LTTE’s civilian victims

The respected military website Strategy Page has blown the lid off the LTTE’s claims of ‘civilian casualties’. The LTTE provides rudimentary weapons training to civilians in uncleared areas and forces them to man the frontlines.

When they are killed while fighting the Security Forces, the LTTE conveniently removes the weapon(s) and says they are ‘civilians’ killed by the Forces.

In the words of Strategy Page editors, while many of the civilians are all for more Tamil autonomy in Sri Lanka, they also find themselves trapped by the LTTE. All adult Tamils are now subject to involuntary military service.

Most of these fighters barely know how to operate their weapons, but the LTTE has found a way to make them useful even if they are killed. If some of these fighters are hit by an air strike or artillery, their weapons are taken away, and pictures taken to show “civilians killed by Sri Lankan military.”

That is the sad fate of civilians living under LTTE tyranny. All families are coerced to give at least one member to the LTTE. Otherwise, the LTTE makes sure that the whole family suffers. The civilians are also used as a human shield to protect LTTE units from being attacked by the Security Forces.

This is in fact a major problem for the Forces as they maintain a strict Zero Civilian Casualty Policy. They successfully followed that policy in the East and even the LTTE’s own websites did not mention many civilian casualties, either real or made up.

The one incident there in which civilians were harmed took place because the LTTE used civilians as a human shield at that particular location, of which the Forces had no prior knowledge.

The LTTE and its sympathisers are using the word ‘genocide’ to describe the Forces’ campaign in the North. Any impartial observer can discern that no such thing is happening in the Wanni. Yes, civilians have been displaced but the LTTE could have allowed them to enter Government-controlled areas such as Vavuniya through the safe corridors arranged by the Government.

It is the LTTE that is totally responsible for any prolonging of their misery. It is also well known that the LTTE pilfers part of the supplies sent to the Wanni by the Government for the displaced civilians.

This is why the Government describes the present military thrust as a humanitarian mission aimed at liberating these people from the clutches of the LTTE. The Tigers will never emancipate them - it has not for the last 30 years - and the local and international community must rally round the Government at this crucial stage to ensure the true liberation of Northern civilians.

The Lion Rock

Sigiriya is undoubtedly one of Sri Lanka’s top tourist attractions. It is well known all over the world as one of the most amazing ancient sites anywhere in the world.

Although tourists go there in droves, one wonders whether it is being ‘marketed’ and developed properly. Now the Cultural Affairs and National Heritage Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana is addressing these concerns through a series of projects, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism.

One of the main ideas is to initiate a project to illuminate the Sigiriya Rock during the night and to put up a light show initially on Fridays and Saturdays. The project will be using foreign funds which are to be arranged through the Department of External Resources after obtaining approval from relevant institutions.

This will certainly add value to the Sigiriya experience. Most other countries with barely a fraction of our tourist attractions have added value to their tourist sites through light shows, 3-D virtual reality tours depicting how they must have looked thousands of years ago and other immersive experiences.

Another plus factor is that this will help keep local and foreign tourists overnight in the Sigiriya area. Sigiriya is often treated as a ‘day trip’ and this mindset could be changed if it could be made attractive at night as well. Sri Lanka’s eventual goal is to attract one million tourists per year, which is nearly double the present visitor numbers.

This is not an unattainable goal by any means but the authorities and the industry must develop sound strategies to make it happen.

The Tourism Minister is striving to get new markets on board, his recent promotional visit to Iran being a good example. The resolution of the conflict in the North will also go a long way towards increasing tourist arrivals as some prospective travellers are not aware that other areas in the country are safe and that tourists have never been targeted in any incident.

Tourism is a vital lifeline to millions of Lankans and all should strive to realise the true potential of the sector.