Senator Lee Rhiannon the Green Party Parliament of Australia Dear Senator Rhiannon, Just saw your Twitter message claiming to be a step closer to having Sri Lanka's former President Mahinda Rajapakse and his brothers tried in the Hague for "war crimes". Please note that no 'war crimes' have been proven against any member of Sri Lanka's government or her armed forces. There are such allegations being made by the pro-Tamil Tiger groups living in Australia and western countries. Do not jump to conclusions based on one sided allegations and propaganda coming from those who funded and backed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), aka Tamil Tigers, who were designated as an international terrorist movement by the UN Security Council per Resolution Number 1373 of September 2001. The FBI described the LTTE as the most brutal terrorist group operating any where in the world. In the war that was thrust on Sri Lanka by the Tamil Tigers at the end of 2005 (refer HRW report of March 2006 wherein they detailed the large scale extortion of the Tamil expatriate community to raise funds for the purpose of launching their so called final war of liberation), which they started without any provocation whatsoever. The LTTE not only forced the resident Tamil civilian population living in the Vanni region to move with the retreating Tamil Tiger fighting forces, to be exploited for their labour, conscripted to replace fallen cadre and to finally form a human shield to protect the LTTE fighters from harm as they engaged the Sri Lankan armed forces. The Sri Lankan Armed Forces not only had to do battle against the armed Tamil Tiger fighting units, but they also had to devise ways of extricating the trapped Tamil civilians from the clutches of the LTTE terrorists with minimum harm to them, thereafter move them to safety in the special welfare camps that were set up in the Vavunia area, till such time as the region extending to 6,000 sq. km. could be de-mined of over 1.5 million landmines that had been planted by the Tamil Tigers, homes repaired or rebuilt, infrastructure put in place and re-settle in their former places of residence with new life skills and livelihood assistance. This was achieved within a short space of a little over three years.
You should also study the geospatial report prepared by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for Amnesty Int'l and Human Rights Watch to determine the number of burial plots and use of heavy weapons if any by the Sri Lankan forces in the final area in Mullativu earmarked for the IDPs which area was infiltrated by the armed units of the LTTE who continued to fire their heavy weapons including artillery guns, Mortars, etc. at the Sri Lankan Army based on a series of satellite images, a copy of which is submitted in attachment. You are free to check out the AAAS website and see the same report in their website. War crimes if at all were committed for over 32 years by the Tamil Tigers which brutality was actively supported by several Tamil expatriate groups including those in Australia. If you are basing your position on the Channel IV News videos, I would like to add that you are again being misled by the staged photos provided to Channel 4 by the same Tamil expatriate groups, because none of those pictures shown have been filmed by the television station. Their authenticity have been challenged by experts such as Mr. Siri Hewavitharane who is a world renowned expert on video technology presently living in Sydney, Australia who is consulted even by the US Defence Department. You being a leader of a recognized political party in Australia should not get misled by the Tamil Tiger propaganda, but should look at the issues by considering the views of all parties involved before you judge or reach conclusions. I am a supporter of the Greens in Canada and as a friend of the environment strongly back their policies. It is a serious error on your part to be taken in by the lies and propaganda of an extremist terrorist group which incessantly waged a tyrannical armed action against all the communities in Sri Lanka. The LTTE is responsible for killing the largest number of Tamils from their own community. Wake up to facts and avoid trying to win cheap popularity just to woo the votes of Tamils (both pro-LTTE and others) living in Australia. Yours sincerely, Mahinda Gunasekera 84 Tambrook Drive Toronto, Ontario Canada M1W 3L9
