Sri Lankan people living in Europe protest against a UN-Resolution that calls on the Sri Lankan government to look into alleged war crimes of the war carried against LTTE (Tamil Tigers), during a rally in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, March 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi) / by Salvatore Di Nolfi, AP
l by Shenali Waduge
(March 21, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The spate of civil unrest that was artfully staged to create regime change throughout Middle East and other parts of the world has been somewhat hard to come by for foreign intelligence coup operators in Sri Lanka. It is because these countries have vested faith and money in local mouthpieces that locals know to be misfits of society who are being paid to vocalize gibberish. Sri Lanka will not fall like the other victims.
Across the world there is a message in all the demonstrations taking place – it is to show solidarity of a nation that questions the US & its allies for their hypocrisies.
All of these nations cannot deny that they have done some type of dealings direct or indirect with LTTE terrorists undermining their own policy to eliminate terrorism. These nations by their links to the LTTE has not only humiliated a sovereign nation they have deprived 20m people of peaceful coexistence and their right to find solutions to their own problems by first identifying the problem before introducing the solutions. Sri Lanka is struggling because we are forced to work with solutions to a problem which no one is brave enough to define.
What are the problem Sri Lanka’s Tamil’s suffer from that warrant international interference that is not suffered by the Sinhalese or the Muslims? This question is never answered.
LTTE was proscribed in 32 countries but their international head quarters was in London. LTTE’s front organizations openly raised funds, ran illegal operations, dealt with foreign MPs and even invited them for LTTE functions that glorified suicide bombers & hero worshipped the LTTE leaders’ right in front of these foreign MPs who opted to secure Tamil votes rather than look upon the ethics of being party to a terrorist event.
We have countries like Norway treating leaders of the LTTE as old chums and former LTTErs citing instances of Norway passing on technical expertise to LTTE as well. In the UK, LTTE even registered as a political party People’s Front of Liberation Tigers (PFLT) in Feb 2010 but the Elections Office removed its name pending investigation. LTTE front organizations claiming to be charities have also been banned but have renamed & registered as other charities carrying on the same activities.
Then there is the UN/INGOs & NGOs – over 3500 operating in Sri Lanka, 25 located in the Wanni itself. But nothing to see about any development work done by them so what exactly have they done with money sent by charitable hearts.
This brings us to the notion that NGOs actually operate as a strategic foreign policy initiative of western nations that is why they are never monitored on how they spend donor money. It is only a camouflage. Sri Lanka’s distrust in the NGOs primarily is due to their not operating to their official mandate. They are not supposed to get involved in the dynamics of a conflict. When they do they only end up complicating the situation by showing allegiance to a terrorist group.
There are other evidence to doubt as well. The army found high protein biscuits belonging to UN & WFP with a shelf life of 4 years with the LTTE – were these stolen? A UN vehicle bound for the North had a hidden catchment of arms – were UN aware? Norwegian People’s Aid claimed its heavy earth moving equipment was “stolen” by the LTTE, can we accept this when NPA was said to have secretly smuggled arms to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. It was these earth moving equipment that the LTTE used to build the bunds to delay the army. Then when the army overran LTTE’s Stanley Base there were generators, tents, water pumps all belonging to INGOs – were these given or stolen? Then we have a senior officer of Zoa Refugee Care deciding to stay back with the LTTE – why would he do that?
Channel 4’s former UN witnesses feel so sad about the plight of the Tamil civilians. UN convoys regularly traveled to & from the North transporting essential items. This question was never asked but why didn’t the LTTE not send any civilians at least the feeble, the pregnant & the children with these UN convoys since LTTE loved the Tamil people so much? Why didn’t the UN not request the LTTE to allow these people to board the UN convoy moving out of the Wanni? These UN officials and even the Western mediators & India could have easily suggested this and moved the civilians to safety….!!! At the same time why didn’t UN demand LTTE to move out of the No Fire Zone along with their heavy artillery? Didn’t the UN & foreign mediators inform the LTTE that they had no right to be amongst civilians in an area that the military had designated exclusively for Tamil civilians to seek protection?
We next come to India. If a country that has to be accountable for Sri Lanka’s 30 year misery more than the LTTE, it is India. Is there no mechanism that a Resolution can be brought against India for creating militant movements from Sri Lankan youth, training militants, supporting them and allowing India’s south to be freely used as a transit point, where Tamil Nadu politicians openly praise these terrorists & almost worship its leader? There are enough evidence to prove India’s role in handling LTTE despite its presence in Sri Lanka in a peace mission which too turned into a killing of Tamil civilians & raping them by the IPKF which also can be proved. Now post-LTTE India is claiming to be only interested in Tamils of Sri Lanka – their dignity, self-respect & justice. India is free to offer citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamils who would prefer to be Indian citizens than Sri Lankan.
