Some sound views from India
The call by some of India’s military
chiefs which we frontpage today, for assistance by the Indian state for
Sri Lanka’s efforts at ending LTTE terror, further accentuates one of
our key concerns. That is, both bilateral as well as regional assistance
is essential for the eradication of terror which is casting its evil
shadow on almost the entirety of the region.
We hope the forthright sentiments of the military chiefs would be
strongly considered by the Indian state. In sum, their position was that
LTTE terror should be weeded out forthwith and that the Indian state
should give Sri Lanka a strong helping hand in this crucial task.
Besides, no bones were made of the fact that the Tigers’ air capability
should be destroyed by the Lankan military.
Coming from key figures in the Indian defence establishment, these
opinions are of the utmost significance. India is the world’s most
populous democracy and a highly vibrant one.
It has jealously guarded its democratic institutions over the decades
and its opinions on eradicating terror, which is a principal threat to
democracy, should be seriously pondered on.
Tiger terror has been a threat to the democratic way of life in this
country and should be defeated if the democratic ethos is to be
sustained and nurtured in the North-East in particular.
These issues should be addressed with a renewed sense of urgency in
view of the fact that Tiger terror now has an air power dimension. As we
said yesterday, by virtue of this capability, the LTTE is not only a
serious security threat to Sri Lanka but to the region as well.
Accordingly, the South Asian region would be acting in its collective
interest by evolving a regional strategy to fight the Tiger menace.
Sri Lanka is agreed that a political solution, addressing the
legitimate aspirations of the communities of this land, should be
evolved, but one cannot proceed with the task of implementing this
solution until the LTTE is defeated because it is amply clear that the
Tigers’ sole preoccupation is the perpetration of terror.
As long as the Tigers could terrorise, the Tamil people would not be
free, nor would the State be in a position to implement a political
solution unhindered. Therefore, smashing the LTTE’s terror machine
emerges as a priority task for the civilized world.
Thus, it is welcome news that the upcoming SAARC Summit would be
focusing on the Lankan conflict. We hope, the forum would seriously
consider containing or fighting terror on a regional basis in view of
the threat posed to the entire region by the LTTE.
Meanwhile, the Lankan State should take it on itself to conscientize
the region on the multi-dimensional Tiger menace. It should make good
use of the recent pronouncements of the Indian defence authorities for
this purpose.
Tiger terror could no longer be considered an entirely internal
matter on account of the LTTE’s air strike capability. It needs to be
pointed out that to the degree to which the LTTE’s terror capability is
muted, implementing a political solution would prove easy. |
‘The words federal and unitary have lost their meaning over the
passage of time’
The unit of devolution will be the existing nine
provinces. There will be no change either within those nine
provinces or between those nine provinces, meaning no merger, in my
document. These decisions will be taken at the peace talks with
adequate representation of all the stakeholders. Without doubt there
has to be a Muslim representation.
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Neutralising LTTE air capability, vital for Sri Lanka, region
The two and half decade long conflict took a new
turn in the wee hours of Monday. It was a quite dramatic turn for
the Sri Lanka Air Force which fought a lonely battle in the air,
playing a supportive but critical role to the Army and the Navy.
This time, the SLAF faced its first enemy threat from the air.
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