Reply to Dr. Susantha Goonatilake:

Patriotism, the last refuge of a pseudo patriot

by Dr. Kumar Rupesinghe

I was surprised to read in Daily News, dated January 9th an article on NGO, INGO moles, by Dr. Susantha Goonatilake, whose propensity to defame and vilify leading personalities and intellectuals in this country is legendry. I would not have bothered to answer his scurrilous remarks if not for the fact that the Daily News which is a reputed government paper has decided to give credence to this character of dubious integrity.

Patriotism, is the last refuge of scoundrels and this truism is very apt in observing the antics of Goonatilake who has posed as a pseudo patriot for the last twenty five years. (Boswell tells us that Samuel Johnson made this famous pronouncement in April 7, 1775, but that what he referred only to charlatans pretending to be patriots) I define a pseudo patriot in the Sri Lankan context as a Western educated person, and a failed cosmopolitan whose protestations of his love of his country hides a deep psychological paranoia. This kind of person is normally marginalized within his community.

Witch-hunting

He has made it his vocation and specialized in witch-hunting the peace lobby in this country and defame individuals and institutions working for human rights and peace in this country. Now that the ceasefire is under fire and there is a spectre of war in the horizon such scoundrels in the guise of patriotism will try to sow the whirlwind. We have had enough of them and know the havoc they caused in 1987-1989 when over six thousand people were murdered in the name of Patriotism!

Goonatilake, returned to Sri Lanka around 1973 and it was then that he came to see me looking for a job. I then directed him to Dr. Premadasa Udagame, Secretary for Education, who in turn directed him to Hector Abhayawardhana, the director of the Peoples Bank. It was through him that he became the editor of the Economic Review.

In 1975, he acquired a virulent hatred for the Bandaranaike family, and engaged in campaigns against Mrs. Bandaranaike, the Prime Minister. He then ingratiated himself with the UNP and continued to serve as editor.

It was soon that he came into disfavour with the then Finance Minister, due to a cover page of the Economic Review where he had a painting of The Buddha meditating with a computer replacing his head, suggesting many things which I leave to one's imagination.

Disfavour with SSA

An inquiry was held and he was suspended for awhile and ordered to withdraw the publication. It was during this time that he began to attack on civil society organizations and fell into disfavour with the Social Scientists Association.

The Social Scientists Association was composed of leading liberal intellectuals in the country. Goonatilake carried on a vindictive and personal campaign against many of its members with personal attacks on Prof. Kumari Jayawardene, Dr. Newton Gunasinghe, Senake Bandaranayaka to name a few.

His bitterness spread to other organizations such as the Civil Rights Movement, the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, the Movement of Inter Racial Justice, the Marga Institute, Sarvodaya, The Centre for Religion and Society and over 40 other organizations in the country.

Leading members of these organizations were singled out for personal vilification and abuse. Goonatilake did not leave many of the distinguished expatriates alone either, and many such as Dr. Lal Jayawardene were some of those who were targeted for special attack.

Spate of venom

His current spate of venom is directed against me. I have been his favourite whipping dog for the last twenty years. He continues to recycle information which goes back to 25 years! He has published extremely defamatory articles intended to harm my reputation.

He has now added to his hate list others such as the National Peace Council, the Berghof Foundation, the Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Ravaya newspaper and many others.

It was around the 1980s that he started work with the extremist Sinhalese organizations that were operating within the margins of society. During this time he was posing himself as the future Governor of the Central Bank if the JVP came to power. During this time he was a fellow traveller with the JVP.

With the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, there was an opportunity to stir mischief and many such as Goonatilake were demonizing individuals in the human rights and peace lobby. Prominent individuals in the human rights and peace lobby were singled out during this reign of terror and over 7000 people were murdered.

Prime suspect

President Premadasa removed him from all official positions in the government. Following the retaliation by the Government against the JVP, Goonatilake was a prime suspect and had to flee the country. He was abroad for many years and continued his vilification campaigns from abroad. All this is known history.

Going into the substantive allegations that Goonatilake has placed against me. The first charge is that International Alert was a front organization for the LTTE. This is the most absurd allegation.

The Board of International Alert, was composed of Archbishop Tutu, Noble Prize winner, Andrew Young, former Governor of Atlanta and closely associated with President Carter's Presidency, Asbjorn Eide, the Special Rapporteur on Minorities for the United Nations Commission, Theo Van Boven, the Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance and many other distinguished world figures.

