CHOGM a chance to hold Sri Lanka to account?

[Wednesday, 12 October 2011 22:11] Featured, General, News

12 October 2011

55 Comments

Antony Loewenstein

In late September, the government of Sri Lanka released 1,800 former Tamil Tiger fighters.

Colombo claimed they had been rehabilitated as President Mahinda Rajapaksa told them at a ceremony in the capital:

"I hope you will work for peace and ethnic harmony in this nation of ours. We must not dwell on the bitter past, but look to a prosperous future."

Many other former fighters remain incommunicado, housed in secret camps away from international inspection or human rights protection.

This is occurring in "democratic" Sri Lanka, a nation still deeply divided along racial and political lines.

The over two years since the official end of the country’s brutal civil war has seen an attempted re-branding exercise by the Rajapaksa regime, including the encouragement of a vibrant tourist sector.

Despite the fact that the government murdered at least 40,000 Tamil civilians during the last period of the war (a figure confirmed by then UN spokesman in Colombo, Gordon Weiss), the international community has been reluctant to hold officials to account.

A thorough UN-led investigation found overwhelming evidence of war crimes committed by both sides during the conflict and Ban Ki-Moon recently submitted this report to the UN Human Rights Council for investigation. The move was condemned by Colombo.

After a 10-month investigation, the UN found that "most civilian casualties in the final phases of the war were caused by government shelling". Furthermore, it made accusations that Sri Lankan troops had shelled civilians in the "no-fire zone" and targeted hospitals in its desire to crush the Tamil Tigers.

A recently released WikiLeaks cable revealed that when Ban Ki-Moon visited the country in 2009 he witnessed "complete destruction" when he flew over the former "no-fire zone". He described the conditions of Manik Farm refugee camp as worse than anything he had ever seen before.

This background is essential to understand as we approach the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), being held in Perth in late October. Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa will be attending and Sri Lanka is scheduled to host CHOGM in 2013. Serious questions are now being asked by human rights groups in Australia and globally, Tamil organisations and some brave politicians; why is Sri Lanka being indulged at the expense of justice for its countless victims?

In September a letter was sent to the Commonwealth foreign ministers that was signed by the world’s leading human rights groups.

It read in part:

We are gravely concerned about the ongoing discussions on holding the 2013 CHOGM in Sri Lanka. At the 2009 CHOGM, Sri Lanka’s candidature for hosting the meeting was deferred from 2011 to2013 because of concerns about human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan government. While war-time abuses have ended, the situation in Sri Lanka continues to be characterised by serious human rights violations, including assault on democratic institutions, such as the media and trade unions. The Panel of Experts appointed by the UN Secretary-General to advise him on the status of allegations of war crimes during the last weeks of the conflict in Sri Lanka has concluded that serious abuses were committed by the government and by the LTTE, and warrant an international investigation.

The statement called on Sri Lanka to implement numerous changes before it would be awarded hosting honours in 2013. Furthermore, Sri Lanka is keen to host the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and the Commonwealth itself, never known to be overly pro-active against human rights abusers, is being asked to not consider Colombo’s application.

Federal Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has been one of the most consistent Australian politicians keeping the issue of war crimes in Sri Lanka in the public arena. Although her party failed to convince the Labor and Liberal parties to support a Senate motion to suspend Sri Lanka from the Councils of the Commonwealth, she pledged to continue pressuring the Federal Government to convince Colombo to establish an independent war crimes commission.

Rhiannon hosted a roundtable of experts in the Federal Parliament in September that called for Sri Lanka’s suspension of the Commonwealth. She said:

"With CHOGM shortly to be held in Perth, the Australian government needs to add its voice and ensure that all Commonwealth nations uphold principles of human rights and the rule of law."

Unsurprisingly, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Canberra, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe (a man with a troubling past) rejected the roundtable’s recommendation, issuing the following Orwellian statement:

The [Sri Lanka] government had to take military action to defeat the terrorists to save the civilians.

In other words, we had to destroy the population in order to save it.

Intriguingly, conservative Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, one of the world’s strongest backers of Israel, recently announced that he intended "to make clear to my fellow leaders at the Commonwealth that if we do not see progress in Sri Lanka in terms of human rights… I will not as prime minister be attending that Commonwealth summit [in 2013].". Harper also strongly backed calls for an independent investigation of alleged war crimes during the war.

