By Charles .S.Perera

Paris never sleeps.  At any time in the day or night you could find a good restaurant perhaps already full and noisy where you could get a fine meal.  The French like to enjoy their meals , with a  good bottle of vintage red wine. After a glass or two of it the tongues begin to wag, they laugh over pleasantries , jokes, and banal friendly chatter .

They take their meals slowly savouring each mouthful of delicious French dishes  stopping now and then in between  talk and laughter, to wash down the food with a mouthful of wine rolled in the mouth to warm it before  it is sent slowly down the gorge. The French enjoy eating their meals slow and long as they say they make love.

Friday evening is the beginning of a long week end, and they make much of it after a week of metro and boulot” meaning  transport and  work  which is tiring and stressful. They like to  dine out and go looking for  a dance hall to dance late into the  night .  One can select an appropriate dance hall to dance a romantic slow, swirl to a French waltz, or swing to a tango.  Leaving that to the older the young go for disco, rock and roll  and watch and dance to the noisy tunes of  band music.

It was an American Band Eagles of Death Metal” that had been invited to play at the Bataclan Theatre on the night of the 13 November, 2015.  1500 fun seeking young French couples and singles happy and noisy  determined to enjoy the night,  packed into  the Theatre that festive  Friday night.

The Eagles of Death Metal” had tuned their guitars and the drums were beating, the crowd of dancers cheered  the  vocalist Jesse Hughes as he sang unrecognisable words  into  the din of the   noisy musical instruments.  But that is how the French fans liked it.  There was no reason to suspect any thing and the 1500 revellers  had abandoned themselves into a  frenetic dancing mood.

At 21 hours 55 into the night when music was loud and enjoyment of  the revellers, were at its peak, a van stopped just outside the Bataclan Theatre in Boulevard Voltaire in the 11 arrondisement of Paris, from the van descended three men strangely clad in black. They were armed with assault rifles.   They entered the hall of the Theatre unnoticed, climbed the stairs and took position on the mezzanine.

They  called out loud and clear over the din of  the musical show Allahu Akbar”- the name of their God-in whose beloved name they commit all atrocious crimes and opened fire at the packed crowd of dancers in the dancing hall below, reloading and emptying the guns three or four times, while throwing hand grenades in between. The dancers first taken by surprise and then by fear stampeded out into the streets through emergency exits, or took cover in  toilets and office rooms, crying and screaming falling over one another they scrambled seeking escape roots in  utter confusion, while others lay still on the floor pretending to be dead.

The shooting lasted 20 minutes. There were  coordinated attacks taking place in six different locations within the city- in a football stadium ,cafes and restaurants.  In all the attack which was described as the deadliest in France after world war II,  took a toll of 120 killed and 200 people injured. Islamic State of Iraq and Levant claimed responsibility. Saying it was in retaliation to  French Air strikes on ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq.

The whole of  France taken by fear and shock rose to mourn the death of  those innocent French youth massacred inside Bataclan and elsewhere. They came in hundreds with flowers and   candles to the Statue of the Republic which became a temple to commemorate the untimely massacre of their beloved children.  The Nations from USA, Canada, Australia rose in shocked surprise to mourn with  France,  singing  the French National Anthem to show their solidarity with France. In grief.

The Telegraph reported , The French capital has been subjected to a terrorist attack leaving 129 dead and 352 injured after Kalashnikov shootings, grenade and suicide strikes. In the wake of the attack, there has been an outpouring of reaction across social media as people offer their support and show solidarity with France.” People on Facebook have been putting a tricolour filter on their profile pictures to support Paris.The social media platform is awash with blue, white and red as people all over the world support Paris. ”

In June 2006, 68  innocent villagers  from Kebithigollewa a village in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka,   amoung  them 15 school children,  several pregnant women going to the hospital, and others going to work were massacred by  two claymore bombs set in the bus by LTTE terrorists in Sri Lanka.

