Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, in an address delivered by Ambassador John de Saram, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka at the United Nations General Assembly's debate on terrorism has promised "the Government of the United States of every possible assistance Sri Lanka could provide." Describing the events of September 11 as "shocking" Kadirgamar reiterates that those responsible for it should be brought to justice and deprived of their support and their resources, whatever and wherever that may be. The Island's foreign minister notes that sadly, terrorism is no stranger to Sri Lanka. "We, in Sri Lanka, know terrorism only too well. We know the horrific direct consequences of an act of terrorism; the carnage; the horror; the thousands of unsuspecting innocent lives lost or maimed; in the flash of an explosion; the thousands of families then left bereaved; the countless personal tragedies that terrorism leaves in its wake." Yet, Kadirgamar asserts we must not forget the elaborate funding, support and preparation - in a word the "logistics" - that lie behind a single act of terrorism, the extensive secret collection organisations, their associates, their collectors, their enforcers, their many other supporters misguided or otherwise; the ability to transfer millions perhaps just by word of mouth; the numerous connections to the underworld of crime; the deliberate fanning of the flames of difference or discord in societies into the fanatical hatred from which crucible a suicide mission is born; and above it all, there looms the reclusive leader who attracts and directs the misguided and the impressionable. The Lankan Foreign Minister says that the elimination of the supportive financial systems on which terrorism depends must, in Sri Lanka's view, be a principal objective and that will require a global undertaking: complex, difficult, multifaceted, long term. He has pointed out that the many disparate forces of international terrorism do not come together in one monolithic whole. They are variously interconnected in numerous ways and their international networks are extensive. They are mutually supportive and communicate through the global underworld of crime when special missions are afoot. "If international terrorism is to be ever removed from our midst, we must begin with the recognition that international terrorism is a form of global criminality. We must not let ourselves be deceived by the artfully crafted cloaks of false pretensions. It is the method of terrorism - as in the murder of innocent civilians and the defiance of the sanctity of life - that defines terrorism," Kadirgamar said. Frederica Jansz in Colombo DECCAN HERALD
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam finds itself at the receiving end of a series of ambush operations directed at its senior leaders. THE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka is in the throes of a crisis. The past few months have seen a number of its senior and prominent leaders being targeted in landmine ambushes. Some have been fatal. The latest in the list is Vaithilingam Sornalingam alias "Colonel" Shankar, the head of the LTTE's air wing and military intelligence division. The situation is ironical because the predators have now become the prey. Past decades have seen Tiger operatives killing a number of persons regarded as enemies of the organisation in various parts of the island. The LTTE was able to choose the time, the place and the targets for operations of this type, and execute them meticulously. The Sri Lankan authorities were unable to prevent such attacks or bring to book their perpetrators. But now the tables have seemingly been turned on the Tigers. A pattern is emerging, where several senior LTTE activists are targeted in a systematic fashion in Tiger-controlled regions. Shankar, killed on September 26 in a claymore device attack in the Oddusuddan area of Mullaithivu district in the northern mainland of the Wanni, was the highest-ranking and most senior Tiger leader to be killed in this manner (see box). Earlier, Gangai Amaran, deputy leader of the LTTE's "Kadal Puli" (Sea Tiger) division, was killed along with his bodyguard in a similar explosion near Akkaraayan Kulam in Kilinochchi district. In the eastern province, Nizaam, the head of the LTTE's Batticaloa-Amparai political wing, was killed when the motorcycle he was travelling on was targeted for a claymore device blast at Vaathakalmadhu in Nallathanni Odai, about 36 km southwest of Batticaloa town. The LTTE's eastern zone communications chief Mano was killed in an incident at Patharaimadam, about 6 km to the west of Valaiiravu in Batticaloa district. There were three attempts on the life of Ramanan, the LTTE's intelligence wing leader for Batticaloa and Amparai districts - at Vellaveli, Palugaamam and Karadiyanaaru. Other important leaders too have survived assassination attempts in the northern province. Balraj, deputy military commander of the LTTE, escaped miraculously when his vehicle was targeted at Nainamadhu in the