A thread for discussing Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers

I had Sri Lanka in mind a little bit when we were talking about Kurds and I started wondering how the west wants to respond or should respond to ethnic independence movements.

GT, I can only add words of condolence that seem like bitterly little, even to me. Please understand that I'm just tired of the whole mess. The whole bloody, stupid, mess. Like poor ILM poster Alex in SF, the world outside Sri Lanka has tried to understand what the hell is going on with the Sri Lankan people and then gave up in baffled dismay.

The Sri Lankan govt. doesn't represent ANYONE! Can't you see that? To generalize, Ranil Wickramasinga is following the capitalistic/"line my pockets quick!" tendencies of his UNP party by soothing the LTTE to seduce foreign aid and investors. Chandrika Bandaranayake has lost her father, watched her mother rule with an iron first, and lost her own eye to politics, (there's a letter bomb for you, if I'm not mistaken) and reverts to the barking mad isolationist cravings of the SLFP.

A glib but perhaps apt comparison might be the French revolution. The aristocracy suck, but the revolutionaries won't stop beheading people.

Only this is actually more of a fucking mess. What can you say when the govt actually slipped arms to the LTTE, as Parvati also mentioned above? My family left the country because my Sinhalese father was on a hit list...but the people out to get him were Sinhalese thugs taking advantage of the Govt/LTTE/JVP/IPKF/fucking-alphabet-soup confusion, to take out people who'd pissed them off. Then what else to think about the fact that my father was a cruel and arrogant man who pissed on anyone in a lesser position? From a perspective that's not mine, he probably deserved it, yeah?

Here's a question: if the LTTE wins this 'fight' and the NE secedes, what kind of goverment would the LTTE set up? Will there be elections? Would anyone dare form a competing party? Would a group that's justified its tactics in the name of 'the cause' be able to set aside those tactics? What would the border between Eelam and the now-smaller Sri Lanka be like? Let me speculate: two endless lines of impoverished, scared, forcibly conscripted young men (and women, go you feminist Tigers!) staring at each other from behind machine guns. Do you think this will ever end with Eelam?

Haha wait don't feel bad for me! And I'm not giving up in baffled dismay! I'm keeping up the good fight of trying to grasping all the nuances of the situation in baffled dismay!

Even fierce fighters are humbled by a little girl's charms.

you mean Elastica?

i just found out i have a Tamil middle name. 'Jagan'.

(if anybody knwos what this means, i'd like to hear)

ANYWAY folks -- I admit I set up this thread to talk about Sri Lanka/Tamil stuff because people wanted to talk MIA stuff on the MIA thread, so y'know... ;-)

But isn't this thread about the intricacies of Sri Lankan politics not first wave of britpop bands?

(does this make sense?)

x-post

Anthony, it sounds, it is insane, but unfortunately a lot of Israelis (and American supporters of Israel are in some cases EVEN more so) ARE insane and I know that what you are talking about is exactly what they DO believe.

Cicatrix, I was really glad to hear your voice on these two threads. I identify with a lot of things you have said, and it's rare for me to see that in someone of my own age from SL. So often, the Sri Lankans of my age I have met in the West have been very rich ones, who have always been insulated from the conflict, or richer relatives over here who left a very long time ago, and their children grew up here.

I have never before written such open criticism of the Tigers before. It feels strangely liberating but also kind of nerve wracking. But it feels good to occasionally say this stuff out loud.

The difference would be, the Jews got their Israel externally. Our struggle is very similar to the Palestinian struggle in this regard. It's an internal struggle, and it's violent.

Also, this is the other big difference there were hardly any Jews living in Israel when Israel was formed. The Tamils have been living in Sri Lanka for ages. I really don't want to go into who got there first, because it's really irrelevant.

If that offended anybody, I'm sorry. Those were just my observations.

Since you brought it up, GT, I hardly think it's irrelevent. The Sinhalese arrived around 500B.C. when Prince Vijaya got kicked out of India, and washed ashore in Sri Lanka. He, and his followers, proceeded to marry into/kill off the indigenous population. This indigenous population dates back to neolithic times, at least 16,000BC, and still exists, marginalized and dwindling in numbers, in the forests of Sri Lanka. Their fate a source of shame that no one addresses.

Over the next two millenia the Sinhalese evolved into a distinct ethnic group, speaking a language spoken nowhere else, and adhering to the most orthodox (for lack of a better word) Theravada buddhist beliefs. They've always been paranoid about being invaded by the gigantic hordes of Indians who lived barely a whisper away.

Small numbers of Tamils migrated to SL over the years, spurred on by droughts that hit South India, virtually wading over when the Palk Strait dried up. Moors, Malays, Christians, and various other ethnic/religious groups also grew as spice traders and merchants decided they liked the country and stuck around. The Sinhala kings often hired the Muslims as their trade representatives. Then around 600 A.D. the Tamil kingdom in South India invaded, and established the Chola Kingdom in the Northern part of Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese were evicted and the Sinhalese King retreated to the Southwest. Though the chola dynasty was conquered and the Sinhalese ragained control of the whole island after century or two, the Sinhalese began to develop a sense of being besieged. The Sri Lankan Tamils are decendants of this Chola kingdom.

Around 1600 the Portugues and Dutch colonized parts of the country (never the whole, or the Kings). Their descendants are now refered to as Burghers. The British succeeded where the others failed by infiltrating the Sinhala court and promising the throne to any courtier who killed the king. Of course, once the King and his kin were killed, the British took over.

From 1800 on the British brought Tamils over in large numbers when the Sinhalese would riot, or go on strike, in bids for Independance. This is when Tamil-Sinhalese tensions began. The British also forbid the teaching of Sinhalese or Buddhism, and allowed only English in schools. Tamils were given state jobs, and their greater fluency in English lead to economic advantages. The Sinhalese hold this as a grievance. The British also focused economic development in the Southwest, near the capital, Colombo. The Tamils, being mostly in the Northeast, blame post-independance goverments for not doing anything to rectify this imbalance and hold that as a grievance.
Tamil -Sinhalese alliances were formed in the early 1900s in the name of nationalism, and were ruthless crushed by the British.

In the scramble for power after Independence, Senanayake's opponents were mainly communists and Tamils (who were fewer than 15% of the population, but controlled almost half the wealth, white-collar job, positions at Universities, etc. enriched by the British.) In a power play, Senanayake stripped hill-country Tamils of their citizenship. It was a political move, to weaken his opposition. As his policies failed, and people starved, Bandaranayake swept into office by further making scape-goats of the Tamils. Tamils organized, and the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) supported Jayawardana. With his win in 1977 the TULF became involved in the parliment, Tamil became an offical language, and the citizenship issue was no longer a question. However, a TULF faction comprised mostly of students became increasingly violent and splintered into what is now the LTTE. In 1983, the LTTE massacred an army patrol in the North, setting off a retaliatory orgy of rioting by Sinhalese mobs, who targeted Tamils and burned homes.

