24 Apr 2006

Sri Lanka: The Wounded Tiger [of Tamil Eelam]
Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, India
Supplied note: "The latest paper of the Institute For Topical Studies, A-2/3, Bharathi Dasan Colony, K.K.Nagar, Chennai---600078, India, on the above subject is now available at the web site of the South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG), New Delhi, at [the URL below] - br."
Extract: "Mr.Rajpakse [i.e. the Sri Lankan President - ed.] has been trying to use the Muslim card in the Eastern Province in order to use the Tamil-speaking Muslims against the Tamil-speaking Hindus and Christians, who constitute the almost total bulk of the LTTE [The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - ed.] cadres and supporters. His reported decision to raise a Muslim regiment in the army is fraught with dangers. 13. The Tamil-speaking Muslims of Sri Lanka, like the Indian Muslims, have till now kept themselves away from pan-Islamic radicalism of the kind propagated by Al Qaeda and the IIF. However, even before Mr.Rajpakse came to power, there were indications of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) trying to extend its presence to the Eastern Province by recruiting members from the Sri Lankan Muslims working in the Gulf. [...] 14. By trying to create and use a Muslim card against the LTTE, Mr.Rajpakse runs the risk of contributing to a pan-Islamic radicalisation of the Tamil Muslim community. It is only a question of time before the Muslim anger against the LTTE, sought to be kindled by him, turns into anger against the civil society as a whole and the Government. Mr.Rajpakse is playing with pan-Islamic jihadi fire. - b. raman."
[The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai - ed.]
URL http://www.saag.org/papers18/paper1773.html
Internet Archive (www.archive.org) [the paper was not archived at the time of this abstract. However, in a few weeks time it will be available at web.archive.org/web/*/www.saag.org]
Link reported by: B. Raman (corde--at--vsnl.com)
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