Comments on: My name is Cedric. Do you remember me?

By: David Blacker

David Blacker — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:03:31 +0000

First of all, X, the majority of Tamils did NOT join the LTTE. A small percentage of them joined the separatists, and of that small percentage, an even smaller percentage joined the LTTE. The majority of Tamils mostly did nothing beyond flee to areas where they felt safe.

My choosing to fight wasn’t because I particularly believed in any cause, be it national unity, Tamil rights, or any of the other reasons that old men send young men off to die. I joined the Army because I wanted to fight, and this was the easiest way to do it. If I had grown up in Jaffna (as I almost did), I’d probably have joined one of the separatist groups.

How can fighting the Tigers be turning my back on my people? The Tigers maybe Tamil, but the Tamils aren’t Tigers. Besides, while the conflict maybe ethnic, the war itself isn’t. If this war was against the Tamils, why are there Tamil political parties in parliament? Why do we have a Tamil chief minister of the Eastern Province? Why did we have a Tamil foreign minister? And if the Tigers are fighting against anti-Tamil forces, why did they kill Kadirgama, Thiruchchelvam, and thousands of other Tamils?

The SL Army is not driven by race, but by its loyalty to the nation and its government. It has fought against Tamil and Sinhalese terrorist groups impartially, and will continue to do so, no matter the ethnic makeup of those groups. I have personally watched Sinhalese Buddhist troops clear protesting Buddhist priests off the Galle Road with rifle butts, boots, and belt buckles, and I know that if those priests had been Hindu, Muslim, or Christian, I wouldn’t have had any problem carrying out my orders.

By: x

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:42:11 +0000

so, david after what happened and could have happened to those outside knew your mother was tamil… why did you choose to join the SLA unlike the majority of tamils who joined the LTTE and other groups? you turned your back on your people and helped the majority carry out the war on tamils…

By: David Blacker

David Blacker — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:13:06 +0000

“Without acknowledging the good deeds, there cannot be a route to peace.”

Before you can praise the good, one must first correct the wrongs. And the only way to correct the past is to see justice done in the present.

By: David Blacker

David Blacker — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:11:07 +0000

Edwina, “Remember” is a collection of writings, and one of which is mine.

Political, this post wasn’t written to capture anything. It’s just the eye-witness account of a 12-year-old. I have written about what I personally saw. I didn’t myself see any Sinhalese protecting the Tamils, so I haven’t written about that. The deeds of those minority Sinhalese who did protect their Tamil friends and neighbours has been written about elsewhere and acknowledged.

Whenever their were ethnic riots in SL, individual Sinhalese have protected individual Tamils, but the majority of Sinhalese at best did nothing.

By: Political Observer

Political Observer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:03:47 +0000

Now this is fine in fiction and real life. Yet, it does not capture the angst of those who helped to protect those who did not die in July 1983.

While Thamil people suffered greatly, can you forget those who saved their neighbours? Do these heros not consistute the body politic of Sri Lanka?

Without acknowledging the good deeds, there cannot be a route to peace.

By: Velu

Velu — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:13:55 +0000

No Sinhala and Muslim students in Jaffna Uni = root problem
GG Ponna race hatered speech (1925) = root problem
Chelva’s 50:50 during 50’s = root problem
Tamil ideology over Lanka ideology = root problem
Madras seapoys killing Lankans and Indians = root problem
Divide and rule and minority benefits = root problem

Tmils in Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Tamil-only eelam(Sinhal not in latter two)=prob
Tamil expansions begining in small lLanka, then India, Malaysia=Problem
Sinhala (also Muslim and non tiger Tamis) far worse than harresed= cant live in Jaffna, Wanni, Nadu……..!!

