AS the Sri Lankan Defence Forces close in on the terrorists' main hideouts in Killinochchi, the obvious is likely to happen. The LTTE will corral as many tamil civillians as possible into the area and attempt to hide behind a human shield, thereby promising a virtual blood bath if the Army moves in closer.
As that situation grows likely, the LTTE's supporters in many countries and NGOs can be expected to canvass foreign government pressure to halt the military offensives ostensibly for 'humanitarian reasons'. If and when that situation develops, there will likely be others who'd forcefully espouse R2P, or 'Right to Protect' as a means of stopping the LTTE from annihilation.
Given the likelihood of such 11th hour strategies being succesfully resorted to by those who have in the past conspired against Sri Lanka, the SL Govt would do well to campaign for an understanding of how such a situation is to be handled. This is where specialized training and help from powerful friends would becomes imperative.
Sri Lanka needs to work harder at improving relationships with nations such as the US who can be a decisive factor in dealing with a situation as the one envisaged above. How or in what form US aid would assist Sri Lanka in such a situation needs to be evaluated by the Sri Lankan strategists and discussed and agreed upon with American decision makers.
There's nothing quite like powerful friends and Sri Lanka needs to make a determined effort to cultivate such friends since we are more than likely to need them before very long.
As that situation grows likely, the LTTE's supporters in many countries and NGOs can be expected to canvass foreign government pressure to halt the military offensives ostensibly for 'humanitarian reasons'. If and when that situation develops, there will likely be others who'd forcefully espouse R2P, or 'Right to Protect' as a means of stopping the LTTE from annihilation.
Given the likelihood of such 11th hour strategies being succesfully resorted to by those who have in the past conspired against Sri Lanka, the SL Govt would do well to campaign for an understanding of how such a situation is to be handled. This is where specialized training and help from powerful friends would becomes imperative.
Sri Lanka needs to work harder at improving relationships with nations such as the US who can be a decisive factor in dealing with a situation as the one envisaged above. How or in what form US aid would assist Sri Lanka in such a situation needs to be evaluated by the Sri Lankan strategists and discussed and agreed upon with American decision makers.
There's nothing quite like powerful friends and Sri Lanka needs to make a determined effort to cultivate such friends since we are more than likely to need them before very long.
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"according to the LTTE, army offensives since mid-2006 are causing a grave humanitarian crisis, having displaced more than 100,000 people in the Wanni region. ‘’Many of the displaced are forced to live in the open space,'' according to a statement posted on the website of the LTTE’s ‘peace secretariat.’ ..
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43169
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