The British Tory government, at times critical of Colombo’s behaviour, is currently embroiled in a scandal involving the Defence Secretary Liam Fox. He is accused of both being far too close to the Sri Lankan government and backing its war against the Tamils.

Although Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has also called for an investigation, the Labor government remains desperate for Colombo to assist its flailing asylum seeker policy. Canberra has praised the Rajapaksa regime for stopping boats of Tamils fleeing the nation, a move rightly slammed by John Dowd, president of the International Commission of Jurists.

"It is likely these asylum seekers will be treated harshly when all they have done is exercise a legal right,” Dowd said. "People who are desperate to get away from Sri Lanka know that it is a dangerous enterprise coming by sea. We Australians praise ourselves as great humanitarians – this is hardly an example of compassion."

Australia’s high commissioner to Sri Lanka, Kathy Klugman, recently told the state’s Sunday Times newspaper that, "close to 100 Sri Lankans have been returned from Australia in the past few years". The fate of returned Tamils at the hands of government thugs is often brutal, according to investigations by human rights organisation.

Klugman was also recently publicly attacked for handing out certificates to alleged Tamil rebels after the alleged "rehabilitation" program, legitimising a program that is both secretive and unproven. Rehabilitation can take many forms post conflict.

For the Australian Government, in the midst of a refugee drama it has no idea how to manage politically or legally, war crimes in Sri Lanka is far less important than stopping refugee boats.

The status of Sri Lanka in the 21st century is of a political elite triumphantly thriving on racial supremacy ideology.

The recent discovery of gas deposits in its waters will only strengthen the fears that a resource curse will benefit the Sinhalese majority against the Tamil minority.

The international community has a moral and legal responsibility to hold Sri Lanka to account. Failing this basic task will merely encourage other states engaged in a "war on terror", from America to Israel and Yemen to Afghanistan, to act with impunity against civilians.

CHOGM is the perfect opportunity to challenge Rajapaksa over his government’s wilful murder of Tamils under the guise of defeating terrorism. It is arguable whether he should even be allowed into the country but if he arrives in Perth he should be made to realise that he has the blood of innocents on his hands.

Antony Loewenstein is an Australian independent journalist who sits on the advisory council of the UK-based Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice.

55 Comments

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John Kern :

13 Oct 2011 3:11:30am

"Despite the fact that the government murdered at least 40,000 Tamil civilians" this quotation does not contain the word "alleged" so Anthony has made up his own mind where as even Gordon Weiss has watered it down to 7000 deaths after his book release.The fact is this regime has 80% approval from sinhaleese and 62% approval from all Sri Lankans.Sri Lanka is an emerging power in Asia.The so called international community couldn’t interfere with SL during last stages of war so hoping to have an independent investigation now is just wishful thinking.KEEP ON DREAMING ON

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John :

13 Oct 2011 2:52:35am

It is very clear from the article that Mr Lowenstein is regurgitating what is fed to him from the Tamil terrorist sympathisers. Most of his facts have appeared in other terrorist friendly media and cheer leaders for Tamil separatism. Any country has the right to defend itself and it’s people against terrorism/separatism. This country did not interfere in the affairs of another country but there are all these aliens interfering at the behest of the remnants of the international Tamil terrorists/sympathisers. A vicious cycle happens. 1) Create problems in Sri Lanka using innocent Tamil people who just want to live in peace. 2) Tell lies to win the sympathy of the gullible west and migrate as economic refugees. 3) These people are eternally grateful to the people smugglers(LTTE) and will engage in activities in support of separatism ( credit card scams, forced collections, people smuggling, drug smuggling etc). 4) This money is used for many anti- Sri Lankan activities, election funding, websites, meetings,lobbying activities and bribing of polticians, journalists, intelectuals and human rights organizations. 5) Brainwash young tamils who have never stepped foot in Sri lanka by glorifying Tamil terrorism and demonising the SL government and Singhalese 6)They will also promise the Tamil block vote for any rotten politician who speaks and lobbys on their behalf sprouting all the despicable anti Sri Lankan lies and propaganda fed to them by the terrorist sympathisers. 7) More problems for SL.

