If it’s worth fighting for, it’s worth thinking for.
In a stunning turn of events, the Government has taken responsibility and apologized for deporting the 300+ Tamil citizens from Colombo. Given the broad local and global uproar, it was inevitable. They woke Prime Minister Ratnasiri up to apologize and say that the incident would never be repeated. That, in itself, is a testament to how far the country has come since 1983. The fact that the incident occurred at all is a testament to how far Mahinda could take us back. Sri Lanka is fundamentally different from the LTTE in that we do have systems and freedoms to enable a moral or at least decent state. The danger is that the spectre of the LTTE causes us to lower our own moral standards, until being better than terrorists is all we aspire to. It is not, and it should not be. Sri Lanka is better than that. We must be a place where any Sri Lankan can move and speak and live, and where people live under laws. We should never be a feudal Rajapakse estate, willing to give up our freedoms to the threat of terror. The LTTE are terrorists, but we have to face that terror and not forget how we are. Deporting Tamils is easy, temporary, and wrong. Living together is difficult, long-term, and right. We need to have the courage to do the right thing.
The problem with terrorism is that it literally terrorized people. It changes you, it changes your behavior, and that is intentional. The LTTE was nothing before they killed 13 soldiers in 1983. Yet, after the frenzy of communal violence that spread, they blossomed. They fed on that hatred, that division and they grew. They now number over 10,000 and have ruptured this nation. Why are we still feeding them?
People argue that we must not point out the flaws of our government because the LTTE is so much worse. That is the worst corruption of all. They are saying that we must now take our moral standards from terrorists. That we should take them as an example, and only reach to be “better” than the LTTE. I refuse to believe this. Sri Lanka is so much better than the LTTE. That it is why it is my duty to criticize, protest, and improve this nation – because it is the very unruly democracy that makes us better. Those who would sacrifice liberty for freedom deserve neither, and those who posit the LTTE as a moral reference are quite simply terrorized.
They are terrorized by LTTE bombs and mutilations and ethnic cleansing into anger, and anger makes for incoherent reactions. People ask for quick fixes – bombs, arrests, deportations, and at worst riots. Quick fixes which only fuel the LTTE fire. People are too much in shock to make the hard decision of peace, so they react with instinct defense of the government and whatever excesses it cares to pursue. That is why every critic must be branded as a ‘kotiya’ or LTTE supporter – because they are terrorized into seeing the world like that. The LTTE has not won their hearts and minds, but it has won their fear. Works just as well.
As Fareed Zakaria said in Newsweek:
We will never be able to prevent a small group of misfits from planning some terrible act of terror. No matter how far-seeing and competent our intelligence and law-enforcement officials, people will always be able to slip through the cracks in a large, open and diverse country… If one day bombs do go off, we must ensure that they cause as little disruption—economic, social, political—as possible. This would deprive the terrorist of his main objective. If we are not terrorized, then in a crucial sense we have defeated terrorism.
At some point we have to stop being terrorized. We have to stop living in fear. We have to live in hope, and we have to return to our Constitution. We need to be and demand a moral, democratic state. If we’re fighting for freedom we have to live it. Mahinda cannot shut down newspapers without protest. His brother cannot threaten editors. They cannot use the immoral Karuna force as a proxy terrorist army. We cannot condone abductions in our capital. We have to stand up and make the sacrifice it takes to be free. We have to give up our fear.
And if there is to be acceptance and reconcilliation, the Tamils have to realise that neither is going to come as long as they blindly back the LTTE. The latter will trade peace for power every time.
