Sri Lanka informally sounded India on Thursday over reports of a possibility of a destabilization of the democratic system, the Sunday Times learns. Such fears have arisen due to prevailing tensions within the defence establishment.
The subject had come up for discussion during a conversation between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and outgoing Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Alok Prasad. Following apprehensions expressed by President Rajapaksa, Mr. Prasad is learnt to have briefed Govt.leaders in New Delhi.
Diplomatic sources in Colombo said the Indian Government’s position was that it would offer all help under such circumstances to a democratically-elected Government. This is on the same basis India sent troops to the Maldives in the wake of an attack in Male by armed members of PLOTE, then a separatist group, on the invitation of the Maldivian President. Indian troops landed in Male and helped the National Security Service there to restore order.
So After Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal its turn of Sri Lanka.
The war against LTTE has been won FINALLY and now the struggle of power starts. This means that SLA army would need another terror group that will should how current government is incompetent, opposition as broken chairs and take powers in hand. Is any other terror group in making in SL?
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 19 Oct 2009 04:20
by Karan Dixit
India offers $100 million to help Sri Lanka refugees
So After Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal its turn of Sri Lanka.
The war against LTTE has been won FINALLY and now the struggle of power starts. This means that SLA army would need another terror group that will should how current government is incompetent, opposition as broken chairs and take powers in hand. Is any other terror group in making in SL?
Sri Lanka has zero history of Military coups. Always has been and will be a democratic nation (With extra judicial killings). We have an educated mas and there is no space and tolerance in SL for military coups.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 19 Oct 2009 22:28
by Anabhaya
Rajapakse enjoy immense public support - a coup against him will be very unpopular. Gen.Fonseka will probably contests elections early next year. There was another General turned politician in SL - Maj.Gen Janaka Perera.
Perera was a failure in politics. Fonseka will suffer the same fate because of the company he will keep in the polls - if at all he will sign up with other parties.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 20 Oct 2009 03:31
by Tuan
Terrorism expert Prof. Rohan Gunaratna claims credit for KP's arrest; in a new SBS Dateline documentary done by Amos Roberts…
Professor Rohan Gunaratna, who runs the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, in Singapore and close to Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary, who's credited with masterminding KP's rendition confirmed that KP was arrested at the Tune Hotel, and was taken direct from Malaysia on board a Sri Lankan flight to Sri Lanka .
Guwahati/Dibrugarh, Oct. 19: Security forces today stumbled upon “hard evidence” of Ulfa purchasing arms from the LTTE.
The army recovered a letter, written in Assamese, from Amarpur reserve forest in Sadiya this morning, mentioning that the outfit had paid a huge amount of money to the LTTE very recently to purchase arms.
“The money was probably paid just before the downfall of the LTTE,” a senior army officer told The Telegraph.
Although there were unconfirmed reports earlier about Ulfa’s links with the LTTE, the letter was the first hard evidence of the links.
The letter was found along with arms, including 35kg of RDX, an AK-56 rifle, a grenade launcher, four pen pistols, a carbine machine gun, two 9mm pistols, detonators and a huge quantity of ammunition of assorted weapons.
The consignments were kept buried under the ground at two places — Amarpur Borbora village and Deopani reserve forest. Both the areas are located along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
The army officer said the letter mentioned that Ulfa had paid several crores to the LTTE for purchasing arms.
“Probably a few arms recovered today were actually purchased from the LTTE,” the officer said.
Former Assam Police director general G.M. Srivastava had said there were reports of Ulfa having links with the LTTE and these links started after Ulfa purchased a few trawlers operating from Chittagong to Cambodia.
Although the security forces have been claiming that Ulfa had links with the LTTE, there was no concrete evidence to prove such a development.
The White House was tipped off by the Department of Justice on Thursday about the Friday arrest on insider trading charges of Obama and Democratic National Committee fundraiser and hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, who was also a major U.S. supporter of a Maryland-based charity that supported the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an organization that is on the U.S. State Department's Foreign Terrorist Organization list.
Rajaratnam was arrested for his role as founder of the Galleon Group, and was allegedly involved in what DOJ officials say was the largest-ever hedge-fund insider-trading case. DOJ sources say that its investigation of Rajaratnam had nothing to do with his ties to the Tamil Tigers or other pro-Tamil organizations he may have supported.
"It was clear that the White House might have to answer some questions about Rajaratnam when the arrest was made on Friday. This was nothing but a courtesy, a head's up," says a Department of Justice source. "He was a major supporter of the President. People were bound to ask."
Rajaratnam donated tens of thousands to the Democratic National Committee, personally "maxed out" to both Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2007 and Barack Obama's presidential campaigns in 2008, and raised more than $100,000 for Obama through his Wall Street and Sri Lankan-American connections, according a DNC source.
NEW DELHI: A Maryland-based charity that received donations from Raj Rajaratnam has been funnelling funds to the LTTE. The billionaire of Sri Lankan Tamil origin was arrested in the US on charges of being involved in a $20-million hedge fund insider-trading scam.
The revelation about the charity opening its kitty to the LTTE comes on the back of the assessment in New Delhi that the funding source of the dreaded outfit is intact. National Security Adviser M K Narayanan had recently warned that with the Tamil diaspora, which was the main source of funding for LTTE, spread far and wide, the threat of the outfit raising its head once again could not be ruled out.
PEOPLE-SMUGGLING networks are intent on bringing thousands more Tamils from war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka, according to ''Alex'', the leader of 254 Tamil asylum seekers who have refused to leave their boat moored at an Indonesian port for eight days.
Alex says the networks operating in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Britain and Switzerland, are targeting camps in Sri Lanka where 250,000 Tamils were trapped by fighting this year.
''Every one of those Tamils believe they have no future and want to leave the country at the earliest opportunity,'' he said by telephone from the boat where the asylum seekers are demanding assurances about their future from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
But a UN spokesman said last night the organisation that processes claims for refugee status had not yet received a request from Indonesia to speak with those on board.
