Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The legend of Prabhakaran

Sinhalese officials have photographed what they claim is the body of Prabhakaran, the leader of Sri Lanka’ s LTTE rebel group.  The LTTE were defeated late last week in a very bloody battle in the lagoons of the Jaffna district.  Now, the government claims, comes proof that the rebel is dead.

Almost immediately, rumors began that the announcement was a lie—Prabhakaran is known for having numerous body doubles to help him evade capture, and there was also the fact that the government claimed to have Prabhakaran’s ID tag, which his supporters contend he never would have carried with him. This evidence, they say, suggests that a double was killed and not the genuine article.

It is sort of a moot point whether Prabhakaran the man is dead, since by all accounts the ability of the LTTE to make war has been destroyed by their defeat.  What matters more for the future is the fate of Prabhakaran the symbol, which seems to be alive and well.  Already, stories coming out of the war zone paint him in an almost mythical light- the BBC claims that he tried to break through enemy lines in a speeding ambulance only to be ambushed by a team of commandos.  The ambulance burst into flames, but Prabhakaran somehow escaped, burned but alive. Later, in “fierce fighting” he apparently fell in a hail of gunfire still wearing his tiger-striped camouflage.

These politico/militaristic generalissimos always seem to be 90% legend and 10% men, which is why it comes as little surprise that “Prabhakaran” lives on.  The fate of his legend will no doubt be a good barometer for the mood of the Tamil people as they work to establish a place in an unknown Sri Lankan future.