The writer is Editor of The Express Tribune
I cannot recall another instance of a Commonwealth head of state interfering so blatantly in the internal affairs of another country. It is somewhat rich for Cameron to castigate Sri Lanka. The British didn’t have much of a human rights record when they ruled the colonies. More recently, its role in the wars against Iraq and in Afghanistan as part of the coalition of the willing leaves a lot to be desired.
And hours before coming to Colombo to upstage everyone else, the British prime minister had said in a statement in India that “it would be good to meet Narendra Modi”. That statement itself is chilling.
Let us be honest at least. Canada and Mauritius stayed away from CHOGM also because of the human rights record of the Sri Lankan government. The fact that what they said was both countries have sizeable Tamil populations doesn’t seem to have raised eyebrows it seems. The biased coverage of this controversy as seen on the BBC, an otherwise favourite news channel of mine, indicates that the days of independent public broadcasting seem to be coming to an end in the UK.
India was at least pragmatic. Facing an election in the coming year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s party cannot upset its allies in the south. There was no talking down to Sri Lanka. Possibly India learnt its lessons earlier on and doesn’t want to burn its fingers again.
All wars have casualties and human rights abuses. There is no denying that. And Sri Lanka should be encouraged to set up an independent human rights commission to investigate the allegations of atrocities. They have enough right minded people to head it.
But for the British PM to take it upon himself to investigate these allegations on his own suggests that he may be angling for something other than justice for the victims. Sri Lanka has a capable system that should be able to do what is needed. One does not need to embarrass the country into this.
One must recall that Sri Lanka is that country which finally shunned all international intervention when it went for its military offensive against the LTTE. Do not try and force it into a situation where it does the same again. Because the last time it did this, it succeeded in fixing the problem.
For me, the most powerful statement in CHOGM came from Sri Lankan president Rajapaksa. In an angry response to the statements made by Cameron and others, he said killings had taken place in Sri Lanka not only in 2009, as his government crushed the LTTE, but for 30 years up until then. Since the past four years, “there has been no terrorist attack in the country.”
Sitting in strife-torn Pakistan, this statement itself was enough to inspire me. I wish the same could be achieved in my country, where terrorism is eating away from inside while other countries pay lip service to our problems.
As far as the conflict in Pakistan is concerned, it is not enough for Mr Cameron to pump money into the government machinery here as part of the British contribution to our war. There must be some ownership. We don’t see that. In fact, the British treat Pakistan and Pakistanis quite shabbily.
Ours is a war that your government and its allies helped create in the first place. Britain has many stakes in Pakistan, as I am sure it did in Sri Lanka when that country was at war, but that would be transgressing. The fact is that when Sri Lanka was fighting its war, the British government did little to help. CHOGM was silent on the issue.
Maybe the anger is more directed to the fact that the Chinese have been given lucrative contracts in Sri Lanka. But best not to speculate and question the motives of great powers.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (34)
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Cameron had no business to raise the issue in CHOGM, their own track record is so bad when there was time to speak they procrastinated. Situation in Pakistan at the moment is worst than Sri Lanka at least there was an enemy but in Pakistan we are enemies of each other. Well thought out article as usual, but who cares
When I clicked on the article, i thought I'd be reading about the PML N. Oh well :)
Toothless tigers: By seeing the title i thought the writer referred to our respected prime minister and brother.
@ Sexton Blake
Looks like irony and sarcasm are sentiments completely alien to you. But your reaction to what I wrote highlights the point I was trying to make. Thanks.
I cme from chennai, which is the capital of tamil nadu. This issue is very sensitive, as a pakistani you wont understand the magnanimity of the issue., There is a gross violation of human rights in Srilanka and there are ample evidence to support the claim. Every sovereign responsible country have the right to ask another country, if they do nothing to protect basic human rights.. just like how usa intervened Bosnia, and west intervened during nazi times. There are responsibility of civilized nations. Just like how your goverment go and ask west to intervene for kashmir. I applaud David Cameroon for sending strong message which my own govt failed to do so, didn't think for 1 moment the sentiment of 7Million tamil speaking Indians.
