On our News tab, Interloper pointed out a BBC article about Tamils who were evicted from budget hotels by police in Sri Lanka’s largest city, Colombo.
Police in Sri Lanka have forced hundreds of the minority Tamil community out of the capital Colombo for what they say are security reasons.
They launched overnight raids in Tamil areas of the city and forced guests staying in budget hotels onto buses.
Police said that Tamils who were in the capital “without valid reasons” were made to board buses bound for the north and east of the island.
Police said that the move was necessary amid fears of renewed civil war.
The raids were justified in the name of impeding the Tamil Tigers; they were also meant to protect.
They also said the measure was being taken for the safety of the Tamil community amid a rash of abductions across Colombo blamed on the rebels and the security forces.
How many of you believe this? I’m not judging, I’m asking.
A statement released by the government said that the evictions were made “without communal considerations”…
“There have been instances where some ‘lodgers’ have lived in the Colombo area for over six months without making any progress, on the pretext that someone has to obtain his or her identity card or passport,” the statement said.
“The resulting action by the police is required considering security demands such as the recent Tamil Tiger bomb explosions resulting in several innocent lives lost, and severe damage to property.
“Investigations have also confirmed that those responsible for these brutal killings have hatched their brutal plans and executed them from these lodgings,” the statement said.
It said that a total of 376 persons – 291 males and 85 females – have left in seven buses for destinations in the north and east.
Tigers have “no comment”, but mainstream Tamil leaders are disturbed by the move:
“This operation is a very bad example,” Tamil political leader Dharmalingam Sithadthan told the AFP news agency.
“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.
Apparently, it’s an anti-loitering sort of measure:
Colombo Inspector General of police Rohan Abeywardene told Reuters that some people who had no valid reasons to be in Colombo were “just hanging around”.
“They have been requested to leave and told they had better get back to their own villages,” he said.
Those rounded up (and they don’t know where they are being taken, by the way) were typically from poor, rural areas who were looking for better employment opportunities.
Human Rights concerns? Here’s where my title came from:
“This is almost like a variation of ethnic cleansing,” Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of the independent Centre for Policy Alternatives think-tank told Reuters.
“It is quite appalling.”
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.
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.
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.
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 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..
s..
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:
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.
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.’
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?
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.
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.
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?
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!)
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”.
Do you think I should have deleted lion/Guru?