Reminder to President Rajapakse;
Imperative Element for the Peace
- By Manoj Hettige
The recent reports by US news agencies revealed that three LTTE members
have traveled last week to USA from Canada to buy hand held anti aircraft
missiles from an undercover FBI agent to bring down the Sri Lankan
war planes. This is how LTTE is responding to the Sri Lankan Government's
limited retaliation to expel the terrorists.
Question of Limited Retaliation
The question before the peace loving Sri Lankans is whether the ''Limited
Retaliation'' is really sufficient to ensure the satisfactory security
measures on the face of unlimited terrorism in Sri Lanka.
Public Fooling Strategy
The ''Limited Retaliation'' is the coward strategy that present government
opted to ensure the temporary defense from aggravated LTTE terrorism
and secure the political stability from the disappointed citizens.
This is a sort of mollycoddling approach of a poisonous snake in hand
and would help Government to achieve nothing but still to honour the
non existing ceasefire agreement by expelling terrorists from the
boundaries demarcated by UNP & Norway from the illegal CFA in
2002. If the president is still a fan of the non existent Cease Fire
Agreement, what the effective difference the millions of peace loving
Sri Lankan can expect from the new president other than leading another
puppet government of Norway?
Maintaining the ''Win-win'' Situation
Limited Retaliation to repulse the terrorists who are trying to over
run the defense lines helps the country to maintain a long last war
exhibiting a nature of ''win-win'' battle with Tigers. The country
is unlikely to earn any peace dividends if the Government of Sri Lanka
is hesitate to deviate from this usual approach of maintaining the
''win-win'' situation. But this approach obviously encourages Tigers
to collect sophisticated arms and continue with fight for their final
target. The news given in beginning of this article is a clear example
for the tiger's intention to achieve the victory getting the advantage
of Government's coward stance of defensive actions. Rather LTTE or
its peace agents become danger to the country, Government's interest
to maintain the win-win situation with LTTE is much more detrimental
to national security as well as sovereignty of the country.
Main Elements of Peace
Obviously, any peace processes with LTTE should consist of deactivation
of Terrorism, negotiation with all relevant parties and implementation
of a solution. Negotiation with terrorists without deactivation of
terrorism (or denouncing the violence) is fruitless and time wasting
as no democratic solution can be arrived with an atrocious terrorist
group. All the peace efforts made by the governments of Sri Lanka
for more than twenty years have been unsuccessful due to lack of this
essential requirement and led the problem to continue. Hence, such
a stupidity is unthinkable if Mr. Rajapakse's Government too wastes
the time with peace dreams that LTTE may come to the negotiation table
and concede with what a unitary state of Sri Lanka can afford to grant
these power-hungry LTTE terrorists.
Great Inducement
Therefore, without any peace dream or dilemma on what LTTE do next,
the best inducement that Sri Lankan Government can do to get back
the LTTE to the negotiation table is nothing else but to continue
to paralyze the LTTE to the extent at least they loose the East region.
LTTE's Sampoor Camp and Trincomalee
Harbour
It was reported that President Mahinda Rajapakse himself is in the
opinion that the LTTE's Sampoor camp is a threat to Trincomalee harbour
and has stated the same to a group of diplomats representing the Co
chairs of Tokyo Donor's conference when they met the president at
Temple Trees in last Monday. The logic behind this revelation by the
president to diplomats should be to make aware and secure the support
of the international community. But, no member of co chairs of Tokyo
Donors will come and assist us to expel the terrorists in case LTTE
launches a powerful attack to Trincomalee harbour but innocent soldiers
should pay the price from their lives. The reality of sovereignty
of a country is meaningless if the government should take the permission
from LTTE agents or any other western country to take the control
of lands held by the terrorists.
Noble Duty of President
The grate tragedy we are experiencing today is a result of time wasted
by our leaders in past leaving the small problem to be worsen which
should have cut by the nail and it is President Rajapakse today not
to leave the same menace extended over the future generation. It is
not only a moral duty expecting from Mr. President by the history
of Sri Lanka but a legal duty expected by the voted people as the
president clearly promised the same in last presidential election.
If Mr. Anuruddha Rathwaththe, former deputy defense minister had
not led the operation ''Jaya Sikuru'' and captured the Jaffna peninsula
during the tenure of former president Chandrika Kumaratunga, today,
President Rajapakse's duty should have become harder. We remember
well that LTTE media mafia and other devotees had threatened or expressed
the fear of a major devastation in Colombo, if the Sri Lankan army
captured the Jaffna peninsula, the stronghold of LTTE, but history
is evident that LTTE was not that much powerful as ballooned by LTTE
devotees.
If Mr. President is to miss or avoid the chance to perform a noble
duty of liberation the country from terrorism, there is unlikely to
have any remarkable place for him in the history, which is filled
with many brave stories of patriotic heroes dedicated to protect the
sovereignty of the country,. Therefore, it is the high time now for
Mr. President to enhance the defense requirements and give the command
to the forces at least to take the full control of East region (including
Sampoor camp) before any other peace deal takes place.
