U.S. sets high barrier for Sri Lanka in Reconciliation Commission report
Daya Gamage – US National Correspondent Asian Tribune
Washington D.C., 06 November (Asiantribune.com):
The United States Department of State has been in a psychological warfare path for a month or so unofficially giving messages to the Government of Sri Lanka that it expects unvarnished analyses, observations, recommendations and transparency in the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission report scheduled for release in the third week of November.
The LLRC is expected to look into Sri Lanka’s ethnic relations, reconciliation among ethnic communities, lessons learned from the long 26-year battle with the Tamil Tigers and what measures need to be taken to re-structure the polity.
At last Thursday’s, November 3, daily media briefing in Washington the State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland openly reiterated what the United States expect of Sri Lanka when it releases the final LLRC document.
She, on behalf of the State Department policy stance toward Sri Lanka, set a high barrier for this South Asian nation to negotiate the contents that will go into the LLRC report. And, very indirectly the State Department spokesperson sent a message to Sri Lankan authorities that the contents of the report should satisfy the United States, human rights groups and the Tamil Diaspora in both the US and EU who has been calling for an international investigation on Sri Lanka’s alleged violations of international humanitarian law (IHL).
Ms. Nuland declared the following with that clear message to Sri Lanka.
(Begin Quote) The Tamil National Alliance representatives were in Washington last week. They met in the State Department with Under Secretary of State Sherman. I’ll leave to them to characterize their views. Under Secretary Sherman’s main point was that we have high expectations for the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission report which is due later in the month – not only that the report will be of highest quality, but that the Sri Lankan Government will take steps to implement it. So that was the main message that we were giving, and we look forward to seeing that report. (End Quote)
Following is the dialogue that went between Ms. Nuland and the Indian media personnel Mr. Goyal who frequently raises issues with the State Department in Sri Lanka.
Question (Inaudible.) Thank you very much. As we still wait for the report on November 15 by the Sri Lankan Government, in the meantime the report had been coming that things are changing in Sri Lanka as far as economically and also humanitarian aids. And also for the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Washington is saying that his country’s moving forward and IMF has now more interest and also faith in Sri Lanka’s economy and for – my question is a number of lawmakers, U.S. lawmakers, visited Sri Lanka recently. They came back and also they had a positive view of Sri Lanka’s moving forward.
Now, Sri Lanka’s lawmakers were in Washington, here in the State Department also, but I want to know what they had to say and what happened during their visit as far as things in Sri Lanka, please, as far as Tamils are concerned. These are – these were the Tamil lawmakers.
Ms. Nuland: Right. The Tamil National Alliance representatives were in Washington last week. They met in the State Department with Under Secretary of State Sherman. I’ll leave to them to characterize their views. Under Secretary Sherman’s main point was that we have high expectations for the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission report which is due later in the month – not only that the report will be of highest quality, but that the Sri Lankan Government will take steps to implement it. So that was the main message that we were giving, and we look forward to seeing that report.
Question: Is Secretary aware of these movements in Sri Lanka?
Ms.Nuland: Absolutely.
Ms. Nuland is no novice to American foreign policy. She is an influential Foreign Service Officer in the Department.
In summer 2011, Nuland became the State Department Spokesperson. She was declared a "consummate professional who proved that Foreign Service officers could be trusted to put professionalism over politics."
She was Ambassador of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from 2005-2008. As NATO Ambassador, she focused heavily on strengthening Allied support for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, on NATO-Russia issues, and on the Alliance’s global partnerships and continued enlargement.
A career Foreign Service officer, she was Principal Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Cheney from July 2003 until May 2005, where she worked on the full range of global issues, including the promotion of democracy and security in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the broader Middle East.
Nuland was the Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO from July 2000 to July 2003. There she was instrumental in NATO's invocation of Article 5 of its charter – "an attack on one ally is an attack on all" – in support of the United States after September 11, 2001. She also worked intensively on the enlargement of the Alliance to include seven new members, the creation of the NATO-Russia Council, NATO's first deployment "out of area" to Afghanistan and its defense of Turkey during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
She is of Jewish ancestry.