76 men on merchant ship seized off coast of B.C. are asylum-seekers, Canadian Tamil group says
A bus with 76 males, believed to be from Sri Lanka, is escorted by law enforcement officers. The men were discovered on board the ship Ocean Lady.
The 76 men discovered on board a vessel off the coast of British Columbia are Tamils seeking asylum in Canada, the Canadian Tamil Congress said Sunday.
The men, of varying ages, were found on board the Ocean Lady, a rusty merchant ship of unknown origins after the RCMP, navy and Canada Border Services Agency received a tip that the vessel was entering Canadian waters.
The ship, with no visible numbers or flags flying, had been tracked since Thursday and was seized Friday by the RCMP.
David Poopalapillai, spokesman for the Canadian Tamil Congress, said he and fellow Tamils in Canada have seen pictures released by the RCMP of the ship's passengers.
The Indonesian navy intercepted a boat Oct. 11 carrying 254 Tamils headed to Australia.
Australian authorities have also detected at least two other boats carrying migrants heading toward their country.
After the LTTE's defeat and KP's capture,the LTTE's fund raising apparatus is unravelling.Rajaratnam's arrest in the US is another major blow to the diaspora's reputation.
Here is the view on the fate of Tamil refugees in India from Karuna,who claims that they're pathetic.
Lankan refugees in TN living in poor conditions- Karuna
Government Minister Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan (Karuna Amman) has slammed the conditions under which Sri Lankan refugees are kept in Tamil Nadu (TN) saying that the Tamil Nadu government has not made any effort to improve the conditions for the people who have been there for well over a decade. (DS)
More on Rajaratnam's arrest ,alleged funder of the LTTE.This is the second major financial scandal to hit the island after the fall of ace crook Lalith Kotelawala and his Ceylinco con group.
Canada's Immigration Minister has signalled that he intends to play hardball with 76 men believed to be from Sri Lanka who arrived on a rusty boat off Canada's West Coast, as the government battles the perception of Canada as a soft touch for asylum seekers.
While Tamil Canadians have urged Canadian officials to show compassion, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told The Globe and Mail yesterday that that the migrants' illegal arrival highlights the growing problem of human smuggling.
The Conservative government has said it believes many refugee claims are bogus and has promised tougher legislation.
“We don't want to develop a reputation of having a two-tier immigration system – one tier for legal, law-abiding immigrants who patiently wait to come to the country, and a second tier who seek to come through the back door, typically through the asylum system,” Mr. Kenney said in an interview.
“We need to do a much better job of shutting the back door of immigration for those who seek to abuse that asylum system.”
Inside Trader Has Long Faced Scrutiny in Sri Lanka
The news did not exactly come as a shock. Just two months before he was arrested on charges of insider trading on Oct. 16, billionaire Raj Rajaratnam described his job managing the New York City–based Galleon Group hedge fund as "a business in which you eat only what you kill." And though his hunting methods may have just come under legal scrutiny in the U.S., in Sri Lanka, where Rajaratnam was born, the high-profile entrepreneur has courted controversy for years.
Rajaratnam, the world's 559th richest person according to Forbes magazine at an estimated worth of $1.3 billion, has long faced suspicions of financial misconduct in the island nation where he was born in 1957. He has been accused of being a supporter of the now-defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and of using his financial strength to gain a foothold on the Sri Lankan stock market and manipulate it to suit Tiger strategies to undermine the Sri Lankan economy.
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka on Tuesday agreed to study a European Union report criticising its human rights record, as Brussels threatened to withdraw the island's preferential trading status.
The European Commission submitted Monday the findings of a year-long probe which concluded that the Sri Lankan government was in breach of commitments on human rights and good governance.
Sri Lanka had refused to allow the EU inquiry mission access to the island and insisted that its preferential trade access to the 27-member European bloc should be extended unconditionally.
"The government will closely study the European Commission report," the foreign ministry said in a statement. It stressed Colombo felt it "unnecessary" to allow any investigation.
Sri Lanka has till November 6 to respond to the EU report. Sri Lanka gains about 150 million dollars annually due to the preferential tariff currently granted by the EU, according to trade estimates.
EU trade spokesman Lutz Gullner said in Brussels that "serious problems" were identified in the Brussels probe which accused Sri Lanka of "breaching commitments" made on human rights.
Sri Lanka, which ended a decades-old internal conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels in May, is one of 16 countries benefiting from an EU deal giving its exporters easier access to the EU market.
The deal is offered to developing countries -- provided sustainable development and good governance conditions are met.
More SLTs caught for credit card crimes.It is unfirtunate that today if you say that you are a Sri Lankan Tamil,you are immediately looked at as if you were a member of the mafia.I've even had one of my own credit cards misused by SLTs.
Three Sri Lankans caught in Bangkok for credit card scam
Bangkok, 21 October, (Asiantribune.com): Thai police nabbed three Sri Lankan Tamils in downtown Bangkok for alleged credit card forgery. The suspected trio were identified as Sivapriyan Sivapakiyarajah, a naturalized Canadian Tamil of Sri Lankan origin, and Alahapan Balendran and Venkadeswaran Maheswaran, both Sri Lankan nationals, according to the Thai Police Crime Suppression Division.
The suspects were arrested near a hotel in Sukhumvit Soi 4 in Bangkok, while they were walking to their vehicle.
They were carrying 104 electronic cards, a magnetic card-strip reader and two laptop computers.
The initial investigation found that all three men were allegedly members of a transnational credit card hacking gang, using Thailand as their base for committing crime.
According to the police, the detainees stole credit card data from European customers of international banks. They then copied and transferred it into counterfeit credit cards which card holders could use to withdraw cash from an automated teller machine (ATM) worldwide.
The trio withdrew, according to Thai police sources, money from ATMs in banks and shopping malls in Thailand. Their counterfeit cards caused at least Bt40 million (over US$1,140,000) in financial liabilities.
