A fairly decent write up here from Expressbuzz.com;
"...Vast improvement in terms of armaments, tactics, territorial control and popular support among Sri Lankan Tamils over the past twenty years, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are in deep trouble today. It is not that they are about to lose their political headquarters, Kilinochchi. In the past, they had lost and regained it. The critical difference between the past and the present is that, for the first time, the Tigers have no influential domestic or foreign political force to pull them out of the woods. Following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, support in Tamil Nadu and India has thinned, and post 9/11, the West has been looking at militancy in an unfavourable light.
On the domestic front, the majority Sinhalese community has closed ranks behind the hawkish regime of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. On the battlefront, the LTTE is facing an enemy who is no longer hidebound, reticent and inconsistent.
The government’s earlier piecemeal approach has given way to an integrated politicomilitary campaign based on a long-term, grand design. The armed forces now use small, highly mobile, deep penetration teams, which are but replicas of the LTTE’s dreaded sabotage and assassination squads. The use of unconventional jungle paths has sprung surprises on Tiger defenders. To thin and wear out the enemy, the armed forces have kept a 200-kilometre coast-tocoast front constantly active, conducting offensives and probing missions, as jet bombers and helicopter gunships pound identified targets over a wide swathe of land. However, it will be a grave error to think that the LTTE is on the verge of annihilation.
It is only now, after nearly a year and a half of heavy and constant fighting, that the army is encountering the Tigers’well laid out defence lines, its guns and its best fighting units. Despite claims to the contrary, progress has been slow and painful, of late. The greatest asset that the LTTE has is the local population. For this, Colombo is to blame. Had the police not abducted, detained and forcibly repatriated North Eastern Tamils over the last two years, the trapped war zone Tamils would have come over to the government-held areas. If Colombo had implemented the constitutional provisions for devolution, and if persons in authority had not declared that Sri Lanka belonged to the Sinhalese only, the average Tamil would not be ‘sullen’, as India’s National Security Advisor M K Narayanan put it. Conditions in post-war Iraq and Afghanistan show that if underlying political issues are not addressed, success in wars may not mean the end of violent conflict..."
This article certainly raises some interesting thoughts and leads to the need for a political doctrine on how seriously we view national soveriegnty and our security into the future.
This one WILL necessarily have to be the final conflict. It will need to establish precedents, expectations and modes of operation. It will need to hardwire the Sinhala polity into understanding that all forms of militancy need to be stamped out, and without mercy or concern for outside opinion. For the individual it must carry a simple and blunt message; Sri Lanka will always remain a single, unified nation and its problems need to be resoved through negotiation and within a democratic framework.
No one seriously doubts there could be further attempts to fuel unrest or even outright militancy after the LTTE is snuffed out. No one should also be allowed to have any serious doubt regarding the resolution of not only the present government, but also any in the future to stamp it out with determination and conviction. This is why the present precedents need to be turned into national security policy.
There could be another short rebellion or two, which will add impetus to the ongoing social modification and fertilizer to the soil from the fresh corpses. In the end, a change of generations will erase all memories and create a new environment and a set of ground rules for a unified nation.
"...Vast improvement in terms of armaments, tactics, territorial control and popular support among Sri Lankan Tamils over the past twenty years, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are in deep trouble today. It is not that they are about to lose their political headquarters, Kilinochchi. In the past, they had lost and regained it. The critical difference between the past and the present is that, for the first time, the Tigers have no influential domestic or foreign political force to pull them out of the woods. Following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, support in Tamil Nadu and India has thinned, and post 9/11, the West has been looking at militancy in an unfavourable light.
On the domestic front, the majority Sinhalese community has closed ranks behind the hawkish regime of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. On the battlefront, the LTTE is facing an enemy who is no longer hidebound, reticent and inconsistent.
The government’s earlier piecemeal approach has given way to an integrated politicomilitary campaign based on a long-term, grand design. The armed forces now use small, highly mobile, deep penetration teams, which are but replicas of the LTTE’s dreaded sabotage and assassination squads. The use of unconventional jungle paths has sprung surprises on Tiger defenders. To thin and wear out the enemy, the armed forces have kept a 200-kilometre coast-tocoast front constantly active, conducting offensives and probing missions, as jet bombers and helicopter gunships pound identified targets over a wide swathe of land. However, it will be a grave error to think that the LTTE is on the verge of annihilation.
It is only now, after nearly a year and a half of heavy and constant fighting, that the army is encountering the Tigers’well laid out defence lines, its guns and its best fighting units. Despite claims to the contrary, progress has been slow and painful, of late. The greatest asset that the LTTE has is the local population. For this, Colombo is to blame. Had the police not abducted, detained and forcibly repatriated North Eastern Tamils over the last two years, the trapped war zone Tamils would have come over to the government-held areas. If Colombo had implemented the constitutional provisions for devolution, and if persons in authority had not declared that Sri Lanka belonged to the Sinhalese only, the average Tamil would not be ‘sullen’, as India’s National Security Advisor M K Narayanan put it. Conditions in post-war Iraq and Afghanistan show that if underlying political issues are not addressed, success in wars may not mean the end of violent conflict..."
