By Blind Spot
An injured person is helped on the sidewalk near the Boston Marathon finish line following the explosion in Boston in April last year
On April 15, 2013, the Boston Marathon was bombed by two American terrorists. Immediately, a massive military response was carried out by the FBI, and one terrorist was shot dead, while the other was apprehended. The captured terrorist is now awaiting trial. In the meantime, the people in Boston have been angry and unforgiving. They have not even allowed the body of the slain terrorist to be buried in Boston. This type of behavior is common in the US. Previously, a niece of Bin- Laden who was carrying out a legitimate business in the US was unceremoniously deported. Her crime: being related to Bin-Laden.
Prior to entry into the US, passengers are sometimes cavity-searched and steps taken to ascertain whether they had carried any weapons before their journey. These security measures indicate the level of precaution that the US applies to make their country safe and thereby protect their citizens.
However, the US has a different approach, when it comes to other countries. Sri Lanka is a case in point. In Sri Lanka, the terrorists who bombed the Central Bank and the Sacred Temple of the Tooth, killed politicians, recruited child soldiers and introduced suicide cadres, have been described as ‘freedom fighters’ or ‘rebels’ by the US and Western authorities. Even today, some Sri Lankan terrorists are given the freedom to roam freely in the US and the West. Adele Balasingham, the wife of LTTE master strategist Anton Balasingham, and the person who personally put cyanide capsules around the necks of young Tamil women, is enjoying the hospitality of the UK authorities.
Rudrakumaran, who was the head of the legal arm of the LTTE which spearheaded and defended those who were arrested for illegal fund raising and money laundering operations in the US, is hob-nobbing with top State Department officials in the US, wearing nice pin-striped suits. The Very Reverend Father Jebamani is preaching the Holy Gospel to Westerners and the upholding of human rights during the day, but propagates the doctrine of Satan by night in the sympathetic Western lecture circuit.
How is this possible? What kind of hypocrisy is this? Does the US and the West seriously believe that their double standards are not understood by Sri Lankans? Does the US and the West think that, just because a few Sri Lankans have been corrupted by the greed for US Dollars, that all Sri Lankans are gullible enough to believe them?
Perhaps they are thinking so, because various Western titles and benefits have been able to lure some Sri Lankans to become eager white-washers of the Western double standards.
Even simple crumbs like the quick issue of visas or invitations to US Embassy parties have, at times, been sufficient for certain Sri Lankans to betray their motherland. However, the bulk of Sri Lankans have not been lured by these incentives. Today, there are many Sri Lankan business persons, journalists, professionals and youth who have seen through these double standards of the US and the West, and are bravely and firmly resisting the hypocrisy of these Western powers.
However, one group has stood out as being the worst detractor in this effort, and that is the TNA. As all Sri Lankans know, the TNA was the proxy of the LTTE during Prabhakaran’s reign of terror. The TNA obediently carried out all duties that were entrusted by them by Prabhakaran. Persons like Sambanthan, Sumanthiran, and Shivajilingam were the suave, political mouthpieces for Prabhakaran. Of course, at that time, they could be excused, because had they not done so, they too would have been murdered, just like Amirthalingam and Thiruchelvam.
After the defeat of the LTTE however, the TNA had an excellent opportunity to re-invent itself to bring relief and development to the beleaguered Tamil population, and work with the Colombo administration in order to make life better for the people of the North.
But, they did not lift a finger to help the people when the people were struggling as IDPs. They did not intervene to rid the Northern Province of more than a million land mines. They did not create a single livelihood opportunity in order to enable the people to go about their normal activities. They did not contribute a cent towards the building the infrastructure that was destroyed by the LTTE. They did not embark on a single initiative to move the people towards reconciliation.
Instead, the TNA obstructed the Government authorities in their efforts to bring relief to the Tamil people of the North, whenever possible. They continued to sow the seeds of hatred with the political slogan of “discrimination”, ignoring all the measures that were taken by the Government to redress the lingering grievances of the Tamil people. They worked covertly and overtly with international organizations that were hostile to Sri Lanka, and to portray Sri Lanka as a country that was abusing human rights. They tried their best to bring the Sri Lankan political and military leaders to face charges for trumped up war crimes in international tribunals.
In fact, the TNA has now become the willing tool of the US and West to promote hatred in Sri Lanka. If any US citizen had carried out a similar exercise in the US against US interests, such people would have been quickly labeled as traitors, hunted mercilessly, arrested, and possibly even tortured at the dreaded US military camps.
Today, the world knows what happens to the dissidents of the US, after what the US did to Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden. In that background, it is obvious that the US would have never tolerated the likes of Sambanthan and others in the tolerant and patient manner that the authorities and people of Sri Lanka have tolerated the TNA’s treacherous activities.
But ironically, it is Sri Lanka that is branded as a country which is intolerant. The West conveniently ignores that Sri Lanka is a country which has nearly 19,000 places of worship belonging to four major religions of the world; A country with over a hundred independent newspapers, TV channels and radio stations; a country where Sambanthan and others use the media freedom to bash the country at every turn.
For their efforts, the TNA is of course rewarded handsomely by the US and the West. But, for how long? The TNA is overlooking one simple reality. That is, the fickleness of the US authorities’ support. As is well known, all persons and movements whom the US has backed at various times in the past, have been let down badly by the US.
The Shah of Iran, President Mubarak, President Karzai, Osama Bin-Laden, Libyan rebels etc. are just a few such persons, who have learnt bitter lessons by being the tools of the US. In the same way, Sambanthan and others, too, will be let down by the US in due course. It is not certain as to when the US will let them down, but it is certain that the US will let them down! At that time, Sambanthan, Sumanthiran and Shivajilingam will become the newest local and international pariahs. But, who will cry for them?
The TNA is treading dangerous and treacherous ground. They are benefitting by the largesse and goodwill of the majority population, but are doing their utmost to bring ridicule to the country and humiliate the country’s leaders. That type of conduct almost always, boomerangs.
It is therefore hoped that saner counsel will prevail, even at this late stage, and that these misguided elements would begin to work with Colombo, and not with Washington, in order to build a lasting peace in Sri Lanka.