Via a friend on Facebook, I came across the following interview with Tamil Canadian journalist Ignatius Sellah, on CBC. It’s interesting to hear his perspective, and also to see pictures from the recent protests in Toronto:
While the Sri Lankan government is hardly innocent of committing human rights violations, at the current moment the overwhelming evidence from refugees who have escaped the war zone suggests that the LTTE has been holding them hostage. If so, they are more at fault than the Government of Sri Lanka for what is happening to the civilians.
The protesters in Toronto and London may be voicing legitimate concerns about the condition of civilians in the war zone and in the internment centers outside of the war zone. But when they wave LTTE flags, use children as a buffer against the police (in a strange echo of how the real LTTE operate), and talk about genocide, I think they are acting irresponsibly. (Not that her opinion matters all that much — she’s a musician — but I think M.I.A., who has been throwing around the word “genocide” as well lately in her public statements, has also been irresponsible in using that word.)
It’s natural that the people shouting loudest are getting the most attention, but it would be ideal if the media covering these diasporic protests would also represent alternate (i.e., moderate, non-LTTE) points of view. There are plenty of people out there who have real and legitimate grievances regarding the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka over the years, who stop well short of supporting this senseless war. Are there other non-LTTE Tamil SL voices you would recommend?
Amardeep,
Kudos for this post – I’m sure you were aware that this would gather a lot of criticism and I must say I admire your decision for still going ahead with the post. In my personal belief most rational people would find this post very neutral – and also understand why most governments are not responding to calls to save LTTE – though I sympathize with the civilian’s plight, in my view LTTE deserves to be wiped out. I can’t answer the question of – at what cost? But I do believe – LTTE was in a better position to minimize civilian losses compared to the SL govt. since the start of the military assault, but they were more concerned about saving their own skin and projecting SL govt in bad light in every way possible for gathering international support. Those protesting have just fallen victims of the LTTE propaganda, or are being duped by LTTE sympathisers to bring it to the world’s attention. I just hope once the military assault is over with, SL govt takes enough steps to understand the plight of Tamils and their right to equality in the Sri Lankan society, so that no organization like LTTE will rise in SL ever again and I also hope those commenters genuinely concerned about the plight of Tamil refugees make donations in their capacity to the United Nations high commissioner for refugees….
Avial, You are being really unproductively mean to Amardeep, who, I think, is doing a good job by covering these unfortunate events in Sri Lanka in an even-handed manner. Why do you call his view “worthless?” For example, the US, Europe and Japan, through their control of the IMF, are deciding whether to extend a c. 2 billion dollar loan to Sri Lanka. Surely the views of people like me and Amardeep are not “worthless” with respect to such a decision? Please stop the over-heated rhetoric. Maybe you have suffered badly and recently from the conflict–if so, I am sincerely sorry, but–please don’t turn your pain into attacking others.
This does not of course justify the deaths (on either side), but–I was talking about this this evening with my Emirates Airlines friend, and she got indignant over the level of attention which it was getting, she said, referring to “1945, Manila”–I would plead ignorance as to the latter myself, but here’s the story:
With Intramuros secured on 4 March [1945], Manila was officially liberated, but large areas of the city had been leveled. The battle left 1,010 U.S. soldiers dead and 5,565 wounded. An estimated 100,000 Filipinos civilians were killed, both deliberately by the Japanese and accidentally by crossfire. About 12,000 Japanese soldiers died, mostly sailors from the Japanese Manila Defense Force.
In the month-long battle, the Americans and Japanese inflicted worse destruction on Manila than the German Luftwaffe had exacted upon London . . . which resulted in the destruction of the city and in a death toll comparable to that of the Tokyo firebombing or the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
What I find amusing is that you guys are so convinced that the tigers are holding the tamils hostage based on government reports (a government that has not allowed independent media) and media interviews of people in the internment camps are under the watchful eyes of the army that just tried to kill them only a short while ago.
