21.9.2008
Sunday Discourse by Philip Fernando in New York
President
Mahinda Rajapaksa is due to address the 63rd General Assembly
of the United Nations on Wednesday. We know that they
do not hesitate to cry wolf when it suits them to warn
about any human rights misdemeanors. Sometimes they are
exaggerated beyond belief by the so called human rights
watch groups.
He
assured the United Nations General Assembly a year ago
that his Government would hold elections in the Eastern
Province in early 2008. The international community may
not have believed him. But it did happen.
To
put it bluntly, they should now come out openly and back
him. They have to play a vital role to end terrorism in
Sri Lanka.
Today the government under leadership of President Rajapaksa
has delivered the people in the Eastern province from
the LTTE terror rule and restored democracy. The Government
has resettled nearly 200,000 Internally Displaced Persons
(IDPs) in the East. The east is a hub of massive development
activity.
A
substantial group of LTTE defected and won the recent
Eastern Provincial Council elections. The government took
them on their word, a great achievement. Those who had
faith in the bullet have now joined the democratic mainstream.
President
Rajapaksa is a man of his word. He urged the 62nd session
of the General Assembly in New York last year that human
rights were far too important to be used as a "tool
to victimize States for political advantage". Those
who listened to him are again at the UN next week.
Sri
Lanka’s heroic fight to battle terrorism must be
recognized. Sri Lanka and President Rajapaksa must be
shown a gesture of recognition. Is this too much to ask
of the international groups and world body? Often the
international groups are given more than their share of
importance. Those who scream loud seem to be getting the
greatest hearing. This has to end.
The
western nations like USA have not shown the respect due
Sri Lanka. While aid remittances from Iran, Japan and
other nations increased substantially, the west did not
feel the same urgency to increase aid to Sri Lanka.
USA
has chosen to turn a deaf ear to the request made for
an increased level of aid. Is the die cast? Are we to
believe that LTTE’s disinformation campaign is paying
dividends? Or all that talk about global war on terror
turned out to be a pipe dream by the outgoing Bush administration?
How
could aid level go down when we have valiantly fought
the LTTE with everything we have?
As
President Rajapaksa addresses the UN assembly next week,
the focus on terror and methods to fight it and show results
for it must energize the world body that the time to walk
the walk instead of just talks the talk is now. There
is ample proof that the terrorism in the North of Sri
Lanka would be brought to an end by the government of
Sri Lanka and that in the shortest possible time, aid
or no aid flowing from the west.
Whether
the west likes it or not, Sri Lanka would continue the
fight. There are nations willing to put their trust in
the Mahindra Rajapaksa government and the people of Sri
Lanka. I would venture to make the case that by the next
UN General assembly meeting, Sri Lanka would be well on
her way to a terror free era. The west can keep their
aid and smoke it if they like.
History
is not on their side. New world order is taking shape
as we write.
Courtesy - Asian
Tribune