It Was Wrong To Label The LTTE As A Terrorist Organization

By Pitasanna Shanmugathas –September 30, 2016

Pitasanna Shanmugathas

The historical use of the word “terrorist” clearly indicates that the word is a political tool and is never used in its intended sense. According to political intellectual Noam Chomsky, if we apply the terrorism laws espoused by the United States against their own policies, we will find that the United States is the world’s leading terrorist state.

The United States has overthrown democratically elected governments in Latin America; destroyed Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War; destabilized the Middle East; conducts drone operations killing innocent men, women and children; the United States indefinitely detains individuals in Guantanamo Bay without due process, among several other egregious acts. The United States, despite committing such horrendous actions, is never labeled as a terrorist state.

The United States has used the word “terrorist” against Fidel Castro who sought to liberate his country by overthrowing a U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. The United States labeled Nelson Mandela as a terrorist, and only recently did Mandela get removed from the terrorist list. The United States labeled Saddam Hussein as a “terrorist” despite the fact that during the 1980s, the United States was providing weapons technology to Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, the United States supports one of the most radical nations in the Middle East—Saudi Arabia, which has killed innocent women and children in Yemen, and continues to terrorize its own citizens through brutal forms of punishment and executions.

If we look at India’s action in Kashmir, India unlawfully occupies Kashmiri land, and stifles citizens’ right to voice their opinion for independence. India kills Kashmiri leaders who oppose the actions of the Indian forces, and injures Kashmiri civilians using pellet guns. However, India is never regarded as a terrorist state even though the superpower commits terrorist actions both domestically and abroad.

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