Anglo-European state sponsored terrorism can kill anyone – UN just looks the other side

Shenali D Waduge

Articles 1 of the UN Charter of 1945 gives the purpose & principles of the UN – maintain international peace & security, take effective collective measures to prevent & remove threats to peace, suppress acts of aggression or other breaches of peace, bring about by peaceful means in conformity with principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which may lead to breach of peace. UN bound to develop friendly relations among nations, strengthen universal peace, achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of economic, social, cultural or humanitarian, promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction of race, sex, language or religion & be the centre for harmonizing the actions of nations to attain these common ends. Article 2 declares that the UN is based on the principle of sovereign equality to all Members, that all Members shall settle international disputes by peaceful means so that international peace is not endangered. All Members shall refrain from threat or use of force against territorial integrity or political independence of any state. The most important of which is ‘Nothing contained in the Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially with the domestic jurisdiction of any state’. Now ask yourself has the UN abided by the clauses of the UN charter and have the US, UK & NATO nations honoured these clauses.

The answer is a sad NO.

Since 1945 the UN has ignored all of West’s state sponsored terrorism while allowing the West to charge other nations and even endorsed sanctions leading to further deaths and suffering.

What is the use of a UN that ignores the bulk of crimes that exist in the world because of West’s incursions resulting in the exodus of internally displaced people, refugees, asylum seekers and a host of issues which invariably open up opportunities for West’s mercenaries and missionaries in the form of NGOs and corporations to enter the very nations they have destroyed claiming to offer solutions. This hypocritical nature of world domination needs to stop. As we can all see it is fairly evident that the Islamic jihadists themselves are well trained mercenaries tasked to do an objective and using Islam in lieu of the ‘Communist’ tag the West used to destroy nations of Asia including the USSR. A West that boasts equality, transparency and justice has been ousting every leftist thinking political leader branding them as ‘communist’ ‘dictator’ while totally ignoring the state terrorism inflicted by them.

The following list is taken from an article by James Lucas “US has killed more than 20million people in 37 victim nations since World War 2”should give readers a fair idea of what the UN has been ignoring and what the West has been committing and this should suffice to say it is time for UNexit and time for UN to wind up for it has failed the rest of the World by becoming an appeasing puppet to Western neo-colonial politics.

Afghanistan

· US lured Soviet Union into invading Afghanistan

· US armed the Mujahideen from which Osama bin Laden & Al Qaeda was later created

· US spent $5-6billion for this exercise

· US-CIA has since captured the heroin market and is one of the core reasons for US presence in Afghanistan

· 9/11 was an excuse to invade Afghanistan so that the West could tap its natural resources and build a commercial pipeline – all corporate interests satisfied in the name of America

· Over 1million people have died to date

UN FAILS AFGHANISTAN

Cambodia

· Bombed on orders of US Presidents

· Villages destroyed, internal displacement, refugees

· US & UK helped Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot to power.

· 2.5m were killed

UN FAILS CAMBODIA

East Timor

· 1975 - US President Ford and Secretary of State Kissinger arrive in Indonesia and give Suharto permission to invade East Timor

· 1991 – 217 East Timorese protested at memorial in Dili (many were children) US trained Commando Subianto (son-in-law of Suharto) gunned them and threw bodies to sea

· 200,000 out of 700,000 population killed

UN FAILS EAST TIMOR

Indonesia

· Gen. Sukarno replaced by Gen. Suharto in 1965 coup helped by US

· CIA gives Indonesian Army 5000 names to kill

· US provided Indonesia $400m in economic aid and sold tens of millions in weaponry from 1993-1997.

· 500,000 – 3million killed

UN FAILS INDONESIA

Korea (North & South)

· US propaganda showcase Soviet ordering North Korea to attack South Korea to enable US to attack North Korea even before UN resolution passed

· US uses Napalm

· John H Kim, US veteran “the U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy were directly involved in the killing of about three million civilians – both South and North Koreans – at many locations throughout Korea…It is reported that the U.S. dropped some 650,000 tons of bombs, including 43,000 tons of napalm bombs, during the Korean War.”(The Korean War)

· 1.8m – 4.5m dead (South Koreans, North Koreans & Chinese)

UN FAILS NORTH KOREA

Laos

· During 1965-73 Vietnam War, US dropped 2million tons of bombs on Laos (This was more than what both sides in World War 2 used)

· US military intervention in Laos started in 1950s with US recruiting 40,000 Laotians to oppose leftist political leader Pathet Lao who came into power in 1975

· 200,000 dead

UN FAILS LAOS

Nepal

· Civil war increased after arrival of 8400 American M-16 submachine guns and US advisors

· 2002 another civil war – George Bush passes Bill authorizing $20m military aid

· US helped draft Nepals new constitution

· 8000-12,000 killed since 1996

UN FAILS NEPAL

Angola

· US oppose UN recognition of Angola in 1977

· US approves material support to UNITA to overthrow govt in 1986

· US intervenes using intervention of Cuban troops to Angola

· Prof. Gkleijeses of John Hopkins University says Cuban intervened as CIA financed covert invasion via Zaire (Congo)

· 300,000-750,000 deaths

UN FAILS ANGOLA

Chad

· CIA helps Hissen Habre come to power in 1982 and rule till 1990

· Belgium opens case (allowing victims to file complaints in Belgium for atrocities abroad) against Habre in 2003 – US response was to threaten Belgium it would lose status as NATO headquarters if proceedings were allowed.

· 40,000 killed – 200,000 tortured

UN FAILS CHAD

Democratic Republic of Congo (Formerly Zaire)

· King Leopold of Belgium murder of Congolese began in 1879 killing 10m in over 20 years.

· Congo gained independence in 1960

· Patrice Lumumba became first Prime Minister

· Lumumba was assassinated by US UK

· West funds civil war supporting mercenaries. US gave $15m military supplies to Zairian President Mobutu to defend himself against rival operating in Angola inspite of US State Dept condemning him for human rights violations.

· Congressional report of 2001 linked an American company to George Bush Snr for fanning war in Congo for monetary gains. Over 125 companies are out to loot the resources in Zaire/Congo (Coltan is one resource needed to manufacture cell phones)

UN FAILS CONGO

Bolivia

· 1970s – Bolivia nationalize 10 mines and distributes lands

· US responds by training Hugo Banzer at US School of the America’s in Panama to stage a coup and came to power with US assistance in 1971

UN FAILS BOLIVIA

Chile

· CIA intervened in 1958-1964 elections

· 1970 - Socialist Savador Allende becomes President – US wanted military coup before inauguration. Chile’s Army Chief Schneider refused. CIA attempted to assassinate Schneider and succeedd

· President Nixon sponsored guerilla warfare and in 1973 Allende was assassinated

· US replaced with puppet Pinochet who ruled for 17 years.

· 3000 Chileans killed – many more disappeared

UN FAILS CHILE

Colombia

· US state sponsored terrorism - Refer HRW report 1994 & 1996 HRW report “Assassination squads in Colombia’ revealing CIA agents helped train undercover agents in anti-subversive activity in 1991.

· 67,000 deaths since 1960s

UN FAILS COLUMBIA

Cuba

· Bay of Pigs invasion 18 April 1961, 114 of invading force was killed. 1189 taken prisoners other escaped to waiting US ships.

· Other estimates 1800 killed by napalm.

· 2000-4000 Cuban forces killed.

UN FAILS CUBA

Dominican Republic

· Juan Bosch became President in 1962 and began land reforms & public works

· 7 months later CIA deposed him

· Bosch planned a comeback in 1965, CIA invaded using 22,000 soldiers and marines – the excuse given was to protect the foreigners!

· 3000 Dominicans died from US invasion

UN FAILS DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

El Salvador

· Civil War 1981-1992 financed by $6b in US aid.

· US military advisors taught methods of torture on teenage prisoners.

· Government soldiers were graduates of US School of the Americas.

· The 1993 UN Truth Commission revealed that 96% of human rights violations were by Salvadoran army (who had been trained by US)

· 75,000 people killed

UN FAILS EL SALVADOR

Grenada

· US destabalizing of Grenada began in 1979 when Maurice Bishop became President.

· He was overthrown in 1983 for not joining anti-Cuba calls

· Excuse given was Grenada building airport that would be used to attack UK and lives of American students in Grenada was in danger.

UN FAILS GRENADA

Guatemala

· Jacobo Arbenz became President in 1951 he took over land used by United Fruit Company, the company hired mercenaries and a CIA coup in 1954 ousted him from office.

· Military government of 1981-83 financed by US that destroyed 400 Mayan villages

· Over 200,000 killed from civil wars

UN FAILS GUATEMALA

Haiti

· Papa Doc Duvalier ruled from 1957-1986.

· His son took over – both influenced by CIA and popular movements suppressed.

· 30,000-100,000 killed

UN FAILS HAITI

Honduras

· CIA supported Battalion 316 which kidnapped, tortured & killed hundreds of Hondurans in 1980s.

· Shock and suffocation devices used for interrogations, prisoners kept naked, killed & buried in unmarked graves. (declassified documents are evidence)

UN FAILS HONDURAS

Hungary

· US radio helped in raising Hungarians against the Soviets in 1956 giving tactical advice on how to fight the Soviets.

UN FAILS HUNGARY

Iran

· US provided military support for Iraq during Iran-Iraq war 1988 firing missiles on a civilian flight that killed 290.

· 262,000 dead (1980-88)

UN FAILS IRAN

Iraq

· 1980-88 : 105,000 dead- US provided Iraq billions including biological agents to defeat Iran. US did not want either side to win

· 1990-2003 : 200,000 Iraqis died in vain - US-Iraq war – Saddam invaded Kuwait in August 1990 believing it was what US wanted. Iraq had fallen into trap and US imposed sanctions. To win over American public the Kuwait ambassador to US falsely testified to Congress that Iraqi troops were pulling plugs on incubators

· US air assault on Iraq in 1991 lasted 42 days. US dropped 400 tons of depleted uranium – US and NATO bombs targeted civilian infrastructure

· The 1991 Gulf War was to save Kuwait from Iraq. That was the official story sold to the world. Saddam Hussein however believes the US cajoled him into invading Kuwait. (Iraq claims that Kuwait was part of the Ottoman Empire) In 1991 - 120,000 sorties were launched and 265,000 bombs were dropped in Iraq. The great majority of the Coalition's military forces were from the U.S., with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost to bomb a fellow Muslim nation.

· UN sanctions responsible for deaths of over 560,000 children (FAO) / 1999 – 5000 Iraqi children died monthly from sanctions (UNICEF)

· 2003 – to date - 654,000 deaths

· 9/11 was the excuse to attack Iraq claiming WMD and to save Iraq from dictator Saddam

· In 2003 – US launched ‘shock & awe’ on Baghdads 5million populace. Iraq was subjected to 41,000 sorties and 27,000 bombs dropped

UN FAILS IRAQ

Israel-Palestinian War

· US supports Israel and uses its veto powers to stop resolutions against Israel.

· 100,000-200,000 from both sides

UN FAILS ISRAEL AND PALESTINIANS

Nicaragua

· 1981-1990 about 25000 Nicaraguans died from armed struggle between Sandinista government & Contra rebels using CIA assassination manuals

· CIA armed Contras

UN FAILS NICARAGUA

Pakistan

· 1971 US helped West Pakistan invade East Pakistan and led to India invading East Pakistan (creating Bangladesh)

· Estimates are that 3million died

· US supplied $411m to create West Pakistan’s armed forces – during war US supplied $15m in arms

UN FAILS PAKISTAN

Panama

· 1989 US troops invade Panama to arrest Manuel Noriega (former CIA agent)

· 500-4000 people killed

UN FAILS PANAMA

Paraguay

· Operation Condor was a secret intelligence and operations system created in the 1970s to destroy the "subversive threat" from the left and defend "Western, Christian civilization." - U.S.-led counterinsurgency strategy to pre-empt or reverse social movements demanding political or socioeconomic change.

· Operation Condor employed a computerized database of thousands of individuals considered politically suspect and had archives of photos, microfilms, surveillance reports, psychological profiles, reports on membership in organizations, personal and political histories, and lists of friends and family members, as well as files on all manner of organizations. Several sources indicate that the CIA provided powerful computers to the Condor system

UN FAILS PARAGUAY

Philippines

· US has been controlling Philippines for over 100 years

· 1969 Symington Committee in US Congress revealed how war material was sent for counter-insurgency with US Special Forces and US Marines playing active role.

· 100,000 are said to have been executed or disappeared under President Marcos

UN FAILS PHILIPPINES

Sudan

· 1955 Sudan gained independence

· 1978 Sudan discovers oil & Sudan became 6^thlargest recipient of US military aid.

· Over 2million people killed from ongoing wars

· US supporting efforts to overthrow central government

· August 1998 US bombed Khartoum with 75 cruise missiles claiming to target a chemical weapons factory owned by Osama bin Laden (it was actually a pharmaceutical supplies plant leading to tens of thousands dying for lack of medicines – this was the real US objective)

· 1999 US Secretary of State Madeline Albright met Sudan Peoples Liberation Army leader and offered food supplies in exchange for him to refuse peace plan sponsored by Egypt and Libya

· Foreign oil companies have been accused of complicity in depopulation of villages.

UN FAILS SUDAN

Vietnam

· US opposed agreement to unify North & South Vietnam and brought Catholic Ngo Diem to power in South Vietnam in a country of majority Buddhists.

· 1964 CIA fabricated story of Vietnam attacking US ship in Gulf of Tonkin to justify US action against Vietnam

· US Operation Phoenix terrorized South Vietnam – 1968 My Lai massacre is just one of America’s gruesome murders

· 7.8million deaths Vietnam War

· Estimated deaths of Cambodia & Laos was 2.7m

UN FAILS VIETNAM

Yugoslavia

· After USSR was dissolved US & Germany wanted to convert Yugoslavia’s economy to a capitalist one but ethnic and religious differences stood in between.

· The answer was to create independent nations run by West

· Over 107,000 estimated deaths from conflicts in Bosnia, Krajina, Croatia, Kosovo

UN FAILS YUGOSLAVIA

Libya

· Since when did a UN allow nations with blood on hands to remove dictators after the lies of Iraq?

· A leader of a nation was killed mercilessly and the world just looked on

· Lies & distortions were all part of another useless intervention that has destroyed Libya and the people.

· Today Libya is a devastated nation thanks to the West and UN

UN FAILS LIBYA

Syria

· It is very clear that Syria’s rebels just like Libya’s are hired mercenaries trained, armed and financed by the West to oust Syria’s leader.

· The appeals by the Syrian government to the UN has failed.

· UN has been accused of bias against Syria

· Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) says U.S. drones kill hundreds of innocent civilians

· A 12 year boy was recently beheaded by the ‘moderates’ that the US are arming.

UN FAILS SYRIA

Since 1945 while the UN was tasked to overlook world peace - the US and fellow Western nations have been responsible for - covert operations, using depleted uranium, napalm, intervening in elections, overthrowing democratically elected leaders & replacing them with puppets, arm twisting Third World leaders to sell national assets to Western corporates, arming, financing and training terrorists, funding terrorist groups, funding propaganda lies, using mercenaries, enlisting NGOs to do dirty work, creating schools to train in methods of torture, firing at civilian flights, killing civilians from drones and excusing as collateral damage, targeting civilian infrastructure, ruining ancient historical sites (cultural genocide), bogus military interventions on pretext of humanitarian causes - what is even more horrifying is that the US declassified documents boasting of its escapes and CIA and Western intelligence even admits openly to these involvement but no criminal proceedings are taken against the West by the UN. Is the UN the West’s puppet court? And to add to the hypocrisy 8 months after coming into power the US President Obama is awarded a Nobel Peace Prize…. Do we laugh or cry?

Are we to continue with the UN so that the West can now turn its bloody hands on Asia having ruined Latin America, Africa, parts of Eastern Europe & presently the Middle East? Should this Western puppet of racism with welcome hands only for western-worshipping Asian/African sepoys be allowed to do to Asia what they have done to the rest of the world? Let us not forget that we are already carrying the burdens of close to 500 years of colonial legacy do we want to walk into a neo-colonial one too?

§ Complete report - http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-has-killed-more-than-20-million-people-in-37-victim-nations-since-world-war-ii/5492051

§ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_casualties_in_the_war_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%9314)

§ Timeline of CIA atrocities - http://www.globalresearch.ca/a-timeline-of-cia-atrocities/5348804

The immorality of Canada’s foreign policy on Sri Lanka

RANJITH SOYSA

The Canadian Prime Minister issued a statement on Sri Lanka on 18^th May 2016 and stated that he had met a number of victims of war in Sri Lanka and he understands the unfortunate and bleak situation they were facing. He said that the Canadian Tamils were an integral part of the Canadians. He said that he was convinced that the foreign and the Commonwealth judges and investigators must be included in the mechanism to help the war victims in the investigation of war crimes in Sri Lanka. It is expected that the foreign minister of Canada, Stephane Dion who will be visiting Sri Lanka will confirm the position held by Justin Traudeau and will insist that the UNHRC resolution should be implemented in full and he will also visit the Northern Province and shed tears on the Tamil victims while placing the blame on the Sri Lankan defence forces for having defeated the LTTE terrorists.

The Canadian policy of damning the SrI Lankan Government and the defence forces while treating the terrorists and the separatists of the Tamil Eelam with kid gloves is a well-established story as told by the veteran Canadian journalist, Stewart Bell in his book, Cold Terror, the Review of Operations Cribble, Canadian Intelligence officer Stephen Dubrial’s review based on 15 warrants issued, the judgement of Canadian Federal Judge Lewins.

Canada brazenly violated UN Security Council resolutions of 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001) and 1566 (2004) by

1 Allowing the funding of LTTE’s terrorism in Sri Lanka

2 Offering asylum to well know terrorists of the LTTE with the active participation of its Government agencies.

3 Turing a blind eye to the reports and reviews by the well-established sources which dealt with the terrorist funding and the functioning of terrorist cells of the LTTE in Canada.

The latest reported case of granting asylum seeker status by Canada is the case of Ravi Sanker Thaigarajah. He was the chief of the naval vessels or the better known as floating armouries which were owned by the LTTE. He was found guilty by the Supreme Court on terrorism charges on 24 th June 2014. By that time Ravi Sanker Thiagrajah was found missing and it was suspected that he had left Sri Lanka by illegal means. Even the Interpol issued a wanted notice of this criminal. Canada refused to play by the rules of the international norms and it practically rejected even to advise Sri Lanka about this wanted criminal. According to reliable information the Canadian High Commission in Sri Lanka actively supported the granting of the asylum status to this war criminal and he is living safely in Canada after actively assisting in the killing of thousands of unarmed Sri Lankan civilians with the bombs and other equipment transported by him.

Another noted terrorist criminal who was given the asylum statues is Karthipan who too was named by the Interpol. He was responsible for supply of GPSs, Motorola transmitters and antennas thro Fr Tony Raj who was apprehended at Katunayke airport. Canada was again blind to the Interpol wanted criminal notice and it failed to advise Sri Lanka about him.

