Phantom of Muammar Gaddafi Haunting Sri Lanka

Yesterday (20^th October 2011) saw the end of a 4 decade long despotic rule of Muammar Gadaffi who ruled Libya with an Iron fist. So called revolutions which are instigated by western imperialists are threatening to spread out of Arab world once the ‘Big Fish’ have been dealt with.

Meanwhile Sri Lankan government has been quite successful in branding itself as a pariah state akin to Gadaffi’s Libya, undermining democratic institutions and rule of law, stifling dissent and freedom of speech, weakening the opposition, and with its widespread corruption, cronyism and nepotism. This will further exacerbate the situation for Sri Lanka, giving mileage to the course of the LTTE remnants backed by the west, making it possible for them to make a more plausible justification of the war crimes allegations.

The war against the LTTE was not a war against the Tamil minority, it was a humanitarian operation carried out with the able military leadership of General Sarath Fonseka the country’s only four-star general (who is now in jail for challenging the incumbent president in the presidential election 2010). There is a huge difference in US led NATO operations from the humanitarian operation in Sri Lanka where the objective was to liberate innocent Tamil civilians from the clutches of the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world.

Sri Lanka has been regularly consorting with well known tyrants, the president posing for pictures with his arms around despots like Muammar Gaddaffi and Thein Sein to name but a few. The government is deliberately distancing themselves from the west at a time when a more diplomatic approach would be the need of the hour. The anti-western stance that has been maintained so far has resulted in more missed opportunities, aligning themselves more closely with the undesirables, drifting away from the historic non-aligned foreign policy. Exclusively dealing with china in their development efforts of late may have bloated the politicians’ purse but it’s ultimately the masses that will have to carry the burden for the massive the wastage and corruption.

The recent shootings that resulted in the death of a presidential advisor in a intra-party feud in the run up to the local government elections is testament to the state thuggery  that is prevalent in the country. It was only after the demise of their fellow politician that the government politicians uttered a word against such crooks whose actions were continued to be condoned.

The longer this system continues harder it will be for Sri Lanka to avoid falling prey the enemies who are lurking out there to crush this paradise island.  

UN SG Ban Ki Moon's report on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.

UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon has called for a probe on alleged war crimes perpetrated by the government of Sri Lanka during the latter stages of the war which culminated with the killing of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Now that the report that was compiled by the three member advisory panel appointed by the UN SG is published, Sri Lankan government is facing a serious threat of been summoned before a UN security council or the UN Human Rights council.

It is no secret that UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is acting under the instigation of the western forces and it is obvious that his re-election as the secretary general of the UN is at stake if he fails to appease them, who are ironically responsible for massive violations of human rights and perpetrators of war crimes of unimaginable scales, specially in Afghanistan and the middle east.

Initially we were told that the so called advisory panel's task was not to investigate but to advise the secretary general, but the report which was published recently did not correspond to that. Instead it seems to be a report full of speculative allegations. However the allegations have not been proven and one would think that they never will be. Therefore this particular report cannot be a grounds for any further action.

However the way things are being handled by the Sri Lankan government is lamentable, there seems to be no clear strategy when it comes to the implementation of the foreign policy. Lot seems to be done at the local front than the international front where the real battle needs to be fought. One feels that the international community was not briefed accurately and regularly enough to start with. Also the conduct of some of the cabinet ministers soon after the panel of experts was appointed was laughable, where one of the cabinet ministers who initially threatened to surround the UN office in Colombo and hold its employees hostage, later staged a fast-unto-death protest in front of the UN office. He decided to end the protest when the president intervened.

The foreign minister himself has become a laughing stock, by making a plethora of contradictory statements and causing much embarrassment to the country. When the UN SG's panel of experts were appointed, the Foreign ministry initially questioned its legality and refused to grant visas to them, then released statement saying the panel was welcome to come to Sri Lanka to make representations to LLRC(Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission) and later went on to officially recognize the panel of experts and their report by secretly meeting the panel in US in his capacity as minister of external affairs.

Sri Lankan Government Playing It into the hands of the Adversary.

20 months in to the military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam(LTTE), the Sri Lanka government is facing serious accountability issues relating to war crimes.

Initial attempts by pro-LTTE elements and the West were scuttled but Ban Ki Moon’s three member panel to investigate alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka is very much in the limelight again.

In mid last year, Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris declared that the UN panel probing alleged ‘war crimes’ in Sri Lanka was “illegal” and no visas will be granted to the members of the panel. However, immediately after the infamous “Oxford Fiasco”, he said that the panel would be welcome to testify before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). He added that visas would be issued to the panel’s members for the visit.
Who is to blame for providing fresh impetus to the adversary’s cause? It is obvious that the hypocrisy of the Sri Lankan government and the imprudence of its foreign policy have led the country into a rather precarious situation. Why would the president need to address the Oxford University Union for a second time ignoring the warnings given by the diplomatic missions?
Weeks ahead of the visit to UK (for the non-address of the Oxford Union), the PR machine of the Sri Lankan government was already touting “what an honor has the president brought to the country in being invited to address the Oxford Union for a second time and the bravery he has shown in not bowing to the pressure exerted by the Tamil Diaspora in UK” and so on and so forth.
Then what happened? It gave much needed PR to the LTTE sympathizers' cause, their mass protests were covered by new agencies all around the world, and the embracement Sri Lanka had to face to go with it. UK government gave its reciprocal snub to president Rajapakse’s SOS call adding insult to injury. Imagine how naïve one has be to expect the UK (which the Sri Lankan government so merrily criticized and humiliated back at home) to intervene?
Sri Lankan government walked right into the trap which appears to be an orchestrated effort by the pro-LTTE elements and the West to humiliate Sri Lanka in front of the world.     

However there is only one way the government can mute the hue and cry for the investigation on alleged war crimes, that is to demonstrate genuine will to establish national reconciliation and re-establish the rule of law which seems to be deteriorating owing to increased authoritarianism of the executive.

Today an important Supreme Court ruling will be announced, which would be a litmus test for Sri Lanka’s Judiciary as far as its independence is concerned. General Sarath Fonseka has challenged the validity of the first General Courts Martial (GCM) that has stripped him of his rank, decorations and denied his pension. It is on the grounds that the General Court Martial (the first among two such GCMs) is not a judicial body.

This Supreme Court Ruling will make or mar the image of the Sri Lankan government where its accountability is concerned. It is up to them to portray Sri Lanka as yet another undemocratic state like Myanmar(which they have been consorting with of late) political dissent is not tolerated.