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Tigers' murderous mindset

JANUS-faced and unfazed, the LTTE is continuing with its orgy of violence and mayhem while going through the motions of preparing for peace. The latest Tiger outrage was the bomb blast at Wellawatte on Thursday, which had as its target the Personal Assistant to Minister Douglas Devanandan.

The Tigers failed to get at their target this time round but it is not without significance that the aborted attempt on the life of the EPDP official took place in close proximity to the EPDP publishing complex which brings out the weekly Thinamurasu newspaper.

Besides life and limb, freedom of expression is also being sought to be destroyed by the LTTE which is continuing to brook no resistance to its cruel diktat.

The LTTE was, however, dead on target in Trincomalee where they cold-bloodedly gunned down a rival political activist, Kingsley Weeraratne.

Thus is the LTTE continuing on its killing spree with the ruthless efficiency which is so characteristic of it even while saying 'yes' to talks with former SLMM chief Trond Furuhovde and international human rights expert Ian Martin.

Ironically, the talks are expected to focus on - among other things - the human rights aspects of the Ceasefire Agreement.

While it is clear that the LTTE needs to be continuously engaged for the purpose of resuming the negotiatory process and we urge the State to unfalteringly set about this task, continued LTTE atrocities would prove a huge stumbling block to any substantial forward movement in the peace effort.

For, we simply do not have the evidence that the Tigers are peace-oriented, given their astounding criminality.

Right now, the LTTE seems to be engaged in the most unconvincing exercise of saying 'aye' to negotiations with one hand raised while pulling the trigger on its opponents with the other. In fact, the Tigers are showing no signs of their craving for killing being satiated.

The world community, including the Co Chains to Tokyo's donor conference, could rest assured that the Lankan State is unreservedly for resuming the peace effort. Solid proof of this is the admirable resolve with which the Lankan Security Forces are sustaining the ceasefire.

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has time and again underscored the point that there is no way out for Sri Lanka but to pursue a negotiated political settlement based on power devolution.

However, the LTTE is showing no signs of relenting in its murderous onslaught on everything it sees as getting in its way - including democratic freedoms.

Despite all this, we hope some headway would be made by those who wish Sri Lanka well in getting the LTTE back to the negotiating table.

For, the Lankan State is not double tongued when it says that it is for a negotiated settlement. We hope international human rights expert Ian Martin would be able to convince the Tigers of the need to respect the human rights of everyone in the North-East, including those of vulnerable groups, such as children and other minority groups, such as the Muslims.

The LTTE should be made to see that there would be no durable peace without reverence for life being made the cornerstone of a negotiated settlement.

Besides, peace cannot find a patch of fertile soil to thrive on if democratic freedoms and a culture of tolerance are not allowed to flower in the North-East.

If the LTTE is trying to drive home to us that all that it is desirous of is the "peace of the graveyard," it is sadly mistaken. The Lankan State would be willing to only negotiate a peace in which democratic freedoms and human dignity would flourish.

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