Remembering the true sons of our soil
President Mahinda Rajapaksa
declared the National War Heroes Commemoration Month on Wednesday at
Temple Trees after the Ranaviru flag was pinned on him. Moreover, the
National War Heroes Commemoration Month will continue till June 8. A
series of events will be held to coincide with the War Hero
Commemoration including the Victory Day Parade at the Galle Face Green
and the special Commemoration Ceremony at the War Heroes Memorial at Sri
Jayewardenapura, Kotte on Saturday, May 18.
Four years have elapsed after Sri Lanka's valiant Security Forces
crushed LTTE terrorism and became the first country to eradicate
terrorism. Many international organisations and a few countries resorted
to various tactics to disrupt the operations of the Security Forces
during Sri Lanka's relentless battle against terror.
Some countries, which profess to be the Godfathers in the
international battle against terror, even attempted to resurrect the
LTTE when the outfit was on the verge of being vanquished. To cap it
all, when the Security Forces were about to trounce the LTTE leadership
in the final battle at the Nandikadal lagoon, some countries spared no
pains to pump the last drop of oxygen to the moribund terrorist
organisation.
It is an open secret that the LTTE had massacred tens of thousands of
people and inflicted untold hardships on all Sri Lankans. Despite the
mayhem, certain countries still scream to the high heavens over the
human rights of those terrorists killed in action - when confronting a
legitimate army of a sovereign state. Two resolutions were passed in
successive years at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
without letting Sri Lanka fully implement its reconciliation.
Although these countries and organisations, including some INGOs,
could not directly support a terror outfit which was violating all
accepted norms and international conventions, they buttressed moral
support for the LTTE and tried to discredit the Security Forces which
rendered a magnanimous and invaluable service.
Certain countries and some international organisations, which
shamefully used human rights as an effective tool to exert pressure on
the Government in an insidious attempt to bring about a premature end to
the operations of the Security Forces, are now trying to take Sri Lanka
to task purely for crushing the terror outfit. Regrettably, the
self-same countries which often pontificate to the world on the need to
crush global terrorism, now wax eloquent on the human rights of the
Tiger terrorists.
They, ad nauseum, stress only on the last two weeks of the battle
against terrorism. It is indeed strange that they don't touch on the
three decades of hell when the LTTE launched a countless number of
terror attacks. If these Western countries believe in accountability,
why do they turn a Nelsonian eye to those LTTE atrocities that brutally
killed thousands of hapless people of all communities?
Fortunately for us, we had President Rajapaksa at the helm whose
undaunted political leadership did not succumb to mounting pressure from
all quarters, including a handful of local opportunist Opposition
politicians who sought to gain petty political mileage.When Sri Lanka
was at the receiving end, with the LTTE on the rampage, exploding
massive bombs targeting civilians, none of these so-called godfathers of
human rights spoke a word in favour of those hapless people. They
neither touched on accountability nor uttered a word against the Tigers'
barbaric acts.Extremist elements in the Tamil diaspora even made a
subtle attempt to discredit Sri Lanka in the eyes of the international
community and take the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
(CHOGM) away from Colombo. Nevertheless, several knowledgeable
Commonwealth members, who are deeply cognizant of the developments in
Sri Lanka and its unrelenting efforts to eradicate terrorism, lost no
time to shoot down these moves.
Canada's adamant stance to boycott the 2013 CHOGM has been flatly
rejected by almost all Commonwealth countries. The support and
encouragement given to go ahead with the CHOGM in Colombo by the
previous host, Australia are commendable. Other Western countries too
must follow the Australian example which is worthy of emulation. If
Western nations are sincere in their call to reject terrorism, they
should not heed the calls by LTTE cohorts and a section of the Tamil
diaspora.
These self-same people helped the LTTE terrorists in numerous ways to
campaign for many years through their political activity and funding
with their ill-gotten gains. Rather than making a sincere effort to
unite people in Sri Lanka, these extremist elements sought to perpetuate
a campaign of hatred and division. The LTTE ghouls exploited the
sympathetic statements by certain Western countries as a weapon to
project a gloomy picture in a treacherous attempt to put the Government
in the dock.
Sri Lanka's Security Forces accomplished the biggest human rescue
mission in world history on May 18, 2009 by liberating over half a
million people in the North and the East who were held captive by LTTE
terrorists as a human shield. When the civilians fled LTTE-held areas
and sought assistance from the advancing troops, the Tigers fired at
those civilians indiscriminately. The Security Forces even offered their
food and dry rations to the Tamil civilians rescued and, moreover,
provided them with medical assistance and shelter.
Nobody could point an accusing finger at the Security Forces for
genocide or crimes against humanity because these same soldiers had
rescued over 200,000 Tamil civilians in the North from the clutches of
LTTE terror. These hapless civilians had been subjected to untold misery
due to LTTE terror in the areas forcibly held by them. Would these
civilians have fled LTTE-held areas and run towards the Security Forces
for safety had the soldiers committed any genocide or crimes against
humanity? This is the million-dollar question!
It is unequivocally clear that the civilians who had been living in
the Tiger-held areas had supreme confidence in the Security Forces.
These civilians were fully aware that the Security Forces were on a
human rescue mission to liberate them from the most ruthless terrorist
outfit in the world. Would any civilian run towards an advancing Army,
abandoning their own race, unless they had absolute confidence in those
soldiers?
Certain Western countries and the UNHRC had, true to form, ignored
these facts for reasons best known to them. At a time the country is
celebrating its fourth anniversary of having eradicated terrorism, the
international community should view Sri Lanka positively.
The international community should not fall prey to these scheming
extremist elements in the Tamil diaspora, who are still carrying on
their campaign to discredit Sri Lanka in the eyes of the world. It is an
indisputable fact that Sri Lanka has proved to the world how terrorism
could be defeated.
Had it not been for the indomitable and sagacious efforts of
President Rajapaksa and the unflagging support by Sri Lanka's friendly
countries, we would, perhaps, never have eliminated the scourge of
terrorism and liberated the country. Ironically, the same extremist
elements which made numerous attempts to protect Tiger terrorists and
disrupt Sri Lanka's battle against terror, have again surfaced at a time
the entire nation is celebrating the fourth anniversary of the country's
liberation from terrorism. Certain Western countries which even kill
unarmed people in the guise of national security, question as to why Sri
Lanka's Security Forces killed heavily armed LTTE cadres who had
indiscriminately massacred thousands of civilians. To hound a
democratically elected government, which has every right to defend its
sovereignty and protect its people against the LTTE which had bled the
nation for 30 years, with the support of certain countries in the West
to restore the right to life to its subjects, to say the least, is
certainly mind-boggling.
It is patently clear that certain Western countries and their shadow
INGOs are staging their latest 'horror drama' against Sri Lanka. These
extremist elements, who fought tooth and nail to protect the LTTE and
failed miserably, now need a busybody to unearth material to sully Sri
Lanka's image.
Sri Lanka has not only set a shining example by crushing terrorism,
but also in its resettlement of displaced persons which had set new
world standards. Those who are still sympathetic towards the LTTE
cohorts must first and foremost visit Sri Lanka and see for themselves
the prevailing peaceful situation. Such visits would help them change
their mindset when they behold the peaceful coexistence among all ethnic
groups.Most importantly, people in the North and the East have received
a new lease of life with vastly improved living standards. The
Government has completed mega development projects in the two provinces
to boost infrastructure facilities. The West should not turn a blind eye
to these stark facts any longer!
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