{"id":114665,"date":"2021-05-28T14:44:31","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T21:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=114665"},"modified":"2021-05-28T14:44:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T21:44:31","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-19a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/05\/28\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-19a\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 19A"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The government of Sri Lanka\nsoundly defeated the LTTE on May 18. 2009.  Eelam War IV ended in victory for the government of\nSri Lanka. LTTE accepted defeat and formally surrendered to the army. [1]<\/a> It\nwas a decisive victory    and a hard fought one.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This victory is Sri Lanka finest\npost-independence achievement, said analysts. \nA secessionist movement was defeated after a protracted war of 30 years.\nIt stands in stark contrast to the conflicts fought by well-funded Western\nforces in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade. This victory is\ntherefore unique in this\ncentury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was my\nsingular privilege, said Mahinda Rajapaksa to have been the Commander in Chief\nof the Sri Lankan armed forces at the time of its greatest achievement in\ndefeating LTTE terrorism. This is an achievement that will lie to the credit of\nthe Sri Lankan armed forces not only locally but internationally as well, for\ndecades to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until we\nactually defeated them, very few people thought that was possible.  Foreign representatives who met me at that\ntime, told me not to try to do the impossible. The lesson that we all have to\nlearn from this is that nothing is impossible if you have confidence in\nyourself and are willing to take risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first three Eelam wars, Sri Lanka succumbed to international\npressure   and the military offensive\nwas stopped when the army was about to win. The first instance was Vadamarachchi\nin 1987 when JR Jayewardene was President.   But\nMahinda Rajapaksa refused to do this in 2009. President Rajapakse firmly stated that he was not going\nto stop the war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were\ngoing to fight to the finish.  Nothing short of unconditional surrender could\nsave the LTTE.  The UN was not needed.\nLTTE could contact the President through the International Committee of the Red\nCross (ICRC) if it wished. CA Chandraprema observed later, that\nin Sri Lanka every battle whether it is terrorists, the Supreme Court, or\nforeign powers, is fought to the finish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  When\nthey saw that Sri Lanka was winning, western countries, led by the EU made five\nattempts to table a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Security Council.\nChina and Russia vetoed this on all five occasions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, on\nMay 13. 2009, five days before the war ended, Security Council issued a press\nstatement .The press statement said,the\nmembers of the Security Council express grave concern over the worsening\nhumanitarian crisis in north-east Sri Lanka, in particular the reports of\nhundreds of civilian casualties in recent days, and call for urgent action by\nall parties to ensure the safety of civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members\nof the Security Council strongly condemn the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam\n(LTTE) for its acts of terrorism over many years, and for its continued use of\ncivilians as human shields, and acknowledge the legitimate right of the\nGovernment of Sri Lanka to combat terrorism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members\nof the Security Council demand that the LTTE lay down its arms and allow the\ntens of thousands of civilians still in the conflict zone to leave. The members\nof the Security Council express deep concern at the reports of continued use of\nheavy calibre weapons in areas with high concentrations of civilians, and\nexpect the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitment in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members\nof the Security Council demand that all parties respect their obligations under\ninternational humanitarian law. The members of the Security Council call on the\nGovernment of Sri Lanka to take the further necessary steps to facilitate the\nevacuation of the trapped civilians and the urgent delivery of humanitarian\nassistance to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members\nof the Security Council take note of the steps taken by the Government of Sri\nLanka to address the humanitarian situation of displaced persons and call on\nthe Government of Sri Lanka to ensure the security of those displaced by the\nconflict and to cooperate with the United Nations, the International Committee\nof the Red Cross (ICRC), and other international humanitarian organizations in\nproviding humanitarian relief and access to them as soon as they leave the\nconflict zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members\nof the Security Council reiterate support for the personal involvement of the\nUN Secretary General and urge the Government of Sri Lanka to extend full\ncooperation to the United Nations in order to resolve the humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members\nof the Security Council, mindful of the necessity to find a long-term solution\nwithout the threat of violence, underline that the needs of all communities in\nSri Lanka have to be addressed. (End of statement. )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supported by this statement, UN Secretary\nGeneral Ban Ki Moon arrived in Sri Lanka on 23rd<\/sup> May 2009.  He spoke with the President and senior\nofficials. He also \u2018consulted other relevant stakeholders, members of\ninternational humanitarian agencies and civil society.  The\nSecretary-General visited the internally displaced persons (IDP) sites at\nVavuniya and overflew the conflict area, near Mullaitivu that was the scene of\nthe conflict.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 President\nMahinda Rajapaksa and Secretary General Ban Ki Moon then issued a joint\nstatement. Rajiva Wijesinha said later that he had thought the joint statement might\nbe used against Sri Lanka, specially the clause to address international\nconcerns. Mahinda Rajapaksa had been warned but had signed anyway, thinking it\nan innocuous reference, said Rajiva. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign\nMinister Dinesh Gunawardena in Parliament in 2020 stated firmly that this statement\nwas only a joint statement, not an agreement .No agreement had been signed by\nPresident and UN Secretary General. They had issued a joint statement which was\nnow being dubbed as an agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\njoint statement   did not make any reference\nto the praiseworthy victory of the government of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was not\ncongratulated on it. Instead, the statement spoke, inter alia, of violations of\ninternational humanitarian and human rights law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following is the\njoint statement by the Government of Sri Lanka and the United Nations at the\nconclusion of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon\u2019s visit to Sri Lanka on 23 May\n2009:<\/p>\n\n\n\n