How low can the Sri Lankan government go?
In its latest efforts to see how far it can go in murdering its own citizens, the Sri Lankan government has justified its bombing of a school in the country's east, claiming that the children inside were terrorists.
The International Herald Tribune, in an article, quoted a military spokesman, Atula Jayawardana, as saying, "If the children are terrorists, what can we do?" When I read that quote, I sat there, staring at the screen in stunned anger for a while -- not only because of the false claim that they were terrorists, but because of the audacity with which the government is defending the murder of 61 innocent children, whose short lives had been none too pleasant to begin with.
The government of Sri Lanka has never even pretended to protect its citizens in the north and north-east, instead pointedly excluding them when formulating plans or policies for the country, engaging in blatant racial profiling and targeting them in raids and attacks. Its specialty has been to impress upon the Tamil minority, which makes up 18% of the population, that they are outsiders in their own country, often treated much better in other countries where they have fled as a result of the war.
The government has been more preoccupied with pandering to the whims of corrupt Buddhist monks who, contrary to what their religion teaches, abhor the very idea of peace, because it would mean a decent life for the Tamils.
But with the latest act, the Sri Lankan government has stooped to a new low, even for the callous brutes that are part of it. It has the audacity to openly defend the murder of 61 schoolgirls, who UNICEF has said were NOT child recruits for the LTTE (the rebel group fighting for a separate state for the Tamil minority in the country's north) as the govenrment claimed, but simply school children gathered for a first-aid class.
The LTTE has engaged in the shameful practice of recruiting children -- nobody denies that. But, while international organizations have been working on censuring the rebels, getting these children out and trying to help them make decent lives for themselves, what does the Sri Lankan govenrment do? It BOMBS them on the pretext that they're child soldiers.
The presidents of Sri Lanka, from as far back as I can remember, have all taken office for one reason -- to promote their own well-being at the expense of the country and its citizens. (I attended a talk by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga last year, just before she handed over her position, in which she congratulated herself on her "efforts" to bring peace to the country, and blamed the LTTE completely for the fact that it hadn't been achieved -- I almost laughed out loud; the woman is defintely an entertaining story teller.)
No party in the escalating ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is doing/has done anything to be proud of. But by killing 61 innocent children, and then, instead of apologizing profusely and trying to make amends, painting them as terrorists, the government has stooped to a new and absolutely despicable low.
The International Herald Tribune, in an article, quoted a military spokesman, Atula Jayawardana, as saying, "If the children are terrorists, what can we do?" When I read that quote, I sat there, staring at the screen in stunned anger for a while -- not only because of the false claim that they were terrorists, but because of the audacity with which the government is defending the murder of 61 innocent children, whose short lives had been none too pleasant to begin with.
The government of Sri Lanka has never even pretended to protect its citizens in the north and north-east, instead pointedly excluding them when formulating plans or policies for the country, engaging in blatant racial profiling and targeting them in raids and attacks. Its specialty has been to impress upon the Tamil minority, which makes up 18% of the population, that they are outsiders in their own country, often treated much better in other countries where they have fled as a result of the war.
The government has been more preoccupied with pandering to the whims of corrupt Buddhist monks who, contrary to what their religion teaches, abhor the very idea of peace, because it would mean a decent life for the Tamils.
But with the latest act, the Sri Lankan government has stooped to a new low, even for the callous brutes that are part of it. It has the audacity to openly defend the murder of 61 schoolgirls, who UNICEF has said were NOT child recruits for the LTTE (the rebel group fighting for a separate state for the Tamil minority in the country's north) as the govenrment claimed, but simply school children gathered for a first-aid class.
The LTTE has engaged in the shameful practice of recruiting children -- nobody denies that. But, while international organizations have been working on censuring the rebels, getting these children out and trying to help them make decent lives for themselves, what does the Sri Lankan govenrment do? It BOMBS them on the pretext that they're child soldiers.
The presidents of Sri Lanka, from as far back as I can remember, have all taken office for one reason -- to promote their own well-being at the expense of the country and its citizens. (I attended a talk by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga last year, just before she handed over her position, in which she congratulated herself on her "efforts" to bring peace to the country, and blamed the LTTE completely for the fact that it hadn't been achieved -- I almost laughed out loud; the woman is defintely an entertaining story teller.)
No party in the escalating ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is doing/has done anything to be proud of. But by killing 61 innocent children, and then, instead of apologizing profusely and trying to make amends, painting them as terrorists, the government has stooped to a new and absolutely despicable low.
posted by Anonymous at 10:05 PM
3 Comments:
Contrary to what their religion teaches... abhor the idea of peace...
I have often puzzled over how people of all kinds of religions can "believe" one thing and practice another. I have often puzzled over this phenomena even in my own life... it doesn't need to surround the religious either. I believe I love my family. In fact, I do love my family. So, then... what of the unloving look, the verbal snap, the turned back?
The best-seller of all time says: "All have sinned and fall short of God's glory." No one's perfect, and the things you talk about at the end of your comment are manifestations of that imperfection. But what is wrong is the former kind, where people willingly practice what their religions don't preach - I believe that, in these instances, their actions are not guided by their religion, but rather, by "worship" of another, lesser goal.
Take your Buddhist bashing and shove it your ass nichola. Christian assholes like you are the ones who started the conflict in Sri Lanka. Every single Sri Lankan leader of note has come from Christian families. Next time why not bitch and whine about the child-molesting Christian priests in Sri Lanka who have rented out their churches for the LTTE to store their arms and ammunition, and who continue to praise the LTTE and attend their nationalist racist rallies? I'm sure Jesus Christ preached all that eh?
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