After hearing the news of today's bomb attack (and getting over the initial shock) I started thinking about the 24 year old war that has been raging in our country.
Do all Tamils support the LTTE? I remember jokingly asking a tamil friend in my degree class whether she supported Prabhakaran or Karuna and she quite seriously replied that they all supported Prabhakaran and that Karuna was just trying to create a dent in the LTTE. Needless to say I was shocked. It was then that I started thinking about the Tamil people's perspective of this whole war.
Hearing about a bomb attack or air strike in Colombo, we all get upset and go on and on about it. But it's quite normal in the North. What about the people there? Do they curse the Sri Lankan Forces or just focus on finding shelter and trying to survive? Do they actively support the LTTE and their cause?
What about the Tamils in Colombo? Do all of them believe in the LTTE and their cause? Should Sri Lanka be divided? If it comes to that in the end, would all of them be happy to go to their "country" leaving Colombo? I think not!
I have no hatred towards anyone (ok, maybe after a massive bombing like the Central Bank one, I got REALLY angry with Prabhakaran and wanted to personally go and .... - let's not get into that). I have a few Tamil friends and I went to a school which had a good mix of girls from all kinds of races. They're just like you and me and really wonderful people. But what is their perspective of this? If they do believe in the LTTE, they must be finding it really difficult to be around us after a bombing has taken place and listening to us blasting the LTTE and terrorists.
Finally, the questions I guess I'm asking are:
1) The LTTE and Prabhakaran - Freedom fighters or terrorists?
2) Do you support them, and if so, why? Explain the reasons, whatever they may be.
Thanx! :)
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39 comments:
To give you direct answers,
1.) LTTE started off as freedom fighters, then deviated from it's goal
2.) I do not support them, simply because I don’t feel that they represent my needs.
Answers:
1) Terrorists plain and simple.
2) Nope. They've succeeded in equating all Tamils to terrorists and drowned out the voices of genuine, non-violent Tamil nationalist voices.
I am a tamil living in colombo throughout. My answers:
1) Terrorists. They might hv had a diff cause before but now it has changed.
2)Do i support them? Well No. Cos I cannot leave a peaceful life with them bombing the places i live, work and travel
i thought a majority of the tamils supported the ltte. however it may be that tamils in colombo might not. but i guess it's different with expatriate tamils. they must be feeling like "our boys are fighting there.." kinda thing. really i dunno. it's a complex thing.
Same as above
Tamils have been suffering under a racist and deliquent goverment. Worst things are about to come. The LTTE has also attacked a naval detachment. Hatered is one full circle. Nazis/Japanese tried it and got what they deserved in return. Likewise you will too.
The Tamils in the South fear to openly support the tamils but most in their heart do. They would opely support them if they had their sister raped or family killed or they themselves beaten.
If there is a tamil eelam then all the problems for the tamils will be solved but how about the sinhalese and rest. You need to go back to the muslims like in 1915 and burn and loot them.
Sri Lankan economy is failing. The country is on its knees for world aid.
The richest man in malaysia is a Jaffna Tamil. He is Ananda Krishnana who just bought telco shares in Sri Lanka. The Jaffna tamils are probabily the richest people in Malaysia per capita.
SIA- Singapore Airlines was build up by JYM Pillai a Jaffna tamil. Its the No 1 airline in terms of profit He was also behind Singapore stock exchange now and DBS - one of Asia's largest bank.
Singapore Airport and Seaport is build up by Dr Vijayaretnam who is also a Jaffna tamil. Both are No 1 in the world.
Rajaretnam who was Singapore deputy prime minister was also a Jaffna Tamil. He made prima setup the only flour manufacturer in Sri Lanka. He was hounered with a state funeral which 2 former presidents of Singapore did not get.
Presently the Singapore PMs right hand man is tharman shamugaretnam and the man behind Singapore central bank which the pm heads.
There was some very fruitful discussion on Mahasen's blog on thi s topic recently.
