THE British Tamil Forum has condemned the statement by the Co-Chairs (US, EU, Japan and Norway) of the international community demanding that the Tamil Tigers negotiate their surrender to the Rajapakse regime as giving Rajapakse a ‘Licence to Kill’.
It said: ‘The statement demonstrates that the Co-Chairs are either out of touch or colluding with Colombo to oppress the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people.
‘Whatever the reasons may be, the statement has shattered the trust that the British Tamils and the Tamil Diaspora have placed upon their respective governments and the trust the Tamils of Sri Lanka had in the international community.
‘British Tamils Forum wishes to urge the international community to understand that today’s statement by the Co-Chairs, will pave the way for the racist State of Sri Lanka to ethnically cleanse the Tamils.
‘The statement that expresses “great concern” but no actions except the call for “LTTE to discuss with the Government of Sri Lanka the modalities for ending hostilities, including the laying down of arms” will not bring an end to the suffering of Tamils in the island or a permanent end to the conflict.
‘The statement shows that the international community has not learnt from lessons of the past. During the apartheid regime in South Africa, the ill-advised, then UK government’s refusal to impose sanctions isolated Britain in the international arena.
‘The lack of political will from the international community to act on time in Darfur and Rwanda resulted in millions of innocent civilians being displaced and killed.
‘Once again, instead of demanding the aggressor to stop instead the international community has decided to punish the oppressed.
‘The Co-Chairs statement ignores the democratic mandate given by the Tamils of Sri Lanka for the liberation struggle. Through various demonstrations and protest marches, the support shown for the same by the Tamil Diaspora, including over 100,000 British Tamils who turned up on a bitterly cold Saturday afternoon in London, only last week to show their solidarity for the liberation struggle, has been blatantly ignored as well.
‘The Forum urges the international community, particularly the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to respect the will of the British Tamils and Tamils around the world.
‘Once again the British Tamils Forum demands that the international community, including HM’s Government not just to call for a cease-fire but to implement a permanent cease-fire through a United Nations Resolution, instead of placing unrealistic demands on one party to the conflict.
‘We also urge the international community to send immediate humanitarian relief, and to call for immediate political negotiations to begin between the two principle parties to the conflict, which are the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL).’
However, the Sri Lankan government has rejected the call by the Co-Chairs for the Tamil Tigers to negotiate terms of surrender with Colombo. Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse told the BBC that the government would accept only ‘unconditional surrender’.
Saying the LTTE would probably lose its remaining controlled areas in the North soon, the Co-Chairs had urged the Tigers to negotiate with Colombo terms for a surrender.
The Co-Chairs suggested this would avoid further bloodshed amongst civilians, scores of whom are being killed by the Sri Lankan military’s bombardment of hospitals and camps for displaced people.
However, Rajapakse told the BBC: ‘There is no question of negotiations on surrender. The rebels should surrender unconditionally. They should lay down their arms first.’
The Tigers have said they will not lay down their arms until they have a ‘guarantee of living with freedom and dignity and sovereignty’, the BBC reported.
Rajapakse ruled out any amnesty for top LTTE leaders, but said that ‘lower level cadres’ would be ‘given amnesty, retrained, given vocational training and integrated into mainstream society’.
Rajapakse also rejected US-led international calls for a cease-fire, saying that the Tigers had used cease-fire time ‘only to regroup and attack security forces.
‘When the government declared a 48-hour cease-fire period last week, the rebels used the period to launch suicide attacks near the frontlines using three trucks loaded with explosives,’ he claimed.
The Co-Chairs’ statement said that ‘The Tokyo Co-Chairs (Norway, Japan, US and EU) jointly express their great concern about the plight of thousands of internally displaced persons trapped by fighting in northern Sri Lanka.
‘The Co-Chairs call on the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka not to fire out of or into the no-fire zone established by the Government or in the vicinity of the PTK hospital (or any other medical structure), where more than 500 patients are receiving care and many hundreds more have sought refuge.
‘They also call on both sides to allow food and medical assistance to reach those trapped by fighting, cooperate with the ICRC to facilitate the evacuation of urgent medical cases, and ensure the safety of aid and medical workers.
‘The LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka must respect international humanitarian law.
‘International efforts to persuade the LTTE to allow the civilians freedom of movement have failed. There remains probably only a short period of time before the LTTE loses control of all areas in the North.
‘The LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka should recognise that further loss of life – of civilians and combatants – will serve no cause.
‘To avoid further civilian casualties and human suffering, the Co-Chairs:
• call on the LTTE to discuss with the Government of Sri Lanka the modalities for ending hostilities, including the laying down of arms, renunciation of violence, acceptance of the Government of Sri Lanka’s offer of amnesty; and participating as a political party in a process to achieve a just and lasting political solution; and
• call on the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to declare a temporary no-fire period to allow for evacuation of sick and wounded, and provision of aid to civilians.
‘The Co-Chairs will work with the Government of Sri Lanka, India, the United Nations and others to ensure:
• the internally displaced people from the north are transferred to temporary camps where UN agencies, the ICRC, and humanitarian organisations will have full access and the IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) will be treated according to international standards and resettled in their original homes as soon as possible; and
• an inclusive dialogue to agree on a political settlement so that lasting peace and reconciliation can be achieved.’
The Co-Chairs make clear that they have not the slightest intention of ordering an immediate cease-fire so that there can be negotiations.
They assume that the Tigers are about to be beaten and want to organise a ‘decent burial’ instead of a bloody massacre that will turn the world spotlight onto their own refusal to act.
The Tigers however are far from being beaten.
Some military reverses do not equal defeat, since the Tigers are not a conventional army and have deep roots among the Tamil people.
This struggle will continue and News Line stands for the victory of the Tamil Tigers over the Rajapakse regime which has the backing of the ‘international community’.
We urge the Sri Lankan trade unions to take general strike action to bring down the Rajapakse regime and to create the conditions for a Workers and Small Farmers government in Sri Lanka, which will carry out socialist policies, and under which the working class and the Tamil people will be able to decide just how the island of Sri Lanka is to be run.