According to review prepared by the Canadian Intelligence Officer, Stephen Dubrail in the Cribble report of 2013 after investigating into the activities of the HQ of World Tamil Movement it was revealed that:

1 Prabahakran sent letters to World Tamil Movement,Canada requesting funds to procure air craft, weapons and ammunitions.

2 Existence of a sophisticated methods of remitting funds to the LTTE via Singapore and Malaysia from Canada using Bank of Nova Scotia and Canadian Trust Bank. It was found out that a sum of 3 million dollars have been remitted via Singapore to the LTTE account by World Tamil Movement. Further, it was revealed that WTM had deposited approximately dollars 7,63,000- yearly collected by force from the Tamils in Canada.

3 Names of the LTTE international wing operators in 11 countries.

4 The details of the discussions held in Vanni with the leaders of the LTTE operations in 2004 where it was agreed to procure mortars.

5 A video which gave information about Prabakaran’s request for anti-aircraft weaponry and cannons to attack the air craft of the SL Air Force.

(When information was made available to the Ontario Supreme Court Justice Lewins, made an order for the Government to seize the income of the WTM)

Stewart Bell in his book discusses how the Canadian Government funded the Tesco , the Tamil Eelam Society which in turn funnelled funds to the LTTE. One of the directors of TESCO, Devakumar Sabapathy issued a threat to kill the former President of Sri Lanka and his brother. But, Canada acted as if they did not hear any such report by covertly supporting the LTTE front organization.

( the details outlined regards above incidents were based on a defence report of Keerthi Warnakulasuriya of Sunday Divaina)

Bell in his book on the subject of Snow Tigers (the LTTE) stated that the LTTE and its fronts used every conceivable tactic- government grants, front companies, fraud of every type migrant smuggling and drugs. “One CSIS report estimates that $2 million a year, in collections funnelled to the Tigers from Canada to support the war effort. Another CSIS study puts the figure at $ 1 million a month…to put it bluntly, Canada is the support base for a terrorist organization that has killed more than 100 politicians, assassinated the leaders of two countries –India and Sri Lanka – and carried out more suicide bombings than any other militant group in the world”. Then he referred to the massive bomb explosion at the Central Bank and says “ Although, the bombing was carried out by the local Tiger operatives , the plot originated in Toronto. Sri Lankan intelligence officials tell me they traced the explosives used in the bomb and found they had come from the Ukranian shipment purchased 2 years earlier with money wired from British Colombia, Canada”

The Christ was sold for 30 pieces of silver in the poignant Bible story. The Canadian authorities and the Canadian Government is ever willing to bend as much as possible to help the LTTE and the terrorists by IGNORING the internationally accepted norms including UN anti-terrorist international resolutions and by overtly cultivating the connections to the front organizations for the sake of garnering the votes of the Tamils in Canada! What Times! Whither Canadian morals!

The irony in this scenario is when Canada without any scruples by closely associating with the LTTE’s criminals who killed thousands of unarmed civilians including children and infants in Sri Lanka has the audacity to pontificate to Sri Lanka how to investigate its Defence forces and suggest ways for the reconciliation.

Over to you, the Foreign Minister Stephane Dion who is expected shortly in Sri Lanka on a reconnaissance tour. Discriminating Sri Lanka media men and women should enquire from Stephane how come Canada can continue to play this double game!

Is this a process for reconciliation or a process for betraying our armed forces?

By S. Akurugoda

As per a Information Note Circulated by Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Prime Minister has appointed a Secretariat to seek the views of the public on so-called process and mechanisms for reconciliation in Sri Lanka and seek suggestions for 'their' design of;

1) Office of Missing Persons
2) Truth, Justice, Reconciliation and Non-Recirrence Commission
3) Judicial Mechanism
4) Office of Reparations
5) Any other mechanisms

The 11 member Consultation Task Force (CTF) with Paikisothy Saravanamuttu as its Secretary is expected to conclude its sittings within a month commencing from July 2016.

The creation of the above 4 mechanisms has already been agreed by the current Ranil-Sirisena regime during the last September 2015 UNHRC session in Geneva. A bill for the establishment of the item 1 (above), Office of Missing Persons is to be presented to the Parliament very soon.

Thus seeking suggestions at this stage on the establishment of the above mechanism is nothing but merely eyewash to mislead the general public. Considering the short notice of 5 working days given to submit views and the backgrounds of the NGO kingpins involved in the so-called Task Force are a confirmation of this deceitfulness.

Paikisothy Saravanamuttu, the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, since its inception, is well known for his activities to legitimise the LTTE and its terrorism prior to 2009 and since then justifying war crime charges against our security forces.

CPA and similar ilk were in the driver’s seat during the Chandrika-Ranil failed regimes attempting to brainwash the country from top political hierarchy to grass roots level, spending billions of rupees.

Anyone going through the media releases and the writings of the CPA (apart from their other activities), will see the extent of damage done to the sovereignty of our nation as it promoted the LTTE as an integral part of their so-called solutions.

Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu , in his media releases and writings always preached LTTE racism as nationalism and attempted to justify its terrorism and while calling for "internal self-determination " and "federal" form of government assuring access to resources and financial autonomy for any structure agreed upon for the north and east. "The political structure that can accommodate the above as the aspirations of the people of our island, will have to be federal. Whether we call it federal or not and there still is stiff resistance to doing so, the state of the future will have to be federal in nature, if the country is to be united and at peace". http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=40&id=1249.

While attempting to cover-up the LTTE terror campaign, Paikiasothy on many occasions called foreign countries , including India, to pressurize the Rajapaksa government, but not the LTTE. "What New Delhi could do is increase international pressure (on the Rajapakse government) and can try to cut off existing non-lethal military assistance to seek a political settlement,’’ he once told IPS.

As reported in Tamilnet on 24 May 2007, he characterized Sri Lanka as "the worst place in the world for civilians and stressed the need to negotiate with the LTTE, and the merger of the North-East," in Washington while sighting 'a Role for the United States Government' .

CPA conducted seminars, lectures, workshops under the pretext of 'Peace' throughout the LTTE terror period to convince (unsuccessfully) the people that the LTTE is undefeatable and even make use of those activities to frighten them by suggesting the possibilities of R2P (Responsibility to Protect) situation, misinterpreting what was going on in the country at that time. Responsibility to protect by Paikiasothy Sarawanamuttu of CPA is a case in point. ( http://www.themorningleader.lk/20070801/issues.html)

On 28th August 2009, soon after the elimination of 3 decades long LTTE terror from our soil by our brave security forces and the political leadership, the two kingpins of CPA and National Peace Council were reported addressing a close-door meeting convened by the US Institute of Peace (USIP). Another notable participant of this discussion was Teresita Schaffer of The Centre for Strategic and international Studies, one of the former US Ambassadors to Sri Lanka, who was very critical of the Sri Lankan government during her tenure of office in Sri Lanka. As per media reports, the duos from the two NGOs basically said at a meeting, in Washington D.C. with former Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Robert Blake, was what Blake wanted them to say. After few months of these meetings, Ban Ki-moon appointed a panel to advise him (i.e the UNSG) on Sri Lanka’s alleged war crime charges which led to the current status of UNHRC resolution leading to the formation of above mechanisms.

Thus it is not surprising to see that the same NGO kingpins who supported LTTE and campaigned for LTTE as an integral part of a solution and paved the way to initiate a process for betraying the country's security forces and the political leadership, have now been assigned the task of implementing the same process with the full blessings of the Ranil-Sirisena puppet regime backed by anti-Rajapaksha but pro-Prabhakaran elements.

30 years of LTTE Terror Killings: Do Sinhalese lives matterto UNHRC

Why is no one counting the Sinhalese dead? There are no books, no documentaries, no panel discussions, no media coverage, no UNHRC head wants to even come and meet the families of these victims, no global tears or candles, no vigils, no commemorations. Are Sinhalese not human beings too? Do their deaths not matter? When LTTE stormed their villages, slit them to pieces while they were asleep, babies dashed to the ground – were these not sensational enough to be relayed across the world? Did the Sinhalese not cry enough, did they not scream enough? Why has no one in 30 years come forward to empathize with the Sinhalese? In a country with 74% Sinhalese wasn’t it the Sinhalese who were targeted the most? Can the UN & the UNHRC please tell us why the Sinhalese lives don’t matter?

Starting from killing villagers in the Kent & Dollar Farms in 1984 we really do not know how many villages the LTTE stormed and killed. These Sinhalese lived in fear, children going to school were shot dead, men were slain as they went to work on their farms – what had they done to anger the LTTE. They were ordinary people trying to make ends meet. Not a penny has been given to them. There are no global funds for them. No one gives them refugee or asylum. With dried up tears they are continuing their lives.

Children killed by LTTE.

It was not enough that LTTE kidnapped low caste impoverished Tamil children many of whom did not even have parents and turned them into child soldiers, but the LTTE guns also turned on innocent children. What was the message they wanted to convey in nullifying the life of an innocent child? What crimes has these children committed to the LTTE?

This is Matara Kithalagama Sri Seelalankara Thera (also known as Dimbulagala Hamuduruwo) He was the Chief incumbent of the Dimbulagala Raja Maha Vihara. On May 26, 1995 on his way to visit a farm belonging to the temple he was killed by the LTTE. His crime was providing moral support to the poor people living in border villages to fight LTTE intrusions into their villages.

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/05/26/fea04.asp

Student Buddhist priests shot dead by LTTE

33 Buddhist monks were traveling in a bus on 2 June 1987 (Aranthalawa) They were going on a pilgrimage. LTTE stopped the bus and mercilessly attacked them. 3 Buddhist monks escaped death. One is disabled for life. To harm a Theravada Buddhist monk is said to be one of the greatest crimes anyone can commit. Once again the world viewed this as no major crime. Nothing to warrant the UNSG to even appoint a panel to appraise him of the lists of murders LTTE had been committing.

LTTE Commits Cultural Genocide– It is a war crime to destroy cultural monuments. LTTE has been systematically destroying all evidence of Sinhala Buddhist heritage sites in the North and East.

Sri Maha Bodhi Temple – 14 May 1985

LTTE entered the sacred city of Anuradhapura.

This was the 1^stmajor attack by LTTE outside a Tamil majority area. 120 worshipping pilgrims including Buddhist monks were killed and over 85 were injured,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YWANDeMWRg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWNmq_04ZeQ

Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha)

The world reaction to Bastille Day and the no reaction to the Dalada Maligawa is noticeable and disappointing. But then, we are not living in Europe, and we are not French – we are just Sinhalese

25 January 1998 - LTTE exploded a massive truck bomb inside the Temple of the Tooth premises which was to be the centre the independence day celebrations. Three suicide LTTE Black Tigers drove an explosive laden truck containing 300–400 kg of high explosives people. 16 people including the 3 attackers and a 2-year old infant were killed in the incident. Over 25 people, including 4 women, a monk and a police officer were injured. P. W. Withanage, a professor of geology also died due to shock after hearing the incident. The powerful attack left most of the buildings within a radius of 5 km damaged, and glass panes broken.

Sri Lankan government officially banned LTTE for the first time on 26 January 1998.

Killing unarmed policemen who surrendered to LTTE – is this not a war crime?

In 1990 over 600 policemen surrendered, laying down their arms. What is the law when a person surrenders? Do you shoot them? Well the LTTE asked them to stand next to each other and what did the LTTE do? They shot them one after the other….one after the other…. one after the other until all of them were dead. They were all extra-judicially executed. Here was a mass murder but it never got any international recognition because the victims were mostly Sinhalese so these deaths don’t qualify to enter the UNHRC books.

How sad.

LTTE attack unarmed / injured Sri Lanka security forces personnel

· 2005 – Navy personnel unarmed came under claymore attack by LTTE – during a ceasefire

· 2006 – Habarana massacre – LTTE suicide truck attack a convoy of 15 military buses carrying close to 300 armed forces personnel going on leave unarmed – 103 sailors killed over 100 sailors injured.

· There are still 5000 armed forces personnel still missing – there has been NO ATTEMPT on the part of the UN/UNHRC to even find what happened to them. Do they not have families, wives, parents and children?

Central Bank of Sri Lanka - January 31, 1996

A truck (42-6452) containing about 440 pounds of high explosives crashed through the main gate of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The blast killed at least 91 people and injured 1,400 others. At least 100 people lost their eyesight

There are over 300 attacks by LTTE over 30 years virtually every day, every month and every year…. In the US the blacks are asking ‘Do Black Lives Matter’ we Sinhalese are asking that same question from the UNHRC ‘Do Sinhalese matter’ to the UNHRC … have they ever matter at all?

LTTE killings of Sinhalese have never got global media attention. The UNSG head Kofi Annan even issued a condolence message to a dead LTTE cadre, not one such condolence message was sent to even a Buddhist priest killed by the LTTE. Foreign forensic experts can look at a photo and say that the Sri Lankan Army were the killers, while LTTE journalists end up on UNHRC head’s written submissions/reports. This is stupefying. Never an iota of attention has gone into how the Sinhalese the majority in Sri Lanka have suffered emotionally, economically and physically.

Post-conflict the calls were always on developing the North, not a thought went to the other victims which included mostly Sinhalese and Muslims too. People have forgotten it was the LTTE who fired the first shots. In a country with over 74% Sinhalese it was the Sinhalese who became victims.

Never a word has been allocated for the plight of the Sinhalese and Muslims in refugee centres and the need to resettle them and give them lands and homes. Nothing has been said about the Sinhalese & Muslims ethnically cleansed from their original habitats in the North where they have deeds to prove so. Not a penny of the funds allocated have gone towards their welfare. Not a hum or a candle was lit for the many impoverished villager who are still struggling to survive. None of their stories have ended up on any news report or documentary. It is a crying shame that such double standards prevail in an international body that speaks volumes about equality and fairness. How dare the UNHRC land in Sri Lanka and demand from the GOSL what they have done for the Tamils – has he forgotten that over 74% who live in this country are Sinhalese and they too suffered? Why don’t they deserve any light on their grievances for a change?

The principle of Nemo judex in causa sua must apply – no one can be the judge of their own case. There cannot be selective justice. The double standards must stop. Not only must Justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.

Shenali D Waduge

RACISM caused collapse of League of Nations – same will happen to UN

Shenali D Waduge

When Japan proposed the world’s first racial equality clause to be included into the Charter of the League of Nations in 1919, Anglo Saxon countries immediately opposed it. America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the British Empire were against including a clause against racial discrimination. Why would these nations not wish to include a very noble proposal? Is it not that same racism that is clearly evident in how the UN runs today? If the League of Nations failed because of the omission of racial equality, it is now time that the UN either address these discrepancies and honor equality for all races or Asia and Africa must lead the way by Quitting the UN altogether.

It was 13 February 1919 when the 1^st draft of the Covenant of the League of Nations was placed before the Members of the Peace Conference. The head of the Japanese delegation put forward an amendment to be included into Article 21 of the Covenant to address a matter that was a worrying factor and concern of most nations – Racial discrimination. The Japanese were concerned of British & American attempts to secure hegemony over the rest of the world.

These were the words spoken by Baron Makino head of the Japanese delegation.

The best part comes next. This was how the nations that claim to stand for equality and justice responded.

Australia’s & New Zealand’s response

· Billy Hughes the Prime Minister of Australia objected to the Racial Equality “no government would live a day if it tampered with a White Australia’… he went on to say “ninety-five out of one hundred Australians rejected the very idea of equality”

· Australia had become a federation in 1901 and had implemented a ‘White Australia Policy’ – Australia imposed a strict set of immigration rules to gain Australian citizenship. The language dictation test required a person to write out in English a 50-word passage and read it aloud to the Immigration officer.

· Prime Minister of New Zealand, William Massey, agreed with Hughes.

Britain’s response

· Lord Robert Cecil who spoke on behalf of the Brits also objected

· British Foreign Secretary who declared that while he sympathized with the Japanese he could not accept the ‘principle of racial equality’….”You could scarcely say that a man in Central Africa was equal to a European.”

America’s response

· In March 1919 after hearing the proposal for the Racial Equality Clause, the California Senator James Duval Phelan launched a propaganda campaign against the proposal (just like the powerful lobbying that takes place within the UN) and a stream of telegrams were sent to the US delegation in Paris. One of these telegrams read “Believe Western senators and others will oppose any loop hole by which Oriental people will possess equally with white race in United States. It is vital question of self-preservation.” (white domination at its best against Oriental people…. Have things really changed apart from the rhetoric to fool us)

· In 1924, for example, the US Congress passed the Exclusion Act that prohibited further immigration from Japan

Japan’s grievance

· Japan's signing of unequal treaties with America, France, Holland, and Russia in 1858 placed restrictions on Japan's national sovereignty, such as extraterritoriality, which meant that foreigners in Japan had immunity from the jurisdiction of the Japanese legal system.

· In 1905, California passed anti-Japanese legislation.

· In 1906 the school board in San Francisco ordered Japanese and other Asian children to attend segregated schools.

This was how the Japanese newspaper Asahi responded:

“Racial discrimination occupied precisely the position in the contemporary world that slavery did one hundred years before. Being the leading coloured power, Japan had the responsibility to fight for the cause of two-thirds of the world’s population and the country could not fight for a ‘nobler cause”

It is a pity that these noble words are not valid in today’s context as Japan has chosen to join South Korea and India functioning as henchmen for the very nations that promote discrimination.

President Wilson before the Racial Equality Act went for vote

Here’s President Wilson’s speech on 2 April 1917

"Only a peace between equals can last. Only a peace the very principle of which is equality and a common participation in a common benefit. The right state of mind, the right feeling between nations, is as necessary for a lasting peace as is the just settlement of vexed questions of territory or of racial and national allegiance. The equality of nations upon which peace must be founded, if it is to last, must be an equality of rights; the guarantees exchanged must neither recognize nor imply a difference between big nations and small, between those that are powerful and those that are weak. Right must be based upon the common strength, not upon the individual strength, of the nations upon whose concert peace will depend. Equality of territory or of resources there, of course, cannot be; nor any other sort of equality not gained in the ordinary peaceful and legitimate development of the peoples themselves. But no one asks or expects anything more than an equality of rights. Mankind is looking now for freedom of life, not for equipoises of power."

Note all he noble words. However, we seriously have to take these speeches with a pinch of salt – do they actually mean what they read out?

The Vote – 11 April 1919

The Japanese delegation however insisted on a vote. President Wilson no different to how the upper echelons of the UN powerful states function quickly added the need for an unanimous positive vote registration (knowing that the Clause could not pass using this method)

Thus with the United States, the British Empire, Portugal, Poland, and Romania not registering their vote, Japan’s proposal for equality to all nations fell apart.

In spite of 11 states supporting and 6 states rejecting President Wilson, Chairman of the Committee declared defeat of the amendment claiming there was no unanimous approval. Ironically, other amendments were passed without unanimity.

Special mention must be made to the delegates from Greece, Italy, China, France and Czechoslovakia who spoke in favor of the Japanese amendment to the League Covenant.

