28 March, 2024

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Black Lives Matter – And So Do Tamil Lives

By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

Prof.  S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

My son Yovahn, a Junior at Rice University, is a Student Counsellor to Freshmen coming in for orientation. Unlike in Sri Lanka, their own racism was something White racists felt compelled by law and custom to hide. However, with the Donald Trump phenomenon, American racists no longer feel that need. The Police in several cities have been killing Blacks, unabashed that bystanders were filming them. So the university has asked student counsellors to push the slogan “Black Lives Matter.”

I had a call from Yovahn this morning (11.07.2016), saying that some trainees are responding that the slogan implies that other lives do not matter. He really needed a listener in me and went on to justify the slogan saying that no one is saying White lives do not matter whereas many are acting as if Black lives really do not matter.”

That 18-year-old’s perception has escaped the seemingly sophisticated mind of, besides many other Sri Lankans’, the Joint Opposition’s Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s who complained that a bill tabled in the House to put up a Secretariat to look into disappearances in the North and the East implies that there have been no disappearances elsewhere (Ceylon Today, 11.07.2016). It is an attempt to trivialize well-documented disappearances in the North-East. Indeed, our January 8 revolution is coming apart with reports of a British Tamil, Velauthapillai Renukaruban, having been tortured while holidaying here (Guardian, 10.07.2016) and from Shreen Saroor frtom Mannar that Santhiyagu Anton (aged 38) was abducted from Uyilankulam.Tortured Renukaruban

Renukaruban: Tortured on Visit to Marry [supplied photo]

Mangala Samaraweera – No Confidence Motion?

Even worse, in the same article today, Udaya Gammanpila threatened a no-confidence motion against the Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera for being “still of the view that foreign Judges must be employed for [a] war crimes tribunal, despite the President’s statement last week assuring the public that only local Judges would be employed for this purpose.”

The President’s Pledge

Shereen Saroor of Mannar Women’s Development Federation Reports Santhiyogu
Anton’s Abduction by CID

Shreen Saroor of Mannar Women’s Development Federation Reports Santhiyogu
 Anton’s Abduction by CID [supplied photo]

What did the President say last week before the Maha Sanga? Quoting from the Presidential Media Division, he pledged that: “He would not hesitate to act for the freedom and the independence of the motherland. It is the policy of the current government to act according to the advice and guidance of the venerable Maha Sanga in its every activity related to the national security and other matters [my emphasis]. … The President said he would be committed to protect[ing] Sri Lankan society [my emphasis] by respecting the proud history of the country as a Buddhist as well as the Head of the State.”

He should turn his attention to protecting Velauthapillai Renukaruban and Santhiyagu Anton because I like to think we Tamils too are part of Sri Lankan society needing the protection of the President when we are butchered and need the butchers to be punished to keep safe those still alive. I think old history and the Maha Sanga are poor examples for a President to follow when he wants to keep all of Sri Lankan society safe. That old history also shows how Tamil lives came to be no more esteemed than that of beasts.

To see that, let us turn to the Mahavamsa, a chronicle taken as serious history by many Sinhalese. There the king Duttugemunu is in a depression after emerging victorious in a battle where several Tamils have been killed. The Sanga acts quickly. Eight Arahants are sent to counsel him not to worry about “any hindrance in [his] way to heaven” since he had killed only a human and a half – that is, the Tamil who “had come unto the three refuges” and the other who had “taken on himself the five precepts” – and the rest of the Tamils are “not to be more esteemed than beasts”! (Chapter. 25: 98, 103, 107-112).

Buddhism and Truthfulness

The President’s commitment to act as a Buddhist is comforting. The Buddhist tradition of always being truthful and of building hospitals for all kinds of beasts should help Tamils feel safe even if we are esteemed only as beasts.

His commitment to Buddhist truthfulness must help him focus on his promise through a special policy speech in parliament on 01.09.2015 pledging: “I request Sri Lankan intellectuals dispersed around the country and abroad to use your expertise and skills to develop the motherland in this consensual political environment. My Government will establish a special bureau under my directive to coordinate the expatriate Sri Lankans who wish to return to the motherland and we will offer a red carpet welcome to them.”

There is still no special bureau, and yet this morning’s dual citizenship ceremony had Mr. SB Nawinna telling the new citizens they are encouraged to work here! Such unintended promises to individuals to make a good speech, pale into insignificance when examined with unkept commitments to other nations. For example, under the Indian Emigration Act of 1922, the Indian Government permitted emigration of unskilled labour only to countries that provided reciprocal assurance of “perfect equality of status of Indians” with other local British subjects. We know what happened to the Estate Labour as soon as Sri Lankans took over.

More to the point of the recent pledge, here is what the President said after the UNHRC Resolution 30/1: he insisted that Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and integrity weren’t compromised,  and stressed that the new journey started on 8 January must be persisted with, shunning extremists.  Ranil Wickremesinghe said at the same time that the passage of the US resolution and the international community uniting for Sri Lanka were key for the country’s future wellbeing.

And they said much more in the UNHRC resolution A/HRC/30/L.29 itself which they co-sponsored and passed on 29 June, 2015. It states in Paragraph 1 that it
“Takes note with appreciation of the oral update presented by the United Nations High Commissioner to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session, the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka and its investigation on Sri Lanka requested by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/12, including its findings and conclusions, and encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations contained therein when implementing measures for truth-seeking, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence;”

And what is that footnote 2 to resolution 25/1? It is that much maligned A/HRC/30/CRP.2, better known as Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL), a tome that details atrocities by our armed forces and the LTTE. This report has therefore been endorsed by our government. It lays the foundation for needing foreign participation in its paragraph 1246 after detailing the failures of our legal system:

1246: In these circumstances, OISL believes that for an accountability mechanism to succeed in Sri Lanka, it will require more than a domestic mechanism [My emphasis]. Sri Lanka should draw on the lessons learnt and good practices of other countries that have succeeded with hybrid special courts, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators [my emphasis], that will be essential to give confidence to all Sri Lankans, in particular the victims, in the independence and impartiality of the process, particularly given the politicisation and highly polarised environment in Sri Lanka.

Even more to the point, that 2015 resolution states in Paragraph 6 that it

“Welcomes the recognition by the Government of Sri Lanka that accountability is essential to uphold the rule of law and to build confidence in the people of all communities of Sri Lanka in the justice system, notes with appreciation the proposal of the Government of Sri Lanka to establish a judicial mechanism with a special counsel to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, as applicable; affirms that a credible justice process should include independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for their integrity and impartiality; and also affirms in this regard the importance of participation in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism, including the special counsel’s office, of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorized prosecutors and investigators. [Emphasis mine].

Our President and Prime Minister agreed to foreign involvement. Buddhist truthfulness demands keeping our legally binding commitments. As someone told me, to tell local people differently is to behave like schoolboy rowdies and to not respect our intelligence.

Congratulating Minister Samaraweera

I would congratulate our Foreign Minister for being a good Buddhist insofar as he seems the only Minister committed to keeping his word and to caring for Tamil lives as well in protecting Sri Lankan society. I urge the President to keep his pledge to the Maha Sanga and be a good Buddhist by honoring his commitments.

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Latest comments

  • 26
    15

    So do Sinhalse lives. Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Syrian, American, Chinese etc. ALL lives matter, my friend. Your life and mine too. Foreign involvement is what caused this debacle and if we get them, it will only escalate.

    • 23
      15

      I wish you said the same to Prabakarn when killed thousands of innocent Sinhalese and Muslims in the North and East and in Colombo as well.

      All those who try to say that what we had in SriLanka was due to Sinhalese brutality and Tamils were soooo innocent, are bunch of no more than arseholes !!!

      People like Hoole who spread the ideology of Tamil separatism are the real enemies of Tamils !!! Still try to drag the innocent Tamils youths to their grave by telling utter lies !!

      Shame on you Hooles !!!!!!

      /Hunu Patiya

      /Huna

      • 9
        15

        And you the guys that work diehard to spread the ultra nationalistic opinions of Rajanos are the real enemies of sinhala srilankens AND srilankens as a whole.
        Be them in SInhala, tamil or muslims – any form of radical thought bearers should come to sense – else we will have no life.. no peace aheadof us.

        • 16
          11

          @Seelawathie, Everyone should be ‘Nationalistic’. Everyone has the rights to be Nationalistic. What’s wrong is to use it against any other nationality.

          on the note of Rajapaksa, I’m neither MR fan nor an ally. Having said that, we as a nation owe him that much for his part of the role he played to end the terrorism in this country. What I and most of the true SriLankans (i believe) that didn’t like was his croquet game after that. So we liked him once and then hate. What’s wrong with that?

          Whats so disappointing and funny at the same time is that if one talks about ‘Sinhalese’ rights they are ultra nationalist, racists and extremists. Those who talks for Tamil rights are Liberals, freedom fighters. Please !!!!

          /Hunu Patiya

          • 7
            6

            Man where have you been ? Hunupatiya, Wandurupatiya or any other patiya you should be able to tick it right ? right ?

