LTTE financing and SL’s Janus-faced critics

The gradual doing away with the Emergency by the state has been warmly welcomed by the public but this does not mean that the LTTE menace has been completely laid to rest. The truth of this proposition is being underscored by a US State Department Report which points to the continuing dangers posed to Sri Lanka’s security interests by LTTE fund-raising operations abroad.

Besides other things, the document titled ‘Country Report on Terrorism 2010’ states that an LTTE network engaged in fund-raising for the group ‘continued to collect contributions from the Tamil diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia, where there were reports that some of these contributions were coerced by locally-based LTTE sympathizers.’

While we are provided a glimpse of the remaining dimensions of the LTTE problem, and, hopefully, state action would be speeded-up from now on, to bust the remaining LTTE operations abroad, the Report should also be used by the state to impress on the international community the need for continued and accelerated co-operation world wide to put the LTTE completely out of action and business. Sections of the West have been doubly prompt in pointing an accusing finger at Sri Lanka on what have come to be known as accountability issues, but we wonder what they have to say about these disclosures of continued LTTE fund-raising under their very noses. Should not they be doing more and at a very accelerated pace too, to neutralize these LTTE underhand operations, if they are in earnest when they say that they have some humanitarian concerns?

There is ample duplicity here on the part of those sections of the world community which have been critical of Sri Lanka on ‘accountability’ issues. The main thrust of the Report is that LTTE fund-raising abroad has been continuing right through 2010, the year during which criticism of Sri Lanka reached shrill proportions in some Western quarters in particular. We are also given to understand that the railway blast in June in Tamil Nadu could very well have been the handiwork of the LTTE.

We may ask, what is the world community waiting for? It should be plain to see that the Tigers are continuing to spawn law and order problems for the West in particular. The bourgeoning white collar crimes initiated by the LTTE, in the form of the numerous financial scams, are reason enough for firm and sustained action against the Tigers by Western states. Besides, the LTTE extortion rings, which are a source of terror in Western societies, need to be forever crippled. By meeting these requirements those international critics of Sri Lanka could clear themselves somewhat of the charge of being Janus-faced on the LTTE issue.

Meanwhile, the Lankan state has gone some distance in putting the record straight on issues arising from the humanitarian operation in the North, but we suggest that these awareness-raising efforts be continued to disabuse the minds of our critics on the factual state of affairs in this country. Particularly welcome from this point of view is the document brought out recently by the Defence Ministry titled, ‘Humanitarian Operation Factual Analysis, July 2006-May 2009’. Exceptional efforts would need to be made to publicize documents of this nature, particularly abroad.

This document and other awareness-raising tools on the humanitarian operation, which could expose the baseless nature of the adverse publicity generated in the West by Channel 4 and other anti-Lanka sources, should not only be in the hands of our diplomats abroad but must be vigorously distributed among foreign governments. What is of particular importance in a post-conflict context is the continued exertion by the state to bring normalcy to the North. Resettlement and rehabilitation efforts are continuing apace and this must be clearly and unambiguously highlighted. The Tamil citizenry is by no means out of the mainstream of society and this should receive emphasis.

‘The result for the civilians, and for Sri Lanka, has been overwhelmingly positive. Thousands of lives that would have been lost had terrorism continued and war remained in Sri Lanka, have been saved.’ This is a happy conclusion the Defence Ministry report arrives at. We agree fully with this position. But this message must be spread far and wide.