Ambassador of India responds to Ms Navi Pillay’s remarks on Sri Lanka at the UN in Geneva

Courtesy : www.Lankamission.org

5-June 2009
Ambassador Gopinathan Achamkulangare of India, responding yesterday (4.6.2009) to the remarks on Sri Lanka included in the statement of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Navi Pillay said, “…it will be prudent to adhere to the outcome of the special session and be sensitive to the concerns expressed already, rather than take a position on contested proposals or controversial issues and ideas, which did not find eventual acceptance in the outcome of the special session.”

Full transcript of the Ambassador’s statement:

Thank you, Mr. President,

Mr. President, we thank the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms Navanethan Pillay for her statement this afternoon that provides useful updates on human rights themes and on situations of particular concern.

We wish to raise a matter of some concern to our delegation with regard to the remarks made by the High Commissioner on Sri Lanka and the recently concluded special session in her statement.

The High Commissioner has welcomed the special session and consequently, we consider it safe to assume that she also accepts its concomitant outcome. The High Commissioner and her office would be fully aware of the discussions and negotiations on the different elements of the outcome, and on the positions adopted by different member states and groupings on these elements.

It is important to recall and reaffirm that the outcome of the special session reflects an inter-governmental decision, adopted according to the rules of procedure of the council. What is more, it endorses the joint communiqu‚ issued at the end of the recent visit to Sri Lanka by the UN secretary General, which among other things, reaffirms the willingness of the government of Sri Lanka to address the issue of accountability in response to the concerns expressed by the UN Secretary General in this regard.

We feel that in these circumstances, it will be prudent to adhere to the outcome of the special session and be sensitive to the concerns expressed already, rather than take a position on contested proposals or controversial issues and ideas, which did not find eventual acceptance in the outcome of the special session.

It would be extremely unfortunate, if the inter-governmental decisions adopted by the human rights council, were to be ignored or set aside, and the High Commissioner and/or her office were to misinterpret them or willfully neglect them, or supersede them according to their convenience or in accordance with the agenda of some states, or unrepresentative or unaccountable organizations, or to pursue their own agenda.

In this regard, we would like to remind all concerned, that the independence of the High Commissioner cannot be presumed to exceed that of the UN Secretary General.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Double standards of the West

By: Nitin Gokhale – New Delhi, India The author, NDTV’s Defence Editor, reported the war in Sri Lanka from the conflict zone for the past six months

6 June 2009
If ever there was a proof needed about the double standards applied by the Western nations in dealing with Asia and Africa, there is no better example than their reaction to the developments in Sri Lanka over the last fortnight.

Here’s a nation that secured a hard-earned military victory over what was unarguably the world’s most dreaded and ruthless terrorist group–the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE. Banned in 26 countries across the globe, the Tamil Tigers, as the LTTE was also known, had a powerful naval arm, a rudimentary air wing and at least 25,000 infantry fighters backed like a conventional army with 155 mm artillery guns, multi-barrel rocket launchers, Universal machine guns and claymore mines among other small arms.

This was the outfit that gave the world the suicide vest and suicide belt that were responsible for the assassination of at least one President and a former Prime Minister across two nations, this was the group that killed and wounded at least 70,000 people over a quarter century; here was a group who’s writ ran large over one-third of a sovereign nation.

And to top it all, the LTTE had kept over 250,000 innocent, hapless Tamil civilians–women, children, the young and the old–hostage for over two years and mercilessly used them as an insurance against the advancing Sri Lankan army.

If ever there was a ripe case for a well-planned and executed military operation, here it was in Sri Lanka. President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his team went about prosecuting what, by all accounts, was a legitimate war. But the world, the Western world went into an overdrive to stop Colombo. Norway, Sweden, UK and to a lesser extent the United States put pressure on Sri Lanka by various means. Some threatened to move a resolution in the UN, others lobbied to prevent a bailout package mooted by the International Monetary Fund for the war-ravaged country. Now, many have called for war crime investigations into the conduct of the Sri Lankan military.

Had it not been for countries like Russia, China and to an extent India, Sri Lanka would have suffered grievously at the hands of the so-called liberal lobby, ably aided and abetted by the ‘bleeding-heart’ liberals among the western media who think they are the judge, jury and executors when it comes to dealing with Asian and African nations. All of them had tried to stop the war in Sri Lanka, ostensibly to safeguard the civilians but in reality the efforts were directed at rescuing LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran and his top associates.

The simple and bitter truth is: the Western world has not been able to digest the fact that a small, underdeveloped nation like Sri Lanka has managed to defeat a terrorist group, a feat that they have not managed despite deploying huge resources and manpower across the globe.

For years, the US and the NATO countries have been trying to vanquish the Al Qaeda and the Taliban, without much success. In the past decade, the US and other western militaries, operating in Iraq and Afghanistan to take just two recent examples, have killed and maimed scores of civilians. But except for cursory apologies, none of these nations or the defenders of human rights operating from the safe havens of western capitals have bothered to even acknowledge their gross mistakes.

So why is it that a small nation’s victory over terrorism “fit to be tried for war crimes,” but a big bully’s (like the US) blatant violation of human rights is part of a “necessary war on terrorism?” Why didn’t any one of these defenders of human rights put pressure on the LTTE when it was taking hundreds of thousands of civilians along with it as it retreated during the war?

If ever there is a clear case of the western nations’ hypocrisy, it is demonstrable here in India’s backyard, in Sri Lanka. Let Washington and London and Bonn and Ottawa first look at their own conduct before trying to prosecute a small country for doing what any sovereign nation has a right to do.