Its not UK or David who is toothless tigers. Its you, Who have no idea how geopolitics works and how to understand a issue objectively.
@ Malik Tariq......Sir you seem to be a very learned man when its comes to India. We are a billion plus people with a million plus problems. Some were inherited while some were created because of wrong policies. But I can assure you that we do not start blaming all and sundry for these problems. I do not wish to lecture you, but let me tell you this that it is Pakistan which wants a strategic depth, which pretends to be the leader of ummah and its your countrymen who think that they belong not to South Asia, but middle east. elsewhere in this newspaper is a writeup about how much money the US poured into your country in the last 10 years..and what have you to show for it...zilch, a big zero. Sir, thats not how responsible nations behave.
Maybe the anger is more directed to the fact that the Chinese have been given lucrative contracts in Sri Lanka. But best not to speculate and question the motives of great powers.
Spot on!!
And here's yet another link
http://www.globalresearch.ca/chinese-influence-over-sri-lanka-grows
@zayyad: Same low caste people have converted to Christianity in your country and we know how you treat them
@Malik Tariq: You missed Baluchistan.
The emphasis should not be on Cameron lecturing Rajapakse..........the emphasis should be on Rajapakse's ability to listen and more importantly reply firmly. After all, Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation and a prospering one at that.
I wish the same could be achieved in my country, where terrorism is eating away from inside while other countries pay lip service to our problems.
Looks like you are against 'lip service' Do you want the 'others' to actually come and sort out the uglies from the lovelies, or what?
And, which others are holding you from fighting off the terrorists, domestic or international?
@vasan: Kashmir belongs to India only because of the occupation, in the same way that India belonged to Britain for over 200 years. Sri Lanka belongs to all Sri Lankans and that country had a right to fight an insurgency by Tamil rebels which was financed and armed by India. It is time India adopts the role of a big brother in the region, instead of a bully. It already has insurgencies in South with Naxalites and Maoists demanding independence. India has killed as many innocent people living within its borders as Israel has killed Palestinians. India has either to assume the role of a responsible powerful country living in peace with its smaller neighbours or as a bully.
@amit (India): Dear amit, I am glad you were not my father. With logic like yours one can only have nightmares as to where the family would have finished up.
You are trying to put all three terrorism in one basket ... All three countries had different backgrounds for the trouble ... I wish you had weighed which one was more grievous (obviously Pakistan). When u mention Modi ... U mention only the Muslims killed .. and you don't mention why they were killed and who started the trouble ... Muslims FIRST burned a Kar Sevaks filled train in which more than 300 people died ... and then there was that aftermath. This one sided op-ed... so has just lost its relevance... No need to read further ..
Funny piece. If you go far back enough in history, everyone's ancestors would have done something or the other - and some people are still engaged in mass murder. That means we mustn't hold anyone to account for any crimes.
Let me now try and fit the author's logic to another situation: Islamic world has a terrible human rights record and Muslims have conquered a lot of land by displacing/killing indigenous people. So they have no right to ask Israel to vacate Palestinian lands. The same logic can be applied to Burma. I guess Islamic world has no right to protest the way Muslims are allegedly being treated there. Same logic will also apply to Chechnya, Kashmir etc.
Absolutely brilliant logic. The mind duly boggles.
"it would be good to meet Mr. Modi" Why is that so chilling in your view?
Author finds Cameron meeting Modi a "chilling" thought. If he meets Modi to upbraid him on failure to protect Muslims & Hindus (which led to death of two British Muslims of Guj origins) would the Author consider it "thrilling"? I am surprised the writer is defending Rajpakshe. It's no longer fashionable to kill multitudes & act innocent. Why blame only Cameron, world is now getting disgusted with Sri Lankan Govt. China is now part of UNHRC & will not let Britain get away with all the glory of being a HR champion. Today's news item says the following:
Quote: In a surprise move, China today asked Sri Lanka to "make efforts to protect and promote human rights", backing calls by India, Britain and other countries at the CHOGM summit in Colombo to address allegations of rights abuses against the country's minority Tamils.