I have never attacked anyone personally (since most bloggers don’t use their real names, how can it be personal?) until those people got personal with me. I don’t believe in turning the other cheek so I give as good as I get. Neither do I whine and complain about it. I challlenge you to point out where I’ve lied or misquoted. The reason I said the above was because Indi brought it up. So run along and play with yourself for awhile, Nicky ;)
Lizzy, I AM Sri Lankan and English IS my first language. If you don’t like it, have a cry. What are you gonna do, deport me to England?
oh go away! :)
By the way, heard there might be some new developments next week. Keep your ear to the ground. :)
The Tamils backed leaders pursuing Gandhian methods to get the state reformed. The Tamils backed negotiations and signed countless number of pacts… all of this over many decades to no avail. As far as the Tamils are concerned the only proven method of getting the desired rights is waging the ongoing insurgency. The Tamils will never stop backing the LTTE until the Southern polity stop their ethnic bidding and present a viable solution. Sadly their ignorance and selfish greed so far has allowed the LTTE’s support amongst the Tamil masses to grow to its current popularity.
The LTTE isn’t trading peace for power rather than trading a federal solution not worth the many decades of war and thousands of casualties for a separate state.
It is up to the Sinhala polity to make significant concessions, otherwise the war will continue until either the LTTE is obliterated or a separate state is created. Even if the LTTE was to obliterated, Tamil nationalism would stay alive.
“The LTTE isn’t trading peace for power rather than trading a federal solution not worth the many decades of war and thousands of casualties for a separate state.”
confused
“The LTTE isn’t trading peace for power rather than trading a federal solution not worth the many decades of war and thousands of casualties for a separate state. ”
A separate state that the Tamils can never have. The Sinhalese will never give it willingly, the LTTE cannot take it by force, the UN will not call for it while other offers are on the table, and India will not stand for it even if everyone else agreed. So are the Tamils willing to sacrifice many thousands more (for the ridiculous assertion that thousands already have been) on the altar of a dream that is not only unattainable, but unnecessary.
“It is up to the Sinhala polity to make significant concessions, otherwise the war will continue until either the LTTE is obliterated or a separate state is created. Even if the LTTE was to obliterated, Tamil nationalism would stay alive.”
It isn’t upto just the Sinhalese polity. The leadership of both sides must lead their people to a peaceful solution. The people are sheep, they will be led, but the leaders must believe in peace. The Sinhalese polity will not make significant concessions if the only alternative is continued war; for they have the least to lose from perpetual war. It is the Tamils who have the most to suffer. And since the LTTE cannot wrest a separate state from the GoSL, your other conclusion will leave the NE Tamils decimated (for a militarily victorious GoSL will not show much kindness to a defeated Tamil populace) and it will be many generations before the Tamils will even be able to raise their heads. Isn’t it time the Tamils (NE & Diaspora) woke up and smelled the napalm? Your leaders are leading you to your deaths. It’s not too late to change paths.
“the UN will not call for it while other offers are on the tableâ€
What other offers? Are you talking the proposals released in May??? You have to joking…
“A separate state that the Tamils can never have.â€
I wouldn’t pass judgement so quickly.
“The Sinhalese polity will not make significant concessions if the only alternative is continued war; for they have the least to lose from perpetual war.â€
How does the Tamil leadership know that if the LTTE is militarily defeated or disarmed that the state wouldn’t continue pursuing its colonization of Tamil areas? Which the Sinhala state is currently doing right in the middle of the undeclared war. How do the Tamils know that the SL won’t allow more riots similar to 1983 now that no military deterrent such as the LTTE exists? How do the Tamils know the Sinhala state will just resume the position it held in regards to the Tamils prior to Tamil militancy, that is total indifference to the rights of Tamils and the many other minorities? The ethnic problem predates Tamil militancy by many decades.
“Isn’t it time the Tamils (NE & Diaspora) woke up and smelled the napalm?â€
You mean live a life wherein we are second class citizens at the mercy of chauvinist leaders engaged in ethnic bidding. Have you ever heard what some of these populist Sinhalese passed off and continue to pass off for campaign platforms?
Federalism does seem somewhat appealing but I doubt the Sinhalese masses would support it…
“What other offers? Are you talking the proposals released in May??? You have to joking…”
No, I’m not talking about a specific offer, but as long as the offer of talks and the disawoving of a military solution is on the table, the UN is not going to call for a separate state (something that they have in any case never done before, except where constitutionally possible).
“I wouldn’t pass judgement so quickly.”