Wanni. Likewise, Jeyam, a senior commander, escaped an attempt at Nedunkerni. The political wing chief, S.P. Thamilchelvan, was targeted twice. One attempt was made near Iranai Iluppaikulam, where his official vehicle hit a landmine. Thamilchelvan was not in the vehicle. His deputy, travelling in it, survived with injuries. The other attack was at Kokkavil in Kilinochchi when Thamilchelvan was on his way to meet a Norwegian peace delegation at Mallavi. A landmine exploded killing a bodyguard who travelled in a vehicle that followed the Tiger leader. This campaign of ambushes has reportedly angered LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran and has, understandably, caused consternation among LTTE cadre. A virtual state of emergency has been declared in the LTTE regions of the Wanni. "Colonel" Balraj, the LTTE's deputy military commander and second in command to Prabakaran in military matters, has been appointed a special commander for the Wanni region and entrusted with a special task and powers by the LTTE supremo. According to informed sources, Balraj's immediate goal is to halt the attacks on LTTE leaders and apprehend those responsible for them. In its press releases, the LTTE has accused a "deep penetration commando unit of the Sri Lankan Army" of being responsible for Shankar's killing and the other incidents. Pro-LTTE Tamil journals published abroad have stated that the attacks are perpetrated by small teams of special force commandos trained by a Western power. Such squads are said to infiltrate, through the jungle terrain of the Wanni, into LTTE-controlled zones and carry out the attacks. They are supposed to lie in wait with remote controls, trigger the devices at appropriate moments and leave the area immediately. It is also suspected that some Tamils living in LTTE-controlled areas are collaborating with the Sri Lankan armed forces. They are suspected of providing intelligence, information, supplies and even safe houses for the assailants. These alleged collaborators are suspected to be undisclosed members or former members of the various non-LTTE Tamil militant groups, now living as civilians in the Wanni. Another theory is that the suspects are persons sympathetic to former LTTE deputy leader Mahathaya, who was executed for allegedly conspiring against Prabakaran. The possibility of ordinary people acting as mercenaries is also not ruled out. Tamil militants associated with the Army as "paramilitary personnel" may also be responsible for the attacks. Interestingly, while the LTTE officially blames a "deep penetration team", the Tigers in the eastern region have taken punitive action against Tamil civilians. In the eastern region, the LTTE controls the hinterland to the west of the Batticaloa lagoon, known as Paduvaan- karai (the shore of the setting sun) while the government controls the littoral regions to the east of the lagoon, known as Eluvaankarai (the shore of the rising sun). Initially, there were five crossing points across the lagoon for people commuting between the regions. Recently, the Tigers closed down three of them, in order to facilitate a greater and more intensive scrutiny of "infiltrators" and check whether explosive devices are smuggled in. In the eastern region, the LTTE also undertook a massive search-and-arrest operation. Several persons were detained and interrogated. The LTTE claimed that 37 explosive devices, concealed in vantage points and stored in safehouses, were discovered following the investigation. At least five Tamil civilians were executed for their alleged involvement in the assassination campaign. Two of the executions were gruesome. The victims, who were first forced to make a public confession, were compelled to kill themselves using the explosives they were accused of possessing. It was alleged that these persons had betrayed the Tamil cause for financial remuneration offered by the government. However, the LTTE's approach in the northern region seems to be different. It suspects that the deep-penetration teams originate from the Manal Aaru or Weli Oya military complex, situated in a strategic location interdicting the territorial contiguity of the Tamil-dominated northern and Tamil-majority eastern provinces. In an attempt to prevent or at least contain suspected infiltration, the Tigers are now establishing a tight security cordon around the forward defence lines of the Weli Oya complex. The LTTE has also intensified "border" security along the southern line of control, between Vidathaltheevu in the western Mannar district and Kumulamunai in the eastern Mullaithivu district. The civilian militia, known as "ellaippadai" or border force, is involved, along with regular cadre, in such operations. However, the demarcation line is almost 190 km long and consists of several jungle tracts that are quite porous. If the LTTE is to seal off this border effectively, it has to redeploy a substantial number of fighters from its strategically important northern front along the Kilaly-Eluthumadduvaal-Nagar Kovil axis. There is a severe logistical dilemma