Government's Apathy Towards Bodu Bala Sena's Antics

In the light of the looming threat of sanctions against Sri Lanka, implications could be quite detrimental if government continues to turn a blind eye towards the blatant acts of persecutions on both racial and religious grounds carried out by a group of corrupt monks who call themselves 'Bodu Bala Sena'. The defense secretary of the country was seen attending as chief guest at several ceremonies held by this group, hence hinting the public of the government's overt support towards such acts of racial and religious persecutions as an obvious attempt to garner support of the sinhala buddhist sections, with the understanding that harping on the 'War Victory of 2009' alone will not assure them of continued support of the ultra-nationalists.

What this government fail to understand is that these dirty tactics will have much more detrimental impact on an international front when it comes to countering a resolution against SL at the UNHRC like they did in March 2014. It is no secret that if not for the support of the 'Muslim Nations' led by Pakistan, Sri Lanka would have been facing a much severe repercussions. Therefore by supporting (overtly or covertly) these organisations who spread racism, the government of SL is going to make itself hugely unpopular among these Muslim nations who came to our rescue in the need of the hour.

Ethnic reconciliation should be the order of the day, employing cheap tactics of this nature to garner votes locally will have a knock-on effect on the country at large on an international front. From a religious point of view the damage this group of unscrupulous monks has done to Buddhism and the country's image as a Buddhist nation is monumental. The sooner we put an end to Bodu Bala Sena's antics the better for the country's racial harmony and its Human Rights record.

Implications of the 'Weliveriya Incident'

The Human Rights record of Sri Lanka was marred by another ugly incident last Thursday when residents of the Weliweriya town in the Gampaha District who protested demanding clean drinking water were fired live bullets by Army personnel killing three. The villagers thronged the streets of Weliveriya in protest against a factory in Rathupaswala (thought to have strong links with the government) that discharged chemical waste that contaminated the ground water in and around the area.

The government mouthpieces that keep harping on the military victory of 2009, glorifying commander-in-chief the president who gave the political leadership and the Defense Secretary who gave the military leadership as the main architects of it have gone mute. But we don't see the political and military leadership taking responsibility for the lives that were lost due to excessive use of force to suppress a group of unarmed civilians. 

This can obviously have serious international implications on the country at a time when its Human Rights record is under scrutiny. In the eyes of the international community this can be particularly disadvantageous since the pro LTTE elements can leverage this incident to carry their message forward labeling the Sri Lankan Army as an army of genocide. It makes the Diaspora's accusations that much more plausible when the international community see how the military is using their force against the people of the south. With the Commonwealth Conference and the sessions with the Human Rights Council around the corner, our External Affairs minister does not seem to be helping our course either in reportedly playing it down saying incidents of this nature are part and parcel of life.

Apparently the message that the government is trying to get across to the people is that they are prepared to suppress any uprising against it using full force of the military. It appears that recent developments related to racial disharmony like the emergence of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) are propaganda campaigns by elements connected to the government to shift the focus away from an imminent uprising against the government. But sooner the people of the south are disillusioned with these elements distracting them we can be sure that a major uprising akin to the 'Arab Spring' is not too far away.

US Backed Resolution Against Sri Lanka

Yesterday the UN Human Rights council adopted the US backed resolution seeking Sri Lanka to investigate alleged war crimes against civilians. It is blatantly obvious that this is another concerted effort by the Tamil diaspora backed by the western powers to seek vengeance from Sri Lanka. It is ironical how US is selectively targeting Sri Lanka over the alleged human rights violations pertaining to an internal crisis, whilst condoning their persistent violations of human rights carried out in the Middle East and Afghanistan. This particular resolution is going to be a very unhealthy precedent where the UN Human Rights Council has adopted the resolution acting solely on political considerations.

That being said it has to be said that the SL government’s approach to this issue has being lamentably undiplomatic. The government has missed a trick by not giving emphasis to addressing the issue with the US when they were given the opportunity to negotiate, rather than the futile effort of trying to lobby the member states to defeat the resolution. Knowing so well how the UNHRC has historically acted according to the whims of the US, they should have realized that only Russia and China have the audacity to go against such a resolution. Had they taken a more diplomatic approach by being involved with the US before the resolution was taken up, they could have been able to control the damage caused considerably. The country’s minster of external affairs is set to meet the US secretary of state in the coming months, and the US is in a better position to browbeat Sri Lanka to act according to their orders.

The government has got carried away with the efforts to garner support locally, where the members of the government indulged in singing anti US slogans further distancing themselves from a possible negotiation with the relevant parties, while some cabinet ministers going as far as calling on the people to boycott US products. The sooner the government puts an end to these type antics the better for the cause of Sri Lanka. It is crucial that government focus on fighting ‘the battle’ on the right front and take a cohesive stance with regard to the issue.

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.

Unjust Incarceration of Sarath Fonseka

Imagine, three years’ rigorous imprisonment for a violation of guidelines relating to tender procedures?

He was cashiered from the first court-martial; hence technically he has never served in the armed forces and has nothing to do with the Army. So how can one enforce a second court-martial on such a person, if the common law was enforced it would have been appropriate. Imagine 3 years for the failure to reveal his son-in-law's interest in the tender in question. Even the cashiering of Fonseka for dabbling in politics while in uniform utter violation of one’s rights, what is wrong with a man whose about to retire, contemplating on entering politics as his future profession.
It is obvious that the president and the government are trying to politically destroy Sarath Fonseka.
The Rajapaksa apologists are trying to justify this unjust incarceration of the war hero that ended 30 year civil war almost sacrificing his life in the process. It is Sarath Fonseka that paved the way for the President and this government to be where they are right now.
Back in the day when the president came before the people with his Mahinda Chinthana, the salient topic was militarily defeating the LTTE. They were under tremendous pressure to deliver, the Defence secretary had been in the military long enough to realise it was General Fonseka who's the man for the job, as for the president he had been in politics long enough to realise that they desperately need someone like Fonseka who's well known for his ruthlessness in the battlefield, to help them effectively sell the war to the public. Fonseka thoroughly deserved the various feathers in his cap, he earned them, needn't pay tribute to any one for that. And he knows it, that's why he was able to bid goodbye to the military keeping his head straight.