"Due to the differences in the economic and social development of different countries, there could be differences on human rights protection," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a media briefing in Beijing. "So what is important is that the relevant country should make efforts to protect and promote human rights while other countries in the world should provide constructive assistance," he said.:Unquote (Source: "China asks SL to protect and promote human rights". Online edition, Daily Mirror-dailymirror.lk- of Sri Lanka)
In my opinion, an inquiry should be conducted & if a case exists Mr.Rajpakshe should be tried for genocide. It would then be a warning to other anti-minority tyrants elsewhere in Subcontinent & world at large.
@Vikas, come on now, where's your 'democratic' sense of belief in freedom of speech? Everyone has the right to speak. What theocratic country were you talking about, by the way???
"Ours is a war that your government and its allies helped create in the first place."
Really? How? By creating Pakistan out of India and Afghanistan?
Another one bites the dust, ladies and gentleman.
@csmann: Pakistan has a more blurred line between the two sides than in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka the two sides were clear.
People who keep commenting on India, Kashmir, caste system etc. Pl note that what is good for the goose is good for the gander as well. Kashmir belongs to India and we will use military tactics only to control externally sponcered violent mobs and their supporters. If u want negotiations, give up the gun and come to the table,. Caste system is our problem and we know how to fix it. Pak has no locus standii in that as they do not even recognize such a discrimination exists in Pak, let alone fix it.
Mr. Kamal Siddiqi, You have tread into unknown waters ripping British PM David Cameron for whatever grudge you have against the British.
Do you know what Tamil struggle in SL is all about. If you know then you would also know that the British have had a hand in it. Under these circumstances, is it unreasonable for PM Cameron to have his say for the sake of justice.
SL's war crimes, real or imaginary, is better left to people who understand it.
I wonder why Cameron did not visit the posh suburbs of Colombo to meet the Tamils who are more than 50% of the population there.
why there is a commonwealth to begin with...kind to keep the nostalgia(for the Brits),we should have left it long time back. @Vikas, why are talking about the policies of the theocratic country,if you don't belong to one...live in your 'secular democratic' system..if that is what you call your caste system driven society where untouchables have remained so for 4000 years.
Although the author hops all over the place - from Modi to Iraq to India to LTTE to Pakistan to Colonisation; he does manage to get across the core message - that Cameron has no business to criticise Sri Lanka. However I would differ here. It is a logical fallacy - ' ad hominem ' that the author commits by attacking British Colonial history in reply to Cameron's exhortation to maintain Human Rights. Just like asking Malala to talk about drones, ignoring her core message, the author talks about Western colonisation 50 years ago, instead of hailing his comments of maintaining Human Rights in Sri Lanka.
Cameron’s idea of meeting with Modi is chilling to you because you are a victim of your own prejudice and hype about what happened in Gujarat. If you have such low threshold for getting chilled, you are going to be super chilled and frozen in the coming months. Even if you just read the Indian comments here on the truths about the events you wouldn’t be half as prejudiced and self-righteous as you are. In Sri Lanka there has been strife between 2 ethnic groups, which is solvable. By comparing Pakistan with SL you are flattering yourself. Pakistan’s problems are much more gigantic since they are based on religious extremism and ideological fanaticism. There is no equivalent solution as you fantasize. You also haven’t factored in the lobbying and influence of SL Tamil groups in UK. Their numbers in electoral politics may be less than in Canada, but it doesn’t mean they have no influence.
Well said sir, the west still thinks except for a few countries who stand up to the west that they still owe the place, the world at large which they exploited for centuries. The rise of China is an important factor to balance that. One size fits all as long as we can sell our ware to you.They should all shut up and go home and stop reprimanding other nations on human rights. How about India which has killed an estimated 60,000 innocent people in Kashmir in the past 10 years, and what about Assam.The Gujrat slaughter of Muslims. However India is a big market it is the place of "Shanti" you dare not punish them.Give me a break.
People of theocratic country should not even talk of what happens in a secular democratic country.
What is stopping Pakistan following the footsteps of Colombo?The difference is there are too much support for TTP from religious parties and population in general.Army and security agencies can't do their job in these circumstances.And now the soldiers dying for the country has been declared not to be martyrs,and terrorists as martyrs,why would they risk their lives for an ungrateful nation.