A barbaric attack

The LTTE once again exposed its true colours to the wider world yesterday. The barbaric attack on a police bus which killed both policemen and civilians in the heart of Fort will be condemned by all right thinking persons.

This is hardly the first time that the LTTE has resorted to carnage in its quest for the so-called Eelam state. However, the LTTE seems to have increased the frequency and ferocity of its attacks after its comprehensive defeat in the East last year and the current military onslaught in the North aimed at liberating the Northern masses.

It is clear that the LTTE is desperate to prove to its local and international backers that it is still active despite the military campaign in the North which has seen the Forces regaining several townships and the Madhu Church area.

Nevertheless, it has not gained much success in conventional warfare with the Security Forces and attacks on ‘soft’ targets has become a more appealing prospect for the LTTE, described as the most dangerous terrorist organisation in the world by the FBI.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that the LTTE exploded a bus bomb that killed 26 civilians in Piliyandala. Earlier, the Tigers exploded a spate of bombs aimed at unarmed Forces personnel and civilians.

The success of the Elections in the East seems to have drawn the Tigers’ ire as the establishment of normality and civilian rule in the East can only mean the end of the road for the LTTE in the region.

The LTTE did try its best to sabotage the election. They exploded a bomb in Ampara on election eve, killing several civilians and aimed mortars at villages in Amapara district. An explosion destroyed a ship in Trincomalee.

But none of these incidents could deter the Eastern population from casting their votes to elect representatives to the Eastern Provincial Council.

They braved all LTTE threats and intimidatory tactics to make the poll a resounding success.

The LTTE has thus been defeated militarily and politically in the East. The LTTE knows all to well that a successful civilian administration can send a strong signal to the Northern populace still under LTTE control that they too should strive to veer away from the LTTE. This is in fact the Government’s avowed goal.

While the restoration of democracy in previously battle-scarred areas and military action against the LTTE will certainly go a long way towards to this objective, global action against the LTTE’s terrorism is also essential to diminish its ability to carry out terrorist activity.

This is precisely what President Mahinda Rajapaksa called for in his landmark address to the Oxford Union in the UK on Tuesday.

“The LTTE is the most brutal terror outfit the world has ever seen and defeating them requires global support. What Sri Lanka is doing is fighting the terror outfit single handed to ensure that democracy and respect for human life would prevail in the world.”

Rightly projecting the LTTE as a global problem, the President pointed out that if Sri Lanka failed in the war against the LTTE, the world will fail in its fight against terrorism and democracy will be the victim.

Our headline writer captured the essence of the President’s argument when he wrote ‘Democracy the loser if terror wins’. Indeed, if LTTE terror regains the upper hand in the East by any chance, the fledgling democratic set up there will suffer. The Government must ensure that this would never happen.

In the meantime, we must all bear in mind that the terrorists need one slim chance to cause death and destruction. Whether they are military or civilian lives is immaterial to the LTTE. It is virtually impossible for the Security Forces and the Police to be everywhere all the time.

This is why increased public vigilance is essential. Even a seemingly trivial observation may yield clues to a bigger destructive design by the ruthless LTTE. Civilians’ tips have helped avert several major tragedies.

Such a level of alertness, if practised by all civilians, will enable the Security Forces and the Police to discharge their duties even more effectively for the cause of national security.