Tigers' Vakarai debacle

With the routing of the LTTE in Vakarai, the Government could be said to be poised to reassert its presence in full in the Eastern Province.

These military developments also coincide with the demolishing of the myth, concocted and nursed in some circles, of the LTTE's military prowess.

Here is certain proof that the Tigers are no match for the Security Forces. In fact they would cut and run in the face of a determined and well-planned assault by the Security Forces.

The next important job for the Government is to establish a civilian administration in the liberated Eastern Province. The prime purpose of the military operation by the Security Forces is to bring the whole of the East under the authority of the Government.

Having done that, the State would need to ensure that the civil administration in the province is fully functional. That having been achieved, the State would need to reestablish in full the democratic process in the region. For, bringing the people into the democratic process is the key to total normalcy.

This process would take some time but the State would do well not to take its attention away from the civilian populace of the East and their condition.

The vast, spontaneous exodus of Eastern civilians to Government-controlled areas of the East, in the wake of the recent military developments, testifies to the oppressive conditions thus far borne by them in the once LTTE-controlled areas.

They are, in short, seeking to distance themselves as far as possible from the LTTE's tyrannical grip. Thus, there is a clear preference for the State as opposed to the LTTE.

In these circumstances, it should be the endeavour of the State to ensure the complete well-being of the Eastern civilians. This is the key to winning their hearts and minds. Keeping them on the side of the State, therefore, is a key task.

It should be remembered that these civilians have been through the worst horrors at the hands of the LTTE. Their harrowing nightmares began in Mavilaru at the middle of last year when even their water resources were snatched away from them by the LTTE.

They were used as human shields by the Tigers in the East in the face of military operations. On the Eastern coastal belt from Trincomalee to Vakarai, they were driven to desperation by the LTTE's sadistic tactics.

As a result of being used as human shields by the Tigers, these civilians were even forced to take refuge in underground bunkers, in totally inhuman conditions.

Accordingly, the recent military victories by the Security Forces are really triumphs for the Eastern civilians. It is their liberation which has been secured.

Civilians in both the North and East could also take heart from President Mahinda Rajapaksa's recent words at an important SLFP forum that the Government is committed to uphold the rights of the country's communities.

This is the soundest answer for ethnic strife of any kind. The conflict has its roots in the perception among some that their rights are being denied. Accordingly, making each community enjoy its rights in full is the way out of our travails.

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