Comments on: On Naming Genocide in Sri Lanka

By: Spectre

Spectre — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:06:03 +0000

While the legitimacy of the term ‘genocide’ on events that occurred in the past six months is something that may be considered ‘debatable’, it would be interesting to make available the demographic changes that occured in Sri Lanka from independence to now, settlement programs, effects of the conflict (and policies enacted by organisations and institutions) on population growth of different segments of Sri Lankan society, etc.

By: Help Save Tamils

Help Save Tamils — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:04:27 +0000

Ms Nilanjana, try telling your pathetic 'doubts' about the use the word genocide to all the children who now how no parents, all the children injured, all the Tamil girls raped by the Sri Lanka Army, all the Tamil boys and girls being tortured and to all the other Tamil civilians suffering in Sri Lanka right now. Please see this website >

aboutsrilanka.wordpress.com

By: Help Save Tamils

Help Save Tamils — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:50:00 +0000

as someone has pointed out in a comment, each person has a different view on the situation in Sri Lanka. It's frustrating to see people writing about it in the way the author has done here. People who don't know enough info about Sri Lanka and the suffering of the Tamil minority should attempt to inform themselves a little before writing articles such as this one. That would be a start!

Please visit my site for some information. > > >

myspace.com/helpsavetamils

By: getreal

getreal — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:50:57 +0000

Genocide, blah blah. The Tamils are desperately engaging in hyperbole. Typical of them, especially the guys sitting outside Sri Lanka – with their Propaganda attempts. They – again, the guys outside – think they have nothing to lose and possibly only something to gain if they can erase collective memories the world over of all that happened and substitute it with a sugar coated genocide pill. (Like the Auschwitzers gassed their own, or prevented their escape! It is even worse of an insult to all those Native tribes who have been decimated from our history books – as if they killed their own, and financed such efforts, in their struggle against “civilisation”).

I’m glad to see the Sinhalese didn’t cave in earlier (during the fighting), and that the Indians didn’t try and play hero either. Showed that some people recognized that the organized LTTE had to be wiped out – to the extent possible.

That policy was defensible. You had to contain and try and eradicate the LTTE – some of the worst specimens that humakind has produced. And collateral damage always was and always will be part of every war. (So if you all-of-a-sudden-holier-than-thou Tamils didn’t like it – the CD – you should not have financed it).

But that war has been “won” and it is now time for another battle. A bloody, ruthless war has ended in victory for one side and a reluctant defeat for the other only in name. The Sinhalese are going to have to learn slowly but surely that no battleground victory over LTTE is any substitute for even handed treatment of all. In this second battle, there won’t be any winners. Only equal participants. So all the internment, and lack of access to relief efforts – all those games had better end soon. Otherwise SriLanka pays a price. Not the breathless, savage LTTE kind of “off-with-your-head” price – despite any calls for blood emanating from the Tamil Diaspora – but a sure, unremitting, further deterioration of SL society. One that will, for sure, leave all island residents worse off 10-20 years down the road.

So that’s the battle that remains. Internment is no policy to deal with what’s left of the LTTE hiding like cowards with the civlians. No, sirree – aint gonna work. Want to not give them their Eelam? Want to go to bed with them as an undivided country? Then you gotta live with any after-effects – and deal with them like other countries do. Selectively. In routine “police” terms. Can’t lock up a few hundred thousand.

As for the rest of you – Tamils in Staten Island and Missisauga who are now enjoying a fresh lease of life (being no longer yoked to teh LTTE) – want to help? Then show us – meaning the non-Tamil, non-Sinhalese global citizenry – that you are responsible. That you subscribe to pluralism – in your politics, in your attempts, in your goals, and in your methods. (And no, that does not mean trucking with the NKoreans or other violent pipe dreams). It may help to tell us why you will do a better job of dealing with your minorties than you say the Sings are doing. Of course, that may mean you might need to tear a page or two out of any manifesto you revere that worships a pure Tamil society.

Do that and then, but only then, at the same time point fingers at those elements (or chunks) of Sinhalese blah blah that need worldwide condemnation. Educate us. Until then you are just a thief who got caught and is peeved that the other criminal got away. Until them what you may see as education is just ethnic hatred and PR to us.

Bottom line: demonstrate to us why we should suddenly start treating you with respect. Don’t try and wage any PR battles anymore. (Your track record stinks). Stick to the truth. You’ve got lots of legit reasons. In time that policy will help you overcome your past reputation. So it would be good to stop all the bull from outside Lanka as soon as possible. That means: get real; discard the Genocide crap. And by all – other – means twist the Govt’s arms as much as you can to hold them to start on the long road to humane treatment.

By: Bhanu

Bhanu — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Thanks for the reply. Your profession seems quite interesting. In your view, should an enthomusicologist be trained in music themselves or do people get into this area with just the ability to discern and interpret ?

