MR HAPER issues a statement from Indonesia
Posted on October 13th, 2013
By James Winter-Dr. James Winter is a professor at the University of Windsor.
Tell me if you find any irony or hypocrisy in this: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced from Indonesia, where he was attending APEC, that he will be unable to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit in Sri Lanka next month, owing to that country-â„¢s -unacceptable human rights violations?-
Put your hand up if you are aware of Indonesian history?
No? Well, have you seen any good documentary films lately, such as, The Act of Killing, which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September?
Indonesia, from whence the prime minister announced his boycott, is infamous for two genocides. The first was in 1965, when General Suharto overthrew President Sukarno. During and following that purge, it is estimated that more than a million people were killed. The purge was ostensibly aimed at communist leaders, and party members. Ultimately, paramilitary gangs devastated opposition parties, the labour movement, teachers, student leaders, and others.
In a June 2013 film review of Joshua Oppenheimer-â„¢s film about these killings, The Observer-â„¢s Mark Kermode wrote, -Many of the killings -” and the persecutions that followed -” were carried out by gangsters who have not only escaped prosecution, but are now heralded as local heroes- in Indonesia.
-We shoved wood in their anus until they died,- Adi Zulkadry, a death squad leader, says in the film as he is shown shopping in a mall in the capital Jakarta with his wife and daughter. -We crushed their necks with wood. We hung them. We strangled them with wire.
We cut off their heads. We ran them over with cars. We were allowed to do it. And the proof is, we murdered people and were never punished. The people we killed, there-â„¢s nothing to be done about it. They have to accept it. Maybe I-â„¢m just trying to make myself feel better, but it works. I-â„¢ve never felt guilty, never been depressed, never had nightmares.-
The second genocide was conducted by Suharto in an invasion of East Timor in 1975, wherein his troops slaughtered a quarter million Timorese, one-third of the population, in five years. U.S. president Gerald Ford and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger infamously visited Suharto in Jakarta the day before Suharto-â„¢s invasion of East Timor. Kissinger encouraged Suharto to -act quickly,- to succeed and to avoid criticism.
This was the same autocratic General Suharto who was protested at the APEC meetings in Vancouver in 1997, where the police infamously pepper sprayed and strip-searched peaceful Canadian protesters.
The Indonesian leadership, which was responsible for these atrocious crimes, has never been brought to account. Nor have the other governments which supported them, such as the U.S. and Canada.
Oppenheimer-â„¢s film documents the complicity of some of the lower-level Indonesians responsible. The film is brilliant and horrific. And, it makes no mention of the political leadership of any of the countries which were responsible.
Hope you enjoyed your time in Indonesia, Prime Minister Harper. Take pride in your bold boycott against Sri Lanka, in support of Human Rights. My question is: how do you choose your friends and enemies?
Dr. James Winter is a professor at the University of Windsor.
October 12th, 2013 at 12:14 pm
WHO really gives a damn about whether Harper attends the CHOGM? Sri Lankans don’t!
As a matter of fact, Sri Lankans have ALREADY paid DEARLY for hosting this WHITE ELEPHANT of a CHOGM in Sri Lanka:
1. Sri Lanka hid REVOKING the 13th Amendment under the carpet to please the attendees,
2. Sri Lanka held the Northern PC Election to please India and Western Critics, without first investigating the ILLEGAL IMPORTATION of up to 1.6 million Kallathonis by the LTTE during the last 30 years, and without REVOKING the 13th Amendment and DISMANTLING the PC System,
3. Sri Lanka DEBASED itself sending Minister G. L. Pieris to INdia to beg for the President of India to attend the CHOGM and subsequently quickly signed the Sampur Power Plant agreement with India despite objections of many CEB and other officials and patriotic political forces. India now has Embassies in Colombo, Jaffna, Hambantota; the airfield at Palaly, the oil storage plant in Trincomalees, and now the Sampur Power Plant in Trincomalee. Day by Day, Little by Little the Indian Octopus is enveloping and infiltrating Sri Lanka with its tentacles. We will RUE the day when this policy of acquiescence to the gradual Indianization of Sri Lanka was aided and abetted by MYOPIC politicians.
4. Sri Lanka signed an agreement with India on the Tri-Lingual Language Policy during Minister Kurshid’s recent visit to Sri Lanka. Although I believe that a Tri-Lingual Language Policy is a GOOD THIND, why do we have to enter into AGREEMENTS with a forreign country about it. Such Agreements … like the Agreement that led to the 13th Amendment … come back as inflexible international commitments to HAUNT Sri Lanka in the future. Our National Policy should be … NOT TO ENTER INTO ANY INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS that affect Sri Lanka’s DOMESTIC matters. That is for SOVEREIGN Sri Lanka and its SOVEREIGN people to decide without compromising its sovereignty piece-by-piece in agreements with foreign nations.
No INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS should be entered into with FOREIGN COUNTRIES on Power Devolution, Government Structure, Human Rights, Democracy, Good Governance ad inifinitum, ad nauseam. NONE WHATEVER!
Do not BIND Sri Lanka’s hands to truss it up like a HELPLESS TURKEY with these NONSENSICAL agreements, that will be wielded like swords later to blackmail and threaten Sri Lanka in the future.
