Shenali D Waduge

The invitation to the Sri Lankan President to the UK coincides with the 200^th anniversary since the Sinhale Nation was ceded to the British in 1815. If post-independent Sri Lankan leaders shied from reminding the British of their crimes during colonial rule, they should have at least had the pluck to remind the British that accountability and reconciliation must begin with a British apology first. Instead, Sri Lanka’s leaders are happy to stomach all the accusations that the British dish out at international venues in particular UN forums and at diplomatic levels instead of bringing to light the lack of accountability or reconciliation by the Brits to virtually 90% of the world which it ruled under Her Majesty’s flag!

If the wounds of colonial past was not enough to suffer, Sri Lanka’s fate has been to have Britain allow UK to be used as International Head Quarters of the LTTE that the British had banned too. If that was not enough Tiger leaders including the supposed theoretician Anton Balasingham was free to function from UK while his wife the trainer of LTTE child soldiers lives happily in the UK. Scores of LTTE operatives continue to rub shoulders with politicos simply because they are registered as charities or humanitarian organizations most of which are fooling the UK tax payers siphoning money to run a terror campaign. It is UK’s choice to allow its own citizens to be fleeced to fill the LTTE coffers but when the UK issues statements against our armed forces demeaning the war victory and attempting to drag them to a war crimes trial, if our leaders have no spine to speak on behalf of the heroes, Britain must know that the People of Sri Lanka are not like their leaders. However, despite millions of Indians been killed by the British has chosen to function as the proxy of the West in Asia and that partnership is likely to ruin countries of Asia.

A nation that ruled 90% of the world applying Christian doctrine of Terra Nullius (legal terminology for land belonging to no one – simply because the people living in the land were not Christians) taking over nations the objective was to plunder and convert the masses while the long term plan was to denationalize natives by introducing English language, replacing indigenous culture with British and using education to remove patriotic sentiment, pride in national leaders, history and traditions and in its place create brown sahibs who would look down upon all that was traditional and historical and nurture people who would think, speak and act like the West to be used at later times by using various triggers. We have enough of brown sahibs to showcase as examples as against others who have been able to differentiate and take the good that the British had to offer but not compromise on heritage and traditional culture.

Why should the inquisition be against the same victims of colonial occupation? Why are the colonial invaders functioning as inquisitors holding UN and UNHRC with powers bestowed upon themselves? Why is it that only the enemies of the West are dragged before war crimes tribunals or slapped with sanctions? If leaders have been subdued and sedated into prostrating before the former colonial masters it is for the People of these victim nations to remind the British and all other former invaders of their dark past. This dark past extended 500 years and included crimes far horrendous than those committed by today’s terrorists.

The local clones created from the British education system will do their best to twist versions to whitewash British crimes but these crimes are nothing that allows Britain to hold its head high. In fact British has no moral grounds to point fingers until and unless it owns up to its criminal past, compensates for the criminal acts and returns all the hoarded treasures that belong to nations that it forcibly occupied.

The Britain that is accusing Sri Lanka, allowing documentaries to ridicule our nation, issuing statements choreographed by its partners in crime need to be reminded of how its own policies included ‘raid and destroy’ wherein unarmed civilians were indiscriminately killed, natives were hung while enjoying British breakfast, women were raped, livestock were set aflame, villages were burnt, lands were robbed, irrigation was destroyed with the intent of starving people to death, people were forcibly converted to Christianity, subtle attempts to destroy Buddhism because they realized that Sinhala Buddhists were the impediment for an easy rule of Sinhale, divide and rule policies that continue to divide people with British politicians regularly arriving to stoke the flames. Missionary schools were established to create a submissive class of natives to be ruled by the British and willing to serve them. Liquor was introduced to break cultures and homes and weaken resistance. If all that was not enough even the elephants were not spared, thousands were killed as a sport.

Britain bled the nation of its wealth, introduced biased economic policies and created groups of local collaborators who were prepared to be slaves of white rules and disown their own people.

The British have no moral standing to be preaching. This site gives details of how Britain robbed and sold the King’s buttons (gold with crystals), ear ornaments set in rubies, Gold slips with Cingalese inscriptions used for conferring titles. Cutlery, crockery all belonging to the King were sold, the King who stood 6’4 in height had all his royal suits sold by the British advertising as if these items belonged to them.

http://sinhalaheritage.org/Kandian_Regalia.html

As President Sirisena will be given a reception plus a message underlying Britains wish list, what cannot be forgotten is that unless we uphold our right to defend our sovereignty, if we chose not to defend what is now ours, legally we forfeit our right to the nation.

The British along with other former colonial rulers ransacked entire nations and territories, they drew borders and divided people/tribes, they split these territories among each European nation to rule them as slaves and when they had hoarded enough to industrialize their nations and wanted commercial transaction they decided to offer independence. The independence was handed to leaders who were simply locals cloned into functioning as their agents – leaders that went against the tide were soon bumped off as Aung San of Myanmar and Patrice Lumumba of Congo. The World Bank and IMF are run by the West, the UN and associated bodies are all controlled by the very countries that have criminal records and when these are reminded to them they are shouted down as being impediments to peaceful co-existence. Now using Islamic militants they are destroying the remaining historical and cultural sites that they targeted when they colonized nations.

It is a shame that the world remains in their hands because the representatives of the victim nations are idolizing the very nations that murdered and cause mayhem in their own nations before under colonial rule and now under neo-colonial rule.

Can Asia’s leaders finally wake up and show the pluck that Africa’s people are showing in demanding justice from those that point fingers while keeping their crimes without trial and justice.

For over 500 years of crimes against humanity Britain and the West has not been put on trial because they are the judges, jurors and they decide who goes to trial and who does not.

Srimath Anagarika also wrote from his prison cell Sinhalese will rather die than living without Buddhism, You may kill as many Sinhalese as you can now, but they will never forget this injustice.”   

Shenali D Waduge