing more. The question then is who is taking whom for a ride?

The writer, former Chairman - CPC - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Tea sector crisis: An objective view

by Lalith Hettiarachchi

(November 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Sri Lanka tea sector has been enjoying increased prices across the board for all teas from January 2007 up to July 2008, a period of almost 18 months.

This was due to several reasons, both global and local. Among the important reasons are (a) drop in production in some competing countries due either to political and/or adverse weather conditions, (b) increased buying power, especially in the Middle East and Russia/CIS regions due to oil price escalations, (c) promotional efforts of the sector especially highlighting health benefits of tea, (d) tea being preferred as a beverage as against other beverages at least by a higher percentage among the younger generation, and (e) value additions made by the industrialists.

However the downward trend in tea prices started to manifest from July 2008. The drop was affecting the low grown sector more than the high and medium due to the fact that almost 70% of our teas for the last several years were being exported to the Middle East and Russia /CIS regions, which regions were affected earliest by the plummeting oil prices. Both Iran and Iraq in this region are countries which are within the first 10 buyers of our tea. The month of September was of particular interest as unfortunately low buying was experienced during this month due to Ramazan falling in this month which aggravated the situation.

Although this is generally common knowledge in the tea sector that “bought leaf factories” (almost all factories belonging to the private tea factory owners are fed by low grown tea produced by the smallholders) this fact may not be known by many. Another fact that one must remember is that the green leaf supplied by the grower is being paid on an age-old formula given by the Tea Commissioner under regulation based on the National Sales Average (NSA) which again is dependant on the prices at which tea is sold at the weekly auctions. Consequently this means that any drop in sales price would inevitably pull down the price the factory pays the green leaf producer.

Being a very well organized sector, the tea industry through its apex body, the Colombo Tea Traders Association (CTTA) and the Chamber of Commerce, conducts the weekly tea auction where buyers bid for tea through the licensed brokers, the operating brokers being eight as at today.

The age old system in the tea sector is that the brokers make advance payments to the producers for the tea that is sent to the auction and the producers pay advance to the green leaf suppliers and/or dealers and settle the full amount after the Tea Commssioner publishes the amount payable for the green leaf suppliers. The supply chain -- the brokers, buyers, green leaf producers and the dealers are all obliged by regulations to keep to certain “prompt dates” for settlement of payments, the last link being the grower.

When the prices were good and it was “summer” for the industry, all the players in the supply chain were paying “futures prices” to the one below in the hope that the situation will be better and better week on week. But unfortunately this expectation did not materialize resulting in the present crisis. Although the rise in prices was slow the drop was unfortunately very fast! The situation was aggravated by the producers who were used to produce even more than their capacity by buying green leaf of lower quality consequently producing poor quality tea. But fortunately prior to the impact of the crisis, everything was selling encouraging them to go on happily. Unfortunately the prices came down so sharply and therefore by the time they realized it was not going to come back to the former levels everybody in the supply chain was in debt to the one above! It was also unfortunate that the players in the sector throughout the supply chain were all used to a particular spending pattern in keeping with the incomes enjoyed during the good times, and therefore it was difficult to adjust downward!

The relationship that the producers have developed with the brokers is such that brokers have become their unofficial bankers as they advanced monies to producers so that they in turn could pay advances to the green leaf suppliers. All these advances are known to be at certain rates of interest mutually agreed upon between the parties. It has also to be remembered that almost all the producers have exceeded their borrowing limits with their respective bankers and therefore when the cash crunch hit the industry it was a real shock. So it was natural that the disruption in the chain affected the smooth functioning of the system. This is how the crisis started.

When the banks could not help any more under normal circumstances, and the unofficial bankers could not help either, the ultimate rescuer became the government. Hence the pressure from all the stakeholders, the buyers, the brokers, the producers, the green leaf dealers and the smallholder growers for a rescue package!

It is also true that while all other currencies were depreciated the world over, the fact that the Sri Lanka Rupee was being kept at an artificially high level had an effect on the market. On top of it certain buying countries like Russia were quick enough to even restrict foreign exchange remittances abroad thereby limiting buying power. Other buyers especially in the Middle East, where the banking sector was quite strong and resiliant, were adopting a “wait and see policy” expecting the prices to come down further.
It is in this context that the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) on the directions of the President had to enter the auction floor to purchase teas in order to build confidence of the buyers. This intervention did have a very salutary effect and at the 43rd auction the prices started to get stabilized. Although the SLTB participated at all auctions from that week downwards it did not have to purchase teas as the competition among the buyers was reasonably good.

From the results of the auction it can also be summarized that generally the high grown teas and better quality good teas, whether low grown or high grown, fetched considerably good prices. The demand was reasonably good and the prices held comparatively firm. But the withdrawals from the auction were still higher and the prices fetched by poorer grades were lower which resulted in the NSA being lower.
Even though the situation appears to be slightly better than what it was a month back, one cannot rest assured that it will get to normal levels soon. The coming weeks are generally lean weeks every year. On the other hand with the New Year approaching, both the small growers and the workers and factory owners would all require more money than they require during a normal month of a year.

Against this backdrop, while some of the cash strapped producers started to refuse to buy green leaf and refused settling their dues to the green leaf suppliers, some others even went to the extent of cashing in on the troubled situation by threatening to close down factories thereby forcing the leaf suppliers to either agree to sell at unreasonably low prices or agree to be paid for lower quantities than they actually delivered!

Although the government stepped in to help the industry by giving a good hearing to the grievances that the sector has, it has got to be admitted that the only mechanism through which some relief was to be granted, namely the Stabilization Fund, established a couple of decades ago was not available by this time. The restoration of the Fund naturally has to go through certain procedures, which takes time. In the interim the government with the Central Bank interference, has given the SLTB access to Rs 500 million on a refinancing scheme, later to be regularized when the Stabilization Fund is restored.

Among the relief measures so far offered to the tea sector are -- (a) for the buyers to avail themselves of the facility of paying 20% of down payment within the seven day period and the balance 80% to be paid on the 28th day, (b) buyers to avail themselves of loan facilities from the commercial banks through which they operate, such loans attracting an interest subsidy of 6% through the Stabilization Fund (purchases under certain conditions only would attract this subsidy), and (c) the restoration of the Stabilization Fund. However some of the tea sector stakeholders do not seem to be so impressed by these offers and are not so keen to take advantage of this loan scheme as the dollar loans are cheaper for them.

Both the Private Tea Factory Owners Association and the Planters Association of Ceylon have made appeals to the Ministry of Plantation Industries to consider granting them a working capital loan to get over the difficulties experienced during this period. The quantum of the loan is calculated based on the expected drop in the sales volume due to the crisis. Roughly what they expect is for the government to give a roll over working capital loan facility of at least Rs 2 billion for each category.

On the one hand the Private Tea Factory Owners Association shows that they have to depend on the bought leaf which is the livelihood of the grower. Naturally therefore any serious drop in their income is to have direct social and political implications in the low grown areas. On the other hand the Planters Association of Ceylon shows that they are obliged to provide 300 days work for the labour force whether in sun or rain. So any drop in production due to sales not being possible would put them in a very difficult position. Labour unions in the High and Mid-grown areas are so strong and therefore any disruption in the source of income for the labourer will result in social and political unrest.

If we go by the requests made by both the Planters Association and the Private Tea Factory Owners Association, calculated on the basis of certain statistical data, the requests seem to be reasonable. They have also shown that loan repayment has been done in earlier similar instances promptly through the selling brokers which have proved to be prompt and convenient for both the borrower and the lending bank/s.

