By Dayan Jayatilleka –
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
Were the scenes we saw on our TV screens this week a manifestation of a potentially dangerous, post-January 8th radicalization in the North?
It is perfectly natural for demonstrations to be held when a crime as heinous as the rape and murder of a schoolgirl takes place.
It is natural that such demonstrations be emotional.
It would also be natural for those demonstrations to take a violent turn if the suspected perpetrators of the crime were from the armed forces or Police or former members of those services or of a different ethnicity from the victim.
In this case however, the suspects weren’t Sinhalese or current or ex-service personnel.
Law enforcement did not try to cover up the crime or protect the perpetrators. The suspects were promptly tracked down and arrested.
Why then and how then did the protests turn forceful and violent?
Why were the targets the institutions of the (uninvolved) State? Why were Police personnel targeted and injured?
Why did the protests not remain localized, i.e. limited to the general area of the crime?
How did they spread to towns throughout the North?
How and why were the protests sustained over two days?
Is it coincidental that these demonstrations were in the wake of the mourning in the North on May 19th? Who would mourn the end of the war, the end of the large scale killing and dying, the dawn of peace? Who would mourn as a historical tragedy, the defeat of the Tigers and the death of the child-conscripting Prabhakaran? Why?
Was there any incitement by the pro-LTTE or more broadly, the pro-Tamil Eelam segment of the Tamil Diaspora, operating through the radical wing of the TNA?
Is this a manifestation of the Pongu Thamil training and indoctrination and the Makkal Padai culture?
President Rapajapksa reopened democratic space in the North and East by defeating the Tigers and holding all types of multiparty elections in the former conflict areas. He also kept the lid on. The security net was in place. Nothing of the kind of demonstrations we’ve just seen could happen during his tenure.
Wigneswaran dissuaded the Northern Provincial Council from passing a Genocide Resolution, on Mahinda’s watch. The Resolution was passed after the dawn of Yahapalanaya.
Today the security net has been rolled back by the Government. It is in that context of a permissive security atmosphere, a security semi-vacuum, that violent and radical demonstrations can take place in the North.
Is it because the North thinks that since its votes were decisive in bringing Yahapalanaya to power — certainly the Swan would have lost if not for the votes of the erstwhile pro-Tamil Eelamist, pro-Tiger constituency/periphery adjacent to Tamil Nadu — it has special rights and can function with impunity?
The long struggle for Tamil Eelam also began with Satyagrahas and violent demonstrations. As revealed by Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike in an address to Parliament, there were violent attacks on the Police in Gal Oya in 1956-1958.
Are the latest demonstrations the beginning or the testing out, of an Intifada strategy?
Is it the beginning or the test run of a Kashmir scenario in which there is daily violence by stone throwing mobs against Police and armed forces personnel?
Aren’t violent demonstrations the way in which the Kosovo struggle started in the 1990s, and Serbia was framed after it had to send in troops to restore order?
Are the recent demonstrations the second prong of a multipronged strategy of which the first prong was the dastardly Genocide Resolution of Wigneswaran and the Northern Provincial Council?
The State must not lose control of the Northern streets. The authority of the state must be restored.
Our soldiers did not die so as to cede the Northern streets to violent mobs.
They certainly did not sacrifice their lives and limbs to usher in federalism and an inevitable de facto merger with neighboring Tamil Nadu, in the guise of postwar reconciliation.
Our troops did not give their lives to permit the North and East to be handed over by an elected puppet government as an economic and strategic “sphere of influence” of our giant neighbor which has a permanently embedded 70 million strong Tamil population with much hostility towards the Sinhalese. The respected Times of India carried a photograph just days ago of a massive Prabhakaran poster adorning walls in Tamil Nadu in mourning for his demise. Tamil Nadu sentiment is not merely anti-Sinhala; it is pro-Tiger, even when the victim of the Tigers was India’s beloved Rajiv Gandhi! The well-made Bollywood film Madras Café, with John Abraham as the star, which is based on the Rajiv killing and the IPKF saga, was successfully banned from cinemas in Tamil Nadu as well as Tamil cinemas in the UK.
Our troops did not die so that Sri Lanka’s North and East could become a Tamil Nadu (or Indian) semi-colony within an island that becomes a Western plus Diaspora neo-colony.
In order to restore the authority of the State in the North, self–respect and strength of character must be restored to the State.
Do we not need Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM to restore strength, political will, purpose, direction and self-respect to the Sri Lankan State; to reinstall an erect spine as it were, and stop the dangerous drift in the North?
Isn’t the return of Mahinda imperative to prevent Yahapalanaya from degenerating or drifting into Yaalpalanaya?
HITANG / May 22, 2015
if we critically and impartially analyze this particular incedent we can clearly see who or what was challenged. It is not HE Maitree nor the Ex HE Mahinda. Not even the yahapalana government . It is the leagel controlling body of the country, it was the authority which is responsible for domestic law and order which was threatened. Therefore dont show your political bluntness by pointing Mahinda. Same time dont show that you are been fed by the tamil diaspora.
