Don’t let The LTTE swindle the world

By K.R. Pushparanjan
Without any hesitation the LTTE can be branded as a terrorist organisation and also all their action leads to believe that they are an unjustifiable, indiscriminate, ruthless, callous, brutal and merciless gang of organised annihilators.

It’s not so long ago FBI reported that “LTTE is the most ruthless and efficient terrorist group in the world.” This statement of FBI depicts that the LTTE is even superior to Al Qaeda.

Despite all propaganda they are carrying out to get the sympathy of the international community, the USA, EU, India and many other countries have already banned the LTTE, describing them as one of the most dangerous organisations currently in operation in the world. These decisions also lead to the confiscation of large sums of money, raised by funding agencies and individuals destined to finance terrorist and subversive activities. In many situations, LTTE terrorists and their supporters come meticulously labelled as freedom fighters, giving the incorrect and superficial impression that they are operating for the liberty of a discriminated minority in Sri Lanka, thus earning them the sympathy of the international community. A small number of innocent Tamils also, through mere lack of understanding, continue to glorify violence, suicide and terror launched by the LTTE terrorists.

If we go back to the origins of the current state, in the 1930s, overambitious Tamil leaders attacked the Sinhalese in their virulent speeches, resulting the first Sinhala-Tamil riots; the situation was exploited politically by the Sinhalese opportunistic chauvinists. In the mean time, on the pretext of building bridges, some opportunistic Tamil leaders who were hobnobbing with their Sinhalese counterparts in Colombo gore the governments in power spurning the leaders who stood for parity. In the mean time, young Tamils who took to arms began to realise that they are being bamboozled by the people in high echelons from both communities and started to capture the control gradually killing their own leaders.

Sinhalese leaders who understood the ground reality consequently granted all demands on language etc.; north and east were merged offering an honourable framework. But, by then, the LTTE wanted more than asked for. More and more were being granted, and more and more barbaric activities were being performed by the LTTE; thus showing that there is no end to their demands. When the far reaching constitutional proposals were being made, the very Tamil academic who was helping the government in that context was assassinated by the Tiger terrorists.

Incredible concessions were made subsequently by the government in 2002 with a Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) and the Tigers made use of it to stock arms, to get ready for another war and made sure to prevent the victory of the creator of the CFA at the next Presidential election. The sequence of events can go on and on, to show the innumerable opportunities that were offered and repudiated from time to time. In these circumstances, why would any sensible politician think that a political solution is possible with the LTTE? The LTTE does not want a political solution. It wants a military solution from the barrel of a gun. Whether we like it or not this has been the reality. If they are true lovers of the Tamils, now it’s time they show their credentials by giving up arms. In the current scenario this is probably the best time they ever got to work towards a political solution, if they have at least some sympathy and love for the Tamils.

This pathetic situation prevailed in the country for the last number of decades, forced the innocent, decent Tamils living peacefully in Sri Lanka to move out to other parts of the world, thus reducing the Tamil population in the country significantly. It’s not the majority Sinhalese who chased most of the Tamils, but the LTTE terrorists themselves. These ruthless acts of the LTTE not only caused the civilised, peace loving Tamils to lose their lands, but also their reputation worldwide. Frivolous, deceitful and horrendous acts of the Tiger terrorists lead the status of Tamils to diminish internationally.History of the LTTE is smeared with killings of civilians of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim ethnicities. They have killed a good number of Tamil leaders who stood for peace and harmony, calling them traitors. They are also not so naïve to acknowledge their past or present wanton attacks and destructions on civilians, knowing the repercussions that would follow, if such admissions are made.

There is a possibility of their leaders and cadres being prosecuted at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Even in the case of Rajiv Gandhi assassination, the LTTE vehemently denied involvement. It was after almost a decade only the right hand man of the LTTE chief, the official spokesman for the LTTE late Dr. Anton Balasingham said that the “LTTE should unequivocally tender an apology to the Indian Government for killing Rajiv Gandhi.” This is a clear demonstration as to the manner in which the LTTE baffles the international community and the world media by posing as freedom fighters.

Orphans, disabled and blind persons, mentally sick, destruction to property, destruction to livelihood, loss of lives of Police and persons of the armed forces are a few to list in the results of LTTE atrocities of which the burden is to be carried by the rest of the innocent civilians and the state. Massive propaganda machines and the well knitted networks of sympathisers help them to achieve their objectives by hook or by crook; in the event of any malfunction, they are geared to resort to bribery, gifts of various forms, lavish entertainment or paradoxically even death threats. They also possess a hierarchical structure and a vast network for propaganda and fund raising. The edifice of the LTTE is based on deception and fraud. The factors such as fund raising in the developed world, counterfeit trade, credit card frauds, money laundering, human trafficking, arms purchase and trafficking, passport frauds, sea piracy are some of the infamous activities that keep the LTTE in motion. The abundant sources of information from every where clearly and undoubtedly demonstrate that the LTTE is the most dreadful, heinous and barbarous terrorist organisation in the whole world, which masterminded the use of suicide bombers, an act tenaciously followed by even the Al Qaeda. Amongst many other monstrous acts – using children for their warfare, women and disabled people as suicide bombers are a few to name from the list of common LTTE atrocities. The philosophy behind their ruthless campaign is to kill people to keep their control. Thus, to label them as freedom fighters is a badly mistaken act of undue publicity given to an internationally banned terrorist movement.