The SuperPower Bullies

By: Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.d. – Michigan State University

These are crucial days for Sri Lanka. Terrorism has been totally defeated on the battle field in Sri Lanka but the scene of action has been taken to an international arena where the famous International Superpowers who overtly state their cause against terrorism are covertly aiding and abetting the continuance of terrorism. It is sad that they are trying their level best to castigate and punish Sri Lanka for having annihilated terrorism.

Few can speak out more than me for the land in Sri Lanka. As a student of archaeology and history I have in the Fifties been to many jungle areas in the North and the East and have read for myself the inscriptions carved on rock in Sinhala Brahmi script dating back to the Third Century B.C. Again as an administrator I have worked in most districts and have travelled widely in the wilds of the Wanni, moving with farmers and fishermen from fisheries hamlets that were interspersed all over the coast in the East and the North. Anuradhapura was my pet district where I worked twice and when President Rajapaksa took office there was a twenty mile strip of the Anuradhapura District including Horowpotana under the terrorist’s clutches. Many do not know this fact. Three years ago I knew that the Government held only the town of Trincomalee in that District and I was sad to see the splitting up of my Motherland. But now all that is history. We have seen our Diyasena Kumaraya in action. In March I heard that there were people in Sri Lanka who lit lamps daily for our President. What he has achieved merits that.

But all is not well. We have to listen to the International Community of Superpowers and we have just been victorious at the Human Rights Council where the Third World waged a battle to support a country that tried to establish its authority on its own land.

I have been more a student of history and can stand up in place of our Professors of history who are resigned to silence perhaps due to dubious reasons. It is time that they tell us what history tells us.

History tells us in no uncertain terms of the work of the Bullies. Sri Lanka as the Sinhale is called today, we have had a history dating back to two thousand five hundred years. During those years we never invaded other countries. A few of our kings like Nissanka Malla and Gajaba raided South India but that was to teach invading armies a lesson. We were never a belligerent nation trying to embark on seas and fight an enemy five thousand miles away- like what the USA has embarked on today. It is alright and legitimate for the USA to invade Afghanistan eight thousand miles away from its shores, in search of a terrorist- Bin Laden, but it is not correct for Sri Lanka to wipe out terrorism within our own land!

Rohith was a doctoral student with me at Michigan State University. When we parted in 1979, he gave me an undertaking that if I were to step into Afghanistan he would take me everywhere on his circuits as he was a Director of Adult Education. Alas today that country thanks to International Bullies is in rubble and Rohith is lost. Few realize that the foray of the USA to Afghanistan is today totally destablising Pakistan. President Musharaff in his last days made a frank admission why he had to allow the USA to use his air space- he said that he was told firmly that Pakistan would be reduced to rubble if he disagreed. He had to save Pakistan!. Third World leaders should remember this bullying.

Now Pakistan is in disarray. The presence of US forces and the use of Pakistan land is having a backlash from Pakistani militants. As far as I know two large consignments of army supplies have been blown up. Now almost half of Pakistan is in sheer turmoil, with attacks everyday and it is reported that as much as 2.5 million are displaced- living under tents. A good20question is as to why the United Nations Human Rights monitors-including Navi Pillai who were crying about 250,000 being displaced in Sri Lanka is not concerned with as much as 2.5 million people being displaced, living under tents in Pakistan. No one including the UN or Aid Agencies are clamouring to have access.! The Aid Agencies are not agitating to send supplies to this 2.5 million people! They know what happened to Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal. This shows that the International Community as well as their Aid Agencies are really up to mischief. In the case of Sri Lanka, they really want to allow the terrorists to resurrect. Pakistan is not in their globe!

The International Superpowers do what they like. They do not care even about their own top officials. The USA and the UK, when they wanted to attack Iraq made a case that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction. David Kelley was an expert in biological warfare and a United Nations’ weapons inspector. Kelley was of the opinion that Iraq did not have Weapons of Mass Destruction but was reported otherwise. Kelley disputed the report. Strangely Kelley went on an evening walk and never returned home- he was found dead. Many strange things happened-. The facts are:

An inquest should have been held into his death, but the case was taken away from the coroner

The Hutton Inquiry ruled that Kelley had committed suicide. Medical experts have contested the suicide theory Norman Baker, a Liberal democrat Member of Parliament who held a private inquiry hinted at a cover up involving Thames Valley police who carried out the investigation.

The Memorium on Dr David Kelley, April 6, 2009 states:

The biggest load of whitewash for Government disgrace in a generation. It was a massive cover up from start to finish.

Rowena Thursby in Dark Actors at the Scene of David Kelley’s Death mentions a riverboat coming on the scene and a helicopter on the night Kelley died: She states: possibly an SAS style assassination or clean up team. The riverboat itself was the designated hideout- the get away method for an assassination team.

Michael Shrimpton, a UK national security lawyer explodes the myth that Kelley had taken his own life. Shrimpton even gave evidence to the confidential briefing of the US Senate Intelligence Committee.

Kelley’s death is a shame on the UK, but Human Rights authorities were silent.

It is also important to note that David Kelley had contacts with one Mata Hari-( the cover up name ) , a US Army Intelligence Officer who was working under disguise as a translator in Iraq.

The International Superpowers are not the humanitarian people they pose to be. In the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, Britain the country that had ruled Rhodesia from 1890 to 1965 agreed to pay compensation to white farmers who will be dispossessed of their land when the land will be taken over. This was actually land taken over by force- the land was sold to the whites including entire villages. In 1981, Britain pledged to pay œ 630 million as compensation, but when Mugabe decided to take over the farms to settle the people the Government of Tony Blair reneged on the commitment and paid only œ 44 million. Thus the real culprit for not paying compensation to the white farmers was the British Government of Tony Blair.

However Tony Blair or the British Government was not castigated. . Instead the entire International Community of Superpowers imposed the sanction of not giving Aid to Zimbabwe.

