By Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. former Government Agent, Matara

Though in pre-trial hearings it was alleged that General Noriega had in his possession documents showing US complicity in the assassination, the presiding judge agreed with the US Government that their public mention would violate the Classified Information Procedures Act!. Simon Mann of the elite British SAS, who was caught red handed when trying to stage a coup dƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢etat in Equitorial Guinea, in collaboration with Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has said that “tacit approval for the regime change came from the Pentagon, the CIA and the big oil companies. (Guardian.Co.UK:2/11/2009) President Castro of Cuba stands to have survived over a hundred assassination attempts.

President Allende of Chile was proceeding on a socialist path and had to be got rid of . He was closely guarded by his Army Commander, General Schneider, a man who could not be bought over. . The CIA planned to abduct Army Commander Schneider, as the first step in killing Allende. Unfortunately the abduction became an assassination and the Army Commander was killed in the confrontation. Thereafter President Allende was on the mat- he was assassinated. It was an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”army coupƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which ended in AllendeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s killing! Sheik Mujibur Rahaman, the father of Bangladesh who tried to fight for the poor in Bangladesh was killed by a group of Army Officers and it is alleged that the perpetrators found solace in the USA. Anyone that wants to know more is advised to read John PerkinƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s recent book The Secret History of the American Empire.

One can go around the world- to Iraq, Afghanistan, to Iran, to Pakistan and find how US policies have decimated countries. Now it is Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s turn and woe be unto us if we stand divided! The United National Party, the Party that once won our independence has now become the catƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s paw of the Imperialists and has sold the country to the IMF and to the Western powers.

Today the US Senators pose to the world as saints and the moment a journalist disappears in Sri Lanka they accuse the Rajapaksa Government of abduction. The US Senators have at the back of their mind how the CIA planned to abduct AllendeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Army Commander Schenieder and think that every disappearance in Sri Lanka is a State abduction.

The manner in which one of the chief architects of the victory against the LTTE-the Army Commander Sarath Fonseka was bought over to contest at the presidential election and the subsequent happenings are indicative of a conspiracy- a conspiracy that is live and very active today.

Every Superpower including the USA and even the United Nations is gunning against the Rajapaksa Government. They all keep talking of human rights violations, the lack of democracy and freedom of speech.

The very fact that Sarath Fonseka is being tried for his misdeeds, with lawyers appearing for him, and due action is being taken on the representations made by the Counsels shows how there is justice. In many other countries- hear of a conspiracy and one is immediately told that the conspirators have been already put to death. Why did the Premadasa Government not charge Rohana Wijeweera in the Courts. Our Judicial System was alive at that time. He was caught alive and disposed of in cold blood. Not a whimper from any Superpower or the United Nations!.

President Rajapaksa defied the USA and other Western Superpowers and Japan. Rajapaksa proved a match for all of them. He was not prepared to stop battling the terrorist LTTE when ever they advised him to talk peace and to confine the army to the barracks. In his first presidential election in 2005 he told the people that he will rid the LTTE menace from our shores and he did actually achieve it in a matter of three years- what other presidents miserably failed.. He even had the stature to remind the Foreign Secretary of the UK, David Milliband that Sri Lanka is no longer a colony of theirs to dictate to us what we have to do. He was no Jayawardena that caved in to the might of India when the Indian Air Force flew a few armed sorties over the City of Colombo and dropped a few parippu aid packs in Jaffna. Jayawardena shivered in his boots before the mighty Rajiv Gandhi and forced the 13 th Amendment onto our Constitution, a piece of legislation which is not suitable for a small country like Sri Lanka. Rajiv Gandhi forced Jayawardena to pave the way for a divided Sri Lanka. This led to a divided Sri Lanka-divided for three decades.

Everyone in Sri Lanka has to cast aside their political allegiances and appreciate what President Mahinda Rajapaksa has done to eradicate the LTTE from our shores. Have we forgotten the fact that for the past three decades everyone in Sri Lanka was not sure as to whether one could be back at home for certain. In 1995 to 2000, when I lived in Nugegoda I dared to go to Colombo only when I had no alternative. I would drive carefully, observant throughout and when I parked my car I would look around to see anything strange. Every step was taken only when I looked all around me to see whether any untoward thing was happening. Those were the days of the Rajagiriya shooting where a group of disturbed terrorists ran through the main Castle Street for over a half mile shooting at random-one terrorist shooting his way through the Maternity Hospital at Castle Street and others shot their way to the nearby flats. As much as 38 people died and 50 injured died on that fateful day in March 2000.

