Janaka Yagirala

Dear Mr. Rapp,

 It is with great pleasure that I welcome your planned visit to my country. If you are coming to Sri Lanka as the Brand Ambassador for (US) War Crimes (much like Michael Jordan, George Clooney or Leonardo DiCaprio are brand ambassadors for various products) you are more than welcome. Indeed, the US has a long and proud history of innovative war crimes.

 Take for example the ingenious war crime of Jeffery Amherst, the Crown Governor of Virginia from 1759-1768 who managed to eradicate an entire continent of Native Americans by secretly giving them blankets contaminated with smallpox.

 It is doubtful if the forceful abduction, trafficking and sale of Africans for slavery on US soil constitutes a true war crime. Similarly, despite being a brilliant accomplishment of circumventing medical ethics by infecting rural African Americans (who were expecting free government health care!) in Macon County, Alabama with syphilis between 1932 and 1972, it again does not constitute a war crime as well. The same can be said about the US sponsored Guatemalan syphilis experiment of 1946-48 where mental patients and prisoners were infected with the disease without informed consent.

 However, the death of nearly 200,000 civilians (by the most conservative estimate) during the Philippine American war of 1899-1921 does qualify as a war crime. So does the shooting of Japanese shipwreck survivors of the Battle of the Bismark Sea (March 3-5, 1943), the massacres of Italian civilians in Canicatti (July 1943), Italian POWs in Biscari (14 July 1943) and German POWs in Dachau (April 29, 1945) during WW2. The Dresden bombing raid of 13-15 February, 1945 that killed 25,000 civilians (by conservative estimate) and dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed 150,000 civilians (again a conservative estimate) can also be counted in the proud American track record. It is a bit sad that DNA testing wasn’t invented back then, or else the numerous rapes carried out right after the surrender of Japan in 1945 could have been traced right back to the source!

 Next comes the Vietnam War, the war where Agent Orange was used indiscriminately on civilians and Laos (a country not even involved in the war) became the most bombed country in history, all thanks to proud American warfare. The massacres of Guatemala between 1960 to 1996 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQl5MCBWtoo) where 200,000 people disappeared may not count because they were committed by a US backed puppet regime. The list has to go on, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and now Syria but has to be cut short for brevity!

 However, Mr. Rapp, if you are coming to Sri Lanka to “investigate” war crimes, lets make sure you are not disappointed. My fellow countrymen will have a long list ready for you. The list will consist of genuine war crimes were real people with names and next of kin were killed. Here are a few highlights.

 November 11, 1984, Dollar Farm massacre – 33 Sinhalese civilians killed

November 30, 1984, Kent Farm massacre – 29 Sinhalese civilians killed

December 31, 1984, Batticaloa massacre – 30 Tamil civilians killed for refusing to fight for the LTTE

May 14, 1985, Anuradhapura massacre – 146 Sinhalese civilians killed within a place of worship

April 17, 1987, Habarana massacre – 127 Sinhalese civilians killed

April 21, 1987, Pitakotuwa Central Bus Stand Bombing – 116 civilians killed

June 2, 1987, Aranthalawa massacre – 32 Buddhist monks (mostly novices) killed

June 11, 1990, killing of 600 (conservative number) surrendered Sri Lankan Police Officers throughout the Eastern Province.

August 3, 1990, killing of 147 Muslims in a place of worship in Kattanthudawa (Kattankudy).

November 10, 1993, Punranna (Pooneryn) massacre of 200 Sri Lankan Army POWs

January 25, 1998, bombing of the sacred Dalada Maligawa – 17 Sinhalese civilians killed

June 15, 2006, Kebitigollewa massacre – bomb blast kills 66 Sinhalese civilians during a ceasefire

Looking forward to your visit to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has lovely beaches with azure seas for your enjoyment and thanks to the brave men and women of our armed forces you may no longer have to be in fear of being blown up by an LTTE suicide bomb during your stay.

 After your visit to Sri Lanka, may I humbly suggest a tour of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria for pretty obvious reasons.

 Thanking you,

Yours sincerely

Janaka Yagirala