Responding to Growing International Concerns on the Eelam War
by Col R Hariharan
This note updates issues raised in earlier, “Tamil Expatriates Have Moral Responsibility To Make Peace Possible” and“War gets dangerously close for trapped civilians”:
Is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) easing its rigid stand on talking peace in the last few days? It would seem so from the political head of the LTTE, Balasingam Nadesan’s e-mail interview published in the Sunday Times, London on March 22. He spoke of the insurgent group’s readiness for talks with the government “without pre-conditions.”
The Sri Lanka government was quick to turn down the offer. Its defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the government was not prepared for any ceasefire talks with a terrorist organization banned in Sri Lanka; but if the LTTE wanted some kind of response from the government the rebels would have to first let the trapped civilians go. However, significantly he added, “We are not asking the LTTE to surrender or lay down arms at this time. We will take care of that later.” This was also a positive sign, a slight departure from earlier Sri Lankan stand.
But given the complexity of the issue, it would be too early to draw any conclusion. Apart from the LTTE’s overflowing cup of misery, developments in the international environment notably in the UN Security council (UNSC), USA, UK and India, could have “persuaded” the Tamil insurgents to respond more positively to the question of peace talks. To be realistic, even if there is some progress after mediation efforts, it might be too late to save the 100,000 to 150,000 (depending upon whose statistics one goes by) civilians in the LTTE’s 26 sq km domain as the Sri Lanka security forces close in further.
The war situation could not be worse for the LTTE. Sri Lanka military machine is moving forward relentlessly regardless of casualties. In fact the inevitability of end results is making more sacrifices of LTTE lives futile. Apparently this gloomy scenario had caused the LTTE chief Prabhakaran to briefly appear in public to boost up the morale of Tamils under fire.
The LTTE had been under heavy flak from the UN agencies during the last two months for its inhuman attitude to the plight of civilians in the war zone. It is no consolation that Sri Lanka had also come under fire for the same reasons because it is the LTTE that is losing the war. The civilians in the area of LTTE control have been getting restive and are trickling out in larger numbers. Sea Tigers efforts to prevent them have not been successful due to navy’s domination of the seas.
The members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the pro-LTTE group into parliament, are already having second thoughts on their continued support the LTTE, which is rapidly losing its clout and muscle power. Things in Tamil Nadu are no better for the LTTE. After the parliament elections have been announced, the major parties which are no friends of the LTTE, have seized the Sri Lanka card from the minor pro-LTTE parties. And the minor parties are in a scramble for winning the support of the big brothers to get a few berths in the elections. So regardless of who wins, fortunes of the LTTE are unlikely to improve greatly in the state.
Under these adverse circumstances, there had been some encouraging international developments for Sri Lanka Tamils, who had been agitating for action to save their Sri Lankan brethren suffering in Wanni. In UK, though the government had been lukewarm to the idea, the Tamil issue was coming up before the House of Commons. (In fact, Nadesan’s interview was published on the eve of the Commons debate.)
In the recent months, the US had been trying to find ways to get the trapped civilians out of the war zone in Wanni. Last month it wanted to employ the Marines to carry out a “consensual evacuation” of the civilians; but dropped the move when even India did not support the idea. In any case it would have found no takers on both the warring sides for different reasons. President Barack Obama had built up a lot of expectations among the Tamil expatriates on the US policy on the Sri Lanka war and plight of Tamils. And they had been lobbying for a discussion in the UNSC on the issue of civilian killings in the war in Wanni. These appear to have borne fruit at last.
The US has come out in strong support when three non-permanent members of the UNSC - Austria, Mexico, and Costa Rica started trying for an “informal briefing” of the issue in the UNSC. The US envoy to the UN Ms Susan Rice supporting the move said, "The United States feels strongly, and concerned, about Sri Lanka, and we support the provision of it to the Council -- a full and updated information on the humanitarian situation.” But nothing may come out of the move as the UNSC is divided over the issue and China has expressed its strong objections to such a discussion. But that does not matter because the Sri Lanka Tamil issue has already been brought to the international limelight putting Sri Lanka on the defensive.
