Sri Lanka: Ceasefire?
By Chandi Sinnathurai
16 January,
2009
Countercurrents.org
British Prime Minister Mr Brown
is reported to be to urging Colombo to declare immediate ceasefire.
It is also said, that he would be speaking to his French counterpart
on this matter and they might be influencing the EU to exert pressure
on Sri Lanka to consider for ceasefire.
It depends how effective this call for ceasefire is going to be. Could this all but be empty rhetoric or is there a genuine concern arising from hearing the cry of human catastrophe.
The hands of the EU is not entirely clean when it comes to Sri Lanka
and the plight of the Tamils. The call for Ceasefire could be just
another political game in the making but it could very well be without
any teeth. This can be purely for public consumption.
Britain however can do much more than this.
Gordon Brown has got enough moral sense to perceive that. Britain
can lead the campaign, if it wills, for an international arms embargo
on Sri Lanka. If Mr Brown is really concerned of the civilians, he
can convince Europe to "clip the wings" of the genocidal
war machine in Sri Lanka.
The UN security council calling for immediate ceasefire in Israel-Palestine
fell on deaf ears. Sadly, It has not changed one iota, or if not worsened
the plight of the Palestinian civilians. That reveals the sheer hollowness…
When there is a global credit crunch, the lucrative arms trade cannot
be left to run dry! Arms are not only traded, dangerous weapons will
need to be tested on far flung real situations…
The question boils down to this. Is there a more tangible action that
could be taken in order for the War President Rajapaksha to listen
and act?
All know that Rajapakasha regime will need to enter into a dialogue
with the Tamils without any preconditions. Precondition is only a
pretext for war. All the Internally Displaced Tamils have to be re-settled.
Bombed hospitals, schools etc will need to be reconstructed.
Tamils and Sinhalas will need to negotiate how best they could live
harmoniously in their own homelands.