Sri Lanka: Letter - ideology of Prabhakaran and the LTTE is a notion of racial supremacy no different from that of the Fuhrer or the II Duce

Republished for information and discussion only. This report does not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Consulting

Source: Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Author "A Sri Lankan Friend of Germany"

German Ambassador,

I felt compelled to write to you after reading an excerpts off your speech "Maintaining the Balance of Peace, Building and Economic Growth in, Sri Lanka: the German Perspective" delivered at a business forum recently.

There were two main strands to your speech: First, that Germany and Europe have achieved much in half a century of peace and co-operation. Second, that Germans have decided to concentrate support on those countries and governments which espouse the principles above.

Let me deal with the former first.

Sir, I cannot agree with you more that the material prosperity of Europe has been built on the foundations of peace and co-operation of the last five plus decades. Such a prosperity was built by sagacious leaders such as General Charles de Gaulle in France, Chancellor Konroad Adenuaer in what was the Federal Republic of Germany and a multitude of British leaders. One cannot agree with you more on this point.

However, sir, like most political speeches you are saying only half of the truth. That very prosperity you speak of was built only and only after democratic Europe came together to defeat the scourge of Nazi terror and its. Italian appendage, Mussolini's fascism. If the principles of racial superiority and fascism had triumphed there, would have been no peaceful, prosperous Europe to speak of. Fortunately, leaders such as Sir Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Josef Stalin of the Soviet Union drew a line in the sand against Nazism. Without the sacrifices made by these countries, we may well be into the seventh decade of the thousand year reign of the Third Reich.

Sir, the ideology of Velupillai Prabhakaran and the LTTE is a notion of racial supremacy no different from that of the Fuhrer or the II Duce. Lest you have forgotten, one of the worst instances of ethnic cleansing in the second half of the 20th century took place when tens of thousands of Muslims were ordered to leave northern Sri Lankan within 24 hours by the LTTE. This was after hundreds of Muslims were gunned down while at prayer in mosques. I will not speak of the other atrocities carried out by the so- called Tamil "rebels" except to mention that the Tigers have massacred more of their own brethren than they have killed either Sinhalese or Muslims.

As you are well aware, many Sri Lankan leaders have made efforts to find a lasting solution to the ethnic problem through negotiation. Unfortunately, many of them were assassinated by the Tigers including President Premadasa, Minister Gamini Dissanayake and the highly respected Tamil intellectual, Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam. And the one Indian leader who went out of his way to find accommodation with the LTTE, Shri Rajiv Gandhi was blown up by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber.

Sir, like many of the younger generation of Germans you may not have lived through the horrors of Nizism. But as one who has experienced first hand, the horrors of Tiger terrorism, I can assure you that it is a nightmare that has gone on for too long. Even in the darkest days of Nazism, there were brave Germans who sought to end the Fuhrer's terror including Count Claus Von Stauffenber. Some of the bravest souls in this country are Tamils like TULF leader V. Anandasangaree who have stood up against the Tigers despite the grave personal threat to them.

If there is one thing that a majority of Sri Lankans from all races and religions agree on is that we cannot ever prosper unless the scourge of terrorism is defeated. This is not to say that minorities in Sri Lanka have no legitimate grievances or aspirations to achieve a greater degree of devolution. But no one in his or her right mind would agree that such a compromise is possible with a terror group that claims to be the sole representation of Tamils, simply by killing all others who do not support its holocaustic ways.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has re-iterated his commitment to find a lasting political solution once the back of Tiger terrorism is broken. I have no doubt he is sincere. Although sections of the foreign media have typecast President Rajapaksa as a "hardliner", let me remind you it is the so-called hardliners who have been able to find lasting solutions to vexed problems. These include Menachem Begin, the late Likud Prime Minister who negotiated the handover of the Sinai to Egypt and President Nixon who opened diplomatic ties with Mao's China when a lesser American leader would have been branded a traitor.

Let me ask you, Mr Ambassador, what is the alternative to defeating the Tigers? Did not one British Prime Minister try the same approach with Hitler? Did not Neville Chamberlain boast that he has bought "peace in our time". Less that a year later, Nazi forces attacked Danzig (Gdansk) in Poland triggering the second world war and pushing Chamberlain to the dustbin of history.

Sir, the government of Sri Lanka has launched an all out assault on the Tigers only out of necessity. Although it will undoubtedly lead to temporary suffering among the civilians in the North, the offensive is a sine qua non for a peaceful, prosperous Sri Lanka just as the defeat of Nazism was in spite of the colossal damage and destruction it caused. We already have a template in the East of the country where a democratic government has been established under an ex-rebel and plans are underway to develop the region in earnest. In a poor country like Sri Lanka, it is economic disenfranchisement that breeds isolation and despair most and needs to be addressed at a fundamental level.

Let me deal with your second point. It is disappointing that you are taking a holier than thou attitude regarding the defeat of fascism in Sri Lanka, when our shared experience at the hands of two psychopaths should have brought us closer. Let there be no doubt that every Sri Lankan yearns for peace and prosperity. But such cannot exist in a vacuum. Just as the defeat of Nazism was a necessary first step towards German renaissance, the defeat of Prabhakaran is essential to Sri Lanka's long-term prosperity.

My own experience having visited Germany recently is that Germans deserve a more balanced and nuanced representation in Sri Lanka than your Excellency has been able to provide so far. I have met countless Germans who have spoken with warmth about the vacations they have spent in Sri Lanka, including many who have had their honeymoons here. When we think of Germany, we would like to think of classy individuals like the former Chancellor Helmut Kohl who refused to leave Sri Lanka immediately after the tsunami because of the care and support he had received from ordinary Sri Lankans.

Instead, what we have now is with your active involvement, efforts being made to reduce ties between Sri Lanka and Germany to a nadir. Already, Germany has halted economic assistance to Sri Lanka. And based on input from your office, the German Foreign Ministry carries a unique advisory against "non-essential" travel to Sri Lanka on its website. I do not want to name other countries, but such warnings are not carried even with reference to nations where foreign tourists have been deliberately targeted. Several travel agents in Germany remarked that first time tourists, were extremely reluctant to travel to Sri Lanka even after a ticket has been issued, once they are exposed to the travel advisory, and the, resultant implications for travel insurance.

Let there be no doubt this is Sri Lankans hour of need. It is said that acquaintances know who you are when you are doing well but only true friends will come to you when you need them. Actions by people such as yourself are damaging cherished ties between two historical friends who have suffered much in the last century at the hands of two madmen.

Let me assure you sir, we shall overcome our present problems, not because the government says so but because it is the desire of every right-thinking Sri Lankan. And we shall always remember who our friends were in our hour of need. It is my sincere hope that the extremely one-sided actions taken by your office during your tenure here as Ambassador will not damage the long-term ties between Sri Lanka and Germany.

A Sri Lankan Friend of Germany

Published by Mike Hitchen, Mike Hitchen Consulting
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