HR, or diaspora backsheesh?

Jayantha Gunasekera

It is said that “friendship with the West can be revoltingly rewarding, while enmity could be revealingly reviling”. Sri Lanka is being condemned by the Western Powers and their stooges in the UN regarding human rights violations.

US drones in Afghanistan

As regards violation of human rights by the USA targeting and killing hordes of civilians by unmanned drones in Afghanistan, this is what a US Federal Judge had to say whilst delivering a judgement: “There is a painful conflict between human rights and national security. Fundamental human rights have to be sacrificed at the altar of national security”.

This is now settled law in the USA. Why then are the US and the UK attempting to create problems for us, merely to satisfy 200,000 LTTE Diaspora supporters? Is it that International Law exculpates the Western powers, while Sri Lanka is governed by another set of International human rights laws? There is one law for the Western countries and another for Sri Lanka!

The standard and quality of US and UK politicians has deteriorated to such an extent that they will stoop to accepting filthy lucre from the LTTE’s enormously rich treasury. They will also compromise their honour, for the LTTE Diaspora vote that they can secure at elections.

Political leaders

This is a recent trend in the West and some political leaders have now become a national disgrace. Honourable politicians of the calibre of Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Harold Macmillan, Harry Truman and Eisenhower et al are a dying breed.

In our conflict, these corrupt and foolish Western politicians by taking the side of criminal gangs and their diaspora, are steadily and surely inviting hatred towards their nations. The Arabs detest them.

The South American countries spurn them. So do Afghanistan, Pakistan, the African Union, Sri Lanka and a majority of Indians. Almost all Non-Aligned Countries would not approve of and their interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.

Ban ki Moon

Navaneethan Pillay

Dwight Eisonhower

Harry Truman

Sir Winston Churchill

It goes without saying that China and Russia are waiting for the day when the so called Western powers will crawl before them. Pretty soon they will find themselves isolated.

Western countries

It is sickening to think of the “holier than thou” attitude of the Western countries who are trying to probe fabricated human rights violations of Sri Lanka, while they violate human rights with impunity. Corruption is a wind that is blowing now across the Western countries.

These diaspora members, since the end of the war, are fighting for survival in the Western countries. It has now become difficult to threaten and collect big money from the Tamils.

Yet, they have billions stacked away with which ‘the prime minister’ of the diaspora Rudrakumaran (a US based lawyer) is influencing Western politicians and UN officials with filthy lucre.

This man is the beneficiary of stupendous sums of ill-gotten money, acquired through forced collections, contraband and every conceivable form of illegal trickery.

To continue their opulent life style, they have to bluff the foolish Tamils that they are doing something tangible.

Voting population

Rudrakumaran and a few like-minded others, get the gullible Tamils on to the streets before the UN and the UK Parliament, and tell the intellectual mediocrities that our Sri Lankan Forces have killed thousands of innocents—and the gullible Westerners lap it up.

Before the death of Prabhakaran, they influenced Hillary Clinton to coax David Miliband and Kouchner to go to Sri Lanka and attempt to twist the arm of out President. But our President had the strength of character not to yield.

The Western powers felt thoroughly insulted that they could not save Prabhakaran’s life. Navaneethan Pillay, the UN Human Rights Chief, a South African Tamil, has been heavily influenced by the diaspora.

The Tamil Diaspora is a sizable voting population in the US, UK, France and the European Union. Because of their huge numbers they can call the shots at an election.

If our Forces wanted to massacre the Tamils, all they had to do, without wasting their bullets, was to watch Prabhakaran and his men exterminating the Tamils when they came out from the clutches of the LTTE, to the government side. Not a word of praise from the West or Navi Pillay for SAVING the lives of 300,000 Tamils, when our Forces put their lives in harms way, in order to save these Tamils.

Thousands of Tamils held as hostages were killed by the LTTE, during the last few days of the war, when they were in the process of escaping from the LTTE held areas.

After the death of Prabhakaran and his cohorts, we fed the refugees, clothed them, medicated them, sheltered them, built hygienic toilets to prevent an outbreak of cholera. Every conceivable precaution was taken for their well being, while the Tamil Diaspora contributed nothing to look after these, their own displaced people.

The US and the UK Forces are killing innocents in Afghanistan and Libya.

Navi Pillay is strangely mute and hasn’t the guts to act against the US that is now bringing a second resolution against Sri Lanka.

As High Commissioner, she is expected to hold the scales even, whether it be an insignificant member or a super power. No favouritism is permissible. Her salary is paid by the contributions of all members of the UN.

It is apparent that this Navi Pillay is dictated to by the Western powers and will bend over backwards to please them. If she is impartial, she should have first appointed a panel to examine the atrocities that are presently committed by the US and UK in Afghanistan and Libya, in order to prove her bona fides.

The Western Forces are killing thousands of civilians with their unmanned drones, in Afghanistan, Libya and Pakistan.

Corrupt UN officials

She should also appoint a panel to investigate the torture in Abu Grahib and Guantanamo Bay. She at the dictates of the US, UK and the European Union are attempting to give oxygen and restart violence in Sri Lanka.

It has to be clearly understood that excesses are bound to occur in war, but these don’t amount to human rights violations.

A Sri Lankan with guts should be permitted to address the General Assembly and the Security Council, to expose Ban ki Moon as a thoroughly unsavoury and unsuitable person to hold the post of Secretary General of the United Nations Organisation.

It is not the human rights violation that are really prodding certain Western political leaders and the corrupt UN officials.

It is the filthy lucre and the Tamil Diaspora votes. Corruption is a new wind that is blowing across the UN and the Western world.

The writer is a President’s Counsel and a Former Elected Secretary of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.