US diplomats heading to Sri Lanka
Three American diplomats will travel to Sri Lanka for talks about alleged civilian casualties during the government’s military campaign to defeat the Tamil Tigers, an official said, AFP reports.
The visit comes ahead of a United Nations human rights council meeting in Geneva, which starts later this month, where Washington hopes to move a resolution pressing Sri Lanka to probe alleged war crimes.
A government source in Colombo, who declined to be named, said US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, Robert Blake, was expected next week.
“The US is mounting pressure on us this time, but we should be able to get over the difficulties because we have strong support from India,” the government source said.
A diplomatic source confirmed that Washington was engaging with Colombo ahead of the Geneva rights council session, which runs from February 27 to March 23.
There was no immediate comment from the US embassy or Sri Lanka’s external affairs ministry about the latest US initiative to ramp up pressure on Colombo.
Sri Lanka has managed to avoid censure at previous human rights council meetings thanks to the backing of Russia and China. India, the island’s closest neighbour, has also backed Colombo.
Rights groups have said up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the government’s military campaign to defeat Tamil Tiger rebels, which they completed in May, 2009.
Sri Lanka denies that a single civilian was killed by its troops.
However, a government-appointed panel, which probed the reasons behind the failure of a 2002 truce, reported in December that civilians may have died as a result of military action and called for an independent investigation, AFP reports.
Courtesy: Ada Derana
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Mr.Blake why do not go to Irak and afgahnistan to find out what has done bloody USA to those countries.
ND/AUJ,
Thang aththatama billo enava.
Dear ND/AUJ,
If you can spare the time, could you please counsel Mr Pillayan on etiquette and behaviour in public fora. Also, he needs assistance in understanding world affairs.
My Dear PS,
Let me begin with the Poya Day prayer “Sabbe sathwa bavanthu suki sathwa! ( May All Beings be Happy!)
You sound a Gentleman.Hence I seek your indulgence to express a moderate view.Mr. Pillayan needs no counselling on etiquettes or even on diplomatic protocol. He may need assistance, as much as I do,in understanding world affairs. We are not experts on any subject but prone to accumilate more knowledge than what we know.You Sir, are most welcome to help us in the procedure.We shall stand to correction.He may need assistance in adjusting his English phraseology but with more experience to gather he will definitely improve. Mr. Pillayan, if you are reading this I encourage you in your efforts.Your Heart is in the right place-YOUR MOTHERLAND-.Your question does not,as far as I see, go against any decency unless looked at from a slavish perspective.Even the Queen of the Great British Empire was subjected to more severe bickerings in her sojourns.In this emancipated world such things do take place and are allowed.
Dear MR.Pillayan keep on going you can sure succeed me if I ever I were to take the Great Leap during this Leap year.And to you Mr.PS you are most welcome,let me repeat ,to correct us.Thank you very much both.
Blake was former SL ambassador. He is now based in India as Asst Sec of State for Central and SE Asia. During his stint in SL he was openly assisting LTTE against the democratically elected govt of SL. US had its own agenda for SL. It conspired with LTTE to win, to have sovereign Tamil nation in SL, in return for a US base in SL and oil rights, phosphate rights, mineral sands etc. US agenda came apart with the total defeat of LTTE. Hon President, MR, ignored US orders to stop the war, to save LTTE. USA and its imperial allies have an axe to grind therefore with Hon President and the GOSL.
All the efforts of USA and its allies, for UN sponsored inquiry on the final phase of Humanitarian Operation of alleged war crimes etc, failed miserably because of strong backing for SL by China, Russia and other nations of the Freeworld.
USA then conspired with UNSC to have such an enquiry through his three member panel of ‘experts’, who were all pro-LTTE. The Darusman Report was produced by this panel. It was a totally false account of unfounded allegations of war crimes etc. mainly by pro-LTTE ‘witnesses’. Hence this report was biased. LLRC committe appointed by Hon President to enquire into the allegations held a thorough enquiry over more than a year. Evidence was obtained from a wide section of the population and communities who were credible witnesses. When the LLRC Report was read in the Parliament and released, USA and its allies immediately criticised it unfairly, as the Report absolved the security forces of all allegations of war crimes etc. It was not what the USA, its allies and diaspora Tamils wanted.
USA and its allies are therefore now pressuring Hon President and the GOSL, to allow a UNSC sponsored enquiry to be held on the allegations. The planned UNHRC conference in Switzerland at the end of February, is another venue, opportunity for USA and its allies and diaspora Tamils to exert maximum focused pressure on Hon President and GOSL, to backdown to hold such an enquiry by UN panel in SL.
The diaspora LTTE has made fake videos of alleged war crimes, which were shown around the world to their supporters. Independent evidence to prove that the videos were fake were ignored. USA and its allies and the diaspora Tamils are hell-bent on punishing SL for ignoring US ‘orders’ not to defeat the LTTE by all these efforts to uphold the false evidence of alleged war crimes etc.
