Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse told the United Nations this week that his government's military campaign in breach of the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement was aimed at convincing the Tamil Tigers they cannot achieve a military victory.
Speaking in Sinhala, he called on the international community to help his government consolidate its gains in the east of the island against the LTTE, whom he repeatedly denounced as terrorists.
Addressing the UN General Assembly at its headquarters in New York Tuesday, Rajapakse called on the world body to conclude talks on a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
His government's recent military operations had been launched only to convince the Tigers that it would not be possible for them to obtain a military victory, he said.
The government's recent military victory over the Tigers in the east and the clearing of the region of terrorism has opened the way to make the province "a model for development and rehabilitation," he said.
“There is a clear opportunity for the international community to play a vital role in breaking the cycle of conflict by focusing on development,” he said.
A committed Buddhist nationalist, the President’s address was heavily laced with references to Buddhism and assertions of victory over the LTTE.
“I am proud to inform you that despite the significant challenge posed by the ongoing conflict with a ruthless terrorist group in the North of the country, we have freed the Eastern Province from terrorism, and restored law and order there,” he said.
“We launched military operations only to exert pressure on terrorists in order to convince them that it will not be possible for them to obtain a military victory. Our goal remains a negotiated and honourable end to this unfortunate conflict.”
In a pointed rejection of widespread international criticism of rights abuses of Tamils by his military, the President declared: “Sri Lanka's ancient civilization was rooted in the Buddhist principles.”
Echoing an argument made a few hours earlier by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, President Rajapakse attacked critics of his military’s rights abuses as neo-colonialists.
“Guided by the principles of Buddhism, We have long respected the rights of our fellow human beings,” he said.
“Therefore, it had not been necessary for us to experience global wars or the deaths of millions to, learn to recognize their value.”
“My country has no record of inflicting misery on fellow human beings for the purpose of empire building, for commercial advantage or for religious righteousness,” he said pointedly.
Since Rajapakse came to power in late 2005, over two thousand Tamil civilians have been killed and a thousand more have ‘disappeared’ after being taken into custody, local and international human rights groups say.
Some rights groups have called for strong actions, including sanctions, against Sri Lanka in a bid to halt the rampant abuses.
“Human rights are too important to be used as a tool to victimize States for political advantage,” he argued however.
“It is essential that international action to facilitate compliance with human rights standards is fair and even handed. Human rights have to be protected and advanced for their own sake, not for political gain.”
Meanwhile, earlier, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Mr. Dayan Jayatilleka, lashed out at international critics of Colombo’s human rights policy, saying he saw no “moral asymmetry between Sri Lanka and those critics.”
Rajapakse also fell back on the customary and well worn arguments put forward by other governments accused of repression: that the need to fight ‘terrorism’ was paramount.
He warned representatives of the UN’s 190 odd states of the dangers they all face.
“Even as we gather here, State sovereignty, civil society and the rule of law are increasingly being threatened by terrorism and other illegal and illicit activities in many countries,” he said.
“There are many Member States represented in this Assembly today who have first hand experience of the havoc caused by brutish terrorism which has stretched out its claws to many corners of the globe to mar innocent lives,” he said.
“All terrorist attacks whether in New York, Mumbai, Cairo, London, or Colombo are acts that threaten the democratic way of life and must be condemned unreservedly,” he said.
“Terrorism anywhere is terrorism. There is nothing good in terrorism. Sri Lanka has taken an upfront position in the global community's efforts to deal with terrorism.”
“We think that the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, which in our view remains a priority, is only limited to endless discussion. I emphasize that we must conclude these negotiations soon.”
President Rajapakse suggested that his Sinhala nationalist values, enshrined in his 2005 election manifesto ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ were, in fact, global development goals.
“We have reached the Development Decade declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations. My country has declared the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ ten year vision to usher a new Sri Lanka consonant with those goals,” he said.
He concluded by telling the UN: “I believe that our obligation as global leaders is to commit ourselves to programs that will eradicate terrorism, establish human welfare oriented development, establish democracy and ensure there is hope for lower income groups for economic development.”