So much for the history lesson. I tried to be objective, but my apologies if I skimped on parts ..I tried to keep it zipping along.

I guess my point is that Sri Lanka was actually a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, relatively cosmopolitan country. The British created a situation wherein the Sinhalese felt disenfranchised. Post-independance, politicians manipulated this sentiment to win elections, and violence by the LTTE has only firmed-up this belief.

Do you see the stupidity in BOTH sides feeling oppressed? The fact that Sri Lankan Tamils and 50 million South Indian Tamils share the same language, religion and customs adds to the Sinhalese feeling of being besieged.

Again, I'm not defending or justifying anything done by the Sinhalese. Just presenting their side on this board.

I have a question, however. Does anyone know how the LTTE are funded? I'm sure GT is correct in saying that sympathetic Sri Lankan Tamil expats donate money. I also know several South Indian Tamil families that donate money. But are there more? Is that the only source of revenue?

Re funding - I believe that besides donations, the Tigers also are involved in a number of money making exercises. I think they own a shipping company that is pretty lucrative. They probably engage in quite a bit of illegal economic activity also.

thnx so much for the history lesson

Cicatrix, after that last post I really have a hard time believing you are half Tamil!

Anyways, in the version I heard it was the Tamils who were in Sri Lanka first. The people you claimed to be "indigenous population" were infact Tamils. Since Sinhalese themselves have admitted Tamils were from Tamil Nadu, let me pose a question to you.. Doesn't it seem possible that we would have come to Sri Lanka first because Tamil Nadu is separated from Sri Lanka by only a small distance? I'm sure you have heard of Adam's Bridge? It's a group of shoals between Mannar, Tamil Eelam and Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. The water is so shallow that ships can't cross it. Anyways, the point is, in the early days it would have possible for the Tamils to have arrived in Sri Lanka way before Vijaya.

I'm not trying to tell you my version of the story is true, and yours is not. I know that the government is biased, and I'm sure the Tamils were biased when they did research too. But it doesn't erase the fact that both versions had possibilities of being true. We are dealing with ancient history here. So anything could have really happened! Who knows maybe Martians were there first! That is why I really believe who got there is irrelevant. If that is irrelevant, most Americans & Canadians should go back to where ever they came from.

What I do know is that Tamils have been living there when recorded history took place. When history was recorded by a third party. Even so, Tamils are only asking for the North East, where most of us are living now, in the present. Even though there are Tamils living in Hill Country, we are not asking that as part of our Tamil Eelam.

Anyhow, if you are really questioning our claim, then ask your self this. Where did the Government of Sri Lanka ship the Tamil people from the South to when they became refugees when the anti-Tamil riots occured in 1983? That's right, they were shipped to the North East, our Tamil Eelam!

As for your obsesstion with South Indians, do you know that it's illegal in India to support LTTE? I guess you have never heard of Vaiko being jailed under POTA for supporting LTTE?

Also, I believe 25% of the population of Sri Lanka is Tamil Speaking. 12% of Sri Lankans are Tamils who have been living in Sri Lanka for ages. 6% of Sri Lankans are Tamils brought in from India by the British to work in the Tea Plantations. 7% of the population is called 'Moors', they are Muslims who are descendents of arab settlers. They also speak Tamil.

In anycase, I really feel for the Tamils of Indian origin. Those people were stripped of their citzenship by previous governments. Some were even shipped back to India event though they were 2nd or 3rd generation. The saddest part is that they are still living in horrible conditions.

Sub- committee on Human Rights and International Development of Canadian Paliament takes up recruitment of Children by the LTTE

The Canadian Parliamentary Sub-committee on Human Rights and International Development raised the issue of recruitment of children by the LTTE, at a meeting held this week. Making a statement at the commencement of the meeting, Chair, the Hon. David Kilgour, M.P., said that the forcible recruitment of children as child soldiers by the LTTE is a matter of major concern and that Canada must address this issue, ensuring that Canadian funds are utilized for strengthening recruitment prevention and child protection initiatives.

In a prepared statement Chairman Kilgour said:

(Quote) Violation of the human rights of children in Sri Lanka, through forcible recruitment as child soldiers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is a matter of major concern to members of the international community and was recently discussed by the UN Security Council.

UNICEF has documented 3516 cases of child recruitment by the LTTE during the ceasefire period since February, 2002. According to UNICEF, "An enormous recruitment drive began with the cease-fire. The LTTE had access to government controlled areas like never before." The recruitment became so intense that less than 50% of students went to school as many parents kept their children at home out of fear that they would be taken away by the LTTE while walking to and from school.

According to UNICEF and Human Rights Watch, following the tsunami devastation in Sri Lanka, LTTE began recruiting orphaned children in a number of affected areas. Human Rights Watch states: "The Tamil Tigers are preying on the most vulnerable by taking advantage of children who have been orphaned or displaced by the tsunami. Every effort must be made to stop this unconscionable recruiting from families who have already suffered so much. As the LTTE seeks to rebuild its forces afterlosing soldiers in the tsunami, children are at enormous risk. Children have always been targeted, but children who have lost their homes or families from the tsunami now are even more susceptible to LTTE recruitment."

Canada must address the issue of child soldiers in Sri Lanka and ensure
that Canadian funds provided to improve the situation of children in vulnerable circumstances meet our objective. Recruitment prevention and child protection initiatives should be strengthened in all areas, including tsunami-affected areas, relief camps and orphanages. (Unquote)

The govt blankets the area with bombs because the LTTE has made no distinction between civlians and soldiers (I'll get to the terrorist point in a bit). With young children and women as soldiers, where is the line drawn? I'm not justifying the govt. but in fighting the goverment the LTTE has thrown a lot of former civilians in front of the tanks (metaphorically speaking).
SOunds nothing like what I actually meant in my head. Forget I ever brought it up, please. I can't think straight right now.

Milthi,

Thanks for the positive words re: my web site. I've heard about the book Blink, I will have to check it out - sounds like it may have some useful ideas that can be used to help disassemble the concept of race (it's actually more like a religion for most people :).

