http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20120301_02

Enough is Enough - Opinion
(By: M H
Liyanage )
The "so-called" international community is gradually tightening
the nose of a sovereign nation trying to recover after three decades of bloody
conflict. During the UNHRC Sessions just started in Geneva Sri Lanka will find
its head once again on the chopping block in reward for militarily defeating the
strongest, yet the most coward terrorist outfit the world has ever produced, the
LTTE.
It would have been a serious miscalculation on the part of Sri
Lankans if they ever thought that once the head of the LTTE was severed on the
banks of the Nandikandal Lagoon, the body would wriggle for some time and it
would mark the demise of the monster that had gripped their nation for 30 years.
Demons are back in action again and this time with more venom and sting. Their
purpose is to haul the political and military leadership of our country up
before the International Criminal Court to inquire alleged war crimes.
During the height of war, a section of the international
community who called them "co-chairs" on the premise that their purpose was to
avoid civilian casualties, tried their best to throw a lifeline to the
beleaguered terrorist outfit by way of bringing in two resolutions; first at the
UN Security Council and later at the Session of the UNHRC held in April 2009.
Sri Lanka was able to defeat both these conspiracies and fight the war to a
successful finish.
In a theatre of war that always had the threat of human bombs it
was impossible for the military to pinpoint the civilian from the terrorist
because both wore civilian clothes.
Although some civilians may have died as a result of military
action, there was no conclusive evidence to prove that civilians were
deliberately targeted by the Sri Lankan Military. The video footage aired from
time to time by the infamous Channel 4 had no substance; they had been fully
fabricated to serve the interests of the LTTE and others who are servile to
their cause. One shouldn't forget that the LTTE had held civilians against their
will to build human shields in order to protect themselves against the advancing
military. There was video footage to prove that the LTTE were also firing
indiscriminately at the civilians who broke shackles and were fleeing for
safety. For the Sri Lankan Military, the final phase of the war therefore was a
rescue mission where they had to save nearly a quarter million people who were
in the clutches of the terrorists. The whole world saw live pictures showing the
restraint exhibited by the soldiers during this rescue mission even when they
were fired upon by the enemy blatantly disregarding all norms of engagement
during an armed conflict.
Nearly three years after war, it may be that Sri Lanka hasn't
done all what is necessary to fully heal the wounds. However, the simple truth
that these so-called peace interlocutors either fail to understand or unwilling
accept is that had the war dragged on till date, Sri Lanka would have lost
thousands more precious lives.
It is wrong to say that the international community in their
entirety is putting their full weight behind the present tacit move to punish
Sri Lanka. Even in the countries that are calling for action against Sri Lanka,
there is divided opinion where there is still a school of thought that the
international community hasn't done anything conspicuous to help Sri Lanka,
other than to mount undue pressure.
As repeatedly pointed out by this writer and many others, the
impartiality with which wars in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, West Bank
and Lebanon were conducted in the past had always been in question. While there
was scant regard for civilian safety, no hindsight inquiries had been conducted
to probe civilian deaths or alleged war crimes some of those were apparent
during such conflicts. The current deadlock between the United States and Iran
is likely to trigger a full scale war. If war erupts, will there be the
guarantee that no civilian will die? If there is going to be civilian deaths or
alleged war crimes committed during such a war, will the international community
have the same inclination that they show in Sri Lanka's case now, to bring the
big powers that be before a war crime tribunal and punish them for the wrong
doings?
Sovereignty is something that is non-existent in the new world
order for the less powerful nations. The powerful elite continue to impose their
will on the less powerful states. The latter does not have the bargaining power
at the UN or UNHRC to see that the big powers conform to laws, norms or
international treaties whether they relate to conducting war or violation of
human rights. Even at the helm of UN it is the law of the jungle that works; the
weak has to survive at the mercy of the strong. Neo-colonialism of today
represents imperialism in its most dangerous form. Globalization could perhaps
be one such illusion. Hyper globalists argue that globalization brings about
interconnectedness and equality. Others, the skeptics who reject the idea of
globalization argue that states and geopolitics should remain the principle
forces that shape up the world order. Whatever the opinion one may hold,
globalization in its current form has contributed towards the emergence of a
distorted global order which is highly skewed in favour of the powerful nations
and to the exclusion of the less powerful states.
Uncle Sam, you are both the self-proclaimed father and the
protagonist of "war on terror". Therefore, it is just about time that you tell
the rest of the world on how the other nations should delineate this term in
their respective wars against terror. It is a shame on you and your partisan
cronies to act in a manner that supports a terrorist group to raise its ugly
head again.
Supposing Sri Lanka agrees to such an inquiry now in hindsight
at the insistence of the US and a handful of their allies, how and based on what
will such an inquiry be conducted? Would it be based on hearsay or doctored
material such as the Channel 4 Video? Is the proposed inquiry to be conducted in
piecemeal to cover only the final few hours of war to serve your own tacit
agenda? Or should it cover the atrocities committed by the LTTE in which they
brutally killed thousands of innocent people over three decades? The top LTTE
leaders who are responsible for crimes on humanity have all eaten the dust.
Majority of the remaining cadres have been rehabilitated while some others are
facing trial at civil courts. Will the dead be resurrected and brought before a
panel of inquiry?
Therefore the call of the so-called international community at
this juncture too, is not to punish the LTTE for the monumental crimes committed
by them over 30 years. It is just to serve the same sordid purpose which failed
in the same forum three years ago.
Enough is enough and what Sri Lanka and her people are looking
for at this post conflict reconciliation phase is not punitive action or
ill-advice but how much in cash an kind the international community can lend us
in our effort to re-unite and re-build a nation that had been torn apart due to
years of bloody conflict.