Shenali Waduge

Most thought that with the formation of the UN world peace would prevail & international laws that were supposed to apply equally to all nations would ensure a country whether big or small, powerful or not would be given the same justice, the same voice & the same hearing. We all are aware that the expectations do not match the actualities & in this context we examine the situation facing Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If there were two distinct World Wars today we have scores of movements to separate, armed groups who are protected as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-freedom fightersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ while others are termed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ their terminology deciding on which nation they side with & work with. It was in this context that Sri Lanka had to weather years of terrorist activity which became a tool to hide a bigger plan in the Asian seas where Sri Lanka was merely a launch pad for the agendas of countries that would be engaged in bitter economic battles for supremacy in time to come. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka became the only country to have taken the courage to militarily defeat a terrorist group & declare peace & unity. It was naturally a blow to all those who not only benefited from terrorist activity whether in Sri Lanka or externally but it was also a blow to all those who were using Sri Lanka to advance their own agendas. If we ask why a country that has saved its citizens from indiscriminate bomb & suicide attacks & restored peace should be punished we need to just ask those that are now out to take the country to international courts what they did to actually stop LTTE terror in Sri Lanka when they were planting bombs, sending suicide bombers & assassinating people while also ignoring international laws even going so far as to recruit children & turning them into killers?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If Sri Lanka was the only country to have declared that it was dealing with a terrorist organization in the form of the LTTE, the world had grounds to doubt Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s actions in deciding to measure the failures through years of conflict resolution, peace talks, negotiations & finally decide that terrorist organizations will not compromise or negotiate and it must be dealt with militarily. Yet, when the LTTE is on top of UNƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s shame list, listed as a foreign terrorist organization & moreover banned by countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s of the West should we not ask what the UN & the world actually did to stop the terror in Sri Lanka? Why did the UN watch scores of children being murdered brutally, why was the world silent when Buddhist monks were slain mercilessly? What did the UN do when public were targeted & suicide bombings, grenade attacks & assassinations were almost part & parcel of daily living. Always the Government was demanded to ensure ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-restraintƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ & avoid any ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-backlashƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦the world & the UN avoided taking action against the LTTE for reasons best known to them. Leaving aside the terrorist element with scores of documented proof compiled by UN staffers on child recruitment by the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.in thirty odd years of this knowledge & proof ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦were the LTTE found guilty & expert panels appointed to advise the UN Secretary General on what he should do?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The world has been witness to so many debacles & the victims would have expected a UN to be their savior. We are all aware the truth of that reality. There are scores of examples that we can refer to that would only prove & question the right for a UN to exist at all & if we declare the UN of inaction when it could have taken action, in cases where the US have taken a dictatorial role we can but wonder why a UN actually exists at all. The US atrocities over the years are unpardonable. There is enough State evidence to prove how US soldiers had flouted international laws in Vietnam, how their commanders had ordered killings, rape & various other brutalities. My Lai massacre in 1968 where as many as 500 unarmed civilians immediately comes to anyoneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mind. We can today quote My Lai massacre due to the honesty of an ex-GI Ronald Ridenhour. In due course Pentagon appointed a team headed by William Peers to investigate ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 20,000 pages of testimony from 398 witnesses resulted in recommendations against US military personnel belonging to Charlie Company for rape, murder & participation in a cover-up. One would have thought the US would have learned a lesson from their actions in Vietnam ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦it was not to beƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦IraqƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦again Iraq & now Afghanistan & the atrocities continue & how long will the UN continue to be silent remains an open question.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The International Committee of the Red Cross in reference to Taliban & al Qaeda prisoners held in open-air cages at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba declared that these prisoners fall under the Geneva Convention & were entitled to all protections offered by it (Article 25 stipulates: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Prisoners of war shall be quartered under conditions as favorable as those for the forces of the Detaining Power who are billeted in the same area….)