Please see
http://mahasen.blogspot.com/2007/05/in-what-way-were-you-discriminated.html
Anon above seems to have a saved version of that comment.
http://mahasen.blogspot.com/2007/05/bombing-at-doorstep.html - 3rd comment
http://mahasen.blogspot.com/2007/05/tamil-elam-you-want.html - 3rd comment
Anon above seems to have a save version of that comment with him
http://mahasen.blogspot.com/2007/05/tamil-elam-you-want.html - 3rd comment
http://mahasen.blogspot.com/2007/05/bombing-at-doorstep.html
- 3rd comment
Aljuhara also has an interesting discussion on terrorism.
http://aljuharawrites.blogspot.com/2007/05/controversial-letter.html
Actually, Kalharie, as a Tamil living overseas I am a bit cut off from things, and sometimes wonder if people even in the North and East support the LTTE.
It seems you have a better idea than I do. I must admit I was also surprised when I read your post, when you said your batch mate was sure. We get mixed reports here.
By the way Kalharie, I like the fact that you seem like a reasonable sort of person. Without knowing much about the LTTE and politics (I think?) you show alot of insight into people's feelings. To be honest, more than some Tamils themselves.
That is the first step to gaining trust and being able to have dialogue. Especially those who have gone through hardships in the North and East.
Good on ya! (Aussie slang meaning "well done")
I think sinhalese extremists are also to blame for this current situation because they are not improving it by any means by their comments and attitude. This won't give tamils any choice but to give their support towards a seperate state.
But I'm telling ppl shouldn't get blinded by terrorists like LTTE or narrow minded ppl who just make comments bcos they simply haven't stepped into the world and basically are scared themselves or simply for their own benefit. I have all my life had friends from all nationalities and I don't consider them to be any different.
This problem would only end when ppl stop being selfish and come to their senses, that everyone is of one kind, and that's mankind!!
Thanks L for the sweet comment! :)
Answer to ur 1st question - I support the cause of the LTTE but not the way they are getting about trying to achieve it. It makes them a hypocritical bunch (self proclaimed freedom fighters), run by a few corrupt leaders who fatten themselves and let the lower rung take all the shots. So, yes they are terrorists.
Had they used a non-violent approach, using democratic ways and means by which to achieve their goals, they would have been true freedom fighters.
Having said that, democratic means may not have worked and would have fallen on deaf ears in Sri Lanka. Mainly due to the selfish and sometimes racist approach of the southern leaders. With what the LTTE have done, they have got their msg across. So the southern leaders are the ones responsible for providing an environment that was condusive for the LTTE to thrive.
So, I don't support the LTTE or their terrorism but I also despise the way the government, particularly the present one has handled the situation.
And don't blame tamil people ravaged by war in the NE for supporting the LTTE. Do you see Iraqi and Afghan people afflicated by war supporting Bush? No. they'll definitely support any movement that seems to be protecting their rights.
By the way I like your post and the way you're trying to listen to both sides of the story.
You are welcome :-)
Kalharie, I sent a comment earlier regarding StarLizzards's thoughts.
Not sure if it got through.
In case it didn't.
As an expatriate Tamil, my first reaction is, ok...hope they didn't kill civilians, because that would mean that the government will go and bomb more civilians, and then the LTTE will bomb.....and well....you know how it goes.
I hope there will be a ceasefire soon.
iam a tamil but i dnt know i never felt closer or interested by wht the LTTE does..at the same time iam nto into the sri lankan government as well..i would say the current one is one of the worst we have ever seen...hopefully the last we'll ever see...my opinion is that this war wnt be solved like the way it is now...the citizens of sri lanka especially the youth should step up..because its their future nto the bloody government or the LTTE's ..it might be weird but i always look at the Hindi movie Rang De Basanti for how a change should occur to our country
Anon:
"
The Tamils in the South fear to openly support the tamils but most in their heart do. They would opely support them if they had their sister raped or family killed or they themselves beaten."
My mum's cousin was shot and killed in Jaffna by the "Podiangal" ("the boys" to the ones who don't know Tamil) because she disagreed with one of their rules. So no, its not fear on my part. I downright hate them.
I'd think that if you are fighting for the rights of a certain group of people, then you'd make every attempt to show them how serious you are. Instead of shooting them for disagreeing with your views.