            At the time, world wars hit the Germans, the entire europe became their enemies. Even today, they call Germans as racists… anti jews etc.. then the word -nationalist- became a hatred kind and every german house hold until very recnetly only trusted themselves to even use their national flag. Exactly it was after WM 2006 – there german national soccer trainer was begging the nation, it is hightime to feel GERMANS together… leaving all the black history thoughts… so little by little Germans started to use their flags putting them even on their vehicles whenever soccer tournaments are the case. But even today, they are far away from using the word – nationalist… that is about nationalism.

            LIke my mother was used to say – kisima deyak onawata wada honda nahe puthe – meaning .. go that far with any kind of extreme thoughts can only lead us to disasters.
            I simply believe we all born to lanken soils should have equal rights regardless of our religion, ethinc backgroudn or whatever other parameter keep us grouped in the lanken society. If average are knowledgble enough to get – then only the day kicks off with reconciliation and peace… since i dont attack my fellow citizen.. he does not attack me either.. just because I am buddhist and he is muslim…. sound utopic, but countries have achieved the levels… Malaysia, Indonesia and even UK where muslims are… what we want is better guidance through genune politicians… be blessed all.

            • 8
              6

              Ayyo Simon(g) !! You are talking about ethnic harmony in Singapore Malaysia and Indonesia. You must be dreaming. In Singapore, You don’t have bloody right of living where you want to live !!!!!! Yes you can’t. !!!!!!

              The government tells to you find another place if your ethnicity have an impact on the balance ethnicity in the area you chose to live. So you will have to look for a another place. Where’s the freedom you are talking about?

              That’s one of the ways Singapore manages the so-called ethnic harmony there. (by the way, that’s one of the best options we also should have).

              I won’t go on teaching you. Just suggest that you buy a book and read, or just talk to few people who has traveled. You will know the reality..

              Good day Simon(g) ayya !

              /Hunu Patiya

              • 7
                3

                Dear Hunu Patiya;

                Well explained. Thank you. Simon seems to be living in a dreamland.

          • 4
            2

            Your repeat Rajakashe war victorious nature – is contradictory.. if you say, the very same man fell to the level that every simple simon has to call them high profile criminals and abusers. This is not just becase of Gobbels theory but the reality as it is when thinking about the dififculties that the former authorities the way they got on with vehicles use. Recently a minister of the current cabinet wen t on saying the truth as it iseven to date – it is becoming dififcult to know the vehicles of govt ministries and dept -whom to whom belong.. since there had been no the kind of record maintenance. Attacking the current rulers easy, but there is not the least good that Rajakshe admin did to the country except that his term put to the end to CIVIL war. Now I felel it is collectivity succieded not the magical powers of Rajano.
            I have every good reasons to think so – since the manner these abusive men behaved painted the picture… cant never be born in the country- since there had been no comparison actually. But some respect to have towards him is fine.. basta.

      • 10
        16

        All violence is and Pirapakaran and the LTTE were responsible for around 5% of the violence and most of their victims were racist Sri Lankan armed forces and Sinhalese and Muslim thugs hooligans lotters and homeguards who were busy raping and looting innocent Tamil civilians and still are with impunity.
        Most of the violence was and is still committed by all Sri Lankan governments establishment armed forces police and thugs aided and abetted by a largely racist Sinhalese population and 99% of the victims were innocent Tamil civilians.
        Since independence around 300000 Tamil civilians had been killed and 99.99% of them at the hands of the Sinhalese establishment. One million Indian origin estate Tamils, after living in the island then for around 125 years and earning most of the foreign exchange , were made stateless and forcibly deported. Around a million indigenous Tamils deliberately displaced and ethnically cleansed with many fleeing to the west.
        Pirapakaran and the LTTE were not there and only came into existence after 1983. However the discrimination killing looting raping and ethnic cleansing of the island’s Tamils at the hands of a racist Sinhalese establishment began from 1948 and is still continuing even after the demise of the LTTE under the present government.
        Where were you and the rest of the Sinhalese? Most probably enjoying what was happening and still happening and get angry when someone points out the obvious truth.

        • 7
          5

          There are Prabakarans in Sinhalse too. There are pol pot or Gadafis in Lanken communities.
          I think the energies of Wimal Buruwasne or Udaya Gembanpila have the potential eneriges to become the like mentioned personalities. And AKD or SERVERAL few aggressive men of JVP also have the same potential. So just to attacked Prabakaran only, is no fair. Those prabakarana sn Wijeweeras were produced by the situation that they faced in lanken politics. Today, the nation and countries being left by most abusive president of the country – it has become very diifficult to iron out the messe. Alone srilanken airline have made 3 to 4 hundreds of billions in debts. Not a single bus you see there can belong to lankens whne considering the size of the debts. But the meehraka ran amok being intoxicated as no other. Even today him to utter his kind of statements – current adminsitration should be very patient and generous. Those who went amok know in hindsight all what they did was no right. That is what MR faces today.

          • 5
            2

            Paul,

            What I see is incredible exaggeration. On the other hand Samuel Jayaweera has struck a fine balance between the Sinhalese and Tamil points of view. Let’s all grant that both sides have been wrong. I am willing to grant your right to self-determination in theory; and in practice, too, I will not in any way act against an LTTE SYMPATHISER. To sympathise with any cause, or to feel ANY emotion, is a basic human right.

            I was never a supporter of the War (Sorry, weren’t we SUPPOSED to refer to it as a “humanitarian operation? I never did, and suffered quite a bit for my stubbornness.). However, with hindsight, (and Sinhalese people please note), the very different writings of the two Hooles have made me realise that the only way to stop Prabhakaran was to kill HIM.

            Conversely, I’m pretty sure that thousands of innocent Tamils were raped, sodomised and butchered by individual soldiers who were as psychopathic as Prabhakaran, and the leaders of the previous government just didn’t care. This week’s story from Haputale shows what Sinhalese perverts and the Security Services (in this case Police) are still doing:

            https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/suspects-of-statutory-rape-of-a-minor-remain-at-large/

            What that story clearly underlines is that we probably need not only Foreign Judges but also International Peacekeepers (while we “export” our own soldiers to perform similar services in other lands). Perhaps I exaggerate! On the other hand, getting “Foreign Judges” is no more practicable that “Federalsim”. Both are harmless but have acquired strong negative connotations for the Sinhalese, while the lunatic fringe of Tamil nationalist have decided that they must provoke the majority community by insisting on them. Like it or not, the Sinhalese ARE the majority community. This is a FACT which is morally neutral. At the risk of provoking my friends Amarasiri and Native Veddah, I say that the gut reaction of the average Sinhalese is so strong, that there’s no point talking genetics, DNA, and archeology with them. However that may be, I don’t think that we are going to get a more decent man than Maithripala Sirisena as the leader of our country. No doubt there may be a few shortcomings in the man, but where do you find perfect people? Certainly he is a better man than me!

            When one writes like this what happens? The Hooles are called “traitors” by other Tamils, and we guys (and I’m sure that there are more of us than is obvious from the number having the time to post comments) get branded, still, as “Sinhala Kotiyas”. Both demonisations are wrong, but understandable!

        • 7
          7

          @Paul uncle,
          Please continue your theories and ideologies. You can get rid of another 1/2 million from the current 21M population of SriLanka in the next ten years !!

          May god bless you sir !!

          /HP

          • 3
            4

            If you are that hearted with the loss of people, please ask and work on asking those ULTRA NATIONLISTS such as Gonthadipila andWimal Buru to see them in mirror.

            That can help the masses – their rabble rousing has now achieved a lot.

        • 2
          1

          Cool story, bro :D

        • 6
          0

          Paul,

          Please read MORE carefully what the Hoole brothers, Rajan and Jeevan, have written.

          However, may I voice this concern to ALL readers: just because the two guys are brothers, don’t stereotype and imagine that they are identical. Please accord them the dignity that any human being should be given: judge them as individuals.

      • 4
        1

        Mr Soysa
        You have completely misunderstood the caption. Tamil lives matter DOES not mean other lives do not matter. You are thinking like some of the 18 years old trainees in that University Hoole mentioned. Prof. Hoole pointed out couple of recent incidences that showed clearly the the present Government of Srilanka has NO respect for Tamil lives.
        Here is another one reported in CT
        Alleged Rapist Of 14 Year Old Girl From Minority Community Released By Police
        July 14, 2016 | Filed under: Colombo Telegraph,Featured News,News | Posted by: COLOMBO_TELEGRAPH
        Hope you digest these and comment.
        THank you

      • 7
        2

        The Hooles spreading “the ideology of Tamil separatism”?

        Has Wikipedia got ALL its data wrong, apart from not updating?

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratnajeevan_Hoole

        This man is UNemployed owing to his being considered “unqualified” by the UGC. At age 63, he’s still going for interviews, like a 23 year old!

        Sri Lanka, indeed “A Land Like No Other”!

      • 0
        0

        [Edited out]

    • 9
      1

      “”I would congratulate our Foreign Minister for being a good Buddhist insofar as he seems the only Minister committed to keeping his word and to caring for Tamil lives as well in protecting Sri Lankan society. “”

      The matara bohemian must be laughing because this idiot is promoting him as next president without asking.
      The crook is under billionair J.K.Wolfs spell. What has the IC solved? It has only escalated problems and created many more for itself.- Brexit is one big one. The state department is partial when Lanka is mentioned because it needs peacekeepers for UN human farm.

