Targeting World Cup to drop bomb Thursday, 20 January 2011 00:00

http://print.dailymirror.lk/opinion1/33400.html

Targeting World Cup to drop bomb
Thursday, 20 January 2011 00:00

Four years ago euphoria gripped Sri Lanka on reaching the finals of the World Cup for the second time. The night of nights (28 April 2007) at Sri Lanka time (GMT -4 in Barbados) came when we played Australia in Bridgetown in the finals.
People anesthetized on the aroma of cricket were glued to their television screens while LTTE planes flew low over tree tops to mark the arrival of Tiger Air. LTTE calculated correctly the moment Sri Lankans were intoxicated on cricket amongst other toxics, on a night the entire country was least prepared to give a hearing to a warning siren. The bomb did not drop and the cup was not won; but the morning after it dawned that no longer did we monopolize the air space above us.
Four years later the Cup that counts has come home to be clutched and cricket mania will take over Sri Lanka in the months of February and March 2011.Tiger Air Force is now a museum piece and our World Cup venues safe and secure. Sri Lanka will possibly be happily progressing cheering our way to the Quarter Finals with the international media in full attendance when the UN will fly over us monitored rapaciously on the radar by the white international community to make a strategic strafing by dropping a bombshell- the Report of the three member UN committee inquiring into war crimes damning Sri Lanka.
The game is on. The embassies in Colombo which lobbied to stop the war are ‘on their marks’. The international media is placed in a “get set’ position to enter the country on the pretext of covering a sporting event including a team from Channel Four that are awaiting the starter’s orders from Ban ki Moon.
The report is being fine tuned with narrations from soldiers who have been purchased by the NGOs and given asylum and accommodation in the nations targeting us for bombardment. “Victims” had their dress rehearsals before the presentation. Video clips will be on display and exhibits with extracts of evidence in the body of the report to catch headlines. White flags will fly with sculptured photos. They are presenting a report having heard one side of a story in violation of natural justice.
Ban ki Moon gave an extension to his committee until February to submit the report not necessarily to coincide with the World Cup but at a time Sri Lanka will be focused on the world stage. To them the moment of glory is the time to be shamed like boycotting the Olympic Games in Moscow.
In the Caribbean during the World Cup 2007, Amnesty International on Sri Lanka reaching the Super Eight began distributing cricket balls with the legend “Sri Lanka- Play to Rules” at venues we played to undermine the morale of the players and to make the locals in St Lucia, Jamaica and Barbados to turn hostile and barrack. Notwithstanding AI’s campaign the West Indian fans rallied around our team overwhelmingly in the finals at Barbados, as in Lahore, in solidarity to chant “Anybody but Australia”. Most of the world still loves Sri Lanka; it is we that fail to capitalize. Did those girls that distributed the vicious cricket balls do their go-go jig/jig at the Yankee stadium during the Super Bowl though Guantanamo Bay is nearby to Barbados in the Gulf of Mexico.
Human Rights organizations have lined friendly jurists to publicly call for the head of the head of state and the defense secretary on war crimes citing foot notes from the events in Sudan; to hang necks of officers from the military establishment with source material on extradition from Serbia. To learn lessons from the streets of Belgrade, the goose step of the imperial international community of white nations and their lackeys is to enforce economic strangulation in the midst of a society turning hostile to a government on a failing economy and to offer a life jacket calling for a change of government with alleged war criminals being booked. In the streets of Colombo there is a willing Opposition to street walk with them.
Irrespective of whether it is timed with the cricket carnival, the months ahead are critical. This is a wake up call to the Government of possible repercussions on an indictment by the Moon tribunal. Will the Ministry of External Affairs rise from slumber like Rip Van Winkle, issue its standard form text on legitimacy and stagger back to siesta? Are they orchestrating the members of the non aligned nations to stand by for an emergency operation? Are we in search of Russia and China that came to our rescue in the Security Council? Is India and Japan being lobbied as the friendly upper guardian in the hemisphere? Are our embassies in Asian, Middle Eastern, African and South American countries that voted with us on human rights placed on a red alert?
Beyond and above that, is public opinion being modulated as during the war for therein lie the secret of success since the external forces can make an impact only outside rim if the people overwhelmingly devoid of politics stand firm to save the country again.
A public that loves its forces will rally around the Government if the diaspora nations want to punish for winning a war against terrorism. The media should be alerted of the impending danger to condition the patriotic forces to rise again to defend its Security Forces. Paradoxically the government is blind to a possible blessing in disguise during a local government election: when the external enemy is at the gate, people unite to protect and seek protection with an opposition likely to commit suicide with statements to invite the invading forces.
Will Sri Lanka remain anesthetized again seeking blessings threading white strings on white cricket balls and be traumatized the morning after the release of the report? We never follow the motto of the Boys Scouts or attend to the grievances of the Tamils.