A MORAL VICTORY
Posted on March 28th, 2014

Editorial  (Daily News)

At the time of writing, word was not out on the vote on the US sponsored Resolution against Sri Lanka, at the UN Human Rights Council. Sri Lanka does not expect to win that contest, but the moral victory has long been assured.

There is a virtual avalanche of support for the war winning President on the Geneva issue that makes clear that moral victory comes from doing the right thing.

There was no capitulation, period, in the face of damnable lies.

The practice of diplomacy requires politeness to the point of unctuousness. It is why the Sri Lankan position was articulated with finesse, but also with careful choice of words at the UN HRC by our Permanent Representative in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha. Sri Lanka emphatically rejected the Resolution and the reasons given were clear, cogent and compelling.

The bona fides of the movers were suspect from the outset. They worked to a political agenda.

The base documents that were relied on were riddled with inaccuracies. The Council’s and the OHCHR’s mandates were dismissively exceeded.

We in these pages do not have to be as polite as the diplomats are and indeed we should not be, as it is incumbent on us in the Fourth Estate to inform the public about the unalloyed truth regarding efforts against this country at the UN HRC.

The bottom line is that the US initiated the current moves against this country based on a pack of lies.

There is no other way of putting it.

Despite the categorical and detailed rebuttals, the hatchet wielder for the US and the other prime movers responsible for this so called human rights oversight process, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has been relying almost entirely on falsehoods for her campaign of aggression against Sri Lanka at the HRC floor.

A case in point is the assertion that there are ongoing attacks on places of religious worship, a canard that has been rebutted by Sri Lanka, but maintained by her detractors despite the fact that there is nothing whatsoever to indicate that there is such a campaign either with or without the knowledge of the government.

The glowing testimonies of some of the nations that spoke up for Sri Lanka is perhaps the best indicator that the charges compiled by the persecutor-in-chief, Navi Pillai, are all trumped up.

From Pakistan to Venezuela to Russia, delegation after delegation spoke about the need to leave Sri Lanka alone, and about unwarranted interference in this country’s internal affairs. But when the worst violators of human rights in the world get together to pounce on a nation that is conveniently placed as a distraction to their own egregious conduct, the delegates that represent them in international forums cannot leave room for niceties.

The truth is of no concern to these people. There isn’t the remotest of appearance of justice being done even symbolically, leave alone justice being done in fact.

There is no respect whatsoever for process, and as one of the writers to our pages Mr. Senaka Weeraratne recently observed, in this day and age it is shocking that the UN process has been hijacked to carry out an Inquisition!

There used to be a time when elaborate stratagems were deployed by the nations that pursued the goals of Empire.

Not any more. Now, it seems that we are back to the days of colonial steamroller policy of scorched earth plunder, and nothing less.

If there was any finesse, would there be a narrative on the persecution of religious minorities without so much as a shred of evidence to that effect? From people who said nothing when the Temple of the Tooth was attacked by Tamil Tiger terrorists, or the Katthankudy mosque was machine gunned, this concern about a totally non existent terror campaign against Muslims and Christians is touching.

And where are the civil society campaigners and journalists on this? Can Paikiasothy or Jehan Perera give us the list of ongoing attacks on places of religious worship? This cannot be made up of one incident or two – it has to be a comprehensive, exhaustive list of ONGOING attacks. If civil society cannot provide that list, can the breast beating and perpetually bleating journalists do the honours? Can the New York Times or its local correspondent provide us that list? Can any bleeding heart in any local newspaper provide that list — anyone in the Sunday Times, or its sister paper perhaps?

Enough said, as there is no such list, unless one is invented. But that does not mean there is a lack of rhetoric and apportioning of blame in the most shameful, peremptory and obnoxious manner on such matters by some of the same civil society actors and ‘professionals’? Whoever said Inquisition said a mouthful then, but the victims of modern Inquisitions wouldn’t bite the bullet; they know only too well how to fight back.

– See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=editorial/moral-victory#sthash.x4BJKQMO.dpuf

Courtesy:  Daily News

2 Responses to “A MORAL VICTORY”

  1. Lorenzo Says:

    This is no victory.

    It was a DEFEAT. But we should do the right thing now NOT what UNHRC bullies tell us.

    1. SCRAP 13 amendment.
    2. Sign SILK ROAD agreement with China.
    3. PACK all Endian illegals in SL OUT.
    4. Send Tamill illegal people to UK and use it to get UK support. No support———> More ugly kallathoni. Support ———> We stop kallathoni at our end.

  2. Nanda Says:

    “Send Tamill illegal people to UK and use it to get UK support. No support———> More ugly kallathoni. Support ———> We stop kallathoni at our end.”

    You mean those Fishermen we catch, together with the boats ? What an excellent idea !

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