Among other suggestions made are --(a) rescheduling of existing loans (b) low/concessionary loans, and (c) for the Regional Plantation Companies to issue Debentures for substantial amounts for a sufficient period. The authorities, namely the Ministry of Plantation Industries and the Treasury in association with the Central Bank have to come up with solutions to match these requests having evaluated them.

The smallholder sector is requesting that the government pays a subsidy on the leaf price to compensate the drop in prices. Although this could have been considered if the Stabilization Fund was existent, the government cannot be expected to subsidize the leaf supplier to this extent. Even if it does agree for how long can the government do it? On the one hand it would be a bad precedent and on the other it would be impracticable leading to a lot of monitoring difficulties and abuses all the way.
Although government intervention through the SLTB to buy tea at the auction was a good move to boost the confidence of the buyers, this is neither a solution for the problem, nor can the SLTB continue to do it for a longer time because the SLTB in any case has no mandate to replace a buyer. If the tea that is bought by the SLTB is coming to the same market, one has to agree that it will dampen the market again. On the other hand it cannot hold on to the stocks indefinitely for obvious reasons.

In the long run the market has to adjust itself and the sector has to adjust itself. But for the long term, the government has the responsibility to set up a system to take immediate action in times of a crisis like the one we are experiencing now. At different times certain mechanisms like the Consolexpo have been available. Still there are other options like forming a government-controlled company are available. But such measures have inherent problems as experience would show. The best mechanism for the present is therefore the Stabilization Fund, which has to be restored forthwith. How it can be used to help the situation is a detail which should be worked out depending on the situation.

The writer is Chairman, Sri Lanka Tea Board - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Wanted: A New Tamil Leader For Peace In Sri Lanka

by Dr. Noel Nadesan

Editorial in chief of the Uthayam, community paper based in Melbourne

(November 30, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) What no Tamil thought would happen in Jaffna is now shocking the world: the Tamils are carrying the Sri Lankan flag and hailing the victory of the Sri Lankan forces in Pooneryn.

We may not like it and say Sri Lankan Government propaganda. But even if one Tamil in Jaffna is voting with his/her feet, carrying the Sri Lankan flag, then who are we to say “NO”? This is a clear signal for the Tamils in the Diaspora to wake up and take notice of the responses of our desperate people. This new trend is not going to end here. World is moving forward and away from LTTE. Tamils also moving away from Prabaharan’s dream except some diehard Tamil expatriate and few self-seeking Tamilnadu politicians. It is going to gather momentum as the Tigers run abandoning the people. The people have nowhere to go except to embrace the Sri Lankan flag. They see hope in it more than in the Tiger flag. This is not surprising as the war-weary Tamils are yearning for peace – any sort of peace.

Over the years the Tamils have gone through enough suffering mainly due to blind stupidity of our leadership. Our people see no salvation in fighting any more. More fighting means more deaths, more widows, more hunger, more suffering. For how long are our people going to suffer for a political illusion that has wasted the best energies of our people?

Our Mahaveer heroes in the Tamil Diaspora have to seriously consider the future of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Do they seriously believe that they can stop the Sri Lankan forces from advancing into Killinochchi? They are hanging around in Western capitals because they know that Prabhakaran cannot stop the advance. So they are running desperately behind their MPs and Churchmen to stop the forces. They have played all their cards and drawn a blank.

The Western capitals that were giving them a helping hand have now washed their hands off Prabhakaran. The last card was to activate Tamil Nadu. But what is the result? Chief Minister Karunanidhi double-crossed the Tamils and threw the resignation handed by his daughter into the wastepaper basket. It was big news when he threatened to pull out of the Manmohan Singh government .Is anybody talking about it now? How long are we going to deceive our own people?
Our people have being living on a diet of false promises. The misguided Tamils in the diaspora are financing these false promises which are leading to more deaths. Neither the Tamil people nor the Tiger cadres can live on false promises forever. Sooner or later the truth will dawn on them and then they will realize that they can find some hope only in the Sri Lankan flag.

After thirty odd years of failure everyone we are forced to admit that what is needed now is not war but peace. We missed all the chances that were given to us when the Tigers shot the Ceasefire Agreement to pieces. We should have used the offer given to us and consolidated our position with the backing of the international community. Now we have nothing. As a last resort our people are rushing to seek shelter behind the Sri Lankan flag. It is a slap in the face of the Velupillai Prabhakaran who promised everything and is now left with nothing. At least our people know that under the Sri Lankan flag no one would come knocking on their doors to drag our children to fight in a useless war which is heading towards a disastrous end.

At the moment everyone is waiting for the Heroes’ Day speech of Prabhakaran. He has lost the war. What can he offer now? He will blame everybody except himself? How does that help our people? Did he take the leadership blame others? Or is he there to save our people? If so when? And how? More importantly, how can he save the people when he trying to save himself?

He will have no answers when he delivers his speech this time in some hide-out in Mullativu. If he has no answers then isn’t it time that we Tamils found another new leader who can give us peace? Any mug can give excuses or blame the others. Leader who led the Tamils in to war has failed. What we need is a new leader to bring peace and save our people from extinction - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Unravelling a murder from Tangalla to Oslo

by Carl Muller

(November 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) As author Weerasinghe says, the main story line of the politico-cultural scenario of this book is "very much genuine" though he has given us fictional characters, These remarks in his Prologue, were penned in Oslo in March 1993, and at that time he had begun to realize that "a motley collection of Western nations had decided to underwrite the Jaffna Tamil terrorists’ ultimate objective... the disembodiment of Sri Lanka."

Rumours had begun to fly around, insidious in the extreme. The Tamils were the victims of a Sinhalese Apartheid Government; India was ready to invade us; Norway had flung open its doors to thousands of Tamil refugees; fifty million South Indian Tamils were ready to move in and help their Jaffna "cousins" secure a separate state of Eelam...

The Sinhalese suddenly found that they had no one they could call friend. Canada and Norway were the leading proponents of Tamil "rights" and terrorist institutions were set up in the UK and the USA. Yes, it was no fun being a Sinhalese abroad or even at home.

It is in this scenario that Weerasinghe presents Gunnar Larsen, a Norwegian gemologist, strolling the Tangalla beach. He had someone to meet beyond some rising rocks, a someone who was waiting for him, but before he could utter a word of greeting he was shot in the head with a silenced revolver. It was close to sunset. Two locals found him, informed the police.

We meet OIC Ravi Ratnavaka. In the dead man’s shirt a key was found with a tag. "Room 325 Paradise Hotel." The hotel manager is Senaka. He has a programme laid on for his newly-arrived Scandinavian tourists - and Larsen was among the newly-arrived. He shared a room with another- Norwegian, Tore Helberg. Larsen had slipped away, rejecting the entertainment, to walk the beach, meet his killer. Ratnayaka was adamant. Everybody in the hotel was a suspect:

"The time had been carefully set for his execution, which means our murderer had known Larsen from before and had control over his itinerary He was not robbed He was marked for assassination by a person or group."

Halberg had the impression that Larsen knew somebody in Sri Lanka. They had visited the hotel shops together, but when Larsen stopped to make a ‘phone call, he didn’t want Helberg to be with him. It was obvious that he knew his murderer and they were both involved in something.

