‘Facilitate’ LTTE ban

While the rupee is sliding steadily further triggering off panic reaction in all sectors, disturbing signals emanate from London as regards banning the LTTE. It is reported that London has not yet responded favourably to Colombo’s request for proscribing the LTTE the battling of which has pared the country’s economy to the bone. At successive Aid Group meetings, Sri Lanka has been treated ad infinitum to lectures on the need to downsize its defence budget. Although it is far from the truth that the war alone has dragged the country to the present pass - economic mismanagement, corruption etc. being other factors - it cannot be impugned that an early end to the war will help the country overcome many of its economic problems.

Britain may have its own reasons for not having complied promptly with Sri Lanka’s request. The LTTE on the other hand may not have violated the British law, but the legislation under discussion covers a wide range of terrorist activities, including raising funds for conflicts abroad. That is the LTTE has little hope of avoiding the ban on legal grounds. Now Britain will have to a make a bold stand on the matter by either complying with or turning down the request from one of her Commonwealth partners.

If the panacea for Sri Lanka’s problems is to stop the war as claimed by the West, then on no grounds can the feet-dragging of the UK on banning the LTTE be justified. For, a ban in the U.K will compel other members of the European Union as well to follow suit. This will thwart the LTTE’s fund raising and deal a blow to its military capability thus making it amenable to a negotiated settlement. Then only will Sri Lanka be in a position to evolve a solution to the conflict. The intransigence of the LTTE, which has put paid to all efforts hitherto made to resolve the conflict through negotiations has resulted from funds pouring in from overseas, especially Britain to its war chest.

The LTTE has already been identified by powerful nations like the US as not only a terrorist outfit but also the roadblock to peace in Sri Lanka. The history of the conflict is replete with instances of unilateral violation of the fragile peace processes by the LTTE, which is yet to evince a keen interest in a negotiated settlement. Prabhakaran, it should be recalled, reiterated in his "Heroes’ Day" message recently that the LTTE’s goal was to wrest control of Jaffna.

The ground realities today have left the LTTE with no alternative but to ‘stick to its peace guns’ as a Sunday newspaper chose to call it yesterday. Its coming out from hibernation to commit more crimes against humanity is just a matter of time.

The extension of the LTTE’s unilateral ceasefire came as no surprise as it could not have afforded to do otherwise. Although it is naive to underestimate its military strength, the on-going offensives by the troops have definitely put it on the defensive. (Some LTTE apologists have sought to have us believe that the extension of the ceasefire was in response to a request to that effect from Norway).

The government must not lose sight of the fact that the LTTE has a powerful lobby in London and in this hour of crisis it will go to any extent to avert the proscription. It is also the need to concentrate fully on this political mission that Prabhakaran had to spike the gun in the north.

Having made a formal strongly worded request to London for banning the LTTE, the government should not be lulled into a false sense of complacency while the LTTE is working overtime to defeat its objective.

What is called for is to peel off the LTTE’s mask and let the world know that it is only a terrorist outfit masquerading as a liberation movement. The government should give serious thought to appointing a special commission to investigate all crimes committed by the LTTE. It can begin by setting up a commission to probe the massacre of 600-700 policemen who surrendered to it on the then government’s order in 1990, when the LTTE unilaterally violated a ceasefire. This will be one way of ‘facilitating’ the prospective proscription of the LTTE without resorting to an unwanted war of words between London and Colombo.

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