Kenya massacre highlighted need for C’wealth response to int’l terrorism - Gotabhaya
September 26, 2013, 9:14 pmBy Shamindra Ferdinando
The massacre of nearly 70 men, women and children in Nairobi, Kenya should prompt the Commonwealth to re-examine its priorities in the run-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled for November this year, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Island.
Victims included British, Canadian, French and Chinese nationals.
Kenya is among the member states expected to attend the three-day conference scheduled to begin on November 15.
Defence Secretary Rajapaksa pointed out that the slaughter of the innocents at Westgate mall in Nairobi had again underscored the pivotal importance of global action against cross-border terrorism.
The Defence Secretary said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on behalf of Sri Lanka, at the outset of his speech to the 68th sessions of the UNGA on Wednesday, offered condolences to the families whose loved ones died as a result of a terrorist attack in Kenya. Recollecting Sri Lanka’s experience in being at the receiving end of terrorism, the President said: "Having suffered from many terrorist attacks, for nearly three decades, we Sri Lankans condemn this cowardly act."
The siege on the up market mall began ahead of the 68th sessions of the UNGA. Somalia-based Al-Shabaab allegedly linked to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Nairobi mall attack.
Responding to a query, the war veteran said that the international media had alleged the involvement of Westerners, including at least one woman in the worst massacre since the killing of 91 men, women and children by a Norwegian, who drew inspiration from the LTTE, two years after the conclusion of the conflict in Sri Lanka in May 2009.
The Defence Secretary was referring to 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik going on the rampage in Oslo on July 23, 2011.
He said that CHOGM 2013 should be a platform to discuss terrorism.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, formerly of the Indian Foreign Service said: "This is a heinous act which must be condemned in the strongest terms.
"The targeting and premeditated killing of defenseless civilians is absolutely reprehensible. It is my fervent hope that those behind this terrible attack will release the innocent children, women and men that they have taken hostage.
"The Commonwealth stands in total solidarity with the people of Kenya at this trying time."
President Rajapaksa will take over Commonwealth leadership for a two-year period beginning November 2013.
The Defence Secretary said that the Commonwealth couldn’t turn a blind eye to some terrorist groups drawing recruits from some member states. Western media alleged that among those involved in terrorist acts on foreign soil, including the Nairobi massacre, were Canadian, British as well as US nationals.
The Canadian media quoted Christian Leuprecht, associate professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario as having said: "Over the years, various groups have found financial support and recruits in Canada, including the Irish Republican Army and the Tamil Tigers."
The ‘foreign fighter’ problem has a long history in Canada and much of the western world, Leuprecht noted. "For example, one recent report flagged 600 Europeans who are known to be fighting alongside the rebels in Syria," Leuprecht said in an interview with CTVNews.ca. The actual number was probably much higher, he said.
Defence Secretary Rajapaksa alleged that Western powers had declined to cooperate with Sri Lanka’s efforts to identify those taking refuge there after committing terrorist acts in Sri Lanka.
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