Comments on: Understanding horror

By: Humanist

Humanist — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:53:40 +0000

Thanks, Gypsy Bohemia. You certainly echo my feelings about this war.

By: Idealist?

Idealist? — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:26:27 +0000

SomewhatDisgusted – I love that quote!!!

By: Disgusted

Disgusted — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:52:01 +0000

I think that’s an excellent start! It’s time people started valuing life as that beyond which there is no value. The trouble is ideologies rush in to tell us the ‘truth’ about the war before we can even have time to contemplate the horror of it all as death, as waste, as the snuffing out of one precious life, somebody’s life, with no less value simply because it isn’t our own. What I hate most–the way the war and ethnic strife is spoken about in historic terms, as that which was historically necessary, the developing of the revolution, etc. We rush to the ‘big picture’ of history in order to avoid looking at the small detail–of a precious individual blown to smithereens. As far as ideologies go, peace and happiness works for me!

By: E.Thamiliniyan

E.Thamiliniyan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:27:08 +0000

I am not afraid to take sides. Will give up neutrality and objectivity to stand by -the whole truth- be it blunt or insensitive or politically incorrect. While I support objectivity and balance, it should not replace the whole-truth.

Why do you say, “I have tried to understand this war, and failed” ?
I see success in the trying, in the striving ?

As for, who to blame? Yes, we all are to blame in some way for the war. But let’s not use that cliched line NOT to assign blame. Because those in power/leadership should take responsibility for ‘leading’ Sri Lanka down this road of horrors. Those leaders could have steered us in a different path, but rather chose to tap into our fears, hates and cravings to drown us in our own vomit.

Those who aspire and perspire to leadership must not despair when blamed. For Leaders must be ready to take the blame. That’s part and parcel of the job of leadership.

The people who put, the soldier, the cadre and the civilian in their respective roles are in the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). The governance structure in Sri Lanka needs, begs, reform. But those in power prefer the status quo to keep them in power. So, they should be blamed. Yes, they have the support of certain sections of the people. Because they promise certain benefits to these sections. And those sections whether they fully believe it or not, believe they will get at least bits of the benefits, if not the full thing. And on, and on, and on………

As Sinhala-Buddhists make up around 75% of the population, pandering to their parochial desires will keep anyone in power. This is not to stereotype Sinhala-Buddhists, but a cold hard reality. The way history is, mistakenly, interpreted in this country and taught to the upcoming generations, creates a sense of entitlement among the Sinhala-Buddhists and Sinhalese in general. In such an environment minority rights will be crushed.

This war could have been avoided had not the Sinhala leadership tried to impose their language,etc,etc on all citizens of SL. The Sinhala Leadership, the Maha Sanga, business, media and all those who are/were in positions to shape the mindset of the sinhalese people toward discrimination, terror and violence on minorities should take the blame for starting it.

Let me remind all, I’m not here to stereotype anyone. Sinhalese and Buddhists have many well intentioned, right minded people, but they have been sidelined. I believe a big majority of the sinhalese are biased towards minorities. If we want to change that, then we need to look at what kind of history and values are being taught in our schools to our children. We need to look at the avenues of information flow, clears the clogs, and make the truth the victor.

By: Heshan

Heshan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:05:13 +0000

“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphanâ€”to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”

– Lincoln

By: Heshan

Heshan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:16:52 +0000

Having observed the war for more than a decade (as I am sure many here have), what surprised me most was the failure of the Sri Lankan Government to offer an amnesty to ex-LTTE cadres. While I had long harbored the suspicion that GOSL had nothing concrete – nothing with substance – to offer the minorities, this, more than anything, confirmed the thought in my mind. There seems to be some kind of ingrained prejudice in the collective mindset of the majority community which associates “minority” – specifically Tamil – with “separatism.” While such a statement is rather blunt, I cannot find a more concise explanation as to why minority aspirations have not adequately between dealt with despite 60 years of Independence, the personal interference of India, and various insinuations towards that end from the international community. One could argue that the LTTE posed certain obstacles towards democratic reform; however, the post-war scenario indicates that the LTTE was merely a thorn in the side of a far more sinister nationalist agenda than one could ever fathom. From the internment camps to the continued enforcement of “Emergency Regulations”, we are seeing that the LTTE was hardly the barrier to peace in this country. In theory, the LTTE could have been dealt with at any time (which is what the final phase of the war showed). Now, as many in the majority community are slowly beginning to realize, the discriminatory policies and practices which bred the LTTE in the first place will require an entirely different kind of war – redefining the status quo from top to bottom. This is essentially a war of ideas – how it will plays out remains to be seen.

By: SomewhatDisgusted

SomewhatDisgusted — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:06:00 +0000

What an excellent article. Reminds me of a quote by Bertrand Russell.
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.