Latest Updates: Sri Lanka RSS
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johnpi
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johnpi
…the places in which Mr Rajapaksa lost, and his challenger General Sarath Fonseka won, are – barring a few districts in Colombo and the hills – entirely in the north and east – the areas where Tamils and Tamil-speaking Muslims are in the majority.
The Sinhalese nationalist general was an unlikely champion for minorities but had convinced them that he was more interested in finding them a political solution.
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johnpi
Sri Lankan defense minister and all-around murderous presence Gotabaya Rajapaksa says the government may take action against losing presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka for ‘divulging sensitive information to the public.’
Gen Fonseka has rejected the election results and told the BBC that he wants to leave the country because of death threats.
“The government has informed the airport not to allow me to leave the country,” he told the BBC Sinhala service. “I fear that an assassination attempt may be made against me.”
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johnpi
Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been re-elected.
Let’s take this moment to remember Mahinda’s good friend, newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was assassinated last year, and who blamed the assassination on Mahinda in a posthumous letter.
In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one, too. For truth be told, we both know who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name. Not just my life, but yours too, depends on it.
Sadly, for all the dreams you had for our country in your younger days, in just three years you have reduced it to rubble. In the name of patriotism you have trampled on human rights, nurtured unbridled corruption and squandered public money like no other President before you. Indeed, your conduct has been like a small child suddenly let loose in a toyshop. That analogy is perhaps inapt because no child could have caused so much blood to be spilled on this land as you have, or trampled on the rights of its citizens as you do. Although you are now so drunk with power that you cannot see it, you will come to regret your sons having so rich an inheritance of blood. It can only bring tragedy. As for me, it is with a clear conscience that I go to meet my Maker. I wish, when your time finally comes, you could do the same. I wish.
Wickrematunge’s prediction from the grave has come true as no one has been arrested or charged with his murder. A journalist with the Canberra Times reported that the person referenced at “dare not call his name” is Mahinda’s brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the minister of defense.
See Gotabaya squirm – eyes bugging, hands flailing, voice pitch rising, changing the subject, casting suspicion on all the former presidents – when asked about Wickrematunge’s death in a BBC interview last February. He derides Wickrematunge as a “tabloid writer” and said it was “just another murder.”
He ends the interview by calling all dissent and criticism of the government ‘treason.’ Nice guy.
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johnpi
Famous rapper and Tamil Tiger daughter MIA is very angry at the New York Times for listing Sri Lanka as the top destination to go on vacation in 2010.
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johnpi
Top ten humanitarian crisis in the world in 2009 include several countries that are frequent topics here at TI: Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan.
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johnpi
Thailand to emulate Sri Lanka to battle insurgency.
Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 23 : Thailand is eager to learn how Sri Lanka crushed the Tamil Tigers in order to see if the same methods can be used to battle Muslim insurgency in its south, a newspaper reported Friday.
The Bangkok Post said Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva discussed with his Sri Lanka counterpart Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka Thursday Colombo’s “success in putting down the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) movement”.
The daily said the Thai government was “considering adopting techniques used by Sri Lanka in dealing with the Tamil Tiger rebels in its efforts to contain the (Muslim) insurgency in the south”.
“Tough crackdowns were also key to Sri Lanka’s success in its fight against the rebels, which should serve as a good lesson for Thailand,” a government spokesman was quoted as saying.
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johnpi
Australia hires actors to engage in ’street theatre’ to deter potential Sri Lankan asylum seekers.
Actors hired by an advertising agency will roam the streets of Sri Lanka spreading rumors that travel to Australia is dangerous, that australians don’t want them, and that “efforts to escape from Sri Lanka will end in disappointment.”
The taxpayer-funded campaign will be shown in Sri Lanka, where street theatre and local actors will help spread the message that coming to Australia illegally is dangerous, according to news.com.au.
Civil war in northern Sri Lanka has created a massive refugee problem, with more than 250,000 displaced persons in that region alone.
