shehal said,

June 8, 2009 @ 1:21 pm

I think it’s stupid…
to be intolerant of all the things the author thinks is stupid

half and half said,

June 8, 2009 @ 5:48 pm

i think it sounds stupider than it actually is.

Smeagol said,

June 8, 2009 @ 8:48 pm

More than stupid, it’s sad that some teenage emo poetry is considered worthy of stimulating discussion. The disclaimer is worse: “I wrote it in three minutes while I was high at an open mike” is no excuse for publishing tripe. An “editor’s note” implies the existence of an editor…

Manushi said,

June 8, 2009 @ 11:33 pm

I think it’s stupid for LTTE protesters to block the Gardiner Highway during rush hour in downtown Toronto.

I think it’s stupid that all of us Torontonians are subjected to the LTTE terror flag at the drop of a hat.

I think it’s stupid that western powers, (I)NGO’s and HRW, along with LTTE supporters, tried to save a megalomanic like Prabhakaran.

Listen stupid, Sri-Lankans have proved that we will not go quietly in to night. It’s simple, stupid !

punitham said,

June 9, 2009 @ 4:17 am

I think it’s outrageous
To bulldoze jungle
To set up camps

I think it’s outrageous
To ravage environment
To set up camps

I think it’s outrageous
To have barbed wires
Around traumatised people

I think it’s outrageous
To let fishermen starve
To let farmers starve

I think it’s outrageous
To starve bruised people
Of food and medicine

I think it’s outrageous
To deny access to aid
And let guards set up shops

I think it’s outrageous
To let guards lend phones
And charge the imprisoned

I think it’s outrageous
To let paramilitaries
Abduct children

I think it’s outrageous
To separate families
And take away ”orphans”

I think it’s outrageous
To make citizens IDPs and
To claim soveriegnty over them

I think it’s outrageous
To slow-genocide
To deny media

I think it’s outrageous
To slow-genocide
Without witnesses

i think it’s outrageous
To have religions
To slow-genocide

I think it’s outrageous
To have UDHR
To slow-genocide

It’s outrageous
Human Rights Council
Cover-up genocide

Humanists
Historians

There’s genocide

nandasena said,

June 9, 2009 @ 6:30 am

It is foolish to think that people do not know who is behind the “white van ride”
It is foolish to deny that abductions, rape, deprivation of food and medicine is being used to subjugate the Tamils by a “Terrorist Group”
It is foolish to think that they have fooled the world with the slogan “rising sun” in the east. In reality east is full of abductions, ransom demanding, disappearances, rape etc. etc.
It is foolish to think that there are three Tamil ministers in the cabinet. People know who they really are and what their human rights record is.
It is foolish to think that there is going to be peace because they have ended Terrorism. People know that there is another set of Terrorists who has bombed and killed 20,000 civilians and committed and is committing unspeakable atrocities on the “captured people”
It is foolish to think that the Tamils have been liberated. in fact they are being “held against their wishes”
Liberation is far away for all the inhabitants of this wretched island!!!
It is foolish to deny that a set of people are expoliting the naive with the slogan “war on Terror” and is making a fortune to last for several generations for their clan.

punitham said,

June 9, 2009 @ 7:40 am

It’s outrageous
Sickles and Machetes
GalOya 1956

It’s outrageous
Discrimination
Constitution
Pogroms
Embargo
Diversion of
Foreign aid
Cordon off
Northeast

It’s outrageous
Shells and Mortars
Pesalai
Sampur
Vaharai
……………..
2005
………….

punitham said,

June 9, 2009 @ 1:32 pm

It’s outrageous
Emargo on food and medicine
In 80s, 90s, …. to Northeast

It’s outrageous
Disappearances in custody
In 80s, 90s, …..PTA, ER

It’s outrageous
No investigations
Only impunity

It’s outrageous
Cordon off Northeast
Inflated prices

It’s outrageous
Disappearances white van
” War-on-terror”

It’s outrageous
No investigations
Only impunity

It’s outrageous
Murder in church
Murder in temple

It’s outrageous
T5 Murder
M17 Murder

It’s outrageous
No investigations
Only impunity

It’s outrageous
Embargo on aid agencies
To ”wired” camps

It’s outrageous
Disappearances and rapes
Inside ‘’wired’’ camps

It’s outrageous
No investigations
Only impunity

Chelva came and went
No change
In structural violence

Prabha came and went
No change
In structural violence

JRJ strangulated
National process
DJ strangulated
International process

Future looks dark and gloomy not only for Sri Lankan Tamils but also for all oppressed minorities around the world if the balance in UNHRC is determined by ”geographical representation” and not by merit.
For the sake of future generations, let’s stop automatically handing over power to widows and widowers but to leaders of merit.

Sophist said,

June 9, 2009 @ 2:50 pm

No Nicolai. That is what I am saying. They don’t have money to pay the fine. They stay in remand. For some it’s the only way to guarantee a meal.

