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Sinister campaigns will not deter Sri Lanka

When LTTE terrorism was at its peak and the country was gripped by the Tigers’ merciless terror attacks, barely anybody uttered a word against the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit.

Thanks to the few friendly countries which stood by Sri Lanka to beat the Western conspiracies and help the country’s valiant Security Forces, Sri Lanka scored a first in eradicating terrorism.

Ever since Sri Lanka won its relentless battle against terrorism, a few Western countries targeted the island and exerted undue pressure. Even before Sri Lanka crushed LTTE terror, many INGOs and Tiger sympathisers demanded the withdrawal of the Security Forces in the North. Some Colombo-based diplomats raised a big hue and cry over the Security Forces’ presence in the North and the East.

One wonders how the withdrawal of the Security Forces from the North would help the Tamils overcome their problems in the two provinces. It was only the other day that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had quite rightly pointed out that these are two different subjects altogether.

As a sovereign nation, Sri Lanka has every right to deploy its Security Forces at any location of its choice. None could question that right as the Government has the best interests of the nation at heart, and provides security to the people who had been plagued by LTTE terrorism for almost three decades. When the United States is even spying on its friendly countries, Sri Lanka has every right to take precautionary measures for a lasting peace. At a time the National Security Agency (NSA) goes to the extent of spying on other countries under the guise of national security, Sri Lanka has every right to protect its citizens who had been the worst affected due to terrorism.

A German delegation of intelligence officials was in Washington last week for talks at the White House, following claims that the US had monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone. But lo and behold, the top US intelligence officials had defended the monitoring of foreign leaders as a key goal of its operations.

The US is facing growing anger over reports that it spied on its allies abroad. It has also come to light that the NSA had monitored French diplomats in Washington and at the UN, and that it conducted surveillance checks on millions of French and Spanish telephone calls, among other operations against US allies. According to reports, the US intelligence had monitored the activities of 35 world leaders.

If the US could defiantly ignore all accepted international norms, nobody in his or her right senses could challenge Sri Lanka’s right to decide on the location of its military camps. Moreover, this is totally unrelated to the problems of the Tamils in the North. If the Tamils in the North have specific problems, these are purely due to their geographical location and not due to ethnicity. Such problems are not unique to the Tamils as Muslims and Sinhalese also experience them.

President Rajapaksa has stressed time and again that the Government has adopted a new approach to defeat separatism. The Government has launched a massive development drive in all parts of the country, including in the North and the East, for the people’s prosperity and wipe out the root cause of terrorism. Moreover, the Security Forces are committed to the country’s national security and have the right to do so. Some elements with vested interests have alleged that the Government has done little to heal the wounds of the people, although it has ensured the development of the North and the East.

However, they fail to realise that the Government’s aim is to provide equal facilities to all communities in all parts of the country.

The proposal put forward by certain countries, INGOs and the LTTE rump to dismantle the military camps from the North is not practical. It goes without saying that the Army camps in the North cannot be withdrawn under any circumstance as the presence of Security Forces personnel is vital to protect the country's territorial integrity.

The Government has been asked to withdraw the Army camps from the North and the East as a means to solve the problems faced by Tamils. But it has to be borne in mind that there are Army camps in other parts of the country as well to guarantee the nation’s security. Hence, the problems of the Tamils cannot be solved by merely withdrawing the military presence in the North and the East. This could, on the other hand, only create a conducive atmosphere for the LTTE rump to spread the separatism virus again.

The LTTE cohorts are making a desperate attempt to glorify a megalomaniac terrorist leader who had massacred thousands of civilians, religious and social leaders including former President R. Premadasa and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Some disgruntled elements both here and abroad are hell-bent on turning Vellamullivaikkal, where the world’s most ruthless terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran met his waterloo, into a memorial site. Vellamullivaikkal had earned notoriety from where murderous terrorist leaders, who had massacred thousands of hapless civilians in villages, unleashed unprovoked attacks on the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Sri Dalada Maligawa and other places of religious worship, perished.

Hence, the international community should not fall prey to the sinister campaigns of the LTTE rump to win sympathy. With the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 round the corner, the LTTE rump has intensified its vicious campaign to discredit the Government and sully Sri Lanka’s image in the eyes of the world. These campaigns gather momentum, especially on the eve of an international forum.

Certain Opposition politicians in Tamil Nadu are adding fuel to the fire to take undue advantage. Their campaigns are poles apart from the true sentiments of the Tamils in Tamil Nadu. Some Tamil Nadu politicians are shouting themselves hoarse from the rooftops over India’s participation in CHOGM 2013. In this scenario, the bold statement of India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid that he would participate at the CHOGM 2013 is indeed commendable.

LTTE sympathisers are attempting to spread separatism in India and other parts of the world, including the Western countries which had adopted them. Petrol bombs were hurled at two post offices in Chennai on Monday night by members of the Dravida Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK), who were agitated over the Indian External Affairs Minister’s statement confirming his participation in CHOGM 2013. Since the Department of Posts is run by India’s Union government, four members of the outfit attacked post offices. Fortunately, there was little damage to property save a franking machine at the Mylapore head office.

A few minutes later, the same group of activists had hurled petrol bombs at the Mandaveli post office, triggering a fire in the compound which was promptly doused. Two days later, a few activists of the pro-Tamil outfit allegedly threw a burning wooden log into the premises of the Income Tax office in Salem. Sri Lanka is acutely aware of problems faced by Indian leaders as certain politicians in Tamil Nadu have more often than not attempted to take unfair advantage by dragging Sri Lanka’s internal affairs to achieve their hidden agenda. Nevertheless, India would never act in a manner which hurts the long-standing Indo-Lanka ties.

The LTTE rump would descend to any level to discredit Sri Lanka and prejudice the Commonwealth Heads of Government. At the same time, politicians of a few Western countries who depend heavily on the vote of the adopted Tamils sing a different melody to sully Sri Lanka’s image. Amidst tremendous odds, Sri Lanka maintains its stance - inviting leaders of Commonwealth nations to visit the country and see for themselves the magnificent transformation that has taken place from the day terrorism was eradicated.