Eradicating Terror in the Sri Lankan Style

Now that the world's most ruthless LTTE terrorist outfit headed by V Prabakaran has been eliminated from the surface of Sri Lanka, it is time to assess the situation that has already unfolded pinpointing several significant aspects of the scenario. There is no point in repeating over and over again the heinous mass murders committed by this terror group as they have been ineffaceably recorded in the annals of history. 

What is more important is to know how it was possible for the Sri Lankan army to defeat this powerful organization when it was a foregone conclusion that LTTE was invincible.

It was not only with terrorism that Sri Lanka had to battle with but also with some dominant members of the international community who tried their utmost to arraign her in the forum of the UN.

In a certain sense it was a diplomatic war as well, that the tiny island nation had to fight with. These so-called countries parading as sinless saints kept their eyes closed to the stark fact of the LTTE using civilians as a human shield. Why did they behave in this fashion? 

It is quite a mystery beyond the ordinary layman's understanding. Was it because that they wanted to please the Tamil diasporas that are a substantial vote base in their constituencies? Or was it manipulated by illegal arm dealers to keep the LTTE alive so that they could remain in business? Finally, was it their reluctance to see that, what they were unable to do with their sophisticated weapons was to be achieved by a tiny country, single handed, in spite all the obstructions erected before her triumphant march to victory? All this goes to prove that they preach one thing and practise quite a different thing.

By reading between the lines of what appeared in papers, one cannot escape the conclusion that there were countries which were much more worried about the ultimate defeat of the LTTE than the welfare of the civilians used as a human shield. The case of the civilians was put forward in order to cover up the hidden agenda of their attempt to pave an escape route to the LTTE terrorist leader.

During the final stages of the military campaign, Sri Lanka became the focus of attention of the international community. There was a flurry of diplomatic activities to throw a life line to save the LTTE leader, suggesting that he be handed over to a third party. Here France and the UK - supposed to be the flag bearers of liberty and democracy -carried on an untiring struggle to force down a ceasefire on the ground that there was a massacre of innocent civilians. Even the USA participated in the sin of pressurizing Sri Lanka to end hostilities when the former too, even at this moment, is conducting a war against terrorists in Afghanistan causing deaths of thousands of civilians through indiscriminate air attacks.

It was not only foreign governments that demanded an end to hostilities but also NGO's, stationed both in Sri Lanka and abroad, carried on a diabolic attempt in favour of the terrorists by fabricating imaginary stories of people caught up between gunfire, dying of starvation and sickness, which became the basis of demands to buttress the call for cessation of the war. US Secretary of State even opposed the grant of an IMF standby facility to Sri Lanka citing the on-going war as the reason.  

While discussing this subject, it is necessary to comment on the perfidious role played by the international printed and electronic media of certain countries which are committed to democracy and in which the LTTE is a proscribed terror outfit. They carried on a ceaseless media campaign to sling mud at Sri Lanka and whitewash the LTTE by parading spurious statistics in relation to the number of civilian casualties as a result of firing by the government  troops when, in fact, the deaths in question were deliberately caused by the terrorists to show that they were inflicted by the forces. 

These facts were prefaced here to demonstrate the magnitude of the task Sri Lanka had to grapple with from three fronts, diplomatic, media and military, to wipe out terrorism from the country. Yet, these impediments which disclosed the nakedness of those who lecture others on high morals could not stop the onward march because many other impartial countries were convinced that Sri Lanka had every right to protect her territory and citizens from the clutches of terror maniacs.

What is absolutely important is this. In the process of fighting to save the country, Sri Lanka learned a lot, gathered plenty of practical experience how to face the most brutal terrorist group in the world and mastered novel and unheard of tactics and strategies to bring the enemy to his knees. It is a credit to her army that it was able to save the lives of about 200,000 civilians who were used as a human shield, without a blood bath, as predicted by some of the media and certain prejudiced countries. Of course, she achieved this efficiency and capability alone in a costly manner to the surprise of the whole world.

This exercise, successfully terminated by the Sri Lankan army, could be of immense benefit to countries which are plagued with the curse of terrorism. They can learn to tackle terrorism in their own countries in the Sri Lankan way if they buy that know-how and expertise from her. 

Even advanced countries, which are fighting ceaseless battles in Iraq and Afghanistan killing innocent civilians, should not be shy to emulate the example of the tiny island by consulting her about the strategies she adopted to end completely the 30 year-old terrorist war in such a short time. She can tell much to them how to fight terrorism without killing innocent civilians. She will not offer this knowledge, gained with innumerable loss of life and property, freely on a platter without any compensation, especially to those who drag her feet and discredited her endeavour as genocide and ethnic cleaning.

With all this, Sri Lanka has become the most safest heaven on earth while the Army, Navy, Airforce and Police have become the most professional and war seasoned forces in the world. I am proud to be a Sri Lankan.  Above all, at last but not least, the political leadership of Sri Lanka, President HE Mahinda Rajapakse, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and all the others who stood the test of time had the backbone to stand up for our rightrs and gave their best for the country to restore the digninity, freedom that we were waiting for a long time!