The suspects said that they received the European victims’ data from their friends via the Internet, adding that banks in Europe were still using magnetic credit cards which were easy for scammers to hack and change data.
The trio were charged with forging electronic cards aiming to deceiving other people, possessing a machine or an object for falsifying and hacking information.
Sri Lanka blasts US report on human rights abuses
In full: Read the US state department report on Sri Lanka
Daniel Nasaw in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 22 October 2009 19.12 BST
Sri Lankan troops stand guard in Mullaittivu. Photograph: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP
The Sri Lankan government today angrily rejected a US state department report containing allegations of human rights abuses in the final days of the country's civil war, saying the document would fan further conflict.
According to accounts said by a senior US state department official to be "credible and well substantiated", government forces abducted and killed ethnic Tamil civilians, shelled and bombed no-fire zones, and killed senior rebel leaders with whom they had brokered a surrender.
Although the US stressed the allegations in the report did not constitute an accusation of war crimes, the Sri Lankan foreign affairs ministry in Colombo accused the US of smearing its reputation. "The allegations against the government of Sri Lanka ... appear to be unsubstantiated and devoid of corroborative evidence. There is a track record of vested interests endeavouring to bring the government of Sri Lanka into disrepute, through fabricated allegations and concocted stories."
The report includes allegations of violations by Tamil Tiger rebels, an organisation the US deems a terrorist group. It includes claims that the rebels conscripted children as young as 12, used non-combatants as human shields, and gunned down civilians attempting to flee rebel-held areas.
Stephen Rapp, the US ambassador-at-large for war crimes, called on Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of abuse by both sides. "We want accountability in this situation," he said. "We believe that [Sri Lankan authorities] can investigate this. We're trusting in that commitment."
The 70-page report to Congress was compiled from intelligence reports from the US embassy in Colombo, text messages and photographs from the war zone, foreign government sources and reports from human rights and media organisations.
The report says it reaches no conclusions on the veracity of the charges, although Rapp said the individual sources were "credible and reliable" and that allegations had been corroborated.
"The US state department report should dispel any doubts that serious abuses were committed during the conflict's final months," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Given Sri Lanka's complete failure to investigate possible war crimes, the only hope for justice is an independent, international investigation."
The abuses are alleged to have occurred in the final months of the 25-year conflict, when the Sri Lankan military cornered the remnants of the rebel force in a grim strip of beach in the north-east of the island.
The report describes a hellish scene, in which a no-fire zone crowded with civilians was struck by sustained shelling and bombing, with Tamil Tigers killing those who tried to escape rebel-held areas.
One source in the no-fire zone estimated that 100 people a day were dying in Sri Lankan army shelling and bombing. Another source said hospital facilities in the area were continually struck by shells, even though their locations had been carefully reported to the government. According to a report cited, a congested civilian area of the no-fire zone came under heavy shell attack, killing hundreds of civilians.
The report cites footage of Sri Lankan forces executing nine bound and naked Tamils in January - which the government says was forged - and killings of young men rounded up in safe zones. The US embassy and other governments reported that Tamil political leaders were killed while surrendering, the report said.
It came as more than 4,000 Tamils were released today from government-run camps where they have been held since May. Hundreds more remain in what the UN describes as internment camps with inadequate sanitation and healthcare. The government has defended the measures, saying that Tamil Tiger fighters may still be hiding among the civilian refugees.
Since the end of fighting, the government has reintegrated fewer than 27,000 civilians, leaving an estimated 245,000 in camps, according to Human Rights Watch. Last week, Sri Lanka's resettlement minister, Rishad Bathiudeen, said officials planned to resettle 100,000 this year.
The US is Sri Lanka's most important trading partner, accounting for more than a quarter of the island nation's exports. The US is a major provider of assistance, giving $23.4m (£14.1m) in direct aid in 2007.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 24 Oct 2009 18:20
by Kashyap
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 24 Oct 2009 18:27
by Kashyap
Sri Lanka: A tough war and a tougher recovery
COLOMBO, Oct 24 — For nearly seven decades K. Chathu Kuttan has held open the door at Colombo’s historic Galle Face Hotel for the great and the glorious. And the memories flood in as he gazes out on the Indian Ocean from his perch at the doorway.
Of huge wedding parties in the ballroom and of important visitors coming to check out the promise and pristine beauty of this emerald island.
Singapore’s Devan Nair. The tea party for 1,500 people when Jawaharlal Nehru visited Colombo, the special car for Queen Elizabeth. Emperor Hirohito, Richard Nixon, Sir Laurence Olivier, Bernard Shaw. The list of those he has welcomed runs on and on.
Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was known, was a different country then. That was before a quarter-century of ethnic blood-letting convulsed the land.
For the 89-year-old émigré from Kerala, whose late wife was a Tamil in a Sinhala majority nation, the prospects for a return to those happier days have never looked better.
* Traders say profits double, costs drop since war's end
* Banks rush to open new branches
By Shihar Aneez
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The highway is open, prices are up and business is growing in post-war northern Sri Lanka, but traders say a legacy of tight security left by a 25-year conflict is holding back the region's full potential.
The northern Jaffna district has been all but cut off from most of Sri Lanka since war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatists broke out in 1983.
Now small-time traders and entrepreneurs, from paintshop salesmen to electronics sellers and fisherman, say sales have nearly doubled with eased restrictions and the opening of the main highway after the Tigers' defeat in May.
The Tigers' control of parts of northern Sri Lanka just south of military-controlled Jaffna meant that the peninsula and its namesake city were virtual islands -- with goods only coming by boat or by air.
The military opened the main north-south A-9 road in July and is now permitting transport under close watch. All of Jaffna remains under military control.
Rajaratnam Financed Tamil Tigers, Victims Say in Suit
Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lankan billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, who faces U.S. criminal charges that he earned millions of dollars trading on inside information, was accused in a civil lawsuit in New Jersey of financing attacks by the Tamil Tigers, the plaintiffs said in a press release.
The suit was filed today by more than 30 victims and survivors of the Sri Lankan separatist group’s attacks, the press release says. It also accuses J.M. Rajaratnam, the father of the founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund. The two were sued under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows U.S. courts to hear suits by noncitizens claiming violations of international law.
In this Oct. 1, 2009 photo, a group of former Sri Lankan child soldiers play a game at a government rehabilitation center in the village of Ambepussa, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of capital Colombo, Sri Lanka. About 570 children are among an estimated 10,000 former rebels sent to rehabilitation centers after the 25-year war for a separate Tamil state ended in May.
By KRISHAN FRANCIS (AP) – 27 minutes ago
AMBEPUSSA, Sri Lanka — Vinojan's boyhood ended when Sri Lanka's civil war reignited.
Fifteen at the time, he says he joined the separatist Tamil Tigers to save his older brother from forcible conscription, and became a reluctant fighter as the rebels fought their last, desperate battles for survival.
Now, having won the war, Sri Lanka is trying to make patriotic citizens out of child soldiers like Vinojan and others who just months ago were fighting against the nation.
Vinojan, who nurses a dark scar on his wrist from a shrapnel wound, is just trying to reclaim what is left of a childhood cut short.
"We wanted to be students. All that was shattered," he said.
About 570 children, some as young as 13, are among an estimated 10,000 captured rebels who have been sent to government rehabilitation camps around the island since the 25-year war for a separate Tamil state ended in May. Tamils are an ethnic minority in the country of 21 million people off the coast of India.
"These are children who were exposed to danger, taken away from their families and deprived of their childhood," said Maj. Gen. Daya Ratnayake, the military official in charge of the camps. "Our hope is to get them back to normal as much as possible."
Kashyap wrote:Former child soldiers move on in Sri Lanka
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/med ... -LQ?size=l In this Oct. 1, 2009 photo, a group of former Sri Lankan child soldiers play a game at a government rehabilitation center in the village of Ambepussa, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of capital Colombo, Sri Lanka. About 570 children are among an estimated 10,000 former rebels sent to rehabilitation centers after the 25-year war for a separate Tamil state ended in May.
By KRISHAN FRANCIS (AP) – 27 minutes ago
AMBEPUSSA, Sri Lanka — Vinojan's boyhood ended when Sri Lanka's civil war reignited.
Fifteen at the time, he says he joined the separatist Tamil Tigers to save his older brother from forcible conscription, and became a reluctant fighter as the rebels fought their last, desperate battles for survival.
Now, having won the war, Sri Lanka is trying to make patriotic citizens out of child soldiers like Vinojan and others who just months ago were fighting against the nation.
Vinojan, who nurses a dark scar on his wrist from a shrapnel wound, is just trying to reclaim what is left of a childhood cut short.
"We wanted to be students. All that was shattered," he said.
About 570 children, some as young as 13, are among an estimated 10,000 captured rebels who have been sent to government rehabilitation camps around the island since the 25-year war for a separate Tamil state ended in May. Tamils are an ethnic minority in the country of 21 million people off the coast of India.
"These are children who were exposed to danger, taken away from their families and deprived of their childhood," said Maj. Gen. Daya Ratnayake, the military official in charge of the camps. "Our hope is to get them back to normal as much as possible."
From the look of it, it looks like Sri Lanka has not only got arms and ammunition from China but also the techniques of PR.
kashyap, why is it that you only post bad things about Sri Lankan Tamils, dont you ever find any news report in which the Sri Lankan Sinhaleese accept that it was their mistake to have treated the Tamilians badly which lead to the three decades of Civil War???????
From the look of it, it looks like Sri Lanka has not only got arms and ammunition from China but also the techniques of PR.
kashyap, why is it that you only post bad things about Sri Lankan Tamils, dont you ever find any news report in which the Sri Lankan Sinhaleese accept that it was their mistake to have treated the Tamilians badly which lead to the three decades of Civil War???????
What made you think posting about Tamil child soldiers is a statement against Tamils? It is a statement on what the government is doing to rehabilitate Child Soldiers.
If you want to see bad stuff written about SL, just go to TamilNet and other Tamil Websites and there are plenty of bad things written about SL in those website.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 25 Oct 2009 15:55
by Kashyap
'Prabhakaran wanted to kill Tamil intellectuals'
October 25, 2009 15:07 IST
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's slain supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran was jealous of educated people and wanted to destroy the Tamil intellectuals for his survival, a Tamil leader has claimed.
"The LTTE was an outfit with uneducated people. The top leadership of the LTTE including Prabhakaran, Thamilselvam and many more leaders were uneducated. They did not respect the educated Tamils," Emelda Sukumar, the government agent of Killinochchi and Mullaittivu, has said.
"Their (LTTE leaders) intention was to destroy the Tamil intellectuals for their survival. They were jealous of the decent and educated people," Sukumar, the first Tamil woman to be appointed as a GA, told the state-run Sunday Observer in an interview.
Sukumar, who has served for over eight years in the region, said the LTTE could not survive mainly because "they undermined the values of the educated people" and added the LTTE leaders were educated up to grade V or maximum till grade VIII.
"Sukumar, who served as Mullaittiviu GA while under LTTE control and saw their 'rise and fall' and how they exploited the money sent by the Tamil Diaspora, said the Tamils who funded the LTTE should compensate Wanni Tamils who are affected badly due to the LTTE terror," the paper said.
The Sri Lankan diaspora, especially Tamils, must consign conflict to the past and work together to build a collective identity
Amjad Saleem
Saturday 24 October 2009 11.00 BST
After 26 years of war that cost thousands of innocent lives, the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has brought Sri Lanka to a crossroads. Yet despite the government's victory, there has been widespread international criticism about how the war was handled. Success has come at a price in terms of destruction, death and the displacement of civilians. The number of actual deaths during the conflict, particularly in its last days, will never be known, despite many international attempts to hold the Sri Lankan government to task.
