THERE IS NO MILITARY SOLUTION TO SRI LANKAN PROBLEM

Double message from international community

Jehan Perera in Colombo

Delhi has been providing Sri Lanka with weapons systems, albeit for defensive purposes, and training Sri Lankan military personnel in India. In contrast Indian government has been making pronouncements that India does not believe there is a military solution to the ethnic conflict. Most recently this position has been articulated by both Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and by the Indian Defence Ministry. They have both said that only a political solution that is acceptable to all sectors of the people, including the Tamil community, will lead to peace. But it seems that the message is not getting through to its intended recipients.
   In a letter to a pro-LTTE political leader in Tamil Nadu state, the Indian Prime Minister stated that "The way forward lies in a peacefully negotiated political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka acceptable to all communities." In its annual report to the Indian Parliament, the defence ministry stated that "We strongly believe that there is no military solution. What is required is a settlement of the political, constitutional and other issues within the framework of a united Sri Lanka which addresses the concerns of all communities, especially that of the ethnic minority." Recently India also invited the Sri Lankan army commander, General Sarath Fonseka for a visit where he was, by all accounts, very graciously hosted. This in turn led to an outburst from the LTTE which accused India of committing yet another blunder of historical proportions.
   A similar double message to Sri Lanka also comes from the United States. On the one hand, the US State Department's annual human rights report on Sri Lanka earned the ire of the Sri Lankan government. The report pointed to the most distressing features of the Sri Lankan crisis, including mass displacements, assassinations and abductions and disappearances which have been taking place with impunity. The value of this report for human rights defenders is that it documents several of the human rights violations and provides a credible reference point in the face of bland governmental denials.
   On the other hand, and like India, the US government has been providing Sri Lanka with weapons for defensive purposes and also training its combat personnel. The question is what lies behind these mixed messages. There is insistence on a political solution and on political processes. At the same time there is a military strengthening of one of the parties. It would appear that the answer would need to be found in the context of three factors. These are the preservation of Sri Lanka's territorial integrity, the unacceptability of the LTTE as it presently is, and the impracticability of a military solution.
   
   Government's miscalculation
   As a longstanding member of the UN and the international community, and with its acceptance of nearly all international agreements on human rights and governance, Sri Lanka is well regarded in the world as a functioning democracy. Foreigners who visit Sri Lanka are usually impressed by what they see. As a result, with possibly a few exceptions, there is no desire within the international community to punish Sri Lanka. Instead there is a desire to assist it out of its protracted conflict.
   In contrast to the acceptability that the government has, the LTTE has little or no international acceptability. It is evident that even the countries that have been most critical of the Sri Lankan government on account of its unwillingness or inability to prevent human rights abuses, have no desire to side with the LTTE. Those who have a knowledge of the Sri Lankan situation may believe that the LTTE has grown out of Tamil frustrations, but they are not prepared to accept the LTTE as it is.
   It is this fundamental asymmetry between the government and LTTE that had led the most important countries in the international community to clearly side with the government in the conflict with the LTTE. The weapons and training that the Sri Lankan military obtains from countries such as the United States and India is to ensure that the LTTE does not get the military upper hand over the government. It is also to convince the LTTE that its own reliance on a military solution to the ethnic conflict is but a chimera. This is because the LTTE, and not only the government, believes in the possibility of a military solution.
   The reality today is that the world's biggest military powers, the United States, India, China and Pakistan have indirectly joined hands to support the Sri Lankan government in its confrontation with the LTTE. The problem is that the government apparently believes that this support will enable it to win the war against the LTTE and solve the problem. This is where the government and all those who have joined the bandwagon of war seem to be making a miscalculation.
   The most powerful sections of the international community are militarily supporting the government to ensure that the LTTE does not once again get the military upper hand. They are thereby sending a clear message to the LTTE that its own reliance on a military solution cannot succeed. But they also insist, without exception, that human rights should not be violated and that the practice of impunity should cease because they believe that the ethnic conflict cannot be resolved by military means but requires a political solution.
   A more sophisticated strategy may emerge in a while. Sri Lanka may be able to learn some positive lessons in conflict resolution from its great friend which has more than 5000 years of unbroken cultural wisdom behind it. The question is what will stop the revolt? Those who are revolting would well know what they are up against.

