POINT OF VIEW:

LTTE want A-9 opened for 'Tiger play'

by Maurice Lord

The LTTE is now hitting it very hard on the Government opening the A-9 Highway as it says it is unable to render humanitarian assistance to the civilians in the North. The A-9 Highway is vitally important for the LTTE as it uses it for a great deal of its terrorist activity. It raises taxes on the movement of anything passing through the highway for funds to support its terror. Through this highway there is more than enough evidence that the Tigers have used it in the past for its mortar and other attacks on the Sri Lanka Forces.

It is a Strategic Point for the Tigers. Here, even the SLMM have stated that what the Tigers are doing by these attacks is a violation of the CFA. The importance of the A-9 highway for the Tiger Terrorist activity in Jaffna has become so important for them that they have decided to pull out of the Geneva Talks because the Government of Sri Lanka has not agreed to re-open the A-9 Highway. The Tigers desperately need the Highway for its terrorist purposes.

The re-opening up of the A-9 Highway certainly exposes the Sri Lanka forces to mortar and other attacks on it, as in the past, and the havoc created through the loss of life, arms, etc. The A-9 Highway has been the launching pad for the Tiger attacks on the Govt. Forces for many years. It is a vulnerable point for the country's forces who risk their lives and military equipment through the attacks mounted on it from or through the A-9 Highway. It is only natural that even the Sri Lankan forces may have demanded from the Govt. that its negotiators should not allow the A-9 Highway to be used as in the past by the Tigers as it exposes our forces to attacks by the Tigers. It is no doubt that in these circumstances the Government had not given into the Tiger demand for the re-opening of the A-9 highway at the Geneva Conference. Knowing the danger to which the forces are exposed.

Of course we see the pressure the Tigers are bringing on the Govt. to re-open the Highway. They are using all sorts of excuses as is possible.

Big issue

This is their strength - to make a big issue of matters. The bigger the excuse the greater chance of it being believed whenever they are being restricted in their terrorist campaign. The loss of the A-9 is really a big setback to the Tigers as they cannot continue with their terror, and they are going flat out to use all their pressure combined with the added International Pressure. Whatever Sri Lanka does has to be done in the greater interests of all its people and the whole country. It will certainly not be in our best interests to open up possibilities once again for terrorist activity in any form on the A-9 highway. The Govt. must not allow itself to be taken for a ride by falling into the trap of the LTTE on the grounds of humanitarian assistance. Have these Tigers not used Human beings for their terror? Basically human beings are of no consequence to the Tigers. They attempted to kill the Army Commander through the medium of an apparently pregnant woman and just failed. They did not care for motherhood and exploited it for their terrorism. They have used ordinary Tiger Terrorists disguised as Fishermen to attack Sri Lanka Ships and Naval Bases. Have they not used human beings even women - as suicide bombers to attack prominent members of our forces? The govt. should clearly bear in mind that the Tigers will use every conceivable means to bring all sorts of excuses to get the A-9 highway re-opened for their terrorist purposes.

Tiger dictatorship

Today the Tigers speak of their inability to provide humanitarian assistance for their people. This is a damn lie. Have they ever been concerned about their plight of their people? The people of the North particularly have long been deprived of their basic human rights. It is the dictatorship of the Tigers that prevails in these areas. The people's human rights are openly violated. The former TULF President is fearful of his life and is in virtual hiding in order to save himself. At the last Presidential Election the one man in the North who fearlessly voted had his hand cut off or something to this effect. Democracy or the elementary rights of the people of the north are no longer permitted by the Tigers. It is a brutal dictatorship that is being foisted on the people in the North.

Professor Hoole was openly prevented by the Tigers from holding his post as head of the Jaffna University, thereby depriving the students of the much needed education they are desperately in need of today. Certainly the loss of the services of the learned Professor is going to have a bearing on the students desperately seeking to qualify their studies could be seriously interfered with. Because of threats to himself and to his family he even had to leave the country. Is this in the end not going to create serious problems to students desperately wanting to qualify? A clear indication of how the Tigers deprive the Jaffna University Students of the much needed services of their Professor. Have the Tigers not damned the future of the Jaffna University Students by their continuing terrorism. Threatening Professor Hoole and his family.

The Tigers have been openly accused of even recruiting or snatching more than 5000 children from their parents for their Baby Brigade.

It has been brought up at the United Nations too, where the Tigers have been called to question. The President of the Sri Lanka Police Inspectors' Association too brought this out at a meeting of the (Bishops), in spite of all the allegations made about their Baby Brigade the Tigers still carry on with campaign to force children to enlist in their Baby Brigade. Is this not depriving parents the right they have to their children. Is this the humanitarian assistance they are providing in the North - IS THIS NOT A VIOLATION OF BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS.

Although the Tigers today raise a hue and cry about human needs - the right of the people to food, clothing and shelter - are they in effect effectively or even in a small measure engaged in providing the basic humanitarian needs particularly in the North. With all Tiger resources spent on the massive military build up even caught bribing the Americans for arms, illegally purchasing of arms from the world, etc. very little is obviously available to provide for the basic welfare of the people of the North, and no doubt they are already suffering - paying a bitter price to virtually exist.

Sole concern

The Tigers are not interested in human rights - they have never been interested that way. Their sole concern is their military build up - their goal of a separate state - THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS - THE PEOPLE DO NOT COME IN ANYWHERE INTO THE EQUATION.

We have to beat the Tigers - We should under no circumstances open the A 9 Highway if it even to the slightest degree allows the Tigers to launch attack on our forces any more. Tiger terror must be stopped at all costs. We cannot allow it to continue any longer.

It is therefore time for the Govt. to deal effectively with the situation. To tell the tigers that under no circumstances will the A-9 Highway be opened, as it does not accept the Tiger claim that it is purely for humanitarian purpose, because it is clearly not so. The Govt. must stand firm of course there will be all sorts of pressure on the Govt.

The Govt. must give way but hold firm that it cannot allow the A 9 highway to be opened, as it cannot rule out the possibility that in the end it will be used more for Tiger Terrorism than for the humanitarian needs of the people. This is what has happened down the years, as it is more than clearly evidenced. Sri Lanka can no longer allow the Tigers to use the A 9 Highway for its terrorist purposes.