By Charles.S.Perera

In September  1973 a Military Coup  helped by the USA against Salvador Allende, President of Chili in which he died, and  the suffering of the people that followed  cannot be understood by any one, other than those who went through it. 

So it is with Sri Lanka,  no one can understand the suffering  the people went through under a ruthless terrorism for 30 years. In Sri Lanka  the Armed Forces were only doing its duty to protect the country and the people from an enemy who was aiming to brutalise the people to finally divide the country territorially.

This Her Excellency the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet will agree with if she were to take an unbiased objective look at the  situation Sri Lanka was facing at the time. 

Mme Bachelet, no one can understand the Mental Situation of His Excellency Salvador  Allende the President of Chili, when Palais de la Moneda was surrounded in an  Army Coup  led by Pinochet supported by the USA. Was Salvador Allande  assassinated or did he commlit suicide shooting himself with the gun his friend Fidel Castro had presented to him ?

President Salvador Aillende’s suffering ended with his death , but that of the Chilean people only began after his death.

Chilean People- men and women were arrested and  imprisoned according to the whim and fancy of the armed forces. They were being questioned and tortured for days. All typpes of gruesome methods of torture were invented and used against the people.

One torture method, which was very commonly used, was the “grill” or “La Parrilla.” In this torture, electricity was fed from a standard wall outlet through a control box into two wires each terminating in electrodes…… The naked prisoner was stretched out and strapped onto a metal bed frame, or a set of bedsprings, and tied down. He or she was subjected to electrical shocks on several parts of the body, especially on sensitive areas like the genitals and on open wounds. (The Valech Report )

 Villa Grimaldi, located in Santiago, was DINA’s (Office of the National Intelligence) most important torture center that began operating in 1974. Prisoners were interrogated for long periods of time. Once people were incarcerated on a massive scale, new places were reconditioned to hold them. The “tower” was designated as a holding center for political prisoners. There was a water tank on the top floor of the building, which included ten tight spaces where prisoners were held. These spaces were so small that victims had to enter them by crawling on their knees. The tower also included a torture chamber, where prisoners were kept in isolation. Many of them were never seen again. Food was scarce and the conditions were extremely unsanitary.

President Aillende was being accused by his enemies as a dictator, and thus  prepared the ground for a  Military take over of Chili.

The above facts  were given to  remind  the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, what had gone  in her own country  to  make her understand how difficult it is to make outsiders understand the genuine intention of an Armed Force of a country which is people friendly, and was doing its best to save the Tami civilians from a group of  ruthless terrorists who were unconcerned about the suffering of the people;  but only interested to set up a separate Tamil State in the North and East of this little Island.

The Sri Lanka Armed Forces never tortured the terrorists or the civilians, because such cruelty is  not in their nature. But the terrorist  caught the  soldiers and policemen who strayed into areas under their control and tortured them.

The terrorists were determined to carry on its perilous intentions careless of the suffering of the  innocent Tamil civilians  consisting of young and old men, women and children, who  were forcibly kept as a human shield to protect themselves from probable attacks by the Government armed forces.

However, the Armed Forces despite risking the lives of its soldiers were intent on saving the innocent Tamil people being kept by the terrorist as a human shield.

At a given moment before the final assault against the terrorists the Armed Forces decided to evacuate the Tamil Civilians serving as a human shield for the terrorists. The Armed Forces  risked their lives in a  most daring rescue operation perhaps carried out for the first time by any Armed Force in the World,  bringing away to safety 292,000 Tamil civilians  held by the terrorists as a human shield.

This episode of the evacuation of 292,000 Tamil Civilians by the SrI Lanka Armed Forces has not been mentioned by the  Tamil diaspora,  nor have the UNHuman Rights Commissioners have mentioned it  in their reports. The Tamil civilians are still not allowed to speak freely of the kindness , friendly and human treatment they received from the Soldiers and the Officers of the Sri Lanka Government Armed Forces. 

The damning annual report that is presented at the UNHR Council Session in Geneva is  an accusation of the Sri lanka Armed Forces,  all blame and damnation heaped on it,  as the Armed Forces carried out a  war against ordinary Tamil people,  as if the existence of terrorism in Sri Lanka was mere  imagination, and the claimed 30 years of suffering of the people of Sri Lanka under terrorism was hallucination. 

To write such a report, white washing the terrorists clean,  putting all the blame on the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, those in the Office of the UNHuman Rights Commission who wrote the report,  may have perhaps been generously compensated by the Tamil diaspora that gather in great numbers during the UNHR Council Sessions in Geneva,  shouting slogans,  condemning the Government and the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka. These Diaspora personnel have easy access to the UN Human Rights Council in  Geneva, as they have access to the UK Parliament where they even have the meetings and celebrations in it. That is how close the Tamil terrorist lobby is to the West and UK.

