Gota's War : The Crushing of Tamil Tiger Terrorism in Sri Lanka

by C.A. Chandraprema

This book tells the story of the war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka in the context of the wider political conflict which began in 1956, with the introduction of Sinhala as the official language of the island. In January 2008, the FBI ranked the LTTE as the world's deadliest terrorist organization outranking even Al Qaeda. Yet by May 2009, the LTTE military organization lay completely annihilated by President Mahinda Rajapaksha's government. At the center of it all, coordinating the war effort with the armed forces, stood the President's brother and Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa - soldier turned IT professional turned public servant. This is the story of how a small island nation turned the tide after a 30 year war, with a terrorist organization which not only had armed militants but also an air force and navy wing. It is the first time in recent history where a terrorist organization was eliminated and how it happened.

Genres: History, Military Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[The Book Nazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal account of Sri-lankas Uncivil war by C A Chandraprema takes you to the roots of the problem starting in 1956. The political power games played by prominent politicians and I'd rather not mention the neighboring wannabe big bother state that gave rise to a monster that consumed many innocent lives.

I have never read a book written about Sri-lankan Uncivil war, so I was a bit cautious starting with this book. Chandraprema gives a good account of how things kicked off with the Majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, leading to the whole land grab scenario through terrorism.

Most people have argued a lot about the name. I really don't give a toss. I just wanted to learn about the war. I expected to know a lot more about the protagonist. All Chandraprema does is mention his early years of how he joined the army and was a great soldier during the break out of the war between the Govt forces and LTTE. The reader is left wondering what the heck did he do after retirement in the early 1990's. Some may even think that Gota ran away from the Army without facing the ruthless terrorists; That would be a fruitless argument, He served twenty good years and resigned without being hit or injured. At that time Chandraprema mentions that the morale of the Military was at an all time low and the Army was suffering the worst casualties due to the mishandling of the war by ruling politicians who aimed to appease the LTTE. It's his return after Mr.Rajapaksa was elected president, that fired the devil on all cylinders to win the war in 2009.

Also Sarath Fonseka is mentioned in the most passivest tone for a guy who commanded the only military force to defeat a terrorist force that used Suicide bombings before the Taliban. The man is looked at from a negative point of view and I feel full credit should be given where credit is due. After all Chandraprema should be fair and look at both the people who were prominent military faces of the war.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the offensive operations by various divisions of the military. At the same time it's one of those books that made my blood boil because all that is mentioned could have been prevented.

[Chaturanga Kasun · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book !!
This reveals all about LTTE terrorism and how SriLanka faced it !
Gota sir, what a leader you are !
respect you sir.

[Ashok Dullu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A balanced account of the Final war against Terror.....a manual for people involved in arresting the anti national forces ......all countries to take lessons to understand that do not let problems linger on till only a surgery becomes a solution.....

[Aeshan · Rating 5 out of 5]

an excellent in-depth strategic study of the civil war , major events and analysis of the factors behind them.

[Laxshen · Rating 1 out of 5]

A poorly written book that calls a liberation organization a terrorist organization. The Sri Lankan Army has killed over 169.000 innocent Tamil civilians alone by continuously bombing them in last stages of the war. The ITJPs has released in their investigations the horrible crimes that the Sri Lankan army committed in the last stages of the war.

The author himself was responsible for the death of countless of innocent Sinhalese civilians in the late 80s.

Source : https://www.colombotelegraph.com/inde...#

[Harith Kotelawala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt more biased to one side when it comes to relationship between Gota and SF.
Also facts are not well organized properly.

[Anura Priyadarshana]

good