America issued a statement carefully worded without accusing and condemning the terrorists.

The United States condemns today’s terrorist attack on a bus in Sri Lanka that killed 60 civilians, including at least 15 children. This vicious attack bears all the hallmarks of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. It is a clear violation of the Ceasefire Agreement that the Tamil Tigers claim to uphold. The United States calls for an end to the violence that is causing so much suffering for the people of Sri Lanka and resumption of negotiations to bring peace to the country. The Tamil Tigers must renounce terror and enter into direct negotiations with the Sri Lankan government.”

However for the Kebithigollewa massacre there was no solidarity shown by the American , Canadian, or European nations.  They did not gather to sing our National Anthem ( which unfortunately Sri Lanka has  mutilated in the name of a reconciliation since Sirisena became the President), nor did they hoist our National flag in their cities as a mark of solidarity with Sri Lanka shocked and in grief that day with 68 of their beloved  innocent people massacred by ruthless terrorists.

The French media has gone agog with the 13 November, 2015 massacre at Bataclan Theatre, discussing what would happen next and how to put a stop to ISIS activities in France and Europe.  They never questioned how it is that ISIS has become a formidable terrorist forces, and who was responsible to have allowed it to happen

It all began  when without a consensus in the UN Security Council,  and when   France then under President Jacque Chirac, vehemently protested against military intervention in Iraq, George Bush decided unilaterally to step over UN Security Council to declare war against Iraq brandishing a false document prepared by Tony Blaire the Prime Minister of UK that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. USA  State Department never learnt lessons.

USA with its Monroe Doctrine and the theory of manifest destiny wants to control and spread its influence through out the world. USA is a self centred  sytem alien to the world outside. USA has never, with its economic power and  world leadership role, helped any country to develop and assert their  economic and political independence.

USA even after  its mistaken  role of the  saviour of the world from Iraq,  did not stop from interfering  into other  countries to stop them decide their own political destinies, and intervened instead to destroy and change regimes  to have  American friendly governments. ISIS is therefore the making of the USA in its short sighted political actions, commenced by its unilateral declaration of war against Iraq.

Idea of ISIS grew in the mind of a Jordanian street thug Abu Musab al-Zarqawi when he was in Afghanistan. From there he fled to Iraq . There his presence was not of any significant value. He was abiding time. The USA  created the necessary chaos in Iraq for al-Zarkawi, after USA armed forces left Iraq in 2003 to form his own Party Jama’at al-Tawhid w’al Jihad( Party of monotheism and Jihad,) the fore runner to ISIS.

Syria was also being mutilated as a country by USA through its interference, as it was with Libya where  USA assisted  rebellious protesters  fight against Libyan Army;.  In the same way USA was assisting the armed protesters in Syria  helping them open war fronts against President  Bashar al-Assad.

Abu Bakral-Baghdadi hardened fighter who set  up his Jihadist party became a force to be taken note of in Syria. The young Muslim youth  where ever they are in the world has taken note of Baghdadi’s call for them to pledge   allegiance to the Caliphate and support its agenda.  Its key tenant is  the offensive Jihad –the forcible expansion  into countries  that are ruled by non-Muslims.  The waging of war to expand the Caliphate is an essential duty of the young Muslims.

In 2006, however, the USA killed Abu Musab by bombarding his location. Next, in 2011, the US killed Osama bin Laden. These were critical victories for the US and the rest of the world. Unfortunately, these victories were short lived. The radical ideas of Osama and Musab did not die. Abu Musab, like Osama, inspired a whole bunch of kids to fight against the West. These kids grew up to lead the ISIS and are currently fighting to achieve the grand vision of Musab. The recent Paris attacks were part of those efforts.

 (https://www.quora.com/How-did-ISIS-form-When-and-where-did-ISIS-begin)

Every terrorist death in France and Europe is a result of the unwise expansionist American role, now taken hold of by President Obama and his State Secretary John Kerry.  They are  setting the world on fire.