Before anybody pontificates upon the solutions for our country they should be made to go the General Hospital, the Prison and any Magistrate’s Court.

punitham said,

June 9, 2009 @ 5:53 pm

1. Over the last few months I’ve been writing to as many parliamentarians as possible to join the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention and Human Security inaugurated last October. ….
2. I don’t want to see any gun or explosive produced in this world. I want to see all the children taught history so that they won’t repeat it. I want all parents to be taught basic child psychology(what’s known to lot of our grannies) so that they will bring up children who wouldn’t hate ‘others’ even if they don’t love them to bits. Over the last fifteen years I’ve been writing to Psychology associations and Headteachers Associations about this.
3.I’ve also been saying that the moment the Sinhalese decide to be fair to the Tamils, this island will be a paradise. DJ could have made it possible but has made it nearly impossible. He is making it impossible for many others too …. I dread the future of the UN.

punitham said,

June 9, 2009 @ 9:31 pm

Paradise Poisoned: Learning about Conflict, Terrorism and Development from Sri Lanka ’s Civil Wars(2005), John Richardson, Professor of International development in American University’s School of International Service :

”Sri Lanka provides a lens for viewing many challenges with which development practitioners and leaders of developing nations have grappled in the post-World war II era – and for learning from them. My intention is to provide answers to the question, ‘how did we come to this’ that will help craft more humane, peaceable, sustainable future development scenarios. Such scenarios could make it unnecessary for future generations to contemplate protracted deadly conflict’s legacies – suffering, devastation and hopelessness – as Sri Lankans, Rwandians, Bosnians, Ahghanis and many others have had to do. My vision is of a day when no citizens in today’s developing nations will have to ask ‘how did we come to this?’

Grim Hope said,

June 10, 2009 @ 9:44 am

I think it’s stupid

That Dayan thinks he knows everything…

“On February 22, 2002, Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UNITA, was killed in combat with government troops, and a cease-fire was reached by the two factions. UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of major opposition party. ” quoted from wikipedia

They reached a ceasefire, the people were not put in Retention/Concentration camps…completely different situation!

Grim Hope said,

June 11, 2009 @ 8:39 am

Nicolai ,
Truth will be realized soon! The question is will it be too late by then!

This I read in the UTHR report,
—–
Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleke wrote in response to Lasantha Wickrematunge’s killing:

“One of the finest acts of humane, civilized conduct I am aware of was by one of the bravest, most daring soldiers we have amongst us, General Gamini Hettiaarachchi…His brother, a planter, was decapitated by the JVP, but when he apprehended JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera at gunpoint, he did not even deal the latter a blow, and ensured the safety of Wijeweera’s family.”

We should feel very troubled if similar standards have not been observed for the family of Prabhakaran, his wife and 12-year-old son, families of his lieutenants and all who surrendered.
—-

punitham said,

June 11, 2009 @ 4:08 pm

Grim Hope
Thanks for all your comments.

”We should feel very troubled if similar standards have not been observed for the family of Prabhakaran, his wife and 12-year-old son, families of his lieutenants and all who surrendered.”

NO UN
NO ICRC
NO MEDIA

Whole evidence is destroyed by bulldozers.

Sinhalese
Please please please give your voice to those inside the barbed wire in Vavuniya and Vaharai.

Manushi said,

June 12, 2009 @ 2:57 am

Punitham,

Please tell me you are being ironic. Playing the victim card may score you a few brownie points with the likes of Bob Rae, but it does not hold much currency today, as the vast majority of people have rejected this tired “poor me” rhetoric.

Bob Rae could serve his time better in coming to the aid of the First Nations people of Canada.

Manushi said,

June 12, 2009 @ 6:27 am

I say, get rid of religion altogether ! The delusion of the ’self’ is responsible for for both inner and outer conflict. We want our pathetic little egos to be made “invincible” through identification with a particular religion, ethnicity, race, class, caste, gender, ideology…you name it.

No identification, no problem.

Nicolai said,

June 12, 2009 @ 11:40 am

Lanka: it is people like you make most of us moderates, Tamil or Sinhala or Muslim, cringe in dismay.
I think the many good Sinhala people on this board alone, just don’t need these comments right now. Many of them are looking for reconciliation and a way forward. Truly. Your comments also add so much fuel to Grim Hope’s, Punithan’s and Heshan’s fire.

Manushi: I agree with you, even on the Bob Rae comment. Yes he may have more important issues to deal with in his own back yard. It still does not diminish the problem. I still think it was inexcusable to send him back. He is not a Sillybandstander or any of those other EU guys including the Swedish guy that came (or wanted to come) here to try and stop the war when it was almost over. Bob Rae came over after it was all said and done. Very difference situation. That alone should give some credence to his motives.

chinthana said,

June 12, 2009 @ 8:34 pm

Punitham

i think it’s stupid
that you write all this BS
from so far away…
Come
go inside the barbed wire
and come face to face with reality
of people saved
from certain death
instead of waving flags,
blocking roads
STOP wasting precious time
STOP
saying
GENOCIDE
Otherwise, it seems to me
that only ghosts must be living in Wellawatte
and
Cinnamon Gardens

Heshan said,

June 13, 2009 @ 8:25 am

“but don’t quote inflammatory, inaccurate, statistics about very sensitive issues. ”

The statistics are accurate and up-to-date. Why don’t you disprove them if you can, instead of resorting to subjective diatribe? And no, don’t mention that Lakshman Kadirgimir was the Foreign Minister, because he was the ONLY Tamil Foreign Minister in the entire 60-yr history. Also don’t mention that he could have become President because that is based on pure speculation. There are 108 people in the Cabinet; if they are eager to have Tamil civil servants of value, String Theory isn’t required to get the job done.

Heshan said,

June 13, 2009 @ 8:45 am

“If you talk to First Nations people in Canada, they will tell you about the psychological and sexual abuses inflicted on them by Catholic priests and nuns. Ever heard about the Spanish Inquisition? What about the horrendous mistreatment of the Dalits in India? Do Isamic Jihadists ring a bell?”

