Comments on: The fear of Jaffna https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-fear-of-jaffna Journalism for Citizens Sun, 25 Nov 2007 14:43:23 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.1 By: asha https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-219 Sun, 25 Nov 2007 14:43:23 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-219 you want to look at models of governments to aspire to? look at canada.

]]> By: Sham https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-218 Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:54:07 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-218 To ethnichy,

well mate the beauty of majority (democrasy) is that , you will have to wait until the sinhalees decide to split it or give up the north and part after they get tired of it. ultimately , majority rules…………..

]]> By: ethnichybrid https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-217 Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:56:44 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-217 After reading the comments above and recognizing the same ol same ol arguments that have been going round and round for as long as we have had independence I feel all this is pointless. We are politically immature, as a country we have had no real leadership our entire independent years. Even though I am not a great fan of Mahathir Mohamed I am impressed by the way he got all Malaysians – Malays, Chinese, Indians – to feel and be Malaysian. I have no problem with Sinhalese being the national language but it should have been introduced as a unifying factor like Bahasa Malay, instead of a dividing tool. I have no problem with Buddhism being the protected religion of the state, if it didnt mean that you denigrate other religions (we all know what Soma Thera used to say about the Muslims). The sad thing is that the Sinhala Buddhists are so insecure they feel that as the majority it is their right to oppress and insult the minorities. I predict this ethnic problem will continue for a couple of 100 years. We brought it upon ourselves. Even the Sinhalese are not united – caste, location and religion divide them. So perhaps the concept of a nation state is ridiculous. Another western imposition. Before colonialism we were not one country. If we are trotting ancient history as legitimation for how we govern today, lets go back to how we were governed before, and the first thing we should do is divide the country!

]]> By: N https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-216 Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:53:12 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-216 Suntzu, interesting point about the equal stripes on the Indian flag, care to elaborate what communities they stand for and represent so equitably?

]]> By: asha https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-215 Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:29:08 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-215 the comments above seem to have forgotten what this article is about. pain and suffering, fear and intolerance.

if in 2007 after decades and decades of war, we are still discussing percentages, property, what our nation should be because of who’s a majority and who’s not..that means we are not ready for peace. we would rather see blood and slaughter than peace. peace is about compromise, it’s about understanding, it’s about a greater good, for everyone.

i guess it will take a few more generations to arrive there.

]]> By: Sham https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-214 Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:53:13 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-214 Sinhala Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Burgher) what language to speak, what cultural aspects to follow, (ban on the sale of meat, alcohol…closure of film halls ect on full moon days) Giving Buddhism the foremost place where as under the Solbury Constitution all religeons were given equal place. Bringing in standardization of the University entrance in the 1970s and much, much more.

suntzu, you see where you have gone wrong. you are mixing up religon and race. see according to you hindus muslims buddhist are religions. yet sri lankans are a race, or nationality.. when you can understand that you can understand more. if you can swing a majority motion to chnage the flag, colour of even creater a nation with majority vote your more than welcome to do it. untill that time the majority will do as they pls, while you will be minority.

by the way, can u eat pork in the middle east? so why closing meat shops in Sri Lanka bothering you. just get the meat a day before and eat it mate.

]]> By: suntzu https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-213 Mon, 05 Nov 2007 03:31:10 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-213 Sunil…two wrongs don’t make a right! Just because the British oppressed the the Buddhists, doesn’t mean that now the majority Buddhists have a right to oppress the minorities in Sri Lanka!
We are totally happy to have a holiday every poya day…but don’t restrict our freedoms on these days!
You say that the Lion Flag is one of the most beautiful flags in the world…well Sunil, that is a matter of opinion!
If a non-Buddhist can become the leader of this country…why did S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake change his religeon from Christian to Buddhist?

ps: what have you got to say about the new rule on television where any scenes showing smoking or drinking is blacked out? What is the Government hoping to achieve by this? Sri Lanka has become a joke! Long Live the Chinthanaya!

]]> By: Sunil https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-212 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 08:17:06 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-212 Sorry suntzu, but the Sinhalese Buddhists are part and parcel of this country. They are what give Sri Lanka its unique nature. Buddhism has historically been the official religion of the country for over 2500 years and has played a role in the country’s affairs which cannot be compared by Hinduism, Christianity or Islam. Just like the ethos of India is Hindu, the ethos of Sri Lanka is Buddhist.

The position of Buddhism in the constituion today is actually a demotion of what it was. For close to 500 years Christians oppressed the Buddhists (and the Hindus), yet I do not see you complaining about that. Whether you like it or not, Buddhism will be mentioned in the constitution and have a central role in the country. There is no way Sinhala Buddhists are going to back down on that.

If you do not want to accept Buddhist holy days, might I suggest as a minority you give up Christmas Day, Easter, Deepavali, Thai Pongal, Navaratri? Why should more than 90% of the country respect something that only about 7% of the country follow (Christmas, Easter) and why should over 80% of the country respect something that only around 15% follow (Deepavali/Thai Pongal)? Why not give up your minority holy days first, then complain about the Sinhalese Buddhist ones?

The Lion Flag is one of the oldest and most beautiful flags in the world. There is no other flag in the world that offers a place to the Tamils. The only flag in the world that has Tamil representation is the Sri Lankan flag. The crimson background in the flag represents all the minority religions. That is an area of the flag much larger than the four bo leaves. Maybe the Buddhists should be complaining that they have been reduced to a minority in the national flag.

And yes, a non-Buddhist can become president of Sri Lanka as much as an African American can become the president of the United States of America.

]]> By: suntzu https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-211 Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:02:09 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-211 “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.”
– Thomas Jefferson –

Sham…ever since independence 69 percent (Sinhala Buddhists) have told 31 percent (Sinhala Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Burgher) what language to speak, what cultural aspects to follow, (ban on the sale of meat, alcohol…closure of film halls ect on full moon days) Giving Buddhism the foremost place where as under the Solbury Constitution all religeons were given equal place. Bringing in standardization of the University entrance in the 1970s and much, much more.

ps: Can you call our flag a national flag? It has a massive lion in the middle with 2 tiny strips for the muslims and the hindus with nothing for the christians! Take a look at the Indian flag…even though there are over 80 percent hindus in India…their flag has 3 equal strips of orange, white and green!
Can a non buddhist become President of Sri Lanka? Probably when hell freezes over…or the day that pigs fly…
And yes…the kind of devolution I think that would suit Sri Lanka is the Indian model!

]]> By: Sham https://groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-210 Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:39:02 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/20/the-fear-of-jaffna/#comment-210 suntzu

what do u want as a devolution of power, assume your the LTTE Leader or devolution of power advocate, while i am a exream sinhalist , tell me what you want as devolution of power as with examples from foreign countries..

Say whats you want – imagine this is a peace negociation
seperate country???
seperate flag and national anthem???
seperate army police navy?
seperate priminister?
land right? can sinhalese own land in ur devloved area/? and vice verca
seperate currency?

awaiting ur reply eagerly.

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