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| Sunday, 17 October 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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No peace, no aid The LTTE has again earned the wrath of the international community, particulary of the US. And this time around, it was James A. Leach, the Chairman of the Sub-committee on the East Asia and the Pacific who urged the world community to adopt a sterner stance towards the LTTE. Leach, a Republican from Iowa, who is also a US Congressman, describing the prospects for resumption of talks between the government and the LTTE as 'bleak' attributed the stalemate to the conditions set by the LTTE, like demanding sweeping powers over law enforcement, tax collection, military affairs, administration of foreign aid and other matters in the domain of the central government, were impending the talks. Linking the aid the US would grant to Sri Lanka to progress in the peace front, he reiterated the US commitment to assist Sri Lanka's reconstruction, but emphasised that any financial assistance could be possible only through a continuation of the peace process. It is not only the US the entire donor community, including Japan, have linked aid to Sri Lanka to the peace process making it all the more important for the country to ensure the survival of the peace process. Viewed in this light, it is understandable why the donor governments offered little protest to the LTTE's killing spree and the string of alleged Human Rights violations. The previous UNF government came under fire from the EPDP and the other Tamil political parties opposed to the LTTE, for turning a blind eye to LTTE violations. "The government sold the North-East people to the LTTE and have washed their hands off from their responsibilities," was the EPDP's major complaint against the UNF government. Even the UPFA government, which came to power last April has failed to show a strong opposition to the LTTE's conduct, except to issue a warning from time to time to the effect that there is a limit to the government endurance. Both the UNF and the UPFA governments ensured that there were no ceasefire violations on the part of the government troops, so that the Tigers cannot ultimately blame the government for violations if the peace process faces an untimely end. Apparently, both the Government and the LTTE do not intend to go back to war which had cost over 64,000 lives. Despite the stalemate in talks, the two parties would hang on to the peace process, both the government and the LTTE have assured time and again. In this context, the international community has a bigger role to play just as Leach rightly pointed out. "Take additional steps to curb LTTE activities in your countries, he urged friendly nations. "It is remarkable, for example, only four countries -the US, Britain, India and Australia- have declared the LTTE to be sponsors of terrorism, frozen their assets and prohibited financial transactions with the Tigers. It is well reported that alongside a finely tuned propaganda campaign, the LTTE also runs a sophisticated international fund rasing campaign. "The majority of financial support comes from the Tamil diaspora in countries where there is no ban on transaction with the Tigers, including Switzerland, Canada and the Scandinavian counties. "It is my understanding that the LTTE's overseas financing includes investment in real estate, restaurants, stocks and money market funds. Even films, food festivals and cultural events may contribute to insurgent income," he said probably making a direct reference to the recent Pongu Thamil, or 'Tamil Awakening,' an LTTE cultural festival that was recently held in Toronto, in Canada. "The US Department of State also reports that expatriate Tamil communities in Europe have been tied to narcotics smuggling, another potential source of funding. In all this contexts, surely the stark record of LTTE terrorism demands a firmer response from our friends and allies abroad," he said. While appreciating the role played by Norway in bringing the two parties to the table, a greater role could be played by them as the facilitators and the Scandinavian countries serving in the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. By engaging the LTTE in continuous dialogues and discussions they should make the LTTE understand that they need to respect the pluralism and to be able to accept dissidence is part and parcel in democratic politics. |
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