Too often, in chosen political quarters and journalistic columns, we hear now, in increasing tempo, of the ruthlessness of the LTTE— past and present. The main focus increasingly, is not even that past, but a warning against any settlement for the future.

Obviously, such declarations cannot give hope for abiding solutions out of the declared peace process and the intended negotiations.

This brief letter, is NOT to justify terrorism— from any quarter—but for us on all sides to understand that terrorism does not breed in a vacuum. It needs a setting and a situation, for its incubation and growth, taking the forms it does later.

These, as often, of course, would lie elsewhere — in this case, with the equal cruelties, impositions, devastation over the years, beginning in the 50s, by elements of the south, against a hitherto vocal, but purely pacifist minority community. The very well publicised witnesses to these were of course  less well known outbursts being the routine ‘impositions’ by the so called security forces in the north during the 60s and after, which featured both physical torture as usually known and burning tyres around human necks as less well known. These have been documented with photographs and among others by no less a person than the late M. P. S. Kathiravelupillai, and even made available to the then president to no avail at the time!

It was these, (never realised by the vast numbers of good Sinhalese) in which personal fear, total loss of confidence, fear of the future and much more followed, that led to the more fiery, younger among them to lose confidence in the older, and to start resistance in the only way they knew — namely by open rebellion, force and parallel retaliation

In due time, the LTTE which finally emerged as the dominant force in the north, outshone even the so-called security forces in the sophistication of physical retaliations, the differences being that the former was labelled ‘terrorism’ and the latter ‘security operations’.

It was this psyche which led the then president to tout that  was the result of a killing of 13 soldiers in the north by the terrorists, suppressing the fact that the killing of the 13 was at the termination of an intolerable series of proceeding brutalities on the Tamil population. Obviously the latter were simply events, and the former were crimes!

Presidential suppression of truths to his own people cost everybody the inferno of ’83 and the since abhorred terrorism thereafter.

For myself, personally, both were abhorrent, even affecting peace minded people in severe forms— mentally, psychologically, physically—although many would not show it.

It was these that led this writer, in his publications from the 80s on, to tell his Sinhala brothers that it was NOT the Tamils who created the LTTE: it was the Sinhalese who did! (strictly, elements among them).

To repeat, this writer as a past United Nations International and one associated with S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike during the B-C. Pact, has always found all acts of terrorism to be condemned totally.

Yet, that was not enough, if we sit back in our warm chairs and do not fight ‘another war’, the War of Peace. This is where, incidentally, several Sinhala lead columnists who simply speak of the bestiality of others, are doing no good also to the country, or to themselves!.

Another opportunity has come, warts and all, for seeking this permanent solid future for us, with give and take on all sides — not just ‘TAKE’ by one and ‘GIVE’ by the other.

This lies now before us! And beckons. Will we take it, or, will we continue our carping, our holier than thou postures? And our final Armagaddon?!