Principals from several schools located in Kilinochchi had been summoned and interrogated by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) over a book of poems written on the war, that each school had received by post several days ago.
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence
The collection of poems that had been compiled into a book titled ‘Uyir Padivugal’ had been authored by a Catholic priest based on the events that occurred during the war in 2009. About 85 copies of the book had been sent through post to several schools in the North by TNA MP Sivaganam Sritharan. The Principals of some of the schools to which this book had been posted, had been interrogated by the TID who had demanded to know how they received the book and what they planned to do with it.
According to concerned teacher unions, among the schools that have been targeted for receiving this book by the TID are Vattakatchchi South Maha Vidyalaya and Ramanadan Government Mix School.
Meanwhile, the priest who had authored the book has also reportedly been interrogated by the TID earlier this week.
Education professionals have condemned the interrogations of principals, pointing out it is a violation of the freedom of expression and a hindrance and a threat levelled against the right to appreciate a piece of literature.
Rajash / September 4, 2014
how can I get some copies …..
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Mohanasundaram / September 5, 2014
If you get any please send me one!
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Marakattai / September 5, 2014
Messrs.Mohanasundaram and Rajash,
you can simply have the copies but you have to be in person in Kilinochi. This actually comes with translation of your choice whereby you can educate you kids / grand kids.
Marakattai.
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Madan / September 5, 2014
It seems they want more of the 2009 treatment. It is ridiculous how very bias CT accepts those kind of things. You can write and publish anything but the problem is that they have been distributed among innocent school kids. There is an approved curriculum for schools. They don’t need these kind of craps.
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Native Vedda / September 6, 2014
Madan
“They don’t need these kind of craps”
Have you read the crap yourself?
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Rajash / September 6, 2014
I have friend in Killinochi will get a few copies and get it translated in Sinhala and English
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burt / September 5, 2014
This should be a job for CT to find it a publish a poem a week with translations so all could understand.
CT will be doing a public service and in the mean time will get a good boost to its rating.
CT is already restricted in SL so it has little to worry about the govt.
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Ajith / September 4, 2014
Rajapakse regime and its military cannot absorb the TRUTH about war because it is a genocidal war crimes committed intentionally.
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aratai / September 5, 2014
.
Hats off to Tamils…in someway they keep on challenging MaRa’s and GoRa’s.
But in the south, Ranil and others….. still sucking popsicles.
:-)
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Madan / September 5, 2014
Not challenging. They are putting us in danger again. We don’t need anymore 2009 treatment. We want to live in peace.
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aratai / September 5, 2014
Living in open prison doesn’t mean peace.
:-)
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Madan / September 6, 2014
As a person living in the North of SL, I know how peacefully we live in than you Colombo Tamils, TN Tamils and Tamils living in Western World. You people are messing up everything putting our lives again in danger. Please please I beg you all. Let us live in peace.
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Native Vedda / September 6, 2014
Madan
“We want to live in peace.”
Then of course you will have to go back to your ancestral homeland north or south India.
We will have better peace without your presence.
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Native Vedda / September 5, 2014
Ajith
“Although there are those who wish to ban my books because I have used language that is painful, I have chosen to use the language that was spoken during the period, for I refuse to whitewash history. The language was painful and life was painful for many African Americans, including my family.
I remember the pain.”
― Mildred D. Taylor, The Land
Mildred DeLois Taylor is an African-American writer known for her works exploring the struggle faced by African-American families in the Deep South.
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justice / September 4, 2014
Repression of tamils is progressing steadily under this regime – the Terrorism Inflicting Division now behave like the Gestapo of the Third Reich.
Why cannot anyone write poems in his language on any subject.
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Eusense / September 5, 2014
Justice,
Sri Lanka is a haven for minorities when compared to other countries. Read below what Putin said today.
On August 04, 2013, Vladimir Putin, the Russian President,
addressed the Duma, the Russian Parliament. He gave a speech
about the tensions with minorities in Russia:
In Russia, live like Russians. Any minority, from anywhere, if
it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, it
should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws.
If they prefer Sharia Law, and live the life of Muslims then we
advise them to go to those places where that’s the state law.
Russia does not need Muslim minorities. Minorities need Russia,
and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change
our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell
‘discrimination.’ We will not tolerate disrespect of our Russian culture.
We better learn from the suicides of America, England, France
and Holland, if we are to survive as a nation.
The Muslims are taking over those countries and they will not
take over Russia. The Russian customs and traditions are not
compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of
Sharia Law and Muslims.
