What do war crimes against Tamils in Sri Lanka teach us?
Tuesday Jul 23, 2013
Critics point their finger directly at the family who runs this country, President Percy Mahendra “Mahinda” Rajapaksa, and his band of brothers: Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, the Presidential Advisor, and Chamal Rajapaksa, the nation’s Ports and Aviation Minister.
The western governments turned a blind eye to the deadly events that culminated just before the summer of 2009. Civilians were attacked intensely by the Sri Lankan armed forces. As refugees, civilians were ordered into so-called “free fire” zones and then pounded with artillery. At one point the Sri Lankan military was dropping bombs straight on the UN staff workers trying to save lives in the north.
The answer for this was the Sri Lankan government’s decision that all UN observers would have to leave the area, which they ultimately did, effectively shifting the nightmare into a higher gear for the Tamil civilians, now dying largely without any type of witness.
Credible estimates place the number of dead at approximately 150,000 - several times higher than the figures that the international community banters about, which in turn downplay the severity of the Genocidal-type event.
One of the worst aspects of this war was the government’s elimination of pro-Tamil journalists. The list of reporters and media employees murdered and disappeared in Sri Lanka is long and painful.
Advocates for the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) say they had no choice, they had to crush a rebellion that had been underway for nearly three decades. The LTTE invented the suicide vest, they eliminated large numbers of Sri Lankan military who attempted to defeat the LTTE through semi conventional means.
Finally, in 2005, the government received the blessing and understanding from both George W. Bush and Tony Blair, that a full-scale invasion of the north would be tolerated in the name of defeating the LTTE who were officially declared “terrorists”. This was the green light for the rape and murder and desecration of tens of thousands of human beings.
When the blood finally stopped flowing across the north, the GoSL did what it could to put a good face on their deeds, and in fact many hailed and celebrated the government for its defeat of these “terrorists” from the LTTE who dared to wage a war to save their culture. Civilian murders committed by govt. forces were simply attributed to the LTTE and the world accepted it.
It is important to note that for thirty years following independence from British colonial rule, the Tamils tried in vain to prevent the need for the LTTE to exist. The underlying truth of this violence in Sri Lanka, according to experts like Dr. Andrew Higginbottom in the UK, is the desire of this government to establish an ideal Sinhala Buddhist nation void of Hindus and Christians and Muslims. This may sound contrary to what many understand of Buddhism, but it is old history in Sri Lanka.
Having established that the GoSL remains credible in the eyes of many, it is important to note that Sri Lanka investigated its own role in the war through a commission of inquiry appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in May 2010.
The commission “investigated” the facts and circumstances which led to the dismissal of a ceasefire agreement between the LTTE and the GoSL that had been in place since 27 February 2002.
After 18 months, the commission turned the report over to the President on 15 November 2011. It was made public on 16 December 2011, after being tabled in the parliament.
The LLRC, (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee) concluded that the Sri Lankan military did not deliberately target civilians - but that the LTTE repeatedly violated international humanitarian law.
The problem to most familiar with the Tamil diaspora is that the rampant murder of civilians by the GoSL is heavily and explicitly documented. It is a thousand times beyond obvious that the GoSL wantonly committed “total war” against the Tamil people. (Total war is one carried out with no respect to separating civilians from combatants, or observing the rights of prisoners of war). The GoSL famously murdered a number of LTTE officials who surrendered with white flags. These include the son and bodyguards of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. 12-year old Balachandran Prabhakaran’s death in GoSL custody is photographed.
Backers of the war in Sri Lanka say a heavy hand was required to eliminate the LTTE from Sri Lanka’s political structure.
In the minds of others, war crimes committed by the GoSL leave an insoluble stain. The murders which the govt. does not have to answer for, lead to an intractable sense of monstrosity.
There is much to be learned from the war against the Tamils in Sri Lanka. War crimes and state terrorism are protected in this world. Peace and standing cease fire agreements are tremendously undervalued.
