Defeat Tigers' destabilization designs

ONE should not be surprised if the LTTE is aiming at bringing economic ruin to the country, besides seeking to advance its agenda of bringing division to Sri Lanka.

One way of mounting the costs of war is by defeating the State's development plans. That is, by seeking to divert funds from development projects to the defence budget.

These aims the LTTE hopes to achieve by provoking the State into a prolonged armed confrontation with it. We are certain, the Government must be wise to these Tiger machinations by now. This is one of the reasons why the Army's current confrontations with the Tigers will be only of a restricted nature.

The State would always seek to uphold the ceasefire, whatever provocations the LTTE may engineer.

However, there is no denying that Lanka's economic ruin is a desired aim of the LTTE. This not so covert agenda must be resoundingly defeated by the whole of Sri Lanka rallying round President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In fact the President has done well to alert the country to this Tiger strategy and thereby enlist the support of the country to defeat LTTE designs.

Despite some steep economic challenges, particularly stoked by external factors, Sri Lanka has been making steady material progress over the past few months. In fact, it is predicted in some authoritative quarters that GDP growth would be above seven percent even in the second half of this year.

Obviously, the LTTE is disturbed by these favourable economic trends. It would be doubly perturbed if steady efforts are made by the State to take development to the farthest corners of the country, including the remotest areas of the North-East. As should be known, State teams are visiting such areas under the Government's 'Gama Neguma' and other development projects, with the express intention of bringing economic betterment to these regions. The launching of infrastructure development projects in these areas would certainly be a boon to the poor masses.

It is such prospects which are alarming the Tigers and probably prompting them to persist on the war path. Development in the North-East, after all, would spell defeat for the Tigers by drawing the people of these provinces closer to the State.

Therefore, we call on the citizenry to support very strongly the State's efforts to accelerate development in all parts of the country. It should also rally round the State's efforts to defeat the Tigers' plans of economic sabotage.

However, coupled with the threat posed by the LTTE, is the resistance offered by some sections to the Government's plans to take development to the provinces. In other words, we are not short of groups which actively oppose the development of our rural areas. The President has taken note of this too.

Such resistance could be as destructive as Tiger designs. For, the denial of development to the provinces could also bring about socio-political upheaval and unrest. Such plans too should be defeated if social peace is desired.

Seventh Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture, held at the BMICH on July 29, 2006

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