Despite the LTTE being widely praised in the Tamil diaspora as a "freedom fighting" organisation, it was one of the world's worst terrorist groups. It had perfected the art of suicide bombing and assassination, as well as engaging in the massacre of civilians from all communities, including Sinhalese and Tamils, and the ethnic cleansing of Muslim civilians from the north in 1990.
VISAKHAPATNAM: Union home minister P Chidambaram’s assertion that the naxalites are acquiring arms from abroad is only the tip of the iceberg, as central intelligence agencies have found fresh evidence of joint training camps and meetings conducted by the Maoists with Tamil Tigers in the forests of south and central India.
In fact, the central intelligence top brass has warned Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Orissa on the alleged intrusion of Tamil Tigers into Indian territorial waters. According to the sources, a well-trained 12-member group of Tamil Tigers has recently sneaked into India to join hands with the Maoists.
“They entered north coastal Andhra Pradesh via Kerala and after splitting into three groups, one of which is suspected to have found a safe haven in Vizianagaram Agency area,” sources said. This comes close on the heels of an intelligence alert to the coastal states on the East Coast about a possible LTTE cadre intrusion.
But what is bothering the security establishments is the prowess of Tamil Tigers in triggering explosives and suicide bombing. “Imagine the expertise of Tigers coupled with Maoists’ jungle warfare. It will be a deadly combination for the security agencies to tackle with,” analysts said.
National Post, October 25, 2009, 00:45. OTTAWA -- The migrant smuggling ship intercepted off the West Coast carrying 76 Sri Lankan men is owned by the outlawed Tamil Tigers and previously smuggled weapons from North Korea to Sri Lanka, says an international expert on South Asia terrorism.
It's feared the ship may be the first wave of defeated Tamil Tiger fighters fleeing for safe haven after the end of Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war, says another security expert.
Canada hosts the largest population of Sri Lankan Tamils outside of Sri Lanka, and has long been a key support base for the Tigers, which is on Canada's official list of terrorist organizations.
A SENIOR member of the Australian Tamil community says former Tamil Tiger fighters are definitely among the influx of boatpeople to arrive on our shores.
Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations secretary Victor Rajakulendran said the high proportion of young men on the boats, coupled with the risks faced by the Tigers in Sri Lanka, made it certain some arrivals were members of the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Dr Rajakulendran's remarks came as the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking prepared, after a week at sea, to land today 78 Tamils at the Indonesian detention centre in Tanjung Pinan.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor on Saturday revealed 68 adult males on board had commenced a hunger strike in protest at being kept from Australia.
Late yesterday a meeting between Indonesian immigration, police and foreign affairs officials was co-ordinating the arrival of the Viking passengers, including a 12-year-old girl requiring medical assistance.
A police source said the ship would arrive at 10am local time (2pm AEDT) in the port of Kijang, where the asylum-seekers would be loaded on to buses for the 30-minute drive to Tanjung Pinang.
The news came as the Immigration Department prepared to extend the boundaries of Christmas Island's detention centre to cope with the influx of arrivals, including 32 Tamils believed to have sailed directly from Sri Lanka.
12 member LTTE group infiltrated India to train Maoists – intelligence report
Indian Union home minister P Chidambaram’s assertion that Naxalites are acquiring arms from abroad is only the tip of the iceberg, as central intelligence agencies have found fresh evidence of joint training camps and meetings conducted by the Red guerrillas with Tamil Tigers in the forests of south and central India.
Does it indicate that Maoists are getting logistic support and training from LTTE? Are the Maoists and the Tamil Tigers brothers in arms? If intelligence documents are to be believed, the answer is yes. Sources said the country’s top intelligence wing has acquired some key information about the dangerous alliance between the Maoists and the Tigers.
In fact, the central intelligence top brass has warned the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Orissa on the alleged intrusion of the Tamil Tigers into Indian territorial waters. According to sources, a well-trained 12-member group of Tamil Tigers has recently sneaked into India to join hands with the Maoists. ‘‘They entered north coastal Andhra via Kerala after splitting into three groups, one of which is suspected to have found a safe haven in Vizianagaram area,’’ sources said. This comes close on the heels of an intelligence alert to the coastal states on the East Coast about a possible LTTE cadre intrusion.
But what is bothering the security agencies is the prowess of Tamil Tigers in triggering explosives and suicide bombing. ‘‘Imagine the expertise of Tigers coupled with the Maoists’ jungle warfare. It will be a deadly combination for the security agencies to tackle with,’’ analysts said.
Will the Maoists stand to gain? ‘‘Of course, the Tigers have made sizable gains in guerrilla warfare fighting Lankan forces and they would pass on the expertise to the Maoists,’’ a security analyst said. Security wings suspect that the Maoists could take the help of Tamil Tigers to prepare them to defend the all-out central forces’ attack codenamed ‘Operation Green Hunt’ on Abujmad, their strategic base and stronghold in the Dandakaranya in Chhattisgarh. With Chidambaram insisting that the operation is aimed at defeating the top Maoist leadership, sources said the focus is on to nab or kill Andhra Maoist leaders, who constitute 80% of Maoist top brass.
‘‘It will be again Andhra commandoes versus top Maoist leaders in Abujmad as and when the central forces corner the area. So, the chances of Maoists relying on Tigers cannot be ruled out,’’ a source said.
Sources also said the Maoists could take the help of LTTE rebels for training their military wing, People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA).
Analysts said LTTE game plan is double-edged. On one hand, it would help the Maoists to take on Indian forces, while on the other it would try to regain the lost ground in Sri Lanka by making South India their new base to fight the Lankan forces in the northern parts of the island nation.
From the look of it, it looks like Sri Lanka has not only got arms and ammunition from China but also the techniques of PR.
kashyap, why is it that you only post bad things about Sri Lankan Tamils, dont you ever find any news report in which the Sri Lankan Sinhaleese accept that it was their mistake to have treated the Tamilians badly which lead to the three decades of Civil War???????