As for IR, I guess language is no barrier, but if you have not listened to any of these albums (Hindi/Instrumental), please drop me a note (may be on my bloglink or via email). As a fan of IR, it it our duty to ensure that the music of this genius is shared -:)

Sadma, Mahadev, Cheeni Kum, Nothing But Wind (a western classical album with Hariprasad Chaurasia on flute), How to Name it (an interpretation of Bach music in South Indian Carnatic idiom), Thiruvasagam (old tamil texts set to symphony orchestra of Budapest).

By: Milthi

Milthi — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:44:48 +0000

Just wanted to add an article by an Indian Diplomat yesterday echoing similar points I made on #32

GEOPOLITICS DROWNS SRI LANKAÃ¢â‚¬â„¢S TAMILS: The great game http://www.deccanherald.com/content/4495/geopolitics-drowns-sri-lankas-tamils.html

By: Nilanjana

Nilanjana — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:51:22 +0000

Bhanu, hello, and thanks for following my link!

The relationship between the diaspora and the home country is indeed always evolving and always changing-- and rarely something that can be summed up in one viewpoint, as we can see here.

As for Ilaiyaraaja, he's a towering giant who's difficult to avoid-- in the best possible way! I listen to and write on Hindi film music mostly because I don't understand Tamil, but I have a few colleagues who do lots of work on S. Indian film music.

By: Bhanu

Bhanu — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:10:03 +0000

It was interesting reading the post and more importantly the comments. Topics such as these are inherently personal and I guess after a certain point, there is always the difference in perspective simply due to ones own involvment in this matter. I was in Copenhagen this weekend and I saw that there was a huge procession of Tamils protesting ...they were basically walking around in circles around the parliament building with flags and banners. They were atleast thousand of them I guess. I wonder if many of them had come to Europe as asylum seekers (?) What is also interesting is how these conflicts are being transplanted into the host countries...e.g the incident in Austria.

On a totally unrelated topic, I look forward to your posts. I looked up the link on ethnomusicologist. I hope you already ran into Ilaiyaraaja in India..who I consider to be one of India's and world's finest composer/musician who blends music styles like no other (i.e not just 'fusion' but somebody who understands the true depths of indian classical music and western classical music while being known as the champion of folk/rustic music).

By: Milthi

Milthi — Sun, 24 May 2009 01:55:22 +0000

I may have garbled what I was trying to say actually I was trying to say that the discussions on the academic and legal merits for the quailed use of that term Genocide is nonsense. Tamils used it because that is how they saw it.
Genocide is a label reserved only for remembrance (and it some cases for self appointed celebrity cause bearers and in most cases to wash away our guilt) and it will always remain as such. Tamils mistakenly believed that in their case it may be used for prevention of mass atrocities. So they were not wrong to use the term Genocide they were just naÃ¯ve. A repeated argument I see on the forums is that the government could have killed all the Tamils but it did not. So it could not have been Genocide. It flaws then that the genocide can be proven ONLY after ALL the Tamils are killed thus the Tamils should have waited until that happens before using the term Genocide. Proving my earlier point. If we are truly interested in prevention, then the genocide label should also apply to intent regardless of academic and legal definitions. The fact the government was willing/trying to and partially succeeded in wiping out a very big percentage of one ethnic group should have been clear enough. Coupling that with the history of systematic and structural racism and discrimination of that government to the same people.
Knowing that the term Genocide is utterly useless in any practical sense, is why people keep inventing new terms such as R2P, hoping, at some point, they have a way to actually get to prevention of mass atrocities: Yet another useless and futile exercise. Because the current international order always seeks to protect states and their right to be violent. The dictum is States are the sole possessors for dispensing violence and they are allowed to use the most horrific means to keep that in their possession. The one and only exception is when the geo political interests are threatened. Humanitarian concerns play a role only when they are NOT man(state) made (eg: Tsunami) (Many people were left with out any Aid when the Burmese government refused outside help).
So even if the Tamils did not use the term Genocide, the end result would be the same. I think it is some what absurd to argue that may be if they had not used the term Genocide, they may have gotten some help.
Whether LTTE and Sri lankan government should be equally held responsible for what happened is a different thread so I donâ€™t also garble that.

By: Nilanjana

Nilanjana — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:07:34 +0000

Milthi,

Thanks for your thoughtful comments I couldn't agree more with what you write below:

Any collective group of people who donâ€™t identify with a state but decide to oppose it by violent means (regardless of how oppressive the state is) are at the complete mercy of the international order which will always seek to protect the states over peopleâ€™s sovereignty.

I hear you saying that we need to use the term "genocide" because there's no room to acknowledge the LTTE's attacks on Tamils and Muslims as well as Sinhalese and at the same time ensure that international authorities hold the Sri Lankan state government responsible for its own abuses. (Please correct me if I'm garbling what you said.) Can any of the rest of you see a way around this?