Ok so you are right Buddhists in Sri Lanka are harmless and pure, its the world that is evil right?

Actually extremists may exist in all groups but it is the “Buddhist” ones that seem to act with protection from your government.
Sri Lankan government and its majority community(including you) are naked like the Emperor in Hans Christian Andersen’s story but they don’t realize it since they sing praises to themselves; but the rest of the world is laughing at them !

Dear “Steve Grafton”,

You say “I think the events of the last few months, i.e. the attacks on Muslim
mosques/Christian churches is sufficient for me to make this call (about “Buddhists” in Sri Lanka).”

Usually those who cannot make a rational argument tend to climb the righteous high horse!

In a nutshell your argument is as follows.

1. There are extremist elements in Sri Lankan society.

2. The existence of extreme elements justifies the Stereotyping of that society.

I agree with (1) above there are extremists within Sinahala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher, Malay, Buddhist, Catholic Christian, Christians of Jehova, Seventh day Adventist,
Pentacostal etc, Hindu, Muslims non fundamentalist and fundamentalist etc. But I don’t see why you exclude the Sinhala Christians. Is it because you are a Christian?

I dont agree with (2) as that in itself is extremist and in my view is idiotic.

Let’s analyse it with a hypothetical example.

Suppose one of your siblings is a murderer, rapist and a robber. Does that make you into one? Does that make his parents into one? Does that makes your extended family in to one? Does that makes your relations in to one? I don’t think so. Neither you nor your parents nor your family nor your relations can be STEREOTYPED as murderers, rapists and thieves just because your sibling turns out to be one. That’s why I think such stereotyping as extremist and idiotic.

You wrote “Sidestepped my request to divulge your interest in Sri Lankan ” not really
sidestepped but ignored.”

You could say ignored if that will give you a warm feeling of pseudo honesty but the result is the same as sidestepping, which you have done twice so far. To me that looks like fear to say anything about yourself.

“Why don’t you go first by “divulging” your real identity ?”

I have already gone first by disclosing my Country, Race and Religion. Perhaps you were not sharp enough to note it. You have not disclosed any of that (country, religion or race). Or as a foreigner, your interest in Sri Lankan Affairs. Your name is immaterial, as that can always be falsified.

I believe “Steve Grafton” is a pseudonym and is not your REAL name. Please prove me wrong. I hope you will be more successful in that, than the arguments you have made
on GV so far. The ONLY difference in OUR pseudonyms is that I convey it is a pseudonym and you don’t.

BTW, I am M.N.I.N. Perera. Please don’t ask me to prove it, as that is an impossibility
on an essentially anonymous Internet forum.

You say “It would take more than your rantings for me to change my mind of the “Buddhists” in this country (note the quotes in the word Buddhists?, I have seen
real Buddhists in other countries and very many in Europe but yet to see them in Sri Lanka)”

You are presumptuous. What makes you think I want to change your mind? From your arguments your mind appears to be closed. My responses are not aimed at you but at the reader who you are trying to hoodwink. My comments are FACTS based, yours are based on innuendo and subterfuge. Who is ranting?

You say “You seem to assume that my comments against “Buddhists” (again note the quotes”) mean I am a supporter of the LTTE, being opposed to one does not make me a supporter of the other.”

Wrong again. I have not assumed any such thing. You tried using Navi Pillai and I reproduced what you avoided quoting from her. The part about the Tamil Diaspora (terror flag wavers)! Does the reason you avoided, have anything to do with a connection to them?

You say “This thread is about violence against minorities by the majority.”

Any thread is PRIMARILY about the TRUTH.
False propaganda has no place in it. You don’t have facts to counter FACTUAL comment so you try innuendo and subterfuge. Others tried the same trick but failed. Unless you raise your standard of debate, I can guarantee that you will not do any better. As I said in my first response to you, I can take it in my stride.

You say “As other comments have pointed out, aren’t you by blaming the “UNP”
for 83 trying to wash the blame off the majority community?”

As pointed out before you should not Pontificate from a platform of ignorance. You rely on emotion and Rants, I rely on Facts. Who are these other commentators? The guys
and gals that have gone silent when they and their motives got exposed? I would advise you to read the reports of the UTHR(J) to understand who was responsible for the 1983 pogrom.

UTHR(J) is a organisation of TAMIL intellectuals and they blame the UNP directly, even going to the extent of naming the Ministers involved.