What made you think posting about Tamil child soldiers is a statement against Tamils? It is a statement on what the government is doing to rehabilitate Child Soldiers.
If you want to see bad stuff written about SL, just go to TamilNet and other Tamil Websites and there are plenty of bad things written about SL in those website.
I only see the posters whom i believe everyone knows only posting in the SL thread. What i meant to say was in the whole war between LTTE and Srilankan forces, none of the sides were 100% correct. Which leads to the statement that there are skeletons stashed up in SL Army cupboard
Why is it that none of the posts point to that fact. May be a news about SL army accepting that it has gone overboard in doing certain things, or may be SL politicians accepting that the whole LTTE would not have come up if they had treated the SL Thamilians equally at par with the rest of SL Citizens.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 27 Oct 2009 13:19
by Philip
You're right.Even JR Jayawardene said in hindsight that he'd made a mistake,though his efforts to settle the matter were half-hearted to say the least.many SL Sinhalese leaders did make public statements that the Tamils had been treated badly and that they deseved a genuine political settlement.It is unfortunate and tragic that the LTTE did not respond positively to the genuine efforts that both Chandrika and Ranil made to them.Instead Prabhakaran tried to assassinate Chandrika-who lost an eye in the attack and organised electoral boycotting by the northern Tamils to scuttle ranil's chances,bringing into power Rajapakse.Prabhakaran led the LTTE like Hitler and his outfit's policies followed those of "Brother No:1",Pol Pot.Murdering Tamil intellectuals and leaders like Amirthalingam and Tiruchelvam were unforgviable.The facsist Sinhalese parties have been sidelined to a large extent,with the JVP in tatters and the monks party in deep meditation.
However,the GOSL should reduce its war-footing uncompromising attitude now that the war is over ,slowly relax, allowing the press full freedom.The latest reports that the Sunday Leader journos,whose editor was assassinated for alleged anti-govt. reporting,is again facing death threats,is a depressing state of affairs.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 27 Oct 2009 20:02
by Javee
Philip wrote:However,the GOSL should reduce its war-footing uncompromising attitude now that the war is over ,slowly relax, allowing the press full freedom.The latest reports that the Sunday Leader journos,whose editor was assassinated for alleged anti-govt. reporting,is again facing death threats,is a depressing state of affairs.
Aint gonna happen. GoSL is increasing its defense budget, increasing the head count. There are rumors that retired army personnel are being asked to relocate to the north. Couple hundred Singhalese who left the north in the 80's have returned and are demanding their land back, which the govt has to provide legally as they have the papers. All these actions run wedges further in to the tamil community, the govt is in catch 22 now.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 27 Oct 2009 20:48
by Tuan
Video: 'Raj Rajaratnam provided relief funds to Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka'
Joe Leahy of The Financial Times reports from the village in Southern Sri Lanka, where Galleon built houses for 2004 tsunami victims:
Philip wrote:You're right.Even JR Jayawardene said in hindsight that he'd made a mistake,though his efforts to settle the matter were half-hearted to say the least.many SL Sinhalese leaders did make public statements that the Tamils had been treated badly and that they deseved a genuine political settlement.It is unfortunate and tragic that the LTTE did not respond positively to the genuine efforts that both Chandrika and Ranil made to them.Instead Prabhakaran tried to assassinate Chandrika-who lost an eye in the attack and organised electoral boycotting by the northern Tamils to scuttle ranil's chances,bringing into power Rajapakse.Prabhakaran led the LTTE like Hitler and his outfit's policies followed those of "Brother No:1",Pol Pot.Murdering Tamil intellectuals and leaders like Amirthalingam and Tiruchelvam were unforgviable.The facsist Sinhalese parties have been sidelined to a large extent,with the JVP in tatters and the monks party in deep meditation.
However,the GOSL should reduce its war-footing uncompromising attitude now that the war is over ,slowly relax, allowing the press full freedom.The latest reports that the Sunday Leader journos,whose editor was assassinated for alleged anti-govt. reporting,is again facing death threats,is a depressing state of affairs.
The colorful language that you use to describe LTTE leaders, why dont you use the same to describe the SL politicians. They are equally or more responsible for the whole mess.
BTW do they plan to change the constitution that allows Thamilians to be treated as a second class citizens to one that allows equal opportunity to every citizen irrespective of race.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 01:55
by thusitha
rajsunder
BTW do they plan to change the constitution that allows Thamilians to be treated as a second class citizens to one that allows equal opportunity to every citizen irrespective of race.
Could you please tell us which part of the constitution you are talking about? I mean the current constitution. Could you please post the text that you think is discriminatory to the Tamils.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 02:00
by thusitha
Tuan
Video: 'Raj Rajaratnam provided relief funds to Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka'
Joe Leahy of The Financial Times reports from the village in Southern Sri Lanka, where Galleon built houses for 2004 tsunami victims:
On one hand he gives to SL victims. On the other hand he gives money to the terrorist.
If you consider the cost and the benefits, the cost of this guy is much higher than the benefits.
Therefore SL are better off not having a Billionaire like this.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 02:34
by Stan_Savljevic
thusitha wrote:
rajsunder
BTW do they plan to change the constitution that allows Thamilians to be treated as a second class citizens to one that allows equal opportunity to every citizen irrespective of race.
Could you please tell us which part of the constitution you are talking about? I mean the current constitution. Could you please post the text that you think is discriminatory to the Tamils.
In every country worthy of its name, constitution-making is a job that is held sacrosanct and is done once after independence. Unfortunately, there are many countries where constitutions get made time and again to suit the body politic.
Chapter II: Buddhism.
9. The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).
12. (1) All persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law.