Moreover, Ms Navaneetham Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, had come down heavily on both the Sri Lanka government and the LTTE on the death of civilians in the war zone. She had also said some of their actions could constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Ms Pillay’s pronouncements have come at an inconvenient time for Sri Lanka as the issue was already threatening to spill over to the UNSC. Moreover, some Tamil expatriates have been exploring ways to take Sri Lanka before the International Criminal Court for acts of genocide. So not surprisingly, Sri Lanka has reacted strongly to her statement.
In this environment, it would be logical for the LTTE to help the Tamil expatriates and pro-LTTE lobbies everywhere by taking some positive action. And Nadesan’s Sunday Times interview was probably meant to meet this immediate international need. However, at the same time it does provide a small opening for bringing the two sides to the peace table, though Sri Lanka may put the whole issue in the cold storage till the LTTE is driven out of its last toehold and loses its bargaining capacity.
Sri Lanka government is sitting pretty awaiting the LTTE to run out of blood to shed in the battlefields. But the more the “final victory” is delayed the more is its discomfort as the war is an expensive proposition and the economy is creaking dangerously close to a halt. However, the government has managed to get the International Monetary Fund to agree to lend $ 1.8 billion. Politically, the President Rajapaksa basking under the glow of military victories seems to be comfortable, as he appears to face no major challenge in the near horizon. The main opposition party - the United National Party (UNP) - is having pains of a rebirth to make itself strong to face the ruling coalition. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) mauled in the recent provincial elections is also largely on the defensive.
The ruling party’s efforts to win over individual members of the TNA who are in a survival dilemma appear to have met with some success. President Rajapaksa’s invitation to them for talks has met with positive response of some responsible members of the TNA. This raises some hopes of a possible political rapprochement between the Tamil and Sinhala polity.
The political churning up in India before the general election has prevented the Indian government from taking any major initiative on critical and time bound developments in Sri Lanka although the issue did figure in discussions between the US Secretary of State and the secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs. Thus India has painted itself into irrelevance in Sri Lanka, probably much to the comfort of the latter. This will make the job of redemption and building up of India’s relations with Sri Lanka a little more difficult, particularly if an unviable coalition comes to power in New Delhi. Sri Lanka is probably hoping that its “final victory” would be a fact of life by the time a new government is sworn in New Delhi. So for the time being the India factor is put to sleep, except for the genre of Sri Lanka politicians hunting for imaginary Indian designs on Sri Lanka.
But the international glare of publicity on Sri Lanka’s poor human rights record appears to have offended the nation strongly. So its propaganda arms are systematically running down international NGOs accusing them of colluding with the terrorists. This is not the first time the LTTE had used the gullibility of INGOs in handling terrorism related issues and organisations to its advantage. In the past, the LTTE had infiltrated such bodies with some success even overseas. And it will continue to do so because it is fighting a war of survival. Despite this the Sri Lanka government appears to be taking the steps to improve its falling credits on the human rights scorecard. It has agreed to ease its restrictions on the entry of INGOs in the North. Till now only UN and ICRC relief agencies have been permitted entry. When the A9 road is opened fully for public traffic, the restrictions on them are likely to be progressively eased further.
Sri Lanka government appears to have been shaken up at the possibility of the Sri Lanka human rights issue coming up before the UNSC even as an “informal discussion.” China’s strong, timely support to Sri Lanka in the UNSC is sure to improve its standing in Sri Lanka. And it is likely to positively impact the relations between the two countries over the long term. In similar circumstances in the past, China had baled out Sudan and Myanmar in the UN, and the bonding of their relations with China had become even stronger. This is a strategic development that India would be watching carefully.
Sri Lanka can permanently keep the human rights issue from the unsavoury international attention by taking proactive measures to improve its standards, and they are closely connected with good governance. With the war nearing a close, the sooner Sri Lanka starts on this exercise the better. It would be welcomed not only by Tamils but all sections of Sri Lanka society.
(Col. R Hariharan, a retired Military Intelligence specialist on South Asia, served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90. He is associated with the South Asia Analysis Group and the Chennai Centre for China Studies.)
20 Comments
As usual it's all politics.
No body in IC seem to do anything productive to help the trapped civilians.
Why on earth can't anybody,(US/UN/India) use their muscle power and drag the trapped civilians out of the narrow coastal strip. Nobody seem to be ready to take any risks here and are only looking at possible avenues to further their own interests.
