Ploy to get Govts fall in line with agenda:

West makes human rights a fine art - Prof. Tissa Vitarana

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Senior Minister for Scientific Affairs Prof. Tissa Vitarana said that the Western world has made the human rights issue a fine art to exert pressure on Governments to fall in line with their agenda.

They have followed this practice for a long time. The biggest violators of human rights the world has even known are imperialist countries such as America and other European colonialist powers. This was done not only during overt colonialism but thereafter as well. Hence they have no moral right to point an accusing finger at anybody, the Minister told the Sunday Observer yesterday. Human rights are being violated by a number of dictatorial Governments which they support, but they ignore them completely. If a Government does not fall in line with their policy interests they raise human rights issues.

Therefore, Western countries attempt to exert pressure and level human rights charges against Sri Lanka, the Minister said.

Prof. Vitarana citing Vietnam said the use of Agent Orange, a defoliant and herbicide which is banned even in international warfare was used by America when they attacked Vietnam. It is estimated that nearly five million people suffered from congenital deformities such as cancer and other diseases as a result.

They had not paid even a red cent as compensation or even apologised. Nobody raised any human rights issues against them in the International Court of Criminal Justice.

To make matters worse, when Vietnam did not follow their dictates with regard to certain policies, they raised human rights issues against Vietnam on trivial matters involving religious groups such as Catholics and Buddhists.

This is a classic example of the hypocrisy adopted by Western powers, he said.