Thoughts from London

Suicide bombings and the world outside
Doubtless the so-called Co-Chairs who were to meet in Oslo on Friday would have issued their customary statement by the time this column appears.

Those acquainted with previous statements by the Co-Chairs and other international groups and organisations purportedly interested in bringing peace to Sri Lanka would not be surprised if this “Gang of Four” urged the government and the LTTE to desist from further violence, to show restraint and return to the negotiating table as the two sides promised in February.

It would be tragic for the country if it, they would say and it is of course true. One could expect the mixture to be as before, unless they have this time plucked up enough courage in the face of mindless violence not to fall prey to the blandishments and argumentative gobbledegook of Oslo trying desperately to save their diplomatic midwifery from ending up as another political abortion.

Naturally one cannot speak for Mr Velupillai Prabhakaran though it is not difficult to read his mind on his immediate and long objectives.
One would also not be far off the mark concluding that the vast majority of Sri Lankans want a peaceful solution to this seemingly intractable problem so that they may live their lives without fear of being blown up or constricted by threats of violence.The recent local government elections in Sri Lanka saw the more virulently ‘nationalistic’ political parties suffering ignominious defeats and the people of the South supporting peace negotiations with the LTTE.

The South -- and that includes Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and other smaller ethnic groups -- mandated President Mahinda Rajapaksa to negotiate a peaceful solution that would meet the aspirations of the different communities without sacrificing the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Had the people thought differently they would have clearly backed the JVP and the JHU and any other chauvinistic party calling for a much tougher politico-military approach to the LTTE.

Yet the international community, if one might use that rather loose term, has failed to grasp the significance of this political development and has not ascribed to the people in the south the merit they deserve.
At the same time those guilty of orchestrating the violence we have seen since the election of Mahinda Rajapaksa last November and the serious escalations thereafter have gone largely unpunished except for the pro-forma verbal condemnations that emanate from these worthies now and then.

This despite the fact that some of the major western countries that have an interest in steering Sri Lanka towards peace have themselves been the victims of suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks.

So where is the European Union that some seven months ago was threatening the LTTE with sanctions if it did not refrain from violence? Why this inaction in the face of grave provocations that actually is a slap to the collective face of the EU?

Besides the US, the victim of the 9/11 attacks, Britain and Spain suffered from terrorist bombings in recent years. Other EU nations such as France and Germany have also been subjected to various forms of terrorism over the years.

They have acted tough and some are doing so even now as new anti-terrorism laws come into operation. Yet they expect others to act with restraint and absorb the blows of terrorism (even when civilians and non-combatants are killed or maimed) instead of trying to eliminate or minimise the threat of such terrorism.

How many of these voices that call for restraint from the Sri Lanka government and the armed forces that have been the victims of a war of attrition conducted by those who simultaneously plead their commitment to peace, were raised in rage and outrage when western nations invaded Iraq? And it was not even the perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks?
Did we hear Norway, the self-proclaimed architect of peace, unequivocally condemn the US and Britain for launching the invasion that has today turned virtually into a civil war in which innocents are being slaufhtered daily?

Why is Sri Lanka being treated differently when its people are equally victims of terrorism as those of western countries? Are Sri Lankan lives cheaper or expendable while western lives are sacrosanct and must be safeguarded even if it means invading coutries that have proved to be involved in the attacks?

Why has the situation facing the elected governments of Sri Lanka which is far more democratic than some other nations favoured by the west, not been fully appreciated by the outside world even at a time when terrorism is being roundly condemned?

The reasons are to be found both within and without the country. A systemic failure in our communication policy that blows hot and cold and handled by persons who seem to be more interested in designations and the perks of office than bringing coherence and professionalism into it.
It is also to be found among oft-quoted NGO-wallahs who thrive on monetary handouts from donors in Norway, Sweden, Britain, the USA to mention some and sing when the big brothers abroad wave the baton or distribute their favourite hymn sheets.

Consider this last paragraph from a news report from The Times of London the day following last week’s suicide bomb attack. “Jehan Perera, the head of the National Peace Council think-tank, said that both the Tiger attack and the government response were acts of war.”

I don’t know if and where this Perera chap studied international law but he finds guilty not only the aggressor but the state that defends its interests, territory, nationals and property against a perpetrator that still claims to adhere to the ceasefire it signed.

If Jehan Perera’s comment is the view of this think-tank (apparently funded by Norway), then obviously it needs to start thinking again.
The foreign media are not much different when it comes to distortion and not seeing the larger picture.

Last Wednesday the BBC website carried a story about civilians fleeing from air strikes and quoting its Colombo Correspondent Dumeetha Lutra whose reporting I have had occasion to comment on before.
What is interesting is the remark carried separately from the main story under the headline “Have Your Say.”

It quotes somebody named Ajantha Rajasinghe of Colombo who says: “No one here believes it is a suicide attack as the headquarters is heavily guarded and all are searched even if they are pregnant.” Does this chap actually exist? How he concluded that nobody believed in the suicide bomber attack surely beggars belief. If the BBC took the trouble to highlight such unmitigated nonsense, then obviously it thought that view was worth carrying. So why did its Colombo Correspondent not follow up this obviously interesting angle?

It did not as far as I know and so this doubt, once cast, was left hanging dangerously in the air. That is not all. On air Lutra spoke about the bombing and shelling of LTTE bases and immediately afterwards referred to killing of some farmers. She did not mention they were Sinhala farmers killed by the Tigers, thus leaving the impression that they were victims of military shelling.

On Wednesday night BBC World television invited me to its studios at 1.30 or so in the morning. I could not go due to an injury. The BBC was interested in the civilians fleeing their homes. What it did not seem to know, possibly because it had never been reported by its correspondent that for several weeks pro-LTTE organisations had been urging civilians to seek “protection” in LTTE areas.

The LTTE is increasingly exposing Tamil civilians in the hope that when war comes it could use possible civilian casualties for its own international propaganda. The world seems unable to see the ploy.

Back to Columns