Finger off the trigger, Jaffna
There’s a slightly odd story on Ada Derana about a joint Army/Navy operation to rescue a beach ball some kids had lost at sea. It’s sweet that the Army guy swam after the ball and a Navy boat actually picked it up. It’s is, however, rather odd that there remains such a military presence that children are playing within distance of Army, Navy and perhaps Air Force. Foreign friends have found it a bit odd that there are so many armed soldiers, but I think many Sri Lankans find it reassuring. I actually do. The only security forces that weird me out are the Police. The military, however, has a generally good reputation and they are everywhere. This is not viewed as necessarily bad.
Militarization
Normally having troops everywhere is disconcerting and militarization is viewed as a bad word. There is also a civil libertarian issue of the central government (and President) constantly having guns on the street. He has used them to surround the hotel of the last guy who ran against him (General Sarath Fonseka). On a basic level, these are people carrying guns which is a bit disturbing to constantly be around.
Coming from the carnage of the LTTE years, however, this presence is viewed as something of a relief. The LTTE actively did blow up buses and street corners and this current batch of troops is perceived as having stopped that. They are not viewed as necessarily oppressive because unlike successive governments which militarized and didn’t deliver peace, this government did. So the militarization may make people feel safer.
Bias
I, of course, am Sinhalese and can breeze through most checkpoints. I travel with a lot of Tamil/Burgher types and don’t encounter any harassment. I don’t know what it’s like in the North or East where there’s a big language gap and few of the forces speak Tamil. If anyone has any comments on their experiences I’d like to hear.
Generally, however, the militarization of Sri Lanka is not viewed as a bad thing. More stuff is being handed to the police, but I honestly wish that they would militarize that. My experiences with the police are often quite bad and I dread encounters with them cause they’re often looking for bribes or power trips. I encounter no such behavior from the forces.
Sri Lanka is a militarized state and a generation is growing up thinking that this is normal. This may not be a such a bad thing. Is it?
* as a note, the Derana story refers to kids playing on Marble Beach which was, last I checked, a high security zone off limits to non-military people (and their families sometimes).
Such a awfully pitiful state we are in, one even suggested it may be better militarizing the police. I almost cried.
I like Stalin to run the Nazi Party, Hitler is irredeemable.
Interesting. Always a fresh look at the scene.
“…This may not be a such a bad thing. Is it?”
I actually feel secure with the military around actually. How can anyone think the war is over? What if a few people decide to blow up another bus? Or another bank? Or another shopping arcade…just to make a point? The war finished just over an year ago…I think its better to be safe than sorry..
also, marble beach belongs to the air force since the area shares an air strip. It is open to military families with permission…http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bIU1cRuNvvs/TANlcEq2XXI/AAAAAAAAA9A/L69CzytVSgs/s1600/15.jpg
There is no Doubt it’s a Military State, 3 armed forces have done great in fighting the blood thirsty LTTE Great job! Now let’s get them of the Dam Roads let the people feel that it’s free of uniformed men patrolling the streets.
IT’S NOT GOOD IF YOU A TOURIST OR A VISITER TO A LAND LIKE NO OTHER.
wow indi! now you EVEN LIKE uniforms at every street corner?!?! what has happened to you?!? you find it REASSURING?!!? wellwell well what a change, hu? soon you’ll be sitting side by side to sitting nut or what?
is someone threatening you or have u sold your soul/ass? i mean: ‘Sri Lanka is a militarized state and a generation is growing up thinking that this is normal. This may not be a such a bad thing. Is it?’ a bAd thing??!? its TRAGIC.
(they are useless anyway on the streets, they couldnt stop a runaway bus on galle road, never mind a vehicke full of terrorists chucking bombs or attacking somewhere). what on earth r u talking about??? r they paying/intimidating/you drunk/ you for these posts?
dear indi,
You as a Canadian sinhalese may find it hard to comprehend the nature of militarization.
But for the sinhalese people, they find it good that the armed forces are around because almost all of them are sinhalese and past experience shows they will favour their own people, sadly.
But for the Tamil people, they see it as an occupying force not interested in their welfare but only in holding real-estate.
The coming days, months are crucial for the armed forces to show that they are there for the welfare of all people. So the jury is still out on this one. Let’s not forget that there are about 40,000 to 50,000 armed forces personnel in Jaffna peninsula alone, for a population of about 500,000. And from December 2005 till end of the war there was about 1,200 cases of Tamil people abducted or shot.
The jury is still out on this one. The police should take over with Tamil speaking policemen in the police force.
Tamils are being mistreated, Sinhalese should understand blah blah blah
Yoy say “But for the sinhalese people, they find it good that the armed forces are around because almost all of them are sinhalese and past experience shows they will favour their own people, sadly.”
Tell me when the LTTE was around, did they even allow normal Sinhalese peeps to walk in to their area freely? Where were you then? Did you complain to the LTTE why they’re ruling in such a discriminatory fashion?
“Let’s not forget that there are about 40,000 to 50,000 armed forces personnel in Jaffna peninsula alone, for a population of about 500,000.”
Yeah so what? In Colombo when the LTTE were around, even I or any other Sinhalese were also harassed at checkpoints. U think its normal for peeps with guns to check ur luggage, car n all? Because of who? da LTTE! Tis not only da Tamils who had to put up with shit. Ok fine, Tamils had to undergo severe checks n shit cos of the LTTE, but where were u asking the LTTE to stop all this shit? Did you ever (as a moral Tamil citizen) pressure the LTTE to stop fighting and try to negotiate a settlement through peaceful means? I don’t think so
I agree reconciliation n all dat shit is necessary. But u got to realize dat the Govt of Sri Lanka WON the war against the LTTE. Not all Tamils are LTTE. Fine, so why don’t u Tamils who are not the LTTE now come out openly and say “ok da LTTE was wrong, and we apologise for sitting on our asses and not doing anything to stop it.” Then lets talk.