When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new
laws, it should have in mind the Russian national interest
first, observing that the Muslim Minorities are Not Russians.
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Piranha / September 5, 2014
I agree with Putin example to some extent because he was referring to the Muslim minorities only. The Muslim minorities in which ever countries they live try to impose their religion and their religious laws on their host countries. The Western liberal democracies have given in to the Muslims and are suffering because the Muslims in these countries are holding them to ransom.
That is not the case with other minorities. The Tamils in Sri Lanka are not trying to impose their religion or their way of life on the majority Sinhalese. The Indians or the Vietnamese minorities are not trying to impose their religion or customs in the UK or France. The problem is with the Muslim religion and its cancerous effects on the host countries and the majority communities. They have brought a lot of troubles for the vast majority of other minorities living in countries all over the world.
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AVB / September 5, 2014
Lanka situation entirely different. Prominent and considerable percentage of judges, police chiefs, civil servants, legislators were Tamils until 1980s… So Tamils were integral part of law, execution and legislation in SL. Burgers were important contributors too until they too were chased away by S-Sinhalese majority…
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Madan / September 5, 2014
Brother that was because British gave Tamils priorities against Sinhalese to prevent any objection coming from Sinhalese to their authority. Sinhalese governments rightly corrected that bias and started giving equal treatment based on the ethnic shares. This was misunderstood by Tamils as suppressing them. Such a correction was necessary and it was unbiased in any statistical sense (weighting) as well.
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AVB / September 5, 2014
As you pointed out Sinhalese led Gov gradually converted everything including education to be based on ethnic quantity… Quality was neglected… Now we see this ethnic based share narrowed down to family based share…
What you identified above is one of the main factors of gradual degradation of the country since the British left… Quality has no value in SL now…
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Madan / September 6, 2014
AVB it is true. Quality has substantially declined. They would have maintain the same or better quality while correcting the quantity.
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Burning_Issue / September 5, 2014
Madan,
“Brother that was because British gave Tamils priorities against Sinhalese to prevent any objection coming from Sinhalese to their authority.”
Can you show this forum with evidence in the form of any scholarly work that the British objectively excluded the Sinhala and favoured the Tamils? You have made this statement on a public forum and you now need to substantiate it!
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Native Vedda / September 5, 2014
Burning_Issue
Is Madan a novice/disciple of hate priests such as OTC, Ramu, Banda, Hela, Wathie, sach, Nuisanse, Navin, ………….Mechanic, ….?
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Truth / September 7, 2014
You mean to say that is why they started killing, burning, robbing, torturing the Tamil people. Burning the schools libraries, depriving them of their jobs and eduction etc. Just to make the Sinhala Modaya to catch up with the Tamil people? By the way how much do they pay to pose as a Tamil person and write comments and how many of you are there doing this for the “deranged brothers & co.?
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kp / September 5, 2014
Couple of things here.
First off, the current muslim population in Russia are descendants of Islamic central asian states that the early russian kingdoms conquered- to compare that with sri lanka’s situation is pointless to begin with.
Secondly, your argument is that Sri Lanka is better than RUSSIA? A country long known for its brutality and inhuman suffering dished out to its people (and im not even talking about the soviets here)? This is the equivalent of telling a man in unbearable pain, “well, look at it this way- at least you’re not on fire!”. The tactic all you sympathizers go to whenever you want to downplay a problem. Health sector in sri lanka failing? “Well, it’s not bad as in Somalia!” Food prices soaring? “Well, not as bad as Ethiopia!” Post-war ethnic issues? “Well, not as bad as Czechoslovakia!”.
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justice / September 5, 2014
Eusense,
Putin is speaking about some recent immigrants especially muslims.
Tamils in sri lanka have lived here for many generations and are not immigrants, though fewer in number and hence, a minority.
Equality with the majority sinhalese is their birthright – nothing more, nothing less.
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Madan / September 5, 2014
Equality should be there. But that shouldn’t mean it is 100:100 for Sinhalese:Tamils. It have to be weighted by ethnic share. That is the way you get equality. Being Sinhalese are the majority, we get more in absolute value, but if the share is correct no issue.
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Burning_Issue / September 5, 2014
Madan,
If anyone wants to know as to what is Sinhala chauvinism, one has to read your post! The thing is that you have no shame in writing it on public forums! Weighted equality predicated on population ratio; wow; this is a challenge for the academics to decipher!