The developments are well recorded. The lady who runs the hotel travel agency is Nina Holm, the niece of the manager, Senaka. Her father is Norwegian and her mother Sinhalese, Senaka’s sister. The police scouted the gem shops of Galle, Colombo, even Kandy, and one day someone who refused to give his name phoned Ratnayaka to say that he had called Larsen on the day of his arrival about negotiating some business, saying he could call over that very evening. Larsen told him he had another meeting, so he did not come to the hotel. Ratnayaka knew the man had phoned from close at hand, possibly from Galle. But he made no progress, and when all else failed, he was sent to Norway. It was necessary to get all the dirt he could on Larsen. Gems were being bartered for weapons by the Tigers and the gem business in Sri Lanka had grown just as dirty. Precious stones were being smuggled out at a price. Gem sales brought hard currency to the Tigers via India. Was Larsen also instrumental in providing arms? He had to dig up Larsen’s background, political leanings, the clubs he belonged to, his contacts, especially Sri Lankan expatriates. There were well near 6,000 Tamils living in Norway and the Norwegian media was attacking the Sinhalese and had come out strongly for the terrorists. Ratnayaka was to remain in contact with police inspector Odd Nodheim and Nanda Vijaya who was president of the Sri Lankan Association. When he was met at Formebu airport by Odd, he was told he could not conduct any official questioning and could not carry a weapon.

When he was briefed on his mission, the IGP had said:

"Norwegian media have been attacking this country and in particular the Sinhalese people since the start of the ethnic conflict in 1983. Norway ... has come out strongly for the separatist terrorist cause. Although with one hand the Norwegian government is giving us aid, with the other they are aiding and abetting our enemies. [It] is aware that the ulterior aim of [the Tamils] is the final disembodiment of Sri Lanka. Our politicians are immune to the situation. They are ever ready ... to go begging for aid around the continent. They... don’t see the, stritigs which are attached ... another word for a carrot ... which they dangle in front of our

face ... to cripple our government’s will and to incapacitate our ... self determination. "

What is particularly attractive in this book is that Weerasinghe, while writing an excellent piece of crime detection, has given us everything of interest that pertains to Norway and this island. He tells of the island’s pre-Buddhist ritual dances, the attitudes of the Norwegian press, the traffic indiscipline that is now rampant in our country. He tells of Norway [meaning "Born of the Sea"), quotes Ibsen, and how in the old days, Norse marauders roamed the seas; of how Norway now has the third highest standard of living and of its wish to be both moral guardian and eliminate racism... of Fornebu airport, said to be "A Restaurant with Landing Facilities", of Swiss money laundering from narcotics, the Mafia and illegal rake offs; of the Tamil asylum seekers... yes, there’s so much to take in and we have Ratnayaka mulling over the Norwegian media, hell-bent on destroying the reputation of the Sinhalese.

"Demeaning language is used to describe the Sri Lankan government and the Sinhalese. They are called "Sinhalese Buddhist chauvinists " and collectively referred to as "Sinhalese and their apartheid government and tell of their "insufferable nationalism. "

This is an incredible story for it tells of the do-or-die efforts of Ratnayaka to solve the murder. As the story progresses, we have more suspects and a tangled chain to unravel. I will not follow the tale from one heart- beat to another, but the killing of one Norwegian gem racketeer on-the Tangalla beach has its repercussions - more murders in Oslo and a clutch of Sri Lankan women, the murderer among them, who have married or begun to live with the Norwegian racketeers and of one who was compelled to kill in order to allay suspicion.

The final act in this superb tale takes place in the same Paradise Hotel in Tangalla. Ratnayaka returns, full of what he has unearthed, to confront the owner of the hotel boutique selling Sri Lankan souvenir gifts to tourists. She is Shamila Soma, a coldblooded killer.

While I could cheer the fantastic way in which the OIC had finally confronted the murderess, I also saw that Weerasinghe had cast him in a mould that told of utter perseverance; and that he was a man who was well-educated and well-travelled. But I am not at all pleased with the cover legend that refers to our hero as "The blundering local Sinhalese Inspector." He did what seemed impossible in Norway where all he could rely on was the efforts of one police inspector and the members of the Sinhalese Expatriates Club. He had to follow many leads, dismiss what he found irrelevant, and chase up others. It was a huge cat-and-mouse game and many were the times when he felt that he -Was the,

This is a exceptional detective story and I congratulate Weerasinghe for taking pains every one of his characters in such a showdown suspects and all targets open to thorough investigation.

Out of it all, it was the ‘blundering Inspector" who triumphed. I ask that readers try to keep in mind the plethora of characters involved for there are times that the cat has abandoned the mouse to get entangled in a big ball of wool. It takes a very good writer to bring them all into line - the cat, mouse, and the ball of wool and at the end there is no more wool to pull over the eyes of Sri Lankan law!

Review - MISSION TO OSLO

by Mahinda Weerasinghe - Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2008 - pp. 240 - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Desperate Tigers Seek Refuge in Buddhism

by Thomas Johnpulle

(November 29, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The saying ‘devil quoting scriptures’ came true when the LTTE leader in his annual speech mentioned about Buddhist preaching. Although Buddhism teaches non-violence, to the extent I know as a non-Buddhist, it doesn’t require its followers to surrender. On the contrary, it allows its practitioners to invoke their thinking power to apprehend what is right and what is wrong in a given situation. Obviously one cannot preach non-violence to a terror group that has killed hundreds of Buddhist monks, attacked Buddhist shrines from Anuradhapura to Kandy, ethnically cleansed all Buddhists in the north, takes life at will and shows no restraint even to listen to a sermon! May be Lord Buddha can stop the tigers as He stopped the murderer who supposedly made a necklace out of fingers of his victims but it is unlikely that any person can ever handle the tiger leader without violence.

Had Buddhists in this island not responded to violence through violent means, this island would have become part of Tamil Nadu. Sensing this, ancient kings of this country, including Tamils, fought vehemently against invaders. Interestingly some of the most celebrated kings who wiped out Tamil Nadu invaders were ardent Buddhists! For example, kings Dutu-Gemunui, Parakramabahu the Great and Vijayabahu the Great were most violent in the battlefield, yet, were exemplary Buddhists. Unfortunately, modern day politicians who govern this country are too corrupt and fickle-minded that they cannot even be compared to these exemplary Buddhists. Therefore using Buddhism to intimidate them is nothing more than a joke.

On their part Sri Lankans, mostly Buddhists, have shown unparalleled compassion by providing free education, free hospital facilities and free other facilities even to those living in LTTE controlled areas for the entire time span of the war knowing very well LTTE cadres and leaders are exploiting these facilities. Even the LTTE leader himself, his children and wife have fully enjoyed the benefits of government facilities. Food, fertiliser and medicine convoys are sent every week to LTTE controlled areas knowing very well that tigers exploit these for terrorism. No other country in the world can match this. In order to avoid being loonies, compassion should have its bounds.

On the other hand, Pirapaharan has a lot of explaining to do about how the cow – the symbol of past Tamil kingdoms in this island – became the tiger. Also how the tradition of cemeteries came into existence which is alien to Hindu traditions. One may even argue that Rajapaksha and Wickremasinghe are devoted Hindus given the great lengths they go to perform Hindu rituals. Quite interestingly there are sections that claim both these individuals are in fact Christians! Whatever the truth is, one thing is clear; Sri Lankan leaders are god fearing men and women. However, Pirapaharan has long past the point where he could seek refuge in religion and gods.

There is Buddhist symbolic significance in the National Flag. It depicts four leaves of the sacred Bo-Tree, each named after a noble Buddhist humane quality. Further, the orange stripe signifies Hindu religious affiliations while the green stripe corresponds to Islamic blessedness of the Sri Lankan National Flag. On the other hand the flag of the severed-tiger-head only symbolises violence, death and self-destruction. What a noble act it is to replace the flag of the severed-tiger-head with the National Flag containing so many religious overtures. And what a noble task the soldiers of all races are doing in fighting under such a blessed flag. Even without a Christian religious symbol in it, it is no doubt the holiest flag in the world!

