Crisis in the emerald islands

It is futile for the Sri Lanka government to pretend that before a political settlement it can crush the LTTE. Over the years it has grown too big and too strong for such annihilation and capitulation imagined by the Sinhalese leaders. Recently it has demonstrated its ability to strike at will and with air power added it has more muscle today than it ever had. The Sri Lanka Government would do well to explore a political settlement to resolve the crisis that has become the bane of the region.

by reporter@dayafterindia.com

Having embarked on a campaign to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil EElam militarily, the Mahinda Rajapakse Government is

showing no inclination towards arriving at a political solution to the ethnic crisis menacing Sri Lanka, whether the government succeeds in defeating the rebels completely and eliminating them from the scene remains to be seen. But, if past experience is any guide, the LTTE still retains the capacity to hold on to the heavily-defended areas in the Northern Province, there by perpetuating its nuisance value and prevent peace returning to the island nation.

The recent ground-and-air attack on the Anuradhapura air base, in which 14 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and eight aircraft destroyed, should serve as a reminder to leaders, such as, Defence Minister Gotabhaya Rajapakse (brother of the President) who insists that a political solution is impossible without first “crushing” the Tigers. The Sri Lanka Air Force has since stepped up bombing of Tiger targets in the North, causing more civilian casualties. It was claimed that the LTTE had not been able to mount any significant offensive for some time despite the fissures in the “Col Karuna” group, which is cooperating with the government in fighting the LTTE on the ground. To suggest that the daring raid was a desperate attempt by the LTTE to boost the sagging morale of its cadres, therefore, does not wash.

There is no doubt that violence by LTTE must be suitably countered to force its leaders to take to the path of meaningful negotiations, with full realisation that secession is ruled out in any case. The strategy has, no doubt, been tried in the past, with the help of the Norwegian interlocutors who managed to bring about a cease-fire. Maybe, firm military measures soften the LTTE’s attitude and instill in it a sense of realism to look at the situation from a sober, long-term angle and help evolve a solution which would protect the interests and meet the aspirations of the Tamil minority within the Sri Lanka constitution.

The present phase of the conflict has cost over 6,000 lives and displaced more than 300,000 people in the East and the North, where the impact of the war has been minimal, but is bound to increase as Sri Lanka forces try to capture it. The government claims that it has completely destroyed the Tigers navy comprising 10 ships, two in Indonesian territorial waters. This may partly be true, but the rebels can quickly make up their losses by procuring a few more small vessels. Similarly, it was claimed that the nascent air force was grounded, but they could manage to bring two aircraft to bomb the Anuradhapura base proves that they can be made operational when needed. The Tigers have also lost over 200 killed since last month in battles with the Sri Lanka forces.

The Tigers face international isolation as governments have started to act against them under their anti-terrorism laws to block their fundraising and weapons purchasing. In the United States several persons were detained in Washington, New York, Seattle and New Jersey for offences including trying to purchase surface-to-air missiles, AK-47 rifles and assorted ammunition and also bribe U.S officials to lift the ban on the LTTE. The Canadian Government also arrested some persons in Toronto, Waterloo and Missiasanga after their names figured in American charge sheets. In another operation, US officials arrested six persons from Asia for smuggling weapons from the country to the LTTE. The charges range from conspiracy to support a terrorist organisation and attempting to export arms illegally.

In Australia two persons were arrested in Melbourne for collecting funds for the LTTE and sending them through various channels. Only recently, the chief of Australian LTTE operations Thillai Jayakumar died. In Switzerland a pro-LTTE GOON squad attacked some Tamil youth (supposedly members of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam-PLOTE) returning from a May Day rally in Zurich. In UK recently, two LTTE activists Arunachalam Chrishanthakumar and Golgan Lambert were arrested for raising funds for underwater warfare systems, explosive ordnance disposal and Naval weapons system and also arranging meetings for the banned organisation in Hyde Park. LTTE’s use of its nascent air force was not well received in Europe, particularly because the aircraft were smuggled from one of the countries and reassembled by the LTTE engineers and also improvised to carry bombs.

During his recent New Delhi visit, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse insisted that he did not believe in military solution and blamed the Tigers for walking out of the last meeting arranged by the Norwegians. At the same time, his Government looked forward to understanding and assistance from the regional neighbors, especially those with whom it has strong bonds in history. India’s experience of 60 years of home-grown approach has served it will in facing challenges and solving ethnic problems. Side by side with military means, Colombo was attempting to correct the imbalance in growth, a speedy political solution to the ethnic problem and curtailing terrorist funding from abroad. He also wants India to render greater help to Sri Lanka, which looked to it for more dynamic leadership. India had the “unique responsibility” to ensure that the entire region maintained peace without any outbreak of conflicts.

India refuses to get involved in the military conflict in Sri Lanka, having learnt a bitter lesson from past experience. At the same time, it does not want China and Pakistan, which have offered military equipment to Colombo, to fish in troubled waters. Sri Lanka is, therefore, looking to India to meet her heeds of defence equipment, which is being supplied from time to time to sustain the Army’s fighting capability and help it defend its installations and cities against terrorist attacks. Apart from ammunition and small arms low flying detection radars have also been supplied and recently upgraded. Sri Lanka has sent a large arms list that includes artillery guns, UAVs and even laser-guided precision ammunitions, besides other items.

But, New Delhi has to pay heed to the political repercussions of any large-scale military supplies in view of the reaction of the Tamil population which is sympathetic to the plight of Tamil minority in Sri Lanka which has been suffering immensely for decades now due to the conflict and the unbending attitude of the Sinhala majority to any concessions being made to meet regional autonomy aspirations. Another aspect is that Sri Lankan Muslims, who have generally identified themselves with the Tamils in their struggle for just rights, feels isolated, particularly in the eastern province which has been liberated from the Tigers. The Tigers began to see the Muslims as a barrier to their full control of the north-east and forced many of them out of the area to live their life as refugees.

Although the Government has amended the law to enable LTTE or the Karuna faction to contest the local bodies elections in the east, the move has come under criticism as conditions for a free and fair democratic exercise do not exist. The Government should, instead, put forward a credible political solution to address Tamil and Muslim aspirations and then work towards democratization and economic development in the eastern province, which would provide a new opening for rebuilding Tamil society. This requires a shift in political direction of the state, and the military establishment particular, which have been all too comfortable while decimating Tamil democratic politics in the East. LTTE violence needs to be neutered, but Tamil aspirations should not be lost sight of while chasing short-term objectives.