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Letter to a Grandnephew by Upali Cooray: Building a new society in Sri Lanka based on equality and justice Thursday, 16 July 2009 - 8:39 PM SL Time |  | |
Letter to a Grandnephew (2)
Dear Grandnephew,
1. When I wrote my first letter to you I was extremely ill. I had a rare infection followed by a knee operation my knee was extremely painful and swollen and I was generally unwell. I could not walk or sit near a computer. Most of the day I spent in bed. In fact I had to dictate that letter I sent you and Samantha kindly typed it for me. I left out many issues, and perhaps, I could have argued some of the issues I raised in a more cogent manner. Nevertheless, I believe that I was able to get across the essential points I wanted to make. My letter and your response were published widely and there were a large number of comments about its contents. Your response demonstrated that you are a very responsible, intelligent and a compassionate young man and I must say that I am proud to have a grandnephew like you. In one website alone (This blog) there were some 138 responses to my letter. Most of those comments were quite positive but there were some peanut brains that even accused me of being an LTTE supporter. Since you know about my standpoint on the LTTE, my steadfast commitment to democracy, pluralism and human rights and my implacable opposition to militarism and recruitment and deployment of child soldiers, I do not think it is worth responding to such imbeciles. However there were other issues I would have liked to deal with in my first letter and hence my decision to write you this second letter.
Lack of material
2. It is unfortunate that today, most young people in Sri Lanka have little critical material to read and study about our history and culture. The net result is that there is a lot of misinformation that is peddled by the media. Ultra-nationalists-both Tamil and Sinhala-feed on this misinformation, myth and legend. Rarely are these misconceptions challenged. Take for example the concept of race. Often people in Sri Lanka believe that Tamils and Sinhalese are two different races. I can still remember the day I applied for my first passport. In the application form there was one section where you had to specify your race. Although I guessed the purpose of that question was to ascertain whether I was Sinhala or Tamil, I knew that neither were distinct racial groups. Therefore I filled in that section by writing `human`. The clerk, who took the passport application from me, hit the roof. He got hysterical and shouted at me and said what do you mean `human`? Are you Sinahlese or Tamil ? Although I tried to reason with him and explain that we are not distinct races, it fell on deaf ears. He took the form, deleted human and wrote `Sinhalese`. Such lack of scientific and critical outlook permeates all aspect of our society.
DNA profiles
3. Recently, in England, a researcher interviewed a number of people who believed that they were of pure English or of Caucasian origins. Thereafter he carried out DNA tests on them. Most of these people assumed that they were either from good Anglo-Saxon or Norman stock or at least had North European ancestry. Surprisingly, in most cases their DNA indicated that they were not from North Europe. They had Mongolian, Moroccan and Turkish DNA. You will probably find the same if we carry out DNA profiles of some of the most upbeat chauvinists of Sri Lanka in order to determine which part of India or some other part of the globe his or her ancestors originated from. People in Sri Lanka are quite mixed. For instance the Karawas (caste) are descendants of South Indian mercenaries who were brought to our shores by Sri Lankan kings. They later settled on the western coastal belt. The same is true of Salagamas and the Durawas. They all have their origins in South India. If you think Kandyans are pure Sinhalese, you will be disappointed. A number of our later kings and queens were from South India. Although the King had an official wife (Queen) he could sleep with any woman he found attractive. That was his privilege. Those days there was no birth control and the illegitimate children of the king were called `Bandaras`. There are an awful lot of Bandaras about. That is not all. During the British period, a Kaffir Regiment was brought from South Africa. They gradually settled and married local people and became a part the population. Later on, Malays from Malaya (now Malaysia) settled in our country. There were also Malayalee Toddy tappers from Kerala who came and settled and inter-married the locals. We are also mixed with Portuguese, Dutch, British, etc. The same is true of Tamils. Amongst them is caste called the `Koviyars`. They were in fact Sinhalese prisoners (goviyars) captured in war and later became integrated into the Northern community. Moreover, the repression of the 1848 rebellion was quite ferocious. The British raj killed many people who rebelled against their rule. Thousands of others who escaped repression, fled to Wanni and settled there. Thus some of the people who later came to settle in the Wanni are most probably descendants of the Sinhalese who fled the 1848 repression.
