Comments on: Handling disasters: The man-made disaster of July 1983 (Part 2)

By: P.L.J.B.Palipana

P.L.J.B.Palipana — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 04:53:11 +0000

The day was 27th July,1983 in Miami,USA. I was watching a TV documentary(Spanish)with a family. It started showing a bullock cart and a man with amudaya. The announcer(a lady) first explained what was Srilanka(no televisions, people are very un-educated ete). The background was full of scenes with people hating Tamils,burning and destroying their private properties ete.She gave a very bad picture on our country all over Florida.I think this was happend before the creation of the Tamil Diasphora.
THANKS MR.BRADMON WEERAKOON.

By: leon

leon — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 22:36:37 +0000

I dont know how far it is true that Rev Luxman Wickremasinge (decd) who was Bishop of Kurunegala on a visit to Jaffna apologised for the 1983 events.

By: luxmy

luxmy — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:59:17 +0000

In reply to silva. One or more people wanted to do something urgently to the victims and hence CGES was created to do its best. From 2009 we have been preventing willing aid agents from helping the war-ravaged. The submissions/suggestions made by retired civil servants to LLRC reached only deaf ears.

By: silva

silva — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:49:30 +0000

In reply to silva.

The government is sacrificing the lives of the people in the picture to prop up its ego:

http://groundviews.org/2012/06/28/american-foreign-policy-and-the-hrc-resolution-on-sri-lanka/

By: Alex F

Alex F — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:41:34 +0000

Another unashamed attempt to re-write history. This 1983 was a state sponsored pogrom and articles that deny the problem do nothing to make things better. Shame.

By: silva

silva — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 06:06:26 +0000

”A wholly unexpected reaction from some looters questioned by the Police was a sense of having been ‘let down’ by their arrest. Many had obviously felt that their behavior – looting shops and damaging factories – was what had been expected of them” ??

Judge Weeramantry in his submission to LLRC told them that students should be taught law in secondary schools.

The government encouraged/forced many (uninformed?)innocent people to protest against UNHRC resolution in March.
1.How many of them know that Sri Lanka earns money by deploying ”peace-keeping ”force as part of the UN and Sri Lanka is a member of the UN with representatives in all its branches?
2.How many knew about the secret plan Prof Pieris too to the US in May?

By: Minority

Minority — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 01:33:29 +0000

Although the author attempts to show that this was a spontaneous outbreak of violence prompted by

“rioting following the Sunday evening (July 18) funeral at Kanatte (Borella) which was showing some sign of quietening down after the declaration of Emergency on Wednesday night, changed dramatically for the worse on Friday (23rd July)[3] late morning. Fuelled by rumours that an LTTE squad was attacking the city[4], mobs from the numerous wattes (slums, also termed Koreas) brandishing iron rods, katties and wooden poles stormed onto the main roads, dressed in traditional combat mode, searching for those who could conceivably be ‘Tigers’ and prepared to rid Colombo of them permanently.”

it is well known that this was an organised attempt to destroy the financial standing of the tamil community. Mobs were equipped with addresses and information targeting Tamil bussinesses and homes. It rumoured that several govt politicians were involved in this violence. The delay iun declaring an ermergency and curfew is inexplicable