^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE

Fazle Rashid

Turkey may ban
   ruling party
   Turkey is supposed to be a Muslim country. The OIC secretary-general is from Turkey. It is a member of NATO. It is awaiting its turn to be a member of the European Union. However, the highest court in Turkey has admitted a writ calling for banning the ruling Justice and Development party and to invalidate the parliament membership of its 71 members including prime minister Erdogan. The court may also force the Turkish president Abdullah Gul to step down.
   This uncalled for confrontation is between the secular forces and the religious groups. The ruling party has been accused of steering Turkey from its constitutionally mandated secularism. The standoff is a part of a broader struggle practicing Muslims and the secular elites who occupy important positions in judiciary and military. If seven judges vote for the writ it will become a law.
   
   Sexual assault
   on visitors
   Police in Thailand has been alarmed over the sudden spurt in cases of sexual assaults and killings of foreign visitors. Thai police has thought of a novel method to protect the visitors from the sex maniacs. The police will provide each woman visitor with a whistle. Whistles will be given to women who intend to visit beaches, mountains, valleys, national park and waterfalls.
   Tourism is the biggest hard currency earner. Tourism fetched $16 billion last year which is six per cent of Thai GDP.
   
   Afghan aid shortfall
   The donors have failed to fulfil their pledges of disbursing $10 billion for non-military expenses in Afghanistan. America is the biggest donor but is responsible for half the shortfall. The donors pledged $25 billion in non-military aid but disbursed only $15 billion. Critical law and order situation has been cited for the poor disbursement. The World Bank has met only half of its commitment while EU and Germany have paid less than two-thirds of their pledges. ADB and India have placed a third of the commitment. Japan and Canada have fulfilled their obligations.
   
   Big killer: Road accidents
   Every six seconds someone is killed or seriously wounded on world's roads. More than 3000 people are dying everyday. Ten million people have already lost their lives in road accidents in the current century. Ninety per cent of the casualties are in the developing countries. Make Roads Safe, a non-profit organization, has urged the UN to urgently address one of the most serious yet totally overlooked issues of our time. Among the signatories to the appeal are Jimmy Carter, former US president, Oscar Sanchez, Nobel peace prize laureate and president of Costa Rica, Desmond Tutu, Nobel peace prize winner, Sonia Gandhi of India and Mary Robinson, former UN high commissioner for human rights.
   
   Tibetan's agitation
   The question many are asking is about the timing of agitations by the mutinous Tibetans. The Tibetans have revolted either on their own or any other group who are jealous of China's phenomenal rise is fomenting the trouble. The effort is to thwart the Olympic games scheduled to open in August. European leaders led by French president Sarkozy have sharpened their tone but President Bush has not been very belligerent. He talked to Chinese President Hu Jiantao and urged him to hold talks with Dalai Lama.
   President Bush is scheduled to visit Beijing for the inaugural ceremony of the Olympics. That will perhaps be his last diplomatic foray as US president.
   The radical Tibetans have called off their proposed march into Tibet heeding pleas of Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama has said that he is not seeking independence but more autonomy for Tibet. China has branded Dalai Lama as a secessionist, an allegation he has vigorously denied. In another move President Bush said he had accepted an invitation to visit Russia for talks with outgoing president Putin. The visit is aimed at defusing the tension arising out of US plan to install missile post in East Europe. The Summit level meeting will take place on April 5-6. The President elect of Russia Dmitri Medvedev will also attend. This will be the president-elect's first diplomatic exposure.
   Secretary of State Condi Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates had earlier visited Russia to lay the ground for formalising negotiations on a number of disputed issues.

