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Sri Lanka: Capricious Ceasefire; Accelerating Human Suffering
By Chandi Sinnathurai
24 March, 2007
Countercurrents.orgThe undeclared war in the Tamil territories has brought untold suffering and deaths upon the civilian population in Sri Lanka. The current fighting in the East, in Batticaloa district, between the Tamil Tigers [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces have tragically produced a bumper crop of ‘internal refugees’. Reports from Sri Lanka have suggested that over 153, 000 civilians have been displaced. The numbers of refugees are ever on the increase by each passing day. They are literally begging for their food in Batticaloa town and taking ‘shelter’ under trees and open spaces. Reliable sources have informed [1] that there is a ‘talk of the town’ circulating since March 15th in Batticaloa that even the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital is not safe because the Sri Lankan Armed Forces have informed they will not guarantee any protection of the Hospital in the event of Tamil Tigers’ infiltration.
The people in Batticaloa are terror-stricken.
Monitors
The human rights record in Sri Lanka is much to be desired. Extrajudicial killings, abducting children for recruitment as child soldiers are rampant even among the ‘internal refugees’, holding civilians as human shields and other appalling crimes against humanity are currently happening within the East and North of Sri Lanka in particular. There had been international pressure brought to bear on Colombo regarding the deteriorating human rights record. It was suggested that an independent international team would monitor the situation. On March 21, International Media reports from Colombo quoted the Government spokesperson, Keheliya Rambukwella:
“We will protect our sovereignty and will not allow any foreigner to force on us a set-up to monitor (rights).”
It was noted, “More than 4,000 people have been killed in the latest wave of fighting despite a truce agreed in February 2002.” [2]OSLO-Inspired
The 5year Oslo-inspired Ceasefire Agreement [CFA] on the whole was an utter failure. It was nothing more than a duplicitous exercise. The Government used the CFA as a convenient pretext to engage in a nefarious war. It was during this so-called “shadow war” the government silenced many articulate Tamil voices by the bullet. This included intellectuals, journalists, humanitarian workers, human rights activists, university students and legislators. Certain Tamil news papers were banned and presses sealed. These actions revealed that there is a democratic deficit in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers, both signed up to the modalities of the CFA by agreeing not to engage in any form of Military operations: aerial bombardment, naval operations etc. Furthermore most delicately, both parties agreed to honour and maintain “a zone of separation.”
This in effect, some what ‘legalised’ the separation of Tamil territories under the governance of the Tamil Tigers’ nascent State; from rest of the island under the Sri Lankan state. Demarcation lines were drawn. Some analysts however, viewed the CFA as a shadow document recognising the reality of two-states in the island: Tamil Eelam and Sri Lanka.The Government has currently chosen to ditch the CFA and move away from the ‘shadow war’ to the real one, while openly not declaring war. This serves its purpose suitably. To the world the Government uses the rhetoric of peace – “war for peace” and to the Sinhala polity it speaks the language of war. In this way, the President Rajapaksha wishes to have the cake and eat it. The military campaign is in full swing. Sadly, the public trust on the peace-facilitator Norway is all time low if not nil.
Strategy
The government claims that its strategy is to ‘liberate’ the Tamils from the clutches of the Tamil Tigers. By saying so, they have fully discarded the already threadbare CFA. Honouring a “Zone of separation” is now forgotten. The government is beginning to encroach and reclaim Territories under Tamil Tiger governance, in the East – Trincomalee and Batticaloa in Particular. The Army Lieutenant-General Sarath Fonseka has vowed that they will neutralise the Tamil Tigers within the next three years. General Ratwatte and many others within the power elites previously have employed such rhetoric. Only time will tell whose strategy is the winning one. However, it is also clear if the “reclaiming encroachment” is the agenda for the next three years, then there will be no elbow room for CFA. That is, if only things run to plan. The Government aim is not only to neutralise the Tamil Tigers but also to destroy the parallel state. The breast-beating rhetoric is “We will send the Tigers back to the jungles.” In other words, the Government has no stomach for any negotiations with the Tamil Tigers as an “equal” party. They desperately want the Tigers to be reverted back to the status of a hit-and-run armed group. By achieving such a ground reality, the Government thinks it can demolish the idea of two-nation states; two-standing armies; etc.
Conclusion
There are many international players behind the scenes eyeballing on various lucrative mercantile interests, cheap human resources and other investments including geo-political agendas. India has got its vital installations in the port-city of Trincomalee. The US has special interests in the natural harbour in Trincomalee – a strategic geo-political spot. China has its eye on the ball, especially on the new-found oil traces within the Tamil territories. The Labour Government in Britain has volunteered to assist in the future peace of Sri Lanka. The ball is firmly in Sri Lanka’s court.
The US in particular has recently signed Military Co-operation Agreement with Sri Lanka. It is believed this Agreement involved “logistics, training of Sri Lankan personnel, and access to military bases. Analysts said it was possible the agreement also included communications and intelligence sharing.” [3] None will play ball for nothing.
The victims of repression and violence will need to be defended with moral and intellectual integrity. One hopes that there will be an end to appalling human suffering.
Notes:
[1] Names of sources have to be withheld in order people’s security is not compromised.
[2] http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6ZHDKN?OpenDocument
[3] Guy Dinmore, Financial Times, London, March 21, 2007
Fr. Chandi Sinnathurai is a peasant-priest. He has written extensively on the Sri Lankan Conflict. He maintains a Blog at: http://chandi.eponym.com/blog
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