Action to destabilize Sri Lanka after the LTTE was defeated in May 2009, involved splitting the group of armed officers and the political leadership that led the country to victory. There was Admiral Wasanta Karannagoda, the Naval Chief who sank the LTTE supply ships and successfully laid a dragnet of armed ships around the coast, who stood his ground. He was beyond approach. So was the Airforce Chief – Air Chief Marshall Gunatileke, who provided cover to the ground forces and ferried supplies braving the anti aircraft bastians of the LTTE.

Then came Sarath Fonseka the Army Commander, the weakling who could be cornered to be a traitor to the nation. He was bought over and the leaders of the Opposition courted him to run as a common candidate for the presidency against President Rajapaksa, the one man who led the war and did instruct the three armed forces- the Ground Army, the Navy and the Airforce to battle the foes. Fonseka has suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the electorate in his bid to be elected as the President. His supporter, the Leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickremasinghe, who cajoled him to come forward as the presidential candidate has now dumped him. The JVP that backs him now at the parliamentary elections is also very likely to dump him when he is unable to deliver the goods.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The fact that what is happening today is an international conspiracy is proved by many facts.

1. At the final stages of battling the LTTE, the USAƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Milliband the Foreign Secretary of the UK, Kouchner, Foreign Minister of France, Japan and other nations like Norway cajoled, then persuaded and finally dictated to President Rajapaksa that he should stop fighting, declare peace and give the LTTE another life support. None of them succeeded because we had a man of iron resolve and determination in President Rajapaksa.

The motives of these Superpowers have to be sought out and debated aloud. Why did they want the LTTE given a lease of life? They all posed as if they wanted to destroy terrorists but in fact they are not interested in annihilating any terrorist once and for all. The never ending scenes in Iraq and Afghanistan indicate that it is not their intention to end the war they are waging. They want the war to continue because it is then that they can continue to tap the vast oil resources of Iraq and to control the uranium rich Afghanistan. They wanted us to keep fighting because it is only then that arms and armaments made by them will find sales. They also wanted to destabilize Sri Lanka.

2. The USA after the humiliating defeat of the LTTE got Senator John Kerry and Senator Richard Lugar . to redraft the foreign policy of the USA . The Report “Sri Lanka: Recharting US Strategy After the War”(111 Congress: 2009) states that ” the US cannot afford to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”loseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Sri Lanka. This does not mean changing the relationship overnight or ignoring the real concerns about Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s political and humanitarian record. It does mean however, considering a new approach that increase US leverage vis-ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚ -vis Sri Lanka by expanding the number of tools at our disposal. A more multifaceted US strategy would capitalise on the economic, trade and security aspects of the relationship. This approach could in turn catalyze much needed political reforms that will ultimately help secure longer term US strategic interests in the Indian Ocean”. The attempt of the US is to counteract the influence of China.. However it is important to note the fact that the US emphasizes a political solution. It would interest the US to understand that the LTTE as well as the Tamil Diaspora want not only self determination, but the right to deal with foreign donors, to have armed forces- all of which are not available even to the States in the USA or to States in India. It is one united Sri Lanka now, where all people can live freely anywhere. The majority of the Tamil population which is today less than 10% of the population lives in harmony within the Sinhala polulation thus any further devolution of power has to be given to the entire island. The US and other foreign powers fail to realize that the Provincial Councils forced on Sri Lanka by India in the 13 th Amendment to the Constitution has proved to be a waste of expenses and a duplication of administration not suitable for a small country like Sri Lanka. .

3. The fact that the LTTE was supported by the USA is also proved by the connections that Robert Blake the U.S. Assistant Secretary has had in meeting the Global Tamil Diaspora in Washington. Recently the Global Tamil Forum meetings were addressed by David Milliband the Foreign Minister of the UK. Gordon Brown the Prime Minister of the UK was associated with the Global Tamil Forum.

The UK Ambassador, Lyall Grant has said that “the UK wants to see an end to impunity, wants to see allegations of War Crimes, human rights violations and abuses thoroughly investigated”(The Island:21/3/10).

This statement should apply with equal force to the role that the UK is playing in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the UK has committed armed aggression on the pretext that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, while the UKƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s own inspector David Kelley said that there was no such evidence. The battles in Iraq and Afghanistan are not in domestic domain. Neither Iraq nor Afghanistan occupied by force an inch of land belonging either to the UK or to the USA. In the case of Sri Lanka, the terrorist LTTE was occupying by force a third of the country and almost two thirds of the coast. If not for President Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka would have by now, had to accept Eelam in more than half our country.

4. An international conspiracy is caught in action due to the foreign funding that reaches Sri Lanka via NGOs(Non Governmental Organizations). From where are the funds coming into the NGOs for some of their employees to draw salaries of over a million rupees a month.

