Daya Gamage – US National Correspondent Asian Tribune
Washington, D.C. 24 April (Asiantribune.com): The Sri Lankan Patriots a Sri Lankan activist group headquartered in Los Angeles in California has written to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing outrage at her remarks that military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam by Sri Lankan forces has caused 'untold suffering.'
Sri Lankan Patriots (SLP) in a letter reminded Clinton that many Sri Lankan soldiers have sacrificed their lives to free Tamil civilians from the stranglehold of a 'Pol Pot type regime' run by the LTTE.
Clinton told lawmakers in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday 22 April. "I think that the Sri Lankan government knows that the entire world is very disappointed that in its efforts to end what it sees as 25 years of conflict, it is causing such untold suffering."
Full text of the SLP letter to Clinton:
Dear Madam Secretary:
We refer to a statement made earlier today that the Sri Lankan military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has caused ‘untold suffering.’
Your censure of Sri Lanka is shocking!
Sri Lankan soldiers have sacrificed their lives to save Tamil civilians held hostage by the brutal Tamil Tigers. On April 20, facing stiff resistance, Sri Lankan troops brought down a bund that the Tigers had built to imprison civilians and prevent them from escaping. Twenty young soldiers lost their lives, but thanks to their sacrifice, over 70,000 Tamils were able to get to the safe areas maintained by Sri Lankan troops. Your harsh and unwarranted words will, no doubt, cause great pain to the families of these and other young Sri Lankan men and women who have died so that their Tamil brothers and sisters may find freedom.
Sri Lanka’s current attempt to defeat the LTTE is just and warranted by any standards. There is overwhelming evidence that while claiming to be the ‘representative of the Tamil people,’ theLTTE has run a Pol-Pot type regime in the Wanni, subjecting Tamil residents to untold misery, using very young children as fighters, depriving residents of food and essentials (which are regularly shipped by the Sri Lankan government). As the whole world is well aware, the Tigers are the masters of suicide bombings which deliberately target civilian.
Your concern for the Tamil civilians is misplaced, if not hypocritical in light of the number of civilians being killed and injured each day by US drones indiscriminately firing missiles on Pakistani villages. May we add that the ‘whole world’ continues to censure the US for the war on Iraq, which you supported, and other military ventures that have killed and maimed thousands, such as dropping cluster bombs on Kosovo.
As for your assertion that the 'entire world is very disappoint' at Sri Lanka, we wish to point out that just yesterday China came out with a firm statement backing Sri Lanka’s actions. Sri Lanka counts many other friends who definitely do not share your sentiments.
Madam Secretary, we do wish that you had been more judicious and constructive with your words, the Sri Lankan Patriot letter to Secretary of State Clinton concludes.
- Asian Tribune -
Comments
To members of the SLP - Well
To members of the SLP - Well said and well done.
To Mrs. Clinton - Look before you leap. Did America listen when the whole world opposed the Americans walking into Iraq on the pretext of alleged nuclear weapons and and was it not that no nuclear weapons were found? "Pull out the beam from thine eye before you look at the speck in another as then you can see better"
So Hillary Clinton had not
So Hillary Clinton had not returned all the money collected and given to her during her campaign against Obama by pro-LTTE groups.
Sarath Hillary Clinton
Sarath
Hillary Clinton during her election campaign expressed such silly remarks even about Obama. So when it comes to issue like this, what have we got to think about her verbal expressions? Lack of punctiliousness. Before long she will say, "I think that the American government knows that the entire world is very disappointed that in its efforts to destroy, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Pakistan which has claimed millions and millions of human lives and inestimable damages to public properties in those countries followed by untold sufferings." As long as one keeps its mouth shut, he/she is regarded as a pundit.
Now the USA is talking to
Now the USA is talking to India to stop the war!. Bloody Americans!