Tuesday Jul 23, 2013
This handout photograph released by the Sri Lankan Army on May 15, 2009, reportedly shows civilians who managed to escape from the last remaining Tamil Tiger rebel-held patch of coastline in the northeastern district of Mullaittivu.
The bloody defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers, in the north of Sri Lanka in May 2009, is an event tied to massive war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
Critics point their finger directly at the family who runs this country, President Percy Mahendra “Mahinda” Rajapaksa, and his band of brothers: Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, the Presidential Advisor, and Chamal Rajapaksa, the nation’s Ports and Aviation Minister.
The western governments turned a blind eye to the deadly events that culminated just before the summer of 2009. Civilians were attacked intensely by the Sri Lankan armed forces. As refugees, civilians were ordered into so-called “free fire” zones and then pounded with artillery. At one point the Sri Lankan military was dropping bombs straight on the UN staff workers trying to save lives in the north.
The answer for this was the Sri Lankan government’s decision that all UN observers would have to leave the area, which they ultimately did, effectively shifting the nightmare into a higher gear for the Tamil civilians, now dying largely without any type of witness.
Credible estimates place the number of dead at approximately 150,000 - several times higher than the figures that the international community banters about, which in turn downplay the severity of the Genocidal-type event.
One of the worst aspects of this war was the government’s elimination of pro-Tamil journalists. The list of reporters and media employees murdered and disappeared in Sri Lanka is long and painful.
Advocates for the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) say they had no choice, they had to crush a rebellion that had been underway for nearly three decades. The LTTE invented the suicide vest, they eliminated large numbers of Sri Lankan military who attempted to defeat the LTTE through semi conventional means.
Finally, in 2005, the government received the blessing and understanding from both George W. Bush and Tony Blair, that a full-scale invasion of the north would be tolerated in the name of defeating the LTTE who were officially declared “terrorists”. This was the green light for the rape and murder and desecration of tens of thousands of human beings.
When the blood finally stopped flowing across the north, the GoSL did what it could to put a good face on their deeds, and in fact many hailed and celebrated the government for its defeat of these “terrorists” from the LTTE who dared to wage a war to save their culture. Civilian murders committed by govt. forces were simply attributed to the LTTE and the world accepted it.
It is important to note that for thirty years following independence from British colonial rule, the Tamils tried in vain to prevent the need for the LTTE to exist. The underlying truth of this violence in Sri Lanka, according to experts like Dr. Andrew Higginbottom in the UK, is the desire of this government to establish an ideal Sinhala Buddhist nation void of Hindus and Christians and Muslims. This may sound contrary to what many understand of Buddhism, but it is old history in Sri Lanka.
Having established that the GoSL remains credible in the eyes of many, it is important to note that Sri Lanka investigated its own role in the war through a commission of inquiry appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in May 2010.
The commission “investigated” the facts and circumstances which led to the dismissal of a ceasefire agreement between the LTTE and the GoSL that had been in place since 27 February 2002.
After 18 months, the commission turned the report over to the President on 15 November 2011. It was made public on 16 December 2011, after being tabled in the parliament.
The LLRC, (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee) concluded that the Sri Lankan military did not deliberately target civilians - but that the LTTE repeatedly violated international humanitarian law.
The problem to most familiar with the Tamil diaspora is that the rampant murder of civilians by the GoSL is heavily and explicitly documented. It is a thousand times beyond obvious that the GoSL wantonly committed “total war” against the Tamil people. (Total war is one carried out with no respect to separating civilians from combatants, or observing the rights of prisoners of war). The GoSL famously murdered a number of LTTE officials who surrendered with white flags. These include the son and bodyguards of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. 12-year old Balachandran Prabhakaran’s death in GoSL custody is photographed.
Backers of the war in Sri Lanka say a heavy hand was required to eliminate the LTTE from Sri Lanka’s political structure.
In the minds of others, war crimes committed by the GoSL leave an insoluble stain. The murders which the govt. does not have to answer for, lead to an intractable sense of monstrosity.
There is much to be learned from the war against the Tamils in Sri Lanka. War crimes and state terrorism are protected in this world. Peace and standing cease fire agreements are tremendously undervalued.
