Mr. Athas, it is the truth that you rape - Reportage most foul on
the Muhamalai battle
 Mr. Athas, the "defence" correspondent for various
international and local media has again laid bare the role he has been
playing so feverishly in the terrorist propaganda machine. His item
headlined "Aftermath of Muhamalai" published in The Sunday Times on 27th
of April, shows his great skill in misleading the public, desire to
demoralize troops, and the need to give propaganda mileage to the
terrorists.
In his article he says, "the Truth is the first
casualty in Sri Lanka"; yet, in our view it is the truth that he
regularly rapes for the journalistic treachery he is engaged in. We
stand by this position with good grounds and urge those reputed news
agencies to be cautious of the falsehoods spread by this "defence"
correspondent, analyzing the battlefront from the armchair at his home
front or the bar rooms of his gossip front.
Since defence.lk has already published a detailed
description of how the battle had unfolded at Muhamalai and on the
underpinning strategy of the army's course of action, we do not intend
to repeat the same. However, Mr. Athas in his so-called SITREP gives a
different account of the events to imply that the Defence Ministry had
lied to the public on the reality of the battlefront. According to his
propositions, the Sri Lanka Army had suffered a great military debacle,
mainly due to poor planning and leaking out of military secrets. Also,
his report though lacking in any substantial figures, attempts to show
that it had given the lie to the casualty figures and damages reported
by defence authorities.
Propaganda or psychological operations when it comes
to the strict military terms, is a part and parcel of military strategy.
Professional journalism however should be free from such propaganda
elements and stick to the details without being biased or trying to hide
information from the public. If Mr. Athas is in fact a defence
correspondent knowledgeable on the subject, he should have reported what
the sources told him rather than manipulating the information to give a
misleading picture to suit his own agenda. In reality of course, no such
absolutely free or unbiased media exists, as the work of the media
person is always influenced by his personal values and the requirements
of the media institution he or she works for. However, Mr. Athas's work
is far beyond an acceptable level of bias stemming from such unavoidable
factors and can be identified more with propaganda than true journalism.
Propaganda is not essentially a wicked operation. It
is an attempt to persuade persons to accept a certain point of view and
or to take action as desired by the propagandist. For instance,
defence.lk being a state run website always sticks to the official
versions of the battlefronts and does not report what LTTE says, unless
there is a need for response on the part of the government. Unlike some
independent journalists, government media has to act responsibly towards
the government which in turn represents the people's interests and,
therefore, cannot go on publishing whatever crap, just to earn another
penny. Thus, as responsible media elements we are obviously supportive
of the soldiers and not the terrorists, and do everything to keep their
morale high. This is the absolute truth that we do not deny. However,
the guiding principle of our work is that "the truth is the best
propaganda". This is the policy of most reputed news organizations of
the world, too.
For "defence" correspondent or analyst like Mr. Athas,
it is perfectly all right to report the government's and LTTE's versions
of any event. However, reporting falsehoods, citing undeclared or
imaginative sources is certainly unacceptable, especially when the issue
is about national security. It should be noted that it is with regard to
the following facts and not for anything personal that we denounce the
latest report of Mr. Athas:
Firstly, Mr. Athas makes a ridiculous argument that
security forces commanders had divulged to the enemy some "secret"
information about a planned operation during a media visit. He says
those "Army officers in the peninsula gave the visiting media a detailed
briefing of the ground realities" and "Their accounts made it
unequivocally clear that the Army proposed to open a new front". Then he
goes on explaining his own description of the Wanni front, showing
nothing but his lack of knowledge on the ground realities. Thus, if Mr.
Athas is correct, troops had tried to open a new front at Muhamalai and
military "media experts" had jeopardized the military operation by
giving the information to the enemy before hand. At least that was what
Mr. Athas wants his readers to believe.
We honestly do not know when Mr. Athas last visited
Muhamalai, or whatever other battlefront that he explains. However, his
flamboyant description of Muhamalai terrain is obviously exciting and
shows he has some knowledge of general conditions of the area. Yet, what
he does not seem to know is where the two FDLs lie and that the battle
has been on at the Muhamalai front for months. Troops have been engaging
LTTE bunkers on 3 frontiers, i.e. Muhamalai, Kilaly and Nagarkovil in
the Jaffna theatre of battle and defence.lk has been publishing
summaries of all situation reports received from these fronts almost
everyday. Also, Mr. Athas seems to be unaware that the distance between
the two FDLs is just about 700m to 1km so that the two sides can
actually witness activities on each other with the naked eye at daytime.
As Mr. Athas had rightly suggested in his article the
attack was well connected to the intelligence reports that the
terrorists were preparing for another attempt at Jaffna FDL. Though it
is quite intriguing how Mr. Athas has lured security forces personnel to
give him information on secret intelligence reports. We have to say that
the person or persons who commit this crime whilst being paid by the
public to stay loyal to the government, seems to have failed to do their
job well for Mr. Athas. What he had failed to find out was that most of
the intelligence reports on a possible attack were based on field
observations rather than any other source.