This article certainly raises some interesting thoughts and leads to the need for a political doctrine on how seriously we view national soveriegnty and our security into the future.
This one WILL necessarily have to be the final conflict. It will need to establish precedents, expectations and modes of operation. It will need to hardwire the Sinhala polity into understanding that all forms of militancy need to be stamped out, and without mercy or concern for outside opinion. For the individual it must carry a simple and blunt message; Sri Lanka will always remain a single, unified nation and its problems need to be resoved through negotiation and within a democratic framework.
No one seriously doubts there could be further attempts to fuel unrest or even outright militancy after the LTTE is snuffed out. No one should also be allowed to have any serious doubt regarding the resolution of not only the present government, but also any in the future to stamp it out with determination and conviction. This is why the present precedents need to be turned into national security policy.
There could be another short rebellion or two, which will add impetus to the ongoing social modification and fertilizer to the soil from the fresh corpses. In the end, a change of generations will erase all memories and create a new environment and a set of ground rules for a unified nation.
3 comments:
How to build "One Sri Lanka" when the mind-set of the majority of the "majority" believes that Sri Lanka belongs to The "Sinhalese" only.
The present conflict came into the open with "Sinhala Only".
It took time to make it "Tamil also" and finally now "on paper" back to square one.
No one seem to be coming out with the true reason for all the losses of everyone and that of the country as a whole. In my humble opinion it is "corruption" in different forms.
So to re-create One Sri Lanka the first step to be taken is, in my humble opinion, to eradicate "corruption". Once corruption is eradicated, nearly 80% of the problems of the country would have evaporated into thin air. With "corruption" out of the way, the balance 20% can be sorted out without much difficulty.
To eradicate "corruption", the powers at the centre of power "parliament" must be separated and small groups of peoples representatives must be empowered to administer these separated powers. These small groups must be from village level unto national level. Powers and functions MUST NOT overlap. One group shall not be permitted to interfere with the powers and functions of another group.
How to build "One Sri Lanka" when the mind-set of the majority of the "majority" believes that Sri Lanka belongs to The "Sinhalese" only.
The present conflict came into the open with "Sinhala Only".
It took time to make it "Tamil also" and finally now "on paper" back to square one.
No one seem to be coming out with the true reason for all the losses of everyone and that of the country as a whole. In my humble opinion it is "corruption" in different forms.
So to re-create One Sri Lanka the first step to be taken is, in my humble opinion, to eradicate "corruption". Once corruption is eradicated, nearly 80% of the problems of the country would have evaporated into thin air. With "corruption" out of the way, the balance 20% can be sorted out without much difficulty.
To eradicate "corruption", the powers at the centre of power "parliament" must be separated and small groups of peoples representatives must be empowered to administer these separated powers. These small groups must be from village level unto national level. Powers and functions MUST NOT overlap. One group shall not be permitted to interfere with the powers and functions of another group.
These are part one of the full details - the system of governance already pointed out in this blog.
How the system works is part two. You can request for it for further details.
Sie.Kathieravealu
Respected Sir,
Please accept my Salutations, Greetings and best wishes for the dawn of a bright future to everyone.
In my humble opinion, Peace is neither elusive nor evading us, but on the contrary we are evading Peace by not viewing the problems sincerely in the correct perspective and with the correct attitude that will automatically take us on the correct track to reach Peace.
Please consider the view, attitude and the track pointed out in the extract given below – not thought earlier by any of us as being available – for its ability to lead us on to the correct track to peace. I am sure we will be able to meet peace in double-quick time since no sooner we get on the correct track towards Peace; Peace too would automatically start traveling towards us on this track.
* * * * * * *
Sharing Power is essential
for Peace and Democracy in our Country
It is not the impossible which gives cause for despair
but the failure to achieve the possible
The conflict arose, in my humble opinion, due to the turmoil in the country. This conflict is often portrayed as a bi-polar conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority by-passing the substantial minorities like the Muslims and Upcountry Tamils. This sad state of affairs has to be changed. All efforts must be taken to change the mindset of ‘dividing’ the people as “majorities” and “minorities” not by words but by deeds. It is a well-known fact that these “majorities” and “minorities” are living together in many parts of the country as kith and kin, helping each other in times of need. So it is the duty of all rationale minded people of this country to converge this idea to integrate the nation if we are to end the turmoil in this country and forge ahead as a nation.
Everyone agrees that power should be shared as a means to end the present national crisis. But the stumbling block is in the way the power has to be shared. The various suggestions proposed centre on a system with a central government and other governments under it, with the central government holding wide powers.
But the need of the day is a system of governance that will truly portray the sprit of democracy, while preserving the sovereignty and dignity of the people. These people should be empowered at gramasevaka area level so that even a small area will be able to project its needs without going through others. It is to this extent that we should go, if sustainable peace, solidarity and development with a pleasant living to all inhabitants, is our goal.
