The Tamil liberation struggle has gone through many stages, inching forward, despite many contrary winds, con-men, and cock-sure betrayals.  But as they say, the dogs bark, and the caravan moves...towards its destiny.

In recent years, much has been said and ink spilled about the Tamil suicide bombers; both from scholarly quarters and from 'know-it-all' squatters. Many a dilapidated pundits come out of the wood works, as it were, and they have demanded that, suicide bombing in general has to be 'legally banned' or be made illegal and be considered as war crime. 

Fair enough.

But if that is the argument in a flat world, then there is of course, an other side of the coin.

If suicide bombing is illegal, immoral etc; etc; how about all the aerial bombing (Sri Lankan Air Force) of all the civilians - women, infants, children, men...this happens all the time in the Tamil territories in Sri Lanka.  And stealth bombings kill and maim more people than a human bomb. No one seem to stop it as illegal!

Of course, one wouldn't want to look at these questions purely in an abstract way. None can avoid however, the human element and the moral dimension.

One action (ie; indiscriminate aerial bombing) cannot be right and legal when the other is a total taboo - at least in 'legal' terms.  The whole bloody war against the Tamils in Sri Lanka is glaringly ILLEGAL.

 Within the Tamil resistance movement, it is no secret, human bombs have been utilised against military targets and for other defensive actions.  The one who becomes a human bomb cannot be forced into it; nor is s/he promised, at least in the Tamil struggle, a heavenly abode.  It is seen purely as a self-giving; self-less action for the liberation of the oppressed.  Rights or wrongs of the argument is another matter. 

In a regular sense, a soldier goes out to war carrying weapons, knowing that s/he would be killed in action. However, as chance would have it, s/he might survive.  But a human bomb becomes that very weapon and aims at a specific target.  Is this viewed as sacrifice - tiyagam? It is well-known that in the Tamil struggle, the ones who die as human bombs are seen not as suicide bombers - tatkolai.  There action is understood as tatkodai - self-giving. A willing action of a soldier - Maviran.

Fredom is a gift - kodai, when that freedom is denied; humans will do any thing and everything to achieve it.  That is what history teaches. But the lesson is yet to be learnt.

ALL oppressive systems must be declared as illegal. And therefore discarded. At least in theory. 

Until full liberation is earned, history will have to repeat it self.