Thus, there is no basis for Mr. Athas's argument that
the army was preparing to open a new front because it has been already
opened, and there is very little secrecy that either party can keep with
regard to the battle preparations in this particular terrain. Though,
Mr. Athas uses the term "guerrilla" to avoid calling the LTTE a
terrorist group; the term itself is wrong in the issue at hand because
whatever battle that happens here is so overt and almost conventional.
The second point Mr. Athas uses to discredit the
defence authorities is by confusing the readers with deliberately
distorted information on how the battle was conducted. He says if one is
to accept the official version as correct, the terrorists must have
launched a surprise attack, and if so there had been a serious lapse in
the army defences which had caused the death for some 47 soldiers. Then,
he again shows his understandable anger towards the people in the
military media units by trying to connect that "lapse" with the media
tour facilitated by them. Thereafter, he goes on a different version
quoting some "officers and men" lured by him to give away information,
may be for some personal gain, that the Muhamalai battle was actually an
offensive but not a counter offensive. If that version is correct,
troops had been ensnared by the terrorists by a feigned withdrawal and
then taken by surprise. Whatever the version may be, Mr. Athas's aim is
the same; to show the battle as a great military debacle caused by the
incompetence of defence authorities.
If one goes through the defence.lk debrief of the
whole episode, he/she would understand how Mr. Athas has distorted the
information. First of all, it should be understood that unless for
well-prepared and alert troops the terrorist would have breached the
army first line of defence. It is of course the formidable nature of the
army defence that halted the attacking terrorists in the middle of the
night and not any lapse in defences. None of the soldiers had died in
this initial attack as claimed by Mr. Athas but they found six bodies of
LTTE cadres while on the track of the enemy. However, the operation was
not of course limited to absolute defensive action. It was soon turned
into a counter offensive as we mentioned very openly in our debrief. It
was a tactical decision taken on the prevailing ground conditions but
keeping well aligned with the army's overall strategy to defeat
terrorism.
As Army Commander has mentioned several times, the
army's strategy is aimed at eliminating the terrorist outfit than in a
land grabbing operation. Thus, the tactical commanders in the area had
seen a possibility of inflicting a huge damage to the enemy who had come
with their best fighting cadres, and taken the initiative to march
forward with the retreating enemy. It should be noted that marching to
the enemy defence is not an unusual thing for the soldiers, as each and
every LTTE bunker reported to have been destroyed so far in the Jaffna
theatre was possible only after such venture.
On the other hand, the operation cannot be compared
with a major thrust in anyway, as attempted by Mr. Athas. Not a single
battle tank was used in this operation. It was the infantrymen who moved
in to the terrorists' first line of defence with the support of
artillery fire. Many soldiers were killed while fighting face to face
with the enemy before the capture of the LTTE's first line of defence
but not because they were taken by surprise while marching forward. A
large majority of the soldiers were killed due to LTTE heavy artillery
and mortar fire whilst trying to hold the captured LTTE defence. All
those facts were given to the public without any censorship.
The decision taken by the ground commanders may not be
the most brilliant military decision in the world. Naval and Air support
would have been very useful indeed, but the opportunity perceived by the
ground commanders at that moment might not have permitted a complicated
joint operation. Also, it is obviously unfair to say that the soldiers
died in vain. They obviously achieved their mission by giving a fatal
blow to the terrorist outfit. Not only some 160 of the LTTE's best
fighting cadres were killed, but the army could also push forward its
defences. This was much evident by the LTTE's desperate attempts to hide
its own casualties and to show its defeat as a victory. This is why the
LTTE has made another abortive air strike, carried out a civilian
massacre and possibly used people like Mr. Athas to write a heavily
wired story like this.
Thirdly, Mr. Athas, as usual, does not forget to touch
his most favourite aspect of writing, which is to enrapture on deaths
and casualties of soldiers. Though he does take great care to not give
an exact death figure, he makes many hyperbolic statements to show that
hundreds of soldiers have perished in what he called a "serious military
debacle". Cunningly, mingling his own statements with those made by the
controversial NGO, the Free Media Movement (FMM), he tried to show that
the government had extenuated its own damages. Commenting on the FMM
protest over the government's decision to prevent cameramen entering
hospitals, Mr. Athas says "it is highly likely that these measures have
been taken after heavy losses (numbering in the hundreds) faced by the
Sri Lankan Army earlier this week after fighting intensified in the
North". Obviously, this decision was taken in good faith to prevent
people with sinister motives like Mr. Athas using them for propaganda
campaigns. It is still too early to forget how Mr. Athas used
photographs of Anuradhapura airbase to mislead the public.
If Mr. Athas wants the latest death toll of
soldiers on Muhamalai battle, it has settled at 91 at the time of
writing this. This includes the number of bodies handed over by ICRC and
those soldiers who succumbed to their injuries after admission to the
hospital. We have already given the number of casualties that even
exceeds the number given by Mr. Athas. The number of missing soldiers at
present is 3. To be realistic, there is a great possibility that these
soldiers too had died and their bodies must have been destroyed due to
artillery shells.
