THERE was a time when our Human Rights Activists were seen regularly at the Lipton Circus, Fort Railway Station and various other venues at the drop of a hat, protesting against rights violations and killings. If the totality of such human right violations and killings are taken as a whole, the current human rights violations and killings that have been taking place in the North and also the killings outside the North, but planned by those in the North, are many times worse, by any standard, I would require more than one full page of this newspaper, even for a brief description of the atrocities committed. The deafening silence of the so called Human Rights Activists and the Peace Organisations on these matters speaks volumes for their sincerity of purpose.
Only recently, the head of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, filed a case and obtained a Court injunction preventing the defence authorities from sending some youths residing at lodges in Colombo, to the North. His total silence on the fate of the innocent youth, men and women in the North, requires immediate clarification. Then again sometime back, the Head of the Anti-War Front, brought the dead body of a slain M. P. to the Town Hall premises, for exhibition, and kept it for hours, apparently to spotlight the 'crime' for locals as well as foreigners. As to why he could not utter a single word over the gruesome killings of innocent men, women and children, speaks volumes for his sincerity of purpose. After all, the value of a human life is same, irrespective of whether the deceased is an M. P. or an ordinary citizen, unable to have three square meals a day. Will he care to explain? After all, he was allowed very large space in the Island Newspaper on 14th February, in which he pleaded for amnesty for the LTTE leaders. A letter written by a reader, pin-pointing glaring discrepancies in the said letter, still remains unanswered. Perhaps, he believes in the dictum "Silence is golden"
The gross silence of the UNP over the above killings and the human right violations, who made capital out of the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunga, also needs clarification. Will they touch on this subject at their next press conference?
(Courtesy: The Island)
