Support to defeat terrorism

S. AKURUGODA

SUICIDE ATTACK: The call for support to defeat terrorism and condemnation of the assassination attempt to Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka by a LTTE suicide bomber by Navin Dissanayake, MP, as appeared in the media is highly timely.

The following statement, beyond any reasonable doubt, is 'genuine' because it has come from a son of a party leader who has been killed by a similar LTTE suicide attack.

"The assassination attempt to Army Commander by a LTTE suicide bomber has proved again the inhumanness, cruelty and complete disregard for accepted norms of behaviour by the LTTE.

This attempt is not an attempt against the government, but the entire Sri Lankan state and should be condemned by all parties and the people who are committed to democracy and human rights and those who are trying for a negotiated political solution"

Dissanayake should be commended for his courageous words at a time when his party has fallen into the grip of a leader who has given a gift to the terrorist outfit by signing the treacherous agreement called CFA.

The LTTE eliminated the leaders and the prospective leaders of the UNP who were unfavaourable to their war path to Eelam and quite strategically created a vacuum in the party hierarchy.

The ultimate result was to install a weak leader who could be manipulated easily by Colombo's affluent society, church and the international economic vested interest as they pleased.

Even after the repeated rejection of this leadership by the people of Sri Lanka since 1994 and quite remarkably call for his removal by his own party men, the present leadership is the favourite of these international vested interest led by the Norwegians.

That is why he was called upon to Oslo soon after the Geneva talk, sent to India and now in US to ensure their continued recognition and support for his service to them.

He is still the favourite leader of the self appointed peace nicks, dollar 'kaakkas' of NGOs such National Peace Council, Center for Policy Alternatives and Berghoff Foundation.

Now that Chandrika has gone, as far as these forces and the LTTE is concerned, Ranil will be the reliable custodian of the CFA and the only hopeful lifeline of the Norwegians until a suitable replacement of their choice is found.

It is very clear by now that the government has to bow down to the conditions laid down by the LTTE criminals via Norwegians merely because some politicians place their selfish interest before those of the country, and cannot standup to the big bullies in the international politics.

While it is time that all peace-loving citizens of this country (regardless of what political party they belong to) unite to overcome and defeat the dark forces of terrorism and separation that are trying to darken our motherland as quite rightly identified by Dissanayake in his statement to the press, it is equally important to identify the obstacles to such a unity and to formulate strategies to expose and eliminate those obstacles as a matter of priority.