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Raj :

13 Oct 2011 12:12:40am

In other words, we had to destroy the population in order to save it. LOL. destroy the population ? Are you out of your mind or something ? Think what Americans do in Iraq ? Do you call it destroying the population ?

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Raj :

13 Oct 2011 12:07:10am

a nation still deeply divided along racial and political lines. NOT TRUE

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Human Race :

12 Oct 2011 11:35:26pm

any one to talk about millions of people die in Afgan, Iraq due to racial and WAR for OIL ??? No one talks about human right violations in middle east,, simply because those are done by BIG BROTHERS in the this unfair world.

When a small country does some thing good, so called western media and governments let down them..

Talk about human massacre in Afgan and Iraq please.. Not the real defeat of terrorism in Sri lanka.

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Pium :

12 Oct 2011 10:19:34pm

We have seen the terror this butiful Island was once cloued for three long decades. There were fear in every eyes irrespective of their ethnicity. That is nomore there. Number of people died every single day was about 10. 6 out of 10 was Tamil population. That number is zero. Obviously most happiest group now is innocent Tamils. What more evidence you need to see that there is peace again in this butiful land. But donot forget the illegal money is in circulation. That is why all alegation against Sri Lanka on every media. That is the power of money not power of anything else.

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Sam :

12 Oct 2011 10:14:11pm

"The [Sri Lanka] government had to take military action to defeat the terrorists to save the civilians."

The above statement actually says, "This country belongs to Sinhalese. We have to, therefore, destroy the Tamil poulation to save the Sinhalese".

That is the hard wired Sinhala Buddhist hegemonic mentality.

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Siva :

12 Oct 2011 9:35:29pm

Sri lanka since ancient times had been the home of two nations. The Sinhalese and the Eelam Tamils. Both these people have lived and ruled themselves until European colonisation in clearly demarcated areas in the land. It was the British who united the Sinhalese and Tamil nations in the island in 1836 for their adminstrative convennience. The present problem is largely due to racist mindset of every Sinhalese government since independence that the land only belongs to the Sinhalee Buddhist majority and the Tamil nation has no rights. They have systamatically dicriminated the Tamils in every sphere education,employment,language rights and finally they illegaly started colonise Tamil lands with hordes of Sinhalese changing the demography. Peaceful protestswere only met with brutal state sponsored violence.This is how the LTTE was born. The LTTE is gone but genocide still continues as now there is no safeguard for the Tamils.

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Sarath J :

12 Oct 2011 9:04:41pm

As a Sri-Lankan, who is living in Australia, I am extremely disappointing to see a so-called independent journalist writing an article without a factual basis. Anthony has taken a partial stand against Sri Lanka by echoing the baseless allegations.

The Sri Lankan security forces mounted the largest hostage rescue in the world by rescuing 294,000 Tamil civilians who were been held hostage by the LTTE while ensuring that there were minimum civilian casualties.

Since then Sri Lanka has made unprecedented progress in its resettlement of IDP’s with almost all IDP’s resettled and in its rehabilitation of former combatants and in their reintegration into civilian society. A fact that must be mentioned is that in the IDP camps Sri Lanka’s provisioning of health care services was at such a high level that it resulted in the death rate amongst the inhabitants of the camp being less than that of the general population. This I believe hasn’t been achieved anywhere else in the world.

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R. N. England :

12 Oct 2011 8:47:15pm

The losers in this kind of conflict are not necessarily more virtuous than the victors. Australia should welcome those who have been rejected by their own communities because they tried to make peace with the other side. The last thing Australia wants is to provide refuge for the violent and stupid, and be used as a launching pad for future conflict in Sri Lanka.

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Wrong Approach :

12 Oct 2011 5:32:05pm

In my view, Lowenstein and many others on the progessive left, have the right intentions but the wrong approach towards Sri Lanka. Yes the Rajapaksa administration is reliant on it’s rural and urban lower class Sinhalese ethnic voting base to retain office. Indeed, this has politically sidelined the Tamil ethics, who have virtually no influence on mainstream politics in Sri Lanka. However, the fact that rebel ‘armies’ (or militias) are no longer roaming the parts of it’s territory, gives Sri Lanka a level of stability that it has not experienced since the early years of the post-Colonial era. They can build on this stability by creating long-term political stability – essential to sustained economic expansion. We can help the Sri Lankan people by persuading Colombo that the only way to achieve long-term political stability is to give Tamils ethnics more representation in mainstream politics, and more influence in the governance of the country. I don’t think barring their leader from entering Australia and supsending their membership of the Commonwealth is going to persuade them, do you?

