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World must get tough with Tigers

One of the biggest myths about the LTTE which is lying shattered following its recent confrontations with the Security Forces is the notion that it is deeply concerned about the Tamil people. Going by its tyrannical treatment of the population of the North-East amid its military reverses, nothing could be farther from the truth.

The Tamil people are held in utter contempt by the Tigers and do not seem to be considered in a humane light by the LTTE. As we have always said in this commentary, the majority of the Tamil people are mere cannon fodder in the sinister plans of the LTTE. The Tigers have today not only cowed the majority of the North-East people into silence but are exercising an unshakeable grip over them. This is the bleeding ground reality of the North-East.

All this begs the question: how could the LTTE claim to be the sole representative of the Tamil people? would the true representatives of the Tamil people subject them to the overwhelming suffering which is the people's sad lot today?

Apparently, the torment visited on the Tamil people is only on the increase. Their cup of sorrow is being filled to overflowing by the Tigers. As is well known, the Tigers are once again resorting to their brutal strategy of using the North-East populace as a human shield. Our front page lead story speaks of the terrible torments being heaped on the displaced people of the North-East by the Tigers.

As could be seen, the well being of the Tamil people is a matter of complete indifference to the LTTE. What weighs very heavily with the LTTE is their degree of power in the North-East, and little else matters. In other words, its tyrannical power defines the LTTE. To consolidate this power it would go to any lengths.

The Vakarai clashes were instructive. There we saw how the Tigers used the Eastern people as a shield to attack the Security Forces with the intention projecting the latter as a destructive force which brought bitter suffering to the people. The same strategy is being pursued in the North.

The Security Forces need to guard against these costly traps. The Army needs to retaliate against Tiger provocations but every effort needs to be made to ensure the well being of the Tamil people. The hearts and minds of the latter must be won willy-nilly by the State.

From that point of view, the State is doing absolutely right by ensuring the material well being of the Tamil people. More and more food supplies should be plied to the North-East in an effort to ensure that every man, woman and child is well fed and cared for. Thus will the Tigers be exposed as the party which visits untold suffering on the Tamil people.

So there is no alternative to a global campaign by the State to expose the LTTE as a brutal outfit which is standing in the way of a settlement in this country. The Co Chairs in particular need to see and appreciate the standpoint of the State.

If they are really desirous of helping Sri Lanka they would locate the true source of the country's travails and force the LTTE to the negotiating table. Besides, tough law and order measures would be taken against the Tigers to impress on them that their intransigence would not be tolerated by the world community.

The world needs to act before it is too late. Not only are the Tamil people being harassed and tormented by the Tigers, they are also being put through the rigours of compulsory arms training.

They are taxed both literally and figuratively by the LTTE who use the North-East citizens' meagre earnings to fatten their coffers as well as uses them as human shields and even combatants. This state of affairs must end.

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