The only way Pirapaharan and his band of bandits can enjoy the hospitality of Buddhists is by surrendering to the armed forces and to the laws of the country. If he is thinking of taking countrymen for another ride, he is sadly mistaken. Buddhists and others of this country have seen similar tactics for 2,500 years and they have a tried and tested remedy for that. Facing sure annihilation, the best Pirapaharan can do for the Tamil community is to call off the armed liberation struggle and join the political mainstream. He can never get anything that cannot be gotten from mainstream politics. - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Understanding the Sun God's divine words.

Right To Reply

by Charles.S.Perera

(November 29, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is hard to understand the Sri Lanka Guardian Editorial of the 28 Novembr,2008, on supremo Surya Deva Prabhakaran's "hereos' day" speech. It sounds a nostalgia for an end to terrorism. A recollection of memories of how good it had been before the withdrawal of the CFA, during which period the terrorists had a passport to kill who ever they want, recruit children and women, and train a squadron of black tigers who were prepared to die at the behest of the sun god, and sadly all that has now been deprived to them.

The Guardian –the voice of the people, speaks of the loss in the misty horizon of war, the only ray of hope that dear Prabha gives once a year, for the Tamils living among the chauvinistic anti Tamil "ruthless" Sinhala, whose mindset remains unchanged, through out the non violent and the armed struggle of the Tamils since the Selva-Banda era.

The Guardian editor, call Prabhakaran , the Tamil National Leader, who the chauvinistic Sinhala calls a terrorist ! The Editorial speaks of its leader's concepts of the Tamil homeland, the Tamil Nation, and the Tamil right to self determination, which are the core principles for a lasting peace for the Tamil Homeland (once proclaimed), and the lasting peace for the remaining Sinhala Homeland (once separated from the Tamil homeland). These, according to the Editorial are the gospel truth the southern chauvinists are not ready to accept.

Lanka Guardian’s Tamil National Leader had said, that his, and his peoples trust on the International Community have been eroded because of its one sided approach. The reason for this one sided approach it says, may be (i) the long term chronic war, (ii) split between the Sinhala chauvinist leader's party, (iii) the betrayals ( iv) the term gorilla war, that kept away the support of the foreign countries, (v) the luxurious living conditions of the Tamil diaspora, which had blinded them to understand the reality of the living conditions of the Tamils in the homeland, such as displacements, darting bullets, and hunting for food.

The Guardian Editorial does not seem to see the terrorist Character of its Tamil National Leader, and the terrorist movement he built around his Tamil homeland concept, which after the September 11 Twin Tower attack, was seen by the International Community as a terrorist group, and banned in their countries.

The editorial prods on , that while most of the Tamil expatriates have lost their identity, it is the ordinary Tamil masses here that struggle to maintain their Tamil identity, despite their being pushed to lose it. Freedom is not cheap to be won without blood shed, as it had been to win independence from the British. The Tamils in Jaffna should be proud that they showed the door with insults and broomsticks to the Sinhala Groups that came to do relief work refusing to accept them. Who will forget the value of the burnt down library which cannot be replaced by the new one that has been built ? Tamils cannot face no more genocides , and were pushed to take up arms to save their identity. That is the building of hatred by bringing in to memory the past atrocities of the Sinhala chauvinists, that is to keep alive the Tamil desire to separate from the evil of the South.

However, the Guardian Editorial has not mentioned how in order to maintain the Tamil Identity the Tamil National Leader (Prabhakaran) of the Guardian Editorial, eliminated a good number of Tamil leaders, who were opposed to his concept of Tamil identity. The List is long but it is worth giving the names of some of them:

Alfred Duraippah, Vaddukodai MP Thiyagarajah, Abdul Majeed in Kinniya, Sam Thambimuttu and his wife Kala,Yogasangari, Kanagaratnam,Thangadurai, Mohamed Mahroof,Saranabhavan Shanmuganathan, Wasanthan and his 3 year old son, Dr.Neelan Thiruchelvam, A.Nadarajah, C.V.Gunaratne,Lakshman Kadirgamar,Chandraneru, Joseph Pararajasingham,Nadaraja Raviraj, Jeyraj Fernandopulle and many more.

The Editorial says that during the period under the CFA, Pongu Thamil was celebrated both locally and internationally, which was a revival of Tamil Culture in all its aspects. As Nayyar Hashmey had said that seeking roots in heritage, being proud of the past glory is a means to ones identity in the modern world. Tamil peoples' traumatic period making life more miserable came with the break down of the CFA, and the call in chorus to liberate Tamils from the LTTE.

The International Community who did not know what a suffering it was for the Tamil people to live under the IPKF, made an excuse of the failure of the IPKF, and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi to portray Tigers as ruthless killers. At that time President Chandrika gave hope. But that regime failed.

Of course the Editorial does not mention Prabhakaran's planning and carrying out the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in Tamil Nadu, and the attempt to assassinate the President Chandrika Kumaratunga, because it would not help the editorial's attempt to cleanse Prabhakaran from the blood of the hundreds of assassinations he carried out including that of Rajiv Gandhi.

The Editorial mentions the period after the beginning of terrorism, as the glorious period of the Tamil Nationalismn but avoids the period before, when Tamils existed and lived peacefully with the Sinhala in amity, without calling them Chauvinists. The ethnic problem began with G.G.Ponnambalam and Chelvanayagam. It was only after the terrorists began their terror campaign, that this virulent anti Sinhala racism raised its ugly head.

The Chauvinist Sinhala National Leader President Mahinda Rajapakse wears a red shawl. The Editor asks whether it is an indication of determination to rob the Tamil people of their land. Even the JVP that was silenced by the horror of killings, is now dictating terms as a political party. The editor question whether there was one President who meted out human justice to the Tamil population. The Editorial dos not mention that the Tamils claim for a homeland came with the terrorists, and before that the three communities lived in harmony, settling issues democratically and in dialogue without having to aim guns at each other.

The Sri Lanka Guardian Editorial says that the Tamil people buried their hope for a peaceful solution, the day Thamil Chelvam was buried. The Norwegians and the countries that stood for peace went silent. The chauvinist Sinhala State started a war justifying it with slogans, like "War for Peace", "War against terrorism", and "War for the liberation of Tamils". Thamilselvam was another terrorist, and he was not a remarkable Tamil Leader such us any one of those systematically eliminated by Prabhakaran .

The Editorial continues that after more than two decades of war, the (Tamil) people are dismayed and disappointed, and trapped in a deceptive net of the Sinhala State, which cannot solve the problem of the Tamil people. The Tamil people suffered for more than two decades struggling to maintain their identity , and thanks the NGOs who came now and then for their aid. The territory gained by the Chauvinist Sinhala armies from them have become "no man's land".

Their aspirations to gain again their talents in education as they were in the past and to live normal peaceful lives will take a long time. The editorial also forgets that after more than two decades of ruthless terrorism under which the Sinhala, the Tamil and the Muslim Communities suffered Prabhakaran the terrorist leader was unable to get the popular support of Tamil people living in Sri Lanka.

If Prabhakaran gave so much of hope to the Tamil people, as the Editorial claims, the Tamil population in Sri Lanka would have rallied round him acclaiming him as their leader. It was not so, even the Tamil people in Kilinochchi who is running away from the areas under terrorist control, have nothing good to say about him or his terrorist cohorts.

The Guardian Editorial ends quoting from Chelvanayagam. And perhaps tries to glorify the terrorist, who did not take any risks himself leaving "dirty work" to others, but eliminated many who thought they were not taking risks, by quoting from the saintly Mahatma Gandhi who stood for non-violence.

"A man who is made for freedom
has to take tremendous risk and take everything.' –Mahatma Gandhi - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Mumbai: Lessons For The Future

“The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had copied it from them. The anti-India jihadis have emulated their West Asian counterparts.”

