Demands for accountability in Sri Lanka? Yes, the starting point is LTTE
Posted on March 11th, 2012
Asada M Erpini
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) should be made accountable for its actions during the last stages of the Eelam VI warƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. That is the mantra that is being chanted incessantly today at gatherings in the rich countries, irrespective of whether the members of such groups are those who have the licence to meet in the hallowed precincts of the UN in Geneva or banner-carrying or tiger flag-waving Tamils who left Sri Lanka on various pretexts.
The saddest aspect of all these demands to pillory the so-called violators of human rights ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the political leadership of GOSL and the men and women in uniform ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” is that all the attention in the near three decade-old conflict is on the last phase of the war. Surprisingly, all that the human rights crusaders see in this stage of the war ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” whether they have evidence or not ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” is that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-40,000 innocent Tamil civilians were massacredƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ by ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” whom else? ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Sri Lankan armed forces.
As far as all the peace-loving Sri Lankans are concerned ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” whether they are of Tamil, Sinhala, Moor, Malay, Burgher or of any other ethnicity ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the final phase of the Eelam War IV has to be written in letters of gold when the history of the country is recorded: after a period of nearly three decades of mayhem, destruction, massacres, bomb blasts and living in continuous fear not knowing whether one could return home alive after venturing out in the morning, these few months constitute the period during which the terrorist leaders were annihilated, which resulted in Sri Lanka enjoying a period of almost three years of peace since. It is during May 2009 that the LTTE leader and his top-rung henchmen got their dues at the hands of the armed forces of Sri Lanka in the lagoons of Nandikadal.
Incidentally the human rights guardians, led by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International (AI) and International Crisis Group, the UN Human Rights Commissioner and the political bigwigs in the US and in many EU countries conveniently forget, or were blind to, the live video images relayed by the Sri Lanka defence authorities in the final phase of the war that showed a mass of humanity running towards the armed forces to escape from the LTTE cadres shooting them. A news item that had appeared in many media, which would seriously question the true motives of the prominent human rights crusaders is that Amnesty International had received $50,000 dollars from the Canadian Tamil Congress. Instead of appreciating the humanitarian act undertaken by the armed forces of Sri Lanka,, which gave nearly 300,000 Tamils living in the North of the country their freedom, plotting to haul its valiant armed forces before the International Court of Justice or manoeuvring to enter Sri Lanka on the pretext of an international intervention to deal with alleged human rights violation is despicable.
If Human Rights Watch and other such champions of human rights, as well as the members of the Canadian Tamil Congress that held walkathons to support of AI, were really concerned about the violation of human rights in Sri Lanka, the deafening silence they exhibited and their lack of intervention when the LTTE herded 300,000 Tamil civilians from the North West to the North East of Sri Lanka during the last stages of the war are surprising.
The entire Sri Lankan nation will support the human rights guardians and the rich West when they call for accountability if their motives are genuine. The starting point then for all these laudable moves would be the violation of human rights of an entire nation by the LTTE and its moral and financial supporters that spanned a number of years prior to the incidents that came about in 2009. Among the long list of massacres of the innocents by the LTTE, the more prominent as regards the ferocity or the absence of humaneness are: Kebithigollewa civilian bus massacre, June 15, 2006: Death toll 68 including 15 school children, with 78 others injured; Gonagala massacre, Amapara District, September 18, 1999: Massacre of at least 50 Sinhalese civilians; Explosion at Temple of the Holy Tooth Relic (Dalada Maligawa), Kandy, January 25 1998: Death toll seven with 25 injured; Dehiwala train bombing, July 24, 1996: Death toll over 60 civilians; Central Bank bombing, Colombo, January 31, 1996: Death toll 91 and injuries to further 1,400 civilians; Bomb explosion in Colombo, October 24, 1994; Assassination of Sri Lankan presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake and 50 others with a further 75 seriously hurt; Massacre at Palliyagodella, Polonnaruwa, October 15, 1992: Attack on a Muslim village, with 182 civilians shot and hacked to death; Car bomb explosion in Colombo, March 2, 1991: Death toll 19, including Sri Lanka’s Deputy Defence Minister, Ranjan Wijeratne, with a further 73 injured; Forced evacuation of civilians, October 1990: Expulsion of 80,000 Muslims within 48 hours from the northern districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaittivu, and Mannar; Killing of 600 police officers who had surrendered, North and East of Sri Lanka: June 10, 1990; Massacre at mosque, Kattankudi, August 4, 1990: Death toll 147 Muslims at prayer; Bomb explosion in bus in Maradana, Colombo, November 9, 1987: Death tollƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 23 civilians killed, 106 injured, 15 shot dead; Massacre of monks, Aranthalawa, July 2, 1987: Death toll 35; Bomb explosion at Central Bus Stand, Colombo, April 21, 1987: Death toll 113 civilians and 298 others injured; Massacre at Kent Farm, Mullaitivu, November 30, 1984: Death toll 29 civilians, including women and children; Massacre at Dollar Farm, Mullaitivu, November 11, 1984: Death toll 33 civilians including children and women; Land mine explosion on civilian bus, Mammaduwa, July 22, 1986: Death toll 32 Sinhalese civilians and injuring 20 others; Massacre of devotees at Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura, May 14, 1985: Death toll 146; Massacre at Kokilai fishing village, Mullaitivu, December 1, 1984: Death toll 29 civilians.