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Madan / September 6, 2014
Ok Ok I will take my words back.
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kp / September 5, 2014
Except we know that that doesn’t work.
See, all these years of war has taught us nothing.
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Native Vedda / September 5, 2014
Madan
“Being Sinhalese are the majority, we get more in absolute value but if the share is correct no issue.”
You may be right on the value of majority.
You have more stupid people than all the minorities put together. That is great value for being majority.
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JULAMPITIYE AMARAYA / September 6, 2014
But At That time Russia had a Boria to clean the society.
And they replaced the vacancy with boaster Pooh tin.
Now we have a local Boria called Hothambya.
So there is no much difference between Russia and Wonder land of Aaascharya.
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Sven Perera / September 9, 2014
Stop talking from your other end. It is high time to react other way around.
Dont disgrace to our alma mater. Your mothers will not earn due respect if you would not react at least today. Rajapakshes belong to death row. As no other criminals they have made every in subtle manner abusing the nation. This is the reason why the many are entwined with their all abusive mechanisms.
Just see and check your self about DJ and Vasuadewa – both are good examples that have no guts to represent the voices of the right thinking people of this country. Who ever thought Vasuadewa would stay like KIRIMATI gilapu kimbula while his partner being attacked by human right violators set by govt underground men.
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burt / September 5, 2014
Haven’t you heard in Sinhalese there is a saying, “to a frightened man even a shadow looks like a ghost”.
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Madan / September 5, 2014
It is not repression brother. There is no right for any individual to distribute these craps in schools. You shouldn’t spoil school kids with these hateful things. Definitely principals should be interrogated.
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Burning_Issue / September 5, 2014
Madan,
So you should agree that Mahavamsa rubbish that has been fed to the Sinhala students must have caused unnecessary disharmony among the communities in Sri Lanka!
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Park / September 5, 2014
If a book of poems is to be interrogated and investigated, who is going to interrogate and investigate the Mahawamsa new chapters?
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justice / September 5, 2014
http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=12073
A family in the north recently visited by John Rankin British High Commissioner on a fact finding mission, was visited and intimidated
by army/TID personnel.
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Diogenes / September 5, 2014
CT, hope you will publish at least some of those poems.
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ela kolla / September 5, 2014
don’t Interrogate….just take them to find hidden weapons
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Native Vedda / September 5, 2014
ela kolla
“don’t Interrogate….just take them to find hidden weapons”
Good idea.
Give those weapons to Gota’s goons, will be useful to the underworld.
Be part of it, and earn few bucks.
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ela kolla / September 5, 2014
stupid vedda is a minority terrorist sympathiser
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Native Vedda / September 5, 2014
ela kolla
“stupid vedda is a minority terrorist sympathiser”
I am not stupid but bit thick because all my teachers were either Sinhala/Buddhists or Tamils.
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ela kolla / September 9, 2014
stupid vedda, get back to your cave
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Sven Perera / September 9, 2014
Every reasonable minds are stupid for you while you ve been showing the mind set of Mervin: [Edited out] of your kind are a great curse to this country, people to promote Jarapakshes doggy politics fating thier pockets. Very lately, one of the JVP speakers added to the nation, how the Foreign service dept has been abused by Jarapakshes – giving each and every canddiates personl relations to the Rajapakshe family, while tea business mudalalis making the ambassadors to countries whose mother tongue is English (washington)-to defend these mudalalis Rajapakshe govt has abused millions paying to Pottinger like companies to have the speeches written. All these are because senior public servants and all other responsible people stay mum due to unexplainable fears of Rajapakshe dracuala revengeful tactics.
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ela kolla / September 9, 2014
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/
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ela kolla / September 11, 2014
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/
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MirakRajBanda / September 5, 2014
Why the bloody hell the author of ”Gota’s War” not interrogated by the TID?
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Madan / September 5, 2014
Simple, it wasn’t distributed among school kids.
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AVB / September 5, 2014
All primary school kids including kindergarten ones in the south carry school text books with NamalR’s photo..
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Lapatiya / September 5, 2014
Poems are known to be very very dangerous terrorists weapon. Tamil peoples should write books like “Gota’s War” as much as possible. Sure nobody will read but at least Tamils can avoid TID.
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Ramasamy / September 5, 2014
Come hell or highwater we Tamils will continue to express ourselves in whatever way we wish. We are not scared of those blackguards of the TID.
