Published on - 2/22/2005
The third anniversary of the Cease-fire Agreement that was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE falls today (22 February).
It is a momentous occasion for all of us in Sri Lanka because it was this Cease-fire Agreement (CFA) that suspended hostilities and brought about a glimmer of hope to the peace-loving masses, who experienced a brutal war nearly for two decades. The war wreaked havoc on the nation as a whole, not only claiming over 60,000 lives but also causing irreparable damage to the property and infrastructure alike.
The role of the Armed Forces as well as the Police in sustaining the provisions of this agreement deserves a special accolade here because it was members of the Armed Forces and the policemen at the ground level who physically contributed hitherto to the success of that agreement. Of them, the Sri Lanka Army, fondly treasured by the masses as the Guardians of the Nation, has been playing a pivotal role in this connection under very trying circumstances, despite numerous setbacks and life-threatening challenges.
Those soldiers, who have been maintaining highest standards of professionalism, discipline and patience, right throughout after the CFA was implemented, deserve laurels and commendation when their role, at the most crucial juncture of our contemporary history, is viewed closely.
The Sri Lanka Army, during a span of fifty years has gained a gradual but a steady and distinguished maturity, not only in its warfare but also in its resolution of man-made disputes. Evidently, the drastic zero percentage in the Army's record of human rights violations, compared to the numbers prior to the CFA, fully reinforces this truth. The Army, generally at the receiving end of the disinformation mill of adversaries, has been reprimanded for no HR complaints in the north and east in the recent past.
Believe or not, not a single HR complaint against troops has hitherto been made in the north and east in the recent past either by any agency or individual. That sounds more deeds than words.
No doubt, marked improvement in this sphere attributes to promotion of this peace phenomenon, combined with human values thanks to the collective efforts being launched by Army's Directorate of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law under the aegis of the Commander of the Army Lt General Shantha Kottegoda.
This continuing awareness, no doubt has immensely provided the necessary impetus to soldiers at work, too at roadblocks, check points and all other Army installations which have been in place for the sacred duty of defending territorial integrity, unitary status and sovereignty of this island-nation.
As William H. Mauldin (1945) points out, “Soldiers who are in danger feel natural and human resentment to those that are not,†because it was the soldier who was terribly humiliated, unfairly manhandled, physically wounded and, in some instances, butchered by separatist LTTE guerillas after the CFA was enacted.
LTTE, during these past three years paying scant regard to what they committed in the CFA, has exposed its duplicity many a time, irrespective of repeated rulings given by the CFA monitors, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). Let us look at figures, to put it in a nutshell.
Under the pretext of supporting the CFA, gunmen of the LTTE, in some instances, even teenaged ones, had so far brutally claimed twenty eight (28) precious lives of Security Forces personnel while they were performing their legitimate duties in the north, east and elsewhere. Yet, their fellow-comrades as disciplined and seasoned men showed full restraint and kept from doing anything that would disrupt the apple-cart, i.e. CFA. List goes on. Sad to say, one hundred and fifty three (153) civilians, including Tamil political activists and civil informants were mercilessly killed by LTTE in contravention of provisions of the CFA.
It is equally amazing to see how LTTE separatists decimated their own Tamil political opponents during this period at the expense of their so-called “liberation,†some of who had been even abducted before slaying. Thirty one political activists from EPDP, EPRLF, TELO, etc pursuing the path of democracy, were bumped off during this period but the number of Tamil political activists they (LTTE) attempted to kill was as many as thirty seven. Similarly, eighteen rival Tamil political activists had so far gone missing after being abducted by LTTE as per records.
Nine (9) Tamil and Muslim soldiers on intelligence duties have fallen victim to LTTE paying supreme sacrifice in the name of the CFA during this period. Likewise the LTTE went on record killing twenty (20) Security Forces personnel including policemen during this period, though the figure for slain civil informants remains as high as thirty (30) after the CFA.
In other words, one hundred and eighty one (181) valuable lives of both Security Forces/Police and Civilians were sacrificed on the altar of the CFA but the LTTE still goes on tarnishing the image of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, on the contrary.
One thousand one hundred and twenty two (1122) cases of abductions, eighty nine (89) instances of extortion, five hundred and thirty six (536) incidents of conscription, sixty five (65) cases of forcible removal of private vehicles, two hundred and twenty five (225) flag-hoisting acts, eight hundred and ninety eight (898) acts of harassment caused to civilians, one hundred and nine (109) instances of weapon-carrying in cleared areas, one hundred and twenty two (122) various provocative acts, construction of ten (10) new camps or bunkers, three (3) instances of naval exercises with live-fire and a total of one hundred and ninety one (191) instances of other violations have been referred to the monitors during those three years, just ended.
More importantly, LTTE has reportedly collected a sum of Rs. 4. 4 billion (US$ 45 million) by way of ransom, extortion or 'taxation' during this period of three years, in many instances, after directing death threats or otherwise. However, an area-wise breakdown of LTTE violations could be summarized as follows; Batticaloa & Ampara (1391), Jaffna (461), Wanni (445), Trincomalee (405), Colombo (24) and elsewhere (3).
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has, according to their reports, received a total of 5459 complaints against LTTE until 31 December 2004.