here. According to a Tamil resident of the Wanni with whom this writer spoke over telephone, the LTTE has started a systematic "search, detain and interrogate" campaign. Regular fighters and members of the LTTE's police force and intelligence wings are engaged in this. The LTTE's "Leopards" commando unit and civilian militia cadre are combing the jungles to flush out any deep-penetration squads trekking there. A SIGNIFICANT feature of the ambushes is that the targets in all cases are senior and important leaders of the LTTE. In view of this fact, the leaders have been asked to take certain precautions. For instance, senior LTTE figures, who travel in jeeps or are accompanied by back-up vehicles with bodyguards or travel in convoys, have been asked to avoid such practices. The Tigers have usually used minor, interior roads more often than major open roads used by civilians. Almost all the assassinations and assassination attempts occurred on these roads. Now the LTTE has begun to use the main roads. Meanwhile, the government has denied that the security forces are responsible for the assassination campaign. The government says that the attacks are the result of a bitter power struggle within the organisation. Government propaganda has been based on this line of argument in the past few months, in a bid to convince the nation and the world that internal squabbles, and not governmental action, are responsible for this state of affairs. If this claim were true, the LTTE would certainly not have publicised the killings or the assassination attempts. It would have been practical to keep the matter under wraps, as was done in the case of the Mahathaya episode. If the LTTE wanted it to be so, there was little chance of the incidents coming to light. Instead, the Tigers continue to publicise such incidents, resulting, in the process, in an erosion in the myth of invincibility surrounding it. Moreover, the scale and scope of the attacks point to factors that cannot be explained away by theories of internecine strife. Another pointer to the possibility of state agencies being involved in this campaign is the presence of an occasional snippet in the Colombo media about strikes made by "long-range assault groups". However, the references are vague and no details are given. Earlier, the media carried columns by military experts explaining the need to launch effective assault operations like the current ones to penetrate LTTE areas and selectively target Tiger leaders. The example cited was the American and British special force operations of a similiar nature in confrontations elsewhere. The experts felt that this was better than conducting frontal operations which resulted in heavy losses. Now there is an apparent "silence" about these ideas in the media, probably because practical action is being taken. It is also noteworthy that the security forces have intensified security in the southern areas in the aftermath of Shankar's killing, fearing reprisals. If the Sri Lankan forces are indeed responsible for this ambush campaign but not publicising it, then that situation too is fraught with irony. The Sri Lankan armed forces have faced a lot of negative publicity for various "failures" in its operations against the LTTE. Now they are supposedly engaged in an effective campaign that is affecting the LTTE. The Tigers' territorial impregnability is being assailed, their chief leaders are being targeted, and the cadres are being demoralised. Although the LTTE blames the armed forces publicly, those responsible for the campaign are unable to take credit for it. This is because of both the confidential nature of the exercise and the reluctance in official circles to admit that an assassination campaign is being conducted. Whosoever is conducting them, the LTTE is under severe threat from the operations. The LTTE's inability to prevent or even reduce the extent of the threat, and also the fact that none of the alleged perpetrators has been caught, are damaging. If the campaign continues and the Tigers are unable to check it, their efficiency will be doubted. Also, the theory of the attacks being an "internal affair" of the LTTE will gather credence. Another problem for the LTTE is the need to deplete other fronts to deploy additional personnel necessary to seal its borders completely. Intensive searches, detentions and interrogation of members of the public in a bid to weed out suspected collaborators are likely to alienate the population living in areas under its control. Recent responses by the LTTE leadership to the operations indicate that the LTTE, while going all out to eradicate the danger, will also avenge the killings. Shankar in particular was a close friend and long-time comrade-in-arms of Prabakaran. His death is unlikely to be left unavenged. An LTTE statement said: "The LTTE leadership shares the Tamil people's outrage and treats the killing of a senior leader with utmost gravity." It remains to be seen what type of action the LTTE will take in this regard. Frontline
