Yesterday (20th 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.