(2) No citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion, place of birth or any such grounds:
foster [ˈfɒstə]
vb (tr)
1. to promote the growth or development of
2. to bring up (a child, etc.); rear
3. to cherish (a plan, hope, etc.) in one's mind
How are the two not conflicting with each other if the duty of the State is to protect and foster one religion while it claims that no citizen shall be discriminated on the basis of religion? How can one religion be FOSTERED exclusively if co-religionist citizens of the country are not discriminated on the basis of the fact that they do not belong to that specific religion? How can one religion be protected while the other religions do not have the explicit guarantee of protection and yet the state claim to be non-discriminatory? I assume the word foremost means the following:
fore·most (fôrmst, fr-)
adj.
1. First in time or place.
2. Ahead of all others, especially in position or rank; paramount
What is non-discriminatory in having a specific FOREMOST religion?
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 03:08
by thusitha
Stan_Savljevic
Quote:
Chapter II: Buddhism.
9. The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).
Is Sri Lanka the only country that have something like this in it's constitution?
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 04:17
by Stan_Savljevic
thusitha wrote:
Is Sri Lanka the only country that have something like this in it's constitution?
No, Pakistan, BD, etc. also belong to this list. For the record, India does not belong to the same list.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 06:53
by Javee
thusitha wrote:
Stan_Savljevic
Quote:
Chapter II: Buddhism.
9. The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).
Is Sri Lanka the only country that have something like this in it's constitution?
Which other country has ethnic hindu tamil population that fought for their rights with the majority ethnic group, right from their independence from colonists?
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 07:08
by Javee
Language policy in the 1997 draft constitution
While the 1997 draft constitution seems to satisfy the language demands of the Ceylon Tamil national movement, it is by no means clear that it does so. Article 32 of the draft constitution states that ‘The official languages of the Republic shall be Sinhala and Tamil’, the first formulation since 1956 in which both languages have been treated equally. Nevertheless, later articles modify the sense of this provision and significantly qualify its implementation.
Through Article 35, Sinhala is retained as the sole language for the maintenance of public records in any district where Tamil speakers comprise less than one-eighth of the population. Article 38(2) specifies that prospective employees must speak Sinhala for any government job which cannot be discharged ‘otherwise than with a sufficient knowledge of such language’. Article 39(2) specifies that any authority enacting written laws will determine which translation of such laws is to be considered authoritative, while Article 42(1) determines that Sinhala shall remain the language of court records and proceedings in all of Sri Lanka outside the north and east.
Which other country has ethnic hindu tamil population that fought for their rights with the majority ethnic group, right from their independence from colonists?
Not Malaysia.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 12:04
by thusitha
Stan_Savljevic
No, Pakistan, BD, etc. also belong to this list. For the record, India does not belong to the same list.
I am sure few other western countries would have this as well (Or might have had this clause). So it is not just SL. So why did you make it such a big issue then? If this is such a no, no thing, I am sure this would be fought in International courts.
Having said, that I don't see any point in having this clause.
Any more discriminatory clauses in the constitution?
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 14:14
by Stan_Savljevic
thusitha wrote:
I am sure few other western countries would have this as well (Or might have had this clause). So it is not just SL. So why did you make it such a big issue then?
Well, I dont dispute the fact that americans and australians are racists, I have lived in both countries for a long enough time to know exactly what I am talking about. They exterminated aborigines in vast numbers to entrench themselves in their societies today. The same for the brits. All this does not mean that what the Sinhalese society is doing to the Tamils in SL should not be questioned. Just because you care to see only the India-SL thread does not mean that you know my whines elsewhere on this forum.
If this is such a no, no thing, I am sure this would be fought in International courts.
Well, if anyone and everyone points out that HR violations are taking place in SL, we have buncha posts about how LTTE are evil incarnate and how they did this and that. In this forum, this is called the open-fly torn-shirt analogy, which stands for, "When pointed out that his fly is open, the said person laughs at the other saying the shirt is torn." Sure LTTE are evil incarnate and more than that, but the LTTE never claimed itself to stand for a democratic, socialist republic that the GoSL vouches to stand for. When you claim such hi-falutin and pristine goals, dont get irritated when people point the ills in your society.
The maturity of a nation is reflected by how it treats people who point out the problems in its body politic. India may have its own set of problems, warts, moles and cancers, sure, but indulging in collective punishment for the crime of a few is not something that GoI stands for. Not on paper, not in action as far as I can see, despite tremendous actions to push it to act. Heck, it does not even act against a terrorist state that has vowed to give it death by a 1008 cuts. There is a reason to that and it is the same reason why the 47 partition was accepted silently unlike the chinis who went on a civil war to throw away the "others." And in case GoI indulges in any collective punishment for the crime of a few, I will have no shame in saying shame upon GoI. I am not going to sit around and defend the indefensible. Unfortunately, come what may, and independent of the discriminations that GoSL persisted with before and now, there is a vocal buncha Sinhalese who will defend GoSL to the hilt. That is the point. Jingoism is one thing, maturity is yet another thing often times orthogonal to it.
Having said, that I don't see any point in having this clause. Any more discriminatory clauses in the constitution?
Boss, the problem with Sinhalese is that discrimination of Tamils has been so firmly engendered in the post-48 phase and pushed forward by such acts like the Mahavamsam chronicles that they have the gumption to ask "what discrimination giscrimination?" when the apparent contradictions of their polity stares at their face like a leviathan. I posted two rather brief exercepts on how the SLFP and UNP became more and more Sinhala-chauvinist to the point of acting contrary to democratic norms and liquidating Tamil representation in the parliament. Unfortunately, you could question my points from your constitution, but you could nt dispute the facts that I posted here. For the record, here are the two links: http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 24#p748624 http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 30#p748730
[Why dont you tell me why these two posts above are not proper reflections of a discriminatory Sri Lankan society at large? The onus is on you to explain why your former president Jayawardene acted in a way that he did and why did it take so long for Tamil language to be put on a decent footing at least on paper, let alone on the ground. We too had our phases of insecurity, we had tons of them somuchso that one famous author wrote a book titled "A million mutinies now." Despite all that, despite all the issues that runs through our system, collective punishment is a phrase that is neither propagated by GoI in form, nor actions. Instead of asking me to supply more and more proof of discrimination, please examine the excerpts and tear it to shreds or learn to learn.]