Later, loser
@rubbish, you hit the coin. Indi seems to have sold his soul of late. Sucking up to the govt. like a pro.
@girigor, talking loud doesn’t always means talking sense. We are in a period between wars, if: a) nuts like you don’t STFU and b) china is allowed a naval base in SL.
Yes JC we all know what India will do to sri lanka unless we follow her divine edicts. We’ve heard this story many a time, exclusively from you though. I wonder why?
Dear Girigoris,
You said:
“Tell me when the LTTE was around, did they even allow normal Sinhalese peeps to walk in to their area freely? Where were you then? Did you complain to the LTTE why they’re ruling in such a discriminatory fashion?”
My response:
During the CFA the LTTE checked everyone who came into their territory, Tamils,sinhalese, et al. That was because they had a good system where LTTE cadres followed the rules given to them and they checked everyone. While that isn’t always true with the armed forces/police here in colombo. And not everyone was checked, it was random checking, which allows room for racial profiling. But this is not to say that all armed forces personnel are harassing tamils. The armed forces or STF have generally been good at doing their job, i.e., checking and speaking politely to people. Besides the LTTE never had a democratic mandate, while the GoSL claims to have a democratic mandate.
You said:
Yeah so what? In Colombo when the LTTE were around, even I or any other Sinhalese were also harassed at checkpoints. U think its normal for peeps with guns to check ur luggage, car n all? Because of who? da LTTE! Tis not only da Tamils who had to put up with shit.
My response:
The LTTE was a creation of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). The GoSL’s discrimination and terrorism led to the birth of the LTTE and other militant groups. If the GoSL had negotiated when Tamil political leaders led a nonviolent protest there would have been no war or LTTE. But the GoSL responded to the Tamil nonviolent struggle with terrorism (riots of 1956 against Tamil political leaders, riots of 1958 against Tamils, etc, etc).
You said:
Ok fine, Tamils had to undergo severe checks n shit cos of the LTTE, but where were u asking the LTTE to stop all this shit? Did you ever (as a moral Tamil citizen) pressure the LTTE to stop fighting and try to negotiate a settlement through peaceful means? I don’t think so
My response:
Moderate Tamils tried to negotiate but the GoSL was not willing to give anything substantial. Even the 13th amendment was forced on GoSL by India. 13th amendment was not about devolution of power, as the governor of the provinces was appointed by the president and nothing could be done without the governor’s permission. Even after Chandrika came the GoSL still could not get it’s act together to bring about a solution.
It is also true that the LTTE was attempting to scuttle all plans by assassinating the moderates, like Neelan Tiruchelvam. But unfortunately the GoSL was unable to get together and give a solution. Even after the CFA, the GoSL was dragging its feet on the solution issue. While at the same time allowing the LTTE to eliminate Tamil rivals. The GoSL should have pushed for a solution as soon as possible while at the same time being firm with the LTTE in regards to their assassinations.
you said:
I agree reconciliation n all dat shit is necessary. But u got to realize dat the Govt of Sri Lanka WON the war against the LTTE. Not all Tamils are LTTE. Fine, so why don’t u Tamils who are not the LTTE now come out openly and say “ok da LTTE was wrong, and we apologise for sitting on our asses and not doing anything to stop it.” Then lets talk.
My response:
The LTTE had its wrongs, that is agreed by many Tamils but it is not the cause of the problem. The GoSL, as said earlier, is the cause of the problem and the LTTE the symptom. The onus is on the GoSL to create an inclusive society
See my long comment below, which is a response to your post.
thank you,
“During the CFA the LTTE checked everyone who came into their territory, Tamils,sinhalese, et al. That was because they had a good system where LTTE cadres followed the rules given to them and they checked everyone. ”
I think you’re being biased here, Myil, as usual. I have been to Batticaloa by bus in the mid- and late-’90s, and bee thoroughly checked by the Army, along with Tamil passengers. Muslims and Sinhalese (if they weren’t off-duty servicemen) were checked too. I have also been to Batticaloa in 2004, traveling by car through the LTTE areas around Amparai. There was no such checking of everyone, as you say. The car I was driving carried only Burghers and Tamils, and was let through with just an ID check, while I saw a carload of Sinhalese have their vehicle turned inside out and the medicine and food being carried for Tamil tsunami victims looted by the Tigers. Besides, the number of people going through Tiger checkpoints were far less than those going through an Army checkpoint in Colombo, so unless you’re willing to put up with mile-long queues like we saw at Omanthai, the checkpoints have to be random.
And racial profiling isn’t harassment. Whenever I visit Europe I’m given special attention because of my skin and passport, and that’s just the way it is. You don’t go fishing in the desert, do you? You go where there are fish.
“Besides the LTTE never had a democratic mandate, while the GoSL claims to have a democratic mandate.”
Well, the LTTE claimed to represent the Tamil, and to fight for their freedom, which is as strong a mandate as democracy. You can’t claim the GoSL is oppressive whenyou wanna accuse it and democratic when you wanna defend the Tigers. That’s just lame.
“The LTTE was a creation of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). The GoSL’s discrimination and terrorism led to the birth of the LTTE and other militant groups. ”
A result and a creation are two different things, Myil. The GoSL’s racism and discrimination resulted in Tamil militancy, but it was Tamil racism and VP’s megalomania that created the LTTE and the horrendous acts of terrorism it perpetrated.
“Moderate Tamils tried to negotiate but the GoSL was not willing to give anything substantial. ”
Actually, moderate Tamils like Neelan Tiruchelvam and Lakshman Kadirgama were murdered by the LTTE.
