Sincerity, the need of the hour
Sri Lanka's relentless battle
against terrorism has come to a virtual end with the entire Northern
Province being cleared, except for an eight square kilometre stretch in
the No Fire Zone (NFZ).
With the utmost care for the lives of innocent civilians, the
Security Forces are in the process of liberating the remaining civilians
trapped in the NFZ as the LTTE is forcibly keeping them as a human
shield.
Even at this late stage, some countries, INGOs and a section of the
International Community (IC) are making a desperate attempt to persuade
the Government to go for a ceasefire. But the Government has been firm
in its decision that the battle against terrorism would not be stopped
until the last terrorist is defeated.
The Security Forces are carrying out a humanitarian operation to
rescue the civilians forcibly held by a group of terrorists and not
against a particular ethnic group.
Even the few countries and INGOs which are lobbying to give the last
drop of 'oxygen' to the LTTE are well aware of ruthless terrorism. That
is why perhaps they show 'extra concern' for the civilians trapped in
the NFZ and use it as the sole weapon to press for a ceasefire. There
have been many requests for a ceasefire. But as President Mahinda
Rajapaksa has pointed out, there was no time and need for such at this
stage as the Government's aim is to liberate the remaining civilians in
the NFZ within the next few days.
Over the past three decades, successive Governments in Sri Lanka have
expended a great deal of effort to negotiate for a peaceful settlement,
but the LTTE has never been sincere in its dealings at the negotiating
table. On the other hand the LTTE made use of such periods of peace
talks to reinforce and strengthen their military capabilities.
It is unequivocally clear that terrorist chief Velupillai Prabhakaran
understands only the gun culture. Hence, the Government has no option
but to treat the Tigers in the language they understand best.
Prabhakaran and his men have brutally killed thousands of innocent
people, including heads of State such as Indian Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi and President Ranasinghe Premadasa. The Tigers have also murdered
several Ministers, Tamil leaders, religious dignitaries, intellectuals
and countless innocent civilians belonging to all three ethnicities -
Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.
Instead of calling for a ceasefire from the Government, the
international community should order the LTTE terrorist outfit to permit
the innocent civilians trapped in the NFZ to move to the safe areas so
that the Security Forces could provide them with all facilities.
The Government is making a sincere effort to protect its people,
irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds, through the humanitarian
missions in the North and the East. Foreigners could not have a greater
feeling for our own people than our leaders.
The International Community must seriously consider the proven track
record of the Government in liberating people from the clutches of LTTE
terror and resettling them in next to no time. Having liberated the
Eastern Province, the Government successfully resettled around 200,000
IDPs in the East.
These hapless people were not only rescued from the ruthless LTTE
terror rule and resettled, but were also granted their democratic
rights. The Eastern Provincial Council elections and Local Government
elections were conducted to enable the people in the area to elect their
own representatives to run local and provincial administrations. The
Government's speedy resettlement program implemented in the East was
hailed by many countries and INGOs. Infrastructure development programs
have been implemented and the people in the East are making a tangible
contribution to the national economy. The Government's top priority is
to implement a similar program for the North as well, once the LTTE is
completely defeated within the next couple of weeks.
The resettlement program in the Northern Province has already got off
the ground under the personal supervision of Senior Presidential Advisor
and Parliamentarian Basil Rajapaksa MP. Over 400 persons from 122
families in Savariarpuram in the Mannar district have been resettled in
their original places of residence.
On the direction of the President, this program would be expedited to
resettle all IDPs as fast as possible. Until such time, the Government
will take good care of the IDP camps and provide all facilities.
The Government has taken all measures to ensure that these people
were provided with all basic needs. The children of these families can
now attend school. All Government agencies such as Divisional
Secretariats, Post offices and stores are kept open for civilians.
Sri Lanka needs global assistance to develop the North and the
East.Nevertheless, the aid organisations should be honest in helping
civilians who have fled from the barbaric LTTE rule. Certain INGOs have
been engaged in futile attempts to create fissures among communities on
the pretext of assisting Sri Lanka. They should by no means be allowed
to sow the seeds of discord and division among communities.
It is the paramount duty of all Sri Lankans to give their
wholehearted support to the Government's sincere efforts to put an end
to terrorism which has plagued Sri Lanka for over three decades. It's
time to sink petty political and other differences to beat the common
enemy.It would not be out of context to reiterate the important
statement made by President Rajapaksa at the last UN General Assembly -
that terrorism anywhere in the world is terrorism and should be treated
in equal fashion.There can't be good terrorists and bad terrorists.If
those countries which raise a big hue and cry for the safety of
civilians are sincere, they should genuinely support President
Rajapaksa's unrelenting battle against terrorism. |