OPINION

Why the huge interest in Lanka's internal affairs?

by K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga

It seems that the UN Human Rights Council or certain Western countries have no other work than showing an extraordinary interest on internal affairs of Sri Lanka.

We wonder whether certain Western Colombo-based diplomats who had been residing in Jaffna during the Northern Provincial Council election, show similar interest on elections in their own countries.

There is no other business for certain Western embassies and High Commissions in Colombo than issuing a plethora of statements before, during and after the elections. They even pontificate the Government on how it should work with the Northern Provincial Council.

What perturbs us the most is this extraordinary interest shown by certain ‘big’ and powerful Western countries on a small Indian Ocean island such as Sri Lanka which his hardly visible in the atlas.

True human rights

Every time the UNHRC meets in Geneva twice a year, there isn’t a single session which Sri Lanka doesn’t come into sharp focus. The prime job of work Navi Pillay has been entrusted with seems to be poking into Sri Lanka’s internal affairs rather than addressing true human rights violations in the world.

While turning a blind eye to US drone attacks in Pakistan which has now become a regular occurrence, Pillay has nothing but to dig on Sri Lanka’s old wounds. Where was Pillay when the LTTE terrorism was at its best and lives of over 21 million people were in danger?

On the other hand, Pillay has no right to threaten Sri Lanka with deadlines and warn of international action. First and foremost, Pillay has no moral right to be part of any investigation or make statement on Sri Lanka’s humanitarian operation because of her Indian origin. It is definitely a conflict of interest and she should prove her transparency by refraining from taking part in any matters pertaining to Sri Lanka’s battle against LTTE terror.

In the guise of security, the US and its NATO allies have committed enough and more human rights violations in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They cannot have their own way when the UN Security Council is there to handle matters relating to world security. If not, the UN Security Council would become a toothless tiger.

International security

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s fearless address to the UN Security Council last Tuesday has been commended by many around the world. He voiced concern over the growing trend of international interference in the internal affairs of developing countries in the guise of concern for security and human rights.

The President has quite rightly told world leaders the time is now opportune to evaluate whether turbulent movements for political change had led to greater stability in such countries or had produced the opposite result.

As the President has declared, the world needs no policing by a few countries, particularly when the United Nations is mandated to ensure international security through multilateral engagement. Such engagement must extend to protecting humanity against nuclear and chemical weapons.

Hence, it is disturbing to see the growing trend in the international arena, of interference by some, in the internal matters of developing countries, in the guise of security, and guardians of human rights. As a result, we continue to experience agitations the world over, leading to violence and forcing political change accompanied by turmoil.

But the LTTE cohorts, with the help of top international officials who show extraordinary affection towards Tiger terrorists killed in action, could no longer mislead the member countries of the UNHRC. The controversial statement made by UN Rights chief Pillay on Sri Lanka’s human rights issues at the UNHRC last Thursday has been opposed by several member states, including Russia.

Progress

Several countries, including Pakistan, Russian Federation, Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela and Belarus have severely criticised Pillay’s remarks. Many Asian, African and Latin American countries have commended the progress achieved by the Government after the terrorism was eradicated.

It is good to see several Western countries too joining the Asian, African and Latin American countries in welcoming the recent elections held in three provinces including in the Northern Province.

They have commended the Government for the cooperation extended as well as the unfettered access provided during the visit of Pillay to Sri Lanka in August.

While strongly rejecting the update of Pillay as the outcome of a politicised mandate, Belarus called on the co-sponsors of the resolution on Sri Lanka to reassess their position and work in cooperation and genuine dialogue with Sri Lanka. At a time the majority of UNHRC members have expressed confidence in Sri Lanka, Pillay cannot unilaterally put her agenda in motion.

The TNA’s victory in the North will lead to strengthen reconciliation in Sri Lanka. The NPC election was a turning point for the country not only for the Northern Province itself.

Victory

The West need not tell Sri Lanka how its Government should work with Provincial Council administrations. Since the Provincial Council Act was introduced in 1987, Sri Lanka has enough and more experience on the system and we don’t need expertise from the West on how the Government should work with a provincial administration.

Moreover, holding an election to provide the people in the North, who were under terrorist control for three decades, the right to elect their own administration is a victory for the Government led by President Rajapaksa.

The latest round of PC elections was a unique event that strengthened Sri Lanka’s political democracy. The political parties in the North that were under terrorist control for so long. These parties were brought under a one umbrella by Prabhakaran’s iron first and ever since, the TNA had been remote-controlled by the LTTE leader from his Wanni jungle hideouts.

It is not only the people in the North but the political parties too are now enjoying freedom and happiness thanks to the thousands of youth in the Security Forces who sacrificed their lives to obtain that freedom. These heroes should be remembered at this moment for establishing a lasting peace in the country and the reinstating of democracy in the North with the establishment of the NPC. The results of the recent PC polls clearly show that people are well aware of the Mahinda Chintana Policy and the government’s development drive.

All parties to shed narrow extremist ideas and take collective efforts to steer the country towards prosperity in the face of the challenges the country faces.

Unitary status

The new Chief Minister-elect of the North, C.V. Wigneshwaran should make the best use of the TNA’s victory for the people in the province. He should now play the role of a cry baby, running to India and the international community by the hall of a hat. Being a retired Supreme Court judge, he is acutely aware of the law of the land and the unitary status of the country stated in the Constitution.

Hence, he should not demand anything that is not in the Construction and should respect the law of the land at all times. First and foremost, he should work for the prime needs of the people in the North. Though the LTTE cohorts in the West and Colombo-based TNA leaders day dream of police and land powers, the true aspirations of the Tamils in the North are different.

Wigneshwaran should not mix his priorities and should have a closer look at the genuine grievances of the people in the North.

But one wonders how better an upper class Tamil living in Colombo 7 could read the pulse of the ordinary Tamils in the North. When there people had been subjected to untold misery as the LTTE held them as a human shield, post Colombo based Tamils had a luxurious life.

Crocodile tears

The bitterness of LTTE terrorism is only known to the people who had suffered the most – the people in the North. They only yarned for a peaceful atmosphere for them to live in perfect peace and harmony and not police or land powers or a separate state. In fact, when the LTTE terrorism was at its peak, these people didn’t have any state to live but suffer in the no man’s land. The LTTE always used them as a human shield.

Now that these people have been liberated from the clutches of LTTE terror, there are enough and more pundits to advice us and to shed buckets of crocodile tears on the Tamils in the North.

But as President Rajapaksa had stated time and again, foreigners could not have a greater concern about our people than the leaders of Sri Lanka.

People in the North are not prepared to go back to that dark era again. Hence, the NTA should abandon its separatist and racist policies adopted until the LTTE was defeated militarily.

The TNA should read the pulse of the Tamils in the North and not Tamils in Colombo who often get lavish financial support from their relatives in the West.

The people in the North have suffered enough and the TNA should not try to mislead them again by making false promises to achieve impossible goals within the Provincial Council system.