Prof Oberst's statement at Rights briefing

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 July 2005, 00:53 GMT]
Full text of the statement Prof Oberst gave during the Members' briefing organized by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on 27 July 2005 at Rayburn Building in Washington D.C follows:

I would like to make a couple of brief observations about the process of Tsunami relief and reconstruction.

First, as is very obvious, the process has progressed at a very slow pace. This slowness is the result of many factors but the most important are the political factors – manmade impediments placed in the way of relief aid and reconstruction.

The political impediments are largely a result of the Sri Lankan peace process. The Ceasefire Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE placed the LTTE in an ambiguous position. The agreement placed them administratively in charge of the areas of Sri Lanka that they controlled at the time of the agreement. However, they did not have statutory authority to exercise that administration.

The Tsunami thrust this problem into our collective awareness. The problem had to be resolved before relief and reconstruction aid could adequately flow to the victims of the disaster. (There is another part of the problem which has been the general neglect and apathy of successive Sri Lanka governments toward the eastern province, but that is another issue.) Thus, there was a urgent need for the P-TOMS.

The Tsunami provided the enemies of the ceasefire agreement (or any agreement with the LTTE) with a unique opportunity to sabotage the peace process and the ceasefire agreement. If the P-TOMS, or some other mechanism, was not implemented to provide assistance, the peace process would come to a stop.

These opponents of the peace process and the P-TOMS are very powerful. Their power has been amplified by the inclusion of the Maoist JVP (the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) in the coalition government of President Kumaratunga. In order to regain power in the 2004 elections, she made an alliance with the party. When the government agreed to the P-TOMS, the JVP left the coalition government and, as a result, the government no longer has a parliamentary majority. It is a very fragile government and President Kumaratunga will do whatever is necessary to keep it alive.

With this in mind, I would like to make a couple of strong recommendations about what is going on.

1. First of all, there is a need to promote and protect the P-TOMS and by so doing, protect the peace process.

2. Secondly, this requires support for President Kumaratunga and her minority government until such time as there is a new election.

3. Thirdly, there is a need to re-examine the role of the U.S. The U.S. government has been restricted and limited by current laws. It has been unable to provide full support to the P-TOMS and the peace process. (And, as I have argued in the past, has been a hindrance to the peace process.) The current position of the government, as expressed by Ambassador Lunstead reflects the problem--we can not contribute funds to the P-TOMS process but we support other nations doing so.

There is no question that the LTTE has committed actions which are indefensible in a democratic society, However, Sri Lanka is engaged in a peace process to end a very bloody and disruptive civil war. We should support their efforts to end the war. The government engagement has led them to negotiate and communicate with the LTTE. It has also led them to a point where the members of the LTTE are allowed to travel in government territory and to carry out political activities.

The irony of this process is that while the target of LTTE attacks (the Sri Lankan Government) has agreed to talk with and interact with the LTTE, the U.S. government (who has not been a target of any attacks) continues to refuse to communicate with the LTTE or to act in a positive manner in the peace process.

In the end, the peace process should be an important goal of U.S. foreign policy. The added burden of the humanitarian and moral responsibility of the U.S. government to do all within its power to assist the rehabilitation of the tsunami victims should also be vigorously pursued. At the current time, the U.S. can not fully pursue either of these goals – constrained by a law which treats anyone who lives in LTTE controlled territory (babies and tsunami victims) as terrorists. A choice must me made – whether to support a peace process which is floundering and whether to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of the greatest natural disaster of our lives or to allow politics to interfere with these goals.

Robert C. Oberst
Professor of Political Science
Nebraska Wesleyan University