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The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), was created as a result of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), to “inquire into any instance of violation of the terms and conditions,” as stated in clause 3 of the CFA.

The members of the SLMM who were to be drawn from Nordic Countries under clause 3.5- meaning not only from Nordic Countries approved of by the LTTE were therefore, intended at least on paper to function as ‘independent umpires’ and not as a body, subservient to or afraid of either party.

As bad as the CFA is, it contains no provision which entitles the LTTE or even the Government to unilaterally expel or order any member of the SLMM to depart. Yet, the LTTE has peremptorily ordered all members of the SLMM who are Nationals of Countries which are members of the European Union [EU] to depart, and announced that they would no longer guarantee the security of such members if they did not obey their command to depart on or before the August 31, 2006.

Clause 3.10 of the CFA provides that “the parties shall be responsible for the appropriate protection and security arrangements of all SLMM members.”

What this means is that while the Government has guaranteed that members of the SLMM will come to no harm in all “cleared” areas of the North and the East, the LTTE has guaranteed that they will come to no harm in areas of those two Provinces in which they exercise usurped power. It is self evident that in view of the tight dictatorial control which the LTTE exercises over all inhabitants of the areas subject to their usurped power, nobody whosoever could possibly harm a hair on the head of any member of the SLMM in such areas without the approval of the LTTE. Thus, the threat to withdraw the guarantee of security given to them by the LTTE was nothing less than a positive threat to cause bodily harm including death and dismemberment to them.

Thus, this order of the LTTE to the SLMM coupled with such a threat was as grave and unforgivable a violation of the CFA as one could imagine.The reaction of the SLMM to this outrage committed by the LTTE, however was not to ‘rule’ and rule strongly, that the LTTE had added another violation of the CFA to the never ending litany of their violations, defying their order and threats as anybody of independent monitors possessed of some resemblance of self respect would have done, but to tamely obey the orders of the LTTE and depart with their tails between their legs.

Even after this outrageous treatment meted out by the LTTE to some of their colleagues, the other members of the SLMM have decided to remain ‘in office’ and continue the sham monitoring they have been doing so far. Self respect, independence, honour and courage appear to be qualities foreign to these ‘paper vikings’.

This conduct of the SLMM proves two things beyond any manner of doubt. First, that whatever the SLMM and in particular their leader, Swedish Chief Ulf Henricsson may say, they have no doubt that the LTTE would carry out their threat of harming the Swedish, Finnish and Danish members of the SLMM if they did not obey the command of the LTTE to depart; and secondly, that they have at all times lived in mortal fear of the LTTE.

It is perhaps this fear of the LTTE, so deeply ingrained in these `paper vikings’ that has led them to be so manifestly partial to the LTTE at all times, and to even invent a ‘Phantom Naval Force’ which it once rushed to accuse of sinking a civilian Chinese ship in order to shield the LTTE from blame for their own villainy in sinking that ship.

Nobody in his senses would ‘mourn’ or even regret the departure of the timorous `paper vikings’ such as Henricsson.

owever, the larger question that arises for consideration is, what is the earthly use of retaining this bunch of ragamuffins called the SLMM given their proved partiality to, and mortal fear of, the LTTE ? Since the same functionary who appointed the existing bunch of ‘paper vikings,’ will presumably appoint replacements.

One could reasonably expect that those appointed from Iceland or any other country would be no different to their utterly partial and equally timorous predecessors.

The ‘rich foreigners’ commonly called the international community repeatedly make statements expressing their confidence in Norway as the alleged ‘facilitator’ and hence in the SLMM. They can well do so because it is not their country or citizens but we who have to suffer from the conduct of these ‘paper vikings’.

Despite the gratuitous certificates given by the international community to this group and their record will show that they have not at any time, been able to prevent the LTTE from kidnapping a child, or prevent the recruiting of children into their armed cadres, or committing murder, extortion, intimidation or any other act forbidden by the CFA. They have in short, they have been of no use.

Under these circumstances it is time that we addressed the SLMM, in the words of Oliver Cromwell, addressed by Leopold Amery, a Member of Parliament of the Conservative Party to the Conservative Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1941:-

“You have (stayed) too long here for any good you have been doing, Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go.”
The writer is a former M.P. and was a President of the Sihala Urumaya