Dr.Tilak Fernando

In this progressive age, manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s behaviour is described in numerous configurative maxims. From time immemorial all religious leaders and their doctrines have been aiming at elevating man to a better life and to uplift his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”soulƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (athma) to higher ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”spiritual stationsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ after this life. Despite all such efforts, over the centuries, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”there is no more mankind now, but only animal -mankind!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ – (Sheik Mowlana Nazim – Seal of Saints – Naqshbandi order in the world).

Up until the Indian spiritual leader, Sai BabaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s demise last month, he had been propagating that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-man had moved out beyond animal level, thus man has to be unmade and re-made again, over a span of many generations.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Abuse power

A commonly accepted norm is that where there is power there is corruption. The might of such supremacy will help those who abuse power to think that they have ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”descended from heavenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and whatever they do and say should be acceptable to the outside world all the time as gospel truth! To witness a person being murdered in cold blood, even by accident, is ghastly. But to pre-meditate such a drama and watch it on video with an audience is grisly. This is what the world has seen via email pictures how President Obama was doing when unarmed Osama bin Laden was ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”shot through the foreheadƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ point blank by American Forces (as reported by his daughter) in his own home.

No doubt, bin Laden was a ruthless terrorist who needed to be eliminated at the first possible opportunity, and no one would have raised even an eyebrow if he was caught and produced before a court of Law and then chastised. But the mere act of organizing the killing by force-entry into a foreign land by violating all international norms using American might in a brutal manner and watching the assassination itself on video thousands of miles away from the scene, and later dumping the dead body into the sea speaks volumes of duplicity and hypocrisy of Americans who have been pointing a finger at Sri Lanka continuously for two years after getting rid of a domestic fanatical menace by setting an example for the world to emulate.

Tamil civilians

Velupillai Prabhakaran, armed up to his teeth, slaughtered children, women, the old and even Buddhist monks, and terrorised and devastated a nation for three decades. Finally when he started massacring his own Tamil folk ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”like dogsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ who tried to escape from his clutches Sri Lankan security forces courageously and compassionately rescued hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians out of his butchery which has deliberately gone unnoticed by those who prefer to point a finger at Sri Lanka.

Nevertheless, how did the Sri Lankan government react after the death of the megalomaniac? Was he dumped into a nearby lake or sea like what Americans did? No, he was given a routine burial as a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”deceasedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Yet, a misguided UN Secretary General and a few of his henchmen chose to lay blame on Sri Lanka of war crimes and human rights violations merely by appointing an illegal panel to humiliate and bring disrepute to gallant Security Forces who wiped out a complete terrorist peril from the Sri Lankan soil in lock stock and barrel. When President Mahinda Rajapaksa managed to free the country from the LTTE terrorist grip under two years of assuming executive office, and the people who endured mental, physical and psychological affliction for 30 long years took to the streets in jubilation, as a sigh of relief for exterminating the terrorist megalomaniac. From that moment onwards, the double standards adopted by some of the Western powers were inconceivable.

Peace and security

Now after what Americans have done for Osama bin Laden, can any free thinking person not point a finger at them and pose the question whether President Obama will ever face charges for slaughtering Osama bin Laden in cold blood while he was unarmed, and worse being watching the brutal act on video in the comfort of a sitting room? Or will he and his NATO colleagues be charged for killing innocent children and grandchildren of Kaddafi in his compound? Will Ban ki Moon get on his feet in double quick time to appoint a similar panel of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”expertsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (like Darusman) to inquire into ObamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s killing and human rights violation thereof?

At the end of the day, will all these latest incidents become a matter for the UN to resolve legally and officially? According to the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly may consider and make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for maintaining international peace and security.

In the present scenario, therefore, it is high time that the functions of the UN Council and its code of practice be reviewed as the constitution itself is well out of date and needs to improve it to set the credible standards to suit the 21st century.

As an alternative, why not elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of other organs of the United Nations to appoint a Secretary-General to the UN on the recommendation of the Security Council?

ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s high time to abolish the absurd powers to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”VETOƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which is given to few nations only who continuously abuse that status, especially when one of them is a perpetrator of an international criminal activity.

The Presidency of the UN should not be given to one single person, instead it ought to be shared by five elected individuals representing the five continents for a period of three years, and at the end of the 4th year, a new elected group should take over. The current single presidency role is subjected to plenty of abuse and inadequacies. This has been crystal clear on the behaviour of Ban ki Moon in appointing an (illegal) ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”UN PanelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to report on accountability issues in Sri Lanka which is proving by the day as a total waste of time and resources.

tilakfernando@yahoo.co.uk