Sri Lanka declares victory as troops close in on Tamil Tigers

[Turborama]

Source: The Telegraph (UK)

Sri Lankan troops closed in for what they said would be the last hours of their 25-year war against Tamil Tiger rebels on Saturday night, claiming their foes were planning to commit "mass suicide" rather than surrender.

By Colin Freeman
Last Updated: 6:47PM BST 16 May 2009

Cornered by the Sri Lankan army on a tiny spit of coastline along with up to 20,000 civilians, the rump of the Tiger force was said to be fighting hand-to-hand in an effort to defend a territory the size of several football pitches.

But the Sri Lankan miltary said intelligence reports indicated that the few hundred remaining fighters had been ordered to take the cylindrical cyanide capsules which they keep hanging around their necks at all times. The movement's ruthless leadership decrees that if facing imminent capture, fighters should poison themselves rather than being taken alive.

According to a Sri Lankan ministry of defence statement, the Tigers were "preparing for a mass suicide after being effectively cut-off of escape routes, both land and sea, and now encircled in a mere 3.5 square kilometres (1.3 square miles) of land."


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/srilanka/5335734/Sri-Lanka-declares-victory-as-troops-close-in-on-Tamil-Tigers.html

[Turbineguy]

1. It will be good when this is over.

Having been to that beautiful island a number of times, it will be a benefit to all those who live there when this ends. Whatever the original objectives may have been, the cost was completely out of proportion.

[Posteritatis]

2. Toronto might get ugly

Several hundred thousand Tamils and no small number of other Sri Lankans in town. The former have been in the streets for weeks, and folks seem to be worried that there might be violence there as a result of this.

[ohio2007]

4. will they take it to the streets of China town or are they not going to pursue the issue after

the tigers surrender?

[riverdeep]

3. This conflict is one of the longest civil wars in modern history.

Usually, one side or the other has massacred or driven off the other by now.

The Tamil's wear a cyanide vial to take instead of getting caught. Certainly not the first to be taught to commit suicide if caught, the Japanese samurai committed suicide on the battlefield, but it brings to mind how important the Geneva conventions are. The main reasons combatants have committed suicide is to show their loyalty to the home party, but also because they knew what would happen if they got caught- often horrifying torture and death. Why did we have such an easy time in Gulf War I? Part of it was because of overwhelming force, but part of it was the Iraqi soldiers committing mass surrender. If they had decided to hunker down, it would have been much worse. And why did they give up so quickly? Because they knew that the Americans would not torture and kill them. Our goodwill* saved both Iraqi and American lives, while getting the 'mission accomplished'.

From what I understand, the Tamil Tigers were also among the first to use female suicide bombers.

*'Highway of Death' excepted, a controversial strafing of retreating Iraqis.

[Turborama]

5. It's interesting you mention the Highway of Death...

Just yesterday I was considering starting a thread on GD about the very graphic photos taken by Peter Turnley, but never got round to it.

If anyone wants to see them, click on the pic below...

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0212/pt_intro.html">

[Muttocracy]

6. Sri Lankan Rebels Declare 25-Year War at "Bitter End"

NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/world/asia/18lanka.html

By SOMINI SENGUPTA and SETH MYDANS
Published: May 17, 2009

NEW DELHI — The ethnic Tamil separatist rebels of Sri Lanka, one of the world’s most feared and enduring guerrilla movements, acknowledged Sunday that their war of more than a quarter-century for a homeland had “reached its bitter end.”