Kilinochchi Has Fallen

[Ripper]

equality and equity need to be propogated for the furtherment of civil society

You will have noticed that most other countries have what can only be known as a common medium of instruction , which in most cases takes the form of a universal language such as english.

In other nations where single language policies exist it can safely be noted that there is no notable presence of any ethnic minorities but rather a single race present (ex: China , Japan)

the reality of the matter is, be it for better or worse, whether certain segments of the population want ot accept it or not , Sri Lanka is a multi enthic , multi religious society - thats just plain fact

the sooner people are ready to yeid to that statistic , get over themselves and thier egos , the sooner everyone levels the playing field and unites to build a better Sri Lanka

as much as each of us will carry a Sri Lankan ID or passport , one thing everyone would have realized after this whole global debacle is that each of us , like it or not , is a global citizen! (if we weren't we wouldn't be feeling the ripples right now would we)

so though the micro issue of what happens to nation etc etc is true , we shouldn't forget or neglect the macro issues of how our island copes with everything from international trade , diplomacy to the environment!

...& who knows as time goes by and if some climate boffin is right and the island goes underwater thanks to some polluting industrial super power, ~

then what - Singhalese , Tamil , Muslim or Burgher , none of us will have a home!

well said mate

you're spot on that folks have to let go of their egoistic, supremacist tribal mentality or else annihilating ltte wont be the end of this.

Pointless asking all to be "sri lakans" if all sri lankans are not treated equally without any bias.

from what i read online, present constitution is both racially and religiously biased...

we need to fix those...

If all Sri Lankans don't get together equally, we will never have peace and proper development.

I only hope that the narrow minded hardliners can wake up to reality and embrace all elasticities and religions as equals

[miniace]

Well said Velocity!

The funniest part is the “impulsive-superman”-The army commander gone a little too much of his office boundaries and started making very inane-political type of statements.

Especially the statement against opposition-leader’s assertions on poor casualty evacuations.

MINIACE

[Ripper]

hate to say this mate....but it's that kind of thinking that got us into this shit hole in the first place

yep... right on.

Sinhala only act and many other political F-ups got us into this.

We have been dragged back economically, socially and also with a huge human cost from both sides of the fence.

It's kinda shameful that folks not learning a lesson from past mistakes.

Nobody is superior to anybody else... simple as that.

The man next to you might speak a different language, might pray to a different god, might have a different skin color, hair color etc etc and just because you have more numbers on your side doesn't make you any better over anybody.

[Ripper]

Well said Velocity!

The funniest part is the “impulsive-superman”-The army commander gone a little too much of his office boundaries and started making very inane-political type of statements.

Especially the statement against opposition-leader’s assertions on poor casualty evacuations.

MINIACE

gosh! so it's true is it? :(

there indeed is a problem in evacuating the injured fast enough to save their lives?

it's sad that the moment you point out a problem, you get labeled as un-patriotic, terror supporter...

on the other side of the story... the moment some folks find out about a problem, they try to use it for cheap political gains...

that's the sad situ in SL politics

nobody really care enough to address the issue but are more than happy to keep on the political mud slinging going... pathetic

[Watchman]

SWRD's Sinhala only policy is right, its the main language, In Sri lanka most of the applications and other stuff are printed on 3 main languages but in other countries its totally different, there is no issues between sinhalese, tamils and muslims in Sl, its a stuid thing that prabakan created to devide SL in to two, But now cus of the war tamils are having hard time, they cant work in Colombo and if they working at some place they need to registed at police station,

There is no issue beteen Sinhalese and tamils in SL, its all political crap

Actually gihan i think having forms etc in ALL languages is the wisest thing for a country like sri lanka... if you read up a bit of history you'll realize that the whole conflict started because of this... when everything was made Sinhala only, Tamils in the north felt discriminated against cos they had no-way of getting any of their state-ralated matters resolved cos they didn't speak the language... at the beginning all they wanted was a common mean of communication, and when they didnt get it they resolved to more drastic measures and demands... had they been given this at the beginning none of this would have happened and we'd be living in a very different Sri Lanka.

As for it being different in other countries, i beg to differ. In countries like the US or UK the minorities really are small. but thats not the case in sri lanka. Its a much more ethnic diversity to to say that there is a majority and minority. Likewise in S'pore all government institutions work in english. But the education system is also in english, so everyone has a fair chance. And public notices etc are published in english, chinese, malay and tamil. So even though that might not have had the privilege of a english education are also considered people of equality.

