Paradise lost - Jaffna will rise againTamil Militancy

By Dr.Levins T C Rajaratnam

(February 27, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) On the Jaffna Political platforms Mrs.Maheswaran the leading candidate for the UNP Jaffna District may pose a few questions as to who killed her husband? Gajan Ponnambalam may pose the question as to who killed his father who was my good friend ? I will ask the question as to why I was threatened by a political bandit during the Western Provincial council elections, my campaign office attacked and my mothers residence attacked. So many residents of Jaffna whose husbands and sons are abducted for ransom will ask why should we vote, So many investors in Jaffna are being harassed by militants for “Kappang”. Inspite of all these, nomination was given to a controversial man accused of atrocities and is heavy laden with misdeeds. Will the Jaffna people vote for that National Party ? The biggest blunder !

It is the greatest insult and disgrace to the Tamil people of Jaffna that this man has been nominated to contest. A man who has terrorized the Tamil people and the people tremble by the sound of his name. Was this the intention of the Party to nominate him to continue his games of terror? This Soft spoken escapee from the Prison has yet again been brought to the forefront probably to face a tremendous defeat. The wrath of the people shall not enable a victory. All the efforts of the Government to develop the North cannot receive an acknowledgement from the people because the wrong man is at the wrong place.

Who is this man ? Who are these militants who have been licensed to do whatever they want. No right thinking person would vote for him or his choice of men.

With so many parties contesting in the North the votes would be scattered. Almost every party or group will have a claim. This time the Tamils will have to decide with their conscience.

The sorrow experienced by the people and the tears shed by them was for patriotism. We know the pain, the anguish and we too shudder to think of the darkest hours in our history in the process of destroying the LTTE. We appreciate the countries, the local People who by sending generous assistance to the refugees and for opening their hearts and homes to the innocent victims made the task of settling the IDP’s easier.

The Terrorists were the cause for Men of all ages separated from their loved ones killed and forced to join the Terrorists, children made to watch their parents die; a whole people forced to abandon in hours communities their families had spent generations building.

For these atrocities, the Tamil militants too are responsible with the LTTE and their allies whether they were in the past or not whether they have reformed or not all of them are collectively responsible for the disasters and killings. We should be cautious not to align them but to treat them and rehabilitate them.

Recent history has proved that Terrorists in whatever garb will try to revive their traits in some form or the other and would never be loyal to a democratically elected Leader or the Government.

The President met with the IDP’s. Some of them could barely talk about what they had been through. All they had left was hope that the world would not turn its back. The President was deeply moved by them. The President has settled a large number of IDP’s he has provided housing, shelter, healthcare, education and sustenance. Moreover, by his personal visit he has touched their hearts and in turn they have touched his by their appreciation.

When our diplomatic efforts to avert this horror with the LTTE were rebuffed, and the violence mounted, the President took affirmative action. Now the people are free, the roads that were closed for years have opened, the people have been liberated.

Finally, we have averted the wider war this conflict might well have sparked. Now, we’re entering a new phase – building that peace – and there are formidable challenges, the foremost amongst them is the stability of Leadership and the Government.

We must get the refugees home safely. Minefields will have to be cleared. Homes destroyed by the war will have to be rebuilt. Homeless people in need of food and medicine will have been assisted and day in and day out they are gradually settled. The fate of the missing will have to be determined. We in the peacekeeping force will have to ensure that Sri Lanka is a safe place to live for all its citizens. But this next phase also will be dangerous. Bitter memories will still be fresh, we have to prevent vested interests from exploiting the situation by mud slinging campaigns perpetrated by the opposition and its allies whilst still be cautious of those amongst us who may betray especially the Terrorists groups whose survival was dependant on the survival of the LTTE. In this regard it was best for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to have visited the North without the assistance of militant groups and their political parties.
The Tamils in the North would have voted for the UPFA . But now with thw wrong man at the wrong place, matters would not be the same.

All the Tamil groups and parties with blood in their hands cannot convince the Tamil people. The Tamil people have now learnt by their mistakes and misunderstanding that the democratically elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa is their only salvation. The Tamils will have to approach the President through independent groups or other parties. But no choice, No right thinking Tamil will ever vote for present UPFA nominee and his clan.

We must pave a path to a prosperous shared future, a unifying magnet more powerful than the pull of hatred and destruction that has threatened to tear us apart.

As long as any form of Terrorism remains and terrorists of bygone eras are allies, as long as we give prominence to criminals and terror groups the journey for development will be far sighted.

As such every individual or group which transgresses these ideals should be dealt with by the Laws of the land. The people are tired of the few unruly elements.

We have sent a message of determination and hope to all the world. Think of all the millions of innocent people who died in this bloody century because democracies reacted too late to evil and aggression.

Because of our resolve, the New Year has dawned, not with helpless indignation, but with a hopeful affirmation of human dignity and human rights for the 2010. In a world too divided by fear among people of different racial, ethnic and religious groups, we have given confidence to the friends of freedom and pause to those who would exploit human difference for inhuman purposes.