Yes, well, that’s why the West has become secular. Christian fundamentalists don’t win elections. Christian fundamentalists don’t speak in the Parliament. They don’t become Vice-Chancellor’s of top universities. They can’t block legislation by protesting. This is why multicultural societies are possible in the West. Of course, you will have people in the population who disagree… who WANT religion to play a more prominent role. That’s why you have legislation. Start with the Constitution, go down the line. Finally you let everyone protest as much as they want. The laws may not change, but at least they have the protest to satisfy them. Brilliant system, isn’t it?

Manushi said,

June 13, 2009 @ 11:22 pm

“Yes, well, that’s why the West has become secular. Christian fundamentalists don’t win elections. Christian fundamentalists don’t speak in the Parliament. They don’t become Vice-Chancellor’s of top universities”.

You are right, Christian fundamentalists have more voice in Sri-Lanka !

Heshan said,

June 14, 2009 @ 2:59 am

No one has any voice in Sri Lanka except the pro-government stooges. Hence the white vans.

Heshan said,

June 14, 2009 @ 10:39 am

“he who had a divine calling to carry out a war on terror, ”

The “War on Terror” was hardly Bush’s idea. In any case, more than 200 members of Congress voted, via a majority, to invade Iraq.

“he who banned stem-cell research on religious grounds,”

So? Did tens of thousands of people die because he banned this research? Obviously, it can be carried out in other countries. So far no amazing cures have been discovered.

“fit into your theory of the secular west?”

Bush is/was one man at a particular moment in history. The West became secular with the advent of the French Revolution. Besides, Bush was in power for 8 years max; he could not elect his brothers or friends to high positions
without Senate approval, so whatever damage Bush did after those 8 yrs gets thrown down to a completely different person. Basically, Bush did not have enough time to put a permanent dent on the secular ideals of the West. That’s what a good Constitution does – keeps fools from taking a country down the road of permanent paralysis.

Manushi said,

June 15, 2009 @ 2:13 am

Heshan says: “The feudal mindset revolves more or less around tribal loyalties, which in turn demand blind devotion and unconditional loyalty”.

I am sure you know an awful lot about ‘manifest destiny’. If not, the American Indians and Mexicans can enlighten you.

Ven. Pandita said,

June 15, 2009 @ 11:02 am

You said, “I think it’s stupid…
For the Buddhist flag to be seen anywhere at any time during any celebration of the end of the war.”

I think that it is not stupid for a Buddhist flag to appear signaling the end of human suffering. But it is stupid to celebrate by using a Buddhist flag the destruction of a community of fellow human beings. It all depends upon the attitude of those waving the flag.

Heshan said,

June 15, 2009 @ 8:45 pm

Rajivmw:

I never said the USA cannot be held accountable for its past sins. Manushi was clearly saying “Manifest Destiny” is an American ideology… this could not be further from the truth. Most Americans don’t even know what that is. So how can it be an American ideology? As for accountability, accountability is not about being sinless, rather, taking responsibility. This is the major difference between Eastern and Western politics. I know for a fact that so many American senators resigned their seats over corruption allegations.

“I have long realized the utter futility of arguing with you,”

I will take that as an admission that you lack any coherent counterargument. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This anti-Western propaganda lacks any substance to begin with, its based on denial and a refusal on the part of the Asians to take responsibility for their OWN actions.

ayshya said,

June 15, 2009 @ 10:53 pm

realist…

as a non-buddhist, i believe there are a lot of good monks in sri lanka. however they are less publicly vocal than the hardline/nationalist monks, and therefore less visible.

While it doesn’t negate the culpability of the GoSL, & I think it’s disgusting whoever does it, one shouldn’t forget the LTTE has also been known to kill those who surrendered (e.g. the 400+ policemen in 1990).

However, there was a story recently about how the army found sl army prisoners of war in the safe zone, implying that the ltte did not kill POWs, but gave them some food etc. to keep them alive for the many months they were held captive.

Halitosis said,

June 16, 2009 @ 6:50 pm

I think it was stupid to force Tamil people not to vote for Ranil
I think it was stupid to underestimate the will of the masses to fight the Tigers
I thihk it was stupid to renege on 3 peace accords and ask for an EElam and get Illang kaawa when a 12% minority wants 45% of the land mass and 60% of the coastal belt for a racially exclusive homeland for one small minority in a pisspoor densely populated Island.
I think it was stupid to attack Mavil Aru
I think it was stupid of stupid Tigers to think they were superior to the inferior “sinhalam” army.
I think it was stupid of the stupid tigers to force people onto the harsh beaches expect India to bail them out.
I think only ones being stupid right now are Colombo’s liberal elitist pseudo intellectuals. No one fights wars singing “kumbaya my lord kumbaya”. The white Christians killed 10,000 in the first three weeks in Iraq.. Casualties are inevitable. This war was NOT chosen by the government. This war was thrust upon them.

These publicly branded self-declared intellectuals always had strong words against the government of the day; they would appear to be balanced occasionally by making a very mild rebuke of the Tigers, but they would never condemn the Tigers outright in unequivocal language any of Tiger excesses because doing so would have earned them late Mr. Prabakaran’s wrath. It was their insurance policy to keep attacking the government but to ignore Tiger atrocities. So they would obfuscate the issues by trying to morally equate both sides!

