Opinion - Letters to the Editor

LTTE's `confession'

Sir, — The much-awaited press conference at Killinochchi has not thrown any new light on anything vis-a-vis the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. The LTTE chief, V. Prabakaran, has only reiterated (with some help from his chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham) their known position on the Eelam, lifting of ban on the LTTE and better ties with India.

If there was something new it was Prabakaran's `confession' that the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi was "a tragic incident". But the problem is, the LTTE chief is the architect of many such "tragic incidents".

To Mr. Balasingham, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination may be a thing of the past, "something that happened 10 years ago". But to every Indian the assassination is still a grim reminder of the extent to which the LTTE chief would go to realise his despotic dreams.

Even though the LTTE chief was not ready to accept the obvious, everyone knows that it is the global drive against terrorism that has made him change his stripes for a safari suit and woo India (read: some Tamil politicians) with a vengeance.

It is naive of the LTTE to think that a ruthless despot automatically becomes a statesman when he addresses a press conference clad in a safari suit. And, Prabakaran is no Yasser Arafat.

Raghav Venkatesh,
Gulbarga, Karnataka

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Uneasy allies
• Consolidating grassroots democracy
• The salariat strikes back
• Has communalism changed? — II
• Pitching for a larger role in S-E Asia
• LTTE's `confession'
• The wait continues
• Wrong in two ways
• Defeat him
• Issues for Bench
• Powers to panchayats
• Pension scheme

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu