Insight By Sunil Kumar Feb.23rd 2010

The news from Washington DC that A top Obama Administration official has said that “the US is not satisfied with the manner in which the Rajapaksa Government has handled the issue involving former Sri Lankan Army chief General Fonseka’s arrest and hoped that Colombo would follow the rules of the land in this case” is an affront to the integrities involving a Sovereign Nation, a breach of diplomatic protocols against a Nation which is also part of the Commonwealth of Nations and if true beyond journalistic jargon, the US which he represents should be reminded about getting their own act together in their own backyard and take a closer look at their own policies relative to how they interfere into the internal affairs of other Sovereign Nations which seems to be fast becoming a habit once again as shades of CIA indiscretions of the past involving many nations come to mind!

So what is it to the USA if the Sarath Fonseka court martial based upon very credible reasoning relative to the breaches of the laws of the land with tangible evidence to back the related charges is not unfolding in a manner appeasing the Obama Administraion or will it be better worded as the mindset of Mr Blake who at times seems to be pandering to defunct Tamil terrorist propaganda?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What relevance does it have to the state of affairs in Sri Lanka if the US thinks in terms of the rhetoric of Robert Blake that “So far I think it has been less than we might have hoped for, but we have certainly encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure that he is charged promptly and that everything is handled in accordance with Sri Lankan law as they move forward,” as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake has told BBC where the crux of the matter is that neither he nor the US Administration has any right to interfere into how the Fonseka Court Martial is handled whether relative to timing, adhering to the related statutes as it is a matter entirely for the Sri Lankan Administration to decide and for the US Government to desist from and back off from getting further involved towards embarassment as Sri Lanka is no pushover when it comes to handling her own affairs as the Rajapaksha Administration has proved to the world! One with a rock solid direction towards the posterity and well being of the Nation but faced with much adversity to which the Blake comments seem to be of no help.

It seems quite prudent albeit marginally on the part of former US Ambassador Blake, who was the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka previously and not without controversial involvements in matters relating to Sri Lanka to which he had absolutely no privy, that he has refrained from making classifiable comments on the charges against General Fonseka saying that he has not seen them. Had he done so and articulated with greater intensity over same, he would surely have put his foot into his mouth in his inimiticable manner and no Obama laurels as a perk either.

While Sri Lanka is in no way obliged to hasten the legal proceedings against Gen. Fonseka where the charges include treason, the attempted betrayal of the Nation through leaking top security information into the wrong hands, corrupt financial practises involving family and friends including money laundering as a new charge, high handed intimidatory utterances in public against the Head of a Nation and a plethora of other related accusations, the Sri Lankan Administration certainly need no nudge from the US Government or anyone for that matter on how to run its affairs as there seem to be to the contrary many instances of the US needing a few nudges relative to glaring foreign policy lapses and interference into the affairs of certain sovereign nations where they had no right to whilst overlooking or turning a blind eye to some instances where there was and still is a crying need for restitution through a show of power and correctional force into the injustices perpetrated by certain Rogue Nations towards their people but perhaps of no interest to their best interests which sums it all up that the US has a bifurcated direction in how it views foreign policy perhaps opportunistic at best and steeped in double standards!

Surely discrediting the US Government he represents, Mr.Blake has no right to make somewhat highhanded remarks about how some indiscreet and misguided Sri Lankans themselves have spoken about the manner in which General Fonseka was arrested as well as references to the involvement of several Buddhist monks who have interjected with no right to the privilege that this was handled in a very unprofessional and undignified way where it appears that that lack of professionalism seems to come from Blake whose sole duty is to contribute towards better relations between the Government of Sri Lanka and that of the USA which he represents but tends to make an ignominious hash of his related duties each time he makes seemingly verbose comments laced in bias and in this instance of the pro Fonseka category seemingly in favour of someone who is in the process of being indicted by the Government with valid justification.

Adding further to the chagrin he has invoked as well as many angers against him, he had made the bold remark that “In our view, I think, one of the highest priorities now is first, to complete the resettlement of the internally displaced people. About 180,000 have been sent back from the camps, but approximately 100,000 still remain.” and bears testimony to the fact that this is not for him to judge nor is it his mandate which is one being executed admirably by the President of Sri Lanka and his team of administrators facing many adversities towards the task which is by no means simple nor easy where unwarranted comments of the nature of “So I think it’s important for them to be allowed to return to their homes and villages in the north as quickly as possible,” which Blake has made rather blatantly adds to the sentiments being raised against him as an interferer!

Blake then has made himself into an object of disdain and become unacceptable in the minds of many Sri Lankans that he not only makes indiscreet comments about the displaced Tamil People, the Freedoms of the Press and dabbles with many topics which seem beyond his comprehension from a distant safe haven but also dares challenge the integrity of a Nation and its President who has become more than acceptable in the eyes of many Nations and their leaders and needs to tone down his rhetoric or risk getting laughed at!