UN and Obama in sync against LTTE terror

Last Thursday could be considered the apogee of the strategy worked out by the pro-LTTE pressure and lobby groups in their efforts to throw a life line to Velupillai Prabhakaran and his coterie of terror gasping for humanitarian relief in the final days of their record of inhuman brutality that has little comparison in today's world.

It was when the Head of the most powerful, country of earth, and the presumed and often self-proclaimed leader of the democratic world spoke of the Sri Lankan crisis, and so did the United Nations Security Council considered the most powerful and influential international body, that better represents the community than most other claimants to that exalted position.

But the results of all their lobbying, whether diplomatic, political or both and in many cases both in cash and kind, did not produce the desired result. As much as President Barack Obama thought it time to "talk about something that, with all the big issues going on, hasn't received much attention" but thinks it worth talking about - obviously being far down the line from bank bailouts, toxic assets and saving the US auto industry - he did not become a mouthpiece for Tamil Tiger and American Tamil propaganda of an impending holocaust in Sri Lanka.

He was concerned about what could turn into a humanitarian catastrophe, a much bandied about phrase about Sri Lanka today, which appears to thinning out in its anticipated impact as the ground realities in Sri Lanka keep emerging.

President Obama

What President Obama said could not be honey in the ears of the pro-LTTE pressure groups, although there were attempts to make it seem as such by sections of the international media that have also become cat's paws of pro-LTTE pressure. Very early in his statement President Obama had a very strong message to the LTTE. Putting the "lives of men, women and children who are innocently caught up in the crossfire" first he urged "the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and let civilians go. Their forced recruitment of civilians as human shields is deplorable. These tactics will only serve to alienate all those who carry them out".

Laying down their arms and surrendering unconditionally is what the Sri Lanka Government has been asking the LTTE to do for a very long time, even before their current debacle that began with the fall of strongholds such as Pooneryn and Kilinochchi. Therefore, it is interesting that President Obama too echoes these same thoughts.

As for much of his other comments on Sri Lanka, they are in sync with what has been oft repeated about humanitarian conditions in the treatment of those who have escaped the terror of the LTTE, correctly identified as such by the US President, and now acknowledged by many unbiased and non-subjective observers, including politicians and journalists, who have visited the places of their temporary settlement in the Vanni.

A people's response

There have been many journalists asking for an official response from the GoSL to the Obama statement which correctly did not swallow that bait. Instead the best response came from the Tamil people themselves; the people who President Obama was so concerned about. By the end of the day, on Wednesday, there were nearly 3,000 Tamil civilians who had, under the most trying conditions fled the LTTE held area to come to the safety and assured peaceful future in the Government held areas of the Vanni. Reports say that by Wednesday night there were at least 6,000 more waiting to move from terror to humane care, and still more will follow in the next few days.

There is no better response to the leader of the land that showed contemptible lack of concern for humanitarian care to its own minority communities, largely black American, during Hurricane Katrina, and many of whom have still not been properly resettled. Admittedly, the humanitarian catastrophe of Katrina did not take place under the current Obama Watch.

Amidst all this emerging relief, born of hope for better days ahead, there is the need to recognize and salute the resilience and determination of the Tamil people in facing up to the terrorism of the LTTE.

They are unlike those who have abandoned their motherland, many for good reasons though, and migrated through various means to other countries; and while enjoying all the creature comforts of the West, pretend to shed tears for the plight of their brethren trapped by the forces of terror in their traditional areas of livelihood.

Instead they have remained at home, and faced all the suffering imposed on them by their supposed liberators, have been the victims of shortages of essentials time and again, due to the crises caused by war, have been denied the food and medicines sent to them by a caring Government, which have been systematically hijacked by the LTTE.

They have paid exorbitant rates of extortion disguised as 'taxes' imposed by their direct oppressors - the LTTE, they have had their children forcibly used as soldiers, and finally have been herded from one location to another, 23 in all in the past few months, living under the most difficult conditions and caught in the crossfire of the final moves to liberate them.

They have lived in trenches, sheltered themselves in makeshift bunkers - and still kept their faith in the possibility of the final escape to freedom from terror.

They huddled their children, trekked in the sun and scorching heat, waded across a lagoon or fled in boats, often meeting and facing the death threats of their so-called liberators, until they reached freedom in the arms of Sri Lankan troops.

Propaganda

As much as the troops, that have spearheaded the efforts to liberate them, in the face of much international criticism manoeuvred by other Tamil speakers engaged in a frenzied circus of propaganda and pressure politics abroad, these people too deserve full recognition of heroes in the huge humanitarian operation that this military exercise has turned out to be.

