Renewed vigour to eliminate terrorism in 2009

Some still have hopes for talks

By Channa Kasturisinghe
The year 2009 has dawned with the news of Sri Lankan armed forces’ victory in the North. The fall of
Kilinochchi has been celebrated by the people of this country. The government and the political parties supporting it seem to be reinvigorated by the victory and determined to defeat the LTTE and liberate the people in the North. However, some opposition political parties still have faith in a political solution to the North East problem.

While government ministers also expressed their willingness to continue with efforts to find a political solution, some groups were of the view that a military solution was inevitable. Some political parties representing minority communities hold a different view.

Religious leaders and the business community expressed mixed reactions to the present military operations and the peace negotiations conducted through the APRC. While people lit crackers in the streets celebrating the victory in Kilinochchi the Colombo Stock Market also reacted positively with a sharp rise on Friday.

The Nation spoke to a cross section of political parties, religious leaders, representatives of the business community and professionals to gain an insight into their expectations for the New Year as far as the North East issue is concerned.
Here are some of their views

Minister Keheliya Rambukwella
As the government, we are confident that we can defeat LTTE terrorism and ensure the freedom of people living in the North this year, as we did in the East. I believe that the government will be able to hold elections in the North and protect the franchise of the people there. I personally believe that all hopes of achieving peace by eradicating terrorism will become a reality in 2009. The APRC is also successfully working towards an acceptable proposal as a solution to the national problem.

This week saw the completion of exactly one year since the government’s decision to abrogate the ceasefire agreement, which strengthened the LTTE. You may remember that various political parties and interested groups looked down upon this decision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. They said that the government did not have even an iota of understanding of the repercussions of such a decision, as the international community would oppose such a move. They said “we were like frogs in a well. Today we have proved that we were right. We proved that those critics were wrong last year and I am sure we can do the same this year.

It all depends on how one handles this kind of a situation. The President as the custodian of the sovereignty of the people of this country stood upright before the international community. It was that strong leadership which has enabled us to achieve the military victories which we are celebrating now. I am sure these efforts would be endorsed by the people of this country and their support will be evident from the landslide victory we are going to achieve in the forthcoming Wayamba and Central provincial council elections.”

Deputy Leader, United National Party, Karu Jayasuriya
As the main opposition political party, the UNP is always concerned about the grievances of the Tamil people. Therefore we would like to see an end to the ongoing war in the North East of our country. We believe that the North East conflict should be resolved politically. The APRC should come up with a just and fair solution to this problem without further delay.

Minister Professor Tissa Vitharana
We expect to come up with a proposal to resolve the national problem in the first few months of this year. First of all, the political parties should strive to reach maximum possible consensus. However, when we can exactly come up with such a proposal will depend on the reaction of the participants. I think the main opposition parties including the United National Party should join the APRC. That will strengthen our efforts towards achieving permanent peace by way of a negotiated settlement.
The military action is directed towards the LTTE which only believes in terrorism and separatism. They have not so far indicated their willingness to achieve peace in terms of a political solution within one country.

Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Rauf Hakeem
The government has failed to come up with the promised package which has the final solution to the North East problem and we don’t see that it is genuinely interested in a political solution and they only believe in a military solution. As a political party representing a minority community, we do not believe that a permanent solution can be achieved through military action.

It is not the opposition political parties which are stalling the APRC from reaching a fair proposal. Our representatives are of the view that there is nothing else to be discussed at the APRC meetings. They are disappointed in the way the APRC has been handled by Professor Tissa Vitarana and have lost respect for it. Therefore the SLMC is seriously considering withdrawing from the APRC. If nothing comes up by the end of January, we will definitely withdraw and we are discussing the issue right now.

National Freedom Front MP. Wimal Weerawansa
Two thousand nine will be the year which marks the victory of our national heroes, our armed forces. Their valiant efforts have been rewarded with capturing key LTTE areas including Kilinochchi. Once these areas are totally cleared of terrorists, LTTE activities will be restricted to the jungles of Mullaitivu. This year will also mark the defeat of those local and international conspirators who want this country to be divided.

I am sure that we will be able to hold provincial council elections in the North this year. Not only that, we should be able to hold a general election which will enable the people of the North to send their true representatives to Parliament. This is a must because at present the parliamentarians from the North are not representing the people, but the LTTE terrorists.
Whatever political solution, it should be considered only after completely eliminating the terrorists. In fact there is no need for a political solution as such because eliminating the LTTE itself will solve the problem. What we need is to ensure the people’s sovereignty and good governance in those areas and to strengthen the local government system.

