Wall Street Journal tells Sri Lanka:
Do not stop the war now
Walter JAYAWARDHANA
Expressing its assertion against the Western opinion that the Sri
Lankan war should be suspended, for the sake of trapped civilians , in a
leading article, the Wall Street Journal said, among the few options
Colombo is having the worst would be to stop the war now.
The leading article said, “The danger is that any let-up in the
assault will give the Tigers time to regroup, thus extending the
conflict and the civilian suffering even longer.” The editorial further
said, “. A reminder of the danger the Tigers still can pose came with
Friday’s kamikaze aerial attack on Colombo with two small planes. That
attack also casts doubt on the sincerity of the request for a cease-fire
the Tigers issued Monday, especially since that proposal didn’t include
a promise to lay down their arms.”
Cannot be trusted
The Wall Street Journal further pointed out that the Tamil Tigers
cannot be trusted to honour any of the promises they make as history
would show: “Nor is there any guarantee the Tigers would honour a break
in the fighting, let alone allow the civilians to leave.
The last time a formal cease-fire was negotiated, in 2002, the Tigers
spent the following four years violating it frequently. Tiger leaders
must also be keenly aware that their human shields are their last
remaining “defense” against a Sri Lankan army better equipped and
trained than any in the country’s modern history.”
In no uncertain terms the newspaper argued: “The civil war has come
at a high cost in Sri Lankan blood and treasure, a cost that may grow as
this offensive reaches its conclusion. But the cost of stepping back
from the fight would be higher still.”
The following is the full text of the editorial: “The Sri Lankan
government is steadily gaining ground against the terrorist Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and an end to that country’s 26-year-old civil
war may finally be in sight. Now the United Nations, European Union and
US worry about a looming humanitarian crisis in the conflict zone.
With the Tigers reportedly holding civilians hostage as human
shields, Colombo has few good options. But the worst would be to stop
now.
“The army says it has the Tigers cornered in a 24-square-mile patch
in the Northern Province. But as many as 250,000 civilians, most of them
innocent Tamils, may be trapped in that zone. While the government has
tried to establish routes for them to leave and is providing camps for
those who do, the Tigers reportedly refuse to allow the majority of
these civilians out.
They’re too valuable as human shields, and as PR tools.
“The government’s options are either to push forward in the knowledge
there will be civilian casualties or to heed international calls for a
break in the fighting for a few days in the hopes the Tigers will allow
the civilians out. Colombo insists it must keep the pressure on the
Tigers, especially when it’s so close to victory.
“This week has seen renewed calls from the UN, the EU and the US for
a temporary pause in fighting to allow civilians to flee.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that the UN “would strongly
support a suspension of fighting.” Also Monday, a conclave of European
foreign ministers in Brussels called for an immediate cease-fire while a
State Department spokesman said Washington “want[s] to see” Colombo and
the Tigers “discuss ways to end the hostilities.”
“The danger is that any let-up in the assault will give the Tigers
time to regroup, thus extending the conflict and the civilian suffering
even longer.
A reminder of the danger the Tigers still can pose came with Friday’s
kamikaze aerial attack on Colombo with two small planes.
Sincerity
That attack also casts doubt on the sincerity of the request for a
cease-fire the Tigers issued Monday, especially since that proposal
didn’t include a promise to lay down their arms.
“Nor is there any guarantee the Tigers would honor a break in the
fighting, let alone allow the civilians to leave. The last time a formal
cease-fire was negotiated, in 2002, the Tigers spent the following four
years violating it frequently.
Tiger leaders must also be keenly aware that their human shields are
their last remaining “defense” against a Sri Lankan army better equipped
and trained than any in the country’s modern history.
“President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s military offensive has made more
progress against the Tigers than any effort in the past 26 years.
The civil war has come at a high cost in Sri Lankan blood and
treasure, a cost that may grow as this offensive reaches its conclusion.
But the cost of stepping back from the fight would be higher still.”
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