Choice of military locations is nobody’s business:
Sri Lanka not taking chances again
Certain countries in the West, which turned a blind eye when Sri Lanka was making its own battle against LTTE terrorism which killed thousands of innocent people, are now trying to advise on our military strategies.
They now try to give us ‘expert military advice’ free
leaving room for a possible another terrorist campaign that could once again put
the lives of all Sri Lankans in danger. The UK has said that it hopes that the military presence in the North and East of Sri Lanka can move to resemble that in other parts of Sri Lanka.
The British High Commissioner in Colombo John Rankin in a video on the Human Rights and Democracy (HRD) Annual Report released by the Foreign Office this year and the human rights situation in Sri Lanka with reference to LLRC report, has said that the military presence in the North and East of the country can move to resemble that in other parts of Sri Lanka rather than the very large military presence which it continues to have at the moment in the Jaffna and the Wanni.
The US too is apparently shedding crocodile tears on human rights in Sri Lanka. Having turned a Nelsonian eye when the LTTE was brutally killing innocent civilians, forget about their human rights altogether, the US is appearing to be greatly perturbed by the human rights of LTTE terrorists killed during the humanitarian operation.
Releasing the 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights at the State Department last week, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said these human rights reports United States Government makes clear to governments around the world that they are being watched. “We are watching and we are holding you accountable,” she said adding that the U.S. makes clear to citizens and activists everywhere: “You are not alone. We are standing with you.”
But do these countries practise what they preach? Criticising the US government report on human rights, China said that ‘the United States has turned a blind eye to its own woeful human rights situation and remained silent about it, Xinhua news agency reported.
The “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011” was released by the Information Office of the State Council, or China’s cabinet, in response to the “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011” issued by the US State Department on May 24.
The US report is “full of overly critical remarks on human rights conditions in nearly 200 countries and regions, as well as distortions and accusations concerning human rights cases in China. However, the United States has turned a blind eye to its own woeful human rights situation and remained silent about it,” China’s report said.
The “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011” is intended to reveal the “true human rights situation” of the US to the world and “urge the US to confront its own actions,” the document said.
The violations of civil and political rights in the US have been “severe” and the country is “lying to itself” when referring to itself as the “land of the free.”
There is a huge difference in human rights what the West preaches and practices. Sri Lanka is a sovereign state and as any other independent nation, Sri Lanka has a right to defend its territory. Protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity is the responsibility of the Government, according to the Constitution.
No country has a right to force us on our military strategies as the Government would take such action purely in the interest of the nation and its citizens. Countries responsible for killing innocent civilians, including women and children through drone attacks, tell us a different story when it comes to Sri Lanka.
They should realise Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation and its Security Forces has a legitimate right to protect its territory and citizens, just as the US, UK or any other country.
When LTTE had been killing thousands of innocent civilians
and world leaders such as former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, none of
those godfathers of human rights were there to support us sincerely. Thanks to the genuine and honest support of a handful of friendly countries, Sri Lanka was able to vanquish the LTTE and liberate over half a million people who had been subjected to untold misery.
When those hapless civilians were forcibly held as a human shield and were subjected to untold hardships, none of those champions ever uttered a word against the LTTE terrorists.
Some of the Western countries were attempting to give even the last drop of oxygen to the Tigers until they were finally vanquished on May 18, 2009.
It was a truly humanitarian operation and Sri Lanka has every right to do so under a legitimate Governments and its Security Forces.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov too has said that attempts to force an international probe on Sri Lanka, into the so-called civilian deaths and rights abuses during the final months of the humanitarian battle are unacceptable.
“We believe, attempts to force international investigation on Sri Lanka without the sovereign state’s permission and bypassing the UN Security Council are absolutely wrong, they also contradict our aspirations in the human rights sphere,” Lavrov was quoted as saying to his Sri Lankan counterpart at a meeting last week.
He emphasised that Sri Lanka has forged an own trustworthy commission to look into the war crimes.
Certain countries in the West too have fallen in line with the campaigns of the LTTE cohorts in demanding shifting of military camps from the North and the East.
Just in case of any other provinces in the country, the Defence authorities would maintain camps at strategic locations for the best interest of the nation.
Outsiders have no right to tell us where Sri Lanka should locate its camps because it will be Sri Lanka, its people and the Government, that would face repercussions if something goes wrong in the security aspect.
We cannot get back to that old era of terrorism and security of people should be maintained at any cost.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in a recent press interview, has made it clear why the liberated land has to be defended.
“If we take the Vanni region in particular, the LTTE was controlling this area and the Armed Forces had to liberate it.
As I emphasised before, the Government wants to bring normalcy to these areas,” he was quoted as saying.
According to the Defence Secretary, that is an area that has been misunderstood with various complaints about military presence.
The Security Forces have gradually reduced their numbers in civilian populated areas.
“We have withdrawn them from their day-to-day involvement and are now in their camps.
The maintenance of law and order has been handed over to the Police. We have opened new police stations in Mankulam, Kilinochchi, Pooneryn and other areas,” he said.
A key feature at these police stations is that the Government recruited Tamil speaking individuals who are from Jaffna and other Northern areas.
They have been trained and are now stationed at their respective police stations.
It ensures that the police can effectively communicate with the Tamil speaking people in these areas. Why can’t the West see these positive developments?
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