"
If there is a tamil eelam then all the problems for the tamils will be solved but how about the sinhalese and rest. "
"Tamil Eelam" will presumably have some semblance of democracy right? Or will they, in the interest of our people, decide to stay in the power to guide this infant "nation"? I've always been curious.
How is the rest of your babble abour rich Jaffna Tamils relevant to the argument at hand?
I don't support the LTTE but I support the cause. I think Tamils are still discriminated and I sincerely believe that Rajapakse's govt is not interested in solving the conflict but rather for their own short term gains and to hold on to power by any means. I think the large majority of north east tamils support the LTTE. The tamils of the south probably provide moral support (can be seen by the comments of many here who believe in the Tamil cause)
The only time I ever supported the govt was when Ranil was in power. I think if he stayed on we would have had peace by now and LTTE would have become irrelevant to the Tamils.
Yeah yeah yeah the Sinhalese are to be blamed for it all. But what the hell have the tamils ever proven?
The fact that they are good at blowing things up..
What else? Nothing else really.
Hi,
i think i know u from school. U sound just the same. Being a tamil who has lived all her life in Colombo I would say that the main cause for all the troubles the country is facing today has been the continuing anti- Tamil policies of all parties that have governed. It started with colonization, then standardization and anti- Tamil riots. Peaceful methods like Satyagraha didnt work, what else could the Tamils do when their basic Human Rights other than take up arms. When you push them to an edge at one point they will fight back. Most Tamils do support the LTTE bcos it represents to them a fight against tyranny. I would say that unless the GOSL changes its approach to the Tamil problem the LTTE will continue to be a dominant force among the Tamils.
Motivated by this,
If you were given the Tamil Eelam, would you all go live there? leaving us all in peace?
i'm not asking for a fight, but just conversation. can someone give a list of stuff that is currently happening in south which is "discrimination by the majority against tamils"[anti-tamil policies]?
and then, can they give a list of stuff they'd expect from the GoSL to solve the above list [and might put a stop to the current conflict]?
Perhaps I'm an exception but apart from having to use sinhalese all the time, I don't have any bad experience of being a tamil.
But my parents do recall of such incidents mostly being called upon names but hardly any thing to justify killing each other.
I was just giving my opinion, the truth hurts, eh? I would say that the fault is not with our generation but with peoplewho belong to our parents generation. The Sinhalese of that generation destroyed/ stultified the economic, intellectual and cultural well being of the Tamils of that generation and its hard for them to forget. We as children grew up with their recital of the stories of horror, e.g. 1983 riots. There is an abundance of Tamil literature on that subject which all of us in this generation can lay hands on. It is only when u understand the feeling of shame that most tamils faced that July being alive with nothing but the clothes they had on, robbed and murdered in the country they thought of as home till then, that u will understand why they support the LTTE. Even the LTTE itself is not concerned abt the Tamils in the South. The problems i have faced in Colombo would include using sinhala all the time (never wanted to learn it) even to lodge a complaint at the Police Station in Wellawatte which is a predominantly Tamil area, recieving forms to fill entirely in Sinhala, etc and u know what nobody really cares abt the plight of the Tamils, they are thought of as inferior, I myself have noticed my sinhala friends spking of other tamils with this attitude, the only thing they would admit is that Tamils are intelligent, in a way too intelligent for them.
Personally abt 75% of my friends are sinhalese and i adore them whatever their political view.i.e.I adore them as fellow people and not as belonging to a particular race. That attitude towards all being should arise from our generatio. Until u reach out to people from different hues and treat them as fellow people these problems will never cease. No tamil is against the ordinary Sinhala citizen. it is the GOSL and it Forces that it hates. Pls keep a balanced view with regard to the atrocities committed by the Armed forces in the Nort-East. No self respecting Tamil would sit by and watch! LTTE violations pale in significance in the face of such genocidal acts of the armed forces!
Interesting posts and comment.
Out of interest, why do Tamil’s seem loathe having to learn/speak Sinhalese so much? Granted I got by speaking English, which has always been vogue in Colombo which is lucky because my command of the Sinhalese language is largely bound to the explicit. However I was born in Germany (I still consider myself a Sri Lankan Burgher) and I wouldn't say I was 'forced' to speak German. It was simply a fact of life; if you want to live somewhere you'd have to speak the language that the majority of people spoke to get any social mileage. I’m sure most people who’ve moved a broad can attest to the fact, so why is it so different for people who live in Sri Lanka?
