A short reminder to Dr. Kim Howells

Durand Appuhamy

Welcome to Sri Lanka. I expect you are genuinely interested in ending the conflict in our country.

Peace-making is a serious business but it cannot be achieved if one has preconceived plans, as such plans are unlikely to fit appropriately the problems under consideration.

It took thirty years to negotiate peace in Northern Ireland. During this period many died on both sides of the divide. "Shoot to Kill" policy was executed by the British armed forces with ruthless efficiency. The government in the Irish Republic was coaxed to follow the British policy of hunting down the IRA and of busting their arms purchases as well as the import of such weapons into both the Irish Republic as well the Catholic strongholds in the North. The IRA was even denied access to the BBC.

USA government was persuaded to stop all avenues of fund-raising for the IRA in the USA and the IRA was not even allowed to participate in the St.Patrick’s Day parade in New York. In short your governments over the period fought the IRA relentlessly in Ireland, in UK, on the beaches and in foreign countries. This bellicose policy eventually brought the IRA to sue for peace, the surrender of its arms and compromise on the political settlement, very much short of the ultimate objective of unification with the Irish Republic. This short description of the virulent policies the British governments pursued to subdue the IRA, is just to remind you as well the Sri Lankans.

It is also opportune to remind you of the highly unpopular military activities your government together with the USA is carrying out in Iraq and in Afganistan in pursuit of ending terrorism. The British government has invaded both countries against the wishes of the British public and its army is using military might against its people including the civilians. In short, you will no doubt defend your right to use force to combat terrorism given that London itself was the victim of terrorism and is still under the threat of terror by the use of weapons of mass destruction.

What Sri Lanka is engaged at the moment is no different to what you and other democracies in the west are doing so openly. Sri Lanka is fighting terrorism with the small weapons available to it. It is fighting the terrorist LTTE and destroying its military assets wherever exposed. Terrorists are terrorists no matter where they live and what religion they practise.

As your Foreign Office travel advisory on Sri Lanka says "terrorist attacks against government and civilian targets have taken place throughout the country, including in areas and on travel routes popular with tourists". Surely given this situation how can anyone expect the government to simply sit by and do nothing? Did your government sit by and watch when the airlines recently came under terrorist threat? So how come when Sri Lanka makes an attempt to bring to an end the terrorism of the LTTE, it is castigated, threatened with sanctions and its democratic government is denigrated? I suggest that it is time you support the government by bringing to book the LTTE activists in UK and put a stop to their fund-raising activities in the same manner as you did to the IRA in the USA. Fighting terrorism by any country in its lands anywhere in the world cannot in any way tarnish the image of that country as the invasion of a country on false pretences of fighting terrorism.

It may be that you are sold on the idea that the LTTE is a liberation movement against an oppressive government. It is time to disabuse your mind of this deception. Just get yourself to Mavil Aru to see for yourself what the LTTE did there, just go to Muttur and Sampur to see what the LTTE did to the people there. Finally when you get to Ampare, do talk to the Tamil IDPs now in the process of escaping the LTTE from the Thopiagala jungles and seeking the safety and security of the government.

When you talk to these people do ensure that the translator you employ is not a lackey of the LTTE. If you do any of these you will soon realize that the LTTE is the oppressor and the executioner of these hapless Tamil people and therefore by definition, the LTTE cannot be the liberator of these people. It is therefore time to treat the LTTE as terrorists, nothing but terrorists and to deal with them in the same manner as you dealt with the IRA then and now the way you deal with the home grown terrorists in London and elsewhere in UK. To this end you should substantially help Sri Lanka. Initially why not take measures to stop LTTE’s fund-raising activities in London?