The sentiments were strong but were Asians and Africans misled by words. Was the Japanese delegation naïve to think that America meant what the speech so eloquently delivered? It was then that the Japanese realized that the West speaks with a forked tongue. President Wilson thundered ‘equality of rights’ ‘freedom of life’ ‘Only a peace between equals can last. Only a peace the very principle of which is equality’ how silly of us to actually believe that these words meant anything! It was just another white man’s burden. Post-World War 2 morals and justice was divided into one for the white race and one for all others. This has not changed. There are cosmetic changes but the white supremacist attitude still prevails. Blacks, Browns and Yellows are just not good enough….

The mentality of colonial rule that the West could do anything and get away still prevails. Not losing hope Japan set the pace to use the podium it was given at the Peace Congress to test the water. The equality for races proposal shot down without reason proved in no uncertain terms that the white nations resolved to continue the double standards of justice but veil them in speeches to fool the masses.

Asia and Africa are wanting in leaders to challenge white racism. There is little point in Asian and African leaders serving as lackeys of the West. It is precisely because of Asians and Africans desiring to serve as West’s henchman that the West continues to rule over the rest of the world through the UN and all of its sub-systems.

India has failed Asia in failing to provide leadership. Indians are happy to continue to serve the white masters as can be seen by the rising numbers of Indians given western portfolios.

Machiavelli did say “it is just as difficult and dangerous to try to free a people that wants to remain servile as it is to enslave a people that wants to remain free.”

In other words you can’t develop a country or continent if the people who have the potential to be leaders are raise to be ‘good subalterns’. Essentially, nations with leaders with a vision are doomed to fail just as nations happy to copy visions of other nations.

§ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Peace_Conference,_1919

§ http://erenow.com/modern/paris1919/26.html

§ file:///C:/Users/TOSHIBA/Downloads/602327139.pdf.pdf

Foreign Judges: A bogey?
by Gunadasa Amarasekera

It is becoming apparent by the day that the Foreign Judges Issue is a bogey planted to threaten us into submission to achieve a different purpose – namely to foist a Constitution on us which will allow the dismemberment of this country which is the sole concern of the US and its allies.

I have come to this conclusion after eliciting a number of factors that justify such an assumption.

1. Change of stance, attitude, and tone of all the stakeholders within the last few weeks or so.

2. Admission of the impossibility to overcome the constitutional impasse imposed by the present Constitution

3. The bravado with which President Sirisena denounced this move

4 Easing of foreign pressure on the government on this issue

It may be worthwhile going into some details in order to understand this sudden change.

Change of stance and attitude – to understand this one will have to recapitulate the pronouncements made by all the stakeholders some time ago.

The resolution passed by the US, co-sponsored by the GOSL, clearly states that the inquiry into the Human Rights violations and war crimes should have foreign judges, prosecutors and investigators etc. This was drilled into us right throughout. It was mentioned in many international fora. The various panels appointed by Ban-ki-Moon stated the need to have foreign judges.

Mr. Sumanthiran MP, spokesperson for the TNA revealed that there was a tripartite agreement among the US. GOSL and the TNA regarding the inclusion of foreign judges in the judicial process. This agreement had been arrived at prior to the Geneva Resolution. The Island report of 28/06 came out with this statement – “There are some doubts created as to whether the Constitution of Sri Lanka would allow foreign judges and we went into that question, clarified it and said, ’yes’ they can”.

According to the same report Sumanthiran has also told the congressional caucus that the resolution accepted at the Geneva sessions had been negotiated and that they settled for a hybrid- model though they originally asked for an international inquiry.

These pronouncements have been made in the presence of the Sri Lankan Ambassador.

Neither Sumanthiran nor the GOSL has denied these revelations made in the Island. This as a matter of fact made me take recourse in the Supreme Court to find out the truth, to which I am entitled to as a citizen.

Mr Suren Surendran of the GFT has also confirmed the statements made by Sumanthiran.

Mr. Vigneswaran, in addition to presenting the envisaged Tamil map, was adamant on having foreign judges in order to convince the victims that justice is being carried out. Mr. Sampanthan has been more reserved with his comments, but has not openly opposed the foreign judges. The dollar funded NGO gang not only welcomed foreign judges, but also kept on labeling our judges as being corrupt and politicized.

Compare these statements, these stances with what they have been saying during the last few weeks.

Sumanthiran, when asked about the constitutionality of foreign judges participating evaded the question by saying that he will come out with his view when the occasion presents itself.

Vigneswaran who would have been seized with rage by Sirisena’s roaring and infuriated by Biswal’s high praise for the establishment kept mum -an unusual silence.

Regarding the Constitutional impasse – It would have been crystal clear to US and allies who engineered the Geneva resolution that it is impossible to have foreign judges within the present Constitution. They would have realized it right from the beginning that it is going to be a futile exercise – a zero sum game. Sri Lankan sponsors too may have been briefed.

President’s outburst

President Sirisena who has been over the last year or so talking on esoteric innocuous themes such as protection of the environment, banning of liquor, suddenly burst out with a lion’s roar ‘I will not allow any foreign judges and I will not allow any one to tamper with the sovereignty of my country’. From where did he pick the signal for such an outburst? It could not have been spontaneous.

Easing of foreign Pressure

Tom Malinowski who was here the other day had this to say on the issue of foreign judges -“Under the resolution, the government of Sri Lanka will determine the structure and the composition of the Court.” No insistence on foreign judges. The EU Head of Mission Paul Godfrey did not insist on foreign judges in the judicial process. Nisha Biswal paying a glorious tribute said that she is quite happy with the performance of this Government regarding reconciliation and democratic reforms. When pressed for her stand on foreign judges she refused to comment, saying that such comments at this point would cause many problems. What a sea change!

How could this happen? This unbelievable change. How can it be explained?

As I see there is possibly only one explanation. The bogey has succeeded. It has achieved what was expected of it. The desired constitution as pointed out by Wimal Weerawansa is now nearing completion. It is highly probable that the blueprint would have been shown to the mentors -Al Hussein and Biswal. If so, why harp on this bogey of foreign judges and embarrass the government if the desired result has been achieved?

Barking or roaring at the bogey has only provided the necessary cover. The constitutional caravan is speeding with no opposition. The driving seat is occupied by no less a person than Prince Hussein. He may still be carrying the bogey in his left hand (he reminded Ranil) but in his right hand is the whip that matters. He is sure of the dates and the destinations that the caravan has to follow. The new Constitution will enter parliament by the end of the year. It will proceed to the rest of the country at the beginning of the next year seeking a referendum. The time table drawn by the Prince has been accepted by his acolyte here on bended knees, and has assured the lord and master that ‘thine will be done in Sri Lanka as in Geneva’. “When I come back here in March next year the contours of the new Sri Lanka we aspire to build I believe will be far clearer”. These were the parting words of our Foreign Minister.

Many would be surprised by this turn of events, the behavior of the US and the allies.They may be at their wits end to understand this unbelievable turn of events. But those few of us who were fortunate to witness this ‘Bogey phenomenon’ over the last thirty, forty years are by no means surprised.

In the mid eighties it was the bogey of a non-existent ‘ethnic problem’.

‘There is an ethnic problem facing the country, for which the solution is to devolve power on federal lines as in India.’ This was the slogan that was aired here and abroad.

There were only a few who challenged the bogey of an ethnic problem. In a collection of essays published by me at the time I pointed out that what passes for an ethnic problem is a conspiracy hatched by the Western powers to destabilize this country. With the failed intervention of India, the stage was left to the US. I believe even at that time the US would have envisaged such a turn of events. It would have been there in the twenty year agenda of the State Department. Remember, the first person to have come and congratulated Rajiv Gandhi when that gangster document was signed was the American Ambassador! Poor JR had to say ‘we have no friends’

It was this scenario I envisaged that provoked me to ask the JO not to participate in the constitution-making/mending process. They ignored my plea.

They by participating allowed Ranil Wickremesinge to turn the entire Parliament into a ‘Constitutional Assembly’. That was the foundation in which the edifice is being built. They little realized the enormity of the crime they were committing by such participation which made that declaration possible on 8th March. Dilan Perera spokesman for the SLFP brought this out very forcefully to rebuke Wimal Weerawansa’s assertion that the constitution in the making is a maraugula.

They may be waiting to oppose it when it is brought to Parliament. (They may be able to oppose it, but will they be able to prevent it being adopted?) But that will not absolve them of their crime since they have participated in laying its foundation.

The only way to expiate themselves from the sin committed would be to get out as soon as possible before it is brought to parliament.

Finally a word of caution may be necessary. My interpretation of foreign judges as a bogeyman may give some a false sense of security. It should not be so. Though ‘foreign judges’ has been used as a bogey so far, it does not mean it will always be so. When the need arises at some distant day they will arrive, not in their guise of a bogey but in their full regalia with gown and headgear.

That distant day may not be all that distant. When the new Constitution with provision for Foreign Judges is in place, they will certainly be invited to sit on judgment. It is not for nothing that the foreign funded, foreign managed Office of Missing Persons (OMP) is going to be established. It is to manufacture the evidence to prove war crimes, carpet bombing for those judges to sit in judgment.

Time to say goodbye to both UNP & SLFP: A new political culture, parties & people needed for Sinhale

"The time is now ripe for the green and blue to be replaced. They are a spent force now and have nothing to offer the people or the nation. We need a new ideology that is nation-centric and people-centric desiring to build the nation not outsource or sell everything we have for a one-off payment and lose our sovereignty and territorial integrity altogether. Change euphoria, broken promises and lies on political stages need to stop."

Sixty eight years after independence it’s time to retrospect. Has the country progressed democratically ? Have the political parties expected to carry out the mandate of the people honoured them? Have these parties and the politicians that represent them protected the sovereignty of the country or themselves?

The latest tussle in Parliament beckons the people to realize that the expectations from the 2 main political parties in the country has now withered and we see no future for them or for the people who are ardent fans of the party. No political party can take precedence over the needs of the country. No political party ideology can compromise the sovereignty of the country. No politician can divest the territorial integrity of the country in exchange for the assurance to remain in power. The people need to change their thinking and mind-set too. People too must learn to put country before self-interest.

The UNP

The United National Party was launched on the 6^th of September 1946. D S Senanayake was its first leader and became the country’s first prime minister in 1947. Ironically, the 1947 election campaign pledged to remain as a dominion under the UK while also protecting the traditional way of life and Buddhism. Senanayake’s polices were pro-West, anti-Communist foreign policy. UNP was known for its stand against the majority Sinhala Buddhists and its pro-Catholic policies. UNP was also accused of being party to the 1962 army Christian-coup.

The present UNP is today a member of the pro-Christian centre-right polices of the International Democratic Union (IDU) of which the present leader and PM was elected the Chairman of the Asia Pacific Democrat Union and IDU Vice Chairman (ex officio) since 2005 http://idu.org/officers/hon-ranil-wickremesinghe-mp/

The SLFP

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party emerged after S.W.R.D. Bandaranayaka left the UNP to form it in 1951 on the strength of the ‘Pancha Maha Balavegaya’ (Five Great Forces) which consisted of the native doctors, clergy, teachers, farmers and workers. The first SLFP government was formed in 1956. SWRD was instrumental in shifting Sri Lanka’s foreign policy from pro-West to a Non-Aligned one. In September 1959, Bandaranaike was assassinated. Wijeyananda Dahanayake served as the interim PM.

SLFP was taken over by SWRD Bandaranaike’s widow Sirimavo Bandaranaike who became the world’s first elected woman Prime Minister in 1960. Under her leadership the government nationalized key sectors of the economy such as banking and insurance, the Ceylon Transport Board and also all schools. She too followed a pro-East and Non-Aligned policy. Her government was instrumental in bringing a new constitution, changing the name of Ceylon to Sri Lanka and turning Sri Lanka into a republic. She served as the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1976. After JRJ removed Sirimavos civic rights the SLFP was headed by Hector Kobbekaduwa. SWRD & Sirimavo’s daughter Chandrika took over SLFP in 1994 becoming PM and later going on to become the President of Sri Lanka under the People’s Alliance. Mahinda Rajapakse took over the SLFP in 2005 until SLFP leadership which is now under the current President Sirisena since January 2015.

Should a political party be a family party?

The UNP has been referred to as the Uncle-Nephew-Party. When D S Senanayake died in 1951 following an accident his son Dudley became Prime Minister. When Dudley resigned in 1953 after a hartal against rice rationing, his cousin John Kotelawala took over. Dudley returned to power in 1965 but lost in 1970. Dudley passed away in 1973 enabling JR Jayawardena known as the ‘yankee dickey’ for his free market policies and a pro-American foreign policy. UNP came to power in 1977 and using the 5/6 majority JRJ changed the constitution, became the Executive President and brought in a new constitution. Jayewardene retired in 1988 and was succeeded by Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa. Premadasa remains the only non-relation to head the UNP and upon his assassination in 1993, JRJ’s nephew Ranil Wickremasinghe took over leadership of the UNP in 1994 and has since remained its leader. It is pretty obvious that Ranil will hand over leadership to another relation in the UNP and no one else. So apart from the stint Premadasa had as leader of the UNP given the public popularity Premadasa was able to build up, the UNP has been led by family members. However, the question is should political parties be led by one family only?

The SLFP has been led by 3 family members – father, mother & daughter while the UNP continues to be led by family barring the only time it was led by Ranasinghe Premadasa. However what is the future of a party if they are more interested in security the family hold over it.

The JVP today is a spent force. It’s a sorry version of what its founder Rohana Wijeweera would even imagine it to be. We need to only speculate aloud that it has prostituted itself and its communism to capitalist agenda. The youth followers of the JVP must realize that their cries and wailing must come secondary to the need to educate, graduate and on the strength of their qualification earn a living. Demands and slogans cannot meet those objectives in a global village. They must wake up.

The rest of the political parties most of whom carry an ethnic label should be shunned in view of their party name itself being anti-national. No party can claim to be working towards the unity of the country if they carry an ethnic name to their political party because it is on the strength of this ethnic name that they revolve their campaign. This automatically nullifies their claims of wanting to live with the other communities because ethnic-based parties are only claiming things for themselves.

Let’s take a look at the present parliament. How many are really elected by the People? How many have come from the backdoor and even after coming from the backdoor see the manner they are behaving. How many illegal decisions are taking place and avenues closed for people to address these grievances? This is not democracy. This is not what the people want and voted for. Is the country their personal property, are the state institutes and other bodies theirs to decide to sell off for a one off payment when easily losses can be addressed by proper management and reduction of top down wastage. How many decisions have ever had the people’s consent when the constitution clearly says sovereignty is in the people and is inalienable?

After over 400 years of occupation by invaders those that took over were virtual clones of the colonials tasked to continue colonial rule with a touch of local flavor. No post-independence leaders rose to demand reversal of discriminations suffered since 1505, no demands were made for apology and compensation and instead former colonies aligned to global systems of trade and western laws that entailed enslavement under another name. Will former colonies ever be able to get out of the debt-interest trap set by the West who live off the interests given on created money? If we have come far in terms of infrastructure it is something to feel proud of but as people, have we followed values, cultures and traditions or are we always copying the Jones. We are trying to please and copying others because our governments have failed to implement an education syllabus that makes citizens proud of the nation, proud of the local heroes, proud of its history, proud of those who built the nation and proud of our heritage all ingredients required to want to defend the nation. It is those that do not know the history who do not value it and do not wish to protect the nation and defend it.

How many MPs today even read a bilateral agreement, articles giving warnings about our enemies, agreements that are detrimental to the national security etc? How many of our MPs can evaluate the terms of agreements and oppose the handover of state assets, food, energy, maritime security to foreign nations especially those that have been historical enemies and whose agreements are always one-sided tilted in their favor only. How many MPs realize that signing such agreements will remove the protective layer we have globally when strategic interests are handed over on a platter to another country simply because a party wants to remain in power.

We need a new political culture that departs from the selfish and wasteful manner current political parties and parliamentarians practice irrespective of which party they belong to which is why they have no qualms to jump from one side to the other and sing hosanna’s thereafter.

It is the people’s opinion that can bring change. Change comes not in changing one political party with another and a plethora of kangaroo jumps.

The time is now ripe for the green and blue to be replaced. They are a spent force now and have nothing to offer the people or the nation. We need a new ideology that is nation-centric and people-centric desiring to build the nation not outsource or sell everything we have for a one-off payment and lose our sovereignty and territorial integrity altogether. Change euphoria, broken promises and lies on political stages need to stop.

Both parties lack vision, lack politicians with a mission and strategy to take its voters to a promising future in a country that they are committed to protect both its sovereignty and its territorial integrity.

We need to now re-start rebuilding the nation from scratch.

Time for Pan Asianism: Rise of Asians for Asia & Asia for Asians

Shenali D Waduge

We need to come to terms with reality that the Western model of world governance has failed, the West has messed up its own countries and the world. The Western adventure is coming to a close. The curtain is coming down on West’s experiments of greed and oppression. Time is on the side of Asia. It is now Asia’s turn to take over and not commit the same mistakes and follies that brought about the decline of the West. China, Japan, Russia and hopefully India will take that leadership of Pan-Asianism and Asians will rise to build an Asia for Asians.

A declining West is not suited to preach to the rest of the world and the rest of the world now need to refuse to take ‘orders’. All of the West’s inroads to non-Western nations have not been with goodwill. The West has not been interested in our welfare though media hype is paid to project so. They have paid local lackeys who have preferred the accolade as proud 2^ndclass citizens and faithful servant to Western ideals. The West has used NGOs as fronts playing the same role of missionaries under European colonial rule. Hungary’s Prime Minister rightly said ‘we are not dealing with civil society members but paid political activists who are trying to help foreign interests’. Even the UN has become a puppet in the hands of powerful nations.

To a great extent the clash between Islam and Catholicism and their historical imperial expansionist ideologies are to blame. It is their hunger to acquire and rule over others that has led to non-Abrahamic conversions and the creation of lackeys and sepoys following their ideologies for payment. Neither Christianity/Catholicism nor Islam can claim to have a moral voice by their very actions. This is where India has disappointed. Indians despite suffering tremendously under colonial rule are happy to serve as sepoys – many of their citizens are proud vassal envoys of the West. Much was expected from Modi, but his inferiorities stemming from his humble upbringing has made him abandon giving leadership to India in Asia and instead promote an India aligned to West. This is not only attributing to destroying India but will invariably become an Achilles heel to Asian nations as well. Chinese and Japanese have shown that western education is not needed to be & feel superior. Indians must learn to think the same.

West is on fire & in decline

It was German historian Oswald Spengler who 100 years ago predicted the decline of the West comparing each of the 8 civilizations to the 4 seasons with each lasting 250 years. Spengler viewed democracy as a weapon of moneyed interests using media to create an illusion and control people using tools like equality, feminism and socialism. He predicted that money will crumble under its own corruption with people ceasing to participate in elections.

