yes. notwithstanding the positive spin for peace that some ppl in government and off it seem determined to put on, there is no doubt that war is on the way. though the bunkerholed megalomaniac intentionally left the time frame of his ultimatum vague, my guess is, based on the hints tna mps drop and what little i know of military logistics, late spring or early summer 2006, just 4 to 6 months away.
(on the other hand if the extremely disturbing events in the last 2 or 3 days are in fact the start of the gradual escalation of provocations expected before actual war, it may be closer than i think)
there is only one way to prevent war. that way requires mahinda buffalo to do a complete u-turn and embrace the federal state solution and to convince everyone(especially the international community) that he is sincere about that (to the point that tigers themselves believe everyone else is so convinced).
imo that is impossible, even for ppl who are more naturally gifted than buffalo and his herd.
as former u.s. ambassador to sri lanka, teresita schaffer now at center for strategic and international studies (csis) says 'key quality he will need is leadership'. the ambassador may not have intended it like that, but the fellow is sorely lacking in that department. (explanation for jhu /jvp losers: macho posturing, a buffalo speciality, is not leadership).
ltte knows this. they are expecting the government to go through its expected motions and fall for the trap they laid on november 17th.
however the government can at least avoid the most obvious baits. they should for instance not separate north and east provinces, or drop the norwegians as facilitators or aid the paramilitary groups(like karuna faction) openly.
government can also stop scoring an own goal by emphasizing that vp's speech was in fact a ultimatum by a warmonger, and not a invitation to talks, as they seem to be insisting at the moment in order to score political points in the south. they should realize that the campaign is over, now what they say is taken seriously by an audience that includes the international community.
already sri lanka monitoring mission is starting to score the goal in the wrong column: after their latest meeting with ltte its spokesperson said there was no hint of a ultimatum from the ltte. before the war starts government must make sure that the slmm puts the full blame for it on ltte as it deserves.
in a report issued on december 1st by the csis(report south asia monitor issue 89 is not in csis website yet but is available in tamilnet(pdf-1.1mb)) , ambassador schaffer notes, 'most of the speech was a carefully crafted argument about how sri lanka’s sinhalese politicians had undermined every chance for peace in the past two decades and more......his unrelenting argument about how both major sri lankan parties had failed to keep their promises offers little optimism that a breakthrough is likely.'
government must lobby hard to make such opinion making think tanks aware who the real warmongers are. they should encourage the sri lankan peace activists to speak openly as to who is driving the country to war. can it, after all they did to criticize such ppl during the campaign?
military front
all that is in the diplomatic front, in the military front too government should start to prepare for the unavoidable.
first , they should realize that the war cannot be won militarily with the current resources of the country. realistically ltte can only be undermined and/or defeated during peace. so primary goal of the war should be to get the ltte to talk peace again.
second, given the limited resources, government will have to abandon some territories in order to release troops and other assets, to make more effective use of them in other areas.
for instance, jaffna town is probably useless militarily and ties down huge number of troops in an area that can not be easily supplied. so it is more logical to limit the troops in jaffna peninsula to the defensible camps with no civilians inside, and concentrate on the east (which can probably be cleared of ltte with the help of karuna faction) and probably on a slow steady push northward from vavuniya.
question is whether buffalo has the stomach for that kind of sacrifice. is he willing to see his standing with the fools in south go down in the interest of the country?
government should decide on these questions now and not wait till war starts, bc it inevitably will.
(on the other hand if the extremely disturbing events in the last 2 or 3 days are in fact the start of the gradual escalation of provocations expected before actual war, it may be closer than i think)
there is only one way to prevent war. that way requires mahinda buffalo to do a complete u-turn and embrace the federal state solution and to convince everyone(especially the international community) that he is sincere about that (to the point that tigers themselves believe everyone else is so convinced).
imo that is impossible, even for ppl who are more naturally gifted than buffalo and his herd.
as former u.s. ambassador to sri lanka, teresita schaffer now at center for strategic and international studies (csis) says 'key quality he will need is leadership'. the ambassador may not have intended it like that, but the fellow is sorely lacking in that department. (explanation for jhu /jvp losers: macho posturing, a buffalo speciality, is not leadership).
ltte knows this. they are expecting the government to go through its expected motions and fall for the trap they laid on november 17th.
however the government can at least avoid the most obvious baits. they should for instance not separate north and east provinces, or drop the norwegians as facilitators or aid the paramilitary groups(like karuna faction) openly.
government can also stop scoring an own goal by emphasizing that vp's speech was in fact a ultimatum by a warmonger, and not a invitation to talks, as they seem to be insisting at the moment in order to score political points in the south. they should realize that the campaign is over, now what they say is taken seriously by an audience that includes the international community.
