Editorial
The defeat of the Tamil Tigers
After military triumph, Rajapakse must now win the peace
THE Sri Lankan army has decisively beaten the LTTE in war. With news of the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his close associates coming in (though Tamil sources deny it), there is now confirmation that the government in Colombo is finally and fully in control of the whole island for the first time in more than two decades. That does not mean, though, that peace has at last descended on the island nation. It is a military victory that has been achieved. Now comes the far more important task of winning the peace.
And winning the peace will call for a clear political outline of the future by the government. Rebuilding the country will call for the government to abjure the thought of victor and vanquished, for in the final analysis what matters is the degree to which Colombo will accommodate the Tamils in the future constitutional and administrative framework of the country. The ferocity of the war the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers, have waged since the early 1980s notwithstanding, the fact remains that one major reason for the long conflict has been the Tamils' sense of deprivation at the hands of the majority Sinhala. Prabhakaran's demand for a separate Tamil state was based on the notion that the Sri Lankan establishment would persist in pursuing the policy of discrimination against Tamils that had been set in motion in the 1950s. It will now be Rajapakse's task, therefore, to ensure the removal of such feelings through meeting the genuine demands of the Tamils. That will mean according to Tamils equality with the Sinhala in every sphere of political and social activity in order for the former to identify with the rest of the country. One cannot ignore the rather justifiable bitterness Sri Lanka's Tamils have felt about their place in the country's scheme of things. Such bitterness can only be wiped off through guaranteeing Tamil rights --- to education, to government service, to pursuing their own language and culture --- in the country's constitution.
The immediate need is for quick action on the resettlement of the tens of thousands of civilians left in a state of destitution by the armed conflict in Tamil-dominated regions. Thousands have perished over the past few weeks and allegations have already surfaced about the brutal treatment of Tamil non-combatants by the military. Indeed, governments and agencies abroad have drawn attention to human rights violations by the authorities in the regained territories. The government must act swiftly, therefore, to allay international concerns. This can be done through effective cooperation with governments and bodies willing to bail Sri Lanka out of the massive humanitarian quagmire the war has placed it in. Rehabilitation of the displaced civilians through provision of relief to them is of the essence.
The larger goal, now that the Sri Lankan military has brought the LTTE insurrection to an end, is for reconciliation. It falls to the government to ensure the security of life and property of all Tamils through protecting them from the more rabid among the majority Sinhala community. Any humiliation or brutalisation of the Tamils can only keep an aperture open for fresh conflict between the two communities in the future.
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