From Rock to Arbour

Prasad GUNAWARDENA

Former Sunday Observer Editor and veteran journalist H.L.D. Mahindapala has dealt adequately in the opposite page with regard to the charges made on human rights here by Louis Arbour.

In addition, the Government on Wednesday informed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the reasons to abrogate the Ceasefire Agreement(CFA) of 2002 entered into with the LTTE by the then Government of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The United Nations men and women who travel to Colombo on so-called fact finding missions on human rights abuses seems to be ignorant of the human rights violations committed by the LTTE.

As a ritual, they seem to find fault with successive Governments making baseless allegations on human rights and child abuse. In December 2006, Alan Rock, successor to Olara Otunnu of the UN made a trip to Colombo and made a big noise about human rights violations.

Rock who made a tour to the Eastern sector charged that Sri Lankan Security Forces were assisting the Karuna faction to conscript children. Rock blindly made that charge quite ignorant of the UN Report dated September 7, 2001 where his then boss, Kofi Annan had stated that Sri Lanka was one country which strictly adhered to minimum age for voluntary enlistment at 18 years in compliance with Annan’s call made the previous year.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on an official visit to New Delhi during the Rock controversy quite rightly rejected all allegations made by Rock. President Rajapaksa dismissed the charge as a ‘joke’ and claimed that even the LTTE had not made such a charge against the Sri Lankan Security Forces.

Alan Rock, quite blind to the ground situation in Sri Lanka failed to investigate who and how children were conscripted to be trained in guerrilla warfare in the country. He also failed to understand that Vinayagamoorthy Karuna, a defector from the LTTE was never a part of the Sri Lankan Government or the Security Forces.

In fact, when LTTE leader Prabhakaran began to conscript children under 18, Karuna was a part of that terror group of that inhuman exercise.

Rock failed to realise that it was the Prabhakaran-Karuna combination which recruited underaged children in thousands to wage war against all democratically elected Governments.

In reality, Rock should have understood that the UN only shed crocodile tears with regard to child combatants all over the globe and practically did nothing to save those voiceless children from the clutches of the terrorists.

The enthusiastic Alan Rock was completely ignorant of the manner how Velupillai Prabhakaran took his predecessor, Olara Otunnu for a ride with regard to the guarantee and assurance to stop child conscription.

Just days before Alan Rock’s arrival, the LTTE slashed the bellies of several pregnant women, took the foetus out and dashed on walls. But, Rock remained ignorant to such dastardly inhuman acts perpetrated by the ruthless terror group.

The tragedy of our times is that these UN and other international bodies, aware of such brutalities pressurise the Government to resume peace talks with a ruthless terror group which continues violent acts.

At the same time, members of this terror outfit continue enjoy safe haven in the West under the guise of refugees or asylum seekers.

The world body cannot treat terrorism here different to the terrorism in other parts of the world. Terrorism is terrorism and LTTE terrorism is no second to the Al-Queda of Osama Bin Laden. In March last year, a helicopter carrying Western diplomats based in Colombo came under LTTE fire in the East.

The German Ambassador was slightly wounded while the US Ambassador Robert Blake escaped unhurt. To the terrorist, the colour of the skin is immaterial. Terrorists believe in targets to create chaos. Following the attack on the helicopter, the US Ambassador claimed that he did not think the LTTE targeted him. The reason for such a statement was only known to Blake.

But, it is a fact that Blake had no knowledge or control over the intelligence of the LTTE. Only divine power could read the mind of Velupillai Prabhakaran. Later, reports indicated that the LTTE was aware of the diplomatic presence in the helicopter which included the “Super Power Boy” Blake.

At the time of that incident, Blake was a newcomer to Sri Lanka having assumed office a few weeks before. For a ruthless terrorist like Prabhakaran, there appears no difference between Robert Blake or Rajiv Gandhi.

We as Sri Lankans recognise and cherish the colour, Language and the cultural diversity of our country. We seek to build out of that diversity, a nation that shares a common sense of patriotism.

We are forced to battle against the legacy of a racial division and a conflict, which has tormented our society almost, or from the very beginning of our country’s settlement of European peoples. We do recognise this reality, and, we as a people are directly engaged in winning this challenge, not through the use of force but, by peaceful means.

The white people, who have created this problem to this island nation by their domination, should not further aggravate the situation by crossing swords making baseless allegations on human rights violations here.

The people of this country lost an opportunity to unify or to understand each other, as our society over the centuries, was underwritten by the perpetuation of the racial disparity, born of a long period of colonial domination, the notion that indeed divided our people.

History has taught those who attempted to dominate this land that no “outsider” could arrogantly assume the right to prescribe what is good for our country. The so-called “Big Brothers” in this globe, must accept the principle of equal rights of nations, be it large or small.

The United Nations which sheds much tears on crises in nations like ours, should seek answers to issues of war and peace, racism and terrorism.

The principle objective of the UN is the maintenance of international peace and security. The UN must live upto the great expectations its founders inspired and not travel on a ‘one track’ direction.

It must be the strongest instrument for democratisation of societies and not an institution that makes baseless allegations on democratically elected Governments of nations.

It is the legitimate right of all proud Sri Lankans to do everything in their power, to defend the gains we have inherited, to protect our independence, sovereignty and integrity. Otherwise, terror groups like the LTTE would make this beautiful island nation a mass burial ground.