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Robert :

12 Oct 2011 4:48:40pm

There are too many posts here by folk with biased political agendas seeking the high moral ground.

There were countless human rights abuses by both sides in this conflict and the victors continue to act in a brutal manner. Neither side has in the past or is even now showing any willingness to act compassionately. Democracy requires respect for both points of view and that certainly does not exist in Sri Lanka.

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Rashid :

12 Oct 2011 4:46:20pm

Reading through this article one got the impression that only Sri Lankan government is the Satan in the war on terror, till the last but one paragraph.

Quote-“The international community has a moral and legal responsibility to hold Sri Lanka to account. Failing this basic task will merely encourage other states engaged in a "war on terror", from America to Israel and Yemen to Afghanistan, to act with impunity against civilians.”

However Antony, in all fairness the paragraph should have mentioned in bold letters the atrocities committed by LTTE, as we are also told. Their dirty strategy for demand for separate homeland, legitimate or not; just like Israel’s, did nothing to advance their cause. One knows that the propaganda advantage is always with the victors and the Sri Lankan government won.

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Lionie :

12 Oct 2011 4:46:13pm

Dear Anthony,

You are totally hoodwinked about Sri Lanka by the international lobby of the LTTE, aka Tamil Tigers, one of the deadliest terrorist groups of the world as per even FBI. Those seemingly credible Tamil professionals who continuously feed grave allegations on Sri Lanka make up that lobby – please read the rand corp USA book "outside support for terrorist insurgencies" to find out how well organised the LTTE network is. The fact of the matter is, the LTTE killed about 100,000 people in Sri Lanka, terrorised the tiny island nation for 33 years with massacres and suicide bombing and they had to be eleminated. How many rounds of peace talks did Sri Lanka have with them? Every time, the LTTE walked out and utilised the ceasefires to stregthen their forces, causing more blood shed. Please go to Sri Lanka to see how grateful the Tamil people rescued by Sri Lankan defence forces are. Instead of just believing what your friendly LTTE lobbysts are saying, please go to Sri Lanka and see for yourself and please please stop making utter lies of the LTTE published facts. Not just Sri Lankans, the world must be thankful to the Sri Lankan president to finally getting rid of that murderous terrorist outfit.

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Canaga :

12 Oct 2011 4:32:11pm

Anjana and others may be born recently that they do not know the state sponsored terrorism suffered by the Tamils of Sri Lanka for thirty years until LTTE took over from a peace loving Federal Party – FP.

The FP had peaceful negotiations and three peace pacts with the Sinhala Government of different times. Each agreement was arbitrarily torn up within three months of forming a government with the Tamil party support. Thus the FP gave up peaceful agreements and the ‘Boys’ took over forming the LTTE.

Can anyone give facts of the numbers killed by LTTE as opposed to the Tamils killed by the Sinhala state sponsored terrorism?

Two state ministers went to Jaffna and supervised the destruction of the Jaffna Library – all ancient and ire-placeable books and ‘Ola’ leaves. This was one of the worst acts of a government.

In 1983, many Tamils’ houses were plundered and burnt by Sinhala people, watched by the government for four days until every thing was destroyed – is this not a terrorist state? Many thousands of Tamils were killed burnt in locked up cars. If this is not state sponsored terrorism then what is?

The continued state sponsored terrorism is the worst. If the honest Buddhist Sinhalese are happy at their terrorism for the last fifty years, may the good principles of God help them.

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Alienation :

12 Oct 2011 4:26:40pm

It is one thing for a government such as Sri Lanka’s to aggressively prosecute a civil war against a separatist organization that itself has been guilty of war crimes and attacks on civilians.

It is quite another to imprison, torture, and murder people one suspects of being a member of that organization once they admit defeat. It is clear the Tigers committed horrific acts. No one should excuse that. It is equally clear: and there is massive evidence to support this: that the Sri Lankan forces also committed atrocities: including against the some 300,000 persons held for months after the official cessation of hostilities and surrender. That should not be excused either.