Dont ever forget that thousands of ex lTTE terrorists were been reslead without proper rehabilitation who believed terrr is the only path to fulfill their intentions. Hisotry repeats. Study indedents in 1950s.
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Suresh / May 22, 2015
This whole Jaffna episode beginning from raping a girl and then some demonstrators throwing stones at the police station and courts is a well-planned work of Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapakshes using their lap dog Douglas Devananda and the EPDP thugs. This is another move by the Rajapakshe group to tell the Sinhalese people that LTTE is again raising its head under the Maithree-Ranil government. Dayan’s article proves this beyond doubt.
Maithree-Ranil government should understand that this is not new in Sri Lanka, Mahinda and Gota has planned and done many such things before, people should not forget grease devils and so many other such things that happened in the past. To create havoc in the North they have the EPDP and to create havoc in the East they have Karuna. The government should investigate this and tell the people what these Rajapakshes and their cohorts are doing to disrupt the peace.
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Hard Truth / May 22, 2015
“Isn’t the return of Mahinda imperative to prevent Yahapalanaya from degenerating or drifting into Yaalpalanaya?”
No.
We feel sorry for you, Dayan, but the answer is No.
No matter how pathetic your pleading is becoming, and no matter how desperately you try to connect utterly unrelated issues to proof the return of your savior is badly needed, the answer from the people is a firm No.
Try harder.
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max / May 22, 2015
Hard Truth your reply is totally based on your own personal feelings. Instead why dont you reply DJ with facts? Because he has raised some logical points.
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Native Vedda / May 23, 2015
max
“Hard Truth your reply is totally based on your own personal feelings. Instead why dont you reply DJ with facts? Because he has raised some logical points.”
Excerpts from:
Understanding and responding to symptoms of schizophrenia
Hallucinations
Hallucinations are false perceptions, inaccuracies that affect our senses & cause us to hear, see, taste, touch or smell what others do not. In the acute phases of schizophrenia, patients are likely to insist they are hearing voices that no one else can hear. Sometimes they hear noises, clicks or non-word sounds. On occasion they are disturbed by seeing, smelling or feeling things that others do not.
Delusions
Delusions are false beliefs or misinterpretations of events & their significance. For instance, a person may get accidentally bumped in the subway & may conclude that this is a Government plot to harass him. He may be awakened by noise from his neighbors apartment & may decide this is a deliberate attempt to interrupt his sleep. Everyone tends to personalize & misinterpret events, especially during times of stress or fatigue. What is characteristic of the schizophrenic however, especially during an acute period, is that the conviction is fixed & alternate explanations for the events experienced are not even considered. Usually attempts at reasoning or discussion about possible other meanings of the bumping or the noise in the night can only lead to the further conviction that the reasoner must be in on the plot, too. Arguing with a delusion only leads to further mistrust or anger. The beliefs are tenaciously held, against all reason, & they are characteristically not shared beliefs. They are held only by the person himself & by no one else.
Talking Nonsense
This generally occurs when a person is in the active phase of his illness. It can re-emerge sometimes when medications are too low or stress is too high. What the patient says becomes incomprehensible to those around him either because sentences are unconnected to each other, or else because there seems to be no point to the stories told, or else because topics seem to switch with great frequency. Words may take on special meanings in schizophrenia either because they trigger private associations or because attention is paid to individual sounds rather than hole words. For instance “psychiatry” may sound like “sigh Kaya tree” & the topic may switch suddenly from a discussion of psychiatry to a discussion about mystical trees. Certain words may be avoided because they sound harsh or evil. Sometimes intonations are changed for similar reasons. Sometimes language is used as an incantation to ward off threats. Difficulty making sense to others is a symptom of the acute phase of the illness. It is almost impossible to communicate with patients when they are in this phase & it is very frustrating to family.
Violent or Aggressive Behavior.
This is not really a symptom of schizophrenia but when it does occur, it tends to occur in conjunction with hallucinations, delusions, preoccupations & jumbled thoughts. It, too, is triggered by stress & abates when antipsychotic medication is taken in appropriate amounts. Violent behavior is much more frequent in mental disorders that have nothing in common with schizophrenia. It is described here mainly because patients & families are so frightened of it & it leads to so much dread & worry. It is most common in young men. It can be precipitated by psychological or chemical stimulants.
http://www.schizophrenia.com/family/delusions.html
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Ambedkar Reborn / May 22, 2015
Ayubowan Smart Patriot DJ,
Have you read a real patriot of Sri Lanka Shamila Daluwatte ‘ s poem in today’s Daily Mirror ?
Are you going to the protest march to be held in near Kanate Round About on the 26th May , together with your wife ? At least you as a political scientist and a smart patriot have a lot to learn from Shamila Daluwatte and her fellow civilised Sri Lankans who will be there for the protest.
