{"id":89061,"date":"2019-05-19T15:43:29","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T22:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=89061"},"modified":"2019-05-19T15:43:29","modified_gmt":"2019-05-19T22:43:29","slug":"to-cap-it-the-u-s-is-a-suspect-behind-the-21-4-massacres-sri-lanka-engages-in-war-on-global-terror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/05\/19\/to-cap-it-the-u-s-is-a-suspect-behind-the-21-4-massacres-sri-lanka-engages-in-war-on-global-terror\/","title":{"rendered":"To cap it, the U.S. is a suspect behind the 21\/4 massacres Sri Lanka engages in war on global terror"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe <\/strong>Courtesy Ceylon Today<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Ranil Wickremesinghe rightly defines the Easter Sunday massacres as \u2018global terrorism\u2019 and vows to get help from the international community, Robert O Blake tells the Sri Lankan audience that Gotabaya Rajapaksa had the best model to defeat terrorism in Sri Lanka and to use it. He made these observations while making a presentation titled, \u2019US Foreign Policy towards China and South Asia and what it means for Sri Lanka\u2018, earlier this month in Colombo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Blake would be privy to such a model for he was the Ambassador of USA to Sri Lanka from September 2006 to May 2009. He could not have served in Sri Lanka at a more decisive turn of events. The final phase of the war against terrorism began on 21 July 2006 when the LTTE closed the sluice gates of the Mavil Aru Reservoir five days earlier. Just three weeks before Blake\u2019s arrival, the Sri Lanka Military won the first step of two-and-half year humanitarian operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The LTTE had been flagrantly violating the Norway-brokered Cease Fire Agreement. From the beginning, they were an impossible client who refused to corporate or adhere to the CFA conditions. Yet, it was the expert opinion of the West that the only way forward was through negotiation. They ardently believed that a military solution could never be obtained.
Despite LTTE\u2019s brutishness, both the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim believed that they can somehow reason out with Prabakaran. Years after the war, Solheim is on record that had he had more time with Prabakaran, the turn of events would have been quite different. Solheim should study the relationship Prabakaran had with India and how the overconfidence of Rajiv Gandhi led to his own assassination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s chutzpah<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


The CFA that was signed in 2002 was violated by the LTTE 3,830 times. This included the assassination of the then Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. Though it shocked the world, the West was adamant that the Sri Lanka Government continues with the peace process. It was an impossible situation for it was a mere farce that the LTTE used to recover from the intense battles in 2001 and to prepare for its next phase. The then Government did not have Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s chutzpah to draw the line between advice and interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


When Ranil Wickremesinghe lost to MR at the 2005 presidential elections, the LTTE stepped up its violence. The U.S. State Department warned them against resuming violence because the Military was evolving into a much more capable and confident force under the new Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Despite the warnings, the LTTE continued to be boorish at the negotiating table whilst attacking both civilian and military targets. Claymore mine attacks killed 150 government troops. The Kebithigollewa massacre included 64 Sinhala civilians. Then the LTTE closed the Mavil Aru Reservoir\u2019s sluice gates. This effectively denied water to 15,000 families and ruined their crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


After playing a decisive role in paving the path for President Rajapaksa, it is interesting that the LTTE continued in its violent path – despite the U.S. warning. Ironically, LTTE was caught in West\u2019s own propaganda. Wickremesinghe believed in a federal solution, which served the West\u2019s interests well. With nine very strong provincial councils, and a weakened Central Government, the outside world can easily manipulate individual Chief Ministers to their own interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


MR\u2019s vote bank on the other hand believed in a unitary system. Therefore, the West described him as the \u2018talons of Sinhala extremism\u2019. When Prabakaran interferes with the polls, allowing President Rajapaksa to win, he was relying on it. Hence, the repeated provocations. He thought that when the new Government reacted, the consequences can be easily portrayed as the reaction of a Sinhala extremist. Thereby, he hoped to garner international sympathy that would in turn pressurise the Rajapaksa administration to concede to the LTTE demands for a Tamil exclusive homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