“Even the 13th amendment was forced on GoSL by India. ”
And in gratitude the Tigers went to war with India and murdered Rajiv Gandhi, losing forever India’s support for the Tamil cause.
“But unfortunately the GoSL was unable to get together and give a solution.”
It’s difficult to garner support for a peaceful solution when you’re under attack, when your citizens and officials are being murdered and when state assets are being destroyed.
“The GoSL should have pushed for a solution as soon as possible while at the same time being firm with the LTTE in regards to their assassinations.”
How exactly were they supposed to be firm — should they have written a stern letter to VP’s mother saying that her son was being naughty? Countless governments tried negotiations with the LTTE, but the latter never had the patience for discussions. Like spoiled children, when their demands were not instantly acceded to they stamped their feet. Unfortunately for them, the most recent government had bigger feet.
“The LTTE had its wrongs, that is agreed by many Tamils but it is not the cause of the problem. The GoSL, as said earlier, is the cause of the problem and the LTTE the symptom. The onus is on the GoSL to create an inclusive society”
That is a rather childish oversimplification. The GoSL may have been the original problem and the Tigers the symptom, but eventually the LTTE became the problem. It destroyed all other groups fighting for separation, or drove them into the arms of the GoSL. They murdered everyone who offered an alternative to violence, and refused to compromise on their sole authority. In the end, they became the problem.
“The onus is on the GoSL to create an inclusive society”
You can’t create an inclusive society out of thin air; and certainly not after thirty years of bloody warfare. The immediate onus is for the GoSL to provide stability, jobs, security, and a physical future for both the Tamils and all the other ethnic groups (some of whom have themselves been persecuted by the Tamils). Once these things start to happen, society can then start to be more inclusive. As long as the diaspora Tamils put war crimes investigations, politics, and other abstract issues before the wellbeing of the Tamils (as they put the LTTE before the civilians in 2009), the Sinhalese will see themselves to be under attack or about to be attacked (as JCNARS threatens impotently). Under those circumstances, there will be no inclusivity.
Dear David Blacker,
Thank you for your response. A good and clean response.
You said:
I think you’re being biased here, Myil, as usual.
My response:
and what about your bias, as usual?
You said:
I have been to Batticaloa by bus in the mid- and late-’90s, and bee thoroughly checked by the Army, along with Tamil passengers. Muslims and Sinhalese (if they weren’t off-duty servicemen) were checked too. I have also been to Batticaloa in 2004, traveling by car through the LTTE areas around Amparai. There was no such checking of everyone, as you say. The car I was driving carried only Burghers and Tamils, and was let through with just an ID check, while I saw a carload of Sinhalese have their vehicle turned inside out and the medicine and food being carried for Tamil tsunami victims looted by the Tigers. Besides, the number of people going through Tiger checkpoints were far less than those going through an Army checkpoint in Colombo, so unless you’re willing to put up with mile-long queues like we saw at Omanthai, the checkpoints have to be random.
My response:
I was talking about the LTTE check point as you enter the Vanni. This was one of the two main check points of the LTTE. The other being in Muhamalai. At these checkpoints all people were checked. Maybe because Prabakaran was around the area. While it is possible that the checking was not so stringent in the east, Your example is somewhat tenuous and raises more questions. But please don’t tell me that the GoSL forces treated Tamils as equals as they do the sinhalese. I don’t want to stereotype, but a large majority of the GoSL forces will not treat Tamils or Muslims as equals.
You said:
And racial profiling isn’t harassment. Whenever I visit Europe I’m given special attention because of my skin and passport, and that’s just the way it is. You don’t go fishing in the desert, do you? You go where there are fish.
My response:
You are acting like you don’t understand the meaning of harassment. Racial profiling can be harassment. When one group of people are being pulled out while others are not, this can create the feeling of being harassed. You can not judge what others feel.
You said:
Well, the LTTE claimed to represent the Tamil, and to fight for their freedom, which is as strong a mandate as democracy.
My response:
You are, again, acting like you don’t understand the meaning of the word. Democracy means to have the people’s mandate not what one claims. If we were to take your view, I could claim to fight for you even without your consent. What kind of democracy is that?
You said:
You can’t claim the GoSL is oppressive whenyou wanna accuse it and democratic when you wanna defend the Tigers. That’s just lame.
My response:
that’s exactly what the GoSL does, and you seem to be doing.
You said:
A result and a creation are two different things, Myil.
My response:
Let’s not get pedantic here, Mr. Blacker. But thanks anyway for your clarification.
You said:
The GoSL’s racism and discrimination resulted in Tamil militancy, but it was Tamil racism and VP’s megalomania that created the LTTE and the horrendous acts of terrorism it perpetrated.
My response:
You are being pedantic, once again. GoSL’s racism and discrimination created the environment for VP’s antics. Horrendous acts of terrorism? (I already know of some) butwould you care to list a few so that I know what you mean by horrendous?
You said:
Actually, moderate Tamils like Neelan Tiruchelvam and Lakshman Kadirgama were murdered by the LTTE.
My response:
yes, because the GoSL was dragging its foot on the issue. If GoSL had kept its word with the Banda-Chelva agreement they wouldn’t have been murdered or leaders of two countries assassinated or Black July and all the other incidents.
You said:
And in gratitude the Tigers went to war with India and murdered Rajiv Gandhi, losing forever India’s support for the Tamil cause.
My response:
Not in gratitude but in anger at the betrayal. Because Tamil groups did not agree with the 13th amendment that Rajiv Gandhi was pushing.
You said:
It’s difficult to garner support for a peaceful solution when you’re under attack, when your citizens and officials are being murdered and when state assets are being destroyed.
My response:
This sounds like an elaborate excuse. GoSL is not just one person, it consists of numerous citizens, and dual citizens. There were periods or phases of conflict. It wasn’t operation unceasing waves all the time, despite the name. GoSL could have brought forth an agreement and above all implemented it and shown to the Tamil people that they were genuine about it.