already sri lanka monitoring mission is starting to score the goal in the wrong column: after their latest meeting with ltte its spokesperson said there was no hint of a ultimatum from the ltte. before the war starts government must make sure that the slmm puts the full blame for it on ltte as it deserves.
in a report issued on december 1st by the csis(report south asia monitor issue 89 is not in csis website yet but is available in tamilnet(pdf-1.1mb)) , ambassador schaffer notes, 'most of the speech was a carefully crafted argument about how sri lanka’s sinhalese politicians had undermined every chance for peace in the past two decades and more......his unrelenting argument about how both major sri lankan parties had failed to keep their promises offers little optimism that a breakthrough is likely.'
government must lobby hard to make such opinion making think tanks aware who the real warmongers are. they should encourage the sri lankan peace activists to speak openly as to who is driving the country to war. can it, after all they did to criticize such ppl during the campaign?
military front
all that is in the diplomatic front, in the military front too government should start to prepare for the unavoidable.
first , they should realize that the war cannot be won militarily with the current resources of the country. realistically ltte can only be undermined and/or defeated during peace. so primary goal of the war should be to get the ltte to talk peace again.
second, given the limited resources, government will have to abandon some territories in order to release troops and other assets, to make more effective use of them in other areas.
for instance, jaffna town is probably useless militarily and ties down huge number of troops in an area that can not be easily supplied. so it is more logical to limit the troops in jaffna peninsula to the defensible camps with no civilians inside, and concentrate on the east (which can probably be cleared of ltte with the help of karuna faction) and probably on a slow steady push northward from vavuniya.
question is whether buffalo has the stomach for that kind of sacrifice. is he willing to see his standing with the fools in south go down in the interest of the country?
government should decide on these questions now and not wait till war starts, bc it inevitably will.
45 comments:
U really have some great suggestions Sittingnut...d u write to columns in SL newspapers? U should...cos u have some valid and realisitc propositions.
**so primary goal of the war should be to get the ltte to talk peace again.
Hasn't this approach been tried before and failed miserbaly? I guess it maybe becos the govt failed to be reasonable in their peace process...will they ever be? Cos it's really no point talking of peace unless the set agenda to achieve it is viable and granted.
Keshi.
The provocations have already started. While Mahinda is busy seeking consensus in the south and preparing his budget the attack yesterday is designed to wrong foot him.
He should not rise to the bait but as you have rightly suggested use the mechanism left in place by the UNP to tighten the screws on the LTTE internationally.
Read Balasigham's speech in the Sunday Leader, they were afarid that Ranil would outfox them if he was elected.
Therefore Mahinda's smartest move could be to try and get the UNP involved in the process, as part of his southern consensus he could, although the JVP and JHU will cry foul.
Fact:
Militarily, the Sri Lanka Army is one of the most experienced armies in the world with regard to guerilla warfare.
Fact:
War is inevitable, Peace will come, but war will come before peace.
Fact:
Dextr is an idiot who glorifies the mistakes of Bush. But, he does have a valid point with regard to how the campaign should be conducted - not protracted, lightning quick and result oriented. Thats the only way to minimize losses.
Fact:
Mahinda Buffalos PM is known as Harak Hora (Cow Thief/Cattle Rustler)... Wonder what of this Haraka he will steal?
Myth:
Jaffna is not a valuable military strongpoint - Fact is Palaly et al supports helicopter operations among others and now, with the LTTE air wing, we need to our force even more.
Myth:
Military might will win the war. All who believe that are deluded, and fools to boot. Guerilla wars are never won, they are settled between the concerned parties.
Myth:
Ranil is a 'poof'.
If that were true, why does the LTTE call him the 'silent viper' and Mahinda simply the 'war candidate'?
Fact:
Sittingnut should contribute to the mainstream Sri Lankan media.
From Komisurupala..
"...Militarily, the Sri Lanka Army is one of the most experienced armies in the world with regard to guerilla warfare."
also one of the less sucessful?
.."campaign should be conducted - not protracted, lightning quick and result oriented. Thats the only way to minimize losses."
we dont live in perfect a world... in all accounts if and when a war brake out.. it will probably be one of the bloodiest,brutal and costly of all previous wars...
From..Ashanthi..
"..i supported Ranil but really he was purely the lesser of two evils..."
please elaborate on his 'evils'..
"..Blood leaves stains. The UNP has more than stains, they have scars & they bear the total responsibilty for the direction for long periods of time that our country has taken.."
how can you attribute all the responsibility to all that goes on, always to a ruling entity? infact all of the partys involved are responsible.. more so the LTTE than anyone else.
blood might leave stains.. bt it's now enough time to forgive and forget, the rest of the world have forgiven their foes and moved on. it's time those who havent do so.
"..you ignore how badly & attrocioulsy every single day the average Tamil has been treated. In the end"
but by whom is the question? i dont claim to be an expert on the situation of the north and east.. bt rest of the country.. at least in colombo.. i dont see any 'attrocities' faced by tamils or any other ethnic community..if they are then that is by the actions of the LTTE.
dextrs comments doesnt even warrant a reply.. operation iraqi freedom style? u have been watching too many cartoons..
keshi:
:-)
u write to columns in SL newspapers?.... - :-) no, but thanks. i prefer making money to that.
Cos it's really no point talking of peace unless the set agenda to achieve it is viable and granted - yes, you are right.but we can't have everything. since nobody can win this war anyway, there is no other option too. at the moment ltte thinks it wants war, we have to convince them they won't get anywhere along that road, by force if necessary.
jack point:
i too am increasingly inclined to believe that recent incidents are intentional provocations and war in closer than i thought. before i wrote this second mine explosion in 3 day was reported 6 soldiers killed.
tigers scored some points yesterday when military did not show up for a meeting with tigers to discuss current security situation. why does government fall for these? just stupid.
you are right only way to outsmart the tigers is to adopt the tactics unp used wholesale and getting unp involved formally will certainly help.
ashanthi:
winds of war are blowing hard at the moment
one question....we can go to war, frankly i think the war has never stopped, people have continued to die & in terrible ways. but what about peace?- actually war stopped, to say it did not is to forget a lot that happened. as for peace well it's the ltte that wants the war and are presently provoking it. buffalo actually can't start one even if he wanted to, he just has to respond , and hopefully in a clever way.
you may think that the international standing of the ltte is the most important thing in eliminating the existence of the ltte- no, i do not think that, but they should not get the moral high ground during the war government should even when it is led by mahinda buffalo
.Tamil people the simple & humane right to live side by side with the Sinhalese people in peace in a country that is theirs is the ONLY thing that will end the ltte. - that is why ltte wants war, if peace prevails (even imperfect one like in last few years) ltte gets undermined. we have to convince them they will lose more by war.
until every Sinhalese person comes to this conclusion we will always have an ltte, a JVP & a JHU. - sometimes you can't wait for everybody
Anton Balasingham...Relevance zilch - with regard to the diaspora may be. but he is ltte's representative, so very relevant.
pv did not give a date it was all vague.
SL army jumping ... get out of Jaffna... this maybe a big mistake ....joy to the Tamils of Jaffna...pshycologically it would be a stupid move...buffalo will leave his troops there & they will die.- well i believe it will not be a mistake to get troops out of jaffna. i do not think jaffna tamils will be jumping for joy (you really have no idea do you?) to have ltte over them. whether buffalo will have the strength to do this kind of thing is the question.
even bigger mistake is for you & my dear friend..you think the ONLY thing that drives the situation in Sri Lanka is one Tamil man.- no a lot of warmongers help him. but i am surprised you, my dear friend :-), think that tamils want war. they may have acted like cowards during the election, but to think they want war when they are the ones who suffer most? you are mistaken.
you ignore how badly & attrocioulsy every single day the average Tamil has been treated - i hope you refer to the past not to the past few years (otherwise you are completely mistaken) but if war comes that will be their fate.
as for ranil, he had the vision to look to the future and if ppl wanted revenge for what unp may have done in the past(as if they are solely responsible for all that) they have just punished themselves, more than ranil.
Let us actively campaign for it to bloody well end - well when ltte is bent on it, there is lttle one can do. lets' hope that after getting chased out of east and losing all support in international community will make them see some sense.
komisiripala:
nice to have you back.
nicely put.:-)
agree with all the facts and myths except:
not protracted, lightning quick and result oriented - i agree with cc on this, but agree about the result oriented part.
Myth:Jaffna is not a valuable military strongpoint Fact is Palaly et al supports helicopter operations among others and now, - when i meant jaffna town i meant civilian areas. defensible and easily supplied camps (with no civilians inside) like palaly should be kept.
Sittingnut should contribute to the mainstream Sri Lankan media - thanks :-) but i want to get rich, so no.