    • 8
      6

      Foreign involvement did not cause anything but Sinhalese racism and you did not want to acknowledge this. Shame on you. If your actual family name is soysa you are descended from the Indentured Indian Tamil labourers who were imported into the island by the Portuguese and Dutch colonials and now beating the anti Tamil drum

    • 5
      2

      If what “Renukaruban: Tortured on Visit to Marry [supplied photo]” is true, they all should be accutanbe for the investigation and compensate the victim adequently.

      Whoever whatever was done against any visiting men or women should be subjected to proper punishment. Then only we feel that justice done

      Sinhala Committee in Germany
      Samuel Jayaweera

    • 1
      1

      Statistically if as you say “All lives matter” in the Sri LAnkan context right now, it has to be the slogan: “Tamil lives matter”, for that is what is most contributing to the lie of your statement.

      “So when we say Black Lives Matter, we did not say ONLY Black lives, what we said is Black Lives Matter also. So if We want a world where All Lives matter, then we need to fight like hell for Black Lives”.Alicia

      Here is a link to familiaize yourself with the conversation on Black Lives Matter where USA’s National Public Radio’s Ari Shapiro speaks with the three founders: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.
      Black Lives Matter Founders Describe ‘Paradigm Shift’ In The Movement
      Heard on All Things Considered
      July 13, 20164:35 PM ET

      http://www.npr.org/2016/07/13/485895828/black-lives-matter-founders-describe-paradigm-shift-in-the-movement

      Prof. Hoole is therefore spot on when he says “Tamil Lives Matter” when speaking exclusively of the current Sri Lankan situation where Tamils have been the most selected targets of murder, rape and plundering and open discrimination from Independence. We cannot be ostriches with our heads in the sand and then preach on the situation without looking at the facts.

      So from 1948, the most significant and glaring factor taking away mathematically from your statement “All lives matter” is that “Tamil Lives (did and does not) Matter” to the perpetrators and their supporters.

      Hence, the full validity of his statement in the present context

      • 7
        4

        Npr
        Black lives matter is well suited to the race relationship within the US. But for SL it is a different story. Blacks of the US were brought as slaves. Until few decades ago they have been subjected to various discriminatory practices including no right for education, vote and own land. With all that blacks never indulged in terrorism against the country and its citizens. The tamils were just the opposite. Using the term “tamil lives matter” for tamils is a disrespect to the blacks of the US.

        • 3
          4

          Eusense,

          Have you heard of the Black Panthers or Malcolm X? Malcolm X’s slogan was burn the house down. If you have not heard of him, please read up and then say whether you still insist that “blacks never indulged in terrorism against the country and its citizens”

          Jon Dickman

          • 4
            2

            Mr jon [Edited out]
            Are you trying to say that black panthers were equlant of suicide murdering tamil LTTE terrorists who blew over 100,000 innocent civilians and destroyed gov buildings, airports, refineries and places of worship???

            Come again mr. Jon! I know more than you about Malcom x.

    • 2
      0

      Mr Soysa
      You have completely misunderstood the caption. Tamil lives matter DOES not mean other lives do not matter. You are thinking like some of the 18 years old trainees in that University Hoole mentioned. Prof. Hoole pointed out couple of recent incidences that showed clearly the the present Government of Srilanka has NO respect for Tamil lives.
      Here is another one reported in CT
      Alleged Rapist Of 14 Year Old Girl From Minority Community Released By Police
      July 14, 2016 | Filed under: Colombo Telegraph,Featured News,News | Posted by: COLOMBO_TELEGRAPH
      Hope you digest these and comment.
      THank you

  • 9
    14

    Prof. Hole,

    Call yourself a Professor!!!!!!!

    Shame on you “All life matters”. Tell that to the LTTE and its front organization TNA. Not just Black or Tamil.[Edited out]

  • 7
    16

    Professor S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole,

    What you say is so very unreasonable. For the people who are are/were tortured and/or killed in the last few decades, yes, there should be investigations. But is it fair on the Sinhalese, that these brides and grooms who come to visit the motherland are probably former terrorists trying to rouse up terrorism yet again?

    In the days of yore, to the Buddhists, Tamils who “had come unto the three refuges” and the other who had “taken on himself the five precepts were full humans like the Buddhists. And those who were still Hindu were considered half humans, as they yet had to attain knowledge of the sacred laws of the universe.

    Nothing racial here, but good old-fashioned religious prejudice, as all religions were/are. To the Islamists, those who were/are not Muslims are infidels. To the Jews, they were/are Gentiles (hence the ease to take over Palestine from the Muslims).

    Hindus never had those problems, for they took their chance to enslave those captured in war, into lower castes. Indeed, Hindus thrust their untouchables into the front lines during war. And when Buddhists killed them, Buddhists actually bemoaned the fact. Their arahants reassured them that to the Hindus, the untouchables were quite disposable.

    • 2
      2

      [Edited out]

    • 10
      3

      According to ramona Fernando, the Tamils who had accepted Buddhism (the “three refuges” and the “five precepts”) are considered FULL humans whereas those who were still Hindu were considered HALF humans.

      This woman has invented a new Buddhist religion (a kind of Barbaric Buddhism) that the real Buddha NEVER preached in his entire life. When did Buddha consider Hindus as half-humans? This is an insult to Buddha and Buddhism.

      Even the Buddha gathered the knowledge of the sacred laws of the universe from the Hindu texts Vedas and Upanishads. Most of Buddha’s disciples were Bramins.

      Ramona Fernando’s disease is called schizophrenia, where one of the symptoms is hallucination that includes concocting fairy tales/fiction and then believing in the stories that you have created as gospel.

      • 3
        9

        Didn’t you read the professor’s article? That is what he said, and I put them in quotes. It is supposed to be from the Mahavamsa.

        • 7
          3

          Ramona how are all your close relatives living in the Dalit kupam in Southern Tamil Nadu? You must visit them

          • 5
            3

            none

      • 8
        3

        When one has projected herself as the champion Sinhala Buddhist Supremacist (or rather a bogus Sinhala-Buddhist Nationalist patriot) and when making such racist comments about Tamil Hindus, her brain is well and truly screwed to the phenomenon of Sinhala Buddhist Chauvinism, and it makes rotten judgments!

        The biggest joke is, she does not know anything about Buddhism. These are overnight converts, they adopted the ‘Buddhism’ label either to hide their Thooththukuddy Dalit ancestry or to bum suck the majority community and pretend to be one of them. Most of these overnight converts are the ones who claim ancient Sinhala-Buddhism heritage and pretend to be the so called ‘Nationalist patriots’ and champions of Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism.

        • 3
          5

          No…..no racist comments about Tamil Hindus…..it’s the truth about their historical idiosyncrasies…and I usually speak about the Sinhalese idiosyncrasies along the same line.

          Very Proud of my mixtures, and appreciate the Buddhist religion.
          Anyway, I’m only being democratic about the whole thing, as Sri Lanka is 80% Sinhalese of whatever denomination (no Dalit in me as far as I know, though being Dalit is an honorable thing……strong and resilient people….isn’t that where most Jaffna people come from?).

  • 9
    1

    There seems to be a veiled attempt to shuttle Mangala Samaraweera. One may wonder as to who is behind such game!
    It may be good for the President to always think of the freedom and independence of the country but such freedom should never ever extend to torturing visiting diaspora members! Who will inquire into these allegations of torture and abduction ( in Mannar) ? How truthfully and honestly would the local police and the country’s security forces deal with these two incidents? That would surely be a litmus test to the truthfulness of the legal bodies in the country!
    Sengodan. M

  • 10
    3

    Prof. Hoole has quoted the latest two instances where Tamil citizens are treated worse than humans.
    This goes on in the “occupied territories” of Sri Lanka.

    At Champal Theevu on the east coast, men associated with destruction of a Hindu statue and erection of a Buddha statue in its place, had attacked villagers who had objected.
    A Buddhist monk had been associated in this ‘replacement’.

    This is supposedly, a part of giving the ‘rightful’ place to Buddhism.

    • 6
      2

      the crusader won’t be interested in that as much as the crusader muslim women’s developer. He is worried about his family in the USA where his honey comes from.
      They are the fading Obama Hussain created divide- black/white, man/woman. now europe is held by women and if god for bid Hillary wins there will be lingering wars like chicken at Asia unlike Trump who would bomb to a finish as soon as possible.

  • 4
    2

    Sinhala-Buddhist leaders have always reneged on their pledge. They act like impartial leaders to impress the international bodies like the UN and western nations. But deep down they have the “Mahavamsa” mind set.
    Sirisena and Mangala are no exceptions. They play the bad cop-good cop game. One says, no foreign participation in war crime investigations and the other gives a lecture to the UN and the West about the need for impartial investigation with international judges.

  • 11
    6

    Tamil lives matter. That’s why Rajapaksa and the troops ended the war and saved 4000 lives per year. That’s 28000 lives in the past 7 years and counting.
    Tamil children now go to school, no more cyanide capsules around there necks.

