Rescued civilians, the best judges of human rights

The international media, quoting an internal report of the United Nations (UN), reported last week that the UN has failed in its mandate to protect civilians in the last months of Sri Lanka's battle against LTTE terrorists.

One is at a loss to understand whether the so-called "leaked draft of a highly critical internal UN report" has been 'unveiled' by those with vested interests to coincide with the ongoing sessions of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva.

Moreover, the person who headed the UN internal review panel had jumped the gun even before presenting the final report to the UN chief. Former senior UN official Charles Petrie, who headed the internal review panel, was quoted as telling the BBC that the 'penultimate' draft the BBC has seen "very much reflects the findings of the panel". Petrie made this statement to the BBC before presenting the report to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York.

One is also perplexed as to how ethical it is for a responsible person such as Petrie to make any reference on the contents of a internal review panel report even before it reached the UN chief.

According to the report, a brief executive summary, which sets out the panel's conclusions in stark terms, had been removed in the final report numbering about 30 pages, with an additional detailed annexure.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky had subsequently told the BBC that the UN does not comment on leaked reports. He said a final version would be published when the Secretary General reads it.

Sri Lanka has already denied the allegations in the "leaked UN report" that it had intimidated UN humanitarian workers during the final stages of the battle against LTTE terror. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Special Envoy for Human Rights and Minister of Plantation Industries Mahinda Samarasinghe said that Sri Lanka had consulted the UN and there was no intimidation whatsoever of UN officials.

Minister Samarasinghe quite rightly declined to comment on the report, prior to its official release, though he denied allegations that UN officials had been intimidated by the Government.

Minister Samarasinghe told the media that the UNHRC's Universal Periodic Review on Sri Lanka that concluded recently is of the view that a number of countries that had voted for the US-led Resolution against Sri Lanka during the March sessions, had today appreciated the efforts to promote human rights in the country, during their introductory remarks.

Many countries that voted against Sri Lanka at the last session commended the Government's efforts in promoting human rights. Austria, Belgium, Benin, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, Poland and Romania were some countries that made recommendations for improvement.

According to Minister Samarasinghe, 110 of the 210 recommendations by member countries at the UPR had been accepted by Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Sri Lanka accepted only the positive recommendations concerning the country while rejecting those that were not in keeping with the Government's agenda and foreign policy.

Since LTTE terrorism was eradicated in May 2009, Sri Lanka has made a sincere and determined effort to develop the North and the East as well as reconciliation. If the current development programs are continued further, resettled Tamil families would benefit more and enjoy a better lifestyle.

LTTE poltergeists and shadow organisations the world over wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance if Sri Lanka successfully accomplishes its reconciliation, based on the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission's (LLRC) recommendations.

What baffles us all the more is the quaint timing of these unofficial reports and the extraordinary interest shown by a section of the international media in publishing such stories to coincide with the UNHRC sessions and its Universal Periodic Review on Sri Lanka.

Are these media reports intended to mislead the international community to either directly or indirectly support the efforts of the LTTE rump of taking Sri Lanka to task, is anybody's guess.

Frances Harrison, the author of the controversial book Still Counting the Dead and the former BBC Sri Lanka correspondent, goes to the extent of advocating an international investigation "to restore the UN's tattered credibility on Sri Lanka". His comments too had been incorporated by the BBC in compiling the story in the leaked UN internal report.

In the event Harrison is perturbed over human rights, he should have come out strongly against LTTE atrocities during his stint in Colombo. The LTTE, the most ruthless terrorist outfit in the world at its peak massacred hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Harrison, his BBC or other media and INGOs for that matter, which champion human rights, should have vociferously supported those hapless civilians who had been held as a human shield by the Tigers.

Barely anybody raised his voice in support when these civilians were subjected to untold misery in LTTE-held areas. At the time, there wasn't a single human rights watchdog or international media organisation which had a sincere desire in telling the world about the grave human rights violations in LTTE-held areas.

There is no gainsaying the fact that every human being has a supreme duty to respect, safeguard and protect human rights. But what is baffling is the sinister attempts in certain quarters in the international arena of people talking about the human rights of the dead terrorists, not the Tamil civilians who had been subjected to untold privations by the LTTE.

The jackpot question is as to why some INGOs and certain countries adopt double standards when it comes to the human rights of terrorists and civilians. Does this imply that the human rights of terrorists are more important than those of ordinary civilians? These flagrant double standards by certain international organisations and some Western countries show that they are using human rights as a tool to intimidate smaller countries such as Sri Lanka. Many influential world leaders, more often than not, make repeated calls for a worldwide attempt to crush terrorism. Nevertheless, when Sri Lanka became the first country to eradicate terrorism, and that too against the deadliest terrorist group in the world, they seem to be reluctant to come to terms with it.

Instead of commending Sri Lanka's praiseworthy efforts and herculean achievement and exploit the country's expertise in the global battle against terror, the self-same countries and 'godfathers' of human rights are trotting out concocted stories to frame war crimes allegations against Sri Lanka.

Is there any point in talking about the human rights of the LTTE terrorists killed when they confronted a legitimate army of a sovereign State? If this is so, they must talk about the human rights of Al-Qaeda terrorists killed in Afghanistan and the civilians killed in drone attacks in Pakistan too.

Most of these international conspiracies against Sri Lanka are hatched by the LTTE rump and a section of the Tamil diaspora, which are still daydreaming of a separate State in Sri Lanka. They are unable to come out of the fantasy world created by Velupillai Prabhakaran who had been instrumental in killing a countless number of civilians through mass-scale bomb explosions.

Why is it that the UN and certain Western countries are unable to see the positive developments that have taken place since the scourge of terrorism was eradicated? All those concerned about the well-being of the Tamils must take a closer look at the new lease of life given to those civilians who had been rescued from the jaws of LTTE terror.

Regrettably, certain Western politicians who rely heavily on the Tamil diaspora vote for their political survival in the respective countries dance to the tune of the LTTE rump. The UN should understand this stark fact and treat Sri Lanka on merit, considering the country's landmark achievements in crushing terrorism, new world standards in resettling displaced persons, mega development projects in the North and the East and reconciliation.

Those who make a big hue and cry over the human rights of LTTE terrorists killed in action must first and foremost speak to the Tamil civilians who had been liberated by the Security Forces and resettled with all facilities. It is only they who could tell the world the real story of human rights which were violated indiscriminately by Prabhakaran and his warmongers.