Are they trying a WHITE WASH too?

You wrote “Who by many accounts went gleefully stealing/murdering innocent Tamils ?”

Stereotyping again?
The LTTE Terrorists were Tamil. They were mostly Hindu and Christian. They murdered and plundered all communities. Does that make ALL Tamils terrorists or All Hindu’s brutes or All Christians murderers and plunderers? I certainly don’t think so. Your lack of logic is appalling.

UTHR(J) contradicts you. Why don’t you quote these many accounts instead of degenerating in to innuendo? Hopefully you will wean yourself of innuendo, subterfuge and stereotyping and raise your standard of debate in the future.

I think the events of the last few months, i.e. the attacks on Muslim mosques/Christian churches is sufficient for me to make this call (about “Buddhists” in Sri Lanka).

” Sidestepped my request to divulge your interest in Sri Lankan ” not really sidestepped but ignored. Why don’t you go first by “divulging” your real identity ?

It would take more than your rantings for me to change my mind of the “Buddhists” in this country (note the quotes in the word Buddhists?, I have seen real Buddhists in other countries and very many in Europe but yet to see them in Sri Lanka)

You seem to assume that my comments against “Buddhists” (again note the quotes”) mean I am a supporter of the LTTE, being opposed to one does not make me a supporter of the other. This thread is about violence against minorities by the majority. As other comments have pointed out, aren’t you by blaming the “UNP” for 83 trying to wash the blame off the majority community? Who by many accounts went gleefully stealing/murdering innocent Tamils ?

Dear Steve Grafton,

You say “No Tamil would I am sure deny that there were instances where they owe their lives to the their Sinhalese neighbors”

Oh there were THOUSANDS of them that owe their lives to the Sinhala Buddhists, Sinhala Christians and the Burghers. Do you see thousands of them acknowledging the fact publicly? I have seen three doing so on GV and one in the Canadian Post and then we have Rohini. How many links can you provide of Tamils acknowledging that they owe their lives to those “other Sri Lankans” that risked the lives of not only themselves but of
their children and wives as well, in addition to their homes and properties. The people that you are now belittling as “some” and “few good” stories!

So how can you be sure (as you unequivocally assert), the MANY who didn’t do so, are not INGRATES?

Then you have completely obliterated the OVERWHELMING show of solidarity with the Northern and Eastern Tamils and Muslims that SPONTANEOUSLY arose from the South (70% who are Sinhala Buddhist and 5% Sinhala Christians). The Boxing day Tsunami was a greater calamity than the 30 year war.

The FACT that the South itself was overwhelmingly devastated at that time is perhaps lost on you. The FACT that the Sinhalese extended their largess so overwhelmingly without differentiating between their own race and the Tamils and Muslims is lost on you.
The FACT that ALL Buddhist Temples in the island were at the very centre of organising relief is lost on you. The FACT that supermarkets and retail outlets ran dry of milk foods, feeding bottles general medical supplies, bottled water and even sanitary napkins is lost on you.

Yet you imply that the Sinhala Buddhists to the exclusion of the Sinhala Christians are Brutes!

Please explain why you have segregated the Buddhists amongst the Sinhalese as the Brutes. Factually please.

Do you have any knowledge of some genetic factor that I am missing here that allows you to condemn the Sinhala Buddhists, WHOLESALE, as Brutes, to the exclusion of Sinhala Christians? Do you have knowledge of any genetic factor that absolves wholesale, the Tamils, of Brutish behaviour as a race?

You are wrong on BOTH counts.

Racist Brutes don’t respond to “others” in distress.
Saints don’t fight a war by PROXY using 9 year old Children while their own children are protected overseas. Saints don’t deny drinking water to others. Saints don’t restrict entry to religious Temples, to a select few. Saints don’t sit on chairs at schools when their supposed peers are forced to sit on the ground or a low stool. Saints don’t practice segregation in public transport. There is more in the article written by a Jaffna Tamil, to which I referred you. What do you have to say about what you read? Supports your theory about Saintly Tamils?

You see Steve, you need to study more of Sri Lankan history before you start writing about who are brutes and who are saints. It’s foolish to attempt pontificating in
ignorance.

Neither ALL Tamils are brutes nor ALL Sinhalese are Brutes. The majority within each group are compassionate people. Its time you recognise that without making foolish attempts at stereotyping. It is people like you, who attempt stereotyping the people of Lanka, that keeps Lanka divided and in strife.