Not one of them have been able to acknowledge that consistent leadership and superior military strategies and tactics combined with tremendous sacrifices by the ordinary men and women in Sri Lanka are the reasons for the military defeat of the world’s toughest, most ruthless group of rebel separatists. To this date, some of them are unable to admit they are wrong, and instead write drivel in flowing beautiful Queen’s English about how the post-war scenario has to be handled and wanting to criticize every action taken to protect civilians amidst a situation never seen before in the world. Their vocal protests were always limited to Colombo and never did they dare to launch a peace protest in Kilinochchi or Jaffna when Tigers dominated those places in order to convince the majority of peace loving Tamil people that supporting the Tigers was futile. All their campaigns were aimed at indoctrinating the Southern polity that they have no choice but to deal with Tigers as the sole representative of all Tamil speaking people of the North-East and to accept as fact that Tigers will rule the North and East of Sri Lanka although no one has ever bothered to ask the people in those two provinces what their free democratic will was!

Go enjoy the game on large screen TV with your scotch and soda at CCC or go to Hilton Pub and blast us native with the white fellas will you.. Sad that there were heavy casualties but no one was ever fought without collateral damage not even by Christian armies of the west.

And if I may please let me add a kudos to Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleke as well. Celebrating the victory over terrorism is not a slight against Tamil people. In fact those Tamils who are soured to the idea of a national day of victory must be those who supported the Tigers and have racist feelings of superiority over the rest of the nation. The flag waved by Sri Lankans was the SRI LANKAN national flag and not a Sinhala flag. D-Day is celebrated by the allies even 65 years after it happened. There is nothing wrong with having a day to celebrate the victory of good over evil and to remember the day so we will never make the same mistakes again that will lead to the creation of another monster like the late Mr. Prabakaran and another fratricidal war twenty years from today. The lectures on “triumphalism” are condescending specially when it comes from the West. George Bush’s “mission accomplished” was a premature ejaculation of Triumphalism by an incompetent regime in the US. In contrast, celebrating a right royal victory over terrorism by a competent, highly skilled, dedicated military amidst tremendous sacrifices and fighting under restrictions and winning against the world’s toughest rebel group is worthy of a national day of introspection akin to D-Day that is observed on 6th June every year.
It was superior military tactics and strategies combined with skillful political and military leadership at all levels that won this war against the Tigers; only Tiger apologists will go into conniptions unable to accept this fact.

Intellectualism is overrated; Real Intelligence is rare and intelligent people know how to adjust and change strategies when the facts and data on the ground change; intellectuals on the other hand will argue with facts and data if they facts and data do not suit their thinking and say the data and facts are wrong. Sri Lanka needs more intelligent people who do not write sophmoric poems in emotion piques. This war was won by intelligent Sri Lankans.

Manushi said,

June 16, 2009 @ 10:30 pm

Heshan,

By the way, I learnt about ‘manifest destiny’ from an American professor of English Literature in one of my grad studies courses (Literature of the West).
You can also read Regeneration through Violence, and Gunfighter Nation: the Myth of the American Frontier in Twentieth-Century by Richard Slotkin in case your mind is still fogged up.

Blow out that candle, and get some sleep you wannabe.

Vino Gamage said,

June 17, 2009 @ 2:53 am

Daily Telegraph, London, 26 July 1983
“Motorists were dragged from their cars to be stoned and beaten with sticks during racial violence in Colombo, the Sri Lanka capital yesterday (24 July). Others were cut down with knifes and axes. Mobs of Sinhala youth rampaged through the streets, ransacking homes, shops and offices, looting them and setting them ablaze, as they sought out members of the Tamil ethnic minority… A Sri Lankan friend told me by telephone last night how he had watched horrified earlier in the day as a mob attacked a Tamil cyclist riding near Colombo’s eye hospital, a few hundred yards from the home of Junius Jayawardene, the nations 76 year old President. The cyclist was hauled from his bike, drenched with petrol and set alight. As he ran screaming down the street, the mob set on him again and hacked him down with jungle knifes..”

Guardian, London, 26 July 1983
”Pillars of smoke and flame rose over the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo yesterday as mobs attacked the minority Tamil community and looted their homes and stores…Some of the worst rioting erupted in the morning only 200 yards away from President Jayawardene’s house… All over the city by mid-morning lorries jammed with young men shouting anti Tamil slogans, were moving into Tamil areas and into shopping centres picking out Tamil shops… Petrol was siphoned from cars into buckets and plastic bowls to speed the work of arson.. By noon Colombo resembled a city after a bombing raid. Smoke obscured the sun, main roads were blocked by burnt out vehicles.. The rioting surged into the heart of the city. In area after area Sinhalese rioters systematically picked out Tamil homes and shops, whether occupied or empty, and looted and destroyed them…”

Vino Gamage said,

June 17, 2009 @ 11:48 am

Sri Lanka: New Amnesty report reveals inability of Sri Lankan government to deliver justice, 11 June 2009:

‘Twenty Years of Make-Believe: Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry’, documents the failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to provide accountability for serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, killings, and torture.

16 June 2009:
An independent international commission must be set up to investigate human rights violations in Sri Lanka over the last 20 years, as successive governments have failed to account for abuses such as torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during its civil war, Amnesty International said.

Aylanee said,

June 17, 2009 @ 6:08 pm

I think it’s BRILLIANT we have this space to come together
let’s use it to bring our people together
Inch by inch, one person at a time
It may take one year or it may take another thirty
But at leaset we can say we tried
To bring our folks together by peace
And not by shooting a guy in the head.
Aylanee

davidson panabokke said,

June 18, 2009 @ 8:33 pm

The Army and the Navy continue to shoot the Tamils – as they’ve done over the last five decades..

