A spirited response

With the LTTE now grovelling under the Forces’ onslaught with its last remaining resistance too on the verge of being snuffed out, there is every possibility of a bail out being engineered by vested interests if earlier precedents are anything to go by.

One recalls how when the Forces were on the verge of finishing off the LTTE pressure was brought to bear on the adminstration of the day, economic embargoes included, leading to capitulation that eventually brought to nought all the hard fought gains by the valiant troops.

It is to the eternal credit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that he has steadfastly refused to bow to the dictates of international forces that would have meant letting the Tiger off the hook.It is this firm resolve that is paying dividends today with the Tigers having all but surrendered the battle after three decades of protracted fighting. But the efforts to scuttle the gains of the Forces have by no means ended.

With the human rights whip now losing its sting, the bone of contention has shifted to the civilians trapped in the fighting zone. Never mind that it is the LTTE which is holding these innocent men, women and children hostage in its last stand against the might of the Forces.

It is in this context that the broadside fired by seasoned diplomat Ravinatha Aryasinha on the Members of the European Union should be applauded. Intervening at a meeting of the South Asia delegation of the European Parliament, Ambassador Aryasinha told Members of the European Parliament that some apologists among them were trying to save the LTTE by calling for a ceasefire and trying to stop the Sri Lankan Government from militarily defeating the terrorists.

He also told them if they care for the welfare of the affected civilians they should use whatever influence they have with the Tamil Diaspora to bring pressure on the outfit to let go of the 50,000 people they are holding as human shields.

This is in response to the contention among the EU member countries that there was a catastrophe in Sri Lanka. As reported in our pages yesterday, Aryasinha countered this by saying the catastrophe is in the North where the LTTE is forcibly holding 50,000 civilians as a human shield. He also pointed out that the European Parliament omitted in its last resolution, the fact that the LTTE was firing heavy artillery out of the no fire zone.

The combative stance taken by Aryasinha should be lauded by all Sri Lankans.This mirrors the hardened attitude of Colombo in confronting pressure from various quarters to relax the grip on the LTTE. In the past, if at all only feeble resistance was offered with mute acceptance of what was dished out in world chanceries.

Thus, it is gratifying to see spirited diplomatic responses which augers well for the country’s international standing and moreover effectively setting the record straight. Sri Lanka needs not take anything thrown at it lying down any more.

It may be a poor country but a sovereign nation nevertheless with a pride and dignity to protect. The President has shown the way on how to protect this dignity by asking all those busy bodies where to get off. It is now left to his officials, particularly those entrusted with the duty of defending the country overseas to carry the torch.

Welcome to a hero

All Sri Lankans, cricket fans not the least would have stood in salutation to Meher Mohammed Khalil the Lahore hero who saved the Lankan team when the team bus he was driving came under a terrorist attack on that fateful day in March.

But for his presence of mind to drive on while the team coach was being sprayed with gun fire, there is no knowing what consequences would have ensued, not just in a cricketing sense but implication that would have engulfed the entire region.

But for us, Sri Lankans, what matters most is that Mahela and his boys survived the ordeal due to the deeds of just one man who was on Monday fittingly welcomed by a grateful nation.

What is more he would have been the happiest to note that all those who went thought that harrowing ordeal had put behind the experience going by the performances of most of the members in a domestic tournament that concluded on Sunday.

Hopefully, the Lankan team would be better for the experience and would come out with improved performances on the field at future international fixtures. That would provide a full measure of the worth of the signal act of our Lahore hero.