It is these funds that are disbursed freely to local journalists and officers to espouse the cause of separatism. The 2009 Manifesto of the United National Party was alleged to have been printed by funds from a foreign NGO. Further, international financing becomes clearly evident in the caches of foreign funds found in bank vaults of the accomplices of presidential contestant Sarath Fonseka. It is important to note that there were thousands of dollars in brand new crispy notes in sequential number, the type of which cannot have come through normal banking channels. This points out to the dollars being smuggled in through DPL bags. We are all aware that the 1971 JVP insurrection was done by the North Korea because of massive funds spent by the North Korean Embassy.

This even led to the closure of that embassy.

5. Ban Ki Moon the United NationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Secretary General has decided to appoint a panel of experts to advise him on accountability issues relating to the humanitarian abuses in the last stages of annihilating Prabhakaran. President Rajapaksa has rightly lambasted the UN Secretary General by stating facts; The proposed investigation is “both unprecedented and unwarranted as no such action has been taken about other member states with continuing armed conflicts on large scale involving major human catastrophies and causing the deaths of large numbers of civilians due to military action.” President Rajapaksa has rightly pointed out that allegations of human rights violations were motivated by misrepresentations by apologists of the LTTE and by some non governmental organizations with a misguided agenda directed against Sri Lanka.”

Why is the Secretary General of the United Nations silent about the armed exploits in Iraq and Afghanistan by the USA, the UK and the NATO.

The USA and the UK have already reduced both Iraq and Afghanistan to rubble and are now even destabilizing Pakistan with frequent drone attacks, with many civilian casualities.

It would be good for the Secretary General to read the Times (UK) of 13 th March 2010: Nato Covered Up Botched Raid “A night raid carried out by the US and Afghan gunmen led to the deaths of two pregnant women, a teenage girl and two local officers(police) in an atrocity which NATO then tried to cover up.

The Operation on Friday, February 12, was a pre dawn assaultƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ NATO claimed that the force had found the womenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s bodies tied up, gagged and killed in a room.

A Times Investigation suggests that NATO claims are either willfully false or at best misleading”

Similar atrocities perpetrated by foreign forces on the civilian populations of sovereign countries are occurring daily in Iraq and Afghanistan, where foreign forces are occupying countries thousands of miles away under the pretext of annihilating terrorism..

It will be of interest to find out why the Secretary General of the UN is silent over the Chagosian Islanders- 2000 of them , who inhabited Diego Garcia who were bundled up moved forcibly from 1967 to 1973 by Britain to enable the USA to establish their naval base at Diego Garcia.. The Chagossian islanders were first moved forcibly to the island of Peros Banhos, 100 miles away and later dumped in Mauritius.

By a Court Judgement on October 9, 2003, Justice Ousley of the High Court denied the right of the Chagossian islanders to any compensation.

However, on May 11, 2006, the islanders won their case in the High Court to return to the Chagos Islands. But David Milliband, the Foreign Secretary of the UK Government appealed and on October 22, 2008 the Law Lords ruled that the islanders had no right to return. The United States yet rules the waves of the Indian Ocean at Diego Garcia while the 2000 islanders are left without hearth and home. Now is this not a case where the United NationsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Secretary General should take up.

Again it will be of interest for the Secretary General of the UN to look into the fate that befell the UN Arms Inspector the British Officer Dr.David Kelly who told the British Government that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It was Dr Kelly “that exposed claims by George Bush, Tony Blair and Collin Powell that mobile biological warfare units had been found as false.(The Independent:25ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢7/2003) This was not what Tony Blair the Prime Minister of Britain wanted to hear when he plunged the armed forces of Britain to battle Iraq, playing poodle to George Bush. Is it of interest for the Secretary General to note that David Kelly died a strange sudden death, classified officially as a suicide. “Evidence concerning the assassination of Dr David Kelly has been covertly classified as Top Secret and will not be released for at least 70 years.”(The Insider:22/3/2010) In the words of The Daily Mail: “David Kelly post mortem to be kept secret for 70 years as doctors accuse Lord Hutton of concealing vital information”(25/01/2010). This is only one instance of a human rights abuse and lack of transparency on the part of the UK.

The unwarranted incursion into Iraq has killed millions of Iraqi people and hundreds of British soldiers. It is done for the UK and the USA to grab the oil wealth of Iraq. All this is not within the sight of the blinkered eyes of the United Nations!