But there is nobody to shoot the Sinhalese.

So that’s PEACE.

Heshan said,

June 19, 2009 @ 6:32 am

There is no contradiction. “Manifest Destiny” is glossed over in a single chapter on the expansion of settlements to the West. Few people are going to remember a single chapter that was taught to them for barely a week in their lives. Just like few people are going to remember synthetic division or the Binomial Theorem even though it was taught in the algebra class. Unless of course, it becomes part of their national ideology/consciousness. Manifest Destiny definitely does not fit the bill, as far as the American mindset goes… most Americans have little interest in colonizing the rest of the world. The sole exception is Israel, which serves as a sort of proving ground for a few Evangelicals.

Heshan said,

June 19, 2009 @ 11:48 am

Mexico lost Texas and California as a result of the Mexican-American War. Louisiana was purchased by Jefferson. Manifest Destiny had nothing to do with it. The Indians were indeed a barrier to settler expansion. But while Manifest Destiny referred to expansion, it did not specify any particular method of doing so. So one cannot say the Indians were subdued just because of Manifest Destiny. A lot of it has to do with simple population figures…. the white settlements would have expanded no matter what, eventually outnumbering the indigenous population.

Heshan said,

June 19, 2009 @ 8:57 pm

If Manushi is so concerned about slaughter of Indians, she should not live in Canada, which also happened to be occupied by millions of Indians at one point, before Europeans came. She should go to an IDP camp and enjoy the benefits provided by Western charity and the Sri Lankan Government. Then again, how ironic that after 2500 years of so-called civilization, Sri Lanka cannot even manage a simple camp on its own. If we go by self-sufficiency, Sri Lanka is in the Neanderthal Age.

Manushi said,

June 20, 2009 @ 2:11 am

SomewhatDisgusted,

Right on ! You hit it right on the nail.

Halitosis said,

June 20, 2009 @ 9:59 pm

There were race riots in the US in the 1920s and 30s that were state sponsored or when the local law enforcement authorities ignored the attacks.

1983 was the worst crime against humanity in Sri Lanka

CBK apologized unequivocally for that crime. and tigers tried to kill her.

Today the fishing ban was lifted.

Come to the suburbs of colombo and READ the election data to see how Sinhala Catholics voted for Mahinda in 2005 as well as the recent WP elections. Come back Heshan and spend your Tiger money on helping the poor. Or next time when you vacation in “Ceylon” dont vacation with the horrible hated Sinhalese amongst whom 53% of Tamils live. Your Eelam is a pipe dream will NEVER happen.. Tamils live even in the Deep south and should have the right to live there. There are tamils in Kataragama, Devundara Tuduwa, and Matara and Kandy etc. And you forget Premedasa was not Sinhala Govigama Buddhist.. He was what they call Dhobi caste and he was the best President we had. And your Tigers killed him.

No Sinhalese and Moslems live in Jaffna anymore. Why?

And Tigers got what they deserved. You forget the President’s wife is a Catholic.
Please come back to SL and go help the suffering masses instead of indulging in your factually faulty display of American History because you live there. Go check on the massacre of Black people in Florida and Oklahoma and other places which happened with State connivance. Then go read the book “Without Sanctuary” by William Cohen and his black wife. William Cohen was a Republican who served as Def Secy under Clinton. Peace and above all inner peace.

Halitosis said,

June 21, 2009 @ 10:09 pm

Black people were not massacred? Go read up the history of some of the violent riots similar to 1983. Example Florida
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood_massacre
Tulsa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_Race_Riot
THE POINT? is stop trying to equate situations. The concentration camps were a point from where 6 million Jews were gassed to death. The Japanese were interned without any cause.. These people were forced to live on the beaches in the final weeks as an insurance policy against the armed forces. The inferior Tiger army did not ever think the so called “sinhalam army” will not give them an asswhupping; so like cowards along with their Mahaveer families the Tigers forced these people hoping to create an international crisis to get themselves bailed out. VP got what was coming to him.. It is still a “i cannot believe it is true” for the Tiger Tamil Diaspora that a so called “inferior Sinhalam” army gave their mythical SunGod an asswhupping.. Ipso facto.

(BTW Chief of the Airforce is a Catholic.). Yes SL is a Sinhala Buddhist majority nation, but don’t forget the lopsided inequitous employment patterns before independence and after independence for the longest time where Minorities who are loyal to the British were rewarded and occupied most positions in the civil service.. Wherever the Brits when they found Tamils to be loyal serfs to them and so did the Christians. The Navy for example was full of Burghers and CAtholics and Tamils for the longest time. And the Army was led by a Tamil first in post independence Sri LAnka. The first Governor General was a Christian (Sir Oliver) and Sir John was also most likely a christian..The first generation of leaders were all closet Christians. The Bandaranaikes were the same..hypocrites.

NOW to get back to the point, it is absurd to compare the Concentration camps to these camps. Yes situation is not good in these camps. but how is the government going to process all the terrorist infilitrators? And how is the government going to let people go when there are millions of Tiger mines in the the war zone? FACTS are that most Tamils live with Sinhalese should continue to live so with Sinhalese hopefully one day without fear. For the same reason Muslims and Sinhalese should have the same damned right to live in Jaffna..

Here is something someone sent. that I cut and pasted..

How many Tamils are employed in southern Sri Lankan companies? (See the number of high caliber Tamils in Sri Lankan banking sector, see hotel trade, see film trade, see other industries)

Do they experience any hardship professionally due to ethnicity? If so, how come they hold such high positions?