According to the Social Science Research Network America’s child poverty levels are worse than in Greece, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia. The median adult wealth in the US ($39,000) is 27th globally, putting it behind Cyprus, Taiwan, and Ireland. America ranks #12, behind Israel, Sweden and Australia in ‘life satisfaction’. 50 million Americans live in poverty. America’s per capita wealth, health and education measures are mediocre for a highly industrialized nation. 5.5 million jobs or over 32 percent of all manufacturing jobs since October 2000 were outsourced. Over 54,000 factories were shipped overseas beginning in 200. The federal government and its cartel of private bankers at the Federal Reserve have worked diligently to camouflage the fall of America by artificially inflating the stock market.

In the past 45 years, there have been more than 16,000 terror attacks in Western Europe, an average of more than 350 per year, according to the Global Terrorism Database, maintained by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. What cannot be hidden is that the men that the West brainwashed to strike terror in other parts of the world, have now turned their guns on their masters. A fact the West will not admit. Neither will they admit that the waves of asylum and refugee seekers flooding into the West are also as a result of their nations being bombed by the West resulting in a mass exodus of people fleeing for their dear lives. Would the war mongers have not contemplated the mass migration of people before they set their hired ‘rebels’? If so are these sudden ‘attacks’ across Europe also linked to a bigger plan?

Is the West cutting each other’s throat? Is the exodus of asylum seekers funneled into Europe with intent to disintegrate Europe and create a demographic influx of Muslims? Why would America wish to destroy an ally or are these destructions a pathological ailment suffered by those pulling the strings? We know that the ordinary people of America, Europe and even Muslims have no idea what is going on.

American historian Eric Suess says that in order to weaken Russia, US is prepared to weaken Europe. Are these jihadists actually from the countries where people are fleeing from? Or is it a showdown of the historical clash of civilizations between the 2 Abrahamic religions? If so what is the cost of this historical angst or is it another means to redraw the world map aligned to the neocon project of removing sovereign states so that corporates take over where governments are now ruling?

Is this an attempt to create more artificial states?

The buzzword throughout Europe nowadays is ‘jihadist terror’. Little attention is paid to who actually created them, who are supplying the men and who are training and equipping them. The situation reminds of ‘While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within’ by Bruce Bawer who correctly drew attention to Europe facing a demographic and cultural threat from Muslim immigrants who resisted ‘integration’. He also correctly attributed the problem to ‘passivity’ and ‘appeasement’ policies comparing them to American policy of asserting the need for immigrants to adopt to American traditions. The issue definitely has arisen because of Europe’s political correction, showering immigrants with benefits and allowing them to create ghetto communities. After facilitating the problem there is little point in complaining about immigrants bringing ‘tribal customs’ that are inconsistent with Western understanding of human rights.

These are mistakes that Asia cannot repeat and repent. As Bawer rightly says it is Multiculturalism that has Marginalized communities– multiculturalism has not bridged communities, multiculturalism has only created further divisions. If as Bawer says multiculturalism has created the Balkanization of Europe divided into Muslims and Non-Muslims, this is Asia’s prerogative to avert by throwing multiculturalism into the dustbin before it does the same damage. If Bawer attributes Europe’s enemy to not Islam or even radical Islam but Europe’s self-destructive passivity, inclination to appease these are factors that Asia cannot afford to follow.

The West has erred in thinking that might is right. Superpower status displayed using military hardware has won it more enemies than fathomed. According to James Lucas writing to GlobalResearch the US is said to have killed 20million people in 37 victim countries since 1945. It is the neocons that must take blame. Americans are not from Mars and Europeans are notfrom Venus (with apologies to Robert Kagan)

As the West declines the East rises.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen%27s_speech_on_Pan-Asianism

A rising power should not adopt the decaying international systems that led to the decline of the West. A new political order must now be rolled out.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen the founding father of the Republic of China was the first to speak about Pan-Asianism and promoted 3 principles for People (country-centric nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people).

If Asia is the cradle of civilization as Dr. Sun asserts with its philosophic, religious, logical and industrial civilization which are traced back to Asia, just as Japan abolished the Unequal Treaties, the nations of Asia must master courage and shake off European domination.

Asians must believe that European oppression can be shaken off. When Dr. Sun said in 1924 “the westerners consider themselves as the only ones possessed and worthy of true culture and civilization; other peoples with any culture or independent ideas are considered as Barbarians in revolt against civilization’ it echoes today’s malady.

His reference to European ‘cult of force’ (rule of Might) is what today pervades Middle East, much of Latin America and Africa, parts of Europe and very soon Asia.

As Asia rises, where Asia can replace rule of might is through the civilization of ‘benevolence, justice and morality’ bidding goodbye to the European materialistic civilization. As Dr. Sun says ‘orally the Orient is superior to the Occident (West)”.

He next asks ‘which civilization, the rule of Might or the rule of Right’ will prove to be beneficial to justice and humanity, to nations and countries’ and this is where Asia now needs true leadership, not only amongst its political leaders but among all citizens.

The most poignant part of Dr. Sun’s speech is illustrated thus

“between 500 and 2000 years ago, there was a period of a thousand years when China was supreme in the world. Her status in the world then was similar to that of Great Britain and America today. What was the situation of the weaker nations toward China then? They respected China as their superior and sent annual tribute to China by their own will, regarding it as an honor to be allowed to do so. They wanted, of their own free will, to be dependencies of China. Those countries which sent tribute to China were not only situated in Asia but in distant Europe as well. But in what way did China maintain her prestige among so many small and weaker nations. Did she send her army or navy, i.e. use Might, to compel them to send their contributions? Not at all. It was not her rule of Might that forced the weaker nations to send tribute to China. It was the influence of her rule of Right. Once they were influenced by the "Kingly Way" of China they continued to send tribute, not merely once or twice, but the practice was carried on from generation to generation. This influence is felt even at the present moment; there are still traces and evidences of it.”

If Asia is to follow the Rule of Right the people must be influenced by justice and virtue. The foundational role of compassionate Dharmic religions will play a crucial role. It is perhaps in foreseeing the philosophy with which Asia will prosper, the West has decided to counter this by using its influence over Islam to encourage Wahhabi Islamic incursions into sacred citadels of Dharmic religions. These are manifested in using Rohingyas to enable mosques around Buddhist Myanmar, the same is taking place in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and even Bangladesh and Buddhagaya where a mosque has come up 60mtrs from the sacred Maha Bodhi temple.

As Dr. Sun advises Asia must learn science from Europe to help Asia’s industrial development and improve armaments not to oppress or destroy other countries and peoples as Europe does but purely in self-defense.

Asia needs to unite and create a united front against the Occidentals (West).

Asia’s population is 4.427 billion. Of Europe's approximately 50 countries, Russia is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population - 741.2 million people (Russia = 143.5 million) However on account of Russia being treated as a non-European nation, Asia wholeheartedly welcomes Russia to its fold.

Asia has much to attend to. Many in Asia are impoverished. Asians are debt-ridden by European loan systems. As Dr. Sun has rightly pondered ‘the question remains whether Japan will be the hawk of the Western civilization of the rule of Might, or the tower of strength of the Orient. This is the choice which lies before the people of Japan’we may add the same question needs to be asked of India & its people as well.

The East must be magnanimous enough to not commit what the West has been guilty of. A more equitable and mutually friendly international system must prevail. The deceptive and unfair methods tying human rights issues to aid and grants fully aware that majority of human rights issues emerge from the covert and overt operations clandestinely instigated by the West through their local lackeys and other paid organizations must end. Example of trade pacts not to follow is the Trans Pacific Partnership clearly created to attack China’s new silk road/route initiative.

If the West now looks back in remorse they have only themselves to blame for creating trade blocs, people blocs, territory blocs – in short divisive politics that have been part and parcel of their historical divide and rule policies. The same karma is now haunting these nations.

China has set the Pan-Asianism ball rolling by creating the ‘Asia for Asians’ security forum. It is now time for fellow Asian nations and their people to be inspired that it is Asia’s century and for Asia’s century to rise and be noticed all Asians must rise to the challenge and play a role.

Let us show the world an Asian leadership model that is not destructive but compassionate, that is not selfish profit making but equitable & mutually beneficial and people who are not stressed out and drained but people able to lead a balanced life.

§ Are the US Elites Attempting to Destroy Europe by Triggering A Flood of Immigrants and Refugees? http://www.globalresearch.ca/are-the-us-elites-attempting-to-destroy-europe-by-triggering-a-flood-of-immigrants-and-refugees/5502526

§ US Has Killed More Than 20 Million People in 37 “Victim Nations” Since World War IIhttp://www.globalresearch.ca/us-has-killed-more-than-20-million-people-in-37-victim-nations-since-world-war-ii/5492051

UNHRC proceedings are a sham

Senaka Weeraratna

The inquisitorial type proceedings we are witnessing today at the UNHRC in Geneva in the name of Human Rights are nothing but a sham. In a nutshell the UNHRC sessions are full of hypocrisy and humbug.

An abuse of process in the most shameful manner. It reminds us of the crazy times of the Christian Inquisition in Europe which lasted for over 600 years where people who simply questioned religious dogma or did not agree with the prevailing orthodoxy were dragged to a fake trial where the accused were presumed guilty until proven innocent which was almost impossible. A mere accusation was sufficient to establish guilt.

The accused was neither given a list of the charges nor allowed to defend themselves nor allowed to retain a lawyer. The process of natural justice was honoured in the breach. There were both procedural flaws as well as substantive law bias against the accused. Punishment was unduly harsh usually a sentence of death in an abominable cruel way i.e. being thrown to the fire or burnt at the stake.

No civilization is lily white in terms of inhumanity towards others. But in the race to find the dubious winner of planned inhumanity or deliberate destruction of other civilizations spread around the world or holocausts or mass murder of entire races the western civilization takes the cake. It has been brutal towards both man and animal because its fundamental orientation is based on the totally wrong notion ‘the world exists to serve us’. Therefore everyone else that stands in the way whether he be the black man, brown man or yellow man or nature ( including all other living creatures) must yield to the superimposing will and ‘justice’ of the white man.

Gandhi’s views on Western Civilization

When Mahatma Gandhi was asked by a reporter, what he thought of western civilization? Gandhi gave an acerbic answer. He said that ‘ it would be a good idea’.

This is one of Gandhi’s most famous, and perhaps most clichéd, quotations. There is a lot of sarcasm in Gandhi’s retort. The reporter aims to get a good quote. Gandhi basically dupes him with a tongue in cheek answer.

Gandhi makes his opinion of Western Civilization perfectly clear by implying that it doesn’t exist—the current model of Western Civilization cannot, in Gandhi’s opinion, be viewed as civilized at all.

Gandhi often referred to Western Civilization in his writings and speeches. He was reluctant to hold it in high regard and was never restrained in holding industrialized civilization to be a curse, a disease because of its materialistic, consumer-oriented goals.

Gandhi given his sustained legal training in South Africa as a Barrister in his younger days was never at a loss for words. In another one of his speeches, he made critical remarks of Western materialism, saying, “I wholeheartedly detest this mad desire to destroy distance and time, to increase animal appetites, and go to the ends of the earth in search of their satisfaction. If modern civilization stands for all this, and I have understood it to do so, I call it satanic.”

Gandhi went further and we find quotations of his comparing Europe to the spirit of Satan. Gandhi had an innate love for his beloved India and he had a lingering fear that India might one day become a ‘westernized’ nation. In another one of his speeches, Gandhi expounds on this theme:

“India’s destiny lies not along the bloody way of the West, of which she shows signs of tiredness, but along the bloodless way of peace that comes from a simple and godly life. India is in danger of losing her soul. She cannot lose it and live. She must not therefore lazily and helplessly say, ‘I cannot escape the onrush from the West.’ She must be strong enough to resist it for her own sake and that of the world. European civilization is no doubt suited for the Europeans, but it will mean ruin for India, if we endeavor to copy it.”

The likes of Gandhi or the type of moral leadership that Gandhi gave not only to India but the whole of Asia is no more. Instead of the independence of spirit and defiance that Indian leaders of the type of Gandhi, Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose or even Sardar Vallabhai Patel (man of steel) showed in their heyday we see in today’s leadership of India a poor substitute in crass crawling and servility to imperial western powers unbefitting a great Asian nation.

Re-kindle the Spirit of Asia

We must re- kindle the spirit of Asia. Sri Lanka belongs to Asia. We are part of the great civilizations of Asia. An insult to one is an insult to all – all of Asia who are united by a shared past and still retain pride in our beautiful and elegant cultures and common destiny. The Human Rights discourse of the West is nothing but a farce: a shallow game of the white man for the entertainment of the white race to mock at other races black, brown and yellow on a moral premise where the biggest violators in history have been the very white race now pointing the finger at others.

The challenge before the non – European races is to break away from this trap. Not to put or allow someone else to put a noose around our neck. UNHRC represents that trap. There is no justice there. It has been converted into pure theatre to make fun of the weak, meek and the defiant small nations. The same old colonial game of White Man’s Burden but in a new manifestation of protecting human rights.

In a sense the charade at UNHRC is a blessing in disguise. It has awoken us all – Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim and all others who call Sri Lanka their home.

We must remain bold and defiant. Even if we get one vote in Geneva let us accept defeat with our heads high. The world applauds the defiant – those who stand their ground against overwhelming and superior forces. Moral cowardice is a trait of the failure. It is clear to anyone except the sinister who visits the North of Sri Lanka today and witness the great efforts being made to develop, resettle and spread economic benefits without discrimination. The people in Sri Lanka wish to leave in peace. Let outsiders not interfere or disturb the prevailing peace in the country.

Much of the conflict in the world comes from the colonial mindset of those who want to re-colonise this world. These are the real war mongers. It is time that the rest of the world stand up, join hands and call spade a spade.

European Union – Double Standards

It is unfortunate but it must be asserted that the European Union (EU) is part of the witch hunt directed against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC. EU never fails to engage in moralising or preach on human rights and the like to poor third world countries whose continuing deprivation is largely due to the long years of colonial rule under members of the EU.

A number of EU members are former Colonial countries e.g. Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, Britain and Netherlands among others, that had vast empires and built their prosperity on the backs of resource rich third world countries, but which have never been brought to justice or called to account for crimes against humanity during the period of colonial rule.

EU which is quick to finger point at other nations e.g. Sri Lanka, about human rights abuses has never properly examined or debated the unpleasant history of its EU member experience in the colonial wars all around the world. These European countries suffer from collective amnesia when it comes to the self – examination of the criminal behaviour of their own citizens in other countries both past and present.

Experiment with ideas from the East as basis of conflict resolution

It is time that the civilized world begin to experiment with ideas emanating from the three main Eastern Civilizations namely Japanese, Chinese and Indian as the basis of conflict resolution.

We have friends in Asia that we can tap into through historical bonds in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, China, Laos, Japan, Korea, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines etc. This is quite formidable.

We must never forget that the founding charter of UNESCO lays down a cherished goal influenced heavily by the spirit of Buddhism “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.”

The persecution mania of the UNHRC stands in total contradiction to the peace ideals that UNESCO is trying to promote.

As the centre of gravity of global power shifts to the East, the leaders of Asia must not shirk their most important challenge and responsibility – to give moral leadership to the world at a time when the West is struggling to maintain even a pretense of morality in their interaction with other countries as we see in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Venezuela, and now Ukraine.

An International Conference on the theme of Global Moral Leadership on the initiative of Asian nations would be most opportune at this time.

President's comments on Pada Yathra

S. Akurugoda

Addressing a meeting in Mawanella, President Maithripala Sirisena has said that if the previous government had governed the country properly, its members, currently in the Opposition, would not have had to hoof it until they got blisters on their soles. Speaking further, the President has said, "The previous government had boasted of mega development, while plunging the country into debt to the tune of Rs. 90 billion"

The previous government was led by an SLFP led coalition of which the current President of the country, Mr Maithripala Sirisena was a leading Cabinet Minister until he joined the anti-Rajapaksa campaign in order to be the Presidential Candidate. Are we to believe that Mr Sirisena and the members of the previous government following him are not responsible, and only the members in the Opposition are responsible for any wrongdoings Sirisena is talking about ?

Ironically, Sirisena is the leader of the very same SLFP led coalition said to have been responsible for failing to govern the country properly for 11 years and boasting of mega development while plunging the country into debt to the tune of Rs 90 billion.

The basic questions are whether there were any good things done by the previous government, and if so, who were responsible, and what Mr Sirisena and the members of the previous government now with him have done during the Rajapaksa rule to win the masses in order to be qualified for their current positions?

As far as we are aware, there is a thing called 'Collective Responsibility' in a government with a Cabinet of Ministers, and one cannot simply pass the buck to one person and get the credit for the rest after being a member of that cabinet . Further, Sirisena was the Secretary General of that party, SLFP, throughout the previous administration and we have heard several speeches (and still on record) of Sirisena upholding its work and the leadership of Rajapaksa. We also remember the stories Mr Sirisena told us about Rajapaksa's 'Lamborghinis' and 'golden horses' during his presidential campaign.

The Pada Yathra drew massive crowds.

The above massive protest, which we have not witnessed before , is not against what Sirisena and his followers have done during the 11 years rule of the previous government, but for what the Sirisena-Ranil led government has done since coming to power with the full blessings of the regional and western powers, backed by anti-Rajapaksa elements, both in and outside the country.

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time" - Abraham Lincoln

UNHRC proceedings are a sham

Senaka Weeraratna

Gandhi’s views on Western Civilization

When Mahatma Gandhi was asked by a reporter, what he thought of western civilization? Gandhi gave an acerbic answer. He said that ‘ it would be a good idea’.

Re-kindle the Spirit of Asia

In a sense the charade at UNHRC is a blessing in disguise. It has awoken us all – Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim and all others who call Sri Lanka their home.

European Union – Double Standards

Experiment with ideas from the East as basis of conflict resolution

It is time that the civilized world begin to experiment with ideas emanating from the three main Eastern Civilizations namely Japanese, Chinese and Indian as the basis of conflict resolution.

The persecution mania of the UNHRC stands in total contradiction to the peace ideals that UNESCO is trying to promote.

An International Conference on the theme of Global Moral Leadership on the initiative of Asian nations would be most opportune at this time.

Senaka Weeraratna

ICTY takes 14 years to declare Milosevic did not commit War Crimes - validates why Sri Lanka must refuse any War Crimes Tribunals

Shenali D Waduge

Slobadan Milosevic was arrested in 2001. In 2002 the UN Tribunal charged him of crimes against humanity and war crimes. He spent 5 years in prison defending himself against allegations of war crimes & genocide. He was found dead in his cell on 11 March 2006. After 14 years the Criminal Court in The Hague now says Milosevic is NOT GUILTY of war crimes. It is too late. The former President is now dead. The West and UN and the media stand guilty. Milosevic was branded the ‘butcher of the Balkans’. They compared him to Hitler and accused him of genocide. They demonised him. They used false images to justify economic sanctions and the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia and Kosovo war. Not so much as an apology has come even after the exoneration. We do not wish to see the same lies and travesty of justice take place in Sri Lanka as is being planned.

The UK Guardian called it the “most important war crimes case since the trial of the Nazis at Nuremberg.” It was the first case on war crimes since World War 2. It was described as the ‘trial of the century’.

