Shenali Waduge

It appears to be that while ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-freedomƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is the catchword that is gaining momentum across the Middle East, Africa & will soon be coming to Asia, the public of the West are clueless about the heinous crimes against humanity being committed by their Governments over the years. It is time the people of these Western countries realize & are told that their Governments are no paragons of virtue. Making use of the taxpayers money they have not only put their own nations into debt but they are directly responsible for the anarchy that exists in the world & the campaign titled ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-war on terrorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is nothing but a farce. The West manufactures & sells arms to terrorists & then tell its citizens they are going after terrorists but instead they end up killing innocent people including children in a pretentious game that has nothing to do with catching terrorists. It is time the people of the West wake up to the realities of what is taking place around the world.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How many citizens in the developed world agree to the manner in which the US defied its own constitution, the UN Charter & natural law to attack & occupy Iraq a country that posed no threat to the US? How many US citizens know how many thousands of children & women died or were maimed as a result of US strikes & how many US citizens would still agree to continue US troops in Iraq, Afghanistan despite deaths to US troops while an equal number are now suffering mentally as a result of their inability to comprehend the orders given to kill innocent people? Irrespective of whether it is the Republicans or Democrats in governance, the people of the US have been & continue to be fed falsehoods & lies to justify the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-war on terrorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. But how many US citizens realize that its people are being secretly wiretapped through the National Security Agency while in the UK its citizens are been watch through secretly installed cameras? When the West are such proponents on Rights & Freedoms what would they say to the manner in which its Government authorizes summary executions, kidnappings, illegal detentions, physical tortures & psychological coercions. Are these not flouting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights & International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights? If it is ok for US to commit these acts on supposed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ why cannot other countries commit the same?

The West prides itself on freedom of media but how much do the public know about its actual ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-freedomƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚? True the media in comparison to that in the East look far superior but that is because much of the Eastern media outlets are owned by political parties or political families therefore comparison of the two is baseless. However, US government is able to manipulate the media & create a flow of false information while concealing information vital for public dialogueƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦this is how fear psychosis was built amongst the people of the US immediately following 9/11 so that they would agree to the attacks on Afghanistan & eventual occupation of Iraq. The voice of the saner US citizens quick to understand the actual scenario went unheard. If the US has so much of media freedom why is it that its citizens are not aware of the colossal amount of deaths to children & women by the US & Allied troops? Why does the public not know that US missiles are regularly targeting homes & how many homes have these troops actually bombed flat during every year of their occupation?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Today the US has been able to usurp powers from the United Nations & its Secretary General & other heads end up with a meek role of nodding their agreement to the actions of the US to avoid further chaos. So the US Congress is happy to demand inquiries on foreign countries while its Government has a free hand to continue crimes against humanity wherever it pleases. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Creating democracies in the Middle East, Africa or even Asia is far from the minds or plans of any US or Western thinking. Common sense would tell that representative government systems will only draw these countries away from US/Western interests. Therefore what they would prefer to have is westernized; secular leadership regimes that will help neutralize politically ambitious anti-Western groups & religious sects.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Does the American public know that the UN backed sanctions against Iraq imposed by America & Britain left more than half a million deaths to children under the age of five? Half a million dead Iraqi childrenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.did Saddam invade the US & Britain to avenge these deaths?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ On what grounds did the US invade Iraq? That Iraq supposedly had weapons of mass destruction was good enough reason to invade Iraq & to create the necessary international media backing to justify US action. It was easy to befool the American people that Saddam was buying uranium from Africa, high strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons & that these WMDs were sent to Syria for safe keeping. Americans need to know & condemn the manner in which its Government had planted bogus WMD evidence in the American media. Going further Saddam was portrayed as having links to Osama bin Laden. With Saddam gotten rid of what were Americans planning to do? They did not keep order in the streets for chaos actually helps to ensure continued presence of US troops, they did not start rebuilding Iraq as was promised but they did start upgrading oil facilities & these firms naturally went into the hands of US firms. With US moving its bases from Saudi Arabia to defuse anti-US tensions in Saudi an alternate country was needed & why not Iraq. Thus the US in Iraq will be known for all the things they did not do and why would they care about daily bombings, killings & attacks! Let Americans forever remember that American guns, bombs & missiles have killed more Iraqi civilians than in any conflict since Vietnam. The USƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s lack of cultural identity may have been reason for its jealousy of IraqƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s cultural heritage which was quick to weaken IraqƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s archaeological laws & eliminate national ownership of antiquities to allow its export.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We all know how the US administrations & their emissaries enjoy chiding smaller nations over detentions but when US forces arrest & detain in secret locations people as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terror suspectsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ not even the UN has a right to question. The creation of the term ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-unlawful combatantsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ was to avoid Geneva Conventions on treatment of prisoners. The term has enabled the US to make these detainees different to POWs (Prisoner of Wars). It would be interesting to know what the world would have said had the LTTE terrorists been called unlawful combatants! Since when has the US made itself above international laws?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Yet when the US knows how much the House of Saud is very much supporting Al Qaeda to keep the Saudi Kingdom from terror attacks. So with such close allegiance to the US who started the war on terror it behoves to wonder why the US doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t take action against Saudi Arabia. Obviously petro dollars dictating US inaction! All this hyped up laws, regulations in place throughout the world in one word spells clearly that this entire terrorism fiasco is a fraud.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The US invade Afghanistan immediately following the 9/11 bombing without any evidence of Afghan involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Afghanistan was bombed for 3 weeks but not a single terrorist was caught or killed. A decade later US troops are now left with only mud houses, hospitals & ordinary citizens to bomb. Former US Afghan Commander General Stanley McChrystal said that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-for every innocent person you kill, you create 10 new enemies.” Can the American people justify the killings of innocent children & women by its troops who are using cluster bombs? Why donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t the American people stand up & demand its Government to stop these senseless killings? For all the innocent civilians that have been killed in Iraq, Afghanistan & Pakistan how many of them have actually been terrorists? Would the American people be satisfied if the entire population of these countries are wiped of the map if that will secure safety for the American people? Does the taxpayers know how much they are footing for these senseless exploits by US & Allied troops?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Why do not the American people question these falsehoods by their administrations? None of the men involved in the 9/11 attacks on the US were Afghans..they were SaudiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s, if so why was Saudi Arabia not bombed?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How many AmericanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s know that Osama bin Laden was a protƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©gƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚© of the US, that Taliban was created by the Americans & the British, that the Osama himself was the chosen one to fight the Russians

