Opinion:

Some Western ambassadors overstep their mandate

By K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga

A few Colombo-based Western ambassadors seem to be overstepping their diplomatic mandate by showing undue concern over internal matters of the country. Though they are intended to promote solidarity and good relations between their country of origin and Sri Lankan, certain Western Ambassadors are conducting themselves in a high-handed manner, assuming that Sri Lanka is a colony of theirs.

The double standards adopted by US Ambassador in Sri Lanka Michele J. Sison after the recent incidents in Beruwala and Aluthgama is a clear indication that these ambassadors use such incidents to put their political agendas in motion. It was originally stated that Ambassador Sision had discovered that Kalutara District UNP parliamentarian Palitha Thewarapperuma was also injured in the attack and she had sought a meeting with him as a result.

If she is sincerely interested on the well-being of parliamentarians injured in the attack, she should have also inquired about the condition of Minister Faiszer Musthapha who was also injured. He was attacked by a mob of around 15 men in the same area but Sison did not even bother to give him a call.

Sinister operation

In contrast, she took the trouble to call Thewarapperuma and even went to the extent of offering political asylum in case the MP faces death threats. But this assurance had only been given after Sison had questioned Thewarapperuma to verify whether he has any intention of quitting the UNP and joining the government. Despite being an ardent UNPer, Thewarapperuma

had refused to play a role of a traitor. Hence, Sison had failed in her sinister operation.

The manner in which Thewarapperuma had been questioned by Sison shows the high-handed manner in which certain Colombo-based diplomats are meddling in the Sri Lanka’s internal matters.

Thewarapperuma had made it clear that there had not been any communal problem between the Sinhalese and Muslims, adding added that it was the extremist looters who had created problems. Sison had even asked as to why the MP had intervened if it wasn't a political problem, but Thewarapperuma had pointed out that he was compelled to intervene to protect the Sinhalese and Muslims who had voted for him at the last general election.

Political asylum

Though the MP had categorically denied that he was facing death threats, the US Ambassador had repeatedly questioned about such moves, especially from the Government. She had even gone to the extent of volunteering to offer him political asylum in the event he faced death threats in future.

More interestingly, such assurance had only been given after the US Ambassador had verified her doubts over Thewarapperuma on crossing over to the Government. It was after the MP had ruled out such possibility that Sison had been ‘kind’ enough to offer him political asylum.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet last week instructed the External Affairs Ministry to summon the controversial envoy to lodge the Government’s formal protest over a newspaper advertisement published by the US Embassy in Colombo. The controversial newspaper advertisement had called for applications from NGOs for what it called a ‘citizenship program’.

It is a blatant interference in domestic affairs which no country would allow a foreign mission to indulge in. Be it the Americans or the British, no foreigner need to teach our people how to vote or exercise their democratic franchise. Sri Lanka had had universal franchise since 1931 and, therefore, there was no need for foreign countries to educate Sri Lankans on elections.

Crocodile tears

The US is one country which was 'extremely' worried about the recent unfortunate incidents. They issue a plethora of statements even for an isolated incident of a minor attack on a mosque, forgetting the loads of garbage in their own backyards. The US sheds crocodile tears for Muslims as if they themselves are saints and had taken good care of Muslims living in the US.

Around 50 mosques in the US has been attacked since the 9/11 attack but hardly anybody talks about this. The biggest joke is that the country in which a large number of Muslims places of worship had been attack shed crocodile tears on an isolated incident in Sri Lanka and pontificates to us on religious harmony.

If one considers 2010 alone, there had been at least 15 attacks on Muslim places of worship in the US during that year. Things have aggravated after the US Patriot Act was signed into law allowing the attorney general to detain non-citizens suspected of terrorism without a warrant, and authorised new surveillance guidelines for US law enforcement agencies.