….Catholic Churches are also being targeted, with literature and pamphlets being distributed around parishes warning asylum seekers they will not be welcome in Australia.
The push has been dubbed the “Stay the Bloody Hell Away” campaign by media, in reference to Tourism Australia’s much-maligned “Where the Bloody Hell Are You” campaign.
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aziz
Now that the war is over in Sri Lanka, the government is jailing journalists and expanding the army.
The root grievances of the Tamil population still remain, and are even being exacerbated. How fragile is this peace?
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johnpi
Kuwait considers expulsion of half a million people.
Kuwait is considering deporting about half a million foreign workers – 15 percent of the country’s population – that are unemployed, lacking skills and in the country illegally….
“There is still a need to have workers, so they are not going to deport everyone, but they will send lower-class workers home: the taxi drivers, people collecting the trash, people like this,” Abu Bakker explained. “It’s better for the country and for the workers because they are not getting their rights.”
Probably not better for the countries of origin, however. “The vast majority of these immigrants are of East and South Asian descent: Bangladeshi, Filipino, Indian, Pakistani or Sri Lankan nationals.”
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fathima
The War in Sri Lanka and the Left in Toronto
The recent burst of mass mobilizations by sections of the Canadian-Tamil community in Toronto has brought to the fore several contradictions concerning the conflict in Sri Lanka and its presence in and connection to Canada. Mainstream media’s responses to the protests have been overwhelmingly racialist, exposing many of the limits of Canadian multiculturalism. [...] But if the coverage of the protests has made certain contradictions about the performance of cultural politics in public spaces in Canada apparent, other contradictions about the negotiation of those politics within cultural communities have also been rendered largely invisible.
This is a little bit old, because it got published, oh, two weeks ago now and in the interim the government of Sri Lanka has declared the war officially “over,” but I think it’s still pertinent.
Or maybe this is my excuse to tide me over until I write more specifically about the politics of the war, its global ramifications, and being Muslim in/around Sri Lanka. -
razib, murtad fitri
no one cares about sri lanka and the tamils. evidence? only 30 comments over at sepia mutiny on the topic. even brown people don’t really care! israel related posts at SM usually get at least, but usually more, commentary.
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johnpi
Here’s a Muslim NGO I can get behind:
Muslim Aid Sri Lanka has been working around the clock in Vavuniya refugee camp to ease the pressure on local hospitals which are unable to cope with the huge numbers of injured and sick people in desperate need of medical assistance.
“Our inflatable mobile hospital is currently treating about 2,000 patients a day and our ambulances take, on average, about 5-10 serious cases to the nearby government hospitals, who themselves are struggling to cope. There are reports of beds overflowing and patients being treated anywhere and everywhere.” said Amjad Saleem, Country Director for Muslim Aid Sri Lanka Field Office.
The Muslim Aid mobile field hospital treats patients for minor cases of wounds, blisters, diarrhoea and dehydration with the most serious cases being deferred to nearby Vavuniya and Chettikulam hospitals. Muslim Aid has also supplied 100 hospital beds and basic medical supplies to local hospitals who are struggling to cope with the extra burden.
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aziz
civilians dying in Sri Lanka – at the hands of both the military and the Tamils alike.
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aziz
Incredible – Tamil LTTE light aircraft actually made an aerial attack on Colombo!!
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fathima
The Morning Leader: “In Sri Lanka hope is a four letter word” By Qadri Ismail
It does not follow, however, that most Tamils who diverge from the LTTE support this racist regime. They don’t.
It does not follow that the Tamils believe, despite Rajapakse’s bombast, that this is a government of all the people. They don’t. Even Devananda, Muralitharan and Chandrakanthan don’t believe that.
Or that the Tamil people, however terrorised they might be today, will surrender their struggle for peace with equality, with justice, with honor.
