President Rajapaksa initiated new humanitarian approach to peace

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

President Mahinda Rajapaksa laid to rest the West’s ineffective ‘Conflict Resolution Theory’ in May 2009 with his humanitarian operation which saved half a million Tamil lives. Today these people live happily in their former homesteads, Treasurer of the SLFP and Skills Development and Youth Affairs Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said in an exclusive interview with the Daily News

Following is the interview:

Q: What is the historical backdrop to the Darusman Report?

A: The Darusman Report was not initiated by the UN or its Secretary General. The UN or the UN Secretary General is not against Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka has nothing against UN or the UN Secretary General. The report is not an accident, something that came out by chance or a natural instrument made to investigate war crimes. There is a very clear historical background to the Darusman Report.

In May 2009, the world famous ‘Conflict Resolution Theory’ expired in Sri Lanka. A new theory by President Mahinda Rajapaksa replaced it. In October 24, 1945 the UN was established to protect humanity from war. Since then the UN was balancing power between the US and USSR, the two world giants. It was also working to prevent a Third World War. But after the collapse of the USSR, UN lost its main task. Then the UN took over a new task, ‘Conflict Management/Conflict Resolution’. This is a new theory brought into the world by certain Western and European elements to go into democratic countries and intervene in their internal affairs in the name of protecting human rights. All started within the countries which broke away from the USSR. Then it spread to other countries in the world. According to this theory, a conflict should have a win-win solution and there is no way of eradicating terrorism. All universities grabbed this new and popular subject.

Sri Lankan leaders obeyed this Western theory and opted to hold talks with the LTTE to achieve a win-win solution. President Mahinda Rajapaksa followed the same. But in 2009, President Rajapaksa proved to the world that this Western ‘Conflict Resolution Theory’ is no more valid because it had already expired and there are new theories out there that can be substituted. The ‘Conflict Resolution Theory’ died in 2009 after two decades of its birth. The only way of saving the dead theory was naming the new theory (invented by President Rajapaksa) as ‘genocide’. But there were no killings in the said ‘genocide’! Only the name was there. The humanitarian operation implemented in Sri Lanka saved the lives of over half million Tamil people. Today that half a million Tamil people live happily in their original homes after spending 30 years in LTTE custody. Where is the so-called Genocide? US is still conducting the War on Terror but President Mahinda Rajapaksa concluded it.

Now countries can point out to the new theory introduced by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and say ‘Look! We do not need your ‘Conflict Resolution /Management Theory’. We can implement a Sri Lankan theory and find the same solution. When university students ask about the use of the expired theory, lecturers do not have any answer to give them. The only answer that can be given is that the Sri Lankan theory is ‘genocide’ and not a solution. Otherwise, all have to accept that now there is a new theory out there that can give the same answer to terrorism just like the Conflict Management Theory’.

There cannot be two different ideologies in two reports published by the same organization. In the Darusman Report the LTTE was named as one of the most ‘disciplined’ militant groups. In all UNICEF reports the LTTE had been accused of recruiting and using child soldiers. This is something unacceptable and very contradictory. Once a prominent Tamil politician, scholar and former Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadiragamar told the UN that the latest political weapon used by the West was ‘human rights’. Human rights was the base for the expired ‘Conflict Management Theory’. That is why the West opposed President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s theory from the beginning.

Q: What do you think about the EU’s comments on the Darusman Report?

A: It is very regrettable to see the EU’s comments on the Darusman Report. At present several countries in the EU suffer from terrorist attacks. Such comments promote world terrorism and hinder the War on Terror launched by the US. It is sad to see how such comments cultivate and reawaken separatist ideologies in the minds of innocent and peaceful nations. Such comments release wrong signals for the armed forces of democratic countries such as India (Assam), Ireland, Spain, Philippines, Afghanistan and Latin America, which fight terrorism. The LTTE was banned by the EU itself. EU cannot be blamed for its comments because such comments come in absence of relevant definitions of terrorism and terrorists.

Q: What should Sri Lanka do in connection with the Darusman Report?

A: Sri Lanka should stand up as one country and one nation. ‘Buts’ and ‘Ifs’ should not be there when it comes to the country. All should get together and fight for Sri Lanka without any differences. It is not about a paddy field belonging to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It is all about Sri Lanka, the motherland of all Sri Lankans. But unfortunately all Sri Lankan political parties which ruled the country in the past aimed at grabbing power in the middle of national disasters. The political parties did not stand by Sri Lanka even during the 2004 tsunami. They divided on the 30 meter buffer zone after the tsunami. It is the right time to change this habit. How can a party think about grabbing political power using a disaster?

Q: How about including definitions for terrorism and terrorist in the UN Charter?

A: The UN was established on October 24, 1945 to protect humanity against man-made disasters such as Second World War. But still after 65 years of its inception, the main subject and the key responsibility of the UN has no definitions. Definitions for terrorism and terrorists are a must because all the functions of the UN are based on these topics. UN protects human beings from violence created by terrorism and terrorists.

Sri Lanka has the sacred right of proposing and requesting the UN to include definitions for terrorism and terrorists in the UN Charter. This is because the Sri Lankan people sacrificed lives for terrorism for 30 years and finally totally eradicated it without killing people. The world's best humanitarian operation was implemented by the skilled and intelligent Sri Lankan armed forces to rescue around half a million people within a very short time.

Sri Lanka is a tiny, innocent country that eradicated terrorism without the help of world giants and is now struggling to stand up as one developed nation. There is no point in destroying this country for the second time. All should help Sri Lanka to stand up and develop for the benefit of all ethnic groups. This is the only kind request that Sri Lanka makes of the international community.

Q: What is the impact of the Osama bin Laden filling on the Darusman Report?

A: Osama bin Laden was a Muslim and Islamic by birth and was fighting against the West and the norms of the West. Therefore he became the world's top terrorist. But Prabhakaran was not a Muslim. He did not belong to Islam. He did not fight against the West or Western norms. Therefore, he was a 'disciplined terrorist'! After 9/11 US wanted to define terrorism and terrorist. They appointed a special committee for that purpose. But it was a flop because the West did not accept it. But there will be no end to world terrorism without defining what is terrorism and who is a terrorist.