Whether Clinton or Obama or
Whether Clinton or Obama or even Bush it is not a difficult to buy influence in America. These are jokers who can cough for anyone who give them dough. I do not understand how educated persons like Clintons can make these absurd statements. On one side they are trying to contain terrorism by deploying Tomahawk missiles in Afghanistan to kill Bin Laden, and on the other hand ask Sri Lanka to refrain from capturing the most elusive terrorist in the world. Why don’t Clintons suggest entering into talks with Bin Laden and Hamas to end the Middle Eastern war? With the enormous amounts of money collected by the Tamil Diaspora in the West, they are making another precedent in the world by buying influence and media for a terrorist cause. They have already perfected the art of suicide bombing and holding civilians as human shields. What more money can buy? But the causality on all this is the TRUTH.
to show royal power,while
to show royal power,while giving unwanted speech to world,
shows all the inherent qualities. And when some who have no party, think about this censure
Might easily understood these as an authorized terrorism.Sri lanka is going to solve a personal problem as it is a civil war. But america has poked the fingers in many other countries. When occuring those uncivilised incidents in yours state where were you? why are keeping shut mouth ? How is your humantaian qualities madame clinton?
Don't blame Clinton: Blame
Don't blame Clinton: Blame Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry and its overseas post in Washington allowing secretary of State Clinton to believe what she says. This clearly the influence of the Tamil Tiger lobby and public diplomacy in the US.
When Clinton during her campaign to win Democratic Party nomination said not to paint the LTTE with the same brush you paint other terrorist organizations.
It is at this momemnt Sri Lanka should have acted to apprise Clinton, who everybody in the US, Sri Lanka and other countries knew that she would be in the next Democratic administration.
But Sri Lanka misserably failed in that.
One could see how Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Washington failed when she declared that Norway had contributed more than other countries to go to problem areas to bring peace when she held a joint press conference in Washington two weeks ago.
No Clinton comes out with this statement, and no one should be surprised because Sri Lanka has failed to influence these top men and women in the Obama administration and the US Congressmen giving cogent analyses to Sri Lanka's 30-year old problem. LTTE won the day when Clinton made the statement.
One wonders whether the SL Foreign Ministry and Washington embassy have professionals to handle this type of public diplomacy to beat LTTE lobbying in the US.
I don't blame Clinton or any other who makes this type of statement because they are yet to recieve cogent explanations and analyses from the Sri Lanka side.
To do that these people in Sri Lanka should understand the strategy of the LTTE overseas machinery and the mindset of the Americans vis a vis Sri Lanka issues and LTTE.
Thank you.
USA is trying to be the good
USA is trying to be the good guy now...Tell us what's happening in Iraq and Afganistan.Thousands if not close to millions of innocent civilians died and killed due to US aggression,indiscriminate killings on those countries (Bombings on weddings etc).Mrs Clinton ,entire world was and is very disappointed on that too and you are asking Sri Lankan government to stop the war against world's most ruthless terrorist organisation LTTE.I personaly believe, USA and your socalled allies failed in fighting against global terror and Sri Lanka is the ONLY country, winning the war.May be you are not very happy about it...or little jealous.You have so many issues in your own back yard.Please looke after your own innocent people,(According to news reports thousands of Americans especially black Americans, they don't have enough food,shelter, or even basics-SBS NEWS SYDNEY AUSTRALIA -24TH APRIL)
I am certain Sri Lankan government is capable of handelling this.And they have showed entire world how to do it and THEY CAN AND THEY WILL.What you may have to do is, get some lessons from Sri Lanka, how to finish global terror.
Yes, I also feel that they
Yes, I also feel that they are a little put out by the fact that, we 'tiny, insignificant, poor, little Sri Lanka ' managed to exterminate a group of murderers all by ourselves. We didn't get anybody's help did we? Jealousy is an uncontrollable emotion.
These so called 'developed' countries think that the poor must always be kept poor. They must be made to go down on their hands and knees and beg. That way the poor will never be a competition. The rich will always be rich. What a miserable bunch.
Look at them. Aren't they the laughing stock? With all their power and almighty attitudes they can't even put their own house in order. Look at the mess they made in Iraq. Hillary you are a joke. Seems like you ended up doing the begging. Now you bought their votes, you don't want to lose face do you? No backbone?
And Mr. Obama? What happened to you? Why all this double talk? One rule for Islamic terrorists, one rule for Tamil terrorists? Why? Do you want the LTTE also to attack a highrise building in your country? The whole world looked upto you, even us. Don't make us think it should've been McCain instead.
It is better to rectify our
Her faults were well-known, not least because William turned to Monica for finding solace; she was forced to distance herself from a certain funding source before an embarassment.