The US has been violating both the Geneva & Vienna Convention on Consular Access as well by holding captives incommunicado and refusing to release their names. Article 70 of the Geneva convention states: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Immediately upon capture, or not more than one week after arrival in camp, even if it is a transit camp … every prisoner of war shall be enabled to write direct to his family, on the one hand, and to the Central Prisoner of War Agency, on the other hand … informing his relatives of his capture, address and state of health.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Red Cross went further to charge US of abusing prisoners in Afghanistan where 360 captured fighters in Kandahar were exposed to bitter winter cold. The US response was ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-it is not the prerogative of the Secretary of Defense or any other U.S. administration official to determine whether those held in Guantanamo are POWs,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-An independent US court, following due process, is the appropriate organ.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The US uses terms like ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-illegal combatant to describe prisoners instead of POW as under the Geneva Convention prisoners cannotƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  be forced to reveal more than their name, rank, serial number & date of birth& unless tried formally for war crimes, all POWs must be returned to their home countries at the end of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-active hostilitiesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. However, on January 11, 2002 the US announced it was refusing to abide by the 1949 Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war (POW) & the same day the first prisoners arrived at the US base in Gunatanamo Bay. The US has refused to apply Article 13 of the Geneva Convention (humane treatment); Article 14 (respect for persons); Article 16 (no discrimination based on race, nationality, religious belief or political opinion); Article 17 (no physical or mental torture ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” no coercion to obtain information, prisoners cannot be threatened, insulted or exposed to unpleasant treatment if he/she refuses to provide information); Article 18( clothing & personal items to remain with prisoners); Article 20 (evacuation or transfer to be under same conditions as afforded detaining power); Article21 (internment in camp allowed; close confinement prohibited); Article 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29-32. 34-37, 38 & Article 70 where prisoners must be allowed to write to family.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This was how the US listenedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦& took action, & did the UN decide to appoint an expert panel because the accusations against the US keeps compiling & the UN Secretary General would need to be apprised on what to do!

It was during Ronald ReaganƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s period as President of the US when Saddam Hussein became a buddy of the CIA & the US sold chemical & biological weapons to Iraq to step up bombing of Iran while also selling weapons to Iran. This is just one case of the hypocrisies that prevail in present day conflicts. The Iran-Iraq war claimed the lives of an estimated 1million. If that was not enough it was also during Reagans time that US befriended Osama bin Laden who was tasked with displacing the Russians & the remnants of these funding & training are today known as Taliban & the Al Qaeda & they have greatly helped to advance US agenda in the region. Many may not have forgotten ReaganƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s use of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-freedom fightersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in reference to the Contras in Central America with whose help tons of cocaine was imported into US in exchange for arms. Were these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-freedom fightersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ not responsible for rape, torture & murder of thousands of civilians in NiaraguaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦we thought the US had not forgotten My LaiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ Nicaragua did take its case to the World Court & the outcome found that the US did use ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-an unlawful use of force …. [that] cannot be justified either by collective self-defence … nor by any right of the United States to take counter-measures involving the use of force.” The court ordered the United States to pay reparations, estimated at between $12 billion and $17 billion, to Nicaragua. Two weeks after the verdict was issued, the U.S. Congress voted to give the Contras $100 million to continue their war of terror against the people of Nicaragua. The US has never recognized the World Court’s ruling nor paid any of the compensation owed to Nicaragua.

The US had no remorse & its policy of instilling puppet military dictators have ensured over 200,000 civilians in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras have perished. In one of the rare actions by the UN in 1999 it determined that the wholesale slaughter of Guatemalans constituted ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-genocideƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ but nothing really was done against the US. Making it more difficult to find further evidence of crimes committed during Reagans reign has been the executive order issued by George Bush Snr 1978 Presidential Records Act preventing release of 68,000 pages of Reagan era documents which deduces BushƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s role in these acts as well.