    • 8
      4

      Really! You are even better than Goebbels . From where did get all this from a new chapter from the Mahavamsa fairy tale that was written for the benefit of the Rajapakse’s

      Listen He saved Tamils after deliberately killing more than 147000 Tamils and imprisoning around 400000 in NaZi like concentration camps in the Vanni where they were deliberately tortured raped starved humiliated and murdered by the Sinhalese armed forces. Even the UN has admitted that around 70000 Tamil civilians were deliberately killed and you come with this fairy tale

      If not for the Tamil diaspora the UN and the west the idea was to keep these 400000 Vanni Tamils under starvation conditions in these slave Nazi camps to be used as sex slaves for the Sinhalese armed forces and as slave labour for the Sinhalese settlers who were to be settled on a large scale on these ethnically cleansed Tamil lands.

      You and the comments of the rest of the Sinhalese blogger here shows the typical Sinhalese racist mindset. Strange from a people largely descended from recently migrated Indian Tamil slave labour.

      • 4
        7

        ‘If not for the Tamil diaspora the UN and the west the idea was to keep these 400000 Vanni Tamils under starvation conditions in these slave Nazi camps to be used as sex slaves for the Sinhalese armed forces and as slave labour for the Sinhalese settlers who were to be settled on a large scale on these ethnically cleansed Tamil lands’

        These are very serious accusations. Please provide some evidence that these were MR’s intentions.

        • 1
          2

          They are not serious accusations.

          Soma

        • 3
          1

          This what the UN wants to find out and please prove it to them, instead of playing games.

      • 1
        5

        Paul
        You are talking only about the 147000 Tamils killed by Rajapaksha. Say something about the 79000 Muslims and 131000 Sinhala border villagers killed by Tamils during the last 3 months of the war.

        Soma

        • 3
          2

          Somass where did you get that figure from your ass or from the Sinhalese extremist Lankaweb website? 79000 Muslims! when only around 75000 lived in the entire north and they were all expelled with non being killed. Even the Muslim and government websites admit this. 131000 Sinhalese from where did that figure come out? Not even 1% of the North’s population was Sinhalese. We all know that you are Sinhalese racist with a pea sized brain

          • 1
            2

            Paul. Well known from your comments that you are the biggest Tamil racist on this blog. You are the arrogant brain washed, imbecile who pulls mythical figures out of your ass. Go stew in your Tamil supremacist views and hatred you miserable primitive, tribal minded excuse for a human.

            • 0
              0

              Oh really. Just read your comment oozing with racist hatred. Unlike you Somass Ramona who advocate the discrimination of the island’s Tamils, and to justify this provide all sorts of false propaganda, I have never advocated discriminating anyone and only advocate the just rights of the island’s Tamis and unlike Sinhalese racists like you have provided accurate information

  • 9
    15

    The fight between Prabakaran and SL government started due to the policy of Prabakaran’s “Sinhalese and Muslim lives do not matter”. A Tamil named Prabakaran started this war, not Sinhalese or Muslims. Ratnajeevan is twisting the truth and manipulating actual events that took place during the 35 years of
    fight.

    When Prabakaran is gone without achieving the “Tamil Eelam”, this bogus Professor, Ratnajeevan is still grinding his axe against Sinhalese. Ratanajeevan is surviving on the theme of “Segregation part II” created by himself.

    • 11
      5

      Sinhala speaking Demala,
      You may be hiding behind mexicans at california with your borrowed name from portuguese.That is not integration but piracy of buruva.

  • 3
    8

    Hoole,
    How come you cannot understand the word “truthfulness”, or how to differentiate between “truthfulness” and “not keeping a promise”.

    Don’t drag Buddhism and Mahawamsa to your argument which is childish.

    A person may make a promise today with 100% honesty that he could deliver what he promised.
    However, 1 year later he realises it cannot be done or it is not justifiable and so he is free to break the promise and apologise for making that promises even though he knows he 100% honestly thought he could fulfil the pledge.

    It is better to do the right thing even if it means breaking a promise.

    Buddhism is all about doing the right thing at right time and right place among a lot more other moral values. Notwithstanding this people of all religions behave against the basic principles of their religions because they are not perfect. The beauty of Buddhism is it is the only religion that passes the responsibility to the individual rather than to a factitious God.

    • 8
      4

      Buddha God!
      there are no buddhist there but puddhu higanno ask Dalai Lama.
      Have you ever visited any of their temples?? Go see what they do from 6am to 10pm.
      His faith does not make promises because no one knows the future.
      That is why we have bank guarantees in the west.

      “a lot more other moral values.”

      puddhu, even the beatles changed values of europe starting 1968 and madonna changed it for the women in the 90’s.
      2500 years moral values and send your women as sex slaves to medieval middle east then have sex with the children.
      2500 year moron go back to your grave than comment on PC which is western invention. Gautama is indian fiction like socialism for the stupid masses.

  • 4
    3

    it works both ways. it is a human trait to kill each other. sadly race plays a big part. during the LTTE times other communities’ lives did not matter to the terrorists.
    so it is not just tamils it is everyone. everyones’ life matters

  • 5
    6

    Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

    RE:Black Lives Matter – And So Do Tamil Lives

    “He should turn his attention to protecting Velauthapillai Renukaruban and Santhiyagu Anton because I like to think we Tamils too are part of Sri Lankan society needing the protection of the President when we are butchered and need the butchers to be punished to keep safe those still alive. I think old history and the Maha Sanga are poor examples for a President to follow when he wants to keep all of Sri Lankan society safe. That old history also shows how Tamil lives came to be no more esteemed than that of beasts.”

    This sounds like 1956 to 1959, Tamil Lives do not matter.

    This is Sinhala “Buddhism”, or rather Para-Sinhala “Buddhism.”, which is different from the Buddhism taught by the Enlightened Buddha.

    This is about Maha Sanga and Para-Sinhala Buddhist Hegemony, as taught by Monk Mahanama, in the Mahawansa.

  • 6
    4

    Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

    RE: Black Lives Matter – And So Do Tamil Lives

    Obama Demolishes Trump, Endorses Hillary

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFYuFdkEqfw

    Published on Jul 5, 2016
    President Barack Obama tore into Republican Donald Trump during his powerful endorsement of presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

    He says except for Native Americans, all others are Paras.

    In the Land of Native Veddah Aethho, the Para-Sinhala and Par-Buddhism all came from a Para-Land to the Land of Veddah Aethho.

  • 7
    2

    Prof. Ratnajeevan;

    Your knowledge about Sinhala – Buddhists is commendable. Thank you for sharing your good thoughts with the Tamil Speaking people. According to the media division of the President

    “He would not hesitate to act for the freedom and the independence of the motherland. It is the policy of the current government to act according to the advice and guidance of the venerable Maha Sanga in its every activity related to the national security and other matters [my emphasis]. … The President said he would be committed to protect[ing] Sri Lankan society [my emphasis] by respecting the proud history of the country as a Buddhist as well as the Head of the State.”

    It seems you have very expectations from President Maithripala Sirisena.

    Since 1953 SWRDB, JRJ, RW, CKB, and MR have used Buddhism as an instrument to improve their electability. MR is a pretentious Buddhist and others were not born Buddhists but later on espoused Buddhism in order to achieve their personal political objectives. (You may or may not argue on this as no one is born as a Buddhist to begin with) They have hoodwinked the masses and swindled the country of yours, mine and our brothers and sisters very effectively. Why do you think or expect Maithripala Sirisena to be different?

    As a devout and practicing Buddhist, I have judged him to be no different from MR, RW, CKB, JRJ or SWRDB. He was trained by the SWRDB School of thoughts; he has mastered the art of using Buddhism as an instrument to improve his (and SLFP’s) chances of retaining power. His actions and inactions so far on many important national issues speak louder.

    Furthermore, when religion is used to pander to political whims, it has to forego its high moral ideals and become debased by worldly political demands.

    Therefore, please do not have your hopes very high Maithri is not a just or a principled ruler. According to Lord Buddha:
    “-A good ruler should show no fear whatsoever in the enforcement of the law, if it is justifiable.
    – A good ruler must possess a clear understanding of the law to be enforced. It should not be enforced just because the ruler has the authority to enforce the law. It must be done in a reasonable manner and with common sense.”

  • 5
    1

    Prof Hoole,

    If you have not noticed My3 is increasingly following in the footsteps of his utterly reprehensible predecessor. Corruption is rife. Luxury car imports to enrich the MPs while the flood effected people are still living in sordid conditions. Nepotism is rife. Thuggery is becoming more prevalent. My3’s rant against the Island newspaper is another worrying development against free speech. There is deep division within the coalition and My3 is slowly but surely is being sidelined by his partners. Ranil is sitting on the fence. My3 has no choice but to suck up to the sangha.

    Forget about the promises made. Sri Lankan politicians never keep promises.

  • 9
    1

    “Save the Rhino” doesn’t mean that one does not care for other animals, only that the rhino is an exceptionally endangered species.
    (There was another, ominous, slogan: “Run Rhino, run: extinction is for ever”!)

    So too “Black lives matter” is a necessary and urgent appeal in the context of police behaviour in the USA – as do the lives of some other minorities, ethnic or religious, elsewhere.

  • 10
    3

    Neither Sinhalese nor Tami lives mattered to the LTTE.

    • 3
      1

      By looking back at 1971 and 88~89 civil wars, we could say,
      Neither Sinhalese nor Tami lives mattered to the SL (Democratic ???) Government or military or Police.