(November 29, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) While the picture of what happened in Mumbai between 9-21 PM on Wednesday and 8 AM on Saturday, when the terrorist situation was finally terminated, is still incomplete and confusing, certain facts available should give an attitude of the magnitude of the strikes, the like of which the world has not seen before:

There were 13 incidents of intense firing with assault rifles at different places, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Train (CST) terminus, where the terrorist operation started at 9-21 PM, the Metro Cinema junction, the Cama and Albless Hospital, outside the Olympia restaurant in Colaba, the lobbies of the Taj Mahal and Oberoi/Trident hotels, and the Leopald Café behind the Taj Mahal Hotel. The terrorists would seem to have chosen the CST for the launching of their strikes because it is named after Shivaji, a Hindu ruler, who fiercely opposed the Muslim rulers of India. Near the Metro Cinema junction, some terrorists hijacked a police vehicle and went around spraying bullets on passers-by.

There were seven incidents involving explosive devices----outside the Taj Mahal Hotel, in the BPT Colony at Mazgaon, three near the Oberoi/Trident Hotels, the Colaba market and inside a taxi.

There were many incidents of throwing hand-grenades---two of them at the Cama hospital and on Free Press Road. Hemant Karkare, the legenday head of Mumbai’s Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS), is reported to have been killed in the incident near the hospital.

There were three incidents of fidayeen style (suicidal, not suicide) infiltration into buildings followed by a prolonged confrontation with the security forces before being killed or captured. These took place in the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi/Trident hotels and in the Narriman House in Colaba, where a Jewish religious-cum-cultural centre is located, headed by a Jewish Rabbi. Jewish people of different nationalities often congregate there. The centre also has cheap accommodation for Jewish visitors from abroad.

According to the local authorities, most of the hotel guests who were subsequently rescued by the NSG, had run into their rooms and locked themselves up when the terrorists forced their way into the lobbies and restaurants and started opening fire. They were not hostages. It is not yet clear whether the terrorists did manage to take hostages and, if so, of which nationalities.

The terrorists took four Jewish people hostages in the Narriman House, three of them Israeli nationals. They were found dead when the NSG made their entry and killed the terrorists. It is not yet known how they died-----through bullet wounds or beheading as the jihadis normally do.

There were over 160 fatalities. The number may go up as the security forces inspect the hotels. According to present indications, the number of foreigners killed was about 10 only--- including three Israelis, two Greeks, one Japanese and possibly two Americans (not yet confirmed ). The terrorists were reportedly looking for people with American, British and Israeli passports.

Almost all the terrorist strikes took place against targets near the sea, indicating thereby that the terrorists, who had reportedly come by sea, were hoping to escape by sea if they managed to survive.

Between 15 and 20 terrorists, who came from outside, are believed to have participated in the operation, The kind of local support they had is not yet clear.

Two of the terrorists are reported to have been caught alive and are presently under interrogation. According to the police, one of them, who gave his name as Ajmal Amir Kamal, is a resident of Faridot, near Multan, in Pakistani Punjab. He identified himself as a member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET). His preliminary interrogation also indicates that the others, who came from outside, also belonged to the LET and had been trained at Muridke, in Pakistani Punjab, where the headquarters of the LET are located.

The Mumbai Police, the NSG, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Mumbai Fire Brigade have confronted the terrorists and handled the crisis in an exemplary manner, of which the entire nation can be proud. Their performance has been as exemplary as the crisis management of their counterparts in New York after 9/11. About 20 officers of various ranks, including the chief of the ATS, an additional Commissioner of Police of Mumbai, and two young and intrepid officers of the NSG have died fighting the terrorists.

The Government of Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and his Congress (I) are back to their denial and cover-up mode. They play down the possibility of the involvement of Al Qaeda despite tell-tale signs of an Al Qaeda stamp on the strikes. They continue to maintain a silence on the role of sections of the Indian Muslims lest any open projection of this cost them Muslim votes. They continue to highlight the role of the LET, but without highlighting the fact that it is a member of Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front (IIF) and that it has many associates in the Indian Muslim community.

I watched with shock and disbelief on the TV, visuals of Karkare trying different helmets and bullet-proof vests before choosing one which suited his build. Here was the most threatened officer of the Mumbai Police and the Government had not even given him a protective gear tailor-made for him. This is a telling instance of the casual way we handle counter-terrorism and we look after our brave officers fighting terrorism.

The Prime Minister has been unwise in reportedly suggesting a visit to India by Lt.Gen.Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for discussions on the Mumbai blasts. One fails to understand what useful results will come out of it. There are strong indications of the involvement of the LET in the Mumbai strikes----either on its own or at the direction of bin Laden and most likely with the logistic support of some Indian Muslims. By failing to act against the LET, its leaders and terrorist infrastructure even after ostensibly banning it on January 12,2002, the State of Pakistan has definitely facilitated its acts of terrorism in Indian territory. By sharing the information collected by us at this stage with the ISI chief we will help him in covering up the tracks of the LET and the ISI before we could complete the investigation. There has been opposition in Pakistan to his visit particularly from the Army.

One should not be surprised if the suggestion for the visit had come from the US and the Prime Minister had accepted it just as he accepted in September,2006, the US suggestion for setting up a joint counter-terrorism mechanism with Pakistan. The American ploy would have been to divert any Indian public anger against Pakistan and the Prime Minister should have firmly rejected it.

Three of the most gruesome acts of terrorism since India became independent have taken place in Mumbai---the March 1993 blasts, the July 2006 blasts in suburban trains and the strikes of November 26-29. It is a shame that we have not been able to protect effectively this city, which is the jewel of India. Mumbai is India’s New York and Shanghai. Look at the way the Americans have protected NY after 9/11. Look at the way the Chinese have protected Shanghai. The immediate priority of the Government should be to set up a joint task force of serving and retired officers from Maharashtra in the Police, intelligence agencies and the Armed Forces to work-out and implement a time-bound plan to ensure that 26/11 cannot be repeated again. Mumbai has till now been the gateway of India. The terrorists have exploited it. We should make it Fortress India. Foreign investors will lose confidence in India if Mumbai, where most of the corporate headquarters are located, can be attacked repeatedly with impunity by terrorists.

The second lesson is that confidence-building measures with Pakistan cannot be at the expense of national security. In the name of confidence-building, there have been too many relaxations of immigration regulations applicable to Pakistan. There has been pressure on the Government for more relaxations from the so-called Indians-Pakistanis Bhai Bhai (Indians-Pakistanis are brothers) lobby. The terrorists have been a major beneficiary of these relaxations. These relaxations have decreased the vigilance of our people. For example, hotels, which immediately used to alert the Police when a Pakistani national or a foreigner of Pakistani origin checked in, no longer do so. According to one as yet unconfirmed report, some of the perpetrators of the attacks on the hotels had checked in some days before the strike and the others came subsequently by boat. If this was so and if the hotels had immediately alerted the Police, the terrorist strikes might have been prevented.

In my view, the terrorist strikes in Mumbai had the stamp of Al Qaeda in the way they were conceived, planned and executed. There has also been a touch of the Hizbollah of the Lebanon, the Popular Front For The Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade and other Palestinian organizations.

The reported use of boats and dinghies for the clandestine transport of men and material for terrorist strikes on land is an old modus operandi (MO) used in the past against Israel. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had copied it from them. The anti-India jihadis have emulated their West Asian counterparts.

The use of boats for transport enables the terrorists to evade physical security checks by road, rail and air. The numerous creeks between India and Pakistan across the Bhuj area of Gujarat enable the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and the pro-Al Qaeda Pakistani terrorist organizations to clandestinely transport men and material by sea. Reports that the ISI had planned to use this MO for helping the Khalistani terrorists in the 1990s had led to the Border Security Force acquiring some boats which could be used for surveillance in these creeks.

