All eyes on
Kilinochchi as final battle looms
 The
Eelam war is, in a sense, now heading towards uncharted territory.
Previous Eelam wars have been fought only until an impasse is reached.
And then, for one reason or another, both sides had left the battle
lines and taken refuge at the negotiating table. So, there was no
creation of a humanitarian crisis of humongous proportions. This time
though, the course of the war may well be quite different. Army
Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka is on record saying his aim
is to liquidate the LTTE rather than gain ground and control territory.
From all accounts then, the march towards Kilinochchi is set to become a
struggle of titanic proportions for the Government, simply because
thousands of civilians are likely to be affected. The next phase of this
Eelam war is likely to be protracted as much as it is likely to entail a
heavy toll. For these very reasons, it will invariably attract more than
its fair share of publicity in the global media to which the
international community will be attentively focussed. Being at the
centre of this glare of publicity is not something that Sri Lanka can
afford to take lightly.
In making headway against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
and aiming to regain control over the terrorists’ powerbase of
Kilinochchi, the Government and the military is treading through a
minefield, both literally and metaphorically.
While capturing and holding onto territory is a daunting task which the
combined Forces are doing with commendable courage, a different kind of
battle is emerging on the sidelines: the propaganda war. And this is the
battle which the Government must handle with extra care.
Already, Colombo has made its stand unequivocally clear: all
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the United Nations agencies
operating in the battleground areas must leave for safer terrain; if
they do not, the Government will not be able to guarantee their safety
in the days and weeks to come.
There have been protests and other forms of dissent at this
announcement. The argument trotted forward is that the withdrawal of the
NGOs and the UN will cause considerable hardship to the civilian
population in the affected areas. Therefore, it is the contention of
some that these NGOs stay put.
The corollary of that is obvious. The Armed forces simply cannot
prosecute the war in earnest, in the manner they see fit, if the
contentious terrain is dotted with NGOs who will obviously be at risk.
It would put the Defence establishment on the back foot. And this is
precisely what the LTTE would want.
So far, Colombo’s message has been loud and clear, and it was
re-iterated by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa this week when he
said that the Government was not prepared to change its military plans
to suit the United Nations or other international non-governmental
organisations.
Colombo, surely must be once bitten twice shy. The incident where 17 aid
workers of the Paris-based NGO, Contra La Faim (Action Against Hunger)
were found massacred in Muttur in 2006, is still reverberating through
the corridors of western capitals and the Government will surely want to
avoid a repeat of such a situation where, in the absence of evidence, it
is presumed guilty until proven innocent.
Hence Colombo’s anxiety to avoid casualties to NGOs and the UN is
understandable.. It is heartening to note that both the Defence and
political establishments, speak with one voice on this matter and we
haven’t had the usual scenario of one contradicting the other.
But with such seriousness of purpose comes enormous responsibility as
well. If the Government is confident enough to categorically call for
the withdrawal of the NGOs and UN from the theatres of conflict, it
imposes on itself the burden of providing the bare necessities for the
civilian population of this region. And that is easier said than done.
The Eelam war is, in a sense, now heading towards uncharted territory.
Previous Eelam wars have been fought only until an impasse is reached.
And then, for one reason or another, both sides had left the battle
lines and taken refuge at the negotiating table. So, there was no
creation of a humanitarian crisis of humongous proportions.
This time though, the course of the war may well be quite different.
Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka is on record saying his
aim is to liquidate the LTTE rather than gain ground and control
territory. From all accounts then, the march towards Kilinochchi is set
to become a struggle of titanic proportions for the Government, simply
because thousands of civilians are likely to be affected.
The next phase of this Eelam war is likely to be protracted as much as
it is likely to entail a heavy toll. For these very reasons, it will
invariably attract more than its fair share of publicity in the global
media to which the international community will be attentively focussed.
Being at the centre of this glare of publicity is not something that Sri
Lanka can afford to take lightly.
What the LTTE would dearly love is for either the military to wrongly
target a NGO or UN agency, and end up with a human rights disaster or
for Colombo’s humanitarian mission in the North to fail miserably.
While the risk of the first eventuality can be minimised through careful
planning, reconnoitering and precise implementation of military
operations, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that the Tigers would do
their utmost to ensure that the second contingency becomes reality.
It is against this that the Government must guard against. Is Colombo
well equipped to handle a humanitarian crisis of significant
proportions? Is it aware of the magnitude of the problem? And, are all
Government agencies working as one on this issue? These would be the
questions that would need searching answers.
There have been incidents in the past when the Defence establishment
follows one line of thinking, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has its
own views on a matter, and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human
Rights follows a third point of view. Such events have been
embarrassing, to say the least.
There is already a growing controversy with regard to the internally
displaced persons (IDPs) in the North and Colombo and it has so far been
dealt with satisfactorily. But it would need to continue to do so as the
Battle for Kilinochchi looms. Obviously, as the prospect of the fall of
Kilinochchi becomes greater, so will be the exodus from the battlefield
areas to the safer regions.
The time to plan for that is here and now. Certainly, Colombo cannot
wage war according to the dictates of the UN or NGOs. But it wouldn’t
want be at the butt end of criticism from those agencies either-for that
is precisely what the LTTE would wish for.
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