Roots of Current LTTE Predicament Lie in its Politics
By Dr. Rajan Hoole
The Defence Secretary has recently stated that the crushing of the LTTE must precede a political settlement. This comes against the President’s remarks to journalist, Inderjit Badhwar that he is in effect bound to appease the Sinhalese constituency that voted for him and is constrained to stand by a unitary state. The APRC that was the last glimmer of hope for a political settlement has thus been left hamstrung.
Legitimation of misery
Independently of making a judgment about the LTTE, there is one fact that hits independent observers hard. This is the singular malaise of the Sinhalese polity that has kept the country stunted by failing to offer for over 50 years a viable political settlement to the minorities. When President Rajapaksa wants to heed his abysmal 50 year ‘political legacy and constraints’, ‘crushing the LTTE’ and the ‘political settlement’ could only mean the legitimation of misery inflicted on the minorities in the North-East by the force of MBRLs. Crushing the LTTE is going to be translated into military repression and plunder and nothing more.
Absolute rule
The Tamils who experienced the LTTE at first hand and were frequently victims of its violence against its own people too had called for the defeat of the LTTE, but with important qualifications. Its ambition of absolute rule over the people of the North-East found any form of Tamil dissent and the right of Muslims to exist as a people intolerable. For its survival it cannibalized Tamil society, conscripted its children and drove many to despair and hopelessness of suicide warriors. It drove the Muslims out of the North and massacred hundreds of Muslims in the East.
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan state’s repeated attempts to defeat the LTTE militarily, without a political settlement, led to massive violations against Tamil civilians and unacceptable destruction of their lives and livelihood. It left a feeling even among those who suffered from the LTTE that if the future for the Tamils with the LTTE is bleak, there would be no future at all without it. In other words the LTTE was strengthened to a point that even the same Sinhalese nationalists whose violence brought it to birth, began to treat it as invincible.
When President Kumaratunga was elected in 1994, there was broad agreement among Sinhalese and Tamil activists that the way forward was to implement a political settlement and gradually make the LTTE irrelevant. The LTTE’s panic resort to war proved its real fear of a settlement seeing the light of day. In 1995, the Government taking Jaffna in response to a dire military challenge was generally well received by the inhabitants because they had enough of the LTTE and there was also the promise of a political settlement. However, things went wrong. The UNP was much to blame, as was Kumaratunga’s inability to work with the Opposition. It laid the ground for the current tragedy.
The roots of the LTTE’s current position lie in its politics. Its absolutism and intolerance led to weakening the human and material resources of Tamil society and to attrition within the organisation itself (the Karuna split is just one example). The West too came to terms with the limits of appeasing the LTTE and began cracking down on its activities. Tamil dissent played an important role in this. The weakening of the LTTE was a product of its hubris and was long anticipated.
Unprecedented opportunity
For President Rajapaksa, it was an unprecedented opportunity to hammer through a political settlement that would meet the aspirations of the Tamil people and begin the political dismantling of the LTTE. To our common misfortune, he pegged his political future on chauvinistic heroics and an excessive military display against the LTTE, which was inherently on the decline. The ugly displays of power such as the wanton killing of five students on the Trincomalee beachfront, had nothing to do with defeating the LTTE. It was intended to teach the minorities who were now masters. The profligate use of MBRLs and aerial bombardment in the East was not so much against an enemy so thin on the ground as against the people.
What was primarily a political task was turned instead into an ideologically inspired calamity in the North-East. Thousands have been rendered virtual beggars in the Government’s misplaced quest for Sinhalese settlements and Buddhist sacred areas. Defeating the LTTE has become a pretext for a warped agenda. The LTTE was never invincible. It was practically built from scratch with the Government’s help, both in peace and war, around the Indian Army’s pullout in 1990.
Military destruction wreaked on the North-East may ultimately cripple the LTTE as a fighting force and the Tamils as a people. But then would Sri Lanka be worth living in for anyone? Lawlessness and corruption in the name of fighting terrorism are endemic. Our law enforcement machinery is debased from top to bottom. We have become tolerant of killers ruling the roost pretending to be reincarnations of legendary heroes.
Way it is defeated is crucial
The LTTE must be defeated, but the way it is defeated is crucial. Its ultimate defeat could only be achieved by the Tamil people given adequate democratic opportunity. Treating the destruction of Prabhakaran as an end in itself, would make him an even more dangerous legend among Tamils everywhere.