And you believe the Tamils in Canada and world over who have their kin as the “hostages†and know the tigers better than anyone else are either naïve or misinformed for not believing all this. Your whole argument is based on an absolute belief that the hostage situation is true and anything contrary is not even possible. Did you ever consider the possibility that those†hostages†might see the government military as an alien (as in foreign), invading, army which brutality they experienced 1st hand on several occasions and also view themselves as the children of the land whose own children might as well be with the tigers fighting this very same army. I personally don’t know if the hostage claim is true but I can certainly understand why it is difficult to convince the Tamils in Canada. Even if it is true, I believe the government bears the responsibility to make sure no harm comes to them because they are supposedly its own citizens. Why do think it is right for the government to proceed with the assault when it had a complete siege in place?
The Sri Lankans divided themselves into two groups and went about attempting to prove that one was better than the other. What was demonstrated after 30-60 years of fighting is that both sides are very similar in their capacity for brutality. Essentially, the attempt to create both a post-colonial positive Sinhala identity & a positive Tamil identity failed because the Sinhalese allowed the extremists/racists on their side to abuse the Tamils to the point where the Tamils had to create a brutal rebel/self-defense group to hit back/put a stop to the Sinhala terror. The Tamils failed because the LTTE became a military dictatorship that turned on their own creators & supporters & also started targeting & killing soft targets/civilians of the enemy which most humans find repulsive, ultimately setting them up for withdrawl of support, military failure & a whole host of new problems.
On the bright side, the behavior by both sides prove that the myth of a Sinhala race & a Tamil race is just that – fiction, political fiction. The two sides are so similar (psychologically, intellectually, etc.) that neither were able clearly achive their military goals inspite of 20 some years of fighting UNTIL the US war on terror gave the Sinhala government new allies & tools with which to fight the LTTE.
Another bright thing about Sri Lanka is that most Sinhalese (& probably most Tamils, when they have a choice, so I should say most Sri Lankans) seem to be uncomfortable with militant groups overthrowing elected (even if the elections are partially fadulent) governments – as demonstrated by the ultimately extremely violent defeat of the JVP rebel groups, and now the LTTE (both made possible by broad support of the populace).
So what’s next? Sri Lanka tried oppressing minorities, which led to a 20-30 year war. Both Sinhala & Tamil rebel groups tried to reform the country by attempting to overthrow the government in one case, & create a separate state in the second, both attempts failed. So, I think the path to success for Sri Lankans include toning down their irrational belief in race, establishing a Sri Lankan/human identity that supercedes the Sinhala & Tamil identities, & of course trying to make real law & order, justice & development happen. The SRI LANKAN (not just Sinhala or Tamil) diaspora can help.
In a way, maybe such an outcome (living in peace as equal citizens) was the goal of Tamil protestors of the pre-1983 era, before the two sides locked into 20-30 years of armed brutality & mutual self-destruction. It is unfortunate that they had to kill hundreds of thousands of people, their own brothers & sisters – & kill them in extremely de-humanized ways, to get to the current point – which may be the end of violence or may be a period of peace before the next round of minority oppression comes about, which will probably lead to the creation of another liberation/self-defense force.
[By the way, if the roles were reversed – if the Tamils controled the government/were the majority, & Sinhalese were the minority – & oppression & war occured – I believe the outcome would be the same – the smaller group would use suicide bombing, etc. – as the LTTE did in the current war. ’cause the Sinhales are the Tamils, and the Tamils are the Sinhalese, no matter how much extremists on either side would like to believe otherwise]
I guess, at this point, it will be mostly up to the Sinhalese (since they have greater numbers & control the government) to make sure that conditions that will lead to the creation of another LTTE do not arise.
The Sinhalese and the Tamils are the same people (yes, language & clothing & religions are extremely superficial & recent inventions, at the significant core we are talking about humans who evolved on or near the same island for hundreds of thousands of years – thus there is no real/significant difference between the two) – thus neither side will be able to dominate the other through military force (well, perhaps marginally at times, but in a climate of terror & uncertainty for all or for most, which significantly reduces the quality of life, as it has been for the past 20-30 years in SL) – so, either now, or after the next 30 years of war, the two sides will have to embrace their common Sri Lankan-ness (or not, but people get tired of living in hell, so probably, I hope, the end of this round of fighting with the fall of the LTTE is the permanent end of civil war on the island).
