Firebase Dragon Head: Ping-pong diplomacy with LTTE By Sinniah Gurunathan in Trincomalee

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Ping-pong diplomacy with LTTE By Sinniah Gurunathan in Trincomalee

Tiger guerrillas applied Mao's military doctrine among others during the near two decades of war with Sri Lankan security forces. In what seems a twist of fate, now Mao's ping-pong diplomacy that opened detente with the US in the 1970s, is being used by the Sri Lanka Police to mend fences with the Tiger guerrillas during the ceasefire.

The man behind this new Sri Lankan ping-pong diplomacy is Police Superintendent Daya Samaraweera, currently in charge of the Moneragala division. Before moving in there, he was SP for Trincomalee division. That was where he established a rapport with the Tiger cadres.

SP Samaraweera, President of the Sri Lanka Table Tennis Association has donated Rs 60,000 worth of equipment -- tables, ping-pong balls and racquets among others. The equipment was handed over to LTTE's Trincomalee Sports chief Theepan by the SP at a ceremony at the Provincial Education Ministry in Trincomalee. SP Samaraweera said that the SLTTA was prepared to send trainers to Sampur, an LTTE-held area in Trincomalee, to conduct TT coaching camps.

Sri Lanka Army Brave Hearts

Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful islands in the world with a recorded history of over 7000 years. The majority of the population is Sinhalese which holds 73% of the islands total population. The Sinhalese have been in Sri Lanka for 2500 years and the minority Tamils were settled in Sri Lanka 1800 years ago. There were several ethnic conflicts between Sinhalese and Tamils in the past but with time, it was well solved. In the recent past, after Sri Lanka received freedom from the British over 6 decades ago, there was another issue over the power of politics between the Sinhalese and Tamils. Early stages of the post colonial era conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils were between the Politicians and MP's. After an in-depth dialogue between Politicians in the parliament, the conflict which was initially wrapped around the language barrier, settled within the parliament but did not address the issues among the general public, this resulted in a more catastrophic situation which showed that the base of this issue does not only wrap around the language barrier but also the matter of land played a crucial role in triggering this conflict. The politician's failure to respond to these issues resulted in a war between the Sri Lankan Government and probably the most dangerous terrorist outfit the world has known. Led by their leader, Prabhakaran, this terrorist organization has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Sri Lankan citizens of all races including tamils who went against them. They killed children and mothers, they killed people of all ages. They killed some of the worlds most renowned politicians, bhikkus and priests among others. The LTTE are responsible for the deaths of over 30, 000 soldiers of the Sri Lankan forces. It is estimated that over the last three decades, they killed more than 300,000 civilians. This led to the country's economy going on a downward slope. It was thought that no one could answer this terrorist problem, even with some of the worlds most powerful countries coming into the picture. Then, President Mahinda Rajapaksha came into power. Backed by his younger brother, Secretary of Defense Gotabaya Rajapaksha, General Sarath Fonseka and the combined armed forces of Sri Lanka, they were able to secure freedom for the country. The LTTE leader along with the final remains of his group were permanently silenced at Nandikadal lagoon. Many brave lives were sacrificed for this to happen and also to save civilians from terrorist held areas. With over 30,000 soldiers dead, there are over 20,000 soldiers who were left disabled. These were the soldiers who were on the front lines. Out of this, there are more than 200 completely dependent soldiers. They are unable to go back to their homes as their families don't have the facilities to take care of them. With these factors in mind, the new Army Commander, General Jagath Jayasuriya along with the Sewa Vanitha mothers have initiated a project to build a place for these brave men where they will have every convenience they need. This project, titled 'Brave Hearts' was given this name by Vajira Mahakanumulla, a Creative Director at Triad Advertising (pvt) ltd. The first resort building in Anuradhapura, named 'ABHIMANSALA' was also created by Vajira Mahakanumulla. Funds are needed to build five such places around the country. In order to collect funds for this project, a concert titled 'Tharu dilena rayak' was organized. Two television commercials to spread awareness on this were also produced by Triad Advertising (pvt) Ltd in collaboration with X10 audio and video production house. These commercials were directed by Vajira Mahakanumulla and Dulitha Lokubalasuriya. There was no money spent for this project and everyone involved worked free of charge. Now we hope that you will fund this noble effort for the brave souls who risked their lives to ensure your freedom

Give to those who have given - Hero's week

They died for something that may be trivial to many. A piece of high ground on a salty sand dune, or a landing area in a landmine filled beach, or simply protecting a cadjan bunker in some remote corner of the island.

But when dusk settles on this protracted war, every sacrifice these thousands made will have a reason and purpose.
We should pay tribute to all our fallen heroes who gave their today for our tomorrow.

Remember Them

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and one backward glance when you are leaving, for the places they can no longer go.

Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not always have.

Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.

And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."

Firebase Dragon Head

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Ping-pong diplomacy with LTTE By Sinniah Gurunathan in Trincomalee

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