LankaWeb Weekly Editorial

April 28th 2013

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  What a climate of lies and innuendo !!!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ one might surmise in some cases of expatriate Tamils visiting Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and returning toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ their adopted domicilesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  when stories of capture, torture and mistreatment which somehow cannot be substantiated with proofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  surface yet sufficient to fuel all the flames of accusations against a Government which tries its utmost to reconcile with all expatriate as well as residential Tamils but never gets due credit.
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And of course forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the enemies of the State it is yetƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ another golden opportunity to jump to the chance of furthering theirƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  false portrayals towards creating further havoc on the international platform and the global arenaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ which as usual is gobbled up by every gullible critic of Sri Lankan matters with their holier than thou mentalities on the planetƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ~ some of whom are well known to languish in certain parts ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  South IndiaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  as well asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  others floating around in their vehicles of self appointed sanctimonious sympathy for so called displaced Tamils whom they in fact helped displace with their empathy for a certain secessionist objectiveƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ called Tamil EelamƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and now eitherƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ label themselves or are in fact labelledƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the Tamil Diaspora leaning towards the cause of secessionist ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ EelamƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ so will they ever give up providing their continued consternation and chagrin towardsr a cause which they will, no matter how hard they try, never accomplish!?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
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When the Sri Lankan ArmyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  very recently rejected allegations by a Sri Lankan Tamil living in Australia who claimed to have been tortured and abused by the Army Intelligence officers while he visited the island recently they seemed very justified as they as well as the Government of Sri Lanka are no fools to want to invite undue publicity towards a cause which related to Government policy andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ has been executed imperatively and unerringly to the letter!
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After the defeat of the Tamil Tigers,It has been the objective of the GOSL never to compromiseor jeopardizeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ what the President has always maintainedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ that all Tamils will be treated fairly and has even gone to the extent of providing rehabilitation for some who were directly involved with the terror group and relented eventually. Today there are many examples of this and many thankful Tamils given the opportunity to merge into normal Sri Lankan society with all the related freedoms. Logically there seems no reason for the Army to single out a returning expatriate Sri Lanka where everything points to the allegations being cooked up for the specific purpose of discrediting the GOSL.
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Such individuals sometimes go to great lengths to try and substantiate their accusations against the GovernmentƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ . This is not the first time nor will it be the last but unless tangible proof accompanies such accusations they are best trashed or the individual brought before a court of law and made to show cause as to why he may not be prosecuted for attempting to cause mischief against a Sovereign Government which has done more than mere lip service to address the needs ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the TamilƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ community as well as those of all Sri Lankan citizens after the armed insurrection which was legitimately put down.
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It seems preposterous that the Australian media has quotedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in a tone of voice that seemed to acquiesce the allegations that a Sri Lankan Tamil man named ‘Kumar’ who has reportedly claimedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ alleged torture and rapeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by Sri Lankan Army intelligence officers while the victim was on a three week stay in the country where these claims will remain mere allegations unless substantial proof is presented but there probablyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is a felt need for both the Governments concernedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to take preventive action against such individuals who return to Sri Lanka where perhaps their movements need to be monitored towards upholding the cause of justice from every perspective and relative to a Sri Lanka fast returning to normalcy.
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WhenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ military spokesperson Ruwan Wanigasooriya hasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ responded thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the false allegationsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ appear to have beenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ made for a specific reason and that it probablyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ was an attempt by parties that campaign in Australia against extradition of economic refugees who illegally migrate purely for economic reasonsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ there is more than a ring of truth to it.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Based on the many attempts in recent times of similar actions by a few others on the anti Sri Lankan BandwagonƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ reeking of covert skullduggery which can be well associated with the Tamil Diaspora as part of their modus operandi it becomes even more plausible.
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Hitting the precise target of objectivityƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ with seeminglyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ unerring accuracyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in the words of the Army spokesperson”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ there seems little reason to doubt that this is yet another attemptƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to paint a false pictureƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in order toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ pressurize the AustralianƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Government towardsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  influencing the current policy of deportation where ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ close to 1,000 persons have been returned to Sri Lanka and not surprisingly they lead normal lives,” and for one disgrunled individual backed up by hordes of equally disgruntled Tamil Diaspora to suggest otherwise seems somewhat incongruous albeit in keeping with their avowed dedications to discredit the GOSL at every given opportunity.
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The full account of the allegations which lackƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  tangible proof towards confirmation has been reported as follows and picked up by many global news agencies which as usual has caused enough cheap sensationalism for some for whom it appears to be sufficient cause to once again label the GOSL as culpable despite lacking in credibility towardsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ reality based on hard facts.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Quoting ~ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
“In an interview with Australian media, the victim ‘Kumar’ said that as he returned to Sri Lanka in March, less than a week after his arrival he and his brothers were allegedly abducted at gunpoint by two men in a white van.
He alleged that the men claimed to be army intelligence officers and grilled him about links to the Tamil Tigers, which he denied.

He further alleged that on the fourth and final day of his ordeal, Kumar’s captors branded his back with hot irons and he only made it back to Australia because his uncle paid a $20,000 bribe to his captors.
The military spokesperson however said that such allegations were just another attempt to justify illegal entry into Australia and to resist the Australian government’s stand on illegal asylum seekers who migrate to Australia and other western countries purely for economic gains.

Last year the Australian government announced that almost half of the asylum seekers who arrived in that country were from Sri Lanka.
The Australian government has been sending Sri Lankans home, citing that the threat of war and persecution is over in the island nation.” end quote.
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Given the nature of what has transpired in the past ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ relative to similar cases,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ torture marks and injuries could be simulated but as to how they were acquired and those responsible something which needs to be proven beyond reasonable doubt by the accusers and leaves room for much speculation that this indeed is another case of false presentation, cooked up lies and innuendo.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