Lanka calls for int’l support

By Mendaka Abeysekera in New York
The Sri Lankan Government last week urged the international community to recognise that democracies could not take extra constitutional measures and that political solutions to conflicts required discussion, debate and compromise before consensus was reached.

Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States Bernard Goonetilleke outlined this position on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government in his commentary published in The Washington Times last week.

Goonetilleke, one of the country’s most reputed and most experienced Foreign Service officers, stated that more than benevolent advice, Sri Lanka needed international support for combating terrorism and seeking a lasting solution.

“That includes persuading the LTTE to return to negotiations unarmed – parallel to Maoist rebels in Nepal – and to hang in there until a consensus is reached. It also includes curbing activities of LTTE front organisations on their soil, particularly their fundraising capacity. The support of the United States and Canada in outlawing the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation and the World Tamil Movement is deeply valued,” Goonetilleke said.

He also pointed out that the government had agreed to implement in full the 13th Amendment to the Constitution as a precursor to other power-sharing proposals, which India, the United States and other countries had welcomed.

“Following the success of the Provincial Council elections in the Eastern Province in May (where people were free to vote after 20 years under LTTE control) and the appointment of S. Chandrakanthan, Tamil leader of a breakaway LTTE group, as Chief Minister there, the LTTE’s claim of being the sole representative of Tamils is irretrievably shattered. This development is tangible proof that democracy is a viable alternative to Tiger hegemony,” he emphasised.

Goonetilleke also pointed out that the demand to disarm paramilitaries was illogical in the event the LTTE, the most menacing of armed groups, was excluded.

“Moreover, to wean the youth away from hopelessness and violence, the economic desolation of the east needs to be countered by developing infrastructure and encouraging investment. That transformation will send an unmistakable message to the Tamils still languishing in the Tiger lair in the north. Only such action will drive home the message that seizing power through terrorism, as Tigers currently seek to do, is unacceptable to the civilised world,” the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the US maintained.