Selected Writings by Sachi Sri Kantha

'Peace Queen' & Pigmy Professors

12 July 2000

[see also Media & the Struggle for Tamil Eelam]

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Tamil allies - the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) and the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamils (PLOT) are now not convinced that the "fresh draft of the new constitution" does adequately addresses Tamil aspirations.

And the representatives of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) had told the President that the proposals are "unacceptable in their present form". So, what is new now?

The 'Peace Queen' who was paraded in the palanquin in the not-so distant past by these palanquin-carriers as the 'only hope for Tamils' is being exposed now as a naked impostor. An unnamed TULF leader (one wonders why he has to remain anonymous - is it because he wishes to curry favors from Chandrika in the future too?) has told the reporter that the presented document is only a 'watered down' version of the original 1995 proposals.

But one does not feel pity for Chandrika. She still retains her aura as a 'Peace Queen' at least among the pigmy professors in India, who themselves parade around the international circuit as 'experts' on South Asian security, U.S. policies and Kashmir conflict-resolution, arms buildup, nuclear and missile proliferation issues and what not.

One member of this pigmy species resides in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and answers to the name of S.D.Muni. He even served as an Indian ambassador to Laos not so long ago. Let me quote some 'pearls of wisdom' which have dropped from the pen of S.D.Muni into the Hindu daily of July 10. In his opinion-piece entitled, 'The LTTE and devolution', Muni has stated,

"The LTTE has sustained itself as a formidable insurgent group by its mastery over terror. However, the perception of its overall military prowess is exaggerated."

This sentence would, indeed,  be very thrilling to Peace Queen Chandrika indeed. Prof. Muni continues further.

"The success of the LTTE's recent military campaign, 'Unceasing waves', is credited more to the disarray and demoralisation in the [Sri Lankan] armed forces. An important factor behind this demoralisation, besides complacency and mismanagement on the part of the [Sri Lankan] Government, was the political rivalry and conflict between the ruling PA and the Opposition UNP."

Well, Prof. Muni has identified only one important factor behind the demoralisation of the Sri Lankan army. Why not mention other important factors such as the military skills of Prabhakaran and his lieutenants, support of the Eelam Tamils residing in the theater of war and other locations?

I'm of the opinion that pigmy professors like Muni are entitled to their opinions when they blurt out that,

"the secret of the LTTE's military prowess lies more in its skill for political manoeuvre than its overall strength and agility on the battlefield".

This is because, otherwise one cannot assess their level of ignorance. Also, in the past other Indian academics such as Praful Bidwai, Nehru Museum Fellow, had dismissed Muni's braggadocio on India's nuclear testing as "nonsensical and crap".

My humble suggestion to Prof. Muni is that, if one happens to project himself as an 'expert on U.S.policies' he should at least bother to educate himself in the revolutionary origin of the USA. Otherwise, no sooner than one hears the cry 'Geronimo', he or she will be exposed as a 'phoney expert'.

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