You said:
How exactly were they supposed to be firm — should they have written a stern letter to VP’s mother saying that her son was being naughty? Countless governments tried negotiations with the LTTE, but the latter never had the patience for discussions.
My response:
They should have been firm like grown, mature people. They could have got the international community to back them when the LTTE stopped coming for talks during the CFA. They could have invited India to take a firmer role. GoSL should not have sat idle but moved to continue talks or break it off. They could have got the Tamil political parties on their side by showing genuineness, however difficult it may have been. There was no will in the GoSL camp as well.
You said:
Like spoiled children, when their demands were not instantly acceded to they stamped their feet. Unfortunately for them, the most recent government had bigger feet.
My response:
No, all the governments had bigger feet and bigger stamps. The recent government just kept stamping whether civilian or not.
you said:
“That is a rather childish oversimplification. The GoSL may have been the original problem and the Tigers the symptom”
My response:
Well, finally you have agreed with me. Thank you.
You said:
“but eventually the LTTE became the problem. It destroyed all other groups fighting for separation, or drove them into the arms of the GoSL. They murdered everyone who offered an alternative to violence, and refused to compromise on their sole authority. In the end, they became the problem.”
My response:
I agree with you that they became the problem in the end, by forcing Tamil people to boycott the presidential elections of 2005
You said:
You can’t create an inclusive society out of thin air; and certainly not after thirty years of bloody warfare. The immediate onus is for the GoSL to provide stability, jobs, security, and a physical future for both the Tamils and all the other ethnic groups (some of whom have themselves been persecuted by the Tamils). Once these things start to happen, society can then start to be more inclusive.
My response:
The GoSL did not have to imprison close to 300,000 Tamils who fled the battle field, they could have been treated more humanely.
The GoSL did not have to bomb the No Fire Zone that the GoSL itself created
The GoSL did not have to lie that there was only 120,000 people in the Vanni
The GoSL did not have to use food as a weapon of war
The GoSL did not have to use medicines as weapons of war
The GoSL forces did not have to rape and kill surrendering cadres and execute them
The GoSL did not have to treat Tamils like they did in the camps
GoSL could have allowed separated family members to come back together sooner
Once fighting had passed puthukudiyirupu there was no military advantage in continuing to bomb and shell the area as the LTTE had no chance of a comeback. GoSL could have asked a third party to arrange for surrender of LTTE cadres. David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner were willing to go to the no fire zone to get the surrender. But the GoSL was hell bent on killing the rest of the people as they were families of the LTTE top rungers, et al.
The GoSL desecrated the LTTE war graves and bulldozed it, leaving the families of the dead cadres in shame and in anger. What kind of reconciliation is that?
You said:
As long as the diaspora Tamils put war crimes investigations, politics, and other abstract issues before the wellbeing of the Tamils (as they put the LTTE before the civilians in 2009), the Sinhalese will see themselves to be under attack or about to be attacked (as JCNARS threatens impotently). Under those circumstances, there will be no inclusivity.
My response:
You seem to have been assuming that I am part of the diaspora all this time. How unfortunate assumptions can be? I agree with you to a certain extent on the inclusive part but the attitude of the GoSL still has not changed and they must change that attitude if they are to truly build an inclusive society. If there’s a will there’s a way.
As long as the Tamil community persists in segregating themselves and identifying themselves more with the Tamil population of South India, rather than as another community within Sri Lanka, they will be viewed by the Sinhala community with fear and suspicion.
If Tamils were more willing to embrace a common Sri Lankan identity the Sinhala people would not feel as threatened as they do, and would be more amenable to listen to their grievances, whatever they are, and have real empathy.
This does not mean that Tamils should renounce their cultural identity, but that they should maintain such, within a national identity.
If our Tamil friends demonstrated their willingness to be identified as Sri Lankans first and Tamils thereafter, and took up their issues within national fora without running to India and the International community at the drop of a hat the Sinhalese would not become instantly defensive, and would be more interested in listening to them. Then the Sinhalese would not need to be reassured by a military presence on our roads.
I remember the slain MP Raviraj and grieve for him, because he always spoke with much passion but without hate, and made me want to listen. It was like he was speaking to the common people for their understanding and not just politicking.
Shammi,
I don’t think it’s correct to say that Sri Lankan Tamils identify themselves more with South India. From what I know, they consider themselves to be a distinct people with their own heritage and identity, despite the close linguistic and cultural ties. It’s significant that the separatist movement was for an independent state of Tamil Eelam – not for a merger with Tamil Nadu or India.
On the other hand, it’s true that a great many Tamils don’t feel much affinity to Sri Lanka either. But surely it must be hard for a Tamil to wholeheartedly embrace a common Sri Lankan identity, when the only national identity that has ever been coherently articulated is a Sinhala-Buddhist one.
I do agree that the Sri Lankan Tamil leadership, such as it is, should not be turning to outside forces to solve their problems. That has been a tragic failure time and time again. I too admire Raviraj, because he engaged directly with the Sinhalese people and gave them things to think about. It may have cost him his life though.
Myle Selvam draws a lot of flak here. Sometimes it’s deserved, oftentimes not. He’s always worth reading, even if I’m generally more in agreement with David Blacker’s rebuttals. I’m glad that, like Raviraj, Myle is here engaging with us, providing a much needed perspective. And doing so with civility and even some genuine goodwill. Like I said, it must be hard.
