Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D.(Michigan State) Former SLAS. Officer

It is just reported that a US soldier, a sergeant at that- an experienced officer- not a rating has run amok going from house to house in aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  village in Afghanistan killing sixteen innocent civilians, mostly children. The number injured in the shooting wouldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  be far more. Now it is reported that the officerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is said to be having psychological problems- is mentally deranged.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This is the easiestƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  method of not punishing him for this atrocity! He has also been air lifted out of Afghanistan.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ One can compare this to what did happen in Sri Lanka in 1971, in theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  days of the 1971 JVP rebellion. The officer in charge of the Kataragama Army camp was Lieutenant Wijeysuriya and he had arrested a number of JVP girls. This was a youth rebellion and it is possible that the girls were JVP activists. The story goes that they were questioned and released but their leader, the Manamperi girl resisted. Lietunant Wijeysuriya lost his head, is supposed to have stripped her naked, made her march and shot her dead. The 1971 Rebellion resulted in Army rule for a week or two in certain areas and the Army officer thought that the incident would be forgotten. I was the Government Agent in a nearby District and had even met Wijesuriya a few days earlier at the Matara Army camp. My colleague Sonny Gunawardena, the Government Agent at Hambantota came to hear that such an untoward incident had happened and commenced investigations. The Army took very stern action. Lieutenant Wijesuriya and his accomplice, Sergeant Galappatti were arrested, incarcerated and they did die in prison.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I can quote another instance. It was a classmate of mine, a brilliant student at St PeterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s College, Colombo. It was NimalƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Jayakody who was selected to be sent to Sandhurst for officer training. After training he was entrusted with ardous duties as befitted a senior Sandhurst trained officer, He was sent to Hambegamuwa to find the ganja cultivations done illicitly and to put a stop to it. Nimal went to Hambegamuwa, I think he set fire to the ganja cultivation and harassed the leading cultivator. He may have slapped him. He was not shot, not manhandled, not injured. But that was not what the Army wanted him to do. Nimal was court marshaled and charged. A bright spark in the Army, one who could have in around ten yearsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ time been the Army Commander was severely punished. That is the high level of disciplineƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in the Sri Lankan Army.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Sri Lankan Administrators and the Sri Lankan Army did not try to help officers that had transgressed rules of conduct,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by allowing them to plead of psychological conditions and to allow them to get away after they had done an atrocity.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Administrators did not turn away and pretend not to know, which they could have easily done. It would be good for the USA of all countries to know that Sri Lankan Administrators and the Armed Forces can be trusted to take care of the people. If human rights abuses have taken place, if the Armed Forces had shot willy nilly then the AdministratorsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and Army officers are not of the caliber to let that be swept under the carpet.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The instances I have reported are not from hear-say. They are incidents personallyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  known to me first hand as I was in charge of the Matara District from which Lieutenant Wijeysuriya was sent to be in charge of the Army Camp at Kataragama. At that time I had to work very closely with the Army as over three fourths of the District was lost to the rebels.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is thisƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  USA, that has failed to control its own officers and have now allowed its rampaging officer to get away after killing sixteen civilians in a shooting spree by taking cover under the pretext that the officer was psychologically deranged that has moved a resolution against Sri Lanka accusing Sri Lanka of human rights abuses in the closing stages of the battle at Nandikadal when the LTTE was finally defeated.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The USA of all countries should know to honour the human rights of the people of all countries..

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I may quote a few instances where the US Army has beenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  accused of human rights violations to jog the memory of the persons in command in the US. The US should be able to put their record straight before they become the policeman of the world.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Let us not forget that Guantanamo Bay is yet there despite the undertaking given by President Obama to disband it. I am told that even today there are inmates kept in solitary confinement, who have not yet been charged

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ A number of US Marines were found to have desecrated the dead bodies of some Taliban leaders.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ On 1 st July 2002,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  at least 20 people were killed and 60 wounded inƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Afghanistan when a US plane bombedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  a wedding.(CNN)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Torture carried out by US Officers on prisoners at the Abu Gharib prison in Iraq is well documented. It was an unending atrocity.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Insider of 15 th March 2002 documents that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- the US Government has been forced to admit that their troops had been raping, torturing and murdering people in IraqƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦..US Army soldiers were usingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  unarmed Iraq captives for target practiceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ US Army soldiers were found to have burned the Quoran, the bible of the Muslims.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Pakistan was once a sovereign country. TodayƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  it is subjected to frequent drone attacks by the US Air Force, under the pretext of hunting Taliban fighters. In every drone mission civilians are killed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Former President Musharaff has said that he was threatened that Pakistan would be reduced to rubble if he did not agree to provide air space and access for US Air Force and supplies through Pakistan in their inroads toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Afghanistan. As a consequence Pakistan is being destabilized.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  What a great Human Rights Record for the USA!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This list can go on and on, but the above instances serve to show that the US Army personal are not disciplined and worse that the US Administration has not put a stop to such atrocitiesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by taking very firm action when instances are brought to light.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is very unfortunate that the action takenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by President Rajapaksa to save the twenty million Sri Lankans from the jaws of death at the hands of the LTTE leader Prabhakaran have been totally misunderstood by the US Administration .

