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THE ATTACK ON DIPLOMATS BY TAMIL TIGERS IS A BRAZEN ACT OF DEFIANCE TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SAYS WASHINGTON TIMESBy Walter JayawardhanaThe Washinton Times charged by the artillery attack on a diplomatic
entourage the Tamil Tigers have reminded that their true commitment
is to terrorism and shown their brazen defiance towards the international
community. The Tigers' previously effective PR spin has faltered, and they have become increasingly recognized as the terrorists they are. The United States has classified the group a terrorist organization and banned fund raising. India, Canada and the European Union have similar restrictions. The Tigers are trying to have it both ways: trying to disassociate themselves from the fact that they are a violent separatist group by, in part, trying to bribe others to carry out their attacks. The shelling, however, flies in the face of the group's true image and it shows a surprising brazen act of defiance toward the international community. The Tamil Tigers have started trying to absolve themselves and allay the fallout. The terrorist group went so far as to blame the Sri Lankan government, through some highly contorted logic, for not warning the rebels that the diplomats were traveling in the area. Even if this dubious claim were true, it certainly isn't exculpatory because the Tigers have a history of targeting both high-ranking Sri Lankan officials and foreign diplomats. Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated in a 1993 bombing, the foreign minister (himself a Tamil) in 2005 and the deputy general of the peace secretariat in August 2006. Also in August 2006, Tiger guerrillas tried to kill a Pakistani official in a suicide bombing as his convoy drove through Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Pakistani envoy escaped; seven other persons died. Most prominent was the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi in 1991, which precipitated India's crackdown on Tamil Tiger fund raising and operations. The history of the violence that has wracked the small island
cannot be told without assigning blame to both sides. But resolving
legitimate grievances requires constructive dialogue, which can only
happen under the auspices of a genuine ceasefire -- something the
Sri Lankan people, Tamil and Singhalese alike, would certainly welcome.
The Tamil Tigers, however, have proved unwilling to talk seriously
except when compelled by lack of resources. The essential role for
the United States, Canada, the EU and increasing India is therefore
to enforce their sanctions on operations and fund raising, forcing
the Tigers into negotiations. |
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