The Tamils of Sri Lanka don’t identify themselves particularly much with the Tamils of South India. I’d say your typical TN Tamil feels a far stronger sense of kinship than your typical Jaffna Tamil. Read up on the various names for TN Tamils in Jaffna slang sometime – that should dispel any illusions about the extent of their identification with the Tamils of South India. In point of fact, they go to great lengths to disassociate themselves from the Tamils of South India – their roots, they claim, are in Kerala rather than Tamil Nadu; their dialect, they claim, is entirely different from the dialects of Tamil Nadu; their cuisine, lifestyle, customs and culture, they claim, are very different from those of Tamil Nadu; they are, they claim, a distinct people unique to Sri Lanka. Back in the 1930s, they even fought a hard campaign in colonial Malaya to have themselves classified as ‘Ceylonese’ rather than ‘Tamil’ or ‘Indian’.
The troubles you’ve had don’t really reflect an unwillingness on the part of Sri Lankan Tamils to adopt a Sri Lankan identity – they already have one. The problem was that too many of them thought the “common” Sri Lankan identity that they were being asked to accept in independent Lanka was simply a Sinhala one. Their running to India and the international community was a matter of strategy, not identity (as it transpired, a fairly disastrous and ill-conceived strategy). Your typical Sri Lankan Tamil – even out in the diaspora – identifies very strongly with the island of Sri Lanka, and this identification runs deep enough that it’s closely bound up with how they define themselves as Tamils. The challenge for you folks is to convert that into a sense of identifying with Sri Lanka as a political entity. To do that, you need to figure out what space you’re willing to concede to the Tamil language and Tamil culture in Sri Lanka’s public culture and in the Sri Lankan common identity. If you’d just dig a bit into your history, you’d find plenty to build on.
The Tamil language and Tamil culture has more visibility and position in Sri Lanka than it does in India itself. So it’s up to “Sri Lankan Tamils” to come around, not for others to try and ‘accomodate’ them.
Lotus and Rajiv
Thanks for your insight. It makes me happy to hear that our Tamils claim a unique Sri Lankan identity. However we do not sense this enough. If this feeling was demonstrated well, the Sinhala community would be open to more devolution on the political front.
The eternal fear of the majority community is that the Tamils’ intend eventual seccession. If they felt that there was some unifying national force to prevent this they would be more forthcoming with political solutions. I too personally feel that a border within the island would be pointless, divisive and unproductive.
Like Poitta, I don’t feel there is actual suppression of the Tamil language and culture at all except the unwillingness to learn a strange language or be forced to do so, which is understandable. I’m sure parents of all communities would prefer to have their kids taught better English which would be more useful and would provide the ideal link, if only politicians and some blindly elitist scholars would let them. My parents’ generation seem to have had better understanding and friendship between the communities when this was so. I understand that most Sinhala signatories to the Kandyan convention signed in Tamil. This couldn’t be due to coersion by Rajasinghe but because it was the language that busness was conducted in at the time.
I was brought up a catholic, and never felt threatened by the Sinhala Buddhist identity. On the contrary I like the quaint uniqeness the Buddhist influence has given our cultural heritage. This may also be because I am not a particularly devout catholic and was fortunate enough never to have had my church razed to the ground by rampaging mobs. However I accept that the excessive prominence given to Buddhism by politicians trying to garner the majority vote may make Tamils feel insecure.
And yes, it is good to share views here.
Tamil is very difficult to learn. The utility of learning it cannot be matched by doing so with English
I must ask what you mean by ‘quaint uniqueness’? I use Sri Lanka to dispel the incorrect impressions of all buddhists that are often held in the west–like that they are all vegetarians, non-violent, inclusive, apolitical (despite the Dalai Lama’s lifelong crusade–there are no distinctions made when talking about a particular category of foreigners here in the US) etc.
Lotus Eyes and Rajiv brought up the absence of a popular articulation of SL identity that is not only Sinhala. That brings up the issue of electoral politics. As long as the volk of SL confuse electoral results with good-and-proper governance, like Poitta and Indi, you won’t be able to make the case that it’s necessary to articulate a Tamil-Sinhala SL identity. Mahinda won resoundingly, not only once, and that’s really all that’s necessary for people to not only support his agenda but think his specific governing decisions and actions both best for the country and true to that stated agenda.
True I use the example of Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus when people talk about the extremism of Muslim suicide bombers. 3 million odd Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus have given more suicide bombers to the world than all the Muslims combined.
Languages are best learnt by ear. So if one chose to live in a predominantly Tamil speaking area, one would soon aquire that language out of familiarity and necessity. A person living in Matara for instance would not see the need to learn Tamil and should not be expected to do so. This should happen naturally and not be forced upon one. There are no barriers to any lawful activity aimed at popularising one’s culture.
I say quaint and unique in a merely aesthetic sense. I love the simple unostentatious lines of old Buddhist architecture. The age old rituals, the drumming and chanting and the peraheras put me in to a trance. They appeal to my personal taste. For me these visual images and sensory perceptions of Buddhist culture are pleasant. So if Buddhism represents the national identity, I have no problem with that, although it is alien to the culture I was brought up around.
In this country the Buddhist clergy were always expected to exercise some influence over the rulers on behalf of the people, though it is not part of their religious vows. The people are used to seeing this as a safeguard against any type of oppresion. The clergy respond to that and feel responsible which makes it difficult for them to remain apolitical. I see it as an intrinsic feature of our socio-cultural make-up and not as a feature of Buddhism.
Just ss there are some monks who stick strictly to the precepts there will be some who use their position to get involved in politics and commerce for personal gain.
Vegetarianism, non-violence etc. are values that Buddhism as a philosophy upholds, but Buddhist followers are only individuals who make personal choices, aren’t they? All Buddhists may not piously follow the precepts, Just as a Catholic doesn’t always follow the commandments. I don’t see anything wrong with that.
