 Return to LNP
This News Site:
Lanka Newspapers is the largest Sri Lanka News forum online. Thousands of Sri Lankans from around the world gather here daily to discuss current news events of Sri Lanka. Join Today!
|
|
|
Co-chairs as a scarecrow
Monday, 9 January 2006 - 4:00 AM SL Time
|
|
|
Saturday`s suicide attack on a naval craft with 15 personnel on board is a pointer that the LTTE is far from ready to settle for anything less than a separate state. For, the so-called Black Tigers used for suicide attacks are under strict orders from the LTTE leader to kill even him if he ever deviates from the goal of Eelam. Brainwashed and programmed to kill, they are driven by the promise of a separate state posthumously. If the creator tries to stop them half way through, he runs the risk being devoured by the creature. By using the detonator happy zombies, the LTTE leader has renewed his call to them once again.
With the resumption of suicide attacks, the LTTE has also shown its preparedness to openly take on the security forces without hiding behind the cloak of `people`s war`, in defiance of the international community. It was only the other day that the Co-Chairs said the LTTE would have to face serious consequences unless it abandoned its violence. By attacking the naval craft, the LTTE has delivered a thundering slap each on the faces of the foursome, talking big and doing precious little on the ground to strengthen the peace process.
How is it that the LTTE is rushing in where a legitimate state fears to tread'flying in the face of the US, the EU, Japan and Norway' The Sri Lankan government cannot even get rid of one individual by the name of Solheim, an impediment to finding a lasting peace in the country, because of his partiality to the LTTE. The government`s efforts to smoke him out have gone up in smoke. We see the government leaders, who vowed to throw him out as the first thing after the change of watch in November, partaking of a lot of humble pie the Norwegians are dishing out.
The LTTE is aware that the Co-Chairs are a scarecrow with an old clay pot for the head and that it can do anything and get away with it. It began to test the waters a long time ago by killing armed forces personnel in ones and twos. And since there was no reaction from the Co-Chairs, except for some diplomatic mumbo-jumbo, it has graduated to direct offensives. It conscripts child soldiers, kills and maims civilians, kills policemen and members of the armed forces, extorts money, assassinates political leaders and disrupts elections, but the scarecrow looks on with nary a nod of its much hallowed hollow head.
But, lo and behold! It becomes flesh and blood, the moment the other party to the truce, namely the government, commits a CFA violation, however slight it may be.
We have the international community complimenting the government for its resilience in the face of unbridled provocations by the LTTE. The restraint with which the government is handling the situation is salutary as that is the only way to prevent the country sliding back to war. But compliments are of little use in helping usher in peace while one party to a truce is allowed to go hell for leather to thrust war on the other. There is a limit to which the on-going atrocities could be tolerated. Even a badger is compelled to fight back, on being hunted to its burrow. And that exactly is the objective of the LTTE. Anyone who is genuinely desirous of helping Sri Lanka achieve peace should restrain the LTTE from trying to plunge the country into war. Compliments and praise sans action to rein in the Tigers smack of a hidden agenda and a sinister move to sweet-talk the government into giving in to the LTTE so that the latter will be able to win what it has failed to, through over twenty years of war.
The international community must heed what President Bush told the world in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack: `Either you are with us or you are with them [terrorists]!` The time has come for them to let the world know in no uncertain terms whether they are with a legitimate state run by a democratically elected government or a terror group pursuing a macabre goal. They have no way of proving their democratic credentials, if any, other than helping rein in the Tigers and making them amenable to a negotiated settlement. And it is incumbent upon the Co-chairs to spell out the serious consequences they said the LTTE would have to face for violating the CFA and to see to it that the LTTE really face them. Nothing short of that is going to save the truce and help make peace.
|
|
|
Naleen
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2618
Member Profile
|
9 Jan 2006 05:25:03 GMT Report for Abuse
|
Karthika,
If you people are not happy with Norway, why don't you ask Norway and Solheim to go home? Why do you have to entertain Norway? Didn?t both JVP and MR assure us that Norway will not be a part of the 'peace process' (or war process) after the victory of MR?
So why cannot MR just keep his word? Why blame Norway, when nobody here asks them to discontinue? |
ajan
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1820
Member Profile
|
9 Jan 2006 11:01:30 GMT Report for Abuse
|
If anyone read enough should know who funded and invented Osama.
Osama was for long time got paid by american government.
Singhalese have demonstarted to the world that they prefer a hardliner as a president. so learn to live with it. if you elected Pig , get used to it.