We need to remind India that had India allowed Sri Lanka’s army to capture Prabakaran in 1987 Sri Lanka’s terrorist problem would have been over in 1987 itself & not lasted 25 years. India is then solely responsible for stopping the capture of Prabakaran and then forcing Sri Lanka to make changes to its Constitution by introducing the 13thamendment & creating a provincial council system that has proven to be an utter failure in terms of productivity & efficiency.
Since there is confusion in civilian numbers it must be pointed out that despite 294,000 emerging from Wanni as Tamil civilians it is impossible that these civilians are Sri Lankan Tamils. They have to be illegal immigrants from India & that maybe why India has insisted on opening a consulate office in Jaffna.
Realistically speaking, India must be grateful to Sri Lanka for tolerating India despite its sponsoring of terrorism in Sri Lanka. It is not Sri Lanka that has to be grateful to India.
Lastly we come to a film by Channel 4 winning accolades, being screened at the UN in Geneva & New York, UK House of Commons, European Parliament & among key figures in the US Senate. For them to be appalled by the war crimes of the Government they must have forgotten that they banned the LTTE in their countries & had issued countless condolence statements each time LTTE targeted civilians & children?
None of these viewers cared to wonder why Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields was a one-sided documentary – not a single mention how the military, navy & airforce personnel attended to the fleeing Tamil civilians at times carrying them through the lagoon to safety.
Leaving all that aside when Channel 4’s “mobile” footage was challenged when first aired in 2009 & then again challenged when aired on 15th June 2011 claiming that the footage had to have been taken from a Nokia 6620 & not a mobile phone as optical zooming feature was not available on mobiles in 2009, no one asked Channel 4 to release the original video to verify the authenticity especially since LTTE has carried out murders on civilians dressed as Sri Lankan military personnel (ex: killing of 30 student monks at Arantalawa who were going on a pilgrimage & attacking the sacred city of Anuradhapura shooting at Buddhists while they were praying). Also listen to S.Kanagaratnam - A former TNA MP - http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/04/19/final-days-vanni-600-tamils-shot-and-killed-stray-dogs-first-person-revelation. The military even proved that Channel 4’s eyewitnesses were members of the LTTE including Vany Kumar & Issipriya.
Moreover, the documentary is being championed by human rights organization Amnesty International an organization that has accepted $50,000 from the Canadian Tamil Congress, a LTTE front organization banned in Canada. This does appear a little odd that a human rights organization goes out of its way to be championing a film which clearly shows bias towards the LTTE and is attempting to frame the Government of Sri Lanka for war crimes taking great pains to bring areas like attacks on hospitals & shelling of civilians as a reason to press for war crimes charges.
There is also charges that everyone who was a witness to the war was removed. On the contrary Indian journalists & Al Zaeera journalists joined the security forces and only those that had proven records of biased journalism was not included.
It is in the light of these ambiguities, bias and unethical practices that the citizens of Sri Lanka are standing united to say that no war is fought without losses. Just as sad to see a civilian killed is also the sight of a soldier blown to bits by a mine. Similarly, we doubt that most of the young men & women & children who we call LTTE became fighters not because of any hatred for the Sinhalese but due to other reasons which no one likes to speak about. It has always been convenient to only lay the blame on the Sinhalese.
Just take a look at the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppo21s1rM7g to see the magnitude of the humanitarian operation carried out by Sri Lanka’s armed forces. Had they been purposely shelling the No Fire Zone how did 294,000 escape along with 11,000 former LTTE cadres, lets also not forget that UN civilian death estimates was just over 7000 & not 40,000 as is being alleged & surely US satellites would have picked up such a genocide?
What all those bringing war crimes charges must answer is if the Sri Lankan army had been ordered to kill & were killing thousands of Tamil civilians why were these very civilians running towards them abandoning their ‘sole representative” the LTTE???
Though LTTE used Tamils as human shields, killed them, denied them food & medicines watched without a hum by the Tamil Diaspora & Tamil politicians, it was the Sri Lanka Army often referred to as “Sinhala Army” that braved LTTE mines to save 294,000 Tamil civilians. Everyone especially the Tamils must be grateful for this.
In peace time to be wagging a paper called “accountability” while remaining silent when LTTE killed throughout 30 years is what we are all opposing today.
Sri Lanka’s “problem” is an ugly combination involving caste/class/religion/poor-rich, differences between elite Jaffna Tamils, North Tamils & Eastern Tamils (Estate Tamils are not even included into the equation of Tamil “problems”). It has been easy to blame the Sinhalese rather than highlighting the shortcomings that exist amongst their own. The problems Tamils suffer from are far more agonizing than living next door to a Sinhalese and that’s for sure! Just see if a Jaffna Tamil will ever share his cup of tea with an Estate Tamil or marry his daughter to a Batticoloa Tamil! Therefore, it is best that our people learn to overcome these issues on their own and allow time to heal inside Sri Lanka.
We don’t mind remnants of LTTE doing what they like overseas but NOT in Sri Lanka ever.
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