We won the war defying the so-called experts, as we used commanders with Midas Touch on the ground, yet failed miserably on the media front, as they were manned by incompetent men who have a dismal record of facing interviews or defending the actions of an army on a humanitarian mission, when the sacrifice their limbs and lives to protect the innocent Tamil population.
The multi-million dollar question is as to why we can't employ people who can speak a foreign language to win an audience to get the message across, not to repel that; people who go by the text-book is the last thing we want at this hour of need. We blame them for keeping us in suspense for all the wrong reasons - and betraying the motherland and its brave soldiers
And she has the audacity to
And she has the audacity to issue a statement to Pakistan in the same breath to fight off the Taliban !!!! this woman is nuts !!! all because America is terrified of the Taliban and not the LTTE.
All what matters to them is their own safety and what poor, insignificant sri lanka does is unacceptable!!(the truth is they just can't believe the success we have had so far) Fortunately for us we have a President who has a backbone ... and very soon we will find Hillary begging Sarath Fonseka and Gotabhaya Rajapakse for their expertise in fighting terrorism !!!
Somali Pirates is an
Somali Pirates is an excellent start for America as they have climed they will kill ameircans.
This is a woman who coudn't fix her issues at home and now come preach us how to fix ours.
Well Talibans and Bin Laden is not always wrong,Now I know why they want to kill americans.
By the way.Does Bin Laden have a flag ?
Clinton should be reminded
Clinton should be reminded of the fact that 'the entire world was extremely disappointed that in it's efforts to subdue Saddam Hussein, the U.S and it's allies caused untold suffering and death to hundreds and thousands of Iraqi children through it's sanctions'.
The then Secretary of State even went to the extent of saying "We think it is worth it".
These are the sanctimonious humbugs who are now trying to tell us how we should subdue our local megalomaniac.
Clinton told lawmakers in
Clinton told lawmakers in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday 22 April. "I think that the Sri Lankan government knows that the entire world is very disappointed that in its efforts to end what it sees as 25 years of conflict, it is causing such untold suffering."
The whole world has been saying this for deacdes to the United States.
The US is very experienced in these matters.
Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afganistan to name a few. The whole world is disappointed that in its efforts to end what it sees as conflicts for world domination to secure oil reserves, it is causing such suffering to the civilians in those countries.
A day is not passed by without a suicide bomber blowing up innocents in Iraq. The rest of the victims are still struggling to grapple with their lives after the US efforts in search of Weapons of Mass destruction.
The demands on tiny SriLanka is enormous. It is expected to do what even mighty US could not.
The sufferings are common to all the srilankans regardless of sinhala, tamil etc.
What Clinton has failed to recognise is who was behind these human sufferings.
Is it the Goverenment of Srilanka trying to save its citizens from tamil tigers led by a mad man OR
the tamil tigers killing innocents to establish a mono ethnic state?
'Untold suffering' indeed.
We are yet to see the comments on 'well documented suffering'.
Clinton is speaking about
Clinton is speaking about the untold suffering of innocent CIVILIANS. It is a fact that the helpless civilians are caught between both sides: The GoSL and the LTTE. And the whole world has a duty to be concerned about the situation, just as lots of people are concerned about the plight of civilians in war zones in different parts of the world.
When Americans talk of the
When Americans talk of the whole world they mean "USA". For most Americans, they are the whole world.
They play a world series baseball tournament. Only participants are USA and one team in Canada called Toronto Blues.
I fully agree with Algi
I fully agree with Algi Wijewickrema. Not only U,S.involvement in Iraq but also her involvement in Afghanistan and long before that in Vietnam and Cuba also comes to our mind. Did the Americans listen to world opinion then? Never. They cared a hoot for the criticism of even such highly respected thinkers as Lord Bertrand Russel during the Vietnam War. So why the hell should we listen to them? But Thamby and Dias will not agree because they want us to listen to the mighty because "might is right."
Let me put it this way. If Democracy is a shrine, then Americans consider themselves its self-appointed Custodian. But as the pithy Sinhala saying goes (translated) "the custodian can do whatever he likes in the shrine - even use it as a toilet seat." But others have no right even to wear shoes inside the holy place. This is the real American policy as reflected in Clinton's pontifications on Sri Lanka.
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