    • 3
      1

      That was the consequence of making only Sinhala lives “matter”. Is it not?

    • 2
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      Vichara
      It looks like you do not know anything about LTTE. But just got on the band-wagon.

  • 4
    3

    The feeling of guilt of leaving your own people for greener pastures, in the pretext that you could as well be described as refugees,from the war that the worst elements of your people started – would never go away. You or your children will never return unless and until your “homeland” is an economic powerhouse – you won’t bother to rebuid it yourself cause you are now in heaven. You think that you can pay yourself out of your roots by pretending to be concerned about the terrible plight of your people back home. I advise you to forget about your roots and your origin – and start living an unhypocritical life. You should be thankful to the LTTE for creating the means of your pretext.

  • 0
    0

    Lives do matter but the next election victory matters most

    Presidents may come and go but precedents are preserved for polls victories. let dead be gone dead and kill more for what it matters.

    In fact, Lives do not matter in real life.

  • 7
    1

    There are no buddhist there for you to be harping on it the same way tamils called Mahinda the King which the west is made to believe.
    If there were buddhist they would be chanting continuously and under trees.
    Arnet the displaced under trees??
    Jaffna Tamils advertise stupidly and expect the IC to listen. The IC likes donkey that listens and you don’t. The IC likes the minorities to do its bidding.
    The only minority that IC sees is muslim.

  • 2
    11

    Prof Hoole,
    While raising the voice for TMil minoriy to be treated as equal Sri Lankans, you conveniniently forgotten the atrocities Tamils/LTTE committed against Muslims. Still, Chief Minister and nothern provincial council is obstructing all attempts resettle the Muslim refugees subjected ethnic cleansing by LTTE. Until Tamil politicians and intelectuals genuinely right the wrong done to Muslim minority amongst you, your voices does not havr ethical or moral values!

    • 14
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      “” right the wrong done to Muslim minority amongst””
      muslim means an emotion not ethnic. therefore muslims speak only for muslims.
      go refer an encyclopedia.
      Therefore immigrant. The world of western democracy does not like religion and governance to be in bed. Turkey has flushed itself by bringing in muslim to european way of life. Now alone it has to face russia, iran, and kurds etc. while it is member of NATO.
      muslims never owned land in the north as much as it did not own pakistan but populated by bigamy.

      The ethnic issue of sinhala tamil is the issue where the muslim has been playing the rear of both natives. 1948 to today the muslim is in bed with sinhala buddhist cabinet. The yankee democrats love you and hate you.

    • 12
      1

      What about the Muslims marginalisation of Tamils in the east. Far more Tamils were killed raped and ethnically cleansed at the hands of Muslims in the east who were armed to the teeth by the Sinhalese. None of their lands have been returned by the Muslims in the east who are being aided and abetted by the Sinhalese establishment.
      Muslims in the island are Tamils by ethnicity. They are not a separate ethnic group only a separate religious group. Only in Sri Lanka due to dirty politics to divide and rule the Tamils and also due to selfish power hungry Muslim elite, what is only a religious identity in other countries became an ethnic identity.
      Muslims in Sri Lanka should be correctly classified as Tamil Muslims as more then 96% of them are purely descended from low caste Indian Tamils who converted to Islam and migrated to the island around 400-500 years ago. Only a small percentage of them have a distant Arab ancestor and the rest Tamil. This does not make them Arab or Moorish.
      Muslims only arrived in the east around 300 years ago fleeing Portuguese and Sinhalese persecution. The indigenous Tamil Hindus gave them refuge as they were fellow Tamils and gave them local Tamil women to marry as many of the Muslims who arrived in the east were single men. Now the ungrateful Muslims in the east are conniving with the illegal Sinhalese settlers in the east to steal the east from the Tamils who are the real owners of the east. People who arrived as refuges now want to make the people who them refuge as refugees and steal their homes.
      It was not the chief minister of the north but a Muslim Shaitan from Mannar who was in charge of resettlement of displaced people in the north Muslim Tamil and others. However instead of resettling the displaced people of the north Muslim or Tamil, he was busy settling out of area Muslims in Mannar and the Vanni especially along the Wilpattu corridor to create new Muslims enclaves that had never existed.
      He was receiving funds from certain Gulf nations to create these new Salafist havens. Why don’t you go and ask him. You cry up and down abouth a the Muslims but very quiet about the Tamils in the east who were ethnically cleansed in their thousands.

      Just because your ancestors converted to Islam does not make you less Tamil and hate Tamis and make you an Arab or Moor or something else. Islam is a religion not a race of ethnicity. Muslims in the world belong to various cultures languagea groups races and religions. In Sri Lanka they are Tamils

      • 1
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        Muslims were killed, in their places of worship included, by Tamil militants on many occasions since mid 1980’s.
        There was ethnic cleansing on a scale mush bigger than committed by any other race in this country.
        Tamil nationalist attitude towards Muslims has been one where they treat the Muslims as a subject community.
        They like Hill Country Tamils are a distinct nationality from N-E Tamils and deserve their fair share of rights and privileges in every respect.
        In fairness to the Muslim population, not the political leaders, they faced up to their tormentors be they Tamils or Sinhalese with great dignity and defiance when it mattered.
        It is rank opportunism to seek to hitch a ride vn the anti-Muslim wave whipped up by white racism.

        • 17
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          “There was ethnic cleansing on a scale mush bigger than committed by any other race in this country.”

          jaffna demala sekera becomes jayasekara and sinhala buddhist for survival.
          We have heard of many demalas going to the colombo kachcheri after july 83 to change their names to fernando’s etc.
          Ramona the bottom half burnt burger.

          stupid `mancha` keep on keeping on.

        • 19
          1

          Sivasegaram, the apologist for Islam. The largest instance of ethnic cleansing was the repatriation of Indian Tamils, supported by Muslim politicians who also voted for the Sinhala only bill!

        • 12
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          Yes, just like the Indian origin estate Tamils, they are also distinct from the indigenous North East Tamils as they are not descended from them but from immigrant largely low caste Indian Tamil Hindu converted with a few hundred elite families having a dash of Arab, however this does not still make them Arab or Moorish but still Dravidian Indian Tamils who converted to Islam and should be correctly classified as such.
          Just like the Muslims in Bosnia correctly classify themselves as Bosnian or the Slavic Muslims of Bosnia referring to their actual Southern Slavic origin. They do not classify themselves or call themselves as Turks or Arabs who brought Islam to them. Muslims in Sri Lankan have every right to be distinct but should be correctly classified by their real origin Tamil Muslims and not Moor. A few drops of Arab amongst a few hundred families does not make them Arab and you do not get it but defend their stand blindly for the sake of defending.
          There was killing of Muslims in the east by Karuna( who is now their dasrling) but this was a reaction to the large scale raping ethnic cleansing and looting of indigenous eastern Tamils by Muslim home guards who were heavily armed by the Sri Lankan armed forces.
          Are you aware that many of these so called Mosques in the east were used as arms depots? They used to store their arms there thinking this was safe from any attack.
          Before attacking a Tamil Hindu village the custom was to go to the Mosque pray for Allah’s blessing to kill the infidels and then collect the arms stored there.
          Karuna and the LTTE were aware of this and attacked them at one of these moments and they are now trying to portray this as Karuna attacking innocent Muslims praying in the Mosque. Yes unfortunately lots of innocents were also killed . Karuna should have waited until they came out, but then again they will deliberately mingle with the innocents when they come out.
          The Eelam Tamils never treated them as a subjected people. on the contrary gave them women and refuge as fellow Tamils when they fled from India then from the Portuguese and then the Sinhalese. However it was them who betrayed and backstabbed all Tamils in the island at every opportunity, especially their southern elite. They brainwashed the Tamil Muslims masses to hate their actual Tamil origin and heritage and made them believe that they are all descended from Arabs and to attack anything Tamil and worship everything Arab, despite them speaking Tamil and until recently following Tamil culture and customs. This itself is a form of genocide, deliberately denying a people to acknowledge and respect their real heritage and origin but to hate it and worship something else.
          Muslims from other nations and cultures do not do this. They respect their own language culture and heritage despite being Muslim and do not blindly worship anything Arab. Only peculiar to the Tamil Muslims in Sri Lanka. Their parent population in Tamil Nadu are proudly Tamil.
          They overtly and covertly connived with the Sinhalese not only in the south but also in the north and east in the genocide ethnic cleansing of the island’s Tamils.
          This was deliberately done for selfish economic and power reasons by these southern Muslim elite, especially to gains ministerial posts.
          The southern Muslim elite wanted to live in harmony with the Sinhalese majority amongst whom they live but did not want the Muslims in the north and east to live in harmony with their fellow Tamil Christians and Hindus but were constantly urging these north/east Tamil Muslims to agitate against their fellow non Muslim Tamils, for their own selfish political gains. All these southern Tamil Muslims Marrikars Lebbais Rawthers Thambys never cared two hoots for the North East Muslims and hardly moved with them or married into them unless they came from a very rich family, or the Boy was very educated or the girl very pretty. They never cared for the displaced northern Muslims and hardly bothered to help them but only used for their own political advantage.
          The most people affected by communal violence ethnic cleansing and displacement are Muslims. Are you joking or out of your mind! over 300000 innocent Tamil civilians have been killed so far at the hands of the Sri Lankan armed forces, Sinhalese and Muslim hooligans and thugs home guards and even the LTTE. over a million of them were displaced and many had to flee to the west. Even now the most amount of displaced people in the island are the Tamils. Their homes/lands in the north stolen by the armed forces and in the east by the illegal Sinhalese settlers Muslims and the armed forces. Other than the 75000 northern Muslims who were expelled hardly any Muslim was affected. In the east and the south Muslim mobs/home guards conniving with the Sinhalese armed forces polics and establishment were deliberately targeting thousands of Tamil homes businesses and lands and were looting raping ethnically cleansing them. Have you forgotten at the behest of JR Jayawardene the Muslim minister unleashed Muslims thugs to target the Tamils in the south in 1983 and in the east in 1985. Were you in a deep coma? Even now the Muslims in the east are not releasing Tamil lands stolen in the east, especially in the Amparai east, even after many courts have ordered them to do so. The Muslims led provincial government in the east in conjunction with the Sinhalese establishment is very busy marginalising the eastern Tamils and trying to steal more lands from them to create a new Muslims homeland for their immigrant refugee community from India and you post all this garbage

