The new measures come in the wake of the losses suffered by the Sri Lankan military in northern Jaffna peninsula. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) overran the huge Elephant Pass military base at the entrance to the peninsula on 22 April and claimed to have killed more than 1,000 troops capturing massive quantities of arms and ammunition.
The Tigers advanced west, taking control of ten other Army camps including parts of Kilali and are said to be at Kodikamam, just 15 miles east of Jaffna city. The control of Kilali may give the LTTE free access to the Jaffna lagoon to transport supplies from the mainland Vanni.
President Chandrika Kumaratunge acknowledged that the fall of Elephant Pass was a set-back, but declared the government’s determination to continue the war and defeat the Tigers. On 2 May, she met a delegation from the United National Party (UNP) led by Ranil Wickremasinghe.
The President refused to accede to the opposition party’s request for the removal of censorship, which the UNP says is leading to rumours and confusion. The UNP has pledged to hold demonstrations against the harsh regulations introduced by the government. But the influential Buddhist monks of the Maha Sangha have called on all parties to support the government’s extreme measures.
There is grave concern for the plight of Jaffna civilians. Thousands of people have fled to areas in the north and west of the peninsula. Many others are trapped in the war zone without humanitarian aid. There is a shortage of food and prices are rising partly due to hoarding. Sources say aid to the displaced may be further affected due to conflicts among international humanitarian agencies.
Amidst speculations about the role of other nations, the Indian Foreign minister Jaswant Singh, on 3 May, ruled out military intervention. Mr Singh says that some requests have been received from Sri Lanka and India was giving urgent consideration to the appeals. According to observers the Sri Lankan government may be considering evacuation of some 40,000 troops currently in Jaffna.
Sources say that Sri Lanka has approached six nations for military aid to fight the Tigers, particularly bombers for the Airforce. A delegation led by Defence Secretary Chandrananda de Silva is visiting the countries - Britain, Czech Republic, Iran, Israel, Russia and Singapore - for negotiations.
The Sri Lankan government has also decided to resume diplomatic relations with Israel to boost the military. Sri Lanka broke off ties with Israel in 1970. An Israeli Interests Section functioning in Colombo since May 1984 was later upgraded. Government ally, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) said that it will not oppose diplomatic links with Israel at a moment of national crisis, but reminded about the role allegedly played by Israeli intelligence services in driving a wedge between the Muslim and Tamil communities in the Eastern Province in the 1980s.
The new Emergency regulations extend censorship to Sri Lanka-based foreign journalists. Censorship on the local media was introduced in June 1998. Apart from news relating to the war, news and comments about the President, government, judiciary and the constitution will be subject to the censorship rules. The Sri Lankan Free Media Movement (FMM) has condemned the censorship, particularly censoring the right to criticize the government in the run-up to general elections before August 2000. The FMM says that the regulations allow the government to ban the media and imprison journalists.
The government has given itself powers to acquire buildings and other assets of persons found guilty under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Over 1,500 Tamils are held under the PTA and 1,000 cases under the PTA and Emergency regulations are pending. Under new regulations, the government can force people to become involved in any service in the national interest.
Any building can be acquired and vehicles, including ships, can be requisitioned for military purposes. Freedom of assembly is suspended and no meeting or procession can be held. There is concern that the new regulations may be used to ban trade union action. The right to privacy is curtailed and the security forces can enter and search any building or premises at any time.
The powers of arrest and detention have been strengthened and analysts say legal remedies may not be available. Development work which are considered non-essential are suspended for a period of three months and the funds, if necessary, will be diverted towards the war effort.
Widespread concern has been expressed over the authoritarian methods of the Sri Lankan government and the fate of the Norwegian peace initiative. Observers say that such severe steps by a government will only worsen the current situation and lead to further erosion of democracy and violations of human and other rights of the people in the island.