And you believe the Tamils in Canada and world over who have their kin as the “hostages†and know the tigers better than anyone else are either naïve or misinformed for not believing all this.
Er, who are the these Tamilians – did you mean Tamils who were bankrolling LTTE’s terror activities or those Tamils who were extorting their fellow Tamilians for “donations” ?
No?
Then maybe you are talking about those Tamils in Canada who brought little kids out into these protest ? I do not believe that is naivet̩, it is tactical Рto forestall any police action.
I do not think anyone is accusing Tamilians of being naive.
I personally don’t know if the hostage claim is true but I can certainly understand why it is difficult to convince the Tamils in Canada.
I personally don’t know if there any need to convince ‘Tamils in Canada’ of anything. They just need to expand their horizons and get their news from sources other than THamiZ Sangam.
Amardeep, I think you are referring to the accusation that the LTTE is using the civilians as human shields and there is some evidence from eye witness accounts recorded by organisations such as human rights watch. However, this does not take away the fact that the SLA used disproportionate force, with overhead bombing, shelling, chemical weapons etc. to eliminate couple of thousand LTTE cadres amongst thousands of civillians.
This human shield argument has been used by the Israeli forces in Gaza, and today I watched BBC hard talk interview with Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir and well….waddya know…he says that civilians are being used as human shields and his government has to rescue them. So there you have an alternative opinion on Darfur!
Leaving aside your judgements on what is right or wrong. Legally the onus is on the Sri lankan state as a legitimate member of the UN that has the responsibility to protect its own citizens according to international law and the doctrine called responsibility to protect. This doctrine was introduced in 2005, when many state leaders vowed that another Rwanda or Bosnia should not be allowed to happen. The Sri lankan state has shown signs of violating this rule and I suspect not just Sri Lanka but the UN has failed in their responsibility to protect. Today I saw on the news, the statistic of 7000 dead in 2009, apparently exceeds the deaths this year in Gaza, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan combined. Susan Rice, US ambassador to the UN is frequently quoted in petitions to the US by the Tamil diaspora as saying she would never let what happened in Rwanda happen again. I don’t know….if she is going to carry through with this.
Regarding Nirmala Rajasingham’s oft quoted articles, I can provide a link to an interesting discussion with her view on the topic of civillian casualties etc. in this conflict http://guruchetra.blogspot.com/2009/05/killing-for-promise-of-democracy-in.html
I am surprised you didn’t see for example Hezbollah flags flown during some of the Gaza demonstrations in many western cities. Yet people did not focus so intensely on the Flag as they have in these demonstrations by the Tamils. Furthermore it has been argued by the demonstrators that it is not the LTTE flag, but the national flag of Tamil eelam and I gather there was a successful legal challenge in Canada when they were asked to not use the flag in the demonstrations.
I wonder if you looked around for “alternative” Palestinian opinions regarding the siege on Gaza?
Rob – Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to condemn violence and place the greater responsibility on the state power. It is true in the Palestinian case as well. This need not mean I am ‘equivocating’ for the other side.
Without a plebiscite for the people, we have no idea who they people prefer. I doubt that the Sri Lankan state will allow that anytime soon.
With the Sri Lankan force, now, able to impose its hegemony, we will see some Tamil voices extremely critical of the LTTE as they understand the political winds have turned and will want to distance themselves from the LTTE for reasons of personal survival in the new regime.
Amardeep –
I wish it was not so, but this is always the tactic of the non-state guerrilla. The asymmetry in power and resources does not allow them to have tank or helicopter battles away from the populace. This will be and will always be the tactic of the weaker force, not out of choice, but rather compulsion.
