Anandasangaree's bitter truth

The leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), V. Anandasangaree made an important statement after the LTTE put forward a condition that their decision on dates for the next round of peace talks with the Government would depend on the re-opening of the A-9 route which links Jaffna with Kandy.

Anandasangaree said that the Tigers are not interested in finding a solution to the ethnic issue. In his media release, the TULF leader stated it was very unfortunate that the LTTE's negotiating team that went to Geneva for talks had returned empty handed.

"But this is no surprise to me since I expected this. As often said by me, the LTTE has now proved to the international community that they are not at all interested in finding a solution to the ethnic issue for a variety of reasons," Anandasangaree said.

As a democrat who firmly believes in the ballot, and not the bullet, like the terrorists, this moderate Tamil politician has come out with the gospel truth behind LTTE intransigence. He questions, "if and when a solution is found, what would happen to the LTTE's leaders and where would they go?"

The next reason for the LTTE's reluctance to make a sincere effort towards the peace process could be the interest shown by the international community over the conflict. The LTTE terrorists are aware that their leaders would not get the same recognition from the international community, if the government's peace process emerges victorious. Under such circumstances, the LTTE will not be graced by VIPs, VVIPs or diplomats.

The fearless TULF leader questions; Will they enjoy the same power as they do now? Will the local leaders who wield so much of power derived from the LTTE leadership and keeping the poor, timid Tamil civilians under their strict control, tolerate being deprived of their princely positions?

The Tigers are also well aware of the fact that the peace-loving public in the North and East would not tolerate the LTTE, if peace is achieved. In order to maintain what they have achieved through the bullet, the LTTE is using different strategies to make sure the problem drags on for many more years.

The expectations of the public were high when the Government and the LTTE left for Switzerland last weekend. The pact between the SLFP and the UNP too contributed to increase the expectations of the people as well as the politicians.

On the other hand, the LTTE too came for talks without any preconditions. That looked a positive sign that further raised the expectations of all, including the international community. But at the end, it looked that the Tigers had taken everyone for a ride as before, placing preconditions for the next round of talks.

The LTTE is keen on opening the A-9 route for obvious reasons. By focusing the A-9 issue, the LTTE is trying to pretend they are interested in humanitarian issues involved. The Government has practically given other alternatives; either to use alternate routes or for the LTTE to give up violence to open the A-9 route.

But if the Tigers are genuinely interested in finding solutions to the burning problems of their own people, most of them created by their own terrorist activities, they have enough and more issues to discuss.

In fact, only a stretch of the A-9 route from Muhamalai has been closed. The Tigers are keen to get that reopened, not just for the benefit of the ordinary civilians but for their own benefit. Ever since the banning of the outfit by the international community, their fund raising has been severely affected.

Therefore the taxes raised from vehicles operating along the A-9 route, estimated around Rs. 300 million per month, has been their major alternative source of income.

This could be the reason for LTTE's 'extraordinary' concern for humanitarian needs. They urged the Government to open the A-9 route to enable the smooth passage of vehicles carrying essential supplies.

However, they attacked ships when food supplies were transported by sea route. One cannot understand the logic of this stance if the interpretation is otherwise.

As Anandasangaree has pointed out, many organisations and individuals have brought to the Government's notice the various food shortages in the North and President Mahinda Rajapaksa took prompt action, did everything possible, in spite of the LTTE threat on transportation of essentials by ships. The LTTE even prevented the ICRC from giving any assistance.

The people in the North ought to pay tribute to those brave sailors who ventured to navigate the ships carrying cargo to Jaffna at grave risk. These are facts that the international community should take into consideration, when considering the A- 9 road issue and in the second round of talks.

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