Realistically, we must admit that the Geneva Convention & its authors would not have anticipated the type of threats posed by present day terrorists who do not function as civilized soldiers. Most of these terrorists are motivated by fanatical ideology. However the Geneva Conventions are by no means anachronistic & they provide the legal framework to carry out a conventional war. But, what needs to be determined is how appropriate is the application of the convention to Terrorists? Unless this aspect is cleared we are in for a lot of accusations & counter-accusations with no solution arising out of the argument. The need to establish the difference is highlighted by the fact that terrorists show no interest in abiding the Geneva Conventions. Yet, this does not absolve what US did in Vietnam, Iraq & South America to civilians.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is also clear that not only the US, UK & Israel ignore Geneva Conventions on the grounds that these laws do not apply to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terror suspectsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ or ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. If this is the argument then countries that also declare groups as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ must also be able to follow the same norm. Yet far above protecting POWs is the need to take measures to protect civilians which is not to say that a totally new concept of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-responsibility to protectƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ should emerge that would advance other agendas into play.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In accepting the role of the UN it would require common sense to prevail that action against the permanent members who violate Geneva Conventions should take place without prejudice. Their role as permanent members does not absolve them from following & respecting the Geneva Conventions. When these laws are flouted why does the UN Secretary General take no action in the ICC ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” International Criminal Court against these powerful nations instead of discriminatory & one-sided international justice system targeting smaller & less powerful nations.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ So exactly how did the US flout international laws ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”leaving aside the case of Vietnam, we have the most recent cases of Iraq invasion twice over & Afghanistan. While the invasion itself becomes illegal, the use six-day bombing over Baghdad a city of 5million people will ever be forgotten & the civilian casualties far exceeded what the US did during the First Gulf War. During the Dessert Storm offensive Pentagon authorized the use of350 tons of depleted uranium which was not only a war crime (Article 23 of Geneva Convention & Geneva Protocol of 1925 explicitly prohibits asphyxiating, poisonous or other gasses, and all analogous liquids, materials or devicesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚), it also posed health & safety risks to the American troops. In 1991, Iraqi hospitals recorded a surge in cancer & birth defects. The US use of cluster bombs is no better (a cluster bomb is a 14ft weapon that weighs about 1000 pounds, when it explodes it sprays hundreds of smaller bombleets over an area the size of two or three football fields, because they look like beer cans, thousands of children end up victims as has happened in Afghanistan, Kuwait & Iraq. Those that do not explode end up becoming landmines that explode once touched) Use of cluster bombs are against the Geneva Conventions & is a war crime but what has been done against the US by the UN is an important question that has no answer.

All the countries that US has forcibly entered there prevails a humanitarian crisis. US entered Iraq in 1991 it is now 20 years & still thousands of IraqiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s are left without homes, without livelihood & without families & those that are left are often maimed for good. Have any UN representatives, Special Rappateurs visited the US & demanded its program for resettling of these civilians. How many times had Sri Lanka to entertain the visits of so many special representatives who have arrived to see how far Sri Lanka was resettling the Tamil civiliansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦mind you this was just a few months after the elimination of the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦& when the very righteous & authoritative NGO channels claimed over 600,000 were in ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-interment campsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ when the actual figure was far less than 250,000 & less than 30,000 are to be settledƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.what can the US boast of having done & why is there no pressures from the UN on the US to ensure that civilians are looked after in Iraq, Afghanistan & even Pakistan where the Americans take liberty to use drones. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  What really is the purpose in keeping a UN ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” it is meant to resolve issues between countries through diplomacy before they use military force & before conflicts escalate. We all know that the UN remains only a forum for debate, with spokesman attending sessions most of whom are really powerless individuals. How many of such debates have actually ended up with a compromise situation where issues are not brought up again for debate or does not lead to large scale conflicts? UN can never absolve itself of agreeing to sanctions against Iraq which eventually led to millions of IraqiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s suffering while UN officials themselves were caught up in the Oil for Food scandal. One of the main reasons for UNƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s poor performance remains that it has no authority to take direct & independent actions without support from its members ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” it is in fact completely powerless. So, the real despots know how far the UN can talk & take action (except sanctions).ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

What the UN is actually guilty of is allowing & watching wars to take place & then in reality becoming guinea pigs of powerful nations to ensure their agendas are driven under the guise of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-democraticƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-peaceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-conflict resolutionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ & other such terminologies which most countries like Sri Lanka cannot diplomatically shrug off without becoming sidelined. Yet, the question remains if Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Government managed to stop bombs, suicide attacks, recruitment of children as child soldiers, put an end to Tamils been forcefully coerced into donating to the LTTE kitty & moreover brining peace after 30 yearsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.why is the country & its people not allowed to restart their lives peacefullyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦? The LTTE is no moreƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦there are those that call themselves the born-again LTTE but they are unlikely to ever come to Sri Lanka nor even spend a penny to even educate a poor Tamil child so their mythical Transnational Government can remain a hobby horse within an utopia that other such terrorists can also join & set up their own transnational governments. What Sri Lanka now needs to be allowed to do is to get on with their livesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦& to build up a nation that was a victim. We are now being a victim of the UN for bringing peace upon a nationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦is there anything more hypocritical than this. The UN has descended upon two countries ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.after years they havenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t caught Osama, Taliban or even rounded up terrorists to declare peace in those countriesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦scores of civilian casualties prevail..war crimes are committedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦but the UN doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t even issue or send representatives to investigateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.the US has sacked its General in Afghanistan for writing an article condemning the US Government ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” no UN or human rights group questioned this decision. In Sri Lanka, the former army commander is being charged with treason but the entire world & UN is demanded his release. CAN THIS HYPOCRISY STOPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦why cannot Governments be bold enough to demand why the UN is being biased & a puppetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.