‘The civilian equation of the final thrust’

It is the inevitable finale that everyone dreaded: That the final push for the last bit of territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will be the bloodiest battle seen so far. The analysis has been correct, with not only soldiers and Tiger cadres dying in the hundreds, but tragically, taking scores of civilians down with them as the battles intensify. The area being defended shrinks with each passing hour, packing the civilians in like sardines in a small area of land, that from all accounts, is not safe from the artillery barrages flying back and forth.

In the last 24 hours, the hotly contested small strip of territory in the Wanni has been burning. Fleeing civilians are burying their dead or abandoning their injured on the run. Health officials in the region claim that medical supplies are running woefully low, hospitals are overflowing and they are losing more people than they can save. The military claims that the Tigers are using the civilians as shields, while counter claims on the pro-LTTE Tamilnet are charging premeditated attacks on civilian positions.

Back in Colombo, the heat is on. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on the government and the LTTE to respect the ‘safe zone’ and ensure civilian safety. Reports have also emerged that UN staffers were nearly shelled in the safe zone on Monday. The UN is attempting to rush supplies into the north, but it is doubtful if the goods will be granted safe passage across. The President has gone so far as to request Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to go to the north and convince the LTTE to free the trapped civilians. Presidential envoys are doing the rounds in Geneva, where the Sri Lankan issue is heating up once more, in an attempt to pacify the concerned global community. And yet, somewhere in the distant jungles of the Wanni, our people are bleeding and dying.

It is in the face of this that the incessant firecrackers and revelry over recent military victories become incongruous, if not heartless. There is no debate that the LTTE had to be removed from the equation if this nation was to ever see the dawn of peace. The terror and pain inflicted on this country’s populace by the Tigers will scar them for decades to come; their onslaught had to be halted. But, it is important to remember that we do not wage war against our fellow citizens in the north. Theirs has been the greater burden, living in the depths of poverty, pushed against the wall, fighting for survival through decades of violence and bloodshed, while we existed in the relative safety and comfort of Colombo.

We take nothing away from the valiant men and women who have sacrificed lives and limbs to bring the battle to this final juncture. And yet, to engage in raucous celebration when scores of our own are injured or dying, ill behooves an allegedly civilized citizenry. As President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in his address to the nation, after the capture of Elephant Pass, this is not the victory of a single ethnic group. It is a nation overcoming the blight of terrorism. At no point should this operation for ‘liberation’ become a mission of conquest, over a people of a particular ethnic community. The cost of this war has been too high to belittle it thus and respect for the dead, friend or enemy, must supersede momentary elation at regaining territory. We cannot forget that as we take to the streets in jubilation at the victories of the armed forces, a sibling or relative of a next door neighbour might be trapped in the Wanni, perhaps even fighting for his life. It is a time to turn the page, not to repeat the mistakes of the past, and it can only be hoped that the people of this country are up to that task. At this all important crossroads of our collective history, may we have the courage and humanity to choose our next course of action wisely.

As the military tastes final victory, we pray it is tempered with the desire to ensure civilian safety; that they will seek to distinguish themselves from the other, that they will live up to the ideal that they are in fact, the SRI LANKAN armed forces.

As for the LTTE, for whom, it appears the bell is finally tolling, there can be only one appeal. Let their final act as the alleged ‘sole representative’ of the Tamil people at least, live up to that self-imposed label. May the desire for a better day for the people they claim to be fighting for override the cowardice and self-serving need to hide among them in these final days of battle.