Blake and his three-man team of US officials (?CIA) are here to exert maximum pressure on Hon President to backdown. The majority of the nation is behind the Hoin President, to uphold the truth that there were no war crimes. Infact, our security forces acted with the greatest discipline on the specific orders of the Hon President to save the 320,000 + Tamil civilians who wetre held hostage by the brutal Tamil LTTE leader, as a ‘human screen’, which in itself is a war crime. How is it that USA and its allies are ignoring this important point? Why are they publishing disinformation through out the world of war crimes by SL, when it was balatantly obvious no such crimes were committed. Infact, the opposit is true. Our security forces sacrificed their lives and limbs in saving the Tamil civilian hostages in hand-to-hand combat. The video images of the SL troo[ps carrying old men, women and children to safety across the Nanthikadal lagoon was inspiring and a model to the evil West, who has no such compunction, when they killed hundreds of thousands civilians by their heavy bombardment, and called it co-lateral damage. How inhuman!
USA and its allies have since the end of WW2, killed millions of innocent civilians indiscriminately in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. USA and its allies and their security forces, Presidents, Def Secs should stand trial at the Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Udu and PradeepS are not saying anything sensible and patriotic but jeering other decent bloggers. They stand condemned by their own actions!
Pillayan is a true Tamil Patriot. I salute you Sir, for your steadfast support for Motherlanks and Hon President and GOSL. I am sure there are many such honest, patriotic Tamil citizens in SL, who want only to be citizens of ONE NATION, ONE COUNTRY.
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.
Our enemies try to divide us and rule us. Look at Libya and Iraq today. USA and its allies trained, funded and armed dissidents in these countries to topple their leaders. Today they are torn apart with infighting among the different tribes. They cannot agree to form a united govt. Such countries do well under a benevolent dictator, like Gadaffi, who did so much for his nation, but was not appreciated by the few dissidents through the evil machinations of USA and its allies. The West is then stealing their oil 95% from under their noses, protected by US military power. They are planning the same thing for Iraq.
ERRATA:
Para 3: “USA then conspired with UNSC” should read, “USA then conspired with UNSG, Ban-ki-Moon,to have such an enquiry for his private report, by a three member panel appointed by him. It was not a UNSC sponsored enquiry. It was a stealthy attempt by Ban-ki-Moon to introduce the Darusman Report through the ‘backdoor’ to UNSC and UNHRC, as if a UN Report.”
Last Para, last line: “They are planning the same thing for Iraq”, should read, ” They are planning the same thing for Syria and Iran.”
Mr Dias,
I agree with most of the things you say. Mr Blake is however, not a darling of the Tamil Diaspora. When you find the time, have a look at Tamilnet. They are more vitriolic about Mr Blake than you are
Pradeep,
I’ll be glad the day diaspora Tamils fall-out with Whitehouse over SL. USA should not back the wrong horse. They should be supportive of GOSL against the unfair demands of TNA and diaspora Tamils. If they continue to support TNA and the diaspora Tamils in their demand for sovereignty, it can only mean US evil machinations/conspiracy to unseat democratically elected MR govt in order to effect secret US agenda in SE Asia, which includes having a base in SL. They can have it only through diaspora Tamils/TNA by supporting them against the GOSL. Tamilnet is lambasting Blake because they feel he has done little to support them, despite the ?moneybags they loaded him with. Let’s see how Blake is going to play his cards in SL. Any support by him for TNA/diaspora Tamils in demanding UNSC or UNHRC sponsored ‘enquiries’ will be give a short shrift by Hon President, as he did to Kouchner and Milliband.
No country should interfere in our internal matters! We rid the country of the most heinous terrorist outfit in the world, by our own home-grown solutions! Likewise we will find solutions, as LLRC recommended, to create ONE COUNTRY ONE NATION of all the communities in SL. We are already on our way to solve it with our own home-grown solutions. Neither India nor any other country should interfere. The problem is the intransigence of TNA/diaspora Tamils in unfair demands, which LTTE/VP demanded. They are his voice from the grave! They do not represent the vast majority of the SL Tamils, who number less than 3 million, most of whom are in the South, quite happily with the Sinhalese and Muslims. TNA is a miniscule minority in N & E. They force their will on the majority Tamils by threats. One day we’ll end that also!
ND,
You say “I’ll be glad the day diaspora Tamils fall-out with Whitehouse over SL”. Keep on dreaming as this will never happen while MR is in power and idiots like Kohana, Jaliya and Shavendra (in his cool sunnies) represent him in Washington. Have you not realised that the momentum is gathering against the regime prior to the HRC session in Geneva next month. Even you seem to be panicking with your slogan “UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE SINK”. Take my advice, do not keep water in your bath tub as otherwise you will sink!
Udu, the diaspora Tamil, you keep on dreaming! All the efforts and money spent in millions by the diaspora Tamils to prove war crimes etc in SL by the army etc have gone down the drain! Ha! Ha! You idiot, the war crimes were committed by your VP and the LTTE. They are now sethapochchi! The R Family will ensure no enemies of SL will ever win. The TNA, the INGOS, NGOS, diaspora Tamils etc can do NOTHING! We will make them empty their purses some more in lobbying the Whitehouse and Congress.