Dilrook Kannangara

Local folklore has it that if a night heron (Kana Koka) cries while in flight over a house it is a sure warning that death will come soon to an inmate of the house. So is Tony Blair. Wherever he has stepped in, doom and gloom followed. Now he is in Jaffna while travelling to Sri Lanka and this surely is the most ominous sign of death and destruction yet to come.

Alleged War Criminal

An inquiry by carried out by Sir John Chilcot into the conduct of Tony Blair in relation to his involvement in the Iraq War and associated war crimes. The British government has managed to delay the release of this report by years. Several countries have already banned his entry alleging war crimes by him. He played a difficult role in forcing an unwilling British government and public to go to a needless war in Iraq, which permanently destabilised that country. Today Iraq is the most dangerous country in the world. We have Tony to thank for it.

Wherever He Went, Doom Followed

In 2007 Blair was appointed the Peace Envoy to the Middle East just four years after he initiated a needless war in Iraq. In January 2015 he resigned after having accomplished what he was tasked with. Yes, he did achieve his goals of further destabilizing the Middle East. If his first involvement was bad, his second one was worse. He has left a trail of death and destruction wherever he went. Millions have died in the Middle East since he was party to the middle east interference in 2001. Although some Middle Eastern countries welcomed him in 2007, by 2015 all of them wanted him out.

Libya was another assignment he took upon himself. He managed to fool the then Libyan leader to give up his defences. Then he fooled Libyan people to riot against him. Today Libya is a hellhole. People seek refuge in Italy and rest of Europe. Blair exited after running that country. He pretended to be a friend of Palestinians in 2007 but soon became apparent that he only prolonged their misery.

Is He in Sri Lanka to Reignite the War?

Peace in Sri Lanka is a very big problem for NATO and India. Their bitter enemy (for reasons of jealousy than anything else) is China. As most Chinese imports and exports pass through the Indian Ocean, NATO and India want to disrupt these shipments by introducing chokepoints and A2/AD (anti-access/area denial) tactics in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is closest to Chinese shipping lanes and hence the obvious target of NATO and India. When the LTTE was active with Sea Tigers (world’s only sustained sea based terrorist group), it provided a natural deterrent to China. People in NATO countries and India helped LTTE with hundreds of millions of dollars each year to bolster its sea terrorist wing to disrupt China. To their misfortune, the LTTE and its sea wing were decimated in 2009. Since then, NATO and India have lamented over their loss on several occasions at the UNHRC and elsewhere. Now they want to somehow reignite the war and resurrect Sea Tigers to disrupt China. It is worthy to note that during the CFA in 2003 Tamil terrorists attacked a Chinese vessel off the coast of Sri Lanka killing all 15 Chinese on board. This is what NATO and India wish.

The Next Diego Garcia Base?

Diego Garcia lease expires next year (2016). It is a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean captured by the British and leased to the US military to maintain a military base. Since then USA depopulated it wiping out all its inhabitants. The US Diego Garcia military base is the most important external US base. It was responsible for launching attacks on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere. It houses US nuclear weapons too. With plans to disrupt Chinese shipping, it assumes even higher importance today.

However, Chagos people (rightful owners of Diego Garcia islands) petitioned the International Criminal Court for justice. If justice is upheld it is a textbook case. Diego Garcia islands must be returned to them and USA and UK must exit. Although the occupiers are trying hard to fool the locals and the ICC and continue their occupation, there is some risk of them losing this battle. Therefore, they need a Plan B. Their Plan B is Sri Lanka. Tony Blair is in Sri Lanka to lay the foundation for their search for Diego Garcia replacement. Northern Sri Lanka is much safer from the elements of nature than Diego Garcia which is barely a metre above sea level. It is also much closer to action.

Tamil Autonomy and Diego Garcia from Jaffna to Trincomalee

The new Diego Garcia will be established in Jaffna peninsular and Trincomalee. For that to happen, Sri Lankan government control must be removed from the north and the east. UK, USA and India played a huge role in thinning out Sri Lankan military presence in Jaffna peninsular and Trincomalee already. Now they want Tamil autonomy in these areas so they can build their Diego Garcia base there. Tamils will need protection from Sri Lanka in the event of Tamil autonomy. Sri Lanka with a well established military is the biggest threat to Tamil autonomy. To counter that, Tamils will need the military presence of a foreign army. Once a certain level of autonomy is granted, India and NATO will get Tamils to plead for a NATO-India peacekeeping army. In 1987-90 it was the Indian army. From 2016 onwards it will be a joint NATO-India invading army. Soon they will depopulate the Jaffna peninsular and Trincomalee (particularly Muslims for which they have a great skill as shown in Libya, Iraq and the entire Middle East. Trincomalee has a Muslim majority.). Thereafter they will turn them into full-fledged military bases. Tamil men garlanded the Indian peacekeeping army upon its arrival in 1987 but Tamil women garlanded the Indian Prime Minister with a bomb-laden garland in 1991 after Okinawa base style sexual violence against Tamil locals by the Indian army. Thankfully by 1990 the Cold War was coming to an end and India had no reason to stay back. However, a new cold war is now brewing and NATO and India will not leave Sri Lanka.

Tony Blair came with nothing but he will leave with part of Sri Lanka firmly tucked under his armpits for the next Diego Garcia base in the island.