“I did not claim Tamils are superior to everyone else.”

Well, Malli, what you said was “What David Blacker obviously have difficulty in understanding is the long, rich language and cultural heritage of Tamils, unlike those of the Burghers in Sri Lanka,” implying that Burgher language and cultural heritage is not as rich as that of the Tamils. You may now deny and pretend if you wish, but you’re just embarrassing yourself

“Burghers for instance can assimilate more easily in Australia than the Tamils.”

Well no one is asking the Tamils to leave; leaving is only for those who see no future here. As for assimilating, why are you looking at Australia? What’s wrong with the rich culture and language of Tamil Nadu; wouldn’t the SL Tamils assimilate there fairly easily?

“Your hatred for LTTE is driving you so crazy that you say that there is no hope for Tamils in Sri Lanka.”

It is only the ignorant who claim that ideas they don’t understand are “crazy”, Malli. I harbour no hate whatsoever of the Tigers, and I didn’t say that there was no hope for Tamils in SL. Looks like it is you who needs to take another read 😉 What I said was that there is no hope for Eelam or real justice for the Tamils; and that there is no hope for the Tamils to go back to being the community they were 50 years ago. To stay, means to transform to the changed world; to still be Tamil, but a different sort of Tamil.

“And you say that Tamils must ‘transform’. Whatever that means. Idiotic. Continue with your hate words but don’t use your hatred for Tamils as an argument to support this despotic regime.”

Why should I be hateful of Tamils when I myself am half Tamil? If you don’t as yet understand what it means to transform, think about it a while longer, especially if you do live here. If you don’t it really matters not whether you transform or not.

“remember that leaderships of countries and geo-politics do change with time and Tamils will continue with their struggle.”

They do change, but that change is not predictable; and so far the changes have damaged the Tamil nationalist struggle; a struggle that has brought the Tamils down to their knees and destroyed any hope of Eelam. It is extremely selfish of you to condemn future generations of Tamils to a perpetual struggle, and unending unhappiness, for a dream of past glory.

No one can make a dinosaur evolve; but if it doesn’t, it will be just another dusty fossil while the mammals move forward into the future.

David Blacker, I did not claim Tamils are superior to everyone else. They are your words. Read again. Tamils’ language and culture in Sri Lanka were compared to those of Burghers in Sri Lanka. Burghers for instance can assimilate more easily in Australia than the Tamils.

Your hatred for LTTE is driving you so crazy that you say that there is no hope for Tamils in Sri Lanka. And you say that Tamils must ‘transform’. Whatever that means. Idiotic. Continue with your hate words but don’t use your hatred for Tamils as an argument to support this despotic regime.

You may have no hope for Tamils in Sri Lanka but remember that leaderships of countries and geo-politics do change with time and Tamils will continue with their struggle.

That is then unfortunate, because it means that you are condemning future generations of Tamils to perpetual unhappiness. What you want for the Tamil community (ie what it was pre-’80s) will never be achieved, nor will Eelam. What is possible is individual equality, prosperity and happiness.

Your arrogant (and ignorant) claim that the Tamil language and culture is richer than that of the Burghers showcases one of the major problems of the Tamil community. You think you’re superior to everyone else, as a community. You’re not.

Dear ravana;

““Independent investigations” will occur whether GoSL/LTTE like it or not.”

You seem to be a Sooth Sayer. All the aspirations of the people do not become true. I think it is better not to be very assertive and commit oneself and make big pronouncements for uncertain aspirations.

One can boast, but later have to put his head in his coat pocket in shame when the boasting become just dreams. There is a Sinhala saying “Maluva nahinne kata hindalu”(fish perishes because of its uncontrolled mouth). I think it is time to replace the brake pads of some talkative mouths.

Thanks!

Thambi,

“The perpetrator is the LTTE because the language being spoken is tamil.”

Oh c’mon Malli. None of us were born yesterday. Assuming the true version is the one with Tamil audio, then the perpetrators are much more likely EPDP or TMVP (K or P faction).

The reason would be because of the timing of the release and who released it. If the perpetrators were LTTE and the video had been discovered at the end of the war by SLDF, there is no way they would not have used this for propaganda purposes. Furthermore, in releasing video why would LTTE leave the Tamil audio at first? As we all know now, the Tamil audio version was said to have been on the Internet way before Ch4 screening.

The only explanation for LTTE supporters (if they were LTTE supporters) releasing this video with Tamil audio would be if the perpetrators were their enemies.

Now, nobody was worrying too much about audio, way back in 2009. The “fake” nature of the video was assumed based on movement of bodies and the synchrony regarding gunshot audio. It is only with the latest Ch4 screening that audio of the voices has been questioned.

BTW, if some clever people (on either side) believe that audio can be faked so that forensics cannot detect it, then they would be dreaming. If the LTTE has done it then they have shot them on the foot as usual by trying to be too clever. That does not rule out the EPDP-TMVP scenario. If GoSL has done it; well there are no surprises (the only organisation more clumsy than the LTTE).

“Puhul Horaa Karen Danae”- “Independent investigations” will occur whether GoSL/LTTE like it or not.

What David Blacker obviously have difficulty in understanding is the long, rich language and cultural heritage of Tamils, unlike those of the Burghers in Sri Lanka. The Tamils will not ‘transform’ like the Burghers did in order to survive.

It’s impossible to say, Lakshan. The transformation will depend both on the Tamils themselves and the circumstances they face; as well as what they see as their future in SL. What is sure is that there is no going back to what they were as a community before the ’80s. That period is gone forever.

It will be a difficult transformation, and for many — especially for the current and older generation — perhaps excruciatingly depressing. But for the sake of the next generations, they must do it. They need to figure out what is crucial for their existence as a community, and focus on that; not on what once made them a community. Attempting to regain a past glory is what has led both the Tamils and the Sinhalese to ruin.

Take the Burghers, for instance. The transformation came in the two decades after independence. Forced by Sinhala Only to integrate or leave, they had to make hard choices. Today, the Burghers don’t center their identity so much on community as much as family. But if you ask the average Burgher, he is no happier or sadder than any other Sri Lankan, and success and prosperity is focused on individual and family goals rather than communal ones. The ’50s and ’60s were extremely difficult for my father’s and grandfather’s generations, they were deeply disillusioned, especially those who had committed a lifetime to government, civil, and military service for their country; and many chose to leave rather than face a future in SL that they were not prepared for. Those who stayed transformed, either by choice or necessity; perhaps both. Those who went, embraced a culture that they decided was closer to that of the old Burghers, where they felt their identity as Ceylonese Burghers could remain more intact than in SL. Perhaps they were right, but not necessarily.

Growing up in SL, I wasn’t especially conscious of what it meant to be a Burgher, and my ethnicity played little part in my personal identifications; these were centered on family, religion, and perhaps being Sri Lankan.

Maybe it will be the same for the Tamils; I don’t know. But what is certain is that they must transform if they are to have a future.

David Blacker

What sort of transformation that you anticipate from the Tamil Community?

The implication is that the Channel 4 video was tested by the experts you allude to and found to be fake (i.e. having a false audio track). Thus that conclusion is compatible with the belief that the version with tamil dialogue is authentic (i.e. has the true audio).

The perpetrator is the LTTE because the language being spoken is tamil. Those who who served in the army can safely be said to be not fluent or even able to speak the language.

The black-white argument can be made with the channel 4 video too. So I’m not sure why you believe that the argument here?