See how many Tamil kids are getting educated in International schools? They have outnumbered other ethnicities.

Royal college has Tamil medium, DS has Tamil medium. So many Sinhala major government schools have Tamil medium and they share equal opportunities. How many Tamil major schools have Sinhala medium?

Private schools like St. Thomas ‘, Trinity etc have quite a large number of Tamil students.

Travel Wellawatte, Dematagoda, Dehiwala, Kotahena etc and see the number of Tamils sharing the comforts.

Go to Pettah market and Fort. Walk along the streets and see how many Tamils are doing business there.

Start from Kotahena and travel passing Dehiwala. Sinhala shops are outnumbered by Tamil traders. I don’t see any hardship put on them.
Get into a bus and listen how many speak in Tamil.

Try to find a single Sinhala board in Wellawatte. All are Tamil and English.
Go to a government campus. Let’s say Colombo campus. See the number of Tamil students. See the number of Tamil lecturers. They share equal opportunities. I never saw them being humiliated except they themselves had divisions saying Batticaloa Tamil, Jaffna Tamil and Upcountry Tamil. They have a separate Tamil Union, their cultural events, their religious events.
How many kovils are there in Colombo ?
See the number of Sinhalese visiting kovils and Tamil shops. Doesn’t it display the harmony?
How many Tamil representatives are in the parliament?
See the number of Tamil youth musicians in Colombo .
Please consider these statistics. If somebody can come up with numbers and percentages, it would reveal the truth. This is what we should call rational. Our generation should not waste time on arguing what’s unknown to us and what’s not experienced by us. Live today, not yesterday.
Jaffna and Trincomalee have ports, heavy industries, bus stations, railway stations, radio and TV broadcasting stations, universities and so many other facilities.
Now Sinhalese
How many Sinhalese are in Northern and Eastern part of Sri Lanka ? (North none, East, 25%)
How many Sinhala medium schools are there in Northern Sri Lanka ? (None)
How many Sinhala employees are in Northern Sri Lankan offices and industries? (None)
How many temples are there in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka ? (One, at Nagadeepa)
Can a Sinhalese travel unharmed in Northern Sri Lanka ? (only now, after the defeat of the LTTE)
How many Sinhalese are in Northern and Eastern universities? (None)
Now, answer me. Where is ethnic cleansing? Now, for the US Congress and the British Parliament:
It is up to you to analyze and understand the real facts ,rather than just believing propaganda like ” GENOCIDE ” that is just “invented propaganda” to mislead your tiny minds .
Americans didn’t know they were under attack by Osama Bin Laden, until it happened! The British forces started shooting innocent people, mistaking them for terrorists (they couldn’t inotice the difference!). ( try convincing the loving mother of Charles Menezes!) So, as a matter of fact, how on earth could they understand what’s happening thousands of miles away, in Sri Lanka?!
First of all ,stop what you originally started ,by “clearing off ” from Iraq and Afghanistan! Even with all the power and money you posses, you have proved beyond doubt ,that you are still unable to solve your own problems! Sri Lanka can do without dumb, swollen headed Yankees and heartless brutal killers of Britain ,who had slain millions of innocent Sri Lankans of former ” Imperial Ceylon” they pillaged and plundered!
If you cannot understand basic facts and wish to display a total lack common sense, we suggest you MIND YOUR OWN BLOODY BUSINESS.
You are still working on the “theories” of Terrorism, whilst hundreds of innocent folk are being killed by ruthless,fanatical son’s of bitches.
BUT LOOK MATE….
Here we are in relatively poor country, with no oil and other commodities, that all of you worship, but went on to prove that
WE DESTROYED THE BASTARDS WHO CREATED HAVOC IN THE MOTHERLAND WE LOVE AND CHERISH!
p.s.None of you have the “balls” to admit that we in Sri Lanka, destroyed “Terrorism”!

Heshan said,

June 22, 2009 @ 8:22 am

*Let’s see a Catholic become Governor of the Northeast.

Halitosis said,

June 22, 2009 @ 9:28 am

Yes but most people were left illiterate because the British did not teach everyone English.. The Brits created a loyal upper and middle class while rural Tamils and rural Sinhalese were left out completely. Please go read facts of history or even better come back to Sri Lanka a country you hate so much and see facts on the ground. The rural people were left out..

and Please read “Without Sanctuary” on the US treatment of blacks. You are in denial and clueless about the history of state and local(not federal) sponsored violence.. Lets take two examples from your country. It was ONLY in 2005 or 2006 that the US Senate issued an apology for state sponsored lynchings. You can keep defending your US but facts are facts.. The last lynching in the US occured in the 1960s and the insidious laws banning interracial marriage was tossed out by the SC only in 1967.(please go read history). Now to get back to how lynchings happened, did you know that there were postcards printed showing the lynchings that were then mailed all across the US? Sheriffs, Local officials, all allowed picnic type gatherings when whites gathered around to lynch blacks. Often the blacks would have their testicles and penises chopped off because of the stereotypical scare mongering. This is documented and is fact.. Did you know that the official vote in the Senate was based on a voice vote and they did not take a roll call? You know why? Because it was before the 2006 elections and the Southern White Senators did not want to be on record voting for a symbolic piece of legislation.. wow that is your country. Then two weeks ago the Senate finally FINALLY decided to apologise for Jim Crow laws and Slavery and once again it was take as a lame pathetic voice vote of Ayes and Nays with only 38 odd senators present. Once again ask why no official record of the vote was not taken? The goddamned southern white Senators did not want to go on record even though it was a conservative good christian soul who sponsored this bill: Senator Brownback of Kansas who is one of those intelligent design creationists but still when it comes to racial justice and equality he has a better record that most.