I was just told that HLDM and his wife are coming from Melbourne to participate in that protest march but I am not sure whether it true or a joke from one of my friends .
DJ , you as a person who attained NIRVANA in Kanate Cemetery two decades back, any comments on her poem and any pre event analysis of the protest march to be held on the 26th ?
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Japwatch / May 23, 2015
Ambedkar thank you.
I was wishing that someone would mention the effort of Shamila Dauwatte. You did.
The subject here is the Gang rape and murder of an innocent school girl. People of Sri Lanka should put away the racial, political implication of this gruesome incident aside and think about the plight of the women in Sri Lanka.
This incident touches the many problems of the Sri Lankan community. One I can think of is Lack of a proper legal system to prevent and protect the women. Whether it is the tamil school girl, or the 9 year old Sinhala girl who was raped by a 43 year old man in the South, ( mother in Middle East, child was under the care of relatives; the rapist lured her into watching birds in the neighborhood and raped her). And then it is the women who go to the Middle East for work and I’ll-treated by their employers and a significant number of them being brutally killed and sent back in coffins.
Women are so cheap in Sri Lanka? Rape is not taken seriously in Sri Lanka?
Just don’t blame it on the war, or the economic problems. Treat women with equality and fight to safe guard them.
And only cheap, miserable people like Dayan and a few others are giving it a political connotation to this incident.
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B S Perera / May 22, 2015
To contol the North we bring Mahinda. Good
Whom should we bring to control Mahinda?
B S Perera
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Pacs / May 22, 2015
raw and their men were quick to act to paint an ugly picture on tamil people. they are conveniently stationed in jaffna. people know it.
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Naga / May 22, 2015
Dayan
You are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
It is rubbish to call these incidents as radicalization of the North and the creation of a Kashmir in Jaffna. The mob was not targeting the police though some people were unhappy that Pungudutivu Police did not act immediately when the parents of the murdered girl made a complaint to them that the girl had gone missing.
Dayan you are seeing Tigers in anything and everything that is happening in Jaffna. You are asking:
“Is it coincidental that these demonstrations were in the wake of the mourning in the North on May 19th? Who would mourn the end of the war, the end of the large scale killing and dying, the dawn of peace? Who would mourn as a historical tragedy, the defeat of the Tigers and the death of the child-conscripting Prabhakaran? Why? Was there any incitement by the pro-LTTE or more broadly, the pro-Tamil Eelam segment of the Tamil Diaspora, operating through the radical wing of the TNA?”
You are like the shepherd boy who cried “wolf” all the time and mocked the villagers who ran to help. Beware, nobody believes a liar even when he tells the truth like what happened in the case of that shepherd boy.
Jaffna people were naturally aghast at the horific rape and murder of a young school girl and the protests that followed appeared to be spontaneous. However, it appears that some unruly elements with vested political interests have made use of these protests to carry out violent attacks at the court house. Of course, this aspect need to be investigated in order to identify whether anyone incited the incident.
Police had done the right thing in dispersing the violent mob and arresting over a hundred of them. They have been rightly remanded. The presence of the military had helped the Police to bring the situation under control.
Chief Minister Vigneswaran should be commended for immediately issuing a statement condemning the resort to violence by a section of the protesters and called for public cooperation with the Police. Mavai Senathirajah has joined him in condemning the violence.
Whatever the gravity of the crime, there cannot be vigilante justice.
Even Tamilmaran, the Dean of the Colombo University Law Faculty, had been a target of an unruly mob which wanted him arrested. It was reported that he was saved from the mob by military and naval personnel when the police jeep where he was kept for protection was held up and prevented from leaving for over six hours and was later escorted to Jaffna.
The decision of the Jaffna lawyers not to appear for those arrested for attacking the court house and for those arrested for the rape and murder is ethically incorrect and unaccepable. Every person in the society should have ready access to the professional services of a lawyer even if that person had committed the most heinous crime and it is wrong for a lawyer to refuse to represent an accused if his or her services are sought by that accused unless there is personal conflict. In serious criminal cases like murder the judge has a moral obligation to ensure that an accused get the services of a legal practitioner to defend him.
And this stupid Jaffna MP Vijakala Maheswaran wants public execution of those charged with the rape and murder of that school girl. Her call is no different from that of the mob which wanted to lynch the accuseds. An accused is an accused whatever the gravity of the crime is and cannot be punished unless the charges are proved beyond reasonable doubt. That is the cardinal principle of the English criminal law which is practised in Sri Lanka.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / May 22, 2015
There is no police station in Pungudutivu. A decision has been taken to establish one now.
More police stations are needed for effcient policing.
Dr.RN
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Native Vedda / May 22, 2015
Naga
“And this stupid Jaffna MP Vijakala Maheswaran wants public execution of those charged with the rape and murder of that school girl.”