To ask to have the Sri Lankan govt held accountable for ITS abuses is NOT to excuse those committed by the LTTE.

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Jen :

12 Oct 2011 3:59:45pm

"The recent discovery of gas deposits in its waters will only strengthen the fears that a resource curse will benefit the Sinhalese majority against the Tamil minority."

What about the resource boom in Australia..It is riping of the aboriginal people here..

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Chamz :

12 Oct 2011 3:49:47pm

Gordon Weiss has a book on Sri Lankan war and he is making money from the war.. his comments are commercially based.. and UN has rejected his comments…

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MA Huffman :

12 Oct 2011 3:20:07pm

Loewenstein appears so full of himself he has forgotten to ask (or is cahoots) with the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice a front group for the pro-LTTE supporters who are behind the ranting and raving about baseless ‘War Crimes’ accusations. If this ‘independant’ reporter took the time to travel to Sri Lanka or talk to anybody other then the LTTE rump, he would know what strides the people of Sri Lanka are taking.

I get so sick and tired of this hype by naive journalist who run at any kind of issue without the facts or a balanced view. ‘Independent Journalist’ is a sexy name for some who can write, and will grab for any source of funding they can get from lobbyist to do their dirty work.

The writer has absolutely no understanding of Sri Lanka, but from what he is getting in Australia no doubt from LTTE sympathizers living of the largesse of the Australian government who are afraid of loosing their life of luxury.

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Act Rationally :

12 Oct 2011 3:19:51pm

Both sides of this conflict have a lot of innocent blood on their hands. The Tamils wanted to win militarily where they had failed politically. Well you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Had they not employed suicide bombers in civilian clothing, had they not overrun entire Sri Lankan Army bases and executed the soldiers there, then you could be a little more outraged.

As it stands, professional militaries around the world are now studying the Srk Lankan army’s methods as they have been one of the few professional militaries to defeat a full blown insurgency.

Finally, civil wars are always ugly and the Tamil Tigers used human shields with the best of them.

Also Antony, you wouldn’t be banging on so much about this conflict because Israel sold military hardware to the Sri Lankan armed forces would you?

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realsa :

12 Oct 2011 3:07:15pm

double standards. perhaps we should look at the murders carried out by us and our allies under the same guise before criticizing Sri Lanka.

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Vic :

12 Oct 2011 2:59:56pm

Sri Lanka did what had to be done to end the war that was causing a great deal of hardship, as all wars do no matter how precise the munitions or restrictive the rules of engagement.

There is enough blame to go around on all sides in the Sri Lankan civil war but not much is to be gained by dwelling on it. Take a leaf out of Mr Nelson Mandala’s book and forgive and move on. For the good of the common people, It really is for the best.

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maggie Magee :

12 Oct 2011 2:34:06pm

This background to the war in Sri Lanka must make us also question why Tamils are still held in detention centres here. 39 Young Tamil men have been held in detention in Australia for over two years. They are refugees but are detained indefinitely because they did not get a clearance from ASIO.

Why didn’t they get a clearance from ASIO? They do not know! And nor will they find out! Because they are not citizens!!!!

How much longer must they not know their fate?

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Marilyn Shepherd :

12 Oct 2011 2:20:28pm

Indeed, as the head of Amnesty pointed out this week Bowen doesn’t seem to understand what the refugee convention means, nor do most of our lunatic media.

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pam :

12 Oct 2011 1:58:40pm

Quote:

"In other words, we had to destroy the population in order to save it." -Unquote

In which war did this not happen? Enlighten me, please, Mr Lowenstein.

In every war some civilians die so that the freedom of others are regained. This is the sad truth of any war. You have not lived in Sri Lanka for 30 years under the awful LTTE threat. They killed innocent civilians, cut open the bellies of pregnant women living in border villages, took the unborn children from their dead mother’s womb and dashed them on the ground. Read about those and the very many bombings of civilian targets to understand the context of this brutal war. The SL govt had to go after the LTTE to finish them off once and for all (after 30 years of failed ceasefires and betrayal of the ceasefires by the LTTE). If the SL govt had backed down at the last minute and let the LTTE leadership free, they would still be fighting and killing people in SL.

