Political and social opportunists

Lanka's brave security forces have wiped out the Tiger power in the Eastern Province and are now engaged in the final assault on the LTTE in the Thoppigala jungles.

Lanka's forces made achievements where even the Indian Army failed in 1987/88. The LTTE had their strongest Eastern bases in the dense jungles of Thoppigala and even the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) could not destroy the superior Tiger power.

However, two decades later, the Lankan forces fought bravely and the LTTE is about to lose the last bit they hold in the East. Under the controversial Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo and terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in the Wanni jungles, undue recognition was given to the LTTE's power in the East.

The LTTE wanted to have both the Northern and Eastern Provinces merged, which they got under the UNP regime of J. R. Jayewardene, and show greater power. Ex-Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's acceptance of areas held by the LTTE as areas "controlled" by the Tigers under the CFA added more strength to Prabhakaran's muscle. The de-merging of the North and East under a Supreme Court ruling shattered the LTTE's dream of showing collective strength in one region and a push for a separate state.

Due to the strategic military decisions taken at the appropriate time, our Security Forces have been able to wipe out the Tiger power in the East. The strategic victories in Sampur, Mavil Aru and Vakarai and the ongoing battle in Thoppigala have brought the LTTE power in the East to near zero.

The key to these successes has been the devotion and dedication of our security forces, under the able leadership of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. At the same time, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Government have not incorporated any politically motivated agendas in the military operations.

President Rajapaksa never interfered with the military strategies and decisions in the nation's battle against terrorism. While giving a patient hearing and offering relief measures to innocent civilians who have been affected by the LTTE's terror activities, the President continues to keep faith on a negotiated settlement. As a patriotic and fearless leader, President Rajapaksa, quite rightly, is not willing to compromise on matters relating to the country's national security and sovereignty.

There are many individuals and organisations, both here and abroad, who are perturbed by these successes. Many of them go after INGO dollars and the LTTE's survival is their bread and butter. On the other hand there is another segment of political opportunists, who have been desperately exploiting every possible channel in their lust for power. Knowing they cannot win an election and receive a mandate from the people, they opt for political crosswords to form Governments.

Unfortunately, former Ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi have also fallen into their trap. The duo is now making an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the Government which destroyed the Tigers from the East.

That is precisely what the UNP and the Tiger-proxy Tamil National Alliance (TNA) wants to achieve. When Samaraweera and Sooriyarachchi, could play greater roles in the nation's drive against terrorism, why should they team up with political opportunists? Even if the duo tries to destroy the SLFP and affect their vote base, they would never succeed.

Time and again we witnessed many who tried to destroy their own parties when they fell out with their leaders. None of them succeeded and only ended up in their own political graves. Many local and international parties with vested interest want to put the Lankan Government in troubled waters so that the weakened Tigers could make optimum use of that time to reinforce. It is indeed a crying shame that our own people directly or indirectly support this cause by their acts.

All of us should realise that strength is unity. Be it Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Burghers, we all are sons and daughters of Mother Lanka, which has a rich heritage of nearly 2,600 years. If all of us are united in the nation's drive against terrorism, interested international elements would not be able to meddle in our internal affairs.

If there are political differences, we could settle them with a mandate from the people. The country takes top priority. All political and social leaders here should shun terrorism. The need of the hour is to join hands in this decisive hour to put an end to Prabhakaran's blood-thirsty terrorism.

This is certainly not a struggle against the Tamil community - they are our brothers and sisters. All communities could live in harmony in a united Sri Lanka. It's the political opportunists who inject the venom in innocent people to achieve their political ambitions.

History teaches us many lessons on the power of unity. Sri Lanka fell into the hands of foreign forces when our people were not united. Political and social opportunists existed in those eras too.