Like the Palestinians, hell no, they won’t. -
fathima
Mass resettlement of Muslims in Jaffna
from the Lanka Sun:The Jaffna district Parliamentarian and Minister of Social Services, Douglas Devananda has embarked on a mass rehabilitation and reconstruction program to resettle Muslims back in the peninsula.
The Muslim residents forcibly evicted by the LTTE fifteen years ago, had to leave behind their immovable assets in the region.given the Sri Lankan govt’s involvement in ethnic cleansings of its own, i am skeptical about the motivations for this. still, on a purely pragmatic level, it’s a welcome move to at least address how SL’s muslims have been shafted by both sides (Sinhalese and Tamil) in the war. (it’s worth noting that SL has about as many Muslims as it does Tamils*, and that the distinction between these two groups is often blurry, particularly in the diaspora.)
edit: *this is, admittedly, a hugely questionable claim. see below for further details.
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Lawrence of Arabia
One of the Village Voice blogs had a rather prompt rejoinder to what was a VERY flimsy piece by the NYTimes on M.I.A., linked below by johnpi. As the VV blogger points out, the Voice had done this piece 4 years ago and had done it a whole lot better.
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johnpi
To many Americans, the Oscar-nominated Maya Arulpragasam, known as M.I.A., is the very pregnant rapper who gyrated across the stage at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, but some in Sri Lanka who know the Tamil singer’s work say she is an apologist for the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels fighting in the country’s long-running civil war.
Sri Lankans who have seen her videos say they interpret some parts as showing support for the Tigers, or at the very least glorifying their cause. But for those not familiar with the conflict, they might come across as generic third-world scenes.
“I kind of want to leave it ambiguous for my fans,” she said in the PBS interview, referring to the lyrics of her song “Paper Planes,” which was nominated for record of the year at the Grammys but did not win.
“Paper Planes,” which compares international drug dealing with selling records, drew a reaction from DeLon, a Sinhalese rapper based in Los Angeles, who made a video remix in which he interspersed images of people being blown up by Tamil Tiger bombs and subtitles about M.I.A. being a terrorist.
M.I.A. responded that she did not support terrorism.
So far, this is the only person in the conflict who I identify with and have been moved by.
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aziz
Things are getting worse in Sri Lanka, with over 300 civilians reported killed yesterday from being caught in the crossfire.
Wait a minute. what the hell?
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aziz
The Tamils have been chased back to the jungle. Still, hundreds of thousands of civilians are potentially trapped in the area and are at risk.
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aziz
The Sri Lanka military claims they have captured the Tamil Tiger leadership. However, will this end the violence? Terror group leaders tend to be replaceable.
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aziz
The mighty and brave Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have achieved yet another Glorious Victory, by killing some civilians and injuring some children.
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thabet
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aziz
The fighting in northern Sri Lanka is escalating, and civilians are increasingly at risk. It’s not Gaza or Darfur, but Sri Lanka still deserves attention.
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aziz
the last words of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunge, as an op-ed in his paper The Daily Leader, published after his death by assassination in broad daylight, written with posthumous intent.
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aziz
V.V. at Sepia Mutiny notes that this weekend is the 25th anniversary of Black July in Sri Lanka:
The immediate catalyst for the violence: the death of 13 Sinhalese soldiers at the hands of Tamil militants. The longer story: ethnic tension that had simmered for decades, under British colonial rule and beyond.
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aziz
Why are the Tamil Tigers attacking civilian buses in southern Sri Lanka?
“Because they are TerroristsTM” is such an unsatisfying answer, but at this point it’s the only one that makes any sense. Their actions certainly put the lie to their claim of fighting for independence.
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aziz
Another deadly bus bombing in Sri Lanka, this time in a Colombo suburb: http://tinyurl.com/3j9nmo
It boggles the mind how such a beautiful paradise, filled with such warm and friendly people, must suffer so.
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aziz
There’s still a civil war going on in Sri Lanka, btw.