~CC~:
nice to see you here. :-)
Sri Lanka Army.... also one of the less sucessful?- no other army in the modern world had to deal with something like ltte, and with so very limited resources. when you consider all that, komisurupala is right and army probably did better than expected. all others can learn a great deal from it. in fact the governemnt could use the army as a valuable diplomatic asset (by sending it on un and other missions, it is of course already in haiti) if peace prevails.
it will probably be one of the bloodiest,brutal and costly of all previous wars- agree but i think ltte will come to it's senses if this was done in the right way. and probably there will be less of random acts of terror on ltte's part.
i agree with you about ranil.
and about dextr.
yaaro and ashanthi:
you are right we should try to forgive and forget the past.
what i am talking about is the present and the future.
but we have to think realistically on what to do when at least 15 soldiers(and at least 7 others) get killed in less than 3 days. with every indication of more to come, if not now at least in early next year.
even americans in iraq don't lose ppl at that rate.
ashanthi:
please note this post is not about ranil or unp losing elections, but about actual war and ppl dying.
Good to be back sittingnut,
thought to drop a quote that many may not have heard of from a surprising person.
"But all my soldiers in the field, I will wish you safe return
But only love kills war when will they learn"
- Jay Z (Beware of the boys Remix)
What's it like in Colombo now?
Judging from the articles on Tamilnet/BBC, things in the north and east are looking pretty ominous.
Heyyy Sittingnut!
** no, but thanks. i prefer making money to that.
lol ok then :)
**at the moment ltte thinks it wants war, we have to convince them they won't get anywhere along that road, by force if necessary.
How? Will terrorists ever know what real Peace is?
Keshi.
Ltte is not terrorrist
Ashanthi: I also believe that persons responsible for inciting violence between muslims and tamils have been caught - what callous evil.
Unfortunately the Muslims don't believe Tamilnet BS
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Sri Lanka's prominent Muslim party, in a press release accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for engineering violence against the Muslims in the East. The party accused LTTE of hurling grenades at people at prayers in a mosque at Akkaraipathu on the day preceding the poll and killing scores of people, killing Mr.Mohamed A.L.M. Faleel, the Divisional Secretary, Kathankudy, on 4th December killing a Muslim civilian Hajja Mohideen of Thoppur and also Killing three Muslim civilians of Thoppur and dumping their bodies in the neighborhood.
SLMC also claims that these incidents have cumulatively forced a mass scale exodus of Muslim civilians seeking protection to safer places.
The release claims that these calculated attacks on the Muslims compel us to view with suspicion that attempts are undertaken to disrupt Tamil - Muslim relationship in the East.
It also added that, 'Viewed in the backdrop of the fact that the Muslims have overwhelmingly voted and mandated the SLMC to engage in the pursuit of lasting peace and an equitable and acceptable solution to the ongoing ethnic strife within the frame work of a federal structure, one cannot be oblivious to the intention of the hidden hand that is opposed to peace and amity amongst the Muslims and Tamils'.
This challenge is further compounded with the realization that the Tamils, particularly in the East who managed to exercise their franchise too have spoken unanimously and unequivocally for the need for a federal solution where Muslims too would enjoy self rule, respect and dignity, the statement emphasized.
SLMC further attacked the LTTE of trying to portray the Muslims as the spoilers in any attempts at resolving the ethnic issue. The release claimed that this myth had been disproved at the last Presidential Election where the Muslims have expressed their commitment and unwavering desire for a just peace and a negotiated settlement.
"At a time when peace loving people and the International community have acknowledged this and begun to place their confidence in the Muslim community for their commitment to peace, we feel these negative and unfortunate acts are being committed to provoke the Muslims against the Tamils in the East and create instability in the region. If this happens it could also help portray the Muslims as spoilers by vested interests."
The SLMC in their statement called upon the LTTE to desist from acts of violence aimed at Muslims and Muslim interests and to actively engage in activities that would promote amity, peace and communal harmony which could eventually be taken forward to achieve the aspirations of the Muslims and the Tamils together with just and durable peace." the statement added.
It also emphasized on the need for the LTTE acknowledge its own acceptance that Muslims as a distinct community and their own political aspirations would be treated with equal respect and dignity in order to achieve durable peace.
"They should desist from equating the Muslim community to the armed groups opposed to them".
The SLMC urged Muslims to remain calm and vigilant of any anti social activity by vested interests and not be provoked and succumb to the elements that have always wanted disunity and disharmony amongst the Muslims and Tamils.
'We urge the Government to immediately send in reinforcement of security forces and to provide adequate protection and security to the unarmed Muslim and Tamil civilian population in areas where there is tension and a feeling of insecurity' the statement concluded.
What is a state that has no international recognition? Taiwan, is the best example, they spend pots of money trying to buy diplomatic recognition (they are rumoured to have contributed to Mahinda's campaign in return for recognition) but a state without recognition is not a state.
This is why the international community is important to the LTTE.
The LTTE is also raising funds from overseas, another reason why they would rather not be branded a terrorist organisation overseas.
The fundamental weakness with the LTTE is that of any dictatorship - no succession, and a very narrow range of skills - no dissent is tolerated so the leader can only be surrounded by Yes Men. Really critical minds cannot be tolerated.
