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‘Carrot
and more carrots have not worked with the LTTE’-Dhanapala “The Kadirgamar assassination is the worst of a series of ceasefire violations. Investigations into the assassination of Mr. Kadirgamar so far have clearly established a direct link to the LTTE. The GOSL will act expeditiously to conclude investigations, apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice. “But after the Kadirgamar assassination it cannot be business as usual. We are therefore engaged in a policy review, which we would like to share with the international community and seek cooperation in its implementation. “The GOSL has been calling for a review of the implementation of the CFA for quite sometime, a request endorsed by the SLMM but steadfastly resisted by the LTTE until they found it expedient to divert the recent outrage and opprobrium expressed by the international community in the aftermath of the Kadirgamar assassination by agreeing to these talks. “More than three years after the CFA it does not appear that the LTTE is able to change and accept the imperative for democratization and the fact that it is not the ‘sole representative of the Tamil people’. International pressure on the LTTE is needed to allow other parties to conduct political activities in LTTE controlled areas. “A majority of CFA violations (54%) relate to child recruitment, in blatant disregard of the undertaking the LTTE had given to the United Nations in 1998 and the UNICEF Action Program of mid 2003 and thus a serious effort is needed to stop child recruitment by the LTTE. “On the question of child recruitment, the Sri Lankan government welcomes the UN Security Council Resolution 1612(2005), which establishes a monitoring and reporting mechanism on the use of child soldiers, and will work closely with UNICEF to give effect to this resolution. “These violations, whether they are political killings or child recruitment, are carried out with impunity even in the face of international condemnation as there are no sanctions against such violations. “There is also now a consensus emerging among civil society in Sri Lanka that a separate human rights agreement may be necessary to stem the tide of human rights violations by the LTTE. “I must also emphasize that the GOSL will continue its humanitarian and development work in the North and the East as a matter of priority, irrespective of the progress made in the peace process, as the people of the North and the East cannot be penalized for the faults of the LTTE. “Diplomatic tools including foreign tours of the LTTE have however, made little or no impact on the LTTE to either desist from violations of the CFA or return to the negotiating table, which they left in April 2003. “None of the committees set up during peace talks are now functioning and the Oslo decision signed by the two sides also remains a dead letter with the LTTE steadfastly refusing to reiterate it publicly. “Rewarding the LTTE with various incentives, by the international community in the hope that dialogue and engagement will slowly democratize the organization is however no longer a tenable policy. “The GOSL, however, believes that the international community has an important role to play in supplementing the role of Norway as facilitator by applying pressure on the LTTE. “The route of appeasement or the ‘carrot and more carrots’ approach, have not worked with the LTTE. Immediately after the Kadirgamar assassination, the GOSL called for concerted international action that is immediate and tangible against the LTTE, to include not only those that have a bearing on the LTTE, but also its numerous front organizations in many countries through which it continues its reign of terror in Sri Lanka. “The United States as a close friend of Sri Lanka, and as a member of the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference, has consistently supported a sanctions based approach to the LTTE, and maintained that the US listing of the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organization will remain in effect until it renounces terrorism in word and deed. “The impact of the international community has however, not been particularly effective in stemming the tide of grave ceasefire violations, insisting on a resumption of talks or transforming the LTTE into a democratic institution. “The next meeting of the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference is scheduled for the 19th of September in New York. It is an opportunity for the U.S. to continue to show leadership at that meeting to ensure that acts of terrorism like the Kadirgamar assassination would not go unpunished and that conditions for human rights and democracy to flourish in all parts of Sri Lanka would be created. “As Sri Lanka enters a democratic process of electing a new President, the LTTE must be under no illusion that they can get away by assassinating political leaders and resorting to electoral malpractices in the areas controlled by them as they have done on previous occasions.” |
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