Buddhagosha was a Tamil
4. It is equally stupid to argue that the existence of archaeological evidence of Buddhist temples in the North and East indicates that these areas were always inhabited by the Sinhalese. During those early years of our history, Buddhism was the religion of not only the Sinhalese but also the Tamils. For instance, one of the greatest Buddhist theoreticians, Buddhagosha, was a Tamil.
5. Obviously, there are linguistic and some cultural differences between the Sinhala and Tamil. But here too we must not exaggerate. There are lot of words that are common to both languages. In reality Sinhalese and Tamils have many more common features than differences. Ultra-nationalist on both sides of the divide want to exaggerate these differences and does so for ulterior motives. That is why remarks of some people to the effect that `all Tamils are from South India and they should return there` are extremely stupid. And how would these charlatans treat Lord Buddha ? He was not a Sinhalese-He was from Varanasi in northern India.
Sinhala Buddhism is a contradiction in terms
6. Equally the concept of `Sinhala Buddhism` is a contradiction in terms. Buddhism is a universal philosophy and cannot be confined to a particular group of human beings. Buddha did not recognise a `chosen race` or a `chosen ethnic group`. To the extent one attempts to `Sinhalise` it, Buddhism loses its validity and its rationale. Such a tribal ideology has nothing in common with Buddhism. This corruption of Buddhism has not stopped there. It has further degenerated into a division along caste lines. Thus we have the Siyam Nikaya for the Goigamas, Ramnnaya Nikaya for the Salagamas and the Amaapura Nikaya for the Karawas. Such provincialism and tribalism has nothing in common with the tenets of this great philosophy. In Britain Christianity in the form of the Anglican Church became a tool of the rulers. Buddhism has also been corrupted as `Sinhala Buddhism` to serve the needs of the dominant ruling class and in doing so has robbed it of its core values. It is unnecessary dwell on these matters at length because you are conversant with my antipathy towards the parasites that live off hard working people in the land. Yet try to dictate to the world how we should behave and even what we should think.
Denying the grievances of Tamils
7. Hiding behind these erroneous and patently illogical concepts of race and religion, `Sinhala` Ultra-nationalists assert that the Tamils in Sri Lanka are aliens or recent immigrants and that their grievances all imaginary or concocted complaints to preserve their privileges. Like the holocaust deniers they try to minimise the impact of pogroms of 1977, 1981 and 1983, the widespread torture, murder and disappearances of Tamil youths between 1978 and 2009 and the repression and discrimination some of them have suffered on a daily basis. They ignore or minimise the impact of the Sinhala only policy, which Tamils perceived as an attempt to deprive them of their fundamental rights.
Tamil nationalists also fail to see the reality
8. On the other hand Tamil ultra-nationalists erroneously consider that it is only the Tamils in the North and East who have suffered repression, discrimination and marginalisation. They ignore the repression and exploitation the rural poor in Sri Lanka have had to endure over decades. For instance in 1988-89 over 60,000 mainly Sinhala youths were `disappeared` by the Premadasa government. (The irony is that one of the leading members of that government-Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe-is now one the most vociferous `defenders of human rights` ! However, to date he has not apologised or show any remorse for the vile and abominable crimes his government committed in 1988-89 ). Tamil nationalists fail to recognise that the majority of Sinhala villagers in Sri Lanka live in dire poverty and have much more restricted educational opportunities than most Tamils who live in Colombo or Jaffna. Tamil nationalists also ignore the numerous problems that Tamil plantation workers have to endure. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in fact, the most disadvantaged people in Sri Lanka are the plantation workers the rural poor (Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim) and women. They have always had a raw deal.