This is why negotiations are such a tough battle for them, which is why they seem to prefer battle, something that the leadership is good at.
**Ltte is not terrorrist
Annoymous...that must be why u had to say it annonymously..lol!
Who is Prabakaran? Leader of the Tamil Tigers...
Dont try to change what defines them..that is, terrorism.
Dictionary meaning of terrorist:
someone who employs terrorism (especially as a political weapon); "terrorist activity"; "terrorist state" n : a radical who employs terror as a political weapon
And thats what they are - sorry to break the news to u.
I have no probs with Tamils...I'm half Tamil...they are beautiful ppl just like anyone else. But not the terrorists...they are just violent people who don't know what peace is. Otherwise why would they call upon War in the first place?
Keshi.
Keshi is quite right about ltte being a terrorist organisation.
I have consistently advocated peace through talks-from the time CBK promised to talk (in 1994, when I votde for her)to Ranil (1999 - onwards after CBK failed to deliver).
The fact that the LTTE is a terrorist organisation does not mean that you stop talking to them.
However, their recent actions seem to show that they are not interested in talking anymore, but want to provoke the army into starting a major battle so that they can have the war, AND win the PR battle.
What Mahinda should NOT do is fall into the trap - he needs to use the mechanism in place to squeeze them internationally.
Ashanthi: I also believe that persons responsible for inciting violence between muslims and tamils have been caught - what callous evil.
(Ever so faithfully referring to http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=16483)
However...
Dec 07, Colombo: SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem today blamed the Wanni Tigers for assassinating Muslims in eastern Sri Lanka. He urged the government to intervene and stop the terrorist activities. Making a special announcement in Parliament this morning, Mr. Hakeem said harmony between the Tamil and Muslim communities is essential, and he requested that the government take necessary steps to provide security for the Muslim community.
LMMFAO
komisiripala:
thanks, for the quote. hip-hop songs are generally very quotable, surprising but true .
ashanthi:
you expect people to move on when there has been no attempt at healing there wounds. - me ?! to heal there must be peace first. when ltte starts creating fresh wounds and killings and intentionally provoking the army, priority must be to make ltte realize they are making a mistake, by force if need be.
This war is dirty. So some mother's child will die. it's wrong & morally bankrupt ....I don't know why anyone would support this. - i agree and some mother's children are already dead.
ltte still has a choice between war or peace, government doesn't ( it's so weak it can only respond to ltte's choice - and i just pointed out what imo is the best way for the government to proceed realistically).
you become accepting of war. ... not rationalise, comtemplate or analyse it. - i am just observing and commenting on actual facts on the ground, it's the ltte which is doing the killing not me.
ananthan:
i thought you were in colombo. not much change at the moment but ppl expecting tight security etc. bad old days in fact.
keshi:
Heyyy yaaluwa! :-) it's alway great to have you here, makes me smile even in this bleak thread.
Will terrorists ever know what real Peace is? - you are right they do not know what peace is.
but they know where their self interest is. since nobody can win this war, terrorist can be forced to accept a ceasefire and even peace(in spite of gradual erosion of power these will entail for them), if they sustain enough damage and they lose all international support.
great reply to the anon, ppl should call terrorists by that name. even when we have to deal with them (bc we do not have a choice) we should never forget who they are and never allow them the moral high ground.
jack point:
great comments!
agree with everything in them.
government should do every thing possible to make ltte not go to war. and if ltte does go to war, as i said in the main post 'primary goal of the war should be to get the ltte to talk peace again'. at the moment ltte seem to have decided they lose more by peace than war, government's challenge is to make them to change their mind, by force if necessary.
yaaro:
yes, holding on to the past will get us nowhere, and fresh murders will only take us back. war is always a bleak prospect. but we have to face it it seems.
I think I've got to a point where I don't want to comment on SL politics anymore. I don't think any of us deserve to see peace.- i am sorry to hear that, :-( i personally think every one of us deserve peace (even dextr) but i get your point.
do stay engaged if you can bear it even a little, it's always good to have a different and a morally clear view point like yours.
(i wanted to include that as reply to you in my earlier comment but missed doing so)
dextr:
do your own commenting not cut and paste jobs.
***Sittingnut
Kesedha mithraya? :)
ok ok I'll stop it lol!
**if they sustain enough damage and they lose all international support.
I guess that's what we have to try and achieve...make them helpless and surrender to real peace...
**we should never forget who they are and never allow them the moral high ground.
Spot on! Terror should never be approved of...terror will never win...terror should never be the way to peace, cos doves don't feed on blood...
Thanks!
Keshi.