Believe me I’m not being quick in my judgement. I’ve come to this concusion after 25 years of war. I’ve already told you why it will not happen.
“How does the Tamil leadership know that if the LTTE is militarily defeated or disarmed that the state wouldn’t continue pursuing its colonization of Tamil areas?”
What Tamil leadership? The LTTE has declared that they are the reppresentatives of the NE Tamils, and unless the Tamils themselves say otherwise en masse, they will continue to hold that slot. As I said before, a militarily victorious GoSL may not be very concilliatory to the NE Tamils, and that is why the LTTE (if they have the best interests of the NE Tamils at heart) must negotiate while they still have some negotiating power. After they are defeated there will be no negotiating.
“Which the Sinhala state is currently doing right in the middle of the undeclared war.”
I’m afraid you are misinformed in this. Do you have any evidence of it?
“How do the Tamils know that the SL won’t allow more riots similar to 1983 now that no military deterrent such as the LTTE exists?”
The fact that there has been no ethnic riots of the scale of ’83 in the last twenty years is that proof. And before you say it’s because of the LTTE, let me tell you that it’s not. The LTTE cannot prevent another ’83, even if they wanted to; and quite the to the contrary they have done their best to spark fresh communal violence by intentionally attacking Sinhalese villages in the border areas and massacring entire communities, or committing attrocities like the Kebbettigollawa bus bombing or the bus bombings in the south earlier this year. The reason that there has been no repeat of ’83 is because successive SL govts since then have realised how counterproductive it was, and the Sinhalese themselves have understood just how wrong it was to do such a thing.
“How do the Tamils know the Sinhala state will just resume the position it held in regards to the Tamils prior to Tamil militancy, that is total indifference to the rights of Tamils and the many other minorities?”
That is why it is incumbent on the LTTE to negotiate for a federal system and while it still can.
“You mean live a life wherein we are second class citizens at the mercy of chauvinist leaders engaged in ethnic bidding. ”
Not at all. I would never suggest such a thing. What I’m suggesting is fedaralism and that the Tamils press the LTTE to start negotiating on that platform. I agree with the reasons that the Tamils took up arms (I myself am from a minority), and I understand that there was no choice since peaceful protests had failed. But since 25 years of war have also failed to produce peace & security for the NE Tamils, a new alternative must be found. Before it’s too late.
“Have you ever heard what some of these populist Sinhalese passed off and continue to pass off for campaign platforms?”
Of course, I live here in SL :)
“Federalism does seem somewhat appealing but I doubt the Sinhalese masses would support it…”
They will if it is explained clearly to them. That is where the UNP and the urban elite have totally failed this country, by being unable to explain to the masses clearly, in their language, what federalism entails. The Sinhalese masses will follow strong leadership, but that leadership needs to have the right vision.
No, I’m not talking about a specific offer, but as long as the offer of talks and the disawoving of a military solution is on the table, the UN is not going to call for a separate state (something that they have in any case never done before, except where constitutionally possible).
What about Kosovo?
“Believe me I’m not being quick in my judgement. I’ve come to this concusion after 25 years of war. I’ve already told you why it will not happen.â€
The LTTE has always been supposedly defeated many many times before…
“I’m afraid you are misinformed in this. Do you have any evidence of it?â€
Setting up more HSZ in Tamil areas.
“How do the Tamils know that the SL won’t allow more riots similar to 1983 now that no military deterrent such as the LTTE exists?â€
“ The reason that there has been no repeat of ‘83 is because successive SL govts since then have realised how counterproductive it was, and the Sinhalese themselves have understood just how wrong it was to do such a thing.â€
How about the mini-riots in Trinco and Hambantota last year? How come the JVP is still popular?
