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Even if the parties involved in the Peace Process as it stands now resume the progress made thus far by picking up the threads where the talks have superficially broken down and begin proper communications relative to the Nation's needs it may result in a "back to square one "scenario where both parties stand to lose not only their credibilities in the eyes of the Nation's population ( if they already haven't ) but also in the eyes of the International Aid Donors who are more than likely to ask many questions about why the priorities seem to be mixed up on both sides and whether the motivation is more of a personal gain basis rather than that of war torn Nation?

The resultant fallout could be calamitous and regretful should the donors pull out of their commitments where the Peace Process would then stand out as a joke with little or nothing accomplished as Nation Rebuilding after the needless ravages of an internal armed insurrection cannot be accomplished by wordplay alone! Nor sabre rattling with veiled threats about the alternate routes which might be taken as mumbled by certain rather confused individuals of the LTTE camp, some of whom have assumed an ambiguous attitude towards the responsibilities of negotiations upto the present and consequently have been responsible for its breakdown without ever being qualified for the task!

Then there is also the likelihood that the most important questions which bear to mind logically would relate to the legality of the LTTE who have been condemned and outlawed Globally by the powers that be and their right to handle any form of aid considering their staus quo. Questions which could also reach into the areas of capability of the Administration to bear the responsibility of channeling the vast amount of money involved towards Nation building , which areas it would entail and whether it can be entrusted with the integrity required to carry out an honest operation without a lining of private pockets based on the track records of some past instances where glaring and blatant misappropriations of Foreign Aid ended up in the wrong hands and wrong bank accounts! Questions which are more than likely to influence the final decision taken by the aid donors with whom both the Government and the LTTE seem to be playing Russian Roulette !

Considering the amounts in total some 2 Billion US Dollars, a rather fat carrot! eyed by both donkeys (an analogy with a metaphor in mind) in the Peace Process where one is already disentitled to any of the proceeds by virtue of their legality and whether they rightfully represent those whom they say they do and the Administration probably now viewed skeptically also by the Donors unless their commitment to utilise upto the last penny for the rebuilding of lives and livelihood of the poor, displaced and war ravaged of the Nation is absolutely credible.Poor innocent civillians who have suffered for two decades and have waited for what seems an eternity towards a redressing of their abject needs whose hopes even now could be dashed!

Perhaps the LTTE have carried expectations about their chances of being directly involved with the disbursement of Aid towards what they present as rebuilding as well as a clandestine thought towards supplementation of their real needs relative to the severing of their major supply routes financially and otherwise through proscription and a viable means for their fortifications of an agenda which has nothing to do with Nation Building. Visibly emphasized by their continued push towards arms proliferation, recruitment of cadre and the continued haggling with the Government and wrongly superimposed mediators Norway whose keyword seems 'LTTE Friendly Bias!!,' over the territorial occupations of the Armed Forces in the North and North East as well as the rights to coastal waters and a demand for recognition of the criminally liable Sea Tigers. Emphasized greatly thus are the dangers of inadvertent supplementation of themes which have to be considered during the process of distribution of foreign financial aid under any circumstance as it is linked directly towards protecting the sovereignity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka which could easily be compromised.

Should there be the most unfortunate circumstances of the LTTE gaining access to the aid they seem to be eyeing rather surreptitiously almost in desperation it would be a travesty of justice should it reach them while they are still in terrorist garb and unrelenting and a moral responsibility of the sources initiating it should the grave error of playing into terrorist hands result. It would also be a direct contradiction of the Global View of international terrorism whose chief exponents have pledged to oppose it to the end where the end, should the unthinkable happen will positively justify the means which would then translate to the eventualities of foreign aid falling into the wrong hands!

The end result of a lasting peace surely lies in the hands of Foreign Involvement as much as it does on a proper Administration as Foreign money eventually talks in as much as Norway barks! The lies and deceptions which often surface in such situations have to be carefully evaluated, screened and sorted out as the pretenders to the rights of administering Foreign Aid will try their utmost to make a play for the big bucks!

The Dangers of Foreign Aid Falling Into The Wrong Hands Must be Anticipated In Judicious Wisdom By The Donors And The Recipients Selected Equitably In A Manner Beneficial Only To the Nation Collectively!

fact that LTTE has established a complex network of supply lines through South East Asia and it has received training in the past from terrorist organisations based in the Middle East. Recently the information has emerged to the effect that LTTE had a hand in training Maoist guerrillas in Nepal. Therefore, there is a real danger of the LTTE, undoubtedly as the deadliest terrorist group in the world, sharing its expertise with the other terrorist networks resulting in proliferation of terrorist activities in other parts of the world. For few million dollars the cash strapped LTTE could easily sell its 'suicide bombing technology' to any terrorist organisation without restraint or hesitation. Therefore, what US policy makers should take into serious consideration is the fact that the threat is global and real, while encouraging peace process, it should put pressure and tighten screws on the Tigers to compel them to disarm and disband their 'suicide squads' and 'child brigades' before committing any direct financial support. If the IMF and World Bank do not offer aid to the Sri Lankan government unconditionally, there is no reason why an illegal terrorist outfit like LTTE is issued with blank cheques in the name of encouraging peace without setting any preconditions. And, is the so called 'Road Map' that US State Department frequently speak about when it comes to the question of resolving Israeli-Palestinian conflict, not valid for the LTTE as well?. If US can stubbornly put pressure on Palestinian Authority to disband suicide bombers and bring Hamas to justice before talking about a final political solution in the Middle East why not apply the same principle in Sri Lanka ?. On the other hand, if the international donors disburse money to an illegal terrorist group it will be tantamount to a violation of legal sanctions imposed by the US government in 1997 in placing the LTTE on a list of international terrorist organisations. Any sort of monetary support direct to the LTTE should therefore come after a comprehensive disarmament and Tigers transforming themselves into a legitimate political entity with a proven commitment for protecting human rights and democratic freedoms of the people living in desperate conditions under an autocratic rule. And the proof should be by deeds on ground not by words. It will be a gross violation of the legal instruments and moral justifications that American war against terrorism is based on, if the United States government allow the international monetary institutions and its allies to transfer funds to the coffers of the LTTE to maintain suicide squads and child brigades.