Mahinda’s victory is generally viewed with relief due to the stability in the governance structure that is hoped will bring about economic development (which could put a lot of things right for us Sri Lankans be they Sinhala or Tamil), not always with approval for his methods or support for what is seen as his agenda. He is also seen to be standing firm against the threat to our sovereignity due to the self interest of foreign forces, which is perceived as very real by the majority. Mahinda has been one lucky guy, with a weak opposition, MPs who can be bought, a silent civil society and a population that craves a king at home, with 9/11 and the Mumbai attacks abroad, and now I think the leaking of some NATO files will also work to his advantage of his government.
To my knowledge, the Sinhala people admire the resourcefulness and dedication of the Tamils and would not grudge them their rightful space if only they felt assured that these same admirable traits would always be employed within a unitary state.
The memories of the recent past are still too raw and the daily discovery of catches of arms even after a year has passed does not help. So it will take some time before the Sinhalese will consider any changes to the national flag. Can the Tamils do anything to dispel the fear that political concessions now will be used towards separatism later on?
Part of the problem I think is that Sri Lankan Tamil political class have still not gotten over the times when they used to dominate and rule the country when the British were in SL. The Jaffna Tamils especially still have it drilled into their psyche that they are the ones who should be running the country. They were in a tizzy when the British left, and are still railing, ranting and raving because they lost their dominant position. They haven’t been able to face reality that a community of about 12.5% (actually only about 6% if you consider Jaffna Tamils alone) cannot rule over 75% of the country.
Today’s island carries a piece by one Sebastian Rasalingam:
“The so-called elitist upper-caste men of the Tamil community who licked the boots of the British and applied the boot to the fellow Tamils (and the Sinhalese), made decisions for the Tamils. First, it was the attempt to incorporate the caste system into the constitution, led by Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan. Then it was the effort by G. G. Ponnambalam to replace caste divisions by race divisions, partly as a ploy for him to pick up the leadership of the Tamil community. The ordinary rural Tamils did not really matter except as their political power base for the upper-class Tamils. To preserve this power base they were prepared to oppose universal franchise, divide the country and create ‘exclusive Tamil homelands’, oppose the building of causeways, roads etc., to connect many of the villages in the Jaffna peninsula because they would make the socially disadvantaged caste more uppity. The land-owning Colombo Tamils— the old wise men of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) and the Tamil congress (TC)—were the ones who prevented in the 1950s the upgrading of the Jaffna Urban Council to a municipality because the absentee landlords did not want to pay higher taxes!
Instead of fighting for the Tamil people’s economic and social development, the Colombo-based elite attempted to grab a separate kingdom from themselves. No wonder their remnants today want to glorify the image of Sankilian. King Sankilian was surely in no sense a civilized man, but a brutal tyrant.”
“and what about your bias, as usual?”
Yes, what about it?
“I was talking about the LTTE check point as you enter the Vanni.”
Really? This is what you said: “During the CFA the LTTE checked everyone who came into their territory, Tamils,sinhalese, et al. That was because they had a good system where LTTE cadres followed the rules given to them and they checked everyone. While that isn’t always true with the armed forces/police here in colombo. And not everyone was checked, it was random checking, which allows room for racial profiling.”
So are you comparing LTTE checkpoints in the Vanni to SL Army checkpoints in Colombo? Rather absurd comparison, isn’t it? You’re comparing a frontline checkpoint at a crossover point to one in the capital — apples and oranges. You can compare a Colombo checkpoint to a Kilinochchi one if you like, but not to a Wanni one. Now you’ll probably accuse me of being pedantic again, but the Devil really is in the details, Myil, and if you prefer to see the world in broad black and white strokes, you’re gonna lose a lot of the greys, and there really is a lot of grey. The point is that at a crossover or border point you have to check everyone, and the SL Army did (as I myself have experienced both LTTE and SL Army checkpoints), but obviously you can’t gridlock the Galle Road while you check every vehicle coming in to Colombo. Even if the LTTE checked every single person in Kilinochchi (which I doubt), it didn’t mean much, ‘cos there was very little private transport and far few numbers of people.
“I don’t want to stereotype, but a large majority of the GoSL forces will not treat Tamils or Muslims as equals.”
So what? A large number of the GoSL forces will not treat Sinhalese civilians as equals either. It’s the nature of armed forces. And as I, from experience, can tell you, the LTTE didn’t treat Sinhalese or Muslims like Tamils either.
“Racial profiling can be harassment. When one group of people are being pulled out while others are not, this can create the feeling of being harassed. You can not judge what others feel. ”
It can create the feeling of being harassed if one chooses to see it that way. Racial profiling isn’t intended to harass (as you insinuate by saying “And not everyone was checked, it was random checking, which allows room for racial profiling”), but to weed out possible criminals/terrorists who are almost exclusively of a certain ethnicity. If one then chooses to see this as racist harassment, that is rather foolish. It is pointless for the Americans to pay attention to a Chinese traveling to NY when the 9/11 flights were flown by Arabs. Similarly, it’s downright dumb for German Immigration to double-check a white Australian flying into Frankfurt when almost all illegal immigrants flying into Europe are African or Asian. Should the police then take DNA samples from both women and men in rape cases to avoid sexual profiling? The LTTE was almost exclusively Tamil, so it’s sensible for the SL Army to pay more attention to Tamils and Moors at checkpoints, rather than blindly (and ineffectively) checking everybody punctiliously, as you prefer. Yes, it is embarrassing for me to be pulled out of line in Europe and given extra attention, and yes, my first instinct is to be hurt and annoyed by it, but I don’t blame the European authorities — my fellow Asians have buggered it up for me already. In the same fashion, it behooves the Tamils to look at the situation here with a pragmatic attitude instead of looking for molehills to climb.
I’d also appreciate it if you’d stand by what you’ve said and justify your arguments, rather than backtrack and paraphrase in a childish attempt to avoid being caught out.
“that’s exactly what the GoSL does, and you seem to be doing.”