It is understandable that Sri Lankan Tamils are bit emotional at the moment as can be seen on this thread. But the fact is, the Tamil diaspora only started ‘caring’ about the civilians when it became clear that the LTTE was heading towards defeat. When was the last time these guys protested against the use of child soldiers, suicide bombings, assasination of democratically elected Tamil leaders, bombs on trains, buses and roadsides, extortion by the LTTE? It is pretty clear the LTTE was using all the Tamil civilians as a human shield to try and avoid defeat. If they gave two hoots about the civilians they would have fought the Sri Lankan army face on, instead of hiding like cowards among a huge civilian population and shoot at the ‘enemy’. It was the LTTE that brought arms and ammunition into the No Fire Zone. Why isn’t the Tamil community outraged about that? And with all these claims of “genocide” why are all the Tamil civilians rushing towards the Sri Lankan army when they have a chance to escape LTTE control? Why aren’t the Tamil coalition partners of the current Sri Lankan government quitting in protest?
An interesting possible insight into understanding the tactics of the LTTE courtesy Malcolm Gladwell of the New Yorker.
Sri Lanka’s long war reaches climax, Tigers concede
The Tamil Tigers conceded defeat in Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war on Sunday, after launching waves of suicide attacks to repel a final assault by troops determined to annihilate them.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) the day before, even as combat raged in the island’s northeast and the military said it was freeing the last of thousands of trapped civilians.
By midday Sunday, the military said troops had freed all the civilians being held by the LTTE inside an area that was less than a single square km (0.5 sq mile). A total of 72,000 had fled since Thursday, it said. LTTE founder-leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran’s fate remained a mystery, although military sources said a body believed to be his was recovered and its identity was being confirmed.
The LTTE, founded on a culture of suicide before surrender, had shown no sign of giving up. Suicide fighters blew themselves up on the frontline on Sunday morning, and more than 70 were killed trying to flee overnight, the military said.
But by afternoon the military said fighting had slowed, and the pro-rebel web site http://www.TamilNet.com released a statement from the LTTE’s head of international relations saying: “T
Sam,
when you have GSS-level survey data on the opinions of the Tamil diaspora, do come back. Until then, keep your unsubstantiated views on who cared about what where they belong–in the bitter jug of racism you drink whenever you think of Tamils abroad. No wonder you grimace.
Dr A and Amardeep,
i see you both traveling in the dreaded circle. What will snap both of you out of it is considering only what is likely to happen, rather than what you think ought to be done. Normative prescriptions are not only inappropriate here they are entirely unwarranted by the past 25 years of SL history. Indeed, when think of what the army SHOULD do, I find myself creditably assailed on all sides by critics of armchair generals. That is only right. What SL history shows us is that this moment is indeed unprecedented: –The Tigers have never been completely overrun wrt to geography. Thus it is likely they will not recover that land.
–The tamil civilians of the north east have never enjoyed even the semblance of civil rights in a Tiger state. Will they know how to take advantage of whatever the GOSL will give them upon resettlement? Is it more likely that they will be lost in a maze of red tape or that the criminally inefficient state apparatus be reformed to handle the massive logistical challenges of restoring the north?
—Will resettlement involve colonization by soldiers–a force which has grown only larger every year. It’s the largest single expenditure in the budget which will, as a matter of course, be drawn down now that Mahinda has declared, “mission accomplished” Where will all these fighting machines go now? What is unlikely is that all the ‘patriots’ who cropped up in the past year will allow their homes to be used as temporary barracks by discharged cannon fodder.
Is it ?. I thought Tamil lands have been captured in earlier wars by alien forces over the last few centuries
This is where your analysis falls apart and the reason I criticised this post, Amardeep. All of those ways have been pursued! It is documented! The Tamil elite did not start out by supporting the LTTE and the Tamil population did not place or be coerced into endorsing the LTTE until the last few decades- they started out by participating in parliament and then other forms of protest short of rebellion. Simnilarly, there have been Sinhalese politicians who have TRIED to make concessions to Tamil autonomy or civil rights demands, btu they have been, imo, structurally forced to withdraw these demands, and there are probbaly independent Sinhalese people who are committed to the human welfare of all people, including peopel that the GoSL or the LTTE or someone else calls Tamil.