Michael... you are a foreginer in Germany. The tamils here aren't foreigners. They may be a minority, but its their country as well.
most of, if not all, government documents are obtainable in all three languages. so this isn't a problem about reading. it's that gov't officials in lack tamil speech skills. if gov't could make regulations that atleast a little knowledge of Tamil is required to enter service for gov't officials, things would be better [esp. Police atleast].
one little suggestion for one problem.
Found Singhalese to be a difficult language to learn.
Probably because I learned it much later - only in formal schooling from age 6 onwards. Also may have been bad experiences in school.
Learned English much earlier on, on my mother lap generally.
I had picked up some singhalese from the servants by the time I went to school, but my vocabulary and pronunciation were probably lower class. Did not know the alphabet, and when I first started trying to write it my handwriting looked horrible. My classmates used to refer to it as "pol gedi akuru"
Also the fact that I went to a small buddhist school (not a major college) I could not communicate properly with my clasmates since I knew only English and they knew only SInghalese. Since I was different I was subject to bullying generally, my language skills were one aspect that they picked on.
My brothers and I used to hate the language with a vengence, especially when we were smaller although this faded with age.
I had a reasonable command of the language by O levels (managed a "C" or credit pass) but since leaving school I found that I had little need to read or write the langauge and in the quarter century that has elapsed since then I have lost most of my reading skills and nearly all my writing skills - through sheer disuse (despite living and working in Colombo all my life) Can manage to read a signboard or a newspaper headline (with some difficulty but trying to do a bit more gives me a headache)
I can under stand some of the frustration of the Singhalese educated, having used nothing but that language in school, it must come as a rude shock to find that everything after leaving school is in English. If their command of English is like my command of Singhalese, it is a sorry situation to be in.
I've never read a book in Singhalese (other than a text book - one other reason why my language is so bad) imagine the plight of someone fed the tripe that passes for English education here and then having to tackle textbooks in English for higher education must be a real nightmare. On another note, given the paucity of publishing in the vernacular languages (newspapers and textbooks apart) , I sometimes wonder if we are now living in an illiterate society? Does anyone have any figures as to the number of books published in this country?
No wonder English is referred to as "Kadda", short for "kaduwa", the sword that cuts them off from society, and forms one of the pillars of the JVP grievances.
By the way, I speak no Tamil at all (can count to ten, which is what most Singhalese people can manage).
To the tamils, I am not really a tamil and to the Singhalese not really a singhalese. There are many others in this position.
I am also an unrepentent Anglophile and rue the day the British left us to our own devices. Independence came far too soon and on a populace largely unprepared. Independence in the 1960's or 1980's might have been far better. I used to be alone in holding this view but there are growing numbers who now tend to agree with me.
Michael I was thinking about this recently when I heard some of my family members relate their experiences.
Unfortunately, the language issue in Sri Lanka has been intrinsically linked with politics.
These Tamils were discussing the times when the Sinhala only act was passed, and describe how they resented being coerced into speaking and learning Sinhalese. Hence they resisted learning the language. These same people then related how in their work capacity in the south, eg. teaching in universities etc. they made a conscious decision to learn Sinhalese, due to the poor standard of english of some of the sinhalese people they were dealing with, purely to be able to communitcate and relate to them and assist them in these various capacities.
Learning about the rich linguistic and cultural traditions of Sri Lanka has been tainted by political expediency.
Michael, I think a lot of Tamils outside the North do speak Sinhala now. I know some Tamils who are fluent in Sinhala and English, but couldn't write their name properly in Tamil.
Most of this opposition to learning Sinhala comes from the diaspora, not Tamils living in Sri Lanka.
By the way anonymous, Jaffna Tamils are not the richest demographic in Malaysia. The Chinese and Punjabis are. Jaffnese lost their advantage after the Brits left, and some of them have emigrated to Australia while many have been assimilated into the Indian Tamil community. Tamils in Malaysia remain the poorest and the most marginalised group.
