ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Asada M Erpini

Sri Lanka is again compelled to defend its human rights record at the Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that was scheduled to open on 01 November. And, who are at the forefront leading the allegations against Sri Lanka? It is none other than the mighty (or is it once mighty) US and the four or five Western colonial powers that massacred millions of people in the African, American and Asian continents and robbed the latter of what was dear and near to them during a period of nearly half a millennium and, more recently, their own European brethren from Germany when captured during World War II, a mere half century ago.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka went through a horrendous period of mayhem for almost three decades at the hands of a megalomaniac, who was hell bent on creating a mono-ethnic Eelam for his own tribe. The man was ably assisted by his own kind that managed to migrate to the richest countries in the world that lay thousands of miles distant from the place of origin, ignoring the welcoming Tamil Nadu that was a mere 20 miles across beyond the Palk Straits. Their grouse was the discrimination they suffered at the hands of the Sinhala ethnic group, whereas the truth was quite the opposite: the Sinhala people, who incidentally form three quarters of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s population, had been deprived of their rights for nearly half a millennium by the invading European powers.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Since May 2009 the people of Sri Lanka have been able to move about without facing the risk of being blown into smithereens by an LTTE bomb. Prior to that, everything was a matter of life and death. The mother and the father in a family avoided going together in the same bus as they feared that a Tamil Tiger bomb would kill both of them in one explosion and the children would become orphans. The father who left home for work in the morning was not sure whether he would come back in the evening in one piece, or for that matter, alive, because the LTTE killers were active in the entire country, and especially at places where people gathered.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There were innumerable incidents of innocent Sri Lankans of all faiths and ethnic groups that were at the receiving end of the villainous escapades of the LTTE maniacs. Foremost among them are the explosion at the at Central Bank bomb in Colombo, massacre of devotees at the Sri Maha Bodiya at Anuradhapura, killing of Muslims at prayer Kattankudy Mosque, killing of schoolchildren in Maradana, massacre of Buddhist monks and novice monks at Arantalawa and killing poor cultivators trying to eke out a living at Dollar Farm and Kent Farm. (The writer can go on and on, and also give more details of these inhuman attacks on the uninvolved, if the human rights brigades so desire).

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is strange that it is only when Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s human rights record is being reviewed by the almighty UN (which is egged on by the US and its cronies) that the human rights proponents and the concerned agencies of the UN wake up from their apparent deep slumber that obviously went on for almost 27 years. None of these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”augustƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ institutions uttered a word condemning human rights violations when the LTTE had a field day killing anyone they desired. Even if they were not concerned about the Sinhala people getting killed by the LTTE ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” in their eyes, the Sinhala ethnic group was a bunch of killers hell bent on genocide of the innocent Tamils ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ they could have at least raised a voice protesting the forcible recruitment of Tamil children by the LTTE for use as cannon fodder against the legitimate Sri Lanka armed forces or the movement of nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians from the North and the North West of Sri Lanka to the North East to be used as a human shield to deter the advance of the valiant men and women in uniform of the Sri Lankan government.

Before one can worry about human rights and other luxuries, one needs security. The present government has delivered security to all Sri Lankans who are ready to abide by the laws of the land. There might even be substantial proportions who might say that if they do not have to fear death at the hands of an LTTE killer, they are ready to put the issue of human rights on the back burner.

Sri Lanka, being a resource compromised ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” most would use the term poor instead – , country, has to keep on tolerating all the battering that it receives from the powerful. UN is not a union of any sort that brings together 192 countries: it is only a gathering of sovereign nations controlled by a handful of Western nations and their lackeys that has outlived its ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-sell by dateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. How the writer wishes the oil drilling in the Mannar basin ends up in black gold gushing from the bowels of the earth! US will be Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s foremost supporter at every forum, and the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka will sing hosannas on what a fantastic place the island is, with no human rights issues to worry about. There is of course a hitch: the country may end up being invaded by the US and its allies as was the case with Iraq or Libya.