        • 0
          14

          No amount of screaming and kicking will negate the crimes committed against the Muslims or alter reality.
          Such attitude is a legacy of our common feudal mindset. It is hard to shake off.
          It is not what Tamils or Sinhalese think what Muslims or HCT are that matters but what they think of themselves to be.

          • 8
            0

            sekara negates the crimes committed against the tamils.he has a kink in his head.

      • 2
        10

        Mr Paul

        If Muslims are classified as Tamils, which is my opinion too, will they be entitled to vote in the much talked about Diaspora proposed UN sponsored referendum for Eelam?

        Soma

        • 11
          2

          Why Sinhalese racist so that you can sabotage the referendum by reclassifying them from Moor to Tamil? Don’t worry they call themselves Tamils when it suits them in the west to claim asylum and refuge and then once asylum is granted they are not Tamils anymore. Just like the bi lingual so called Negombo/Chilaw/ Putalam Sinhalese.

          Only people native and indigenous to Eelam can take part in the referendum not others just because they are Tamils. Just like what happened in Southern Sudan and east Timor.

          The only people who should be allowed to vote for the referendum should be the indigenous Eelam Tamils of north east origin, wither living in the island or overseas, as many of them were forced to leave the island by the actions of a racist Sinhalese establishment and armed forces, and the Muslims who originate from the north and east, as they have lived in these areas for at least a few centuries and have rights.
          Not the southern Muslims, as they have no connection to Eelam, as their ancestors migrated from South India straight to the south of the island. Nor the Indian origin estate Tamils, as they have nothing to do with Eelam or the illegal Sinhalese settlers in the north and east, as these people were deliberately settled in the Tamil north and east during the past 40-60 years by all Sri Lankan governments, on ethnically cleansed Tamil lands, using all the resources of the government and the might of the armed forces in order deliberately change the demography of the Tamil Majority north and east. especially the east and to sabotage a future referendum like this.
          People who arrived here illegally during the past few decades, using the might of the government and a racist Sinhalese armed forces and settled on stolen and ethnically cleansed Tamil lands, have no right to decide on the future of an indigenous population that had lived there for thousands of years.
          If they wish to remain there they like the Muslims have rights but have no right to self determine the future of the Eelam Tamil nation. They never arrived there legally using their own funds to purchase lands homes and businesses but were settled there illegally using the force of a racist government and armed forces on stolen Tamil lands. Just like the Jewish settlers in the West Bank

          • 1
            7

            Paul, what about those who practice Christianity?
            Are they traditional Ealam Tamils?

            Now let us talk numbers.
            Approximately what is going to be the referendum vote base and size of the geographical area as a fraction of the land mass?

            Soma

            • 8
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              What about Tamil Christians? why is their religion a problem to you?
              Unlike most of the so called Sinhalese Christians especially the Catholics, who are largely of recent Tamil origin like our Ramona. Tamil Christians are as Tamil as the Tamil Hindus and are proud of their language and culture. Unlike the Tamil Muslims in the island who claim a fake Arab origin just because of their religion and a little bit of Arab amongst a few of them. Tamil Christians do not claim a fake European or Jewish origin just because they are Christians.
              Many Eelam Tamil Christians laymen and priests, fought for the just rights of all Tamil speaking people in the island. The father of the federal party Chelvanayagam was a Christian.
              The land mass is the historic homeland of the Eelam Tamils the north east and the north west coast. Just because the Sinhalese used brute government force to settle Sinhalese illegally in large parts of the east and north does not negate the legal claim of the Eelam Tamils to their land.
              Why you are now trying to bring a rift between the Christian and Hindu Tamils just because you succeeded in doing that with the Muslim Tamil?

  • 2
    7

    A typical Colombo Telegraph Comment – make a guess at a personal negative attribute and shoot. It may hit if it is correct but most of the times even if it is wrong, it will not be corrected and therefore believed by many readers. Win-Win, as they say.

    Sorry friend. I will correct you because I know you are wrong. Ratnajeevan Hoole has been living in Jaffna for a year now.

  • 0
    0

    I read the final paragraph: instead of a vote of no confidence against FM it should be made against the president. Mangala Samaraweera hailing from the South is the better Buddhist. Funny…

  • 5
    1

    “”However, with the Donald Trump phenomenon, American racists no longer feel that need. “

    Your articles on CT caste and race makes you a racist thinker.
    It was not Trump who made racist jibes but the paid media, and the wall street bankers headed by Crooked Hillary Clinton. We have watched him speak about Mexico and the 11 million illegals loved by multinationals (cheap labour)
    Brexit was about immigrants and the 1.7 unemployed.
    But you can never hoodwink Apprentice Trump to play the pussy game while you drink wine.
    The problem with those black men is they do not know how to address the police. They bark as if in a movie.
    Why is it that the middle class immigrants are not affected?

    Honour Code?? the whole wide world is a copy and ruled by passion but never by rationality because its not for humans.

  • 1
    4

    All lives matter!
    Where is the sympathy for all the babies hacked to death, people blown into pieces in bus/rail bombs?

    Bottom line is,
    Sinhalese + Federalist = Just guy
    Sinhalese – Federalist = Racist

    Ha ha!

    • 2
      10

      Hey guy;

      First, do not masquerade as a Sinhalese. Secondly why should Sinhala people divide their own country to appease other minorities. As long as Sinhala people exist, Sri Lanka will remain as a UNITARY SOVERIEGN STATE. And don’t call SINHALA people racists just because they want to speak out the truth and defend their only land on earth. If you do not like to live in our UNITARY state , you have many options; Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andra Pradesh, Karnatake etc.. .They are all part of a FEDERAL STATE. You speak their language and you will fit in very well. NOT IN SINHALA LAND.

      • 5
        1

        Hi Peter Pan this is Wendy remember me. Are you still living in a dream land? The Unitary stat was due to the British. The Sinhalese homeland is only in the south central and western parts of the Island. Not in the North East or the North West coast this is the land of the Eelam Tamils and you Sinhalese Yakka did not have any peep into these lands until 1948, when the British gave to you genocidal devils on a platter. Now you are trying to steal this from the Tamils using brute government force.
        Tamils have every right for self determination and even for separation in their own land if racist Sinhalese devils like you do not want to recognise this.

        • 2
          7

          It seems under the relaxed ,casual behavior and the cozy, the remnants of the LTTE led by the biggest “YAKKA” (PIRIBHAKARAN), our Sinhala-Buddhist nation had to face have been very active in promoting another destructive war in my motherland. Hello Wendy, It is better to go back to your homeland “TAMIL NADU” and fight over there for your EELAM.

          You and over 100 Million Tamils all over the world have the right for self determination. But that should happen in your homeland TAMIL NADU, which you have left some time back. And it is not going to happen in the SINHALA-BUDDHIST country Sri Lanka, which is UNITARY and it will remain so until eternity.

          • 5
            1

            Peter Pan,

            School Drop Out, Piss-Poor,

            Rice from the Moon?? SirMao Alla Battala??

            The world fact book World Bank/CIA
            Government debt of about 72% of GDP remains among the highest in emerging markets.
            Debt – external:
            $45 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

            Exports – commodities:
            textiles and apparel, tea and spices; rubber manufactures; precious stones; coconut products, fish
            Exports – partners:
            US 26.1%, UK 9%, India 7.2%, Germany 4.3% (2015)
            Imports:
            $20.14 billion (2015 est.)
            $19.42 billion (2014 est.)
            country comparison to the world: 74
            Imports – commodities:
            petroleum, textiles, machinery and transportation equipment, building materials, mineral products, foodstuffs
            Imports – partners:
            India 24.6%, China 20.6%, UAE 7.1%, Singapore 5.9%, Japan 5.7% (2015)

            do you see where Lanka imports and exports to feed the island??

        • 3
          0

          “when the British gave to you genocidal devils on a platter.”

          Britain lost the war and had no money to rebuild GB.

