Listen to Army Commander

Army Commander Lt. General Lionel Balagalle has told the Maha Nayake Theras that the army will not pull out from the High Security Zones until the LTTE disarms itself. Till then, he has said, resettlement will not be possible within the HSZs.

Security Forces Commander of Jaffna, Major General Sarath Fonseka, was the first to tell the LTTE in no uncertain terms that they had to disarm their cadres and decommission long-range weapons if the army was to withdraw from the HSZs.

Resettlement no doubt is essential if civilian life is to return to normal. All those – Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese – who have lost their homes and are languishing in welfare centres and elsewhere because of the conflict must be resettled as soon as possible. But how practical is it at this juncture?

True, there is a ceasefire holding. Talks are on. The idea of a solution based on federalism is said to have been mooted. These are positive signs but the conflict is far from over. The causes that led to their displacement have not yet been removed. The LTTE and the army have heavy guns capable of reducing the peninsula to rubble at the ready. And they will stop at nothing to destroy each other if war flares up again. How frightening the scenario for civilians in Jaffna was when the LTTE almost marched on it in 2000 is too well known to merit elaboration.

On the other hand, if the manner in which the LTTE is conducting itself is any indication, then it has not pinned all its hopes on the peace process to the extent that the government has. While the government has turned the south into a carnival in the name of peace, the LTTE is making clandestine preparations for war. It is still smuggling in arms, forcibly conscripting children, parading suicide bombers and opening up ‘courts’ and ‘police stations.’ The attempt to get the army removed from the strategic locations in the peninsula is a part of the LTTE strategy to render it vulnerable in case of resumption of hostilities which is possible according to the MOU with two weeks’ notice given. In such an eventuality, without HSZs, the LTTE MBRL fire will wipe out the Palali airstrip within hours. And there will be no monitors or any member of the international community to restrain the LTTE. Nor will the LTTE be blamed for violating the MoU if it gives notice as required by the MoU. Marooned, the troops will have no alternative but to be ferried across to Colombo by ‘Indian ships.’

Some defence bigwigs are trying to have us believe that what the LTTE wants is not a troop withdrawal as such but resettlement of the displaced within the HSZs. The army commander and Major General Fonseka have opposed this move as well. They cannot be faulted for doing so given the use by the LTTE of civilians as a cover to spy on the troops and mount attacks. As EPDP Leader and MP, Douglas Devananda pointed out in an interview with The Island a few months ago, that the LTTE has battle hardened cadres positioned in Jaffna thanks to the MoU and if war breaks out again, the troops will come under attack from behind as well.

Given the history of the military debacles especially the fall of camps such as Pooneryn (1993) and Mullativu (1996) where the LTTE made use of the civilian presence in close proximity, the army must be mindful of potential threats.

When the issue of HSZs is taken up at the next round of talks, the government must insist such projects as are detrimental to the interests of the military cannot be undertaken until the conflict is resolved. The only way to get its demand met, the LTTE must be told, is through reciprocity as spelt out by the army - surrendering weapons. If the LTTE is truly desirous of a peaceful settlement and so considerate towards civilians, then the Army Commander is not asking too much.

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