"i thought you were in colombo. not much change at the moment but ppl expecting tight security etc. bad old days in fact."
no, we left sri lanka when i was 4.
"I guess that's what we have to try and achieve...make them helpless and surrender to real peace..."
Is that what they'll be surrendering to though? There might be a lack of fighting but it doesnt seem the new government is very open to even addressing tamil needs. What's with the sinhala only speech thing? It might be effectively symbolic, but what a message to send.
I agree that a stop the fighting is the primary goal, but there has to be something positive after that...
Does the French president speak in English?
"Does the French president speak in English?"
Of course he doesn't, but France is a poor comparison. English is not an official language, nor is there a significant minority population that speaks english.
A better analogy would be Canada, which has a sizeable minority population that speaks a different, and offical, language (french). The Prime Minister - and anyone running for prime minister - is bilingual and uses both languages when speaking to a national audience. When speaking in Quebec (the majority french province), it's primarily french they use.
I'm not demanding that Rajapakse learn tamil; in fact, if he's more comfortable speaking sinhala then all power to him. But it was obviously a calculated move to make an official announcement that he'll only be speaking in the language of the majority. If you believe it was based purely on efficiency or ease you're deluding yourself. It was a pointed message and it does nothing but antagonise an already antagonised minority group.
Any multi-ethnic society needs at least token messages of inclusion and acceptance. This new guy seems hell-bent on appealing to his constituency, regardless of how much more division it fuels.
Better that he speaks in Sinhalese, his English is not very good.
Does Manmohan Singh speak in Tamil? How about Abdulla Ahmed Badawi?
Gujariati, Telegu, Tamil etc etc is just a few of the hundreds of dialects in India. yet, PM or whoever speaks in mainstream Hindi. Not English.
Canada, Official language is both English and French. So, when in Quebec they speak in French and wherever else, I assume English. Do immigrants there speak French?
Also, Buffaloes platform was the hardline asswipe and that announcement sent a message to the south - which inflated the southern ego as well.
I am sad that the school system did not teach us all three languages at the same time. We all learned English since we were 4 or 6 years old and so now we are fluent in it, how much harder would it have been to learn Tamil either?
Getting Mahinda to make a speech in english would be like trying to get a buffalo to bray like a donkey.
Forgive and forget are all well and good and achievable in an ideal world. Unfortunately, unlike in economic theory discussions where it is an assumption, this is nothing except a pipe dream as of now.
Forgetting and Healing begins with forgiveness. Atrocities have been committed and they will continue to be committed (till we get the ideal world) but that does not mean we can hang onto hate and hope to heal.
Someone said that the LTTE leadership is filled with yes men -true. Anton Balasingham is the mouth piece of Prabhakaran, everytime VP spits, it comes out of Antons mouth.
VP is a scared, small minded indivdual whose only vocation is terror, without that he is nothing. As long as the conflict continues he will be known, but the moment it ends he would be a has been. Because of his religion (he is a Christian) he cannot make the ethnic conflict be based on religious lines (thank god for that).
I think I am digressing and I will end it now witha final thought. GOSL cannot under any circumstance be tricked into declaring a state of war. I think, even if a bomb goes of in Colombo or something (god forbid) they should simply declare state of emergency like always, impose curfew, investigate and make the case and accuse whoever, without declaring war. Cooler heads will need to prevail. I am not saying to lie down and take it, but to practice maithree (forgiveness) till either they declare war or they get fed up (unlikely).
***Ashanthi
--Some cleverly disguised & now transformed into power brokers that sit in our Parliament and are hell bent on using this power to go on a killing spree.
Totally agree! There are politicians that breed terror from underneath their clean and fair suits...they r the real terrorists cos they have a very weak conscience too.
Keshi.
***Ashanthi
hey thanks!
Well u can see how terrible and hatred-driven a psyche most ppl here have got...is it any surprise that SL has a struggle to achieve peace...just look at the way they spew venom just on a blog...how sad they must be real lives...
If u didnt know, I have another idiot who follows me ard blogs and he/she has cloned my profile...and he/she leaves comments like me in every other blog! Dumb as ever. Evil and hatred-driven idiots.
Just discard trash in the bin...like we always do :)
Keshi.
keshi:
Kesedha mithraya? :) :-D
fine mate! thanks ! hope you are felling great too inspite of the losers that clone you.
terror should never be the way to peace, cos doves don't feed on blood...
agree with you as always.
