ISAS Briefs

The military debacle suffered by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should not come as a huge surprise to any keen observers of the Sri Lankan developments. This is not the first time that the LTTE has been thrown out of its stronghold in Kilinochchi and is being pushed into the jungles of Mullaithivu. It happened 12 years ago under Chandrika Kumartunga's presidency and it also happened when the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) had to take on the LTTE during 1987-89. The myth of the LTTE's military invincibility was consciously built up and nursed both by Tamil and Sinhalese vested interests as well as the media.