Dr D Chandraratna, Australia

Much has happened in Sri Lanka in the four months after the demise of the LTTE. No more blood letting, no more claymoresƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and no more needless loss of lives. There is more economic activity, people movement, protests, social and cultural activities and a sense of sheer freedom and relief among the populace. The reconstruction effort is fast tracked. Electricity, roads, railways, irrigation canals and de-mining are expedited. Any impartial observer will be surprised by the expeditious manner in which these are taking place. In parts of the Northern Peninsula the electricity distribution alone has increased up to 90% from 16% as in Killinochchi. And all this while the government is burdened with the care and safety of the people in welfare villages. Contrary to the claims of the pro LTTE rabble no country in the world has provided for nearly 240,000 people such conditions, far superior in comparison, to the refugee camps in parts of Asia and Africa. Bur there is a conspiracy brewing.

Moves are afoot to start a war crimes probe against Sri Lanka. In the past few weeks after the LTTE was decisively routed from the face of Lanka the international conspiracy is gathering momentum. A number of events seem to be happening with one objective and that objective is to set up an investigation into war crimes. War crimes and crimes against humanity have no time lines and the allegations can be used by the detractors to debilitate Sri Lanka at the crucial moment. . Though a properly convened war crimes tribunal is unlikely to find any direct evidence of a crime perpetrated by the armed forces yet this incessant taunting is not without an impact. Human Right Watchers rarely see human rights abuses when the guilty party is a powerful nation. Unfortunately we have no such muscle and hence eternal vigilance will be the price of our freedom.

If one is to note the timing of events that are taking place just in a matter of weeks after the War the only conclusion one can come to is planning and plotting a sinister conspiracy against Sri Lanka. The motive is not to reach a successful investigation, let alone a conviction, for war crimes but to bring disrepute to the country and tarnish any glory it deserves for wiping out a brutal terror organisation. The Tamil Diaspora is now coming out as peace makers and human rights angels in the international scene. The American for Peace in Sri Lanka (APSL), People for Equality and Relief in Sri Lanka (PEARL), Organisation of Tamil Medical Professionals (TMHO) are the new fronts taking the role of the TRO in the past. These mushrooming peace organisations have already prejudged Sri Lanka to be guilty and are garnering international opinion to besmirch the name and deprive it of support from the International community to rebuild the nation. We need to be alert because these organisations will become the peacetime voices for the LTTE separatism after the War. In fact some of these arms have are building networks with the local peaceniks aided by disgruntled diplomats and INGOƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s who were unsuccessful in the rescue attempts towards the tail end of Sri Lankan terrorism. A number of reports against Sri Lankan war effort are due to be released soon.

Hence we have to be eternally vigilant. Just as much we were on our guard against terrorism, please be warned not to lower that bar because another threat is looming. We may be free but the chains are still unshackled.