DIPLOMACY IS BETTER THAN WAR!!!!

International pressure stopped army’s march into no fire zone
– Hakeem..........................................by Zacki Jabbar

Commends government’s approach


The army has not entered the no fire zone in Mullaitivu, due to international pressure, SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem said yesterday. He said at a news conference that the obvious interpretation of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s comment to a foreign news agency that the "army was not in a hurry to enter the no fire zone", was due to the government being pressurized by the international community not to proceed any further, since it could cause a lot of civilian casualties.

However, Hakeem commended the government for its approach, because it would result in a descalation of the war. "Diplomacy is the only way out of the critical situation the country is faced with. Maximum restraint is the need of the hour."

He, observed that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s words were most welcome, at a time when people like the Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka, were alienating the minorities with their utterances.

Asked, if he agrees with the governments, contention that the war was over, Hakeem said that credit has to be given for military victories over the LTTE, but it has to deliver on the political front as well. "President Mahinda Rajapaksa should take concrete measures to bring about a political solution, pious pronouncements alone will not suffice."

The Pillaiyan and Karuna groups, he maintained were still armed to the teeth, although they claim to have given their weapons to the government "A symbolic hand over of 67 weapons is meaningless, because Pillaiyan says he has 2,000 cadres. Any surrender of arms, should be monitored by an independent international body."

Hakeem, said that Karuna’s claim of not having any guns cannot be believed, because he had earlier claimed to be in possession of 47,000 weapons. "His guns have purportedly vanished after being appointed the SLFP organizer for Batticaloa. We are now faced with a dangerous situation, where the SLFP is being openly backed by an armed Tamil group."


www island.lk