No, Jaffna Tamils really haven't been assimilated into the Indian Tamil community. They retain their own churches, kovils etc and remain one of the richer, more educated and more privileged groups in Malaysia. Any one living in Malaysia other than just mal who studied with Indian coolie kids will attest to that.
I being a Tamil never experienced a language barrier. Almost all the documents I ever had to fill were either in English or had a Tamil version.
I never complain having to learn Sinhalese. I think we should accept the fact that Sinhalese are the majority and their language should be the national language.
Be it we are natives or foreigners, we are still the minority.
So let's say Jaffna Tamil's are the richest in Malaysia and rest of the world. Do you suppose that they would invest in Eelam of yours?
Ask Ramesh whether he would.
Hey Mahasan,
I'm thinking of forming an eelam in an island in the pacific.
You are welcome to come along and bring all your friends if you like :-)
No passports required.
And any donations from my rich Malaysian cousins are most welcome.
Oh and politicians are banned...sorry.
L,
have a look at this story
"Sri Lanka To Move Out Of Indian Ocean Site!"
at
http://www.crazylanka.co.uk/polthelarchives17.htm
Its about halfway down the page.
This is pretty good site to visit when things get a bit too depressing.
Thanks...for that link...I wasn't far off after all :)
After I read the anonymous comment about smart Tamils living in Malaysia and Singapore on the blog post “How many of you out there support the LTTE” on Kalharie’s blog I thought I have to write this[...]
Tamils in Sri lanka have left to Australia but they are still one of the richest groups in the country.
Punjabis or the sikhs are not the richest though they are a beter off community. The problem with the chinese is that they appear to be rich but the wealthy often are too extravagnt is showing the wealth. This has been determintal to the community as the malays state this to continue their discrimination. However alot of them are still stuck in villages and are poor.
All the jaffna tamils are city dewellers. The indian tamils are the pitiful lot. They like the upcountry tamils are with idiotic leaders like in sri lanka. Though the ones who were not brought in as labourers like the chettiars were once the richest people in Asia. Their wealth got dwindled when the british left. Their crooked ways unlike in sri lanka were not tolerated. they also never managed to fake themselves as malays like ranil and family as sinhalese.
The jaffna tamils are listed as ceylonese and are considered a minority. Hence by qouta system they ave to fight with other minorities. The indians never fill their quota and are absent from many feilds like engineering and medicine. The malaylees have benifited from this.
Some malaylees due to marriage like mahathir have become malay and ruled malaysia. In sri lanka the fake sinhalese malaylees like mahinda,cbk and swrd still rule sri lanka.
Had there been a no sinhala only policy many jaffna tamils would have returned. Most bought land in jaffna. They have now given it to their relatives who are much poorer. Hence jaffna tamils will definely invest and develop eelam. Jaffna tamils have married other indians but its not as significant.
Ananda krishnan for example married a thai princess. he is richest man in malaysia and one of the richest in asia. He being the only non chinese to do so in about 50 years. Many jaffna tamils are very conservative of their display of wealth due to kidnappings etc (sounds familiar). Hence their wealth never seems obivious till you really know them. Some stay in reality simple houses but own more then 20 houses,shares etc. A chinese of similar nature would live in a 5 house type bungalow structure and invest the rest in bussinees. Often when there is a economic downturn you cannot find them and they become bankrupt.
The sikhs or punjabis also do the same as the ceylonese but are smaller in number and wealth.
Malaysia has had race riots and implemented a malay only and islam policy. Yet it did not turn into sri lanka. During the worst riots in malaysia, a malay general shot a malay man who was trying to rape a chinese lady. In sri lanka the military joined in the mayhem.
Ironically when malay was introduced, chinese students were still doing very well although their parents were not very eduxated/fluent in malay.This shocked the malay politicians. They then started seperate grading curves and qoutas which resulted in the chinese leaving to singapore and australia.
The reason malaysia did not become a sri lanka was becuase of oil and a sensible leadership. Malays by nature are good people though not industrious. Fake leaders claiming to be malays were the reasons for many of the problems. This is like sri lanka a pattern repeated through the respective histories.
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