On Race & Sri Lanka:
Last night I had dinner w/ some of my relatives, all Sinhala, all my parent's generation, some younger, and I asked them what would happen if a Tamil person learned Sinhala, became a Buddhist, lived & worked with the Sinhala community - would they still be considered Tamil? Would that persons children be considered Tamil? The point of the question was to examine criteria used by some in the previous generations to divide the population into Tamil & Sinhala groups.
The answer I got was hopeful, my relatives agreed that language & religion does not make a totally different kind of human species that deserves drastically different treatment (then again my folks are liberal buddhists who have lived in the US for a while, I expected the answer I got from them).
Since the issue of skin color is not as big a problem in Sri Lanka when it comes to the idea of race as it is here in the US (Sri Lankans come in all shades of brown, black & white - for those who have not met many SLs), the major lines that separate the people are - at least from a Sinhala prespective, seems to me - are language, religion, and to some degree the language & or religion of parents, grandparents, etc.
Since colonialism is officially over and the politics of race are no longer fahionable as a reason for oppression & teritorial conquest by the West, there is hope (at least I have it) that Sri Lankans will be able to recognize the humanness - equal to their own - of people who kind of look like them but may primarily speak another language or may belong to another religion.
But first they will have to end the war. So on to the violence related items:

Cicatrix,
Good job on pointing out the complexity on the make up of the two sides engaged in the conflict. I think only the exact people who commit an act should be held responsible for that act. For example, a death squad soldier who tourtured & murdered an innocent rural, civilian youth during the '89 gov't crack down on the JVP - and the official(s) who ordered such actions, are different from an ordinary soldier in the SL Army who joined the army in '95 out of sincere partiotic feeling to protect the nation, and goes on to serve according to accepted norms in warfare (norms accepted by the international community - not just the SL Gov.). Thus, due to the length of the conflict and the number of different players involved, it is difficult to say that everyone on the side of the Governmnet of Sri Lanka are evil.

As you pointed out, the LTTE's suppression & killing of dissenters and holding themselves up as the only representatives of the Tamil people will not score any points with anyone in Sinhala society or the outside world who wants the right thing to happen in Sri Lanka. Here is a doc by the University Teachers for Human Rights (jaffna), Sri Lanka, members of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, that talks about their experience with disagreeing with the LTTE:
http://www.uthr.org/history.htm
Here is a quote from the doc mentioned above:
" By combination of internal terror and narrow nationalist ideology the LTTE succeeded in atomizing the community. It took away not only the right to oppose but even the right to evaluate, as a community, the course they were taking. This gives a semblance of illusion that the whole society is behind the LTTE. Since the UTHR(J) was part of the initiative in trying to open up space in the University, many sharing its aims associated with it openly in the early days. This was until Rajani Thiranagama was killed. Abandoning and winding up the UTHR(J) now would mean capitulating of the oppressor. We therefore felt that it is essential to continue with the reports under the same name, although we had been forced to leave the University of Jaffna [See Report 11, Appendix]."
If that is the kind of the world that the LTTE is creating inside land that they control - a military dictatorship that entertains no opposition - then there will be much & constant opposition to the LTTE in Sri Lanka & elsewhere in the world (and also from within LTTE - as is evident from the existence of the Karuna faction). And the reported removal or muslims & sinhala from LTTE controlled areas looks a lot like ethnic cleansing, not a popular thing in the west or with a lot of Sri Lankans at the moment (as fas as I can tell) - these are some of the reasons that the LTTE and Sinhala or Sri Lankan Gov. parties that deal with the LTTE are not thought well of by many Sinhalas. Those practices & of course suicide bombing, more on that next:

Re: Suicide boming. Is it worse than a soldier who is commited to his work? Yes. Because there is no guarantee that the soldier will die, where as the suicide bomber almost always dies. Also, as a weapon, the soldier has better control over his or her target, and suicide bombers do not, they kill or harm their intended target and anyone in the nearby area. Are suicide bombers any worse than regular bombs? Only very slightly. In the Sri Lankan situation where suicide bombing is used by the LTTE, at times of heightned conflict, all Tamils are suspected by the Sinhala as a possible grave threat - this no doubt makes the lives of ordinary Tamils a hell as they attempt to move about & live in Sri Lanka (in the non-LTTE controlled areas). Is the use of suicide bombers worse than dropping bombs from a plane? I think bombing from a plane can be worse. However, the pilot of the plane is not guaranteed an automatic death (whereas the suicide bomber is), so it would depend on who the bomb was dropped on (on actual military targets = acceptable in war, on civilians = never acceptable). As a battle tactic I do not think suicide bombers are effective. As a terror tactic they may be, but a terrified army may go overboard with their response, resulting in unnecessary killing. As far as I know no war has been won by the use of suicide bombers. I am no expert on warfare, and I think in genral war is evil, certainly has caused too much misery on this planet & in Sri Lanka, war may only be one step away from suicide, and in some cases war may be suicide.

Less bombing, more love.

I think strengthenig of civil society is a way to check & balance the activities of the government - so in the Sri Lankan Government controlled areas this may be possible to various degrees, and I am sure it has happened a countless times during the past 20 years of intense conflict. The multiple political parties, the NGOs, the various religious groups, all are able to pressure the gov't against policies & actions that they do not like. But if the LTTE does not allow criticism and does not allow political competitors, then I do not know how the Tamils who live in LTTE territory will enjoy a quality of life that is above the level of survival - if they do not agree w/ the LTTE. I am biased against military dictatorships because open democracies offer so many more opportunities to individuals. Also I've heard that many more Tamils live among the Sinhalese in government controlled areas then they do in LTTE controlled areas, perhaps this shows support & preference for a flawed democracy in flux (Gov't controlled areas) over a very effective & functional military dictatorship (LTTE areas) by Sri Lankan Tamils.

I am sure I will hear about these thoughts in great detail Milthi & Cicatrix :) Yeah man, posting here is addictive, it does take a lot of time away from other work, I will have to limit myself to once or twice a day from now on.

Off to get some work done, talk to everyone on another day.

! Sujewa !

I became an anthropology major (cultural, not the pots&bones or the paleo&jurassic kind) simply because I was confused as all hell, and stumbled across a class entitled "immigration and heritage." Walked in with a bit of a swagger, I'm embarrassed to say. Very - "well, tell ME what immigration's about you ivory tower yuppies!" and to my surprise, they did. Massive relief to know how much of it has been studied, analysed, thought over. Of course, it never gets beyond academia cause no one else is interested.

