A turning point in global war against terror

by Shyam Tekwani
Courtesy The Straits Times, Singapore
The writer is an assistant professor at the School of
Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological
University. He has just returned from a visit to Sri
Lanka.

THE United States-led global war on terrorism is scoring a small victory - in Sri Lanka. The island nation that is witnessing growth after two decades has managed to curb the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist organisation famous for its child terrorists, suicide bombings and the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by a female suicide bomber.

Yes, renewed warfare between the Tamil Tigers and the government broke out in April, ending a four-year-long peace. But two aspects of the current warfare are notable. And they could provide a turning point to undermine the Tigers' goal irreversibly.

One, the government has pulled out a page from the LTTE's manual of warfare. Recognising that the deadliest weapon in the Tigers' arsenal has been its communication strategy, propaganda and public relations machinery, the government - for the first time - has been responding swiftly to the ground
situation with daily sitreps (situation reports), regular and prompt updates, and rejoinders challenging the Tigers' proclamations on assorted websites and media statements.

This is in dramatic contrast to a previous policy of secrecy and hostility to the media, measures which only led to the Tigers being portrayed as underdogs and therefore worthy of international sympathy.

Two, recent strictures against the Tigers by the international community have changed perceptions that the global war on terrorism is a crusade against a particular religion or region. Early this year, Canada finally proscribed the Tigers as a terrorist organisation. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police conducted joint operations with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, resulting in the arrest of 14 Tamil Tiger operatives last week after a sting operation in the United States and Canada.

The 'shopping list' for US$900,000 (S$1.4 million) worth of weaponry, recovered from one of the arrested operatives, included shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, assault rifles, anti-tank and anti-ship missiles, rocket launchers, unmanned aerial vehicles capable of jamming radio and radar frequencies and night-vision goggles.

The operatives are also accused of scheming to bribe US officials into removing the Tamil Tigers from the official list of terrorist organisations.

The European Union, the last to declare the Tigers a terrorist group a few months ago, did so only when it became indefensible to glorify the group as 'freedom fighters'.

Evidence that the Tamil Tigers relied heavily on its supporters in Europe and elsewhere to raise and launder money, acquire intelligence, purchase technology and military arms and equipment, and even to influence elected politicians, was incontrovertible.

While it is no secret that the Tigers have been successful in influencing elected politicians in India, the revelation that politicians in Western democratic countries are also susceptible to such influence is an eye-opener for many.

It is not uncommon for elected parliamentarians eyeing the ethnic vote, in Canada and Europe, to address meetings organised by the Tigers.

Following last week's arrests in New York, the funding for a US Congressman and his aide's week-long trip to Sri Lanka last year by a Tamil organisation with links to the Tigers has come under scrutiny.

These developments are signs of a change in the global struggle against terrorism. They confirm that outlawing a group can be effective only where there is political will.

Every effort to destroy these networks will increase the chances of lasting peace. A beginning has been made with the West recognising and responding to an urgent need to support distant and small nations in their fight against terrorism.

An end to the 23-year-old conflict could be facilitated by some Asean countries by merely following the act.

With porous borders, easy availability of arms, rampant corruption, the facility to launder money and assorted terrorist groups within their own borders, some countries in the region offer the environment that enables the Tigers to operate with impunity.

The 'copycat effect' is a phenomenon well understood by criminologists and terrorism experts. The Tigers, who have made an art of suicide bombing and constructing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), have much to offer groups that bear a grouse against their own governments.

While some of these countries have had a passing involvement in the aborted peace process and in offering donations, it is irrational of them to expect an end to the war by simply tossing aid money towards Sri Lanka's development.

Donor nations and those who speak of bringing peace back to Sri Lanka need to simultaneously and robustly dismantle the Tigers' support network and procurement bases on their soil. By allowing the Tigers to operate out of their countries, they do so at their own peril - and assume full responsibility for prolonging the conflict in Sri Lanka.