Hardline president have all Ultra Hardline advisors.
he chose a priminister , he chose army comander who messed the whole thing up.
there are SLMM was on the ground and no doubt they will be reporting
and Norway as a peace negotiator they have the duty to tell.
people of north east are frustrated. if anyone read my comments few months ago would know this what exactly i predicted. still worse to come.
killing of 5 students and tell the world they killed 5 terrorist wont go down well in school would it? put yourself as a fellow student how would you feel?
its all Dumb idea.( and Dumb advisors , world knows mahinda is dumb if he had smart advisors he may have had a chance, now no chance)
instead if they said army have wrongfully killed civilion and the precident himself appologise for the killings. then story may have gone well and wide spread demonstration can be avoided.
Chandrika was in this listened her advisor she acted somewhere correctly to limit the damage when the soldiers killed a girl and when the barber was shot.
what you give what you get , srilankan govenment used STF and got few guys and paid them large amount of money to attack LTTE. LTTE may do the same.
Singhalese have no idea what mahinda is doing
he have stoped all fisherman from fishing , even before there are restriction now not allowed compleatly. LTTE might use this time to train them and they will be used once the full war blow out. SL navy have beaten few fisherman already that will help them to go and take training.
i remember when i was in school a classmate of mine was killed by army made many of my classmates join LTTE.
This is why LTTE dont Kill singhala civilions. one or two ocation it was LTTE comanderes took action without the permisions and later given punishments.
Srilankan government funding large amount of money in anti LTTE propaganda in western countries. Tamils are not dumb as Singhalese with this propaganda LTTE support are rising. a simple example was this on nov 27 heros day remembarance this SL government funded Radio and its circle of few tried so hard to block this heros day ( that alone was a boost and advertisement and 2 halls full of people came and next heros day with all these advertisment expected to happen in 3 halls)
i never considered myself as die hard LTTE suppporter by after comming to this site and seeing all anti LTTE views i become diehard LTTE fan. same thing will happen by all government funded anti LTTE media . that day i had a chance to listen to sl government funded radio where they saying 1983 riot was done by tamils againt tamils. ( they once wrote srilankas histry again now trying to do it again) tamils are not dumb. |
Embilipitiya
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1
Member Profile
|
11 Jan 2006 00:25:08 GMT Report for Abuse
|
I have to agree with Ajan. Again, Tamils are not deaf or dumb. Not all are sworn enemies of the Sinhalese or the Muslims or members of the LTTE. As someone who grew up among Tamil People in the East I have to say that successive Governments forgot the plight of Tamils in the North and East.
One thing that we all can agree is that 99.9% of the majority Sinhalese cannot speak or understand Tamil. Its not the case with the Tamils or Muslims. Language is the first bridge our leaders should have built for inter racial harmony. Roads, railways, electricity, pipe borne water, ports and infrastructure was only limited to Colombo and Kandy and kept away from the Tamils who lived on the fringes.
Its not just peace or a piece of land that the Tamils are asking but also these basic needs of any developing nation in the world that have been denied for over fifty years!
How foolish is it to call the race that produces the most number of Engineering and Medical Professionals per ethnic proportion in the country since its independence. How foolish is to drive them out of Sri Lanka to other countries as refugees who in turn have organized to support their fight united under one banner. I guarantee for every bullet that LTTE buys they not only get a bullet that kills but pays at least 30% less than what our smart Sinahalese Governments have paid over the years.
So Folks where do you want to begin? |
ajan
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1820
Member Profile
|
11 Jan 2006 11:52:06 GMT Report for Abuse
|
Relatives of recently killed Sri Lankan soldiers speak to WSWS
By our correspondents
11 January 2006
Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author
Sri Lanka is rapidly descending once again into civil war. More than 100 people have been killed in ambushes, clashes and assassinations since Mahinda Rajapakse of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) won the November 17 presidential election.
The chief responsibility for the escalating violence rests with Rajapakse who, in order to gain the support of the Sinhala extremist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), agreed to a series of provocative demands on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Following the election, the military has stepped up its repression on the Tamil minority and is in all likelihood connected to a series of killings of LTTE members and supporters.
The LTTE appears to have responded in kind. More than 50 army and navy personnel have been killed in ambushes since the November election. The latest occurred last Friday when a navy gunboat was rammed and sunk by a boat packed with explosives, killing 13 sailors. Like the military, the LTTE has denied any involvement in the attacks.