Most of Tamil Diaspora are worst in this regard. They want to see more blood shed like LTTE use that to further their cause for Tamil Ealam. Even at this 11th hour these diaspora Tamils are not ready to ask LTTE to release civilians. Perhaps it is true that Tamil Diaspora is running LTTE and may be LTTE is less brutal if these Diaspora stop advising them.
Anyway I pray that the security forces will complete their mission successfully and save all those trapped Tamil civilians using innovative techniques that they used throughout Ealam War IV.
It is unfortunate to have short term memory only.
The state terrorim and the never ending struggle for Tamils to survive over many years seems to be forgotten. It is these state terrorism that created LTTE.
PLEASE do not overlook the past.
Indiscriminate killing of patients, nurses, doctors and civilians in a public hospital amount to TERRORISM. Please do not forget.
State terrorism has killed several thousand more than what the LTTE has done.
A more balanced view would be much appreciated.
Col. H. never fails to impress! Good article once again, and wholeheartedly agreed. The LTTE must and will be crushed as the FIRST STEP towards peace, but in the process, and definitely afterwards, the GoSL has a lot of work to do and a lot to prove.
The single most important thing to note about the socalled Colonel's analysis is that he is assuming that the SL Government does not have a record of collusion in genocide for the last 50 years.
See, lots of children and women are affected (either by killed or wounded) in the name of War against Terrorism (Bush’s great mistake). Where are the International organizations such as UNICEF gone when lots of children are being killed by the SL forces purposely every day? They usually do crocodile tear about LTTE recruitment of the children for the minor support like carrying food to LTTE. International committees are just the profit organizations (politically and economically) and nothing else.
You really dont know what happens in each and every corner of the country. You cant understand the pain because its ours.
The Tamil Diaspora would rather see ALL the Civilians being forcefully Detained by the LTTE die of Starvation or disease than to see the LTTE die. They would keep silent of the LTTE's diliberate use of Tamils to shield themselves from the SLA. These Diaspora who shout Genocide know full well the truth of what is going on and how the LTTE are struggling to survive and using the Tamil Population as HUMAN SHIELDS. They do and say nothing because that would mean they would turn against the TERRORISTS that they claim that they don't support.
Col. Hariharan,
Are you out of your mind to suggest Tigers should let the trapped civilians go? Where? Into the hands of waiting Sinhala thugs? Didn’t you know how many youngster were made disappeared, from these camps? Didn’t you read the reports UN,HRW , and other indicating of a concentration camp waiting for the civilian went over to Sinhala army’s area?
Tamils might only leave Tiger territory to a UN run camp, or to a facility run by another reliable third country.
It’s pity that Sinhala ruling elite brought SL in the Sudan/Burma ‘club’, and has been seeking China’s help in UN. Misery needs company anyway.
I am glad that you’ve taken note of Eelam Tamil expatriates’ relentless efforts yield some positive results on the international arena, and we can assure you this will continue for generations, if required.
Eelam Tamil expatriates have moved on beyond India, and I hope pretty soon, ‘India factor’ may be no effect on Eelam Tamils as well.
Symptomatic treatment without causative treatment is of no use. The expatriate Tamil Diaspora is agitating towards the causative treatment for the ethnic problem of Sri lanka. Whether the war would bring peace to the country is far from the any one’s imaginations. Your avoidance to write anything about political solutions or about it’s realities reveals the intensions behind it.
“Things in Tamil Nadu are no better for the LTTE. After the parliament elections have been announced, the major parties which are no friends of the LTTE, have seized the Sri Lanka card from the minor pro-LTTE parties. And the minor parties are in a scramble for winning the support of the big brothers to get a few berths in the elections. So regardless of who wins, fortunes of the LTTE are unlikely to improve greatly in the state”
This statement has not taken into consideration of the undercurrents in the common public in Tamil Nadu. Major Parties in TN had been compelled change their stand towards Eelam Tamils and their political aspirations. Future politics of TN is not decided by the political parties but by the political undercurrents of the common people.
“China had baled out Sudan and Myanmar in the UN, and the bonding of their relations with China had become even stronger. This is a strategic development that India would be watching carefully” Statement that reveals India’s current predicament in the whole Srilankan ethnic issue and India’s difficulties in bridging the gap between its strategic-interest and political approach towards Srilanka. Never the less the ethnic problem in Srilanka is a confounding factor for India’s geopolitical manoeuvring in it’s Southern tip.
