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Sri Lanka
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Human
Rights Watch (HRW) was founded in 1988 but its origins date
to a seminal event in Cold War history, the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe which was held in 'neutral'
Helsinki, Finland in July/August 1975. The Soviets went
along with it because the Helsinki Accords, as the final
agreement of this star-studded conference was popularly
known, recognized contemporary national borders as being
set and inviolable, thereby confirming Soviet suzerainty
in Eastern Europe. The Americans and their European allies,
for their part, pressed by a nervous West Germany, were
happy to see a ratcheting down of tensions in Europe.
No sooner
had the ink dried, the CIA, the KGB, and allied masters
of the dark arts started undermining the pact. The 'civil
rights' portion of the agreement, which the Soviets had
agreed to with great reluctance, was soon being used by
the West as a cat's paw to undermine Soviet power, especially
in Eastern Europe. The Moscow Helsinki Watch Group spawned
'human rights' groups in Eastern European capitals. Typically,
Western countries pronounced themselves quite beyond the
need of such patronizing supervision.
Human
Rights Watch descended directly from these NGOs that poked
about in the Soviet Union's nether regions. Its New York
base probably reflects its old CIA affiliations. Be that
as it may, HRW has done stellar work around the world during
the last 20 years in calling out when groups violate 'human
rights' (as it defines them). And there's the rub; human
rights for people with Judaeo-Christian sensibilities are
not necessarily the same as those of people with other backgrounds.
The right to life itself surely overrides more pedestrian
rights like the right to free expression, for free movement,
etc. but HRW often forgets that. And 'Western' causes get
a relatively free ride; the weak protests of HRW during
Israeli outrages against the Palestinian people contrast
starkly with its vehemence against Sri Lanka. -Read
Full Story- (HRWW)
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- Ambassador of India responds to Ms Navi Pillay's remarks on Sri Lanka at the UN in Geneva
5-June 2009 -Courtesy : www.Lankamission.org -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." - Double standards of the West
6 June 2009 - 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 - 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.
- The SuperPower Bullies
6-June-2009 - 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. - Physician heal thyself, hand over that nurse!- Island Editorial
5-June 2009 -Island Editorial -Courtesy: The Island - '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.
- West's cool reception to Sri Lanka's victory
31 May 2009 -By: Dr. Chandrani Gunaratna -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.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.
- Now that the LTTE is Crushed - Some Advice for the "Western Powers"
31 May 2009 - By: Stephen Long - Los Angeles, California -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.
- Mr. Bill Keller Executive Editor New York Times
Thursday, May 28, 2009-Wick Gankanda -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:
- Two victories and the battle on the media front
30 May 2009-Lucien Rajakarunanayake Courtesy : Daily News-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.
- A phenomenal victory
29-May-2009 -Courtesy : Daily News -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.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.
- Defeat for terrorism and international coup d'etat.
22- May-2009-Malin Abeyatunge-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.
Press
here for More articles on Sri Lanka:
Human
Rights VS the right to life
Sri Lanka refutes misleading claims
The Permanent Mission of
Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva 11th December
2007
Mr Chairman, everyone prescribes for Sri Lanka,
while not everyone studies our situation deeply. We are as you
know in the throes of dealing with a very violent terrorist movement.