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Take what happened at Nandikadal in detail.. In the final stages when the Sri LankanƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Army had cornered the LTTE, the LTTE cadres as they fled towards Mullativu took with them by force some 300,000 civilians whom they kept by force, at baynet point as a human shieldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and the Sri Lankan Army had to be careful in trying to get at the real LTTE cadres who were shooting at them from within the civilian human shield.. It is a fact that the Army was very careful and this fact is proved by the fact that the vast majority of the human cover of civilians as much as 300,000 were rescued by the Sri Lankan Army in the last stages of the battle.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This itself is a feat, a great achievement of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces that proves the fact that the Army did honour human rights.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If the Sri lankan soldiers had acted like the US Armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq they would have shot dead most of the civilian human shieldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in the process of attacking the LTTE cadres who shot at them. The USA that filed the resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHCR meeting in Geneva should actually be ashamed of what they had done to bring the Sri Lankan Army and the GovernmentƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to disrepute by moving this resolution at the UNHCR at Geneva.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ About numbers killed, no one can tell the actual number in any war. A war is not childƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s play. This is a fact known to people who have actually faced a rebellion. No one knows for certain the number of people killed in the 1971 JVP rebellion in Sri Lanka. As the Government Agent, I was at the helm in the Matara District where three fourths of the District was lost to the rebels for over three weeks.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The first contingent of Army Cum Police that went to regain Akuressa only twelve miles away from Matara, was waylaid halfway,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  attacked and had to retreat leaving two of the fourteen jeeps in flames.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Army was shot at and the Army responded and retreated. A number, includingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the commander of the force Major Wettasinghe were severely injured.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The number that was actually killed is not known.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In a war situation where the Armed Forces are attacked there is no time for recording incidents. In a battle situation the Armed Forces face a situation where they do not know from where the next shot will put them down. They will shoot back but cannot advance to investigate because the next shot may put them down. A battle is a grim situation.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  A friend of mine who traveled from Mawanella to WarakapolaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in search of his brother who worked at Tulhiriya told me that he had counted over fifty dead bodies by the roadside as he passed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That was the time when a JVP shot did blind one eye of the commander of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Army contingent. Two sons of my first cousin disappeared that night.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That was in the Kegalla District.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The total that were killed is not known- estimated at between ten to twenty thousand.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In the 1987-1988 JVP Rebellion where the JVP heldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the entire country to ransom the number that died is said to be over fifty thousand.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The last stages of the battle against the LTTE was a grim battle, far more intensive that the 1971 and 1987 rebellions, and the involvement of the civilians was entirely due to the LTTE. The very fact that as much as 300,000 civilians were liberated to safety is a feather in the cap of the Sri Lankan Army.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The number of missing people has been estimated by various people. The United Nations once talked of 60,000. Gordon Weiss has talked of some 40.000. All these are guesses picked out of hats..

Minister Campika Ranawaka has proved that the number of missing personsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  wasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  far less In his words..

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-During the period from June-November 2011, the Department of Census and Statistics conducted a census by visiting every household in the Northern Province. This census was carried out according to international standards.

According to this census, the total number of those killed in the Northern Province in 2009 (January ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” June), was 11,172. A total of 2,523 of these were from natural causes. 7,934 were attributed to non-natural causes. 715 deaths are listed as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”not statedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Thus, the total number of deaths from non-natural causes is 8,649. During the period from January-May 2009 (when the war was raging), the total number of non-natural deaths fall even further, and becomes 6,858. 454 of these deaths are attributed to accidents, suicides, and homicides unrelated to war. We should compare this with the 9,878 persons murdered by the LTTE. The total number of those killed during the height of the war, from January-May 2009, is 6,404. This number includes Prabhakaran and his LTTE fighters, and civilians killed by the LTTE while trying to flee the conflict zone.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To my mind the estimate made by Minister Ranawaka appears logical and sound..

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The USA should consider the full facts facts before it acts. The US should take cognition ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the manner in which the present Government of Sri Lanka tackled the LTTE rebels that had gone on the rampage killing civilians everywhere in Sri Lanka including TamilsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  for around two and a half decades..