[miniace]

it's sad that the moment you point out a problem, you get labeled as un-patriotic, terror supporter...

on the other side of the story... the moment some folks find out about a problem, they try to use it for cheap political gains...

that's the sad situ in SL politics

nobody really care enough to address the issue but are more than happy to keep on the political mud slinging going... pathetic

True machan! The real victory comes the day all politicos banned from talking bout war!

MINIACE

[Ripper]

whatever,

i hav fallen into deep shit among sm f ma tamil frnds by talkn abt this openly

& devinda,

talkn abt discrimination, i already mentioned that i hav never been to that part of the island and how things are there. but this is wht my frnds here @ uni tell me. maybe they hav faced hardships. but they do agree that the ltte is no better either. some agree that jaffna has developed much with the hands of the SLA!

whenever i talk abt this they point out that i hav a cmb ID and that's why i dun hav a prob wen doin things here.

i personally hav not been discriminated openly. (wherever i go, no one easily identifies me as a tamil )

wht actually is happening is that because of the war, weneva a cop sees an ID with a northern birthplace, they get alert

neways, hope i wont be discriminated when it comes to marriage

and yea, i dont mind you calling me a minority tamil. im open to all those stuff. no issues

well mate... my wifey is a tamil...

mom's a malay and dad's a tamil... So her ID still has a tamil surname...

there was this one checkpoint we had some problems a few times with one cop fella... From the first day he realized my wifey's a tamil, they used to flag us down every single day and completely check the vehicle and personal belongings... The day they wanted to check her wallet was when i really flipped...

I put up such a fight with the ah*le they threatened to arrest me and even called their mobile unit in...

It was quite obvious the cop was a racist ar$ewipe and he was targeting us so that he can feel a bit superior in his pathetic little existence...

Only the army guy in charge of the checkpoint had some intelligence and apologized to me about good 30mins into the confrontation..

Having some close relatives in armed forces sort of helped or else things would have been lot nastier...

armed forces have never been rude to us or show any bias towards the race anymore...at least i haven't seen it so far...

But some cops are a complete different story all together...

So i would say that there are still some racist buffoons, some even in uniform who think they are better just because they are from a different race and a religion...

What's sad is that a little minority of morons like that, easily ruins it for everybody...

[The Don]

Without quoting or commenting on anybody's statements in particular I thought I would add my own 2 cents.

First thing I would like to say is that I'm heartened by the constructive comments posted by most as well the care in which they are written and the absence of apathy. Our country is full of jack asses who have obviously confused which orifice should be utilised for which purpose and display the lack of brain cells in regions which support constructive dialogue and long term thinking and too many brain cells in short term personal gain which has resulted in a quarter of a decade of bloodshed and 70 000 + people dead, many homeless and displaced.

While I appreciate and applaud the efforts of our heroic forces in the battle front what they are raging is only part of the battle to end this conflict. There is another and possibly bigger battle to establish political stability in those regions (with many an opportunistic politician from both sides who might again use ethnicity for political gain) and for the hearts and minds of people. If we are to live together in peace with one another we need to find ways of healing the many emotional wounds this conflict has brought on each other (such as trauma, hatred and mistrust of each other), recognise each others right to existence and right to their own identity and culture.

Many countries are multi cultural and have found ways peaceful co existence and a fundamental requirement of that is for each other to recognise our cultural differences and support diversity. In Canada both French and English are national languages. In the United Kingdom Welsh and English are both recognised as national languages and you are usually able to obtain most government publications in more than 20 other languages. In Ireland Gaelic is the national language though English is widely used. These are just a few examples that come to mind where multi cultural secular existence has become possible due to compromise and recognition. I fail to see why things should be different in Sri Lanka.

The other thing I would like to say is contrary to popular belief many Tamils living in Colombo are very concerned and do feel threatened by militant elements amongst the Sinhalese population who at times have demonstrated a liking to resorting to violence in the aftermaths of bomb blasts etc and also the fabled "white vans". I know this through my communications with Tamil friends I've made at school and elsewhere. So perhaps this is also a time for us to personally reassure our Tamil neighbours that anybody who opposes terrorism and support peaceful co existence will always have our support and protection. These are simple things that we can do that can go a long way in healing these wounds.

We also need to become even more vigilant. Things are going to become worse before they get better if the past is anything to go by ..........

[NPP]

Only the army guy in charge of the checkpoint had some intelligence and apologized to me about good 30mins into the confrontation..

