Jayantha Pathbey from USA

Attached is a news item from ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the Telegraph, UK datedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Wednesday 13 July 2011ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/liberia/8578540/Blood-diamond-trial-the-case-against-ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ‘Blood diamond’ trial: the case against Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor has spent the last three years on trial before the war crimes tribunal in The Hague over accusations that as Liberian president he funded years of atrocities in neighbouring Sierra Leone in return for “blood diamonds”.

DoesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t this remind us of the role played by the tamil diaspora spread all over the world like a cancer that helped LTTE and still continues in ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ its attempts to break up Sri Lanka. The tamil diaspora and all the countries that provided ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ arms to the members of diaspora tamils are guilty ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  supporting Prabhakaran and the LTTE, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ that killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of citizens of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese, Tamils, Moslems alike),ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  recruitment of child soldiers, brutal killing and executions of Sri Lankans, includingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  a president and hundredsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of political leaders of Sri Lanka, colossal property damage and even the killing of a leader of a foreign country.

Channel 4 news has been used as a tool by the diaspora tamils who still support the LTTEƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  as well as the tamils who are misled into believing that it is a just cause. Channel 4, just like any other commercial news channel goes for cheap publicityƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and their TV ratings. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Of course the Killing Fields documentary will appeal to the do-gooders of this world who are hurting for a cause to get involved and to create trouble. Even in the US except for a handful no one really seems to care what happens in the world except for what happens in China at present. There are politicians everywhere, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, to name a few who get elected by the people and who need tamil votes to get elected again and therefore feel compelled to pay at least lip service till the next sucker group comes along.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What the diaspora tamils as well as their sympathizers fail to realize is that Prabhakaran and the LTTE took the tamils in Sri Lanka down a garden path to the edge of a deep precipice and threw them in. By doing so he took them back at least a five hundred years. To add to their misery Prabhakaran decimated all respected tamil leaders by murdering them and by driving the rest into exile. Those who survived did so with the protection of the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka.

Are these people so foolish. The continued misleading of the tamils by these fools ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in turn, will only cause so much misery and suffering for the tamils in Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  till they realize they have only one friend and protector, the people and the government of Sri Lanka.

In fact, the present Sri Lankan leadership has done more ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ for the tamils in particular and for the people of Sri Lanka in general that given another at least ten years, at the rate Sri Lanka as a whole is being developed will result is someday our grand children calling it a true paradise. Give the president some breathing space people, leaders like him are not found everyday nor everywhere. Trust me I have been in some of the poorest countries in the world.

The Diaspora Tamil LTTE rump is so vicious and so destructive itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s leaders should be tried exactly the way ex-President of Liberia ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Charles Taylor is being tried. The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, World Tamil Congress and hundreds ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  other tamil splinter groups sympathetic of the LTTE tamils including the members of the newly formed Transnational Tamil Government in Exile (TGTE), have been providing financial and material assistance to Prabhakaran and the LTTE led by him and are therefore directly responsible for the terrorizing of civilians, murder of innocent people, starting ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a civil war against a legally elected government and its people, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people of Sri Lanka,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  recruitment of child soldiers ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ which is universally accepted and a known fact to name a few, to the International Court of Justice.

Is there any way a country like Sri Lanka with the support of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ its friends start a campaign and push for proceedings to bring these criminals to the war crimes tribunal in the Hague

I am Forwarding this letter to the Lankaweb afterƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  giving very careful thought so that as much publicity can be generated among those of us who truly care forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Sri Lanka.

As an established professional and businessman from Sri Lanka in the US, I would very much like to get involved in a process that will help in any way to assist to destroy the roots of those who assisted the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Especially the Tamil Diaspora elements who still support breaking up of Sri Lanka. There is some justice still left in the world we live.

Sri Lankan government can request for the extradition of the remnants of the LTTE terror groups, especially the leaders of these groups,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to Sri Lanka. After all most of them hold dual citizenship of their countries of present domicile as well as that of Sri Lanka for their convenience.

If the government of Sierra Leone, the poorest country in Africa of the 53 countries in the African Continent ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ can do that for a former head of Liberia why canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t Sri Lanka?. Even a cancer can be treated ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” CanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it?

Jayantha Pathbey ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” USA

NOTE:

The writer ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ worked in both Liberia and Sierra Leone from 1978 to 1988 and met Charles Taylor in 1998.

On April 12^th 1980 President William Tolbert Jr. was killed tragically during a Coup dƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢tat and till 2004 Liberia plunged into ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ total chaos and darkness. Charles Taylor and his rebel supporters captured power and he became the president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003 when he was forced into exile in Nigeria. In 2006, the newly elected President Ellen Johnson SirleafƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  formally requested his extradition. Upon his arrival in Monrovia, he was transferred to the custody of the United Nations Mission in Liberia and immediately flown to Sierra Leone.

The writer also served in the capacities of technical advisor to President Tolbert of Liberia (1979 to 1980) as well as to President Siaka Stevens of Sierra Leone (from 1982 to 1985). ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The writer lived and worked in more than 18 countries in east, west and southern Africa and ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ finally left West Africa in 1988. He follows news and events from these countries and is a frequent traveller to Africa and has experienced and seen the suffering and carnage brought by meddling neighbours.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

News Reports

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Naomi Campbell tells Charles Taylor’s war crimes tribunal about ‘dirty stones’

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Naomi Campbell tells Charles Taylor’s war crimes tribunal about ‘dirty stones’Naomi Campbell has told a UN war crimes tribunal investigating Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president, how she was given a pouch containing “dirty stones” by two men who came to her hotel room.

By Bruno Waterfield in The Hague

After confirming her name and date of birth, Miss Campbell said the pair knocked on the door of her hotel room and woke her up late at night after the dinner with Mandela.

The men, who she had never met, told her ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-there is a gift for youƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. They gave her a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-pouchƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ which she opened the next morning and containing ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-a few small very dirty looking stonesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.

In response to questioning, she said, in a husky voice, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I guess they were diamondsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. She added: “They were dirty- looking pebbles. I’m used to seeing diamonds, shiny and in a box.”

The following morning she joined ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Carol White, her ex agent, and Mia Farrow ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ (former wife of Frank Sinatra and Woody Allen)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  for breakfast and told them of the gift. Miss White said she presumed the men were acting on behalf of Mr Taylor.

The supermodel said she then gave the “two or three” stones to an organizer of a South African childrenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s charity.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Report By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg

7:30AM BST 16 Jun 2011

He was the first ever African head of state to face an international tribunal. Aside from distracting details about his flirtation with supermodel Naomi Campbell, uncut jewels and dining with Nelson Mandela, the aim of the Special Court for Sierra Leone could not be more serious: to seek justice for the hundreds of thousands of victims of a vicious civil war.

Taylor stands accused of accepting “mayonnaise jars” stuffed with diamonds dug by anti-government rebels ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” and the civilians they forced to work at gunpoint ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” from Sierra Leone’s rust-coloured earth which were then smuggled across the jungle border to Monrovia.

In return, US-educated and Libya-trained Taylor sent back weapons largely purchased on the black market because of a UN arms embargo placed on Liberia. Among those he is alleged to have traded with was Russian Viktor Bout, on whom the Nicholas Cage film Lord of War is partly based.

The Sierra Leone civil war claimed some 120,000 lives in the 10 years to 2001, with Revolutionary United Front rebels mutilating thousands of civilians who had their hands and arms severed.

According to Brenda Hollis, the chief prosecutor, Taylor was directly responsible for the terrorising of civilians, recruitment of child soldiers and even cannibalism ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the court heard from a former aide who said he saw him eat a human liver.

End of News Item.