Mugabe became a follower of the IMF and the IMF imposed its Structural Adsjustment Programme on Zimbabwe which led to Zimbabwe becoming an indebted country. It is important to note that every country that implemented the Structural Ad justment Programme and this includes Sri Lanka has ended with high inflation and severe foreign debt. My book: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka & Programmes of Success details how Sri Lanka was made indebted.

Faced with the sanction of no Aid and No Loans, Mugabe could survive only for a limited number of years with loans from friendly countries. In the meantime the International Superpowers had their say through human rights organizations and the opposition in the country. The Aid Agencies had a field day sowing seeds of discord. Production fell because the Government did not take full control and allowed foreign investors and Aid Agencies to play their dubious part.

Today Zimbabwe is in sheer trouble with an inflation rate of 100,000% in 2008, a totally failed production, starvation and severe poverty. Mugabe is held responsible for all this. But the real culprit is Britain who reneged on paying the compensation that was promised. The only action taken by Mugabe was to take over the lands occupied by the white farmers and he was entitled to do it because the local people had no land and were unemployed..(For full details on Zimbabwe, please see my article Mugabe’s Zimbabwe Today:The Stranglehold of the Superpowers and the IMF in Action: Lessons for Sri Lanka in Asian Tribune, 2008-07-21

Beware Sri Lanka! The International Community of Superpowers is yet gunning at you. The history of the past five centuries tells us that the Superpowers cannot be trusted. I can go on for ever writing details. It will be wise to look out for any ‘Mata Hari’ type of intelligence operatives among the staff of Aid Agencies.

It has to be a situation of total vigilance to survive. The International Community works through their own mechanisms- the IMF and the WTO and the United Nation’s institutions. Beware!

Physician heal thyself, hand over that nurse!- Island Editorial

Island Editorial -Courtesy: The Island

5-June 2009
Will a person with a skin disease ever want to consult, let alone follow the advice of, a dermatologist with a massive rash, scratching himself like mad? We don’t think so. (We hope good skin specialists won’t take umbrage; we are only trying to drive a point home.) Likewise, champions of global democracy with a deplorable human rights record cannot expect others to take them seriously.

Sri Lanka is being hauled over the coals–nay, an attempt is being made to barbecue it at the UN–for what the western bullies call ‘war crimes’. Some of the knights in shining armour joined forces in Geneva the other day to burn Sri Lanka at the human rights stake, albeit in vain. They pretended that they had been shocked by what happened in the run up to the final battle in Mullaittivu. Even thought a group of countries comprising over four billion people torpedoed a move to pillory and harass Sri Lanka in the name of human rights, some countries and UN bigwigs with Tiger links have not yet given up their vilification campaign.

‘War crime’ charges that the UK, the US and other international bullies were trying to press against the Sri Lankan government were speculative in nature. They were based on hearsay and some cock-and-bull photographs of the site of the final battle. But, the LTTE’s war crimes were proved beyond doubt such as child recruitment (for which the UN placed the outfit on the List of Shame), massacres, political assassinations and bombing civilian targets. For bombing the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the LTTE leader Prabhakaran was sentenced to 200 years RI in Colombo. Therefore, before trying to haul up Sri Lankan leaders before international tribunals over ‘war crimes’, human rights champions must take action against the remaining LTTE leaders on their soil.

It is reported that Sri Lanka has asked Britain for prominent LTTE leader Adele Balasingham’s extradition. She has owned up to her involvement in the LTTE, which is banned in the UK and there is no reason why the British government should not hand her over to Sri Lanka. Adele, a nurse by profession, is believed to have helped the LTTE with producing human bombs and training LTTE killers. The British government stooped to the level of pandering to the whims and fancies of LTTE activists and rushing its foreign secretary here in a bid to save the trapped LTTE leaders. Now that a legitimate state — a Commonwealth member for that matter– wants the deportation of a key terrorist, the Brown government has to comply, if his government’s human rights concerns are genuine.

Sri Lanka must make similar requests from all other countries where LTTE terrorists have found refuge such as Canada, France, Switzerland, Norway and other EU countries. In the US, too, the LTTE is active and some American citizens are openly supporting its terrorist cause. Former Attorney General Bruce Fein has become the LTTE’s mouthpiece, though it is banned in the US as a foreign terrorist organisation. Would either the UK or the US have allowed any other country to protect Al Qaeda terrorists in that manner?

The US and the UK ably assisted by other western powers are unleashing hell on Afghanistan because Taliban are protecting Al Qaeda killers. Their ruthless military campaign is churning out death and devastation in that country. The reason they gave for bombing Iraq into the Stone Age and killing hundreds of thousands of people including children there was the threat of WMDs as well as the suppression of human rights. Ironically, while destroying other countries in search of their terrorists and in the name of human rights, the US and the UK themselves are harbouring terrorists responsible for far more heinous crimes! They are lucky that the countries looking for the terrorists they are shielding are not powerful enough to take them on militarily. Else, they would have suffered the same fate as Iraq and Afghanistan. However, they have invited nemesis in the form of terrorism which they are struggling to defeat!

Sri Lanka has a comprehensive list of LTTE killers operating in various parts of the world and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who made a tremendous contribution to fuelling speculation that the Sri Lankan army had committed ‘war crimes’, is duty bound to help Sri Lanka have the LTTE leaders in the UN members states deported. Sri Lanka has officially requested Malaysia to extradite KP, the LTTE arms smuggler and fraudster, and Ban ought to intervene to secure his arrest and deportation forthwith.

