Last week, we wrote in this space about mounting international pressure on the Government of Sri Lanka to stop the relentless military offensive against the LTTE because of the humanitarian crisis that has arisen in Iranapalai in the Wanni district - the last bastion of the separatists.

We return to the subject this week as the international pressure mainly from the Western countries where there is a strong pro-LTTE lobby, has succeeded in bringing the issue to the apex of world forum - the Security Council of the United Nations. It has now called for what it terms a 'humanitarian pause' - a cessation of hostilities - a ceasefire - to give the 'trapped' civilians some respite. The UN, however, is vague as vague can be on the duration of this 'pause' and what next.It is blaming the LTTE for the plight of the civilians -- a marked shift in its stance where it would blame both the Government and the LTTE for the situation.

The UN Humanitarian Chief is reported to have told the informal meeting of the Security Council, "We suggested the idea of some kind of humanitarian pause", and added that the first task was to appeal to the LTTE to let the civilians out in a safe and orderly manner. Is this gentleman living in cuckoo-land? What he is asking is for the LTTE to remove its 'human shield' and get decimated by the superior fire-power and manpower of the Sri Lankan Security Forces.

That this is the thinking at the zenith of world decision-making is surprising. And pathetic, given that the UN has faced similar situations in the past, that there is no concrete action plan to help trapped civilians. "Some kind of humanitarian pause" is the best it can offer. Among the civilians could well be LTTE cadres wanting to fight another day. As a senior Sri Lankan diplomat put it, "a fighter doesn't become a civilian when he dons a sarong". In the early days of this insurgency, the then rag-tag rebel group had fighters who had day jobs as farmers or fishermen. The UN must be more proactive. One would expect a much bigger input on its part to alleviate the sufferings of the civilians, as well as the IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) now at refugee camps. The Sri Lankan Government also has a far bigger responsibility in showing that it is more than just concerned about the plight of civilians. Like justice - it must not only be done, but manifestly seem to be done.

Unfortunately, the Government's information mechanism is not up to the task. There was an effort recently to collect material for the civilians from the south and deliver it at Vavuniya for distribution among the IDPs. It was aimed at showing the genuine concern of the people of the south for those in the north. But such worthy exercises have been few and far between.
Issuing statements is just not good enough on the part of the world community. The Sri Lankan Security Forces are trying to dislodge the LTTE so that they can 'fully' vanquish them militarily. This, the Government strongly believes, will pave the way for lasting peace and stability that would re-generate the North-East region’s' economic viability, which has been non-existent for quarter of a century. In Britain this week, its Parliament also debated the situation in Sri Lanka with some MPs calling for Sri Lanka's suspension from the Commonwealth. Little do these MPs realize that their own Government is trying to relinquish responsibilities in the Commonwealth, which is seen as a relic of the post-colonial era. Britain's interests have been diverted elsewhere - to Europe. It has no money to finance the Commonwealth anymore.

Institutions like the Commonwealth Press Union have already folded up for lack of funds, and given Britain's unprecedented financial crisis, it is not certain whether the Commonwealth would survive a post-Queen period. Sri Lanka, however, need not follow the approach of the idiosyncratic Zimbabwean President who this week asked Britain to "go hang" if it could not respect the sovereignty of his country. But the comments of some Western representatives sometimes make one empathise with such a stance.

The West is quite capable of creating a pariah-state picture of Sri Lanka to the rest of the world. Its way of looking at the world (not the whole of Europe though) is quite different. The US and Britain, for instance, see nothing wrong in the use of white phosphorus fire bombs on the civilians of Gaza, or the bombings of civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in their war on terror. The northern insurgency is not the only issue that is giving Sri Lanka a bad name internationally. The Government has a heavy burden to ensure that Sri Lanka is not reduced to the plight of a country like Zimbabwe, where democracy is under siege and hyper-inflation is galloping.

There are other factors that also contribute to Sri Lanka's overall image in the outside world. These factors often act in a negative manner for Sri Lanka's Friends arguing the LTTE case. These are matters the Government will need to ponder if Sri Lanka is not to be lumped with the 'bad eggs' of the world.