Bill Clinton - "As you know the United States and its Nato allies have begun a military campaign to reduce President Milosevic's ability to inflict war on the people of Kosovo."

Louise Arbour, the lead prosecutor, described Kosovo—a former province of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia—as “one vast crime scene.”

The similarities in the demonization of Serbia and Sri Lanka is unbelievable when compared.

News of the World’s political editor wrote“It was just like watching the evil strutting Adolf Hitler in action,”and we can give plenty of examples from the usual media culprits in the Sri Lankan scene as well as the NGO kakkas who were coughing for their supper in support of the LTTE.

Milošević was indicted in May 1999, during the Kosovo War, by the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for crimes against humanity in Kosovo. Milosevic arrested in April 2001. The trial started on February 12 2002. In November 2002 he fell ill. The prosecution finished their case in February 2004. Milosevic began his defence until August 2004 with a five-hour speech

Cost of the Tribunal - 1,062 staff members from 79 countries and the budget for 2004-2005 alone was £157m. 4650 witnesses. 5,000 exhibits were presented to the court 10800 trial days. 2.5million pages of transcripts. 154 accused. 37 indictments withdrawn. 19 indictments acquitted. 13 indictments referred to national courts.

Slobodan Milosevic (former president of Yugoslavia) was accused of (full text of indictment http://www.icty.org/)

§ charge of violating the laws or customs of war.

§ genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995

§ accused of being behind the killing of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, including the infamous massacre of civilians at Srebrenica in 1995.

§ two charges of crimes against humanity relating to atrocities carried out in Kosovo in 1999 and in Croatia in 1991 and 1992

§ Serbian troops were described in court as committing acts of "almost medieval savagery and a calculated cruelty that went far beyond the bounds of legitimate warfare".

§ Accusation that Serbian troops were involved in ethnic cleansing and killing civilians indiscriminately - court was trying to decide whether Milosevic knew about these atrocities and ordered them or had failed to stop them.

He was given 4 hours to present his case. He demanded 2 days citing that the prosecution was given 3 days just to read their opening statement. He also declared that he planned to call British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former US president Bill Clinton as witnesses.

He refused to plea. He described the court as illegal and a victors court. He claimed he was a victim of an "ocean of lies" and that the entire Serbian nation was on trial. He accused the court of trying to justify "NATO war crimes committed in Yugoslavia".

Milošević was found dead in his cell on 11 March 2006, in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention center in the Hague. His death is also suspicious. He was found dead in his cell less than 72 hours after his attorney delivered a letter to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which he said that he feared he was being poisoned. The Tribunal’s official report on the inquiry into his death confirmed that, “Rifampicin had been found in a blood sample taken from Mr. Milosevic on 12 January 2006.”

The Tribunal admitted they knew about the Rifampicin for months but did not tell Milosevic the results of his own blood test until days before his death because of medical confidentiality is rather a lame excuse. Wikileaks of US State Dept reveals that Milosevic’s medical condition and his medical records were shared with U.S. Embassy personnel without Milosevic’s consent.

ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte too came under investigation for bribing of witnesses. One Serbian witness said he was offered a well-paid job in the US in return for testimony favourable to the prosecution. These are factors we in Sri Lanka are well aware would happen to prosecute Sri Lanka’s armed forces.http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-criminalization-of-justice-at-the-hague-former-prosecutor-carla-del-ponte-faces-charges-of-witness-intimidation/20938?print=1

ICTY Frederik Harhoff, a Danish judge became the centre of controversy after a private email claimed high-profile acquittals could have been the result of political pressure. Harhoff wrote that he had heard that the Tribunal’s president, Theodor Meron, an American, allegedly put pressure on other judges to approve the acquittals. Where’s the credibility of these foreign judges! So much for the demand by UNHRC for foreign judges to Sri Lanka!

When Milošević, read from Friedrich Naumann's book Mitteleuropa, claiming it was a long-standing objective of German foreign policy and the German liberal party in particular to "erase Serbia from the map",– it reminds Sri Lankans of the historical aim of India and the role India played in creating LTTE terrorism and India’s underhand role in the UNHRC resolutions against Sri Lanka.

Authors like Louise Sell, a former US Foreign Service Officer went to the extent of ridiculing Milosevic’s upbringing and claimed that US psychiatrists that labelled Milosevic as a “malignant narcissistic” personality. When the author refers to “Milosevic and his minions” as "hardliners,” “conservatives,” and "ideologues”; they are “anti-West,” it immediately calls to mind similar name tags against Mahinda Rajapakse and a barrage of authors who are still counting the dead while others are still in their cage!

It is now amply clear that Milosevic’s crime was that he resisted the balkanization of Yugoslavia and opposed US imposed hegemony as well as opposing merciless privatizations that other former communist countries were subject to. Now is that not why Rajapakse was also removed from his mantle? Yugoslavia was the only nation in Europe that did not apply for entry into the European Union or NATO or OSCE.

The other noteworthy comparison of Serbia and Sri Lanka is the media hyped death figures. The allegation that genocide was committed against ethnic Albanians in Serbia and Tamils in Sri Lanka is a case in point. In both cases the numbers kept changing - 250,000 or 100,000 or 50,000, 40,000 or 10,000 but there were no dead bodies. Western forensic teams were brought in.

José Pablo Baraybar, a Peruvian who headed the U.N.’s Office on Missing Persons and Forensics, described Serbia as “one of the most exhumed places on earth.” But they could hardly find 2000 bodies in total!This is exactly why we have been challenging the figures of 40,000 dead in Sri Lanka and continue to challenge for we do not wish to waste time money and put people unnecessarily behind bars to be told years later that they are exonerated because we know it was a lie from the beginning.

What is also poignant about Serbia and Sri Lanka is that the same man – Marti Ahtisaari who gave a cut and paste “compromise” Proposal used in the 1995 Dayton agreement (which turned Bosnia into a Western colony), is now one of the investigation panellists chosen by UNHRC against Sri Lanka. The same cut and paste is likely to occur if not objected now itself.

What is the ‘independence’ Kosovo has? All major decisions pertaining to public spending, social programs, monetary and trading arrangements remain in the hands of the NATO-UN occupation administration. The calls for a separate North and East provinces now chanted by both the TNA and Muslims are likely to be no different. ‘Independence’ in name only but the real rule will be by West and using India who is happy to play role as a sepoy.

Electing a “pro-Western” president Boris Tadic and placing a puppet leader in Sri Lanka are another feature to take note of. Boris Tadic’s Democratic Party takes its orders from Washington. Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, The KLA has links to Albanian and European crime syndicates. TNA is Sri Lanka’s version of the KLA. If KLA was supported from the outset in the mid-1990s by the CIA and Germany’s intelligence agency, the Bundes Nachrichten Dienst (BND) – we all know how LTTE started! Hashim Thaci was involved in drug trafficking and prostitution the same curriculum vitae that LTTE and its foreign fronts have. The criminal syndicate working in cahoots with the West in Kosovo is no different to the criminal LTTE Diaspora now working in cahoots with the West, UN & keeping India in the loop.

If Kosovo has turned into a mafia state the same is likely to happen to an ‘independent North Sri Lanka’. In both cases the West gain military jurisdiction of the area. Notice how Sri Lanka’s Eastern Muslims have also joined the bandwagon asking for a separate Muslim only unit. These are all planned demands with a bit of inducements to those demanding! The West are masters of manipulating the Muslims and then destroying them.

In declaring Kosovo’s independence enabling NATO’s occupation to respond to US foreign policy objectives, a highly militarized zone has been created which creates Western Europe to the Black Sea. Camp Bondsteel is “the largest and most expensive army base since Vietnam.” with more than 7000 US troops using 1,000 acres and over 300 buildings http://www.globalresearch.ca/kosovo-s-mafia-state-and-camp-bondsteel-towards-a-permanent-us-military-presence-in-southeast-europe/30262.

It is no rocket science to understand how Sri Lanka’s geopolitical position will be made use of by the West and raises alarm bells of the US embassy expansion with a marine residence being built as we speak with absolutely no objection from any quarters!

What is also interesting is that it was in 1997 that the US declared the KLA as a terrorist organization while also proscribing the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organization.

When the UK Sunday Times quoted a legal expert who claimed that “Eighty percent of the prosecution’s opening statements would have been dismissed by a British court as hearsay.” It calls to mind the manner the UNHRC is unwilling to accept the expert opinions of terrorism experts and instead go by witnesses sourced from LTTE fronts and given 20 years anonymity under a bogus witness protection program and also covered by another bogus entity being introduced called the Office of Missing Persons which must be drafted by the LTTE legal experts for every word in it absolves the LTTE while criminalizing the armed forces that saved the nation from terror.

An injustice has been done by the West to the former President of Serbia. Compensation, apology needs to be paid to Mrs. Milosevic and her children for the suffering caused resulting in the death of her husband/father. The Serbian state must deserve an apology too for the bogus claims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity that the country’s image was tarnished with by world leaders, the UN and the media.

You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to see a pattern which is why these are lessons for Sri Lanka and actions Sri Lanka need to take are

· Refuse any type of war crimes tribunal with any type of foreign involvement. Agree to take criminal and military court action against any soldier who has misbehaved once solid evidence is presented. GOSL must simultaneously using national laws bring criminal charges against LTTE and all of its leaders (in Sri Lanka & Overseas)

· Refuse any type of foreign judges or setting up of any UNHRC office along the proposals currently made (Office of Missing Persons etc) – the credibility of these foreign judges have been proven by their actions as seen in all former tribunals with foreign judges. To have tribunals we have to have committed war crimes – so far other than hysterical fabrications as seen in Serbia’s case nothing substantial has been presented. The 5 legal luminaries tasked to give their legal opinions have clearly established that no war crimes have been committed by the Sri Lankan Army.

· No Government elected for a term of office can without consulting or obtaining the views of the masses agree to place a terrorist organization and a State’s national armed forces on par (this mistake was done in the 2002 ceasefire – the same cannot be repeated by that same political party once again)

· No Minister has any right to agree to any tribunals, Offices, judges or what not without the consent of the People. This Minister has absolutely no public backing and no vote base other than a segment who belongs to his caste. He has no respect of the people in Sri Lank and must be removed from his position forthwith.

· As has been seen in the case of Serbia and Milosevic a great travesty of justice has taken place. We do not wish to be a party to such lies and agree to lock up our armed forces, brand them as murderers to be told years later that they have not committed any crime. We know they have not committed any crime and that is why we oppose any Tribunals. True, people died but where is there a war without death and collateral damage. Against the skeletonless dead figures the Sri Lankan Army physically saved close to 300,000 Tamil people – that in itself shows they are not murderers to be accused of committing genocide. They took months to finish off the war when they could have if they were murderers bombed the entire area and completed the operation. That way they would have not sacrificed 5000 of their own troops.

Therefore, from the example of Serbia and Milosevic it is now clear that the UN has no credibility to be proposing any type of tribunal for Sri Lanka and the GOSL is foolhardy to meekly agree to the traps now being laid out.

Let the Ministers in Government and those in the Opposition realize that they cannot be playing footsie anymore. They are now answerable to the entire nation and we will have no more follies and foolish decision making from them just to please foreign agendas.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/icty-exonerates-slobodan-milosevic-for-war-crimes/5539237

New Criminal Court to try Anglo-Europeans for crimes against humanity & UN complicity

Shenali D Waduge

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said it was high time Africa set up a criminal court which would seek justice for "serious" war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the West, particularity during the colonial era. International Criminal Court was a court for Western countries he says. How true no Western nation or leaders have been indicted for any crimes. The Yellow man, Brown man & the Black man must now get together to demand justice for over 500 years of injustices to them from white racism and discrimination. Truth Commissions must be established by the victims and the victim nations not the accolades of the white man. UN & ICC have shown by their actions they are unfit to represent all humans and all nations. A victims court by victim nations is required.

Colonial Crimes from 15^th– 20^th century

The crimes committed by the white race in the Americas, Africa & Asia are horrendous. None of these have even been taken up for accountability, apology and reparations. How can over 500 years of systematic policies to exterminate and annihilate the natives, forcibly taking over their lands and then bringing in laws to further consolidate their illegal acquisition not be on trial. Nations of the West have become what they are because of the plunder and theft of the resources and treasures of these countries.

Let us not forget that the Abrahamic religions began their Crusades in 1095 and since it has been a competition between them to acquire and take over lands.

§ “Age of Discovery” orders by the Church to invade, take over, plunder and convert all non-Christian nations/territories using crime of Terra Nullius

§ First explorations - Bartolomeu Dias to Africa (14988), Vasco da Gama to India (1498), Christopher Columbus to South America (1492)

§ Illegal Treaties that divided the world between the white races - Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 which divided lands to the east belonging to Portugal and the lands to the west belonging to Spain. Americas and the Pacific Ocean Spain colonized. Africa and most of Asia in Indian Ocean was colonized by Portugal. Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529 further defined areas between Spain and Portugal (without so much as consent of the people living in these lands) After Spain and Portugal, Britain, France and the Netherlands began the next wave of colonialism. The last wave was the Scramble for Africa following the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885.

§ Colonialism is linked to capitalism (Gilmartin) first acquiring revenue for feudalism, then to develop manufacturing industry in Europe and finally to create new markets for further profit.

§ Genocide of indigenous peoples (mass destruction of entire communities/tribes or races of indigenous peoples) Bartolomé de las Casas in his A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and Historia de Las Indias, chronicles the atrocities committed by the colonizers against the indigenous peoples. The Taino genocide (1492-1518) is where the Spanish wiped out most of the Tainos (Arawaks), the native people of the northern Caribbean (present-day Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, etc). Columbus himself set it in motion and oversaw it till 1500. https://abagond.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/the-taino-genocide/

§ Depopulation from disease– During the French and Indian War, Jeffery Amherst, Britain's commander in chief in North America suggested using smallpox to wipe out their Native American enemy. Smallpox-infested blankets were intentionally given to Native Americans in 1763 at the Siege of Fort Pitt. John S. Milloy published evidence indicating that colonialists had intentionally concealed information on the spread of disease in his book A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System

§ Settler colonialism– transporting people from one continent to the other as part of divide and rule policies. Creation of mass immigrant communities resulted in franchise and citizenship issues at time of decolonization. Indians taken to work on colonial plantations/as slaves, were transported to all corners of the world and constitute ‘immigrant’ populations in these countries (Central America, South Africa & Parts of Africa & Asia)

§ Exploitation - to extract resources they established authoritarian regimes working under their orders. King Leopold II of Belgium in the Congo Basin is an example of extreme exploitation.

§ Indirect rule - creation of indigenous sepoys of servitude to white race done through denationalization programs using missionary education system.

§ Reorganization of borders - partitioned land masses and created borders. Britain and France traced almost 40% of the entire length of today’s international boundaries. The Berlin Conference of 1884 allowed the arbitrary construction of sovereign borders in a territory where they had never previously existed. Borders were artificially created that did not conform to “typical demographic, ethnographic, and topographic boundaries.” (Jeffrey Herbst) This led to large scale issues, like the division of ethnic groups; and small scale issues, such as families’ homes being separated from their farms. The injustice of these colonial partitions need to be addressed

§ Land – prior to colonial occupation land was not private property (Mahmood Mamdani), land was a communal resource for all to enjoy. Land abuse started with colonial occupiers (Trail of Tears, relocations of Native Americans following the Indian Removal Act of 1830, apartheid system in South Africa). Natives were driven off their lands and these lands were given to private ownership. “frenzy for native land” was due to economic immigrants that belonged to the ranks of Europe’s landless (Patrick Wolfe) lands were confiscated, people and their livelihoods destroyed and in place plantations started with natives used as forced labor.

§ Labour Exploitation– slavery was combined with racism, superiority and inhuman treatment. Colonizers left every continent and nation they occupied under-developed and carrying a legacy of issues they are still clueless to resolve because of the lackeys that the whites have placed in governance to continue pseudo-colonial rule. Any leader challenging status quo is certain to be eliminated or cornered. In 1619 the first African slaves arrived to Jameston, USA.

§ Societal problems– ethnic identities: colonized are eternally asking themselves ‘who am I’ because colonials have dehumanized natives. Rwanda genocide 1994 Hutus of Rwanda turned on their Tutsi neighbors and slaughtered between 500,000 to 800,000 people in just 100 days. It was the Europeans who distributed power along racial lines making Tutsi minority superior supported by the colonials while majority Hutus were suppressed. When Hutus gained government the tensions created by the colonials unfolded. The colonials created majority-minority groups and then masterminded issues to keep them at loggerheads.

§ Cultural colonization & imperialism – denationalizing ancient histories, cultures and traditions through policies and education system and re-writing history according to what suits the white race and creating groups of natives hero-worshipping the colonial white race and desiring to be their loyal lapdogs for perks, privileges and career progress.

Illegal interventions and crimes since 1945 where creating conflicts became a means to wield political power and enabled profit-making arms industry that would sell weapons to both sides and continue conflicts by creating a steady flow of combatants and leaders against democratically elected governments. These covert-overt practices and illegalities have never been taken to account in accusing western-media demonized ‘dictators’ who were originally created by the West and used to advance Western agendas.

Western governments & their intelligence

· Divided Korea and is using South Korea as a base

· Removed democratically elected leader of Iran Mossadag and replacing him with Shah in 1953

· Deposed Guatemalan leader Arbenz and installed dictator Castillo

· Armed an insurgency in Tibet

· Sponsored failed revolt against Indonesian President Sukarno in 1958

· Eisenhower Doctrine meant US troops sent to Lebanon

· Attempt to depose Cuban leader Castro in 1959 through Bay of Pigs invasion.

· Assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba

· Vietnam War illegal (1965-73) installing murderer Ngo Dinh Diem and thereafter assassinating him.

· West funds murders of Khmer Rouge and dictator Pol Pot http://www.globalresearch.ca/how-thatcher-helped-pol-pot/5330873

· 1969 bombing of Cambodia (Operation Menu) 1969-70. Declassified documents released in 2000 detail US bombing in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

· ‘Constitutional coup’ to prevent Chile’s Allende becoming President 1970 and installing dictator Pinochet.

· Arming and training dissidents across the world – Afghan mujahideen against Soviet Union (Operation Cyclone)/Reagan Doctrine 1979.

· Supporting UNITA movement in Angola, Solidarity movement in Poland, Contras in Nicaragua,

· Supporting Saddam Hussein during Iraq-Iran war

· Repeated interventions in El Salvador,

· Invasion of Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury)

· 1986 bombing of Libya

· Invasion of Panama in 1989 (Operation Just Cause) to depose Noriega

· Intervention in Kuwait to remove Iraqi forces (though Saddam Hussein believes US wanted him to invade Kuwait) – Gulf War 1991

· 1990 intervention in Somalia using UN as puppet to set up mission

· Ordering airstrikes that led to controversial Dayton Agreement and eventual balkanization of Yugoslavia.