Britain nursing a campaign to press ‘war crime’ charges against Sri Lanka now has a choice between handing over the murderous nurse and forfeiting its human rights credentials which suffered a huge dent from the manner in which it protected Chilean dictator Pinochet vis-…-vis a call for his extradition to stand trial for the killing of Spaniards during his killing spree from 1973 to 1990. Although Pinochet was arrested in 1998 in Britain, he evaded extradition. Former British PM Margaret Thatcher had the temerity to visit the much dreaded dictator, pledge solidarity with him and praise him for services rendered during the Falklands war. The then Home Secretary Jack Straw held that Pinochet was too old to be extradited and cited opinion of four doctors in justification of his claim. But, the sick old man miraculously recovered after returning home and Straw said he wondered whether he and his doctors had been duped. In fact, it is they who tried to dupe the world!

Adele is also likely to fall sick all of a sudden like Pinochet. A nurse, she knows how to feign sickness more than anyone else. And Miliband will declare her too sick to be deported. It is hoped that the Brown government will prove that the British democracy is not too sick to turn down Sri Lanka’s request for Adele’s deportation.

West’s cool reception to Sri Lanka’s victory

By: Dr. Chandrani Gunaratna

31 May 2009 -Over the weekend, Sri Lanka, the tiny third world nation made history when it wiped out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a rebel outfit that pioneered the suicide jacket and got the honor from the FBI as the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world.

In history armed rebellions ended either when warring parties reached a ceasefire or some other power sharing agreement as in the case of IRA and PLO or by cession as in Kosovo or Chechnya. Never in the recent history has a democratic government been able to completely crush a separatist terrorist organization without ceding the country as Sri Lanka had successfully managed to do this past weekend.

Yet the Western world is silent on this achievement.

The West which spearheads campaigns against terrorism across the globe and bombs far corners of the world in the name of ‘war on terror’ is however yet to acknowledge Sri Lanka’s victory against the LTTE, the home-grown terrorist group that was responsible for 70,000 deaths and brought unimaginable misery to the 20 million people in the country for 30 years with suicide bombings, political assassinations, massacres and destruction of property and infrastructure.

The superpowers of the West, the US, the UK, and the European Union wanted Sri Lanka to halt the military operations against the LTTE, declare a truce, and negotiate a solution with the LTTE so that it can resurrect and prolong the misery for another three decades. These countries even urged the Sri Lankan government to let the LTTE terrorist leaders to surrender to a third party.

If the Sri Lankan government doesn’t heed the calls to cease military operations, Sri Lankan leaders would be charged with war crimes, they threatened. Or worse yet, they threatened to take hostage the economic relief the country is seeking for its rehabilitation and reconstruction of the war-savaged land.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ganged up with the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to oppose the two billion dollar loan Sri Lanka was seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“We think that it is not an appropriate time to consider that (loan) until there is a resolution of the conflict,” Clinton, who considered the LTTE as freedom fighters during her presidential campaign, declared.

The Sri Lankan government with its President’s determination to crush the LTTE’s remained resilient amid that extraordinary pressure and continued its humanitarian operation to extract the civilians who were held against their will. Hence the West’s cool reaction to Sri Lanka’s victory.

The powers, that initiated a war and continuing for years in Iraq in search of non existent weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and brought death to over a million civilians wanted to throw a lifeline to the LTTE. If Sri Lanka gave into the pressure and declared a ceasefire the untold suffering would have continued for another three decades. Perhaps the West would have found the missing WMDs in Sri Lanka’s Eelam land then.

It is ironic that US was trying to curtail Sri Lanka’s efforts to free the country from LTTE terror while the US, being the World’s police is leading anti-terror campaigns against Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the support from Britain. Yet when it comes to LTTE the attitude was completely the opposite. The double standard these powers have shown was clearly visible.

Not only the economic relief is held as ransom, but the two countries together with the European Union and backed by the human right groups, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, two groups sympathetic to the pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora, also proposed to bring war crimes charges against the President and the country’s military leaders.

On Monday (May 18) the European Union called for an independent inquiry to bring the alleged violators of the international humanitarian law and human rights law to justice.

The Sri Lankan government’s military offensive against the LTTE terrorists is responsible for the death and injuries of 50,000 Tamil civilians who were held as human shields by the LTTE and fired upon when they tried to flee, the Western powers said.

According to them, the military offensive on April 20th that allowed over 115,000 or so civilians to flee the LTTE terror and reach the safety of the welfare villages in government controlled areas is a war crime. Rescuing another 72,000 civilians during the military operations in the past four days is also a war crime by the Western standards whereas sending drones and bombing border villages of Pakistan’s Swat Valley causing deaths of hundreds of civilians is war against terror, not a crime against humanity.

Reportedly there have been 65 to 85 Afghanistan-based US drone attacks on Pakistan during the past three years, killing about 780 civilians and about 50 alleged terrorists. For US and other Western backers this is inevitable collateral damage and not war crimes. The Human Rights Watch and the Amnesty International are mum on these civilian casualties.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, either still unaware that the Sri Lankan troops have evacuated over 70,000 civilians, about 20,000 more than UN and everyone else expected or hopeful that LTTE still has a chance for survival, on Monday in Brussels talked about the “humanitarian situation for those unknown numbers who are still trapped in the conflict zone, as well as those displaced persons who are in refugee camps.”

Pro-LTTE protestors waving the red tiger flag of the banned LTTE block highways, attack Sri Lankan temples and missions brings traffic to standstill and disrupt the daily lives of the their citizens, with impunity. These pillars of democracies have turned a blind eye on those unlawful demonstrations.

Despite the death of LTTE in Sri Lanka, the Eelam movement is gaining grounds in these Western countries as the continuing pro-LTTE demonstrations in their cities show due to their unfriendly attitude towards the government of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan government needs to develop conditions in the country so that another LTTE may not rise from the ashes in the no-fire zone. Without delay the government needs to meet the aspirations of those rescued hostages, who trusted the government and made the crossover, along with a long term political solution.