Can we send her to Medieval Middle East kingdoms, ISIS is in need of more executioners.
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cholan / May 23, 2015
CASTRATION is the best remedy ….they will never look at a girl after this
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punchinilame / May 22, 2015
Simply put, Dayans answer to rape – elect Mahinda, his God !! I wonder if any
Doctor will volunteer to treat Dayan soon – within 100 days?
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Nimal / May 22, 2015
” Law enforcement did not try to cover up the crime or protect the perpetrators. The suspects were promptly tracked down and arrested.”
When DJ makes this assertion he is either innocently ignorant of the story behind the agitation of people here or being dangerously mischievous in distorting the story for ideological purposes.
I am told that Tamil media in Jaffna and Tamil and non-Tamil social media elsewhere is full of the story of how one of the suspects who were to be arrested by the police tried to evade his arrest tried to flee the country with the help of some people. There are youtube videos in circulation related to this incident which I don’t want to post links to here because it involves an otherwise well respected individual whose role in the whole affair is not yet publicly clarified by him.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / May 22, 2015
Dayan,
A potpouri of facts, but as is becoming a habit now, wrong and dire conclusions.
I quote below paragraph from the Daily Mirror editorial:
” Sharmila Daluwatta in a powerful message to Sri Lanka’s women says, “First they raped Manamperi and buried her body alive, I did not speak because there was an insurrection; then they came for women in Kahawatte, I did not speak; then, they came for Women in the North, I did not speak because Krishanthi Kumaraswami, Koneshwari, Isaipriya, they were not my sisters; eight men gang raped Victoria Alexandra, I did not speak, because she was just a foreigner; then they gruesomely gang raped Rita John, stabbed her body fifteen times, left her murdered body on the Modera beach, I did not speak because she was an Indian; then they gang raped a woman in Wijerama, I did not speak because she was just a prostitute; then they raped hundreds of virgins, and celebrated with champagne in Akurassa and Monaragala, I did not speak because I was afraid of politicians; finally they raped Vithiya Sivaloganadan, I did not speak because she is Tamil, she lived on a small island in Kayts.”( See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/73389/women-arise-before-the-gang-rapists-come-for-you-editorial#sthash.1PTEn0tI.dpuf)
The rape-murder of Vidhya, is another episode in the criminalization of politics in Sri Lanka and the bad example set by those who wielded/wield power, whether it be the governments in Sri Lanka or the Tamil militants -primarily the LTTE. This type of base politics and concienceless rule has made Sri Lanka what it is today where thieves, criminals, thugs, smugglers , rapists, swindlers and of similar ilk, rule the roost. The liberation war, has made the Tamils prisoners within their own society. They are yet spectator-victims. No one speaks for their real concerns and burdens.
The Mahinda Rajapakse government did not use the postwar opportunity to heal this nation and more so the north and east. It ruled through proxies, who were unacceptable to even the armed forces. These proxies were supported by criminal elements who engaged in various crimes including rape and murder. A much maimed postwar society, was further disfigured by this thoughtless imposition. Of course, the TNA is also to be blamed for the role it played during the postwar phase. Instead of recognising the need to heal, resurrect and reestablish social norms, it engaged in politics of the kind it has thrived. Men and women who should have been marginalized and cleansed from society became its candidates at elections and are engaging in third rate rabble rousing politics.
What took place in Jaffna, was orchestrated by a few, mobilising the lumpen elements, who are dime a dozen in the north now. The people are angry no doubt about the murder-rape. They are quite upset by the emerging story that this murder-rape was carried out on a contract.
The people are keenly and quietly watching developments. They did not come onto the streets to protest or engage in violence. The so called hartel was imposed, the violence efficiently orchestrated by a few and executed by a few. The political elements behind this should be identified and exposed.
It could have been different if MR and his government had acted differently post-war. The infrastructure development that took place under MR was indeded laudable and welcome. However, the war battered humans, needed better governance and sympathetic attention to their manifold personal and social problems. MR missed the bus by treating all Tamils as potential Tigers. We are now paying the price for this disastrous folly.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Native Vedda / May 22, 2015
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
Please read the following news item which appeared in the New Indian Express electronic media:
Post-War Systemic Breakdown Blamed For Jaffna Rape and Mayhem
By P.K.Balachandran
Published: 22nd May 2015
COLOMBO: Dr.Daya Somasundaram, Professor of Psychiatry at Jaffna University, blames the breakdown of traditional social and administrative structures for the gang rape and murder of 18 year old school girl, S.Vithya, at Pungudithivu on May 13, and the mayhem that engulfed Sri Lanka’s Northern Province subsequently.
