Defeating terrorism

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reiterated in New Delhi that the Government was ready to talk peace with the LTTE at any time if the latter lays down arms.

In bilateral talks with the Indian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit, President Rajapaksa said his primary aim was to eradicate terrorism and create a country where all communities can live in peace.

The President and senior Government Ministers have expressed these sentiments many times, stressing that the present military drive was aimed squarely at the LTTE terrorists and not at the Tamil people.

In fact, the Government rightly describes the military action as a humanitarian mission designed to liberate the Tamil civilians living under LTTE tyranny. Past events make it clear that an armed LTTE used the peace talks and ceasefires only to re-group and re-arm.

It is in this context that the President told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that his Government is fully committed to fulfil the humanitarian needs of the Tamil community living in the North and the East. The latter, of course, is already seeing democracy in action with an elected provincial council running day-to-day affairs.

The President told the Indian Prime Minister that the Tamil people are very much part of his responsibility as Head of State and Government and he would take all measures for their safety, security and welfare. The same assurance was made by Senior Presidential Advisor MP Basil Rajapaksa during his recent visit to India.

This reassurance will go a long way in allaying any fears that the Indian and Tamil Nadu Governments might have entertained on this score. True to his word, the Security Forces are following a Zero Civilian Casualty Policy.

Analysts point out that the present military drive could have been over much sooner if this factor was not taken into account. Nevertheless, the military is treading slowly but steadily as the safety of civilians held back forcibly by the LTTE is paramount.

Another factor is that the Government is regularly sending relief material to the Wanni. It is no secret that a part of such supplies is invariably pilfered by the LTTE but the Government has not made that an excuse to stop the regular flow of supplies to the region.

The President also took this opportunity to clarify again that the Government has always been for a political solution. The military solution is for the LTTE but the Government would address the grievances of the Tamil people politically.

The President’s own words in this regard said it all: “As we liberated the people in the East from terrorism their counterparts in the North too would be rescued. The war against terrorism would be prosecuted as planned. The Tamil people are my concern. It is my responsibility to look after my Tamil brethren.”

Addressing the BIMSTEC Summit earlier, he voiced many of the same sentiments, noting that for over two decades, Sri Lanka has been facing a tremendous challenge to its democratic way of life through the barbaric actions of a terrorist group.

His call for greater international cooperation to combat all forms of terrorism is timely. Sri Lanka already supports the BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking as an important and vital milestone in efforts on counter terrorism.

As the President pointed out, terrorist groups are able to sustain themselves by illegal fund-raising, narcotics and people trafficking, money laundering using international networks, and arms and ammunition smuggling. In other words, groups such as the LTTE are exporting terrorism.

Therefore it is vital for legitimate Governments to intensify patrols in the oceans and the Sri Lankan President has urged BIMSTEC countries to consider setting up a mechanism to effectively police the seas of the Bay of Bengal to deny these terrorists mobility and connectivity.

BIMSTEC, SAARC and other regional blocs should also step up intelligence gathering and sharing on terror networks.

Such thinking and practical steps are vital as terrorism is not confined to one or two countries. Practically the whole of South Asia is suffering from the effects of terrorism. It is a global phenomenon demanding global action. The world is at last moving in this direction, as seen by the collective actions of groupings such as BIMSTEC.