Mahinda Rajapaksa hits back, questions West’s standards on terror
Posted on September 4th, 2011
Sri Lanka News
President Mahinda Rajapaksa Sunday launched a broadside against western nations that have often targetted Sri Lanka on rights abuses, questioning the “safe havens” provided by them to financiers of LTTE terror, while pledging his country’s commitment to human rights.
In a public address, Rajapaksa said his government was committed to transforming the Sri Lankan society to one of peace, pluralism and equality.
“Our commitment to human rights is second to none,” he said in comments ahead of next week’s session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Rajapaksa also attacked the international community, mainly the West, that has called for accountability over the alleged rights abuses during the final phase of the war with the LTTE.
“Many of those who fault us today are harbouring those who funded terror in our country, and still raise funds for this brutal cause. They were also glad to give safe haven to the very theoreticians of terror in Sri Lanka,” Rajapaksa said in a veiled reference to the UK.
The LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham was a UK citizen.
Rajapaksa claimed that by eliminating LTTE he had freed South Asia from terrorism and mocked the US-led war on terror.
“We have achieved this with much less of the assets and none of the deceit and duplicity of those who have been waging war on terror for more than a decade, those with much more economic and fire power than we had and many more allies than we ever had,” Rajapaksa said targetting the US.
The US, UK, European Union have been calling Sri Lanka to stand accountable over alleged rights abuses, more so after a report by a panel appointed by UN chief Ban Ki-moon that held both Sri Lankan forces and LTTE responsible for war crimes.
The special panel report has called for independent investigation into civilian deaths caused at the end of the conflict with the LTTE in May 2009.
“There are loud voices raised against us on accountability. To most of these voices, accountability is only a verbal apology for civilian deaths that are dismissed as collateral damage in heavy bombings,” Rajapaksa said in apparent reference to civilian deaths in Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka has dismissed the report as biased and motivated by the pro-LTTE diaspora in the West.
September 4th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
These are hard hitting attacks on hypocrites.
I salute the President for his careful and determined response. No previous Lankan leader had the backbone to stand up to the pro-LTTE acts of the west.
I hope we have the majority support at the UNHRC to counter the pro-LTTE lobby.
September 4th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
thank you President, you make all Sri Lankans very proud. Many leaders in this planet are afraid to open their mouths against double standards of so called Western nations. They murdered 750,000 Iraqi civilians in the oil robbery, and UN appears deaf, blind and dumb. Destruction of Libya is unfolding and not many can open their mouths. While these nations are embarking on a killing and robbing spree, they are entertaining butchers who murdered our children.
President Rajapaksa not only saved Sri Lanka from terrorism, he also prevented disembowelment of India. In Sri Lanka, people don’t go round telling how grateful they are to President, but it is tattooed in their hearts.
September 5th, 2011 at 12:47 am
Darusman himself is a war criminal who was in the regime of dictator Suharto.
What right he has to point the finger at others?
May be they blackmailed him to do these things so that he can escape his war crimes.
September 5th, 2011 at 5:41 am
President Mahinda Rajapaksa is “Lion of Asia”. He correctly point out who are the real terrorist supporters.
If we looking to few examples then more than enough to assess who are the terrorists supporters and are equally responsible for 60,000 innocent Sri Lankans killed by LTTE tamil racist terrorists.
It is nothing to hide and every body in this world know in Sri Lanka’s scenario who fed, Brest fed, funded, trained racist tamil terrorists to massacre Sinhala nation for their expansionism. Ist suspect is India and tamil nadu racist politicians.
2nd Suspect is Britian who trained tamil racist so-called theoretician Anton Balasingham in British High Commission in Colombo as a translator. Later granted him British citizenship and he operated London terrorist network against Sri Lanka. His wife Adela is the leader of LTTE female suicide squad still in London and controls LTTE London terrorists group. U.K tamil terrorists are well backed by politicians such as David Milliband and Keith Vaz etc. Milliband’s Notorious “Save terrorists” operation failed in 2009 therefore Britian and their mouthpiece BBC and “Channel 4” openly started Goebbelsian propaganda against Sinhala nation and Sri Lanka.
3rd Suspect is Norway. They entered to Sri Lanka through Cey-Nor, Red Barna and Norad operations. They too openly trained tamil terrorists sea tiger units and supplied huge amount of logistics and finances supports to tamil terrorists. Eric Solheim and his Viking terror agents were advisors to LTTE terrorists in day today life. Still Nadiyawan leads his terror group from Norway.
4th Suspect is U.S.A. Terrrorists supporter Robert O’Blake had several meetings with tamil terrorist leader Rudrakumaran who is a member of LTTE since terror leader Velupillai. He is now openly organizing terrorist group globally. U.S.A tried their best to save Prabakaran and his terrorists leaders at Nandikaddal lagoon in 2009. For Hilary Clinton LTTE terrorists were “good terrorists”. This is how yankee interpretation about barbarian terrorists.
Just few examples reminded but we can write an encyclopedia for the western hypocrisy in their policy on terrorism, democracy, human rights, media freedom and freedom in civil society etc.