I have noticed recently that daily newspapers have been carrying a lot of international news with photos to catch the attention of readers. I am glad to be informed of such international events in this rapidly changing world whether they are good or bad news.

When I read international news events in the papers, I have noticed one point that violent acts of terrorism are rife in the world. Every day we have to read in the papers disgusting news such as the death of a minister by a bomb blast in Sri Lanka, the cancellation of a ceasefire agreement as Sri Lankan government pressured the Tamil Tiger rebels, fierce fighting between Israelis and Palestine’s Hamas on Gaza Strip, fighting between the Hamas group and the Fatah group, the deaths of the Sunni region leader and many people due to suicide bomb attacks in Iraq, the US Air Force’s dropping 18 tons of bombs on the bushes of date palms where Al Qaedai are assumed to have been stationed in ten minutes, massacre of many people including foreigners at a five-star hotel in Afghanistan in a Taliban suicide bomb attack, bomb explosions in Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan and many deaths and casualties in the northern border of Pakistan due to fierce fighting between the government troops and tribal groups.

What I have noticed is that most of the attacks were targeted at the people of the same country. The reason behind why they killed each other was the colonialists.

The most easy and effective way to colonize other countries has been the use of divide and rule policy and it is popular till today. The root cause of each other’s killings and hatred is the evil legacy of the colonialist period. For example, the conflict between Tamil Tiger rebels, who have been demanding the succession from Sri Lanka, and Sinhali Central Government stemmed from the fact that the British colonialists brought Tamil workers of cheap labour from India to grow coffee on Ceylon. Obedient Tamils were taught English at missionary schools and trained as bureaucrats under the leadership of the colonialist government. And this caused divides between the Sinhali majority and minority Tamils. As a result of the divide and rule policy of the colonialists, more than 7,000 people have died so far and grudge between the two sides will never disappear.

Similarly, Israel-Palestine crisis resulted from secretly sending Jews to the territory of the British-controlled Palestine under the Balfour Declaration. That problem still costs countless number of deaths and it is far away from being solved.

Besides the colonialists’ evil legacies, many problems can still be found in West Asia regions such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan at the instigation of the neo-colonialists. In those countries, a large number of innocent civilians have been killed owing to forcible interference of some powerful nations and their sowing of discord among the civilians, the attacks of foreign troops and the attacks among the people of the same country. Study has shown that there have been between 151,000 and 600,000 deaths in Iraq after 2003.

In whatever era, old or new, the most effective way for the colonialists to dominate other countries is to drive a wedge in order to cause disunity in a targeted organization or country. If there is a crack, water can penetrate it. If there is a bruise with an opening, it can be infected with virus. The US won the Afghan war in 2001 only with the use of some special troops without using any tank, artillery or infantry. The Americans won because they were able to persuade the armed tribal groups of the western Afghan region.

Under any circumstance, who is the winner when the people of a nation fight among themselves? There can no way be any benefits.

If we study the internal conflicts, it can be found that they all last long — the Palestine issue (from 1948 to date; 60 years), the Sri Lanka issue (from 1963 to date; 45 years), the Afghan issue (from 2001 to date; 7 years), and the Iraq issue (from 2003 to date; 5 years). If a question is asked when those conflicts will end, I think no one will be able to give a definite answer.

So who can gain benefits due to the endless conflicts? The conflict of a nation is like a bruise that is breeding. With the bruise bleeding, the sufferer will lose strength gradually. When he becomes infected with virus, he may become unconscious with his bruise incurable.

Likewise, there are some countries that have almost broken up due to conflicts, for example, Somalia and Rwanda. There were also some unions that broke up like Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. I have never heard that a nation became prosperous because of its conflict. Instead, it became poorer and poorer. As mentioned above, all the nations faced with crisis such as Palestine, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Rwanda as well as Sudan and Kenya, whose issues have been popular in the newspapers, are getting bogged down. The real winners who gained benefits from the conflicts are none other than the colonialists.

For instance, since the foreign troops invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, they started deploying their troops in those countries citing instability and disunity. The puppet governments are not able to restore peace in their countries and drive out the foreign troops. They have to act under the command of others. In addition, it is colonialists who are flattering and persuading Albanians in Kosovo, which has been recognized as a sovereign region of Serbia by the UN Security Council resolution, to declare unilateral independence. If Kosovo seceded from Serbia after declaring its independence, international forces would still deploy there for the sake of an international protectorate. The incoming puppet government to rule Kosovo lack of natural resources will also be a lackey of others. And consequently, there will be clashes with minority Serbs allowing to cause bloodshed.

One can take lesson from the story of a boar and a lion. In the story the two animals fought each other because both of them wanted to drink water from a pond first. When they saw a vulture sitting on the tree-stump, they realized that if they went on fighting they would be eaten.

Therefore they realized that it would be very useful for them if they shared water together. Otherwise, their lives would end in the mouth of the vulture. I have read an article in a popular military science journal entitled “Instability of the world serves the interest of our country” by a high-ranking military officer of a super power nation. Those who study history know that who gained benefits in the two world wars.

Neo-colonialists have cleverer ways than the old ones. They usually practise more gentle, subtle ways. In the past, the imperialists enslaved the entire country with the use of warships and they captured the king like a chicken. Nowadays the imperialists do not use obvious method of enslavement. They use various ways and means to break up the country through the remote control method. In other words, they employ the network centric imperialism which includes economic sanctions; subversive political methods such as spreading rumours and creating uprising; terrorist acts such as bomb explosion and killing innocent people; enslaving the people through the media; military method with the use of force if necessary; putting pressure on the country through diplomatic means; political methods of seeking international and local recognition for the puppets under their control and driving a wedge among the national races, religious faiths and mass and classes.

At a time when the people are facing the neocolonialists, they should know that a trap is a trap. It is an important point. Those with unclear outlook, especially those who think they know everything would assume that the trap or the net of the imperialists is a golden flower. The people cannot get out of the trap of the imperialists. The imperialists themselves drive a wedge among the people in order to break up the unity.

It is necessary for the people to understand the real danger. They have to struggle out to free themselves from the trap of the old and neocolonialists so that they can enjoy happiness blessed with self-dertermination.