‘Sri Lanka's Killing Fields’ in US Congress: Sponsor Congressman McGovern, Supporter of Colombian terrorist FARC

Co-sponsor of the controversial documentary ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Field’ produced by Channel 4 scheduled to be screened at Capitol Visitor Center of the United States Congress on Friday, 15 July and the keynote speaker at the screening Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern has a dubious record of maintaining a rapport and supporting the Colombian rebel organization Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) whose main aim is to overthrow the democratic government of Colombia.

Now, Mr. McGovern is in league with organizations that are aiming to destabilize the democratic government of Sri Lanka, halt that government’s initiation toward reconciliation and disrupt the consolidation of peace this South Asian nation gained with the defeat of terrorist/separatist Tamil Tigers or the LTTE in May 2009.

The mechanism of a section of Sri Lanka Tamil Diaspora in the United States by strategically influencing the international rights groups and the U.S. lawmakers, in the name of human rights for the Sri Lanka Tamil ethnic group, is to haul the leaders of the Sri Lanka government to international criminal court and destabilize the nation in return for the total annihilation of the Tamil Tigers. The result expected is the creation of an international awareness that the creation of an ethnic state in the north and east of that country inevitable.

It is to this scenario that Congressman Jim McGovern, the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission previously known as the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, has emerged in support of the international machination to create a ‘Kosovo-type’ situation in Sri Lanka.

Mr. McGovern is the ideal candidate to spearhead this “Kosovo-type’ agenda that the Sri Lanka terrorist leader V. Prabhakaran could not achieve during his 26-year blatant terror unleashed against his own Tamil people and others in Sri Lanka.

Here’s how Congressman Jim McGovern fits into the ‘agenda’ of creating a mindset among some nations in the West and international rights groups that Sri Lankan minority Tamil ethnic group need to have a separate/independent state.

US Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass) was offering the Marxist FARC terrorists assistance in undermining the democratic Colombian government discovered on the computer of FARC rebel leader Raul Reyes after his death in March 2008 at an Ecuadorean FARC camp.

A military strike killed Raúl Reyes, No. 2 in command of the FARC, Colombia's most notorious terrorist group. The Reyes hard drive reveals an ardent effort to do business directly with the FARC by Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass). Mr. McGovern has been working with an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia's elected and popular government.

The Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces in Colombia (FARC) is designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in the United States.

Interpol at that time confirmed that documents on the captured computer of FARC leader had not been manufactured by the Colombian government.

One of the documents shows that US Congressman McGovern offering the FARC terrorists help in undermining Colombia’s elected and popular government. Colombia is America’s closest ally in South America.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the information discovered on the FARC computers:

The Reyes hard drive reveals an ardent effort to do business directly with the FARC by Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass.), a leading opponent of the free-trade deal. Mr. McGovern has been working with an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia’s elected and popular government.

Mr. McGovern’s press office says the Congressman is merely working at the behest of families whose relatives are held as FARC kidnap hostages. However, his go-between’s letters reveal more than routine intervention.

The US Media at that time completely ignored this story! The question posed at that time: You would think that the fact that a Democratic Leader was found doing business with a terror group and was undermining a staunch US ally at the same time might garner some media attention. You’d think?

Democracy sometimes is defined as being a work in progress and under that standard Colombia is recording measurable improvement, an expert on Colombia at that time told the US Government web site America.gov.

Gerard Martin, director of the Colombia program at Georgetown University in Washington, said that despite rampant drug trafficking and civil unrest that has continued for more than 40 years, Colombia is becoming a Latin American success story and much of its democratic system of government resembles that of the United States.

Martin said that over the last 50 years, every Colombian president peacefully has handed the reins of power to his successor in the same manner that outgoing U.S. presidents, starting with George Washington in 1797, have been followed by their elected successors.

The media release of the screening and subsequent discussion of ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Field said:

(Begin Text): Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International-USA, the International Crisis Group, and the Open Society Foundations host a screening and discussion the harrowing documentary Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields.

First aired on British television in June, the film captures, through live footage and extensive interviews with witnesses, the atrocities committed against civilians during the Sri Lankan Armed Forces' final campaign to defeat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in early 2009. The film was recently screened to wide acclaim at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and has fueled renewed calls for an international response to these crimes.

U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern, co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, will give introductory remarks before the screening. After the film, panelists will discuss ongoing efforts to further accountability in Sri Lanka, including the findings of the recent UN Panel of Experts report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, and the U.S. response to these developments.

Refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public. (End Text)

The McGovern-sponsored resolution to the House on March 29 this year stated:
“Commends United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for creating the three-person panel to advise the Secretary-General on the implementation of the government of Sri Lanka's commitment to human rights accountability.

Urges the government of Sri Lanka, the international community, and the United Nations (U.N.) to establish an independent international accountability mechanism to look into reports of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other human rights violations committed by both sides during and after the war in Sri Lanka. Urges the government of Sri Lanka to allow humanitarian organizations, aid agencies, journalists, and international human rights groups greater freedom of movement, including in internally-displaced persons camps; Insists that the President develop a policy towards Sri Lanka that reflects U.S. interests.”

The United States Congressman James McGovern has now become the ideal candidate to create a ‘Kosovo-type’ atmosphere in the international arena for those who are bent on destabilizing the democratically-elected government of Sri Lanka in the name of ‘justice to Sri Lanka Tamils’.

- Asian Tribune -