IS ALLAN ROCK IN LTTE PAY LIST?

Ratnajeewa Halpita

We will not allow our mother land to be divided and there are no “homelands” within our country. The whole country belongs to all Sri Lankans

Sri Lanka is being manipulated and dictated by western and other interested countries for so long under timid and foolish leaders. When we have a strong leader who will resist international manipulations they will do everything to discredit the government and destabilize the state. Our country has been remote controlled to such an extent by the super powers that they consider it to be their birth right to do so. The terrorist problem is one of the handy works of the “divide and rule” policy of the Britons who ruled us officially a sixty odd years ago. The chronicty of the problem is due to the backing and the support the terrorists receive from the arms producing nations and other countries who do not want any nation from the third world recovering from their misery. What the masses in Sri Lanka cannot understand is how and why these superpowers help a terrorist organization which has been banned by most of the countries of the world.

Special Advisor to the United Nations and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict on Sri Lanka Mr. Allan Rock had stated that SL security forces assist the Karuna group to forcefully recruit children. If we analyse Rocks findings, he has come to the conclusion that Karuna group is recruiting children and suspects that the Government forces are helping them. His fact finding tour of the North lasted less than the time a kindergarten child spends in school a day and was along a distance he would cover in 15 minutes in his country!! Most of the time was spent with the most gruesome terrorists in the world listening to their fabrications and enjoying their food! But his media statement was aimed at accusing the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and twisted in such a manner that it implies to the casual reader that SL army also recruits children for its combat!! Isn’t this what the LTTE wanted to say!! These are subtle ways of seeding falsehood in the minds of people (World opinion)Mr Rocks statement was reported in the Tamil Net with the heading “UN: Sri Lanka military ‘recruiting child soldiers’ and the opening statement “United Nations official Monday accused Sri Lankan government security forces of recruiting child soldiers”

Mr Allan Rocks has made false but serious accusation against Sri Lanka and we need to clarify the following from him:
Is Mr Allan Rocks tour of Wanni long enough to gather good evidence?
Wasn’t he given a “conducted tour” by the LTTE?
Has he ever found underage recruits in the SL armed forces?
What are his reliable sources of information and why does he think that they were not done under duress?
Why is he not pointing his finger to the Karuna group?
What evidence has he got against the whole of the SL armed forces?

We also have a right to question him on what his organisation has done on the following issues in Sri Lanka.
What has the UN/UNICEF done to stop (at least curtail) child recruiting by the LTTE for more than two decades?
What progress have the UN/UNICEF made on stopping children from orphanages being taken and trained as suicide bombers?
What contributions have the UN/UNICEF made in terms of rehabilitating the children who have been saved from LTTE groups by the SL army?
How do they intend to stop the LTTE recruiting any more children?
How do they intend to ensure that school children in the LTTE controlled areas be free from combat lessons forced on them?
What have they done to stop LTTE laying anti-personnel mines which has become the biggest killer and responsible for most morbidity in children of North?


Mr.Rock is alleged to have gone to Kilinochchi and then proceeded to Batticaloa while visiting about 24 kilometres in uncleared areas for a duration of three hours. He has spent more time with the LTTE terrorists than with the common people along the short tour. The remarks involving the SL armed forces were obviously made with the influence of the “Dark Powers” and had insufficient evidence and hastily drawn conclusions. It is also a callous attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka with unjustifiable accusations quite disregarding the protocols involved and overplaying his role as a United Nation's envoy. This raises a question as to why he has overstepped his boundary to accuse a legitimate government with inaccurate and blatant allegations. He has acted the role of a pro LTTE propagandist and the only reason we could think is that he is being well funded by the LTTE for his services. (LTTE has a reputation of trying to bribe world organisations to de proscribe them and fund foreign trips of senate members of world leaders with the condition they discredit the Sri Lankan government.)

Child recruitment is a hallmark of the Prabhakaran Wanni tigers and is done in numbers where it is never seen anywhere in the world and the UN and other International Chiildren’s organisations have failed to take any effective step.

Mr.Rock considered (Globally) being a short sited man with low credibility and reputation. In this instance he has definitely overstepped his jurisdiction and gone beyond all norms to disrepute the Government of Sri Lanka. We as Sri Lankans and the Government of Sri Lanka on behalf of it’s security forces who were discredited, have a right to ask for explanations and demand an apology from the UN whose Special Advisor has breeched all norms of diplomacy and played the role of big boss. Further it should be made clear to these western pundiths that Sri Lanka is not a colony of theirs and we will not tolerate being pushed around to fit in to their agendas. We will not allow our mother land to be divided and there are no “homelands” within our country. The whole country belongs to all Sri Lankans and anybody who tries to separate any part of it will be crushed.-