However, by closing the sluice gates, the Rajapaksa administration got the perfect excuse to resume the military offensive as a humanitarian operation. Regaining control of Mavil Aru Reservoir became the biggest military confrontation between the Sri Lanka Military and the LTTE since signing the CFA. Throughout the offensive operations thereafter, the focus was always on the civilian factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Furthermore, Rajapaksa administration opened close-circuit channels with India, US and other international bodies and apprised them of all developments. When LTTE closed the A9 route, civilians caught in the war zone were denied food, medicine and other essentials. The intention was thereby create a humanitarian crisis. The Rajapaksa administration asked the assistance of the diplomatic community to ensure the essentials were sent. Blake played a prominent role in the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Blake also ensured much assistance from the US Government to end terrorism in Sri Lanka. The US provided specific coordinates from  the Sri Lanka Navy to destroy LTTE ships that were carrying arms and ammunition to the terrorists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FBI too tightened its surveillance
and thwarted those supplying logistics to the LTTE from within the US shores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


An ineffective government<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


It is most unfortunate that the Obama regime that came to power in early 2009 failed to continue this good relationship the two countries enjoyed. As a career diplomat, Blake could only adapt to his new government\u2019s policies. The world\u2019s biggest refugee crisis since WWII was created because of Obama regime\u2019s ill conceived policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


When Blake arrived in Sri Lanka in 2006, the journey from the Katunayaka International Airport to Colombo was clearly of a country that was at war. Had he returned to Sri Lanka any time after 19 May, 2010 and before 21 April, 2019, he would have seen a very different country from the time he served as an ambassador. Most unfortunately, when he returned this time to deliver his presentation, it was again a country with heightened security, deserted roads, and a palatable uncertainty among people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Just two weeks before, the biggest civilian carnage took place in Sri Lanka in the space of couple of hours on the same day. The ISIS may have assumed responsibility for the carnage. However, the true culprits happen to be the incumbent Government and the agents that brought them to power and protected their seat in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


John Kerry, who was the U.S. Secretary of State, admitted the U.S. role in toppling a strong, visionary, and nationalistic Government for a weak, juxtaposing, ineffective government. U.S. are also responsible for pushing through the contentious Geneva Resolution 30\/1. Using this Resolution as a baton, the military intelligence networks were destroyed. The fact that the entire security base refused to act on the reliable intelligence they received of these attacks is an indictment on the security forces\u2019 confidence of the incumbent government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


For all their trouble, U.S. did not gain much. If their contention with the Rajapaksa Administration was the much hyped Chinese factor, the government they installed did not ease their burden. Instead, China now has control over land in Sri Lanka that is bigger than some countries.
To cap it, U.S. are a suspect behind the Easter Sunday massacres. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith himself had called the massacres part of an international conspiracy. Social unrest, lawlessness that transcends to Islamic extremist terrorism is the usual sequence that follows in the U.S. \u2018Regime Change\u2019 exercise. This gives U.S. the perfect excuse to \u2018land U.S. boots\u2019 in the country. Yet, when present powers are happy to appease the West\u2019s every whim, the need for the whole hog is questionable. Only time will tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Yesterday should have been the day the whole Nation celebrates 10 years of peace. One might say the likes of Blake has much to blame for cruelly taking it away from us. In truth, it is we who took peace for granted and allowed intelligence networks to be dismantled and the victory parade to be cancelled. Main stream media refused to even mention it. Only after we lost it we speak of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe Courtesy Ceylon Today When Ranil Wickremesinghe rightly defines the Easter Sunday massacres as \u2018global terrorism\u2019 and vows to get help from the international community, Robert O Blake tells the Sri Lankan audience that Gotabaya Rajapaksa had the best model to defeat terrorism in Sri Lanka and to use it. He made these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-terrorism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89061\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}