Treading through the minefields
... from Northern to Western front ...
by Foxwatch Courtesy
The Island 07-10-2007
True to form, the International Mafia for the Preservation of the LTTE
(IMPOL) have not allowed the battlefield setbacks of the LTTE to deter
them. Their agent of South Asian destabilisation, the LTTE, is in trouble,
and therefore has to be shored up at all costs. Besides, the elimination
of the LTTE would not only delay Project Destabilisation but also hurt
the pockets of the small army of legislators in the western world's
great democracies, for whom the LTTE has been both a cash cow and a
provider of expat votes, in exchange for the trifling chore of regurgitating
LTTE terrorist propaganda.
Masters of Mayhem
Let no one under-estimate the power of IMPOL. Their covert operations
have between them master-minded assassinations, overthrows of governments
(now sanitised into "regime change"), plane crashes, massacres,
riots, civil unrest, and the installation of puppet rulers. What they
did elsewhere they could do here. Already some of their activities here
would have amply warranted the declaration of several ambassadors persona
non grata.
Flurry of Activity
Right now there is a noticeable flurry of IMPOL activity of an insidious
but lethal kind, bearing the hallmarks of co-ordinated strategy to undermine
GOSL policy. A few examples will serve to illustrate the machinations
of IMPOL in their great game of leading Sri Lanka up the garden path.
Yankee Flutter
U.S. Ambassador Blake lost no time in reacting to Defence Secretary
Rajapakse's remarks that the LTTE would have to be totally routed in
order to achieve a durable peace. The Island of 21/9/07 reported that
at a USAID ceremony Blake had said, "The US and other donor countries
do not support a military solution to the conflict. We believe the solution
lies in a negotiated settlement..." Blake's declaration is rich,
coming from the country which corralled together the Coalition of the
Willing (which includes our sanctimonious donor countries) who have
mercilessly bombed Iraq on false pretences, killing over 600,000 Iraqis
and rendering over a million homeless. And whom do we take seriously?
Blake or the White House spokesman who said, "We don't negotiate
with terrorists, we put them out of business." Our Defence Secretary
was spot on. We have to put the LTTE out of business before any political
solution becomes viable.
Deception
Blake also volunteered advice to the APRC at a seminar organised by
the Fulbright Association of Sri Lanka (The Nation, 23/9/07). He had
urged that the APRC refrain from using the terms federal or unitary,
because according to Blake these terms are "divisive and emotive"!
Is he advising the APRC to mislead the country by making proposals which
would in effect be federal, but without using the word federal? Such
ambassadorial advice to an important body on how to deceive the public
on a key issue would be deplorable. The terms unitary and federal are
far from being mere emotive labels, as will be explained below. The
distinction between them is crucial to public understanding of the issues
involved.
Perfidious Albion
On June 16, 2007, in a keynote address at a BCIS panel discussion on
the UK's peace building efforts (sic) in Sri Lanka, High Commissioner
Chilcott made some significant remarks. He developed a specious argument
that a) the conflict increases the number of asylum seekers landing
in Britain, thereby creating law and order problems in the UK; and b)
the conflict affects Brit interests by complicating the pattern of trade
and investment and posing a threat to Brit travellers and residents
here. On this tenuous basis he declares that our internal conflict has
a direct impact on Britain and its people. In the context of the efforts
of ex-PM Blair to propagate a right of intervention by strong countries
in weak developing countries, this may have been an ominous attempt
to establish a right to meddle.
Constitution Mantram
Chilcott went on to advocate a new constitution which "removes
discrimination, upholds human rights and removes the causes of alienation
from the state" (although the existing constitution satisfies all
Chilcott's criteria). He deems a new constitution a "necessary
and central component" of a lasting peace, without identifying
any flaws in the existing constitution.
Spurious Examples
Speaking expansively of many examples of power-sharing arrangements
and devolution, (which we already have through the 13th Amendment),
he craftily says he will not use the words unitary and federal because
they are labels which inhibit thinking! (See Blake's advice above).
In fact there is no example of any country committing suicide by allocating
vast, irrevocable powers to constituent units, when two of those units
would be controlled by a powerful terrorist gang committed to secession.
That is the unique context in which all the federal mania has to be
viewed.
Mala Fide Omission
Most heinously, Chilcott, while citing Northern Ireland as an example,
omits all reference to the decommissioning of arms, which was an integral
part of the Good Friday Agreement. Mala fide advice indeed, by omission.
Germany Joins the Bandwagon
The German ambassador, speaking at the German National Day celebrations,
delivered a gratuitous sermon on the importance of terminating the war
in Sri Lanka and indulged in a transparently sycophantic fairy tale
about the President of Sri Lanka being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
in 2011 (an auspicious year?) for seeking a peaceful settlement. (Daily
Mirror, 2/10/07). One would expect German National Day to be an opportunity
to dwell on the achievements of Germany instead of meddling in the internal
affairs of the host country.
