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A journey to nowhere
Myanmar's Rohingyas in search
of a new life end up behind bars
Yeni and Phang Nga in Thailand
The food ran out 14 days into the voyage. The drinking water was also nearly exhausted. The cheap onboard compass was not reliable, so it was only possible to navigate by the stars. Finally, the engine gave out.
The boat made for the nearest coastline, far from its original destination, Malaysia. It beached in southern Thailand, where the 114 men on board were promptly arrested by the Thai police. Their journey to freedom had ended.
Zar Phaw, one of the 114, told the harrowing story to The Irrawaddy from behind the bars of the visitors' section of the local jail in Takuapa, southern Thailand. The 38-year-old Muslim man and his 113 companions had spent more than two weeks in storm-tossed waters of the Andaman Sea in a small open boat.
Each had paid between 12,000 and 15,000 kyat (US $9-11) for the trip. They came from villages along the border between Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh, homeland of nearly 1 million Muslim Rohingyas, virtually outlawed by the Myanmar's military regime.
The 114 decided to take their fate into their own hands and embarked on a dangerous journey to find a better life in Malaysia, where about 12,000 Rohingyas live. They weren't alone-other groups of Rohingyas landed along the Thai coast at the end of 2006, and other boats are believed to be still on the way.
"Many people believe we can find a better life in Malaysia," said Zar Phaw. "So I risked all on the boat."
The plight of Myanma's Rohingyas has long been one of the worst stains on the country's deplorable human rights record. Officially, the 850,000 Rohingyas living in the townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung, in northern Arakan State, don't even exist. Nationalist campaigns initiated by the Myanmar government, often with the support of local Buddhist communities, have dismissed the Rohingyas as illegal émigrés who infiltrated the country from neighboring Bangladesh and India. As a result, they are subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation, land confiscation, forced eviction and destruction of their homes, and even restrictions on marriage.
In 1991, waves of Rohingya refugees fled across Myanmar's western border to Bangladesh to escape oppression. Most were repatriated, sometimes forcibly, under an agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar, and also with the involvement of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. But observers say that repatriated refugees and new arrivals have continued to enter Bangladesh.
The flow of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh-and now into the open sea off the Arakan coast-is actually being encouraged by the Myanmar regime, according to Chris Lewa, a researcher on Rohingyas and coordinator of the Bangkok-based Arakan Project. She says the regime policy is to make life so difficult for the Rohingyas, even to the extent of restricting their access to food, that they are forced to seek livelihoods elsewhere.
"The military regime uses food as a weapon, and its strategy has proven effective in compelling Rohingyas to leave Arakan," Lewa says. "It moves Rohingyas from visible refugees into invisible refugees, labeled economic migrants."
But the Rohingyas are just as badly off in Bangladesh, where they are forbidden to seek legitimate employment. As illegal migrants, they are exploited by local employers, who pay less than $1 a day. "Life is so hard there that I could not afford to support my seven children and my wife," said Zar Phaw.
Unwanted in both Myanmar and Bangladesh, the Rohingyas look south, to Malaysia, where they hope to find understanding from a Muslim people and government.
Many succeeded in resettling in Malaysia in the early 1990s, but subsequent high-profile Rohingya actions there brought unwelcome attention from the authorities, nervous at any incidents at a time of heightened fears of terrorist activity in Southeast Asia.
In 2002, several Rohingya groups broke into the UNHCR compound in Kuala Lumpur and sought asylum. Two years later, a group of Rohingya asylum seekers set ablaze the Myanmar embassy in Kuala Lumpur and attacked the Ambassador.
Despite the two incidents, the Malaysian immigration department pressed on with a program to register Rohingyas in legal employment and allow Rohingya children to attend Malaysian schools, but suspended it last August, claiming corrupt agents and middlemen were making money from the scheme.
The status of Rohingyas arriving in southern Thailand is also precarious. More than 300 arrested by Thai police after landing on southern Thai beaches are being charged with illegal entry and face deportation. A social worker assisting the detained Rohingyas said in December 2006 that several hundred were thought to be on their way south in as many as 14 boats. Other boat people are reported to have landed unseen and to be in hiding.
