Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

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TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 03:33 GMT

TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 04:59 GMT

TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 09:32 GMT

Indi's Column

Posters inevitably get knocked down or washed off or whatever. There is one, however, that has stayed up for months on end. It reads something like 'Gothabaya The Great: We Wish You All The Best In Your Patriotic Mission, Ignore The Manipulations Of The British Government and Their Local Agents'. Something to that affect. It is sponsored by the organization of Buddhist organizations, something circular and unwittingly ironic. Cause the Buddha was a foreigner, but I digress. The statement is more interesting because Sri Lanka is one of the few countries where a national defence initiative is led by? foriegn agents. Gotabaya Rajapakse (Defense Secretary), Basil Rajapakse (Mahinda's Left Nut) and Sarath Fonseka (Army Commander) are all US Green Card holders. They have to travel back to the US every 6 months and hang around for a while. The commander of our army literally goes to Oklahoma every 6 months and hang around shopping malls. There is no way that these guys should even have the security clearance for Sri Lankan defence operations. It is also a bit morally unsettling that the men asking our boys to sacrifice our lives have a ready and easy out in another country entirely.

For reference I'm a dual citizen myself. Canadian/Sri Lankan. I've also had a green card, though it expired once I didn't go back enough. But guess what, I'm not in charge of Sri Lankan national security. If I joined the military or assumed a national security-related position in Sri Lanka I'd give up my Canadian citizenship. Certainly one would assume that the Defense Secretary or Army Commander, even an MP would be willing to commit to this country. More to the point, in the US Department Defense, you simply can't get security clearance above certain levels with one foot in another country. I find it strange that the people tasked to defend our national security have their lives and families in America. I don't particularly care that they have other citizenship agreements. I think that's OK for even government servants, but if you're involved in the military, asking the youth of Sri Lanka to put their lives on the line, the least you could put is you citizenship. Gotabaya and Basil weren't here before and they will go right back to their American homes when they're out of power. They're not really invested in the mess they're making, and they really should be.

But maybe it's just me that finds that odd. We live in a country where you can have a 'Buddhist' organization supporting war with a straight face. Literally, you have followers of an Indian lambasting the British for undermining a half-American in the name of a Sinhala nationalist cause. This is truly globalized bullshit.