Ban Ki Moon’s determination to go ahead with a panel to investigate possible war crimes by the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka, at the final phase of its military operations against the terrorists, seems to be a personal vendetta, rather than a sincere desire to know whether there had been violation of human rights.
Why does he make it a personal vendetta ? Perhaps because he was a party to the failed attempt of the member states of the West, led by UK, France and Norway to save the Sri Lanka terrorist leadership.
If Ban Ki Moon is a man capable of independent evaluation of the situation it may not have been difficult for him to first, differentiate “war” and “terrorism”. A conventional war is first declared by a country preparing to wage a war, to the country which is being targeted for the attack. Therefore the enemies are recognised and their movements known, and those who investigate could then enforce the Geneva Convention and all such gamut.
Second, to understand that terrorism is different because terrorism springs forth, unannounced and they attack a country without differentiating the armies and civilians. Ban Ki Moon knows what happened on the 11 September,2001.
The method of the terrorists to achieve their object is to create terror, assassinate, murder, kidnap, blow up buses, trains, air ports, attack from hidden areas often hiding behind civilian occupied areas , taking civilians under their control through threat and fear.
The terrorists are not seen in battalions , they are hiding most of the time to appear from somewhere least expected. They plant bombs, they send their suicide carder as civilians in buses or trains to either be exploded in a crowded bus, train or a market place. If not they lay in waiting as “sleepers” until an order is sent for them to activate and blow themselves at a given place to blow in “exchange” a VIP.
That is how the terrorists operate, and military operations to fight terrorism is entrapped with danger, specially for soldiers of an infantry who could be taken unawares, fall into ambuscades, walk into minefields, and collateral damages could hardly be avoided. This fact seems difficult for Ban Ki Moon’s grey matter to work out.
Ban Ki Moon has to be educated that the Sri Lanka Government forces adopted a special method to avoid possible material damage or death to Tamil civilians when they targeted places where terrorists were in hiding.
This had not been the case with the coalition armies led by the Americans in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. They bombed villages where the talibans were supposed to be hiding and attacking those areas they killed civilians. They were continuing their bombardments unconcerned as it was for them a war against terrorists, and collateral damage to civilians were unavoidable.
It was only when complaints against civilian deaths were numerous, that UNO intervened to collect evidence. Having collected reliable evidence Ban Ki Moon shelved the information. He did not make any accusations against the coalition armies led by America.
Following is an article that appeared in a French web site , when the coalition armies led by America was killing civilians in their air raids against talibans, it is in French:
“.. Irak, Afghanistan, chaque semaine des dizaines de civils morts par des frappes de l´Otan, sans que cela ne soit vraiment sanctionné car ça dure encore et encore. Tragique concours de circonstances, plus de 90 civils afghans ont été tués le même vendredi 22 août, lors d´un bombardement aérien dans l´ouest du pays. En raison de la triste répétition de ces «dommages collatéraux», l´ONU has collected des «preuves convaincantes qu´un bombardement de la coalition emmenée par les Américains avait tué vendredi 90 civils, dont 60 enfants, 15 femmes et 15 hommes», (on a report dated 1 September,2008 in http://terredislam.bloguez.com)
Translate it reads :
“Each week in Iraq, and Afghanistan, tens of civilians are killed in aerial bombardments by Otan, without being really sanctioned and goes on again and again. In these tragic circumstances, more than 90 Afghan civilians were killed on Friday 22,August, in aerial bombardments in the West of the country. In view of the sad repetition of these “collateral damages", the ONU collected convincing evidence of bombardments of the coalition led by the Americans on the Friday22 in question, in which 90 civilians were killed, of them 60 were children, 15men and 15 women. “
The passage quoted above shows that UNO having collected reliable evidence of the death of civilians by the bombardments of the coalition armies led by America, did nothing to stop it or bringing it to the notice of the USA Congress( which seems to get reports on Sri Lanka’s past military operations quite often).
The Americans and their coalition partners have a lesson to learn from the Sri Lanka Government Forces. The precise targeting in bombardment adopted by the Government Forces of Sri Lanka will avoid collateral damages that America and its coalition partners continue to cause in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is some thing that Ban Ki Moon could recommend to America in their war against terrorism.
In the absence of such “ civilian safety related methods” of military action, the American and coalition forces are killing the civilians in their bombardments, putting those deaths to“unavoidable” collateral damages.
In such a situation how can one stand dumb to Ban Ki Moon’s appointing a panel to investigate the military operations of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces to investigate whether they had committed war crimes, when he has in his possession evidence of war crimes against America and its coalition partners. Ban Ki Moon is doing nothing about it, but continuing to harass the Government of Sri Lanka.
Why should not the Government of Sri Lanka demand an investigation into the reasons why Ban Ki Moon, has not taken any action pertaining to those deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, while appointing a panel to investigate the conduct of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces ?
There had evidently been overwhelming evidence to inculpate coalition governments led by America of deaths to civilians on the bombardments against Taliban terrorists . But Banki Moon, the Amnesty International and the Human Rights watch very vociferous about Sri Lanka’s anti terrorist operations are observing holy silence about the violation of human rights and blatant killing of Civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq, by the coalition partners led by America.
For Sri Lanka the military operations against terrorism is over. It is looking ford to a future without terrorism, where peace is established, the communities are united, and the country is developed.
But for Ban Ki Moon, Amnesti International, Human Rights Watch, Eropean Union the terrorism in Sri Lanka is not over. They are carrying it in their minds, trying to save the terrorists and accuse the Government of Sri Lanka. They deny Sri Lanka and its people material help and moral encouragement to build unity, peace and social and economic development.
