End of LTTE

Time to pursue political options
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(January 29, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Government of Sri Lanka’s successful military operation in capturing the Tamil separatist bastions of Mullaittivu and Kilinochchi and cornering the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is a stupendous accomplishment. The Sri Lankan Army Chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka is on the mark when he claims that 95 per cent of the 25-year war against the LTTE is over. Understandably the mood in Colombo and southern Sri Lanka is upbeat, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s popularity is on a new high. The LTTE has been all but demolished as a military organization and it has no political future regardless of any vestigial capability it may have for hit-and-run terrorist attacks. Even the few important countries which held back from banning the LTTE in the hope that it could be a route for talking to the Sri Lankan Tamils will now be forced to accept the reality — that the LTTE is no longer the political factor it was for resolving the Tamil-Sinhala conflict.

However, now with their escape routes closed, The Tamil Tigers may be driven to desperation and, in this situation, seek to impress that they still carry a sting in the tail. One such attempt is using the large Tamil population — estimated between 1,50,000 and 2,50,000 – as a human shield to thwart the LTTE’s final humiliation at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army. These Tamils who remain hostage to the LTTE represent an awesome challenge to Colombo: their lives need to be safeguarded even as the army moves forward to close in on what is left of the LTTE. Civilian casualties in this critical situation may deprive the military success of the political ground to be cultivated for winning over the Tamils.

It is in this context that the visit to Colombo of Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee assumes significance. He has made it clear that there is no sympathy for the LTTE in India, where the overriding concern at the moment is to prevent the Tamil population from becoming victims in the concluding stage of the military operations. President Rajapaksa’s invitation to Tamil Nadu’s political leaders — Mr M. Karunanidhi and Ms J. Jayalalithaa — to prevail on the LTTE to release civilians is a measure of his earnestness to delink the LTTE from the Tamils in the interests of the latter’s safety and security. The DMK and AIADMK would do well to take whatever steps they can in creating the atmospherics for a political resolution of the conflict by responding adequately at this juncture. - Sri Lanka Guardian