In 1958, I went to Karandeniya Central School to teach. I was appalled by the fact that most teachers in this school felt that the children of this (so called low caste) locality should not be taught because if they get educated they will become uppity. Even today the situation is not very different in many rural areas. In Pussellawa there are Sinhala and Tamil children who do not go to school because they cannot afford to buy a pair of shoes. Recently the organisation I work with, gave some money to a local welfare organisation in Pussellawa to buy shoes and school bags for a few children in that area. ... |
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Upali Cooray Transcurrents |
vimukthi
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 16 Jul 2009 13:41:46 GMT Report for Abuse
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In 1958, I went to Karandeniya Central School to teach. I was appalled by the fact that most teachers in this school felt that the children of this (so called low caste) locality should not be taught because if they get educated they will become uppity. Even today the situation is not very different in many rural areas. In Pussellawa there are Sinhala and Tamil children who do not go to school because they cannot afford to buy a pair of shoes. Recently the organisation I work with, gave some money to a local welfare organisation in Pussellawa to buy shoes and school bags for a few children in that area. The help we gave was a drop in the ocean. There are tens of thousands of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children who are malnourished they are lucky to have two meals a day. That is not all. People who live in rural areas suffer other disadvantages. For instance they can rarely get justice from the police or the courts. There are about 100,000 plantation workers who do not have birth certificates or have birth certificates that provide wrong information. Fort that reason they cannot obtain an identity card and if they are caught walking around without an ID card they get arrested and locked up. Equally many women in our society suffer discrimination, domestic and sexual violence. The days when a lone woman could walk from Hambantatota to Point Pedro.
unmolested are gone for ever.
Identity and culture
9. Ultra-nationalists-both Sinhala and Tamil have a jaundiced view of the reality. Each in their own way distorts and misrepresent the reality. In doing so they fail to see that there are many sections of the population that suffer exploitation, repression and discrimination. They compel us to see everything from the narrow prism of ethnicity. Apart from our ethnic origins we have many identities and interests. We are not merely people who speak Tamil or Sinahala. We are also scientists or economists or lawyers, students or factory workers, musicians or cricket or football enthusiasts, archaeologists etc. Amratya Sen, the Noble prize winning Indian Economist, in his book Identity and Culture, rightly points out that we have several identities and we do not look at the world merely from the narrow framework of ethnicity or religion.
Living in the past
10. Furthermore, both Sinhala and Tamil nationalists live in the distant past. They hark back to an imaginary golden age in the ancient or medieval history. They seek to idealise a non-existent golden age of the yester years. For this very reason their ideology is backward and retrogressive. They are like frogs in the well that have little understanding of the enormous scientific and technological progress that are being made in the world. They ignore the massive struggles working people all over the world have made in order to win even limited rights we enjoy today. People are no longer tied to the land of the feudal overlords or have to work 14 to 16 hours a day. Through struggles the toilers of the world have broken some of the chains. It is the inward looking ideology of the ultra-nationalists that resulted in 30 years of death and destruction. Although the Sinhala chauvinists are now dancing in the street in a frenzy of triumphalism, they fail to recognise that the rise of separatism is a direct consequence of the failure of our ruling elite to build a Sri Lankan nation.
In 1989 I was called to chair the funeral of an EPRLF Member of Parliament, Mr. Yogasangari, who was murdered by the LTTE in Madras . Since his wife and family lived in the UK, his funeral took place in London. One of the persons invited to speak at his funeral was an important political leader who later became the President of Sri Lanka. She sought to commiserate the wife of Yogasangari by saying madam, your people and my people have both suffered from terrorist violence . Although the speaker and Mrs. Yogasangari were both Sri Lankans, she found it necessary to make a distinction between Sinhalese and Tamils. That was quite inappropriate and unnecessary. On the other hand, in neighbouring India, the ruling elite has successfully built an Indian nation. That is a unique achievement in a country where there are many ethnic groups and over 300 languages and dialects. Inhabitants of India, whether they are from Kerala, or Bengal, Punjab or Maharashtra will always call themselves, first and foremost, Indians and not as Malayalees, Sikhs, Bengalis or Maratis. Until recently the President of India was a Muslim. Today the Prime Minister is a Sikh, the Interior Minister is a Dravidian, the Speaker of the Parliament is a Harijan and the leader of the ruling party is an Italian. They have achieved a unity in diversity which we can only dream of. We have failed because of the narrow and provincial outlook of our ruling elite.
