my middle-class relatives in Colombo are safe and sound so it looks as if this is targeting poor IDPs from from outside Colombo.

Tamil MPs are removing their shirts in protest.

Rajapakse knows that of the moneyed Tamils in Colombo (and there are more than a few), all would be mobilized if they were targeted. By going after those with lesser means, he satisfies the war-hungry monks and rabid Sinhala nationalists who are his core supporters.

It is ludicrous to think of a large (or small)-scale infiltration of Colombo by the Tigers as they are now split up into at least three factions and are facing daily bombardment by the SL airforce. They have more than enough to deal with in the north, and a dwindling supply of overseas-sourced funding to concentrate on anything down south.

It is OK for the Tamil Tigers to indulge in this sort of ethnic cleaning because they have no moral responsibility, but a government can't behave like this,¿ he said.

WTF!! Is he pretty much saying the Tigers are pure terrorists and nothing else and so can do what they want?

Is it true that Tamils in SL have to carry their passport/identification with them always. My source is an ex-colombo resident. Can anyone confirm if it is true or an exaggeration.

I'm tamil. But my family is from the north western part of tamil nadu so I have never heard anything about Tamil Tigers or Sri Lanka while growing up. Although now I have gone to some TNF (Tamil National Foundation) youth meets in the US, and quite a few of the people who show up are from Sri Lanka. But we all get along, there is never any talk about Tigers or terrorism.

WTF!! Is he pretty much saying the Tigers are pure terrorists and nothing else and so can do what they want?

i think he means that from a perspective of self-image - even in their own eyes, governments have no right to do this to their own people, whereas terrorist groups are less concerned with the collateral damage that ensues during the course of their mission.

my parents are both from TN, and the LTTE issue is not such a big issue there, except vis-a-vis political parties in TN who fund them. it is, however, becoming a much bigger issue in the states. my mother heads the NY tamil sangam, and i cannot tell you at how many functions this is a problem - there is another tamil group in the area that is from sri lanka. when they asked to merge functions with the tamil sangam, they had to say no because of the sri lankan group's links to LTTE (they are quite open about this link). this was a huge problem last summer during the tamil conference in NYC, when it practically became a mob scene between the indian and sri lankan tamils. this is not uncommon, and i think these issues are a huge point of controversy in the planning of the conferences each year. i guess this is because in the states there is more direct contact between indian and sri lankan tamils for there to be sufficient controversy.

Which Tamil sangam is your mom a part of? I know of two major Tamil get together groups in the US - The TNF and I think the other one is Tamil Sangam of North America (TSNA?). I have never heard of any conflict between Tamils and Sri Lankans before. Last TNF I went to was in Chicago during 2002 and there were a lot of Sri Lankans there but there was no problems.

my parents are both from TN, and the LTTE issue is not such a big issue there, except vis-a-vis political parties in TN who fund them. it is, however, becoming a much bigger issue in the states. my mother heads the NY tamil sangam

FeTNA - the latter. and trust me, there are problems. it might not be obvious to people who go to these events, but there have been numerous issues. and not just at the conferences.

I'm a Tamil who was born in Chennai. I've always wanted to visit Sri Lanka, but stories like this make me not want to visit. Do non-Sri Lankan Tamils get hassled there? I'm guessing my American passport and not-brown wife would alleviate some of this harassment, but since I look Tamil, who knows. It would a pity, since every single person I know who has traveled around SL has absolutely loved it.

SS, I've been to Sri Lanka, and let me tell you, it really is a beautiful place. Not Colombo, maybe, but the other places I went to were really excellent. Although I'm not Tamilian, but from Andhra, I didn't see any signs of non Sri lankan Tamils getting harassed. In fact, I did meet a few non SL tamils in Kandy, and they were pretty normal and friendly. I don't see why the SL govt would harass you unless you were doing something you shouldn't be doing. Everything was great, right from the minute we landed in Colombo airport and got our visas, uptil our departure. The only thing was that there were loads of soldiers in the airport and vicinity. But this was in 2004.

Besides, I noticed you're American :-)Should be no problems whatsoever

I'm guessing my American passport and not-brown wife would alleviate some of this harassment, but since I look Tamil, who knows.

I don't think you can differentiate a Tamil and Sinhala by looks alone. So don't worry. It is sad to hear about the events in Srilanka. The southern border of Tamilnadu is just 20 kms from Srilanka and you have 60 million Tamils living nearby in peace for the last 60+ years with 950+ million non-Tamils in India. I think, If Sri lanka follows the Indian model it would work wonders..

I think, If Sri lanka follows the Indian model it would work wonder

so if SL created one set of laws for Muslims and another set for non-Muslims, it would encourage communal harmony?

If SL allowed state authorities to stand idle while minority communities were savaged by angry mobs?

If SL allowed all localities to be ruled by a never-ending chain of nepotism--staffed by sanctimonious film stars and their pampered progeny?

pleasE. IF SL ever gets out of this mess, it will be by careful analyses of all that went wrong with India's communal violence reduction plans.

it's sad that someone from TN, a mere 20 kilometers from SL, would be so ignorant of the dynamics of the situation that they would compare it to that of Indian Tamils living in a majority non-Tamil nation.

Ever had to score higher on a test, just so that you could gain entry into a university that your non-Tamil friend would get into with a lesser score?

Ever stayed awake at night, wondering if the government would imprison you or employ proxies to kill you just for the crime of reporting what's going on?

didn't think so.

anna analyzing tamil sinhala conflict. please step aside whilst me pukest.

Funny how the ACTUAL Sri Lankans didn't react the way you did, but then again, they can read. You seem to have difficulty with that. Try it again- I'm not analyzing anything:

I'm not judging, I'm asking.

Go puke your trollery elsewhere. And if you hate this site so much (judging from past comments), do yourself and the rest of us a favor and LEAVE.

I don't know the continuing provocations of Sinhalese behavior towards Tamils (and I guess this post will lead to a he did, she did cycle), but the LTTE is one of the most contemptible and despicable terrorist organizations there is. They have held Tamils hostage to their vile means for years now, and as long as they are the loudest organization, there will be no peace in Sri Lanka.

Muralimannered, maybe he just meant a federalist structure?

Muralimannered:

buddy, why are you riling against me?. I was just hinting at the "federal" structure as followed in India.

But my family is from the north western part of tamil nadu so I have never heard anything about Tamil Tigers or Sri Lanka while growing up.

Ditto. That is, I'm from a Tamil family from the northwest part of TN, and growing up, I never heard my family discussing the problems of the Tamils in Sri Lanka or LTTE or any of that. Really, the first exposure I had to the problems in Sri Lanka was on a trip to India in the mid-80s, when I heard the whole story about the Tigers and their infamous cyanide capsules. A few years later, there was Punnagai Mannan, and everybody knew about the problem.

I mentioned on a different thread that I didn't really identify with SL Tamils, in spite of the common language, and I think it's partly because, growing up in North America, I never knew a Tamil-speaking person who wasn't from India. I have since met quite a few Sri Lankan Tamil folks...and well, it turns out they're just people too.

no, what SL needs to do is take a good long look at the Soulbury constitution they have lived under since 1949, at the position of executive president and at the laws promoting Sinhala culture above all else and decide if these things are really worth the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost as a result.

Rahul,

Are you really so naive as to think that without the big, bad LTTE (murderous, multi-limbed, terror beast it has become), SL would be at peace? Aren't you forgetting about the government financed goons like the EPDP who have operated as a paramilitary outfit for years with virtual impunity? Karuna's faction in the east? They continue their LTTE-sourced tactics while enjoying the approbation of the government and all international entities (and individuals) foolish enough to believe that bold press-statements constitute an unshakeable committment to democracy and the rule of law?

Are you forgetting about the government's handling of non-LTTE civilian population in war-torn areas? Or even the capital?

go read a damn book.

PSA:

If your family (that is nuclear and extended) DIDN'T have to flee a place due to the threat of imminent physical violence, only to find themselves scattered across the globe in a totally unwilling diaspora, you'll NEVER FRICKIN' UNDERSTAND what it's like.

stop trying. Close your eyes. Go back to Grey's Anatomy, frappucino's and buying on margin. You'll sleep soundly and be much happier tomorrow.

It's not clear that without the LTTE, there will be peace. But it is clear that with the LTTE, there will be no peace. Suicide bombing, child soldier recruiting, civilian killing monsters!

Thanks for not hurling the damn book at me. It would have been more convincing that way though.

rahul, i don't think the LTTE needs any provocation at this point from the SL government. they have their aims - mainly sovereign tamil control over the north-east region - and that's the end-goal. the minimum 'provocation' from SL is any obstacle to this goal. i don't disagree with their desire for a tamil region, but it's just the tactics...it's crazy how this is such a bloody war, including ethnic cleansing, yet receives minimum media coverage. hierarchy of passports, i suppose...

hmmm, rahul, sounds like you have a personal stake in these goings on. Perhaps you were the spawn of one of those hapless Jawans caught between the wiley SL government double-crossers and vicious Tigers between 87 and 1990?

ak, I agree - I was only talking about their techniques (I'm not sure how I feel about their wanting their own region. There is clearly some justification given what the SL power structure has done to Tamils, but... anyways, my views of borders are not relevant for this post). I'm sure their lack of oil helps their oblivion too. Palm trees and warm beaches are good for photoshoots, is all.

muralimannered, you've made your point. Ad hominem always wins.

i don't see how the IPKF isn't germane to this discussion.

The entire island, however, is lacking for domestic sources of oil/gas. Look at the feverish attempt to find resources in the Cauvery basin, off Mannar.

Are you forgetting about the government's handling of non-LTTE civilian population in war-torn areas? Or even the capital?

hmmm, rahul, sounds like you have a personal stake in these goings on. Perhaps you were the spawn of one of those hapless Jawans caught between the wiley SL government double-crossers and vicious Tigers between 87 and 1990?

muralimannered, if you believe that there are circumstances that justify or warrant the abhorrent actions of the LTTE, I am not sure that we have any sort of shared moral basis for a meaningful discussion.

If you believe that, i'll end this tit-for-tat myself as only a fool could take my statements (which are based on the recollections of my family and those in the diaspora as well as the historical record) as apologia for suicide bombing, child-soldier recruitment, narcotics/human trafficking.

what you need to understand, oh almighty bestower of the SL Tamil right to be miffed about treatment at the hands of the government, is that lengthy critiques and documentation of the Tiger's long history of human rights abuses are very much in existence. There is no doubt and no level of uncertainty regarding this.

There is however, much confusion as to what constitutes hard news, when the reporting is done on armed conflict in the area. Look at every single report issued by the government and the LTTE and count up the number of dead enemies claimed by each side. You'll come up with a number greater than both sides have retained since the beginning of all this.

Are you an expert? Are you on the ground? Did you read my PSA on having to leave your ancestral home and flee abroad? Spending all your time bemoaning the many abuses of human rights perpetrated by the LTTE only presents half the picture and gives you only half of the solution.

Did you think all was peachy-keen when the tigers didn't exist. Did you think that there were NO riots before 83? No, there was unrest and dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Before 1983, Tamils took it up the rear with no lubrication and the Tigers were a violent reaction to that mode of 'resistance.'

oh almighty bestower of the SL Tamil right to be miffed about treatment at the hands of the government

Thank you for the decoration acknowledging my righs over this conflagration. It warms my cockles to have raised your hackles. Yes, I rhyme, I rhyme. Is that such a crime?

*cackles*

but really Rahul, don't take up a profession which requires you to criticize the Tigers on a daily basis. Several of my relatives have received death threats from their cronies for far less than that.

Point taken. Wouldn't want a cow's head in my bed tomorrow morning.

muralimannered:

what do you think is the solution??.

does anybody know whether tamils - LTTE or otherwise - have tried substantially to use the political process to help their plight? e.g. running for elected office?

does anybody know whether tamils - LTTE or otherwise - have tried substantially to use the political process to help their plight? e.g. running for elected office?

I think Tamils have tried the political process since 1950s and took arms only in the late 70s after the gradual worsening of their condition.

Big deal. 33% of Colombo is Tamil and 60% is Tamil-speaking (the other 30% being Muslims). Imagine New Delhi with a Kashmiri Muslim majority. 300 shady Tamils got sent back to the North and the East where they came from while the other 117 000 get to stay. Almost all LTTE suicide bombers have stayed in these lodges, and we all know how many innocent men, women and children have been blown to bits in their suicide attacks in Colombo. IMO it is about time this move was made, extraordinary situations require extraordinary solutions. Just remember that Tamils get to live all over Sri Lanka but the Sinhalese, the Moors and the Malays are barred from areas of their own country. Their crime? They were not born Tamil. And this has been happening for over 2 decades. How come there has been no outcry about that? It would be interesting to see a Sepia Mutiny special on how non-Tamils have barred from areas of their own country for decades. How about starting with the ethnic cleansing of Muslims from Jaffna by the LTTE.

hey, just curious about something...

Prior to the British, weren't the North and East historically Tamil-dominated? I remember something from South Asia history class about the raids of Tamil kings and into the north and eventually establishing settlements...

Surprised that no one mentioned Norwegian missionaries itching for a harvest. Abcd good for nothings really need to do their homework.

The East was part of the Singhalese Kandyan Kingdom.

Sri Lankan supreme courts orders police to stop the evacualtions.

June 08, Colombo: A three bench panel of judges of Sri Lanka Supreme Court today issued an injunction to the Police to stop the evacuation of residents of Colombo lodges who are from the north and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.

Supreme Court Judge Nimal Gamini Amaratunga said that the Supreme Court issued this order considering the seriousness of the incident.

Granting permission to proceed a fundamental rights petition filed by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), the Chairman of the panel of Judges, Nimal E. Dissanayaka said that the action is based on wrong advice.

The Court scheduled a hearing on the case on June 22 and restrained the Inspector General of Police from carrying out any more evacuations of Tamils.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Defense Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Inspector General of Police Victor Perera, Commander-in-Chief of Army Sarath Fonseka and the Officers-in-Charge of the Wellawatta, Kotahena, Pettah and Wattala police stations are the defendants of the petition.

Also every political party in the country except extreme right wing JHU(who has dispropotionate represenation due to an anomaly in the last election .I don't think they can win more than 1 seat in 225 member parliament now) is against this.

Prior to the British, weren't the North and East historically Tamil-dominated? I remember something from South Asia history class about the raids of Tamil kings and into the north and eventually establishing settlements...

Yes, The north eastern part of Sri lanka is just 20 kms from the southern tip of Tamilnadu and any fisherman who ventures out would see that land, first thing in the morning. The history of Tamils in Sri lanka dates back to thousands of years. You can find a lot of references to Tamils in "Mahavamsa" Sinhala Buddhist chronicle.

We could safely assume that there were periods of war and periods of peace between various peoples over the last thousands of years. Even within Tamils of Tamilnadu there were many groups (kingdoms) fighting against each other, sometimes they took the help of Sinhala kings and sometimes fought against them.

It was the real "Ponniyin Selvan" (according to historical records) who invaded Sri lanka and brought it under "Chola control" in early 1000+ A.D. And the Chola symbol (emblem) was the "tiger", you know the reason for the name "Liberation Tigers" ..

Also every political party in the country except extreme right wing JHU(who has dispropotionate represenation due to an anomaly in the last election .I don't think they can win more than 1 seat in 225 member parliament now) is against this.

What about the SLFP Chandare? Huh? Trying to pass the blame onto a small party that had NOTHING to do with this eviction eh? Nice one!

Sri Lanka is a Sinhala buddhist nation and will always be. All you tamils can kindly leave back to India where you belong. This a war and things like this have to be done during war.

Punjab = Homeland of the Punjabis
Gujarat = Homeland of the Gujaratis
Maharastra = Homeland of the Marathi people
Bengal = Homeland of the Bengalis
Karnataka = homeland of the Kannadigas
Kerala = Homeland of the Malayalis
Tamil Nadu = Homeland of the Tamils

and, shock, horror,

Sri Lanka = Homeland of the Sinhalese

Would love to see Tamils go to Punjab and claim another "homeland." That would be interesting to see.

"Sri Lanka = Homeland of the Sinhalese"

So, if what Ponniyan Selvan says is accurate, then what's your rationale for their having no claim to the north of the country...?

Or did the Sinhalese just drop from the sky and land in Sri Lanka?

muralimannered:

what do you think is the solution??.

The solution is wholesale, bilateral disarmament. Both sides have proven to be little more than jealous, vindictive children when given modern war material.

I propose that any differences be settled with fists, elbows, knees and feet.

If either 'dear leader' should want a quick round of fisticuffs, i'll be the first to step up.

And Guru, you forgot one thing:

claims to historical ethnic domain can only be justified by historical and archaeological records. do you posses these explanatory sources or are you just quoting the chauvinist Sinhala fantasies that pass for rallying material in the ranks of Sinhala ethnic exclusivists?

My family goes back, on record, over, 7 generations into the past. My generation is the first to widely live outside the island and ALL yearn for a situation in which they can return to our ancestral home, property, community and life.

It's simply not possible now because of wackos like the Tigers and chauvinists like guru with an incredibly overblown sense of existential danger to the Sinhala culture and language.

Monks need to stop agitating for Tamil blood. Tamils must be freed of the LTTE. A neutral party must ensure that in these processes, neither the government nor the LTTE (especially), gains any upper hand and that Tamil civilian administration is not staffed by boiled-over remnants of the LTTE nor by Tamil sycophants on the government payroll (Karuna, EPDP, etc.)

Sri Lanka is a Sinhala buddhist nation and will always be. All you tamils can kindly leave back to India where you belong. This a war and things like this have to be done during war.

Interesting.

Paraphrasing a little bit, we could also have "America is a white Christian nation and will always be. All you other people can kindly leave back to the third-world shithole you belong. This is a war and things like this have to be done during war."

It's "enlightened thinking" of this sort that will surely solve all the world's problems one day.

As pointed out above, Sri Lanka has been home to Tamils for ages and ages. To pretend Tamils aren't an indigenous people of the Island simply because they lack the numbers the Sinhalese have is ridiculous. (Inflammatory comments on Sepia Mutiny? Shocking, I know!)

Punjab = Homeland of the Punjabis
Gujarat = Homeland of the Gujaratis
Maharastra = Homeland of the Marathi people
Bengal = Homeland of the Bengalis
Karnataka = homeland of the Kannadigas
Kerala = Homeland of the Malayalis
Tamil Nadu = Homeland of the Tamils

Hopefully this sort of thinking doesn't gain ground in India...I really hope that were I to move to parts of India, that my rights aren't hindered b/c it's not my supposed "homeland".

(Inflammatory comments on Sepia Mutiny? Shocking, I know!)

Do you think I should have deleted lion/Guru?

No I don't think you should have.

I really hope that were I to move to parts of India, that my rights aren't hindered b/c it's not my supposed "homeland".

I don't think you have anything to worry about. For example, there are Punjabis who live in TN (and vice versa), and nobody seems to have a problem with that at all.

Do you think I should have deleted lion/Guru?

Nah.

This idea of homeland is absolutely not a solution to the issue at hand, and further is awful. I also wonder how you come up with your definitions. Punjab, for example, is made up of a huge mix of ethnicities that have mixed together to form a kind of common Punjabi culture. Shouldn't we ask why Sri Lanka has not come together to form a common Sri Lankan identity, if we continue with your train of logic?

Do you think I should have deleted lion/Guru?

I don't think so either; I think it's fine b/c it shows a different point of view.

Do you think I should have deleted lion/Guru?

I don't think so either; I think it's fine b/c it shows a different point of view.

It's also useful for showing that extremism fuels both sides of this conflict. Sometimes it seems like people don't realize the extent of the governments wrongdoing or what motivates it.

Thanks, everyone!

muralimannered - I don't know too much about the history in Sri Lanka. Is the discrimination that you say Tamils undergo in Sri Lanka, is this discrimination written in the Sri Lankan laws...say like South Africa or USA during their apartheid heydays?

Or is it salient discrimination but not actually part of the legal code?

Punjab = Homeland of the Punjabis Gujarat = Homeland of the Gujaratis Maharastra = Homeland of the Marathi people Bengal = Homeland of the Bengalis Karnataka = homeland of the Kannadigas Kerala = Homeland of the Malayalis Tamil Nadu = Homeland of the Tamils

This is not the correct analogy.I am living proof . Tamilian by birth and heritage, lived all my life in Maharashtra , lived and worked in Delhi and Gujarat.My home? I say Maharashtra and no-one - not even "true blood" Maharashtrians - has ever called me out on it.

Oh,yes,Punjabi by marriage :-)

Guru @44:

>>Punjab = Homeland of the Punjabis
Gujarat = Homeland of the Gujaratis
Maharastra = Homeland of the Marathi people
Bengal = Homeland of the Bengalis
Karnataka = homeland of the Kannadigas
Kerala = Homeland of the Malayalis
Tamil Nadu = Homeland of the Tamils

Not sure if you know this, but

There are more Telugu speaking people in Chennia(capital of TN) than in Hyderabad
There are more Kannada speaking people in Mumbai (capital of MH) than in Bangalore
Three are more Punjabi speaking people in Delhi than in Amritsar
There are more Malayalee speaking people in UAE than in Tiruvananthapuram
There are more Gujarathis in Mumbai than in Ahmedabad

I'll let you rethink how the concept of Homeland works in Indians' minds...

M. Nam

There are more tamil speakers in Colombo and Kandy than in Jaffna,Trincomalai or Batticalo

lion and guru, you guys are asshats. Sorry. Feeding the trolls, I know ... but I really have serious issue with those comments.

voiceinthehead (#3): yes, they do have to carry ID and it's not just Tamils. See, it's quite difficult to tell Tamil and Sinhalese apart by appearance (whatever the nationalists may say). Case in point, I've been addressed in Tamil by coppers at checkpoints often and er... I just know a couple of words, if that.

muralimannered (#46): I've never seen anyone hit the high points of what I've been thinking quite so succinctly. Bravo.

Monks need to stop agitating for Tamil blood. Tamils must be freed of the LTTE. A neutral party must ensure that in these processes, neither the government nor the LTTE (especially), gains any upper hand and that Tamil civilian administration is not staffed by boiled-over remnants of the LTTE nor by Tamil sycophants on the government payroll (Karuna, EPDP, etc.)

Well said. Why should buddhist monks agitate?. I'm a bit surprised.

President is against the move too!

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's president Friday promised an investigation into police action that forced hundreds of ethnic Tamils from the capital at gunpoint in early morning raids condemned around the World.

President Mahinda Rajapakse invited evicted people back to Colombo and ordered a disciplinary probe against the police chief responsible.

Officers led by Inspector General Victor Perera forced Tamils out of their sleep and bussed them 260 kilometres (160 miles) north of Colombo to a detention centre early Thursday.

"Allegations that officials exceeded their authority in implementing this initiative will be thoroughly investigated and appropriate remedial action will be taken," a statement from president Rajapakse's office said.

It promised "disciplinary action against any wrongdoing on the part of any government official."

The presidential orders went out after the Supreme Court halted the evictions and the United States, a key ally of the government, led international condemnation of Thursday's events.

Police sources said they were trying to undo the damage by arranging five buses Friday evening to bring back to Colombo the Tamils who were forcibly removed from low-budget hostels.

"Out of 272 held at the Vavuniya centre, we are bringing back 186 in the next few hours," a police official in Vavuniya said by telephone.

Government defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters Thursday that the Tamils boarded buses on their own accord and denied any forced eviction.

After reading the comment #64 ,better to read this ,too.Feel better now?

Quote

Today, six human rights groups released a report (pdf) on 39 people who they think the US government might be holding in undisclosed locations, and whose location is presently unknown. (Thus, they are not counting anyone known to be at Guantanamo or Bagram; just people who are missing.) That we have disappeared anyone is shocking, and a violation of treaties we have signed and ratified.

This report has gotten a fair amount of play, but in all the coverage I've read, only the Philadelphia Inquirer has mentioned what is, to me, the most awful allegation: that we disappeared young children. The report (pp. 24-26) lists five groups of family members; those who are discussed at greatest length are the sons of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The Sinhalas should have just respected the Tamil cultural identity, language, and political rights from the beginning, and they would have never had this problem on their hands. It just wasn't worth it. And the Sinhala language and culture could have still been very well-promoted, and given plenty room to express itself. But it seems too late now to ever fix this problem. Very short-sighted on the Sinhalas' part. Of course, this doesn't take away from the horrible actions and attitudes of the LTTE, on so many levels.

i can't beleive this. what a moronic decision.

muralimannered, your comments are appreciated. but how realistic is bilateral disarmament? and we would need a much better third party than Norway.

I'm not one to beat around the bush but the Sinhalese dominated government's aim is to wipe the Tamils out of Sri Lanka. They tried in the early 50s with anti tamil riots, early 70s with policies to discriminate the Tamils aswell as trying to destroy the language and culture (I can't remember when they exactly burned downed the Jaffna Library destroying ancient Tamil books & records), early 80s again with anti Tamil riots killing thousands, destroying property aswell as social structure, early 90s/and now with bombing of civilian settlements. Recently with abductions/ransom of wealthy Tamils from Colombo, closing of the main road to the north and east of the island preventing humanitarian aid reaching the area aswell as preventing civilians fleeing to the south due to aerial bombings...but leaving the ports and harbours in the north and east open so they can flee to Tamil Nadu, India.

Tamils are seen as invaders just like the Dutch, Portuguese and British, even though the Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka a few hundred years earlier from Orrissa (India). The aim is to wipe out all invaders from the island.

The Indian Tamil Labourers who were bought over during British rule to work the plantations were discriminated on by not allowing them to be citizens...in 1974 600,000 were sent back to India.
Burghers who are descendents of European settlers, were made 'redundant' and left the island because of the Sinhala only act which came to power in the 70s and made Sinhala the official language of Sri Lanka...so if you didn’t speak Sinhala you were made useless. If you go to Melbourne or LA you will find large Burgher communities of Ceylonese origin there.
Native Sri Lankan Tamils were next but they stood their ground and fought...must be the Chola in us!!!

As Lion said this is war, between two animals...the Lions and the Tigers!!!
This war has lasted over 1000 years in different forms and will never end...

I say split the island in two and if in 50 years when both parts have sorted out their issues...come together as one...only way to save lives. I think its called a Federal system or something!!

A documentary by the BBC explains everything about Sri lanka...its one of the best i've seen so far and it critises both sides...It was shot in 2002. Since then, in the period of 4 years 4000 people have been killed, hundreds abducted and over 1 million made refugees in their own country.

http://www.sl2uk.com/content/civilwar.shtml

i don't know if someone answered Voiceinthehead's earlier question (there are a lot of posts here and i didn't get to read them all!) about whether Tamils in Sri Lanka must carry their national identity card or passport at all times. The answer is yes--pretty much anywhere you go--unless you're a very well-off and are a well-known and trusted colomboite--Tamils do need to carry their some form of valid i.d. in case the police or military stop them for security reasons (which means practically everywhere, given the expanse of military checkpoints). This wasn't the case during peacetime: during the 2002-05 ceasefire, Jaffna was opened up and even Sinhalese folks could cross territory that had been held by the LTTE, unharmed. During wartime, even back in 2001 on the other hand, Tamils from the Upcountry (so called "Estate Tamils" because they predominantly work/reside on the plantations or "Indian Tamils" even though they were "imported" as labor from India several generations before) were so frightened of the security forces near Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, CMB, and throughout the country--so much so that they would erase their pottu (bindi) or thiraneer (sacred ash) from their foreheads, to disguise their Tamilness. The security forces would even test them if they tried to speak to them in Sinhala--asking the Tamil passer-bys to pronounce the Sinhalese word for "trash bin"--because they could rarely pronounce it with Sinahlese accentation; it was a shibboleth that would give them away as Tamil.

on Diwali of 2000 there was a massacre of 27 Tamils (& 14 injured) who were being held in a "rehabilitation camp" in Bindunuwewa (in the UpCountry, sort of near Bandarawela). the Tamils being kept there were being "reintegrated into society"--some were working in the nearby town, and their only crime was not having a valid national identity card on them. only one of the detainees had strong links to the LTTE--he was being kept there temporarily (possibly as a "favor" by the police to the LTTE)--and was seen as a serious threat. Among the local Sinhalese villagers rumors started flying and a smear campaign got locals thinking that the camp was an LTTE camp. So, that night in October an angry (and unnecessarily frightened) mob attacked the camp, with flaming torches and knives, killing 27, and seriously injuring others--all of them Tamil.

now, it turns out that 2 or 3 of those many were Upcountry Tamils, from plantations. They were picked up simply because they weren't carrying their national identity cards. In fact, they probably didn't have national identity cards (NIC). Many others were also probably not involved in any LTTE activity. See, the paperwork necessary to obtain a NIC is typically in Sinhala & English. (Thanks to that damn 1956 "Sinhala only" language rule.) If a official form is in Tamil, it often is read & processed by a Sinhalese civil servant--so they usually screw up the NIC, rendering it invalid. Back in the 80s and 90s, when there were labor shortages, the plantation management could have been playing on this power that they had; due to their vested interests they may have intentionally not helped their workers to get NICs, so they would be too afraid to travel beyond the plantation to find work elsewhere. (this isn't the case nowadays, the planters are generally quite helpful in this.)

this purging of poor Tamils who allegedly have "no business" in Colombo further keeps poor Tamils from getting any good urban jobs, and further entrenched in poverty. they're being pushed back to work or be unemployed in their villages--or to take up necessary agricultural work which unfortunately "modern" sensibilities teach them that they should strive to get away from. if unemployed, and "idling" in their home villages, they're then easy targets for LTTE recruitment. the sri lankan security state is about as ass-backward as that of the U.S. phooey.

the Sri Lankan government forces, and often, many civilians, don't distinguish between the LTTE & ordinary Tamilians. between the LTTE propaganda & government propaganda, Sinhalese & Tamils who just want to live in peace simply can't.

#71. Thanks for the answer.

I'm sorry to have to say this but as a half-Sinhalese British woman, I really feel digusted by the Sri-Lankan government and their treatment of Tamil civilians. I understand the need to take out people who are going to bomb civilians, but like Hezbullah, it is completely understandable why Tamil civilians would supprt the LTTE and disregarding innocents who get go up in the cross-fire is just wrong.

The recent news in Colombo is disturbing. Accusing all Tamils of involvement in terrorist activity is yet another failure on the governet's part. The police force in Sri-Lanka are horribly corrupt. Have you heard about the child prostition protection rackets around Negombo? Yes, Sri-Lanka is a sex-tourist's/ paedophile's paradise these days, thanks to corrupt police bosses who are cashing in on the industry sine 2001, and about half of these children are boys as young as six. I know this is off-topic, but I'm tired of my people running away our own social problems and making out that the Tamil civilians are the source of Sri-Lanka's problems. The authorities are fully aware that perhaps over one third of tourists who visit Sri-Lanka (mostly Scandinavians and northern Europeans) are in fact visiting for to exploit young children, but do not want to tackle this rising social problem because of the money that tourism generates for the country. The situation is even worse than in Thailand, due to proprtion of children involved in the sex trade, bearing in mind Sri-Lanka's population.

I'd also like to point out that it is not so unusual to find critical Sinhalese like myself and I praise this blog for allowing me to do that. The racism shown towards Tamils reveals deep-seated anxieties and issues with our heritage; the fact that European sex-tourists are encouraged into the country, shames me to say that we really haven't recovered from the after-effects of European colonialism. I am considering exploring this in more detail (time allowing) and would be grateful if anyone else wanted to.

N.WIJ - Thanks so much for your statement; for me it is encouraging to hear this from someone of Sinhala descent

You are very welcome PS, sorry about the typos (posted cheekily during work)! It is a duty to speak out and I assure you that I'm not the only one who feels anger about the mistreatment of Sri-Lanka's Tamils and how the law and order, generally, conduct themselves.