LTTE FOOLED IN GENEVA

“Before the talks, Anton Balasingham was known to have told many members of the Tamil media that the Sri Lanka delegation would receive their biggest "orientation" course from him in Geneva. As the talks ended, it seems it is Mr. Balasingham and his fellow delegates who have now received a fuller "orientation" course from the Sri Lankan side.” (from Col. Karuna’s website - http://tamilalai.org)

How interesting that after bamboozling the CFA for three years the LTTE is now showing considerable determination to hold the GOSL to conform to what they failed to live by. Thamilselvan claims that they have been duped by the GOSL, yes indeed they were. The euphoria over their triumph in Geneva is short lived. I suppose Balasingham, the self-proclaimed only English speaker for the LTTE at the talks has plenty to explaining to do to the LTTE, how and why the legal aspects were overlooked. Can we call him Calamity Bala?

I predicted a few hours ago that there is an entrapment awaiting the LTTE and it is revealing as I write this.

Just because there was an agreement of such magnitude, it does not necessarily become legitimate. The fact is, as things stand the CFA itself is invalid until President Rajapakse signs a new truce with the LTTE. Will he? Even the existing 2002 CFA is illegal since it was signed only by PM Wickremasinghe and not by the then President Kumaratunga. Such procedure is common to all countries and it is very strange that why the LTTE was not aware of it. To me it exposes their utter disdain to law and order, and how incoherent they are generally running things within a legal framework.

It further strengthen the long standing view that LTTE is a bunch of rag tag insurgents lacking the scholarly attributes to engage in a cultured manner that any modern civil society would function. Understanding civil order is key to successfully govern people, to adhere to law and order, and meet the UN Charter of Rights. For several decades we have witnessed their contempt for life and civic rights of all people under their rein. To slip up as they did in Geneva speaks volumes about their incapacity as a dependable group. Nevertheless Sri Lanka is stuck with them until we find a lasting solution.

We would imagine that they had marched into Geneva with the best legal minds the Tamil Eelam could muster and expected to slice GOSL arguments like a hot knife going through butter. But little they knew that the CFA they signed 2002 has no legitimacy and they were brazen enough not to consult a Tamil constitutional expert to read the fine print if there were any. To assume that just because there were foreign witnesses to the agreement in 2002 it was automatically endorsed by the international community. Sri Lankan law supersedes all in this case. Pulithevan, the head of the LTTE Peace Secretariat, believed that all is hunky-dory just because a joint statement was issued regarding the contents of the agreement, it does not make it valid until the head of state signs it. That is how constitutional matters work. Boy, this is fun!

My question to LTTE is if the CFA is such a valid and binding accord, then why did they fail to live by it for three years? And how come their saviours, the SLMM, recorded 5500 odd LTTE violations?

To claim that that they were only talking about implementing the CFA and there was no discussion about amendment or redraft or a review of CFA shows how naïve they are. The fact is LTTE prevented doing exactly that by threatening to walk away if the amendments to the CFA was raised.

It appears that the GOSL is too smart for LTTE shenanigans, they were right to point out that the understanding reached in Geneva does not give credibility to the original agreement (CFA) though the LTTE wishes now, but this purports to explains vagueness and reservations created by the original agreement.

Furthermore, the GOSL’s position is that simply agreeing to disarm the paramilitaries was “nothing but to obey the law of the country and it is already mentioned in the original CFA. There is nothing new offered to the LTTE to get so thrilled about.

What is obvious is that the LTTE came to the Geneva talk with less expectation and felt that they bargained hard enough to go home happy to tell the good news to the LTTE supremo. Knowing how explosive the supremo can be I wonder what awaits the delegation in Killinochchi? Anyone for political asylum?