Mobs burnt tyres on the streets, stoned the court and the police station, ordered hartals, and called for the public execution of the perpetrators. Unable to calm the people, Tamil politicos blamed their rivals. Sinhalese politicians in the South saw the revival of terrorism and separatism and called for stern action. Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran warned that if the agitation continued, the government might re-militarize the province. Pressed to act, three top Jaffna police officers were transferred on Friday.
‘The root cause of the crime and the mayhem that followed was the breakdown of traditional structures, norms and systems of support and control,’ Somasundaram told Express.
‘Traditional familial and social support and control mechanisms no longer exist, having been destroyed by the 30 year war. Given the lack of attention to human resources development after the war, youth see no future for themselves and go astray. Those who live on foreign remittances lead idle lives and indulge in crime as a pastime, setting a bad example to others,’ Somasundaram said.
According to D.Siddharthan, member of the Northern Provincial Council, even school kids drink and consume drugs, which are easily available.
‘The police wink at these because they are bribed. Those who live on remittances bribe habitually. Police see no need for investigating crimes,’ he noted.
In fact, it was police inaction which triggered public wrath in Vithya’s case. The stoning of the court and the police station showed lack of faith in State institutions.
Vithya’s case showed the extent of the rot. Involved were a Tamil expatriate plying drinks and drugs among youth, an ambitious local politico, unemployed local thugs and even a top Professor of Law.
‘The solution lies in re-building social, administrative and educational structures, and encouraging group activities with wholesome goals,’ Somasundaram said.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Post-War-
Systemic-Breakdown-Blamed-For-Jaffna-Rape-and-Mayhem/2015/05/22/article2827962.ece
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / May 22, 2015
Dear NV,
Thanks. I have mentioned this in my comment on the police officer vs Tamil lady exchange of words video.
Dr.RN
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Heretic / May 22, 2015
NV,
“Vithya’s case showed the extent of the rot. Involved were a Tamil expatriate plying drinks and drugs among youth, an ambitious local politico, unemployed local thugs and even a top Professor of Law.”
Is this fiction or reality? Might be worth making a film about this.
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Nimal / May 22, 2015
Is the following also part of what DJ is describing?
” All lawyers in the Northern Province have decided to refrain from duties today against the protests that were held in Jaffna day before yesterday.
Accordingly it is said that all Jaffna, Mallaagam, Point Pedro, Chavakachcheri, Kayts, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu magistrate court lawyers had decided to refrain from duty.
Jaffna District Bar Association member lawyer K. Sudaas said that this decision had been taken at a special meeting held at the Jaffna Courts Complex yesterday.”
from Hiru News on the web
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Uthungan / May 22, 2015
If the lawyers in the Jaffna District Bar Association had decided to refrain from duty that should be regarded as appropriate and constructive reaction to counter the demand of some of those who were seen in video clips shouting hoarse and demanding that none of those taken into custody on suspicion of having committed the offence should be represented.It is such irresponsible utterances that gave to terrorism in the 1970’s.
It was sad to see the the danger of assault that the Dean Of the Law Faculty MrTamilmaran a native of Pungudutivu having to rely on police protection for his safety because of the emotional protest that had clearly been capitalised by certain elements with a dubious political agenda of their own.
It is in such circumstances that the public and law enforcement agencies should be vigilant enough and not let matters get out of hand.
To demand that a suspect or suspects taken into custody and remanded should not be represented is both unreasonable and unlawful and contrary to the Rule of Law and basic tenets of democratic principles.
It is such sort of irresponsible utterances which encourage unlawfulness and it is gratifying to see that NPC CM has rightly condemned that without reservations.
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Spring Koha / May 22, 2015
We can all agree on the despicable events (the rape and murder ) that has triggered the disturbances on our northern streets. We can expect our properly elected President and the government to do all that is necessary to ensure that the forces of law and order are allowed to restore normality. It is in all our interests to support the government in their endeavours.
What cannot be condoned is the manipulation by rejected political forces to create and capitalise on the unrest. DJ (and his ilk) have come out, foaming and frothing from the mouth, screaming fire, and pointing to tigers behind every bush. DJ, having got his knickers in twist, is at his obnoxious best, exploring all those twisted avenues of his fertile mind. DJ presents himself as a, self-styled, ‘political scientist’. He is nothing of the sort; he is a rabble-rouser of the worst type – a racist rabble-rouser.
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Snowden Edward Asange / May 23, 2015
correction… INFERTILE mind which is crooked and racist….wonder how he could harbor hatred and discrimination while studying or living in the WEST…
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Pacs / May 22, 2015
“It is the responsibility of all elders, religious leaders and teachers to step up efforts towards a moral re-armament there. Sengodan. M “
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Nimal / May 22, 2015
Following news reports indicate that DJ is purposely distorting the facts:
” Protests calling for justice turned violent yesterday, as distrust and scepticism over whether the Sri Lankan police and legal system would ensure justice was served increased following the escape of one of the suspects to Colombo. The suspect was later found and returned to Jaffna police station.
