Action with a benevolent purpose

It was most timely of Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake to clarify the essentially humanitarian nature of the limited military operations undertaken by the Sri Lanka Army in the Trincomalee district. What is at stake is the people's right to that most precious of natural resources, water, which, the Tigers have been attempting to bring under their control in Mavilaru.

Those whose claims to water the LTTE is aiming at lacerating and repressing, comprise farmer families from all of Sri Lanka's communities. The endeavour of the Government is to ensure that this does not happen, thereby enabling it to provide all its citizens in the area with water for farming and other vital chores.

Therefore, considering the realities in Trincomalee the means adopted by the State to rectify the problems which have cropped-up could be looked upon as justified. For, the end is a noble one. That is, restoring to the people one of their most treasured possessions - water.

Considering the vital role water plays in the lives of the people, there could be no let-up in the efforts of the State to clear Mavilaru of LTTE influence and machinations.

The State has done well to identify itself completely with all of Sri Lanka's communities. This is as it should be because even-handedness is the secret to building a coherent and united society, in which all would have a sense of belonging and togetherness. Such policy perceptions should continue to inform State actions and institutions if the conflict is to prove manageable.

As we said yesterday, the international community has chosen to remain quiet on this issue to date. This is unfortunate because the rampaging Tigers would interpret such silence as the world assenting in their actions. Therefore, the world should wake-up and put the correct construct on the Trincomalee crisis - an inhuman attempt by the Tigers to hold the people to ransom. A strong international protest against the LTTE action would carry home to the Tigers that no one is with them in their inhumanity.

That said, State institutions, such as our missions abroad, should portray to the world the heinousness of the Tigers. A vibrant awareness campaign needs to be raised in the international community on the Tigers' destructiveness.

Generally speaking, the State needs to effectively counter the Tigers' rumour mill which is operational "25 hours" of the day. Accordingly, the State needs to win the information war too.

Coming back to the situation in Sri Lanka, it is quite clear that the LTTE is also aiming at pouncing on those natural resources which are badly needed by the people. The State and the people need to gear-up to face this "resource war" and to completely defeat Tiger designs.

The Government is already alert to this problem but it needs to be realised that the polity too needs to have a sharp eye on the country's most vital resources on a round-the-clock basis. Let us not fail in this endeavour.

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