[Opinion]
Western powers too should laud our Security Forces
by Ven. Walpola
Piyananda Thera, Chief Sangha Nayake of America
Throughout history, during times of war soldiers have been known to
do horrible things. Committing atrocities because of fear, stress,
confusion, or unbalanced mental states is not an uncommon occurrence;
animalistic behaviour has not been unknown. Acts of inhumanity to man
are never acceptable under any circumstances, but they are generally
viewed by historians as an unfortunate condition, or bi-product if you
will, of all military conflicts.
Sri Lankan soldiers fought to protect the sovereignty of our country,
and they did their job well. During the entire course of the long LTTE
conflict I was always impressed by one characteristic that consistently
stood out in regards to the way the war was being managed: the
compassion and restraint showed by the Sri Lankan military towards the
IDPs and the civilian victims of the war. Let me cite a few examples:I
will never forget the images I saw of Sri Lankan soldiers respectfully
carrying the body of slain terrorist leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, on
a stretcher. One soldier even stood next to the body and waved flies
away from its lifeless face.
There was no mistreatment of the remains of the man responsible for
nearly 100,000 deaths, including 24,000 soldiers; there was no cheering
or “triumphalism” as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon commented the
other day. There was only the same basic human decency and respect that
the Sri Lankan soldiers would have shown to one of their own fallen
comrades. Prabhakaran was a human being, after all.The LTTE had an
arsenal of sophisticated state-of-the-art weaponry, which had been
purchased with money donated by the world-wide Tamil “Diaspora”. They
used their technological advantage against the army at every opportunity
- even during the final days of the war.
The Army, however, only had simple, out-of-date equipment with which
to do battle; and in the last days they restrained themselves even in
the use of that - often resorting to hand-to-hand combat in order to
insure the lives of the trapped human shields. Claims by the Western
Powers that the Army was using heavy artillery on the incarcerated
civilians is nothing more than propaganda generated by those that shared
Prabhakaran’s dream. For some, that dream is unfortunately still alive.
Before its defeat the LTTE killed children, pregnant women, monks,
priests, and their own Tamil leaders - not to mention political leaders
of both Sri Lanka and India. They used suicide bombers to destroy the
lives of innocent people on buses, trains, public roads and buildings.
They even shot their own people in the back when they tried to escape
their last prison called the “No Fire Zone”. Instead of indiscriminately
wiping out the remaining cadres in the final days, the soldiers used the
utmost care to rescue the unfortunate human shields as quickly as
possible.
This restraint cost the Army the lives of several thousand soldiers,
but they prevented the loss of tens of thousands of Tamils. Many of the
IDPs required emergency medical treatment, and the Army made sure they
got it speedily so their lives could be saved.
Rescue
When nearly 100,000 people escaped on that first amazing day of
rescue, the Army was caught by surprise; it was unprepared for the
deluge of humanity they saw coming toward them, and for whom they were
charged with providing care. Many of the soldiers did without their own
food and water that day, and gave their portions to the starving masses
as they reached safety.Please remind the Western Powers of this selfless
act of charity and compassion when they preach about human rights. Why
don’t we see these stories reported in the Western media?Speaking of
food and water, let’s not forget the fact that the Government of Sri
Lanka actually fed the LTTE cadres during the final phase of Eelam IV,
giving them energy to fight us another day. They wanted to make sure the
human shields had food, so they fed the enemy at the same time. We later
learned, of course, that the LTTE kept most of the humanitarian supplies
for itself - including food, water, and medicine.
The President knew this, but insisted that the human shields were all
Sri Lankans, and they needed to be cared for as he would care for his
own children.
When the Americans and their allies invaded Iraq they toppled,
smashed, and destroyed statues of Saddam, and the many monuments he had
built to celebrate his own perceived greatness. The Sri Lankan military,
however, showed respect for the monuments the LTTE had erected in
Kilinochchi and elsewhere, and they remain in tact to this day. Even the
monuments honouring the leader of the Sea Tiger’s son, and others, were
left standing by the liberating soldiers.
Thousands of children, most of whom had never attended school, were
among the human shields rescued by the soldiers. Within a matter of days
the Government already had them attending classes for the first time.
Universal education is a law of the land in Sri Lanka, and the
President wanted to make sure these children were deprived of this right
no longer.Prabhakaran used to murder the families of his enemies, and
those of people who refused to give money to his cause or follow his
rule.
Prabhakaran’s parents as well as the families of other LTTE leaders -
some slain, and some still alive - are in the Government’s custody, and
are being cared for well.After all, they are Sri Lankans too.We have
just learned that there are approximately 3,000 pregnant women and girls
in the IDP camps. They got themselves pregnant in order to avoid being
conscripted as soldiers by the LTTE.
Big job
During the last days of the rescue, some pregnant human shields gave
birth in ships, and their babies were brought into the world by female
soldiers with hearts of gold. These new mothers are now being given
proper medical treatment, and the children they bore will be raised as
fully-enfranchised Sri Lankan citizens - not as minorities.
The Government of Sri Lanka has a big job on its hands caring for
300,000 Sri Lankans who up until now had no future. The soldiers who
rescued them demonstrated compassion, patience, restraint, and goodwill.
The US and British armed forces, as well as others, have demonstrated
far less in their callous, degrading, and inhumane treatment of
prisoners in Iraq and elsewhere, and they seemed to care very little for
the thousands of lives they destroyed during their bombings of Iraq,
Afghanistan, and lately, Pakistan.
I suggest that the Western Powers re-evaluate their assessment of the
Sri Lankan Government and its armed forces, and instead of condemning it
for fabricated human rights offences, and trying to align the United
Nations against it, it should give it accolades for its humanitarian
actions and compassionate motivations. It should use the Sri Lankan Army
as an example for its own militaries, and teach their soldiers how to
behave with benevolence during wartime.
During the entire LTTE conflict we witnessed no atrocities or
unspeakable acts of inhumanity against the enemy; it is perhaps one of
the only wars in history where this never happened.
May all our war heroes and their families have the Blessings of the
Triple Gem.
Courtesy: Asian Tribune
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