Point of view:

Quench our perpetual thirst for a terror-free Sri Lanka

A.A.M. Nizam

Security forces: The government and the heroic security forces need commendation from all patriotic masses for decisive action taken against the terrorists on the Mavilaru anicut closure dispute.

This is the first time a Sri Lankan government has daringly stood against the dictates of the Norway and found solutions on its own terms, in the larger interest of the country and its people.

The myth of "invincible terrorist supremacy" haunting the cowardly UNP and being disseminated by the shameless enemies of the nation has been shattered by the security forces driving out the terrorists to run like desperate rats from the Muttur area.

Similarly relentless steps should also be taken to foil the media onslaught being carried out by the rogue NGOs and the terrorist and Norway bankrolled Sinhala peace merchants to incriminate the government on concocted human right issues while remaining conveniently blind and deliberately ignorant on the massacre of fleeing Muslim refugees at Pachchanoor.

Supremacy in the Eastern Province was the main milestone of the LTTE in its futile march to establish the illusive Eelam. To achieve its declared objective of mono-ethnic, single party fascist domination throughout Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, the terrorists need control of strategic territory in the Trincomalee district and expulsion of Sinhala and Muslim population from the Eastern Province, under a well designed plan.

The terrorists have declared Trincomalee as the capital of their elusive Eelam and hence they consider it is vital to hold control of Trincomalee. The plan to hold control of Trincomalee and defeat the naval contingents in the area commenced from the very first day Ranil Wickremesinghe placed his signature on the CFA document on February 2002.

Almost three year ago former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, inhumanly assassinated by the LTTE, warned about LTTE infiltration into Trincomalee under the 'political work' cover offered by the CFA and establishing bases in the Trincomalee area endangering the security of the Naval Base and the Trincomalee town.

He warned that the terrorists would hold siege to the Trincomalee town, if this trend was not arrested and reversed. Several senior Ministers of the UNP government severely criticized Kadirgamar for his remarks and demanded stern action should be taken against his informant who happened to be a senior security officer.

Muttur is a highly populated coastal town facing the Trincomalee harbour directly across the Koddiyar Bay and the terrorist consider this coastal belt as a vital area to establish its bases and directly threaten the Trincomalee Naval Base with its long range guns so that all vessels entering and exiting the Trincomalee Harbour could be placed under the threat of its fire power and the Harbour in fact could be made unoperational.

It was with this objective that the LTTE started incursions into Muttur town and terrorise its population following the signing of CFA. The first such incursion occurred on June 2002 in which LTTE cadres attacked farmers and fishermen causing severe damage destroying 43 shops and injuring scores of people. These incursions and terrorizing the population continued unabated during the whole tenure of the UNP regime without any action being taken to protect the population from these atrocities.

In June 2003 people in Valachchenai joined the protesters in Muttur in agitating against the terrorist atrocities and as a result of which 23 Muslims in Muttur and Valachchenai were killed and millions worth properties were torched by the terrorists.

The opportunist Rauf Hakeem who was a powerful Minister in the UNP regime failed to take any action to protect the Muttur/Valachchenai population against the terrorist atrocities or to compensate the thousands of population made destitute by the destruction of properties.

Similarly Mavilaru anicut is another ploy the terrorist were using to force out the Muslim and Sinhala population depriving water for drinking and farming.

The terrorists blasted the Mavilaru anicut in 1991 after which it was taken control by the security forces. However, the security forces slackened consolidation of its power in the area and after the imposition of the UNP regime the terrorists established several camps nearby and heavily mined the areas surrounding the anicut.

The anicut closure and the subsequent events clearly indicate that the terrorists have carried out this act with the multiple objectives of driving out the Sinhala and Muslim population from the neighbouring areas, capturing Muttur, and compel the government to concede to its demands forced through Norway. It mistakenly believed that the government will not go against the dictates of the Norway as it happened on previous occasions.

When the terrorists wanted the UNP regime installed by their funds to concede to its demands and confer it with territorial and dictatorial authority it used Norway to present Ranil Wickremesinghe the well crafted CFA document.

Similarly when the ferocious tsunami devastated the coastal areas inflicting heavy damage to Muslims of the Eastern Province, the terrorist outfit used to turn the devastation to their advantage, though they were the least affected.

The Norwegians drafted the despicable PTOM document conferring total power of Tsunami relief in the hands of the terrorists, and the former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, despite objections from everyone except the docile UNP/SLMC leadership accepted the arrangements.

Likewise the terrorist outfit planned to use the anicut closure as another tool to use their ever servile Norwegians to force the government to accept preconditions of the terrorists to get the anicut opened. It attempted to force the government to provide a water supply scheme promised by Ranil Wickremesinghe and allow the supply of cement and building materials into the occupied areas.

Solheim reportedly contacted the President and blamed the government demanding that it should stop the military action, and air raids. It is greatly admirable that President Rajapaksa had replied him firmly blaming the LTTE for denying water to innocent farmers and asking Solheim to blame the terrorists for denying water to innocent people instead of blindly blaming the government. Well done Mr. President.

In the meantime, the LTTE and the pro-LTTE NGO outfits have started to make a huge commotion about 15 persons branded as aid-workers reported to have been killed in Muttur clashes.

They indirectly place the blame on the government for their deaths and demand the international community to take stern action against these killings, nevertheless they keep mum about the brutal massacre of more than one hundred Muttur Muslim refugees killed by the terrorist outfit after subjecting to "Goni Billa" inspection, a despicable method invented by the UNP during its "Beeshana Yugaya". As I have personally experienced, only someone who had undergone this cruel cycle could grasp its horrendous agony.

The conflict has made Muttur a ghost town, destroying millions worth property and forcing the population to flee to Kantale, Seruwila and other neighbouring towns rendering almost all the inhabitants paupers overnight. Some are even reported to have sought refuge in distant areas such as Negombo and Colombo.

The calamity caused to the Muttur population is unprecedented in the Sri Lankan history. Admiringly President Rajapaksa had taken a keen interest to resolve this calamity by appointing a committee of Parliamentarians to look into all needs of these refugees and take constructive and meaningful steps to resettle them in Muttur, and rebuild the town.

Unlike Ranil Wickremesinghe who commanded Rauf Hakeem to find solutions by meeting the terrorist leader, President Rajapaksa has assured that he would not allow the fate that befell the Muslims of the North to befall those of Muttur.

At the same time the government must continue with its laudable efforts to eliminate the terrorist threat from the Trincomalee District. Sampur and all other major bases should be completely destroyed and the anti-terrorist expeditions should be resolutely and relentlessly carried out until the last terrorist is wiped out from the Trincomalee district.

Let the peace merchants and the NGO dogs bark, persistently carry out the good work of eliminating terrorism and quench the perpetual thirst of the masses for a terrorist free Sri Lanka.