          Harry Truman (Democrat) the accident who dropped the bomb on japan was the winner with resources. Truman did the partition and Churchill the school drop out had to follow. Truman’s ordered Churchill to follow the religious divide and rule policy of East Indian Company. Ceylon was ruled from Madras Presidency British Raj. The island received the power of self rule for free- without a shot being fired. the rest DSS, Dudley, SWRD is history and stupidity of tamils- Hydrocele.

        • 4
          0

          Wendy,

          However much of an idiot “Peter Pan” is, it would be sensible for YOU to use more restrained language.

          Guys like me are working overtime (quite literally – I tend to sleep only about 4 hours a night owing to being at the computer so much). Working overtime to put these Peter Pans where they belong – in the dust bins of History (that metaphorically!).

          • 2
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            You and your forefathers have been sleeping less than 4 hours a day in the past scheming to destroy our Sinhala identity and our birthrights. Now as a disguised Sinhala_Man, even if you work 24 hours a day, it will be difficult for you, Wendy or others to plot silently to destroy the Sinhala nation. Irony is your parents have not taught you guys and gals what is the truth. Since you are behind a computer and doing whatever useless, why don’t you try to educate yourself.

            Insults and throwing racial slur at SINHALA BUDDHISTS are not helping your image and your community. They represent mark of illiterate personality. Both of you fit that profile very well. Be nice to the others, it is good for you and may help you to sleep more than 4 hours and get a better job. Don’t even think about responding as I will not respond to any vulgarity in a public domain.

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          Where on earth did this history come. Only in the minds of brainwashed Tamil Supremacists/racists. Just because the British played divide and rule and gave privileges to those who sucked upto them (Both Singhalese and Tamils)don’t think this is your birth right and re write history and insult people.

      • 1
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        I think you did not read between! Are you still in Never Land?

  • 2
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    A real Sinhala-Buddhist, cares about all lives, he does not make any difference on the lines of color of skin, language spoken or the religion observed. The noble principle is built into “Pancha Seela”;, Now the westerners have inserted this as a catchy phrase ” All Lives Matter”. The Sinhala-Buddhists have observed this principle for more than 2000 years. Character of our nation is built on values of FIVE PRECEPTS. It cannot be altered until eternity. However, the politicians will try to alter the nation’s character either by pandering to external pressure, greed or borrowed consumer driven economic principles.

    Kautilya
    13-07-2016

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      Kautilya,

      Can you name one ‘real’ Sinhala Buddhist – even among the clergy?

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        Dear Justice;

        If you are a Non-Buddhist, you will not understand my answer on the other hand, if you are a Buddhist, stand in front of a mirror and ask the question yourself. A Buddhist never carry a label and announce to the world that he is a follower of my only master; Lord Buddha.

  • 2
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    “Black lives matter” is not supposed to be taken literally. “Lives matter” is implied.

    Advertisers will tell us that certain combination of words is impressionable. “Black Lives Matter“ sounds better than “Lives Matter”.
    Remember in 1956 SWRD B came up with “Sinhala Only in 24 hours” which sounds better than “Sinhala Only”. (HLD Mahindapala will vouch for this shallow claim!)

    “..And so do Tamil lives”. A few Sinhalese will agree but the majority will not. The more popular version is “…..Tamils do not matter”.

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    There were a substantial number of Tamil intellectuals during the war years who were ardent supporters of LTTE initially distanced themselves when LTTE started killing Tamils. Dr Hoole is right – to these compassionate souls Tamil lives did matter.

    Soma

  • 0
    1

    Mr Hoole has always been a religious bigot first he made insulting remarks about Hindus a few years ago now he had turned his attention to Buddhism I will not be surprised of he had told his son to try to convert students who come to him for advise in the university luckily our religions don’t tell us of a cruel god who will send us to he’ll just because of not accepting a crazy god pr religions don’t fool people by false promises of curing cancer by a pastors touch our priests both Hindu and Buddhist dont support the ltte rayappu Joseph was a servant of the ltte
    From a Hindu tamil with jaffna origin

  • 12
    2

    Wonderful piece Sir. As a University teacher, I found some of my white students calling BLM a “terrorist movement” at the place I taught a Freshman seminar class. I encouraged them to talk about it. The division here in the US between Black and White is massive; it is differences and divisions that are based on perceptions and reality too. Whites wanted to view Blacks in the worst possible light based on the bad actions only while looking at themselves only in the positive light of what they think of themselves. I think this could be case with Tamils and Sinhalese all as well. We look at others with the lowest common denominator while putting ourselves on a pedestal.

    I constantly play devil’s advocate about this issue with my daughter who even proudly campaigned for Bernie Sanders at her University. White people do not like that idea because they have NEVER had to walk in the shoes of a blackman like how we Sinhalese have not either. I came from an elite privileged family and became a non-entity in the vastness of USA.

    My experiences when stopped by the Cops and STF commandos on Galle Face Green in 1997 were very different from possibly of even an elite wealthy English speaking Tamil person. I was driving under an expired Drivers License and my National ID card was in tatters. I was not aware of it until I was stopped. They asked me for my name and my connections and I was let off with a mild scolding by a very nice SI with “oya kollo wagey aya meeta wadaa wagakeemaking wada karanna oni; oya Demala wunaanam ada mokada wenney; ath adanguwatath ganna weiy neyda??” You people of all should act with more responsibility; imagine if you were tamil I would have to take you in.

    Similarly the STF stopped me after I was at a Bar with a friend; Same story but they were tougher and shamed me but STILL because I was Sinhalese with a notorious or famous (depending on a perspective) was let off.

    At the Round About near TransAsia(now Cinnamon Lake) in Jan 1997, my wife and baby were in the backseat and I was driving to drop my wife off to meet my sister for some Karaoke. I was stopped by an SLAF man with his AK-47 or the T-56 barely 6 inches from my face. I could literally smell the grease on his gun. He thought I was a tourist driver and looked very pleasantly at my wife who happens to be American and says “Hello Madam, you going where today?”. I was of course furious that he thought I was a tourist car driver and spoke to him in Sinhala at which point he was apologetic and smiled and started talking to me in Sinhalese. Phew what a relief. But again imagine if I were Tamil.

    In 2008 despite terrorism and bombs, my wife did her Senior Fulbright Academic fellowship in Sri Lanka so our cross cultural daughter could experience living there. They both loved it a lot more than I did. I was always on pins. Same story but as soon as I start chatting to soldiers and cops and relate my connections and also the fact that so many high ups were my classmates they relaxed. But on the other hand, my wife was once going to an engagement and I decided to skip it to take care of my daughter. So despite check points where because she is white they always let her go with polite smiles she had to attend this event. She got a lift back from a couple; the guy was British a glorified cook appu aka Sous Chef living the Expat life on the massive salaries he can never make in Britain was stopped; the Soldier wanted to see his DL; he refused to let him touch it and had said “here you can see it you cannot touch it”. Why? because he thought the soldier was dirty. Now think of this if I were to do that here in the USA; the cops will shoot the shit out of me or if I am lucky get beaten and arrested. So that was the arrogant racist white side. I heard so many British arrogant Expats behaving the same way. I wish the cops had arrested that bastard. My wife was furious at this arrogant man. At every place we went she was always polite and obliging to police and army.

    Now on Black July 23rd sponsored by JRJ’s UNP government I was on the road drinking and having dinner at ParkView Chinese. I was heading out to drop my cousin in Battaramulla. I was driving my Mudalali friends grand Mercedes Benz 180 with tinted glasses and it looked exactly like Kumar Ponnabalam’s car and as stereotypes go a “tamil car of a rich tamil”. Reason I drove was my friend could never drive and never learnt to drive. So we were happily heading on Horton place towards where Hon Dudley Senanayake’s house was and we saw the first bus on fire. There were people gathered on the roads. We slowed down and asked them “mokada mey?” They said “mahaththaya balaagena yanna; ara demala ayawa adinawa”. Watch out they are taking out tamils. So we progressed cautiously. I was a coward and despite my name and stature, my clutch foot was shivering. Then further down near the Cemetary we saw Sinhala gangs armed with knives and swords stopping busses . We were stopped; ordered to roll down our windows and asked “Sinhalada demalada”. We (3 of us) all said in unison “ouw api Sinhala aiy?” .yes we are sinhalese why?. They looked us over; now I am ready to have an accident and was shivering. Then they asked for cigarettes because my Mudalali friend Manjula used to smoke 4-Aces(he died later of a heart attack). He said NO firmly. I was like “machang deepang” “give it but he said no and then later he told me because they were thugs and why should we give them cigarettes. Imagine if I were Tamil.

