July- the Tamil's Black History Month





Warning: article contains Extremely Graphic images!

Sri Lanka's morally bankrupt political leaders began accelerating the pace of their Tamil ethnic cleansing program from the time current President Majinda Rajapakse took office in 2005.

This state terrorism regime had the resistance force that defended Tamils, the Liberation Tiers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), declared a terrorist organization and this was the key that unlocked Sri Lanka'sfinal solution toward their minority Hindu and Christian ethnic enemies.

The more I study the history of this conflict, the more I see a pattern of the Tamil Tigers having attacked military installations and soldiers, and Tamil civilians being attacked in return.

Yet the LTTE is the side that was declared as a terrorist group and the dubious designation was pushed through due to the efforts of George W. Bush and Tony Blair- who were prepared to label all of their self-perceived enemies as terrorists as the record clearly shows.

One of the most unforgettable examples of Tamils being terrorized, happened in 1983 during what became known as 'Black July'. More than 4000 Tamil civilians were murdered by angry Sinhala Buddhist mobs who raped and burned and murdered innocent civilians faster than they could escape.

No excuses exist to justify what occurred particularly to children, during the Tamil genocide

In 2009, militants and civilians died en masse. Among the wreckage of homes and businesses were the tens of thousands of bodies of adults and children who were slaughtered like animals by the Sri Lankan Army. Bodies were burned to prevent the spread of disease, however large numbers of corpses laid in place for an extended period of time.

Sri Lanka's government sniveled about 'fake video' and 'fake photos' and looked like fools at best; their excuses all fell short; most are not even worthy of discussion. The rest have been disproved. In the end, it was one of the most shameful military affairs carried out in modern history against a country's own population.

Human beings were bombed after being directed into so-called 'safe areas' as we have revealed in past reports. The acts of horror and terror enacted upon this population are among the most barbaric on record.

The media and the politicians can offer their song and dance for missing the ball, but the truth is painfully clear; the acts of mass murder and debauchery were carried out while the world slept. If it actually was a ball game, they could at least be voted out of the league. Instead we are stuck with the members of this profit-driven industry and the results are very grim.

Today through Wikileaks and other sources, we know that American politicians were aware and tried to talk the Sri Lankan government into pulling back but they refused and the UN should have militarily intervened to stop the slaughter.

Of course they did not and then the worst possible thing happened, the last remaining handful of UN observers were removed from the area 'for their own safety' as the Tamils begged them to stay.

It was for so many people, a final good bye to the outside world the day the UN left. Observers on the ground in most cases, tried to avoid being pulled out.

The Tamils were failed on a human world level and their only request all along, was to live with freedom and fairness; clearly this was more than the government was ever willing to allow.

For those who are not familiar, Tamil people are an ethnic group native to three places:

Puducherry or 'Pondicherry'; (as it was renamed in 2006) - a Union Territory of India formed out of four enclaves of former French India. The name means "New village" in Tamil.

Tamil Nadu; the most urbanised state in India, has been the home of the Tamil people since at least 500 BCE. Its official language Tamil has been in use for over 2000 years.

Tamil Eelam is the independent state Tamils aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Evidence of Tamil culture here dates as far back as 2nd century BC.^[2][3][4]

Image by Carlos Latuff

Last weekend, our team had the pleasure of attending the FeTNA (Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America) Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

10 May 2009: UN Says Urgent International Scrutiny Needed in Sri Lanka

15 March 2009: Sri Lanka: Possible War Crimes

I was invited to speak to the main audience of more than 3000 Tamils, about the way media failed to cover the terrible events of 2009. I can not overemphasize how troubling this matter is to the family and friends of the victims.

In discussing our coverage of the conflict, I mistakenly stated on more than one occasion that Salem-News.com didn't cover the events of 2009 until more than a year after they had taken place.

However I discovered today by searching our records, that we did in fact carry two reports about the deadly events in Sri Lanka in 2009; one in March and one in May.

The articles were not tagged properly and consequently failed to show up in our recent searches. As a result, I had convinced myself that we must not have carried them. Locating these articles today was a rewarding discovery.

When I gave the key note address at FeTNA, which is the largest gathering of Tamils held each year in North America, I had several images projected onto the large screen behind me.

Among them were two pieces of artwork that speak to the immense tragedy that befell the reporters and media employees in Sri Lanka who were murdered for reporting from a non-government viewpoint.

Tim King at FeTNA 2012 discussing Sri Lanka war crimes. Photo: Agron Belica

One portrays the Sri Lanka press being lured by the government with an ice cream cone that has a razor blade hidden within. Among so much significance, is the deception that the government used to take advantage of these men and women who simply relayed the news of what was taking place.

The other shows the audacity of the Government of Sri Lanka when it came to the reality for so many and that was disappearance and death. The list of these brothers and sisters slain in the name of honest journalism is long and disturbing and the names sadly, continue to mount.

Two facts trouble me greatly about this:

• One is how the outcry against the way this government laid waste to innocents is loud around the world,
• and the other is the fact that Americans are vastly unaware of this terrible event.