[30 September, 1996]
On Sunday 29 September 1996 it was announced that "Sri Lankan government forces had captured the Tamil Tigers' northern stronghold of Kilinochchi, the last major town under rebel control". The Australian Centre for Sri Lankan Unity (ACSLU) joins with all patriotic Sri Lankans in congratulating the Government and Armed forces of Sri Lanka for this significant victory. This victory has finally destroyed the myth of the military invincibility of the LTTE terrorists.
The victory at Kilinochchi does not of course mean an end to the terrorist problem. In a military sense there can be no end until the terrorist leadership is completely liquidated. With the major urban centres wrested from their control the LTTE will no doubt intensify its terrorist activity against isolated communities living in remote areas. In fact just before the fall of Kilinochchi there were reports that one such community was attacked in the North-East of Sri Lanka with a significant number of deaths. New tactics will have to be devised to eliminate the separatist terrorists operating in the jungles. While this may take some time there should be no relenting in the efforts to bring about the complete defeat of the terrorists. While this no doubt will pose a great challenge to the defence forces it must also be remembered that the loss of its urban centres will be a great handicap to the terrorists. In places like Jaffna and Kilinochchi the terrorists were helped by the food and medical assistance provided by a number of NGOs who were allegedly aiding the civilian population. It is of course well known that they were a valuable asset to the terrorists in their military activity. At least this source of assistance will be reduced, and the SL armed forces should make full use of this.
It must be remembered that the military victories have been achieved at a considerable sacrifice to the defence personnel. This was inevitable because of the ruthless and immoral nature of the enemy the nation had to contend with. Nowhere has there been a greater use of suicide squads than by the Tamil terrorists. The immediate result will be to intensify the use of the suicide cadres and new atrocities may be committed not only in the border regions but even in the major cities of Sri Lanka itself.
While the Government has to be praised for its military successes at the same time the grave consequences that could result from the so-called "political solution" that it has been promoting must be reiterated. That solution envisages changing the status of Sri Lanka from a unitary state into a federal one, and that too a federal state based on the racial principle.
Once the terrorist means to secure the separation of Sri Lanka is foiled the separatists will try to exploit this "political solution". Already the Tamil separatist groups based in Colombo have been trying to advance the federal solution proposed by the SL Government.
Those who rely on this strategy hope to achieve Eelam in two stages. The first stage is to destroy the unitary status of Sri Lanka and convert into a federal state. The second stage is the use the well-tried method of breaking up a federal state into its constituent parts. This has already happened in many parts of the world, notably in Yugoslavia. This is the model which the separatists hope to apply to Sri Lanka.
ACSLU has repeatedly warned against the political solution proposed to solve the alleged ethnic problem in Sri Lanka. On the occasion of the fall of Kilinochchi it is appropriate to remind the nation of the dangers which the federal solution holds. The military victory will be hollow if the separatists are able to secure the partition of Sri Lanka using the federal strategy. That is why the move to create a federal state should be opposed in its incipient stages.
Tamil separatists have already relied on the political rivalry between the two main political grouping in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately this rivalry seems to be getting wider. While this rivalry may mean that there will be no united support to the devolution proposals of the present Government, the unfortunate fact is that both sides are supporting some kind of racially-based devolution.
If the Government is able to eliminate the remnants of the military capability of the Tamil terrorists, the new battleground will be the "political" front, with the separatists seeking to capitalise on the internal political divisions to bring about first federalism and next separation. This strategy too should be defeated.