Sowing the seeds of separatism

The warning by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa that the separatist lobby was still active despite the defeat of the LTTE should not be taken lightly especially given the current pattern to denigrate and besmirch the image of Sri Lanka internationally.

Speaking at the launch of the book Charge of the Lion Brigade authored by Environment Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka at the BMICH on Friday the Defence Secretary said: “separatist forces who could not achieve their objectives through the LTTE have not stopped their attempts although terrorism has been fully defeated in the country”.

He said some elements were trying to create a dangerous situation to de-stabilize the military victory and create a political environment to achieve their separatist objectives which could not be achieved through the LTTE.

Stability in third world countries are not to the liking of economically powerful nations. It is in their interests to keep these nations dependent on their munificence. The war that bled Sri Lanka’s economy for a full three decades was a welcome phenomenon to these economic powers so that it may depend on them more and more for aid.

Besides winning a war that was deemed un-winnable and proving them wrong is also pricking the vanity of these powerful nations. Instances are legion where the West fomented separatism in small countries so that they may have a hold on them.

In the Cold War days, these small countries were pawns in the designs of Super Powers and Sri Lanka was a typical case where separatism was spawned as a fall out of geopolitics. Be that as it may these attempts to break up less powerful nations are still very much in existence though methods and the tools used may differ.

That the Western powers turned their guns on Sri Lanka to halt the military offensive in itself is an indication that they did not want the Government to win the war. This divide and rule concept is still ingrained in the psyche of our past colonial masters. A unified Sri Lanka would be against their vested interests. So one can safely assume that further attempts would be made to destabilize the country by promoting separatism although the main tool to achieve this is no more.

This they may now achieve by recourse to local politicians who have scarcely concealed their affinity with the West and have acted detrimental to the national interest. The policies of appeasement of the LTTE these politicians adopted when in the seats of power, the ready compliance with Western dictates no doubt would make them eminently suitable to the grand plan of these western powers to sow the seeds of separatism once again. It was plain to one and all how various western countries tried to scuttle the war effort during the crucial phase of the military offensive.

There was a steady stream of foreign personages who swarmed into the country to bail out Prabhakaran. In an unprecedented move an offer was made to get the Tiger leaders surrender to a third party when the Security Forces had all but annihilated the LTTE. There were also other not so subtle methods used to halt their military juggernaut in their tracks by these western powers which all failed thanks to the steadfast commitment of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to see an end to the scourge of terrorism come what may.

Having failed in all its attempts to browbeat the Government into submission and having failed to secure the life of the Tiger leader the West launched on a vilification campaign against Sri Lanka. The Channel 4 episode was one such stunt adopted to put the Government in the dock. Alleged war crimes is another bludgeon used to deny the country’s due honour. There are also other methods now being applied to strangulate the country economically such as attempting to withdraw the GSP Plus facility.

Regrettably certain Lankan politicians too have jumped the band wagon and are providing tacit support and ammunition to these efforts to demonize Sri Lanka in the separatist campaign that is still being pursued although the LTTE is no more. The various insidious attempts by certain opposition politicians to deny Sri Lanka trade and economic benefits too is part of the larger campaign. It is no secret that the overseas Tiger network is still intact and with its tentacles spread far and wide not least in Sri Lanka. It still has the capacity to bank roll campaigns that could undermine the military victory. The fact that the source of the Channel 4 video footage was a group of Sri Lankan journalists based in Germany itself is significant in this respect.

Attempts to destabilize the country may appear on different fronts and under different guises. Therefore the warning sounded by the President and Defence Secretary should be heeded by all patriotic Lankans and resist attempts by those who may try to re-introduce the spectre of separatism under various guises. The country has had enough of war. The country should rally as one to preserve the victory achieved at tremendous cost.