The Tamils took to arms not instantaneously, TULF came around only in the early 70s. That is a good 20 years post-independence. TULF was a kid when compared with the rubbish of LTTE, PLOTE, EPDP etc. The very act of dis-enfranchising TULF because they openly advocated secessionism albeit in a democratic and more or less peaceful means (sure there were contradictions in their methods and aims too) by the Sinhalese polity ensured that they pushed many Tamils towards the more violent idiots. LTTE did not become a big beast out of thin air, many people did and still support its methods, means and actions. The question is why are people getting alienated if there is no discrimination in SL. Either there is a contradiction in the claim that there is no discrimination or there is something fundamentally wrong with the Tamils as some of the propagandists here would like everyone in the world to believe. For me, it is 400% clear that it is the former. If you choose to believe the latter, dont take takleef if I choose to tear such an argument down.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 15:49
by Sanku
Who did what right now is pointless, the only thing to watch for now and should get all our attention is "what will be done now"
The history of bitter conflict between various parties and their various crimes are well known, however for better or for worse the battle has now been won by GoSL.
It is now up to GoSL to provide the needed leadership for the country -- which "so far" they show signs of doing.
Muckraking over past right now serves no purpose -- the idea of a Sri Lanka now is commonly agreed on by all parties (at least on the face of it, with the last unwilling party removed from the scene) and now progress needs to be made on that front.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 19:13
by Javee
Sanku wrote:Muckraking over past right now serves no purpose -- the idea of a Sri Lanka now is commonly agreed on by all parties (at least on the face of it, with the last unwilling party removed from the scene) and now progress needs to be made on that front.
In 2004, LTTE did agree to a Federal solution, so pretty much the last unwilling party was supporting a one nation solution with greater autonomy to the tamil parts and de-merger of North and East. The tsunami came and swept their ceasefire and themselves albeit later.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 28 Oct 2009 19:13
by Javee
sanjaykumar wrote:Which other country has ethnic hindu tamil population that fought for their rights with the majority ethnic group, right from their independence from colonists?
Not Malaysia.
Thanks, and they have the same problem, just proves the point.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 29 Oct 2009 14:12
by thusitha
Hi Stan, I will go through your posts and respond to it. But mean while let me look at the following statement.
Stan said ...
Boss, the problem with Sinhalese is that discrimination of Tamils has been so firmly engendered in the post-48 phase and pushed forward by such acts like the Mahavamsam chronicles that they have the gumption to ask "what discrimination giscrimination?" when the apparent contradictions of their polity stares at their face like a leviathan. I posted two rather brief exercepts on how the SLFP and UNP became more and more Sinhala-chauvinist to the point of acting contrary to democratic norms and liquidating Tamil representation in the parliament.
And this is how currently citizens of India Behave. This I just found from one of the comments on http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 893479.ece regarding the Pakistani Bombing Yesterday and I wasn't searching for dirt on India.
The 2002 Gujarat violence describes the Godhra train burning and resulting communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was forcibly stopped and attacked by about 500+ strong Muslim mob.[1] As a result, 59 Hindu passengers — mostly women, children and seniors returning from the holy city of Ayodhya — were burned alive. The resulting riots and massacres killed 790 Muslims and an additional 254 Hindus. 223 people were reported missing and 2,548 sustained injuries. 523 places of worship were damaged: 298 dargahs, 205 mosques, 17 temples, and 3 churches. Muslim-owned businesses suffered the bulk of the damage. 61,000 Muslims and 10,000 Hindus fled their homes. Preventive arrests of 17,947 Hindus and 3,616 Muslims were made. In total 27,901 Hindus and 7,651 Muslims were arrested. Nearly 10,000 rounds of bullets were fired by the police, killing 93 Muslims and 77 Hindus. [2] [3] [4] [5]
And you are saying we have a huge problem in Discrimination?
Your behaviour is very much the same to the behaviour of SL government. That is let the Hindus Kill Muslim, so that they learn a lesson. The only thing is the repercussion for that is in much smaller scale since no one take on India Directly.
If we have behaved this way in recent years, how much would you be screaming and shouting? The whole would would have said genocide, genocide and give Tamils a separate. No one says a thing about big nations, people always try to fix problems in small poor nations.
Also most of the time people try to drag the past in to this conflict, but during the past thirty years, which is a long time the country has been fixing it's constitution so that there are no minority discriminations.
And only thing you had to show from discrimination is giving Buddhism main religions in SL which as I pointed out is in the constitution of many other countries.
So, it is good to give me the links to show that we have done wrongs in the past, but I have read quite a lot of these and if you post these on SL websites, you will see lot of responses stating why and how it happens. Some times it is very difficult to figure out what is true and what is a lie. Only thing I prefer to go now is by the past 15, 20 years of behaviour which is continuously improving in my mind, but It is impossible to satisfy everybody.
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 29 Oct 2009 14:20
by pgbhat
^^^
Did you even bother reading about "open fly, torn shirt" Stan talked about?
Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion
Posted: 29 Oct 2009 14:59
by thusitha
pgbhat said
Did you see the comment about ...
I did,
I saw that. Then, I saw the comment on the daily mirror, and I couldn't resist.
I like Stan have live most part of my life in overseas and I have been to many places and Understand how people are discriminated through out the world. Also have been in the receiving end of it as well.
My personal belief is that with all the discrimination in the world, you are over reacting to what is happening in SL.
What we have it is mainly an economic problems, lot of it be reduced as soon as our economic situation becomes better. But for that peace must prevail in the country. Bit of a catch 22. But we have to wait and see for at least the next two years we before we can make any predictions.