    Same week, a few days later on Bullers lane going towards Thimbirigasyaya road, there was a check point and my late Uncle Monty Gopallawa whose family was in an old Mitsubishi Delica(again a vehicle mostly used by Tamils) was stopped by thugs. For some reason my uncle who was a very friendly but a timid guy had panicked and told his driver to pass and go ahead of the murderous Sinhala goons. He tried to pass them and they had smashed the windshield thinking he was Tamil and the kids who were very young screamed. They smashed the windshield and lights and were grabbing the driver by the neck when suddenly my uncle had to sense to shout “api sinhala” and one of the thugs had instantly recognized him as Monty Gopallawa my late uncle and the son of William Gopallawa. So they let him go. He had the presence of mind to quickly drive to our house and the kids were crying and screaming. Blood on his driver’s face and they stopped at our place. Now people down the lane were looking at us funnily. They could not proceed to their house in Nawala in that van because they will be attacked again. I was hanging outside with my friends. So we quickly pulled the van into our house and parked it hidden from view from the road in our backyard. Me and my friend had 2 vehicles. This was one of the other sons of the Mudalali from Tangalla. So we took them in our vehicles and lo and behold, we were stopped on Kirula road by a gang. One guy had a shining Revolver. Others had knives. They knew what they were doing because all the Diplomatic vehicles who were going up and down probably to save their innocent tamil staff were let go; any vehicle with whites were let go. So they stop us and after satisfactorily meeting their check criteria they asked for Petrol. I barely had enough petrol in my Dad’s 404 Station Wagon. So my friend again(these southern men were brave) said NO he cannot give you petrol but if you want I have enough Diesel in my car(he was driving another diesel 404 car). To that, the main thug said “diesel wadak naha gini ganna welaa yanawa”. (diesel is no use it takes too long to light).

    Imagine again if we were Tamil. I will to my dying day curse the UNP regime and their bloody thirsty Machiavellian ways. People enjoyed the booming economy after stifling socialism from my Aunt’s regime. Yes that is true. UNP were ruling with an iron fist and with total supremacy. SLFP was impotent and LSSP CP were virtually non-existent. JR and RAnil and others need to bare all the responsibilty for those crimes against humanity Dr. Hoole.

    Now to end with a nicer note. My family of friends from Royal were kids from a typical great Sinhala Southern Entrepreneur from Tangalla. They benefitted greatly from the open economy importing used vehicles and also running one of the FIRST Colombo Jaffna Bus routes in Benz Buses with a partnership with a Tamil Hotel owner in Jaffna. This brave young Southern Sinhala family were able to protect all the Tamils down their lane off of Fife Road . They protected the people by hiding them in their large home and their annexe which was occupied by Tamil businessmen. They protected everyone. So did the famous Kalu Nihal of Randoli(later chopped to death in some shady drug or woman deal). They were old school SLFP in the case of my friends from Tangalla being totally pro MR back then and Nihal Aiya was LSSP. So that is the only good news I remember from back then. Imagine if I were Tamil or my Uncle Tamil.

    YES there are key issues like the Batalanda camps run by the UNP and the 40,000 plus Sinhalese deaths during the Indian occupation of SL. Yes two of my students from USJ disappeared Dr. Hoole. One was known as “kantale sunil” and was a failure rabble rouser who always started all the JVP type strikes which saw us closed almost all the time in 1985 to 1987. The other we all knew was a good looking polite Kandyan lad from Matale but he was known to be a JVPer. So who knows what happened to them?

    So Yes while there are reasons to have different committees, I agree with you on Tamil Lives matter given the nature of the war and the 1983 UNP sponsored pogrom. All those animals who were responsible for 1983 must be cursed in unison. Not one was punished. I shall sign off using one of my favorite poems I share with my students. I keep reminding myself of hate by going to the small Holocaust museum in my current campus; and whenever possible I go to the big one in Wash DC.. Ask your son to visit it please. I want to take my daughter there this year. I have tried my best to be open about the current day gap between black and white. Reconciliation is still a myth. The Black vs White issue specially in the Deep South is as bad as it was in the 1960s.

    Dr. Hoole, are you aware of the Greenwood Tulsa massacre of 1921 on May 31 and June 1st?? It was an organized attack based on rumour mongering that occured after an alleged incident in an Elevator where supposedly a black youth accosted a white girl during the height of segregation. This led to state and local police participation in an organized attack and burning of what was called “black wallstreet” to wipe out the most prosperous Black community of upper and upper middle class black people in the days of segregation.

    It led to the murder of anywhere between 30 to 800 blacks. The wealthiest black community in the United States, was burned to the ground. Over the course of 16 hours, more than 800 people were admitted to local white hospitals with injuries, the two black hospitals were burned down, and police arrested and detained more than 6,000 black Greenwood residents at three local facilities. An estimated 10,000 blacks were left homeless, and 35 city blocks composed of 1,256 residences were destroyed by fire, resulting in over $26 million in damages. The official count of the dead by the Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics was 36, but other estimates of black fatalities vary from 100 to about 900.

    State and local cops were involved in this organized systemic pogrom. So the perpetrators were white christians. TO THIS DATE NOT ONE governor of Oklahoma has apologized to black americans,. WHITE professors and even white liberal students of mine form Tulsa refuse to be open about it. I tried my best to bait them and coax them and talked about the heinous crimes in SriLanka in 1983. Yet I met a White Wall of Silence. Black Lives matter because no whites were subjected to such crimes. Tamil lives matter because no other group was subjected to 1983 UNP state sponsored crimes against humanity. Will Ranil at least apologize this time?

    Thank you

    First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a Socialist.

    Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

    Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a Jew.

    Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

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      Dr. Mano Ratwatte,

      Thank you!

      It takes both intelligence and perceptiveness, and courage to recognize the privileges that are yours as a result of your being a Sinhalese. Most people fail to draw the lessons that you clearly see by making the connections.

      Upper Caste Tamils, I hope will draw similar lessons from their privileges that they take for granted,

      Your students, Prof. Ratwatte, are privileged to have you as their teacher. We badly need thinkers like you in our universities. Please come back.

    • 6
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      Thank you Mano Ratwatte. Read your post a few times and every read increased my faith in humanity in general and Lankans in particular.

      There is no doubt the recent events in US are based on Black/White divide but the silver lining is the effort by leaders to mitigate the intensity of the prevailing tension.

      This never happens in Lanka – in fact politicians on both sides exploit the language divide.

      Let me give one example: The bibiliocide (aka bibilioclasm) of Jaffna Library. The library was about 200 m from the Jaffna Police Station and about 150 m from the Jaffna Fort Army camp. Just 200 m away two UNP cabinet ministers Cyril Mathew and Gamini Dissanayake and high ranking army officers were at the Jaffna Rest house. On 01 June 1981 the library was set on fire. About 97,000 books including several one-only manuscripts were reduced to ashes. The locals were dismayed – particularly among academic community – rationalist Prof Carlo Fonseka showed his angst. The two cabinet ministers who witnessed the arson nonchalantly said, “An unfortunate event, where few policeman got drunk and went on a looting spree all on their own”. Few days later, Mr. W.J.M. Lokubandara (UNP) in Sri Lanka’s Parliament: “If there is discrimination in this land which is not their (Tamil) homeland, then why try to stay here. Why not go back home (India) where there would be no discrimination. There are your kovils and Gods. There you have your culture, education, universities etc. There you are masters of your own fate”.

      Has this sort of thinking changed very much? Four years back (31 years after the fire)retired DIG Edward Gunewardene (EG) launched his memoirs ‘Memorable tidbits and the burning of the Jaffna library’. He suggested that the library was set on fire by terrorists. Not many took note but “Lo and Behold” the Born-Again-Nationalist Emeritus Prof Carlo Fonseka agreed with this demented EG-theory!

  • 9
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    Dear Mano Ratwatte,

    As I began reading your contribution I noted that there was just one red thumbs down opposite your name, no green approvals. I will do my bit to change that ratio, but let me watch how it goes. The reception that Prof, Jeevan Hoole’s article has received so far, tells us that there is much that is wrong with our society.

    I DO have one complaint to make against you; why don’t you post this as a main article on CT? You write so well! I don’t know you at all, but I make a point of reading every comment of yours. Your Uncle Clifford I did know. He did so much for the school at Gurutalawa that Jeevan’s brother, Rajan, studied in for two years. I was there on Tuesday, when the re-furbished swimming pool was declared open by the Bishop.

    As for how the school is being run: we need more students there, especially Tamil students. The school in Bandarawela has sufficient students, but in Grade One there are 3 Sinhalese Medium classes and only one Tamil Medium class. Now somebody like the famous RTF (i.e. ramona therese fernando – permanent provider of comic relief on CT) may say that this is in keeping with the ethnic ratio in Sri Lanka, but I think that you will understand why I protested three years ago, at an AGM of the OBA (this year, incidentally it will be on August 13th) when this ratio replaced 2:1. When the minority in the school gets that small, they cannot possibly assert their identity.

    I hope that my comment catches also the eye of Chrles Saravan who has contributed a comment above. I’ve never met him, but I believe that he, too, had studied at Gurutalawa. As to how the schools are being (mal?)administered, please read here:

    https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/the-whited-thomian-sepulchres-the-pharisees-who-cheat/

    I’m not writing a third article just yet for good reasons, but let me tell you that this school, to which your uncle was so devoted, is at least keeping its honour intact, and there may be a future for it because of the excellent “Deputy to the Headmaster” (i.e. the Board of Governors hasn’t yet “properly” appointed him) who was appointed there two months ago. He is an Old Boy whose father was a teacher there for 33 years.

    I may have wandered away from the subject a bit, but we do desperately need to give attention to the sort of education that we provide for the next generation of Sri Lankans. Over-all, the picture is bad; much worse, I fear than in most other countries – because we are so willing to cover up.

    Please think seriously about my request that you write more MAIN articles.

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