Neither Thailand nor Malaysia has signed the two central international agreements on the treatment of refugees-the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees-so a grim future faces the boat people. Many are desperate at the prospect of being deported to Myanmar and facing not only renewed harassment but imprisonment and worse.
"Kill me here," declared Zar Phaw, gripping the prison bars. "I don't want to die at the hands of torturers."
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3,000-year-old tombs found in Egypt
Anna Johnson
Archaeological workers found a wooden statue from a more than 4,000-year-old mud brick tomb that belonged to a scribe of divine records and his wife, near the famous Step Pyramid in Saqqara, Egypt late last month.
The tombs, along with the painted coffins of a priest and his girlfriend, were discovered early this year at Saqqara near the famous Step Pyramid of King Djoser, the oldest of Egypt's more than 90 pyramids.
"The sands of Saqqara reveal lots of secrets," said Egypt's antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, as he showed reporters around a 4,000-year-old tomb of mud bricks that belonged to a scribe of divine records, Ka-Hay, and his wife.
"It doesn't look great because it was built from mud brick and not built of limestone, but I really believe that this tomb is very important," said Hawass, who was wearing his Indiana Jones-style hat. "This type of tomb could enrich our knowledge about the people who actually surrounded the kings of Saqqara, especially the people who lived 4,200 years ago."
The tomb featured a dark wooden door, which ancient Egyptians believed that the souls of the dead would use to leave their tomb. The door bore engravings in hieroglyphic text and pictures of the scribe and his wife.
South of the Step Pyramid, archeologists unveiled a second tomb, which belonged to a butler who died 3,350 years ago. Carved out of limestone, the tomb contained murals that showed scenes of people performing rituals and monkeys eating fruit. The blue and orange colours of the paint were surprisingly well preserved.
"This is a very, very lively scene," said Maarten Raven, the excavation's director and a curator at the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands.
Raven said he believed other tombs from the New Kingdom, similar to the one unveiled Tuesday, had yet to be uncovered in Saqqara, which is famous for Old Kingdom antiquities. Many of the New Kingdom tombs, which date back from 1570 B.C. to 1070 B.C., can be found in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor.
"We hope one day this area will be open to visitors so people can see that Saqqara is not only Old Kingdom but New Kingdom as well," Raven said.
Hawass also unveiled two wooden coffins, 4,000 years old, that were found south of the Step Pyramid. The coffins, painted light orange with blue hieroglyphics, contained human-shaped coffins known as anthropoids, in which lay the mummies of a priest and his girlfriend, Hawass said.
The ancient Egyptians believed anthropoids acted as a substitute body for the dead.
Although archaeologists have been exploring Egypt intensively for more than 150 years, Hawass believes only 30 per cent of what lies under the sands at Saqqara has been uncovered.
Saqqara, about 12 miles south of Cairo, hosts a collection of temples, tombs and funerary complexes. Its Step Pyramid is the forerunner of the more sophisticated pyramids in Giza, which are believed to have been built about a century later.
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Formation of 'Russia-Islamic World' group may help forge strategic alliance
Talip Kucukcan
Power games and changing international environment lead to search for new alliances and strategic partnerships. One recent example is the acceptance of Russia as an observer state in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).
Since then, a number of initiatives were launched to establish closer relations between the two sides. Among them, composition of a Group of Strategic Vision "Russia-Islamic World" seems to be promising. The Group members met thrice earlier, the last being held recently in Istanbul, Turkey.
Participants included distinguished representatives from Russian Federation and OIC member countries. President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mintimier Shamiev, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Yaŝar Yakŭŝ, co-chaired the meeting. Shamiev gave the opening address to the Third meeting of the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia-Islamic World". He stated that Istanbul as the venue of the meeting is "not only a beautiful city" but also "a centre of various symbols rooted in history." Shamiev pointed out that there was a revival of religion. A similar process took place in Tatarstan but this has not caused divisions in society as it did elsewhere. "Islam, with its emphasis on spirituality and justice can play a role in the regeneration of Europe," he said. The task for us, he added, should not be limited to the question of what we understand from religion. Rather, "we should ask ourselves how we can contribute to religion and how we can transform our outlook. Islam is not against progress and scientific developments," he said.
