The need to pressurise the LTTE

With Sri Lanka going through moments of acute anxiety on account of increasing acts of lawlessness in mainly the North-East, the local polity could do no better than to remain calm and collected. As the Government reminded us yesterday, current efforts by some to sabotage the peace process should be resoundingly defeated and one of the most effective ways of achieving this is for all sections of our body politic to act with deep forbearance and restraint.

It could very well be that the LTTE is basing its current acts of terror on the belief that Southern Sri Lanka could be provoked into reacting violently to them on the lines of the ignominious riots of July 1983. The Southern public should remain alert to this possibility and refrain from succumbing to the wiles of the Tiger.

As we have pointed out before, the law enforcement authorities have behaved most professionally in this crisis and the public needs to take a leaf in restrained conduct from our law enforcers.

Patience invariably pays rich dividends in times such as these. For one thing, the world would be enabled to see in the most certain terms that it is the LTTE only which is treading the path of lawlessness and criminality.

The world would be in a position to identify the villains of the tense drama in Sri Lanka and initiate the necessary action to make them fall in line with the requirements of the local peace process. Besides, by saying 'no' to retaliatory violence the Southern polity would help to keep our conflict within containable limits. While the aim of the Tigers seems to be to scuttle the peace process, the rest of the polity could keep our peace prospects alive by exercising the necessary civilised restraints.

Thus far, the Lankan State has acted in a commendable spirit of compromise on contentious issues and we urge it to sustain this spirit and approach in the days ahead. Haggling over inessentials, for instance, would only encourage the Tigers to dither further on some of the prime issues in the peace process.

The Lankan State should continue to further demonstrate its sincerity of purpose and thereby garner a greater degree of international goodwill. The goodwill thus won would itself amount to a huge plus in favour of the State.

However, a considerable responsibility also devolves on the international community, with the peace process Co-Chairs emerging as prime factors in on going efforts to revive the negotiatory process. It is up to them - as pointed out by many - to pressurise the Tigers into coming to the negotiating table.

If the LTTE continues to blow hot and cold about negotiating peace, it is up to the Co-Chairs to ensure that the Tigers cooperate with the State in bringing about an honourable settlement. For, it is all too clear that the Tigers are being double-faced when they speak of the desirability of a political settlement. Their increasing attacks on the security forces alone, bear this out.

The Co-Chairs should not also stop at admonishing the Tigers piously for their heinous misdemeanours. As they threatened recently, the Tigers should be made to experience serious repercussions at the hands of the world community, for their continued intransigence. Unless this happens, it is unlikely that the LTTE would see the error of its ways.

We believe that this is also a moment when the righteous everywhere in this land should be seen and be heard. "Evil thrives when good men and women remain silent." Thus far we have been hearing, mainly, divisive voices. We need to hear, more and more, the voices advocating a just solution.