11. Ultra-nationalists want us to dwell on traditions that have outlived their usefulness. They fail to understand the need to adapt ourselves to the needs of the 21st century. It is not by accident that the constitution of one of these ultra nationalist Sinhala parties debars women form holding office. They think women are only good to bear children and do household chores even though, from the point of view of academic excellence, Sri Lankan women have proved that they are as good or better than their male counterparts. In reality most of these ultra nationalists are hypocrites. While preaching Sinhala only to the masses, many send their children to universities in USA, UK and Australia. Their real objective is to perpetuate their elite status.
12. We must combat these backward and outdated ideologies and look to the future and not the past. Today we are witnessing a massive shift of economic power from the West to the East. China and India have become the new power houses of economic growth. In the next 10 to 15 years, the two most affluent countries in the world would be China and India. Within the next few years China will replace Japan as the second largest economy and by 2020 it is expected to overtake USA. India too is following closely behind and today some Indian firms are major players in the global economy. India has also taken a bold step to abolish the rural debt, provide a minimum of 100 days work per year to the rural workers and has consistently achieved growth rates of 7% or over.
13. We could either equip ourselves to benefit from this eastern economic miracle or be left behind dreaming about the golden age of yesteryears while engaging in more internecine violence and ethnic conflicts. In one sense we are better placed to modernise and achieve a high level of prosperity than our neighbours because our literacy rate is much higher than theirs. The literacy rate of Sri Lanka is nearly 95% as opposed to 55 to 66% in Pakistan and India . Our greatest wealth is human capital. Yet we do not make optimum use of our literate and educated youth. Today, after 62 years of independence we are not able to provide university education even for 10% of those who qualify to gain entry to a university . Although some of those who do not gain entry into the universities may enrol on accountancy and other professional courses, nevertheless the number of students who are capable of pursuing higher studies but unable to find places in institutions of higher education is extremely high. This is a criminal waste of our human capital.
Lagging behind our neighbours
14. While India and China is developing rapidly we are lagging behind. Most professions-lawyers, doctors, teachers etc-have not modernised in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century. For instance the legal system of Sri Lanka today is more akin to the state affairs that Charles Dickens described in Bleak House (Jarndyce vs Jarndyce) than a system suitable for a modern democracy. Legal disputes that can be resolved in six months or a year, drag on for years or even decades. The only beneficiaries of this system are the lawyers.
Most doctors are only interested in amassing wealth rather than ensuring the well being of patients. Often, even after paying a hefty fee, most doctors would compel patients to queue outside their surgeries like cattle, hours on end. There is no effective regulatory system of these professions and there is no effective statutory body, which supervise their conduct. Teachers do not regularly update their knowledge or adopt more modern methods of teaching. There is an urgent need to regulate these public services, increase their efficiency and ensure that they serve the interests of the public and not merely those of the service providers.
We can study the provision of medical services in a small country like Cuba and observe the difference. Cuba, with a population of 11 million educates over 5000 medical students each year . Cuba has eliminated diseases such as malaria, diphtheria, chicken pox, measles, whooping cough and dengue. In Sri Lanka while there has been a proliferation of private hospitals and clinics, mostly money-making enterprises, the medical care in government hospitals have deteriorated very substantially. We must modernise our transport system and make it more environmentally friendly. We must outlaw the prevailing tuition racket where teachers mint money by giving private tuition to the very children they should be teaching during school hours. We must insist that the licence to practice their profession, be they lawyers, teachers or doctors, will depend on their readiness to update their knowledge through a programme of continuing education.