They are investigating to accuse Sri Lanka for its past activities to defeat and eliminate terrorism, to find whether Sri Lanka’s past military operations against terrorism lead to war crimes, so that they could enforce embargoes against Sri Lanka, like they did to Iraq, and Cuba, to stop unity among communities, stop development, and progress. So that Sri Lanka will remain poor fighting among communities without peace and development, dependent on handouts from the West, in return for poor Sri Lanka’s material and human wealth, its strategic position in the Indian Ocean, to be exploited by the West for their benefit.
Ban Ki Moon as a consolation for Sri Lanka, states that the panel he has set up will investigate not only the war crimes of the Government of Sri Lanka but also those of the terrorists.
In saying that Ban Ki Moon really takes us for fools. Where was he and his followers the Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the EU, all the time the terrorists were massacring our people, assassination our President, Ministers of Governments, Police Officers Army Commanders ? It is then they should have voiced their disagreements, and anger against the terrorists , not now when every thing is over.
If Ban Ki Moon and his coteries, want to investigate past crimes, violation of human rights by governments , aggressors against innocent civilians. There are many Nations he could start to investigate.
Ban Ki Moon and his nosy parkers can investigate crimes and violation of human rights of the American Indians by America, and Canada; crimes and violation of human rights of the Australian aborigines by the British in Australia; Japanese against Manchurians, and Koreans; the British and the French against Arabs; British against the Sri Lankans, South Africans, Kenyans; French against Vietnamese , Algerians; the list is long.
The Past is past, there is no time to waste on what had taken place, then. The Colonialism was not a period of holiday and amusement . It was a period when many colonised countries were devastated, plundering not only their material wealth, but also their pride, culture, religious beliefs and all that they valued as belonging to them.
While Ban Ki Moon and his coteries the Amnesty International, Human Rights watch , the European Union are buried neck deep with the weight of the Sri Lanka Military Operations against the terrorists, they still carry in their minds, Sri Lanka is engaged with its programmes of development, and building unity amoung the communities.
For Sri Lanka terrorism is now past history.
Sri Lanka therefore wants a little more space, and for that Ban Ki Moon, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the European Union have to get off its back and mind their own business , to allow Sri Lanka to continues its march towards progress, and Nation building.
Ban Ki Moon and his nosy parkers should know that Sri Lanka has no ethnic problems . It is a problem that was created by the interested Tamil politicians, and Tamil Intellectuals still making obeisance to the West, such as Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, to wield their power over the Tamil population, and be some sort of Tamil Chieftains.
Those trouble shooters too are gradually finding a place in the Sri Lankan history, while others of all communities are emerging into being partners of a new nation of Sri Lankans.
It was a fortnight ago that two Tamil Parliamentarians who were even sympathetic to the LTTE terrorists and thought of a separate State for Tamils, gave up their idea of separation from the Sinhala majority and stated that they would work in harmony with the Sinhala Community and others, and with the President Mahainda Rajapaksa -who has given a new hope for unity, to share in the progress and development of the country as a union of communities.
These two young politicians, who have taken off time to think intelligently and put in their lot with the Sinhala , Muslim and other communities to make Sri Lanka a great Nation are namely : Prabah Ganesan and Palani Digambaram. Prabah Ganesan had said “Now is the time to develop the country. ” and had added , “President Mahinda Rajapaksa is one leader, who is elected by the people of this country and his mandate is to develop the country. It is time we all cooperate with him.”
Many Tamil people begin to feel that, “…. there is no point in continuing a hostile campaign with the majority community; instead it is better to work together with them to find an acceptable solution to issues facing the Tamils and Tamil speaking people of this country…”.
An heir to the terrorism named by the terrorist leader Prabhakaran- K.Pathmanathan has also promised to cooperate with the government and bury the old hatchet of discord that existed between the Tamils and the Sinhala, and work together for the common good of Sri Lanka.
The Tamil expatriates are beginning to question whether it is worth wasting time demanding a separate Tamil Eelam State and may soon join hands with the Sinhala Community- which is awaiting to receive them into its fold , when ever they decide to join their hands with them.
We are of course left with unconcerned critics mooning for the lost terrorism like the TamilNet, SriLanka Guardian, Groundview, Sunday Leader, and others like Jehan Perera, Kumar Rupasinghe, and the politicians hoping to oust the present Government and seize political power like those of the UNP, JVP, and TNA who are not really worth worrying about. Even Ananda Sangaree does not fit into the emerging new Sri Lanka.
In a recent comment to an article in the Lanka web a commentator Lorenzo wrote: “….unfortunately Tamils in the north east are tribal. Take a look at the parties they vote for.
TAMIL congress, TAMIL kachchi, TAMIL front, TAMIL alliance.
Look at what they demand.
TAMIL aspirations, TAMIL Elam, TAMIL grievances, TAMIL self determination, TAMIL nationality, TAMIL etc, etc.
This is same as in Tamil Nadu. Just look at the political parties and their tribal names and demands……..”
This too will soon end giving place to a country of united communities, “a one people, one country, one Nation”.
There you are Ban Ki Moon, stubbornly holding on to your panel to teach Sri Lanka a lesson by investigating into its past military activities, the present situation in Sri Lanka is far more brighter than you have expected, while scheming to make Sri Lanka a victim of your false allegations.
While you are holding on to your “Panel”, history and progress do not wait. As much as past is receding to history, social, economic, and cultural progress in Sri Lanka is marching fast forward. Ban Ki Moon too will soon be just a land mark in the progressive forward march of Sri Lanka.
There may be short comings and disappointments, like holes, rocks, and thorns on any uneven path, but Sri Lanka will overcome all that to make a reality of the object of progress and development to be a great nation.
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