Has the idea of non-violent engagement by LTTE died with Anton Balasingham?
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Anton Balasingham8217;s death comes at a particularly fragile moment for Sri Lanka. The pretence of a ceasefire between government forces and LTTE cadres now exists only on paper. Violence, especially for advantage in the eastern part of the island, is raging. War fatigue, that had in part brought the two sides to the negotiation table in 2002 and kept them there, is ebbing away. In this context, for the Tigers to lose their ideologue dims further the chances of quickened resolve to rescue the peace talks.
Balasingham was not just an ideologue seen to be a moderating force amongst the Tigers, he was also a persuasive campaigner for global participation in ending the ethnic conflict. It was believed that he had of late lost some of his clout with LTTE chief Prabhakaran. But he was nevertheless the only LTTE leader of consequence to offer even a minimum amount of critique, or even apology, for the Tigers8217; operations. Prabhakaran8217;s way, in contrast to Balasingham8217;s flair for media interactions and revisionism via memoirs, is to burrow deep in his hideout and depend on elimination of all foes and accentuation of adversity to cast himself as the lone interlocutor and saviour.
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This has rendered the LTTE not only more than suspicious of peace negotiations. It is also perverting the response to the more and more hardline options being taken by Colombo. Ever since he came to power more than a year ago, President Mahinda Rajapakse has been acutely conscious of his Sinhala chauvinist support base. He8217;s been hinting all through at the problems with devolution of power in a mooted federal set-up that the Tamils could find acceptable. And this month he revived an old anti-terrorism law. In the war that has erupted in the north and the east, more than 3000 are believed to have died last year, and hundreds of thousands have already been rendered homeless. For all his propensity to miscast the nature of the organisation he led politically, Balasingham did underline the benefits of engagement. Engagement, too, has been a casualty of the past months.