Having some close relatives in armed forces sort of helped or else things would have been lot nastier...

armed forces have never been rude to us or show any bias towards the race anymore...at least i haven't seen it so far...

But some cops are a complete different story all together...

So i would say that there are still some racist buffoons, some even in uniform who think they are better just because they are from a different race and a religion...

What's sad is that a little minority of morons like that, easily ruins it for everybody...

yes mate.

the armymen are more polite than the policemen!

some even address us as "sir" and are quite sensible as well

the police tho, at some places, asks silly questions and stuff....

[isam]

Props to the military for this victory, but in my humble opinion, the celebrations that followed were a bit premature, over the top and in bad taste. The boys need to be congratulated alright, but with so far yet to go and so many people having lost their lives in this offensive, I thought it was in bad taste to act as if the war was over and to celebrate like that. I know this might be an unpopular view, but those are just my thoughts.

GFX, why do you say that you hate peace?

Yes. We need to congratulate on the victory by the forces. Also we must remember that there is another party who suffered in providing for this war. That is tax payers of this country who financed all the efforts. It is us who reduced our consumption and paid more taxes. Not the government. One must not forget that!

This is the victory of forces backed by the people of this country. Its disgusting to see politicians trying to take advantage of it. More disgusting to see some politicians trying to devalue the significance of the victory. scr3w them!

Regarding the celebrations, I'd say we would have been better off in think about providing the necessary supplies for the military (medication, clothes and other) and the displaced people rather than burn the money in fire-crackers.

[xXx]

Wow this treat really is buzzing. Majority of you have expressed very independent views, a rare phenomenon in a public discussion these days. Mini your views as an ex-armed forces member should be aired to be heard by a much larger audience. People like you should be given the opportunity to voice their opinion freely so people who are caught up in this rat race can stop and think for a minute.

Many of you have agreed that war itself is not the answer a similar view that I bare so there’s nothing much left for me to say but to clear out few grey areas.

Let me first of all start by saying, according to what I have heard and read in media in the last few days none of the political parties have down played this achievement TNA been an exception of course. It’s the government henchman who has clinged on to certain phrases voiced by the opposition that’s putting lot of effort to harvest this mentality.

At the same time I think it is wrong for people including the government to accuse and undermine the CFA. People have forgotten that it is due to the CFA that ‘hardcore members like karuna’ broke away. The irony is it with karuna’s support that we managed to liberate the East and many more victories in the battlefront. People have forgotten how peaceful and prosperous it was back during that time and how they lived with out fear.

About the questions that have been raised by many of you on tamils been treated unfairly or subjected to violence, todays incident involving Sirasa TV shows the pathetic level democracy in sri lankan has fallen to. Taking this and similar incidents that was carried out by parties linked to the government it is perfectly acceptable for the minorities to have such fears. I would like to ask from people who support the current regime, head of state and his brothers weather such gross acts of violence can be offset by victories in the battlefront?

[xXx]

so if the tamils who support ltte showed a little modesty i'm sure the sinhalese would recieve them with open arms.

mate don't forget it takes two hands to clap. just like tamils who support ltte needs to show a little modesty sinhalese who think war is the only way forward need to show that thing called modesty too.

remember how about a year or two ago this government decided to ship people from north and east who were residing in colombo back to where they came from. this is just one example from top of my head. it may not be 100% relevant to the point i made above but it is acts like this that causes rifts between communities.

[xXx]

just to add to my earlier post, calibrations that followed soon after the victory was announced can’t be considered 'modest' can it?

[Pericles]

There may be some right thinking people left in this country.

http://cerno.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/war-isnt-over-yet/

[JadeyBlitzen]

mate don't forget it takes two hands to clap. just like tamils who support ltte needs to show a little modesty sinhalese who think war is the only way forward need to show that thing called modesty too.

remember how about a year or two ago this government decided to ship people from north and east who were residing in colombo back to where they came from. this is just one example from top of my head. it may not be 100% relevant to the point i made above but it is acts like this that causes rifts between communities.

oh yes! i remember that. another display of shameless left wing dictatorship. kudos to the chief magistrate for overruling it and bringing them back.

[Ripper]

There may be some right thinking people left in this country.

http://cerno.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/war-isnt-over-yet/

more than cerno's post... i like the first reply by another blogger...

IMHO it's way too easy to say "we shall see" and not make a decision...unpopular ones at that too cos somebody really needs to make a call no matter how tough it really is.

Trying to bear ltte militarily is one of those decisions that had be taken IMO...

[GTAm]

What an interesting discussion...... I'm glad that most of the posts are civilized ones. @Don I fully agree with your view. I couldn't put it across better. I wish our damn political leaders read this thread.

In the end it's hard to find a single leader who truly cares for the country. (The Joke is that only Prabakaran has fought a foreign army- ipkf in recent times ) And let's face it India is going to be our big bully by hook or by crook. It is plain to see right now. They'll control everything and our stupid govt. is playing straight into their hands.

Even if the CFA was a bit one sided for me it was bettre than this war. We lost a much lesser number of lives than now. That alone should be worth it. Then there's the economic boom which would have seen us far far away from where we are today.

I find it pathetic that so many Singhalese (including many of my friends) are caught up in the false patriotic euphoria. Most are buying the government epic story wholesale. Of course our forces SHOULD win any face to face open war given the disparity in numbers. And we do need to end terrorism which is not good for anyone in the country. And let's face it no one like the LTTE even if they were the only voice of the Tamil people at one time, they have gone far now. They should have talked peace when there were so many opportunies.

We are however killing our own population both Sinhala and Tamil who can be put to much more productive use.

But it is our politicians who created and aggrevated the problem for personal or party political gain. Both main parties are to blame and still they are not brave enough to take a accomodating stand openly fearing a backlash from the majority.

However as many of you have pointed out, there is absolutely nothing done to address the root cause of the problem. I think it's well documented how Tamil folk are subjected to abuse. I have seen it happen. I have seen how racist and narrow minded

some idiotic Singhala people are....... They find in impossible and unecessary to empathise with the Tamil folk. Shame on them. I think its a matter of insecurity especially among some of the monks. Hats off to the monk from Asgiriya who wrote an article in the Daily Mirror about the need of an "Obama" from the minorty to lead Sri Lanka. For 60 years the leaders from the majority have been bungling!!!!

It is the govt who should be promoting harmony between the Sinhalese and Tamils. However this is probably the most racist govt. we've ever had. And they actually are fuelling division among the different races. And its all for political gain.

My view is that what happend in the East is a quick fix sham as well. In the end its a kind of Eelam given to a different armed. group. Then why kill so many civilians and soldiers in the North? Just to fool the people.....

It'll be years for all the donkeys who lit crackers to realize this though !

[rman2000]

A very interesting thread and it really nice to see so many mature and broadminded people in this forum (mind you this is an automotive forum!),could not agree more with you guys,also sad to see the comments on Daily Mirror blogs where people seem to be very narrow minded and crude

A lot of people who support the war are not really affected by it (Sinhala patriots who will not send their sons to the army,Tamil diaspora abroad who dont need to live in SL) and the politicians and monks who for some reason thrive on whipping up communal flames , Prabakaran who does not care a shit abt tamils but is power greedy and selfish

What an interesting discussion...... I'm glad that most of the posts are civilized ones. @Don I fully agree with your view. I couldn't put it across better. I wish our damn political leaders read this thread.

In the end it's hard to find a single leader who truly cares for the country. (The Joke is that only Prabakaran has fought a foreign army- ipkf in recent times ) And let's face it India is going to be our big bully by hook or by crook. It is plain to see right now. They'll control everything and our stupid govt. is playing straight into their hands.

Even if the CFA was a bit one sided for me it was bettre than this war. We lost a much lesser number of lives than now. That alone should be worth it. Then there's the economic boom which would have seen us far far away from where we are today.

I find it pathetic that so many Singhalese (including many of my friends) are caught up in the false patriotic euphoria. Most are buying the government epic story wholesale. Of course our forces SHOULD win any face to face open war given the disparity in numbers. And we do need to end terrorism which is not good for anyone in the country. And let's face it no one like the LTTE even if they were the only voice of the Tamil people at one time, they have gone far now. They should have talked peace when there were so many opportunies.

We are however killing our own population both Sinhala and Tamil who can be put to much more productive use.

But it is our politicians who created and aggrevated the problem for personal or party political gain. Both main parties are to blame and still they are not brave enough to take a accomodating stand openly fearing a backlash from the majority.

However as many of you have pointed out, there is absolutely nothing done to address the root cause of the problem. I think it's well documented how Tamil folk are subjected to abuse. I have seen it happen. I have seen how racist and narrow minded

some idiotic Singhala people are....... They find in impossible and unecessary to empathise with the Tamil folk. Shame on them. I think its a matter of insecurity especially among some of the monks. Hats off to the monk from Asgiriya who wrote an article in the Daily Mirror about the need of an "Obama" from the minorty to lead Sri Lanka. For 60 years the leaders from the majority have been bungling!!!!