1983 was govt sponsored. It was a pogrom led by a thug called JRJ ably supported by other thugs who were key ministers of his cabinet. It was not a popular uprising that the 1815 religious riot was. Make yourself informed by doing some research.

It’s the people who gloss over facts, misrepresent them, hide behind generalities and are afraid to face facts that practice white washing. If you want to discuss anything do
so factually. In the past we had certain people who pounced on writers with foreign names who instead of addressing the issues raised questioned the writer’s right to comment on Sri Lankan affairs. Fortunately, for some strange reason, you have been spared. But I welcome your comments as I can counter propaganda while
acknowledging the truth.

But I note that you have sidestepped my request to divulge your interest in Sri Lankan affairs. I hope you are not afraid to do that. I am a Sri Lankan, a Sinhalese and a
Buddhist. Regular readers of GV already know that.

You say “As for Pillay; I think she nailed it well the way the minorities are treated in this country which is very relevant to this discussion”

Perhaps she nailed it better here “Secondly, the LTTE was a murderous organization that committed numerous crimes and destroyed many lives. In fact, my only previous
visit to Sri Lanka was to attend a commemoration of the celebrated legislator, peacemaker and scholar, Neelan Tiruchelvam, who was killed by an LTTE suicide bomb in July 1999. Those in the diaspora who continue to revere the memory of the LTTE must recognize that there should be no place for the glorification of such a ruthless
organization.”

Are you affected by her statement?

We know that a large number of Tamils went overseas after 1983 (about a million). Ever gave a thought as to why we don’t see a similar number of Muslims forming a Muslim
diaspora after 1983 though they too spoke Tamil?

Can you explain?

No Tamil would I am sure deny that there were instances where they owe their lives to the their Sinhalese neighbors but it was the same in Germany/Rwanda/Serbia where people were saved (some) by the “other” side but that does NOT erase the tragedies that took place there.

In the same way people like you point to a few “good” stories in the hope of hiding the vast tragedy that took place in 83 and before in an attempt to white wash as if were the crimes that your Sinhalese people committed.

As for Pillay; I think she nailed it well the way the minorities are treated in this country which is very relevant to this discussion.

Dear Steve Grafton,

You say “I think the whole world know about the Sinhala Buddhists !”

Here is a true story. The lady in question is a very well known Human Rights activist. She is a Sri Lankan Tamil and is part Burgher. If you doubt my word you can easily contact her to verify the truth.

In 1958 Rohini Hensman lived in predominantly Sinhala Mt Lavinia.
A neighbour came and said she’d heard that gangs were coming. Sinhalese neighbours rallied around them. One young Sinhalese woman close to the family threatened to throw herself in the well if they didn’t run for their lives. Hensman’s family was packed into a car, and, braving the curfew, neighbours took them to another Sinhalese family’s home to hide out.

I don’t know whether you knew about that and the part played by Sinhala Buddhists in protecting, feeding and delivering their Tamil friends to safety, risking the lives of
their own families and their own properties in the process. Their were thousands of such Sinhalese and Burghers who did selfless service braving personal dangers to themselves (please read reports of the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna).

Then we had the Tsunami on Boxing of 2004. The spontaneous response from the Sinhala Buddhist majority South towards alleviating the suffering of the Northern Tamils has possibly escaped your all knowing attention.

What is more to the point is how many Tamils who owe their lives today, to the selfless actions of Sinhalese and Burghers who braved govt led thugs going on rampage,
acknowledge that fact publicly. One of the few (can count on the fingers of one hand) is Dr. Rajasingham Narendran. Are all the others inherent ingrates?

Because you dont have a Sri Lankan name I don’t know what your interest is regarding the inhabitants of Sri Lanka but obviously you do have interested in the inhabitants of
Sri Lanka and the different ethnic – religious groups within it. In order to really understand Sri Lanka you should know about the Tamils and their different groups as well. Here is a good starting point for your research. It will help you to broaden your horizons. The article was authored by a Jaffna Tamil. Please read and let us know your
viewpoint in your next post. http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/12770

Why don’t you tell us what you know and what your interest is?

You wrote “You have your work cut out !”

No worries, I will take it in my stride.

You wrote “See the press conference of N. Pillay ;-P”

Oh I had already read it. Thanks to GV.
She has not touched on the history of the 1915 religious riot has she?