Participants addressed a number of timely and important questions, which might have repercussions for Russia as well as in the Muslim World. It has been argued that the Group as a forum contributing to Russia-Muslim World relations has three essential foundations and objectives defined as geographical, cultural/historical and political. Geographical foundation indicates that Russia is in near proximity to the Muslim World and has a unique position having a vast geographical relation with Muslim countries. Cultural foundation refers to the mixture of ethnicities, demography, arts and cultures between Russia and the Muslim world starting from 9-10th centuries. Cultural relations have enabled Russians to develop a better understanding of Muslims. Political foundation indicates that Russia is a global power and strategic partner for the Muslim World.
From cold war onwards, Russia has maintained constructive relations with the Muslim World. It has also been asserted that the forum has objectives on all three levels: global, regional and domestic.
The global objective is to contribute to civilisational dialogue, peace and mutual understanding especially in the post 9/11.
The regional objective is to contribute to the solution of regional problems and establish sustainable peace in the Balkans, the Middles East, Caucasia and Central Asia.
The domestic objective is to improve working relations with Muslims living in Russia and enable them to be a bridge between Russia and the larger Muslim world.
Participants pointed out that for the perspectives and objectives outlined above, Russia's relations with the Muslim World as an observer state in the OIC is an important institutional link between the two sides.
It was also pointed out that the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia-Islamic World" has already started to make an impact as an important project to improve international and regional tolerance.
It was stressed that this project is a meaningful enterprise to strengthen dialogue between Christianity and Islam in general and Russia and the Muslim world in particular. In this context, Russia's legacy of the co-existence of different ethnicities, nations and religions is underlined as a significant historical experience, which could facilitate easing tensions between the West and the Muslim World.
Participants underlined the fact that the world today has numerous problems. Honesty and sincerity are lacking as vital qualities in international relations and the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia-Islamic World" is expected to revive such qualities.
Participants pointed out that Russian relations with the Muslim world are anchored in geography, culture and history. The third meeting of the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia-Islamic World" took place at a critical moment when Muslims are facing a number of challenges such as underdevelopment, political conflicts and foreign interventions. Israeli-Palestinian conflict and crisis in Iraq cause a great concern for all. Moreover, racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia are on the increase that need to be tackled effectively. It was discussed that consultation of the OIC member states with Russia on the solutions of such problems was an important enterprise.
Another concern is establishing relations with the host countries of Muslim minorities. Russia has a long history and experience in this regard, which developed closer relations with Muslims on shared grounds. Russian-Muslim relations have gone through different stages. Now the establishment of closer co-operation between Russia and OIC member states is important to resolve conflicts and to promote dialogue. In this context Russia can play an important role as a bridge between the Islamic World and the West.
Participants called for concrete project proposals in order to make improvement drawing upon the progress of the previous meetings. It was stressed that many people frequently discuss Huntington's thesis of the clash of civilisations but no further action is taken. Therefore, it was time to talk about new principles and concrete projects to carry on.
It was agreed that an action plan should be accepted and projects such as publication of a book on tolerance and on the life of the Prophet of Islam, education of young people, training of journalists, publication of an online journal and a creation of a website to disseminate views of the Group should be launched. For an effective administration, participants proposed the establishment of an Executive Committee from High Level Group to supervise the work of the Group and a Secretary to facilitate communication.
Talip Kucukcan, Associate Professor of Sociology, SETA Foundation, Ankara, Turkey. Courtesy: The Muslim News
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Somalia: Slim chance of peace
Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia did not bring peace. On the contrary, after months of calm, fighting was fierce again in the country's capital Mogadishu in January, and the United States opened a new front in its war on terror, bombing targets in southern Somalia. Wolfgang Heinrich (WH) of Germany's Church Development Service (EED), believes that the international community must now reattempt what it failed to achieve last year: find a solution involving all political forces, including the Islamists.
Excerpts from the interview follows:
Q: Have the chances of peace in Somalia improved or worsened after the Islamic Courts were ousted?
WH: For two reasons, they have worsened. First, the transitional government is a rather complicated alliance of warlords with diverging interests. They have not managed to draft sensible policy in the past two years. In that respect, nothing has changed, so the government does not even have the authority to act. Second, the Islamic Courts have been undermined politically. There are no political organisations in Somalia who are competent to act.
