Major obstacle for lasting peace in Sri Lanka

Dickson Ranasinghe

The LTTE uprising in the North of Sri Lanka in the 1970s surfaced as a protest against the discrimination of Tamils and consisted of a small group numbering a few hundreds.

However, from the mid 80s onwards the organisation grew rapidly with the exodus of Sri Lankan Tamils seeking refugee status in various developed countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France, Italy as well as other Scandinavian countries since mid 1980s the growth of Tamil population in those countries amassed to very large numbers.

LTTE coffers

The LTTE fund raising mechanism which followed soon thereafter with tracking down of each and every Tamil family living overseas in countries mentioned above, to contribute through extortions and other croocked means, multiplied their revenue by hundred and thousand times bringing in millions of Dollars to LTTE coffers each day. With time when the civilized world realised that LTTE is a ruthless terrorist organisation many countries took prompt action to ban this movement.

However the loads of funds being generated by this terrorist organisation continues to flourish even to date. However, with the banning strictly imposed by various developed countries on LTTE, their activities on direct fund management for extortions, money laundering for arms purchases etc. could not be carried out by them.

Due to the fact that the LTTE activists themselves being aliens in those countries and these activists were compelled to turn for the services in fund management to the ‘Natives’ of those countries.

The job is carried out even more effectively and efficiently, even the using of high ups in the respective governments for their propaganda work. But the job is now carried out for the LTTE by these ‘Natives’ at a hugely demanded ‘Service Charge’ and it obviously an illegal operation helping a terrorist organisation.

In the fund raising mechanism overseas the key theme or the claim in propaganda work is branded as the ‘Sri Lankan Tamil Problem’.

Fund Managers

In practice there is no genuine sympathy by these ‘Native Fund Managers’ towards the innocent Tamils undergoing misery and hardship in the Northern areas of Sri Lanka due to LTTE activities, but would do their utmost to keep the disturbance prolonged for as long as possible, so that they can keep happily filling their own coffers at a time when world recession is hitting hard on the others. If the war is over and if the movement is crushed with no more extortions possible from the Tamil refugees living in those countries, then the business is over for these ‘Fund Managers’.

Asylum seekers

The situation has now turned upside down from early aspirations of the Tamils in 1970s to a big time money swindling project today, enjoyed by these fund managers with collections received from asylum seekers, who are living in a dream of their own on a future ‘separate state concept’.

It is clearly evident today that these men with government links in those countries, are not only freely allowing the Tamils as their pawns to protest in the streets in large numbers but also to cause much damage to embassy properties, and to carry on regardless at the great inconvenience of their own public.

Such misbehaviour is cunningly tolerated with the intention to prolong the LTTE fund management activities since these natives are the final beneficiaries. A recent article in the press gave details of a how a ‘Top LTTE Tigress’ who surrendered to the Army disclosed how she was helped by these ‘Fund Managers’ living in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy and Ireland, to purchase arms and for money laundering and also that her tour was funded by the Burghoff Foundation. When the Government of Sri Lanka is doing her every effort to rescue the innocent Tamils living in the affected areas of the country and support them with decent living, these men through political pressure and other means orchestrate themselves as an obstacle to the efforts in crushing terrorism and bring in normalcy to the country.

When people living in the South are doing their best to assist the IDPs, sincerely and bring harmony, there is not even a good word, from these people who visit our country to investigate. They know that bringing harmony and normalcy to the North and East, would mean immediate loss of their lucrative business.

Homeland concept

There is no doubt that when the LTTE is crushed and every effort is made by the Government to settle the civilians these people from foreign countries will stoop to other tactics such as, to provoke Tamils civilians on issues such as demanding to put pressure on the government on phrases such as, ‘demanding for a lasting Political solutions under the Tamil Homelands concept’, or accusing the Sri Lankan Army with adverse publicity in the world media with statements such as ‘indiscriminate attacks on the civilians and mass scale killings and rape of women in IDP centres run by the military’.

The Government within this short period of time proved how well all communities can very well live in harmony in the East. Such efforts of the Government will be extended in same level for development work and improvement in Administration and Politics in the North of Sri Lanka too.

Natives

Sri Lankan Government maintains democracy to the word and therefore there is no need in anyway to play to the tune of some foreigners with vested interests, who are doing their utmost to destabilise country and bring more misery especially to the Tamils in the North.

End of the day the Tamils domiciled in those countries would realise that the ‘natives’ who acted as sympathisers have actually taken them for a ride by siphoning out their hard earned money systematically.

It is better to save their hard earned money, and contribute directly for peace and well-being of their own kith and kin living in Sri Lanka, than depending on a third party, ‘natives in those countries’ who are having the last laugh.