Time for honesty in dialogue with govt.:

Does TNA accept Darusman & Co on LTTE?

The countries of South Asia have many strong bonds that make this region rich in diversity. It is the home to many great histories that straddle the centuries, cultures that are growing in vibrancy and point to new trends in the modern world, traditions that have drawn from the great religions of the world, and societies seeking a better place in the world for their people, seeking to leapfrog into age of technology and all it offers.

As Mike Smith, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and head of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) states in the Hindu last Thursday (19), "the South Asian countries are also united in their humanity and their quest for a peaceful life. But terrorists defy these shared values. South Asia has unfortunately suffered greatly over the years at the hands of terrorist groups espousing a wide variety of ideologies, whose actions cannot be defended."

Common challenges

The problem of terrorism is the subject of an important conference that takes place in Thimpu, Bhutan from May 24 to 26, when senior Police officers, prosecutors and, for the first time, judges from the eight SAARC members will discuss common challenges and strategies. They will consider specific issues that arise in the context of terrorism-related cases, such as interviewing suspects, interrogation techniques, the challenges of using classified evidence in prosecutions, and the effective implementation of laws aimed at countering terrorism and transnational crime.

Mike Smith adds: "This workshop in Bhutan is the fourth in a series of events organized by CTED and the Centre on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation with the support of SAARC and host countries in South Asia.

Like its predecessors in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, this month's event will seek to identify effective approaches, specific to the region and grounded in respect for human rights and the rule of law."

It is significant that this forum meets soon after the Darusman Report, that has sought to belittle Sri Lanka's achievement in defeating terrorism and also seeks to accuse Sri Lanka of many crimes against humanity for her success in liberating all of the country from the bloody grip of terror. What the Economist UK once described as the 'Sri Lankan Option' in defeating terrorism will certainly give many lessons to the SAARC countries on dealing with this threat to development, both economic and social.

TNA endorsement

Among the matters that have escaped much attention after publication of the Darusman Report is the wholehearted endorsement of it by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in Sri Lanka, stated very clearly by its leader R Sampanthan.

In meetings with Indian leaders earlier this week, both sides agreed that the end of armed conflict in Sri Lanka created a historic opportunity to address all outstanding issues in a spirit of understanding and mutual accommodation imbued with political vision to work towards genuine national reconciliation. Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister Prof. G L Peiris clearly affirmed the Government's commitment to ensuring expeditious and concrete progress in the ongoing dialogue with representatives of Tamil parties. A devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would contribute towards creating the necessary conditions for such reconciliation, he said.

Darusman Report

The outright acceptance and endorsement of the Darusman Report by the TNA raises some questions about the commitment of the TNA, which still claims leadership of the Tamil people, towards genuine reconciliation. This becomes especially relevant in the context of the findings by Darusman & Co about the LTTE, which most people who use this report to attack the government are happy to be silent about.

Here are some of these observations about the LTTE:

l Detailing the emergence of the LTTE taking advantage of the conducive environment for training and organizing in Tamil Nadu, it states the "LTTE began as a Tamil liberation movement and eventually became the most disciplined and most nationalist of the Tamil militant groups, emerging as the dominant force espousing a separatist agenda in the mid - 1980s. During this period the LTTE adopted increasingly violent tactics, using violence to silence other Tamil groups, while asserting itself as the self-appointed, sole representative of the Tamil people. Its elusive leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, demanded absolute royalty and sacrifice and cultivated a cult-like following. Internal dissent was not tolerated; those suspected of working or cooperating with the government were labelled traitors and often killed. LTTE violence directed against Tamils caused deep fear and suspicion within the Tamil community.

l Despite grave danger in the conflict zone, the LTTE refused civilians permission to leave, using them as hostages, at times even using their presence as a strategic human buffer between themselves and the advancing Sri Lanka Army. It implemented a policy of forced recruitment throughout the war, but in the final stages greatly intensified its recruitment of people of all ages, including children as young as 14. The LTTE forced civilians to dig trenches and other emplacements for its own defences, thereby contributing to blurring the distinction between combatants and civilians and exposing civilians to additional harm. All of this was done in a quest to pursue a war that was clearly lost; many civilians were sacrificed on the altar of the LTTE cause and its effort to preserve its senior leadership.

l From February 2009 onwards, the LTTE started point-blank shooting of civilians who attempted to escape the conflict zone, significantly adding to the death toll in the final stages of the war. It also fired artillery in proximity to large groups of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and fired from, or stored military equipment near, IDPs or civilian installations such as hospitals. Throughout the final stages of the war, the LTTE continued its policy of suicide attacks outside the conflict zone.

Even though its ability to perpetrate such attacks was diminished compared to previous phases of the conflict, it perpetrated a number of attacks against civilians outside the conflict zone.

l The Panel's determination of credible allegations against LTTE associated with the final stages of the war reveals six core categories of potential serious violations: (i) using civilians as a human buffer; (ii) killing civilians attempting to flee LTTE control; (iii) using military equipment in the proximity of civilians; (iv) forced recruitment of children; (v) forced labour; and (vi) killing of civilians through suicide attacks.

With all its glaring shortcomings such as the absence of verification and authentication of information placed before it, Darusman & Co have arrived at some interesting observations, too. This is what it states about the so-called 'Tamil diaspora':

Economic opportunities

"The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, with a population of close to one million scattered across the globe, has grown since the 1980's as large numbers of Tamils sought refuge abroad from violence and repression by the state, while others sought better economic opportunities. The diaspora has played a crucial role throughout the war, with segments providing uncritical support to the LTTE, through crucial funding and advocacy, consistently denying any wrongdoing by the LTTE throughout the conflict. Not all support has been voluntary, however. The LTTE extended its tactics, including extortion, beyond the shores of Sri Lanka, into countries with large numbers of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, using these to impose its narrative of the Tamil aspiration for a homeland and the means for achieving it. It was also intolerant of any criticism and allowed no space for the voices of victims of LTTE violence."

The experience in Sri Lanka is that is not only the 'Tamil diaspora' that provided uncritical support to the LTTE. The TNA also did the same and had no objections to being known as the LTTE's proxy.

As dialogue between the government of Sri Lanka and representatives of Tamil parties proceed, it will be necessary to raise the question as to whether the TNA continues to accept the Darusman Report, and if so, whether it also endorses its observations on the LTTE and the terrorism it was engaged in. One cannot easily forget that the TNA was insistent for so long that the LTTE was the sole representative of the Tamil people. Can it continue to accept this position and proceed in honest dialogue with the government?

This also raises the question as to what the members, and especially leaders, of the 'Tamil diaspora' have to say about these findings in the Report that it is using to whip up international opinion against the government of Sri Lanka and those who gave the political leadership to the defeat of the LTTE. To take an instant example, what have they to say of the latest report from the Netherlands that several LTTE fund raisers, including the alleged leader of the LTTE Dutch branch, who forced Tamils in Netherlands to pay for the LTTE were arrested by the Netherlands authorities, and that Dutch court authorities said the LTTE held these people in 'a stranglehold', forcing them to pay a 'war tax'.

The answers to these questions will be necessary from the TNA for the smooth conduct of a dialogue from which genuine reconciliation and national unity can be achieved, in the historic opportunity offered by the defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka.

Those who meet in Bhutan to study terrorism next week will also be seeking answers to these questions.

They will also have to be met by those who claim to have an Eelam government in exile, and by those seeking to recognize them for the funds it can offer.