Q: Was there a real prospect of peace with the Islamic Courts? The Islamists were becoming radical, after all.
WH: In my view, that radicalisation was primarily a reaction to the negative international response to the increased authority of the Islamic Courts. As the Courts were denounced as outright Islamist and terrorist, their moderate and pragmatic factions were weakened, rather than strengthened. The international community completely ignored that the Islamic movement itself is very heterogeneous. Most Somalia experts believe that the radical forces were indeed more assertive and probably also stronger in a military sense. But in terms of numbers, they were the minority.
Q: How strong was popular support for the Islamic Courts?
WH: It was very strong, as became evident in the fact that the Courts, by Somali standards, used relatively little force - particularly when compared with the warlords - to extend their control. In addition, most of Somalia's Muslim leaders are not very dogmatic. Where the Courts had already been established for longer, they opted for a moderate version of Islam and pragmatic policy, basically trying to ensure the rule of law for the local population. Unlike the transitional government, they were quick to win the approval of the local people.
Q: Will Somalia now fall back into the chaos known earlier? Or is it at the stage of a guerilla war, waged by the Islamists against the government?
WH: Both could happen. The government has no integrating force. It cannot accommodate in a single coherent policy interests of conflicting warlords, who, by the way, now call themselves 'ministers'. I fear that attempts by the USA and other countries to promote peace in Somalia through investment and reconstruction programmes will fail. I expect there will be a marked increase in violence.
Q: Do you foresee a scenario such as in Afghanistan or Iraq, where conflicts have religious dimensions? How do you assess the potential for radicalisation and "holy war" among the Somalis?
WH: So far, religion has played a minor part in Somalia's conflicts. Clan loyalties and economic interests have been decisive, but that may certainly change after the Ethiopian intervention. That is all the more so as interested parties in the Arab world are backing religious fanatics, arguing that Somalia is the next battlefield in the war between Islam and the Christian west. I am afraid that such slogans will find a growing audience, because the Somali people expect nothing from their African neighbours anymore, given those countries' one-sided support for the transitional government, which of course only reached Mogadishu thanks to the help of Ethiopian weapons.
Q: For a while last year, it seemed the Islamic Courts and the transitional government might reach agreement. Was there a real chance of that happening, or were the negotiations between the two sides merely for show?
WH: I believe agreement was possible. I had the impression in early December that serious negotiations were possible, and they would clearly have increased the political weight of the moderate forces within the Islamic movement. There were talks between the Islamic Courts and Ethiopia in Yemen on 13 December. The Yemeni government indicated afterwards there had been progress. That was ruined by Ethiopia's attack, which came as a surprise to me before Christmas.
Q: Ethiopia is often portrayed as acting on behalf of the USA. What are Ethiopia's own interests?
WH: First, Addis Ababa wants to prevent the influence of radical Islamists in its own country, especially in Ogaden. The government worried that the growing power of the Islamic Courts in Somalia would have radical repercussions in those areas of Ethiopia that are inhabited by Somalis. There definitely is a real risk of that happening, particularly as the affected regions are politically unstable. Second, Ethiopia observed with concern that Eritrea was supporting the Islamic Courts. For Eritrea, that was an opportunity to prevent Ethiopia from establishing itself as regionally hegemonic power. Therefore, the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea also matters in Somalia.
Q: Will Ethiopian occupation last, or will Ethiopia try to influence Somali politics in the long run?
WH: I have the impression that Ethiopia wants to control its neighbour politically. That inclination was already apparent in the strong Ethiopian influence on Somalia's peace talks in Kenya in 2004 and in the appointment of the transitional government. But I don't believe that Ethiopia wants to occupy Somalia permanently.
Q: Before the invasion, experts had warned that a deployment of an international peace force would meet stiff resistance from the Islamic Courts. Today, deployment of such a force seems to be without any alternative. Who else can fill the power vacuum once the Ethiopian troops withdraw?