Other countries, dealing with proportionately less dangerous,
proportionately less murderous, organizations, have had to make
adjustments with regard to the rights they have striven to uphold,
and we are no exception. However, we continue aware of the importance
of human rights, and welcome all assistance to maintain these,
whilst we continue with our struggle against terrorism that is
so destructive of perhaps the most fundamental right of all, the
right to life -Full
Report-(HRWW)
How
to Kill Civilians in the Name of Human Rights: Lessons from
Sri Lanka
Michael Radu, Ph.D., is Co-Chair
of FPRIs Center on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Homeland
Security
After a conflict of more than a quarter of a century of terrorism
and civil war that killed 70,000 people, Sri Lankans finally think
they have defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),
perhaps the worlds most murderous terrorist organization. Why
and how a small country of 21 million succeeded in defeating such
a group where much bigger powers have failed is a good lesson
for those who study terrorism and counterinsurgency. These lessons
are primarily political and legal, but also military and diplomatic,
and they include both successes and pitfalls in a small countrys
road to peace and development. Key to understanding why the LTTE
lasted for so long and why India was involved in Sri Lanka on
and off at various times is the fact that some 60 million Tamils
live in three southern Indian states, primarily Tamil Nadu, and
many of those support the LTTE out of ethnic solidarity. Equally,
if not more, important, there is a large (ca. 800,000) Sri Lankan
Tamil diaspora, mostly in Canada, the UK, Australia, the U.S.,
and southeast Asia. This diaspora is radicalized and, like most
diasporas living in safety, more radical than co-nationals in
the country of origin. It still provides the funds, propaganda
support, and public relations vital to the LTTE’s survival.-Full
Story-(fpri.org/)
The
great white authorities of HRW
The Permanent Mission of
Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva
Mr President, let me begin by thanking
those Non-Governmental Associations which put in such a sterling
performance last evening, running the whole gamut of emotions
from A to B. Until they spoke, given the adult approaches with
regard to Sri Lanka of the many countries that addressed this
assembly yesterday, and the helpful meetings we had with so many
responsible authorities, I was thinking that my staying on in
a freezing Geneva was a waste of time and energy and money. This
last was particularly upsetting, for we are a poor country, and
our taxpayers cannot really afford the exorbitant rates for hotels
that our well funded NGO colleagues find negligible. -Full
Story-(HRWW)
Hijacking
Human Rights
By Michael Barker
August 03, 2007 -Human Rights Watch (HRW) is one of the latter
such organizations, and as a highly regarded and influential international
nongovernmental organization (NGO), it is vital that its global
work be regularly examined to ensure that it remains true to it's
stated humanitarian mission. Simply put, this is because as Jonathan
Cook writes: "The measure of a human rights organisation is to
be found not just in the strides it takes to seek justice for
the oppressed and victimised but also in the compromises it makes
to keep itself out of trouble. Because of the business that human
rights defenders are in, they must be held to a standard higher
than we demand of others."[2] -Full
Story- (zmag.org)
Human
Rights Watch as a Political Instrument of Liberal Cosmopolitan
Elite of the United States of America
Co-operation of Russian and western human rights activists depends
not only on their professional solidarity but on their ideological
closeness of interests, sometimes - closeness of their goals.
-Full
Report-(pravoslavie.ru-19/11/04)
O'Reilly
smeared "very shadowy" Human Rights Watch
FOX News Channel and radio host Bill O'Reilly called the group
Human Rights Watch (HRW) "very shadowy" and claimed that "they
don't tell you where their money comes from" because the group
"knows how they're perceived by most Americans." In fact, HRW's
website freely discloses its donors. Later, O'Reilly's guest from
the conservative Heritage Foundation complained that HRW has focused
narrowly on "Abu Ghraib, Abu Ghraib, Abu Ghraib" (prison in Iraq)
and "Gitmo, Gitmo, Gitmo" (Guantánamo Bay, Cuba), where
Americans have been accused of abuses, rather than "using their
scarce resources to really shine the light on these places around
the world where there truly are human rights abuses" like China,
Syria, and Sudan. In fact, Human Rights Watch does extensive research
and advocacy on these nations and scores of others. -Full
Report-(mediamatters.org-Fri,
Nov 19, 2004)
Who
is behind Human Rights Watch? (2004)
Under President Clinton, Human Rights
Watch was the most influential pro-intervention lobby: its 'anti-atrocity
crusade' helped drive the wars in ex-Yugoslavia. Under George
W. Bush it lost influence to the neoconservatives, who have their
own crusades. But the 'two interventionisms' are not so different
anyway: Human Rights Watch is founded on belief in the superiority
of American values. It has close links to the US foreign policy
elite, and to other interventionist and expansionist lobbies.
.-Full
Report-(web.inter.nl.net-).-Full
Report-(forfolksake.com-29/08/08)
Why
human rights are wrong
Paul
Treanor,
Human rights conflict with the principle
of moral autonomy, and form an excuse for oppression. Any harm
to others can be justified by claiming that it is intended to
respect certain 'rights', even if the victim does not know of
their existence. Revised June 2004.
-Full
Report-(web.inter.nl.net-)
I
renounce my human rights
Paul Treanor, 7 September
1999
The first online renunciation of human rights by an individual,
written in the immediate aftermath of the Kosovo war. Since then,
the crusade in the name of such liberal ideologies has intensified.
The supporters of human rights believe that they are morally entitled
to conquer the world - and they have begun to do so. .-Full
Report-(web.inter.nl.net-)
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