A Generation of Lost Opportunities

The last few days of this week have been a rather eventful week. Not only did we see Pakistan finally take on the Taliban in its own backyard (there is still a lot of skepticism about how committed is the Pakistani leadership); but also saw the end to the 26 year long civil war in Sri Lanka. The former is still too early to comment on; but the latter is history. So I'm going to speak about what I think about this decades long conflict that has torn apart the island nation.

The speed with which the LTTE had seen significant reversals in its fortunes in the last couple of years was something that took most people by surprise. After all, unlike the Afghan Mujahideen, the Tamil Tigers were a proper functioning hierarchial organization. But the speed with which the LTTE met its demise was rather unexpected. But looking at how the Sri Lankan army carried out the campaign, it really is a no-brainer. With China (and Russia) arming the Sri Lankan armed forces and blocking any international intervention; the Sri Lankan army took on the LTTE with all its might and overlooking any collateral damage in this conflict. The international (and presumably, domestic) press and aid workers were (quite literally) sent packing out of the conflict zones. I don't believe casualties have every been so high in the entire 26-year conflict as it has been in the last few months. India, of course, was not ready to directly intervene; and with economic woes on top of the Indian Tamil's mind during election time, the Sri Lankan conflict was simply not worth all that. In all, Sri Lanka made a bold decision by finishing the rebel forces in such ferocity. And the gamble paid off.

However, placing this victory squarely on the shoulders of Sri Lanka's military and its political timing would be unfair. The LTTE had this coming there way. If you look at the history of the LTTE, it rose like many other similar factions fighting for the rights of the Tamil minorities in the island nation. With support from Indian Tamils (and the Indian govt.), these rebels appeared to have made an impact. The arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was something that should be taken in with good faith, primarily because it tried to preserve the Sri Lankan state, while disarming the armed movement with the hope of entry into the political mainstream of Sri Lanka.

LTTE's chief - Prabhakaran, however, did not see it this way. Refusing to disarm, they ended up fighting the IPKF troops first, while systematically eliminating all sibling armed movements. They say, no one questioned Prabhakaran's loyalty to the goal of a Eelam (Tamil homeland). But I think that is less to do with the fact that he was so committed, and more to do with the fact that he was ruthless enough to assassinate anyone who did not agree with his ways. Any voice of dissent was ruthlessly crushed, making the LTTE administered areas to be more like a police state. If he had even the slightest of common sense, he should have understood that assassinations does not solve socio-political problems. Despite repeated breakouts of fighting with the Sri Lankan armed forces, for 26 years, the LTTE managed to keep significant tracts of territory under their control. Yet, they never worked towards setting up institutions that might have helped give meaning and show real fruits of their struggle. By forcing young children to enlist into their 'army'; they essentially began to alienate themselves from the very people for whom they began the cause. As much as the Sri Lankan Tamils might lament the loss of the LTTE, they must be also happy that the misery of conflict due to the Tamil Tigers is now over.

Prabhakaran had ample opportunities to resolve the conflict. Acceptance of a federal structure for the Sri Lankan state would have devolved sufficient powers into the hands of the ethnic Tamil minorities. By prolonging the conflict with no plan for a clear solution in sight and assassination attempts of both rivals and even civilian critics, the LTTE was, at the end of it, a much despised group.

The result is now far worse than it began with. An entire generation of Tamils have seen nothing but war and bloodshed all their life. The scars of such a long bloody conflict will last atleast another generation. In all these decades, the Sri Lankan Tamils had a bargaining chip -- the threat of secession. Now, they have nothing.

For now, Sri Lanka will have to answer some tough questions regarding the high collateral damage that the civilian population suffered to the international community and its own population. But time will be the best judge of these events when history answers whether the outcome of all this was even remotely worth the lives lost. The only hope (after such a bitter conflict) for those looking for a meaningful end to all this is that the Sri Lankan government will indeed grant and protect the rights of the Tamil minority; having emerged wiser about its past policies towards them.

Until then, an entire generation will remain lost, devoid of all the opportunities it had.