After a one-year's lapse of the truce one can not see any kind of confidence building measures of significant scale being initiated on the part of the LTTE.
Despite six rounds of peace talks in rich and famous cities in the world, negotiations have so far yielded no significant breakthrough to end the conflict by a political settlement. On the contrary, the LTTE by all its actions of arms smuggling , attacking merchant ships and fishing trawlers, forcible recruitment of children, kidnappings, setting up of separate police, courts and banks etc. during the peace time, have virtually created a de facto separate state in the areas under their control. All indicators therefore, point to the fact that Tigers are playing for time citing various excuses to postpone taking up core political issues aimed at resolving the conflict through political means. Therefore, LTTE have yet to convince the international community and local public that they have given up the demand for a separate state by heart, word and deed. Under the present context it is clear that there is no guarantee that the Tigers will not return to war. Therefore at this premature stage, the international donors have no legal or moral authority to give hand outs to LTTE, directly or indirectly and set a worst possible precedent in support for international terrorism.

Some analysts have pointed out that while US is treading the line of a seemingly anti-LTTE policy to make India happy, Japan, which is its closest ally in the Asia-Pacific, works as the proxy to strengthen the Tigers. This might look too harsh a proposition in the backdrop of the enormous international support the peace process in Sri Lanka has garnered, despite a distracting war in Iraq. It should nevertheless be said that only those vested interests wishing to destabilize India will seek to support the LTTE if the hidden agenda is to create a terrorist state in its backyard. This line of thinking, despite echoing a degree of pessimism, is not without reason. As the old saying goes, there will be no smoke without fire. It was only recently that the news leaked out to the media that Japanese Government had granted Rs.35 million direct to LTTE in a deal shrouded with secrecy and mystery. Given the long-standing harmony of the US-Japan policies in international politics no one can simply brush aside the proposition that Japan is working with the blessings of the United States. This type of irresponsible behaviour from the international donors will not in anyway help peace building efforts in Sri Lanka because the ordinary people in the South, in whose mind ultimate peace lies, will loose the confidence in the role played by the international parties and increasingly become sceptical about the peace process itself.

Already the Norwegians have earned the wrath of the people in the South over many incidents, which cast serious doubts about their fitness as an impartial facilitator. First serious breach of trust came when Norwegian Embassy imported, using its diplomatic privileges, radio communication equipment and transported them to Wanni bypassing Government of Sri Lanka customs procedures. The recent ruling on the attack of Chinese trawler was fictitiously attributed to 'outside criminal elements' ignoring many eyewitness and circumstantial evidence which point clearly to the LTTE. The SLMM failed to give rational rulings, which agree with the rules of common sense, both in the case of the sunken rogue ship transporting loads of weapons to the LTTE and in the attack on the Lanka Muditha carrying Sri Lankan soldiers. The solution that the new head of the SLMM suggested to avert confrontations in the sea, was equally insulting to the wisdom of even ordinary folks on the street. His proposal was to re-write the MOU to give the Tigers a 20 km wide stretch in the sea to 'mind their business' without being interfered by the Navy. Therefore if this proposal is implemented, the Tigers, in addition to commanding the control over land legitimised by a flawed MOU, will be vested with the guardianship of a sea territory in extent equivalent to territorial waters of Sri Lanka. This god (SLMM) given gift will fulfil the last Tiger expectation, the territorial waters of the de facto separate state, being systematically created after signing of the MOU. For that matter from a perspective of a simple villager, It would have been much safer to ask a fox to guard the flock of chickens than asking LTTE to guard the Sri Lanka's territorial waters. It has therefore, become more than clear in the public mind that the Norwegians are here to placate the LTTE at any cost and at any consequence doing anything to preserve continuance of the truce, going as far to the extent of blatantly violating the sovereignty of the Sri Lankan state.

Therefore in the final analysis, what foreign players involved in the peace process should bear in mind is to refrain from alienating the people in the South if they really want to achieve lasting peace and make a success story in Sri Lanka. Whatever said and done by the foreign powers, in a democratic state it is the silent majority who will ultimately judge and decide the fate of any peace initiative. By continuously siding with the LTTE even when there is ample evidence of foul play on the part of the Tigers, conceivable even to the rules of common sense, disbursing money direct to an internationally proscribed terrorist group without guarantees, the foreign parties are bound to loose the credibility which is an essential virtue required of those engaged in conflict resolution. Therefore, foreign players have two clear options to pursue; strive with integrity to bring about a real and lasting peace adhering to true and honest conduct or safeguard a false peace subscribing to lies and deception. The latter will not go too far.

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