Its first Secretary General was Martin Ennals the world renowned human rights champion, the founder and first Secretary General of Amnesty International who received the Nobel Prize on behalf of Amnesty International.

The position that International Alert took with regard to Sri Lanka was that the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka should be resolved by negotiations and that human rights violations by both sides should be condemned.

International Alert took up many such cases of human rights violations in the Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Later on during my tenure, International Alert continued to call for mediation, respect for human rights and the need for a third party to resolve the conflict. I still stand by these positions.

I.A Intervenes

Taking this opportunity to explain the circumstances of International Alerts involvement in Sierra Leone, a subject which has been distorted beyond all limits by Goonatilake.

International Alert was requested to intervene in the conflict in Sierra Leone at the request of the United Nations, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Organization of African States and the President of Sierra Leone.

All three above organizations were unable to gain access to the rebel movement called the Revolutionary United Front. At the request of the above organizations, the Sierra Leone Government and the Foreign Minister of the Ivory Coast, International Alert then took up this request and gained contact with the rebel movement and succeeded in bringing the RUF for talks.

As a by product of this operation International Alert was also able to negotiate for the release of 16 foreign hostages who were handed over to the ICRC.

The initial talks between the RUF and the Government of Sierra Leone took place in Abidjan where I.A. was present and acknowledged for its role in bringing the rebels for talks. During the civil war in Sierra Leone allegations of diamond smuggling and gun running were rampant at that time and some of these allegations were echoed by the President of Sierra Leone.

The Board of International Alert subsequently had a Judicial Audit into the allegations and the organizations were cleared of all charges. The reason why I left International Alert was that my two terms of six years were over and I was given a wonderful and endearing farewell from the Board and by my well-wishers.

International intervention

Another allegation which Goonatilake was fond of charging me was the military occupation of Jaffna by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. I was interviewed by the BBC with our Ambassador to the UK and when I was asked what I felt about the occupation I said that I was very saddened by these events since, both communities have to find a way to live with each other. I did call for International intervention to stop the carnage.

Goonatilake goes on to charge me with all sorts of terrible things. It is true that the Foundation for Co-Existence has been involved with the Muslim Question in the East and has worked towards promoting reconciliation amongst the Tamils and Muslims.

The FCE has documented together with the Muslims Rights Organization the forcible eviction of Muslims from the North and the seizure of agricultural lands by the LTTE.

Over 55000 Muslim families were interviewed and their losses recorded. Efforts have been made to restore the lands back to the Muslims as well as reducing violence between the two communities. He claims that I am an advisor to the Flag Officers Association, which is not correct.

I was invited by them to give a lecture. With regards the ISGA, I have maintained that the ISGA proposal is the only proposal which has been submitted by the LTTE and should be the basis for talks, not that the ISGA is accepted.

Humanitarian measure

As far as P-TOMs is concerned I maintain that President Kumaratunga was courageous and correct to get an agreement on the P-TOMs. The P-TOMs was a humanitarian measure to face an extraordinary disaster which faced the entire country. Our failure to implement the P-TOMs is a sad and tragic reminder that the South is deeply divided even in providing relief and reconstruction to the beleaguered peoples of the North and East.

I stand on my article to the Daily Mirror December 30, 2005 that the majority of the people who were affected by the Tsunami in the coastal belt of Sri Lanka were minorities, either fisher folk in the deep south, or Christian, Muslims and Hindus in other areas. That there were those who welcomed the tsunami as slum clearance on a mass scale were sentiments expressed by those in the Hotel industry quite openly at that time. I was personally witness to this.

Hysterical mindset

Goonatilake, the author of the Crippled Mind, should go deeply into himself and measure how in the last 25 years his only achievement has been his obsession and hatred of those who have worked tirelessly for human rights and peace in this country.

The requirements of social science is to be truthful, and to be objective and provide a balanced study which he has thrown into the winds in his attempts to selectively use and distort facts so as to satisfy his paranoia.

This is certainly not academia but belongs to the hysterical mindset of a crippled mind. I suggest that Dr. Susantha Goonatilake turns to Buddhism, that he pretends to defend, to seek the sermons of the Buddha on intolerance, hatred, and bigotry. He will learn much from these sermons.