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The USA should be aware and of all former Ambassador Mr Robert Blake,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  presentlyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Assistant Secretary for Asia, should know the fact that the LTTE was not fighting to establish a separate state in the North and the East of Sri Lanka. Their battle was waged in all parts of Sri Lanka. It was a sheer attempt to completely subjugate entire Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Not a day passed withoutƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  civiliansƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  being targeted and killed in cold blood in some part of Sri Lanka. This included the bomb blast At the Central Bank whereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  91ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  were killed and 1,400 injured. In addition100 people lost their eye sight. A number of my close friends who happened to be near windows in adjacent buildings had injuries to their eyes. The LTTE killed over three hundred civilians and monks who were worshipping at the Sri Maha Bodhi, the most sacred place of the Buddhists. Then the LTTE cadres took to 18 villages killing another two hundred and finally entered the Wilpattu Reserves and when accosted,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  killed the officials there.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Government at that time was even scared to report the correct number that died and officially declared that only 146 died. That Government was scared to death of the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The LTTE attacked the Temple of the Tooth in KandyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  killing many and also killed 33 monksƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  atƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Arantalawa.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In 1990, at the Peace talks it was agreed that the police in the East should surrender to the LTTE and they were guaranteed safe passage.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Under the instructions of the Government some 600 to 700 police officers surrendered to the LTTE and instead of safe passage to Colombo they were marched to death and gunned down by the LTTE. The LTTE killed President PremadasaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and also Rajiv Gandhi a former Prime Minister of India.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The LTTE carried out a plan of ethnic cleansing within the Northern Province ordering out the Muslims as mush asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  40,000 of them ordered to leave within two hours and allowed to take only Rs.500 each.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  20,514 Sinhala people who were living in Jaffna were ordered out.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is important to note thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  uptodate these people have not gone back to Jaffna.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The LTTEƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  also had its clandestein method of ethnically cleansing other areas in Sri Lanka. The City of Colombo was ethnically cleansed by financing Tamils to own property in areas Wellawatta, Modera, Kotahena, Dehiwala etc, increasing the Tamil population by as much as 400,000. As aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the result the Tamil population of the city has grown rapidly all due to the influx of LTTE funds that sent the prices of property sky rocketing, beyond the reach of the non Tamil population.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I lived in Sri Lanka from 1995 to 2000 and during that time we never knew where the LTTE would strike next.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In many families known to meƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the husband and wife never traveled together because one had to survive to support the children. When I had to go to Colombo those day I would travel by car carefully and park my car behind the Regal theatre and inquire from the parking attendants for any incidents in the area. If any incident was told to me I would jump into ,my car and race back home. If the car parking attendants give the all clear, I would walk carefully, look in trepidationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  at the temple near the main round about where the chief priest was gunned downƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by an LTTE cadre in anƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  earlier year.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That was the time when a few LTTE cadres ran amok at RajagiriyaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  one evening killing dozens of innocent civilians on the roadside and commuters returning home after work. Some of the LTTE cadres ran through the Maternity Hospital shooting their way through.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Other cadres occupied the top floor of a flat throwing out the occupants at gun point.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is not from hear-say, instead something that I know. We were all living in fear not knowing where the LTTE would strike next and leaders of many Western Countries had stated that the LTTE could not be defeated. The LTTE remains the most ruthless terrorist outfit the world has known. It was the only terrorist outfit thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  hadƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  a Navy and an Air Force.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The country was in the firm grip of the LTTE when President Rajapaksa was elected President in 2005 and he pledged to the people of Sri Lanka- to a population of twenty million that if he was elected he would defeat the LTTE that held the entire country to ransom.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Since the Government of President Rajapaksa took overƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  for a while they were holding peace talks withƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the LTTE . It was only when the LTTE stopped the water flowing in the Mavil Aru Anicut which was the life blood for thousands of peasant farmersƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  who were cultivating paddy in the Trincomalee DistrictƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  that necessitated action by the Armed Forces to restore water. The Acting Commander of the Army, a Mjor General,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  was dispatched to take action to restore the water supply. The LTTE resisted and this sparked the action to defeat the LTTE. StoppingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the water at Mavil Aru AnicutƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and depriving the farmers from cultivating the paddy lands was an act by the LTTE to deprive poor farmers whose main sustenance was the paddy crop

