Need to make common cause with US
Sri Lanka and the world have seen, once
again, the US resolve to fight terrorism, wherever it may raise its
heinous head. "Terrorism is unacceptable in any part of the world, be it
in Sri Lanka or in the United States," US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice told Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on the sidelines of the
UN General Assembly sessions.
This is, of course, good news for Sri Lanka, because we could be sure
the US would stand with us, shoulder-to-shoulder in our battle against
LTTE terrorism. We could bank on the US to back our every move to fight
LTTE terror and bring the Tigers to heel.
This sense of assurance could be enjoyed by Sri Lanka because the US
is adopting a principled stand on the LTTE and terror. As long as the
LTTE remains committed to violence and terror it would be hunted down by
the US and very steadfastly too.
Underlying this policy position is the principle that a country
committed to liberal democratic principles and values could never bow
down to terror and accept its diktat. We hope every practising democracy
would be inspired by this principled position of the US and join it and
states like Sri Lanka in their fight against LTTE terror.
That said, it must be noted that the US is also for a negotiated
solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka. Although Tiger terror needs to be
defeated as long as it is applied, there is no getting away from the
reality that in the long term, a negotiated solution must be found to
our conflict. With this position, of course, the Lankan State agrees.
This is the rationale behind the Government sponsored APC and APRC
processes.
However, as long as the LTTE and other terror groups continue to be a
threat to civilized and democratic living, they would be dealt with
severely by the US. Fresh evidence of this came in the form of the
arrest of some LTTE operatives recently in New York by FBI undercover
agents. The message sent out by the US is that there would be no let up
as long as the LTTE traverses the terror path.
What is particularly important about the US position is its
determination to crush Tiger terror on US soil. We are quite aware that
most liberal democracies are staunchly opposed to political terrorism.
Many of them have joined the US in banning the LTTE on their soil.
However, not all such states are as firmly opposed to the Tiger presence
on their soil as the US is. For instance, in some of these states
prominent LTTEers are still at large. Tiger front groups continue to
function with impunity.
Such laxity on the part of these states would not enable the message
to be sent loud and clear to the Tigers that the democratic, civilized
world is staunchly and unfalteringly opposed to them.
In fact the failure to be united on the question of fighting the LTTE,
with the same degree of firmness and fervour, might weaken the US and
states such as Lanka, in their fight against the LTTE. In other words,
the civilized world must be determined to the same degree to defeat LTTE
terrorism.
We hope the US position would be a fresh eye-opener to the rest of
the world. Political terror could never be overcome to the desired
degree as long as the world remains varyingly inspired to fight terror.
A joint, determined, consistent and no-holds-barred effort to battle
terror on the part of the world is the need of the hour.
We take this opportunity to alert the rest of the liberal democratic
West to the magnitude of the battle undertaken by the US against terror.
The US, of course, fully realises the high human cost this fight against
terror incurs. However, the US' commitment to democracy and its
principles is compelling it to forge ahead in its battle against terror;
the costs notwithstanding. In other words, the US is seeking to protect
liberty against tyranny.
Freedom and liberty are essential for civilized living and this is
where the rest of the world should make common cause with the US. The
liberal democratic West needs to fully close ranks with the US in this
persistent attack on terror. |
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