Tamil dissidents know the pain of trying to tell Tamils living in our neighbourhood and the Diaspora, the crimes of the LTTE against their own people. One was often reprimanded angrily, “Here is a powerful government in Colombo committing terrible atrocities against the Tamils and you weaken the LTTE by exposing their violations.” Complacency about our neighbour, too, is misplaced. There is deep-seated anger at the way Colombo has abused the opportunities given. No one is saying it publicly now, but it is not uncommon to hear members of the Indian establishment saying in private conversation, “With the Sinhalese going on like this, Eelam is the only answer.
” If the world sees Sri Lanka as being ruled by bigots, its concern about the Tigers’ misdeeds would evaporate. No country founded on alienation of sections of its people and the displeasure of the world at large, could prosper. Prabhakaran is serious business. Whatever he is, he is not cheap. He has stood for all or nothing. He gets his strength from provoking and manipulating the Sinhalese polity into extremist positions. His self-indulgence and lack of any concern for the people need to be exposed through challenging him politically.
Disregarding Tamil aspirations and stocking up an excess of hardware to defeat him militarily would make him a more dangerous legend, dead or living. People would then remember him not as a villain who brought ruin on the Tamils, but as the one man who understood the Sinhalese polity and refused to bow down. It is those lacking in humanity, blinded by ideology and ultimately having no stake in this country, who could support such a course.
Dr Rajan Hoole is a Martin Ennals award winning human rights champion heading the acclaimed UTHR (J) critical of both LTTE and the goverment.
R.S.Ganeshan said,
September 24, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
Dr.Hoole has correctly assessed that unless the GOSL comes up with a realistic solution to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil speaking people in SL to the extent that they are of equal status as the majority Sinhalese the LTTE cannot be defeated.
No purpose would be served in trying to kill the LTTE supremo because he is just a mirror image of Sinhala chauvinism.
Krishna kumar said,
September 24, 2007 @ 11:45 pm
First of all congratulations for receiving the ME award. You deserve that. It is a real slap on the faces of so called Tiger Brand intellectuals all over the world.
Now I will come to the point. Is Dr. Rajan Hoole genuinely believes that Pirabakaran could be defeated by Tamil people? Is Hoole believes Mahinda’s this ‘strong’ government can bring a better solution than what Chandrika’s weak govt. put forward?
In case if Mahinda come out with a solution, without implementing it can the Tamil people will reject Pirabakaran? Will the southern politics allow the government to pass the solution in the parliament? We everybody knows what happened to North east provincial council and to Chandrik’s political proposal.
On the other side, will Pirabakaran and the LTTE allow the govt. to implement the solution? No! They will unleash their killer machine against every Tamil who support the solution. Then the Mahinda govt. along with other Tamil groups have to go on and do lot of killings in the North east to control the LTTE, if he wants to implement the solution. That is what happened during the implementation of North east provincial council.
Then what will happen? Tamil people will not think about the solution, they will forced to talk about the government atrocities and killings. Only good thing will happen is UTHR can come out with many more reports against Mahinda Govt.
The southern opposition will make use of this situation to topple the govt. and this will go on repeatedly. This is a vicious circle we have seen again and again. We must break this in some point. That Point is to defeat Pirabakaran militarily.
Mahinda is not a good politician, but a cunning politician. As he correctly said, his cultural and political bedrock is Sinhala. What he thinks is this. ‘Only leader who defeat Pirabakaran will be able to put forward a solution without much obstruction from the south.
According to the reality this argument makes sense. But is Mahinda a genuine leader to put forward a solution to the Tamils after defeating Pirabakaran is another question.
I don’t trust Mahinda. But I feel Mahinda could defeat Pirabakaran, if India allows him to do. What India says is total bluffing. They are not worrying about the Tamils. We know them better than anybody. If they want they could have killed Pirabakaran and implemented the solution 20 years ago. Their motive was some thing else.
So, it is easy for Dr. Hoole to say if the govt. put forward a solution the Tamils will gradually start reject LTTE. It will never happen. It is only a hypothesis, or a good hearted intellectual’s optimism, thats all.
Sam
Anoma said,
September 25, 2007 @ 4:02 am
Dr Rajan Hoole has not divulged his nationality as a Tamil . It is natural for him to be concerned about the tamils .As many tamils have noew infiltrated the Human rights groups ,they have earned a platform to air their biased views under the banner of respected human rights label
Gamini Ranjit said,
September 25, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
Yes, He is spot on!
With the LTTE reeling in the battle field, the time is ripe to propose a political solution. Without eliminating them the LTTE leadership should be given the chance to realise the enormous mistake they have done by initiating terrorist acts to achieve it’s goals. After all we allowed the JVP, a similar organization to enter the pluralitic politics. Let LTTE come in and contest the elections as responsible citizens of Sri Lanka. While the majority of the Sri Lankans( Tamils, sinhalese and muslims ) want the LTTE defeated they also want resolve the tamil question by political means by offering a devolution.
