by M. H. Liyanage – Kuwait

War on Ground

No army in the world has exhibited the restraint, grit and valour that the Sri Lankan Military has demonstrated in its campaign against terrorism. When scores of innocent Tamil civilians fleeing the terrorist enclave have been fired upon by the terrorists clamouring to be guardians of Tamils, the brave soldiers of the Sri Lankan Forces have amply displayed that they have no vengeance or enmity against Tamils. This abundant humility shown by our soldiers is the fine line that separates them from terrorists.

The code name “Humanitarian Operation” used by the Sri Lankan Military in their present thrust against the LTTE in many ways differs from the connotations implied by the “Shock & Awe” campaign unleashed on Iraq some years ago. When the Israeli Forces attacked Lebanon and Gaza, there was no heed paid for civilian safety. Sri Lanka’s war against terrorism therefore was not to be meant, and so far it hasn’t meant to be, a mere set of words or the figment of one’s imagination. It is rather a commitment upheld both in word and deed by the Sri Lankan Forces. When the international community was gullible to LTTE’s hubris of being an invincible force against whom a military triumph would be unassailable, Sri Lanka has delivered a strong message to the world that terrorism could be defeated and has now reached the end of the tether.

With the capture of the last terrorist bastion at Puthukudirippu a few days back, the iron fist that controlled the North and East has been shattered. The kingpin is running helter-skelter looking for places to hide while the remaining cubs are licking their wounds. Sri Lankan Military is bracing for the final and the most decisive manoeuvre to evacuate an estimated 70,000 innocent civilians who the terrorists are still holding against their will to be used as cannon fodder. Being well aware of the true nature of the terrorists who always believe in using violence as a catalyst for peace, this challenge is one that our Forces had always envisaged. The Sri Lankan Military never ran out of strategies during the conduct of this humanitarian operation and even when there were reversals on the ground, they always went back to the drawing board and came up with more vigour taking the enemy by complete surprise. The battle ground is now fully overwhelmed by the heroic forces and until the next phase, there might be an explicable silence of guns with reduced intensity in fighting in open terrain.

A rescue operation in the above magnitude, perhaps the largest of its kind in modern times, cannot be achieved in a blitzkrieg. The ploy of the LTTE throughout the current phase of conflict had been to direct fire at security forces from behind civilian concentrations with the twin objective of limiting its vulnerability to retaliatory attacks by the Sri Lankan Army and also to spread falsehood among the international community charging that the Sri Lankan Forces are committing a genocide on the Tamils. Resilience of the soldiers in the face of adversity and provocation has been the hallmark of current military successes. The ground war will come to a successful end once a hole is punched in the remaining territory for the civilians to move into safer areas. Sri Lanka has to abide by international norms and conventions specially in view of the human catastrophe created by the LTTE but there is absolutely no need at this decisive moment to give into LTTE’s last trick of using the plight of the civilians as a bargaining tool to have a ceasefire declared by the Government.

War of Winning Hearts and Minds

To fund this fascist war, the LTTE always turned to the Tamil Diaspora living in different parts of the world. It was the LTTE who initially orchestrated a mass exodus of Tamils out of Sri Lanka when a group of terrorists bumped off a convoy of Sri Lankan Army in 1983 resulting in an unfortunate backlash against Tamils. The incident referred to as the” Black July” gave a carte blanche for the Sri Lankan Tamils, whether or not they were real victims of the above incident, to seek asylum in various countries, specially in the West and the Europe. The LTTE extorted money from the Tamil Diaspora by holding their kith and kin living in Sri Lanka into ransom over the years and this is how the funds started to flow into their coffers. The well oiled propaganda machine of the LTTE kept spreading falsehood amongst fellow Tamils in order to widen the divide between them and Sinhalese to an intractable level. This smear campaign served at least two covert purposes. On one hand it guaranteed a continuous flow of funds required for the LTTE to further its war chest and on the other, it also supported the cause of the others who always wanted this conflict to be protracted in order that they could continue to live on foreign soil claiming refugee status.

The LTTE hasn’t spent a single penny received from the Diaspora to look after the well being of the Tamils living in the North and East of Sri Lanka. On the contrary, they deprived these innocent people of the basic needs such as food and medicine as suppression would provide a breeding ground for them to recruit more cadres into their clandestine army. Dissent was overpowered with force and at the tender age of 10, small children had to give up the pen, in order to take up the gun. This atmosphere willfully created by the LTTE was perfectly conducive for brainwashing an entire generation of Tamils against the Sri Lankan Army and the Sinhalese as a whole. The end result was the advent of the human bomb, the “Black Tiger”. The iron curtain that concealed the reality has been brought down and the world could now see the traces of luxury enjoyed by the so-called leaders of the LTTE who for decades, had been thriving on the agony of the innocent Tamils.

