Obviously, because KP is not technically a combatant. Where did I explicitly say KP was going to be tried under a military court?? I was actually talking about LTTE prisoners being put on trial just before then…

The same reasons US & UK along with rest of the “coalition of the willing” are not investigated for their alleged abuses! Consistency! If you don’t catch the big fish, it looks rather hypocritical to try fry the small fish! DUH!!!

The latter are open to international scrutiny.

Are you kidding me? Which planet are you from???? As for the abuses of NATO forces, what you hear is only the tip of the ice berg, they only came to surface because of infamous LEAKS (like Abhu Grhaib, wiki leaks video of collateral murder, etc..) and other furious protests that almost turned into riots by the civilians who were victims… NOT because of opennesses belle (even heshan agreed on this point on a previous thread and quietly swallowed his own foot if i recall correctly!). You can twist the facts any which way you want, but aint gonna fool nobody….

There we go again with the comparison with the West. What is it you say–that others keep bringing in this comparison?

Ok I’m glad to know that you don’t want to play this comparison game either. Settled! If you promise not to compares SL to Western double standards, then mum’s the word!

What I say is you have to protest against the lack of democracy in Sri Lanka but you can’t have a motive to sink Sri Lanka,because it’s our motherland!

Cannot agree more longus. Its tricky but can be done.

Let’s do it!

karath waradi, nokarath waradi… :-S

No crackers…just stating the current situation….

To be open I am skeptical too… but so was I about Rajapakse on a previous occasion and he came through… so I am hoping for a similar result.. that he will pleasantly surprise me…. Benefit of the doubt goes to the man this time… do not want to make the same mistake twice!!! The man has an uncanny ability to do the least expected!!!

Only time will tell and this thread will be long gone!! 🙂

And I bet you they never will, at least not trials where they will have to give testimony. They will either be “rehabilitated” (code word for “We’ll let you go if you keep mum”) or “disappeared” (codeword for “killed”).

“btw belle, do you know that some military trials are carried out within closed doors? due to classified information being used. your argument of being scared of information going to the public just falls apart. in fact most alqueida suspects are tried in closed military trials, if they get a trial at all haha stiilll waiiittiiinnggg. not just that, even some of the inquiries (like the recent one in UK) carried out by NATO countries into alleged abuses and irregularities were carried out within closed doors!!!”

There we go again with the comparison with the West. What is it you say–that others keep bringing in this comparison?

How is this relevant? KP would not have been prosecuted in a military trial but under your terrorism act.

We are talking about SL’s civil war, alleged killings of innocent citizens. For me, that doesn’t compare with international wars. The latter are open to international scrutiny. Due to issues of sovereignty, countries can legally keep out international and any kind of public scrutiny in a civil war. Which is what SL did. We know about US’ behaviour in Iraq, Afghanistan. That is the reason why you guys are even able to make such comparisons. Except there is absolutely no information on SL government’s behaviour in the war theatre. Given the lack of knowledge with regard to GOSL and SLA behaviour, you have no justification in pointing fingers at US as a bigger infringer of human rights because you only know the figures on one side of the picture.

The US is trying to keep the non-Western world destabilised? If they have so much power, can you please explain to me how it was that the US and other Western powers did not get their way in getting the UN HR Council to agree to investigate SL for war crimes?

What is wrong with applying international norms to judging SL? Isn’t it a signatory of the Geneva Convention and a member of the UN?

You know who sets the US and the West as the benchmark? Guys like you who are desperately trying to justify GOSL behaviour. The only argument you have is this: If the West can do it, so can we! Actually the West CAN’T do it—it has never been able to evade scrutiny like SL has, to escape all accountability for itself as SL has managed to do so far.

Save your crackers.Dont light them yet. Methinks this is just a ploy.All arranged for the gallery boys. An easy escape route to defuse the Samurdhi protests. I bet the protagonist has been promised a handsome reward for ‘foregoing’ his portfolio for the moment. See what powers he will wield next. Ultimately, the name of the game is to fool the voters and make as much out of the country as possible. They wont dare anger Mervyn because he knows a lot that you and I dont. Wait for the next move…………. coming to a theatre near you.

The village idiot has been stripped of portfolio and suspended of the SLFP membership….

Now who said ” the true state of affairs in Sri Lanka under the Rajapakse regime. And the state of affairs simply is that anyone who has the goodwill of the Rajapakse dynasty can pretty much do as they please.” – Quote from this article ….. Wrong again!!! 🙂

Correct! I’m happy if history has taught its lessons to the people. To understand the lessons of history you need a sensitive and receptive mind.

A common problem in most protests is the one you rightly mention. People of various motives jump the bandwagon and try to work their own agenda resulting in damage to the main objective of the protest. Recent protests in Toronto is a case in point. The majority of people who took part in that protest against the G8 and G10 summit had peaceful intentions but a group within that crowd called (by the police)the Black Brigade had a violent agenda which resulted in the and mayhem and destruction of public property.

What I say is you have to protest against the lack of democracy in Sri Lanka but you can’t have a motive to sink Sri Lanka,because it’s our motherland!