The three sequential pictures, of the planned murder of Balachandran Prabakaran (Feb. 19), are unerasable evidence. They show the wanton and brutal murder of a child. Sri Lanka has consciously violated the Geneva Convention on the handling of women and children during the course of war. The 12-year-old boy was of absolutely no threat.
It is also the duty of the Indian government, which went out of its way to provide all the logistics to eliminate the Tamil Tigers in this war, to explain why it is turning a blind eye to evidence of unpardonable atrocities. Why it is bending backwards to please the Rajapaksa government? Are there deeper reasons?
A. Thirugnanasambantham,
Coimbatore
When a war itself is a crime, talking of war crimes is meaningless. No government would ever punish its soldiers for war crimes though it would readily do so when it comes to soldiers of other governments. It appears to be a futile exercise for anybody to try to bring pressure on Sri Lanka to make it prosecute its military personnel after the war against the LTTE. Instead of digging up graves, and skeletons, the right thing for the world community to do at this juncture is: to own up to its shameful failure to prevent such shocking events even in this modern era when we boast of democratic governments based on justice and equality; donate hefty amounts to the Sri Lanka government for the rehabilitation of its citizens affected by its war against the LTTE, and ensure the carrying out of meaningful rehabilitation measures expeditiously and equitably under U.N. supervision.
S.P. Asokan,
Chennai
