What a strike for the Sri Lanka Air Force, barely a few weeks after apparently their intelligence capabilities were decisively destroyed, a bunker buster was landed directly on the ‘smiling’ Tiger’s head. Of course the pro-Tiger media and the subservient sections of the Tamil Diaspora are all up in arms that a ‘moderate’ and a ‘peace negotiator’ was targeted by the Sri Lankan government. Seriously, who is dumb enough to take that in?

For one thing Tamilchelvam was never a moderate and there has never been evidence as far as I know that he was one. He was miles away from Balasingham who had to his detriment actually voiced some moderate views, Tamilchelvam was just a smooth operator monkey, trained to jump when Prabhakharan wanted him to. The people who are claiming that this one act is a ‘death to the peace process’ don’t seem to understand that there is no peace process, there has never been a peace process. Prabhakharan has never been and never will be interested in peace, negotiations and settlement. His very existence is built on blood and the spilling of more blood. Without that he loses his power and he will not any under circumstances want that. 

Killing Tamilchelvam strategically was a brilliant move. He was exceptionally dangerous with a smiling visage gave the Tigers the briefest veneer of respectability. You could almost see the naiveté of the foreign dignitaries who met him and gushed giddily about how sweet his smile was. Surely someone with shiny clackers like that could not condone the killings of thousands for one man’s twisted dream, could not be a proponent of suicide bombing? If only Osama had learnt from Tamilchelvam I’m sure he would have been more accepted in the West. He should have flossed and shaved instead of looking like a particularly deranged Father Christmas in his calls for Jihad and he would have had the Norwegians and Canadians cooing over him.

Tamilchelvam was a terrorist, short and sweet and he got what he deserved, which in the world we live in is a rare thing. Targeted assassinations are the way to go, this war can be won, this peace can be won only by eliminating the old guard in the LTTE. Prabhakharan, Pottu Amman and the others who have nursed a nascent struggle for liberation and rights and twisted it into a bloodthirsty battle for one man’s supposed divinity have to be eliminated. Hopefully a somewhat moderate leadership will arise in its place and that combined with a political package aimed towards devolution, minority rights and economic development of ALL parts of the country might stand some chance of achieving peace.