Why is the United Nations silent about the atrocities of Israel against the Palestinians. As we write Israel is turing out Palestinians from their homes, forcibly taking over their lands and building homes for new Israelis by force. Joe Biden the Vice President of the USA who came to talk of peace for the Palestinians has been rebuffed by the Israel Prime Minister Netanhau who has decided to build another 1,500 homes.

Is the Secretary General of the UN aware that the Israelis who occupy homes do not hold the title deeds to those occupied lands. The title dees are held by Palestinians who are homeless in Gaza and other areas where they had to flee in face of the Israeli onslaught. As I pen these words Israel has again commenced shelling the Gaza strip. Killing civilians(20/3/2010)

The atrocities, even including the use of phospherous on the civilian population of Gaza- how Gaza was reduced to rubble in January 2009, when the Israel Army is alleged to have killed over 1,400 Palestinians, destroyed hospitals and even United Nations establishments. A few years earlier Israel reduced Lebanon to rubble. Israel is more than a State of the USA. The Secretary General of the United Nations is evidently, now playing poodle to the USA.

What was the Secretary General of the United Nations doing when over 91 people were killed and 1400 injured, when the Central Bank was blown up by the LTTE in Colombo on 31 st January 1996. What of over the killing of pilgrims worshipping at the most Sacred Bo Tree of the Buddhists in Anuradhapura in 1985. The official estimate is that 200 were killed while an Assistant Superintendent of Police told me that the number killed was over 500. The United Nations was very silent then. Now when a saviour has sprung up to rid Sri Lanka of the terrorist LTTE the UN questions the standards used in defeating the terrorists. He has not done carpet bombing- what the USA did in Vietnam. He did not use bunker busters, used by the USA in many countries. He has not wantonly killed people enmass as the US and the UK has done in Iraq and Afghanistan. He carefully ensured that there was the least civilian casualities. It is sad to realize that the United Nations has become the mouthpiece for the United States and the Tamil Diaspora- the LTTE members that has opted to live overseas.

Why has the Secretary General of the United Nations descended to be the mouthpiece for the terrorists?

It is reported that the Secretary General of the UN is said to be determined to press for War Crimes against Sri Lanka. Why is the Secretary General silent about the War Crimes commited by the USA, the UK and Israel. It will be well for him to be aware that he will expose himself to a charge of double standards if he is not fair by every member of the United Nations. The battle in Sri Lanka to rid the menace of terrorism was an entirely domestic matter totally within the legal boundaries of a sovereign country. Has he forgotten that the LTTE ran a facist dictatorship and the last episode of civilians caught in the mayhem was because the LTTE forced the civilians at gun point to move as hostages with the LTTE cadres, keeping them as human shields.

A good number of the Tamil diaspora with whom the United Nations and Robert Blake and David Milliband are now conversing with are responsible for the carnage and they alone deserve to be charged for War Crimes.

6. The 2009 Human Rights Report of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the US Department of State has just been released in the teeth of the parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, evidently aimed at helping the Pro West United National Party at the elections.

The very timing of the relase reveals that it is a part of the conspiracy to destabilize Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s current parliamentary election.

The Report makes a scathing attack on Sri Lanka:

” The GovernmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s respect for human rights declined as armed conflict reached its conclusionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.Credible reports cited unlawful killings by paramilitaries and others believed to be working with the awareness and assistance of the government, assassinations by unknown perpetrators, politically motivated killings and disappearances. The Government was credibly accused of arbitrary arrests and detentions, poor prison conditions, denial of fair public trial, government corruption and lack of transparency, infringement of freedom of movement, harassment of journalists and lawyers critical of the Government and discrimination against minorities. Human Rights observers alleged that Government paramilitary groups and security forces participated in armed attacks against civilians and practiced torture, kidnapping, hostage taking and extortion with impunity.”

It is evident from the full Report that there is no basis to make such a judgement on the situation of democracy, human rights and freedom of the press in Sri Lanka. At best the Report gives a series of instances without definite proof and it reflects poorly on the United Nations for having put forward a Report without firm proof.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ For instance the Report states that torture is practiced by the Government in Sri Lanka: “Following a 2007 Visit UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on Torture Manfred Nowak concluded that torture is widely practiced in Sri Lanka” No accurate publicly released statistics on reported torture cases were available.” There are no instances nor any evidence of torture being practiced by the Armed Forces in Sri Lanka.

There are a few instances where excesses have happened by police personnel where action has been taken. The statement that torture is widely practiced in Sri Lanka has no basis whatsoever and would be more applicable to the happenings in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan today.

I wish to point out that sporadic instances of excesses by armed personnel and the police and lack of law and order can be found in any country. That does include the USA and the UK.

