Asada M Erpini

The Daily Mail of the UK on 07 February has a story headlined, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-They threatened me with death and raped meƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Eight female marines at the Washington DC Marine Barracks accuse their colleagues of sexual assault, adding that there were little or no punishments for the alleged rapists ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-theyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ referred to in the story title. The sad state of affairs is that all these incidents are alleged to have occurred at one of the most prestigious bases in the US.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The compelling aspect of the allegations is that the newspaper story carries photographs of two of the female marines, showing their faces to the camera, and the date on which the incident is alleged to have happened. This event is in stark contrast to the alleged raping of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan armed forces, which had re-surfaced in Geneva when the UN Human Rights Council is taking up the US ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”led anti-Sri Lankan motion at its sessions that commenced on 27 February.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The US Secretary of State had previously given a statement that she supported the resolution that is being tabled in Geneva. Her stance is hardly surprising: after all, this is the same individual who without any hesitation and with no concrete evidence declared at the UN Security Council on 30 September 2009 that Sri Lanka had used rape as a weapon of war. She then had gone on to lament ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the perpetrators of this violence are not punished, and so this impunity encourages further attacksƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Yet, in the lawsuit that is being brought by one of the aggrieved female marines in the Washington DC Barracks story, there is enough evidence. The Secretary of State can work with her counterpart in the Department of Defence, or plead with her boss, for proper inquiries to be carried out and forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  punishment to be meted out to those found guilty, as otherwise ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-this impunity encourages further attacksƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ even within prestigious military institutions in her own land.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The female marine who is bringing the lawsuit states that the Marine Corps had said that she must have welcomed the assaults because she wore make up and skirts! If the allegation is true, King Kekille of Sri Lankan folklore would be utterly disappointed that the military high command of Uncle Sam was many yoduns (each yoduna approximating 16 miles) ahead of His Majesty when it came to ascribing justification for actions.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What is most startling is that the sexual assault allegations and estimations, according to the US Secretary of Defence, exceed 19,000 annually.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If the USƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s cleanses its Augean stables, instead of poking its dirtied fingers in othersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ affairs, a world of good would come by its own citizens. Lilliputian countries such as Sri Lanka may even point out to the high officials and the representatives of the State Department, including the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, that the US should look for a Hercules to flush out the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ decades-old dirt as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-time is slipping awayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.