By: Edwina Sleep

Edwina Sleep — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:02:28 +0000

I am trying very hard to decipher who the author of “Remember 1958-1983″ is. Is it David Blacker?
The synopsis that he has written definitely brings back horrible memories of that awful day 23 July 1983. The atrocities that were committed against humans beings was deplorable. I was in my second year at university and I remember seeing smoke rising from the trees in maybe Pettah, Maradana and Kotahena. The view from the Science Faculty of the University of Kelaniya is amazing. But on the 23rd it was not a very nice view. None of us knew what was going on until all our lectures were cancelled and we were sent home. My friend and I could have walked home but decided to hop a bus and this was a long distance bus going to Kegalle. We were stoned at the Kiribathgoda Junction. What I saw at this junction will stick in my mind for the rest of my days. It was practically like a slaughter house with funeral pryers at every possible point. Two men saw us and decided to act like “caring big brothers” refering to us as “nangies” my foot! Just like the author I am a Burgher and the man who accompanied me home said that since my Sinhalese was not good he will protect me. Obviously, I am a Burgher and my mother language is English. What was he thinking? That was the question in my mind. When we reached my home he wanted a glass of water. He had an ulterior motive. “I do not have the house key,” I said looking at him with innocent eyes. “We do have a garden tap you, could drink out of that.” He was not too happy and said he never drank directly from a tap. Give me a break!Ceylonese, Srilankans whatever, humans know very well how to do this. He tried the next trick “well where are you going to stay?” I looked over to the Dalugama Church - my salvation, and said “I am going there.” My husband who is also a Burgher had to survive alone in his neighbours garage for three days only with water for sustenance. He could not make it home in time before curfew was clamped on the city.
The author’s descriptions are so vivid that the reader who experienced the 23rd horror can still smell kerosene. diesel. petrol, tires, dust, blood; and can hear screams and can feel the confusion in the air that destroyed the beautiful island of Sri Lanka. The island that may never regain its splendour again. It was a bunch of hooligans who just couldn’t make it in the world, that decided to destroy all our lives. We were the best tourist destination but today we are not.

By: Uthunga

Uthunga — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:28:51 +0000

Twenty five years have passed since the holocaust of July 1983.Every body in Sri Lanka knew and still knows and remembers those who were responsible for it.
But nobody can lay a finger on any one of them.Some of those who planned and executed it are no longer alive and those who live today only reminisce.
The people are either too apathetic to change or have a suicidal tendency to tolerate a self-serving leadership supported by a docile media, subservient police an obedient loyal armed service, an obliging complacent judiciary to let things drift and find comfort in the typical Sri Lankan trait, that every thing would sort itself out in time “What can we do?” and live in Hell.

By: Jey

Jey — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:27:48 +0000

It is very sad state of our country that that majority community fails to see the real problem. There is an ethnic problem, where one community deprived of higher education, employment, and job and investment opportunities. Even those who lived among Singhalese were systematically targeted (in 56, 77 and 83) and reduced to nothing by the government and put the blame collectively on Singhalese. LTTE and all other armed groups is the by-product of this discrimination and systematic targeting. Unless the root problem (i.e. the right of Tamils to rule them within united Sri Lanka or as a separate entity) is solved, there will be resistance by Tamils. The leader of this resistance may change from time to time like SJV Selvanayam, Ponambalm, Amirthalingam, Pirabaharan or someone else in future.

In 83, Tamils shops, houses and industries were burnt, now the country as a whole hit with high inflation, high cost of living, low rate to employment and heading fast to poverty and some analyst say becoming a failed state. This is simply because the successive government did not try to solve the root cause of the ethnic problem, instead they wanted to solve LTTE issue militarily or mark their year time by talk in round table/all party conferences. Those who have solved similar problems (South Africa, Ireland etc) are marching forward, while we march backwards.

By: shaan fernando

shaan fernando — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:14:21 +0000

When there is a war we have to accept some restrictions. Not only you in Jaffna feels you are slaves even in Colombo we feel the same. but then one has to understand that its how a war of this nature is fought.
If any person who say it is wrong doing by the military then they will also have to tell how else we could control the situation. It is easy for activities of different types to criticize the way it is done but they also then should give a way to do it. I am not trying to Justify the killings but In Iraq there are over 2,50000 civilian were killed in a span of 5 years in Sri Lanka over 30 years total killed including the combatant of both parties is about 70000 so its not indiscriminate killings but to stop the resistance. During 87 JVP time there were about 30000 killed in two years time. No body told any thing about it Why it was the Sinhala killing the Sinhalese. Now this has become an issue because its a matter of two races.
Once has to understand whether it is Sinhala or Tamils if its against the masses it is a terrorism. No Sinhalese are against Tamils but against the LTTE who make killing the order of the day. So for us to have peace we have to defeat the LTTE militarily like we did for the JVP. so they would also come to politics like the other Tamil parties who one time were fighter have done. Until this happen the war will go on and sooner they are defeated the better. So lets hope we defeated the LTTE at the earliest militarily.