| June 12, 2002 | Wednesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 30, 1423 |
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Sri Lankan peace prospects
Murder in Balochistan
THE dark war clouds hovering over the subcontinent for the last six months seem to be dissipating, with both India and Pakistan making some constructive moves lately to that end. Developments over the last few days have helped create a sense of relief within the region and beyond — even though the risk of a war still cannot be ruled out. New Delhi’s decision on Monday to lift the ban on Pakistani aircraft flying over Indian territory was the first positive gesture towards defusing tension. It was followed by yesterday’s announcement that the five warships that India had dispatched to the country’s western coast are to return to their bases. The next move could be the naming of an Indian high commissioner to Pakistan to replace the envoy recalled during the height of the crisis. These developments are largely the outcome of hectic diplomacy undertaken by a number of world powers, most notably the US. The US Assistant Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, was the most recent in a string of important visitors to the subcontinent, trying to persuade the two countries to step back from the precipice. When US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrives in the region today, he will find the subcontinent a far less dangerous place than it was a few days back.
The Indian moves were timed to coincide with Rumsfeld’s visit, during which other positive measures are likely to be announced. The gestures from India are in response to President Musharraf’s firm assurance to stop all infiltration across the Line of Control from this side. A normally sceptical New Delhi is now accepting that there has been a perceptible drop in what it terms “cross-border terrorism” since Musharraf’s recent assurance. While the latest moves do represent a step forward, what India is offering so far is a gradual return to the position prior to December, when it decided to take a number of punitive steps against Pakistan. However, for a subcontinent that seemed on the verge of a catastrophic war just days ago, even returning to the pre-December status quo is a welcome development. President Musharraf responded positively to the Indian gestures but described them as small steps.
Pakistan will obviously be seeking more meaningful steps towards de-escalation in the days ahead, particularly an offer to resume dialogue. Throughout the present standoff, Pakistan has been hammering on the need and urgency of talks to resolve the crisis. India, meanwhile, massed hundreds of thousands of troops on the border, cut off all links with Pakistan and spurned all offers for a dialogue. As tensions soared, the world was reminded of how dangerous a confrontation between the two nuclear powers could be. A deeply alarmed international community then stepped in and employed all its diplomatic skills of prodding and persuasion to bring an end to the standoff. While Pakistan’s assurance on infiltration and India’s subsequent response may have lowered the level of tension, the threat of war still remains. Unless both sides withdraw their troops from the border, even a small spark could trigger open hostilities. Having come so close to the brink, both sides must realize that war is no solution to the problems straining their relations. Only a dialogue on all outstanding problems between the two countries — especially over the contentious Kashmir issue — could ensure a durable peace in the region.
COLOMBO’S announcement that it will soon lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), ahead of peace talks with the rebel movement and the government, signals the start of a new search for peace and normalization in troubled Sri Lanka. The current climate of calm — created by the accommodative overtures made by the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and by a truce from both sides since February — is a far cry from the suicide bombings and open hostilities of the recent past between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist LTTE rebels. A landmark meeting — the first formal contact in seven years — between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE is scheduled for early next month in Thailand to discuss the establishment of an interim body to govern the country’s northern and eastern areas on the basis of greater autonomy and self-rule for these Tamil-majority areas.
The role played by foreign supporters of the peace process, most notably Norway, has been admirable. Oslo, in fact, has handled its mediatory assignment so well that it has gained the trust of both sides. Foreign multilateral donors like the IMF have also chipped in, coaxing Colombo to realize that a permanent and lasting peace is a prerequisite for the country’s economic progress and prosperity. Much of the aid that is expected to come when a final settlement is reached will be spent on the war-ravaged regions so that the people affected by the past 19 years of bloody conflict are properly rehabilitated. While a final settlement might be relatively far away, what is important is that both sides have realized the futility of military conflict and are now ready to engage in a new peace process designed to put an end to Sri Lanka’s violent ethnic conflict.
THE assassination of Mir Mohammad Aslam Gichki of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) near his hometown of Mushkey on Sunday evening has come at a time when political parties are gearing up for the general election in October. In the context of Balochistan, in particular, this means making and unmaking of tribal alliances and stoking old rivalries. Known for his radical Baloch nationalist politics since his early student days, the late Mir was an influential MPA in the defunct provincial assembly, and had close family links with the key political figures of Balochistan. His assassination, therefore, can trigger a serious law and order situation in a province whose tribal leaders are known to have private armies of their own. The BNP (M), for its part, announced a ten-day mourning and said it would bring the killers to justice on its own rather than letting the law take its course.
Shocking as the cowardly killing of its leader is, the BNP must not do anything that interferes with the course of investigation now in progress or creates political unrest and tension in Balochistan. The arrests made on Monday — among them some of the accused named by the BNP (M) — are a clear indication that the authorities are already pursuing the case. This should allay the misgivings expressed by some BNP leaders that the provincial government was behind the killing. The arrests, especially that of a Balochistan Levies’ risaldar who was also named in the FIR, should put an end to any partisan finger-pointing.