Therefore, Mme Michelle Bachalet  considering the experience you have as a politician , your socialist background, and the suffering you yourself went through under a dictatorship in your homeland,  it is important you read the  Maxwell Paranagama Report presented to the UNHR Council by the Government of Sri Lanka,  and revisit  the report prepared by your Office before it is presented at the Geneva Session. You may perhaps make a more progressive move Mme Bachelet, by consulting the Government of Sri Lanka before the Report is presented to the UNHRCouncil Session in Geneva.

For the Sri Lankans Madam Bachelet,  the Officers of the Army, Navy and  Air Force,  Soldiers of the Army, sailors of the Navy, the men of the Air Force,  some of those who gave their lives; others who gave their limbs and still live,  are all their heroes, who saved them from a probable atrocious death under  terrorism,  gave them peace, and provided them security.  

Therefore, they are happy to see army personnel occupying responsible posts in the administration of the government , because they can trust them and the soldiers are there to help them whenever  they are faced with natural disasters. The Armed Forces gave them  peace and security, now they assure their protection. The people of Sri Lanka do not consider having them working in government administration a militarisation. The Armed Forces are actively helping the people  in the pandemic. For the people of Sri Lanka the Tri Armed Forces are a source of strength. 

The people are happy to have their war heroes taking responsibility in the administration of the country, their country whichthey saved from its enemies. 

The British were  said to have been  Gentlemen. But that was a long time ago. When the US wanted to declare war against Iraq, Tony  Blair the Prime Minister of the UK prepared a false document to say that   Iraq was producing Weapons of Mass destruction. The USA declared war against Iraq  on Tony Blair’s false report. Iraq was bombed, turned to rubble.  American and  British Forces occupied Iraq and searched, but  they found no weapons of Mass destruction anywhere in Iraq. 

Now it is this  Britain that is leading the Core Group. 

It is not surprising that the UK has announced that it, along with Germany, Canada Macedonia and Montenegro, is   forming a Core Group to present another resolution to replace the US Resolution 30/1 from which Sri Lanka withdrew its  sponsorship. Now a Core Group with bloody hands.  The UK which has committed violation of human rights throughout its imperial past  massacred people in some areas in Sri Lanka  killing all males above 18 years, and burnt villages. It had been so even in other countries it colonised including in India. Canada continues to violate human rights of its own first citizens, the native Indians, kept strictly  in reservations meant for them . Germany we do not know why it joined the Core Group unless it wants to own Naazi  Holocaust. Macedonia and Montenegro are like puppies running after adopted masters.

Yasmina Sooka who was one of the three member Darusman Committee that wrote the false Darusman Report, keeps yelling accusations against the Officers of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces each time  they are offered a responsible position in the Government,  is probably paid by the Tamil Diaspora and now doing it for a living.

The Armed Forces of Sri Lanka cannot be compared to any other armed force of the world. The equipment our Armed Forces  have is only that required to protect the country and its people. To help the people  in any natural calamities the country may face such as floods, a tsunami; a pandemic like the Covid-19, or other unforeseen situations. We have no material for heavy bombardment or equipment for  toture chambers. Our Armed Forces serve as a peacetime Army constructing  Temples, reconstructing  ancient places of worship which are our National Heritage, Churches or homes damaged in wind and flood. Even help in emergency construction of roads, hospitals and buildings of utility value. They even engage in farming,  hoteliary,  or  special transport services using boats.

The retired Army Officers with special training  in Administrations are appointed where their experience could be made use of elsewhere.  This is useful to  a developing country such as ours as frugal use of the economy is a need.

The members of our Armed Forces consist mainly of Buddhists, who are kind and serviceable. Those of other religions are reliable and religious.

Therefore the men of our armed forces should not be seen as undesirables, but as respectable persons worthy of serving  Sri Lanka  which is their country,  or if needed serve in any country in the world which requires  honourable men of good moral conduct. 

It is only the Tamil diaspora abroad, the Tamil politicians who represented the terrorists in Sri Lanka Parliament, acted as a voice of the terrorists, who still lead the Tamil political groups to setup a separate Tamil State,  that carry damaging false propaganda  against the Armed Forces and retired members of the Armed Forces who now help in administration.  

It is the  USA  that helped in the Chili army coup against the Government of Salvadore Aillande, which  leads the western countries such as the UK led Core Group against Sri Lanka. It is  supported by  the Tamil Diaspora and the local  Tamil politicians. It is they who are behind these accusations which you have supported in your report to be presented at the next UN High Commissioners Human Rights Council Sessions in Geneva. 

Madam Michelle Bachelet as a Socialiist yourself,  and twice the President of Chili,  in view of what has been written above,  it is necessary that you revisit your report, and  perhaps consult the Government of Sri Lanka before you present your greatly exaggerated report  to  the Council Session in March,2021.