The news out of Sri Lanka is more than bleak. It seems nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to stop the Sri Lankan government in its onslaught on the Tamil Tigers. Such reports as there are out of Sri Lanka speak of only of devastation and death.
The FT editorialises in a sobre and profound way:
"The UN should threaten both sides with prosecution for war crimes. Council members led by China – whose no-questions-asked funnelling of arms to the Sri Lankan government helped tip the balance in this 25-year old conflict – insist it is an internal matter posing no threat to regional or international stability. That is short-sighted sophistry.
To begin with, China’s sudden eruption on this island in the Indian Ocean is part of its competition for regional influence with India.
Just as important, the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa rode to power on a wave of Sinhalese chauvinism, now fanned by the ugly triumphalism with which Colombo is contemplating the final liquidation of the Tigers. No one should mourn the passing of the ruthless and sanguinary LTTE. But the Tamil cause will reignite from the embers of this war unless the Sinhala majority shows magnanimity and gives the Tamils control of their own lives.
Mr Rajapaksa has only defeated the resourceful LTTE’s conventional capability. Until Iraq, the Tigers were the world’s most prolific suicide bombers. They will regroup – and expand offshore – with a vengeance that will match the government’s vengefulness."
The FT editorialises in a sobre and profound way:
"The UN should threaten both sides with prosecution for war crimes. Council members led by China – whose no-questions-asked funnelling of arms to the Sri Lankan government helped tip the balance in this 25-year old conflict – insist it is an internal matter posing no threat to regional or international stability. That is short-sighted sophistry.
To begin with, China’s sudden eruption on this island in the Indian Ocean is part of its competition for regional influence with India.
Just as important, the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa rode to power on a wave of Sinhalese chauvinism, now fanned by the ugly triumphalism with which Colombo is contemplating the final liquidation of the Tigers. No one should mourn the passing of the ruthless and sanguinary LTTE. But the Tamil cause will reignite from the embers of this war unless the Sinhala majority shows magnanimity and gives the Tamils control of their own lives.
Mr Rajapaksa has only defeated the resourceful LTTE’s conventional capability. Until Iraq, the Tigers were the world’s most prolific suicide bombers. They will regroup – and expand offshore – with a vengeance that will match the government’s vengefulness."
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