Selected Writings - Shan Ranjit

13 September 2000

It is most unfortunate that Tamil Eelam will have a long, tortuous and a porous border with its southern neighbour, Sri Lanka. The southern border of Tamil Eelam will start from Pottuvil – on its eastern side – then go up north close to Vavuniya and then turn south to end near Silabam (Chillaw) - on its western side. One of the biggest threats to the national security of Tamil Tamil Eelam will come from its southern border. The protection of the southern border should be the supreme duty of Tamil Tamil Eelam and its people. There should be no doubt that the enemy will mass most of its army on our southern border and will perpetually create conditions to destabilise our nation. This will not only pose a great threat to the very survival of our nation , but also destabilise our economy.

If you look at the history of Tamil Tamil Eelam, all most all the invasions by the Sinhala army were land based. Most of the invasions came through the Anuradhapura- Vavuniya corridor. Some times the Sinhala army had the support of the Vanni chiefs - who some times acted as a buffer zone between the Tamil and Sinhala kingdoms - in their assault against the Tamils. One of the reasons why the Sinhala kings were able to march in the Tamil kingdom repeatedly was this open and unprotected southern boundary of Tamil Tamil Eelam. However, in a post-independent Tamil Eelam, the invasion can come from anywhere along the southern border. Hence Tamil Eelam and its people should have some sound and practical strategies to vigorously guard its southern border.

It should be noted here that Tamil Eelam will always have one major disadvantage when it comes to defending its border with the Sinhala nation – the numbers. Under no circumstances will Tamil Eelam ever match the Sinhala army in numbers. Conventional wisdom is that no war can be won when your numbers are smaller than that of your enemy. This is a very frightening disadvantage that has to be overcome through some astute and prudent smartness and strategic planning. It can also be overcome with technical superiority, sacrificial qualities, perpetually reminding the Tamil Eelam people about the threat from the Sinhala nation, and a fierce determination to protect the motherland.

Tamil Eelam should consider erecting a permanent physical barrier along its southern border. Such a permanent physical barrier will impede the free movement and incursion of the enemy in to our nation. This permanent barrier will stand out as a symbol, reminding the Sinhala Nation that the separation from them is permanent and non-reversible. It will also remind Tamil Eelam that there is a constant threat from our enemy . Such a permanent physical barrier will remind the future men and women of Tamil Eelam the supreme sacrifices the nation had made to gets its liberation.

There are several ways such a permanent barrier can be constructed. Here are some of the suggestions:

1) Barbed wires and mines: This is the most popular and the least effective. Most of those countries where there is a border dispute have adopted this form of a physical barrier. The barbed wires can be easily cut and penetrated. The mines can be easily detected and deactivated. Once the mines are deactivated and the barbed wires are cut, then the enemy will have free access in to our nation. With the small army Tamil Eelam will have – as compared to the Sinhala nation - it will be near impossible to stationed troops all along the barbed wired border to stop a mass enemy incursion. Symbolically, a barbed /mined border does not represent a permanent and a non-reversible barrier between two nations.

2) Great Wall of Tamil Eelam:

The Great Wall of China is more than 2000years old, stretching a staggering 4500 miles from the mountains of Korea to the Gobi desert. The great wall was built by an ancient Chinese empire to protect its sovereignty and its people from the marauding tribes from the northern part of China. Quin Shi Huang (The Quin dynasty) began its construction in 221 BC. The Han and Ming dynasties that followed the Quin dynasty completed the wall in several stages. The wall not only symbolised the Chinese ingenuity, but also withstood the fierce attacks by the northern tribes. The wall served its purpose- protecting the country and the people.

A similar idea should be considered for Tamil Eelam to protect its border against the Sinhala nation. The wall will be a strong protective barrier for Tamil Eelam. It will also exhibit engineering capabilities and the ingenuity of Tamil Eelam Engineers. Can you imagine the sight of this beautiful wall stretching from Chillaw and winding towards Vavuniya and turning south and ending near Potttuvil? The wall should be at least 50 feet tall with watchtowers every mile. Tamil Eelam can adopt several technological methods that would prevent scaling or the blasting of the wall by the enemy. This will include anti aircraft guns and no fly zones near the wall. There should be at least a 3 to 4 mile sterile zone on the Sri Lankan side manned and controlled buy the Tamil Eelam forces. Certain stretches of the Wall can be utilised for tourism purposes, brining the much need foreign exchange.

I have no doubt such a wall will serve its purpose well. Some may think that such a wall is impossible to build, but if ancient Chinese could do this way back in 221 BC, I have no doubt that Tamil Eelam can achieve this.

3) Great Lake of Tamil Eelam

The idea may sound impractical, but constructing a man made lake or a dam would be an effective way to protect the southern borders of Tamil Eelam. Since the southern parts of the Tamil Eelam will receive the most rainfall , this lake could be a great source for catching and storing the water. The water could be used for both drinking and irrigation purposes. This could be also used for fresh water fishing. With enough security, the lake could be also used for shipping and tourism purposes. The proposed lake will again challenge the engineering potential of the Tamil Eelam engineers and the architects. Again, there should be a three to four mile sterile zone on the Sinhala nation side manned by the Tamil Eelam forces.

Those Tamil Eelam men and women who will guard the southern border of the nation should form one of the elite forces within the Tamil Eelam army. It should be made mandatory for all Tamil Eelam men and women to serve at least one year at the southern border before entering the university. This will remind the young men and women of Tamil Eelam the constant threat the nation faces from its enemy. It will remind the young men and women the sacrifices that their fore fathers made to obtain the freedom from the slavery from the Sinhala nation. The biggest threat to the integrity and sovereignty to Tamil Eelam will come for its Southern border and every effort and sacrifice should me made to protect this border. If Tamil Eelam is not careful and smart enough to protect its Southern border, the hard fought liberation will be easily lost. We will once again become slaves to the Sinhala nation.