JHU calls for Asian Security system

By Janaka Perera

There is a saying that all are equal, but some are more equal.

Sri Lanka’s Environment and Natural Resources Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka echoed this when he told a media briefing late last month that the global war on terror was a farce, calling the Co-Chairs 'Terrorist Chairs'. From the Middle-East through Afghanistan to India and Sri Lanka we are witnessing this duplicity.

Noting this in a recent interview with the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation JHU (National Heritage Party) Parliamentarian Venerable Athureliye Ratana stressed the need for an Asian security system. He drew attention to Iran turning to Russia when U.S. threatened the former and said that Iran will stand by the Russians if the Americans threaten or pressure the former. The MP said that it was high time that Sri Lanka invited the Russian and Chinese Foreign Ministers to the island and stressed that it was Foreign Minister Bogollagama’s responsibility to do so.

Ven. Ratana further said:

"Our misfortune is the instability of Indian politics and the confusion in that country which has a negative impact on Sri Lanka. Regional security is more important than following to the dictates of the United Nations. It is Pakistan who helped us in our most difficult moment. She also gave us loans. Secondly it was Russia and China who helped us."

Pakistan is paying a huge price for being a frontline state in war against terror since 9/11. Her economy suffered a loss of around $35 billion. Since January 2007 alone she has suffered over 3500 terrorist attacks in which more than 5000 people died and around 9000 injured.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier appealed to SAARC countries to help curb terrorism in the region. But the problem is, has India a clearly defined policy on this issue? Concerning terrorism in Sri Lanka, New Delhi’s dilemma is akin to a situation where the tail is wagging the dog, especially at election time. The tail needless to say is Tamil Nadu jingoism, which is like a beggar’s wound - never heals. A pro-LTTE mob attacks an Indian military convoy thinking that it is transporting weapons to Sri Lanka. But Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram tells NDTV television channel:

"We do not wish Prabhakaran ill."

How come the Minister does not wish ill to a terrorist leader wanted by the Indian Government for plotting the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi? Perhaps the minister is pretending to be a Buddha or a Mahathma Gandhi. Chidambaram is more worried about China forging stronger ties with Sri Lanka through military and economic assistance than condemning Prabhakaran. The Indian Home Minister told Jeremy Page of the London Times. "China is fishing in troubled waters."

Speaking to the press earlier Chidambaram ducked a question about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's demand for snapping diplomatic ties with the Sri Lankan government if it did not stop the war. Chidambaram said it is a serious issue and it cannot be discussed at a press meeting. Then Tamil Nadu’s Opposition AIADMK leader Jayaram Jayalalitha promises Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka if she is elected Chief Minister while PM Manmohan Singh scoffs at her statement.

India is seemingly doing a tight rope dance when it comes to the issue of terrorism and Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka but the United States faces no such dilemma in pressuring less powerful nations to accept Washington’s version of ‘equality’ in dealing with terror. The U.S, is apparently trying to convey to the world the message that there are 'privileged' terrorists – the ones who need 'political solutions' and bad terrorists – especially those who harm U.S. interests. So the Americans and their allies are more equal than other nations when it comes to exercising the right to define terrorism and dealing with it.

There is no other reason why Washington wants the Tiger leadership to surrender to a third party and be given amnesty – something which the Taleban or Al Queda can never expect from the Americans or their allies.

All this is despite the fact that LTTE mobs are going on the rampage in Canada and Europe attacking the Sri Lankan, Indian and Chinese diplomatic missions. The next targets could possibly be the Russian and Pakistani embassies and High Commissions.

As victims of terrorism both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have become the favorite targets of Western-funded NGO peaceniks who want to exploit the situation for their own ends. Chris Cork, a British social worker settled in Pakistan, writing in the Pakistani paper The News (dated December 1, 2008) while admitting that the nation is not in the best of health it is "trying to recover as best as it can." But a failed state it is not, he emphasizes.

However Cork notes: "One can point to any number of negatives, and there is no shortage of people who draw handsome salaries doing just that…"

How very remarkably similar to Sri Lanka’s bogus human rights champions, free media pundits and anti-war crusaders!

And now, Sri Lanka’s Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe - who is fast becoming a political non-entity in the eyes of the Sinhala majority - is reproaching the Rajapaksa Government for criticizing friendly nations (meaning the U.S. UK and the European Union) on their demand for an immediate ceasefire.

How do you define a friend? No one can be a real friend if he offers you assistance on condition that he is permitted to interfere in your family and personal affairs against your wishes. Is this not the policy of the British, Americans, French and the Scandinavians on Sri Lanka?

Wickremasinghe then thanks these countries for their humanitarian assistance. But he expresses no gratitude to Russia and China for standing up for Sri Lanka in the face of Western pressure to stop the anti-LTTE military offensive. Neither of these countries has meddled in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs against the wishes of the majority of her citizens. No thanks from Wickremesinghe to China for boosting financial aid and military aid to the island, even as Western countries reduced their contributions. According to London China’s aid to Sri Lanka jumped from a few million dollars in 2005 to almost $1 billion last year, replacing Japan as the biggest foreign donor. By comparison, the United States had given only $7.4 million last year, and Britain just £1.25 million.

U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says the “world is disappointed” with Sri Lanka over the way she is handling the crisis in the island’s Wanni region. But on the deaths of hundreds of civilians by U.S. air strikes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region Clinton says she is “deeply, deeply” regretting the tragedy. Can Sri Lanka afford to make similar excuses and get away with it in an identical situation even if it occurs within her own territory? No, because she does not enjoy the privilege of being a self-appointed 'World Policeman.'

Today Americans have messed up in Afghanistan to such an extent that anti-Americanism there no longer necessarily means being pro-Taleban. May be we are again beginning to hear echoes of "Yankee Go Home" this time in South Asia.

To quote from Michael Moore’s bitingly satirical book on America, Dude, Where Is My Country?

"Of course it’s hard not to kill civilians when even your smart bombs go dumb - in Iraq about one in ten went off course, blowing up homes, markets and bakeries, instead of missile defense systems. Hell, some of the smart missiles didn’t even hit Iraq – they slammed into Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Sorry about that!"

- Asian Tribune -