WH: This is the dilemma the international community has manoeuvred itself into, by allowing Ethiopia to intervene without a plan for a political solution. An Ethiopian withdrawal would lead back to the previous state of affairs, because the transitional government is so weak. However, a peace force, too, can only secure Mogadishu and the larger places, but not the hinterland. Given the Somalian misadventure of UN and USA in the early 90s, any peace force will probably have to be composed of African Union (AU) troops. I am concerned, though, that they, too, will not be greeted with enthusiasm.
Q: What has to happen politically?
WH: A political process must start, involving the Islamic Courts, and not just their moderate factions. The radical groups also play a role. If they are excluded, a new source of potential trouble will be created right from the outset. A new peace process must be initiated which involves all political forces in Somalia. In my opinion, neither the USA nor AU can achieve this on their own, nor can the East African IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development - a seven-country regional development organization) states do so. A trio made up of the European Union, the Arab League and the AU would have the greatest chances of success.
Q: What risk is there of the Somali conflict spreading to the entire region?
WH: The risk has grown noticeably because of the Ethiopian invasion. The militias of the Islamic Courts will re-shape in the foreseeable future. If there is no comprehensive political process, they will re-export the violence brought to their country by Ethiopia.
Q: Would that only affect Ethiopia?
WH: No, Kenya is at risk, too. The way Kenya acted recently towards Somali refugees and the almost unqualified support for the transitional government, have not exactly endeared Kenya to the Islamic Courts. Furthermore, Kenya also has some Somali population, and Kenyan
- Third World Network Features
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A message for Bush, Blair and Howard
Saddam gave finest basic services
Adil Khan in New York
While the Iraq war entered the fifth anniversary in March this year, violence persists in Baghdad and elsewhere. At least 26 people were killed and more than 50 injured when a suicide car bomber struck a busy commercial district of Baghdad on 7 March last. The attack near the Mutanabi book market in central Baghdad was the first major blast in Baghdad in several days. It sent a huge pillar of black smoke above the city. In other violence, gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims in two separate incidents in Baghdad today, killing five people, police said. The troika Bush-Blair-Howard waged the war in Iraq. Let us start with the initial pretext for the war - finding the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). We all know by now that this spectacular justification has been this century's biggest ever lie - NOT a single WMD was found.
The second justification, a change of a brutal regime - Saddam Hussein was too dangerous for its citizens and therefore, he needed to be toppled. Saddam was indeed a menace to Iraq's citizens. Under Saddam no one in Iraq was safe and by knocking him out, Iraqis would become safer and consequently, the world would set a good lesson for other dangerous dictators. They have to behave and toe the line or face war. Let us start with the latter, as this has been touted as the noblest of all the rationales.
The present Iraqi government's zero capacity to guarantee safety of life and its low capacity to provide the minimum of services to its citizens compare badly with Saddam's benchmarks. From the security point of view, more seemed to have died in the last five years, than twenty years of Saddam's and worse, falling basic services are either causing more deaths or making lives far more miserable than befores. Saddam, except for his brutish behaviour, was quite succesful in providing first-rate basic services -- health, education and housing -- to all its citizens.
The third and the most ostentatious of all justifications for the Iraq War has been that with the regime change, there will be spread of democracy in Iraq and not just in Iraq, with democracy in Iraq there will be a democracy rush in the entire Middle East. Furthermore, as the argument went at the time that with the spread of democracy in Middle East, there will be heralding of peace and stability in the region.
True that since the Iraq war and toppling of Saddam Hussein, there has been an election in Iraq and a so-called "democratically elected" government has indeed been installed. But how genuine is this democracy and what has this "democratically elected government" actually achieved?
And what about the great claim of snow ball effect of the Iraqi democracy to the rest of the Middle East? Very few suffer from this illusion any more. If current trends are any guide, there is no real danger of democracy breaking out in the Middle East in near future and if it does, it would not be Iraq war induced!
In short, Bush, Blair and Howard, the Trioka of War, have achieved precious little. On the contrary, in the name of WMD, regime change and democracy their war in Iraq (according to the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, "an illegal war") have caused hundereds of thousands of innocent Iraqis to die( including some of their own) and turned a prosperous secular nation into a religiously fanatic pauper country. Indeed, the war has also made the entire Middle East much more unstable and unsafe than ever before.
