by S.L.Gunasekara Courtesy The IslandƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

In this Nov.. 18, 2008 file image reviewed by the U.S. Military, guards escort a Guantanamo detainee carrying a book at the Camp 4 detention facility at the U.S. Naval open air common area at the U.S. Military Base, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (AP)

Can one visualize a greater violation of International Law, International Humanitarian Law and the most basic tenets of decency and civilized conduct than the outrageous spectacle of the most powerful country on this earth [USA] together with countries such as the United Kingdom invading a significantly weaker sovereign State [Iraq] on the manifestly fraudulent pretext of there being in that country, “weapons of mass destruction”; subjecting its capital Baghdad to a non stop barrage of artillery and aerial bombing, 24 hours of the day for several continuous weeks, the fate of civilians in Baghdad notwithstanding; murdering over a million civilians of that Country and displacing over 4,700,000 in the last six years; torturing an unknown number of its citizens and hunting its Head of State [Sadam Hussein who ranked equal in every sense of the word with George Bush and Queen Elizabeth II among others] like a wild animal and lynching him after a trial by a Kangaroo Court ?? While it is quite possible that the inhuman conduct of these countries in murdering Afghans in Afghanistan willy nilly may possibly constitute a greater violation, that is a matter of purely academic interest because the foul perpetrators of both sets of abhorrent acts are the same.

However, there were no calls for an international investigation into those crimes against humanity or for the international prosecution of any personnel of the armed forces of those countries for war crimes. To the best of my knowledge neither the United Nations nor any of the so called “International Humanitarian Agencies” ever called for `unrestricted accessƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ or even plain and simple `accessƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to even the horrendous `torture campƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ at Guantanamo Bay while they do call for such access to our camps in the North and East where the Government houses, feeds, clothes and looks after those displaced as a result of the terrorism of the LTTE.

Yet, to their eternal and indelible shame which will forever remain upon them like the mark of Cain, 17 Countries led by Germany [of `Holocaust FameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢], including some other Countries of the European Union, Canada and some of their hangers on seek to pillory and crucify Sri Lanka with an alleged international investigation for alleged `war crimesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ because poor little Sri Lanka, despite the numerous obstacles placed in its way by these foul hypocrites succeeded in destroying once and for all the the most virulent, cruel and powerful gang of terrorists the world has ever seen while the `leadersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the West continue to murder Iraqis in Iraq and Afghans in Afghanistan and vow to commit more such murders with no complaint from this malodorous `Gang of SeventeenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

Their call for such investigation may, perhaps, have possibly merited some kind of consideration had there been even an infinitesimal trace of bona fides in their `callƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. However, finding any trace of bona fides in their call can only be compared to finding feathers on a tortoise.

* when the LTTE murdered thousands of Tamil Civilians who did not obey them;

* when the LTTE kidnapped little Tamil children for use as cannon fodder and slave labour in their terrorist cadres;

* when the LTTE murdered Sinhalese and Muslim civilians en masse to effect the `ethnic cleansingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the North, East and the areas abutting those Provinces; or

* when the LTTE murdered about 674 Police Officers who laid down arms and surrendered to them.

The purported concern of these hypocrites about the condition of our IDP camps is equally devoid of bona fides ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” for one did not hear a whimper of purported concern for the pitiful conditions of the `Refugee CampsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in which Sinhalese and Muslim civilians were lodged after their homes and villages were attacked by the LTTE ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” I can still remember the hillock just before Kebithigollawa Town where thousands of Sinhalese `RefugeesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ [they were not called `IDPsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ then] barely `survivedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in cadjan shacks, as rude as they were small with hardly any of the facilities granted to the Tamil IDPs ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” largely uncared for by those who now beat their breasts and parade their non-existent purported `humanitarian concernsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ about the Tamil IDPs.

Those who suffered as a result of LTTE terrorism and the GovernmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s necessary operations to eradicate that scourge may be divided into two categories:-

* Those such as the IDPs and the victims of bombs exploded by the LTTE in buses and crowded city centres; and,

* Those such as our troops who fought the LTTE and poor Sinhalese and Muslim villagers who refused to vacate their villages at the behest of the LTTE and resisted them.

While both classes suffered, and suffered greatly, the latter class alone contributed to the cleansing of the Country of the filth called the LTTE at the cost of life or limb. We now know that since July 2006, 6,261 troops sacrificed their lives and 29,551 shed their blood with over 1,000 sacrificing one or more limbs for the Country.

When it comes to providing relief, it is clearly this latter class that must take precedence ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” but to the hypocritical foreigners in the Gang of Seventeen this is not so: to them, Sinhalese and Muslims do not matter: the sacrifices made by soldiers for the Country including sacrifices to save the Tamil Civilians and the attendant sufferings of the limbless and wounded soldiers and those whom the dead left behind are matters of no consequence: all that matters to them are the Tamil IDPs whom these troops saved. This kind of convoluted `thinkingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is quite consonant with their endeavours to pillory and crucify Sri Lanka while kowtowing to and following the dictates of their Master the USA, and its `poodleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, the United Kingdom, with no call for any investigation into their horrendous conduct.

Sri Lanka has faced and defeated with success, first the terrorism of the JVP and then, the terrorism of the LTTE. Now we are faced with the political and financial terrorism of a coterie of Countries led by the USA and the UK who have the arrogance to style themselves the `International CommunityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ !! We must not, we cannot, succumb to this vile terrorism. It now remains for all citizens of all races, castes, creeds and political opinion to unite and defeat these arrogant foreign terrorists.