ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Shenali Waduge

The Sri Lankan Government ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-was all set for the complete implementation of the 13th amendment immediately after warƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.was the key notion propagated by US assistant state secretary Robert O BlakeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.throughout the war ambassador Blake was preaching on 13th amendment ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ He even went to Chennai to lecture Sri Lanka activists there on 13th amendment and political solution. He was assuring us a new era with 13 plus. It was technically the justification for the US support to the war efforts. Now even after the war and itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s devastation, Tamils in this country are nowhere near 13th amendmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ thus wrote Mano Ganeshan in May 2011. It is obviously clear what this US official has been ordered to do.

Mr. Robert Blake is simply an official following orders of his Government and his position or promotion depends on his ability to carve out or manipulate situations and incidents that would benefit the US alone. Therefore, while empathizing with his role, it is BlakeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ability to connive and coerce American interests that secures his role and position. Whilst all these connivingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s are going the Tamil people (that is those that actually suffered because of the LTTE) are slowly picking up the pieces and starting life afresh happy to have the Sri Lankan military to protect them though Blake and the selfish TNA parliamentarians will have us and the world think otherwise.

That the LTTE declared by AmericaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s FBI as the most ruthless terrorist outfit in the world survived 3 decades was simply not because of LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚s prowess or Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s military weakness. There is so much more to why the LTTE prevailed though it does not belittle the power of the LTTE leader. We need to understand this important facet. Terrorists today are a cause not for the movement of people that reign terror but for those who use terrorists to advance their own agendas. Often terrorist leaders themselves take a little longer to realize how they too have been turned into puppets in a global game for supremacy that is shared only amongst a handful. All others are simply used and discarded when their shelf life has expired or when they become a hindrance to the ultimate goal. Thus, it should not be difficult to understand how and why Saddams, GaddafiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s, Bin Ladens are today no more.

It was using LTTE that India managed to introduce the Indo-Lanka Accord, amendments to Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s constitution and the amalgamation of the north and east of Sri Lanka while introducing a system of provincial councils that would at a future date help to separate the key provinces that have geopolitical interest. It is not just India that made use of the LTTE, the Tamil people themselves made good using the sympathy card and refugee status enabling 1m Tamils to make homes on foreign shores. Let us also note that of this number not all are pro-LTTE but the majority of them do still remain thankful to the LTTE for having helped change their living status. Pre-LTTE was only about the high caste Tamils enjoying all the benefits. Now low castes have raised their profile though the caste/class factor remains a very strong denominator in Tamil society.

Terrorist movements do not spring into being without the assistance of forces that have done their groundwork on how these movements are to be utilized. Let us not forget the connectivity in arms supply and arms demand and how both cannot do without the other and why conflicts keep increasing despite an organization called the United Nations. Are we to really believe that the Muslim world is on fire simply because of an anti-Prophet film? How many of these protestors have actually seen the film to feel so angered? These are all perfectly orchestrated events and when the truth emerges it is too late. Much of the funds that sponsor the terror come from the coffers of their very own and lies at the doorstep of the royalty. A happy lot of people are enjoying people ruin their nations, destroy their property which gives them enough reason to cry ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-lawlessnessƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and insist of foreign military presence or increase of military presence and then take over the natural assets of these countries.

So we need to ask what else Sri Lanka has to offer other than the importance of its geographical location and its natural harbor. Obviously these nations know far more than its citizens and that is why the unusual interest in the north and the east of Sri Lanka and that is why they are continuously presenting a picture of minority rights being denied and accountability unattended and the give away is that if solutions do not please their interests we have been subtly told where the bus will stop.

There are times one wonders whether these American officials understand or listen to what they say because when they accuse nations of war crimes ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” our list of US war crimes is simply too long and too tedious to list out. When the US say missing ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Guantanamo Bay, Diego Garcia and so many other torture chambers come to mind. When the US says accountability ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” hell will not be able to accommodate the number of US/NATO representatives guilty of killing millions of innocent people. When the US says reduce military presence in the North of Sri Lanka, give the people of the North self-ruleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.we want to know what the US is doing still in Iraq and Afghanistan and that too for over a decadeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.It is pretty clear the hypocrisy that prevails and we are to simply greet Blake, shake hands, shower diplomatic niceties since no one is prepared to sayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚wait a minute Mr. BlakeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.are you actually listening to what you are sayingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.can we know what makes US military presence, US foreign invasions, US war crimes a topic not to be discussed, not to be brought up in the UN and why are AmericaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s crimes treated with impunity?…. Is America not another country on planet earth so why should America be above the laws of the world?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

There are enough of people who think so but little is ever done and the tragedy is that the American public despite the global communication advances are ignorant of what its Governments and its secret services have been upto over the past century and since they are beginning to open their eyes the Government has subtly introduced legislation that not only keeps a tab on everything that they do but every action of the Government is excused under the Patriot Act.

With the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) coming up, the UN Human Rights technical team doing what they have been tasked to do and Blake stirring the pot in the East we need to be ready for more troubled waters and it is nothing that a Government riding on luck can solve not helped in the least by parliamentarians subject to baits by the external forces.

It appears there is so much more to telling the world that Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s minorities have never been exclusively denied or exclusively suffering from any grievances purposely denied to them constitutionally or legally not even socially.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦..how many of our parliamentarians have had the pluck to say so or even to set the records straight and why donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t they? At least the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association General Secretary Dr. William F. Shija paying a glowing tribute to Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s post-conflict declared he had changed the negative perception of Sri Lanka after visiting the North. When there are contradictory statements during the same period of visit it certainly raises eyebrows to ask why would one lot of foreign representatives be happy at the progress Sri Lanka has made whilst another lot has nothing but accusations and manipulations up their sleeve.