Sri Lanka will not succumb to international pressure

Some international organisations, Western politicians and their agents, both here and abroad, have already begun to browbeat Sri Lanka ahead of the next United Nations Human Rights Council (UHHRC) sessions slated for March next year. They scream themselves hoarse, alleging that Sri Lanka "has not done enough"! It is baffling as to what they mean that Sri Lanka "has not done enough". Perhaps, Sri Lanka may not have done enough to appease the West or meet the aspirations of some Western politicians, the LTTE rump or disgruntled INGOs. As far as the well-being of the people in the North and the East - those who had been liberated from the jaws of LTTE terror - is concerned, Sri Lanka has done comparatively more than any other country which had experienced a similar situation.

What Sri Lanka has achieved in national reconciliation and fostering a peaceful environment among all communities surpasses any country that had emerged from such an excruciating experience in the battlefield. Sri Lanka's track record in demining, resettlement and infrastructure development in terrorism-hit areas had set new world standards.

No other country had resettled such a large number of displaced persons in so short a time. Considering the fact that Sri Lanka conducted the world's largest human rescue operation to liberate over half a million people forcibly held by the world's most ruthless terrorist outfit as a human shield and resettled them in next to no time, the United Nations should hail the country's singular achievement.

Rather than commending the country's valiant Security Forces for rescuing nearly three hundred thousand civilians in the Northern Province alone, the UNHRC continues to harp on the human rights of LTTE terrorists killed in action.

Unlike a legitimate army of a sovereign state, terrorist outfits the world over deploy their cadres both in military and civilian attire. Hence, armed LTTE cadres in civvies had ostensibly been considered civilians from the moment they threw their weapons after being injured. It is the human rights violations of these so-called civilians that had become the main allegation against Sri Lanka.

UNHRC chief Navi Pillay and some Western politicians, who swear by the Tamil Diaspora vote in their countries, more often than not, make a big hue and cry over the human rights of these so-called civilians killed during the relentless battle against terrorism. In point of fact, they were LTTE terrorists who had waged a do-or-die battle against a legitimate army of a sovereign state. Can those who threw their weapons away after being injured in the battlefront, be counted as civilian victims?

With the next UNHRC Sessions in Geneva just three months away, various countries, INGOs, LTTE sympathisers and agents of international organisations are doing their damnedest to intimidate Sri Lanka.

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal has said that the patience of the international community could wear thin if the Government does not take steps to address the issue of human rights, accountability and reconciliation. Is Biswal blind to the adequate steps that Sri Lanka had already taken to address these allegations?

If the US has genuine concerns on human rights and accountability, it must first and foremost demonstrate it by adopting the same yardstick for the US-led NATO forces' operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is anybody's guess how many civilians have been killed due to US drone attacks in Pakistan. Their accountability is mostly confined to a mere apology. It would do well if the US practises what it preaches. Else, it has no moral right to intimidate another sovereign country. Notwithstanding Biswal's wild allegations, Sri Lanka has made a sincere and determined effort to address these issues.

Many top international officials have visited Sri Lanka since the battle against terrorism was successfully defeated in May 2009. Most of them have aired many positive views and hailed the Government's efforts to restore peace and strengthen ethnic harmony through national reconciliation. This is apart from the overwhelming worldwide commendation for the mega development projects in the North and the East.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Displaced Persons, Dr. Chaloka Beyani, who was in Sri Lanka recently, was also impressed with Sri Lanka's overall progress in the resettlement of displaced persons in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. He also hailed the Government's reconstruction and development after terrorism was eradicated.

These are indeed food for thought for the UN and Navi Pillay who has been highly critical of Sri Lanka for quaint reasons. The Government has given preferential treatment for the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, by investing a colossal amount of money on mega development projects in these provinces. This has given a new lease of life to people in these two provinces which have recorded a growth rate of over 25 percent, compared to the overall seven percent national growth. Countries such as the US, Canada and the UK should take these factors into account rather than making a big noise on the well-being of people in the North. They must hail the Government's efforts to develop these two provinces at such a rapid pace.

It is deplorable that the TNA is playing into the hands of the Tamil Diaspora, largely due to its funding, thereby ignoring the Tamils in the North and the East, who are making steady progress after they were liberated from the clutches of LTTE terror. Some TNA leaders are even attempting to eulogise the despot terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

It seems that R. Sambanthan and his buddies have conveniently forgotten the horror days when they fought for their lives. When Prabhakaran eliminated the most respected and moderate Tamil leaders, including A. Amirthalingam, Kumar Ponnambalam and Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, the remaining Tamil leaders had no option, but to fall in line with the TNA to be remote-controlled by Prabhakaran.

Sambanthan and his comrades turned a Nelsonian eye when hapless Tamil civilians had been at the receiving end, suffering untold LTTE misery. After the LTTE leadership was vanquished to secure 21 million Sri Lankans, Sambanthan and his TNA political opportunists are now shedding crocodile tears.

Sambanthan and NPC Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran are now making a mountain of a molehill over the military presence in the North. But they must bear in mind that it was the Sinhalese soldiers who had rescued hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians from the merciless terror unleashed by the so-called saviour of the Tamils. The first meal those rescued civilians received was prepared with the dry rations and nutrition packs of those soldiers who had sacrificed their life and limb to liberate them.

Since then, the Security Forces have done a praiseworthy job to uplift the living standards of the people in the North and the East. It was these soldiers who had made a tangible contribution to develop these areas and bring them to its present level. The jackpot question is, where were these TNA leaders when the Tamils in the North were at the receiving end?

Sambanthan must at least now, acknowledge that the military presence in the North and the East has reduced drastically. The Security Forces are now stationed only at strategic locations and most of the high security areas have been dismantled. However, the military cannot be completely withdrawn from the North as national security is a sine qua non.

Sri Lanka, under no circumstances, can impair its hard-earned peace to pander to the West. The international community has no right to intimidate Sri Lanka or dictate as to where the Security Forces should be stationed. This is Sri Lanka's prerogative. The West should not, for that matter, thrust anything down Sri Lanka's throat under the guise of reconciliation.

Sri Lanka will by no means succumb to undue international pressure or Western intimidation as we have a strong political leadership that would never dance the fandango round the West.