The success of the terrorists in evading detection by our Coast Guard and the police reveals a serious gap in our maritime counter-terrorism architecture. If this gap is not quickly identified and closed, the vulnerability of the Bombay High off-shore oil installations and the nuclear establishments to terrorist attacks from the sea would be increased. Many of our nuclear and space establishments----not only in Mumbai, but also in other areas---are located on the coast and are particularly vulnerable to sea-borne terrorist attacks.

The stamp of Al Qaeda is evident in the selection of targets. The Taj Hotel, old and new, the Oberoi-Trident Hotel and the Narriman House were the strategic focus of the terrorist operation. The terrorist strikes in other places such as railway stations, a hospital etc and instances of random firing were of a tactical nature intended to create scare and panic.

The strategic significance of the attacks on the two hotels from Al Qaeda’s point of view arose from the fact that these hotels are the approved hotels of the US and Israeli Governments for their visiting public servants and for the temporary stay of their consular officials posted in Mumbai till a regular house is found for them.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, presently undergoing trial before a military tribunal in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre for his involvement in the 9/11 terrorist strikes, was reported to have told his American interrogators that before 9/11 Al Qaeda had planned to blow up the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi. After the visit of President George Bush to India in March,2006, Osama bin Laden had, in an audio message, described the global jihad as directed against the Crusaders, the Jewish people and the Hindus.

Al Qaeda and pro-Al Qaeda organizations have been critical of India’s close co-operation with Israel and the US. In the past, the ISI had also shown an interest in having Indo-Israeli relations disrupted through terrorist attacks on visiting Israeli nationals in India. In 1991, it had instigated an attack by the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front on some Israeli tourists in Srinagar by alleging that they were really Israeli counter-terrorism experts.

The fact that the number of foreigners killed was small would show that the attacks on the foreigners in the hotels was selective and not indiscriminate. Available reports indicate that the terrorists were looking for American, British and Israeli nationals----particularly visiting public servants among them with official or diplomatic passports.

The only reason for their targeting the British could have been the active British role in the anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan and in training the commandoes of Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG), jointly with an American team of instructors. The SSG was in the forefront of the raid into the Lal Masjid of Islamabad in July,2007, and has been playing an active role in the operations against the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat Valley of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

The terrorist strike has also had an anti-Jewish angle as evident from the raid into the Narriman House and the taking of Jewish hostages there. The targeting of the Americans, British, Israelis and Indian Jews has to be seen in the overall context of not only the anger of some Muslims against the Indian co-operation with the US and Israel , but also the role of the US and the UK in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. One should be prepared for more attacks in future not only on American, British and Israeli nationals, but also on their diplomatic and consular missions and their business interests in India.

The attacks on the foreigners have already disrupted the ongoing tour of India by the English cricket team. it is ironic that at a time when we were considering the advisability of our cricket team going to Pakistan due to the poor security conditions there, foreign cricket teams sould start having fears about coming to India due to the poor internal security in India.Similar nervousness in the minds of businessmen in foreign countries over security conditions in India could be an outcome of the spectacular terrorist strikes.

In the US, Spain and the UK, the terrorist strikes attributed to Al Qaeda were followed by detailed enquiries to identify deficiencies which made the strikes possible and recommend remedial measures, which were implemented. In India, even though we have been facing a series of major terrorist strikes since November 2007, no enquiry has been held. Unless we have the courage to admit our deficiencies and correct them, our counter-terrorism machinery is unlikely to improve. The public has a right to be kept informed of the results of the enquiries and the action taken.

There is a misleading debate started by the Congress (I) on the importance of patriotism in the face of the terrorist strikes. It has been trying to silence criticism of its mishandling in the name of patriotism. It has been citing the example of the US after 9/11. In the US, patriotism did not mean support of the Government, right or wrong. It meant support for all the measures taken by the Government for strengthening the counter-terrorism machinery such as additional powers for the agencies and the police, increase in budgetary allocations for the agencies, tightening of immigration procedures etc. It did not mean silence on the sins of commission and omission of the Government. Electoral calculations seem to be the only motivating factor of the Government’s actions and not national interests and national security----even after the colossal Mumbai failure and the consequent tragedy.

(B.Raman, Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
- Sri Lanka Guardian

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‘Smoking gun’ to harm Pakistan-India ties, fear US experts

by Anwar Iqbal and Masood Haider

(November 29, Washington/New York, Sri Lanka Guardian)US anti-terrorism experts have warned that ‘a smoking gun’ in the Mumbai attacks could not only derail Pakistan-India talks, but also jeopardise Islamabad’s relations with Washington.

Christine Fair, a South Asia affairs analyst for US think-tank RAND Corporation, said that the attacks had raised several questions.

“Was Pakistan involved? “What type of Pakistani involvement was there? Did anyone in the government know?”

She warned that “if there is a smoking gun,” it would have serious repercussions for US-Pakistan and Pakistan-India relations.

“The attacks will increase pressure on the incoming Obama administration to be tough on Pakistan,” she warned.

Bruce Riedel, a former South Asia analyst for the CIA and the US National Security Council who now advises President-elect Barack Obama, agreed.

“This is a new, horrific milestone in the global jihad,” he told The Washington Post.

“No indigenous Indian group has this level of capability. The goal is to damage the symbol of India’s economic renaissance, undermine investor confidence and provoke an India-Pakistan crisis.”

But Ms Fair believed that the attacks were apparently carried out by indigenous Indian militants with some outside support.

“This isn’t India’s 9/11. This is India’s Oklahoma City,” said Ms Fair, referring to an April 1995 domestic attack in the US that killed 168 people.

“It is almost unimaginable that this could have been done entirely by outside militants without Indian involvement; implications are very dangerous,” she told Dawn.

“There are a lot of “very, very angry Muslims in India. The economic disparities are startling,” she said. “This is a major domestic political challenge for India.”

Ms Fair said it was not possible to deny what happened during anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002.

“You have Islamist militants in India and you have a militarised Hindu right; these are small numbers but they feed on each other, without one the other will be difficult to exist,” she said.

Ms Fair said the Indians had a ‘strong incentive’ to link this to Al Qaeda,” but so far no one has presented any evidence to show that Al Qaeda is involved.

Another important question, she said, was how Israel would respond, especially if there’s a Pakistani involvement. “Another important question is: Could this be a reaction to (secret) Pakistan-Israel talks?”

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Namrata Goswami, associate fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, agreed with Ms Fair.

“They want to establish some kind of linkage with Al Qaeda,” she told USA Today. “But I don’t believe it is there. The motive is very, very clear. This outfit wants to attract sponsors abroad. There’s a lot of money in it.”

Ms Goswami also endorsed Ms Fair’s views that Indian Muslims bore plenty of grievances against the Hindu majority. They lag behind economically. And they have been targeted by Hindu extremists; hundreds of Muslims died, for instance, in communal riots in Gujarat in 2002, she said.

Gary Ackerman, a pro-Indian Democratic Congressman from New York, worried about the Mumbai attacks’ implications for the United States.

“The implication for us is that there are bad guys still out there, and we’re going to have to learn how to deal with them, because our friends are getting sucked into this big-time,” said Congressman Ackerman, who chairs the House subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.

USA Today quoted Bahukutumbi Raman, former head of counter-terrorism for India’s intelligence agency, saying that the attackers caught Indian security forces unprepared.

“Till now, we were greeting with glee Pakistan’s incompetence in dealing with terrorism,” he said. “We can no longer do so. We have become as clueless as Pakistan.”