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Why cannot the USA understand this basic fact? I have been in charge of irrigation in many districts and I can vouch for the fact that stopping the water flowing at an anicut is a serious offence. The fact is that the water is used for cultivation in a situation where the water provides the sustenance for a faming community of thousands.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  At Anuradhapura an adjoining district I had to preside over the Kanna MeetingsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of the Kala Weva, where the farmers meet to decide of the dates for commencing ploughing the fields, when to sow etc. The farmers turn up in hundreds and it is a battle to sort out their petty problems of the water not reaching particular fields. The fact is that water is precious and it provides the sustenance for farmers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Farmers would lay down their lives if the supply of water is stopped. It is a matter of life or death. ThusƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the LTTE stopping the water at Mavil Aru was an act depriving the basic Human Right of the people. The fact that the Government dispatched the Acting Commander of the ArmyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is also important a fact. The Government did not allow any of its petty officers to run amok like the situation earlier quoted in Afghanistan under the US.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Now this personage who kept to his promise to the peopleƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and annihilated the LTTE is now being taken to task by the USA of all countries. That is a shame and the President of the USA should take what I writer seriously because every fact that is included in this paper is gospel truth.., facts known to me personally.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There is a great deal of talk about the Darusman Report, a report by a Panel appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations which states that atrocities were committed by the Armed Forces in the last stages of defeating the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Estimates have been made of numbers that were killed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Darusman Panel if it has any tangible evidence should hand it over to the Government to investigate and as I had pointed out earlier we do have within us Administrators who can make impartial decisions and not take the side of offenders in the manner of the USA stating that the seargeant who killed sixteen Afghan civilians was having a psychological disorder.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is important to note that The Darusman Panel is totally discredited by the very fact that its leader Darusman himself was anti- Sri Lankan at an earlier inquiry held in Sri lankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That was as a member of the IIGEP- the International Independent Eminent Persons Group. The impartiality of this group was shattered when they approached the magistrate who was inquiring into the 17 Aid workers who were killed. They did not have any authority to approach the magistrate. The Attorney General of Sri Lanka had to accuse the IIGEP of interfering with the legal system of Sri Lanka. Darusman and other members of the IIGEP left because of this.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  To appoint such an Anti Sri Lankan DarusmanƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to the inquiry panel shows the audacity of the United Nations Secretary General in that he wanted to put Sri Lanka to trouble.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Further ,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Senator Mr.Steven Rattner stands discredited because he was accused ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In a scandal involving the New York State Pension Fund, in November 2011 Mr Rattner agreed to payƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  $ 6.2 million in repayments and penalties to settle a suit brought against him. The settlement also banned Mr Rattner from ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-associating with any investment advisor or broker dealer for two years.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ In DecemberƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Mr Rattner reached a settlement with Andrew Cuomo in regard to two suits, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-seeking at least $ 26 million ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦. And a life time ban from the securities industry in New YorkƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. In the settlement Mr Rattner paid $ 10 millionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

.(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/steven_rattner/index/html)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is a moot point whether persons who had such a record could be entrusted with any seriousƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  investigation. Both Mr Darusman and Mr Rttner cannot be trusted even to hold a petty inquiry. It is well known that the LTTE rumpus is spending dollars in millions to get anyone to speak against the Sri Lankan Government. The details quoted above stands to negate all the findings of the Darusman Panel.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is sad that the USA has thought it fit to present the resolution against Sri Lanka because actually the Sri Lankan Government and the Armed Forces have an impeccable record of achievement in human rights as well as in sheer achievement in defeating the most vicious terrorist organization the world has ever known . Is it not a fact that the US Army is yet chasing moonbeams in Afghanistan.. It is an accepted fact that Osama Bin laden wasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  not killed in action as he did not put up a fight. Once he was taken in , why was he killed and his body disposed of?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The US resolution goes far beyond trying to get the Government of Sri Lanka to inquire into accountability. According to that resolution the High Commissioner for Human RightsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is to be the monitoring authority, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- to initiate credible and independent action to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation of all Sri Lankans and also to address alleged violations of international lawƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The world has seen in horror how the international community, led by the USA has in recent times brought about a regime change in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt and Libya.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Most of these countries were dictatorships. Sri Lanka is a democracy and our President Rajapaksa was re elected President after an election. The world has known how President GeorgeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  W. Bush stole two elections, the 2000 election by not allowing the counting of ballots and the 21004 Election electronically. ( The Administrative Bungling that Hijacked the 2000 US Presidential Election(Univ.Press of America) & The Electronic Stealing of the 2004 US Presidential Election, (Amazon.Com) by garvin Karunaratne.) President Rajapaksa totally believes in democracy and it is on his plans to have a democratically elected Northern Provincial Council in the near future. He is not an usurper like former President George W Bush and will never never be one. He will always stand up for human rights in the manner that he delivered not a hundred, not a thousand but as much as twenty million from the jaws of death of Prabhakaran.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It need not be mentioned that sovereignty of Sri Lanka is at stake if this resolution is ever passed and the USA should be ashamed of its own action.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is people in Glass Houses that now throw stones. The leaders of the USA can hang their heads in shame.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D.(Michigan State) Former SLAS. Officer

16 th March 2012

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