The UN Human Rights Commissioner, the numerous human rights guardians, spokespersons of the US State Department and its nominees based in various geographical locations and the representatives of the governments of Canada and many EU countries are dead right in their demand for accountability for human rights violations committed in Sri Lanka. Haul the LTTE supporters in Sri Lanka and abroad before the International Court of Justice. Although the key figures in the military wing of the LTTE are no more, many of its supporters who were actively involved in fund raising and buying and arranging the shipping of military hardware are comfortably living in Western countries at your very door step.
A nurse ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” for many a symbol of kindness and compassion – from Australia who ceremonially gave a garland of a suicide capsule to young Tamil girls when they ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”graduatedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ as suicide bombers is based in the UK. Yet, there is so much talk of preventing violence against women and children and punishing those responsible for perpetrating such crimes. A Catholic priest, pretending to be a man of God, is heading a worldwide Tamil Forum and perpetuating the ideals and aspirations of the LTTE while based in a European country. A high priest in the same group, based in Mannar, is reported to have turned a Catholic religious festival held a few days back in the Katchativu Island off Mannar into an anti-Sri Lankan, pro-LTTE political parade in collaboration with visiting Catholic priests from Tamil Nadu,
The callers for accountability should demand the arrest of the LTTE supporters for aiding and abetting in violence against women and children and for violation of human rights of a whole nation.
Asada M Erpini
March 11th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
Asada, There’s none so blind as those who will not see.
Americans know the truth, but they refuse to see it. We love accountability. We want accountability from those who supported LTTE to kill 70,000 Sri Lankans from 1983 to 2009. We want those who financed mayhem in Sri Lanka and those nations which supported LTTE be held accountable. UN is suffering from amnesia. Or is it the senile old decay of this organisation?
The resolution against Sri Lanka has nothing to do with reconciliation. It is a chance for US and EU to retard another Asian nation. Every Asian country is under attack, and only unity among Asians will prevent being colonies again. This will go on. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Iraq and Palestine is under attack now. It’s a on going process to control by military and so-called diplomatic means. Only unity among Sri Lankans will prevent us being another Afghanistan.
American soldier killed 16 Afghan civilians yesterday? Where the hell is accountability? Where the hell is UN? Where is Desmond Tutu? Where is Jimmy Carter? Where is Pillai woman? Where is UNHCR? HRW? Amnesty International? Missing again! When we need them it they are silent, deaf and dumb!
March 11th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
I cannot understand. It was not a war as such that two conventional armies fought.
LTTE was notorious to use every disgusting trick in the book to gain advantage. Everybody knows that. Besides that, terrorists never were wearing uniforms and they were in civilians cloths.
SO, how can some one with the right mind expect Sri lankan forces to do the right thing always when they were also trying to protect their own lives while fighting for the country. If some one is at the front who knows what is coming. Children had run, at the end of the war towards the shooting SLA soldiers and to the front and, later found one such girl was a suicide bomber who was blown up by the LTTE caders standing behind. So, who would not shoot when they see another girl running towards them ?
USA and other western countries had moles every where in Sri Lanka. So, how can we believe that they don’t know any of these things.