So from anthro pundit Cicatrix (massaging brain to unclog brain cells):
-There is no such thing as race. There is far too much variation within homo sapiens as a species for further division. Talking about 'race' is a moot point. (nerd details if you want 'em)

- All we have separating us are our ways of eating, behaving, speaking and praying. Culture, in short. The original inhabitants of SL are the veddas. For all the Sinhala/Tamil who-got-here-first shit-fests, that fact is inescapable. And no the veddas aren't some original band of Tamils (or Sinhalese) who just happened to hop the Palk Straight first. Some accounts say that they are closer to the australian aboriginese than anything South Asian (baffling, huh? I'll look into that one a bit more. It's always interested me, and I've been lazy about it).

-So the Sinhalese are descendents of the Indian aryan people (not race! there is no such thing) and I believe Pali was the Sanskrit-off shoot they brought with them. That became Sinhalese. The Tamils are of the Indian Dravidian people (I think they are known to be the first civiliation to have standardized bricks and a sewer system - also must brush up on this). So basically, we're all Indian, in a way.

- From what I understand during the reign of the SL kings, if there was no male heir, the female heir would be married to an imported Indian prince (most likely Tamil). The guy would be crowned King immediately and then set to learning Sinhalese (or buddhism, I forget whether it was language or religion that was considered the sole necessity for being Sinhalese, but I do remember that only one was considered important.) His Indian/Tamil background was shushed up as fast as possible. Now, I'm really going to have to dig to find sources on that cause I know it's not widely discussion, but, I think, that it was also mentioned in that linguistics book I mentioned upthread.

- As far as your dinner table conversation Sujewa, (wow you do have nice liberal parents. Lucky Bastard. Mine don't like getting into conversations like that) .. language and religion are not fixed entities. If they were, what the hell would I be? I'm sinhalese/Buddhist/Tamil/Catholic. If I converted to Islam, and followed its tents like any other good Muslim girl, then I'd be Sinhala/Tamil/Muslim...ignoring whether they cared to accept me or not, I suppose..It's all pretty fluid (and I mean that from an Anthro perspective, not a some new-age, pot-head hippie)...

-Which is why questions of authenticity are really pretty pointless. Cultures come into contact with each other, cross-pollinate, adopt new ideas as their own, etc. and most of the time economics had more of a guiding hand than any nationalistic pudit would have you believe. Why do you think there are Muslim communities all along the major ancient sea-faring routes? The Muslims were considered the best traders, so most kingdoms invited Muslims to settle down and do their trading for them, since matters were facilitated lots when it was a Muslim-Muslim transaction.

- While it is nice to have a culture preserved in all its glory for the sake of diversity, if nothing else...culture is people, and as people move and change, so does the culture. It's not static. That being said, I took a Hindi class last fall, and as I mentioned being Sri Lankan half/half, the teacher looked misty for a moment and then said that SL Tamil is so beautiful because it's close to the original form that South Indian Tamil. Make of that what you will.

Oh..I just read this. Sorry for going on with the lecture!

Sujewa, thanks for tackling the regular vs human bomb debate...(I know I'm evil for even making light of that. No 40 virgins waiting for me).. to be honest, I don't completely agree simply because I can't parse the issue that far. I feel a weird mix of sympathy and pity for the suicide bombers themselves. They, after all, do die. And whatever lead them to that choice, I can't belive it's one that is undertaken lightly. I do think the political leaders who manipulate young minds into becoming suicide bombers, who talk of glory in death while sheathed in bodyguards themselves...they are pretty vile.

I don't know, that's as far as I care to judge. Can't say about anything else, not while I'm sitting on this nice office chair, typing on my nice computer. I don't have the right.

I need spellcheck for myfingers.

Urrr¡­.I can¡¯t do anything without reading this board now¡­and then there is so much to read..it is putting a serious cramp on my social life¡­but like cicatrix said..this is the 1st time I had a chance for a level headed conversation¡­

Okay..in the essence of keep the thread short¡­I guess I will just write 2 pages instead of 3¡­
The point I am repeatedly trying to make is this¡­
The notions that LTTE has no support in north and east and tamils hate LTTE are completely overblown. Only way to find that out is to hold an election in the North and east again under international monitoring asking people what they want to do ( if you don¡¯t want to believe the last election) ¡­I am all for that¡­.then we don¡¯t have to discuss about how much tamils hate LTTE¡­

Why do I say this¡­because I went there as recently as 4 months ago. I have family there..if there was a ground swell of hate for LTTE I would have known because people there (or my relatives ) would have discussed it with me because they know I am not a big fan of LTTE. On the contrary, only thing I heard from talking to people there was that LTTE is the only one that is capable getting them a fair deal from the goverment..
We have not heard from gt lately¡­but I think she might be talking about the same thing because it was mentioned she also went to Srilanka recently..
Then again¡­in my layover in Colombo..I got the feeling ( I did not talk to enough people to get a definite opinion) that people are just hoping that LTTE would just go away so that they don¡¯t have to deal with the terrorist problem.
It is easy to believe that people need to be and want to be liberated from terrorists. And most of the time we make that assumption with out talking to that very people and then find out the hard way that those people did not think they were under terrorists to begin with. Their voices have not been heard. One good thing that came out of Tsunami at least is that government could not prevent foreign journalist from visiting the area so hopefully we can hear more about what the people who are living in those areas are actually thinking. (I still can not come to terms with the fact that government prevented Kofi Annan from visiting the affected areas in the north)

This also goes back to one of my other core arguments that states are judged differently than political organizations. Political organizations lack the resources to put their point in an articulate and cohesive way. Unless there is a dictatorship, or communist evil empires, it is a hard sell a story to the public to be convinced that even the elected governments can be evil.
That will be the fate of people in Chechniya (ohh well..I can¡¯t spell it), Ache and everywhere else.

My take is that unless there is a meaningful dialog in the Sinhalese area about what kind of the power devolution model is needed for Srilanka, LTTE will continue to enjoy the support of the host population. A meaningful talk or debate about power devolution is utterly lacking in the Sinhalese area. Only thing I read or hear is everything is fine the way it is and we need to eradicate LTTE.

The article below (biased ofcource) sums it up nicely.

http://www.sangam.org/articles/view2/?uid=590
¡°I have been mixing with the Sinhala media personnel and the opinion makers/analysts from the Sri Lankan South for the last 15 years and I have come to understand one issue very clearly. That is, as far as the Tamil issue is concerned, the Sinhalese nation is only prepared to listen to what they want to hear. This is a fact. This is why the Singhalese supremacists like to hear news and views such as "In their heart of hearts, the Tamil people hate the Tigers completely," "Because of internal conflicts, the Tigers are going to disintegrate, " "There is strong opposition against the Tigers among the Tamil diaspora" and " The Tigers will kill the Tamil journalists which is the only reason these journalists write in support of the Tigers." Even the Sinhala public likes to hear the same, i.e. all of the above. They adore Tamil journalists who write views and opinions that they want to hear.
The Sinhala nation is not ready to accept Tamil voices who say that the liberation war is happening because the just political rights of the Tamils have not been granted¡±

Btw: On the US constitution, I like the fact that it is forward looking document that has withstood the time. All white, slave owning, judaio Christian founding fathers could have very well have written that fact into the constitution. I am sure they were representing that majority at that time. There was actually a vigorous debate about how to prevent a majority forming along religious or any other monolithic criteria in addition to the kings suck debate.
How it is interpreted or manipulated for political ends is a different thread all together.

