I commend Prof P Ramasamy on his stance against violence. Indeed, he may have won more to his cause if he had explicitly established this position in his earlier articles.

I have not forgotten the roots of the Sri Lankan conflict and while I abhor violence, I will admit that there are situations in which a community is forced to defend its way of life. There exist of course, many means of defence. However, the actions of the LTTE more closely resemble terrorists than freedom fighters.

Firstly, the LTTE extend their rule by force and terror with no sympathy for dissenting voices. The starkest example of this is when the LTTE virtually wiped out the leadership and cadre of another militant group, TELO, in May 1986. The LTTE does not care to even attempt to establish the illusion of democracy in the areas they control.

A Human Rights Watch report from May 2005 blames the LTTE for the more recent murders of "outspoken members of the Tamil community". Ramasamy suggests that the LTTE-controlled areas are "the safest places on the island of Sri Lanka". Has he ever considered why this is so?

Second, the LTTE do not confine their attacks to military targets. Like Nicaragua's Contra rebels of the 1980s, there are numerous examples of the LTTE attacking 'soft targets' with little care as to the 'collateral damage' wrought on civilians. The attacks on the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the Dehiwala train and the attack on the Central Bank are documented examples of the LTTE policy of attacking defenseless civilian targets.

Third, the LTTE have abducted and recruited children for their army. As recently as February 2005, Human Rights Watch issued a call for the Canadian prime minister to "address the Tigers' on-going recruitment and use of Tamil children as soldiers". Human Rights Watch has also accused the LTTE of abducting children for use in their army.

Fourth, the LTTE has forcibly expelled residents from areas under its control. "The LTTE has been accused of ethnic cleansing Sinhalese and Muslim inhabitants from areas under its control, including through the use of violence against those who refuse to leave. Most notably, the LTTE forcibly expelled the entire Muslim population of Jaffna on 48 hours notice in 1990."

Fifth, I must question if the LTTE are truly serious about a peaceful solution, as they have consistently broken terms of the 2001 negotiated ceasefire. The LTTE and Sri Lankan government jointly established the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in 2002. Tasked with monitoring the ceasefire, the SLMM consists of representatives of five Nordic countries and has even been accused by some quarters of being too lenient on the LTTE.

The SLMM recently issued a report on ceasefire violations by both parties covering a period between 2002 and 2005. The report reveals that the LTTE has carried out over 3,100 violations compared to approximately 140 by the government forces. This includes 587 confirmed instances of adult abduction and 1,794 verified cases of child recruitment by the LTTE.

Judging the LTTE by their actions, the international community has very rightly chosen to label the LTTE as terrorists. It is also telling that the bulk of the Tamil diaspora exist in countries that have banned the LTTE. As I said before, it is only through peaceful dissent that the grievances of the Sri Lankan Tamils will receive the international attention they deserve. Yet Ramasamy chooses to lament the decision of the international community and continues to heap praise upon the LTTE as the only organisation possessing the requisite "dedication, pride and commitment to serve the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka."

Is their dedication demonstrated through the innovation of suicide bombing, thereby linking the Sri Lankan Tamil cause to their heinous pioneering effort? Is their pride demonstrated through the through extortion and harassment of Tamil expatriates? Is their commitment demonstrated by putting the future of the Sri Lankan Tamil community (ie, children) on the front lines? Does the end justify the means?

Ramasamy may choose to label my understanding of the conflict as biased but that does not change the facts I present. In championing the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils, I would caution Ramasamy from blinding himself to the evil acts committed by the LTTE.

Perhaps there may come a time when the international community will have to reticently acknowledge the LTTE as the only means of achieving peace but that will never make the LTTE the best partner for peace.