Demanding that justice be done, protesters on Wednesday encircled Jaffna court house. Riot police, military personnel and special task force officers were deployed and tear gas fired into the crowds and stones were thrown towards the court house. 127 people were arrested. Jaffna’s justice Court passed a court order that would keep the arrested protesters in custody until June 4.
The violence has been condemned by the chief minister of the northern province, who said that outside elements were trying to exacerbate the longstanding distrust that existed between the Sri Lankan police and the Tamil people.”
———————–
“It is our people’s democratic right to express their condemnation against the rape and murder of the Pungudutivu student, Vithiya. I too have released my thoughts in a statement already. However, the setting alight of tyres and damaging of public property, using our peaceful protests and demonstrations as an excuse, are grave crimes,” the chief minister, C V Wigneswaran was quoted as saying by the Uthayan newspaper.
“People should remain vigilant and find out who is using this sad circumstance to carry out these evil acts.”
“For many reasons, it is difficult for our people, then and now, to cooperate with the police. If the police had take immediate action when her parents had complained that she had not come home, then this unfortunate situation would not have happened.”
“Our people are angry, asking that even after that, whether the police is being slow and negligent in arresting the perpetrators.
“However, in this situation, we must cooperate with the police [and] not see them as an enemy. It is very clear that there are some malicious people looking for a fight by creating disagreements between us and the police, and trying to sabotage the situation.”
Tamil Guardian
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Navin / May 22, 2015
[Edited out]
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Native Vedda / May 22, 2015
Navin
“[Edited out]”
Is Ella Kola using your name?
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Navin / May 23, 2015
ha ha
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Nimal / May 22, 2015
Now what would conspiracy theorist DJ would say about this news item? is this also part of the LTTE-rising?
——————
Senior Police officers of Jaffna District transferred
May 22, 2015 03:26 pm
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The Inspector General of Police(IGP) has ordered the transfer of the OIC of the Jaffna Division SSP SSP Lakshman Weerasekara and the HQI of Kayts CI Q.R. Perera and HQI of Jaffna CI B.M.R.K.B. Balasooriya with immediate effect, Police spokesman told Ada Derana.
Accordingly the SSP of Jaffna Division has been transferred as the OIC of Seethawakapura Division.
The OIC of the Seethawakapura Division SSP W.K. Jayalath has been transferred as the OIC of Jaffna Division.
HQI of Jaffna CI B.M.R.K.B. Balasooriya has been transferred to the Vavuniya Division
Meanwhile the OIC of Wellawatta CI F.U.K Wootler has been transferred as the HQI Jaffna. ( Senior DIG Western Province to make a suitable acting arrangement until a permanent OIC Wellawatta is posted)
HQI of Kayts CI Q.R. Perera has been transferred to the Mannar Division.( Senior DIG Northern Province to make a suitable acting arrangement until a permanent HQI Kayts is posted)
The below transfers will also come into effect immediately;
SP G.L.A Wijesekara of Jaffna Division to Killinochchi Division.
ASP D.S.D, Weerasinghe of Kilinochchi Division to Jaffna Division
ASP U.A.P. Fernando of Mannar Division to Jaffna Division.
ASP P.A.K.A. Senarathne of Jaffna Division to Mullaitivu Divisoin
ASP R.A.D.E.L. Randeniya of Mullaitivu Division to Jaffna Division
ADA DERANA news
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Park / May 22, 2015
When a child is raped and killed brutally it is natural for the masses to get really upset. This is exactly what happened. When reading the news, if Dayan did not get angry then there is something wrong with Dayan. He has to get his head tested. As we all know people in the NOrth have gone through hell during the Dayan’s God Father Mahinda’s time. What else can we expect from the people who have faced so much of trouble in their lives. In fact one whole generation only knows war. So Dayan, stop your “Puss” Pundit stuff and be honest. Did you or did you not get upset. Since you are sitting in Colombo why don’t you organize a protest rally to show your anger?
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Lankan / May 22, 2015
Dayan, this is the truth: [Edited out]
Its time this racist Dayan understands that people are not stupid. We Sinhalese do not swallow everything that guys like Dayan tell us.
If the raped victim was one of your family member how would have you acted Dayan?
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Know ALL / May 22, 2015
DJ,
You ask at the end of your article,
“Do we not need Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM to restore strength, political will, purpose, direction and self-respect to the Sri Lankan State; to reinstall an erect spine as it were, and stop the dangerous drift in the North?
Isn’t the return of Mahinda imperative to prevent Yahapalanaya from degenerating or drifting into Yaalpalanaya?”
The questions imply that there has been a loss of strength, political will and all those other things you mention. Firstly, what you assume has been lost is only your assumption. Secondly, and more importantly, NO, we do not need Mahinda Rajapakse at the helm ever again.
