The Hindu : LTTE'S brinkmanship

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 24, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

LTTE'S brinkmanship

THERE IS INCREASING evidence to confirm widespread apprehensions, not just in India, that the LTTE may be using the current, year-long ceasefire and its negotiations with the Sri Lankan Government as instruments to consolidate its position and that its repeated avowal of faith in the search for a peaceful solution is nothing more than a facade. The impatience of the terrorist organisation was evident during the last round of the talks in Berlin when its clandestine militarist activities stood exposed and it immediately ratcheted up the heat and brought things to a breaking point. It was not yet time then to push matters beyond the brink. Now, with hardly a week to go for the resumption of the next round, the LTTE has returned to its old game, injecting uncertainty and doubt again into the whole peace process. Still smarting over its failure to pressure and intimidate its way into a conference early last week in Washington that held preliminary discussions on the level of economic assistance needed by the war ravaged island-nation, the LTTE has announced that it is suspending the negotiations with the Government "for the time being", that it will not be participating in an important donors' conference in Tokyo two months hence, and that it is giving up what it calls its "soft approach".

Clearly, with international opinion crystallising against terrorism of any brand, the LTTE is getting increasingly isolated. There can be no other explanation for its resort to brinkmanship and blackmail at the present crucial juncture when the Sri Lankan Government headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe, its partner in the peace process, has shown remarkable readiness to accommodate its views. The most apt comment on the LTTE announcement has come from Norway's special envoy, Erik Solheim, who has said he was not surprised by the decision. As a facilitator with a ringside seat, he must be deemed to be reflecting the true state of the seven rounds of the negotiations when he said there were enough indications of such a possibility of LTTE action to suspend the parleys. Mr. Solheim could as well have pointed attention to all the other indicators on the intentions of the terrorist outfit, including its assertion early in the negotiations that its military strength provided it with the bargaining power. By refusing to reduce its combat potential, the LTTE gave at the very outset enough indications that it could fully revive its militarism if it was disappointed with the developments on the political front. The resort to threats now must sound the right warnings to the interlocutors on the Government side: to place unquestioning trust in the LTTE might prove unwise in the longer term. Its desperate reference to the issue of resettlement of internally displaced civilians again reflects its unsuccessful campaign to have the northern High Security Zone thrown open. The issue is intricately linked to the reduction of military potential on either side and the LTTE's demand has acquired a shrillness thanks to the impending discussions in Colombo on the basis of a report prepared by an Indian military expert working in his personal capacity. The Sri Lankan military has expressed the fear that the LTTE might try to infiltrate its cadre if the HSZ is opened to civilians.

The time has come to call the LTTE's bluff. The only response to the LTTE should be a firm refusal to yield to blackmail, in the clear knowledge that the Tigers have few options in a global setting where views against terrorism have hardened in the wake of the September 11, 2001, outrage. For the response to be strong and productive, it is imperative that the island's President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, and the Government headed by Mr. Wickremesinghe of the opposition United National Party close ranks in the face of the machinations of the common enemy of peace.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

Stories in this Section

LTTE'S brinkmanship

The politics of heritage

Vajpayee: third time lucky?

Working of the MPLADS

Musharraf must keep his promise