- Asian Tribune -
Comments
Civilians were NEVER the target
The US and others of the international community (IC) must clearly understand that in this confrontation the civilians were NEVER the target...it was the LTTE that was the target, Civilians were indistinguishable from cadres especially when they remained at spots where LTTE firing against the army originated. If the UN and IC can find ways in which, in future conflicts at least, civilians can be discriminated from cadres when a terror group uses them as a human shield, I am sure that the world's military and the world's citizenry will be grateful. The US will surely understand the need for this, as they have experienced the same problem in recent times in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
When Saddam Hussain delivered
When Saddam Hussain delivered hundreds of copies of a report to UN that he did not have weapons of mass destructions, neither UN nor USA accepted the report, although it was later found to be accurate.
There is very little chance that USA and it cronies will accept the LLRC report as a true and accurate report.
Sri Lanka has to be ready to accept the inevitable criticism from the Western block and counter the criticism where necessary.
Are we the Lotus in the murky, muddy world?
Human rights abuses have been committed by many governments. As Voyager says "After all, The US had to make the hard decision too, when it decided to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that left much, much greater damage and civilian casualties than occurred in the No-Fire-Zone in Sri Lanka.The razing of Dresden, Cologne and Stuttgart among other German cities by the UK and Allies in order to end WWII was another difficult decision, but it was made and it succeeded in bringing Nazi horror to an end.Were there international inquiries??"
For the US and the Allies, these decisions were necessary as they thought sacrificing a few million innocent people was for the greater good of humanity. For this reason no one questioned these decisions, and the relatives and friends of those who were sacrificed suffered in silence. The US and the allies saved us again from the man who had imaginary weapons of mass destruction, and in the process sacrificed a few hundred thousand innocent people, again, for the greater good of humanity. Again no national or international enquiries. We were then saved from another tyrant (who happened to have oil, instead of date palms), and thousands of innocent people were sacrificed for the greater good of humanity. Again, no enquiries. The list goes on.
In this muddy, murky world, Sri Lanka saved its citizens from terror and tyranny unleashed by one man. Our man was not in the same club as the western world's Saddam Hussein and Muammer Gadaffi, although his brutal killings, and the worldwide financial empire he ran based on a global network of illegal activities, murder, extortion, money laundering, drug dealing and gun running,etc, etc would have shamed Hussein and Gadaffi.
While whatever human rights abuses committed by the West has been assessed from a perspective defined by them, what sri Lanka allegedly committed has been assessed from another perspective also defined by the West.
Their expectation is that in the murky mud all around us, Sri Lanka alone should be the Lotus that emanates beauty and the sweet fragrance that is the Lotus.
This is indeed a singular honour Ms. Victoria Nuland
Strategy at work? Or is it Support?
There may be some truth in this analysis that by talking of such high expectations, the US is in reality raising the bar on what the LLRC Report is to deliver....thus leaving room for the West to continue taking Sri Lanka to task.
However, the LLRC and the Sri Lankan Govt had to do what was RIGHT by ALL its peoples including the Tamils themselves who were pitifully, the most exploited by the LTTE. The GoSL had a terrible problem at hand with a conflict that had gone on for 3 decades; one which the LTTE was exploiting to its fullest using the CFA as the excuse to take over territory, and in which suicide bombers and roadside bombs were going off almost on a daily basis on top of the LTTE amassing the food and medical supplies being sent to the civilians it held hostage.
The Government DID WHAT IT HAD TO DO to bring the situation to an end and under control, especially after the Maavilaru incident demonstrated clearly the lines on which the LTTE was going to proceed. And Sri Lankans of all stripes (except the LTTE Diaspora) are glad to see it brought to an end.
Clearly, the war was brought to an end with the minimum of civilian deaths and injuries that was possible under a situation where a "HUMAN SHIELD" of 300,000 civilians was being used by the LTTE. It should serve as an example of how a military could handle such terrible and evil situations with minimal casualties, rather than it be criticized from all corners of the West as is being done.
After all, The US had to make the hard decision too, when it decided to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that left much, much greater damage and civilian casualties than occurred in the No-Fire-Zone in Sri Lanka.
The razing of Dresden, Cologne and Stuttgart among other German cities by the UK and Allies in order to end WWII was another difficult decision, but it was made and it succeeded in bringing Nazi horror to an end.
Were there international inquiries??
The West's attitude towards Sri Lanka's handling of the LTTE terror outfit (designated as Terrorist in these very countries of the West as well) shows that the rules of war appear to be differently applied for selected small, non-nuclear nations like Sri Lanka, as opposed to the big nuclear powers of the West.