KHALEEJ TIMES WARNS THE LTTE THAT THEIR ‘AIR RAID NOVELTY’ COULD END UP IN A STRIKE AT THE TAMIL HEARTLAND IN THE NORTH

By Walter Jayawardhana

The Middle Eastern daily Khaleej Times blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for unfolding a carefully worked out plan of increased armed confrontation by their “air -raid novelty” in North of Colombo and a suicide tractor bombing in the East of the country.

The editorial on the March 28 issue of the newspaper said the rebel group is doing all that at a time when the international community is calling for “urgent calm” in Sri Lanka.

“Tigers’ tactics,” the editorial warned, “ are going to be met with strong force on the part of the government, which is likely to use it to strike right at the heart of the Tamil heartland up in the north.”
The following is the full text of the editorial:

“AT A time when a concerned international community is calling for urgent calm in Sri Lanka, the rebel LTTE is apparently unfolding a carefully worked-out plan of increased armed confrontation with the government.

“Their air-raid novelty on a military base north of Colombo, followed by a suicide tractor-bombing on another army camp in the east shows how the country is sliding deeper into civil war. Strangely, the upsurge in the fighting comes as a ceasefire remains in place on paper.

“On a point of growing concern, the Tigers’ tactics are going to be met with strong force on the part of the government, which is likely to use it to strike right at the heart of the Tamil heartland up in the north. Of course, any such move will be met with more force by the rebels, with the biggest sufferers once again being the people of Sri Lanka.

“Currently, things stands at a very important crossroads as both sides are preparing for intense fighting. Since both sides have proved incapable of holding the truce, the international community, especially India, must engage and hammer out ways to stop the growing bloodshed. Already, around two decades of fighting have taken more than 65,000 lives and displaced more than a million people. And common Sri Lankans weary of the long fight which is still without an end in sight would be only too willing to assist a serious effort to restore calm.

“President Rajapakse comes across as a man with a strong sense of realism and pragmatism, which the LTTE has tested to the hilt. His carrot-and-stick approach has been well-received in the past, and he should stress more on a negotiated political settlement now than before. It is already abundantly clear that bombs and guns are not going to end this battle, ever.”