United States & the struggle for Tamil Eelam An open letter to Congressman Frank Pallone Professor Aaron Rajah, 19 October 2006 Comment by tamilnation.org: The words of Congressman Pallone reminds us yet again of something that Arundhati Roy said some three years ago: "..Way back in 1988, on the 3rd of July, the U.S.S. Vincennes, a missile cruiser stationed in the Persian Gulf, accidentally shot down an Iranian airliner and killed 290 civilian passengers. George Bush the First, who was at the time on his presidential campaign, was asked to comment on the incident. He said quite subtly, "I will never apologize for the United States. I don't care what the facts are." I don't care what the facts are. What a perfect maxim for the New American Empire. Perhaps a slight variation on the theme would be more apposite: The facts can be whatever we want them to be..." Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy (Buy One, Get One Free)
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Dear Congressman Frank Pallone,
I had an opportunity to read your statement dated August 19th, 2006 regarding the Habarana, Sri Lanka Navy attack by suspected rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on October 16th, 2006.
I have some interesting observations and some questions regarding your statement and would like to clarify some of the questions that concern not only me as a United States citizen but also the Tamil people in North East of the island.
1. “I strongly condemn the brutal attack on Monday near Habarana, Sri Lanka that killed more than 90 people, mostly Sri Lankan sailors. The navy personal were unarmed and heading home for vacation. This act of terrorism is inexcusable. I extend my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and to the Government of Sri Lanka.”
In any attack against armed forces or armed conflicts, all military actions by both troops and rebels are always brutal. Violence and brutality always goes hand in hand and adding brutality to your statement does not mean anything; however, the statement “…Navy personal were unarmed” is quite deceptive and misleading to the American public. 
Although the media, including AFP news agencies, published the photos (please refer to attached photos) of numerous arms, body amours and military hard hats collected of the so-called unarmed Navy personnel killed on that day you have decided to portray to the American people that the Navy was unarmed and on a vacation to a resort island, thus eluding the main issue in this entire conflict which is the value of life. It is no secret the value of life was never honored by the Sri Lankan armed forces. This was clear by the continuous day-to-day brutal killings of Tamil civilians by well-orchestrated Sri Lankan government forces. Your misleading statement only contributed to the bias and one-sided tunnel vision on the conflict and will be only counter productive to your efforts to bring peace to the island nation. It seems the only equal opportunity killer in Sri Lanka these days is the spiral of violence which does not discriminate well-armed military, rebels and always unarmed innocent civilians and yet you sadly decided only to be alarmed by the deaths of well armed Sri Lankan Navy personnel. I am simply puzzled by your statements on this regard.
2. “…I extend my deepest condolences to bereaved families….” It is very much sad to note you have not given your deepest condolences to the numerous unarmed Tamil civilians killed in the recent killing spree by both Sri Lankan armed forces, including the para military and Sinhalese mobs. Indeed the prime example was the recent air attack on Tamil orphan school children on August 14th, 2006. 
O'.... Do you hear our voices?
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Avoiding to condemn the killings of 61 school children and wounding 129 in the Mullaithivu district only validates your biased view that only real civilians in the island of Sri Lanka are “unarmed” Sri Lankan Sinhalese Navy personnel.
I strongly feel, being the Founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Sri Lanka, you can be much more effective in the peace process of Sri Lanka conflict by not making biased statements that mislead the American people. You may easily make efforts to bring together both warring parties for a negotiating settlement in Sri Lanka. In addition, you may also call upon and meet the expatriate Tamil community to find the Tamil aspiration of the island, just like your recent opportunity to meet and talk to the president of Sri Lanka. After all, one should have the opportunity to talk to both parties of a conflict to better effectively promote peace in Sri Lanka.
I look forward to hear from you shortly,
Sincerely,
Professor Aaron Rajah
San Diego, California.
United States of America.
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