As Secretary Clinton has already illustrated with the conditions on the IMF loan, the West can greatly influence Sri Lanka’s future and economic development if Sri Lanka has to solely depend on these countries for assistance. Sri Lanka needs to strengthen ties with the countries like Russia, China, Japan and India who supported the country at all times while forming new bonds with other nations in the Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Now that the LTTE is Crushed – Some Advice for the “Western Powers”

By: Stephen Long – Los Angeles, California

31 May 2009
I just returned from a lengthy visit to Sri Lanka, and I witnessed first-hand the Government’s splendid victory over the LTTE terrorists. Every day I read with great interest the many comments and opinions that were written on the conflict by both Sri Lankan and international journalists. From my perspective, I can assure you that the Government acted with restraint and compassion throughout the entire ordeal. I also saw that the so-called “Western Powers” were totally misinformed on the situation, which resulted in their passing a hasty judgment that condemned the Government’s conduct toward the IDP’s and the human shields still trapped in the No Fire Zone.

Having said this, I am grateful for US Congressional Representative Heath Schuler of North Carolina for his support of the Government’s relief efforts yesterday, and for accurately reporting what he saw with his own eyes in the IDP camps in the North. I’m sure his report will go a long way towards correcting misperceptions in America.

A couple of things I could never understand: The first is why were the “Western Powers” so interested in preserving the life of the terrorist leader, Prabhakaran? Secondly, why was the US Ambassador, Robert Blake, feeding his boss, Hillary Clinton, such erroneous and false information that lead to her “disappointment” with the Sri Lankan Government, and her eventual condemnation? I’m sure the answers to these questions will eventually surface over time, but examining them here is not the focus of this article.

I would like to offer some advice to the “Western Powers” in regards to re-examining their policy and approach to dealing with Sri Lanka:

During the thirty-year conflict many people of all ethnicities left Sri Lanka to seek greener pastures in Western countries. There are approximately 300,000 of them in Canada, 200,000 in the US, and another 300,000 in European countries. Many of these immigrants used the “political asylum” card, and as we have later discovered, many of those were lying about the persecution they claimed they received at home. I’m not singling out only the Tamils in this respect; Sinhalese and Muslim immigrants also played the same hand.

Now that the war against the LTTE is over, the “Western Powers” need not accept any more immigrants from Sri Lanka who attempt to seek political asylum. This should come as a great relief to many of those countries who now find themselves embroiled in protests from two fronts: caught in the middle between trying to please new political constituents, and simply doing the right thing by protecting Sri Lankan embassies, places of worship, helping out with the IDP’s in the North, etc.

Secondly, drug trafficking was one of the primary ways the LTTE raised money to finance its war in Sri Lanka. A little-publicized story a few years ago even revealed that the LTTE had attempted to dig a tunnel from British Columbia in Canada down to Washington State, through which it would smuggle drugs into America. Now that the war is over, the LTTE drug trafficking should cease. There are still LTTE front organizations in the Western countries, however, and I suggest you put an end to them just as Canada banned the World Tamil Movement. Many members of these organizations still have the LTTE dream in their heads, and perhaps they need to be taught that the dream was really a nightmare, and that their donations had actually helped to fund death and destruction instead of their mythical Eelam.

The LTTE, as it has been revealed, was closely associated with a variety of extremist groups in other countries, and they helped each other train their cadres in the fine points of suicide bombing, guerilla warfare, and weapons use, among other things. They also assisted one another in the smuggling of weapons. Now that the LTTE has been crushed there should be fewer light aircraft, submarines, tanks, and other weapons smuggled from other countries. I know it may only make a dent in the huge international illicit weapons trade, but every little bit counts. Still, don’t give up on “following the money trail,” and do your best to expose those who supplied the LTTE with weapons until they are prosecuted in every country.

I suggest that Senator Patrick Leahey and Hillary Clinton stop listening to the rubbish of Bruce Fein, the mercenary former Deputy US Attorney, Washington lobbyist, and spokesperson for various LTTE front organizations in North America. He is reportedly being paid $100,000 a month to tell lies about the GOSL and the Rajapaksa brothers, and currently works for an American organization called “Tamils Against Genocide”. Just to show you where his morals are, while he condemns the actions of the GOSL against the LTTE terrorists, he also represents the Turkish Government and condemns the actions of the Kurdish terrorists against the government. It’s the same issue – and he gets money from both sides from two clients. Very clever. Mr. Fein is hardly a credible, unbiased source of information, and when he calls on influential policy makers in Washington, I suggest they lock their doors.

It is obvious that both Senator Leahey and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been “pitched” by Mr. Fein, since their leanings on the Sri Lanka issue are toward his point of view. I’m sad to say that it appears they have paid attention to this materialistic Beltway prostitute, and the GOSL has suffered unfairly as a consequence. I suggest they start investigating how Bruce Fein can represent banned terrorist front organizations and get away with it for nearly two years – and still be a practicing member of the American Bar Association.

In regards to prosecuting Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, and Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka for genocide in the international courts, I think the “Western Powers” should give up this ridiculous pursuit. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay of South Africa, wants to investigate this silly allegation, but she should stop and listen to her comrades who supported Sri Lanka in the UN resolution last week in Geneva. Perhaps she has been listening to Bruce Fein, too. I suggest that the UN and the “Western Powers” start concentrating on how they can help the IDP’s in the North – seriously and quickly – and accept the fact that the authorities in Sri Lanka simply did what they had to do to rid their country of a terrorist scourge (the same that they would have done on their own turfs.)

