Opinion

Hard-earned peace should be protected

By K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga

Some Opposition politicians have often made a big hue and cry over the country’s defence expenditure and spending on the Security Forces after the military defeat of the LTTE.

British High Commissioner John Rankin at a montessori during his visit to the North.

They try to get petty political mileage by accusing the Government regarding budgetary allocations on defence, ignoring the fact that the threat of terrorism could raise its ugly head once again.

Though the leadership of the LTTE, the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit, was vanquished a little over five years ago and militarily defeated, the possibility of the remaining LTTE cadres and leaders who had fled the country making an attempting to revive the outfit is a possibility that cannot be rule out.

The defence authorities are acutely aware of such possibility and have strengthened their intelligence network to face the future. Though the Opposition think that the Security Forces have relaxed and taken up things lightly after the dawn of peace in May, 2009, the true sons of our soil have taken extra precautions to prevent the remaining LTTE cadres from regrouping and trying to resurrect the terror outfit.

Peace

Apprehending several key LTTE leaders from overseas, especially from countries such as Malaysia, was a result of in depth study of the operations of LTTE activists abroad and the intensive surveillance by the intelligence units of the Security Forces. At times, it is even harder than ground battles with the LTTE as a vast area has to be covered to unveil the hidden activities of the LTTE cadres operating abroad.

Hence, the accusations of the Oppositions are mere political acts that undermine the hard and strenuous efforts by the military intelligence to protect the country’s hard-earned peace.

The peace enjoyed by one and all did not come on a platter but through the immense efforts of the valiant Security Forces who sacrificed their future to create the peaceful environment we all enjoy today. Hence, we cannot allow any force on earth to rob that hard-earned peace, be it the LTTE or any other terror outfit in the world.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has revealed the formation of an Indian branch of his global terror group. He has declared that he would spread Islamic rule and “raise the flag of jihad” across the subcontinent.

In a video spotted in online 'jihadist' fora last week by the SITE terrorism monitoring group, Zawahiri said the new force would “crush the artificial borders” dividing Muslim populations in the region. Al-Qaeda is highly active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where its surviving leadership are thought to be hiding out, but Zawahiri said the group would take the fight to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Caliphate

“This entity was not set up today but is the fruit of a blessed effort of more than two years to gather the mujahedeen in the Indian sub-continent into a single entity,” was quoted as saying.

Founded by Osama bin Laden, who was killed in Pakistan by US commandos in May 2011, al-Qaeda has long claimed leadership of the self-declared jihadists fighting to restore a single caliphate in Muslim lands. However, since the death of its figurehead, it has been somewhat eclipsed, first by its own offshoots in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and now by the so-called ‘Islamic State’ fighting in Iraq and Syria.

It is still regarded as a major threat to the West though the group has not carried another attack on the scale of the 9/11 attack in 2001 that shocked the world with attacks by hijacked airliners on New York and Washington.

In launching ‘Qaedat al-Jihad in the Indian sub-continent,’ Zawahiri may be attempting to recapture some of the limelight for his group and to exploit existing unrest in Kashmir and Myanmar. “It is an entity that was formed to promulgate the call of the reviving imam, Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy upon him,” Zawahiri had said.

Zawahiri has called on the ‘umma’, or Muslim nation, to unite around ‘tawhid or monotheism’, to wage jihad against its enemies, to liberate its land, to restore its sovereignty and to revive its caliphate’. He says that the group would recognise the overarching leadership of the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar and be led day-to-day by senior Pakistani fighter Asim Umar.

The 55-minute video begins with stock footage of the late bin Laden giving a sermon, before cutting to a satellite map of southwest Asia, the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent and the Horn of Africa. White-bearded Zawahiri, in a white turban and glasses, appears next - against the backdrop of a brown floral curtain and desk with hardback books and a tin holding ballpoint pens and prayer beads.

Sincere effort

The video is a production of Al-Qaeda's usual media arm, the As-Sahab Media Foundation - 'The Cloud' - and SITE reported that it had been widely distributed on jihadist online fora.

Following Ayman al-Zawahiri’s announcement, Sri Lanka has said that it was taking the al-Qaeda threat ‘very seriously’ and would review its visa restrictions to prevent extremists entering the country. Several Indian states were placed on high alert after al-Qaeda launched a new branch to ‘wage jihad’ in South Asia, seeking to invigorate its waning extremist movement. Hence, all South Asian nations should be united and share their expertise to face the threat of terrorism. Unless all countries in South Asian unite in one voice and make a sincere effort, eradicating terrorism from the region will be a distant dream.

The South Asian nations hit by terrorism should use Sri Lanka's expertise and first hand battlefield experience to eradicate terrorism in their countries too. Not only the countries in South Asia but also those in the West which are threatened by Al-Qaeda should not hesitate to make use of Sri Lanka's know how to face the challenge successfully.

But it seems that those countries in the West are reluctant and are in two minds in using Sri Lanka's unmatched experience in crushing terrorism. Instead of hailing Sri Lanka's efforts in becoming the first country to wipe out terrorism, a couple of Western countries continue to exert undue pressure by dragging out alleged war crimes charges.

British High Commissioner John Rankin, after a tour to North last week, has admitted that the country's Northern region is moving forward from its difficult past but appears to be hesitant to give the full credit, saying that “some concerns still remain”.

“I was pleased to visit the North again to see for myself the current situation on the ground; the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain. I was also happy to meet those involved in addressing the concerns and restoring normality to the region. In my discussions, it was clear that the region is moving forward from its difficult past, but some concerns remain,” Rankin was quoted as saying after his three-day visit to the North.

Having toured Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya, meeting the Government and Security Forces officials, members of political parties, the police, the British Council, humanitarian organisations and resettled communities, Rankin has admitted that the Northern Province is moving forward.

Propaganda

“I visited the Mullaitivu Hindu Tamil Vidyalam which I last visited three years ago and was delighted to see the new buildings being used by its talented students,” says the British High Commissioner.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has always asked the international community to visit the North to gain first-hand experience without making sweeping statements based on the propaganda of the LTTE rump and a section of the Tamil Diaspora which had often come out with concocted stories to mislead the West. The top British envoy could not hide his honest feelings after experiencing the true situation in the North which is totally different from what the Tiger cohorts has been projecting to the international community.

Having spoken to several recently resettled families in Puthukkudiyiruppu, Rankin had said that it was “encouraging to see firsthand the progress made in areas such as demining and resettlement,” commending the steps taken by the Government. His views should be an eye-opener to the other Colombo based diplomats.

If the countries in the West are sincerely interested in the well-being of the people in the North, they should make a tangible contribution to the Government's efforts in improving the living standards of the people in the North who had been rescued from the jaws of death. They were the people who had been subjected to untold privations due to LTTE terror and the terrorists had also held them forcibly as a human shield.

Foreign diplomats need not urge the Government to take further steps to held the people in the North. The Government has been doing exactly that since the Northern Province was liberated from the LTTE. All what the Colombo-based diplomats, especially those from the West, should do is to enlighten their Governments on the true ground situation in Sri Lanka and open the eyes of their leaders.

We assume that the Western countries which often voice on the well-being of the people in the North are doing that in good faith without any hidden agenda. But they must demonstrate their sincerity and honestly by making an active contributions to support the Government's welfare measures. Mere talking will not take the people anywhere further.

The Government has made a lone effort to develop the North and to find a better tomorrow for the people in the province. Mega development projects have been implemented in the province with the help of a few friendly countries. But the West could play a greater role and practice what they preach.