I understand why you think I was criticising you for not having standing to talk abotu this because you are not Sri Lankan because when I went back and read my comments, that’s what it sounds like, but that is actually the opposite of what I wanted to do – I would like both of us to appreciate the importance of the role of the responsible outsider. In this post and in previous ones, I think that your writing has been irresponsible because it betrays a complete neglect of Sri Lankan history. You can’t just pick a moment and take it out of context and then say ‘well x,y, and z’ is responsible. There is a history and politics and an economics and all else to Sri Lanka, like any other place. That’s why it’s not enouhg to say ‘well you have your opinion and I have mine,’, particularly at a time when the consequences of being on any side other than that nameless side int he middle that we are both looking for – you in trying to find ‘ moderate Tamil voices’ and me in being in touch with and learning from that nameless groups of people who have desperately been trying to bring attention to this issue on human rights and human welfare grounds for far longer than the last few months. They are nameless for a reason – there is no room for them in the ;Sri Lankan debate’ dominated by LTTE / ardent sympathisers and the GoSL.
I will say that in my initial reading of your post I did not read the nuances closely enough and your writing is not as one-sided as I read it, but I will stick to my assessment that it betrays a total lack of understanding of Sri Lankan hsitory – which is why I asked you to substantiate where you were coming from. You spoke of knowing where people come from – well I gave you the names of the authors and websites to let you knwo where I come from intellectually and I told you that I have a friend that is to an extent a Tamil nationalist. This is the kiund of self-reflexive context that ACTUALLY helps people know where someone is coming from, not their name. In response, you told me that you opposed the killing of the Sri Lankan journalist and the Government’s actions and you watched a youtube video with some reporting, but you still have come to the conclusion that the somehow it’s more appropriate to decide that LTTE is ‘more’ responsible. You need to know where Sri Lanka comes from, not me.
Forget what I have written or let go that I’m terrible at writing in a civilised tone- read some of the other comments here about the history – here’s a bibliography. – it’s not what you would consider ‘crazy radical’ or ‘Tamil nationalist’ or anything else except maybe overly focused on the British period and the role of the British, which is probably a reflection of Indocentrism – it’s mainly academic resources. At minimum try this http ://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/sri-lanka/contents.php. It’s a good background reading.
read about the repeated pogroms, read about how first-past-thepost elections have tended to breed Sinhala chauvinist politics because of the demographics of Sri Lanka (was about 70% ‘Sinhalese’ and 24% ‘Tamil…now lower proprtions) – read about the elimination of the vote of ‘Indian plantation tamils’ shortly after inde4pendence, read about the increasing militarisation of Sri Lankan society, read about the idea of the unitary state; read about the Sinhala only language policies and the land colonisation, read about the violence of the LTTE but try to understand where it has originated from and why it had at one point more support than the smaller number that now probbaly supprot it, read about how the politics of the buddhist clergy and how the political buddhism in Sri Lanka might ebst tbe described as Buddhist fundamentalism., get out of the mindset that all groups labeled by the U.S. government are intrinsically bad because they are non-state actors and all states are intrinsically more responsible or that democratically elected governments can’t engage in massive ethnic cleansing.
Because that is what we are witnessing whatever we want to call it, and after the fact, when those few people bother to find out what actually happened – they will blame LTTE and the GoSL because they both have a total and callous disregard for human life, but they will also recognise that militarily, the GoSL has far more power in its hands right now (in fact near total) and it has probably used that in destructive ways like rounding people up, chemical weapon attacks, and god knows what else because they won’t let the press in so we have a hard time knowing for sure. But given that they are the ones not letting the press in, doesn’t that make you a bit suspicious abotu whether you’re getting an accurate rendering of the situation and who’s doing what or what the government’s motivations are? 😉
nayagan, I take your comments to heart. I think that it’s an appropriate position to take and I’ll try (from now on :).
in solidarity, dr. a
And if you don’t believe anythign else said, just please go to the library of congress country study on Sri Lanka and read some of the sections. For example if you want to see an alternate and moderate form of Tamil elite demands for autonomy and a more concessionary version of the Sri Lankan state, as well as an explanation for why it failed, then click on Legilsation and Communal Agitation under the 1956-1965 period of the Independence section.
Sulabh You prove my point by collectively dismissing anything the Tamils have to say by your stereo typing Sujewa, I mostly agree with your points. But what is largely overlooked by many is the structurally intransient setup of the Sri Lankan state. A constitution that reflects the desire of an absolute and permanent ethnic majority and the deep rooted sentiment of that majority that any devolution of power to minorities will only lead to the break up of the country regardless of how small or meaningful that devolution is.