· Creating global terrorist menace – Al Qaeda and a plethora of sub-groups now calling jihads all over the world

· Ordering missile strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan. Targeting of civilian infrastructure, killing of civilian lives, extraordinary renditions, detainee torture and denial of legal counsel or even whereabouts of their imprisonment – are only documented and no legal action against the nations taken

· Use of chemical weapons – no accountability for using atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and thereafter the use of internationally banned chemical weapons/bombs used in all of the military interventions since 1945.

· Introducing concept of R2P in order to militarily intervene in nations using ‘humanitarian’ card and thereafter setting up military bases (Kosovo independence to create NATO base) to attack other nations while UN looks on or indirectly facilitates these interventions. The lies that led to Milosevic’s arrest and death, the fabrications of genocide by Western nations and media and the UN’s connivances clearly exposes this following the ICC now claiming Milosevic did not commit war crimes

· Controversy behind 9/11 with allegations of inside job involvement however enabled the attack on both Iraq and Afghanistan though all hijackers were Saudi. US/NATO has been occupying Afghanistan since 2001.

· Illegal military intervention of Iraq in 2003, bombing civilian infrastructure, destroying ancient heritage (Cultural genocide), and then arming insurgents that has given coalition forces the excuse to remain in Iraq and further divide the country the British created with artificial boundaries. The 2003 intervention was to overthrow Saddam Hussein but Western forces continue to remain in Iraq.

· Illegal drone attacks – Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan etc

· 2011 Libyan intervention openly arming mercenaries and then projecting them as Libyan rebels. Killing a leader – Gaddafi and destroying the most developed nation in Africa.

· All of the Islamic terrorist groups created by the West - http://www.globalresearch.ca/twenty-six-things-about-the-islamic-state-isil-that-obama-does-not-want-you-to-know-about/5414735

· Illegal intervention in Syria 2014 – bombing a country, creating exodus of civilians fleeing to save their lives, unwelcome and hostility by neighboring nations they are fleeing to, refugees subject to insults, conversions and denial of basic amenities on account that they were fleeing because Western nations were bombing their country.

· James Lucas writing to the GlobalResearch says the US has killed more than 20million people in 37 victim countries since 1945.

· None of these covert/overt military interventions most of which are illegal, including arming training and supporting armed militant groups have never had a resolution against them or calls for any Tribunals/Commission of Inquires. The political, trade, and other powers exerted over UN members ensures that no non-Western state can dare bring any resolutions against West for their criminalities & illegalities.

· Since setting up ICC (International Criminal Court though US does not even recognize ICC) in 2002 barring Tribunal against Yugoslavia all of the investigations have been against African nations. The discrepancies were many – ICC dropped case against Kenyan President Kenyatta citing no case, Chief Prosecutor was accused of withholding information on Lubanga of Congo. The Tribunal on Yugoslavia cost $2b which now says Milosevic did not commit war crimes though he is now dead. The Rwanda Tribunal in 1994 did not even take up the foreign involvement in the genocide. The Cambodia Tribunal in 2006 was another bogus hybrid court spent 8 years and $200m to indict 5 people with only 1 getting convicted. UN’s complicity was omitted from investigation with Khmer Rouge’s representatives occupying Cambodia’s seat at the UN! US pressuring World Food Program to hand $12m in food to Khmer Rouge was also not investigated neither was British training of ‘resistance’ groups. Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2002 displayed hypocrisy with judges subject to US influence. Special Court for Lebanon in 2009 – all of the judges came from countries that banned Hezbollah as terrorists raising question of impartiality. Court for East Timor was also full of bias. These hybrid tribunals omit crimes committed before establishment of ICC and conveniently erases accountability by West for involvement in ruining these countries.

As can be clearly seen white racism, western exceptionalism, UN hypocrisy & double standards are impediments for peace. You cannot have a group of nations imposing their will politically, economically/financially and through trade, militarily, socially and even culturally deeming that the entire world must conform to their ideologies and their imperialist motives.

· US Military has bases in 63 countries with 325,000 US military personnel deployed worldwide. US is thought to own a total of 737 bases in foreign lands. There are 116,000 US military personnel including 75,603 who are stationed in Germany as a result of Status of Forces Agreement

The UN Charter has become a joke and a farce. One law for one lot and no law for a handful. The farce is such that it is the nations that are breaking every law that are preaching to the rest of the world to uphold human rights and preaching morality, good ethics and good governance and UN sits silent as these very nations interfere and poke their noses into the internal affairs and governance of sovereign nations.

This hypocrisy must end. A handful of white supremacist nations who are keeping their own people fooled in controlling the news & media they own are the root cause of the chaos that is engulfing the world. To make matters worse they have created a bunch of native accolades who are now being perched across global positions just to project the notion that equality prevails and non-whites are holding world portfolios. In reality these are nothing but westernized stooges slobbering over their white masters and ever ready to read off speeches prepared for them. Take a look at all the non-white representatives holding global positions and now being sent as foreign envoys and representatives to see the truth in this. Do they ever say a word on the crimes and injustices committed against their birth nations?

Therefore it is definitely time for the yellow man, brown man and the black man to create its own international court and create the international legal framework to take up all crimes committed by the Anglo-Europeans starting out with colonial crimes to the current wave of military interventions and bombings taking place resulting in a mass exodus of fleeing refugees and the destruction of nations for no reason.

§ A separate court must also take up the Islamization of lands and territories forcibly taken over by Islamic rulers who also followed the same philosophy of invading, plunder, murder & conversion of non-Islamic people. Both Western Christianity and Islamic conquests used the sword in one hand and the Bible and Quran in the other to forcibly acquire land. That quest to Islamize/Christianize the world remains in progress still – the sword has been replaced with varying modern methods that camouflage this same objective. Accountability, apology and reparation from the Muslim world is also required.

Russia and China need to take lead of this initiative to set up a real victim’s international court. Ideally India should also be party and play a lead role but unfortunately Indian leaders & Indians in prominent international roles have shown no desire to be the mouthpiece for historical victims but have opted to go behind and pay lipservice to the very nations that are out to eventually balkanize India as was done to Yugoslavia and Soviet Union. Sadly Japan who showed guts and challenged the white race has meekly joined India in become subservient to the West though patriotic Indians and Japanese desire to play no such role – their voices are drowned by a very biased lackey press owned and controlled by the West.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-worldwide-network-of-us-military-bases/5564

http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/03/16/name-1-un-tribunal-that-has-delivered-justice-for-victims/

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2005/11/the_truth_about_islamic_crusad.html

POLITICAL SOLECISMS & FLIP-FLOPS OF GOSL

WHO INSTIGATED THEM?

Kanthar Balanathan, Australia

Political Solecisms by GOSL

SriLanka, once known to be the “Island of Paradise”, entered the democratic stream of governance in 1948, until in 1949, the racist Chelvanayagam sowed the ethnic division concept to embrace power. The then PM, DS Senanayaka (DSS) was focussed in implementing the structural transformation, which DSS accomplished in the East, South and Nuwara.

Since 1948, the heads of SL embarked on development, however, Tamil politicians placed themselves on a resistive mode, impeding development in the North. The DSS government was so kind not to take legal action to punish the traitors.

The power struggle between the main stream of the political parties UNP & SLFP was also hindering development. Added to this the Federal Party which became the Tamil National Alliance, a puppet of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also places itself on the opposition to any action taken by the government. Up to 1970 the political actors of the North played a drama of Eel fish to both sides. Therefore SL had threegangs fighting each other, without knowing that they are creating a threat to the sovereignty of SL.

Tamils ensured that any organisation, Councils, political parties were strongly constituted and dominated with the caste, velellas, whereas these Vellalas people in foreign countries do menial work like cleaning etc.

Since the birth of terrorism in 1970, formation of Tamil New Tigers in 1972, and the transformation into the LTTE in 1976, Tamils have caused loss of lives, extensive damages to assets (Industries & domestic installations), defence installations, death of civilians, PMs, ministers etc. Considering reparation in the reconciliation process, who is planning to pay SL the losses caused by LTTE? Rudrakumaran??

However, the ineptness of one political party, the UNP, could be proved to be the cause of downfall of SL in stabilising good governance, growth and economic stability. From inception, UNP had a soft corner for the FP and subsequently TNA, in the name of democracy, while the Tamil politicians did not participate in the democratic stream. UNP was incapable of carrying out root cause analysis, develop strategies and swot analysis of their members, develop a succinct stable economic plan. The reason could be attributed to UNP being a slave to the west, and laughingstocks elected as MPs.

Negotiation Process

Significant number of peace talks were conducted all over the world with zero results. How much did GOSL spend for these talks?

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=peace+talks+with+LTTE&biw=1920&bih=965&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiH_LnJ-oTOAhXEpJQKHfYKC4kQsAQIUA

To know more about the war please visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War.

GOSL was introverted in that frequently they had negotiation in the name of “achieving peace”, concluded on BC pact and DC pact etc. JRJ of UNP, led a procession to Daladamaligawa protesting against the BC pact and burnt it, which was just a political drama manoeuvring to capture power. The same JRJ cartwheeled and signed and implemented the 13^th amendment, splitting up the administration to ten Provincial Councils. JRJ made no effort to get the 13^thamendment through a public referendum.

CFA and ISGA

Chandrika Bandaranaike was the President from 1994 to 2005. Wikipedia reports as follows: “Her (CBK) PhD studies in Development Economics at the University of Paris 1970–73 were interrupted when she returned to Sri Lanka to enter politics, when her mother’s government had launched a wide-ranging programme of socialist reform and development.” (Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrika_Kumaratunga). This statement is ambiguous because she did not get through her first degree, which she accepted in the TV. The writer and CBK were in the same UTA flight in October 1967 from Colombo to Paris. This type of people became the president of the republic. It is no fault of CBK, but the people for electing such an unskilled, ineffectual person.

Ranil Wickremasinghe (RW) was the PM from 2001 to 2004. The ineptness of CBK was assessed in that, RW was making deadly life threatening decisions, and administering the country. It could be assessed that the period 2001 to 2004 was the dark period, like a dictator running a country. The president, CBK, was incapable of making any decision. During this period RW signed the CFA agreement with the LTTE. This was just an eye wash by the LTTE. For the LTTE this meant nothing. LTTE worked their way through to ISGA. RW prepared the ISGA paving the way to LTTE’s demands. It was fortunate that the ISGA was not signed, however, LTTE made their way to smuggle heavy weaponry through diplomatic consignments.

The elections in 2005 was a prodigy, where the LTTE’ entered the dark period with SL entering the light period with Mahinda Rajapaksa elected as the President of SL. The citizens of SL should understand that between the periods 2001 to 2004, LTTE smuggled heavy weapons through Colombo in diplomatic containers. If the ISGA would have been signed then SL would have been destroyed with Americans taking over Trincomalee.

In 2015 the government was handed over to another bunch of incompetent personal in SL. The same RW became the PM through undemocratic means. The Minority party leader Sambanthar became the Leader of Opposition which is the most ridiculous appointment in the 21^stcentury.

Ineffectiveness

Let us analyse the incompetency of the Good Governance:

. The PM convenes an international study conference on Fiscal Policy, Structural Transformation etc. with foreign delegates, while SL has several Universities with expert Professors and Scientists. Does it means that RW and his bunch do not understand economy? How could they be considered fit to govern? Did the PM assume that his academic staff are incompetent? The students who qualified from these universities are holding very high positions in the West and South East.
The PM is obstinate to build a bridge between India and SL. Does not the PM understand about India and their culture? Did not the Indians slaughter millions of SriLankans over the 2000 years? What is their ulterior motive? Who is forcing RW to build the bridge? Is it the US or India? Did the PM order a risk assessment and analysis study by a team in SL? Does RW want SL to be the 30^th state of India?
The PM is stubborn in signing the ETCA, and getting it through his head. Did he order an economic and risk analysis to be completed. Does not he understand the risk of signing ETCA, and open the doors for Indians to drive in via the bridge. India is a large country. It is humiliating and undignified for India to sign ETCA with SL. No intellectuals from India will walk into SL, except the poor coolies and tradesmen. This move could be considered the grimiest act by GOSL in history
Has not SL got the expertise to draft her own constitution? Is GOSL imprudent to understand why US wants to draft the constitution. If GOSL is so thoughtless, then they could invite SL Diaspora from Australia, to draft a rigid constitution tailored to suit the needs of SL. If GOSL feels that they have no expertise then they should close down all the Universities in SL
The Sri Lankan military defeated the dirtiest deadly terrorists in the world: LTTE. Why would SL engage US military to be involved in defence and security measures of SL? Does GOSL think that their military consists a bunch of nincompoops? If so, then they should tell the military, but not bring shame to their own military. Does not SL understand the moves made by US in destroying countries in the past? US is moving from the west to the East, targeting China and Russia. A detailed study of US activities in the past would help SL.
Does GOSL know about the risk of issuing large value bonds for a long period? Should not GOSL understand about budgetary control? Every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to rip the country’s coffer and siphon funds into their pockets.
CBK had proved her inefficiency during the period 2001 to 2004. It is better for SL if CBK gets out of politics, because she is causing more damage to the country than planning for economic development. Everyone should know and understand that Ratwatte family does not own SL. The country belong to the people of SL, not the Nayakkan and Ratwathas.
Lord Buddha is common to Asgiriya and Malwatte faculties. No one is greater than the other. Let us not argue and fight among ourselves.
The poor politicians who are aligned to the MS, RW, SLFP/UNP, are converging to become slaves of UNP.

The current President (MS) is requested to act more vigilantly, knowing the incompetency practiced between the periods 2001 to 2004. SriLanka’s executive head is the President and not the PM. PM is there to assist the President. May Lord Buddha save Sri Lanka, if we all have faith in Lord Buddha?

Let us all pray that Sri Lanka does not become another Diego Garcia

Of the Indian Ocean, AND/OR the 30^th state of India, and Slave to Tamil Nadu.

Reciprocity and not Reconciliation should be the basis of peaceful co- existence between Buddhists and Muslims

Shenali D. Waduge

Reciprocity is the hallmark of any relationship. However, we have hardly any evidence to prove Islamic reciprocity towards non-Islamic faiths. It has been announced that an international conference is to be held in Sri Lanka in August 2016 sponsored by Islamic nations and Islamic Religious organisations to foster peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Buddhists. No peaceful co-existence can come about if incursions are taking place affecting the sensitivities of the majority populace of a country. The magnanimity of wanting peaceful coexistence comes in removing that which are stumbling blocks to peace.

We welcome peace and peaceful co-existence between adherents of different religions. However, we must state that co-existence cannot be one-sided. While preaching peaceful co-existence Muslims and Islamic nations cannot expect to transplant their religions in sacred citadels of Buddhists and expect the Buddhists to keep silent. The oath of peaceful coexistence is and cannot be one-sided and is certainly no one way street for one party only.

We can give as examples with sadness of the incursions taking place with mosques being built in specifically Buddhist citadels - Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Kandy, Mihintale, Mahiyangana, Polonnaruwa (former Royal capital), Kelaniya and even in Buddhagaya, Lumbini and Kusinara. There is a new mosque built 60metres from Buddhagaya with the daily azhan disturbing the peaceful meditation of the Buddhist priests and worshippers. To decide to build a mosque so close to where Buddhists meditate in silence knowing the disturbance Muslim calls to prayer causes is a direct affront to peace. It is an unthoughtful decision affecting the sensitivities of the Buddhists. The Indian Government that claims to protect Buddhism is also responsible for giving permission.

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=24.695685&lon=84.991495&z=18&m=b

The situation boils down to a simple axiom. You can demand only up to what you can and are prepared to concede to the other party. Nothing more. Each and every Muslim in Sri Lanka and the rest of the Islamic world must ask this basic straight forward question.

Islam is recognised officially as a religion in Sri Lanka. Three days in the Calendar year have been declared as public holidays for the benefit of Muslims. Mosques are being allowed to be built at any place in this country purely on the basis of a simple request irrespective of whether there is a sizeable Muslim population to justify the construction of a Mosque. In Kattankudy there are 48 Mosques over and above the needs of a small Muslim community in that small town. Muslim-Muslim rifts have resulted in varying types of mosques emerging. Muslim religious and public figures are regularly honoured via commemorative postage stamps. Can the Muslim world name a single Muslim majority country that has given the Sinhala Buddhists the same accord of reciprocity? Our people cannot even take a Buddha statue, a portrait or postcard of Buddha or pray in public or even build a temple and in the Holiest place for Muslims non-Muslims cannot even put a foot inside.

Sri Lanka is historically a Buddhist country. A land whose identity was closely tied to Buddhism. The cultural landscape was essentially Buddhist. This is fast changing with a planned effort by Abrahamic religions and their followers backed by foreign NGOs and Christian and Muslim countries to remove the Buddhist identity of Sri Lanka.

Ideas that have no cultural roots in Sri Lanka such as Secularism, Pluralism, Multi - culturalism and the like are bandied about with only one sinister aim - to remove Buddhism from public life. All types of efforts are being funded from all corners to realize this key historical objective.

The Theravada Buddhist countries are all facing similar threats. Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos and even a predominantly Hindu country such as Nepal which has Lumbini (birthplace of Prince Siddhartha - the Buddha to be).

An email thread asking “What if Thailand turns into a Christian majority nation” has some interesting responses http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=19628&start=40and there are success stories. South Korea once a majority Buddhist nation is today under evangelical influence. Maldives expunged its early Buddhist history and is now an Islamic Sharia following country. There are lakhs of Maldivians living, studying and working in Sri Lanka though a Sinhala Buddhist cannot even carry a photo of Buddha as it gets confiscated and destroyed at the airport check-in counter.

We place these demands as a solution to the crisis facing the remaining Buddhist communities and the Buddhist world

1. All Muslim majority nations must endorse and publicly acknowledge and legally accept Buddhism as a global religion.

2. All Muslim majority nations must grant equal status legally and constitutionally to Buddhist places of worship and allow migrant Buddhist communities in the West Asian countries (Middle East) to freely practice Buddhism and construct Buddhist places of worship.

3. All Muslim nations must be sensitive to Buddhist concerns. If the whole of Arabia is regarded as the sacred territory of Islam, Buddhist sacred sites must be equally accepted as no-go areas for mosque construction in any form. All such constructions that have occurred of late must be removed forthwith including the mosque placed in close proximity (within 60 metres) of the Maha Bodhi Temple in Buddhagaya, India (where Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment and became the Buddha).

4. Muslims must respect the judgment of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka i.e. an interim order delivered in November, 2007 which upheld the grievance of a petitioner that Azan makes 'Captive listeners of people of other religious faiths and violates the fundamental rights of the general public, such as the right to silence and the right to quiet enjoyment of property'. The Supreme Court adopted the position that a public nuisance cannot be excused on the ground that it causes some convenience or advantage to a few, and directed ' that all permits issued by the Police under Section 80(1) of the Police Ordinance (for use of loudspeakers) shall cease to be effective forthwith'. For more details of this highly acclaimed judgment to restrict noise pollution in Sri Lanka, see http://www.island.lk/2007/11/10/news9.htmlEveryone has watches to know the timings to call for prayer. Using loudspeakers to call for prayer in highly congested urban areas is a totally out of date practice that is causing tension and generating huge amount of anger and hatred towards Muslim communities also in India. Azaan is increasing the communal gap http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=4018

5. Muslims should not be allowed to use and exploit all the laws and freedoms in nations adopting multiculturalism while denying these same basic freedoms of religious worship to non-Islamic people in Muslim majority nations.