The Tamil youth who take themselves to the streets in different parts of the world today voicing support for the LTTE have no knowledge about the ground situation in the North and East of Sri Lanka or the harmony that prevails between Sinhalese, Tamils and other communities living in other parts of Sri Lanka. They are as ignorant as the other Tamils who suffered for decades under the evil rule of the LTTE in Wanni.

More than 70,000 innocent Tamil civilians who braved the LTTE shooting and reached the safe areas are now housed in IDP Centres run by the Government. Although these temporary shelters cannot be called heavenly abodes, given the harsh treatment they had received in the hands of the LTTE for decades, these people have already started to see the dawn of a new chapter. The care, warmth and the compassion extended by the Sri Lankan soldiers to these civilians have made them think and view things differently. If someone argues that the present situation prevailing in the conflict zone provides an opportunity for the majority Sinhalese to win the hearts and minds of Tamils, well, our brave soldiers have already given a perfect start, leading by example.

Considering the annihilation faced in the hands of the Sri Lankan Forces it would be foolhardy to believe that the LTTE will be able to raise its ugly head again. One of the main reasons of their past successes had been their ability to brainwash the fellow Tamils against the majority Sinhalese and the abovementioned human interaction between the soldiers and the civilians, will not provide an opportunity for hatred to be sown once again in the minds of Tamils.

The Internet War

Through lies, canards and defamation spread over the internet, the LTTE has been very successful in infiltrating the media networks, foreign parliaments, UN and other key institutions in order to gain world sympathy for their macabre cause. The war that the Sri Lankan Military has been fighting in the battle front against terrorism is being projected as a war of attrition or genocide internationally. As a country, Sri Lanka hasn’t been able to achieve much in allaying the concerns of the international community over the charges leveled against her such as above.

Our inability to effectively counter the adverse propaganda at every level has prevented the world community of getting a balanced view of the status quo. The conjecture of the governments and world bodies who call upon the Sri Lankan Government to declare a ceasefire is not formed on the basis of ground realities prevailing in the Wanni but purely on account of outright falsehood reported in pro-LTTE media. The political bickering that prevails in the country since Independence has prevented any possibility of all Sri Lankans rising as one nation to challenge the LTTE on all fronts.

Charges of war crimes, human right violations and suppression of media leveled against the Government and the Security Forces are not coming from the external sources alone but also from the disgruntled politicians and unpatriotic media who collude with LTTE propaganda calling Sri Lanka a failed state. The above and insufficient action on the part of the State specially by the Sri Lankan Foreign Missions abroad to counter pro-LTTE propaganda effectively would no doubt, give credence to the suspicion and concerns raised by the international community.

The next challenge therefore is to win the media war fought on the internet. This war of diplomacy could be won only if we, all Sri Lankans rise as one nation shedding all our petty differences.

Economic War

A country that has fought the bloodiest war in the world for nearly three decades is very lucky to see that its economy has not fallen below the poverty line. Economic and other KPIs indicate that Sri Lanka has been performing within acceptable norms. Contribution to our national economy from one third of our landmass and two third of the coast over the past thirty years has been insignificant. Nevertheless, one fourth of our national income each year had gone into fund an ugly war thrust upon us by the terrorists.

Regardless of the above and corruption that was rampant at every level, the country has consistently maintained an annual GDP growth rate of over 6%. This clearly shows us that we are capable of turning things around even in the worst of circumstances provided we develop the right approach.

What we need to win the development war that lies ahead of us is once again to rise above politics and other differences and work towards one goal. The military has made every possible sacrifice to win the ground war for us. A routine circular issued by the Government sadly prompts our doctors to bring the entire health system to standstill. A decision to put a private bus driver on uniform ends up in a country-wide strike that paralyses the entire transport system. The soldiers never work for money. They sacrifice their life and limb to safeguard our motherland. They have no labour unions that hold the country into ransom over a petty issue. They don’t fight each other when a storm in a tea cup prompts the members of rival political parties to kill their opponents. The lesson from the war heroes to these opportunists is that they have won the war for the motherland by sacrificing their precious lives and not by threatening to go on strike if the enemy didn’t drop his gun.

The level of sacrifice we, as Sri Lankans are willing to make and the amount of hard work that goes into rebuilding our beloved motherland will determine our ability to turn the battle field victories to bring long term success, peace and economic prosperity.

- Asian Tribune -