In a democratic state it is a healthy demand to ask a forces officer to account for himself for a statement that he made that created a great deal of concern among the people. In order to defend him, it would be an insult to such a good officer to raise the card of racism against those who demand that accountability. It appears for some it was an opportunity to express anti-Tamil sentiments that seemed to persist since those terrible riots against the Tamils.
by Satchi Sithanandan
(October 06, Frankfurt, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Lt General Sarath Fonseka Factor apropos the National Post of Canada Report has generated enough heat in the country and among the Sri Lankan Diaspora overseas. What is unfortunate with most reactions is their racist character with some of those taking sides being strong on Sinhala racism; they are positively anti-minority Tamils and therefore anti-Sri Lanka too. Racism should be marked as taboo in Sri Lanka. The price we have paid in blood is extremely horrific.
This is a national concern and what is involved here is an officer of the forces to have most unfortunately singled out a minority community giving the impression that they enjoy the benevolence of the majority Sinhalese and Sri Lanka is the land of the Sinhalese people.
Lt General Sarath Fonseka is an excellent officer and let there be no doubt it. He is the right man heading the forces against terrorism in the country which should have been dealt with long ago instead of trying to make peace with a group that wanted peace only on its own terms which were also unacceptable to the minorities. But many of Colombo government’s actions have forced vast areas of the north and east to be controlled by the terrorists and they had no hope but to be terrorized and controlled by them.
How many Tamil families have had their children dragged out of their homes and sent as cannon fodder of the LTTE? How many Tamils have been denied moving out of Wanni? These does not matter to the elements in the Tamil Diaspora who are well settled in their mansions, their children are safe, pursuing university education and have excellent opportunities in life.
There are Tamils who have enriched themselves using the LTTE front by collecting funds as they called it for the “Final War” and in Canada they are known as the Markham Millionaires. How many so-called Diaspora Tigers have taken to the underworld of drugs and gangsters which had the below the surface support of organization like the World Tamil Movement.
The only way the Sri Lankan Diaspora – Sinhalese and Tamils – can help their mother country is by helping to promote the kind of democracy they enjoy in their new homelands and chalking out development programmes they can actively participate in Sri Lanka through funds or personnel or both and by such dedicated and committed efforts bring back to the country the spirit of racial harmony. If they are racist in their beliefs and attitudes then they must stay clear of Sri Lanka and be considered as the country’s lost children.
The Tamil community has been devastated by the LTTE for over three decades and this contraption has rid them of all the moderates and even created a group of monkey dancers to perform the Tiger waltz, the TNA group of shameless Members of Parliament. How will the Tamil and Sinhala Diaspora know the pains and agonies and woes of the Tamils in Sri Lanka especially now in Wanni? Championing the racist cause in Sri Lanka is part of the irresponsible recreation of the Sri Lankan racists – Tamils and Sinhalese - in their new homelands.
They are the emotionally displaced people seeking opportunities to be what they want to be which is not possible for them in their new homelands and many of them even emotionally rejected by their children.
Those of the Diaspora especially the Tamils who have gone to the peninsular regions know how well the personnel of the armed forces and the people are relating to each other. The officers and the men and women they command there have won the trust and affection of the people and they are waiting for the day the Tiger menace is totally wiped out. This is also what the people of Wanni want.
They have a fear too. They do not want quasi-terrorists or split-Tigers to take over once the LTTE is dealt with like what is happening in the East. Once the Tamils are freed of the LTTE and the country freed of all terrorists, a by-product of Tiger terrorism, elections will indicate the real feelings of the Tamil people.
Tiger terrorism in Sri Lanka has also given birth to an underworld especially in Colombo that consists of Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil personnel and has no political interests at all except to ensure that terrorism prevails in the country. In other words, Tiger terrorism is a national plague and in this the Tamils are the most affected victims. The hesitation of the Colombo government to solve the ethnic problems is the chief source that keeps terrorism on the march in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka simply cannot speak the racist language anymore. The country is on its knees and every citizen is suffering. None of these people who have taken up cudgels against those who expressed the view that Lt General Sarath Fonseka should be held accountable for the unfortunate comments that appeared in The National Post have ever taken up the case of the thousands of Sinhalese and Muslim young women slaving under atrocious conditions in the Middle East.
These are our own siblings and children immaterial whether they are Sinhalese, Muslims or Tamils. They are Sri Lankans. Why are they outside the concerns of the racists for after all it is racism that has reduced the country to such penurious circumstances?
In a democratic state it is a healthy demand to ask a forces officer to account for himself for a statement that he made that created a great deal of concern among the people. In order to defend him, it would be an insult to such a good officer to raise the card of racism against those who demand that accountability. It appears for some it was an opportunity to express anti-Tamil sentiments that seemed to persist since those terrible riots against the Tamils.
Governments after governments have proved to the country at monstrous cost that racist politics in Sri Lanka will not work. Not only the Tamils have lost some great leaders, even the Sinhalese have lost good leaders and even truly development oriented non-racist political parties and organizations. It appears the caravan of racist pestilence goes on despite the canine warnings that its presence and passage is against the interests of the community.
If democracy really matters, Lt General Sarath Fonseka should be asked to account for his statement to The National Post or he himself should offer to resign. Neither he nor President Mahinda Rajapaksa can stay silent on an issue that has been expressed clearly as a matter of great concern.
