.Your
Excellencies,
I am an
aged man from Sri Lanka. I have seen the
beginning of terrorism to its end.
Terrorism in Sri
Lanka lasted nearly thirty years. During
those days the fear of death was
our proverbial sward of Damocles. We waited in fear until our children returned
home from school. We waited in fear until our daughters and sons returned home
after work. A father and a Mother from the same family would not go out of home together for fear of the bombs set by terrorists in buses, trains
and market places, so that if one parent
were to be killed in a terrorist bomb blast the other would live to look after the children.
When we
hear of a bomb blast we contact our families to see whether they are safe. When Eric Solheim demanded the Prime Minister of a previous
government to enter into a Cease Fire Agreement with the terrorists, we gave in
for sake of peace and safety of the
people. According to the Agreement areas in the North and East were demarcated
as territory under terrorist control
into which even our police could not enter.
This
allowed terrorists to do any murders and assassinations and escape in to
terrorist territory thus avoiding search by the police. The poor men, women, and children in villages bordering the territories
demarcated as terrorist controlled areas were subject to “genocide” by the
terrorists who massacred men, women, and children from time to time when making
demands from the government, or to show their disagreement with peace negotiations.
Terrorism
sapped the better part of our lives. We
had become a fear ridden Nation
subjugated by a ruthless group of terrorists existing according to their
whims and fancies not knowing where they would plant one of their deadly
claymore bombs, lob a grenade, or send a
human suicide bomb.
We had lost
our human right to live peacefully
without constant fear of lurking death
unleashed by the terrorists. But then, the UN Human Rights Council did not come
to help us to accuse the terrorists for
violation of our human rights and stop constant massacres of innocent
civilians, our Ministers, our Security Officers, or the clergy of our
religions.
It was only
the year 2005 that brought us a ray of
hope, with the election of Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse as the President of Sri Lanka.
We knew from the beginning that he was a determined man who loved his country
and the people and that he will end terrorism.
At the beginning of his term of office there were many bomb blasts and
many innocent civilians died. Then the
President took matters seriously into his hand and organised the Sri Lanka
Armed Forces. He knew from experience
that the only solution to the raging terrorism was a military solution. The successful military operations wiped out
the terrorists in May,2009.
The people
could at last take a breath of peace and life began to blossom
after terrorism. The foreign countries were willing to invest in the new found
peaceful environment in Sri
Lanka.
The tourism flourished.
Investors, and foreign friendly countries came forward with loans to
rebuild the country that had been devastated by the terrorists.
.
We
sacrificed in the elimination of
terrorism a large number of
poor young youth from villages
who were valiant soldiers. We were
left with thousands and thousands
of widowed mothers , orphaned children,
and weeping parents. After the war the President of Sri Lanka did not fail as
gratitude to our soldiers who made their supreme sacrifice or lost their limbs
to look after these parents, mothers
,children who had lost their loved one’s in the war, or the soldiers left
handicapped. He built houses for them and paid compensation. And the Armed forces were deployed in civil
work such as construction of roads, bridges , houses, cultivation of land, and
construction of boats .
But we
still had the pro-terrorist elements with large funds collected by the
Terrorist Front Organisations at their disposal
who were not satisfied with the peaceful climate that existed in Sri
Lanka after terrorism where every citizen the Sinhala, Tamil and the Muslims began
to live happily organising their lives, socially and economically. These pro-terrorist Tamils in the diaspora
who never suffered from terrorism in Sri Lanka, revived the terrorists’
claim for a separate homeland for
Tamils.
These pro
terrorist Tamils of the Diaspora are led within Sri Lanka by the politicians of the
Tamil National Alliance and abroad by different pro terrorists Organisations
such as The Global Tamil Forum led by a Catholic Priest Rev. Emmanuel, and few
other groups. It is they who demonstrate to-day out side the UNHR Council with
the flag of the tzerrorists, and not the Tamil civilians from Sri Lanka.
The
Government appointed the LLRC to find out how to set about the reconciliation
process after the war. The
Government has commenced working on the
recommendations of the Commission in a proper organised way. But the Foreign Governments at the behest of the Pro -Terrorist Tamil
Diaspora. Have now come to intervene and
interfere in the excellent work the Government is carrying on in getting the
communities together to build a united nation of Sri Lankans.
No foreign
Government helped or assisted the Government and its Armed Forces in the
elimination of terrorists. Nor did they make any attempt to help our innocent
people during the frightful terrorism.
But now they have come out in numbers posing as Humanitarian activists
to drive pokes into the wheels of progress that is rolling across
peaceful Sri Lanka.
Your
Excellencies the Ambassadors, the Heads of Missions, and Delegates to the
UNHRCouncil Geneva, please look at my country Sri Lanka in the light of what I
have said. It is indeed regrettable if large numbers of civilians had died in
the cross fire at the last phase of the war to eliminate terrorism . But such number as 40000 civilians death is highly
exaggerated. But in war deaths of
civilians are put as “ collateral
damage” by more wise Western Countries who are well experienced in affairs
of war.
In view of
all these that had taken place and taking place, in Sri
Lanka, it is very sad that USA
the leading Nation of the world has thought it fit to move a resolution against
Sri Lanka., without taking into consideration the
invaluable services the Government of Sri Lanka is rendering to
the country to bring the communities
together. Now there is no violation of human rights at all in Sri Lanka. These are
false reports spread by people who have self interest, and who want to
discredit Sri Lanka
to get the foreign countries to intervene to force the government to allow the
Creation of a separate State for the Tamils. .
Therefore, as an old man from Sri Lanka who had seen the “hell” that was created by the terrorists for nearly thirty years, and suffered the death of many near and dear one’s , and saw the massacre of an unaccountable number of innocent men , women and children by the terrorists, and had lived with an ever present fear of death until the elimination of terrorism by the Government Forces of Sri Lanka to who be the blessings of Gods, I appeal you please NOT TO VOTE for the Resolution that USA is proposing to move against Sri Lanka at this session of the UNHRCouncil .
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