The list of what we have to accomplish is endless because our ruling elite have been both lackadaisical and incompetent.
Men without a vision
15. Unfortunately, the older generation, including most of our political leaders lacks foresight and vision. They fail to recognise that the riches that can be made by modernising our country, is hundred times greater than the crumbs they are now able to exact by engaging in petty corrupt practices. They have little interest or inclination to modernise our country. For instance while many middle class young men and women are able to communicate through the internet ( chat, blog and twitter), most of our lawmakers, teachers, public servants and lawyers are totally computer illiterate. They have miserably failed to adopt the vast array of modern technological facilities to improve their service or provide better living conditions, or to create new job opportunities.
Modernity and prosperity
16. There is little doubt that with our literate and educated population, we are best placed of all the South Asian countries to benefit from the Asian Miracle . However, mediocre leaders and outdated ideologies are holding us back. We must sweep away all the hurdles that are holding us back. We must overhaul over system of governance and make it more accountable and transparent. We must sweep away feudal attitudes and practices. The president of the United States is usually addressed as Mr. President. It is the same in France and Russia.
However, in Sri Lanka even the Ministers of the State address the Sri Lanka President as His Excellency . Presidents, Ministers and members of Parliament are servants of the people and are maintained by taxpayers. There is no earthly reason why we should deify them or treat them like demi-gods. Such sycophantic practices are inimical to good governance because those who wield power often fall victims to the flattery of such sycophants and lose touch with the ordinary people who have elected them.
17. Good governance and transparency apart we have to modernise every aspect of our daily life. In a short letter of this nature I cannot detail all the measures we should adopt in order to modernise our society and utilise the full potential of the people. I could give a few examples of some of the steps we could adopt in order to meet the needs of the 21st century. For instance it is obvious that the modernisation of our system of education is long overdue. It is imperative that we must raise our standards so that our graduates are able to compete with those who pass out of the best universities in the world.
Firstly, this would involve training all teachers in computer skills, teaching computer skills to all students beginning with nursery school children , the establishment of computer centres in every rural school and making competency in IT skills a compulsory subject in all institutions of higher education. Secondly, we must ensure that every university graduate should have a high level of proficiency in at least one foreign language either English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish or Russian. Thirdly, we must rapidly expand the training and education of doctors, engineers, accountants, linguists etc so that in future we will send abroad highly skilled migrants and not housemaids. If a small country like Cuba could educate more than 5,000 medical students a year, it is difficult to see why Sri Lanka cannot educate even one fifth of that number.
Similarly it is impossible for a society to be modernised without overhauling the legal system. Legal procedures should be changed to prevent interminable postponement of cases and the abuse of process involved in lawyers asking for dates at a drop of a hat or engaging in long and irrelevant cross-examination of witnesses. In criminal cases the procedure rules should be amended to compel the accused to specify the nature of his defence once he is in possession of the prosecution evidence. The police should be trained and equipped to adopt scientific methods of investigation rather than resorting to third degree interrogation, exacting confessions under duress and staging false encounters leading to the death of suspects trying to escape from police custody.
The need for a new movement
18. All this, of course, means sweeping away the corrupt and inept political structures and building a new movement that could campaign for a better Sri Lanka and a better world. The leaders of yester years and the nationalists of all hues have failed to resolve any of the major issues facing our people. The ultra-nationalism and militarism of the LTTE was a costly and wasteful detour. In many ways the militarism of the LTTE had a negative impact on the struggle of the oppressed. It led to the enactment of draconian laws and imposition of massive restrictions on human and democratic rights. The LTTE and it backers erroneously believed that they were invincible and that the Sri Lankan army could never defeat them . The disastrous strategy of the LTTE not only disenfranchised and politically disarmed the Tamils but it also strengthened the chauvinist and obscurantist elements amongst the Sinhalese. They turned their guns not on the ruling class but ordinary working people.
