The Sri Lankan Army has captured the Tamil Elam nationalists headquarters, Jaffna, in a four day operation called the sunrise. The success may not have Longterm impact on the freedom movement because the Indian Army, too, in its 1987 operation, Pawan, had taken control of the rebel town. The so-called Indian Peace keeping force had taken 12 days to over in the LTTE headquarters. The total strength of the Indian forces was 55000 divided into four and a half divisions while the Sri Lankan Army’s strength involved in the operation was far less, India had suffered heavy causalities with 1155 personnel dead and 2984 wounded.
The Sri Lankan forces, on the other hand, suffered far less Casualties. Military commentators in the two countries are making comparisons between the performances of the two armies to the great embarrassment of the Indian army and political leadership. On India’s part, it is argued that the purpose for which the I.P.K.F. was sent was different from the one assigned to the Sri Lankan forces, The I.P.K.F. was expected to woo Prabhakaran, chief of the LTTE while no such restrictive brief inhibited the Sri Lankan forces. However, the reactions in India to the Sri Lankan operation deserve to be noted. There is much resentment in Tamil Nadu against the Sri ‘Lankan suppression of Tamils in Sri Lanka. In 1987 took the Tamils had expressed their anger but then the Indian media had almost blacked out those reactions. This time, however, there is widespread and pronounced opposition to the Sri Lankan campaign. Even the Bal Thackeray, led Shiv Sena has condemned the Lawea repression of the Tamils. Surprising no one has spoken in Punjab or Kashmir on the Lankan developments.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 22, 1995