Domestic Wing
CFA
The domestic wing of IMPOL has not been idle either. Just two aspects
will suffice. The most recent "gundu" has been the proposal
of a major party to amend the CFA. (Island of 29/9/07). A party statement
cites a lecture by its leader setting out a list of proposals to resolve
the LTTE insurgency, among them the amendment of the CFA to take into
account current conditions. At first sight this appears reasonable.
But there is a more subtle effect. The disastrous CFA was a monumental
blunder by the GOSL; in a nutshell, it protected and empowered the LTTE,
made dangerous territorial arrangements and emasculated the forces.
The error was compounded by LTTE-friendly monitors and weak governments
which turned a blind eye to CFA violations. When the LTTE over-reached
themselves in 2006, the forces were compelled to respond appropriately,
and events since they have rendered the CFA virtually defunct.
Oxygen for CFA
Amending the CFA now, in whatever way, would be to reaffirm its validity.
The remedy for any heavily flawed agreements is not to amend it but
to scrap it in toto, and if necessary negotiate a completely fresh agreement.
Federation
The other aspect is the unremitting campaign by Anandasangaree for
federation regardless. Close examination of his prolific speeches reveal
little rational basis for advocating federal system. There is a mere
assertion that a unitary system would not be acceptable to the Tamils.
As a concession, he urges the "Indian model", which he asserts
"would work". Practical experience indicates the contrary.
For instance, would the Tamils agree to the Presidential Rule in the
Indian constitution, with the right to assume all state functions if
necessary? Equally important, given the record of GOSL, weakness and
LTTE terror, would such Rule be practicable and enforceable? We should
not allow Anandasangaree's undoubted courage in criticising Prabakaran
to sway us into suicidal federalism.
Federation with Blinkers Off
Federation continues to be advocated as the remedy to end all ills.
In our context, the basic pre-condition, i.e., the desire of constituent
units to work together in their mutual interest, owing allegiance to
the central body, is missing. Instead, the avowed objective of at least
one of the proposed units is to set up a separate state. This was confirmed
by Prabakaran at the LTTE's international press conference in April
2002; responding to a question whether his statement to his cadres,
that they could kill him if he did not obtain Eelam, still stood, he
replied firmly, "It stands." And secession has figured prominently
in his Martyrs Day addresses each November.
Legal Status
Contrary to the efforts of IMPOL and its supporters to dismiss "unitary"
and "federal" as mere labels, there is a crucial distinction.
While both unitary and federal states operate mixes of centralised and
devolved powers, the legal status of those powers differs. In unitary
states the powers devolved to regions are usually at the discretion
of the centre, and can be modified or curtailed by the centre. In federal
states the division of powers between the centre and the states/regions
is usually specified in a constitution, and May not be unilaterally
altered. Whatever the exact division of powers, the division tends to
be irrevocable and permanent in federal states. This is why the IMPOL
lobby is so adamant about a federal system and a new constitution.
The Warts
There are many other reasons why federation is unsuitable in our context,
but space does not permit their full treatment here. Suffice it to say
that federation is not a panacea, and that multiple factors have to
be considered, such as its inherent administrative complexity; continual
centre-state disputes; ownership of land; ownership of territorial waters,
exclusive economic zone and air space; the imperative of heavy military
guarding of the north-eastern frontier; and the practical irreversibility
of arrangements if things go wrong. Above all, there is the absurdity
of assigning legal powers to a unit which would be controlled by the
terrorist LTTE, committed to setting up a separate state. Promoters
of federation should be invited to provide an example of any country
which artificially broke up a unitary state, artificially created federal
units, and devolved huge powers to them, in the knowledge that one of
the units was committed to break away and could use the powers allocated
to mount an UDI.
Multi-Pronged Strategy
Summing up, a multi-pronged strategy is discernible to
a) halt the military push in the north and east;
b) to revive the farcical peace talks;
c) scrap our existing Constitution and replace it with a federal
Constitution;
d) mislead the public into believing that "unitary" and
"federal" are mere labels;
e) resuscitate the CFA
f) use foreign aid as a stick with which to beat the GOSL.
This multiple foray, if successful, would save the LTTE from defeat,
give them time to regroup and re-arm under cover of peace talks, enable
them to use peace talks to outwit weak GOSL negotiators, and provide
the LTTE, through a new Constitution, with the legally demarcated territory,
and the legislative, executive and judicial powers that would have to
be conferred on a federal unit. No matter that those powers would initially
fall short of those required by a sovereign state; they would be sufficient
for the LTTE to obtain a military, political and economic stranglehold
over the north and east which could easily, with some artifice such
as trumped-up disputes with the centre, be transmuted into an UDI, which
would be supported by IMPOL. End of story, end of Sri Lanka.
Eternal Vigilance
Eternal vigilance is the name of the game, not complacency. The laid-back
attitude to foreign interference is detrimental to national self-respect
and could prove deadly for us. The latest news of a proposed UDI underscores
the need for action on all fronts.
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