Presidential Message To The Tamil Community Needs To Be Taken At Face Value That They Cannot Be Compromised By the LTTE!

Truly a guiding beacon for Sri Lanka in these turbulent times President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has spoken out in wisdom to the Tamil people when she stated on a TV Interview "Do Not Mortgage Your Destiny To The LTTE But be Free To Determine It Yourselves" where the reality of her statement points to a verifiable consensus that the LTTE indeed do not control the destinies of Sri Lankan Tamil nor do the LTTE have a right to the privilege!

Emphasizing the importance for the Tamil People to collectively decide what was good for them without the dogma, influence, coercion or intimidation of a few LTTE idealogues who have in reality misled and misdirected their trend of thought towards their own posterity, she cited the futility of using LTTE guidelines as a yardstick for their rationalities and advised the Tamil Community that they should pressurize the LTTE to respect democracy, pluralism and human rights at a time when it is most needed which is at the present time and a decisive moment for the Tamil people to take charge of their own affairs which if they did not, and continued to pay homage to the LTTE and their intimidatory tactics they would disentitle themselves to their dues, even if the Sinhalese people wanted to give them their rights as an equal community within Sri Lanka.

The crystal clear clarity with which the President has identified the needs and demands of the Tamil Community offset against those of the LTTE has to be viewed in hindsight as indelible advice given to the the Tamil People of Sri Lanka in their best interests by a Sri Lankan Matriarch who encompasses her entire Nation with compassion and understanding based on a deep concern about the disadvantages an LTTE controlled Tamil Community would face as they re-emerge as free Sri Lankans of a regular order after decades of wasteful and destructive conflict yet with all their entitlements intact without having to look over their shoulders in apprehension of the slave driving mentality of the LTTE should they heed the advise of the President!

There has been no mincing of words on the President's resolve and commitment towards initiating a permanent and lasting peace in Sri Lanka incorporating the rights of all citizens and residents as she addressed the Nation's Tamil Community on the National Television Program "Eye' as she drew attention to the origins of her dedication towards the cause which began in 1993 and has continued thus far. In her own words, once again she has pledged her commitment towards granting rights without compromise to the Tamil People as long as the historical conditions of Sovereign Sri Lanka remained intact (a precondition which hardly needs debating ) where the permanence and long standing nature of her pledge seemed etched in stone and should be cause for elation amongst Sri Lanka's second largest community which should in fact extend to all communities including the Muslims who have always been supportive of Presidential wisdom with the odd exception.

Despite the propaganda which goes on in camps opposed to the President which paint her in the wrongful guise of a dictatorial tyrant she has been very emphatic about the settlement of the Tamil question through negotiations as she gave her assurances of her disinterest in conflict leading to war and illustrated the significant importance of the manner in which the Ceasefire and Memorandum of Understanding with the LTTE had been maintained even after her annexation of the Defence Ministry while commending the responses of the LTTE who in turn showed great respect and dignity towards the peace process in being prepared to negotiate with any Administration unconditionally.

She was highlighting in particular the high profile intelligence reports conveyed to her relative to certain Ministers of the United National Front (UNF) government who are purported to have blatantly and shamelessly requested the LTTE to start a war after she took over the Defense Ministry. The ministers are reported to have travelled to the Wanni to plead with the LTTE to begin hostilities in retaliation to the President's moves in taking over the Defence Ministry to which there was no response by the LTTE although the credibilities of this information have been echoed through the recent voicings of Cabinet Minister Periyasamy Chandrasekeran who openly and blatantly goes about threatening an outbreak of war and his support of the LTTE, quite disregarding consequences both on the LTTE and himself and leaving little to the imagination about Presidential Wisdom and what she has conveyed to the Tamil people.

The Presidential address has also clarified the realities of her party, the People's Alliance (PA) forming a memorandum of understanding with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which a disillusioned incumbent Administration the UNF is greatly critical about while having been overly conciliatory to an armed terrorist group the LTTE whereas the JVP had long ago eschewed violence and had become part of the democratic mainstream.

While the LTTE portrays the JVP as chauvinistic radical Sinhala Nationalists who in their opinion are anti Tamil, it must also be pointed out that they certainly appear to be anti LTTE with justification but willing to accommodate a Tamil Communuity non-aligned to terrorism and also a part of the President's message to the Tamil Community which has to be taken at face value that they cannot be compromised by the LTTE.