Ending Sri Lanka’s Conflict: 7721 Collateral Damage is worth the eventual peace
Pro-LTTE and people living off LTTE kitty will not like to hear this but, whatever the collateral damage that took place during the final phase of the conflict is unfortunate, but it brought to an end 30 years of terror & deaths, it prevented LTTE terror taking place since May 2009 and that to all Sri Lankans is what matters. Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces saved close to 300,000 Tamils sacrificing 6261 armed forces personnel while also accepting close to 12,000 LTTE combatants who surrendered. The on the ground estimates, place the dead at less than 8000. To have saved 300,000 lives at the cost of 8000 deaths and to have ended 30 years of terrorism in 3 years, we think deserves a thumbs up to Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces.No National Army in the world has carried out a military intervention combined with a humanitarian rescue operation to end 30 years of terrorism in just 3 years. Sri Lanka must be judged on this achievement against the unfortunate collateral damage of 8000 “civilian” dead.
The UN Country Team gave 7721 killed (Aug 2008 to 13 May 2009)with 18,479 injured.
A Survey conducted by GoSL in the North placed the dead at 7400and missing at 2600.
A Population survey by Tamil Teachers in the North in July 2011covering migration, deaths, untraceable persons from 2005 to 2009 revealed 7896 deadand 1102 dead from natural illness/sickness.
So we have 3 figures 7721 / 7400 / 7896 on the ground figures which can be proved as against guestimates that run into 40,000, 75,000, 125,000 and even 200,000 supposed to be dead. Out of curiosity, just to even believe this number can those make these wild allegations kindly produce the names or some form of IDs of the dead. So far its been 12 years and haven’t even found a mass grave to have dumped 40,000 dead!
So we think this collateral damage of 7721 dead is worth 12years of no LTTE, no LTTE terror, no LTTE assassinations, no LTTE suicide missions, no LTTE child soldiers.
But the global policemen, the self-appointed human rights angels & democracy deliverers wish to present a fake picture of what took place in Sri Lanka while hiding their sordid record of collateral damage by illegal interventions upon nations that had no harm or even threatened them.
According to Long War Journal, Bureau of Investigative Journalism 90% of people killed by US drone strikes were not intended targets.
How is it that Western scholars get away claiming ‘systematic weakness in counting civilian casualties from NGOs, media citing inherent lack of many things but the same is not applicable to Sri Lanka?
The US has even redefined non-combatants. US has decided that all military-aged males in the vicinity of a target are deemed to be combatants. Now imagine if this was applicable to the area the LTTE was confined to with a minimum 10,000 civilian armed LTTE unit?
President Obama drops 26171 bombs in a single year and walks away with the Nobel Peace prize. All military-aged males killed in these air strikes were declared combatants. How’s that for human rights!
In 2019, a Presidential executive order revoked requirement for US intelligence officials to publicly report number of civilians killed in counter terrorism missions. The same country that is hiding civilian deaths by them are demanding accountability from Sri Lanka – is this not hypocrisy?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55225827
Costs of War Project at Brown University, USA claims US air strikes in Afghanistan has increased civilian fatalities by 330% since 2017. The US study claims in 2019 alone 700 civilians have been killed by US & Allies – the very countries presenting resolutions against Sri Lanka!
According to Save the Children an average of 5 children have been killed or wounded every day since 2006 (14 years) – that’s over 25,550 children killed! Why have we not seen UN or UNHRC come forward to stop the killing of children in Afghanistan?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55039535
Without wasting time on Sri Lanka, a conflict that ended in 2009 and with peace from LTTE for 12 years, why is the UN & UNHRC not trying to stop carnage of children from US & Allies air strikes?
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2020/AirstrikesAfghanistan
Why is this collateral damage from illegal interventions not a concern for Michele Bachelet or UN Chief Antonio Guterres? Shouldn’t they be using the UN system to prevent killing of innocent unarmed civilians especially when these conflicts are illegal and with no UN mandate?
It is because of these blatant hypocrisies and biases by the UN and its officials that the People of Sri Lanka are confronting the baseless allegations being made most from LTTE sources and blurting by mouthpieces funded by LTTE kitty.
Saving 300,000 lives against the loss of 7721 lives, we think is worth the 3 years that took to end 30 years of terror. We really don’t care what the world says, as in our eyes our war heroes did what no national army could even dream of doing. The War on Terror was declared by US & Allies in 2001 – can they tell us what war against terrorism they have won against the deaths and destruction of nations they must be held accountable f or?
We suffered 30 years of terror. UN or UNHRC or the diplomats did nothing to stop LTTE killing.
When LTTE was vanquished in 2009, the UN, UNHRC and diplomats are asking how and why. This speaks volumes of their real intent. They never wanted Sri Lanka to end terrorism or LTTE.
Well, we are sorry to say the LTTE ground force is no more, the best they can now try to do is to put Rudkrakumaran into a tiger uniform and send him to the Vanni with the LTTE Diaspora brats regularly appearing on Instagram!
Shenali D Waduge
