By. Wickramabahu Karunaratna
(February 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The election is a victory for the Mahinda regime and its chauvinist policies. However it is not democratic to resort to chauvinism and blind the masses with the idea of crushing the protest of a minority, and win an election on the basis of majority nationality. I said at Kundasale on February 4 that the government was doping the masses with chauvinism. In that condition, with derailed minds, one can get masses to make irrational decisions. After all, even Hitler first got into parliament through elections. While Mahinda got Sinhala votes, Tamils and other minorities have shifted away from him. Estate workers have substantially voted against the regime.
In the coming period this can create a potential threat in the trade union field. Already in July 2008, plantation workers defied Thondaman and Chandrasekaran and joined the one day token strike launched by urban workers. This time it could be a prolonged action for better pay which has become an essential demand.
No food convoys
While this development has taken place in the worker’s front page of the Weekly reported on that “No food convoys have reached LTTE controlled territory since February 2, Essential Services Commissioner S B Divaratne confirmed yesterday. Forty trucks loaded with around 450 tonnes of food - flour, dhal, coconut oil and cereal, among other essential items - are loaded and ready to go. But intense fighting and “a complete breakdown of the distribution system” are hindering the passage of the convoy. Divaratne revealed that areas from Puthuku-durippu to Putamattalan are heavily mined; increasing the risk posed to the food convoys which are usually accompanied by UN and WFP officials. “Even the security forces don’t want to take a risk because even if one UN or WFP vehicle is blasted, it might boomerang against the government,” he said. “It’s not light fighting now in those areas, it’s really heavy fighting.” The government agent of Mullaitivu has been working for the past two weeks from Vavuniya and no longer travels to the battle zone.”
On the other hand the suffering has not completely wiped out the fighting spirit among Tamils. Ranga Jayasuriya of Lakbima News wrote: “But, there is another segment of the Wanni population who would opt to live with the LTTE: Maveerar families and families who have active LTTE cadres. They will be the last to leave, if they do it ever! The LTTE though reduced to 700-1000 cadres are not letting up...The LTTE strategy, military officials confided, is to break through the defence line south of Puthuku-durippu and retreat to the jungles. If the LTTE succeeds, it would create an operational nightmare for the troops, who would have to clear the Iranamadu jungle from scratch.”
So we should expect this brutal war to continue and the pressure from the international community to increase considerably. One pivot of concerted international pressure tactics appears to hinge on the fact that the Sri Lankan economy is precarious. A section of the international community feels that Sri Lanka is headed for dire economic times where the government would have to appeal for international funding due to dwindling financial reserves. This they feel is the time to get the Sri Lankan government to agree to stop hostilities and allow international arbiters to come in to arbitrate matters. On the other hand the campaign in India, particularly in South India is continuing, in spite of the position of the central government which is supportive of the government of Mahinda.
Internationalised
We see that the situation before the triumphant government is full of problems. Already the Mahinda regime has internationalised the Tamil national problem. Now the latter has gained a position internationally similar to that of the Palestinian problem. The Mahinda regime, which is unfortunately still considered to be a friend of the Palestinian people, is in the jackboots of Israel in relation to the Tamil national problem. A struggle which is both local and international is developing against the regime. Plantation strike, Tamil Nadu agitation and the pressure of the international community will constitute a powerful obstacle to the triumphant march of Mahinda.
-Sri Lanka Guardian
Home Unlabelled Tamil national problem = Palestinian problem?
Tamil national problem = Palestinian problem?
By Sri Lanka Guardian • February 22, 2009 • • Comments : 3
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
This is the standard slogan some writers are portraying of the MR government policies. If MR is a chauvinist what is Prbhakaran whom you try to portray as an innocent victim. What has Mr. Prbhakaran has been doing in his side silencing all Tamil opposition to him by brutal force and killing of innocent Tamil Civilians. I Mr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne was a Tamil and criticised Mr. Prbhakaran the way he do to MR he would not have been any more. These paracites who enjoyes the democratic freedom and mis-inform public for money or other reasons should be dealt with severely under the existing law.
"Everything is fair in Love and War".
And we are AT war!.
Psychological annihilation preceds the physical.If the Sri Lankan government is using chuvanism to win election in this crucial hour,so be it. DId you analyse,if at all,why the government had to resort to such tactics in the first place?
Food convoys last reached IDPs on02/02/2009- While I fully understand the concern,remember,"We are at war"!. Such logistical nightmares are common place in a war zone.My good neighbour,a Lithuanian,who lived through the WW2 ,recalls that the weekly bread ration for a family of four,was a mere half a loaf!
Some IDPs might side with the LTTE and refuse to leave. As the author rightly points out,these could be the families of Tigers alive and fighting.While the government has sought and opened gates for them to flee,should they decide to stay on and perish with the enemy,it is their own making. If you sleep with dogs,you should expect to wake up with the fleas!.In this case,perish with them.As Bush said,"either you are with us or you are againt us".Aiding and abating and siding with a terrorist in any form,makes such person a terrorist himself,and can no longer be considered a civilian.
I pray for the innocent, who are willing to escape but prohibited, and used as human shields and cannon foder.For that alone, may Prabakaran be the fourth person in Satan's mouth,next to Brutus,Cassius and Judas.
I will pass on the authors comparision of Sri Lankas' situation to that of Israel/Palestinians',as a vain attempt at dry humour.
"Everything is fair in Love and War".
And we are AT war!.
Psychological annihilation preceds the physical.If the Sri Lankan government is using chuvanism to win election in this crucial hour,so be it. DId you analyse,if at all,why the government had to resort to such tactics in the first place?
Food convoys last reached IDPs on02/02/2009- While I fully understand the concern,remember,"We are at war"!. Such logistical nightmares are common place in a war zone.My good neighbour,a Lithuanian,who lived through the WW2 ,recalls that the weekly bread ration for a family of four,was a mere half a loaf!
Some IDPs might side with the LTTE and refuse to leave. As the author rightly points out,these could be the families of Tigers alive and fighting.While the government has sought and opened gates for them to flee,should they decide to stay on and perish with the enemy,it is their own making. If you sleep with dogs,you should expect to wake up with the fleas!.In this case,perish with them.As Bush said,"either you are with us or you are againt us".Aiding and abating and siding with a terrorist in any form,makes such person a terrorist himself,and can no longer be considered a civilian.
I pray for the innocent, who are willing to escape but prohibited, and used as human shields and cannon foder.For that alone, may Prabakaran be the fourth person in Satan's mouth,next to Brutus,Cassius and Judas.
I will pass on the authors comparision of Sri Lankas' situation to that of Israel/Palestinians',as a vain attempt at dry humour.
Post a Comment