By publishing such heresy and slander, the Guardian has stooped down to the level of gutter reporting '

Bryan Ranasinghe.

Dear Mr Steele

I read your article in today's Guardian regarding the above with utter dismay leaving me with a clear sense of unwavering support for a global terror outfit such as the LTTE, by the author. I would like to point out to you that the portrayal of an intransigent terror machine as victims of state actions is bewildering and a comical yet highly dangerous analyses. For a person who grew up in constant terror during his childhood due to the appalling atrocities of the pioneers of suicide bombing, your article is an ill informed insult, which does not deserve to be published. Perhaps your article is better suited to the confines of the LTTE propaganda machine.

May I point out to you that the Government of Sri Lanka, for all its faults, is a democratically elected institution which by virtue of this, is ultimately responsible to the Sri Lankan voters. On the other hand, the killing machine, which we know as the LTTE is NOT accountable to any segment of the public in Sri Lanka but it's blood thirsty leader, whom I would like to point out here, is responsible for murdering two leaders of state (Rajiv Ghandi and Ranasinghe Premedasa) as well as countless human rights violations against the Tamil, Singhalese & Muslim populations of Sri Lanka. May I remind you that it was the LTTE who are charged with ethnic cleansing of the Singhalese & Muslim people from Jaffna, Muttur and Ampara, to name but a few regions. It was the LTTE who are charged with continuous child recruitment and not the Government of Sri Lanka. The terror outfit has been indulging in the heinous crimes of kidnappings, assassinations of innocent civilians as well as political rivals, child recruitment, drug trafficking, sea piracy, human trafficking, disseminating terror expertise to other terror outfits around the world, to name but a few of their contributions. It is highly interesting that you conveniently forgot to mention any of these crimes against humanity in your article. To say that your article is one-sided would be a gross under statement. Your ill informed, badly written article is a black mark for the journalistic profession in the UK as well as the whole world. The concept of impartiality in reporting seems to have slipped your mind somewhat. To call a democratically elected leader of a sovereign nation which has a history of more that 2,500 years, a bus bomber, is not only an insult to the Sri Lankan electorate but a slap in the face for all the democracies in the world. My question to your sir is: why did you conveniently omit Tony Blair, George W. Bush and all the western leaders who support wars around the globe from your list of bus bombers? After all, they seem to qualify your criteria for being bus bombers.

Further, your assessment of the fact that the terror outfit in Sri Lanka, which is holding the whole nation as hostage, is somehow not as bad as Muslim terrorism is bordering on racism. Is your opinion that only Muslim terrorists are the only groups deserving of the title of terrorists because they are global? Is there any difference in domestic terrorism, as opposed to global terrorism? Are you suggesting that the bombs placed in public places by domestic terrorists are somehow sugar coated, which leaves a sweet taste behind, upon explosion compared to that of global terrorists?

What is most interesting is your branding of the EU decision to ban the LTTE in Europe a "badly timed and stupid move". You seem to have assumed a sense of supreme authority over the decision makers of 25 member states in Europe by making such a statement. Why did not you probe the reasons behind the European ban, were you not aware that 95% of the ceasefire violations and the assassination of the country's foreign minister, resulted with the ban aimed at curbing the flow of funds to this notorious terror outfit? Journalistic integrity and impartiality seem to have been conveniently overlooked once again in order to report one's opinions and heresy.

Your deduction of widespread support for the Tamil Tiger terrorists from the Tamil people in Sri Lanka seem to ring rather hollow when you consider that 54% of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka live freely in Government controlled areas. Why are these people not living in terrorist controlled areas to show their "support"? I counter your claim once more of Tamil support for this band of child killers, by asking whether the people who were subjected to two decades of child recruitment by this blood thirsty terror group, among the other myriad atrocities, would lend their support to the same? Is your assessment of the situation not highly degrading and insulting to the Tamil parents who have experienced personal losses? Further, your false statement of the UN Secretary General warning of "targeted measures" is rather confusing. I agree with you that the Sri Lanka Army has been accused of helping Karuna to recruit children. I would like to mj.ention four things here; firstly Alan Rock who was responsible for presenting the report to the UN has been claimed to have had LTTE affiliations in the past in Canada to gain Tamil support for the elections, secondly Mr Rock only spent two days in Sri lanka's eastern province to deduce that the Sri Lanka armed forces are indulging in child recruitment, thirdly was there any independent vetting of the so-called "witnesses" who were interviewed and finally the New York based Human Rights Watch has recommended that the UN Security Council consider targeted measures against the LTTE and NOT the Government of Sri Lanka, due to the LTTE's continuous practise of child recruitment over the past two decades as they have been branded as a repeat offender. At no point was the Government of Sri Lanka being considered for targeted measures. Your article is highly erroneous, a factual fantasy and a tragic comedy of ill informed half-truths.

You classically point out your ineptitude of the Sri Lankan governance system with your mentioning that President Rajapakse has been warned not to separate the Eastern province from the North. The decision to separate the two has already been taken by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and not the President. May I remind you that the Northern and Eastern provinces were merged under the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 on the strict proviso that all non-state military outfits should disarm. It was the LTTE's intransigence which resulted in the de-merger. Successive Governments tolerated the LTTE's non-compliance on this issue by not addressing this matter. Why did you not point this out, your research seem to be somewhat selective. How fascinating it is when you point out that the aim of the President is to install a puppet leader in the east, on what basis do you deduce this? Why did not you mention the highly inclusive approach taken to devolve power by forming the All Party Representative Council, by the President, which would create exactly the opposite to your slanderous "puppet leader"?

Let me point out to you again that Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation, freed from colonial subjugation. It is a state with Buddhism as the state religion, but a look at the current cabinet will show a healthy cross-section of ministers from all the religions in the island. In Sri Lanka Hindu kovils coexist next to Buddhist temples, which in turn are in the vicinity of churches and mosques. Why did you take exception to Mahinda Rajapakse visiting Buddhist temples when the Royal Family in the UK seem to go to church, without attracting as much as a wee murmur from you? Why are you not critical of the American mint embossing their coins with “In God we trust”? The last time I looked at the Sri Lanka Rupee, I failed to see any references to “In Buddha we trust” or anything to that effect.

The Government of Sri Lanka has the right to exercise it’s power in all regions of the island, the fact that the most brutal terrorist outfit in the world unjustly controls swathes of land does not legitimise any claim by them (the LTTE) to any territory in the first instance forcefully grabbed from the Government, which is made up of the representatives of the people. Contrary to your belief, the LTTE does not have any right to any part of the island; the Government has the right to administer all parts of the land. Further, your comparison of Sri Lanka to the situation in Sudan clearly shows your propensity to over exaggerate, jump to conclusions and sensationalise unconnected issues in order to satisfy salacious reporting.

By publishing such heresy and slander, the Guardian has stooped down to the level of gutter reporting which lacks substance and in the process has managed to outrage not only the people of Sri Lanka but all people living in democracies around the world. Your article Mr Steele, carries with it the unpleasant whiff of incompetence which threatens the integrity of the very paper you claim to represent. I, along with many others suggest you engage in impartial research, which hopefully should result in better informed articles in future.

Yours sincerely,

Bryan Ranasinghe.