It would be too sad to lose such a good officer more so at a time he is so much wanted in his service gear but the larger interests of the country demands acceptance that his interview to the Canadian media was unfortunate. - Sri Lanka Guardian
by Satchi Sithanandan
(October 06, Frankfurt, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Lt General Sarath Fonseka Factor apropos the National Post of Canada Report has generated enough heat in the country and among the Sri Lankan Diaspora overseas. What is unfortunate with most reactions is their racist character with some of those taking sides being strong on Sinhala racism; they are positively anti-minority Tamils and therefore anti-Sri Lanka too. Racism should be marked as taboo in Sri Lanka. The price we have paid in blood is extremely horrific.
This is a national concern and what is involved here is an officer of the forces to have most unfortunately singled out a minority community giving the impression that they enjoy the benevolence of the majority Sinhalese and Sri Lanka is the land of the Sinhalese people.
Lt General Sarath Fonseka is an excellent officer and let there be no doubt it. He is the right man heading the forces against terrorism in the country which should have been dealt with long ago instead of trying to make peace with a group that wanted peace only on its own terms which were also unacceptable to the minorities. But many of Colombo government’s actions have forced vast areas of the north and east to be controlled by the terrorists and they had no hope but to be terrorized and controlled by them.
How many Tamil families have had their children dragged out of their homes and sent as cannon fodder of the LTTE? How many Tamils have been denied moving out of Wanni? These does not matter to the elements in the Tamil Diaspora who are well settled in their mansions, their children are safe, pursuing university education and have excellent opportunities in life.
There are Tamils who have enriched themselves using the LTTE front by collecting funds as they called it for the “Final War” and in Canada they are known as the Markham Millionaires. How many so-called Diaspora Tigers have taken to the underworld of drugs and gangsters which had the below the surface support of organization like the World Tamil Movement.
The only way the Sri Lankan Diaspora – Sinhalese and Tamils – can help their mother country is by helping to promote the kind of democracy they enjoy in their new homelands and chalking out development programmes they can actively participate in Sri Lanka through funds or personnel or both and by such dedicated and committed efforts bring back to the country the spirit of racial harmony. If they are racist in their beliefs and attitudes then they must stay clear of Sri Lanka and be considered as the country’s lost children.
The Tamil community has been devastated by the LTTE for over three decades and this contraption has rid them of all the moderates and even created a group of monkey dancers to perform the Tiger waltz, the TNA group of shameless Members of Parliament. How will the Tamil and Sinhala Diaspora know the pains and agonies and woes of the Tamils in Sri Lanka especially now in Wanni? Championing the racist cause in Sri Lanka is part of the irresponsible recreation of the Sri Lankan racists – Tamils and Sinhalese - in their new homelands.
They are the emotionally displaced people seeking opportunities to be what they want to be which is not possible for them in their new homelands and many of them even emotionally rejected by their children.
Those of the Diaspora especially the Tamils who have gone to the peninsular regions know how well the personnel of the armed forces and the people are relating to each other. The officers and the men and women they command there have won the trust and affection of the people and they are waiting for the day the Tiger menace is totally wiped out. This is also what the people of Wanni want.
They have a fear too. They do not want quasi-terrorists or split-Tigers to take over once the LTTE is dealt with like what is happening in the East. Once the Tamils are freed of the LTTE and the country freed of all terrorists, a by-product of Tiger terrorism, elections will indicate the real feelings of the Tamil people.
Tiger terrorism in Sri Lanka has also given birth to an underworld especially in Colombo that consists of Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil personnel and has no political interests at all except to ensure that terrorism prevails in the country. In other words, Tiger terrorism is a national plague and in this the Tamils are the most affected victims. The hesitation of the Colombo government to solve the ethnic problems is the chief source that keeps terrorism on the march in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka simply cannot speak the racist language anymore. The country is on its knees and every citizen is suffering. None of these people who have taken up cudgels against those who expressed the view that Lt General Sarath Fonseka should be held accountable for the unfortunate comments that appeared in The National Post have ever taken up the case of the thousands of Sinhalese and Muslim young women slaving under atrocious conditions in the Middle East.
These are our own siblings and children immaterial whether they are Sinhalese, Muslims or Tamils. They are Sri Lankans. Why are they outside the concerns of the racists for after all it is racism that has reduced the country to such penurious circumstances?
In a democratic state it is a healthy demand to ask a forces officer to account for himself for a statement that he made that created a great deal of concern among the people. In order to defend him, it would be an insult to such a good officer to raise the card of racism against those who demand that accountability. It appears for some it was an opportunity to express anti-Tamil sentiments that seemed to persist since those terrible riots against the Tamils.
Governments after governments have proved to the country at monstrous cost that racist politics in Sri Lanka will not work. Not only the Tamils have lost some great leaders, even the Sinhalese have lost good leaders and even truly development oriented non-racist political parties and organizations. It appears the caravan of racist pestilence goes on despite the canine warnings that its presence and passage is against the interests of the community.
If democracy really matters, Lt General Sarath Fonseka should be asked to account for his statement to The National Post or he himself should offer to resign. Neither he nor President Mahinda Rajapaksa can stay silent on an issue that has been expressed clearly as a matter of great concern.
It would be too sad to lose such a good officer more so at a time he is so much wanted in his service gear but the larger interests of the country demands acceptance that his interview to the Canadian media was unfortunate. - Sri Lanka Guardian
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