Besides, the SL forces didn’t put the civilians in front of a gun battle, the LTTE did.

Also, you conveniently ignore the fact that over 200,000 Tamils held as a civilian shield by the LTTE were rescued by the SL forces during the raging battle. You have not lived in SL to experience the suffering of a civilian there for 30 years with the LTTE not only killing people but strangling every aspect of the country.

So, before writing these one-sided, nose in the gutter stories about Sri Lanka and it’s war, do some proper research, like any good journalist should do.

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Sri lankan :

12 Oct 2011 1:36:14pm

Sri Lankans suffered years over this war.

After Defeating Terrorism, people can live in Sri Lanka without fear.

Please let us have our peace!!!

Stop creating obstacles to the Peace and development in Sri Lanka

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Jack of All Tradies :

12 Oct 2011 1:22:58pm

Some innocent people got killed, well perhaps the old saying – lie down with dogs get up with fleas applies.

How many decades of murder and mayhem from the Tamil Tigers were the SL population expected to tolerate?

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Zing :

12 Oct 2011 1:02:32pm

So the UN spokesperson confirmed that civilians were "murdered"? I doubt such a conclusion, since they are not a judge to find such things.

It is hardly orwellian to say that military action was required to save the civilians from terrorists.

Because that is what happened. Military action was used. The LTTE were crushed. As a result, the civilians are no longer under LTTE control. Seems fairly clear cut.

At least the author’s motives are clear. He wants to prevent nations from using force against terrorists and separatists.

In other words, just another fifth columnist.

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12 October 2011

In late September, the government of Sri Lanka released 1,800 former Tamil Tiger fighters.

Colombo claimed they had been rehabilitated as President Mahinda Rajapaksa told them at a ceremony in the capital:

"I hope you will work for peace and ethnic harmony in this nation of ours. We must not dwell on the bitter past, but look to a prosperous future."

Many other former fighters remain incommunicado, housed in secret camps away from international inspection or human rights protection.

This is occurring in "democratic" Sri Lanka, a nation still deeply divided along racial and political lines.

The over two years since the official end of the country’s brutal civil war has seen an attempted re-branding exercise by the Rajapaksa regime, including the encouragement of a vibrant tourist sector.

Despite the fact that the government murdered at least 40,000 Tamil civilians during the last period of the war (a figure confirmed by then UN spokesman in Colombo, Gordon Weiss), the international community has been reluctant to hold officials to account.

A thorough UN-led investigation found overwhelming evidence of war crimes committed by both sides during the conflict and Ban Ki-Moon recently submitted this report to the UN Human Rights Council for investigation. The move was condemned by Colombo.

A recently released WikiLeaks cable revealed that when Ban Ki-Moon visited the country in 2009 he witnessed "complete destruction" when he flew over the former "no-fire zone". He described the conditions of Manik Farm refugee camp as worse than anything he had ever seen before.

In September a letter was sent to the Commonwealth foreign ministers that was signed by the world’s leading human rights groups.

It read in part:

Rhiannon hosted a roundtable of experts in the Federal Parliament in September that called for Sri Lanka’s suspension of the Commonwealth. She said:

"With CHOGM shortly to be held in Perth, the Australian government needs to add its voice and ensure that all Commonwealth nations uphold principles of human rights and the rule of law."

Unsurprisingly, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Canberra, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe (a man with a troubling past) rejected the roundtable’s recommendation, issuing the following Orwellian statement:

The [Sri Lanka] government had to take military action to defeat the terrorists to save the civilians.

In other words, we had to destroy the population in order to save it.

The British Tory government, at times critical of Colombo’s behaviour, is currently embroiled in a scandal involving the Defence Secretary Liam Fox. He is accused of both being far too close to the Sri Lankan government and backing its war against the Tamils.

Klugman was also recently publicly attacked for handing out certificates to alleged Tamil rebels after the alleged "rehabilitation" program, legitimising a program that is both secretive and unproven. Rehabilitation can take many forms post conflict.

For the Australian Government, in the midst of a refugee drama it has no idea how to manage politically or legally, war crimes in Sri Lanka is far less important than stopping refugee boats.