How so? You use the fact that the LTTE was a non-state player (suggesting that they were therefore exempt from following the rules) to defend its criminal acts, but use the the fact that the GoSL is democratically elected as a stick to beat it with when it played by the LTTE rules. Myil, when you take the gloves off, you will be a bit of an idiot if you expect the other fighter to fight by the Queensberry Rules. You adapt to your enemy and beat him at his own game, as the GoSL has ably demonstrated.
You accuse me of being pedantic because you are unable to see the difference between something being a result of an action (a byproduct if you will) and a creation (which is intended). It is this lack of nuance, Myil, that fails you in your understanding of the situation, and makes most of your arguments sound like regurgitated propaganda. Take some time to understand the complexities and details of the problem instead of just talking loudly.
“Horrendous acts of terrorism? (I already know of some) butwould you care to list a few so that I know what you mean by horrendous?”
Are there any acts of terror which are not horrendous, Myil? Didn’t you just say that I couldn’t understand how others feel? It seems you suffer from that very ailment.
“yes, because the GoSL was dragging its foot on the issue.”
I see. Because the GoSL was dragging its feet, the LTTE murdered Neelan Tiruchchelvam, a constitutional lawyer, who was attempting to draft proposals for a peaceful solution. Was this supposed to speed up the process and encourage the GoSL to work faster towards a peaceful settlement?
“Not in gratitude but in anger at the betrayal. Because Tamil groups did not agree with the 13th amendment that Rajiv Gandhi was pushing.”
Really? You mean the 13th Amendment that was, in your own words, “forced on GoSL by India”? So what was exactly was your point in saying “Even the 13th Amendment was forced on GoSL by India”? The fact is, Myil, that the LTTE wasn’t prepared to lay down its arms and participate in a brokered deal that didn’t place the LTTE itself in the driving seat. After their defeat at Vadamarachchi, the Tigers thought India was coming to rescue them from catastrophe and get rid of the SL Army. When they discovered that India was more interested in peace than Tamil nationalism, they turned on the zoo-keepers and bit the hand that fed them.
“This sounds like an elaborate excuse. GoSL is not just one person, it consists of numerous citizens, and dual citizens. There were periods or phases of conflict. It wasn’t operation unceasing waves all the time, despite the name. GoSL could have brought forth an agreement and above all implemented it and shown to the Tamil people that they were genuine about it.”
Excuse for what — for winning the war? It may consist of many citizens, but it isn’t a fish market. Policy is set by certain individuals. There’s a structure, etc. Surely you don’t need a lesson in Third World governance, Myil — how old are you? There may not have been unceasing waves unceasingly, but the LTTE had clearly demonstrated that it was unwilling to talk except on its own terms. Bottom line is, Myil, the GoSL returned war with war, bullet for bullet, and now that the LTTE were defeated, you seem unhappy about this. Well too bad. The GoSL won, and that underlines the correctness of the strategy — it would have been unfortunate if the GoSL had folded to the the threat of violence and acceded to the demands of VP. I’m sorry if you think that the GoSL should have treated the Tigers more gently, I don’t. I do not think that an LTTE-run Tamil Eelam would have been beneficial for SL, the region, or even the Tamil people.
“They should have been firm like grown, mature people. They could have got the international community to back them when the LTTE stopped coming for talks during the CFA. They could have invited India to take a firmer role. ”
All of this was attempted, and it was these efforts that eventually bore fruit, with most of the world eventually proscribing the LTTE and helping to cut off its support structure. The fact of the matter was that the LTTE didn’t need the active support of any nation by this stage — it had already set up its own support that was financed by the diaspora as well as criminal activities such as arms-, drugs- and people-smuggling. Because of this, there was nothing a foreign nation could threaten the LTTE with, short of active support for the GoSL — and VP misread the post-9/11 world, and didn’t expect any such active support from nations like the USA and India. It took years for that active support to be gathered, helped by the Tigers’ deceit and intransigence, and when it eventually did, it was just in time for MR to take the military option, and he did. And who can blame him. VP was his own worst enemy — he elected MR, and then played right into his hands by giving him all the tools and opportunities he needed to defeat him. After that, SF and Gota did the rest.
“No, all the governments had bigger feet and bigger stamps. The recent government just kept stamping whether civilian or not.”
Ha ha, spoken like a true slave to the narrative. This administration was neither more nor less callous towards civilians than previous regimes — Premadasa against the JVP, Athulathmudali or Ranjan Wijeratne or Ratwatte against the Tigers. They were all the same as these guys. All that’s different is that past administrations were ineffectual, divided, and lacked the will necessary. It wasn’t that they cared about killing civilians — it was just that they lived in a world that wouldn’t accept civilian deaths. Welcome to the War on Terror, Myil, created by (I know you prefer that phrase to ‘as a result of’ ) Bin Laden and AQ. In the world of Iraq, Afghanistan, 9/11, and Guantanamo, civilian casualties are seen through a more ‘militarized’ filter.
“you said:
“That is a rather childish oversimplification. The GoSL may have been the original problem and the Tigers the symptom”
My response:
Well, finally you have agreed with me. Thank you. ”
Aiyo, Myil, is this what it has come to — deleting part of my sentence so that you can laugh like a kindergarten child? Lol, why don’t you delete all the “don’t”s wherever I’ve said I don’t agree with you and have a little giggle.
“I agree with you that they became the problem in the end, by forcing Tamil people to boycott the presidential elections of 2005”
Good God, is that all the buggers did? Why, we should dig up VP’s fat corpse and pin a Nobel Peace Prize on it, no? Have you forgotten how they killed everyone else in the separatist struggle who wasn’t a Tiger? Have you forgotten how they killed or brutalized every Tamil intellectual who wanted a peaceful solution — Radhika Kumaraswamy, Neelan Tiruchchelvam, DBS Jeyaraj, and so many others? Have you forgotten how they conscripted young children, tore them from their families, and sent them out to die with no training, while VP and Soosai and all those fatties ate lobster and swam in private pools? You neo-Tigers are no different to the neo-Nazis — stupid blinkered people worshiping a fantasy figure.
