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�Don�t raise false hopes amongst our people�
24 April 2005
Norway�s Special Peace Envoy Eric Solheim often comes here. There
is excitement in Tamil media circles whenever this happens. This in
turn creates expectations amongst the public that something might
come of his visits. But Mr Solheim then returns, whereupon all the
excitement then fades and life returns to normal. On each occasion
Solheim tells us that a change for the good is about to happen soon.
Just before he arrived here on his last visit, Mr. Solheim told a
foreign news organisation the joint mechanism for post-tsunami
rehabilitation would be in place in a few weeks. After meeting the
LTTE�s Special Commander for Batticaloa-Amparai Mr Solheim stressed
that the Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka government were very keen
to set up that mechanism. � But the joint mechanism is unattainable
today. And, just in case anyone had the slightest doubt, the JVP
told US representative Christina Rocca that they would exit the
government if anything of that sort were given. � Mr. Solheim is
optimistic, but a peace envoy cannot be otherwise. But it up to us
to decide if we want to get caught up in all the excitement that he
generates.
Many foreign governments, including the USA that has banned the
LTTE, are putting pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to set up
a joint mechanism with the Liberation Tigers. Some are even inclined
to help the Tigers directly if such a mechanism doesn�t come about.
The government of Sri Lanka has no obvious counter-argument to this.
Therefore it says that it is also keen for such a mechanism to be
established. By claiming just a few issues need to be ironed out
before something actually comes into place, the Sri Lanka government
seeks to waste time in the hope that the donor nations, the
Liberation Tigers and Tamil people would eventually forget all about
it.
Some might remember the structure in the name of SIHRN that was put
in place in the north and east to attend to the immediate
humanitarian needs there. The government Sri Lanka did just this
same trick to fool everyone then. Then also Solheim came and went
and made various statements about the two sides nearing an
agreement. Media organisations, including TamilNet, fell over each
other giving prominence to his claims. But nothing happened.
Some basic truths that people should know tend to get blown aside in
the excitement Solheim�s visits create. This serves the interests of
the Sinhala chauvinists. Why? Lets take the joint mechanism. This
has to do with the destruction of homes, displacement and refugees.
The six rounds of talks between the Liberation Tigers and the
government of Sri Lanka sought to resolves issues around these. But
what happened? Nothing! The first thing needed to address the
destruction of dwellings and to resettle refugees is land, then
money. Both of these remain in the firm hold of the government of
Sri Lanka. Its constitution prevents the dissemination of its
executive powers on these matters to any other body. That is why the
former government and the Liberation Tigers failed to create any
meaningful body to reconstruct the Tamil areas devastated by war or
to resettle displaced civilians. Sinhala legal experts pointed out
then that any such body would contravene the constitution of Sri
Lanka and some chauvinists even threatened to ask the Supreme Court
to render it invalid. These were convenient excuses for the
Ranil-led government to hide behind.
The joint mechanism in relation to the Tsunami damage also relates
to the destruction of dwellings, displacement and refugees.
Therefore no one can prevent the same basic stumbling blocks
appearing again. The Tsunami joint-mechanism is not just to do with
receiving funds. It is also concerned with land. It further concerns
the provision of facilities such as electricity and water for the
resettling people. The Tsunami joint mechanism especially concerns
the power do these things. That is why the government of Sri Lanka
is astutely wasting time on this matter - Solheim�s visits and
statements contribute to this smokescreen.
Many fail to note a grave danger contained within this delaying
tactic. We had many reasons to decide in 1976 that an independent
Tamil Eelam is the only solution to our problems. But today, 29
years later, we have many more reasons. But the political unity,
patriotism and fervour that existed among our people are becoming
blunted today. Why, even the political unity and fervour of our
people at the time the ceasefire agreement was signed has become
blunted. There are many reasons for this. One of these is the
expectation created from time to time that a solution will be
reached soon.
The struggle for liberation sharpened only because the people
realised that they were being taken for a ride. Those same
realisations helped keep our struggle on track. If these are to be
blunted we will become a race prepared to give up its ideals in
return for concessions. It is inevitable that frictions will rise
when a government tries to fool an intelligent and politically
united community. When these frictions rise, a certain level these
governments employ several techniques to prevent the friction
transforming into a struggle against them. One such technique is the
creation of phantom enemies.
Sri Lanka forces� excesses in the east in the name of Karuna gang
are on the rise. People of the north and east remain without
economic growth or jobs. Scars of the war remain. Thousands of
people who have lost their homes, land and whole villages to the Sri
Lanka armed forces still live in desperation. The neglect of Tamil
language continues. Many ills likes this can be listed. The Tsunami
has caused great damage in addition to these difficulties. But there
is no solution in sight for any of these. These, however, haven�t
created much political disquiet amongst our people. They have not
protested in anger that solutions have not been forthcoming. They
have the fervour for liberation yet it is not to the extent that
they will mass together for political reasons.
Solheim�s visits, his meetings with the Liberation Tigers and the
portrayed cordial nature of it all creates a psychological
impression in the minds of the people. These scenes create the
expectation that a solution will be upon us soon. The feeling that
�some political solution will be reached, so lets do nothing in the
meantime,� has started to envelope our people, and the result is the
spread of political apathy.
If the political aspirations of our people are not to be blunted
amongst our people it is pertinent that we do a few things to that
end. Firstly, we must at least reduce the excitement we in the media
show towards a possible solution until something concrete is
actually reached. Reports that create false expectations amongst our
people should be avoided as much as possible. But, above all, we
should ram home the truth that the Sri Lanka government will never
give us anything meaningful. We should tell this truth especially
whenever Solheim visits.
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