Shenali Waduge

The Ban-ki Moon appointed panel report will not be the first & certainly not the last attempt to crucify Sri Lanka by western forces just because Sri Lanka entered history books by becoming the ONLY nation to defeat a terrorist group militarily. Whether their wrath is against the Sri Lankan Government for deciding to eliminate the LTTE or Sri Lanka as a nation becomes irrespective for the calls that are emerging from these international lobbies will only bring misery to the public. Therefore, the only way that these external forces cannot make any headway is to ensure we have a united force in Sri Lanka that clearly tells the West that Sri Lanka will not be allowed to be disunited like they have done & are doing to nations around the world. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When the announcement was made that the LTTE was no more & its leader pronounced dead the West cared little. Would those that kept prolonging the conflict through useless peace talks & negotiations care that Sri Lanka was relieved to be rid of a menace forever? The world could not understand what a nation suffering 30 years of bombs, suicide missions & chaos would have felt to be told by its defense forces that they had finally eliminated Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s terrorists, a fete thought impossible. The West was quick to pronounce celebrations in Sri Lanka were bordering ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-triumphalismƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Then came the calls for war probes, accusations of civilian killings, genocide and it was clear that there was a game plan in action steered by US & other western forces & meekly endorsed by the UN Secretary General.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is becoming clear that Sri Lanka will never be left to pick up the pieces having weathered for 30 years a neighborƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s conflict to ensure it was not divided. It was facilitated by local elements who shrewdly distorted events to justify their cause & for which Sinhalese politicians were too naƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¯ve to understand the larger picture behind their actions & too slow to come up with actions to counter these maneuvers with political wisdom. Needless to say many of these politicians themselves pocketed much as a result of their direct assistance to prolong the conflict. Inside political power struggles further blinded actions that should have been taken & has contributed in no small measure to the weak diplomatic front that is clearly meek in the global political scene today. The sad state of affairs in Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s politics where jumping from one political party to the next becomes a hallmark of a politicianƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s policy & morality (rather lack of it) makes them poor ambassadors to depict patriotic unity & certainly reminds them that they too need to pull up their socks for the nation. IndividualsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ patriotic enough to provide readers with saner views of actions to be taken never reach the correct sources & therefore with Sri Lanka facing another crucial time in its history we now need to think of ways we can protect our nation from what has happened to Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya & the Middle East.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To those that enjoy rubbing shoulders with the West, proudly working in their best interests thinking that they will forever gain their friendship should seriously rethink. Saddam Hussein was a friend of the US, so too was Osama bin Laden, Mubarak too was once a darling of the US as was the Shah of Iran the Saudi Royal family still continues but it will not last forever while other countries were turned into client states or puppet Governments created to ensure their desires. They remain in these positions until they deliver & even though they deliver if the West wishes to dislodge them they will do so & replace another. Therefore, all these local stooges that proudly think they are in the favored list of the West & who take great pains to advance the wishes of the west arguing on behalf of them must realize that they too will be checkmated one fine day. All they would have is what they would have earned in the wrong way & a conscious that would prick them forever.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Role of politicans

Religious heads also need to realize that their core area is their religion & the precepts that make the foundation of the religion they represent. They certainly need to realize that there is a large line that divides them from laymen & they need to keep that distance in tact. A united religious front would certainly be perfect to showcase that all religions of Sri Lanka are united ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” that they would never allow external forces to divide the nation or its people. Religious heads are advised to unite & make this objective clear amongst them.

The most important element that will provide the prefect front would be a united media. We all know that Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s media is politically motivated with media owned & run by politically linked families & groups. Nevertheless, we need to realize that secondary to the internal conflicts or vested interests that prevail for political advantage there is a larger cause at stake & that is our country. Therefore, the call of the hour is to put aside these smaller issues & to ensure that propaganda is not given to any news that seeks to divide the nation or its people. It would be good to have the owners & editors meet to discuss modalities of how they can contribute going forward.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka was in the hands of colonial rulers for over 500 years, its short period of independence soon was overshadowed by an imported conflict that prevailed for 30 years. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka despite independence in 1948, has only managed to enjoy a real sense of peace throughout these past two years. We cannot deny that people are enjoying traveling today to all corners of the country. True the prices of commodities are causing people difficulty but somehow people are making ends meet. Nevertheless, the politicians need to understand that while the ordinary people are making efforts to somehow manage, politicians continue to waste without any regard for who is pocketing the money that they are lavishly spending. Politicians must realize that external forces will use these negatives in them to a create public discontent which they will later promote towards strong opposition & probably a replica of what happened in Egypt, Bahrain, Libya & other parts of Middle East. Therefore, much of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s likely-to-be opposition issues are as a direct result of the follies of present day politicians who need to quickly realize or be told that their abuses need to see the end of day at least curtailed for starters & they need to seriously start serving the people ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” that is what they have been elected to do.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What separates Sri Lanka from the rest of the world where presently anarchy prevails is that despite our lack of love for politicians as a nation we remain steadfast in our resolve to ensure Sri Lanka is not turned into what the US & allies have done to other nations. That is where the wisdom of Sri LankanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s can be proud of. Sri LankanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s whatever religion, political affiliation, ethnicity today believe in & desire a united country &they will not allow it to be disintegrated at any cost. What puzzles most is why the Government is even appealing to the Tamil Diaspora to take part in Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s development when it is evident that they are attempting to continue a struggle to separate simply because larger interests are paying them or pulling their strings to do so. Similarly, anyone attempting to castigate Sri Lanka, creating false accusations purely to enable them to apply as refugees should be given the opportunity to do so but ensure that they give up their civic status in Sri Lanka. Why would we want to keep people who do not have any love for the nation & who do not want to be Sri Lankan (this does not apply to those going to live overseas but who do their bit for Lanka) ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ .

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka must remain for people who love the nation & who want to build it to become a country that everyone can be proud of. Yearly, we must benchmark areas we need to improve up & ensure law & order prevails & is applicable to everyone equally without bias. The public of Sri Lanka has always been united & though incidents of the past may be used to show dissent, we all know the truth. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims & all other ethnic groups living in Sri Lanka have good relationships with one another & with the movement of people after the war there are new ties emerging & this is the reconciliation that the West is clueless about.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If everyone starts doing their part in the nation building exercise Sri Lanka will never have to fear falling prey to any external force. Nevertheless, the present scenario calls for all individuals & groups to unite to ensure that our nation does not become a target of another western game plan. The only way we can do that is if we come together to create a force to be reckoned with. This should certainly encourage other nations to follow & bullying by western forces will soon see the end of day. We made history by eliminating a one time darling of world powers including India, let us make history be defying against the odds. Under one banner of unity let Sri Lankans unite for a united Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Shenali Waduge