“You mean live a life wherein we are second class citizens at the mercy of chauvinist leaders engaged in ethnic bidding. â€
“ But since 25 years of war have also failed to produce peace & security for the NE Tamils, a new alternative must be found. Before it’s too late.â€
Sometimes I do worry that maybe the Tamils should’ve stopped and cooperated with the Indians. Sometimes I worry that there will never be an end to this bloody war in paradise…
The LTTE will not stop until either it is obliterated or achieves its given mandate… attempting the latter might cause the former… Once again time will tell…
Note: Fixed formatting
“No, I’m not talking about a specific offer, but as long as the offer of talks and the disawoving of a military solution is on the table, the UN is not going to call for a separate state (something that they have in any case never done before, except where constitutionally possible).”
What about Kosovo?
“Believe me I’m not being quick in my judgement. I’ve come to this concusion after 25 years of war. I’ve already told you why it will not happen.â€
The LTTE has always been supposedly defeated many many times before…
“I’m afraid you are misinformed in this. Do you have any evidence of it?â€
Setting up more HSZ in Tamil areas.
“ The reason that there has been no repeat of ‘83 is because successive SL govts since then have realised how counterproductive it was, and the Sinhalese themselves have understood just how wrong it was to do such a thing.â€
How about the mini-riots in Trinco and Hambantota last year? How come the JVP is still popular?
“ But since 25 years of war have also failed to produce peace & security for the NE Tamils, a new alternative must be found. Before it’s too late.â€
Sometimes I think that maybe the Tamils should’ve stopped and cooperated with the Indians. Sometimes the conflict seems endless…
The LTTE will not stop until either it is obliterated or achieves its given mandate… attempting the latter might cause the former… Once again time will tell…
“What about Kosovo?”
The former Jugoslavia was created in the post-WW2 period (much like the former USSR), and so was a short-lived entity. The UN call for a redivision of the territory waas therefore practical, and also justifiable because of the continued systematic ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Kosovo Albanians. Neither of those conditions are true in the NE.
“The LTTE has always been supposedly defeated many many times before…”
True, but you’ll note that I have not claimed that they’ll be defeated anytime soon. Just that they will be weakened to the point that they will be impotent to counter GoSL policy and unable to capture the support of the NE Tamils.
“Setting up more HSZ in Tamil areas.”
Setting up of security zones is quite different from colonisation, whichh entails introduction of a foreign civil populace, subservience of the native populace, harvesting of local natural resources for the colonisers consumption with little or no benefit to the locals, etc. THere is an HSZ in Colombo, for example, but I wouldn’t say that Colombo is being colonised, would you?
“How about the mini-riots in Trinco and Hambantota last year?”
Your question answers itself. They were “mini” both in size and duration, and quickly squashed by the authorities. They in no way aapproached anywhere close to the scale of ’83. There will always be such incidents in 3rd World nations (heck, yoou’ll get ’em in the US, if you remember the LA riots), but it’s not the incidents that are indicative of change, but the authorities’ handling of it.
“How come the JVP is still popular?”
The JVP will always have a power base in the south that is partly hereditary, and partly a result of incompetent governance by the SLFP. The JVP’s platform isn’t necessarily anti-Tamil, but anti-establishment and pro-worker. Perhaps you’ve heard that when the Tamil lodgers from Pettah were evicted recently, the JVP were one of the parties that protested.
“Sometimes I think that maybe the Tamils should’ve stopped and cooperated with the Indians.”
I think VP made a major strategic mistake when he broke with India, yes. He does not have the strength to bring about the stalemate needed to drag concessions out of the GoSL.
“The LTTE will not stop until either it is obliterated or achieves its given mandate…”
Have you considered that perhaps neither will happen for a long time, and the interim period will see the NE Tamil population decimated for no good end? Can the Tamil diaspora not do something to change this suicidal route?
“The former Jugoslavia was created in the post-WW2 period (much like the former USSR), and so was a short-lived entity. The UN call for a redivision of the territory waas therefore practical, and also justifiable because of the continued systematic ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Kosovo Albanians. Neither of those conditions are true in the NE.”