6. Muslim minorities cannot demand eating and drinking habits to be in accordance with their faith when in Muslim majority nations there is no rights whatsoever afforded to non-Muslims.

7. In Buddhist countries Buddhist values such as non - violence towards all living beings including animals, must be allowed to prevail over the values that cause destruction to innocent lives of harmless animals e.g. Animal sacrifice, which is an obnoxious practice to Buddhists all over the world.

A point of view advanced by some Muslims that what is ours is ours and what is theirs is a battleground, is untenable and a recipe for conflict now and in the future between Muslims and non-Muslims.

At another level the minorities in Sri Lanka seem to think that by holding ‘multicultural’ ‘pluralistic’ ‘secular’ ‘peaceful co-existence’ placards they can silence the Sinhala Buddhist majority who they expect to silently watch as every area of Sinhala Buddhist ethos, sacred areas, sacred sites, history, artefacts, rituals are all dislodged and replaced with either Christian or Islamic beliefs and monuments and thereafter expect the Sinhalese to accept defeat and give up Sinhala cultures/traditions and Buddhism and embrace either Islam or Christianity/Catholicism or Evangelicalism. How morally correct is this and can minorities defend this allegation?

Even the Muslim Congress leader and current Minister for Water Supply and Drainage is seeking a separate Muslim province. http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016/03/17/local/76777

Therefore it is essential that Muslims must be conscious of the existential fears of the Buddhist world given that one thousand years ago a good number of countries that are pre-dominantly Muslim now were Buddhist such as Maldives, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Only a genuine and sincere effort to understand the Buddhist fears and reservations, and in adjusting Muslim conduct to allay such fears can the process of peaceful co-existence between Buddhists and Muslims be taken forward.

Refer also

Buddhist Fundamentalism? By Dr.Asoka Bandarage

http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/08/09/buddhist-fundamentalism/

The Crisis facing the Buddhist World

http://www.sriexpress.com/articles/item/770-the-crisis-facing-the-buddhist-world.html

When Will The Tamil Leaders Let Jaffna Rest In Peace?

H. L. D. Mahindapala

I am neither surprised, nor overly worried about the Tamil students of the Jaffna University beating the Sinhala students. Intermittent inter-ethnic conflicts in various locations have occurred in the past and will continue to happen in the foreseeable future which is, hopefully, transiting from Nandikadal to a more rational and settled period of race relations. Of course, it all depends on whether the current indicators, which are seminal, would turn into a consolidated and irreversible trend.

What is disconcerting, however, is the fact that the violence of the Jaffna students had taken place at a time when the usual litany of complaints, starting from “1956” to “1983”, have receded into the depths of healing time. The unwanted violence unleashed by the Tamil undergrads had exploded just when the political climate has begun to change, though tardily, to ease tensions and resolve issues within the framework established under the Yahapalanaya regime – a regime, mark you, enthroned by the Tamils, the Muslims and the NGOs and their masters in West. This makes any Tamil violence counter-productive. They will be putting their own security and future at risk if they revert to violence again. Besides, at a time when the international community is ganging up against terrorist violence as never before – and the violent Tamils are still on the international list of terrorists – any violence raising its menacing head in Jaffna will have a hard time in convincing the world that they are the victims of a democratically elected state allied to the West.

In the latest outburst of violence there is some consolation in the fact that the Tamil student leader was caught by the cameras wielding only a solid piece of wood and not a kalashnikov. There were also heartening and spontaneous efforts made from both sides to douse the flames of wrath. In a calculated move the state has played down the import of violence which is commendable. However, in dismissing the campus rumpus as another one of those passing events, it should not be forgotten that the violence has its roots in the indigenous Tamil political culture to exclude non-Tamils from the Jaffna. The campus violence cannot be dismissed as a sporadic outburst of some misguided students. What took place in Jaffna campus is a part of the political culture that has dominated Jaffna in the post-independent era.

In many ways this incident fits into the Jaffna-centric violence driven by their political obsession to preserve Jaffna as the exclusive domain of the Tamils. It is another episode in the recurring criminal chain of ethnic cleansing to keep the Muslims and the Sinhalese out of Jaffna. It is the latest manifestation of the Tamil propensity for mono-ethnic politics. It is also a micro-mini replay of the Vadukoddai violence that was aimed at carving out a racist state for Tamils only. In fact, the language used to excuse Tamil violence in the Jaffna campus echoes the Vadukoddian slogans of “demographic colonisation”, “the primacy of Buddhism”, cultural invasions and even the “vamsa chronicles”, etc. Recycling the Vadukoddai slogans is another way of reviving the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist racism that dragged Jaffna all the way to Nandikadal.

The overwhelming post-Independent streak of Jaffna reveals that the North has lived ONLY (emphasis is mine) by the sword of anti-Sinhala-Buddhist racism. There was no space either in the feudal fascist-casteist (Vellahla) phase, or in its morphed manifestation of fascist—Prabhakaranist tyranny – the only two dynamics that dominated Jaffna — for liberal, democratic, socialist or humanistic politics. The closed society of Jaffna resisted the liberal and pluralistic winds of change that swept the south. Behind the ubiquitous cadjan curtain there was space only for authoritarian cults of fascist casteism or fascist Prabhakaranism. Both cults ruled Jaffna with an iron fist, denying the hapless Jaffna Tamils even the right to walk in the sun. The arrogant leadership of Jaffna always assumed that they knew what was best for their people and led them by their noses to Nandikadal. In the end the leadership of both cults paid with their lives for their arrogance and folly.

There is no one else to blame except the narrow-minded, short-sighted but cocky leaders of Jaffna who overestimated their power and, consequently misled themselves and the people, missing the best opportunities of power sharing that came their way, with international guarantees. When the end came they had no one else to blame except their own arrogance and stupidity. With no one else to blame in the last days the Tamil leadership turned on the Tamils. They blamed the Tamils who were deserting them in droves and running into the shelters provided by the vilified Armed forces. The immorality of Tamils killing Tamils, even when they were fleeing in the hope of finding safer alternatives, reflects the ruthless and obscene politics ingrained in the political culture of Jaffna.

Throughout its history Jaffna politics was driven by hate politics. The Vellahla leadership that steered peninsular politics justified their hate of low-castes with Hindu dogmas revised by Arumuka Navalar, the revisionist who elevated sudra farmers (Vellahlas) to the status of Brahmins in Jaffna. Under the cover of Navalar’s Saivite sanctions, the Vellahla elite oppressed the imported Tamil slaves and the low-castes as if they were a breed of beasts not fit for human society. In the post independent period they diverted their hate politics towards the Sinhala-Buddhist of the south. The Vellahlas maintained their grip on power in the peninsula by stoking hate politics against these two sectors. The Tamil leadership waged wars against both.

Tamil spiritual and secular leaders joined hands to keep the fires of hate politics burning. Arumuka Navalar, the greatest religious icon of the Vellahlas, led attacks on the low-caste schools to prevent them from coming up. Even their revered leader Sir. Ponnambalam Ramanathan did his utmost to retain the oppressive caste system. In the twenties he went to London on a special mission to legitimise the casteist system. In the sixties, Prof. C. Sutheralingam, the caste fanatic, made a desperate bid at Maviddipuram Temple to keep the low-castes out of the sacred premises.

According to Prof. Bryan Pfaffenberger the Tamils hated S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike not because of the Sinhala Only Act, though it was there in the background, but because of the Prevention of Social Disabilities Act which was aimed at dismantling the pernicious caste system. Language was to protect government jobs. But the attack on the caste system was to threaten the entire way of life that was sacred to the Vellahlas. When the Vellahla leadership switched their anti-low-caste politics to the Sinhala-Buddhists in the post-independent phase they were making their last stand to save their feudalistic and colonial powers and privileges. The hidden agenda in the Vadukoddai Resolution was to protect and maintain the Vellahla supremacy at any cost. And when they declared war against the Sinhala-Buddhists at Vadukoddai it was the last throw of their political dice. It was their biggest gamble.

It can also be argued that they were pushed into the Vadukoddai War by the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist mania generated by them in the post-independent era, with promises of a Tamil Eelam. Over the years it gathered a momentum of its own, raising unattainable expectations. They had steered post-independent politics demonising the Sinhala-Buddhists which left no room for compromise. Besides, with S. J. V. Chelvanayakam’s “little now and more later” tactics he was dragging peninsular politics, step by step, to the bitter end of mono-ethnic extremism. Tamil expectations had reached the giddy limit by 1976. At this point the Northern leadership was in a dither unable to deliver their promises. They were hoisted by their own petard. The disillusioned Tamil youth, partly influenced by the JVP youth and partly by Southern missteps, were at their throats demanding solutions. The desperate Tamil leadership rushed to pass the Vadukoddai Resolution, declaring war, as a politically expedient move to get out of their predicament. The Tamil leadership legitimised violence and opted for a military solution, abandoning the democratic mainstream. The ageing leadership urged the Tamil youth to wage the Vadukoddai war against the demonised Sinhala bogeyman. The Vellahlas were hoping to ride into power on the backs of the misguided Tamil youth drawn from the low-castes mainly. The Vellahlas youth went abroad with their parents to pursue careers in middle-class professions.

The Tamil leadership went as far as they could, living on anti-Sinhala-Buddhist hatred. Inside Jaffna, they defeated their Tamil rivals in electoral politics by pursuing hate politics that demonised the Sinhala-Buddhists. Any attempts to co-exist in a multicultural, pluralistic society was anathema. Those who were inclined to co-exist were stigmatised as “collaborators”. Competing Tamil parties scored electoral victories by wielding the sword of Sinhala-Buddhist hatred. The Biblical judgment that condemns those who live by the sword came down decisively to crush their arrogance and bitterness at Nandikadal. For a while, before the fall at Nandikadal, there were ample opportunities for the Tamil leadership to negotiate a peace deal with honour. But the hatred of Sinhala-Buddhist blinded them to the new possibilities. The Tamil leadership chose to live by the sword of hate. In the end they died by the sword of hate.

What is ominous in the latest Jaffna outburst of violence is the re-birth of the venomous hatred that led to Nandikadal. Hate was written all over the faces of Tamil students wielding their home-made weapons. Though the latest Jaffna incident can be dismissed as a manageable aberration, it nevertheless signals dangerously that Jaffna is ever ready to revert to Vadukoddian violence on the slightest pretext. And, as will be shown in due course, there are rabid elements waiting for an opportunity to exploit the ingrained strain of anti-Sinhala-Buddhist racism for their own profit and glory.

In a febrile attempt to explain the campus violence the NGO and other assorted pundits have rushed to recycle the hacked theories that led to the futile Vadukoddai war. The latest theoretical construction claims that too many Sinhalese students have been sponsored by the state to occupy academic places in the exclusive homeland of Tamils and, what is more, they are manipulated by the Army and the state to enforce”cultural colonisation”. Predictably, Jehan Perera is in the forefront of this propaganda campaign to demonise the Sinhala-Buddhists and white-wash the Tamil violence.

His theoretical jiggery-pokery has been consistently to keep the fires of anti-Sinhala-Buddhist hatred smouldering. Throughout the longest war in Asia he not only sided with the Tamil Pol Pot but even went to the extraordinary extent of conferring the Pol Potist ideologue, Anton Balasingham, the Tamil translator at the British High Commission, with a doctorate which he knew was a lie. Now that “Dr.” Balasingham and his master are no longer there he has thrown his weight behind V. Wigneswaran, the Chief Minister of the northern province, who is making a strenuous bid to take the place of Velupillai Prabhakaran, dressed not in military fatigues but in symbolic and ritualistic Hindu garb, with an unmistakeable dash of holy ash splashed right across his forehead. This symbolism, unfortunately, is not a soothing display of spirituality. Rather, it represents militant Hindu fascism.

Falling in line more with the extreme politics of the Tamil “Surya Devan”, Wigneswaran’s political conduct indicates that he is bent on keeping peninsular politics tied intransigently (Surprise! Surprise!) to the extreme end of Hindu-Tamil racism. His egregious resolution branding all Sinhala leaders as “genocidal” killers of Tamils, his prickly relations with the TNA which is, at least, making a show of wanting to find accommodation with the Sri Lanka state, his role as the Abominable Tamil Showman attempting to fill the vacuum left by his Surya Devan, his demand for a disproportionate share of power bordering on a separate state, his latest resolution on Jaffna violence in which he raises the evil ghosts of the destructive Vadukoddai Resolution etc., reveal his ineradicable mono-ethnic extremism. Apart from adding Prabhakaran to his political pantheon, he is also known to be a devotee of Swamy Premananda who was convicted of raping 13 girls and also murder in India. Using his judicial credentials, he pleaded with the Indian Prime Minister to pardon Swamy Premananda which, of course, was rejected.the fall

It is also well known that Wigneswaran is allied to Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of India – an extreme, right-wing, anti-Muslim political organisation that spits racial hatred, provoking inter-ethnic violence. VHP programme is to cleanse India of Muslims. It is not surprising, therefore, to find Wigneswaram participating in VHP platforms in Delhi and urging Indian Hindus to lead a pan-Hindu regional front to protect Hindus. He is noted among the Muslims of Jaffna for marginalising Muslims, almost treating them a non-persons. Despite Muslims of Jaffna raising issues of education, health and welfare with him, he has turned a deaf ear, refusing to give them even a hearing.

Painting a dismal picture of Jaffna under Wigneswaran’s rule, Prof. Rajan Hoole states: “Hindu nationalism, already a festering phenomenon in Tamil run institutions, particularly in Jaffna University, attained a more open manifestation in the form of the northern province chief minister, C.V. Wigneswaran. His rise to power in 2013 signified a deep rot and was a sign of things to come.” As in the south, the rot in Jaffna begins at the top. Wigneswaran represents the worst elements of the hate politics of Jaffna. He wriggles like the worm in the pus that oozes out of the incurable hate politics of Jaffna. But what is most depressing is the rot that is eating into the Jaffna University. Of the 17 universities it is the most scandal-ridden tertiary institution. Academics giving an “A” for a lay has sullied its integrity. Jockeying for academic positions, unqualified hacks getting promoted over the qualified, and funds flowing into private pockets are unacceptable in a community that reveres education on the same plane as Ganesh – the God of knowledge. Dr. Noel Nadesan, the Tamil expatriate journalist and activist of Melbourne who was targeted by the LTTE, wrote after his latest visit to Jaffna : “The most essential elements lacking in the North are moral, social and political leadership. The Jaffna university incident has been the clearest example of failed leadership.”

There is a growing awareness among the Tamil intellectuals now of the failure of the Tamil leadership. The absence of a genuine leadership that can think out of the racist box and move forward to a more pragmatic phase of peaceful co-existence continues to plague peninsular politics. The silver lining among the dark clouds over Jaffna, however, is the opening up of free space in the post-Prabhakaran period for the Tamils to engage in reappraising their past. But no new thinking has emerged to re-evaluate the hate-filled politics of the past. Nor has a new leadership emerged to take Jaffna out of the pit into it has fallen.

Getting out of this plight is not easy. The atavistic pull of the racist past is ingrained in peninsular politics. If you remove Sinhala-Buddhism from their agenda they have nothing to go on. Wigneswaran represents this menacing force. It is the racist extremism, currently spearheaded by Wigneswaran, that will be the biggest stumbling bloc to any future reconciliation. Reconciliation demands moving away from the Tamil intransigence of the past and advancing closer to multi-ethnic co-existence within the natural boundaries of the nation. The Northern leadership threw all what they had, including children, to pursue their elusive goal of Eelam. And they failed. Unfortunately, there are no signs that their tragic history has taught them any lesson as a guide for their future.

Northern obsession with power politics at the expense of all other existential considerations dragged the Tamils to depths of a bloody hell. Prabhakaran personified this megalomania. The power he acquired did not save the Tamils. Under him the Tamils were subject to abject servility with no dignity or self-respect. The vast mass of Tamils of all ages – from school children to the aged – were forced to serve him obediently, on their knees. Of course, the apparatchiks who were a part of the oppressive one-man regime were pleased. But the others were waiting for an opportunity to escape. When the end came they voted with their feet to escape the Prabhakaranist gulag.

It is the vilified Sinhala-Buddhists and their Forces that lifted the Jaffna Tamils from the misery of the war declared by their leaders. Their leaders financed the war. They directed the war. They mobilized the forces for the war. And when the end came where were the Tamil heroes to serve the needs of the abandoned Tamils? The money that flowed from the Tamil Diaspora to kill the Tamils suddenly stopped. There was no money to build peace for Tamils. There was money only to kill Tamils.

The award-winning French film Dheepancaptures the plight of the Tamils who were trapped in the Vadukoddai war. In one critical scene, Dheepan, who escapes the LTTE violence, is confronted in France by a war-mongering agent collecting money to buy arms. Dheepan says he has given up fighting. He is thrown to the ground and kicked for refusing to contribute money that goes to kill the Tamils. He survives. The film ends with Dheepan settling down in his new home in France, surrounded by multi-ethnic families. He finds peace only in a home away from home, far, far way from his fellow-Tamils killing each other.

Dheepan is fed up of fighting. He wants to lead a normal life. Politics has not taken him anywhere. Is there any point in chasing a mythical homeland that can’t give Tamils their peace? Dheepan settles for peace and normal family life. He has stopped chasing illusions of homeland that bleeds everyone to death.

Dheepan symbolises the life experienced by Tamils trapped in the violence and hate engineered by their leaders. His life experiences confirm that Tamils have lost their capacity to find peace among his own Tamil community, whether in Jaffna or France. Isn’t the violent outburst in the Jaffna campus another sign of the inability of Jaffna Tamils to find peace? Isn’t this innate and chronic violent culture of Jaffna a threat to all communities – most of all to the Jaffna Tamils? Does this mean that they are doomed to live in perpetual anger and hatred of their non-Tamil neighbours? Is Dheepan saying that there is peace and happiness in a non-violent home abroad than in their violent homeland?

The Tamil leaders have shown their capacity to lead the Tamils to Vadukoddai and Nandikadal. But can they lead the Tamils to live in peace without killing each other?

After dragging the Tamil people into a futile 33-year-old war the Tamil leadership owes it to the Tamil people to lead them into a safe haven of peace. Blaming the Sinhala-Buddhists is no longer the solution. They tried that trick long enough and failed. It is time they took responsibility for their stupidity that led them to Nandikadal. It is time they opened their eyes and, for the sake of the war-weary people of Jaffna, committed themselves genuinely for peace and reconciliation. The Tamil people deserve a future without Tamil Pol Pots and Boko Harams. They deserve a future that will save them from their Tamil saviours who had led them so far only into death, destruction and despair.

