SOME SOUND ADVICE TO THE KENYAN
LEADERS
By Mahinda Weerasinghe
World's eyes are currently focused on Kenya! The Western
media reports, including that of BBC, indicate that Kenya has descended
into a pit from which it cannot recover.
And into this pit steps in Kofi Annan -- the sphinx of Africa. His gloomy,
unsmiling demeanor expressed in his doleful eyes does not promise much
hope for Kenya. He seems to be in more pain than the Kenyans.
Kofi, in his inimitable mournful manner, is informing the world that
Kenya is a basket case. He has orchestrated meetings and brought the
partners together, and tried to resolve the ongoing post-election violence.
He has endeavored to put a stop to the resulting loss of lives and property,
but the more he ties the more it gets out of control.
Well, that's the bad news, and the good news is as bad as the bad news:
Kofi Annan cannot do much about it.
To begin with his handling of the world affairs when he was running
the UN has not produced any impressive results in the trouble spots.
His duplicity has not helped the world either. When as UN's secretary
general he landed at Colombo airport he was in a mighty hurry to rush
to the bush to shake with the mass murderer, Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Annan knew he was the murder who had assassinated leader of member states
-- Rajiv Gandhi the then Prime Minster of India and President Ranasinghe
of Premadasa of Sri Lanka. That was hi way of upholding the noble ideals
of the UN Charter.
In other words, he was striving to equate a sovereign, democratic nation
of Sri Lanka with that of the latest Pol Pot of Asia. What could he
have achieved except some publicity for himself? Possibly he was thinking
of advancing his career prospect after he retires by winning the goodwill
of UD in Norway -- the leading backer of the Tiger terrorists. Norway
has been the big bank roller of this industry. The Norwegian UD (Foreign
Ministry) has played its partisan role until it ended up as a total
failure.
During his tenure or after Annan has not displayed the same enthusiasm
to meet or speak with the Al Qaeda's Boss Bin Larden? And pray why not?
Was he scared of displeasing his white masters? After all Bin Laden
too claims to be a freedom fighter! More than that he claims to be doing
Gods work in his Islamic way. But Kofi being Kofi Annan kept away from
him knowing that it was not going to win him brownie points. On the
other hand, he was bending over backwards to meet and greet the most
wanted man in the SAARC region. He is wanted by India and Sri Lanka
for crimes committed against these two member states. Annan too wanted
him not to bring him to book but to give him respectability. No wonder
he left the UN in cloud.
What is evident is Kofi Annan, like his masters in the Norwegian UD
and the BBC, recognizes two types of terrorists. The 'good terrorists'
such as the LTTE, and the 'despicable' terrorists such as the Islamic
ones, who are waging their war against the Christian powers. Naturally
the Sun God of the LTTE falls into the good "terrorist" slot.
Indeed we remember the United Nations oil-for-food scandal, which involved
the family of the secretary-general Kofi Annan. It seems his son have
been receiving payments as late as November 2004, from a key contractor
in the oil-for-food program. The secretary-general's son, Kojo Annan,
was previously reported to have worked for a Swiss-based company called
Cotecna Inspection Services SA, which from 1998-2003 held a lucrative
contract with the U.N. to monitor goods arriving in Saddam Hussein's
Iraq, under the oil-for-food program.
But money generated by Kojo from such deals was not sufficient for the
father's fancy life style.
Right now Kofi Annan is without a job. Just like Bill Clinton, Jimmy
Carter, Bondavik (the Lutheran priest and the Last Prime Minster of
Norway), Tony Blair e.t.c. So as a rule, they hitch their career to
the peace 'band wagon'. If they couldn't bring peace when they had the
power to do so how can they do it now when they don't have any power?
But to them there's no business likes the peace business. Indeed in
this 'do gooder' industry when one problem is over, another 'pops up
out of the wood work'. If there were no conflicts to be facilitated,
then conflicts can be generated using their powerful connections. That's
the beauty of the peace industry. It pays well, and need no justification
or validation for any achievements.
Erik Solheim in Sri Lanka was one of those who went out
promising peace and ended up in the same manhole of Prabhkaran. It is
clear from their performances, the world would be a better place if
they retire and remain retired without poking their unwanted fingers
in other people's pies.
Solheim's participation is remarkable. He lost everything including
his peace agreement he signed with Prabhkaran -- the man who can never
live in peace. Nobody wanted to know why after busting billions of Norwegian
tax payer kroners, he was unceremoniously shown the exit from Sri Lanka.
Nobody; including the Norwegian tax payers, did not question the reason
for that fiasco. No wonder the peace industry is so enticing and alluring.
Its total lack of constraints, accountability, responsibility or transparency
attracts all these losers.
Indeed there's no a better job to be had, rather than being a 'keeper
of peace'! In short everybody loves a peacenik, there is money to be
had by the bushels, and what's more, the 'down and out governments'
pay attention to peacenik's points of view. Indeed blessed are the peace
makers. But such sentiments are never offered on behalf of the war mongers!