Last year, I had purchased an air ticket to tour Brazil. Nearer the date for departure, I read in the newspaper of a few instances where there were armed thugs attacking motorists when they stop at traffic lights with the aim of extortion and robbery. It has been my method of touring to rent a car and travel thousands of miles to come to know the country. I went on the internet and found that in the cities in Brazil it was normal for such incidents and backed out. I cancelled my trip incurring a loss.

Talk of the UK and there is the Menezes incident where the London Police shot dead an electrician in an Underground Station in London, thinking that he was one of four persons that had planted bombs the earlier day. He was followed. What happened on 22/5/2005 is very interesting:

“Menezes entered the tube station at about 10 A.M, walked through the barriers and descended the escalator slowly. He then ran across the platform to board the newly arrived train. Menezes boarded the train and found one of the first available seats. Three surveillance officers, code named Hotel1, Hotel3 and Hotel9 followed Menzes onto the train. According to Hotel3 Menezes sat down ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ Hotel3 then took a seat on the left about two or three passengers between Menezes and himself. When the firearms officers arrived on the platform Hotel3 moved to the door, blocked it from closing with his left foot and shouted, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”He is hereƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to identify the suspectƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s location. The Firearms officers boarded the train and it was initially claimed that they challenged the suspect though later Reports indicate that he was not challenged. According to Hotel3 Menezes then stood up and advanced towards the officers and Hotel3 at which point Hotel 3 grabbed himƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦

Hotel3 heard a shot close to his earƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ Hotel 3 then heard several shotsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦. Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder at close range and died at the scene. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ It was revealed that police policy toward suspected suicide bombers had been revised and that officers had been ordered to fire directly towards suspectƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s heads, the theory according to Britush authorities being that shooting at the chest could conceivably detonate a concealed bomb.”

(Wikipedia) The family of Menezes took the Metropolitan police to the Courts. The Police were found guilt and were fined pounds 175,000 with pounds 385,000 as legal costs. . The Acting Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson said “We made a most terrible mistake”. However Cressida Dick, the officer who shot Menezes was accorded a double promotion- to the position of Deputy Assistant Commissioner.

What is clear is that with so many policemen around Menezes he could have been arrested alive. He need not have been shot. It is a real case of murder.

The UK authorities had decided to shoot suspected suicide bombers in the head to immobilize them before they could detonate any bomb they had. It is of interest to note that the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka never used such in human methods. Suspected suicide cadres were subjected to a body search and many soldiers died in the process. Sri Lankan soldiers are mere flies that can be squashed, while the lives of the London Metropolitan police have to be safeguarded. The Secretary General of the UN and the Human Rights Commission should note that Sri Lanka did not use the inhuman methods used by the UK in combating terrorism. Yet the Secretary General of the UN is holding Sri Lanka to ransom.

Talk of the USA, the home of the United Nations and one cannot forget what happened to Rodney King, a mortorist, who was felled by the police, hit with a baton and kicked till he was unconscious on March 3, 1991.. Unknown to the Policemen the incident was videoed and action was then taken against the Police. King had not done anything to warrant an assault. The four officers were charged in Court but acquitted. This sparked riots resulting in 53 deaths, 2383 injuries, over 7000 fires. Subsequently a federal trial found two officers guilty and the judgement was only a two and a half yearsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ imprisonment.

Similar police brutalities are a common occurrence in the USA. So much for human rights in the USA!

The problem that I see today is that the entire World is trying to run our country. They forget the fact that the country has a population of 21 million, whose interests have to prevail. It is one of the few countries in the world that has a recorded history harking back to 2500 years, backed by epigraphical records. Today the Tamil Nadu Government has wanted Sri Lanka to pursue a political settlement for the Tamils in the North and the East. What about the Tamils who live in the rest of the island and that amounts to 55% of them. What of the Muslims and the Sinhala people and the latter amount to 75% of the people in the entire country. All the Superpowers- the USA, the UK, Germany, France, Japan all have their own idea of what should happen to Sri Lanka. To all of them, my message is that Sri Lanka is not the Africa of 1884- when the Superpowers that had forcibly carved out portions of Africa met at a conference presided over by Chancellor Otto Von Bismark of Germany, when they parcelled Africa among themselves.

Let our people stand firm against foreign domination. The Superpowers all wanted the war against the LTTE to continue. But now we have created history by annihilating the terrorist LTTE from our shores. Let us stand firm by the saviour who delivered us from that menace. All the Superpowers pleaded with us that it was not possible to defeat them and advised us to talk peace. They were all proved wrong. The future of our country and its economic development can also be achieved only under President Rajapaksa.

Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. former member of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service.

Author of:How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka, (Godages)2006

26 th March 2010