But the fact remains, a pluralistic, forward looking constitution made it possible for the judicial branch to interpret it as such when the time came.
Can you imagine a constitution bestowing the rights specifically to whites? In that case, can you imagine the reaction of the supreme court¡¯s to the civil rights movement? Rosa Parks would have been in more shit for violating the constitution. If anyone argues that we could have changed the constitution, would be mistaken because by that time that belief would have been etched further into citizen¡¯s psyche making the debate difficult and some senator from the south could have filibustered the whole thing.

Anywys,my point is, institutionalized racism is the worst kind of racism there is. It does not even leave room for debate. That is exactly the situation we have in Srilanka. We have a constitution that confers rights on certain section of the population giving the feeling that the country belongs only to them. To this date, people are fighting tooth and nail to keep it that way. And anyone who does not subscribe to that notion is considered more or less enemy of the state.

But then we are all still cultural drifters. In this ¡§we¡¨, I meant everyone in this thread who has some personal tie to Srilanka. Including M.I.A. (sorry..gypsy mothra and Ned..I don¡¦t know enough about you guys to put you in this category. There is elitism for you¡K. ƒº )
We have a home but our identity is torn.
We want best of both worlds. Some people are good at choosing one and moving on and some people aren¡¦t. Since one part of our identity is not all that glamorous ( not saying being of Srilankan origin is bad..but it gets associated with civil war..or now tsunami..not anything positive) we feel the need to debate at all hours.

Wouldn¡¦t that be the same for M.I.A then? Giving voice to that..I know..it is a different debate about artist and their right to a political opion¡KI am not saying that artist have to be like ( I am about to make a stupid reference to a movie) the Adam Sandler character in the movie wedding singer. Where he goes¡K¡¨ I have to mike and you don¡¦t¡¨.. why is a political message of an artist is more loaded than a controversial social message.
I can¡¦t believe that MTV asked her to clarify ¡§putting salt and pepper in her mango¡¨ I thought that was hilarious.. I am not into the current music scene but it is amusing how people take on the lyrics of a song. I guess the same way I do with my favorite band DMB.
Just wanted to throw it out there before heading out..
It is going to take more than a six pack to not check this thread when I get back¡KI need therapy¡K.

Ned, good job on setting up this board, a neutral space for variously inclined Sri Lankans to talk & figure stuff out. You are perhaps Norway :)

I will keep this posting short, the suraya is going down, need to get out & enjoy this spring - srilankaesque - weather while there is still some sunlight. But I'll do a full point by point response to recent posts later this week.

In the mean time - Cicatrix, thanks for all the "academic" details that support the no-race theory. We in the US are lucky that we have the intellectual & social space to figure this out, whereas people in SL at this point do not - most people - since the group that each person belongs to = economic, social, religious, etc. success & survival. Our knowledge & discoveries, preferences are valuable, since we are in touch with Sri Lanka & the diaspora we will influence Sri Lanka (and since our kids & grand kids, etc. will have to deal with Sri Lanka/their connection to the island, it is important that we figure things out, speak & make our ideas known - yes, it is like some Star Trek situation :) - we are influncing the future through silence or by saying something - so let's try to say what we think is right).

Cicatrix, re: "I don't know, that's as far as I care to judge. Can't say about anything else, not while I'm sitting on this nice office chair, typing on my nice computer. I don't have the right."
I believe that it is the right & the obligation of people who are related to, or who care about, people in trouble/a not so cool situation to think & figure out new ways to make the situation better & act. So I think you totally have the right to reflect, analyze & speak about, do something positive about, anything in Sri Lanaka or for that matter any other part of the world - but specially Sri Lanka.

Beyond that my approach is that any human has the right and or the obligation to speak about any aspect of the total human experience, I do not see - in human history & present situation - any insurmountable barriers between humans, more on that a little later.

Several people from my family are going down to Sri Lanka in the coming months, I'll see what they have to say about various things when they get back. Also I am in touch with Nonviolent Peaceforce
http://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org/english/welcome.asp , they have I think 18-20something international activists/peacekeepr types in various parts of SL, perhaps I can start corresponding w/ some of those individuals to get perhaps a relatively unbiased account of things that are happening on a daily basis if need be.

Yeah, any permanent solution would have to include, in order for it to last, an acknowledgement & recognition by a majority or the politically active of the Sinhalese that all others on the island are equal citizens. Not only that the Sinhalese will have to actively enforce this idea (luckily this idea of egalitarianism is at the core of Buddhism, even though obviously it has not been practiced well in Sri Lanka http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EH08Df01.html ). This may be one of the positive things that may come out of the Tamil resistance in Sri Lanka (oppress minorities = all kinds of fucked up violence & destruction can come into being). The JHU, a new political party - ultra right/sinhala - made up of Buddhist monks (the segment of Sinhala society that a significant number of ordinary Sinhalese have looked to as the final & one of the most important guardians of their way of life/themselves/the nation over the past 1500-2000 years, as far as I can tell) say on their web site that they are for a plural society w/ equal citizenship for all (I just looked for half an hour for their web site, couldn't find it, !damn, did not bookmark it when I visited it a few days ago! when I do find it later I will post the link), of course this could just be talk to attract international support, but, 20 years ago, an ultra right Sinhala group would not have said anything like that - as far as I can tell by my study of SL history.

Re: suicide bombing - the first victim I think of is the bomber, because it is nearly 100% certain that the bomber - young, most likely poor boy or girl, young man or woman, died violently. Some of the targeted people may survive, but it is completely certain that the bomber will not. I think it is this guaranteed self-destructive nature of suicide bombing that makes most people in the world recoil in disgust when any group suggests that suicide bombing is an acceptable weapon. And since many guerrilla & revolutionary groups have achieved their aims w/ out using suicide bombing (the US revolution, Viet Cong vs. France & US, the Cuban revolution) it is difficult to accept that suicide bombing is an essential thing.