Facts and data always stymie Tigers. By your arguments NEVER wil lthe US elect a Moslem, an atheist, or a Hindu or Buddhist as President either. SO get over the bovine excrement trying to demonize the SInhalese because the bottom line is the Tamil Tigers with their superiority complex got their butts kicked in war; a war they thought they could never lose; a war which THEY stupidly started; A war they STUPIDLY and secretly got ready for using the ceasefire.

in Our SL nothing like that happened except the horrible violence of 1983 and the more complicated 1956 riots when the Tamils started and provoked in the North. But 1983 was without a doubt a crime against humanity. Chandrika K apologised for it but I feel there should a truth commission and people should be punished or made to atone; but of course the greedy Tigers almost killed her even after she told the megalomaniac(hoory for his death) that he can govern the NE for 10 years. Bottom line is Tamils in SL do not have any godgiven right be separate when doctors, engineers, and a lot of them way higher than their proportion in the population benefit from free education in SRi Lanka and thrive in the south. Yes the feelings of fear will take time to eradicate but if they speak out against Tigers it will go a long way.

When the US elects a Moslem or a Hindu or a Buddhist as President pigs will fly. God bless the US of A.. Obama could not have won if he did not emphasise his Christianness..

As for citing people in the military until the 1960s the Navy and Airforce all were dominated by the Christians. The current AF commander’s father was an honorable honest officer(Harry) who commanded the AF under Mrs Bandaranayaka and the one before him Paddy Mendis was also a Christian. The commander of the army before Attygalle was a Christian. A lot of top officials were. Even after 1983, IGP Rudra Rajasingham was tamil and christian..A lot of SC judges were Tamil for a long time and good civil servants. Clancy Fernando blown up by your Tigers was a Catholic. General Heyn commanded the army for a short time. Anton Mutucumaru was tamil and christian. General Denis Perera an honorable Peterite Catholic. General SriLal Weerasooriya was a born-again christian whacko who introduced bibles to the trenches.. and the list of top officers even during the time of the wars is long…Go read facts..

On the JVP, yes the army hunted the Sinhala Buddhist JVPers and killed them even after WIjeweera was killed. The number of sinhalese killed there was far more than the number killed in the last 3 months of the war and not one person gave a damn because you people in the English speaking Colombo Elite benefited from that movement being crushed by any means necessary.

In 1971 surrendered JVP cadre were kept in camps for a long time. I should know because one my close relatives was a camp commander in Badulla for one of these rehabilitation camps. Instead of spreading your irrational hate come walk into LP or MC or even Crescat. See the big rich Tamils partying with their Sinhala equally rich friends at the clubs with their thug bodyguards. See the Tamils driving jaguars and mercedes and putting deals through with corrupt government officials using their old boy network(including power and weapons deals).. See the businesses owned by Tamils in Colombo.
the biggest dockyard owner is a tamil supplying boats and ships to the Navy as well.

One country many people and the same right tamils have to live and work and benefit from free education in the South must be given to Sinhalese and Moslems to live where they please even in Jaffna. WE are getting there.. Six months from now things will become better..

For now go read “without sanctuary”. Will you like me to send the ISBN number on this forum?

Halitosis said,

June 22, 2009 @ 9:34 am

I was in little Rome(Negombo) and the Catholic Sinhalese and fishermen were jubilant when the army defeated the Tigers. The recent WP elections will show those in denial the overwhelming majority of the Catholic vote MR won.. So get over the Buddhist bashing. Things will become a lot better by next year in the North. But corruption and goonism so to speak will remain the same in the election system be it MR or RW in power.

Halitosis said,

June 22, 2009 @ 10:05 am

Police Chiefs of Ceylon and Sri Lanka Police
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_General_of_Police_(Sri_Lanka)

Halitosis said,

June 23, 2009 @ 5:28 am

First correction:
McCain received votes from about 55.6% of White voters. meaning the majority of whites voted for the lesser man. But Barack Obama still won easily, winning huge majorities among minority voters. He attracted 95 percent of black votes and about 67 percent of Hispanic votes.

And if you want more data, please note even in the state where Prez Obama got white votes he only received approx 45% of the White vote, and that too thanks to the younger generation and changing demographics in states like Va where immigrants thrive in the Corridor close to DC.. Chances are a swing state like VA will not go to Democrats again. Also note, Obama ran as a middle candidate not a liberal lefty and ran the most brilliant campaign ever in a climate of uncertainty and economic despair in the key states such as Ohio and Pa. Oh was the key and so was Fl this time. .

You are totally clueless about your country. First the 100,000 are young men held without trial or access to any legal help INSIDE IRAQ, NOT IN Gitmo; you missed the fact. . Go study facts.. and read “Without Sanctuary” ..
Don’t talk baloney about Tamil Eelam because it aint’t gonna happen….

Also by the way, It was under Eisenhower that “under god” became part of the pledge. Again go read facts.. Should Sri Lanka say “in Buddha we trust”?

Your ignorance is typical of the American born low educated people these days.. This is not anti-western propaganda but to remind you of the issues that are unique to each nation. I suggest you go read up on the two voice votes..

And then recall the election campaign how that religious whacko flat earth creationist Sarah Palin kept using OBama’s middle name. Luckily the election was to follow the disastrous September and the economic issues overrode race… But the GOP is becoming more and more the party of the angry white man and the rightwing talk show hosts.. There will be a lot more racist attacks and right wing militia attacks now..

