Over to you, Mr Savage!
Posted on March 24th, 2012
Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7
Mr Bernard Savage, EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, according to the Island of 21 March 2012, has claimed that the grouping ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-promoted and defended human rights ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”both within its borders and when engaging in relations with non-EU countriesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Understandably, Mr SavageƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s intervention was carried through the electronic media. I have not seen hard copies, anyway. Maybe, it is not worth the paper it is written on. This is not Mr SavageƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s first attempt to occupy moral high ground on behalf of his political masters in Brussels and elsewhere. Perhaps, not many people in Colombo were taken in, anyway, as he is wont to make obtuse remarks with increasing frequency. Curiously enough, Mr SavageƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s statement is lacking in detail on EU action in the field. Therefore, one is forced to put some pertinent questions to him. I am sure Mr Savage will provide us with detailed information on the following in support of his claim on EU credentials on human rights. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
Mr Savage seems to be oblivious to the fact that France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” all members of his select grouping ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” have an unenviable record on human rights and that they are unquestionably the worst violators of human rights known to history. Mr Savage appears to be gleefully ignorant of the fact that they are responsible for horrendous crimes committed against the people of their former colonies. Apparently, Mr Savage is ready to wash their sins and give them a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-set of brand new human rights credentialsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ by virtue of their EU membership! Mr Savage needs to explain how this squares with his buddyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s notion of unsolvable debt. Please, see Danish Foreign MinisterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s rants at the UNHCR. (ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Impunity for human rights violations is an unsolvable debt, which, if unaddressed, is transmitted through generations. No country, no society can afford this.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚) Apparently, Mr Savage and his Danish colleague are certain that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-debtƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ of 7 to 10 million black Africans transported across oceans as slaves under abominable conditions causing immeasurable suffering and the eventual death of millions has already been paid off! The ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-debtƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ of some 100,000 civilians massacred in cold blood by the US in Hiroshima and Nagasaki no longer appears in the US balance sheet on human rights!
LetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s turn to more recent events. Mr Savage will be kind enough to explain to the Sri Lankan public what action EU took against France for its alleged involvement in the massacre of some 800,000 Rwandans. In addition, Mr Savage could provide more information on the action taken by EU against the US, UK and its allies for invading Iraq on the pretext of looking for weapons of mass destruction in flagrant violation of a UN Security Council Resolution and slaughtering thousands upon thousands of civilians. After all, Mr Savage claims that EU action transcends its borders.
Mr Savage could also brief Sri Lankans on the UN resolutions adopted and/or action taken on EU initiative against France over the sinking of Rainbow Warrior. Mr Savage and his Danish buddy should know very well that there is not an iota of doubt over the involvement of the French authorities at the highest level in the sinking of Rainbow Warrior ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” boat used by Greenpeace activists in their protests against French nuclear tests in Moruroa in the South Pacific and the murder of a photographer on board in July 1985. It was a cruel, senseless and gratuitous act of terrorism by the French Government carried out through their intelligence services[1]. It was also an egregious violation of international law and the territorial integrity of New Zealand and an affront to decency and civilized behaviour among nations. Moreover, Mr Savage is aware that the French authorities persistently denied any involvement and, in fact, joined the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-international communityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in the condemnation of an act of terrorism, until the authorities in New Zealand provided proof of French involvement beyond any doubt. Even after accepting the responsibility for the terrorist act, the French Government shamelessly resorted to economic blackmail, abusing its influence in the EU (Mr Savage should be aware of this) to secure the release of the two convicted criminals. Mr Savage is most welcome to detail action taken by EU against one of its member countries responsible for state terrorism, at least, for the benefit of the Sri Lankan public unaware of FranceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s credentials on human rights.
Many Sri Lankans would be grateful to Mr Savage if he could enlighten them on the measures adopted by the EU against President Mitterrand of France[2] who, in 1983, ordered the French intelligence services to place a jeep filled with deadly explosives in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, and explode it. According to Admiral Lacoste Plan B of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Operation SatanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ which consisted in causing the explosion using a bazooka, too, failed! Surely, Mr Savage will agree with me that the failure of the operation does not absolve the perpetrators of their responsibility for a heinous crime.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
I am confident that the honorable Ambassador for the venerable EU ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”ferocious defender of human rights – will also inform the Sri Lankans on EU action against the US for causing the death of half a million Iraqi children through UN sanctions and, of course, on EU condemnation of the US Ambassador to the UN for her barbaric statement in 1996 justifying the alleged deaths[3].
A cannibal remains a cannibal even though he may have stolen someone elseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s clothes and also learnt to use knife and fork to give him/herself an air of respectability. Mr SavageƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s disingenuous attempt to portray EU nations as champions of human rights by draping a twelve-star blue flag around some of them, responsible horrific crimes against humanity, is indeed shameful, unacceptable and unforgivable. All that the EU has done is to make use of people of Mr SavageƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ilk to pull the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting public in developing countries like Sri Lanka.
Dr Bandula Kothalawala
London N7
[1]DGSE (Direction GƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©nƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©rale de la SƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©curitƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚© ExtƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©rieure)
[2]See the account given by Admiral Pierre Lacoste, Head, DGSE, in the documentary titled Histoire des services secrets franƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚§ais, FR 5, 2011
[3]On May 12, 1996, Madeleine Albright, US Ambassador to the UN claimed that the half a million children said to have died due to sanctions was a price worth paying! (“I think the price is worth paying”, according to the transcripts of the programme.).
March 23rd, 2012 at 11:08 pm
Could not have said any better…great write up. Worth sending copies to all self proclaimed guardians of human rights, freedom and democracy.
March 24th, 2012 at 6:13 pm
Thank you very much for writing and excellent article Bandula. May I suggest that this article be translated to Sinhala and Tamil and published it in respective papers for the majority inhabitants of our country to learn the truth about Anglo French, the US oligarchy that some of our political leaders like RanilW look up to as paragons of virtue. If we cannot defeat them the oligarchy at world stage let’s keep their lackeys defeated locally.
Leela
March 24th, 2012 at 9:19 pm
@Leela
How can you refer to the traitor dog Ranil W as a “leader”?
March 25th, 2012 at 10:49 am
See, EU is made up of most of the former Colonial masters. Even to date, they engage in invading countries and support invading countries in the name of democracy ( another western fraud) and establishing human rghts and in that process they break every rule in the book and simply behave like animals. See what has happened to Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, former Yugoslovia and TWO SUDANS and many other similar countries now.
EU wants to establish an economic Union in order to be strong in the world. So, they are in the process of establishing that. That will be established on the day we start listening to them and behave according to what they say.
If not, they disintegrate, most probably not because of us but because of they did not how to spend money.