DEFEAT CO CHAIRS AND THE LTTE
The four points imposed by the co chairs compel us to postpone the analysis of the speech given by Chilcott the High Commissioner. According to the co chairs there is no military solution to the so called ethnic conflict, human rights violations by both the government and the LTTE should be stopped, if the government accepts Norway as the facilitator Oslo should be allowed to go to Kilinochchi, a credible political package should be tabled by the government. The co chairs have further said that the SLFP proposals presented are not credible, whatever the word credible means.
Co chairs are as clear as Mr. Chilcott concerning the solution to the so called ethnic problem. They want the Sri Lankan government to talk to the LTTE at any cost. Of course they would say that the British (or UK) government talked to the IRA. It is true that there were talks between the IRA and the government of England (it is after all England and not Britain or UK - how can one have princes and princesses of Wales coming from England and not from Wales, and Duke of Edinburgh coming at least formally from English Royal Family and not from Scotland) but one has to remember that there were no talks while the IRA was armed.
It is expected that the eastern province would be cleared within two months though the media make the public believe that Thoppigala would be captured within two or three days. The terrain surrounding Thoppigala is not easy to pass and the armed forces have a difficult time. However, the forces are determined and committed and it is only a matter of time before the whole of eastern province would be cleared.
After the eastern province is cleared what are the options available to the government, I mean the government of Sri Lanka and not the government of England. Though there is no ethnic problem the way the west and the Tamils have defined there is a problem in Sri Lanka. The problem goes back to the time the Dutch were ruling the maritime provinces but the problem as such was created by the English. While we sympathise with leaders of the Tamils, such as Mr. Ananda Sangaree on what they have to say, we are compelled to remind them that the LTTE was a creation of the Tamil elite leaders who wanted equal representation in the legislature with the Sinhalas, ignoring the history, culture, demography etc., of the country. Thus we cannot agree with Mr. Sangaree when he says that the problem is only fifty years old, referring to the official language act. The so called ethnic problem has evaded a solution as what is being "solved" is not a problem of the country. A problem can be solved only if the problem is understood and problems with solutions formulated in advance cannot be solved. Let us at least now discuss and formulate the problem.
The so called discriminations against the Tamils, including the official language act, are creations of the Tamil elite who did not want to lose the privileges that they had obtained from the English. These creations were as good as the discrimination against the Tamils over the Government Scholarship in Mathematics in 1961, created by the Federal Party and kept live by anti Sinhala Buddhist sections. Mr. Sangaree cannot be anti Sinhala Buddhist like some of the Anglicised Sinhalas who are only echoing what the English want to say. They are only the voice of their masters and mistresses.
The government of Sri Lanka has to take a decision whether it should go after the LTTE for a so called solution, on conditions imposed by their patrons in the west. The LTTE was presented as an invincible force by the western media and the so called experts on guerrilla warfare who could be found under any bush, and any attempt to defeat them was thwarted by interested parties (India and west) giving bogus reasons. Now with the defeat of the LTTE in the eastern province their "invincibility" has been exposed, and the co chairs have now taken upon themselves the "responsibility" of maintaining the LTTE. When the co chairs say that there is no military solution to the "ethnic" problem they mean that the military operations should be stopped forthright.
The co chairs know that the LTTE would have the same fate in Vanni, and before that they are keen to see that the military operations are stopped. It is a well known secret that a certain diplomat of a western country that has "historical ties" with Sri Lanka is applying pressure on the government of Sri Lanka not to carry the "war" to Vanni. The co chairs mean the same thing and the government has taken a step back by agreeing to allow Bauer to go to Kilinichchi. This whole question of so called peace talks revolve around keeping the LTTE in pieces. Is it necessary to have talks with the LTTE, and what does one expects to bring about by talking to the terrorists?
This brings to the fore the role of the All Party Conference (APC). What is the APC supposed to come out with? The All Part Representative Committee (APRC) which is a smaller body is supposed to recommend a set of proposals to the APC. The question that comes to the mind is for what purpose are the proposals? Is the APC (and the APRC) to come out with a set of proposals to be presented to the LTTE? If that is the case it will only defeat the purpose. The LTTE is not interested in any solution other than a separate country or a confederation which is only a stepping stone to a separate country. Any set of proposals to the LTTE would be used by them to achieve what they want, which is supported by the western powers. It is known that a certain western diplomat has summoned representatives of the Tamil and Muslim parties in the APRC and told them to be united in demanding a federal solution with the province as the unit. I only hope the parties concerned would not succumb to pressure by these slaves of western Christian modernity, and take an independent view. It is clear who calls the shots in the peace game, and those who love the country, and not those NGO hacks who are hell bent on selling the country, should get together to defeat the sinister moves by the western forces headed by the co chairs.
We have to defeat the westerners and the LTTE which depends on the former. There is no point in having talks with the LTTE. The terrorists have to be defeated by the armed forces whatever the co chairs have to say. The co chairs should apply to Sri Lanka and the LTTE the norms that are applied in their countries in respect of the terrorist organisations, and Sri Lanka should be able to defend its position at any forum without giving into the pressures of the westerners and others. Instead of having talks with the LTTE the government should turn the present APC (and the APRC) to a discussion group to find a solution to the existing problem however it may be defined. The definition comes first and there is no harm in spending a considerable time to formulate the problem. Any solution that is arrived at the APC (APRC) should be presented to the public in the form of a referendum, and not to the LTTE.
Thus there should be a two pronged strategy. A military strategy to defeat the LTTE, and a discussion among the other parties to arrive at a solution to the "problem". If the solution is approved at a referendum it should be implemented, and the western powers and others who try to interfere with the problems of Sri Lanka should be shown the door however powerful they may be.
Professor Nalin de Silva
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