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| Sunday, 14 December 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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LTTE's ISGA proposals: Opportunity to expose Prabhakaran's extremism
Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Colombo University Dayan Jayatilleke delivered the 36th D.A. Rajapaksa Commemoration Lecture recently. Excerpts of the lecture were carried in the 'Dinamina' of Friday December 05. This is a Lake House Central News Bureau translation of the 'Dinamina' article. The deep-rooted ethnic conflict and the LTTE with its supremo Prabhakaran's crusade for Eelam have thrown up a serious challenge to the government forcing it to seek a political solution to defuse the crisis. There is a school of thought which denies the existence of an ethnic problem in Sri Lanka. If it is to be taken as true it is incomprehensible as to what triggered some fanatical cadres to become human bombers. Various governments which were entrenched in power during the last twenty five years could complete just a fraction of their much-vaunted development programme against the confidence reposed in them by the electorate: To a larger extent their aspirations remained mute. Such experienced rulers like President Jayewardene, President Premadasa and President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who were voted into office with an overwhelming mandate dismally failed in implementing their master plans. President Jayewardene's economic experiment to transform Sri Lanka into a Singapore suffered a serious setback due to the outbreak of guerilla warfare in north Sri Lanka and the 1983 program triggered against it. President Premadasa despite his ambitious plans to develop the country ultimately died at the hands of an assassin. The Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi in the prime of his life was assassinated by terrorists. The protracted war scuttled President Chandrika Kumaratunga's plans for speedy economic recovery. The severity of the threat meted out by the Northern terrorists applied equally to all Heads of States! Some people have attributed the liberalized economy, 2nd republican constitution of 1978, Nationalization policies etc. to the eruption of the ethnic conflict. It is however, difficult to accept them as direct causes of the conflict but they may have at most a remote connection to the matter at issue. Despite the arguments to the contrary the ethnic problem remains the bone of contention in the national life of the country. That an outstanding politician of the calibre of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike signed a pact with the then Federal Party Chief S. J. V. Chelvanayagam is adequate evidence of an attempt at resolving a conflict of the ethnic nature. President Jayewardene's 1977 manifesto articulated the need for convening an all-party conference to seek a solution to the demand for a separate state. Despite its failure, its significance lies in the acknowledgement of the existence of an ethnic problem in the country. The TULF's Vadukkodai convention of 1976 at which a resolution for a separate eelam for the Tamils was adopted marks a watershed in the communal relations of Sri Lanka. However, the elections contested by the Tamil politicians under Eelam failed to attract the entirety of the votes in the North/East, but a fraction in exclusive areas. At the bast of the B/C pact as well as Vadukkodai resolution lay the ethnic tinderbox. It is no secret that there is a terrorist outfit at work dictated by a Fascist group. Internationally-reputed intellectuals such as Water Laquer has branded the LTTE as a fascist organization, in his book titled, 'New Democracy.' Nobody knows as to when the LTTE will kickstart its war machine. Four times LTTE supremo, Prabhakaran triggered war. He will not have any misgivings about the fifth one, perhaps! This proves the fact that a highly trained and motivated force alone decides the destinies of War & Peace in this small island. The LTTE is fully committed to the establishment of a fascist state by hook or by crook! To some people the resolution of the ethnic conflict entails the end of LTTE scourge. To others it is a crisis associated with the breakdown of law & order in the country, which will adjust itself with the passage of time. These two lines of thought were merely fanciful. It is however, important to note that Prabhakaran & LTTE are two different identities yet inseparable from each other. Then what is the solution to this problem? Whether Prabhakaran is alive or dead the ethnic problem remains defiant. For the first time it was the late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike who had a correct assessment of the ethnic issue. In one of his articles to, "Ceylon Morning Leader' in mid 20's Bandaranaike proposed a federal form of government for racial harmony as against a unitary one, in view of the multi-racial character of Sri Lanka's ethnic composition. It is true the Sinhala people constitute 2/3 of Sri Lanka's population. However, the fact remains that the Tamil diaspora spread out in Malaysia, Singapore and many other countries in addition to fifty million Tamils in next door South India and other Sri Lanka Tamil expatriates in different continents migrated after '83 July riots, stands as the fulcrum to their Sri Lankan counterparts. Prabhakaran's fascist dictatorship acts as a stumbling block against any reasonable solution to the ethnic conflict. It is because, as usual with no loss of time he will order bumping off Sinhala & Tamil political leadership if they reach consensus.Prabhakaran's 50th birthday speech throws some light on his mindset. The tug-of-war between the two principal political parties has become a source of encouragement to him. He is annoyed over the decision of some countries to impose conditions and restrictions on him including Washington's pointblank repudiation of LTTE's participation at aid talks. US Secretary of State Colin Powell's statement that LTTE's interim government proposals go beyond the federal structure and also Oslo & Tokyo talks is irenical to Prabhakaran. European Union representative Christ Pattern's statement after meeting Prabhakaran is of utmost importance. "These interim proposals are just only an initial one. Its contents do not go for any federal form which I know," he says. I think this portion is important to pull down Prabhakaran internationally. A good opportunity to weaken & isolate him and expose his extremism. |
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