The status of Sri Lanka in the 21st century is of a political elite triumphantly thriving on racial supremacy ideology.

The recent discovery of gas deposits in its waters will only strengthen the fears that a resource curse will benefit the Sinhalese majority against the Tamil minority.

The international community has a moral and legal responsibility to hold Sri Lanka to account. Failing this basic task will merely encourage other states engaged in a "war on terror", from America to Israel and Yemen to Afghanistan, to act with impunity against civilians.

Antony Loewenstein is an Australian independent journalist who sits on the advisory council of the UK-based Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice.

55 Comments

John Kern :

13 Oct 2011 3:11:30am

John :

13 Oct 2011 2:52:35am

Raj :

13 Oct 2011 12:12:40am

In other words, we had to destroy the population in order to save it. LOL. destroy the population ? Are you out of your mind or something ? Think what Americans do in Iraq ? Do you call it destroying the population ?

Raj :

13 Oct 2011 12:07:10am

a nation still deeply divided along racial and political lines. NOT TRUE

Human Race :

12 Oct 2011 11:35:26pm

any one to talk about millions of people die in Afgan, Iraq due to racial and WAR for OIL ??? No one talks about human right violations in middle east,, simply because those are done by BIG BROTHERS in the this unfair world.

When a small country does some thing good, so called western media and governments let down them..

Talk about human massacre in Afgan and Iraq please.. Not the real defeat of terrorism in Sri lanka.

Pium :

12 Oct 2011 10:19:34pm

Sam :

12 Oct 2011 10:14:11pm

"The [Sri Lanka] government had to take military action to defeat the terrorists to save the civilians."

The above statement actually says, "This country belongs to Sinhalese. We have to, therefore, destroy the Tamil poulation to save the Sinhalese".

That is the hard wired Sinhala Buddhist hegemonic mentality.

Siva :

12 Oct 2011 9:35:29pm

Sarath J :

12 Oct 2011 9:04:41pm

As a Sri-Lankan, who is living in Australia, I am extremely disappointing to see a so-called independent journalist writing an article without a factual basis. Anthony has taken a partial stand against Sri Lanka by echoing the baseless allegations.

The Sri Lankan security forces mounted the largest hostage rescue in the world by rescuing 294,000 Tamil civilians who were been held hostage by the LTTE while ensuring that there were minimum civilian casualties.

R. N. England :

12 Oct 2011 8:47:15pm

Steve Nth Syd :

12 Oct 2011 7:09:27pm

The "war on terror" has become a convenient excuse for many Governments to pursue criminal behavior of their own with impunity.

The many minority groups around the globe who want to fight for their freedom get tarred by the same brush on many occasions as terrorists.

Hence, unless Western Governments get their ethics back on track these tactics will spiral out of control – where there will be no distinction between democracy and dictatorship as democracy will become a farcical act in name only.

mike :

12 Oct 2011 9:22:05pm

sinha_view :

13 Oct 2011 12:00:20am

Where is the distiction between democracy and dictatorship when we consider ‘elections’ in Afghanistan democratic, but question Sri Lanka’s credibility as a democratic nation. I suppose it’s because they don’t hold a gun to your head at the polling booths in Sri Lanka!

Selva :

12 Oct 2011 7:04:22pm

As a Tamil with Sri Lankan roots I am fully aware of the suffering caused by the tigers to the Tamil people of the island nation. Mr Loewenstein, where were the righteous when bus bombs exploded and kids were dragged from homes to fight for a misguided ideal?

Saleem :

12 Oct 2011 9:36:10pm

In the last presidential election Tamil speaking people voted overwhelmly for the Opposition candidate Sareth Fonseka, as their was no any other viable chice.

Arun :

12 Oct 2011 10:16:44pm

Well done Anthony!

I am Tamil from Sri Lanka too who who suffered in the hands of brutal Sri Lankan military and managed to flee from that terror island.

As Amnesty International chief recently requested Australia Foreign Minister, Australia should support Canada recent call of the boycott of CHOGM in 2013 until an independent War crimes investigation is conducted. UN panel of experts also support such international inquiry.

Thank you again Anthony for being the true voice of democracy and freedom

subo :

13 Oct 2011 2:04:19am

Mr Selva