By Charles.S.Perera

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ By holding onto the tail end of the war against terrorism by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces USA State Department is ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ bogged down with an impossible task of asserting the number ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Tamil Civilians killed proposing different numbers at different times from 6000 to 40000.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Knowing very well that even a foreign investigators will not be able to ascertain the actualƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  numbers killed, USA now introduces new issue in their resolutionƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  which has no connections to theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  accountability for civilian deaths they vehemently called for earlier.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They have very cunningly switched to issues which are internal matters with which they have no right to interfere.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ America is acting like the crab walking side ways calling the other crabs to walk strait.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Every thing America complains as violationsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by the Sri Lanka Government and its Armed Forces are the violations American Arm Forces themselves are doing, many folds more with complete ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ impunity in their several ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ theatres of war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There is certainly no reason for the USA State Department to make such a song and a dance about the numbers of civilians killed at the last phase of the war against terrorism ignoring ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the innumerable numbers of men, women and children killed by the terrorists for 27 years or more before that.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It appears that the last phase of the terrorist war was selected to accuse the Sri Lanka armed forcesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  for war crimes, genocide and what not leaving out the LTTE terrorists for their unaccountable number of massacres, assassinations, suicide human bombs and bomb blasts.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If USA and the UNHR Commissioner Navi Pillay call Sri Lanka for accountability for the deaths of civiliansƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  at that crucial end of the terrorist war, we should then ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ take up the cases of massacres, assassinations, and bomb blasts and take legal action against the LTTE.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That would end the present comedy of the terrorist rump in the diaspora, and Global Tamil Forum, the TNA spokes men for terrorism and the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ rest of their supporters including Ministers in UK and Canada, who will stand charged for terrorism, and aiding abetting terrorism.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  There is enough evidence to bring all of them into the net. Sri Lanka need not have ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ access to UK Channel 4 to make a false video footage as plenty ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  real videos, photos, and eye witness accounts are available.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There was definitely no intentional shooting by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces to kill civilians. If their were civilian deaths they were accidental, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the deaths of those unfortunate ones who were caught in the cross fire, and those deliberately shot and killed by the terrorists, to discourage others running away from them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Even those will certainly not ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ amount to as much as they estimate to make their reports create an images ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka Armed Forces as monsters.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is a hard way to put it but one says that one cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs. A war cannot avoid deaths.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In the case of a terrorist war, there are noƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  niceties and if there were 40ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 000 killed then it was because of the war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We have a right then to ask who brought the Sri Lanka Armed Forces into a war. Many Sri Lankan Governments before and the present government tried theirƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  best to get the terrorists around a table to come to a negotiated peace settlement.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But all those negotiations ended with the representatives of the terrorists walking away from talks half way.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Finally the government had no alternative but to take alms when the terrorists opened fire at soldiers who were opening the sluice gates of the Mavil Aru tank the terrorists had wantonly closed, depriving the farmers water to cultivate their fields.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It was in that opening of Mavil Aru sluice gates ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ when the terrorists opened fire at the armed forces that began the military operation against them that led to intense fighting ending up in large numbers of terrorists , civilians and soldiers killed until the end of it.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The deaths in the course of that fighting are the responsibility of the LTTE terrorists who have to account for every drop of blood in that war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But the USA state Department and Navi Pillay is conveniently avoiding the issue to exonerate the terrorists, and ask accountability from the Government of Sri Lanka just for the deaths during a ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ space of about three weeks ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ of fighting from 21 April, 2009 to 18 May,2009.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Even then the actual numbers of deaths cannot be ascertained and it cannot be as much as 40ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 000( according to Gordon Weiss), and ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ certainly far less, even ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ for which the Sri Lanka Armed forces cannot be held responsible as it was the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ terrorists who brought the civilians into the war zone as a human shield for their own protection..

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ America had never been a country which act with concern about numbers of civilian deaths which it conveniently shirks off as collateral damage.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was the same evenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in its wars withƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  CIA interventions in previous regime changing wars in Guatemala, Iran, Chile, Congo etc.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ America had not been able to get rid of its visceral aggressivity out of its system. Nor has USA which accuses developing countries, and now Sri Lanka ever assisted a single developing country to develop into being an independent Sovereign State.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  On the contrary it had destroyed many developing countries and balkanised some, made some caught in its ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-debt trapƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is the same that USA is trying to do now with ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is sad that the USA President Barack Obama who came with a cry of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-hope and changeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ has completely failed to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-changeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ even ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the foreign policy of US State Department.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The USA State Department personnel do not have enough ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-grey matterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to think and understand whether it is possible for ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ an Armed Force of a country fighting against terrorists that had risen from amoung them, who are their own peopleƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  sharing the same motherland would, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ while rescuing 300 000 Tamil Civilians, shoot to kill 40000 others ?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Armed Forces and the Sinhala people from the South provided three meals per day for the rescued Tamil Civilians ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”the IDPs who where sheltered in camps hurriedly set up by the armed forces, andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  provided with clothes and amenities by the people from all over Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is time Sri Lanka takes some bold action, without playing second fiddle to India.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  India had decided long before the UNHRCouncilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s 22 Sessions to vote with the USA against Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Indian political leadership has no backbone, living under threat ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  break away States.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is possible with politicians like Karunanidhi, Jayalalitha, Vaiko , Nedimaran ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who have not the intelligence and the political acumen to understand human situations in a political environment.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Their attachment to Sri Lanka terrorists is a mere sentimental issue, and KarunanidhiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s hands are smeared with the blood of the assassinated ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, in whose assassination ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ he has ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ had a hand according to the Report of the Jain Commission.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka has had enough of interference into its internal affairs by the USA, the International Community and Navi Pillay, without having ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ made any positive moves to assist and aid Sri Lanka before he elimination of terrorists, and now put barriers against its process of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ reconciliation of the communities to ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ unite the people.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Sri Lanka does not want foreign technicians and NGOs to settle its problems.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They will only make matters worse as they come with their own agenda, and without an atom of understanding of the Culture , custom and sentiments of the people in Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Therefore, the USA and International Community and Navi Pillai should get off our backs and ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ allow Sri Lanka to solve whatever problems it has with its people in its own way at its own pace.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is now time that Sri Lanka prepares to take the LTTE terrorists and all those connected to the LTTE to a tribunal. A Law Court for that purpose should be set up in Sri Lanka as the ForeignƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Tribunals ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”even the International Court of Law in Hague cannot be trusted to be independent as theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  USA and the West are determined to take revenge from the Government of Sri Lanka for the elimination of its terrorists, who for them are only rebels.