^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE

Mohammed Omer in Beit Lahiya, Gaza

Just 300 yards from the hidden eyes in the Israeli tank, Ahmed Felfel picks his strawberries. But it isn't the Israelis in the tank who worry him as much as those others who will not let him sell them.
   Earlier, it was flowers grown in Gaza and then fed to camels because the Israeli blockade would not let them through. Now it is strawberries grown and wasted.
   It is Gaza's irony that the most desperate conditions produce some of the finest people seek. Nature itself has been kind to Gaza; the soil is rich, there is plenty of sunshine, and predictable rainfall. All that produces strawberries of a quality that the best restaurants in Europe like to serve.
   After Gaza elected Hamas, Israel moved swiftly with the U.S. backing to isolate the 23-mile long strip of land with Israel on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. It's a siege that will not let even flowers and strawberries through.
   "I am alive but I feel dead," says Ahmed Felfel. He is expecting losses of US$35,000 to $45,000 dollars as a result of the Israeli blockade. That is above more direct losses. "Israeli tanks and bulldozers demolished my irrigation system, my greenhouses, my equipment."
   Beit Lahiya is close to the Israeli border, and just a few miles from the Israeli town Siderot which has been within reach of home-made rockets fired from within Gaza. Israel, in turn, has launched deadly missile attacks on Gaza.
   The Israelis come in and simply bulldoze any place they think can hide a launching pad for rockets. When they find nothing, no compensation is offered.
   In an average year, Gaza's 6,000 strawberry farmers harvest nearly 2,000 tonnes of the fruit that sell altogether for about 10 million dollars. Two-thirds is normally shipped out through Agrexco, the agriculture exchange half-owned by the Israeli government that Gaza's fruit and flower growers are required to use.
   In November two trucks carrying flowers and six carrying strawberries were allowed through by the Israelis. Then the blockade came down again.
   Agrexco vice-president Malachy J. Malinovich has said "Palestinian producers have decided not to continue shipping." That could be partly true, because many Palestinian farmers have decided not to grow fruits and flowers rather than spend all that time and money only to see their produce rot.
   Ahmed al-Shafi, director of Gaza's Agriculture Cooperative, says that one shipment of 12 tonnes of strawberries was destroyed in December last year because it was held up at the Karem Shalom crossing (Hebrew for what the Palestinians call Karm Abu Salem).
   Gaza has an airport and sea port, but Israel prevents their use. On the other hand the border crossing at Rafah into Egypt is sealed by Egypt, under heavy
   
   U.S. pressure.
   "We used to sell a kilo of strawberries for $4.50," says al-Shafi. "Now it sells for 50 cents here."
   Two years ago, he said, 40 to 45 tonnes of strawberries were exported from Gaza daily in season. This year, no more than 100 tonnes have been exported so far.
   And this may do long-term damage. Europe could simply get used to importing from elsewhere. And Gaza could face an "emigration of experience" because the best farmers are heading out to Egypt.
   Al-Shafi has been privileged enough to be allowed out of Gaza. He has spoken to EU representatives and to U.S. officials in Tel Aviv. "We Palestinians and Israelis are neighbours and farmers," he said. "We should seek a way to co-exist."
   Particularly now, and particularly Israelis. It's the year of Shimita that comes every seven years, when Orthodox Jews are required to eat foods produced by non-Jewish sources. Some, at least, of the Israeli blockade is against Israelis.
   -Inter Press Service

^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE

---

ISLAMABAD DIARY

Jonaid Iqbal

A number of news items have been published about the oath taking ceremony of Yousaf Raza Gilani as prime minister. President Musharraf administered oath to the prime minister. But it was a plain affair interspersed with full-throated slogans of "Jiaey Bhutto" and "Benazir Zinda hai".
   About 500 invitation cards were issued for this occasion but the attendance was nominal. Chiefs of the two parties Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif did not attend the ceremony. The Presidency considered this as affront.
   
   Black bands
   Matters worsened at the next oath taking ceremony of Federal Ministers on Monday afternoon. Eleven of the federal ministers of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party as well as Awami National Party wore black bands. This irked the President. According to reports, the President refused to administer the oath and had to be persuaded to perform the task.
   In the ceremony the Muslim League MPs refused to stand up. He pleaded with the PML members to stand up at the sound of the bugle. The President was less than happy, as seen in TV images.
   Next day the Dawn newspaper published a story that the state TV did not broadcast the ceremony live but it was screened after 10 minutes. However, in an informal talk with the TV producer Habibur Rahman, I learnt that although his managing director had asked for 30 minutes' delay in screening the event he had put the ceremony on air after a delay of only 10 minutes and no cut was made in the telecast.

^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE