Comments on: Distant Voices, Desperate Lives

By: Selvadurai

Selvadurai — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:52:56 +0000

Thank you John Pilger for a well researched piece. The Sinhalese put all the blame on LTTE for all the problems in Sri Lanka. For them Sri Lankan history starts from the moment LTTE came into the scene. They pretend that Sinhalese loved Tamils until LTTE came into scene. They hide the fact that there were several state organized pogroms against the Tamil, several Tamils lost their life and property. They also tells every one that 50% of the Tamils live happily among the Sinhalese even now! They hide the fact that there are “white van abductions” and extra judicial killings of Tamils even in the heart of Colombo and that recently bus loads of Tamils were deported to Vavuniya for staying in colombo for various reasons including for medical treatment.

By: Bose Kaspathy

Bose Kaspathy — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:32:48 +0000

John, seldom I have seen such an article that reflects the reality and gives the Tamils some hope that their voices will be heard and justice done. I am astonished by the behaviour of some United Nation members. China, Russia, Vietnam and Lybia are adamantly refusing to stop the Genocide. Each of the above countries have their particular reasons for refusing to discuss the matter in the Security council. China needs “its own port” for refuelling in Sri Lanka; Chechnia may be Russia’s problem, Vietnam may have any other reasons; Lybia advancing a USD 500.000,000 to SL while the IMF loan is being delayed….and now after 1995 collective resigning of the Dutch Government [we all know why], for Mr.Piet de Klerk, Netherland’s Acting Permanent Representative to UN, the killing of thousands of civilians, hundreds in the last weekend alone, does not implicate the EU’s notions of human rights. What a shame to humanity does bring acts of these kinds.

By: anthony innes

anthony innes — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:03:55 +0000

I should have added that Ceylon (remember what a fine country it was ) is strategicaly important and since the emerging of Corporate piracy serves as a lesson to India,Singapore,Malaysia Australia and other vassals the perils of non compliance with “free” verses “fair” trade.BIS arms dealers prefer chaos it sells more product and provides more fodder.This is deliberate policy .Bleeding heart wanking by Pilger et al detracts from serious analysis.

By: anthony innes

anthony innes — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:47:47 +0000

Tamil Separatist aspirations are not new.My father was there during WW2 and the allied troops were briefed on the chance of violence and warned off involvment.
Mulga the victims of Abraham will like all religously afflicted continue to push their agenda of unchecked breeding and lets rock on to paradise (screw the Earth ).
Chomsky, Pilger and other gate keepers are correct to raise the issues but to never take the fight to BIS (Bank International Settlements) and the bank cartel that runs the whole shmeer keeps more sheeple in the comfort zone they enjoy and mocks those they purport to inform.
The active BIS war mongering and fiat currency manipulation is a the root of all opposition to human and social progress.

By: vara

vara — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:55:55 +0000

how much more starvation, rapes,disappearences and total lives
does the civil society and the humanity as whole needs to push it
into action to bring halt to the ruthless killing?

By: Suthiano

Suthiano — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:39:42 +0000

Instead of writing about his colleague Amira Hass’ arrest, Gideon Levy decided to publish this on Haaretz today: “Anti-Semitism is rearing its head in Tel Aviv”

So much for Mr. Levy.

By: Lloyd

Lloyd — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:16:23 +0000

Hey, Mulga. I wish you’ve go over to OpEdNews and look up Jason Paz. He gets articles promoted to the headlines, and also posts Dairies and QuickLinks.

Paz’s politics are very commendable on everything except militant Israel. But on M.I. the guy thinks he’s David and everyone who supports Gazans and Palestinians is Goliath. A regular one-man defense of the indefensible.

He stopped replying to my comments to his stuff several weeks ago, probably because I provide more heat than light. You know, I have (or had) lots of Jewish friends; and then I didn’t want to spill any apple-carts for Obama during the elections year; blah blah; and then I started slamming him after the Gaza…”Incursion”?

There really needs to be a well-informed counterweight to Jason Paz at OEN.

By: bozh

bozh — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:19:52 +0000

mulga,
about ‘jews’ using “antisemitism”. The word “antisemitism” is also [ab]using ‘jews’.
and use of that word does not, i hope and believe, deter the socalled antisemites.
actually, the more ashk’c folks with the judaic cult use “antisemitism”, the more we expose their lies and rejoice everytime they resort to namecalling.
calling names people appears to be a panhuman trait and children use it more than adults.
‘jews’ use namecalling out of desperation. And i do not think that seasoned observers wld shrink back from observing just because of namecalling.
they may cease to observe and posit their observations only if threatened with a suit or loss of job; especially people who also have family to look after.
tnx

By: Raja_h

Raja_h — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:23:35 +0000

Israel is indeed deeply involved in Sri Lanka in the genocide against the Tamils. They are advising GOSL not only in hardware war but also psychological war. The aim of the Sinhala government is to ensure that in the future there will never be a rebel Tamil movement in Sri Lanka. That is the aim of the so called internment camps. Segregate the Tamils in age group.children are segregated form the parents and made vulnarable and reliant on the Sinhala soldires.
What is going on in those internet camps is mind boggling. A drama is staged for the journalist and behind thier back mental torture and brain wahsing is taking place. Israel and Sri Lanka are two pariah states.

