Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has pointed out a matter that should be noted by the Tamils, particularly by the Tamils in the North and the East. When Ranil had been the prime minister the government led by him held several rounds of talks to find a solution to the Tamil issue with Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Ealam (LTTE) who had been the representative of the Tamil groups at that time.
Impotance of Oslo Accord
The Oslo Declaration is deemed as a very important one through which a consensus was reached during that time. The much talked over pact was agreed upon after a four-day-long discussion held in the SAS Plaza Hotel in Oslo from 2 to 5 December 2002.
The well-known pact stated that according to a suggestion put forward by the LTTE leadership, both groups conceptually agreed to pursue a solution based on a federal administrative model within a united Sri Lanka, in the historical motherland of the Tamil speaking people, based on the concept of self-rule.
The United National Party (UNP) led by Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived at the above consensus with the Tamil groups. However, Ranil has now announced that the Oslo Declaration is no longer valid and he has thrown it into the dustbin. This is another instance of constancy with the traditional attitude of the Southern Lankan rulers which arrive at pacts with Tamil community, only to shred them into pieces as and when it suits them.
Ranil has stated: In fact, our UNP government established the Oslo pact with the LTTE. But it was the LTTE that threw away that pact in the first place. Then we proceeded to obtain the approval of the Tamil people for the pact during the 2005 presidential election and this is a widely known matter.
Obstructing People's Right
Once again it was the LTTE that made our attempt to honor the Oslo Declaration impossible by obstructing the people's right to express their approval for the contents of the pact through the presidential election at that time. Therefore, it is now pointless expecting that we should honor it when the LTTE, the party that was directly involved in it, chose to disregard it.
In addition to this, there is another matter which Ranil points out. When the LTTE organization acceded with our government on the Oslo Agreement, the world communities hailed us that we have achieved a great feat. Especially the western world was so glad about this pact. But when ultimately the LTTE refused to abide by the pact and started to act unilaterally, the international community and the West to be precise were upset and started imposing stern measures against the movement.
Effect of Global Wrath
This statement of Ranil that the world turned against the LTTE, when the movement decided to disdain the Oslo Pact, is not something that should be taken lightly. Not only the LTTE organization but every single Tamil in the North and the East presently experience the intense effect of that global wrath.
The present pitiful situation of the Tamils is the consequence of LTTE's rejection of a very favorable resolve won by the brilliant LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham with his great prudence and correct foresight. If a powerful and formidable organization such as the LTTE could not last much longer consequent to its unwise rejection of Oslo Agreement, it is pointless the groups that call itself leaders of the Tamil community making further verbal threats and empty challenges against the well-established foes, so to speak.
Careful Consideration Required
It is pointless especially, when the Tamil race has been pushed back as far as to the 'Vaddukkoddai Declaration' where all this began and particularly when the Tamil community is stripped of its fighting capacity and is dithering and wavering. This is one of the crucial matters that the Tamil community should take into careful consideration before making a decision during this election period.
It is time to stop blabbering and jettison impractical ideals and notions and instead seek viable and sustainable practices in this pragmatic world while slowly but steadily advancing a step at a time toward our desired goals to realize our ultimate political aspirations.
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