David,
you are again twisting the facts to suit your needs
Kosovo was an integral part of Serbia, and that for centuries, and only indirectly part of Yugoslawia (through being a province of Serbia). And if there had been a Genocide in Kosovo at the time before the war, then there is definitely one going on right now in Sri Lanka… Kosova-Albanians actually have a far weaker case for independence than Tamils, both historically and due to current political developments (Kosovo is the heartland of the Serbs and it is an uncontested fact that Albanians were settled there by the Ottomans after the Battle of Amselfeld in 1389)…
“you are again twisting the facts to suit your needs”
Not at all. I’m not arguing the factors for Kosovo’s case with the UN, but pointing out why those factors differ from, and are therefore not applicable to, the NE.
“And if there had been a Genocide in Kosovo at the time before the war, then there is definitely one going on right now in Sri Lanka…”
If you think so, then you are unaware of the definition of genocide and ethnic cleanising, which in the former is the murder of an entire ethnic group and in the latter the wholesale or systematic removal of an ethnic group from an area. Neither of this has ever occurred in SL. At least, not by the GoSL, though the LTTE has attempted it with Sinhalese & Muslims in the Northern Province.
“Not at all. I’m not arguing the factors for Kosovo’s case with the UN, but pointing out why those factors differ from, and are therefore not applicable to, the NE.”
Ok then, but your explanations were wrong! Kosovo was only indirectly part of the short-lived entity called Yugoslavia. Rather, it was an essential part of Serbia for centuries (not a republic of its own like, say, croatia), and still the UN called for its independence… So why should it not call for an independent tamil state when the tamil areas had been independent from the rest of Sri Lanka before foreign colonization?
Secondly, my point was that if you call that what happened in Kosovo a Genocide, then you MUST call that what is happening in the NorthEast a Genocide, too. I am not saying that there was actually one in Kosovo (in fact I doubt that there was one, and I do not think that there is one going on in Sri Lanka right now). Similar things deserve similar names, however.
“Kosovo was only indirectly part of the short-lived entity called Yugoslavia. Rather, it was an essential part of Serbia for centuries (not a republic of its own like, say, croatia), and still the UN called for its independence… ”
But Serbia was an integral part of Jugoslavia, and when the latter fell apart, the rules changed, as it were, and many things were up for consideration. Couple that with the blatant physical persecution and ethnic cleansing of the Kosovar Albanians, and you see a different picture emerging from SL.
“So why should it not call for an independent tamil state when the tamil areas had been independent from the rest of Sri Lanka before foreign colonization?”
Just how independent they were is still a matter of some debate, but even if they were, that’s not enough reason for the UN to make the call. If it was, they would have.
“Secondly, my point was that if you call that what happened in Kosovo a Genocide, then you MUST call that what is happening in the NorthEast a Genocide, too.”
Why must I? You’ll have to draw better parallels than what you have for that. But let’s leave aside the much-misused term genocide for the moment and look at ethnic cleansing — there certainly was a policy of it by the Serbs in Kosovo, whereas there isn’t such a policy by the GoSL.
what about the odd 150.000 tamils chased away during the recent campaign by the army? in kosovo there were “only†80000 civilians on the run when the serb army fought the UCK. again, if you call that what the Serbs did during their war against the albanian separatists ethic cleansing, then the sri lankans are doing it on a far larger scale.
by the way, Yugoslavia fell apart some ten years before the war in Kosovo. This war had actually not much to do with the breakup. And I doubt that albanians in Serbia are/were more persecuted than tamils in sri lanka. No mob violence, no white van killings there.
“what about the odd 150.000 tamils chased away during the recent campaign by the army? in kosovo there were “only†80000 civilians on the run when the serb army fought the UCK”
Look, you need to understand what ethnic cleansing is first of all. It is NOT the temporary removal of parts of a population from combat areas, such as the Army has done (fairly well) in the NE, the Brits did (very well) in Malaya, and the US and USSR did (very badly) in Vietnam and Afghanistan. This was done to separate the enemy from that popular support base. In Malaya and the NE, as soon as the enemy was pushed out of the area and it was secure, the civilian population was encouraged to resettle. In Kosovo, what the Serb paramilitary police units were doing was driving out ethnic Albanian Kosovars from areas that were deemed to be ethnically Serb, so that their homes and lands could be occupied by ethnic Serb Kosovars and Serb nationals from the Republic of Serbia. I hope you can see the distinction.
