Vigilance, the need of the hour

Sri Lanka celebrated its 60th independence anniversary on a grand scale.

Irrespective of political affiliations and religious beliefs, Lankans from all parts of the country gathered under the Lion flag to celebrate the independence anniversary as the Security Forces pledged to eradicate terrorism and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this resplendent island.

The LTTE tried every means and used every possible tactic under the sun to disrupt civil life and paint a gloomy picture. Political opportunists 'blessed' with INGO funding either directly or indirectly contributed to create a panic situation.

Thanks to the untiring efforts of the Security Forces which kept a sharp eye and those loyal and patriotic citizens who acted in a responsible manner, none of these elements was able to make any impact.

A couple of explosions occurred at the Fort Railway Station and at Dambulla but the LTTE's efforts to make use of those to create unrest were a dismal failure. '200-gram blasts' at the Dehiwela Zoological Gardens and at Mt. Lavinia were also reported.

The LTTE mechanism working at full steam round the clock to belittle our independence anniversary, failed miserably, except for the few lives claimed through their terror acts.

The LTTE has been unleashing a 'mental war'' on civilians through bomb attacks to cover its defeats in the North. Whenever the LTTE terrorists face severe military setbacks, they make efforts to instill fears in civilians. We should understand this ploy, which is another face of terrorism.

The most distressing news last week were that of the seven schoolboys who became unfortunate victims at the Fort Railway Station explosion. The boys - all members of the D. S. Senanayake College baseball team, along with their coach, were killed when the LTTE female suicide bomber blew herself up. They were innocent schoolboys who were returning home after a baseball tournament in Peradeniya.

However, there were hardly any human rights watchdogs, the so-called 'international community' or INGOs/NGOs to condemn this merciless act. Were there even a few condolence messages from human right organisations? How many countries condemned this inhuman act? Where were those so-called peace agents who distribute those black arm bands and 'satakayas' at funerals? While the HR bodies and INGOs kept mum on the issue, the so-called media pundits, who crow for 'freedom' also turned a blind eye. There are enough and more media organisations to voice for media freedom. Indeed that is a good sign and it augurs well to protect the rights of our fellow brethren.

But what is baffling is the extraordinary silence of some print and electronic media organisations. Some television stations and newspapers which have 'human rights' segments on a regular basis failed to see much 'news value', 'human interest' or 'importance' on the deaths of those seven schoolboys.

It is unethical to comment on the attitude of some of our colleagues who engage in the same profession, but we are compelled to focus on this type of irresponsible reporting and organised media campaigns in the name of our motherland. We value our country, its sovereignty and territorial integrity much more than those journalistic ethics. Hence we question the 'controversial' conduct of those 'media agents'.

Peace is the need of the hour. But what matters is the path to peace, how you achieve it. The peace we have been talking about is a dignified peace, acceptable to all communities here. That 'peace' should also strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our motherland.

There was a time when some believed in 'artificial' peace. The slogan during Ranil Wickremesinghe's Government was 'peace at any cost'. That prompted them to sign a controversial Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) to give an unofficial mandate to Velupillai Prabhakaran to run his own affairs. Under the CFA, Wickremesinghe officially accepted areas 'controlled' by the LTTE.

Ever since President Mahinda Rajapaksa took office two years ago, things changed drastically. Hardly anyone during the 2001-2004 period believed in eliminating the Tigers from the East. But our brave Security Forces have now liberated the East and are now in the process of putting a permanent end to terrorism in the North as well.

Even when the Tigers kill their own Tamil community, the pro-LTTE media and their sympathisers try to discredit the Government by putting the blame on our Security Forces. When LTTE child soldiers are caught in bomb explosions, the Tigers conveniently put the blame on the Government and try to fool the international community. Some countries, INGOs and human rights bodies also fall prey to the well-organised media campaigns of the LTTE.

As the Security Forces are nearing the Mullaitivu and Wanni jungles, barbaric Prabhakaran could only resort to soft civilian targets in the South. All of us should understand this clearly and maintain vigilance at all times and support the Security Forces to complete their final mission successfully. As President Rajapaksa emphasised in his Independence Day address to the nation, these hardships are temporary, until the brave Security Forces put a permanent end to Prabhakaran's ruthless terror acts.

For our part, we could maintain vigilance and wholeheartedly back our Security Forces to complete what the Wickremesinghe administration considered 'mission impossible'.