Colonel,
"Sri Lanka can permanently keep the human rights issue from the unsavoury international attention by taking proactive measures to improve its standards."
Do you think a murderer should be allowed to go scot-free just because he has satiated himself with murders and wants to take a break and act good?
Sri Lanka's current regime has taken actions that have inescapably made it a criminal state. We in the Tamil disapora will not cease in our efforts to mete out justice even if it takes 100 years. Remember how Chile's Pinochet was hounded till death?
.
In short, what you are saying is, India has lost again in international conflict.
Whether peace loving Dalai Lama or Armed carrying Prabakaran, were let down by Indians.
:-)
Well Col.
Readers can differentiate truth from bad propaganda
Best wishes.
why these diasspora doesnt agitate & pressure LTTE to release their own kith and kin is puzzling me to no end.
they kill and maim the escapees why???. this is simply mass hostage taking.
Rodney Gunapala
another anti-tamil, and anti-ltte, statements. nothing intresting.
It is the Congress party in India who are gullible, not all the foreign organisations and NGO's. Firstly the fell into the trap of the 'old fox', JRJ and had their fingers burnt badly. Now they are being led up the garden path by MR and are ignoring the aspirations of their own people in Tamil Nadu, turning a blind eye to the suffering of the Tamil people in the NE.
Very soon they will come to realise their mistake in supporting MR against the people of Tamil Nadu and the the worldwide diaspora. Come the elections the Congress will face reckoning and be beaten and the hardline BJP will be swept into power.
Quote :When the A9 road is opened fully for public traffic, the restrictions on them are likely to be progressively eased further.
What happen to A26 in the east? Have any NGO was able to go there ?
What a cock and bull story
the plan was all or nothing. 'all' option was lost long time ago. there is no provision for 'some' because the plan did not allow for it. now tamils are heading for nothing, nada... zilch. this is all part of a cunning plan. wait and see how smart these folks are!
Dear Col Hari,
When LTTE was advancing towards Jaffna, India intervened on "HUMANITERAN GROUND" and was planning to evacuate 40 thousand alien Sinhala army - later revealed that it was a time buying game.
Now, Tamil civilians without food, medicine and shelter shelled by Sinhala forces. Indian PM says "WAIT AND SEE".
If this is not double game what else?
You mentioned ”China’s strong, timely support to Sri Lanka in the UNSC is sure to improve its standing in Sri Lanka."
And India is watching here too.
I think India is confused it's self-interest with what is morally right and wrong. And that is why India has enemy in every corner.
India and Eelam Tamils had bitter experiences, but that should not dither India welcoming unchanged friendship invitations from Eelam Tamils. Tamils still consider India as their fartherland.
Colonel
May be Rajiv Gandhi from the powerful Nehru dynasty was killed by agents of the ltte. But India is Gandhi Thesam. There must be a limit to Revenge.
How many young Tamils have been killed. Can you recall the fact that IPKF walked into the Jaffna Hospital and shot and killed the Doctors Nurses and Patients.
Can you recall that IPKF helped aided the EPRLF to recruit child soldiers trained and armed them
Why are you Cowardice Why dont you accept what you did
Now, don t you see the Tamils are being killed daily Why dont you accept, what Nimal de Silva says. He says that without Indias help they would not be able to kill and displace the Tamils from their habitats.
Now why do you want the Sinhala army to take them to Concentration Camps. Why don t you allow them to go back to their own homes
India should know better. Dont you see the atrocities committed by MRs brother Gothabaya
Why dont you stop your revenge and bring the war to a close and let the Tamils live! Dont you see that it is in your hands.
You are the Paramathma of the Scenario!
Its quite strange. Not a single Tamil here acknowledge LTTE cowardice holding women and kids as a civilian shield as claimed by UN. Yet, they show concern for humanity. They scream asking for ceasefire. Yet, they know its LTTE that has suspended unilaterally ceasefires going back 3 decades. They know armed forces are forced into military action because of LTTE. Yet, they never demand LTTE stop the violence even though Tamil themselves suffer most.
No one believed when we said Tamils were 'special'. I think the world knows it now too.