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paul / September 5, 2014
Very easy to be brave from Toronto, try talking big in Jaffna. The poor guys who do are rarely seen again.
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burt / September 5, 2014
It’s about Gota’s war. Only difference being unlike the south its based on facts.
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punchinilame / September 5, 2014
Thanks to the TID – the publicity is more than welcome to propagate what
these poems are about – typical Gotas line of attack that works in the
reverse.
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reply to madan / September 5, 2014
So according to you because sinhalese are the majority a sinhala person should eat 7 plates of rice at a time when minorities eat only one plate at a time! What a fair way of thinking!
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Senthil / September 5, 2014
I did look at the picture above, a man takes very important decesions about our country.Please everyone comment here look at the picture for 5 munits and write 5 sentense about our important man, just to make sure whether me eyes are wrong.
Many of us commented about the book,it is our history, tamils were killed, library was burnt, body parts sold, dirty bombs used are all real. Our generation should record all of them, they are our history.Hitlar changed jew’s history and mulivaikal changed our history.Like the history before christ, our history will be before LTTE and after LTTE, which is real, no body can change.In tamil people started to make ganathiyo and ended up with a monkey.Singhalese governments started to wipe out tamils and ended up making them rich.Likewise singhalese governments started to change into another sighapor and ended up changing into another somalia.Never do anything correct-do not know what is next.
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No supporter / September 6, 2014
I’m not a supporter of the family run gov. But i’m not in support of this either. don’t brain wash kids to remember the past educate them to prevent the past from recurring once more. Which i think is going to happen if the north doesn’t collaborate. or even with this idiosyncratic GOSL rulers with regard to the Muslim community. Is sad how Lankans want to back to a war. they is no sinhalese, tamil or muslims we’re all sri lankans. remember that.
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Rajash / September 6, 2014
By dear no supporter it’s the Sinhala kids who are being brainwashed to believe that Tamils migrated from India and brainwashed to hate the Tamil kids. Google it and you can watch foot ages of monks brain washing Sinhala kids
You just can’t forget the past if you have been in a war zone for 30 years The mental scars are too strong and embedded there for the rest of the life
Truth and reconciliation is to accept and own up an be accountable for mistakes made by both sides and create a country for all
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Siva Sankaran Sarma / September 6, 2014
Excellent. These are Sri Lankan government schools – if We Thamizh want to set up extremist madrassas to nurture yet another generation of Terrorists to fertilise the banks of Nandikadal better do it in the We Thamizh homeland, Tamizh Nadu :D
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paul / September 6, 2014
In Australia, people who visit Iraq, Syria etc. and return are detained on arrival and interrogated and for good reasons: to prevent terrorism.
What is wrong in interrogating someone who illegally distributing books that grandioses a banned terrorist organisation. This too is done to prevent terrorism.
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Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam / September 7, 2014
Poetry is a very powerful medium for transmitting propaganda messages. It depends on what this priest has written as to whether school children should be exposed to it.
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Anpu / September 7, 2014
Dr Alagaratnam,
It wont be as bad as Mahavamsa propaganda
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Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam / September 13, 2014
Anpu,
The Mahavamsa is indeed a book of propaganda – it presents a view of the Sinhalese kings and their accomplishments from the perspective of Buddhist monks in the Mahavihara in Anuradhapura. The kings who were generous to the Sangha got a glowing write-up, those who opposed the Sangha were criticized. It was “propaganda” in the sense that the term “propaganda” was originally used to describe the various teachings of the Catholic Church.
It was not intended as a religious teaching but as a list of kings and their achievements, from the perspective of the Buddhist Sangha. It is also a valuable source of historical information, including the dating of various monarchs, which has also been of value to date events in India. Of course, the story of Vijaya is mythical and fantastic in parts, as are some of the exploits of the kings.
As such the Mahawamsa and Culawamsa have a role in history curricula but not as a presentation of THE truth. Rather it is a biased version of it. It is also a fact that Anuradhapura was built long before Vijaya and that there were Tamil and Naga settlements in Sri Lanka before the purported date of Vijaya’s arrival (which is conveniently made to coincide with the death of the Buddha). Of course, the Mahavamsa does not acknowledge the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka – the Veddas. The biases and unreliability should be pointed out to students who study the Mahavamsa.
It is a different matter to expose young minds to the poetry of this priest without objective verification of the literary merits of the work.
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Tamil from the north / September 9, 2014
Can’t someone find this gas station cashier from the U.S., a job in Sri Lanka? This low class thug needs a real job.
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