Security Council

No doubt here was much lobbying, not only in New York, where the UN is located, but in many other capitals to have the Sri Lankan issue, and the related humanitarian catastrophe often referred to, taken up, hopefully with strictures on Sri Lanka, by the Security Council of the United Nations. On several occasions the UNSC made it clear that it saw no reason to have any such discussion, after careful assessment of what its special envoys, especially Sir John Holmes had reported back to the Secretary General and the Security Council on what he had observed here.

The latest snub was that given to the British Foreign Secretary David Milliband, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and their Austrian counterpart, who also sought to have it raised formally in the UNSC, no doubt with support from Hillary Clinton and the US State Department.

Demonstrations

But last week when the UNSC did meet and did take up Sri Lanka for discussion, it was not something to warm the hearts of all those campaigners, and obstructing road-blocking demonstrators from London, to New York to Toronto, and stone throwing mobs in Western capitals targeting the embassies of countries that are pro-Sri Lankan and decidedly anti-terror.

The issue of Sri Lanka, when taken up by the UN Security Council last Tuesday, as not in the form of a formal resolution to condemn the country, or issue any warnings of possible sanctions and similar action.

It was taken up under Any Other Business, and the discussion was informal. The result was not a binding resolution on the matter; it was also not a statement by the President of the Council, which has some weight in diplomatic parlance. The results of that informal discussion came in the form of a Press Statement, known as the lowest and absolutely non-binding form of statements by the UNSC.

Sri Lanka has every reason to be pleased with this outcome, the UNSC reiterated the clear obligation of the world body vis-avis the rights of sovereign countries in dealing with terrorism, as well as clearly stated that Sri Lanka has all these rights in dealing with the terror of the LTTE.

The first three paragraphs of the Press Statement are very clear and emphatic on this issue. "The members of the Security Council express grave concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the North-East of Sri Lanka, in particular the report of hundreds of civilian casualties in recent days, and all call for urgent action by all parties to ensure the safety of civilians.

Human shields

"The members of the Security Council strongly condemn the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for its acts of terrorism over many years, and for its continued use of civilians as human shields, and acknowledge the legitimate right of the Government of Sri Lanka to combat terrorism.

"The members of the Security Council demand that the LTTE lay down its arms and allow the tens of thousands of civilians still in the conflict zone to leave".

This was followed by now familiar concerns about then humanitarian situation, under conditions where it has been grossly overblown by sections of the media, with the assistance, deliberate or not, of certain officers of the United Nations Office in Colombo, and also its offices in Geneva.

The Security Council in its recognition of the Sri Lankan Government's right to combat terrorism on its own terrain, has in effect told many other interfering forces that they had better mind the problems that are emerging in their own backyards, with their support for the LTTE's terrorism here, under the guise of concern from the plight of the Tamil civilians, held hostage by the Tamil Tigers and not by the Sri Lanka Government.

Thanks in vain

B. Nadesan, the leader of the LTTE's political wing, or whatever is left of it, has rushed to thank President Obama for his intervention on Sri Lanka, but was silent on what it would do with his call for the LTTE to disarm and let the civilians it holds go. He has also faulted the UN Security Council for not taking urgent action against Sri Lanka.

There is no doubt that the pro-LTTE pressure groups, who pretend to be a Tamil Diaspora, will try to get the best spin out of the Obama statement, while they can have little benefit from the UNSC Press Statement.

Yet the fact is that both from Washington and New York, the messages have been very clear.

Both President Obama and the UN Security Council are agreed on the need for the LTTE to disarm and to allow the civilians it still holds to leave to safety and peace.

Whether the LTTE likes it or not, this is exactly what the Tamil people held hostage are doing just now - leaving the LTTE's hold in their thousands for the safety and sanctuary in areas held by the legitimate Government of Sri Lanka, from an area held by force of arms and terror.

Whether such a massive flight to freedom comprises a massive humanitarian catastrophe is a matter that will be discussed in days to come.

But whatever the Tamil civilians show the world by their resolute commitment to freedom in Sri Lanka, the spin against Sri Lanka, made up of dastardly lies will continue.

And it looks like Hillary Clinton has already begun the act for the LTTE or its pressure groups by stating that the current conditions - yeah, a whole people's flight to freedom does not justify an IMF facility to Sri Lanka, just now. There's more to follow on this watch.