The need for restraint

WITH the LTTE in all probability aiming at a communal backlash in Southern Sri Lanka by triggering the twin bomb blasts in Nittambuwa and Godagama on Friday and Saturday last week, killing 21 persons and injuring scores of others, the public would do well to pay heed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's cautionary advice that they exercise complete restraint and patience in the days ahead.

Nothing would be valued more by the LTTE at present than a violent backlash against Tamil civilians and Tamil interests in Southern Sri Lanka in the wake of their grave and bloody acts of provocation, such as the killing and harming of Southern civilians.

The continued targetting of civilians by the LTTE is calculated to plunge Southern Sri Lanka into a communal bloodbath and nothing could be of greater importance than communal harmony in the country, born of restraint, patience and understanding.

A violation of these norms of conduct would be tantamount to playing into the Tigers' paws. For, the LTTE could then tell the world that the Tamil community is being subjected to inhuman cruelty and harassment, in particularly Southern Sri Lanka. This would help the Tigers in advancing their separatist designs.

Accordingly, the needs of the hour in the Lankan polity are patience, tolerance and understanding. As for taking the LTTE to task, this is a chore for the Security Forces and the Police. By helping to keep the peace, the latter could be helped greatly in the task of defeating LTTE terror.

In fact, through their recent acts of terror, the Tigers have proved that they are fiendishly against cooperating in the peace process.

By repeatedly unleashing murderous violence on civilians, the LTTE proves beyond doubt that it intends sticking to the path of terror. Needless to say, as long as the Tigers remain committed to violence and terror, the Government would be obliged to defeat them militarily and very resoundingly too.

The two important priorities for the State were outlined by President Rajapaksa at a religious function at the Kalutara Bodhiya on Saturday.

While on the one hand, it has to promote communal harmony, understanding and the rights of all communities, on the other hand, the State has to protect the lives of all people and sustain law and order in the face of brutal LTTE terror.

As far as we could ascertain, these tasks are not mutually exclusive. Inasmuch as the collective rights of all must be protected and the peace process kept alive, the State and the people must be effectively protected from LTTE terror.

For the achievement of the latter aim, LTTE terror must be defeated through the adoption of strong law and order measures.

Meanwhile, the public must cooperate with the State in consolidating law and order. There is no doubt that the public needs to be continuously vigilant to defeat LTTE terror designs.

The public would need to collaborate with the State in protecting their neighbourhoods, villages, townships and regions.

Special measures would also need to be taken to ensure that public places and modes of transport are free of the risk of LTTE attacks.

The formation of Vigilance Committees at neighbourhood level, would not be a bad idea, as a first step, to fight the risk of LTTE terror. Such measures need to be strongly considered right away.

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