The WSWS interviewed the family members of a number of soldiers who have been killed recently. Most Sri Lankan soldiers are economic conscripts?poor rural youth who have been forced to enlist to support their families, only to be used as cannon fodder in the bloody 20-year war. Exploited in death as in life, the government, military top brass and the media hail the ?heroes? for their defence of ?the unitary state? against the ?Tiger terrorists?.
The WSWS interviews reveal a different picture. They reflect the widespread and justified fear of a return to all-out war, suspicion and anger at the new government and all political parties, and concerns over the continuing deterioration of living standards.
Mahinda Liyanage was killed along with at least 10 other soldiers when the army truck in which they were travelling was hit by a land mine on December 27. The truck was taking arms and the soldiers from Point Pedro on the northern coast of the Jaffna peninsula to the Palaly army complex further south.
Mahinda came from the village of Buluwemuduna in the hill country near Kandy about 140 kilometres from Colombo. His wife and three-year-old son live in a half-finished house along with his parents and two sisters. His wife Manjula is pregnant with another child.
His father, 64, is working at a petrol shed in Kandy. One of his sisters is still studying and the other is working in the Celltronic factory in the Pallekelle industrial zone. One of his brothers is also a soldier, currently serving in Haiti as part of the Sri Lankan battalion sent to participate in the so-called peace-keeping forces. The other brother is a police constable.
Mahinda?s wife, Manjula, explained how she heard of her husband?s death. ?On the night of December 27, we heard some noises and tapping on the door. We were fearful but a village priest told us not to be afraid as some army people had arrived. A corporal, who is also disabled, told us the news. The next day, army men came with Mahinda?s coffin and gave us 75,000 rupees ($US750) for the funeral. My son asked me where his father was but the coffin was sealed and it was prohibited to open it.?
Mahinda joined the army in 1995 when he was 22. He studied at the Liyangaswagura junior school up to Ordinary Level, but was forced to leave his studies because of the JVP?s activities in the area in 1988-89. At the height of its fascistic terror campaign, the JVP was forcibly recruiting young people to its patriotic front. Mahinda went into hiding in the Ratnapura area then got a job at a filling station before joining the army.
In 2000, when the military suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the LTTE, Mahinda was severely injured in a blast at Chavakacheri, near Jaffna. After recovering, he was transferred to another army division and served in several camps. Manjula said her husband had been due home on leave in January.
Mahinda?s father said: ?There is something wrong with the ceasefire agreed upon by the LTTE and the government three years ago. Under the ceasefire, we hoped there would be no danger for our sons in the army. At least in that sense we lived without fear and terror. But now the fear and uncertainty have returned to our lives.?
The army gave Mahinda?s wife a standard certificate for dead soldiers saluting her husband as a brave soldier ?defending the unitary state.? As the family noted, even the inscription on the certificate was wrong, saying Mahinda had joined the army immediately after leaving school.
?We did not want to send our sons into the military. It seems no one in power wants to end this war,? his father exclaimed. Another villager commented: ?They said that he sacrificed his life for the unitary state without fear and bravely. But defending this unitary state means defending the capitalist system, doesn?t it??
About 10 young men from the same village are in the military. And several women are war widows. Villagers have erected bus shelters in the memory of dead soldiers. A woman explained that Mahinda and her brother, who died in the fighting in 2000, were classmates and both joined the army. Before then, none of her family of seven had jobs and now four were surviving on her brother?s pension.
Mahinda?s funeral took place on December 31 at a village cemetery. Nearby was the tomb of another soldier, Corporal Karunathilake, who was killed in 1999. The army sent representatives but no one came from any of the major political parties. According to one person, a local JVP parliamentarian attended but did not identify himself.
One of Mahinda?s relatives explained: ?The central province governor Sarath Ekanayake visited before the funeral but said nothing about the upsurge of violence. He has just asked what we needed. There are 150 houses in this village. We have electricity but no water supply. We have to pay 75 rupees per month to the temple to take three pots of water a day, because a motor is used to pump water from the well. Otherwise we would have to walk half a mile for water.?
Most of the villagers are day labourers earning 350-400 rupees a day, when they have work. There is no farming because of the lack of water. Very few young people could manage to obtain higher education.
We also visited another village, Karagastenna, three kilometres away. Another 10 young men from that village are in army because there are no jobs.