By: Raj

Raj — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:51:16 +0000

John,
Thank you for writing this thoughtful article.

As the previous commentator mentioned, Tamils have been living in Sri Lanka for thousands of years.

These are the people fighting for an independent state in their traditional areas of inhabitance, primarily in the North East region of the island where they lived as free people prior to colonial rule and subsequent alien rule by the Singhalese.

As for British divide and rule? I haven’t seen any evidence to support this argument by remain open to anyone who can provide evidence. IMHO, this theory has gained acceptance for two reason. First the ethnic Singhalese have used it repeatedly to justify their discriminatory and destructive policies against the Tamil people. Second, it is an easy theory to accept as the British did employ such tactics in other colonial settings.

The root cause of the conflict is the belief among the majority of ethnic Singhalese that the entire country is theirs alone and that the Tamils are subhuman (as evidenced by Singhalese Buddhist religious texts). This justifies their atrocities as they are not killing humans (or so they believe).

An end to what is appropriately being called a genocide can only come about when countries like Canada and the US meet their moral and legal obligations and stop the Government of Sri Lanka from substantially destroying or altogether wiping out its ethnic Tamil population.

I ask all Canadians to encourage our government to act immediately and impose political and economic sanctions against the SL government in concerted effort with our allies and through the Commonwealth.

By: MM

MM — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:00:38 +0000

What should a Tamil do at this juncture? What would I tell my thirteen year old son, why we are held in the barbed enclosure like animals? What would I say about his 19 year old cousin who was taken away by the thugs who wear uniform? What would I say about my wife and younger son, who are supposedly locked up in another prison camp?

How will I reason that attempting to killing your tormentors will lead to he being called a terrorist?

By: leon

leon — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:15:30 +0000

Thanks a million.You make the valid point that the Tigers as a guerilla force is a creation of the racist policies of the Sinhala Govt which commenced immediately after Independence in 1948.The first thing the Sinhala Govt did was to disenfranchise the Up country Tamils.This was followed by a systematic colonization of the traditional homelands.This was followed by declaring Sinhala as the only Official Language.This was followed by making Buddism the state religion.
As you know before the British set foot in The Island there were three kingdoms namely the Kandyian,the Kotte and the Tamil Kingdom in the North. The British for easy administration amalgamated and they are morally responsiblt for the state we are in

By: Mulga Mumblebrain

Mulga Mumblebrain — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:55:22 +0000

Israel has indeed been, in recent years, a firm ally and arms supplier for the central Government in Sri Lanka. I do not doubt for an instant that the Israelis have aided and abetted this campaign of mass slaughter, bringing their undoubted expertise at murder and demonisation of despised untermenschen to the assistance of a similar regime. The Sri Lankan Government, however, lacks two essential attributes that Israel possesses and which make its malignancy unique in current world affairs. Whereas Israel completely controls the US political and media apparatus, the Sri Lankan Government is just one of many fascist supplicants at the Imperial Court. And whereas the Judaic Lobby can instantly and fanatically denounce and vilify the criticism of any Israeli crimes as ‘anti-Semitism’ and rely on masses of morally insane toadies to screech their echoing response, the Sri Lankans won’t get far peddling ‘anti-Sinhalism’ as a new verity. For a start I imagine their Israeli friends would not appreciate anyone else using one of their favourite tactics, one bequeathed to them alone, by God Himself, apparently.

By: C S

C S — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:30:23 +0000

John: Thanks for this splendid piece.
One minor point to be clarified: In Sri Lanka (Ceylon) there are indigenous Tamils and Indian Tamils or they are called Upcountry/hill country Tamils. The latter were brought into the country as indentured labour by the Brits. They were disenfranchised by the Sinhala state and during Srimavo Bandaranaike’s reign many Hill country Tamils were pathetically repatriated to India like cattle!! Yet they slaved in the hills from morn to dusk, bringing foreign currency to the country.
It is the indigenous Tamils in the North and East who are struggling for Self-determination. They say, they want live with freedom and dignity in their traditional homelands without persecution and discrimination and killing squads.