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THE WAR
Theÿ'War' as we have known
it for the last 25 years or so is in its final phase.
The army has to clear less than 60 square kilometres of
land in Mullaithivu. With that, for the first time in 22
years the LTTE will not be controlling any land area of
this country. After the initial stages of urban
guerrilla warfare, the LTTE took control of most of
Jaffna peninsula after the army was restricted to
barracks during the Thimpu talks.
In
the next two decades the land mass shrank and expanded
as the advantage of the war shifted from one side to the
other. WhenÿEelam war IV started, LTTE controlled
approximately 15,000 square kilometres of land in the
north and east and had set up a de facto state with
their own courts, police stations, etc. etc.ÿÿ But the
appearance of a separate state was more a myth than
reality. It is the Sri Lankan state that paid the bills
for medical faculties, education, and the thousands of
government servants who had the unenviable task of
serving two masters - the government in
Colombo
and the LTTE leadership in the north and east. All of
that is now history.
When
the government announced at the start of Eelam war
IVÿthat it was going to wipe out the Tigers in three
years, few thought it possible. Most people in this
country and abroad were skeptical. After all we all had
heard it before. From Lalith Athulathmudali to Anuruddha
Ratwatte, those who led the war effort had confidently
predicted the demise of the LTTE before.
One
could argue about the methods used but what cannot be
argued is that it worked.ÿThe strategy of 'all out war'
with a clear objective of defeating the Tigers once and
for all was a high risk gamble. ÿIf the war had dragged
on, the huge cost of a sustained military offensive
could have bankrupted the country.ÿ Defeating an armed
group rated as the best rebel group in the world was
never going to be an easy task. ÿSri Lanka has
managedÿto progress economically despite the war. The
economic fall outÿof the drawn out conflict was
manageable.
Successive governments did not have the courage or the
foolhardiness ( whichever way one wants to look at it)
to risk everythingÿ to take on the most feared armed
group in the world.
The
single minded commitment of this government, especially
the much maligned Defence Secretaryÿ Gotabaya Rajapakseÿ
and Army Commander Lieutenant Generalÿ Sarathÿ Fonseka
may haveÿpossibly saved the country from a long drawn
out economic disaster in the larger context.
However, the country is not out of the woods. A lot more
needs to be done especially to make the minorities feel
secure. The mood ofÿtriumphalismÿamong a large section
of the Sinhalese could do immense harm to this country.
The importance of magnanimity in victory cannot be
stressed enough. If this is seen as a victory over the
Tamils and not simply as a victory over the LTTE,ÿethnic
relations will take a nose dive. What even Pirapaharan
could not achieve - to create an unbridgeable divide
between the Sinhalese and the Tamils -ÿcould be the
result. That would make the sacrifices made by thousands
of soldiers and tens of thousands of people in this
country an absolute waste and lay the foundation for
further bloodshed in the future. It may not happen in
our life time butÿthe possibility of history repeating
itself is very high. Do we need to take that chance and
place in jeopardy the future of a future generation?
What
is needed today is an enlightened leadership on both
sides. President Mahinda Rajapakse has a historical
opportunityÿto lay the foundation for a united, multi
ethnic, multi religious nationÿthat is at peace. If he
shows the same courage he has shown in waging 'full
scale war' in managing the peace, then there is hope of
achieving that goal.ÿ The President needs to take a leaf
out of U.S. President Barack Obama's book and extend a
hand of friendship to the Tamils, not merely in words
but by actions.
The
action that needs to be done is not rocket science. The
Tamils must be made to feel that they can live in this
island as equals, that they can achieve their
aspirations and hopes without discrimination. Certainly
it is easier said than done and will take time. But for
the first time in 30 yearsÿthere is a real
opportunity,ÿand all that is needed is political courage
that was lacking in successive leaders since
independence.
ÿWhat is equally important
is for the leaders of the Tamil community to overcome
theirÿsense of defeatism and grasp every opportunity to
further this goal. If the current Tamil leadership sees
the defeat ofÿthe LTTE as a defeat of Tamil aspirations,
then it will become a self fulfilling prophecy.
The
Sunday Leader has over the last two and a half years
been very critical of some aspects of the war,
speciallyÿcorruption and human rights violations that
took place. For this, the government and a section of
the people have labelled us unpatriotic or worse
'traitors.' The Sunday Leader always stood for a united,
multi ethnic, multi religious nation where all its
citizens are treated as equals. For that we will always
fight.
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