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Pacs / May 22, 2015
More police stations are needed for effcient policing. Dr.RN
Dr RN more police stations more problems.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / May 22, 2015
Dear NV,
Thanks. I have mentioned this in my comment on the police officer vs Tamil lady exchange of words video.
Dr.RN
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / May 22, 2015
Pacs,
More police stations are needed, as the army has been largely confined to their camps. However, what needs to be done simultaneously is to improve the quality and response time of the police. I am in Jaffna and have noticed that some police stations cover vast areas. In the instance of Pungudutivu, there was no police station. Navatkuli , a high crime area also does not have a police station.
Dr.RN
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Ram / May 22, 2015
One of the alleged rapists had come all the way from that civilized country, Switzerland. Obviously he had lived there oblivious of his surroundings.
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Heretic / May 22, 2015
Ram,
“One of the alleged rapists had come all the way from that civilized country, Switzerland. Obviously he had lived there oblivious of his surroundings.”
Others have learned new things in diaspora. They visit us with tax free whisky, throw their foreign currency everywhere to show their wealth and even barbeque young bulls. The women wear clothes that no woman in Jaffna villages would wear.
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Sellam / May 22, 2015
Former Tamil Minister Douglas Devananda has to answer for the demoralised North. Dayan, you have no business in the affairs of the Northern people.
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Crazyoldmansl / May 22, 2015
JUST GET THE DNA TESTING DONE.
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Upset Jaffna Tamil / May 22, 2015
Dr Daya,
I am a middle aged well educated Tamil Vellalah and have spent all my life in Jaffna. What I saw last week upset me because I had thought I will never have to see this kind of things again. Don’t get me wrong: I support the moderates of the ITAK partly because there is no real alternative. I voted for Vigneswaran.
I live in a village with my family. We interact with neighbors, relatives and other villagers. We read the newspapers. I knew that there are some and even many in the village who are not interested in reconciliation. Some of them are rehabilitated former LTTE middle level cadres now leading the younger ones. Others were never caught.
The well planned and executed hartals in Jaffna and even Vavunya show that while I have been dreaming about a peaceful future others have been organizing themselves for something else. I admit that due to education, wealth and caste background I can never fully understand the others. Still they managed to surprise me in a negative way.
I don’t really know who they are but the fact is that during one day Jaffna was controlled by people who managed to set up hundreds of check points on the main roads. How did they transport the palmyrah trunks, tyres and trash? Where did the men come from? The security forces can do the same but in Jaffna an unknown organisation was responsible for all of this. I went to see the nearest burning blockade and did not know any of the men.
“Why did the protests not remain localized, i.e. limited to the general area of the crime?”
Somebody was willing to show what they can do.
“How did they spread to towns throughout the North?”
They are in all of the villages and towns.
“How and why were the protests sustained over two days?”
One day in Jaffna then Vavunya. I don’t know why Vavunya was one day later. Maybe lack of people for both at the same time?
“Is it coincidental that these demonstrations were in the wake of the mourning in the North on May 19th? Who would mourn the end of the war, the end of the large scale killing and dying, the dawn of peace? Who would mourn as a historical tragedy, the defeat of the Tigers and the death of the child-conscripting Prabhakaran? Why?”
There are many who are like this.
“Was there any incitement by the pro-LTTE or more broadly, the pro-Tamil Eelam segment of the Tamil Diaspora, operating through the radical wing of the TNA?”
Yes,yes and yes. I think that the moderates of TNA were as surprised as I was but maybe I am wrong.
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Estate Labourer / May 22, 2015
DJ’s desperate and valiant attempts to pull out MR from the dustbin of history and resurrect him proves that he is the greatest optimist in the world!
And the reasons he trots out to justify his crusade are utterly ridiculous!
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Suresh / May 23, 2015
Mahinda Rajapakshe’s former minister Dougles has arranged the EPDP thugs to burn tyres on the streets, stone the court and the police station, and has ordered hartals in Jaffna. The gang rape was also performed by none other than the EPDP thugs. The government should investigate the motive of these people who are creating a situation to show the Sinhalese people that the LTTE is back.
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Heretic / May 22, 2015
I suggest this film for all. Doesn’t hurt to screen it several times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Algiers
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alahakoon / May 22, 2015
this [Edited out] thinks he can fish in troubled waters for his mater again!
[Edited out]
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krishna / May 22, 2015
No not Kashmir,but Rathupaswala
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Melancholy / May 22, 2015
“The stoning of the court and the police station showed lack of faith in State institutions”. Well said, prof Daya.