Anyway, there goes my attempt not to write a long post, I just spent over an hour writhing this. The sun has completely gone down, dang.

Re- torn identity - since race, ethnicity, etc. are social conventions, invented for a specific purpose by someone, I think pulling all the way back to just the human level, pre-political, is the way to go - at least for me. Human first, age, gender,nationality, religion, all that stuff after that. This also allows me to see through political & social explanations for murder. 'cause if, no matter what, people - humans - are getting killed, harmed at a given space & time, there is probably some seriously fucked up shit going on there & I need to look into it & or I need to try to get others to look into it. One of the ways that most people are able to turn off their sympathies for the suffering is to see if those affected belong to the same group as them & if not, not to worry too much about it. I like the idea of worrying about any human suffering anywhere because if it is happening to another human it can easily happen to someone I know & care about or myself - that's the general idea. (Also I want people to be alive so I can show them my movies:) killing is bad for commerce) I am sure most people here hold something like this view so let me stop myself here.

OK, dinner time, talk to you cats & kittens later.

I would love to do a book or a documentary film about the whole
1948 up to now period in Sri Lanka, look at it from a personal point of view - not political - or tell the story from/through the experience of relatively ordinary Sri Lankans who were affected by things that have happened on that island. Good & bad. I can connect so much better with accounts of personal experience - such as the ones Cicatrix & Milthi have written about things they have experienced in SL - than facts & figures that attempt to provide a birds eye/traditionally journalistic view of an event. Both methods are important but the personal experience method is very powerful. When I visit the place next (hopefully in '07-'08) I can videotape some interviews, take some notes to prep for a project like this. I should also interview some of my relatives here in the US.

Milthi, did you take a video camera with you when you went down to SL recently?

OK, out for sure this time, later.

Sujewa
http://www.wilddiner.com/
PS: when "Date Number One", my new movie gets done, I am going to use it for a lot of benefits, so I can raise & put some serious cash behind my ideas of helping the needy (poor war orphans, tsunami victims) in Sri Lanka, will post screening dates as soon as they are set up, I think I will be ready to go by September
****************************************************

Heheh, thanks, though I just set up the thread on the board rather than the board itself. Still, pleased as punch to know it's taking on a life of its own. :-)

http://members.tripod.com/amarasara/jhu/

No, that JHU link you gave does not talk about the JHU's supposed commitment to a multi-ethnic/religious society. I am going to look for that site for a bit now.

Of course, regardless of what a site says, we will have to see what they do. And a lot of people are watching the JHU, this is the first time in SL/ceylon/ilanka/lanka/heladiva/etc. history (in the whole 2000 some years of Buddhism in SL, as far as I know) that monks have taken a DIRECT role in politics (I think at present the JHU monks hold 9 seats in the parliment, out of 225 seats), they have always played an advisory & guiding role for kings & politicians in SL, just 1 step away from political matters prior to the current time.

BTW, not all Buddhist monks in SL have the same opinion or politics, many were/are against monks running for political office.

Later.

Heheh. Hey, spiritual cousins are fine things. :-) (Now if only I could be doing that for every spot in the world that needs a good place for detailed and thoughtful dialogue! But then I'd have no time for eating and sleeping and all that, which would kinda stink.)

On a completely side note, all this movie talk interests me! Let me know if you have a role for a kinda deep-voiced narrator (cause I can do that and can recommend others).

I am giving up the search for the JHU website that I mentioned 2 posts ago (if I see it ever again I'll post the link here, but here is a quote from a leading monk member of the JHU:
" A: It is the political parties with political agenda that look for a percentage. We have no petty political agenda. We have no party politics. We have a noble aim. Our aim and aspiration is to make this country a place for all to live in brotherhood, in peace and harmony. We strive to serve the country, the nation and the Buddha Sasana. Hence, we do not look for percentages."
Here's where that quote came from:
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2004/03/28/fea07.html
It's from about a year ago.
Regardless of what they see, we'll see what they end up doing (a must for all polititians & leaders - specially in SL). I think so far the biggest thing the JHU has done is introduce anti-conversion ("unethical conversion" I believe this refers to Christian missionary groups converting Buddhists using money as an incentive) legislation. I'll have to check with my relatives in Sri Lanka to see what else is actually going on w/ the JHU.

Cicatrix & Milthi (& anyone else of course):
Check out this March 28 '05 news update from University Teachers For Human Rights (Jaffna):
http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport18.htm#False#False
I believe the University Teachers are Tamils who are not fans of the LTTE, and not SL Gov. propagandists.

Ned,
Re: "Now if only I could be doing that for every spot in the world that needs a good place for detailed and thoughtful dialogue! But then I'd have no time for eating and sleeping and all that, which would kinda stink."
Eating & sleeping is for the weak. The Nation of Ulysses did not sleep, and they were always 18 years old.

Re: becoming a narrator for a movie, will keep it in mind. My current project does not need a narrator.

Must...do...some...actual...dayjob...work.

Sujewa
*******

Or for washing?

Very good post Sujewa.

It will be an excellent idea for you to a project (documentary) on Srilanka. If you do, please make an effort to visit the North and East of Srilanka and talk to the people there.
I did not take a camera with me last time because it was right after the Tsunami and I thought it may not be a nice thing to bring the camera. But in hindsight, I wish I did take a camera.
Hey you can intentionally ask some one to do a Pro-government and another to do a pro-tiger documentary and then you can mix them up as a parallel story. That will be interesting to watch.

I read a little bit about the recent birth of the political party. JHU. Even though, they had a good showing at the recent elections, I am not sure if this is some thing they can sustain in the long run. I might be wrong.
But what I am worried about it is the nationalist party JVP (which already has subtantial following) starting to use religious over tones in their recent campaign against everything. The Srilankan conflict was never about religion. It was always about ethnic identity. The Buddhist part of the Sinhala identity is now being played up by political parties for electoral gains. I would have dismissed this as a fart in a hurricane but reading the news reports suggest this seems to be a growing phenomenal. Some of the morons (read politicians) are moving away from the argument of preserving the Buddhism to attacking other religions. If this gathers any support, that will be a true sad day for Srilanka as a whole.
Here are some links for more info.
"Sinhalese nationalist fringe have seized religious bigotry for [political] mobilization through violence¡±
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=11088

Sri Lanka's Blow to Freedom
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB111230991890294839-IhjfYNolaR4o5uoZXmGcaaIm4,00.html

JVP slams NGOs, western countries for meddling
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=14625

btw: I came across another gem of a quote today. It took me a while to get off the floor laughing¡­and this from a pro government website¡­
¡°He said that white people, the LTTE and local henchman have joined together to discredit the government.¡±
http://www.theacademic.org/stories/11128306540/story.shtml

I know..the tigers have been accused of everything under the sun. But conspiring with the ¡°white people¡±????? that's a first.
I guess all of this must have stemmed from this Srilankan government Member of Parliament reading the Simon Reynold's village voice article on M.I. A where he mentions she danced while ¡°while the 99 percent white audience punched the air.¡±

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0508,reynolds,61282,22.html

get it? M.I.A = LTTE (tiger) apologist. M.I.A= 99 percent white audience. Thus LTTE = (approx) white people¡­

Sorry..I don't mean this as any political discussion of this board. I was just higlighting that a funny story.

