Human rights issue haunts ruling regime

"We of the Left in Lanka have been campaigning for devolution against great odds. We demanded equality, autonomy and the right of self determination for the Tamil nationality. We demanded similar treatment to all smaller nationalities. At times we made great strides forward."
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By Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne

(July 05, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The root cause of conflict in the political domain can be traced to material inadequacies in the economic base. History has seen great victors, adulated by the masses, men who stand up as granite pillars, only to collapse, due to failure to substantiate their existence with economic benefits to the masses. It is an unforgiving law that reduces political and military victories to nothing, as economic expansion is stalled due to the inability to make hard decisions.

Now the warnings have come to our friend of yesteryears, Mahinda, to do good to the Tamils kept within barbed wire enclosure. The UN secretary has spread the story that these unfortunate humans are suffering from hunger and humiliation for no fault of theirs. Because all LTTE suspects are withdrawn from these barbed wire prisons to a greater horror leaving only the stark innocent. But still no human rights are given to them and no clear time frame for relocating them in their homeland. Taking all that into account, all have given warning to Mahinda regime. This includes the real master of Mahinda, Man Mohan Singh. India has blasted the delegation led by Basil, the political master. In the meantime a top British minister indicated a few weeks back that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government is unlikely to secure the US$ 1.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan in the near future. Last week Lakbimanews said: “The Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsible for Africa, Asia and the United Nations Lord Mark Malloch Brown disclosed to the media this week in New York, that the IMF loan to Sri Lanka was being withheld. Lord Brown said his government took a very tough stand on the Sri Lankan issue and is not going to change its stance. The US government, the main stakeholder in the IMF and British government are yet to decide on the IMF loan sought by Sri Lanka.”

On the other hand during his visit to Washington DC, Minister Prof G L Peiris accused the IMF of bringing political matters into the discussion on a loan agreement. He was referring to the fact that several global powers have exerted pressure on the Obama administration to block the IMF loan facility to Lanka until the Colombo authorities agree to accept proposed conditions. Mahinda is not a socialist nor is he going to play the role of a local Hugo Chavez. Within global capitalism he has to go along the path given by his masters. On this occasion, in addition to the horrible conditions placed for the economic interest of the MNC system, the masters have put forward conditions related to the Tamil national problem. They have done this not only because of benefits to the global exploitative system but also to satisfy the demands of the international Left and democratic forces including the Tamil diaspora.

We of the Left in Lanka have been campaigning for devolution against great odds. We demanded equality, autonomy and the right of self determination for the Tamil nationality. We demanded similar treatment to all smaller nationalities. At times we made great strides forward. But in the recent past we were beaten back into the wilderness. Many were frightened and left the shore. At this moment the pressure has come from an alien direction, but that does not mean we are going to avoid the issue.

Apart from anything else here we get the space for some fresh air, in order to come out and attack the chauvinist super structure. Savages and Neanderthals are on the run. Champika threatens to resign, Wimal is angry and others are bewildered. For the sake of the suffering humanity,kept within barbed wire, to defend the rights of Tamil people and to win the demands of the proletariat we must mobilize all democratic forces. Down with chauvinist ministers and leaders! Out! Out! Out you go.

-Sri Lanka Guardian