I think it’s time the media in Western countries takes an honest, serious look at the great progress Sri Lanka has made on a number of fronts – in spite of dealing with a 30-year war against terrorism: the elections and massive re-development programs in the Eastern Province, the appointment of a former child soldier for the LTTE as Chief Minister for the Eastern Province, the Government’s excellent health care and educational systems, the rehabilitation and appointment of former LTTE chief “Karuna Amman” as Vice President of the largest political party in the country, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the rapid rebuilding of tsunami areas (and compare this to post-Katrina New Orleans), and many others. While they’re at it, the Western journalists can show the world how beautiful Sri Lanka is, and what a great place it is for tourists.

Lastly, the “Western Powers” should be very careful about pushing Sri Lanka too closely into the arms of China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and other neighbors in the Asian region. A close relationship with China, for example, developed during the war against the LTTE when the GOSL couldn’t get arms anywhere else. Now China is building a US $1 billion seaport in Sri Lanka’s south, and is financially helping the Government care for the IDP’s in the north. The “Western Powers” should be thinking about the balance of power in the region, and figuring out ways it can mend some fences with the GOSL – fast. The “Western Powers” don’t seem to understand that every country has to have friends and allies in order to survive, and if they are abandoned by the West, then they have no choice but join the camps of China, Libya, and its Asian neighbors who are perhaps more friendly and sympathetic to their needs and goals.

The policies and neo-colonial interests of the “Western Powers” need to be examined closely by all parties from this point forward. Everyone should learn to respect Sri Lanka as a democratic, free, sovereign nation that deserves a decent place in the international community. Give Sri Lanka a break. Stop wasting time trying to make an enemy, and concentrate on making a good friend instead.

Mr. Bill Keller Executive Editor New York Times

Wick Gankanda

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Dear Mr. Keller:

For the past few months, we have seen an incredible number of inflammatory biased attacks on Sri Lanka in the New York Times, some even based on hearsay and false stories generated by the Tamil Tiger Terrorists. Here is just once such example:

Sri Lanka: Inquiry Sought on Atrocities on May 26, 2009

“The United Nations’ top human rights official demanded an independent investigation on Tuesday into allegations of atrocities committed by both sides in Sri Lanka’s civil war. Navi Pillay, left, the high commissioner for human rights, said tens of thousands of civilians were killed or wounded in intense fighting between the government and Tamil rebels beginning in December. But a majority of the 47 countries at the United Nations’ Geneva-based Human Rights Council appeared unwilling to accept her appeal for a war crimes investigation.”

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/world/asia/27briefs-webLanka.html?_r=1

There are many things wrong with reporting such false allegations in the form of legitimate news. United Nations’ top human rights official Navi Pillay is an ethnic Tamil appointed to that position by the strong pro-LTTE group inside the UN. Previous examples of individuals

supporting the LTTE inside the UN were Alan Rock, a prominent LTTE Terrorist fundraiser and supporter in the Canadian government and Radhika Coomaraswamy, an ethnic Tamil.

http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items09/2009_05_28_nytimes_inquiry_sought_atrocities.pdf

Two victories and the battle on the media front

Lucien Rajakarunanayake Courtesy : Daily News

30 May 2009
Two weeks and two victories – one was on the battlefront against terror, and the other on the diplomatic front against the backers of terror. Sri Lanka has every cause to be more than pleased; at the outcome of the UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva earlier this week, when it humbled the so-called international community, which had to abandon its earlier resolution seeking to condemn Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes in defeating LTTE terror, and gave an overwhelming endorsement voting 26 for, 12 against with six abstentions to a consensual resolution by Sri Lanka that stressed the necessity for others to stop interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign State.

The powers of the old West — Britain, France and Germany and their lackeys who are influenced both politically and economically but these power centres of the West, must certainly be licking their wounds at having failed to even get the votes of all 17 nations that signed the initial resolution calling for the Special Session on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan delegation led by Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe and comprising Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka, Prof. Rajiva Wijesinghe and the Attorney General Mohan Peiris and all who worked with them deserve the highest kudos for their achievement.

There is also a great deal of appreciation due to the countries of the Afro-Asian bloc and the Non-Aligned Movement, and especially the traditional friends of Sri Lanka such as India, Pakistan and China who buried any difference they may have over bilateral issues to support Sri Lanka to the hilt on this.

While these two gains are safe under Sri Lanka’s belt, there are other threats that will emerge very soon, which require high alert on the part of Colombo. There is the need to be watchful of the forces who are in total denial of all the savagery and brutality of the LTTE through the past 30 years, to attack Sri Lanka on many fronts, be it human rights, economic, trade or any other that suits the purposes of those who wish to have leverage over Sri Lanka in a situation where the two Asian giants, both in economic power and population – India and China – are emerging as world powers. There are also the pro-LTTE expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil population who are enjoying life as American, British, Canadian,

Australian, or French, German or any other European Tamils, who are using the power of their vote at various electorates, departments and districts to pressure politicians, political parties and Governments through what are believed to be vote banks, to keep the pressure on Sri Lanka alive and glowing, and not on the back burner.

The Money Media

One of the biggest fights that Sri Lanka will have to face is on the media front. One can already see how the Western media, and powerful, sections of it are lining up against Sri Lanka. Whether it is the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera (they are not listed here in order of importance), and so many other news channels and major publications that have abandoned the basic principles and ethics of journalism and media practice to carry on with Sri Lanka bashing to serve the same establishment interests in their respective countries and the interests of the prop-LTTE Tamil expatriate community in these lands.

The abundance of lies that are being reported about how the IDP community is being treated and the near anti-Sri Lankan fixation among most of the journalists who participate in this campaign, raises important issues as to whether they are in fact only paid by the institutions that they work for, or have other sources of income that are linked to terrorism. Being a journalist of some experience myself, I raise this matter with some concern, as I do not wish to tar all with the same brush, and it is possible that many of them who have got on to the easy job of Sri Lanka bashing are either ill-informed or have been misled into what they present to the world. But the insistence with which some of these journalists go on with their lies, and the exposure given to their reports by their news institutions do raise considerable doubts as to where their real allegiances lie.