Just discard trash in the bin...like we always do :) - lol :-) that 's the way.
ananthan:
I agree that a stop the fighting is the primary goal, but there has to be something positive after that... - yes, that is where buffalo should really change.
good point about the language.
did this report appear in any other news source other than tamilnet?( i did not hear it in offline media here.) bc he sometimes has a tamil translator translating after every sentence. (btw that helps his delivery, otherwise the fellow has huge pauses between words sometimes and stumbles over hard words even in sinhala)
jack point:
yes, even his sinhala is not the best. witness how he stumbled over the budget speech yesterday.
tboy/dextr:
indian pm is a sikh. some canadian pms were native french speakers, as far as i know malaysian pms can speak tamil and local chinese dialects, at least they try to show that. so get your facts before posting garbage man.
komisiripala:
VP is a scared, small minded individual whose only vocation is terror, without that he is nothing - that's right. and that is the main problem too.
I am not saying to lie down and take it, but to practice maithree (forgiveness) till either they declare war or they get fed up (unlikely). - i don't know about the maithree but government should not let army be provoked in to a war and certainly do every thing to stop any reprisals against civilians.
blame when war comes should be with the ltte.
ashanthi:
S/nut - none of what is happening to us all on a daily basis is our past - it is our present.
i think there is a great difference between what tamil civilians went through before 2002 and their treatment after the cfa. that is a fact. but yes if the war comes situation will deteriorate for them.
There is one person over here who is so lonely that he will do anything to get attention to himself. Any kind of attention!
Don’t give it to him!
Don't wrestle a pig in a mud hole. You both get all dirty, and the pig enjoys it.
P. J O’Rourke
"Canada is not even remotely comparable to the situation in SL."
It's definitely not a perfect match, but there are way too many parallels between the two situations to ignore. Canada's lived with a significant minority population for nearly 140 years with relatively little violence and unrest (although it has occurred). You don't think Sri Lanka could take a few lessons from that? Federalism's shown it can work in that type of situation, that's reason enough for Sri Lanka to consider it.
You need to chill with the racism too. I don't get how someone can live as a minority in a multicultural society like Australia and still cling to old, narrow ideas about race...
capitalist:
nice to have you back.
yes you are right about the pig here..
ananthan
good point about canada
I don't get how someone can live as a minority in a multicultural society like Australia and still cling to old, narrow ideas about race..
dr/tboy/pig has turned that way bc he is so low down in the social scale in australia and is nothing but a pathetic beggar.
dr/tboy.
get a life loser. and do check your facts before you post.
btw we already knew what kind of cleaning school you went to from your language.
Sittingnut,
Thanks for the welcome. :-)
Well it appears I couldn’t keep myself away for too long!
I think you are mistaken on the Jaffna pullout issue.
Here is what I think –
There are around 500,000 people living in Jaffna. They cannot be willfully abandoned. If the government pulls out of Jaffna, the civilian population will be left at the mercy of the LTTE. No state should willingly abandon its citizens. This is the main issue.
This is not a good idea from the point of view of military strategy either. It’s not just a question of territory. It’s important to ensure that the tigers do not have too many people living under their control because that will make it easier for them to conscript people into their organization. Also, the tigers usually “tax” away whatever little the people who live under them have. Prabhakaran knows the importance of “ruling” lots of people, that’s why he “evacuated” the entire Jaffna peninsular when he decided to retreat before the army had captured it in the mid nineties. (The people who were evacuated returned to their homes subsequently.) One other issue is the fact that the LTTE might place its important “military” installation among heavily populated areas of Jaffna town if they were to regain control of it. It would be difficult for the Air Force to bomb those installations in a manner that doesn’t harm surrounding civilian homes. (Keep in mind that most of the heavily populated areas of the eastern province are under the control of the army. Though the LTTE controls a very large area in the eastern province, those areas are sparsely populated.)
Ashanthi,
Have you read "The Funny Boy"?
That book is extremely good. It brings to life the attorcities that took place in 1983 and ralated social issues. The final chapter is truly something that will bring tears to anyone except somebody who is totally heartless.
Also, the author Shyam Selvadurai's mother is Sinhalese so maybe it might contain some of the "unique perspective" that you are looking for.
Yaro,
The book has 6 “loosely coupled” chapters. To some extent it is made up of 6 interrelated short stories. If I remember correctly 3 of those chapters are related to “ethnic” issues. So I’d say that half the book deals with ethnic issues while the other half deals with sexuality.
Personally I don’t think it deals with the sexuality issue very well at all largely because the whole book is presented from the viewpoint of a small kid. Any meaningful and mature exploration of the issue of sexuality would have required an adult viewpoint.
Ashanthi,
I don’t think it is a good idea to read the last chapter alone. Part of the reason why the last chapter is so compelling is the fact that the young boy who is portrayed in the novel as well as other characters “come to life” within your mind (figuratively speaking) while reading the first 5 chapters. Because of that you begin to feel as though the incidents described in the last chapter is happening to somebody whom you know personally and the empathy is much greater than it would be if you had read the final chapter in isolation.