The fall of the PA government is not the end of our problems. It merely gives an opportunity for a new beginning. The ensuing government will either succeed or fail depending mainly upon whether it is able to solve the problem of the North-East and terminate this civil war, which is the source of most of our problems. The other vital issues are corruption and law and order. These are the issues upon which the PA won in 1994. Ironically on the same issues they will lose the forthcoming general election. It is very difficult for any government in a democracy to win an election in adverse economic conditions. Our economy has been in a recession for many years. On top of that we had the consequences of the LTTE attack on the airport followed by the atrocity in America. Now it will not be a recession, but a worse form known as a depression without any real hope of a recovery in the foreseeable future. The impact can be seen in the thousands of people who have lost their employment and when the poorer segments of society buy milk powder by the spoonful. They cannot afford to buy a packet. Hence, due to economic conditions alone the PA will lose the upcoming election. Unfortunately for the PA, their problems are not confined to the economy. They are fighting a losing war, corruption is rampant and there is no law and order in the country. There is no need for the opposition to do any campaigning. The President herself has done it for them. She has publicly said the most uncomplimentary things about her ministers including her uncle, the deputy minister of defense. Nevertheless, she had many opportunities to replace him but did not do so. A nondescript character, the deputy minister was appointed for feudal reasons. He was invested by gazette with a high military rank and placed in overall command and control of the armed forces of this country. All that he has achieved is to squander 400 billion rupees in an orgy of corruption. The armed forces under his command have suffered defeat upon defeat. He has brought this country in many ways to its knees. He is the personification of all that is wrong in the PA. The only perverted talent that he has displayed is the ability to "help" the government to win elections. Perhaps, he has been kept for that purpose, and therefore, one can expect the wrong kind of election. So, the PA will face elections with the most abominable record of any government since independence. They are likely to lose very badly. The proportional system would help to minimise the loss to around seventy seats. The UNP will win but may not get an overall majority. The most dramatic gain will be by the JVP who may end up with over thirty seats. Whatever their detractors may say the JVP has acted with discipline and a sense of responsibility. They were the one party who did not crave portfolios. Through their MoU, they kept the PA honest and achieved many good things with a cabinet of twenty not being the least of their achievements. Their gain will also reflect the cynicism and growing distrust of the two major parties, among voters. The decline of the PA commenced shortly after the last presidential election in 1999. The President made a Himalayan blunder by not calling general elections soon afterwards. If she did so, she would have got a comfortable majority at a time when the UNP was in disarray. Most of the ensuing problems of cobbling a working majority would have been avoided. Instead, she chose to pass an unpopular package on the constitution by trying to bulldoze public dissent and by trying to buy over UNP MPs through corrupt means. In the process the PA swallowed their principles. UNP MPs who they alleged in 1994 of being big frauds and mass murderers were given portfolios. Although the package might have had some merit, it did not satisfy the one party it should have satisfied, which is the LTTE. It was also a perverted package. It had provisions to extend the executive presidency by one term, disregarding the mandate of the people to abolish it. There were further provisions to introduce an executive prime minister to succeed the executive president. It appeared that the real intent and purpose of the package was to extend the President’s hold on power by the transitional provisions that kept her in the presidency that was sought to be abolished for the rest of her current term and enable her to continue batting as executive prime minister. Fortunately for this country, the government could not muster the requisite two thirds majority and the attempt to pass the package was aborted. But the damage was done and is irreparable. Every single cross section of society including the Maha Sangha was alienated. It was a PA with a badly tarnished image that faced the general election on due date. Knowing that they cannot win in any other way, they threw scruples to the wind and resorted to gross violence and vote rigging. The worst case of violence and vote rigging was in the Kandy district, the electorate of the deputy minister of defense. There is no doubt about it. Two cabinet ministers of the PA, one being its general secretary, made the