It is not unknown that the LTTE had and still has formidable financial resources. As Jane’s Defence Weekly has shown it has much more than the annual budgets of many countries in its monthly collections from various means and sources. These extend from the expatriate Tamil community and various legal and illegal business investments it has been engaged in. Most of it is still intact, and whoever gets their hands on these funds, will have enormous resources that can be used to influence the media in away that is wholly negative to Sri Lanka. Some of the reports written about so-called surrender interventions by journalists give more than a clue that some Western journalists have definitely been in the pay of the LTTE and its agents.

The reports that are being filed daily about the appalling conditions in the IDP camps, and the shrill insistence on unhindered and unimpeded access to UN and other aid workers and various other interest groups, also point to the power of LTTE funds that are playing the role of the Pied Piper to sections of the Western media and individual Western journalists today.

But for such stuffing of the wallets of some journalists and NGO activists they cannot be expected to be so obsessed about barbed wire and concentration camps at these IDP centres, that are entirely distant from the truth; as well as the highly imaginative stories they write about the conditions in these places that are only means to supply more material for later attacks on Sri Lanka at various international fora, be it the UN Human Rights Council, various other bodies that seek to sit in judgment on human rights, statements of human rights watchdogs who view things with an anti-Sri Lankan tint in their lenses, and even the UN Security Council.

In the face of this entire barrage from a decidedly hostile media and Western powers that are keen to prevent Sri Lanka from reaping the fruits of her victory over terrorism, it is good to know that there are at least some journals of distinction that have not dipped there pens in the blood spilt by the LTTE and are ready to not to fall into the trap of denial of the threat and horror of terror, I shall end by quoting from the Wall Street Journal of May 21 on the current situation in Sri Lanka.

“The war on terror scored a big victory this weekend with the Sri Lankan Army’s battlefield defeat of the terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

“The event ends one of the world’s longest running civil wars. It also vindicates one of the major lessons of September 11: Most of the time, terrorists have to be defeated militarily before political accommodation is possible.

“President Rajapaksa wisely ignored international calls for a ceasefire as he got closer to victory, including threats from the Obama Administration to block $1.9 billion in International Monetary Fund aid money. “As Colombo starts to grapple with those post-conflict problems, everyone else can take note: Thanks to a strategy of defeating the insurgency, Sri Lanka is now in a position to talk seriously about peace and economic growth. When negotiating with terrorists doesn’t work, beating them does.” (Wall Street Journal May 21, 2009)

We will now have to think seriously as to how we deal with the new threat to Sri Lanka about giving unhindered and unimpeded access to UN and other aid workers.

I trust President Rajapaksa is as pragmatic and strong in his determination to uphold Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in dealing with this new threat, as he was about the insistent calls for a ceasefire when the Tigers were on the limp, and when Hillary Clinton warned of stopping the IMF facility that Sri Lanka sought.

A phenomenal victory

Courtesy : Daily News

29-May-2009
Sri Lanka achieved a phenomenal victory at the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday. The resolution put forward by Sri Lanka received 29 votes in favour, 12 against with 6 abstentions. Even some signatories who called for the Special Session did not oppose the Sri Lankan resolution.

This is a phenomenal victory for Sri Lanka, its foreign policy and President Mahinda Rajapaksa in particular. Almost all speakers, including those who sponsored the call for the Special Session acknowledged the President’s genuine interest to bring relief to the internally displaced. They also welcomed the initiatives already taken by Sri Lanka in this regard.

What is important is that the Human Rights Council reaffirmed the respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Sri Lanka, and its sovereign rights to protect its citizens and combat terrorism and condemned all attacks that the LTTE launched on the civilian population and its practice of using civilians as human shields.

What more, it also commended the measures taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to address the urgent needs of the Internally Displaced Persons and welcomed the continued commitment of Sri Lanka to the promotion and protection of all human rights and encouraged it to continue to uphold its human rights obligations and the norms of international human rights law.

In contrast to the loud mouthed propagandists who called for tribunals against Sri Lanka the Human rights Council commended the measures taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to address the urgent needs of the Internally Displaced Persons.

Those that wanted to put Sri Lanka in the dock had to beat a hasty retreat in face of the avalanche of support from the international community which was quite widespread, encompassing all continents.

The Non-Aligned Movement, the African Group and the Organization of the Islamic Conference all gave unreserved support to Sri Lanka and questioned the double standards on human rights. The debate on the Sri Lankan situation also turned into a debate on the principles of conduct in the Human Rights Council. For example, the Non-Aligned Movement firmly believed that preserving the core principles of avoiding selectivity and double standards, as well as promoting an approach of cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights, were vital to the success of the Human Rights Council.

The Indian delegate was of the opinion that by forcing a Special Session on the Council, some Members had, regrettably, politicized the Council’s work. It was an opinion shared by many members. The delegate of the Organization of Islamic Conference said that for some there were differing standards for judging human rights as well as the criterion for combating terrorism. The Cuban delegate’s opinion was that it was an attempt by certain colonial powers to stigmatize a smaller country.

The Syrian delegate said that the convening of the Special Session was clearly interference in the internal affairs of a country. “It was also strange that this Special Session had been requested by the very same who normally turned a blind eye to the violations committed by the forces of Israeli occupation in the Occupied Arab Territories,” he said.

The representative of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was more forthright when he expressed grave concern over the politicization, selectivity and double standards that were practiced by some by singling out Sri Lanka for purposes other than genuine human rights, while ignoring gross human rights violations including civilian killings as a result of bloody wars that were carried out by powerful countries elsewhere in the world.

