UNP and JVP's great betrayal bared

The true colours of the UNP and the JVP were bared when they abstained from voting on Wednesday after the two-day parliamentary debate against the proposed investigation on the alleged war crimes by a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) panel.

The motion, submitted by nine parliamentarians against the UNHRC investigation, was adopted with a massive majority of 134 votes. It received 144 votes in favour and 10 members voted against. Thirty-seven members abstained from voting while 33 members were absent.

True to form, the ex-Tiger-proxy party, the TNA voted against. The UNP's decision to abstain from voting exposed its true colours and secret pacts with the LTTE and TNA. The JVP parliamentarians, under the DNA, were not present in Parliament at the time of voting. It was deplorable that the SLMC had exploited the recent unfortunate incidents in Aluthgama and Beruwala to skip the voting.

Nevertheless, over two-thirds of the majority parliamentarians voted against the UNHRC investigation and rejected it outright. This means that the people's representatives in the legislature rejected the controversial investigation in no uncertain terms.

The JVP which shouts from the rooftops to prove its patriotism, rejecting Western conspiracies, had failed miserably to demonstrate its sincerity when it matters most. If the JVP was sincere in its call to protect the motherland and beat Western pressure, it should have joined the ruling UPFA members to vote in favour of the motion and reject the UNHRC conspiracy.

On the other hand, the UNP which is trying to tap the vote base of Sinhala Buddhists had not proved its sincerity. Instead, it acted in a manner that would indirectly support the aspirations of the LTTE rump. The absence of SLMC members at the time of voting shows that it had breached the collective responsibility as a constituent party of the UPFA.

This was a timely motion in the highest forum of the people's representatives. The motion stated: "That this Parliament resolves that the investigation to be conducted against Sri Lanka by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights should not be carried out on the grounds that such a course of action is detrimental to reconciliation and peace and that it erodes the sovereignty, dignity and stature of Sri Lanka".

Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha had pointed out that the UNP is responsible for taking Sri Lanka's internal terrorist problems to the international community, urging it to intervene in the country's internal affairs. It was the UNP which encouraged third-party foreign mediation, and even entered into an agreement with terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The controversial action of the then UNP Government created an opening for extraneous forces to poke their fingers in Sri Lanka's internal matters.

Had the UNP managed the situation properly in 1983, thousands of Tamils would not have left Sri Lanka to seek political asylum in Canada, Australia, the UK and France. It was the majority of those who left the country during that time who had funded the LTTE, willingly or unwillingly. Hence, the UNP is solely responsible for bringing in foreign countries to intervene.

The JVP received everything on a platter from the then People's Alliance government in 2006, which included the abolition of the agreement between the UNP Government and Prabhakaran. The JVP's plea to defeat the LTTE militarily to establish peace was achieved under the UPFA government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The UN's plans to hold an investigation against Sri Lanka for defeating terrorism should be opposed by one and all, irrespective of petty political and racial differences.

It is a pity that the opposition did not have the backbone to support the motion. The UNP, which failed in its duty to vote against the UNHRC probe, had betrayed the country and its people. Does it have the right to go before the people again to seek a fresh mandate? The masses will never forget the UNP and JVP betrayal. Those who love the country will teach them an unforgettable lesson.

Technology and Research Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka had quite rightly pointed out that all communities should perceive the malicious agenda of repeating the same scenario perpetrated in Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria and Iraq, in Sri Lanka and work together to move forward. Attempts are now being made by certain Western countries to violate Sri Lanka's sovereignty not out of any compassion for any particular community, but purely to stifle the country's forward march. They care too hoots about human rights.

Certain members of the international community had attempted to meddle in Sri Lanka's internal affairs ever since the Security Forces crushed the LTTE militarily in 2009. Moreover, the TNA should be grateful to the Government for defeating Tiger terrorism and establishing peace. It was due to the sacrifices of the Security Forces that the TNA leaders had an opportunity to return to their villages and engage in mainstream politics.

TNA leader R. Sambandan must bear in mind that Security Forces personnel had paid the supreme sacrifice to create the prevailing peaceful environment. There was a time when Sambandan and his cohorts had been remote-controlled by Prabhakaran from his Wanni jungle hideout.

The British massacred Sri Lankans when it invaded the country. It did likewise when taking control of former British colonies. Did Britain hold any investigation on these massacres against mankind? There is no difference even today. The West did the same in Afghanistan and Iraq. The British have numerous human rights violations reports against them.

Asia is experiencing a development boom which the West abhors. Hence, it is trying to destabilise emerging countries that it considers could pose a threat to the West. All Sri Lankans must unite and defeat this international plot against the motherland.

The defeat of LTTE terror did not protect any particular ethnic or religious group but the entire country and all communities. Minister Wimal Weerawansa emblazoned that parliamentarians who had not voted in favour of the motion had played into the hands of Sri Lanka's enemies - the biggest betrayal in modern Sri Lanka history. This is tantamount to an act of treachery.

Hence, it is crystal clear that the 10 TNA members who had voted against the motion, along with the 37 UNP and DNA members who had abstained from voting and the SLMC MPs who were absent at the time of voting, had betrayed their motherland. There is no doubt, whatsoever, that the masses would teach them an unforgettable lesson at the next general election.

The victory over terrorism is enjoyed by one and all today. The UN is trying to make a subtle attempt to take the Security Forces and the political leadership which inspired them before an international tribunal by investigating only the last stages of the humanitarian operation against the terrorists. Hence, all Sri Lankans, irrespective of caste and creed, should unite to beat these conspiracies hatched in the West.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, while expressing concern over the incidents in Aluthgama and Beruwala, has called upon the Government to take steps to ensure the safety of all Sri Lankans. Perhaps, the UN chief would have shed crocodile tears over the people of Sri Lanka! But no foreigner could have more feelings on Sri Lankans than its own leaders.

However, it is sad to note that Ban Ki-moon was unable to behold the bold steps taken by President Rajapaksa to ensure the safety of nearly half a million Tamils who had been forcibly held as a human shield by LTTE terrorists. Sri Lanka has set an unprecedented record by conducting the world's largest human rescue mission.

The UN, which now gloats about the safety of people here, is exerting undue pressure on the Government for taking action in 2009 to ensure the safety of over 21 million people. It was due to the President's bold decision and his political sagacity that people across the length and breadth of the country are today enjoying the rich dividends of peace.