Sri Lanka celebrated sixty first Anniversary of Independence from British Rule on February 04, 2009 on a grand scale in the country. Similar pattern of traditions continued worldwide with the participation of Sri Lankan expatriates with more courage and determination outside the country as the country is now at the verge of elimination of Tamil Tiger terrorism, the agony the nation suffered many decades. It is true that British left Sri Lanka officially on February 04, 1948. [ad#200×200]They left leaving all dreadful lifestyle they practiced to govern our nation during the colonial rule, of which Tamil issue they created during their “divide and rule” system of ruling to run the statehood. Sri Lanka never had an opportunity to enjoy the full scale peaceful and healthy life since the independence as the seeds of hatred they sow among distinctive communities emerged to grow and finally lead this beautiful Island to a near separation. Thousands of innocent civilians became victims to the crisis. Every successive government which administered the country since the independence created meaningful environments to resolve the issue through peace negotiations and ceasefire agreements. After each attempt of such settlements, the ultimate results were the worldwide recognition of Tamil Tigers equivalent with Sri Lankan state level and improved power of insurgency with modern technology and war tactics.
Finally, it came to a decisive point. Since the present government came into power in 2006, the nation started to breathe a fresh life as government announced a policy decision to wipe out terrorism as a prerequisite for any major development projects in the country. The best combination of political and military leaderships since independence was amalgamated and strategies to defeat terrorism were formulated. Theory became the practice and the practice worked expectedly. The liberation of territory held by LTTE began accordingly. Salvation of innocent Tamils from the clutches of Tigers continued and none of the liberated Tamils pointed their fingers out to Sri Lankan forces for their attempts to liberate them from inhumanity. Now time has called for the final push.
It is widely speculated that leaders of Tamil Tigers are now encircled by all fronts of Sri Lankan forces in Mullaittivu region. Final assault is imminent at any moment as soon as the civilians cross-over to free zone. Given these circumstances, Tigers are holding the civilians against their will as a human shield to protect their lives from bitter defeats and escapers are subjected to bullet showers from Tigers camps. International Tiger frontlines and some media representing Tiger voices including INGOs and NGOs are now constantly engaged in false and malicious propaganda to tarnish the Sri Lankan image and humanitarian campaign by Sri Lankan armed forces to delay the final assault and rescue possible Tiger leaderships from extermination.
The appointment of Special Envoy to Sri Lanka by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to bring about a ceasefire and a political solution to the situation in Sri Lanka at this stage seems to be a conspiracy resulted from this international network. It came out violating all norms of international diplomacy and ignored all forms of bilateral consultations and reciprocity. This act proved that British have not yet recovered from symptoms of their pre-colonial psychological disorder and again try to impose their unethical imperial supremacy on former colonial states by unilateral judgments. The British Prime Minister’s unilateral appointment of so called special envoy to Sri Lanka is an insult to the people of Sri Lanka who enjoy the parliamentary democracy within the framework of free and fair elections over six decades. This shocking and shameful act of British Prime Minister without consciousness of legitimately elected government of Sri Lanka to appoint a Special Envoy to interfere with internal affairs of the country deserves worldwide condemnation and democratic world should press British Prime Minister to stick with British affairs within his territory.
Asoka Perera, PhD Toronto Canada