Equally, On the other hand, even after living through 30 years of ethnic conflict, the ruling elite has not recognised the need to take any meaningful and decisive steps to address the grievances of Tamils. Even today they offer only the same failed policy-i.e. placing total reliance on a few string-puppets who will dance to the tune of the southern ruling elite. That is their home grown solution . The APRC was mere eyewash designed to fool the na ve liberals. It is highly unlikely that the Rajapakse regime ever intended to offer anything other than the familiar puppet show that we have witnessed since the days of the D.S.Senanayake regime.
We need a new movement
19. We must break decisively with those failed policies of the LTTE as well as those of the Sri Lankan ruling elite. Instead we must build a new and a bold movement that could unite all those who have been exploited, disadvantaged and marginalized. Like the Suriya Mal Movement and the LSSP, which spearheaded the fight against caste oppression and British imperialism in the 1930 s, today we need a new movement to spearhead the struggle for modernity and to drag our country from the economic and political quagmire that the failed prophets of the yester years have led us into. Unfortunately, the LSSP lost its clout and its mass base by entering into an opportunist alliance with the SLFP. We must learn the lessons of that debacle and make sure that the poor and the oppressed will always maintain its political and organisational independence.
It is important to remember that nowhere in the world have the poor, the oppressed and the exploited ever won anything by begging, pleading and imploring the ruling elite to do the right thing. It is futile to ask the ruling class to serve the people, plead that they behave like gentlemen or appeal to their good sense. Those who advocate that we must appeal to the good sense of the ruling elite in order to protect the rights of the oppressed or the minorities are like good old village priests who preach morality to brothel keepers and implore that they give up their sinful habits and lead godly lives . The poor, the oppressed and the minorities can win their rights only if they are able to build a strong and a united movement that can challenge the bankrupt politicians of yester years. We need not be intimidated or bedazzled by the power of the ruling elite. Even the most powerful men and governments on earth have been brought to their knees by the united action of the people.
It is the disunity of the poor and the oppressed that creates the impression that the ruling elite is invincible. Time and again history has shown that the seemingly invincible and powerful rulers can be defeated when the people unite. Of course, the task of uniting the people is no easy undertaking. Although I cannot compel you to join me in this onerous task, I am hopeful that there will be many young men and women who will recognise the need to break with the backward and reactionary policies of past and dare to dream and have the courage to build a new society based on modernity, prosperity equality and justice. The history of social progress in the world is the history of the struggle of the poor and the dispossessed for equality and justice. That is why, with Bob Marley, we must say in unison Get up stand up, stand up for your rights, don t give up the fight, stand up for your rights !.
Yours affectionately
Upali Cooray
Podi Seeya
(Grand Uncle)
Edited By - vimukthi - 16 Jul 2009 13:42:38 GMT |
Thivya
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 16 Jul 2009 13:52:19 GMT Report for Abuse
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Talk is cheap, stop the pep talk and tell Upali Cooray to write an open letter to their president and asking for the release of innocent Tamil Children, women and elderly who are languishing in the Sinhala Concentration camps. At least, ask him to give them the freedom of movement to contact their relatives outside and get their helps for the time being. Let the families to re unite.
What you can't hide is Genocide and anti Tamil Sinhala Racism.
Edited By - Thivya - 16 Jul 2009 13:53:50 GMT |
vimukthi
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16 Jul 2009 14:01:56 GMT Report for Abuse
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Thivya,
The internment of the Tamil IDP's is indeed the biggest issue we have to address.
