The Hindu : Ominous signs in Sri Lanka

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 17, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Ominous signs in Sri Lanka

WAR CLOUDS APPEAR to be gathering over Sri Lanka, with the recent actions and behaviour of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) portending no good for anyone. While the Ranil Wickremesinghe Government is trying its best to keep the 15-month-old ceasefire and the still nascent peace process alive, the LTTE seems to be waiting for an opportunity to break the peace and resume its armed struggle for secession. From their boycott of the Tokyo donors' conference, the Tamil Tigers have been creating one problem after another for an already beleaguered regime. Whether it is insistence on a non-statutory interim administration with all powers or demanding the demarcation of a sea boundary, the LTTE has been asking for the sky. Its latest war cry stems from a visit to Israel by the Sri Lankan Defence Minister, Tilak Marapone. In the midst of its own persistent efforts to smuggle in weapons by sea and its continued killing of political rivals, the LTTE wants to protest `arms shopping' by a democratically elected, sovereign government.

Apparently, the Tamil Tigers are pressing for three key concessions, which impinge on national security: the rehabilitation of refugees and displaced persons in the `High Security Zones' in the Jaffna Peninsula; the demarcation of `territory' on the seas to enhance the capability and reach of the Sea Tigers; and renewed control over Jaffna, the seat and symbol of power in the `Tamil homeland.' On the issue of the High Security Zones, the Sri Lankan Government sought the professional assistance of a retired Indian Army officer, Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar, who has studied the ground realities and given his expert assessment and advice. Given the LTTE's track record, no Government will be in a position to lower its guard especially in high security areas in the name of humanitarian measures. Any such move, without reciprocal actions like decommissioning of the LTTE's weapons and other reassuring steps, will amount to compromising security. Similarly, there can be no legitimation of the Sea Tigers as a sort of third navy in the Palk Straits. There may be apprehensions in official quarters that if these demands are not conceded, the LTTE may go for an operation to seize Jaffna through a military strike or a `Trojan horse' type of cadre infiltration. It was to provide a platform for its power play that the Tamil Tigers pushed for an interim administration and access to the funds pledged by the donors for rehabilitation.

The LTTE must realise that this may well be its last opportunity to negotiate a political settlement on the Tamil question. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has demonstrated time and again his willingness to walk that extra mile to achieve peace, despite the serious limitations the `politics of cohabitation' imposes on his regime under the Sri Lankan Constitution. Having drawn sound lessons from her own experience with the LTTE, President Chandrika Kumaratunga is closely monitoring the developments, moderating the full powers vested in an executive President with a sober and constructive approach. Having voluntarily chosen the path of peace, Mr. Wickremesinghe cannot pull back on account of the LTTE's intransigence and warlike preparations. But he must not be caught unprepared. The LTTE must be made to realise that the international community is now in an uncompromising mood when it comes to armed extremism and terrorism. If it should decide to launch an offensive, it will have to take on not just the Sri Lankan military, but also the wrath of the international community. This may be the only restraining influence on the LTTE, which has successfully neutralised the moderate Tamil parties. With the signs ominous, the challenge before Sri Lanka as a society is to avoid yet another time of troubles.

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