While the ADVERSE IMPACTS on Sri Lanka of the CHOGM meeting are already a MYRIAD, NOTHING GOOD will come of the CHOGM meeting, none of the expected ECONOMIC RETURN … except the massaging of a FEW OUTSIZE Sri Lankan Political EGOS …. and OPENING the DOOR WIDER to FOREIGN POLITICAL INTERFERENCE in Sovereign Sri Lanka’s Domestic Matters.
Will we EVER LEARN?
October 12th, 2013 at 12:21 pm
Thanks Dr. James Winter….I am sure Mr. Harper will have plenty of time to worry about NOT ABOUT SRI LANKA, but about problems he has with First nation people. UN is going ahead with how these unfortunate people are treated so badly by the Govt.
Re: our efforts to carry out a humanitarian operation for ENSLAVED low Catse Tamil girls & boys who were given CYANIDE capsules to swallow, if they get caught in carrying a vendata against a LAWFUL govt. of Sri Lanka. WE SAVED their own people, for years & decades they have been treated badly by the so called TAMIL LEADERSHIP in Lanka & India has to take the blame too.
I feel gradually the world countries, will decide if there is any point in these countries in Europe & Americas decide what is best for other countries, when their own countries lack the common decency TO, NOT interfere in how other countries are governed.
IT IS TIME we have an UNITED NATIONS OF ASIA… feel then ONLY Asians will be secure & we can just ignore what the so called CIVILIZED LOT thinks HOW WE SHOULD BE……..That time is coming sooner than expected…Thank you all……~ J
October 12th, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Opening doors to Foreign Investors should be done with GREAT CARE, without allowing them to DICTATE government policies on INTERNAL POLITICS, or overwhelming the ECONOMIC rights of Sri Lankan citizens.
………………..
Sri Lanka to open more avenues for investors ahead of the Commonwealth Business Forum
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 12, Colombo: Anticipating a large number of foreign business delegates at the upcoming Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) 2013 that will take place alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November, Sri Lanka has agreed to open more avenues for investors.
During a discussion held earlier this week with the Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Commonwealth Business Council Chairman Dr. Mohan Kaul has requested the Sri Lankan government to open more opportunities for the foreign business community.
Dr. Kaul has pointed out that potentially the Forum could generate over US$ 2 billion worth Foreign Direct Investments for Sri Lanka over a period of time after the meeting.
The Commonwealth Business Forum, jointly organized by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the Sri Lankan government, will take place in Colombo Nov. 12-14 under the theme “Partnership for Wealth Creation and Social Development: The Commonwealth, Indian Ocean, Pacific, and SAARC.”
The CBC Chairman has also discussed identifying areas in the island suitable for investment and inviting potential investors to visit them.
Dr. Kaul and the Minister have agreed that building expressways, developing the textile industry, power generation, establishing a village for handicrafts and infrastructure development are among the many areas to which the investors can be attracted.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to promote and market Sri Lanka as an ideal place for investments,” the Chairman of CBC has said.
Around 1,000 delegates form 65 countries are expected to participate in the Forum, making it largest ever business gathering in Sri Lanka. Some of the participants are from countries outside the Commonwealth such as China, Russia and Japan.
According to the organizers, the Forum will enable a diverse business networking opportunity for the participants to share a common platform and have the unique opportunity to discuss potential projects in the fastest growing markets in the world.
Representatives from key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, education, information technology and energy, among others, are expected to be present at the Forum.
The CBC Chairman has also Dr. Kaul confirmed the participation of the Canadian business community in the CBF despite Canada’s decision to boycott the main summit.
According to Minister Rajapaksa, the participants, representing the chambers of commerce, the private sector and governments have already registered to attend the Forum.
October 12th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
James,
One man took part in that Suharto Regime, Darusman, even went on to right the report exposing genocide of 10000 terrorists in Sir Lanka. Shouldn’t this Harper bugger try and drag Darusman in front of a CCJ first for kinging millions of Indonesians ?
October 12th, 2013 at 3:56 pm
“Will we EVER LEARN?”
NO!
October 12th, 2013 at 4:05 pm
As I predicted TNA cracks make it worse for separatism because the WEAKER group takes a MORE HARDLINE stand.
This is what ALWAYS HAPPENED in Tamil politics. The WEAKER GROUP knows Tamils vote for RACISM. So they become MORE RACIST and therefore popular.
The stronger group is TRAPPED because a chief minister violating the law is WORSE than another. Then the stronger group becomes LESS RACIST and LESS POPULAR.
This was how Ponnambalam was screwed by Chelva.
It is happening again.
“9 NPC members of EPRLF, TELO, PLOTE to take oath in Mullaiththeevu
[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 October 2013, 20:57 GMT]
“We are not going to let a [Colombo-centric] group in the Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) to take a different political course than what has been promised to the people during the elections, especially with regards to our demand of international investigations and the delivery of a political solution in a unified North-East as a single unit ensuring Tamils sovereignty,” said former TNA parliamentarian from TELO, MK Sivajilingam on Saturday.”
This has a BIGGER IMPACT.
Now the RULING PARTY of NPC is TNA.
MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY of NPC is also TNA (Suresh faction).
(They have 9 seats but UPFA has only 7!!!!)
If any fool STILL thinks Tamils are NOT RACIST he or she should get his head examined by the army soldier who examined DNA in VP’s head through that FAMOUS CRACK.