allegation to the President. Thugs numbering about a hundred threatened a DIG of Police. The thugs got away scot-free. The DIG was transferred. It is the worst subversion of law and order this country has ever experienced. It reminded one of how the police under the control of the deputy minister functioned in another famous case of murder. Joel Pera, a Papua New Guinean ruggerite was murdered at a prominent casino. There were over twenty prominent witnesses. The police and other concerned authorities did their brilliant best not to catch the culprit. An innocent man was later indicted and discharged. It was a horrendous inversion of justice. Among other things, this was a good occasion for the minister of justice at the time to resign with a bang, instead of doing so later, with a whimper. The President had good reason and a propitious opportunity to sack or transfer the deputy minister after the general election. To the intense surprise and dismay of all, she re-appointed him. Perhaps, she needed him to bat in the second innings on the 5th of December, 2001. However, with public sentiment strongly against the PA, it will be more difficult to rig this time around. The police, too, with a definite change in the air may act with more spine. After the general election the President made more mistakes. The whole episode regarding the move to impeach the Chief Justice added to public disenchantment. Then there was the prorogation of parliament and the attempt to introduce a new constitution by means of a referendum, which was expected to be rigged. In all these the President was subverting democratic procedures. Now, the fate of the PA will be in the hands of the voter. The UNP government that may succeed the present will not have an easy time. There will not be a honeymoon period or any rainbows. The economy will continue to decline regardless of the change, until the issues relating to the war are resolved, which should be the first priority. They will face a plethora of problems from within and without. First of all they will have to govern within all the undesirable features of the present convoluted constitution. It is all well and good if the President does not interfere in governance. But if she does, and she has a right to, it will precipitate a constitutional crisis. Matters will have to be referred to the judiciary. If things get out of hand, we may have a situation, where the three branches of government are at loggerheads with one another. The UNP always had an ambivalent attitude towards the presidency, a monstrosity of their creation. If they only respected the mandate of the people, which should override their views on the matter, and agreed to abolish the presidency, the problem would not arise. Events as they unfold may indicate that the UNP acted prematurely. They should have waited until the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice reached its logical conclusion, and the presidency was abolished, before they acted to topple the government. On the positive side the UNP leader has a good reputation for financial integrity. His perceived weakness in opposition of delaying action and a penchant to appoint committees, etc. may well be a strength in government. He is more likely to take collective decisions and better utilise the talent of others. If he is to succeed, he will have to break the vicious cycle of corruption. Elections in this country are largely financed by corrupt money, which leads to massive frauds soon afterwards. He will have a problem in limiting his cabinet to twenty, which is the norm accepted by all. He may find that he has more dogs than bones and this may create dissension. The inclusion of the PA dissidents although unavoidable is not consistent with the UNP claim that it is the party of principle. Some of them come with an odious baggage. This country is sick and tired of replacing one set of rogues with another. It may well be the last chance for democracy. Conditions such as civil war, a crashed economy and corrupt governments, have traditionally caused revolutions elsewhere. We cannot assume that it will not happen here. If there is not a radical change for the better, the JVP may well be waiting in the wings. Island
Though he tried to project a new image of a guerrilla leader coming into democratic political mainstream, in effect, it was on the contrary. What he uttered at the Kilinochchi news conference brought out the fascist in him, according to analysts. The change of heart of the LTTE has been attributed to the September 11 events and the subsequent anti-terror campaign launched by the United States and its allies. With Western governments adopting a tough stand against terrorism and announcing their lists of terrorist organisations, the LTTE became jittery, for none of these lists had excluded the LTTE. Though the LTTE's willingness to hold peace talks has been described as a change of heart, Mr. Prabhakaran made it clear at the news conference that he had not given up the Eelam struggle, though he said any move that would offer self-governance within