Republished for information and discussion only. This report does not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Consulting
The LTTE has announced that it would observe unilateral ceasefire during the period of SAARC. The declaration states further that its aim is to facilitate the conference and to extend goodwill of the LTTE. There are many reasons behind this surprise move of the LTTE, specially, during the time of successful military operations of the security forces and the Government of Sri Lanka has been vigorously campaigning against the LTTE in the international arena.
In fact, the leaders of the SAARC countries are also expected to condemn all types of terrorism in the region and take unified action against terrorism. In this sense, obviously terrorism would be a main item of the agenda of the forthcoming conference.
In this context, this move can be considered as a desperate attempt of the LTTE to save the status quo and win sympathy of the leaders of the region. Additionally, the LTTE needs this ceasefire in order to avoid any adverse publicity that might garner during the time of the conference. It is also a fact that any successful military operation of the security forces during the period would also add many minus points to the LTTE's scorecard as the whole world is observing the conference proceedings very closely.
The Government of Sri Lanka would also have an opportunity to present its case to the observer countries such as the USA, Japan, South Korea, China etc. Obviously, these countries would make it a point to gather enough information about the current situation in Sri Lanka. In this respect, just announcing the ceasefire, the LTTE is also trying to brand the Government of Sri Lanka as a bad guy. Nevertheless, the Government of Sri Lanka has very clearly indicated its willingness to sit at the table to find a lasting political settlement to the problem. Countries are aware that the LTTE, which has avoided to discuss any peaceful settlement with the Government of Sri Lanka.
Although the LTTE leader might have decided to become a good guy, he cannot escape from the eyes of the SAARC leaders who have been very carefully monitoring all the activities of the LTTE. In fact, the SAARC countries are aware of the nexus between the LTTE and many transnational terrorist organizations that give troubles to their countries. Therefore, it is obvious that the tigers cannot be able to hide its true face from the leaders of the SAARC, especially, India, which has been trying to bring the tigers to the negotiation table on number of occasions, is aware of the true nature of the LTTE. Indians cannot forget the way in which the LTTE terrorists brutally assassinated former Prime-Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Therefore, this face saving effort of the LTTE would not bring any credit to the organization. It would only highlight its weaknesses. Obviously, the Government of Sri Lanka has got a golden opportunity to present its case to the neighbors to obtain their support to defeat the LTTE militarily in order to bring peace to the country through a political settlement.
Source: Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
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