Now here are the FACTS and it is sadly your Sinhala hating, Buddhist Hating western Tamil racist crap that keeps polluting LAnkans from working together.. YOur claim about Obama being post-racial is only partially correct. But your balloon is like a Ceylon Metereology department weather balloon gone awry..

http://www.zeenews.com/world/2009-03-20/516453news.html

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2009Mar19/0,4675,MLIraqDetainees,00.html

The combatants in SL are similar to this.. Where is your data? And remember the 2000 rounded up immediately after 9/11 around NYC?

Go read up history of your own country. I bet you have never stepped into Sri LAnka..

Everyone knows that final peace will come in the form of political devolution and the 13th amendment. IF you failed to notice(I am sure you did because you gete your news from Tnet perhaps?) …that the East is pretty stable and the government is pouring in a lot of money.. And in case you failed to notice, former terrorists who murdered unarmed cops form part of the cabinet.

Tigers did NOT NEVER represent all tamils. Period Ipso facto. Now care to correct your arrogant statements about the number of Iraqis held by the US for 6 years? REad the links.. Some of us people are not that stupid comrade. Peace will come to SL from within SL from all communities..

What is STUPID Was Tiger arrogance and intransigence.. That led to their demise. Bring your Yanqui Dollars and help rebuild SL..

About 45% of the US think it is a Christian nation still and the founding fathers used Christian values.. Go read polls perhaps go out of the big cities to the mid-west or the deep south.. I too have lived there.

Halitosis said,

June 23, 2009 @ 5:37 am

Dr, Dobson and the Christian right including Gary Bauer influence policy. FAmily Research Council and FoxNews will aggressively try to use Choice or anti-abortion issues in 2010 and the gay issue as well in State elections. At national level they will soon force the choice issue to the front. So do not tell me Christian priests and Evangelical whackos don’t influence policy. They do.. Ban on gay marriages in a many states are a result of the whacko evangelicals. Where do you stand on that?

Halitosis said,

June 24, 2009 @ 9:08 pm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8116046.stm

Heshan said,

June 25, 2009 @ 7:08 am

The real question is, how many Iraqi’s were killed by Arab insurgents and how many were killed by American soldiers themselves? The Americans have never actually colonized another country; though they have occupied them (temporarily). The occupations have been largely successful – Japan, West Germany, Phillipines, South Korea. The puppet Governments it backed in South Vietnam and Iran failed – but what is the condition of South Vietnam and Iran today? The Iranians chose some outdated Islamic poppycock over Western-Style democracy; today they cannot even hold a free and fair election.

Iran is a failure because of Iranians.

Vietnam is a failure because of Vietnamese.

Iraq is a failure because of Iraqis.

It’s as simple as that. Of course the failure is by relative standards. All I can say is that these nations would be far more prosperous if they accepted Western-style democracy, which the USA was willing to help implement, free of charge. Look at Israel, the only real democracy in the Mid-East & good friend of the USA.

Heshan said,

June 26, 2009 @ 5:12 am

Iraqi’s have total freedom of movement, displaced or not.

Yes, democracy is coming to Tiger areas… barbed-wire democracy! In what kind of election do people vote from behind barbed wire – what an original idea that only Mahinda Chinthanaya could come up. Next up – soldiers will escort all the children back and forth to school.

Heshan said,

June 28, 2009 @ 4:40 am

By relative standards, Iran, Iraq, and Vietnam are failures. Just ask Japan, which America helped to rebuild after WWII.

At the university, I see many, many Japanese exchange students. I hardly see a Vietnamese, Iranian, or Iraqi student. What is even more interesting is that the majority of these Japanese students study business, unlike the majority of Indians or Chinese who clamor for engineering and medicine, to the extent of even outperforming the native population.

Is technology in Japan so good that Japanese exchange students choose business as their primary field of study? How many other Asian nations will send their best and brightest overseas just to study business? Perhaps one of these days I just might run into a Iraqi business studies major…

Now we get to the point… why is Japan so successful, despite Americans dropping nuclear bombs on them and occupying the place? I will leave it “Observer” and Co. to provide the answers. Although it might be tough going – none of that anti-Western dribble says much about “constitution” or “education.”

Halitosis said,

June 29, 2009 @ 1:22 am

“I’ll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don’t believe that persuasion isn’t going to work. Therapy isn’t going to cause terrorists to change their mind.” -George W Bush.

Same applies for Tiger terrorists.

Heshan said,

June 30, 2009 @ 10:55 am

You are missing the forest for the trees. The point I am making is that Japan is much better off than any other oriental country, although South Korea comes a close second. China does not even come close. China is not even a G10 nation. Of course Chinese are everywhere – this is because China has the largest population. It has nothing to do with the prosperity of China or overseas Chinese.

You contradict your whole argument when you say that the Vietnamese government sponsors Vietnamese students to study overseas. What that implies is that these students do not have the means to pay for their own studies. Which shows that Vietnam is POOR… exactly as I have pointed out in this thread. The Japanese government does not need to support Japanese students to study abroad because the Japanese can easily afford the cost. Do you know what living standards refer to? Japan has much higher living standards than Vietnam. This is because Japan is much more developed than Vietnam.

I stick to my earlier argument that Japanese study business in much greater numbers than all other Asians. I am not bothered to look up your so-called “statistics.” You can post them links to them yourself, which is what you should do be doing if you know how to argue properly anyways.