Disbelief at defeat of LTTE needs to be unpacked

In the run up to the final military annihilation of the LTTE, there were two perceptible reactions from certain sections of the international community. There was freely expressed horror at the massacre of thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians that seemed to be inevitable. Mischief-makers started throwing out numbers and these took lives of their own and were eventually treated not as conjecture but fact, producing even greater horror. There was a scandalous readiness to treat LTTE propaganda as biblical truth. There were cries for international intervention to save the LTTE leadership. 

There was no massacre.  There was instead the greatest ever hostage rescue operation in recorded history. Some 300,000 civilians held as a human shield by the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit were rescued at great cost to the Sri Lankan security forces.  This number alone indicates the ridiculous nature of the allegation that the Government and/or the high command of the security forces carried out a policy that contravened relevant conventions. 

The second reaction was disbelief.  The unthinkable and unpredicted was unfolding before the eyes of the unthinking and skeptical.  Sri Lanka was actually defeating the LTTE, whose propaganda regarding invincibility was purchased without a second thought by many who were never friendly towards this country. They thought Sri Lanka lacked the military capacity, political will and the courage to stand firm against all manner of pressure that was bound to be brought to bear. 

That disbelief tells us a lot.  So many factors, internal and external, had to come together to produce the eventual result.  So many that one cannot fault anyone, even the even-minded and patriotic, for being convinced that it was impossible.  Most importantly, ‘disbelief’ stemmed from what was thought to be a disruption of script.  This was an aberration.  Not meant to happen. 

What is most pertinent when script is twisted is that the high priests of script-writing will want a reversion to the natural order of things.  The natural order, ladies and gentlemen, is one where Sri Lanka takes meekly takes orders, remains politically unstable, economically poor and for all these and other reasons dependent on the largesse of the big names in the international community.  A lot of the two-tongued and utterly disingenuous uttering that we hear, especially from the West but also from India, indicates this desire for control of process in Sri Lanka.  Part of it can be put down to dismay and shame at being proven wrong, but part of it indicates active moves to turn things around, to revert to the status quo that this ‘aberration’ disrupted. 

In this regard we need to remind ourselves about the essential ingredients that made up the lost status-quo.  First and foremost, insurgency. If there is political tension in Sri Lanka, it is easier to control what happens here. The Government clearly indicates that it has friends other than those who are called ‘friends’ for purposes of diplomatic nicety. Even though the purpose is not to feed anyone’s anxieties or to give a sour neighbour the finger but one drawing directly from pragmatism, the unintended bruising of ego and flaring up of anxiety does take place. India, in short, is not happy. 

On the other hand, it has to be understood that this is not only about India’s chagrin at being sidelined. India has problems of its own.  India, which came into being essentially as a convenient construct of the British, has always struggled to come to terms with regional, ethnic, language and other tensions.  The term ‘India is a corruption of ‘Hindustan but that country prefers the colonial tag because it glosses over the fact of coming-together of disparate entities to make up nation.  The ‘Centre’, so to speak, is strained to hold the constituent parts.  This has always been the case.  India doesn’t talk about this, but the territorial integrity of that country has always been threatened from within, with disgruntled regional entities and ethnic collective demanding greater acknowledgment of presence by way of ‘statehood’.

 Some have threatened to secede from the union. 

The greatest sense of un-belonging has been experienced by the Southern states, especially Tamil Nadu. For a long time the ‘Eelam’ factor was a convenient distraction. Preoccupation with the so-called plight of their Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka helped India ward off any incipient separatist moves in that state. Funding, arming and training Tamil terrorists on Indian soil was not just about teaching J.R. Jayewardene a lesson for being over-friendly with the USA. 

Today, sans the conditions for a re-launching of that strategy, India could very well face greater pressure from Tamil nationalists within that country.  India needs a distraction on account of other separatist moves as well. 

For decades, Pakistan and alleged Islamic Fundamentalism have been readily available trump cards in this regard. They’ve been cashed so often that their currency has diminished.  If India was the USA, it would have launched a war on some silly pretext.  As India seeks to be recognized as a world power one cannot rule out that country taking a few leaves from the USA book of course.  Still, it would cost. Not enough time has passed for India to forget the IPKF fiasco.  Distraction via destabilizing a neighbour can be done in cheaper ways, though, and India certainly does not lack in expertise or wherewithal. 

I am not saying that India should be treated as an enemy. I am merely saying that it is good to be alert. For a simple reason: India needs and loves India far more than it needs or loves Sri Lanka or anyone else.   

If what happened was an aberration, then in order for Sri Lanka not to return to a script that humiliated and indeed devastated the country and her citizenry, there must be a maintenance of the factors that led to script-rupture in the first place.  Political stability is of utmost importance.  Inter-ethnic reconciliation is a must for this.  A strong government complemented by strong institutions that affirm all virtues pertaining to law and order are needed as a matter of urgency.  More than all this, we need to be vigilant for things can turn around pretty fast when one deals with powers that have no scruples and moreover are emboldened by military endowment. 

The war, then, is not over. India or anyone else will do what serves their purpose. We should take care of things at home. Keep our house in order. Never drop our guard.

Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer who can be reached at msenevira@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it