It is time that USA learn from these disasters to which it is directly or indirectly connected and adopt a positive role in the world.  That role should not be in terms of the Monroe Doctrine nor the concept of manifest destiny.  USA should learn from China and Russia to help other nations to develop and assert themselves as independent Sovereign States.  The problems within countries should be left for the countries to settle finding their own solutions without foreign interference.

The greatest mistake USA did and continue to do is not recognising terrorists as terrorists. Obama, John, Kerry and Hilary Clinton categorised terrorists.   They recognised those who attack USA or its Western allies as terrorists and other terrorists in developing countries as rebels or freedom fighters.

In America there were two terrorist attacks, in Paris too ,there were two.  But when the ISIS terrorists carried out an attack on the 13 November, 2015 the USA and the Western Nations rose to show their solidarity.  But in Sri Lanka there were hundreds  of terrorist attacks in which men ,women and children were savagely brutalised and massacred , but none of  the countries of the West including USA rose against those attacks and stood in solidarity with Sri Lanka.

But strangely USA and the West that rose like one in solidarity against one attack in France, got together to pass resolutions  against Sri Lanka at the UNHRCouncil in Geneva for elimination of the Terrorists in Sri Lanka and for ending thirty years of suffering and regular massacres of innocent people.

If the USA and the West continue their practice of ignoring terrorism in other countries concentrating only on changing regimes responsible for elimination of terrorism from their country, USA and West will only be inviting more terrorism in their own countries.

Terrorism has become today the number one danger to human existence and the countries like USA and the West who have the means to fight terrorism should not become friends of terrorists elsewhere and treat them differently from terrorists attacking their own countries.

USA and the West should give a hand to every country rich or poor  in the world to denounce and eliminate terrorism raising its head..  Any group that takes up arms against an elected government in any country are terrorists and should be treated as such, and help any  government to eliminate terrorism in their soil.

If USA and the West goes against any government of any country, and use any means to change the government elected by the people, USA and the West become no better than the terrorists who come to their countries and  kill the innocent people- as it happened in Bataclan Theatre in Paris on the 13th November, 2015.

Terrorists who massacred 68  men , women and children in Kebethigollewa in Sri Lanka  in June , 2006 and the Terrorits who killed 120 or more people in Bataclan Theatre in Paris are just terrorists.

If any one tries to support  those terrorists in Kebethigllewa in Sri Lanka and condemned those terrorists in Bataclan Theatre in Paris, France , one is forgetting that basic human factor, that  those people in Kebithigollewa in Sri Lanka and those people in  France belong to the same human family. The human condition such as colour, rich or poor, should not stand in the way of  spreading once love from one human being to another, or show solidarity in grief without discrimination against one set of human beings, and another set of human beings.

I give below a list of deaths by terrorists attack in Sri Lanka, and remind the readers that USA and the West did not show solidarity with Sri Lanka at any time, when Sri Lanka suffered  from this savage, ruthless massacres.

But USA and the West have risen together as one to condemn Sri Lanka Armed Forces  that valiantly stood against terrorism in Sri Lanka and eliminated them in May,2009, and proposed a hybrid court of Justice to condemn our soldiers as war criminals.

Notable and deadliest attacks[edit]