Only history will tell what awaits the troika of war.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq by a multinational force officially began on March 20, 2003. U.S. President George W. Bush stated that the objective of the invasion was "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people. In preparation, 100,000 US troops were assembled in Kuwait by February 18. The United States supplied the majority of the invading forces. Supporters of the invasion included a coalition force of more than 40 countries, and Kurds in northern Iraq. Protesters and anti-war activists staged demonstrations around the world, including in the United States.
In 2006, the Iraq Study Group reported that "while a small number of old, abandoned chemical munitions have been discovered, ISG judges that Iraq unilaterally destroyed its undeclared chemical weapons stockpile in 1991."
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ISLAMABAD DIARY
Jonaid Iqbal
Nobel laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus has given his country a lot of mileage by coming to Pakistan and talking of benefits that would be available to poor people of this land through his favourite brand of micro financing.
He said 80 million men and women of Bangladesh have taken advantage of the scheme to build new life, and the same could be done in Pakistan. Pakistan has put some aspect of the scheme in operation and in a recent Cabinet meeting Prime Minister talked of pushing the scheme with more vigour
Prof Yunus was aware of the development. He praised Pakistan for walking his familiar road and said it might go a long way in reducing poverty. In his view micro-finance was not just about lending money. 'It was a tool to unleash the potential and energies of the low income groups,' and added that micro-finance was the best way of reaching out to the forgotten and the 'un-bankable'.
During his Islamabad visit Prof Yunus has also floated the scheme of a SAARC passport scheme to give spurt to the people-to- people contact, an anchor principle of the SAARC charter.
Every one was pleased when he called Pakistan a leader of Saarc and said Saarc countries, and Pakistan should share best practices to change the quality of life of their people.
He said if the SAARC passport scheme is accepted it would broaden friendship among the people of South Asia. Prof Yunus also had a cordial meeting with President Pervez Musharraf, and they talked of the cordial bilateral relationship that exists between the two brotherly countries about likely ways in which this should be further expanded.
A mutual subject that both Prof Yunus and President Mosharraf seemed to have discussed but was not highlighted in the media could be the coming elections, since Prof Yunus has announced the formation of a political party and considering getting popular votes in his country. Likewise, Gen. Musharraf has started speaking at big rallies to run up victory for the Pakistan Muslim League and expecting to be elected for a new term with the aid of PML's political machine. However, it appears that the PML needs him more for his support than the other way round.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz hosted a reception in Prof Yunus's honour last Monday night. At the reception Prof Yunus expanded upon his idea about the SAARC passports, and said initially the facility could begin with businessmen, intellectuals and professionals to allow them free movement across the region to understand the problems and come up with possible solutions.
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Sri Lanka: Tamil guerrillas criticise international community
Jehan Perera in Colombo
President Mahinda Rajapaksa further strengthened his hold over the popular imagination with a remarkable performance in China accompanied by a baby elephant and an entourage exceeding 260. The media reported a series of diplomatic triumphs in China, with the Chinese government pledging to support Sri Lanka's war against terrorism and signing several major economic contracts to develop the country's infrastructure. The President also lobbied for Chinese investments by reassuring potential investors that the violence in the country was confined to a small part of the country.
While appreciating the President's statesmanlike efforts to create a positive impression of Sri Lanka, the uphill nature of his task has also to be noted. It was during the President's visit to China that six ambassadors from some of the most important countries in the world almost got killed when an LTTE mortar bomb fell in their vicinity. The problem is that Sri Lanka is a small country, and so what happens in a small part of the country also impacts the rest of it. If the LTTE's mortar fire had been a little more accurate Sri Lanka would have been making negative headlines the world over, even in China.
The LTTE mortar attack on Batticaloa airport that nearly claimed the lives of ambassadors belonging to the United States, Japan, Germany, France and Italy, and which injured the Italian ambassador, is indicative of the brutal nature of the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka. These diplomats were on a humanitarian mission to the east along with several UN officials and the government minister for Human Rights and Disaster Management to assess the condition of war displaced people and the reconstruction of civilian infrastructure when this incident occurred.
As both the government and Tamil Tigers claim to uphold the Ceasefire Agreement, the government could have made use of that procedure to ensure the safety of its charges. The Ceasefire Agreement made the Nordic monitors the main agency of communication between the government and LTTE. There have been internal differences within the government itself about whose responsibility was it to ensure that all necessary precautions had been taken.
