NOTEBOOK OF A NOBODY
Kilinochchi’s re-take is coming! by Shanie
Government spokespersons have once again claimed that the military is poised to enter Kilinochchi at any moment now. These spokespersons have also contested reports that there is a humanitarian crisis involving the internally displaced in the Vanni. Former President J R Jayewardene once famously declared that as Executive President he had the power to do anything except to make a man a woman. The present day spokespersons will no doubt be able to present a case, if it suits their propaganda, why a man is indeed a woman. The claims of these propagandists and apologists are only matched by the disinformation of the apologists for the LTTE among the Tamil diaspora. Both enjoy the same credibility.
In conventional operations, the ragtag fighting cadres of the LTTE are no equal to the Sri Lankan security forces, with their vastly superior training and arms and the co-ordinated air, sea and ground thrusts. There is no doubt that in due course, they will capture territory now controlled by the LTTE – which means they will re-take Kilinochchi very soon. But we must remember that this is not the first time that Kilinochchi is being taken from LTTE control. The IPKF reclaimed the area and Government re-took control after the withdrawal of the IPKF from the North. The LTTE again re-established control after the Elephant Pass debacle in the mid-nineties.
But what follows after re-taking Kilinochchi? The civilian population has now moved to the east of the Jaffna-Kandy (or A9) road. Extending the war to that part of the Kilinochchi/Mullaitivu districts is going to cause a further disruption and loss of civilian lives. Even if the war were to be halted after the re-taking of Kilinochchi, holding on to the western sector now under Army control will not be easy since the LTTE will switch to guerrilla warfare. This will be a repetition of the East where the civilians are now experiencing a free-for-all among a plethora of armed groups, including the LTTE. In previous occasions, the security forces were viewed by the civilian population as an army of occupation by the civilians. This impression was not altogether fair by the security forces as they had only to perform a military duty in difficult circumstances. It was the political leadership that should have, both by words and political action, made a more determined effort to win over the civilian population.
A Political Initiative
This then is the task before President Rajapaksa. When he came into power three years ago, he enjoyed, as did his predecessor Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the goodwill and hope of many civilians among the minorities. But all that seems to have evaporated so quickly. They seem to see him now as going along, for whatever reason, with the Sinhala supremacist agenda. Key members of his Government are on record as saying that our country belongs to the majority community. President Rajapaksa has not disassociated himself from these statements.
In 1985, following the collapse of the Thimpu talks, a ‘left’ alliance of the LSSP, CP and SLMP headed by Vijaya Kumaratunga, leader of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, issued a joint statement, where they stated: "Our three parties are of the firm opinion that a negotiated settlement would be more easy to achieve if the government and its spokespersons as well as the Tamil and other organisations and the extremists conduct themselves in the perspective of the highest interests of all the people of Sri Lanka and not primarily or solely as the representatives of any particular community in Sri Lanka.
"It is also essential that the government comes forward with new proposals which take account of the desire of the Tamil (and Muslim) people to be ensured conditions which will protect them against violence to their persons and property, discrimination, injustice and affronts to their self-respect."
President Rajapaksa has shown little urgency in proposing a political package to satisfy the political grievances of the minorities. His repeated statements that a political settlement will be considered only after the defeat of the LTTE have sounded ominous. Adding further fears to the minorities are statements attributed to parties of his government that the defeat of the LTTE is ‘the political solution’. When he appointed the APC, the APRC and the Experts Panel, many believed he was genuine in trying to find a consensus political package, even though he did not invite the TNA, the elected representatives of the Northern and Eastern Tamils, to the all-Party groupings, the only parliamentary party so left out. When the Experts Panel produced a report that did not conform to the Sinhala nationalist agenda, it was rejected. The APRC has been dragging its feet and obviously cannot come up with proposals that conform to the same agenda. Otherwise, their report will also, like the Experts’ Panel report, end up in the back-burner.
Building Trust
A pre-requisite for a political settlement is the building of trust with the minorities. It is here that this Government has totally failed. There was a feeling among the minorities, even among those politically opposed to them, that Presidents Premadasa and Kumaratunga wanted a political settlement that was just and fair by all communities. This unfortunately has not been the case in respect of the present Government. Trust-building is not only with the minorities. The people of all communities must be prepared, the right mood created for the acceptance of a political package that is just and fair by all. Every community must be prepared to make some sacrifice, must be willing to make some compromise on their grievances in the cause of lasting peace and unity.
Some of the Sinhala nationalists in Parliament openly give vent to their supremacist agenda. One such figure in a newspaper article claims that no other state in the world provides food to enemy forces as does Sri Lanka. He was obviously referring to the " food convoys being sent to the (Tamil) people in the Vanni. To him, the Tamil people are the enemy. He probably thinks that the Tamil civilians should be starved into submission. Izeth Hussein is right when he says that even though these parties by themselves have little electoral strength, their propaganda can affect the psyche of the ordinary Sinhala people. Similarly, even if the LTTE cannot hope to win an election, their propaganda will have an effect on the psyche of the ordinary Tamil people. Pirapaharan has engaged in the rhetoric that we have been used to in his annual ‘Great Heroes Day’ speech. He repeats that the only alternative is a separate state for the Tamil people. We believe that the vast majority of the Tamil people reject the idea of separation. We also believe that the LTTE, or for that matter any of the other armed groups, do not have any electoral strength and will be unable to win a free and fair election. But the extremists, on both sides of the ethnic divide, mutually support each other to create an ‘anti-other’ mood among the respective communities, knowing full well that they lack electoral support to win any seats in Parliament on their own strength.
Ethnic Cleansing
The LTTE supremo who in his Heroes Day speech waxes eloquently about the discrimination and injustice being faced by the Tamils, has no word to say about the expulsion of the Muslims from the North. These displaced Muslims observed the eighteenth anniversary of their expulsion with a rally at the Negombo Town Hall two weeks ago. They have placed certain very reasonable demands when the time is ripe for re-settlement. But in the meantime, they remain a forgotten community, living under appalling conditions in IDP Camps mainly in the Puttalam District.
The manner in which the Muslims have been treated by the LTTE is a foretaste of how minorities will be treated, if ever there is LTTE rule. They will be no different from their soul brothers in the south.
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