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We cannot believe that the American people are happy to allow its administrations to kill, maim & completely ruin nations so that the American people can live happily by exploiting oil & gas reserves in the Caspian basic to meet AmericaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s voracious energy needs for the next generation. The control over Afghanistan has nothing to do with Osama, Al Qaeda or the TalibanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦it is purely to do with controlling the pipeline that will run through Afghanistan & to enable the US to control it. So this entire war on terrorism is really a cover in order to achieve American strategic interests. The fear factor amongst the American public enables the US to descend upon any country it chooses & fabricate lies which the US media helps to circulate amongst the public to generate enough support & with the connivance of allies who will also reap benefits by co-sharing these resources. Pretensions have benefited the UK who is proud to have made itself a target for terrorism and enlisted British troops into the action by again befooling the British public. The public of America & UK need to understand that while nothing justifies the killing of innocent people in USA or UK, nothing justifies the killing of innocent people anywhere else as well. All that these troops eventually end up saying is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-it was a mistakeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ but these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-blundersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ have no end & they are consistent. When international bodies have no power to stop these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-killing of innocentsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ it is only the people of these countries that should now stand up & say STOP.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How many Americans or Britishers know that arms are being manufactured & sold to these tyrants? What sort of cat & mouse game is being played by manufacturing arms, selling them to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ & then sending troops to kill terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦when ultimately it is innocents that end up being killedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.obviously terrorists are not being targetedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦otherwise how will these countries be able to sell their arms? This is simple logic & simple reality of how the people are being fooled.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The US & BritainƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s main arms customer is the Saudi regime & we all know its record of human rights violations & fanaticisms which all go against western freedoms & equal rights. Can the people of Saudi Arabia wonder why its main allies do not descend to free them from these fanaticisms that prevail? Can the Americans & British people wonder why there is only lip service to these equal rights & freedoms when it is clear that Saudi Arabia denies even basic rights to its people!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is very clear that the war on terrorism is merely a faƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚§ade. The continuity of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-war on terrorismƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is purely to continue aggression by powerful nations against the powerless ones. Unless the people of the US, Britain & all the countries who have sent troops that are ordered to kill innocent people stand up & demand an end to these fraudulent agendas taking place the world will be decaying sooner than we can fathom.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There is no better time than the present for the people of US, UK & Europe to stand up & question why a small group of leaders should decide to murder, maim, torture people around the world on the grounds of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-war on terrorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚? The public should demand to know how better protected have they been since that first attack a decade ago? Are these the principles upon which these countries have been founded?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What we must all agree is that ANY attacks on civilians is unacceptable whether it is done by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the US or NATO. All such attacks & killings need to be included as crimes of war & the International Criminal Court is morally bound to put on trial not only the Taliban, Al Qaeda but the US & NATO decision makers as well whether they have signed or not signed these international laws.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ So under the cloak of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-democracyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ heinous crimes are taking place and we can see how these mechanisms are now staging their next agenda in the Middle East. None of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-public protestsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ have been ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-instantaneousƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ acts by the people against its Government. True these nations are all having autocratic & dictatorial leaders but these leaders have been leading their nations for more than decades why is it that these countries are uprising together all of a sudden & why is it that these Governments not been able to use aggression to stop these protests for these leaders are supposed to be cruel & merciless dictatorsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦it is amazing that according to the media people without weapons have taken control of towns against armed tanks & missiles being used by these dictatorsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦again we should realize we are being fooled by international media & that Western governments are once again upto mischief. The US troops may well recall that 31million Vietnamese outcasted 500,000 American troops.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Americans, the British & Europeans need to all wake up & understand the suffering their Governments are creating to innocent people around the world & demand that they end the carnage taking place.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is estimated that some 925 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. 925 million people is 13.6 percent of the estimated world population of 6.8 billion. Nearly all of the undernourished are in developing countries.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Even in the richest country in the world, The United States, over 10 million people suffer from hunger. To satisfy the world’s sanitation and food requirements would cost only US$13 billion (this is what the amount people in US & Europe spend on perfume annually). Annual sales of arms have risen to around $50-60 billion. Permanent UN Security Council membersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚the USA, UK, France, Russia, and ChinaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚dominate the world trade in arms. From 1998 to 2001, the USA, the UK, and France earned more income from arms sales to developing countries than they gave in aid.

It is time the people stood up & firmly start saying NO to the heinous crimes taking place & demand that elected Governments start working towards eliminating poverty, ensuring no mouth goes hungry or no child is malnourished & that countries stop manufacture of arms that will only end up with a selected group of individuals becoming richer while countries & people end up burying their dead & mourning the loss of their loved ones.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Shenali Waduge