Today Sri Lanka stands not alone. It has great support among the community of nations. Even super powers could not put Sri Lanka in the dock. This shows that our foreign policy has been basically sound, correct and in harmony with new developments in the world where the Third World nations are beginning to have their say registered unequivocally.

What is also significant is the fact that even those countries that opposed the Sri Lankan resolution had to grudgingly acknowledge that the defeat of LTTE terrorism had opened a new opportunity for peace and reconciliation in the island. They also had to acknowledge that Sri Lanka is working in cooperation with the United Nations and the international community in the promotion of human rights.

We hope this victory would open the eyes of those local and foreign elements who were misguided by the biased and false propaganda barrage that emanated from Western capitals.

Defeat for terrorism and international coup d’etat.

Malin Abeyatunge

22- May-2009-Over the years Sri Lanka had been fighting LTTE scourge of terrorism in three fronts and finally ended up militarily victorious. One is the military operations against LTTE in the East and the North. The second front is the pro-LTTE international lobby and third front is the international coup d’etat (IC). Even though the LTTE terrorists were militarily defeated, the pro-LTTE lobby by the hard core Tamil Diaspora ably supported by bought up politicians of the western block continues. The IC is currently led by Milliband and the gang from UK, Hillary and the Gang from States, Eric and the gang from Norway and  a gang from EU countries with a British MEP leading the way. These conspirators have been ably supported by UN agency heads like Ms Navenetham Pillay  UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Radhika Coomarswamy who is the special representative for children and armed conflict and so called humanitarian organizations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. They have been accusing at every turn, pointing the gun at GoSL for human rights violations and alike and never a mention of the real perpetrator which is LTTE. Even when a tiny accusation is made on LTTE (just a white wash)  they always made it a point  to place the democratically elected legitimate Government of Sri Lanka on par with the LTTE terrorists using the hackneyed words “Both parties to the conflict” giving currency to LTTEs Eelam cry.

 The international coup d’etat against Sri Lanka led by silly Milliband  from UK (he must be day dreaming that we are still one of their  colonies) made every attempt, used every source, resources and influence to get the GoSL to agree for a ceasefire to save LTTE  until end of last week but miserably failed to get a ceasefire from strong Sri Lankan Government. Thanks for our courageous President Rajapaksa, he didn’t budge an inch from his stand that until the LTTE terrorist outfit is completely decimated that he would not stop military operations and he did that on Monday 18 2009.

   Over the last 4 months, the lunatics of the IC were constantly accusing the GoSL for killing Tamil civilians. If the Government had been killing Tamil civilians as accused by these lunatics, how come they have escaped in hundreds and thousands from LTTE clutches to Government safety zones? It was only two days before the armed forces defeated LTTE militarily, the IC led by Milliband and joined by UN secretary General Ban-ki-Moon asked LTTE to release the civilians held as human shield. Until then, they neither accused LTTE for holding Tamil civilians as human shield nor demanded LTTE to release them. However, it was sore eyes for these international conspirators to observe thousands and thousands of Tamil civilians on their own were escaping from LTTE captivity risking their lives.

Well, no sooner our armed forces decimated LTTE militarily; Milliband changed their tune and was talking about war crimes against GoSL.  How dare he says that when a democratically elected government was fighting a terrorist outfit who wanted to carve a mono ethnic enclave for Tamils only. Is military operation by a legitimate government against a terrorist outfit a war crime? If the International conspirators and the UN agencies think so, then UK, USA, NATO countries are guilty of war crimes  and should be charged for invading Iraq and Afghanistan to get Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden before they charge Sri Lanka. Over the years these international western block conspirators were least concerned of the poor plight of the Tamil civilians under the jackboot of now demised Prabhakaran, never talked about them  but suddenly started shedding crocodile tears applying pressure on the GoSL to provide five star comfort for IDP’s overnight which is humanly impossible. Humanitarian organizations, UNICEF, ICRC and the affluent west want the GoSL to solve this humanitarian crisis overnight.

 It’s true that USA has donated a few millions to assist the welfare of the IDPs which is insufficient to feed the IDPs even a week but America lavishly donated $100 million to the welfare of the IDPs returning from SWAT valley in Pakistan as USA was helping Pakistan in its military operations to wipe off Taliban militants. It is true that UK has given a couple of millions which is not a donation in real terms as the Britain owes Sri Lanka billions of sterling pounds for plundering our assets and artifacts, bringing slavery from India and creating another ethnic group, destroying our agricultural economy, plundering the lands in the up-country for few guineas, by their divide and rule policy dividing ethnic harmony between Sinhalese and Tamils thus bringing misery to Sri Lanka during their rule. The compensation for misery they created during their rule cannot be limited to a few millions of pounds but couple of billions.

 Having lost its well planned conspiracy to save LTTE and tarnish the image of Sri Lanka by these conspirators, they now together with  UN  are all out to bring  stress and pressure to the President and the Government of Sri Lanka demanding the welfare of the IDPs and reconciliation of the conflict overnight by not giving any breathing space. But we are certain that no pressure or stress can weaken our strong President Rajapakse and his Government and he will deal with it more patiently, rightly and reasonably for a long lasting sustainable  peace with dignity to fellow Sri Lankans.

  Even  LTTE is militarily defeated, the international conspiracy against Sri Lanka will continue and all Sri Lankans should be mindful of this fact.

 In conclusion, I believe this is also a subtle  attempt to regain supremacy of Anglo Saxonism which is fading at lightning speed in the Asian block and to destabilize the Asian block through small countries like Sri Lanka  and Burma etc. I leave it to the readers to ponder.