Sri Lanka would receive the LTTE's serious consideration. Is there anything new in what he said on April 10? In effect, the LTTE's stance is not different from what Eelamists proposed during talks at the Bhutanese capital of Thimpu. Tamil hardliners, in line with the Thimpu principles, have been demanding a Tamil homeland encompassing the Northern and Eastern provinces. The rest of the country dismissed this demand as unfair because it would place two thirds of the entire coastal belt and one third of the land mass of Sri Lanka in the hands of a mere 12 percent of the population. Sri Lanka's Muslims who make up eight percent of the population also opposed the homeland concept put forward by the Eelamists at the Thimpu talks. They feared such a concept would eventually drive them out of their homes in the north and east. It should be mentioned here that at the beginning of the Eelam struggle, the separatist lobby tried to rope in Muslims also into their campaign and began to identify the Northern and Eastern provinces as the homeland for Tamil-speaking people - meaning both the Tamils and Muslims. They adopted this strategy in the belief that it would add more strength to their campaign for a separate state or self-governance. But when the separatist struggle transformed into a full-scale armed conflict, the Muslims of the north and east were frowned upon with suspicion because they remained neutral or opposed separatism. This eventually led to an ethnic cleansing with the LTTE issuing a 24-hour ultimatum to Muslims of Jaffna to leave their homes. With Muslims out of the Tamil separatists struggle, the LTTE only talked about the emancipation of the Tamils. The LTTE also accused the Muslims, especially those living in the east, of grabbing or misappropriating land from Tamils through deceitful means. As a result of LTTE ethnic cleansing, some 17,000 Muslim families have been displaced and most of them are living under squalid conditions in refugee camps in Puttalam. The LTTE has apologized to the Muslims for what happened in the past and invited the displaced Muslims of Jaffna to return to their homes, but most of the Muslims are still wary about the offer. The LTTE and Tamil politicians sympathetic to it have once again begun to talk for the entire Tamil-speaking people, meaning both Tamils and Muslims. At the 1985 Thimpu talks, where the Sri Lankan delegation was headed by H. W. Jayewardene, the Tamil delegation led N. Satyendran, son of late S. Nadesan QC, put forward the following demands: * There should be devolution of power with provinces being the primary unit of devolution. * All inequalities of 'Sinhala only' policy should be legally, constitutionally, and politically remedied. * The Northern and Eastern provinces encompassing Batticaloa, Ampara, Trincomalee and Jaffna should be linked or constituted as one province and it should be acknowledged in the Sri Lankan Constitution as a Tamil homeland. * There should be genuine devolution of administration and financial powers. * The Sri Lankan government should return lands in North-Central parts of the country which they had forcibly acquired expelling the resident Tamil population. * Tamil should be recognised as a national and official language with the equal status with language of the majority. * There should be a proportional representation for the Tamils in the armed forces, police force and the civil service. * Sri Lankan security forces should be confined to barracks. * The sixth amendment to the constitution should be repealed to enable the Tamil representatives to return to parliament. The talks collapsed because both parties adopted a tough stance with regard to technicalities of the issues at stake. The Tamil delegation walked out of the talks protesting against the attitude of the Sri Lankan delegation and that of the Indian representative, Foreign Secretary Romesh Bandari. Though separatism was not explicitly mentioned at the Thimpu talks, it has now become the core issue of the LTTE struggle. A separate state is the only solution in the absence of an arrangement for self-determination where the Tamils living in the so-called homeland could decide on their own political destiny within Sri Lanka. This appears to be the view of some moderate Tamils who are also sympathetic to the LTTE cause. In any event, what transpired at the April 10 news conference was that the LTTE had not given up the idea of cessation. The LTTE now holds the view that unless the government recognizes the Tamil people's right to self-determination, it will not agree to any deal short of Eelam. It is this stand of the LTTE that has given rise to fears among the Sinhala majority that the LTTE will make use of the interim arrangement as a stepping stone to a separate state. As opposed to the LTTE, the UNF government appears to be flexible and ready to travel that extra mile for peace. Though the Kilinochchi news conference disappointed the peace-loving people, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe saw some positive aspects in it. The Premier said that the