LTTE message
In recent times the Tamil Tigers have become more outspoken in its criticism of the international community. Their message on the Fifth Anniversary of the Ceasefire Agreement contained a strong indictment of the role played by the international community in the past few years. The LTTE charged that "the international community chose to unfairly take punitive measures against the Tamil Tigers, seriously undermining the LTTE's status as an equal party in the negotiation process, and thereby weakening the peace process itself." Much of the LTTE's recent statement was devoted to pointing out the shortcomings in the role played by the international community, and venting their anger and frustration.
There is little reason to doubt that the Tamil Tigers knew of the visit, which was by no means a secret even in Colombo's diplomatic and political circles. This was a humanitarian visit by the leading members of the international community who have been assisting in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the north and east. The NGO and government system in the Batticaloa area had been mobilized to be on their best footing for the visit. The adverse international fall out on the Tamil Tigers if the attack had been fatal would have been high. But making their point, that they would not permit themselves to be marginalised in the north and east regardless of military outcomes, appears to have mattered more to the LTTE than the short term cost of their adventure.
Although the Tamil Tigers claimed ignorance about the diplomatic visit, and expressed regret over the incident, the message they sent to the international community and everyone else concerned is clear. It is that what happens within the north and east is their business. Recent military reversals on the ground notwithstanding, the Tamil Tigers could be expected to hold to the position that nothing must happen in the north and east without their consent being obtained in some way or the other. Despite the change in military balance and shifts in lines of control, the LTTE's military presence in the north and east is still evident as this incident highlights.
The further breakdown in relations between the international community and the LTTE might seem advantageous to the Sri Lankan government. It could lead to further international sanctions being placed on the LTTE. But even if such measures do lead to a weakening of the LTTE, the LTTE will in all likelihood still remain capable of inflicting severe damage on their opponents. The ability of the LTTE to fire its mortars into Batticaloa airport shows that the defeats suffered by them in the east, and which has been made so much of by the government, have not led to their total elimination from the east.
Irony
It is ironic that this evidence of LTTE tenacity should come from the ground at the same time as former members of the government accuse it of making false claims regarding military progress in the east. Former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera is spearheading a political campaign that claims that the government is fighting the war for political mileage rather than for real victory. The fact that the government is spending more than 25 percent of the government's budget on the war, and the associated kickbacks, could lead to questions about the lack of quick results. The ability of the LTTE to fire their mortars into Batticaloa airport would lend credence to such allegations.
So far, however, President Rajapaksa's image as a strong governmental leader who has taken the battle to the LTTE remains undiminished by what is happening on the ground.
The problem with an analysis that limits the government's conflict with the LTTE to one of terrorism is that it leads to an over-reliance on the military option. It is unfortunate that the government's military gains have been accompanied by political regression. One of the ambassadors who was on the ill fated humanitarian visit to Batticaloa, Robert Blake of the United States, has been criticized by the JHU, which is a coalition partner of the government, for saying a military solution is not possible. The LTTE's mortar attack on Batticaloa airport on this occasion, coupled with the memory of their devastating attack on Katunayake International Airport in 2001, shows just how difficult it could be to militarily secure any area from attack by the LTTE.
The silver lining in the Batticaloa attack will be if it leads to a wake-up call to the government that a military solution is not possible, and that a resort to the rhetoric of the 1980s and 1990s will not take the country to peace and prosperity. By attacking the ambassadorial delegation the LTTE has once again demonstrated its military capacity and its ruthlessness, and the government's vulnerability. It is imperative to deal politically with the LTTE if the country is to be saved from more such attacks that cause fear and destruction, and do harm to the country's international reputation.
Accordingly, the government needs to speed up the All-Party Process that aims at generating a political solution to the ethnic conflict which can be placed before the people of the country and used as a basis for political negotiations with the LTTE. It is also necessary for the government to take a stand on the devolution proposals put forward by the Experts Committee and by the Chairman of the All Party Representatives Committee. At present this all party process is at a standstill due to the ruling party being remiss in making its own proposals to it. The President's international statesmanship needs to be complemented by statesmanship at home.
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