So let the wise parents direct their off springs to 'go unto the world
and be peace facilitators and bring honor and prestige to their families.
By now you realize, there are two types of people living in the world.
War mongers and peace keepers. Let me adjust that last pronouncement.
War mongers are definitely not white men coming from earlier colonial
nation, they are usually peace keepers. So does it mean that people
with a darker hue of the skin are war mongers? Yes, with some exceptions
naturally. There are always uncles Tom quislings who can be bought for
the right price.
On the other hand no conflict means, no cozy jobs, no transversing the
world in first class flights, wheeling and dealing and offering sound
advice to world leaders, while lapping it up in five star hotels.
Yet cheap advice can be had, by 'dime a dozen'. But when it's coming
from a man appointed by the peace industry it may cost the independence
of a nation.
No wonder the peace industry needs such conflicts. And such conflicts
are long drawn out, nurtured and sustained. A person like Kofi Annan
depicts an aura of magnanimity and concern. For more humane the demeanor,
and 'holier than thou' the rhetoric, the bigger rake off.
Take the classic case of Mr Kjell Magne Bondevik, the earlier Prime
Minster of Norway. As you would have guessed he has hitched his lot
to the 'peace wagon', after his unceremonious departure from the premiership
of Norway. This was a man who was burning with values, which he was
keen to export. And he felt that the Norwegians were lacking in values.
And he was going to do something about that. So he floated a value commission
to help. Obviously, when he spoke of values, he meant Christian values
not any other values. Indeed what other values are there other than
Christian ones? In fact no values as such were to be had before Jesus
Christ our savior was born. I am speaking of values such as, burning
of witches, Holy wars in the name of our Lord, or conversions under
duress with the help of the sword. This Lutheran Christian priest we
assumed has always acted ethically and owned good values as such. So
when that notorious terrorist Mr. V. Balakumar of the murderous LTTE
was entertained by his Foreign office, people were stunned.
To the ignorant, Mr Balakumar is a professional assassin, who takes
his business quite seriously. Being the mentor of Black Tiger suicide
bomber unit, he has demonstrated to the world, what can be achieved
through intimidation and mass slaughter. He showed the world, how through
meticulously planned genocide, a terror outfit can acquire respectability,
recognition and legitimacy from European democratic nations, such as
Norway and Denmark.
That's the sort of recognition Bin Larden was dreaming
of all along, but failed miserably due to some elusive reason which
I am unable to quite fathom!
Then on l2th September at the UN General Assembly we hear
the Prime Minister Bondevik's incredible declaration. He notifies the
gathering of the heads of state:
"We must continue our common efforts to prevent and eradicate
terrorism, and to bring the perpetrators to justice. We must deny the
terrorist access to weapons of mass-destruction. We must continue to
fight terrorism with all necessary means - political, diplomatic, legal,
financial and military."
Bundavik must have thought he has taken the world for a ride. Instead
what really happened was; Sri Lanka showed his pals the door. If these
are the sorts of characters peace facilitators are made of, then Kenya
should be ready for the high jump. But naturally, Bondevik & Kofi
are very dear friends and employed by the peace industry.
In fact Kenyans should take note. If they are to avoid Sri Lankan like
situation from developing in Kenya, then keep the peace facilitators
away, like the plague. Or they will inherit a never ending conflict.
Peacenik NGOs and INGOs of all hues and shades will descend upon them,
financed by earlier Colonial master's hell bent on destabilizing Kenya.
As if Congo and Sierra Leone is not enough.
In fact if you want peace facilitators, use one of your own. Never taker
a believer in God such as Bundevik, because such a facilitators tend
to serve God, not solves fellow beings' problems. There are enough of
servants of God, what you need are the other type. If worst come to
worst, take a Buddhist facilitator. Because Buddhist as a rule are directed
by their conscience rather than some unknown God somewhere. Take a lesson
from Sri Lanka's agony. The Sri Lankan nincompoops were told not call
in Norwegian UD as peace facilitators by me in 1998. I explained to
them carefully; how can one use a country which allows terrorists to
collect money for a racial struggle and at the same time be neutral
peace facilitators. (In this case the racial struggle was to create
a Catholic Elam utopia, where unadulterated Jaffna Tamils, who are untouched
and unsoiled by other races, can live together in a ghetto.)
Today Sri Lanka is set back ten years, thanks to interference by such
peaceniks such as Kofi Annen and Bundervik. Sri Lankans have learned
their lesson but payed dearly and lost two generations of development.
Moral is; nobody is going to help one but one self. Surely Kenyans need
not have a repetition of litany of errors that Sri Lankans went through
by contracting the Norsk peace industry to resolve their problems. Use
your resources and imagination, and take control of your own affairs
without involving paid international parasites; or they will put roots
in your country.
By Mahinda Weerasinghe
11-02-2008
By the author of 'The Origin of Species According to The Buddha'
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