I see the politicians of the south and the LTTE entrenched in the far sides of the devolution spectrum, it has become nearly impossible to find a middle path with out external intervention. Realistically, even now with the complete rout of LTTE, with out a complete restructure of the Sri Lankan state that genuinely recognizes the Tamils’ claim for self determination, I see no path to tranquility in Sri lanka
Alas, it is very effective indeed. This is what the Naxalites do. This is what the Khalistanis did. This is what the Kashmir militants do. Not only that, the non-state guerrilla rejects every offer of compromise, so that the liberals in the state look foolish. Why, then, should the state be a gentleman?
Sick, sad, shit… People who care to read history know that it will ineveitably repeat itself. I choose neither side, but coming from a country that was liberated by a fellow countryman that was declared a “terrorist” by the US,as he fought for equality and a human rights I can see why the LTTE exists. The British basically hired one hale of the poor browns to kill the the other half and they have left a legacy.
Gorilla – Non-state guerrillas reject every offer of compromise? What were the offers given to the Naxalites? What was given to the Khalistanis? What was given to the Kashmiris? I have never heard of cases of ‘limited autonomy’ or any such thing. In all the cases to which you refer, the resources of the Indian State, in financial terms and military terms, so far exceeds that of its challengers that it can assert its dominance and hegemony.
Since when is the state ever a gentleman? In fact to neglect the role state-terrorism in driving mass populaces to support these insurgency movements seems to be conveniently omitted from your analysis.
Milthi,
I see poverty & the attempt to secure whatever means that may provide access to money, wealth (& not many of that were around in ’48 & beyond for LOTS of people/probably the majority in SL) being the ultimate motivational factor (other then people trying to kill people because they believe the other is not as human as them due to ultra-racist b.s. propaganda & brainwashing) for both communal politics, the JVP revolutions, & to a large degree the LTTE revolution.
So, if the war is actually over then perhaps all energies & resources can be spent on building a real/much better economy in SL – & then, once the island goes from a mostly poor to a mostly “middle class” place (hopefully very quickly, less than 10 years? – faster the better), various old racial & political arguments can be resolved (hopefully through negotiations).
I have heard from the old timers that middle class Sinhalese, Tamils, & also “other” families got along well in SL back in the day (pre-1983, from like 40’s on), out of those groups some who wanted political power warped the minds of the poor by blaming all their ills/shortcomings on another community/group of people/people of different religions, etc.
Anyway, in order for their to be more money in SL, there will need to be an entrepenuerial class/expansion of that, also far less corruption getting in the way of starting businesses – all big challenges/major changes to how things have been running in SL for decades. HOWEVER, there is a massive & relatively successful SL diaspora world wide – perhaps we can help keep things in SL moving in the right direction.
So, I am thinking, solve the poverty problem (& part of which includes dealing with law/order & corruption problems) & all other problems in SL will be easier to solve or will be a lot less intense.
And, of course, Sinhala racism (extremist Sinhalese) has to be kept in check by the Sinhalese & everyone else in & outside of SL (the majority has a greater role to play/more responsibility due to their greater numbers in situations of majority-minority tension, at least that seemed to be the case in SL history). I hope over 25 years of living in a war zone/hell have made everyone in SL else want to work extra hard to keep their violent & racist brothers in check.
Also, this whole majority/minority mindset needs to be done away with in SL – making various ethnic group memberships less important than being a SL citizen/resident – a reversal of how things have been since independence.
Generally, in my experience, most Sri Lankans – Sinhala, Tamil, etc. – are moderate conservatives. So, there is hope, now that both sides are probably very tired of war & because that SL has a lot of ties to the rest of the world now due to the diaspora (the size of which increased due to the war) & the diaspora sees how effective government, business, etc. can be conducted through examples we see in US, Canada, Europe, etc. – & I think that knowledge will make its way into SL (from what my relatives tell me that’s happening when it comes to entrepenuership, far more people are interested in being entrepenuers now than like 10 years ago), same for ideas of human equality making its way back to SL from the new models (US, Canada, etc.) rather than SL’s trying to immitate the old model (British colonialsm, idea of races & one race being better than another, more fit to rule, etc. – which was completely disproven by the LTTE vs. GoSL war, in my opinion – all it proved was that both sides are capable of being very evil to the other).