With the International Community having realized the LTTE goals and tactics in the last six rounds of peace talks and now supporting Mahinda on his quest to resolve it politically while containing the LTTE, there will never be a better chance than now.
Taraki-Kumar said,
September 26, 2007 @ 7:49 pm
In the U.S. , a consensus is emerging about Iraq. It is that the Iraqi people–Shi’ites, Sunnis and Kurds, do not possess the characteristics needed to build a pluralistic nation. That the best that can be hoped for is a loose confederation. It is considered inevitable today by a significant sections of the US establishment.
Iraq’s breakup into a loose confederation of separate ethnic regions is only a matter of time. Those who think that they can do something to build a pluralist state in Iraq are simply prolonging the misery. This view has been articulated by even some senators like Joe Biden and many influential columnists.
Given the brazen racism and state terrorism directed against the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, and the indifference, if not active support, shown to such state terrorism by the Sinhalese people, the best that can be hoped for in Sri Lanka is a loose confederation. It is just as inevitable as in Iraq.
Tamil moderates, including the likes of Rajan Hoole, should stop pleading with chauvinistic Sinhala politicians who cannot even agree on minimal devolution for 60 years, and make the case everywhere internationally that a loose confederation of a Tamil homeland and Sinhala homeland is the only way out.
To continue to plead with proven racists is to prolong the agony for everyone. People are even right to think that those among Tamils who prop up such a racist state are sell-outs who deserve condemnation. Mr. Douglas Devananda certainly deserves condemnation and opporobrium.
Of course, I do not suggest that the LTTE in its present form is suitable for ruling the Tamil region in such a confederation. They deserve opprobrium as well for their leadership’s fascistic tendencies. They will need to change or be contained and transformed, which the Tamil people are capable of doing under the right conditions.
No matter what the GoSL may feel about its chances of defeating the LTTE, Sinhalese and Tamils are simply too alienated to be able to live in a pluralistic state. The Sinhalese chauvinist leaders will continue to discriminate against Tamils, grab Tamil land, deny jobs to Tamils, force the Sinhala language down Tamil throats, torture and murder the Tamils. That is no way to live.
If the Hooles, Mr. Sangary and other ‘moderates’ through their actions take Tamils back to such a plight, Tamils will not forgive them.
Devinda Fernando said,
September 28, 2007 @ 5:28 pm
Destroying the LTTE is not important, even militarily if it is reduced back to a Guerilla fighting force performing sporadic Hit and Run tactics – which it most likely will be reduced to in the upcoming months following the SLA offiensive will not solve the problem. What has to happen is we have to Eliminate Prabharkaran. In blunt terms Kill Him – or captured, but preferably killed since it would be unfortunate if he were to escape custody and live to fight another day. This is the key to ending this whole conflict once and for all. He is the reason there has been no political settlement and he is the reason the 2002 CFA was nothing more than an opportunity for the LTTE to regroup, and rearm. Anyone who has tried appeasement with this megalomaniac has paid for it dearly; no, we cannot proceed forward until his lifeless corpse dangles from the nearest tree. Killing him will serve one of two things, first it would be a huge blow to the morale of the LTTE and more importantly to the Gung-Ho Tamil Diaspora supporters and sympathizers who are so cavalier about his immortality and ability to remain undefeated. If he can be killed the LTTE’s image of invulnerability will be shattered. I also don’t buy into this theory that he will be made into a Martyr or Saint or his standing would increase within the Sympathizer community. He is already the Great Sun God – he has already achieved immortality, killing him wont raise him any higher.
Secondly it will leave a power vacuum and anyone who would fill it would not be as ruthless and single minded as he was. Any successor would be more inclined to come to a political solution being that they too know and realize that at the height of the LTTE’s power they were still unable to achieve Eelam.
Seelan said,
October 8, 2007 @ 2:14 am
Congratulations for Rajan, Sritharan and the all the foot soldiers of UTHR(J). Sooner or later U guys will receive Nobel Prize for Peace which is of course well deserved.
U guys should run a UTHR web site in Tamil too.
Seelan
eesan said,
October 9, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
I agree with Dr hoole so far as that ltte leave a lot to be desired but
Tamils have a choice between 2 scenarios: GOSL forces prevail over the ltte and hope that GOSL can reform itself OR the ltte wins decisively and ltte reform itself or be made to reform.
I think Tamils can/will have more influence over the ltte after its victory than they can ever hope to have over the GOSL after the defeat of the ltte. Therefore their best hope is the 2nd one.