One highly placed US intelligence official, who has been briefed on the attacks, told CNN that the head of the operation was a Bangladeshi and that the militants were Indians, Kashmiris and Bangladeshis. The Indian military had sustained a large number of casualties, the source said.

The experts who spoke to CNN also mentioned another group called the Indian Mujahideen. Despite its relatively new status, the organization is thought to have the organisational capability to carry out such attacks, said Paul Cruickshank, a fellow at the Centre on Law and Security at New York University’s School of Law.

Experts and analysts are warning against rush to judgment.

The New York Times said on Friday “many security experts insist the style of the attacks and the targets in Mumbai suggested the militants were likely to be Indian Muslims, with a domestic agenda” suggesting it may not be the work of Pakistan’s intelligence services or Al Qaeda.

Referring to a claim by a previously unknown outfit ‘Deccan Mujahideen’ that it has carried out the attacks, an Indian security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity with the newspaper, said the name suggested ties to a group called Indian Mujahideen.

The Indian Mujahideen has been implicated in a string of bombing attacks in the country killing about 200 people this year alone. - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Mahaweer’08 & Mumbai Mayhem

IT AIN’T OVER TILL THE FAT LADDIE SWINGS

by Dayan Jayatilleka

(November 29, Geneva, Sri Lanka Guardian) It ain’t over till it’s over, or as the Americans put it, in a reference to the opera, it ain’t over till the fat lady sings. The Mahaveera Day 2008 speech by Velupillai Prabhakaran, one of the world’s most notorious and certainly tubbiest terrorist leaders, demonstrates that there can be no solution to Sri Lanka’s conflict so long as he remains alive and active, and has not been brought to justice. In our case it ain’t over till the fat laddie swings.

In the first place the man is an outrageously unrepentant liar and assumes that everyone suffers from amnesia. In his speech he says that “It may be noted that during the long history of our struggle, we have not conducted any act of aggression against any member state of the international community”. Let us forget for a moment that Sri Lanka is a member state of the international community, a fact that is proved by his complaint in the same speech, of the military and diplomatic assistance that Sri Lanka has obtained from members of the international community on precisely that basis. The man obviously believes that the assassination by suicide bomber of India’s former Prime Minister and (at the time) leader of the Opposition, Shri Rajiv Gandhi, former chairperson of SAARC, son of legendary former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and grandson of the iconic first Prime Minister of independent India, Shri Nehru, is not “an act of aggression against any member of the international community”!

In the second place he lies about the history of negotiations, about the absence of an alternative. There were alternatives for the last two decades or more. In September 1987, the Sri Lankan –or Sinhala, as he would put it—armed forces in the North and east had been confined to barracks, the Indian peacekeepers were the buffer between the Sinhalese and Tamils, and an Interim administration covering the Northern and eastern provinces had been created by Executive fiat. Of the twelve seats on that council, seven, including the chairmanship, were offered to the LTTE, and yet Prabhakaran refused. He opened fire on the IPKF by October 10th that year.

Jump cut to 2003. He had arrived at a ceasefire in 2001, not because he was winning as he claims in this speech (doubtless referring to the Katunayaka attack) but because, several months after Katunayake, the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols of the Sri Lankan Special Forces had begun to pick off his command structure—in short because he was taking some hard hits. In April 2003, forty plus states and multilateral agencies were to attend a donor conference in Tokyo to which the LTTE had been invited. Taking exception to its non-invitation to Washington DC, (to the sympathetic nods of Colombo’s academics and coffee club cosmopolitans) it chose to boycott the Tokyo meeting. No other terrorist or insurgent movement would have done so. Instead, any other movement would have gone to the meeting, used it as a platform and protested its non-invitation to Washington. Prabhakaran did not, because he wants all or nothing and thinks that he, his cause and his movement are entitled to such special status.

Following the LTTE’s pull out from that last “peace process”, Tiger spokesman Anton Balasingham declared in writing that there had been no agreement to explore internal self-determination amounting to federalism within a united Sri Lanka. This provoked the usually mild and compliant Norwegians to release the minutes of the sessions at which this agreement had been arrived at.

If federalism was what he wanted, Prabhakaran had a clear choice: not walk out of the CFA process, not renege on the understanding to explore federalism and not enforce a coercive boycott of the Presidential election of 2005 at which the opposition candidate, in collaboration with the sitting (but outgoing) President, was committed to a bipartisan consensus for a federal constitution.

This is one of Prabhakaran’s many consistencies: the sabotage of any possibility of reform, the assassination of reformists, the foreclosure of reformist alternatives, and then the Big Lie of the absence of alternatives as an excuse to continue or resume large scale armed violence and terrorism.

The other consistency echoes and re-echoes throughout his speech this year. This is the reiteration of a fundamentalist case. There is Tamil land, from ancient days, and there is Sinhala land. The Sinhalese have no right to be present on the Tamil land. Axiomatically the Tamil land must translate itself into an independent sovereign country, Tamil Eelam. There is not the slightest glimmer of any possible solution, however far-reaching, within a united country, a single Sri Lanka.

The international community which boycotts and blockades the elected Hamas administration in Gaza because it does not recognise the right of existence of the state of Israel must eschew all contacts with Tamil separatism which does not accept the bottom line that that any solution – however radical -- must be within the borders of the legitimate sovereign state of Sri Lanka.

Prabhakaran’s speech reiterates the zero sum character of the game. There is nothing in that discourse that is negotiable. It leaves the state only two alternatives: Capitulation and withdrawal or fight on to reunify and reintegrate the whole territory of this small island.

In his speech Prabhakaran clearly indicates where he places his bets: Tamil Nadu, and through Tamil Nadu, India, and Tamils the world over. It is a pan-Tamilian appeal, with hints of a Greater Tamil Eelam as single psychological space, if not an immediately political one.

The Mahaveera speech 2008 coincides with the multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai. There is a pernicious theory which distinguishes between international terrorist networks of “jihadis” and terrorist causes which are home grown and have territorial aspirations. This is nonsense. Every terrorist organization has some territorial referent, whether it is Kashmir or Palestine. As Prof Robert Pape’s research (his data base contains every single terrorist act committed any where in the world going back decades) concludes, every terrorist cause, especially every terrorist cause that deploys suicide killers, sees itself as fighting for the liberation of some territory from some alien domination or presence in one or more geographic location, be it the Taliban, Al Qaeda (US troops on Islamic soil including in Saudi Arabia), Islamic Jihad or the Tamil Tigers.

It is not that no distinctions are observable or legitimate as between various armed movements, but these boil down to the distinction between those who resort to the witting use of lethal violence against non-combatant targets and those who avoid such use. That is the distinction between terrorism on the one hand and armed insurgency, guerrilla warfare, or armed liberation struggles on the other. Terrorism is a method. It is deployed in the service of an array of causes and springs from an array of inspirational sources or distortions of such sources.

Terrorists are not necessarily those who only target civilians. Most terrorist organizations target armed forces at one time or another, while also going for non- combatant “soft targets”. Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the various “jihadi” organizations in areas of Pakistan and Kashmir, attack variously the armed forces of the US and its allies, Pakistan and India—but this does not exempt them from the appellation of terrorist because they also kill the unarmed and the innocent.

Terrorists learn from each other just as medical researchers or athletes or musicians do. They learn from each others’ example and behaviour, tactics and techniques. This is quite irrespective of the differences in their causes and ideologies. South Asia is one of the world’s most volatile and dangerous regions, not least because of the presence of nuclear weapons. Ethnic, religious tribal and kinship ties move across state borders. This draws states into the internal affairs of others. If the states of South Asia do not adopt a consistent policy towards terrorist movements; if there is no united front of states against terrorist movements, all states and societies in the region will suffer, with deleterious consequences for far-flung areas of the globe including the most powerful and affluent.

