I am writing regarding your recent statement as regards Sri Lanka as I question your judgment as well as your source of information on Sri Lanka. While it is commendable that you should want to promote education in the world, I believe it should start with educating yourself on the real the situation in Sri Lanka before making such a misinformed statement. I read that the government of Sri Lanka, through its ambassador to France, has asked for a retraction. I am writing this to ask for an immediate retraction and apology for misrepresenting to the world what is taking place in Sri Lanka. Yours is another UN organisation that has made the mistake of believing in terrorist stooges in your offices in Colombo, and blindly issuing statements without any knowledge of events in Sri Lanka.
In an effort to educate you, I am bringing to your attention the following:
The LTTE has been banned as a terrorist organisation by the EU as well as the US, Canada, India, Malaysia and several other countries. Therefore, the "Voice of Tigers" radio station is nothing but the propaganda arm of the Tiger terrorists, a clandestine radio station directly operated by LTTE personnel not by civilians as you claim.
If they had been ‘civilians’ they would not have been operating a terrorist propaganda unit. In this regard I would like to know if UNESCO condemned the bombing by NATO in 1999 when not one but eight radio stations were bombed in Yugoslavia. Is it that even for the UN there is one law for the West and another for the Third World?
Reference your statement regarding the Geneva Convention, what makes you think that the Tigers represent a country? They are a terrorist group terrorising the people of Sri Lanka and challenging the democratically elected government of the country that is doing its best to protect its people from the Tiger terrorist menace. Just prior to your statement the terrorists tried to assassinate a Cabinet minister by using a suicide bomber.
On the same day another bomb killed civilians including children in a suburb of Colombo. Were you unaware of these incidents or is your "education and knowledge" selective? For the Geneva Convention to apply, war or confrontation has to be between two sovereign states. The UN does not recognise the LTTE as a sovereign state, but it appears that UNESCO does. Does UNESCO recognise all terrorist groups as "sovereign states"? Could you advise us what international convention gives protection to terrorists and facilities which are run by terrorists to broadcast hate, war, glorify suicide bombings, and boast of civilians being killed by acts of terrorism?
It is not too late to remedy your mistake and retract your misinformed statement. I would suggest that at the same time you reprimand your office in Colombo and ensure that your staff adhere to the principles of the UN.
Ira de Silva, Canada.
In an effort to educate you, I am bringing to your attention the following:
The LTTE has been banned as a terrorist organisation by the EU as well as the US, Canada, India, Malaysia and several other countries. Therefore, the "Voice of Tigers" radio station is nothing but the propaganda arm of the Tiger terrorists, a clandestine radio station directly operated by LTTE personnel not by civilians as you claim.
If they had been ‘civilians’ they would not have been operating a terrorist propaganda unit. In this regard I would like to know if UNESCO condemned the bombing by NATO in 1999 when not one but eight radio stations were bombed in Yugoslavia. Is it that even for the UN there is one law for the West and another for the Third World?
Reference your statement regarding the Geneva Convention, what makes you think that the Tigers represent a country? They are a terrorist group terrorising the people of Sri Lanka and challenging the democratically elected government of the country that is doing its best to protect its people from the Tiger terrorist menace. Just prior to your statement the terrorists tried to assassinate a Cabinet minister by using a suicide bomber.
On the same day another bomb killed civilians including children in a suburb of Colombo. Were you unaware of these incidents or is your "education and knowledge" selective? For the Geneva Convention to apply, war or confrontation has to be between two sovereign states. The UN does not recognise the LTTE as a sovereign state, but it appears that UNESCO does. Does UNESCO recognise all terrorist groups as "sovereign states"? Could you advise us what international convention gives protection to terrorists and facilities which are run by terrorists to broadcast hate, war, glorify suicide bombings, and boast of civilians being killed by acts of terrorism?
It is not too late to remedy your mistake and retract your misinformed statement. I would suggest that at the same time you reprimand your office in Colombo and ensure that your staff adhere to the principles of the UN.
Ira de Silva, Canada.