Among the attacks or discrimination that had been carried out aiming at Muslim religious places in 2010 alone were in Bella Vista, Arkansa (in September 2010 when the Bella Vista City Council met to consider banning the construction of mosques and the practice of Sharia Law within city limits), Arizona State’s Glendale (in August 2010 when two men threw an acid bomb at a mosque - targeting mosque officials standing nearby), Phoenix, Arizona (in August 2010 when vandals threw paint on the floor, shot out windows, and wrote anti-Muslim slurs on the walls of a local mosque), Costa Mesa, California (in January 2010 when burned and desecrated copies of the Quran were left at a mosque on separate occasions), Lomita, California (in March 2010 when the City Council denied a request for a zoning change that would have allowed a local mosque to its expand its facilities due to alleged traffic concerns even though a traffic study concluded that the proposed expansion would not increase traffic and the city’s community development director).

Vandalism

The other discriminating events in the US in 2010 were reported in Madera, California (in August 2010 when vandals threw a brick at a local mosque and left signs outside that read, 'Wake up America, the enemy is here' and 'No temple for the god of terrorism').

Mission Viejo, California (in January 2010 when a religious display was vandalized with spray paint and an anti-Muslim message was left on the Islamic portion of an interfaith display).

Sacramento, California (in August 2010 when a plastic pig inscribed with No Mosque in NYC, 'Remember 9-11', and 'Mo-Ham-ed' was left in a mosque's mailbox).

Bridgeport (in August 2010 when picketers targeted a mosque during Ramadan and shouted “murderers” and “Jesus hates Muslims” at worshippers, including children).

Florida, Gainesville (in July 2010 when protestors outside of a local mosque carried signs declaring that 'Islam is the devil') and several other similar incidents in Jacksonville, Miami, Georgia, Detroit, East Lansing, Missouri, Corvallis and Knoxville.

These are a ‘few’ of the many attacks on the Muslim community in the US.

Hence, it is crystal clear that the US does not practice what it preaches. They pretend as if they are greatly perturbed by a small incident in Sri Lanka when much larger scale violence against Muslims had been reported within their own country. Hence, it is obvious that certain Western countries are using the unfortunate incidents in Aluthgama and Beruwala to strengthen their political agenda against Sri Lanka.

Achievement

The UNHRC panel which had been appointed to investigate alleged abuses of human rights too has taken these isolated incidents to paint a gloomy picture on Sri Lanka.

The Government has reiterated its position on the proposed UN Investigation that it is not ready to accept an investigation mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. Minister of External Affairs Professor G.L. Peiris has already made clear the Government stance.

Although Sri Lanka is ready to discuss acceptable conditions, the Government which has been elected by the people is not ready to be made equal with a terrorist organisation which had brutally killed thousands of hapless civilians. The country is implementing an identical methodology for rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.

Several rehabilitated former LTTE combatants are now in the main stream politics while some others have been recruited to the Security Forces. That alone is a victory and a major achievement in Sri Lanka’s determined bid towards national reconciliation. But the West could not talk on human rights of the LTTE terrorists killed in action in the guise of strengthening national reconciliation.

The Government is not ready to accept the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as the sole representative of the Tamil community in the country. When the LTTE was at its best, its leader Velupillai Prabhararan forced the Tamils to accept that his ruthless terror outfit as the sole representative of Tamils. The TNA seniors acted as mere puppets then and were remote-controlled by Prabhakaran from his jungle hideout.

Solution

But once the LTTE was militarily crushed, signaling liberation to over half a million Tamils who had been forcibly held as a human shield, the TNA wanted the grab that title. Political freedom to the TNA was given after the Security Forces crushed the LTTE. But since then, the TNA has been making a separate attempt to claim that they are the sole representative of the Tamils.

It is furthest from the truth. More than half of the country’s Tamils live outside the North and the East and most of them are affiliated to different political parties, other than the TNA. Hence, the TNA has no right whatsoever to claim as the sole representative of the Tamils.

The Government has entrusted the Parliamentary Select Committee to find a solution to the grievances of the people living in the North and the East. Granting an undue priority to the TNA would be detrimental to the interests of other political parties that represent the Tamil people in the country. Any solution the grievances of the Tamils should be in consultation with the TNA as well as the other political parties which are representing Tamils.

The democratically elected leaders of country are making every endeavor to further strengthen solidarity among all communities.

They are working tirelessly to achieve national reconciliation and an honorable peace that is acceptable to all communities.

The West should not force anything on us and let Sri Lanka find its own solutions to whatever the problems it faces, just as the country made its own successful battle to crush terrorism.