The Karametiya Village Massacre by Tamil Tigers

Where are the Peace advocates?

By Malin Abeyatunge, Melbourne, Australia

(February 28, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) When LTTE gunned down 7 fleeing Tamil civilians including two women and two children in mid January, the so-called peace advocates did not utter a word of sympathy or condemnation of LTTE for the dastardly act. Instead, there were hundreds of eulogies and hosanna sang for Late Lashanta Wickrematunga which happened in the same week because he was an icon of the elite unlike those poor hapless Tamil civilians. The peace mongers, INGOs and NGO’s who advocate peace were deaf and dumb when these fleeing innocent Tamils were killed.

LTTE has now almost lost its conventional war power and back to attack innocent Sinhala villagers as in the past. LTTE has recommenced their ethnic cleansing of Sinhalese and destruction of well knit Sinhala villages in the East. Lat week, a LTTE cell operating in the Eastern province had attacked Karametiya village in Inginiyagala and shot and hacked to death 21 villagers which included women and children and injuring over 20 people. These villagers were chena cultivators carrying out their simple life style living a day to day life contented with what they have without pestering the ruling government. The villagers in these remote areas do not demand moon and star from the government unlike the urban folks who go on strike and demos for minor things aroused by political parties. But yet, these villagers have become a forgotten lot when the full concentration is now on the hapless Tamil civilians in LTTE’s captivity.

It is tragic to take action once a calamity has happened. It is reported that aleady a police post has been established in this village. We have never been pro-active. If adequate protection has been given to these villages, such a catastrophe could have been avoided. It was told that the home guards or Civil Defense forces do not work on week ends. Why not? Terrorists work 24 hours and seven days of the week (24/7). The villagers in these remote villages have been the buffer to LTTE’s expansion to the South but yet they are not protected. Twenty one innocent lives of villagers were lost due to our civil defense forces (whatever you call it) not being pro active. At least, let this tragedy be an eye opening for the authorities to put in place a constructive strategy to protect all remote villages and its inhabitants. This is not an impossible or a huge task for the Government who brought the unsinkable LTTE (as called by some) brought to their knees. The Tamil Tiger terrorists in their last ditch of facing humiliating defeat have re-started ethnic cleansing of Sinhala villagers. LTTE will start spreading and increasing these attacks to other Sinhala villages too to create a back lash in the South. Hence, the government should immediately take steps to safe guard and protect the hapless unarmed villagers in LTTE threatened villages just as much they concentrate on the hapless Tamil civilians forcibly kept in an 76 square kilometer area held by LTTE.

Unfortunately there are only few people to mourn for deaths of innocent people like this. A pertinent question is what has happened to those peace advocates like jehans, sothys, nimalkas, uyans, kumars and AI and HRW reps in Sri Lanka ? To date, they have neither condemned this dastardly act by LTTE nor made any statements of sympathy. Instead, these peace mongers and peace orgs are more involved about the Tamil civilians (which are fair) trapped in captivity by LTTE but not pressurizing LTTE to release them. They are eagerly waiting till our armed forces make some collateral damage to Tamil civilians in a cross fire so that they can bring it to the attention of the international community against the Sri Lankan Government. It is obvious that these so called peace mongers would get nothing in dollars for shedding tears when LTTE massacres innocent Sinhala villagers but get paid by appeasing LTTE terrorists or ignore its atrocities. Have they gone into slumber or is that 21 Sinhala villagers shot and hacked to death by LTTE is a small number for them to get worried or worked up?

-Sri Lanka Guardian