Is Shular Sanitizing the Sri Lankans?

It has been almost 30 months since the unwitnessed war ended in Sri Lanka.

Rep. Heath Shuler Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo

(FRANKLIN, N.C.) - Though a much smaller number of house representatives cannot possibly represent the American public view, unfortunately, it is always possible to distract attention from real issues in a far off land such as in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan current administration is said to be spending millions of dollors on private PR firms around the world in its attempt to sanitize its role in the alleged war crimes and brutality against the minority civilians during the ended conflict. It is also reported that the representatives of a PR firm accompanied the Congressmen during their recent visit to Sri Lanka. Some media reported that the local members from the Sri Lankan community contributed to the Congressmen campaign fund. Sri Lankan administration has also, in the past, sought immunity for its military officials by deploying them in the diplomatic positions worldwide.

It has been almost 30 months since the unwitnessed war ended in Sri Lanka. The three-member UN Panel Report detailing the inhuman behaviour of the Sri Lankan military and awful scenes from the emerging war video footages, cannot be described in words here in one page.

According to many visitors to the Tamil regions of Sri Lanka, the current situation there is an ongoing militarisation and colonisation of the areas, Sri Lankan military’s day-to-day intrusion into civilian affairs, the deprivation of economic opportunities to Tamils, and the slack attempts of the authorities at rehabilitation and reconciliation. The Sri Lankan government is reportedly adopting such dilatory tactics to avoid the reconciliation process for the past 30 months. The continued presence of armed forces in the regions is an obstacle and hindrance to any political settlement. Last month, the Sri Lankan administration issued a Land Circular No. 2011/04 exclusively to the Tamil regions that requires all persons in the North and East, including private landowners, to submit “ownership application forms” disclosing all details of their land, said to an attempt to colonising the areas.

Sri Lankan governments have always been elected by the majority population there since the Independence from the British in 1948. The military of Sri Lanka is mono-ethnic and it has allegedly acquired proportions pervading diplomacy to economy.

The reports coming out of Sri Lanka for the past 30 months are exactly contradicting the claims by the Congressmen on free and fair elections, no evidence of human abuses, tremendous progress, etc.

Mrs. Sandy Vadi - an erstwhile Tamil refugee

First published here: http://www.maconnews.com/opinion/letters/2088-is-shular-sanitizing-the-sri-lankans.

Republished with permission from Sandy Vadi.