Attack	Date	Location	Death toll	Sources
1990 massacre of Sri Lankan Police officers	11 June 1990	Eastern Province	600-774	[4][5]
Kattankudy mosque massacre	3 August 1990	Kattankudy, Batticaloa District	147	[6]
Anuradhapura massacre	14 May 1985	Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura District	146	[7]
Habarana bus massacre	17 April 1987	Habarana, Anuradhapura District	127	[8]
October 1995 Eastern Sri Lanka massacres	16 October 1995	Eastern Province	120
Central Bus Station Bombing	21 April 1987	Pettah, Colombo, Colombo District	113	[9]
Palliyagodella massacre	15 October 1991	Palliyagodella, Polonnaruwa District	109	[8][10]
2006 Digampathana bombing	16 October 2006	Digampathaha, Matale District	92–103	[11]
Central Bank bombing	31 January 1996	Colombo, Colombo District	91	[7]
Kebithigollewa massacre	15 June 2006	Kebithigollewa, Anuradhapura District	66	[12]
Dehiwala train bombing (1996)	24 July 1996	Dehiwala, Colombo District	64	[13]
Kent and Dollar Farm massacres	30 November 1984	Mullaitivu District	62	[14]
Lionair Flight 602	29 September 1998	off the cost of Mannar District	55	[15]
Gonagala massacre	18 September 1999	Gonagala, Ampara District	54	[16]
Assassination of Gamini Dissanayake Ossie Abeyagoonasekera	24 October 1994	Thotalanga, Colombo	52	[17][18]
Kallarawa massacre	25 May 1995	Kallarawa, Trincomalee District	42	[19]
Aranthalawa Massacre	2 July 1987	Aranthalawa, Ampara District	35	[20]
Assassination of C. V. Gunaratne	8 June 2000	Ratmalana, Colombo District	22	[21][22]
Air Lanka Flight 512	3 May 1986	Bandaranaike International Airport, Gampaha District	21	[23]
Havelock Road bombing/Assassination ofRanjan Wijeratne	2 March 1991	Havelock Road, Colombo	19	[24]
1998 Temple of the Tooth attack	25 January 1998	Temple of the Tooth, Kandy	17	[7][25][26]
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi	21 May 1991	Sriperumbudur, Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, India	15	[27][28]
Assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa	01 May 1993	Armour Street, Colombo	11	[29][30]
Kokilai massacre	1 December 1984	Kokilai, Mullaitivu District	11
Gomarankadawala massacre	23 April 2006	Gomarankadawala, Trincomalee District	6	[31]
2009 suicide air raid on Colombo	20 February 2009	Colombo, Colombo District	2	[32]

Attacks by decade[edit]

Below are the deadiest attacks for each decade.

1970s[edit]

Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE, 1970s

1979

Date	Attack	Location	Sinhalese	Tamils	Muslims	Death toll	Sources
	S. A. Emmanuel of Chankanai, Thaadi Thangarajah of Kondavil, A. Krishnagol of Velvettiturai, T. Poopalasingham of Chunnakam and A. Sivarajah of Thondamannar are executed by the LTTE for providing evidence against them to the police.	Jaffna District		5		5	[33]
	PC Gnanasambandan, PC Sivanesan, Inspector Guruswamy, S. Swarnarajah and his wife are executed by the LTTE.	Jaffna District		5		5	[33]

1980s[edit]

Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE, 1980s

1985

Date	Attack	Location	Sinhalese	Tamils	Muslims	Death toll	Sources
14 May	Anuradhapura massacre: LTTE gunmen shoot dead 146 Sinhalese civilians and injure 85 others as they were praying at Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a sacred Buddhist shrine in Anuradhapura.	Anuradhapura,Anuradhapura District	146			146	[34]

1990s[edit]

Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE, 1990s

1990

Date	Attack	Location	Sinhalese	Tamils	Muslims	Death toll	Sources
11 June	1990 massacre of Sri Lankan Police officers: Over 600 unarmed police officers are shot dead by the LTTE in Police Stations across eastern Sri Lanka	Eastern Province	600-774			600-774	[4][5][35]

2000s[edit]

Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE, 2000s

2006

Date	Attack	Location	Sinhalese	Tamils	Muslims	Death toll	Sources
16 October	2006 Digampathana bombing: A suicide bomber in a truck kills 103 Sri Lanka Navy sailors on buses going or returning from leave at a transit point and wounds over 150 other sailors. Several civilians may also have died.	Digampathana,North Central Province	103			103	[36]

Taken from A