Everything gets old & dies (or are replaced by better things) – hopefully this includes idiotic & destrucitve ideas re: race & power & control in SL.
The other alternative I can think of is militant collectivist statism (i.e. fascism).
I just came across these 2004 views of Vanni Parliamentarian Dharmalingam Sithadthan, who was, in the 80s and 90s, affectionately called the ‘voice of reason’ by several now-dead social activists and non-LTTE Tamil leaders. Now 5 years later, and in this historic moment, his brief critical thoughts on the LTTE, Tamil nationalism, and Tamil social structure make for interesting reading…
It is remarkable that despite the long running civil war Sri Lanka has for decades ranked at the very top of all south asian nations in Human Development Indices and per capita income. With the civil war now finally ended hopefully that island nation will have peace and greater prosperity. Island nations always have an advantage because they are naturally protected from enemies by the ocean. Just look at Britain and Japan, just off the far west and far east coasts of the eurasian landmass.
Tha Tamils tried everything, from the democratic process, to satyagraha (yes) and finally, the LTTE to have their grievances addressed. They gave a damn good account of themselves as soldiers, operating one of the most sophisticated insurgencies in the world, which was finally toppled because of China’s strategic interests. It will take a Lincoln-like figure to heal the communities “with malice towards none” and build a nation. The nationalistic harrumphing coming from the government is not an encouraging sign.
LOL–so that’s what explains the bang-up economy in Indonesia.
Another LOLing hindutva ignoramus 🙂
FYI, Indonesia ranks #109 in the Human Development Index which is well above India which ranks #132. Sri Lanka ranks at #104.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index
In per capita income in nominal dollars Indonesia at #116 ranks above Sri Lanka at #120, and both rank way above India which is near the bottom at #142.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita
In per capita income in PPP dollars Sri lanka ranks above Indonesia and both rank above India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita
Dhoni, Your rather maniacal comparison of India to Indonesia in terms of economic output is badly missing the point. Far be it from me (or other Hindutvas) to defend the current Indian economy. The point is, instead, that one needs to figure out what to do going forward. And I’m very hard-pressed to find any example of a country with a lot of Muslims in it that provides a nice example–you may whine that that’s bias, but I’m just calling it like it is.
Who are you kidding? You BJP drones are notorious for your silly obnoxious habit of wildly exaggerating and boasting about India’s “great success” and then mocking other nations who are actually doing better than India….as you just did. 🙂
Pretty stupid, immature and ignorant isn’t it?
BJP Howl –by Dhoni
Who are you kidding? You BJP drones Notorious, silly, obnoxious, wildly exaggerating, boasting, and then mocking Pretty stupid, immature and ignorant isn’t it?
Ah. Let us use All-India averages across one of the largest and most diverse countries in the world and treat it like it accurately encompasses the whole.
I’ve been reading your blogs and I must say that they are insightful, especially with the variety of topics you write about. I see that you are interested in topics of human rights and peace making. Check out that website, http://www.muslimvoicesfestival.org, because it contains information about a culturally unique festival being held in NYC that celebrates Muslim arts and culture, one of which is Dastangoi, a revival of the lost art of storytelling. Thid festival aims to engender stronger connections between the Muslim community and the broader cultural life of New York through the medium of art. It seems like it is something that you would write about! Keep up the blogging!!
oh dear, the thread is once again directed to what Rob can’t say to the Muslims he knows.
You Yoga Fire are another pathetic example of hindutva irrationality, delusion, deceit……and fake “nationalism”. What is your point? That despite its extremely low ranking in Human Development and per capita income India is actually an “amazing”, “shining” success story??? Sheer stupidity….
You Yoga Fire Hindutva irrationality, delusion, deceit …and fake “nationalism” What is your point? “amazing”, “shining” success story? Sheer stupidity….