Lest We Forget
Hopes of peace and democracy
Exactly a year ago, at the very beginning of August, an unprovoked attack on Muttur set in train the sequence of events that led to the taking of Thoppigala a couple of weeks back. The word culmination would be inappropriate here, because the culmination is yet to come.
By that we do not mean the result of further military action, which we hope can be avoided by the LTTE returning to the negotiating table. The culmination we look forward to is the rapid development and democratization of the Eastern Province, whose people have suffered for too long.
In this regard the Peace Secretariat records its appreciation of the minimization of civilian casualties during military operations. We hope very much that the armed forces will operate with a similar sense of responsibility and caution if further attacks lead to a prolongation of the fighting. We also call upon the LTTE to abandon its determination that there will be a bloodbath in the event of elections in the East, and to enter even at this late stage into the political process.
The fact that it will soon be possible for the people of the area to choose their representatives to local government and provincial institutions is also a tribute to the swift resettlement of displaced persons. Though much remains to be done, what has been achieved in a few months is far in advance of what has been possible in similar conflict zones elsewhere. In congratulating the government on its achievement in this regard, we trust that not only will full resettlement proceed apace, but that a better quality of life will be made available to the people of the area.
We call then upon the international community to contribute actively and coherently to rehabilitation programmes, to work towards concrete goals in particular in sanitation and healthcare and education and livelihood development. We also call upon the private sector, and in particular chambers of commerce in the region, to develop programmes that will empower people instead of allowing them to remain in dependency.
The victims of the attack
Though we hope for a better future for the people of the East now, we should however remember in sorrow all those who died in the conflict. These include soldiers who were under tremendous pressure, but whose behaviour was admirable, as is apparent by the total absence of allegations of abuse that were regrettably so common in previous operations in the area, whether by our own forces or by the Indian army which also so bravely combated terrorism on our behald in the late eighties. We also should remember our fellow citizens amongst the LTTE who have died, and in particular the children forced into fighting. And, though the numbers are small in comparison with what happens elsewhere, in wars against terror, we must not forget the civilians who fell victim.
We remember in particular those citizens of Muttur who died when the LTTE launched its sudden attack a year ago. They have been forgotten in the intensity of the operations that followed, but we must not forget the enormity of the assault on the town at a time when there was no notice whatsoever that the LTTE was planning to breach the Ceasefire Agreement on such a massive scale.
We also remember the 17 Aid Workers of the Agence Contre Faim, who were inexplicably sent into Muttur in unusually large numbers on August 1st. We remember the prolonged suffering they went through, when many of them wanted to leave, but were advised to stay although all other workers had left or taken shelter elsewhere. Though the decision to keep them there was taken in good faith, we have urged both the French Ambassador and the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Paris to ensure that a full inquiry is made into the decision making process at the time, and made public, since transparency is essential in the light of such tragedy.
We also urge the government to expedite investigations and hope that the Commission of Inquiry will deal swiftly with this case. In particular we trust that the agreed Witness Protection Act be swiftly put in place. In thanking the Australian government for its assistance in ensuring open inquiry into the incident, we hope it will expedite, not only assistance regarding the Act, but also the conferencing the government has requested to settle a dispute in the interpretation of evidence.