tgif and the ltte

even for a friday yesterday was an unusually bright day for the ltte. first there was the killing of media personalities sinnadurai selvarajah and his wife relangi selvarajah in broad afternoon sunlight at their office in bambalapitiya. they had been ardent and vocal supporters of minor tamil groups opposed to the ltte. around 1 pm gunman walked into their office opposite st peters college and pumped the couple full of bullets and walked out again.

and then later in the day, around 11 pm, we had the killing of lakshman kadirgama. for good measure, elsewhere in the country, the ltte also shot dead a police sergeant.

however it’s the killing of our foreign minister which will make the most noise around the globe. educated, charming and articulate he was firmly anti ltte and against the formation of a separate state. as he was a tamil the ltte considered him a traitor. it was he who lobbied western governments, america and britain in particular, to ban the ltte. and he was vociferous and firm in his opposition to their policies.

it’s a hazy saturday morning in colombo. the city is quiet. a state of emergency is yet again in place in our blighted country but there is no sign of any visible increase in security. to those who urged a return to war the morning may be slightly alarming as their wishes may about to be granted. as for the ltte, they are probably having a hangover from the night before. less people who opposed them are alive this morning than yesterday.