“Missing Dead” found alive: Is Ekneligoda’s story another Kathiravel Thayaparaja who is very much alive

Shenali D Waduge

One Kathiravel Thayapararaja was said to have been tortured and killed by the Sri Lankan Security forces on 13^th September 2009. The first to publicize the ‘death’ was a pro-LTTE website ‘Vanni Tech Director Thayaparan was killed by Sinhala Nazis’(24 September 2009), then on 13^th December 2009 University Teachers for Human Rights – Jaffna (UTHR-J) went a step further to say that Thayapararaja was arrested in Sept 2009, tortured at a security camp in Avissawella, shot on 13^th Sept 2009 and died in Kalubowila hospital on 15^th September 2009. Then in February 2010 Australian Government Refugee Review Tribunal said Thayapararaja was abducted in September 2009, tortured and killed by state agents. Thayapararaja became a name used to ridicule the Armed Forces and Intelligence until the ‘dead’ man was arrested by the Indian police on 5 May 2014. The same media hype surrounds the ‘missing dead’ Ekneligoda and we can only wonder whether the outcome is likely to be the same. However, the security forces were never exonerated. They are yet to receive a public apology or compensation for the torment they had to suffer being accused of killing a person, with reports galore being sent round the world until Thayapararaja was arrested in India and the world came to know he was neither ‘missing’ or ‘dead’ but had been in ‘hiding’ all along. Are we seeing a repetition?

Kathiravel Thayapararaja & Uthayakala

§ 5 May 2014 – Thayapararaja and 10 others travelling in 2 boats were arrested by Indian police in Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu claiming to be ‘refugees’. Each family had paid Rs.1.2m to enter India. One of these ‘refugees’ comprised a LTTE member (K. Sudhakaran) Uthayakala was supposed to be married to an LTTE cadre arrested in India. She is said to have been having an extramarital relationship with Thayapararaja and was his student while he was Director of Vanni Tech. Together both are alleged to have duped people promising them safe passage and employment in UK. They did neither except run off with people’s money. Both are alleged to have links with 2 NGOs run from UK with links to LTTE.

§ 13 Sept 2009 – Thayapararaja said to have been tortured and killed by Sri Lankan security. Accusation made by University Teachers for Human Rights-Jaffna in Special Report No, 34. http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/Special%20rep34/Uthr-sp.rp34part6.htm Quoting their report “he would have met Charles Anthony (Prabakaran’s son) now dead, and a few other LTTE figures at board meetings…………..he was arrested in September 2009 in Colombo tortured at a security camp in Avissawella, was shot and injured on 13^th September while being taken to court under escort and died at Kalubowila hospital two days later…..” …further quoting the report “such actions introduce a needless element of insecurity into the life of every Tamil. The Government did not even acknowledge the incident, leave alone investigate it, nor did the Press report it”. [comment: When Thayapararaja never died or was never tortured or shot, no wonder the GOSL did not acknowledge the incident or investigate it, but the University for Teachers have yet to apologize for their report]

§ 24 Sept 2009 – Tamilnet article “Vanni Tech Director Thayapararaja killed by Sinhala Nazis” claiming Thayapararaja was “extra-judicially executed” by Sri Lanka intelligence services. He was employed at a US NGO. His wife and kids were under protection of a Church organization in Colombo http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=30310

§ 5 Feb 2010 – Report by Australian Government Refugee Review Tribunal (Country Advice Sri Lanka)

http://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/country/australian_refugee_review_tribunal/sri_lanka/LKA36049.pdf The Australian report is an exact word to word copy of the Tamilnet article

News headlines as a result of spreading lies

§ War without Witnesses “Tamil engineer working for a US Charity (ITTPO) extra-judicially executed near Colombo”http://warwithoutwitness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=266:tamil-engineer-working-for-a-us-charity-extrajudicially-executed-near-colombo&catid=39:by-war-without-witness&Itemid=62

§ European Centre for Constitutional & Human Rights Report 2010 (page 32) quotes the University Teachers of Human Rights Report http://ebookbrowsee.net/sri-lanka-study-on-criminal-accountability-2010-06-pdf-d634211873

Thayapararajah reappeared from the ‘dead’, from being ‘extra-judicially executed’ from being ‘shot & injured’ while the entire period from 2009 to 2014 local and foreign media went to town claiming Sri Lanka security had tortured and killing him. His name is even on UN/UNHRC reports and quoted by these officials against the Sri Lankan government as well. After the man emerged from the dead, that too by accident having being caught by the Indian police, none of those who made false allegations so much as apologized or made corrections to their statements and reports. For 5 years these lies were spreading all over the world. We can also wonder if under the UNHRC ‘witness protection’ charade there are people who claimed Thayapararaja was abducted and they were witness. We will never know or at least we will have to wait 20 years to know!

If the Indian police had not caught Thayapararajah the whole world would have continued to believe the Sri Lankan security forces had killed him.

You can now wonder how many others have been made ‘missing’ or been ‘killed’ by international reports.

Ekneligoda was reported missing from 24 January 2010. In February 2016, Daily Mirror News Editor Sandun Jayasekera says “I have been serving as a journalist for 30 years now. As far as I know, this person being mentioned has never written any item of news or hosted a tv program or even attended a press conference. The question I have is how Prageeth Ekneligoda became a journalist”. No one has even challenged the Daily Mirror Editors’ statement to provide evidence that Ekneligoda was a journalist. So we have two issues at hand, is he a journalist and the open question of whether the case is another Thayapararajah story.

If Thayapararaja is one example we need to wonder whether ‘journalist’ Ekneligoda whom no one in the journalistic fraternity can vouch has written articles or appeared at any press conferences is in fact missing or has been made ‘missing’.

The Worst Attacks on Buddhism – 48 Monks Imprisoned and Hundreds Killed in 1989 by UNP

Dilrook Kannangara“The Joint Opposition is also maintaining a deafening silence about the true plight of Buddhism! The Joint Opposition must do much more than what it currently does for the protection of Buddhism. They cannot have a free ride to power and popularity as some of them wilfully disregarded Buddhist interests when in power. They must stand up for Buddhism”

Popular Buddhist monks are demanding an investigation into the deaths of Venerable Sobhitha thero allegedly killed in 2015. However, the memory of Venerable Gangodawila Soma thero lives on. He too died under mysterious conditions during a previous UNP regime. Yet again, hundreds of Buddhist monks were killed by the UNP regime and its new bedfellows the JVP and LTTE in the late 1980s and mid 1990s. UNP goons operating in Batalanda and other torture chambers had devised a torture tactic especially for Buddhist monks called the Dharma Chackra (circle of Dharma). Hundreds of young Buddhist monks were tortured and killed. Some Buddhist monks were burnt on tyres. In the mid 1950s, a UNP leader allegedly threatened to pour hot tar on the shaved heads of Buddhist monks.

There certainly is a one to one correlation between the torture of Buddhist monks and UNP regimes. This entire correlation must be investigated.

At present 48 Buddhist monks are facing court action after imprisonment or suffer in prison. Other activities of Buddhist monks are also planned to be curtailed by the “Kathikawatha Bill” once enacted. The UNP regime is also planning to demote Buddhism from the supreme place it enjoys in the Constitution.

Without a doubt, the UNP is on a mission to destroy Buddhism. Tamil invader Elara (205-161 BC), Kalinga Magha (1215-36), European invaders (1505-1948) and Indian sponsored Tamil terrorists (1976-2009) attempted to wipe out Buddhism from Sri Lanka but failed. UNP regime is doing what they failed and surely will suffer their fate.

President Sirisena cannot claim to be unaware of what is going on. As the President, he is fully aware of the destruction his Prime Minister’s UNP is doing to the Buddha Sasana. He must take responsibility for the anti-Buddhist vile actions of the UNP regime which is now synonymous with periods of killing monks and restraining them. The Joint Opposition is also maintaining a deafening silence about the true plight of Buddhism! The Joint Opposition must do much more than what it currently does for the protection of Buddhism. They cannot have a free ride to power and popularity as some of them wilfully disregarded Buddhist interests when in power. They must stand up for Buddhism.

It is time the guardians of this nation call out ‘the nation, the community and Buddhism’ once again. Otherwise, the US fathered, Indian mothered and Saudi delivered UNP regime will destroy Buddhism. Venerable Sobhitha thero cannot be faulted for his political choices as no one could predict the future. What he saw in his last days was not the regime he strived to create.

U.S. Embassy’s partisan diplomacy in Sri Lanka (as never before)

By Daya Gamage – Former Political Specialist at U.S. Mission in Colombo

Washington, D.C.

Since the advent of the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe administration in January 2015, the American Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka has adopted an extremely partisan diplomatic / political line never seen – in public – since the July 1960 parliamentary election in which the Embassy funded for the pro-UNP bill boards in every Shell and Mibil Gas patrol stations in the Island with Premier Dudley Senanayakes giant image and using the Saman Press in Maharagama in the out skirts of Colombo to print literature in support of the candidacy of Dudley Senanayake.

Nevertheless, no Chief of Mission or Foreign Service Officers at the American Embassy openly made statements or comments critical of a previous or existing regime. In addresses before accepted forums such as the Sri Lanka-US Chamber of Commerce, American officials accredited to Sri Lanka made un-provocative general policy statements on economic matters, Rule of law, human rights, trade and commerce to make the Sri Lankan policymakers knowledgeable of USG positions on issues to influence changes. There were no personal or partisan references.

Within the portals of the American Embassy, officials developed their own critical views and opinion about personalities of the incumbent regime or previous regime; developed their own perspectives on Sri Lanka’s national issues and the manner in which they intended changing or influencing such issues; identifying selected personalities in the incumbent regime they are comfortable with and targeting potential leaders who could fall in line with American policy agenda.

The opinion, sentiments, perspectives and the developed mindset were never known to outsiders, only to those FSOs who worked within the diplomatic chancery. They were often very critical views on men and matters but only filled the classified diplomatic cables to Washington. And within the portals of Mission, with the concurrence of the State Department, policy planks were developed in what manner, which way, what technique and what strategy needed to influence Sri Lanka’s national policies which coincided with American outlook.

I changed my by-line of this note from U.S. National Correspondent /Asian Tribune to Former Political Specialist of the United States Mission (in Sri Lanka) to get a message across to the American Embassy, especially to its Chief of Mission Atul Keshap, who, since late, has been coming out with pronouncements highly partisan and un-diplomatic.

I have observed, since the advent of the Sirisena administration and the political demise of the Rajapaksa regime, American embassy officials, significantly Ambassador Keshap, have been making public pronouncements how the incumbent regime was formed, under what circumstances the regime emerged defeating the Rajapaksas, the policy missteps of the Rajapaksa government and the enormous progress the current regime made on Sri Lanka’s national issues criticizing the policy planks of the previous regime etc.

For Ambassador Keshap’s information, this writer was recruited by the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service National (FSN) in 1970, and after a decade, from March 1980 through June 1994, was the Political Specialist within the chancery’s political section working very closely with successive Chiefs of Mission. The period, close to 15 years, the Mission’s work was intense and demanding as we had to handle two insurrections, one in the north and other in the south.

The trust and confidence this writer earned from FSOs at the Mission during this volatile period, I gained access to classified briefings, sensitive data that filled diplomatic cables to Washington, and, foremost, was in the earshot of sensitive and classified sentiments expressed by the FSOs which included successive Chiefs of Mission. But never had the experience during that time, or even later before Ambassador Keshap arrived, American diplomatic officials expressing undiplomatic and partisan sentiments in public.

I was driven to write this note when I read Ambassador Atul Keshap’s op-ed column embedded in the Political Editor’s Column in 14 August Sunday Times under the caption ‘US Air Force Strengthens Historic American ties with Jaffna’, in which he declared: “The United States is committed to the future of all of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s presidential election of January 2015 marked a historic shift in the country’s political direction and made possible a new relationship with the United States. Sri Lankan voters elected a new government built upon the pledge of good governance and national reconciliation and rejected an increasingly authoritarian rule by a government determined to erode democratic institutions”.

Previously, including Ambassador Keshap, a number of American officials have made such partisan / undiplomatic declarations, since the advent of the Sirisena regime, which this writer does not recall any previous American official uttered.

The American Embassy that I worked (1970 through 1994) kept critical thinking within its portal and only went into classified cables to Washington. During my tenure, the USG had its favorites for Sri Lanka’s presidency but, to date, no outsider was aware of those. In fact, during Premadasa presidency (1989-93), we in the Political Section filed ‘progress reports’ every month some of which were very critical. And we were very much critical of the manner in which the Sirima Bandaranaike and Jayewardene regimes handled affairs of the Sri Lankan nation, but we kept our opinion within the walls – within the Executive and Political Offices – of the embassy. The Embassy handled information, opinion and analyses very carefully not to allow any outsider to get even a glimpse of our sentiments.

Ambassador Keshap’s strong opinion cited above is un-American, un-diplomatic and un-ethical to the diplomatic position he holds.

This writer’s experience at a Foreign Service National of the U.S. Department of State working at the American Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and his accumulated knowledge of men and matters, Sri Lanka’s national issues, international intervention in Sri Lanka’s domestic affairs, the developed American mindset toward Sri Lankan national issues, the LTTE insurrection and how the Tiger agenda was transformed to the operative professionals within the Tamil Diaspora as a global diplomatic movement to influence changes in Sri Lanka will be addressed in his forthcoming book Tamil Tigers’ Debt To America: US Foreign Policy Adventurism & Sri Lanka’s Dilemma.

Ambassador Atul Keshap can bet that sensitive-classified material to which this writer had access will be left out, but very interesting analyses will be found. Mr. Keshap should have kept the declaration he made in his op-ed column in August 14 Sunday Times within the portals of his diplomatic mission, as, such sentiments are too provocative to the normal diplomatic practice of the State Department. In Sri Lanka, one never knows which regime will emerge next and how soon. When we worked in the U.S. Embassy, we were always conscious of that vital fact.

USAID Moves On The Bar Association

By Malinda Seneviratne

First they offer help and then they enslave

‘First they had the book and we had the land. Then they said “close your eyes, let us pray”. When we opened our eyes, we had the book and they had the land.’ — Bishop Desmond Tutu on the relationship between invader and missionary in the conquest of Africa.

It all began innocently enough, not too dissimilar to the Europeans who upon ‘discovering’ new lands obtained first the goodwill of native peoples with bead in return for temporary shelter and later spilled their blood and robbed their lands. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was at the beginning full of promises and generosity. It began when Upul Jayasuriya was the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). Money was offered and accepted to refurbish the old auditorium.

As of now, the agency notorious for its covert operations to destabilize countries it purports to help, is involved in numerous other projects including the development of the District Court Library, improving the BASL Library, BASL system networking project, public forums, trafficking program, ethics issues, BASL research unit and the ICT project.

Most of these projects are in the ‘in progress’ category with some having little or no progress to show. Some of them are partly funded by BASL but are conveniently referred to as ‘USAID projects’.

Interestingly apart from the BASL President, Geoffrey Alagaratnam the rest of the Bar seems to be clueless about projects, duration, budget lines and such. Such information is known almost exclusively to Prakalathan Thuraisingham (also known as ‘Prabha’), who is the on-the-spot point-man for USAID in BASL offices and activities. Thuraisingham works closely with Nayomi Wickramaratne who was the previous Administrative Secretary (Acting) of BASL.

Interestingly, she held that post even as she worked for USAID, obtaining two salaries, a fact that the then Treasurer Upul Deshapriya vehemently objected to. Whether or not Upul Jayasuriya knew this is unclear. What is clear is that through her, USAID had access to the personal files, the accounts, system information and details of the management structure, all of which could easily be used to manipulate the BASL for whatever ends. Whether this happened, we don’t know, but the opportunity was there and indeed was created either knowingly or due to gross neglect and incompetence on the part of whoever was responsible for creating these conditions.

USAID does pay a rent for the space occupied, but nothing is paid for the use of other BASL resources including employees. What might have begun in cordial terms had within the space of 18 months transformed into a situation where USAID officials operate as though they own the BASL. USAID officials are reported to be poking their fingers into administrative operations of the BASL. Thuraisingham is reported to strutting around as though he is a member of the BASL, even being present that election of Bar Council Members. The truth is he is neither member nor an employee. Whether or not he had the blessings of the BASL President and the rest of the BASL membership is not known.

Most disturbing (for lawyers) is the fact that through the ‘networking project’ funded by USAID the details of all BASL members, court cases against lawyers, projects etc., can be accessed by an outside agency. Considering the sway of the BASL in the political life of the country (it played a key role in the eviction of Mohan Peiris and the reinstating of Shiranee Bandaranayake as Chief Justice, for example), the benefits for a rogue outfit operating for a country that does not subscribe to the ethics one expects in matters that are described as ‘friendly’, are pretty obvious.

Information is key. Documentation, historically, is often a necessary first step that is followed by either purchase or outright capture. Perhaps the affairs of the BASL are not that dramatic, but a body that purports to be independent of political control (a fact seriously compromised by the election of Upul Jayasuriya, a known UNPer and an immediate beneficiary of the January 8 result) should not only steer clear of political parties but all other bodies, especially agencies that have a history of meddling and indeed subversion.

It doesn’t look as the membership of the BASL has a clue about what’s happening. The current President and the Executive Committee, for example, are contemplating a change in the BASL structure which could very well make the ‘USAID takeover’ official for all intents and purposes. The envisaged restructuring will see the appointment of an Executive Director who will function as the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Registered Lobbyist. This would severely diminish the discretionary powers of the Secretary, Treasurer and Administrative Secretary.

The project is the brainchild of USAID which is to provide relevant funds.

The person appointed to the position will have wide powers which include implementing programs regardless of management changes, developing income generating plans and linking the bar with other professionals and organizations. In addition he/she will be involved in education, communication, data base and community through policy, reporting and programming.

He/she will also develop strategic plans and implement the action/operational plan and micro donation strategies, advice on all BASL activities, act as official spokesperson of the bar, represent BASL and supervise day to day operations of the BASL.

Thuraisingham’s name (Surprise! Surprise!) is being tossed around as the possible first ‘Executive Director’. BASL members would know the nature of the organization’s relationship with the Chief Justice and the Attorney General. The potential for involvement in unwarranted and dangerous ways in the affairs of justice needs no elaboration.

The proposal does not mention eligibility criteria, opening the post to people who are not members of BASL and therefore technically to people who have no understanding of the judicial system of the country, its history and traditions, or the role of the BASL. The problem then is not about Thuraisingham. If not him, then someone else, that’s the logic that can be drawn from the absence of specification. And if USAID is funding it, there’s no reason to believe that USAID will not have a say in who gets the job.

The membership needs to ask questions. Alagaratnam needs to answer questions. Will he inform the membership of all that has happened, including the role of the USAID, the operations of Thuraisingham, the status of BASL vis-à-vis USAID and what the possible appointment of an USAID-handpick would mean for the BASL?

*Malinda Seneviratne is the Chief Editor of ‘The Nation’ and his articles can be found at www.malindawords.blogspot.com

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USAID Moves On The Bar Association