But I hope you can also address the responsibility of the LTTE and those who uncritically championed and financed it for placing these civilians in this present predicament. While you were safely on western shores you financed a racist fratricidal war using poor villagers and their children. The militarist course of the LTTE is equally responsible for the plight of the northern people as well as the chauvanist policies of the govt. If you are unable to see that then I don't know how much help you can be to anybody. First help yourself to get a balanced mind. |
AnuD
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 16 Jul 2009 14:22:19 GMT Report for Abuse
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UPAli Cooray who ever it is an IDIOT.
IF SL - Tamils were Buddhists and they lived in Sri Lanka since the times immemorail why they are talking about Saviv temples since Ravana Times and five Eastwaram kovils etc., etc.,
Besides, what everything did by by Dravideans are claimed by Tamils.
South Indian Tamil speaking Tribes did not have skills.
But, Present Andra Pradesh had contribute to India a lot until Islam invaded destroyed it. Andra Pradesh Thelugu had lot of influence in Sri Lanka.
BuddhaGosha was not a Tamil.
I think UAPLI COORAY is a CHRISTIAN.
As they claim if both the Tamils and Sinhalas retained their racial purity, Tamils are Dravideans so that they are AUSTRALOIDs and Sinhala PEOPLE are CAUCASOIDs. The closest relatives of Tamils are Australian Aborgines ans the closest relatives of Sinhalas are North Indians.
But, most of the Tamil actresses in South India are North Indian mixed.
Edited By - AnuD - 16 Jul 2009 14:25:47 GMT |
AnuD
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16 Jul 2009 14:28:46 GMT Report for Abuse
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Upali Cooray
Podi Seeya
(Grand Uncle)
Look like the OLD IDIOT does not have his own children. |
AnuD
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16 Jul 2009 14:33:46 GMT Report for Abuse
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VIMUKTHI:
First help yourself to get a balanced mind.
Thivya is working for LTTE propaganda machinery in Canada. She is drawing her income from LTTE (she will deny that vigorously and abusively).
Then how she will have a balanced mind. |
Roshan2007
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 16 Jul 2009 14:35:59 GMT Report for Abuse
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I think UAPLI COORAY is a CHRISTIAN.
and AnuD giving big talks living in a CHRISTIAN country. |
AnuD
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16 Jul 2009 14:39:07 GMT Report for Abuse
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and AnuD giving big talks living in a CHRISTIAN country.
Certainly, Roshan2007 is hurt. |
Thivya
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16 Jul 2009 15:21:43 GMT Report for Abuse
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But I hope you can also address the responsibility of the LTTE and those who uncritically championed and financed it for placing these civilians in this present predicament.
Vimukthi,
We agree the LTTE is defeated by the coalition of 21 countries. There is no point in harping about the LTTE and use it as an excuse to hide the Sinhala racism. This concentration camps are illegal under the international laws and under the Sri Lankan constitution.
Did the government of Sri Lanka lock up all the Sinhala villagers to weed out the JVP supporters after the JVP uprising. But the Sinhalese are giving this collective punishment to Tamils only. Don't you think, it has something to do with the inherent hatred of Tamils in the Sinhala mind.
Did the victorious allied forces lock up all the Germans in concentration camps to weed out the Nazi sympathizers. Why you Sinhalese have problem accepting the obvious anti Tamil hatred of Sinhala racism.
Are you trying to say, these children and elderly Tamils were the LTTE cadres, they need to be locked up in barbed wire concentration camps without any freedom, outside access and medical facility.
None of the so called Sinhala Buddhists have the kindness of the Buddha or the decency of an average human being to ask their government to release the innocent women, children and elderly. Why they don't release the Tamils who were already screened and why are they still keeping them in the concentration camps.
J R Jayawardena, bless him, he was the True Sinhalese who had the guts to openly describe the TRUE NATURE of Sinhalese. He said,
'we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion... the more you put pressure in the north, the happier the Sinhala people will be here... Really if I STARVEtarve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be HAPPY.' -
President J.R.Jayawardene, Daily Telegraph, July 1983
Edited By - Thivya - 16 Jul 2009 15:26:15 GMT |
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