“The GoSL did not have to imprison close to 300,000 Tamils who fled the battle field, they could have been treated more humanely” — But they didn’t ‘flee the battlefield”, no Myil? They were driven by the fleeing Tigers, who took them as human shields. You expect humaneness from the GoSL, but why didn’t you criticize the LTTE when they were so inhumane to their own people — did you agree with them, or were you just scared they’d kill if you if you spoke up?
“The GoSL did not have to bomb the No Fire Zone that the GoSL itself created” — the LTTE didn’t have to operate within the No Fire Zones. They did so, because they were hoping to cause more deaths to the Tamils. The more died, the more attention.
“The GoSL did not have to lie that there was only 120,000 people in the Vanni” — Hardly an act that prevents post-war inclusivity, no?
“The GoSL did not have to use food as a weapon of war” — You use every weapon at hand when you’re fighting a snake. Largely, it was the GoSL and some NGOs that supplied the NE Tamils with what they couldn’t grow themselves. All the LTTE did was steal from its own people.
“The GoSL did not have to use medicines as weapons of war” — As with the food.
“The GoSL forces did not have to rape and kill surrendering cadres and execute them” — Can you link to a single credible article that shows evidence of LTTE cadres being raped?
“The GoSL did not have to treat Tamils like they did in the camps” — They were treated much better than the LTTE treated them.
“GoSL could have allowed separated family members to come back together sooner” — Yes, maybe. Again, hardly a sign of a lack of inclusivity.
“Once fighting had passed puthukudiyirupu there was no military advantage in continuing to bomb and shell the area as the LTTE had no chance of a comeback. ”
Lol, really? You mean you are aware of the numbers and disposition of Tiger units operating in this area? Myil, war is not a rugby match where once the back line has broken through you can send the fullback in on the outside of the winger. In war you cover all the angles, because if you don’t your own men die. They die, Myil — they don’t go off for a fag and a plain tea — they die. If the Tigers didn’t want to endanger the civilians, they should have fought like warriors and died like heroes (as they did at Aanandapuram), and not like rats in holes (as they did everywhere else).
“Once fighting had passed puthukudiyirupu there was no military advantage in continuing to bomb and shell the area as the LTTE had no chance of a comeback. GoSL could have asked a third party to arrange for surrender of LTTE cadres. David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner were willing to go to the no fire zone to get the surrender.
When you have your opponent on the ropes, after thirty years, you don’t ask him if he wants a break and a Kit Kat. You leave Sun Tzu at home and keep hammering ’til he’s dead. That’s war, Myil. Don’t like it? Don’t try it. Why didn’t Miliband & Kouchner try and save Saddam Hussein? Why don’t they go negotiate with Bin Laden? As Homer wrote in the Illiad, “As there can be no covenants between men and lions neither can wolves and lambs ever be of one mind.”
“The GoSL desecrated the LTTE war graves and bulldozed it, leaving the families of the dead cadres in shame and in anger. What kind of reconciliation is that?”
Yes, this was wrong, and I’ve said so before.
Now let me ask you a few questions, Myil, on reconciliation. Why did the LTTE send aircraft against Colombo when they had already lost the war? Why did the diaspora demonstrate in western capitals on behalf of the LTTE and not the civilians? Why did they not demand that the LTTE surrender and save the human shields? Why does the diaspora now push for war crimes investigations? Why do they create TV commercials that urge the west not to buy Sri Lankan products? Why did they protest when the SL cricket team toured England? Why do they ask for the Sinhalese leadership to be extradited but not KP, Karuna, or Pilliyan? Where is the reconciliation in all this? You cannot have reconciliation from one side alone.
“You seem to have been assuming that I am part of the diaspora all this time. How unfortunate assumptions can be? I agree with you to a certain extent on the inclusive part but the attitude of the GoSL still has not changed and they must change that attitude if they are to truly build an inclusive society. If there’s a will there’s a way.”
I assume nothing, Myil. Where have I said I thought you were part of the diaspora? If you are a SL resident Tamil, then I must ask you even more pointedly — where is the reconciliation in your tone of voice? The onus for reconciliation does NOT lie with the Sinhalese, or even the GoSL, alone. It must come as strongly from the Tamils, and I would even venture to say that it must be even stronger on the part of the Tamils if they wish the other ethnic communities to ever trust them as a political people.
“I agree with you to a certain extent on the inclusive part but the attitude of the GoSL still has not changed and they must change that attitude if they are to truly build an inclusive society.”
It will NEVER change until the external pressure ceases. Never. Just as the diaspora protests in 2009 were counter-productive, so is their current lobbying, their threats of continued war and violence. Sri Lanka has changed, and the Tamils will never be able to go back to the way it was before the war (for good or for bad). If SL Tamils wish to survive as a people, they must adapt and survive. Remember that the true king of the jungle isn’t the lion (and no it isn’t the tiger either), it’s the leopard, because it can adapt and survive.
Indi the Military may have a better reputation than the Police (which is hardly saying anything) in Colombo and around here – but in the North and particularly the North East I know for a fact that many of the civlians are truly afraid or resent the local Military. It really depends I think – I’ve heard that in Mannar etc. the local Military head is a very decent guy, very professional and therefore the rest of the Military from him down have a very strong work ethic and are very popular and well-liked. However for example from Batti I’ve heard lots of horror stories about bad behaviour on all levels of the Military – rape, harassment, extortion scams, you name it. So to civilians in those situations, militarization is an extremely oppressive and threatening thing. I think it really depends.