Archives

Enter the Tigers

The LTTE has entered the elections with a bang. The assassination attempt on the Prime Minister was a sinister warning that they have to be reckoned with as a force that is bent on influencing the outcome of the poll on December 5.

It is also a grim reminder that whatever the issues of contention between the 18 political parties and 42 independent groups that are officially in the contest, the central issue before the country is the fratricidal war in the North and the East and the national question.

Whichever party comes to power at the elections, it will have the national problem as priority Number One I its governmental agenda.

The Tigers have not confined their influence to bomb attacks, assassinations. They are operating on two fronts.

First, is the military front. They are escalating the war. A major victory for them at election time would weaken the chances of a PA victory, the surmise. One could recall their onslaught prior to the Presidential elections in 1999. Intelligence reports already point towards preparation by the LTTE for a major offensive.

The other is the political front. For the first time they have managed to form an alliance of Tamil political parties that would toe their line at the hustings.

The alliance of Tamil political parties comprising the TULF, ACTC, TELO and EPRLF (Suresh Wing) have openly admitted the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil people who alone should be represented in future peace talks with the government.

Secretary General of the TULF Mr. R. Sampanthan addressing alliance activists in Trincomalee recently categorically stated, "The Tamil parties' alliance has been formed to muster support of the Tamil people and their political forces for the freedom struggle of the Liberation Tigers in and out of parliament and is not aimed at elections".

Make no mistake. The Liberation Tigers have come into the election struggle in a big way. What more, they are not confined to the North and East or the Tamil parties.

They are using the Tamil party alliance as a lever to influence the Southern parties. This alliance has now reached an accord with the UNP or its broad front, the UNF. They talk of a MoU, the contents of which are not disclosed unlike the PA-JVP MoU, which was fully transparent.

The country needs peace. The war has to be halted. Discussions need to be held with the LTTE. Compromises have to be made.

Yet, under whose agenda, should they be undertaken?

The voters will have to make an intelligent decision on December 5.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager