SCOPP REVIEW
The Ceasefire Agreement Six Years Later
Annulment creates broader space to achieve sustainable peace
Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP)
26th February 2008
The Ceasefire Agreement was signed six years ago by the then Sri Lankan
Prime Minister, without consultation of the elected Executive President
or even the Cabinet. Though he could claim a mandate for initiating
negotiations, following the victory of his party in the 2001
Parliamentary Election, the failure to consult adequately can be seen as
one reason for a structurally flawed do***ent that contributed
substantially and visibly to the erosion of the sovereignty of Sri
Lanka. It negated the Constitutional foundations that underlie the State
of Sri Lanka. It undermined the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka in
that it granted what seemed virtual immunity to a non -State actor, i.e.
the LTTE, from being subject to offensive operations by the armed forces
when performing their legitimate task of safeguarding the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. It also privileged one party in
an apparent demarcation of certain areas as LTTE held, thus preventing
the Armed Forces and Sinhalese civilians from entering such areas while
LTTE cadres were given free access to every part of the country. Though
the Preamble to the CFA states that the "overall objective" of the GOSL
and the LTTE "is to find a negotiated solution to the ongoing ethnic
conflict in Sri Lanka", it was never seriously pursued because the LTTE
was not interested in a negotiated settlement, and withdrew from
negotiations just over a year after the CFA was signed.
The CFA limited discussions to being between the GOSL and the LTTE, and
thus denied op****tunity to include others from the Tamil community. In
retrospect the CFA became a dead letter; an instrument to negotiate a
solution with an uninterested party who wanted to exclude any others who
might be serious about a negotiated solution. In abrogating the CFA a
path is now cleared to negotiate a solution with a more representative
Tamil delegation, in consultation also with other minorities, as well as
other political interest groups.
The CFA was honoured in the breach by the LTTE, which in the considered
judgment of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (initially composed of
representatives from five Nordic countries) violated the CFA 3830 times
vis -a- vis Govt. violations that amounted to 351. The Ceasefire was
never an impediment for the LTTE to engage in acts of terrorism against
civilian and military targets. The CFA provided a veil for the LTTE to
indulge in a game of hypocrisy and to prepare for war under an effective
cover of searching for peace. It was able to strengthen its military
potential manifold during the CFA. The LTTE took advantage of the
Government adhering to the letter of the CFA and ceasing all operations
whether offensive or defensive against the LTTE :
a) to murder dozens of unarmed and defenseless Tamils who were
opposed to the LTTE and were disarmed in terms of the CFA,
b) to murder Tamil informants,
c) to attack the Police Stations at Point Pedro and Valachchenai
and the STF Base at Kanchanankudah soon after the commencement of the CFA,
d) to sink merchant vessels,
e) to detain two SLMM Monitors against their will on board a LTTE
vessel on 14 July 2002, upon detection of communication equipment, when
they got on board a trawler which appeared on the territorial waters of
Palk Bay,
f) to destroy a LTTE ****p on detection by the SLMM of smuggled
arms, which resulted in two SLMM monitors ( who discovered the hidden
explosives ) nearly losing their lives. They had to jump overboard to
save themselves when the LTTE set fire to the explosive laden ****p on
detection It was originally intercepted by the SL Navy near the Delft
Islands on February 10, 2003,
g) to attack the Chinese Trawler "Fu Yuan Ya 225" on March 20th 2003,
h) to murder the Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on 12 August
2005,
i) to regroup, rearm and launch massive attacks on Government
forces in 2006. The LTTE itself called these attacks "Unceasing Waves -
Eelam War 4",
j) the killing of nine SLN personnel in Chettikulam on 12 January
2006, which prompted the SLMM shortly after the election of a new
government to question the actual existence of the Ceasefire Agreement
in the SLMM Press Release issued on 13 January 2006 ( The headline of
the Press Release was ' SLMM questions whether there is still a
Ceasefire")
k) to attempt to murder the Sri Lanka Army Commander General Sarath
Fonseka on 25 April 2006
to withdrew security guarantees given to the SLMM and the ICRC with
regard to sea monitoring and forcing the SLMM to suspend sea monitoring
on 11 May 2006, following the attack on the ****p 'The Jetliner'
l) to attack a bus load of innocent civilians by detonating a
claymore mine killing 60 civilians at Kebitigollewa on the 15 June 2006,
m) to deprive thousands of civilians living down stream of the
Mavil Aru Anicut of water on 22 July 2006,
n) to attack, in the guise of civilians in a bus, the forces at the
checkpoint on the A9 leading northward into the Jaffna peninsula, and
launch thereby on August 11 2006 a ferocious attack which involved its
so-called head of the Political Wing, Mr Thamilchelvam, on the army
lines there, thus precipitating the closure of the road at that point
o) to murder the Deputy Secretary - General of the Peace
Secretariat, Ketish Loganathan on 12 August 2006,
p) to force the SLMM monitors from Denmark, Finland and Sweden to
withdraw by refusing to give them assurances of protection and
effectively truncating the Mission in September 2006,
q) to murder 98 sailors of the Navy by cra****ng an explosives-laden
vehicle into a naval convoy at Digampatana in the Habarana area of
Matale district on 16 October 2006,
r) to attempt to murder the Sri Lanka Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapakse on 1 December 2006
s) to engage in acts of piracy and loot ****ps e.g. Jordanian
Merchant Vessel MV FARAH III, in December 2006,
t) to attempt to murder an elected Tamil Member of Parliament and
Minister, Douglas Devananda, on 28 November 2007,
v) to refuse from 2006 onward to provide guarantees to the ICRC to
enable them to facilitate the smooth ****pping of supplies to Jaffna, or
sea trans****t of civilians to and from Jaffna, all of which has now to
be accompanied by naval sup****t to ensure safety and security
w) to expand the territory over which they exercised usurped power
by occupying Manirasakulam and fortifying Sampur to smuggle about eleven
****ploads of arms into the country
x) to refrain for several months from giving the required
guarantees to enable the A9 to be opened northward into the territories
under their control, in order to claim falsely that supplies were
restricted, even though throughout this period the government of Sri
Lanka was ensuring supplies whilst continuing to fund education and
health and other social services for all its citizens including those in
LTTE controlled areas
y) to continue to recruit children forcibly into their armed
forces from 2002 to 2007 inclusive
z) to prevent the holding of local government elections in the East
when initially planned by the Minister of Constitutional Affairs
aa) to force the resignation of an elected Member of Parliament
from the Eastern Province Mr Kingsley Rajanayagam, on the grounds that
he sup****ted the breakaway Karuna faction, and subsequently to
assassinate him on October 19, 2004 at Kalliyankadu, Batticaloa
bb) to build up an airstrip, having prevented the SLMM from
inspecting this in accordance with their monitoring requirements
cc) to claim on the strength of the CFA that they should not be
prosecuted for collecting and using finances internationally for
terrorist purposes
dd) to forcibly recruit one person from every family in the area
under their control in 2007, extending this even to the families of
those working with international aid agencies
Despite these grave provocations, and continuing suffering for the Tamil
people in LTTE controlled areas, the Government Forces stuck to the
ceasefire and took limited remedial measures only after the attack on
the Army Commander in April 2006. After the full scale assaults by the
LTTE on two fronts in August 2006, the Sri Lankan forces decided in the
interest of national security to ensure that such offensives could not
be repeated. It was only then that the operation to clear the East
conclusively began.
SLMM Rulings - Select Excerpts: 1)
1. The Assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on 12
August 2005
"SLMM strongly condemns the brutal assassination of Foreign Minister
Lakshman Kadirgamar. The barbaric act is a huge blow to the peace
process as a whole. Such brutal violence creates, fear, distrust and
insecurity within society, and therefore represents a serious threat to
the ceasefire". 2)
2. Violation of the CFA with LTTE sea movements and attacks on the Sri
Lankan Navy - 11 May 2006
"The SLMM takes these threats very seriously and would like to remind
the LTTE of its responsibility as an equal partner to the Ceasefire
Agreement to do everything in its power not to jeopardize the monitors'
safety". 3)
3. LTTE claymore mine attack on a civilian bus near Kebitigollewa-15
June 2006
' This is not only the bloodiest attack on civilians since the Ceasefire
Agreement was signed in February 2002, but yet another set back in the
peace process in Sri Lanka". 4)
4 Closure of the Mavil Aru anicut -22 July 2006 "The findings made by
and provided to the SLMM show that the measures taken by the LTTE to
close the Mavil Aru sluice gates on 22 July 2006, whether with or
without the help of or on behalf of the people of the Verugal area, as
well as the continuation of keeping the gates closed, have led to
the creation of a humanitarian crisis in the area surrounding and being
dependant on the Mavil Aru dam, and thereby
the creation of a situation conducive to direct conflict between the two
Parties.
Putting the civilian population in severe physical danger as the
possibility of them being caught in crossfire greatly increased with the
escalating tension and violence, as well as
Constraining the possibilities of rational discussions and negotiations
towards a solution to the conflict. "
5. Assassination of Deputy Secretary General, Kethesh Loganathan on the
12th August 2006
"There are no words strong enough to condemn this vicious and cold
blooded murder of yet another statesman living for peace." 5)
6. Attack on the Jordanian ****p Farah III on 28 December 2006
"SLMM strongly advised the LTTE to respect International Law and the
sovereign rights of Sri Lanka in the territorial waters surrounding the
island.....with regards to the Jordanian ****p FARAH III, the LTTE acted
contradictory to its commitment to the CFA".
Norwegian Minister of International Development Erik Solheim says:
LTTE's request for the removal of Monitors from the EU countries-
September 2006
"The LTTE's demand that SLMM monitors from EU countries be replaced is
deeply regrettable and will weaken the SLMM in a critical period," says
Norwegian Minister of International Development Erik Solheim ( key
facilitator of the peace process)
Other verdicts of the SLMM will continue to be available through their
website, which will be linked to that of the Royal Norwegian Embassy
website in Colombo.
Comment
The annulment of an ill-conceived and unsustainable 'agreement' does not
in any way fetter the Government of Sri Lanka from seeking a long
lasting solution that addresses the genuine grievances of all sections
of the people, and in particular the Tamil community in the North and
East of this country. The Government has already begun the recruitment
of Tamil policemen, on a targeted programme never attempted by previous
Governments. Though entry was always open to security forces for all Sri
Lankan citizens, minorities were not actively recruited, and in recent
years Tamils, facing the threat of execution as traitors by the LTTE,
were slow to apply. This has changed, following the liberation of the
East from the LTTE, and recently 175 police men and women passed out at
a ceremonial parade in Batticaloa.
The Government is now secure in the knowledge that there is a broader
space available to interact with all sections of the Tamil community,
including elements of the Tamil dias****a, most of which sections were
left out of a participatory role due to the highly restrictive and
limiting scope of the Ceasefire Agreement. In annulling the CFA the
Government affirms its commitment to all its citizens in the democratic
dispensation that it is now free to promulgate.
--
For genuine Situation Re****t visit:
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk
http://www.defence.lk/
http://www.army.lk/index1.php
http://www.nmatnet.com/
http://www.sinhalaya.info/index-EN.php
Worth to look following to see how brutal Tamil Tiger Terrorists are
Child Soldiers of LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists in Sri Lanka
http://www.spur.asn.au/childwar.htm
Ethnic Cleansing in Sri Lanka
http://www.spur.asn.au/ethnic_cleansing_in_sri_lanka.htm
LTTE TAMIL TIGER ATROCITIES
http://www.spur.asn.au/ltteatrp.htm
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