Sittingnut,
I made a mistake in an earlier post. Sorry about that. Please note the correction:
capmag = capitalist
hello everybody! was out of town for the weekend and had only an unreliable connection and limited time so could not respond.
capitalist:
don't worry about the name.:-)
what you say do make sense but i have to disagree.
fact is if war breaks out only way to supply the jaffna is through the sea and air and if ltte decides to play hard ball government may have to provide for the whole population through that way, which will be quite impossible. they had a hard time providing for the army alone last time.
ltte has already embedded units inside civilian population(and they have been training a sort of militia from the civilians too, as you may have heard) as shown by the their control of the election boycott and the recent mine explosions, so in a war situations not only would army face ltte across the front lines they wold have ltte guerrillas behind them this will not only require huge (numbers involved are huge even by world standards )numbers of personnel but there is bound to be 'problems' after guerrilla attacks. nor will they be able to undertake offensive operations southward from there, we know what happeed last time they did that. better to put the responsibility of maintaining the population on the tigers and releasing the resources from a useless situation.
i agree that state should not willingly abandon its citizens but in this case government will be forced to eventually. yes, ltte will have a bigger 'conscript' pool and a ' tax ' base. on the other hand government will have more resources to dispose more productively while ltte will be burdened with running a civilian administration still nominally answerable to the government, a fact that can be used to make trouble for the ltte though this has not being done before.
anyway that buffalo and co will have to decide.
btw that's a good description about funny boy as i can find. it certainly is a good novel, i thought it was a little overhyped when i read it shortly after publication. maybe i should read it again.
yaaro:
have to agree with capitalist about funny boy. but i may not have the right to judge it.
ashanthi:
really you should buy the book and read it from cover to cover. :-) i have a feeling you will like it very much.
How's Sittingnut today and how abt a new post :)
Keshi.
fine! a new post? done! :-)
aww justice served :) lol!
Keshi.
If mahinda wants to go to war, imo he needs to convince the co-chairs who's tacit approval should be enough to gain approval from the IC.
In the meanwhile, imho, he should "very publicly" reduce his security detail to a bare minimum (ie. to a peacetime norm). This would be a big risk but doing so openly would show his commitment not to return to war. I know, but symbolism matters. BTW is there anyone as competent as kadir in the current government when it comes to liberal democratic credentials?
Eitherway, I have to agree with s/nut, the agenda will be determined by the actions of the tigers. Maintaining the moral high-ground is the only way to determine who will be the lesser evil.
:):) Ahsanthi na...no secrets between me and Sittingnut...just that I asked for a new post and he did one :) so justice served...lol!
Keshi.
lol Ashanthi u r so cute...hehe..
Sittingnut is not single is he? :) But yeah as u said, since he dumped all SL women as ugly lol, he wont stand a chance with any...awww :)
Keshi.
ivap:
thanks for dropping by.
main problem for mahinda if he wants to go to war is not ic approval but the lack of resources. i think he should not reduce his security that will be asking for death even though his death may prove your point .
no nobody of same caliber , even with different political view point.
ashathi:
we are eternal matchmakers - :-) very funny, that job will land you in trouble for sure.
keshi:
Sittingnut is not single is he? ...he wont stand a chance with any - that's funnier. :-(
lol so u single?
Keshi.
lol, yes and it seems will remain so for the rest of my life according to you :-(. come to think of it that would not be all bad :-)
ashanthi:
thanks, love, peace & happiness to you too.
you like hard troublesome jobs don't you :-)
how come your folks haven't married you off?- bc i don't want to be married off :-)
Ivap: In the meanwhile, imho, he should "very publicly" reduce his security detail to a bare minimum (ie. to a peacetime norm). This would be a big risk but doing so openly would show his commitment not to return to war. I know, but symbolism matters.
Peace time? Dumb fuck..
Dec 15, Colombo: The Italian government today strongly condemned the LTTE's attack on a MI-17 Air Force helicopter on its way to airlift Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Margherita Boniver on Wednesday.
“We have suspicions that the LTTE targeted our Deputy Foreign Minister,” an Italian embassy spokesperson in Colombo told ColomboPage.
The chopper was flying about 10 air miles from the area when it was shot at using small arms. Slightly damaged, the chopper landed at Ampara Army Base.
Security forces believe that the attack was intended to harm the Italian Deputy Foreign Minister. Fortunately, she was not in the chopper when it came under attack.
The European Union earlier imposed a travel ban on the LTTE and warned of further action against the military outfit if they do not honour their Ceasefire Agreement with the Sri Lankan government.
this post was cited in the acorn . it's a fresh insightful look, read it. :-)
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