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SLMM-A Continuing Threat to SL Sovereignty- The Government must act before it is too late.Sisira Pereira, Panadura
I have been reading the weekly reports of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission for the past few months and needless to say that the writings successfully gave me the impression that the most severe terrorist threat to Sri Lanka at present is from none other than the Karuna Group. I was amusingly “enlightened” by the SLMM reports, signed by Major General Lars Solvberg as the Head of Mission, to the effect that the brutal LTTE, the most ruthless terrorist outfit that has and is single-handedly bringing nothing else but doom and destruction to this island nation for decades, is just a “scarecrow” compared to the plethora of brazen terrorist acts perpetrated by the Karuna group.
On the contrary, the LTTE was ridiculously safe from being pointed a finger at them for any violation of law and order of the country. Reading the reports, in fact, I was made to feel that it is the Karuna group that the GOSL should try to militarily crush, not the LTTE!
The SLMM is on a crusade.
I believe the SLMM is on the correct path, correct in their own assertions, in its campaign to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka as a sovereign nation. Report writers are skilled enough, no doubt, to play with words. They can show colors for all they want but what is detrimental to a nation’s sovereignty is the resulting distorted picture, painted by these malicious forces, in the guise of these highly biased reports. Their one and only goal is the targeted “enlightenment” of its readers, ultimately playing their trump card in masquerading as authorized, solidly documented evidence, when some Human Rights walking zombie comes to Sri Lanka on some bogus fact finding mission.
As a matter of Fact, one is now in Sri Lanka, and the carnival is set to begin.
While reading the latest SLMM reports, I was appalled to see that the SLMM has found conclusively that the Karuna group was behind every abduction, kidnapping, intimidation that is happening in the East. The reports have extensively found that all these “reported incidents” to the SLMM are, without doubt, done by the TMVP. In fact, while reading I was fascinated to find that the report writer has used phrases like “all these pointing out the TMVP as the perpetrator”! No doubt what-so-ever, not even a wee bit. It is nailed and sealed.
Yet the SLMM report for the period of 27 August-2 September begins with this line. “Military operations in the eastern region (ER) indicated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) still had presence in the area and that it was able to carry out military activities”. Though the fact remains so, which gives enough room for doubt with possible involvement of the LTTE too in those terrorist acts, the report conveniently ignores the obvious and points fingers at the TMVP for almost all violations of law, as the sole perpetrator.
I was enlightened, damn right.
And when some incident happened where the SL security forces caught an LTTE terrorist or killed him, the writer has used phrases like “the man was supposedly a member of the LTTE”. “supposedly” ? Oh yeah,why not! May be there is a good, fat chance that he might turn out to be a TMVP member after all. So, who can point fingers without doubt?! Smart thinking, is it not so? Sri Lanka should be proud of its war monitors.
In fact, in one incident, the SLMM report says, “a civilian was killed by the SLA while reportedly trying to hurl a grenade at them”. Reportedly? Huh? So, now the SLMM is convinced that the killed terrorist was a civilian and the SLA mistook him for a terrorist? Please go report these to the marines.
When the LTTE detonated claymore mines in the East killing innocent civilians, the reports just wrote down the incident without identifying who is responsible. Hey, it could be Karuna too, who knows! Give me a break. However, when it was clear that an LTTE terrorist is responsible, the report writers clearly remember to carry a denial of involvement by the LTTE peace secretariat!
SLMM should me commended for its impartiality. Impartiality when and where it needs and suits their goal.
The SLMM comments on the ongoing military operations too, the reports pointing out that SLAF continues to shell LTTE areas. However, the SLMM takes care not to mention that the targets were LTTE military establishments, weapon dumps and the like. Instead, the writer quotes LTTE peace secretariat saying that “civilian settlements” were hit and a few civilian casualties were reported. The reports hardy ever quote the SL defense authorities on that account. How is that for some impartiality?
The SLMM opens up a new front of reporting, after its assignment of a monitor in Jaffna. No sooner than he was appointed, the SLMM report quotes the LTTE peace secretariat reporting that the SLA shelling has resulted in killing a civilian in the LTTE-held area! Whoa! The SLMM promises that there would be more monitors in Jaffna in the future too. Oh yes, why not more monitors..we will see more civilian settlements being hit by the SLAF according to the LTTE peace secretariat from now on.
Why in the world would we want to hear from the LTTE secretariat anyway? What is the SLMM doing? Being a messenger of the LTTE?
The reports says that the situation in Jaffna is “Serious”. The reports continue to say that a number of civilians are killed by unknown gunmen in Jaffna. This is the new theatre of reporting the SLMM is going to dwell on for the next few months. If the killings and disappearances are not perpetrated by the LTTE, the SLMM should be either looking to implicate the SL armed forces or trying to bring a third party into the scene. I will not be surprised to see if they attempt to write reports in the coming months alleging that Karuna’s carders have entered Jaffna and, with the support of the security forces, are behind the killings, disappearances and child proscription, thereby, completely vindicating the LTTE terrorism in the peninsula.
It is too obvious that the SLMM is trying to undermine the SL defense forces’ advancement into tiger-held territory and to complicate the matters in the Eastern rebuilding attempts by the GOSL. It must also be looking to document incidents in a manner that the majority of these incidents could be attributed to the presence of TMVP cadre and the alleged tacit support of the SL security forces extended to the killings and disappearances that take place in the East and the North of Sri Lanka. The SLMM must be trying to gather documented evidence with which the pro-LTTE forces would be able to hold the GOSL at bay at future human rights sessions thereby bringing in resolutions against this sovereign nation.
The SLMM steps may be short and well paced. They may seem not overly threatening when taken individually. Their choice of words and pharases in the reports may seem innocent on the surface but would, nevertheless, punch a substantial blow in the face of the GOSL when taken together over a longer period.
Most importantly, they hold authority to monitor and report and their disguised reports will be treated in the same degree of validity at future forums, which will be coordinated to pressure the GOSL to halt the military campaign to crush the LTTE. It is in this light that we all should think, carefully plan and decide how to counter these malicious attempts of the SLMM.
One should not be complacent of the current military gains against the LTTE. SLMM has been blatantly threatening the sovereignty and dignity of Sri Lanka since the CFA was first penned. It will be sheer stupidity to believe that they have stopped their malicious campaign short of their goal to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of Sri Lanka.
It will serve best to be open-eyed and pro-active.
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