Break Wanni-Colombo logjam
Two developments in the Sri Lankan theatre need to make Delhi and other world capitals, particularly Washington and London, sit up and end the dichotomy that has characterised their reaction to and relations with Colombo.
Firstly, senior Lanka Minister Jeyraj Fernandopulle, the only Roman Catholic in the Rajapakse government was assassinated on April 6, just outside Colombo. His religion had lost relevance for the LTTE as he facilitated the Pillayan Group's entry into mainstream politics. Otherwise they would not have eliminated him so soon after the Madhu church episode exposed the clergy for yet another time to the criticism that the Church in Tamil belt remains sympathetic towards the Tigers. Also, through the targetted killing the LTTE wanted to signal that they are not dead as the government has been claiming for the past several months. This is a normal tactic of all insurgent groups under pressure as the Indian experience in Kashmir and northeast of the country shows.
The second development is no less significant though it took place miles away in the United States. The Washington Times has put the spotlight on how the Tigers have made inroads into the US to help bankroll and equip their operations back home in Sri Lanka. In a manner of speaking, there is no big deal about the WT report. That the LTTE runs a well oiled world-wide network spanning some 54 countries is by now well documented. Tigers' operations have considerable visibility in UK, France, Australia and the Scandinavian countries. Jen Haberkorn's despatch is significant nevertheless because for the first time the US has acknowledged LTTE as one of the most dangerous and deadly extremist organizations that has been an inspiration even for al Qaeda in Iraq.
Yet, the reaction to the killing of Jeyraj Fernandopulle appears just a routine or what can be termed as a proforma statement. The United States, European Union, Canada and India have denounced the attack that also killed 13 others and left nearly 100 wounded. "The United States denounces this vicious and reprehensible terrorist attack on civilians in the strongest possible terms," a US embassy statement said in Colombo. "Its perpetrators have achieved nothing other than to cause further suffering among the people of Sri Lanka. Only a political solution, not continued violence, offers the way forward to end the country's conflict".
Read the full article here,
http://www.centralchronicle.com/20080503/0305302.htm
Firstly, senior Lanka Minister Jeyraj Fernandopulle, the only Roman Catholic in the Rajapakse government was assassinated on April 6, just outside Colombo. His religion had lost relevance for the LTTE as he facilitated the Pillayan Group's entry into mainstream politics. Otherwise they would not have eliminated him so soon after the Madhu church episode exposed the clergy for yet another time to the criticism that the Church in Tamil belt remains sympathetic towards the Tigers. Also, through the targetted killing the LTTE wanted to signal that they are not dead as the government has been claiming for the past several months. This is a normal tactic of all insurgent groups under pressure as the Indian experience in Kashmir and northeast of the country shows.
The second development is no less significant though it took place miles away in the United States. The Washington Times has put the spotlight on how the Tigers have made inroads into the US to help bankroll and equip their operations back home in Sri Lanka. In a manner of speaking, there is no big deal about the WT report. That the LTTE runs a well oiled world-wide network spanning some 54 countries is by now well documented. Tigers' operations have considerable visibility in UK, France, Australia and the Scandinavian countries. Jen Haberkorn's despatch is significant nevertheless because for the first time the US has acknowledged LTTE as one of the most dangerous and deadly extremist organizations that has been an inspiration even for al Qaeda in Iraq.
Yet, the reaction to the killing of Jeyraj Fernandopulle appears just a routine or what can be termed as a proforma statement. The United States, European Union, Canada and India have denounced the attack that also killed 13 others and left nearly 100 wounded. "The United States denounces this vicious and reprehensible terrorist attack on civilians in the strongest possible terms," a US embassy statement said in Colombo. "Its perpetrators have achieved nothing other than to cause further suffering among the people of Sri Lanka. Only a political solution, not continued violence, offers the way forward to end the country's conflict".
Read the full article here,
http://www.centralchronicle.com/20080503/0305302.htm
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