CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

OPEN LETTER to Mr. Paul Williams, Ex MP Netherlands

Ira de Silva Canada

Dear Sir:

Regarding your statement on Sri Lanka and your attempt at "warning" the Sri Lankan government that the Kosovo example could be applied to Sri Lanka, it is obvious that you have just a superficial knowledge of the terrorist problems in Sri Lanka. I could rebut your statement line by line but am restricting myself to the most blatant falsehoods in your attempt at "warning".

To begin with is your assumption of an "oppressed minority". The assumption that the minority is "oppressed" is just that, an assumption because there is no substantiation of "oppression" which is the propaganda of the Tamil terrorists. For your information, the Tamils have the same rights as anyone else in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan government ended the ceasefire in January 2008, the LTTE had ended it in 2006 with the statement from it's leader. The government merely gave notice that it was formally ending it because there was no ceasefire to maintain which is a fact that all those in the so-called international community had recognized, even the Norwegian facilitators.
In this regard, I am surprised that you missed the fact that the LTTE had asked the foreign monitors to leave, had asked foreign NGO's to leave and declared war over the past two years. Rather than being an "irresponsible policy" it was a responsible policy of the Sri Lankan government as the foreign interventionists would be the first to fault the government if it failed in it's duty to do everything in it's power to combat terrorist acts and do everything in it's power to protect the population.

What you refer to as the "once optimistic peace talks" is another canard. It was immediately evident to all Sri Lankans that the only "optimists" were the foreign powers who were attempting to manipulate events in Sri Lanka to their own benefit. Ordinary Sri Lankans knew that the cease fire agreement was only for the benefit of the LTTE and that before the ink was dry on it the LTTE started their acts of terrorism, suicide bombings, ethnic cleansing and other forms of intimidation on civilians to spread their "influence".

It was not the "incapability of the international community to create the right environment to proceed in the peace process" but the intransigence of the LTTE that lead to the failure of the peace process.
As for recognizing the LTTE as a terrorist organization, that did not stop the so called peace process and the government then and now has indicated that it is willing to negotiate. It has been statements such
as yours which have no facts to support claims of discrimination,
accusations against the government while ignoring the 30 years of terrorism by the LTTE, who have a proven record of child conscription documented by the U.N. and various agencies that have hindered the process of negotiation by bolstering LTTE terrorism and unsubstantiated claims of a "homeland" which never existed except in LTTE propaganda. I am surprised that an MP from the Netherlands should call the north and east of Sri Lanka a "Tamil homeland". A quick check of Dutch colonial records would have proved to you that while the Dutch were in Sri Lanka
(Ceylon) and when they left handing over to the British, the only part of the island that had a majority Tamil population was Jaffna. This statement goes to the heart of your ignorance and bias. If you checked Dutch records you would have known that the only "homeland" for Tamils is Tamil Nadu, India and even there the Tamils are not recognized as a "sovereign population" although your argument could be a page from the statement of the leader of the LTTE in November last year when he called on Tamils world wide to support him to establish a Tamil country spanning Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and any other part of the world where a Tamil lives! The only context for international mediation is to impress on the LTTE that it should give up terrorism, lay down it's arms and negotiate in good faith rather than use every attempt at negotiation to further it's goal of dividing Sri Lanka.

As for your statement that there be dialogue between the warring parties "to enable them both to interact with the same international community on the basis of equality" that is the final indication that you are merely parroting what has been fed to you by the LTTE because you fail to recognize the difference between an elected government and a terrorist movement. Would you by the same token advocate that the the "international community" who are involved in Afghanistan "interact with the Taliban on the basis of "equality" and negotiate with the Taliban rather than wage war against them? Why not lead by example? It is easy to preach when the lives in question are not that of the west.

As for a "democratic elected government" in the north and east, you have missed the fact that since the east was liberated from the clutches of the fascist LTTE, there have been local government elections and that elections to provincial elections are slated to take place. Please note that this was done by the Sri Lankan government without the help of the "international community". The same will be done in the north when those areas are also cleared of the LTTE dictatorship. If the "international community" has any credibility or ethical standards it should support the government and people of Sri Lanka to defeat terrorism, fascism and dictatorship by the LTTE, not try to draw imaginary comparisons to Kosovo as there is no comparison.

Yours truly,

Ira de Silva
Canada

Disclaimer: The comments contained within this website are personal reflection only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LankaWeb. LankaWeb.com offers the contents of this website without charge, but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions expressed within. Neither the LankaWeb nor the individual authors of any material on this Web site accept responsibility for any loss or damage, however caused (including through negligence), which you may directly or indirectly suffer arising out of your use of or reliance on information contained on or accessed through this Web site.
All views and opinions presented in this article are solely those of the surfer and do not necessarily represent those of LankaWeb.com. .

BACK TO LATEST NEWS

DISCLAIMER