Sri Lankan-American filmmaker on the front page of a local newspaper in US:
http://www.gazette.net/200515/kensington/news/269401-1.html

I am showing some movies along w/ 2 other filmmakers (the screening will benefit a local non-profit that works to lower youth/gang-violence in DC), the films include one of my own, here in Kensington, MD, and the local paper wrote about it - it's a cover article - w/ a nice color photo. Check it out. Thanks.

Sujewa
http://www.wilddiner.com/
**************************

1. Mystery Train (by Jim Jarmusch)
2. Amelie (french movie from '01) - (my favorite movie of all time at this point)
3. Down By Law (by Jim Jarmusch)
4. She's Gotta Have It (by Spike Lee)
5. Manhattan (by Woody Allen)
6. Night On Earth (by Jim Jarmusch)
7. Drugstore Cowboy (by Gus Van Sant)
8. Living In Oblivion (by Tom DiCillo - sp?)
9. Slacker (by Richard Linklater)
10. Italian For Beginners (a Dogme 95 movie)
11. The Unbelievable Truth (by Hal Hartley)
12. Buena Vista Social Club (doc. by Wim Wenders)
13. Wings of Desire (German, by Wim Wenders)
14. Instrument (doc by Fugazi & Jem Cohen)
15. Annie Hall (by Woody Allen)
16. Do The Right Thing (by Spike Lee)
17. Malcolm X (by Spike Lee)
18. Blue In The Face (by Wayne Wang)
19. Basquiat (sp?)
20. Before Night Falls
21. Johnny Suede (by Tom DiCillo)

As you can tell I am a big fan of movies where people hang out & talk, for the most part. Knowledge of recent Sri Lankan history has, for the most part, cured me of finding violence entertaining (except for historical near-realistic reenactments such as "Saving Private Ryan", that stuff is acceptable if not outright entertaining, educational I guess).

Looking forward to the new Jim Jarmusch movie - coming out this year, which has Bill Murray in the lead. Maybe this movie will be like Jarmusch's early movies - I like them more than his post-Night On Eath movies. Also looking forward to the new Star Wars, may the Force help it suck less than the last 2 Star Wars movies. Also looking forward to Date Number One, out this Fall in DC. which I think will be awesome.

I am going to go see Hotel Rwanda this week.

All right, talk to you guys soon. Post your lists of fave movies.

Sujewa
*******

So, I like movies by Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, etc.
I like the usual suspects, The shawshank redemption, etc.
I am also starting to like the movies by Night.

M.I.A is blatant about defending our rights
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=6272

From what I read recently, it seems that her dad released a book in Jaffna titled monetary exploitation sometimes last month. I have not been able to get any details on it.
Looks like the fruit does not fall far from the tree.

it will be interesting to see what the book is about.

Read your list of fave movies. Out of that list all I can say I mostly enjoyed was parts of "Pulp Fiction". Not a fan of M. Night's movies, nor am I at the moment a fan of him (in a recent Premiere article about him he said not having a white lead in a movie is an impossibility, see my blog entry # 21 re: this at: http://www.wilddiner.com/film_journal.htm). But I guess he does bring a tiny bit of diversity to Hollywood movies. But at this point, by and large, I find 99% of Hollywood movies to be relatively useless & a waste of my time & money , looking forward to seeing more real indie films come into being, I and a filmmaker friend have started a new film movement called DIY 2005 to encourage this, here's the web site: http://www.wilddiner.com/diy2005.htm
It will be cool to see real indie film take off like indie rock, there is a long way to go before that happens, since at this point "Sideways" -a low budget Hollywood movie w/ Hollywood stars, financed & distributed by a Hollywood studio, is being sold as indie. Whenever the papers say something like "the independent film with the meager budget of 1.5 million $s" or something, it makes me laugh, about 100 - 1000 or more real indie movies can be made for 1.5 million $s.
Anyways, let me get back to work on finishing up my movie. Talk 2 ya soon.
Sujewa
*******

Dharmaretnam Sivaram, 46, was a senior editor of the Tamilnet website and a writer for an English-language paper.

He was abducted from a restaurant on Thursday and his body found early on Friday close to the parliament complex.

No one has yet admitted carrying out the attack. Mr Sivaram had been gagged and shot in the head, police said.

Mr Sivaram had been close to the leader of a faction that broke away from the Tamil Tigers but his articles favoured the main rebel body.

Ned,
I am very saddened by the news. He was one of the most brilliant journalist to have emerged from Srilanka. His simple yet extremely insightful articles have been read by many. I had extensively quoted him in this thread. Some of my Srilankan friends knew him personally and I was hoping to meet him in my next visit to Srilanka.
I surfed the web everyday single day hoping to see his new articles.
As with countless other killings in Srilanka, this will be dismissed as another ¡°collateral damage¡± in the fighting and people will forget this in no time. No one will be arrested and no one will be punished.
I want to provide a link to another author. I also like his writing style.
He and Sivaram were writing from the opposing sides. Yet, this is what he had to say about the killing.
http://www.theacademic.org/feature/114753867013896/index.shtml

this is probably dealt with elsewhere, and you're probably aware of this nabisco, but the refugee situation in the UK is massively politicised; there is a strong right wing here that was campaigning explicitly against refugees, which is why the skit sounds so powerful to me. i agree with what you're saying, about the 'scenesterism' (to an extent, and i know you were gingerly presenting it also), but just to hear a pop record that is stridently pro-refugee is such an awesome thing here right now.

New Canadian film about slain Sri Lankan female human rights activist.
Here's the URL:
http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=51681&lg=en&v=h#
The movie is called "No More Tears Sister: Anatomy of Hope & Betrayal"

Here's a synopsis (from the film's web site):
A story of love, revolution, and betrayal, No More Tears Sister explores the price of truth in times of war. Set during the violent ethnic conflict that has enveloped Sri Lanka over decades, the documentary recreates the courageous and vibrant life of renowned human rights activist, Dr. Rajani Thiranagama. Mother, anatomy professor, and symbol of hope, Rajani was assassinated at the age of thirty-five. Stunningly photographed, using rare archival footage, intimate correspondence and poetic recreations, the story of Rajani and her family delves into rarely explored themes - revolutionary women and their dangerous pursuit of justice.