One of the Karagastenna soldiers, Dushantha Kumara, was killed in 2000. His younger brother also joined the military but left several months later. His mother has been distraught since the death of her elder son and collapses every time she hears about the killing of soldiers. Four family members are living on Dushantha?s pension. |
ajan
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1820
Member Profile
|
11 Jan 2006 11:58:30 GMT Report for Abuse
|
W.B. Sunil, a soldier in the Sri Lanka Army (Volunteer) Regiment, was killed on December 27 in what was believed to be an LTTE attack on his house at China Bay in the eastern town of Trincomalee. The attackers first stoned the house then opened fire and threw grenades at those who came out to see what was happening. Sunil was killed on the spot. His wife L.G. Gnanawathie and her younger brother L.G. Premaratna were severely injured and were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital.
Sunil was 51 and had two daughters and a son. His funeral was held at his hometown of Dehiwala, to the south of central Colombo, on December 31. He had worked as a driver before joining the army in 1988.
His mother, A.A.T. Margaret Perera, told the WSWS: ?I lost my son. I was terribly shocked when I heard the news. In just one more year he would have retired. In this residential area there are Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil people and everyone lives together with peacefully. My family members and I used to go to his house several times a year. We never had any problem.
?His death is a result of Mahinda Chintanaya President Rajapakse?s program . President Mahinda Rajapakse?s government is pushing the country toward war again. He is working according to what the JVP and the JHU tell him. I don?t believe this government will be able to stop war and bring peace to the country.
?If the war does break out again it will be a huge disaster. The LTTE will blast bombs everywhere and so many innocent people will die again. This government has failed to provide enough facilities for tsunami victims even after a year. How can it resolve the other problems of the country? I still give shelter to two families of tsunami victims.?
Sunil?s brother-in-law said: ?One month before his death, our family went to his place and visited areas like Koneshwaran, Seruwawila, and Kinniya without any disturbances. Many people?Sinhala and Muslim?came to his funeral. Some Tamils wanted to come, but they didn?t out of fear. The government has no clear program to solve the problem and the LTTE has been engaged in provocations.?
We visited Sunil?s wife and her brother Premaratna in hospital. She was too distraught to speak at length but Premaratna explained: ?I heard the LTTE had warned my brother to leave the area. This has all happened because of the climate of war in the country. We are against resuming the war. If war erupts there in Trincomalee we will not be able to live in that area.? Premaratna was a farmer then worked in a hospital but lost that job.
R.M. Upananda Ratnayake, 23, was killed in the same mine blast as Mahinda Liyanage. He joined the military in May 2004 after studying up to advanced level high school. He engaged in sport and was very popular in his home village of Nelligashinna near Badulla, 210 kilometres from Colombo. Some 300 people came to his funeral, along with 50 to 60 army personnel.
Upananda?s mother and father are tea plantation workers like most people in the area. He had two sisters and a brother. Previously his family lived on the Eladaluwa Estate then settled in a small house at Nelligashinna near the estate. The village has no facilities. The piped water supply is inadequate, so villagers have to walk for about a kilometre to fetch drinking water in plastic containers.
R.M. Ratnapala, Upananda?s father, was a member of the district committee of the United Plantation Workers Union (UPWU). He blamed the war on the policies carried out by all the ruling class parties. ?All the governments are the same. The LTTE is working in its own interests. The one good thing about the ceasefire agreement is that it saved the lives of many people.
?Mahinda Rajapakse won the presidential election because of the support of the JVP and the JHU. The politics of the JVP and JHU are based on communalism that divides nationalities. The JVP is not a Marxist party. Like the other left parties that betrayed, the JVP did the same.
?More than 20 years ago I was in Jaffna. The people there were educated and efficient farmers. But they did not get the opportunities they deserved. So they tried to get those opportunities by fighting. The government says the LTTE should lay down its arms. They might not lay down arms because they think they have no protection.?
He was critical of the comments of a local JVP councillor, Saman Mahinda, at his son?s funeral. ?His remark about my son?s participation in tsunami relief work is a lie. He said my son also went to help tsunami victims there in the north . He was not in a position to help tsunami victims there. The JVP weaves a web of lies for their own advantage.?
At the funeral, the JVP councillor declared: ?Upananda sacrificed his life for the unitary state. We salute war heroes who sacrificed their lives to defend the motherland.?
Ratnapala bitterly responded: ?To have a united state there should be proper conditions for everyone?workers and peasants, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims?to live together. This present governing system is no good.
?No one knows what President Mahinda Rajapakse will do in the future. However, the danger of war has increased since he came to power. The international community should not give weapons to either side. They are coming here not because of any sympathy for us but for their investments.? |
|