Therefore, a suitable system of democratic governance that would be acceptable to all rationale minded people (or one that cannot be rejected by these rationale minded people), must replace the present system of governance.
“My notion of democracy is that under it, the weakest should have the same opportunity as the strongest” so said Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela for his part said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others”
Keeping the above views in mind, a democratic system of governance that is rationale and based on equality of all has been developed on the basis that all powers flow from the sovereignty of the people. The peculiar concept in this system is an unprecedented mode of sharing power –horizontal and not vertical – developed in the true sprit of democracy. This system would unite all the divided communities and resurrect the “Paradise Isle” that existed some time back.
* * * * * * * *
In the present system the people cannot elect their own representatives but have the option of electing one set of party representatives who are empowered by the party to participate in the governance of the country. But in the proposed system the people have the option to elect and empower different sets of their own representatives based on different extent of areas (villages and villages grouped) to perform defined, distinct and different functions of the same parliament through different segments of that parliament like the different organs of our body – brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, eyes, nose, ears etc – performing different functions and helping us to govern ourselves. To be more explicit the concept is as follows:
1. Segment A – a group to enact laws for – good governance, defining policies, collection of revenue and other connected affairs – with the concurrence of all the groups in Segment C, but excluding implementation of any policy (at National level and consisting of 10 members elected from each district area, 100 members elected nationally on trade basis and 50 members elected nationally on ideological basis).
2. Segment B – a group to coordinate the activities of all the groups in Segment C, manage the country fiscally including collection and disbursement of revenue, foreign affairs, national planning in consultation and with the concurrence of the concerned groups in Segment F and the like and complying with all policies laid down by Segment A and implementing its proposals through concerned groups in Segment D by directly providing them with the necessary funds (at National level and consisting of not more than15 members elected from each regional area).
3. Segment C – Groups to administer different regions of the country based on the laws enacted and policies laid down by Segment A with the concurrence of all the groups, maintain law and order, approve project proposals submitted by concerned groups in Segment E and to obtain the necessary funds for expenditure from Segment B and allocate same to concerned groups in Segment D for implementation (at Regional area level and consisting of 04 members elected from each divisional area within that regional area).
4. Segment D – Groups to implement all project proposals approved by Segment B or by concerned group in Segment C and with funds provided by them – Segment B & C (at District area level and consisting of 03 members elected from each sub-divisional area within that district area).
5. Segment E – Groups to coordinate and confirm project proposals submitted by concerned groups in Segment F and forward them for approval to concerned group in Segment C (at Sub-divisional area level and consisting of 03 members elected from each gramasevaka area within that sub-divisional area).
6. Segment F – Groups to prepare project proposals for their area and approving concerned proposals submitted by Segment B and submit all proposals to concerned Segment E for confirmation and overseeing all the proposals that are implemented by concerned Segment D (at gramasevaka level and consisting of 05 members elected from within that gramasevaka area).
7. Segment G – Groups to monitor the functions of all the Segments for transparency, accountability, and take necessary action to curtail irregularities with an eye on the elimination of bribery and corruption (at Divisional level and consisting of 02 members elected from each gramasevaka area within that divisional area)
In these proposals, gramasevaka (G.S.) area is the smallest unit and these gramasevaka (G.S.) areas are grouped to form sub-divisions, sub-divisions are grouped to form divisions, divisions are grouped to form districts, districts are grouped to form regions and the regions grouped to form the country.
There would be only one institution – the Parliament with seven different segments with different functions that do not overlap –to satisfactorily govern the entire country. Presently we have the presidential secretariat, cenk
Due to the fratricidal violence that we are now embroiled in, it is far too easy to lose sight of these matters, so much to rob us of the very ideas that can be our salvation.
For further details and clarifications of this unprecedented concept for good governance, please contact: endingturmoil@yahoo.co.uk or sie.kathieravelu@gmail.co.uk
* * * * * * * *
If your good self is of opinion that this system merits consideration, please be good enough to render moral assistance by promoting the idea through the internet, print and electronic media and create awareness among all stake-holders that there is an easy way to solve the national crisis – by sharing power in a way that will satisfy the aspirations of all the people.
In promoting and discussing these ideas, it is my humble opinion that we make use of the email in addition to the print and electronic media as it would save money, time, and the environment and reduce the workload of the postal department.
Thanking your good self in advance in anticipation of an early response,
Yours in Service,
Sie.Kathieravealu
IF THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do.
What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the Grace of God, I will do.
– Edward Everett Hale (1822 – 1909)
NB: The above proposal was published in the “Sunday Island” of 8th June 2008
Men are judged by what they do, not by what they believe or by what is written in their scripture
Please read the suggestions with an OPEN MIND as real patriots of Sri Lanka and send your comments and clarifications. I am a peace activist and a patriot with a passion for development of the country. Terrorisms of any kind have no place in Society.
Sie.Kathieravealu
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