This film is a re-enactment, have not seen it yet, will try to soon.

I mentioned Dr. Thiranagama in an earlier post way up there.

Talk 2 u later.
Sujewa
*******

http://www.nfb.ca/webextension/nomoretearssister/

http://www.newyorkcool.com/archives/2005/June/film_1.html#tears

http://samudaya.org/articles/archives/2005/06/no_more_tears_s.php

The Foreign Minister was a Sri Lankan Tamil who was instrumental in getting the terrorist group LTTE banned in foreign countries. Sri Lanka will miss his excellent services and he will probably be remembered as a great patriot, a brave soldier on Sri Lanka's 20 year old war on LTTE terror. Here's part of a news story with the link to the full story:

* Sri Lanka's foreign minister assassinated
Sri Lanka (CNN) -- Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was shot in the head Friday night just outside his private residence in Colombo and died an hour later after emergency surgery, according to hospital and police sources.
The Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) were immediately suspected in the shooting. Earlier this month, two LTTE members were arrested outside Kadirgamar's official residence -- about a kilometer away from where he was shot -- after conducting surveillance and videotaping the area.
full story at: http://www.lankapage.com/

Apparently, the end.

wow

So does this make M.I.A. less cool now?

Goodbye, fucko....

Sri Lankan gov't: Tamil Tiger rebel chief killed

By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer
14 mins ago
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka declared Monday it had crushed the final resistance of the Tamil Tigers, killing rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and ending his three-decade quest for an independent homeland for minority Tamils.
State television broke into its regular programming to announce Prabhakaran's death, and the government information department sent a text message to cell phones across the country confirming he was killed along with top deputies, Soosai and Pottu Amman.
The announcement sparked mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets of Colombo dancing and singing.
Prabhakaran's death has been seen as crucial in bringing closure to this war-wracked Indian Ocean island nation. If he had escaped, he could have used his large international smuggling network and the support of Tamil expatriates to spark a new round of guerrilla warfare here. His death in battle could still turn him into a martyr for other Tamil separatists.
Sri Lanka's army chief, Lt. Gen. Sareth Fonseka, said on television that his troops routed the last rebels from the northern war zone Monday morning and were working to identify Prabhakaran's body from among the dead.
"We can announce very responsibly that we have liberated the whole country from terrorism," he told state television. It was widely presumed Fonseka was waiting for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to announce Prabhakaran's death.
Fonseka and the commanders of the other security forces were scheduled to formally inform the president of the victory Monday evening.
Senior military officials said troops closed in on Prabhakaran and his final cadre early Monday.
He and his top deputies then drove an armor-plated van accompanied by a bus filled with rebel fighters toward approaching Sri Lankan forces, sparking a two-hour firefight, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Troops eventually fired a rocket at the van, ending the battle, they said. Troops pulled Prabhakaran's body from the van and identified it as that of the rebel leader, they said. The attack also killed Soosai, the head of the rebels' naval wing, and Pottu Amman, the group's feared intelligence commander, the officials said.
Suren Surendiran, a spokesman for the British Tamils' Forum, the largest organization for expatriate Tamils in Britain, said the community was in despair.
"The people are very somber and very saddened. But we are ever determined and resilient to continue our struggle for Eelam," he said, invoking the name of the Tamils hoped-for independent state. "We have to win the freedom and liberation of our people."
But in Colombo, which had suffered countless rebel bombings, people set of fireworks, danced and sang in the streets.
"Myself and most of my friends gathered here have narrowly escaped bombs set off by the Tigers. Some of our friends were not lucky," said Lal Hettige, 47, a businessman celebrating in Colombo's outdoor market. "We are happy today to see the end of that ruthless terrorist organization and its heartless leader. We can live in peace after this."
The chubby, mustachioed Prabhakaran turned what was little more than a street gang in the late 1970s into one of the world's most feared insurgencies. He demanded unwavering loyalty and gave his followers vials of cyanide to wear around their necks and bite into in case of capture.
At the height of his power, he controlled a shadow state in northern Sri Lankan and commanded a force that including an infantry, backed by artillery, a significant naval wing and a nascent air force.
He also controlled a suicide squad known as the Black Tigers that was blamed for scores of deadly attacks. The rebels were branded a terror group and condemned for forcibly conscripting child soldiers.
Earlier, the military announced it had killed several top rebel leaders, including Prabhakaran's son Charles Anthony, also a rebel leader. The military said special forces also found the bodies of the rebels' political wing leader, Balasingham Nadesan, the head of the rebels' peace secretariat, Seevaratnam Puleedevan, and one of the top military leaders, known as Ramesh.
The rebels have been fighting since 1983 for a separate state for Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil minority after years of marginalization at the hands of the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
Government forces ousted the rebels from their shadow state in the north in recent months and brought the group to its knees. Thousands of civilians were reportedly killed in the recent fighting.
Senior diplomats had appealed for a humanitarian cease-fire in recent weeks to safeguard the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone, but the government refused, and denied persistent reports it was shelling the densely populated war zone.
Diplomats in Brussels said Monday the European Union will endorse a call for an independent war crimes investigation into the killing of civilians in Sri Lanka. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions were ongoing.
The rebels were also accused of using the civilians as human shields and shooting at some who fled.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says there have been "very grave allegations" of war crimes on both sides of the conflict adding "they should be properly investigated."
The U.N. said 7,000 civilians were killed in the fighting between Jan. 20 and May 7. Health officials in the area said more than a 1,000 others were killed since then.
On Monday, more than a thousand angry Sri Lankans protested outside the British Embassy in Colombo, pelting it with rocks and eggs and burning an effigy of Miliband and throwing it inside the compound. Protesters held posters calling Miliband a "white Tiger," and several tried to climb the embassy's high walls.
___
Associated Press writers Krishan Francis and Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.Questions or CommentsPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceCopyright/IP Policy

The announcement sparked mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets of Colombo dancing and singing.

youtube, or it didn't happen...

They left a good looking flag-

http://fotw.fivestarflags.com/images/l/lk-tamtg.gif

graven images + weapons: probably worth a C
http://www.otago.ac.nz/philosophy/Staff/JoshParsons/flags/meth.html

i can't believe a government army beat rebels. i predict a massive comeback in 5 years.