Today the process of healing between Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka has yet to begin in earnest. Hopefully the end of the war will mean an examination of the sources of hostility and an equitable solution in the democratic process.
Vijai (Wayfaring Stranger) is based out of Chicago, IL. His career has been in business consulting and from that vantage point he views the economy, politics and society. In his blog Vijai writes about the abiding interests of his life- faith, society, …
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Article comments
1 - Kalugu
What is the purity in killing 10,000 civilians to defeat the same terrorism?
2 - daleandersen
Like the Palestinians, Ceylon's Tamils have had bad luck in their choice (or in most cases, non-choice) of leaders.
Prabhakaran was a Hitler. A small Hitler on a smaller stage, but a Hitler to his very bone marrow. Even down to the very end, when everyone else in the known universe knew it was over, his bunker mentality mirrored the last days of Der Fuhrer.
Hopefully, the next Tamil leader will have a basic understanding of the words "compromise" and "negotiate," but you never know. The BBC printed the comments of some British Tamils who, from their plush London flats, want the war to continue in a nastier, more suicidal mode. With fools like those free to blather on far from Ground Zero, Prabhakaran need not roll over in his freshly-dug grave just yet...
3 - Wayfaring Stranger
@Kalugu: None. The Sri Lankan government and the IPKF have a lot to answer for as well.
@daleandersen: The ball is in the government's court now. A lot depends on what their vision is for the way forward. Will it be a South African style "mercy triumphs over judgment" approach? Or will it be a Chinese style demographic assimilation of predominantly Tamil lands into the Sinhalese mainstream? Or in the worst case scenario, will there simply be more of the same i.e. status quo?
Let's nto forget that not long ago the Tamil resistance did not actually demand a separate state, but only equal representation and equitable treatment. If the government can engage the Tamils in responsible dialogue over these topics we may see a shift in their stance.
4 - daleandersen
Memo to Wayfaring Stranger:
The only ones saying "the ball's in the Sri Lanka government's court" are the queasy Europeans who can't stand the sight of blood anymore. No one should pay any attention to them. They're a dying culture anyway. In 50 years, they'll all be Muslim.
In point of fact, no one will remember what really happened in Sri Lanka. Because, when all is said and done, it's the winners who get to write the history...
5 - roger nowosielski
"The only ones saying "the ball's in the Sri Lanka government's court" are the queasy Europeans who can't stand the sight of blood anymore. No one should pay any attention to them. They're a dying culture anyway. In 50 years, they'll all be Muslim."
Is this a prediction or an expression of hope?
6 - RJ
#4:
Wow. I agree. That was pretty deep, and true. Prepare to be flamed.
7 - Wayfaring Stranger
The winner is the government. We'll see what they do. With the Tamil leadership out of the way, I do not expect to see any visionary moves from that quarter. If the government acts with the interest of only a section of the society in mind chaos will reign.
I'm no European. I'm an Indian whose family members have served in the Indian armed forces and understand realities in the region. We too are faced with our own problems in Kashmir and noone here has any love lost for terrorists.
8 - Kalugu
Terrorism: They say means does not justify the cause.
With more than 10,000 lives lost, How is Sri Lankan war on rebels justified?
9 - Wayfaring Stranger
Kalugu: I think I answered this question before. There is no justification for the Sri Lankan government's violence when it was unprovoked.
I think your question is something else. You are likely asking me if this injustice doesn't somehow let the LTTE and other such outfits pass muster? No, it does not. The bloody history of the civil war holds both these parties culpable.
Are you asking me if there is another way?