It is the govt who should be promoting harmony between the Sinhalese and Tamils. However this is probably the most racist govt. we've ever had. And they actually are fuelling division among the different races. And its all for political gain.

My view is that what happend in the East is a quick fix sham as well. In the end its a kind of Eelam given to a different armed. group. Then why kill so many civilians and soldiers in the North? Just to fool the people.....

It'll be years for all the donkeys who lit crackers to realize this though !

[xXx]

Lasantha shot by two armed men

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections...spx?ARTID=37268

do you gentlemen still think its unfair for minorities to feel threatened? do you still think it is unfair for the west to brand us as a nation with a poor HR record?

this is the second such incident within the last couple of days.

who cares huh we won kilinochchi, LTTE is banned and the government is planning to hold an election in north.....

[Pericles]

Lasantha shot by two armed men

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections...spx?ARTID=37268

do you gentlemen still think its unfair for minorities to feel threatened? do you still think it is unfair for the west to brand us as a nation with a poor HR record?

this is the second such incident within the last couple of days.

who cares huh we won kilinochchi, LTTE is banned and the government is planning to hold an election in north.....

I don't think this is something to point of that minorities are threatened. Even the majority is in a pickle in this one! This is a law and order issue, not a racist one.

[Supra_Natural]

Lasantha shot by two armed men

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections...spx?ARTID=37268

do you gentlemen still think its unfair for minorities to feel threatened? do you still think it is unfair for the west to brand us as a nation with a poor HR record?

this is the second such incident within the last couple of days.

who cares huh we won kilinochchi, LTTE is banned and the government is planning to hold an election in north.....

one does have to wonder, if it is indeed higher authorities that are behind this, whether they would be so blatantly obvious.... the "are they really THAT dumb?" question comes to mind. Of course if one is talking of Dr Dutugemunu then the answer is indeed the affirmative, but the instructions must be coming from SOMEWHERE innit?

Food for thought

[GihanFX]

Lasantha shot by two armed men

This hapend very close to my house and at the moment there was a big traffic

[Ripper]

I don't think this is something to point of that minorities are threatened. Even the majority is in a pickle in this one! This is a law and order issue, not a racist one.

my thoughts exactly but on the other hand... 1st of Jan, Mr. president takes over Media ministry... Sirasa Gets attacked and judging by the operation that looked pretty pro...government must've been behind it...

But for Lasantha, a staunch critique of the government getting shot few days after that???

Not saying government is not capable of such, especially given the levels of security offered to most areas these days... but this one looks a pretty plain stupid act when gosl knows for sure the blame will come their way...

[xXx]

I don't think this is something to point of that minorities are threatened. Even the majority is in a pickle in this one! This is a law and order issue, not a racist one.

Peri yes this incident got nothing to do with racial discrimination. But you yourself have agreed on my main point which is the total disregard to law and order. Who’s responsibility is it to upkeep and maintain law and order? Is this the sort of freedom of speech one can expect from a democratically elected so called peoples government? If even high profile individuals and institutions are threatened and harassed in public what hope is there for the common man?

I think (I’m open for correction) when NPP said his friends from north are in fear I think their main fear is not of a repeat performance similar to the 1983 black July but something similar to what is happening in Guantanamo bay. People been falsely accused of having links with LTTE and been mistreated due to false accusations. Sort of what’s happening with the white van mafia.

Edited January 8, 2009 by xXx

[xXx]

one does have to wonder, if it is indeed higher authorities that are behind this, whether they would be so blatantly obvious.... the "are they really THAT dumb?" question comes to mind. Of course if one is talking of Dr Dutugemunu then the answer is indeed the affirmative, but the instructions must be coming from SOMEWHERE innit?

Food for thought

It does look very obvious but who else could it be? This is not the first time something of this nature has taken place in this land like no other. This government has carried out one too many of these obvious attacks. A good example been Lasantha’s press that is situated in the Ratmalana HSZ been set on fire few months back.

This regime does not give two hoots about what people think. They know that enough jokers have already jumped on the ‘patriotic’ bandwagon and they think they are invincible.

I think the question you should ask is not ‘are they that dumb?’ but ‘are they that that arrogant?’ and the answer is YES