MP Mano Ganeshan
Our priority number one as far as the North East problem is concerned is peace. Our second and third priorities are the same. I don’t see any reasons to be optimistic about the New Year. I am no fool to believe that the government will be able to bring peace to the people of this country by any means.

There is no military solution to the sufferings of the Tamil people of this country. And we don’t believe that the government is capable of coming up with an acceptable political solution. They came up with a proposal to thrust upon the people the laws introduced by the 13th Amendment which had been rejected by the majority of Tamil political parties. Why has the government wasted public money in holding APRC meetings if they were to come up with a hitherto existing provincial council system? In 1987, the Tamil leadership in this country clearly demonstrated that this was insufficient to address the grievances of their people.

Our party has been representing the APRC only as an observer. However, now we have lost faith in the deliberations and therefore we are seriously considering withdrawing from whatever role we have been playing in the APRC.

MP, Jathika Hela Urumaya Ven. Ellawela Medhananda Thero
During the last 25 years, various governments failed to get the proper co-operation of the Indian Government to solve our national problem. They only placed faith in the United States of America. They had a lethargic attitude towards bringing an end to the terrorism in this country. Most of the time, these governments lied to the people in the south.
The situation worsened when the then government signed a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE which enabled them to amass arms and strengthen their movement both locally and internationally.

However, with the support of the JHU, the government took a firm decision to uproot terrorism from the North and the East especially after the LTTE atrocities in Mavil Aru. The forward march thus begun did not stop once liberating the entire Eastern province from the clutches of the terrorists. We then liberated key areas including Mannar and Madhu in the North and during the latter part of the year our forces captured strategically important places like Pooneryn and blocked several supply channels of the LTTE in the North. Today we have been able to enter Kilinochchi which is the heart of the LTTE.

The year 2009 becomes special because of the capture of Kilinochchi which also has a historical value. It was a part of our ancient civilization during the Anuradhapura era with as many as 83 irrigation tanks.

However, there is much to achieve. Our Security Forces’ march has been slowed somewhat due to the LTTE’s use of innocent people as a human shield. And our Naval Forces should be more strengthened to cut off LTTE supplies from the eastern coast near Mullaitivu from where we expect the LTTE to regroup. I am confident that the government will be able to hold provincial council elections in the North this year after seeing the end of the LTTE and its leader Prabakaran.

MP Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Anura Kumara Dissanayake
We salute our armed forces for liberating important areas held by the LTTE in the North. We also pay our respects to those who sacrificed their lives during this long struggle. We are confident that our armed forces can capture all LTTE areas in the North this year and liberate the people there.

The JVP’s stand has been that the LTTE should be defeated militarily and we are sure that our armed forces can do it. But we like to warn that the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa may attempt to reverse the victories of our armed forces by introducing proposals to devolve power. We will always fight against any move by the government to introduce packages in the guise of a political solution to the North East problem. We oppose any such proposal that would ultimately mean the division of this country.

Auxiliary Bishop Right Reverend M. Peiris
War is not a solution to the problem in the North East. We hope in 2009 all parties concerned will be able to arrive at a negotiated settlement to the national problem. We also expect the two major political parties to work together towards achieving a permanent solution by means of negotiations such as the APRC.

Director Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers, Angelo Ranasinghe
The war has a direct impact on the stock market as well as the overall economy. During the last year the market fell dramatically by 41 percent and investors were fast losing confidence. But last week we saw the trend reversed and on Friday the market moved up sharply after receiving the news of the capture of Kilinochchi by the armed forces. It is quite evident by this example that the market is sensitive to the political situation in the country and any development towards ending the war either militarily or through negotiations can boost the market.

It is very vital at a time when the global financial crisis has started affecting our market too. We have seen several foreign funds following the financial crisis selling their shares held in blue chips such as JKH and Dialog. It is also important for the high interest regime to come down which would boost investments.

President National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, D. Eassuwaren
I am very confident that peace will dawn to this country in the year 2009. We cannot go on with this national problem for a long time. The country should go back to its former prosperity. As the business community, we believe that the President and the government are doing their utmost to bring peace to this country.

As a business chamber, we would like to actively participate in uplifting the lives of the people in the North and East. We have been involved in a programme to improve the livelihoods of women in these areas. In Trincomalee and Batticaloa we have helped them in their enterprises. We would like to do the same in the North once peace is achieved there.

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