The plot thickens, as Mr. Athas says, "there were
reports from Kilinochchi that an unknown number of soldiers were taken
as prisoners". However, the intriguing fact is that his informants in
Kilinochchi had not been frank enough for Mr. Athas to declare the LTTE
casualties. He simply says, "the LTTE remained silent over their
casualties". It is unfortunate that quality and unbiased journalism of
Mr. Athas comes to the surface only when he talks about LTTE. Also, his
" officers and men" in the armed forces who do espionage for him seemed
to have failed to inform about the radio monitoring reports of LTTE
casualties obtained by electronic warfare cells. Or else, he might have
opted to remain silent on them. Whatever it is, we would like to call
any organization that takes Mr. Athas's service to verify the army
casualty figures and radio monitoring with us so that we will prove that
no detail has been withheld.
Finally, we would like to recall our readers, that
real battle is neither like a game of cricket that can be given live and
in detailed coverage nor is it like a trailer of a box office film as
claimed by Mr. Athas. The situation is utterly confusing that no
accurate detail can be given until the battle itself ends. This is the
same reason why defence.lk initially reported the Muhamalai incident as
an offensive. The first report that we received at 6.30 a.m was that the
troops had captured the LTTE's first line of defence. It is only minutes
after we had posted the news that we received information that it was a
counter offensive. We would try our best to give our viewers the correct
and the fasted coverage of battlefield incidents as they unfold.
However, a comprehensive report can be possible only after debrief is
given. Also, it is not advisable to give live updates of a battlefield
situation on all occasions. Real-time damage reports are vital for the
damaging party to know the accuracy of their attacks.
To understand the strategy behind this operation one
has to read the elucidatory explanation given by the commander of the
Army. Tzun Zu, the ancient war expert has said, "While we have heard of
stupid haste of war, we have never seen a clever operation that was
prolonged. History has shown that there has never been a country
benefiting from prolonged warfare".
Thus, people like Mr. Athas who make money out of war
would definitely hate to see an end to it. He would continue to attack
the institutions and people behind successful military operations and
try to bring discredit on them. Such treachery, if allowed to be
continued for long, can seriously reduce the morale of the troops, their
confidence over their commanders, and the much-needed public support to
the government at war. This is what Mr. Athas has dedicated his life
for. If anyone needs to know about a truly successful propagandist, one
has to study Mr. Athas's work. The subtle way he gains acceptance for
his work is truly remarkable. Whilst talking about a great loss to the
soldiers at the hands of his "guerrillas", Mr. Athas does not forget to
provide lip service to troops saying that the troops were fighting
"valiantly", they were making "sacrifices to the motherland", and etc.
Still when the blood of the innocent is wet at Piliyandala, murdered by
Mr. Athas's guerrillas, he subtly turns the public anger towards the
government whilst purging the terrorists of guilt. What's more, he then
strengthens the LTTE's motive for the heinous crime, i.e. to instil fear
psychosis among the public; by announcing loudly "the guerrillas have
opened new fronts in the Central Province". The End of the World would
come for the Sri Lankans if they ever try to defeat the terrorists, is
the message that Mr. Athas wants to convey.
Talking about the military debacles, one does not have
to go far beyond in the short history of Sri Lanka's war against
terrorism. What had happened in Mullaithivu, Pooneryn, Elephant Pass,
and Mankulam are just few of the bitter experiences owing to the land
grabbing strategy used against terrorism. One should not forget that it
was the successive governments that had allowed the small group of
insurgents to evolve into the most dangerous terrorists outfit in the
world, barely with in 30 years. Also, it would not be difficult for all
discernible people in Sri Lanka to understand that terrorists have
suffered unprecedented defeats under the present administration. This is
why present military leaders have become the bete noir of those who
support terrorism, who are hell bent to discredit on them by whatever
possible means.
On the other hand, if a terror outfit like LTTE has
been allowed to evolve in to the present level, one cannot expect a war
against them to be a bed of roses. The soldiers have to fight with the
deadly enemy but with less space and freedom to operate. This obviously
requires commitment, courage, confidence and selfless sacrifice on the
part of the soldiers. Thus, if one wants the soldiers to be defeated at
the battle, the best way to do this to break their discipline. People
like Mr. Athas who try to plague the forces with disloyalty, suspicions,
disobedience, rumours, etc are those who are skilled in this.
Therefore, defence.lk vehemently denounces Mr. Athas's
reportage on the Muhamalai battle over the figurative meanings it has,
malicious connotation, and the overtones of bias and partial or complete
falsity which are attached to it. We consider his work as seriously
offending to the soldiers who are fighting valiantly at the battlefront,
as well as to the people who supports them at heart.
Obviously, neither giving away of honest information
nor ballyhoo will substitute for solid performance. Defence.lk assures
its viewers that this reality has been well understood by the soldiers
and their commanders at the battlefront unlike home front defence
analyst. The ultimate aim is to rid the country of the scourge of
terrorism and to make her a better place for the future generations.
What soldiers need at this moment is for all law abiding people in this
country to share this vision.
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