Only thing is we need to be careful.
Even with the General Fonseka’s case, they have divided us enough.
March 11th, 2012 at 4:31 pm
Tamil Tigers will NEVER be blamed or charged for ANY crime.
Libyan rebels will NEVER be blamed or charged for ANY crime.
Syrian rebels will NEVER be blamed or charged for ANY crime.
AQ was NEVER blamed or charged for ANY crime until they attacked USA.
This is the reality we MUST ACCEPT and MAKE USE OF.
We have to create another rebel/terror group that will attack TNA interests. They should demand a political solution from TNA!
March 12th, 2012 at 11:10 am
I took the following write up from the Wikipedia re the Kachativu island. Is this account below accurate ? If so, GoSL must clarify the matter with the Indian government and rectify all anomalies. Ownership of the island must be made completely legal for Lanka and fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen in the surrounds withdrawn. Otherwise, GoSL will have endless trouble with TN state govt. now and in the future, and unnecessary clashes with the Catholic clergy too.
Can someone please let us know if the article in the Wikipedia is correct or not, particularly re fishing rights of TN fishermen in the Kachativu surrounds sea waters.
Kachchatheevu
Coordinates: 9°23′0″N 79°31′0″ECoordinates: 9°23′0″N 79°31′0″E
Country Sri Lanka-(1974-present)
India-(beginnings-1974)
Province Northern
District Jaffna
DS Division Delft
Kachcha-thiva or Katchatheevu or Kachativu (Tamil: கச்சத்தீவு, Sinhala: කච්චතීවු) is a controversial uninhabited island belonging to Sri Lanka. This island is given to Sri Lanka by India in 1974 on a conditional basis. It has a Catholic shrine and has been declared as a sacred area by the government of Sri Lanka.
285-acre (1.15 km2) island is situated on the Sri Lankan side of the maritime boundary.
]History
A part of India until 1974, it has belonged to Sri Lanka since India ceded the island in 1974. This transfer of an island that is culturally important to fishermen of Tamil Nadu state in India has led to some agitations by Tamil Nadu politicians that it should be returned to Indian sovereignty. The island is also important for fishing grounds used by fishers from both the countries. Under the treaty agreement of 1974, Indian fishermen have rights to rich fishing grounds in the territorial waters of Sri Lanka around Kachchativu. But as part of the Sri Lankan civil war, this arrangement has led to many difficulties with the Sri Lankan Navy that is deployed to prevent smuggling of weapons by the rebel group LTTE. The island has a Catholic shrine that attracts devotees from both the countries. On 2009, Tamil Nadu Government declared that the area controlled by Sri Lanka against the original pact of allowing Indian fishermen to access the water of Sri Lanka. This tensions and the killings of Tamil fishermen created a diaspora (means problem ?) in and across India and the governments of both the countries held conversation and finally the Sri Lankan government allowed a full access term to Indian fishermen till Jaffna Line and released the fishermen jailed for a while. The problem continue to grow as more fisherman move in to the Sri Lankan sea area. In 2010 the Sri Lankan government issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government saying the Indian court cannot nullify the 1974 agreement.
In June 2011, the new Tamil Nadu government led by Jayalalithaa filed a petition in Supreme Court seeking the declaration of the 1974 and 1976 agreements between India and Sri Lanka on ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka as unconstitutional.[3] The court ruled in Berubari case that cession of Indian territory to another country had to be ratified by parliament through amendment of the constitution. Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka in violation to the court under the 1974 and 1976 agreements without the approval of two Houses of Parliament “.
March 15th, 2012 at 6:37 am
Those who now living in foreign countries but guilty of sponsoring the Tamil Tiger Terorists through the provision of funds, military equipment, advice, propoganda etc to destroy Sri Lanka’s economy, carry out genocide of non-tamils, commit random massacres through out the country, bombing of a plane load of Japanese honeymoon couples on the Katunayake tarmac, bombing of the Central Bank etc etc etc etc should be brought to justice through an International investigation. Unfortunately this may not happen in the immediate future as these Tigers control vast amounts of black money, which could be used to influence many important people in foreign governments and organisations. This is clearly demostrated in the willingness of people at Ch4 in UK, to create false propoganda films on behalf of the Tigers.