LTTE's willingness to consider an interim arrangement with self-determination could be regarded as a positive development and that the government would like to begin from that. But it now appears that the premier also is entertaining some fears about talks running into a storm. Yet he made it clear that he would not give up his pursuit of peace. In the meantime, both the government and the LTTE have begun to view the Indian factor with concern. LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham's position is that India, which he hailed as a regional superpower, should play an active role in the peace process and said that without India there could not be permanent peace in Sri Lanka. But many see an ulterior motive behind this statement. The LTTE wants India to recognise the LTTE and forget the past. The LTTE described the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi as a 'tragic incident' in an attempt to woo India. But is India ready to forgive the LTTE and absolve Prabhakaran of the heinous crime? A majority of Sri Lankans may forgive the LTTE and forget its atrocities in the name of peace, but Indians, especially the Congress Party, are not yet ready to forget the past that easily. India lost nearly a thousand soldiers in its war with the LTTE during its peace-keeping operations in Sri Lanka. Political analysts believe that in the event the Congress Party returns to power in India - a highly predicted possibility - India will intensify its efforts to bring Mr. Prabhakaran to justice. It may even send its army to capture him or pressurize the Colombo government to extradite him. Mr. Balasingham requested India to get involved actively in the peace process probably to avoid such a situation. The position of India in the wake of Mr. Prabhakaran's news conference gives rise to fears that it may scuttle the peace process, though both the BJP government led by Premier Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Congress Party led by Sonia Gandhi, widow of Rajiv Gandhi, have spoken out in support of the peace process. Peace-starved people of Sri Lanka expect India to act cautiously at this juncture when the Sri Lankan government has taken a bold step to restore peace in the island. Minister and SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, meanwhile, met Mr. Prabhakaran for crucial talks. Mr. Hakeem returned from the meeting with a sense of satisfaction. It is said the meeting was cordial and Mr. Prabhakaran went up to the extent of treating Mr. Hakeem and his delegation according to Islamic customs. Hours before his departure to Wanni, Mr. Hakeem met party seniors and religious leaders to brief them on the purpose of his visit. He said that priority would be given to immediate problems facing the Muslims. Accordingly, he discussed the Muslim refugee problem and the LTTE leader said they were welcome to Jaffna. But some Muslim leaders believe that they should wait till a permanent solution is found. A discussion to this effect was held on Wednesday at senior lawyer Faiz Musthapa's residence where Mr. Hakeem briefed a committee of Muslim leaders on the outcome of his meeting with LTTE leaders. Some expressed the view that if the Muslims returned to Jaffna, there was a possibility that they would be compelled to toe the LTTE line and this may not augur well for the SLMC politically. Mr. Hakeem, however, appears to be happy with the outcome of his meeting with Mr. Prabhakaran. As a goodwill gesture towards the LTTE, Mr. Hakeem first relegated a Muslim re-awakening programme - in line with the Pongu Thamil shows - to a seminar and an awareness programme and later cancelled it. The UNF government also should consider seriously sentiments expressed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and LSSP leader Batty Weerakoon before moving towards lifting the ban. President Kumaratunga has said that the LTTE should come to an agreement with the government to honour human rights before the ban on it is lifted. Mr. Weerakoon, too, expressed similar sentiments when he said that the interim administration should be in place only when the LTTE was disarmed. The views of these two leaders should be given serious consideration as the LTTE is seeking the lifting of the ban solely to campaign in foreign countries against the ban. The LTTE appears to have been hit severely by the international ban. On Friday, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage assured Ministers G. L. Peiris and Ravi Karunanayake in Washington that the US policy would be unaffected should the Government of Sri Lanka decide to remove its ban on the LTTE. Mr. Armitage expressed support for Sri Lanka's territorial integrity, and urged the government and the LTTE to "continue to engage in a productive dialogue leading to a peaceful settlement of the conflict," the State Department said. It is believed that most Western countries, too, will follow a similar stance with regard to the LTTE ban and the peace process. Thus in the ban on the LTTE, there lies a bargaining chip for the government. Sunday Times |