Prabhakaran is one of the best known names in South Asian and global terrorism. The LTTE is a well-known terrorist “brand”. The fate of the LTE will send a signal throughout the region and the world. Prabhakaran’s speech demonstrates that he is unrepentant in his maximlaism, fanaticism and political fundamentalism. He displays once again and even more than before, the syndrome that most fanatics do: that of Hubris. Hubris, as we know from the ancient Greeks, attracts Nemesis. Prabhakaran and his Tigers have left us no choice if we are to save this island from being split apart on ethnic lines and descended upon by pan Tamil expansionism. Nemesis is awaiting Prabhakaran in the form of the spearheads of the Sri Lankan armed forces, fighting in the mud and rain, but closing in. It must never be forgotten though, that Kilinochchi is the penultimate prize. This war can only end the way it did in Angola with the death of Jonas Savimbi and in Chechnya with the death of Djokar Dudayev and Shamil Basayev. It can only end in the jungles and townships of Mullaitivu where Prabhakaran retreated and recovered from the IPKF and then from the Sri Lankan army after Riviresa. Let none, no factor or force, internal or external, stop or delay Prabhakaran’s rendezvous with Nemesis.

(These are the personal views of the writer). - Sri Lanka Guardian

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Twins in Washington

In lighter mood by Victor Karunairajan

(November 29, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) White House, Washington is agog with great activity with George's brother Chimp Bush visiting for one last time before George and his family move to Texas for good. They may even want to do what Arthur Clarke did and go to Sri Lanka to gaze the stars but for an altogether different reason. Mahinda has indicated a keen interest in this idea in return for a shipment of arms of the kind George and Cheyney keep supplying to desertify Iraq.

Mahinda is also hoping Rumsfeld and "Condolenza" Paddy or is it Rice (?) to join the Washington discards. After all he has already three from the US doing war duties in Sri Lanka.

Chimp Bush lives in Botswana and there is much excitement in Africa - not a country as someone called Sarah from Alaska thought - that Washington DC may become the most popular destination for people of that continent and soon may do what the Irish did some decades ago. If George had continued his seat in Washington using his brother Jeb as proxy, this DC could have become the Vatican of North America politically and its head chosen by Smoking Fires the way the natives of North America falsely branded as Indians did for centuries. And how they do in Vatican.

But now the story is different - the first via space commercial international flight will be between Dulles International (Washington DC, US) and Jomo Kenyatta (Nairobi, Kenya)' also in thinking stage is the first Oceanic Bridge to link New York and Mombasa. The Dulles-Kenyatta flying time should be no more than 11 minutes 11 seconds.

A mix of Irish and African along with Indian and Chinese the already here people in the US which would be inevitable may mean even more beautiful and brilliant people for humanity and ensure more Obamas in the future giving the hope of a better world. The day of the WASP is gone and will be sealed for good when a certain party takes oath of office in January 2009. WASP evidently stands for White Anglo-Saxon so and so!

It is realiably learnt there are plans to change certain sections of the US Constitution so that a President of the United States can choose members of his cabinet from anywhere in the world. A top favourite for such a selection is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India as Secretary for Finance who was supposed to have suggested that the name Rupee replaces Dollars.

Former Russian president Putin is also on the list and Albert Rene of the Seychelles who was most successful in democratizing a one-party state into a multi-party country with a peaceful revolutionary process. No other country ever allowed a deposed head of state by coup to contest for presidency the very man who deposed him. Mahinda R did show some interest but he was promptly told to take good care of the Tamils and grant them equal rights along with his Sinhala majority people.

All these is possible because a man called George Bush cheated his way to become the first unelected president of the US, thanks to another brother Jeb Bush and all that is at fault in the US voting machine. Unable to bear such practices anymore 51 percent of the Americans decided to bring to end such practices. Happily 90 percent of the 51 percent are young folks who are appreciative of the multicultural nature of humanity. Also fortunately 90 percent of 49 percent of the Americans have a vastly accelerated rate of becoming extinct, only species welcome to become extinct.

Now let me introduce you to the two brothers George and Chimp Bush - they, I understand were identical twins but the genes failed when it came to complexion. Whether it failed George or Chimp I don't know. It could be a genetical throwback from generations back just liked White Leghorns could be black and Austrolorps could be white now and then among the chicken breed!
- Sri Lanka Guardian

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Mumbai was a sitting duck

Vice-Admiral Arun Kumar Singh, who retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, had sounded an eerily prescient warning in an article in this journal over six months ago. On May 21, 2008, he wrote that the next major terror attack might come from the sea. ( Read his previous article )

by Arun Kumar Singh

(November 29, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) On the evening of November 26 I was on a TV panel, explaining how the Indian Navy had taken the correct action on November 18, 2008 by sinking a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden. This act marked a refreshing departure from our timid national response to the war on terror. A few hours later I watched the TV in horror and disbelief as news unfolded about the terror strike in Mumbai. It was being reported that the two dozen odd terrorists had come by a mother ship from Karachi, disembarked on Mumbai harbour and arrived at the Sassoon Docks, in high-speed rubber inflatables, with their automatic weapons and heavy bags of ammunition and grenades.

The terrorists obviously had fifth columnists’ help since they went to their 11 targets with pinpoint accuracy and caused mayhem, which flashed across TV screens around the globe. My horror changed to anger and then disgust at the sheer inaptitude of our national leadership to protect our citizens from terrorist attacks. I remember writing an article in The Asian Age of May 19, 2008, where I said: "The next terror attack could be from the sea". I also remember writing another half-a-dozen articles about the urgent need for institutional and legislative reforms, along with accountability, given the experience of how ruthlessly other nations have dealt with terrorists and protected their citizens.

Of course, our politicians and bureaucrats, in their ignorance and arrogance, would have the people believe that "India is unique and we have nothing to learn from others... Besides, our people have resilience".

The customary noises about "bringing the culprits to book" are already being made, while young Army, Navy and police commandoes are again shedding blood to ferret out these terrorists. A few TV debates will take place with a few ignorant participants and the politicians will soon get back to their "election mode," unmindful of the terrible beating India’s reputation has taken by this act. Hopefully, the sacrifices of our young soldiers and sailors during this attack will not be communalised in the way the Batla House shootout in Delhi was, despite police inspector Sharma sacrificing his life at the altar of national security.

At the time of writing this article the Navy had launched a search by ships and aircraft and captured the terrorist mother ship the MV ALFA. which had brought these killers from Karachi to Mumbai. I sincerely hope and pray that the Indian Navy again replicates its ruthless action of sinking a pirate mother ship. This will be the best tribute to the numerous innocent lives lost and will send a signal to our politicians, bureaucrats and citizens that India’s military will act ruthlessly against terrorists.

What needs to be done to prevent a repeat of such attacks? The answers are simple:

Single-window approach to deal with terrorism, modelled on the US’ department of homeland security

Anti-terror legislation with dedicated fast-track "anti-terror courts"

Legislation permitting the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard to stop and search suspected merchant ships before they enter the Indian harbour

Double the strength of the Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Police and intelligence agencies

The ridiculous policy of making an unequipped Port Authorities responsible for port security must be discontinued. Security of all the 13 major ports must be handed over to the Navy and security of the 36 minor ports be handed over to the Coast Guard.

A single-window National Maritime Advisor be created, headed by a professional Naval or Coast Guard officer, and not a bureaucrat

Set up a national electronic anti-terrorist data link and data bank, based on the American system

Co-operation with other maritime nations who face the same threats of terrorism and piracy.

This is a war on terror against a faceless and fanatic enemy. This war is not for the faint hearted, and can only be won by ruthless action. - Sri Lanka Guardian

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