“by the way, Yugoslavia fell apart some ten years before the war in Kosovo. This war had actually not much to do with the breakup”
I never said it was. In fact it was arguably the breakup that caused the war.
“And I doubt that albanians in Serbia are/were more persecuted than tamils in sri lanka. No mob violence, no white van killings there”
No, just concentration camps, institutionalized rape, mass executions of entire populations, etc. Have a look at the Hague war crimes list. This is not a subject for jokes, Look.
David,
“No, just concentration camps, institutionalized rape, mass executions of entire populations, etc. Have a look at the Hague war crimes list. This is not a subject for jokes, Look.”
where was I joking? However, you are mixing things up, the huge war crimes happened during the war in bosnia-herzegovina (committed by the forces of the serbian minority there and not by serbia, which was a different republic then) and not during the campaign in kosovo. of course there have been crimes committed by the serb forces in that campaign, but probably not on a larger scale than what is done by the sri lankans in the tamil homeland. and serbia was not bent on ethnically cleansing the kosovo which was, by the way, almost exclusively inhabited by albanians, but only in “combating terrorism”. I hope you see the similarities to sri lanka, David.
“However, you are mixing things up, the huge war crimes happened during the war in bosnia-herzegovina”
I’m afraid you’re misinformed, Look. Just one indicted Serb criminal (Valstimir Djordjevic, who’s just been arrested) is accused of killing hundreds of Kosovar Albanians, deporting 800,000 (Al Jazeera). There are many more.
“but probably not on a larger scale than what is done by the sri lankans in the tamil homeland”
On what basis do you think so? Numbers? Or tactics?
“and serbia was not bent on ethnically cleansing the kosovo which was, by the way, almost exclusively inhabited by albanians, ”
Again, you’re misinformed. Fighting terrorism was the name under which the ethnic cleansing was carried out, and the latter was done so that the Serb minority (Kosovo wasn’t exclusively ethnic Albanian, though they were the majority, just as the Muslims were in Bosnia) could be artificially expanded by Serbians from Serbia, giving the latter justification for retaining the province.
A very good comment. Its the faked leaders who ruined the country and continue to do. Let us find a way of removing them from power. Once the faked leaders are removed there will be peace in the country and evertone will prosper and be happy. These faked leaders are misguiding the public.
We can only pray to the Almighty GOD in all earnestness to have mercy on our country and do something to make us happy.
Correct. Lets do something to improve on the present form of democracy.Let us make sure that the elected faked leaders of the country do the right thing for the future of this country. Is it not asking too much from a set of fake leaders. Right now our destiny is in their hands. So we have no alternative but to appease them.
Let GOD Almighty gives us ONE Statesman/Stateswoman
We will have rise above our selfishness and greediness if we are to end the turmoil in this country and push the country forward to such an extent that no country will dare to compete with our country in upholding human diginity and values.
Speeches creating hatred and animosity should be banned. Not one religion preached hatred or animosity. As of today our country is not secular and have a Ministry for religious affairs but none take note of anti-religious preachings. A pity.
If the so-called religious leaders practise what they preach or what they have been taught to preach our country will not be in state it is today.
Religious leaders please take note. Over to you .
The ordinary people, to whatever group they are said to belong, want to LIVE IN PEACE AND HARMONY. It is those people who want to control the ordinary people want to divide the people by various lines for their own benefit. Some get carried without being aware of the hidden agenda of these self appointed controllers who are bent on making a quick buck on the side. That is the trouble. Lets do something to get rid of these self appointed fake leaders. So instead of wasting our time commenting on the acts of these fake leaders let us do something constructive for positive peace in this country. Is it asking too much. Come let us jointly remake this country to its glorious past.
Let us forget the fighters. Both of them are fighting on our behalf to keep us on tension for ever. Let us make a move to stop it. “Peace is in our hands”. Let us put forward a solution that will keep away the fake leaders.