AN UPHILL TASK FOR THE GOVERNMENT
If we do not identify the so called ethnic problem we will never be able to get of the mess that we are in. The masses have to be told who is really behind the "problem" and without defeating these forces we will never be able to bring any peace to the country. When a diplomat of a country has said that they would make Sri Lanka another Myanmar it has to be clear what is happening behind the scenes.
The people have not only to be told what is happening but steps should be taken to prepare them for any eventuality if we are to end the "ethnic problem". It may be necessary to prepare them to live in "another Myanmar" with all the economic sanctions imposed on the country. The west and India want a solution that they recommend and if we decide to implement some other solution then we have to face the consequences of our decision.
There are many people who still think that economic or pure political reasons are behind the intervention of the westerners in the so called ethnic problem of the country. For example there are people who believe that the involvement of Norway is mainly due to oil expected in the North Western seabed. There are others who think that Norway is involved because of the Tamil community living in that country. Similarly it is thought that Britain has taken an interest in the Sri Lankan affairs due to the pressure from the Tamil voters especially in the suburbs of London.
However, Norwegians took an interest in the so called ethnic problem long before the oil exploration, and they were mainly the voice of Britain that was handling the affairs from behind the scene. Britain is now trying to come to the forefront as it is felt that Norway has burnt its fingers in trying to sell peace to Sri Lanka. Britain that has experience in managing Sri Lankan affairs wants to replace Norway and behave more 'diplomatically'. Further there are many Anglophiles in Sri Lanka who would welcome Britain though they may not be happy with Norway.
India in the meantime has requested the President to come out with a set of proposals that is accepted to the "moderates" such as Tissa Vitharana and Ananda Sangaree. Now in practise a "moderate" is a person who agrees with one's views, and it is well known what India wants as the so called solution. Neither India nor the west would support the Sri Lankan government to defeat the LTTE, not because the way the so called war is conducted, as some people try to make the others believe, but due to the "solution" they want is not favoured by the government. No war is conducted fairly, and especially the western countries are looking for some excuse, so called reason, to oppose the Sri Lankan government. In Iraq or any other country has the west fought any war with decency that they expect from the Sri Lankan government? The Human Rights watchers are used by the west to come up with "reasons" for the latter to interfere in the affairs of other countries.
It is high time the Sri Lankan government found their friends and foes in the world and prepare the ground for a battle with the foes. Sri Lanka does not have to be violating each and every "human right" in conducting operations to defeat the LTTE, but does not have to fight a "war" to the satisfaction of the west. Whatever Sri Lanka does the west will come out with human rights violations and will formulate or invent an excuse to make Sri Lanka another Myanmar. What the Sri Lankan government has to do is to implement the wish of the majority of people knowing that west and India will obstruct such implementation by imposing economic sanctions and/or by attempting to send United Nations Forces under the guise of keeping peace or protecting human rights.
The wish of the majority cannot be allowed to be overruled by external agencies, how powerful they may be and the government has to educate the people of the threats that they have to face as a consequence of implementing the majority wish. It is not a simple matter, and unless the government thinks very seriously about it, the external forces will see to it that the government falls without much difficulty. The cost of living and the other factors work against the government, but if the government is serious and genuine in its fight against the LTTE, and if the government resolves to carry on the operations by the armed forces until the LTTE is defeated the majority of people will unite behind the government.
However, if the government vacillates under the threat of the foreign governments, it will lose the support of the people, and the result will be a government of Ranil Wickremesinghe, which will implement the wish of the western countries and India, namely a federal solution giving power to the so called moderates in the Northern and the Eastern Provinces. Having deprived Sinhalathva of the Northern and the eastern provinces of the country, the west and India will support the government (of Ranil Wickremesinghe) to defeat the LTTE. The government has an uphill task, but with courage and determination with the support of the majority of the people it should be able to overcome the problems. It is the duty of the majority of the people to express their solidarity with the government provided, of course, that the government demonstrates its determination to eliminate the LTTE.
In the case of the JVP, the foreign governments supported the Sri Lankan government to defeat the rebellion, but in the case of the LTTE, they behave differently. The west and India have a vested interest in the Tamil problem, having created and nurtured it, and it would be a mistake to think that they are genuinely interested in solving the problem. They are interested only in a Federal Solution, which they call a moderate solution together with their friends in Sri Lanka, and will do everything possible to impose their solution. Their present attitudes are determined by history and culture and not by economics or politics. Those who continue to think that the west is interested in the problem simply because there is a large Tamil population in their countries are mistaken. Also those who think that the British MPs have been misled by some LTTE activists living there are also day dreaming. If that is the case all what the Sinhala patriots living in those countries have to do is to educate the British MPs on the nature of the problem. However, are those Sinhala patriots prepared to accept that it is the British who created the problem way back in 1829, when the legislative assembly was established?
Professor Nalin de Silva
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