22. April 21, 2009 12:16 am Link
My published comment #22. April 21, 2009 12:16 am
Tamils vs. the LTTE
The LTTE anti-nationalist rebels, under the murderous Vellupalli Prabhakaran, have conducted terror for 50+ years, and they must now surrender to Sri Lanka forces. They must allow innocent Tamil civilians to leave the embattled area and not be held as human shields by the LTTE forces.
The LTTE do not represent Tamil interests. Tamils can live peacefully in Sri Lanka. They are a part of Sri Lanka,
The Sri Lanka Govt. must accord equal opportunity in jobs, housing, healthcare, education, to minority ethnic Tamils. The SL govt. cannot discriminate against this important and long suffering ethnic and linguistic minority.
The Sri Lanka Govt. was impolitic and deeply unfair to declare Sinhala as the national language. They could have easily given co-equal recognition to both Tamil and Sinhala. The SL govt erected language as a political barrier to keep Tamils from maintaining their distinct Tamil ethnicity and culture and more important, jobs and other economic and political opportunities.
ALL religions, ethnicities and languages must be equally respected by the SL govt. if Sri Lanka is to continue to prosper as a modern pluralistic sovereign nation-state. A strong, democratic, secular, pluralist Sri Lanka would contribute to the stability and solidarity of the South Asia region, which is under threat from extra-state terrorism (Taliban) as well as state-sponsored terror by US and US-led NATO on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The damage done by centuries of British and Dutch colonialism can only be overturned by SL civil society involving all ethnic and religious groups holding their govt. accountable, to be more responsive to their needs, not letting govt. divide them by language and ethnicity, for political gain.
Chithra KarunaKaran
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice
http://EthiicalDemocracy.blogspot.com
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NYTimes copyright
April 20, 2009, 6:36 pm
Endgame in Sri Lanka?
By Robert Mackey
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/endgame-in-sri-lanka/
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April 21, 2009, 1:23 pm
Two Sri Lankas Struggle to Tell Their Tales
By Robert Mackey
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/two-sri-lankas-struggle-to-tell-their-tales/
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