You have your work cut out ! I think the whole world know about the Sinhala Buddhists !

See the press conference of N. Pillay ;-P

Dear “J Fernando”,

You say “whether 1915 was a “religious” riot as you say or a “race” riot as we say,…”

Correction!
I proved it. Did not just say it. You have to disprove it.
Red will always be Red not withstanding the colour blind, who “say” it’s Gray.
The evidence and the TRUTH has checkmated you and prevented you from OVERPLAYING a Religious Riot by misrepresenting it as a race riot.

The riot was precipitated by the mishandling and partiality by the Colonial Governor. It erupted on the streets 3 years AFTER the original cause. The British govt replaced him and appointed a new Governor in 1916 soon after the riots. With the cause removed a similar riot was never repeated.

I will not comment about what Inoka or Frank thinks as I am no mind reader and will wait for them to respond. But you have proved that you are unable to counter FACTS
and is now groping for a straw to get yourself out of the quicksand you got yourself into.

You wrote “I have told this before, I am a great defender of my beliefs and my people…”

Yes of course you certainly are.
But the question is, who are your people and what are your beliefs?

What you write in comments does not support what you claim here. There is a Sinhala idiom that aptly describes people such as you. “Puhul Hora karen dane” which literally means the thief who stole an ash pumpkin is betrayed by the ash on his shoulder.

“…. -the fact that you cannot find my comments on these; points more to your laziness than my lack of comments ! Go look carefully (you seem to have plenty of
time)!”

Perhaps you are right, I cant find what you have not written as I am lazy. Perhaps Google’s search engine is a technological failure and is also unable to find the many comments of yours opposing Eelamist propaganda.

But Google’s inept search engine found 4 comments of yours in the following discussion at http://groundviews.org/2013/05/28/sri-lankas-numbers-game/

Surprise surprise, non of them opposed the separatist propaganda that a high official of the Transnational Govt Of Tamil Eelam was spewing out.

As expected all four comments tried to silence those who opposed the spread of Eelamist separatist Lies. Ingenious way of Defending your own people!

Actions speaks louder than words, I salute your cleverness and ingenuity.

BTW I have no interest in convincing you. I aim to rip the humane mask off the Eelamist face, to prevent the spread of Separatist propaganda that keeps Lanka divided.

My argument (as well as Inoka’s and Frank Speech’s I suspect) is that regardless of whether 1915 was a “religious” riot as you say or a “race” riot as we say, it was ultimately the majority community attacking the minority race (or religion for the likes of you)…..surprise surprise fast forward 2013 (passing along the 50s/60s/70s/80s against the Tamils) the minorities are still being attacked in this day and age by a SMALL minority within the MAJORITY.

I have told this before, I am a great defender of my beliefs and my people -the fact that you cannot find my comments on these; points more to your laziness than my lack of comments ! Go look carefully (you seem to have plenty of time )!

“J Fernando”

You say “Yes, there is no need to go back to argue whether 1915 was a race riot or not…”

You seem to be AFRAID of the TRUTH as you have COMPLETELY circumvented all the evidence in one swoop.

No argument is possible, the evidence is conclusive, it was certainly not a race riot. Impeach the evidence if you think an argument is possible.

You say “….everyone agrees it was (except of the cuff LOL)”

You can hardly speak for Everyone. Perhaps you can speak for the few, who like you, are AFRAID to analyse and contest the evidence. The evidence has checkmated you, so you will not dare to bring them up.

Is it because you are interested in OVERPLAYING a RELIGIOUS RIOT as an ETHNIC one that the comment above remains unanswered?
http://groundviews.org/2013/08/19/30-years-ago-the-next-page/#comment-1016755548

“….yet some of our own people (Sinhalese) ….”

As I pointed out to Inoka, since of late, people who cannot meet my arguments have come out as members of the Sinhala community making appeals to emotion rather than fact. My
reply to her is also relevant to you.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Have you defended the Sinhalese from unjustified criticism?
Have you defended Sri Lanka from terrorist separatist propaganda?
Have you espoused complete Equality for SL citizens?
Have you opposed the claims made by the Eelam Map?

Perhaps I may have missed your excellent defences of OUR OWN PEOPLE and our own country. Can you help in rediscovering those rare gems?

Hopefully, you will overcome your fears of the TRUTH and contest with vigor, the Evidence.