The existing police force in Sri Lanka, especially in the North is being corrupted, not welcomed by Tamils and also because of this they do not support enough. Larger amount of illegal drugs are entering Jaffna and the students are increasingly becoming addicted to it, alcohol consumption is on the increase, traffic accidents are on the increase and the people are killed or have accidents every day, increasing robbery at home and on the streets, the same who paid money to Police are back to their illegal KASSIPPU business in the villages and the disadvantaged communities in Jaffna who are the prime consumers and their family life is multiply at risk, gangs are on the streets with swards and kill or hurt another group or innocents, sexual harassments are on the streets for women and girls and add fuel to the fire for frequent gang rape, loudspeakers break the Supreme Court decision regarding noise level are on the streets in front of the police and in the heart of town especially so called ‘silent zones’, people in the part of the region are being violated to enjoy the right to have clean water and there was a crime done by some in their water ……many more can be add to the collapsed law and order in the North.
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Alex Jude / May 22, 2015
“Why were the targets the institutions of the (uninvolved) State? Why were Police personnel targeted and injured?”
I’m sorry for irritating everyone for my revive discourse on police power for the provinces. Considering the gravity of the situation and the recent demonstrations in the North, the government of Sri Lanka could consider a multi-layered model for policing. It can be identified and codified only through mutual discussions and parliamentary deliberations. Another option is that the community policing function can be devolved at the provincial. So people wanted Police reform. Separating internal security from the national defense not at all mean it devolves power, but decentralizes, as to give the sense of ownership in security measures in the region especially in the North where there was intense animosity built up between security forces due to war. It does not at all mean it will lead for separatism. The reasons why Northern PC insisting on police power while other PC systems have been functioning without police power are: one, it is normal for those who feel marginalized from centralized decision-making for decades and even fought for and forced to accept lost as the solution want to exert greater pressure for devolution in police power, second, being ethnically Tamils they do not feel that they are secured by the security forces where majority are the former perpetrators and speak different language, third, Tamils sense the security is still not intimated, want to have the ownership in security and thus want to maintain their law and order, fourth, pacify the youth who are frustrated by unemployment, lost of war etc.
How the existing police forces can control or settle these problems since people especially in the north are still hostile to them? When I asked many university students by knowing Police vacancies appeared in the Gazzettee are you not willing to join in the police force? Many of them said “no, we are afraid” and some of them said that parents would say that it is ok to be at home being unemployed, but not for Police. The existing police forces in Jaffna are with both shortage of personnel and the vehicles to maintain the law and order. Many of the disadvantage community I know said that when they call for an emergency during nights that the answer would be either they do not have vehicle to come or it is not the right place to receive the complaint, but to other station or etc. The Police Force has not with good investigative skills and lacked the most basic skills for protecting, recording and using evidence. People in the villages are afraid of a village mob attack to seek Police help during malpractices of law and order and also they are afraid of leaving their name recorded since it is used by the police for the investigation of the complaint. The senior officers though hold university degrees like in Criminal sociology etc. those who deal with the incidents have been recruited based on the physical strength who have no knowledge on the local issues or cannot speak Jaffna Tamil or the regional dialect of the people in the region. Learning a new language (Tamil) will not help to work with the multiply complicated issues of the people who speak another language. Many cases as far as I know in the villages I know have not been investigated in proper manner. The bribe prevent from the right approach of investigation and then it is being taken to the Court where we have many incumbents where many ‘serious’ cases which are not supposed to allow on bail are going on bail soon after the remand! What do those who in charge of law for order and for justice give the message/lesson to the people who are innocent and to the criminals in our society?! Can everyone who does even murder go on bail? I know a guy who worked in my compound raped, killed a girl and threw the dead body in the well, was imprisoned for some time and was back to the society and again involved in another killing and now is in prison again. This time it was a murder of a breadwinner. Can a person who runs an illegal business to kill slowly the disadvantage of our community be on bail or back to the business after the penalty? Most of the time money settles the justice.
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Intifada / May 22, 2015
“Why were the targets the institutions of the (uninvolved) State?”
The court was attacked perhaps,
1. I want to highlight here what Prof Sucharita Gamlath said ‘Places like courts and police stations are capitalist organizations that have been created to waste people’s precious time.’
2.In addition the delayed adjudication in courts is to rectify via new technology as was already suggested Basil Fernando on CT on 11th May instant.
3. Section 14 offers the denial of bail under certain grounds such as that such person would; ‘(i) not appear to stand his inquiry or trial (Flight Risk); (ii) interfere with the witnesses or the evidence against him or otherwise obstruct the course of justice; or (iii) commit an offence while on bail; or (b) that the particular gravity of, and public reaction to, the alleged offence may give rise to public disquiet’. Then all the offences such as rape, murder, severe physical attack all come under these categories and then the important question is WHY OUR LEGAL SYSTEM FAIL TO OPERATE IN THE MANNER IT SHOULD TO MAINTAIN THE LAW for ORDER IN SOCIETIES? This should be scrutinized seriously. As I said already we have almost a good provision of law, but they are mishandled of those who are supposed to use the law for order in the societies. Bail basically deals with liberty of the suspect and on the other hand interest of justice and the society. Courts are meant for proper administration of justice. It should function with the prime concern on the interest of justice and protection of the community. An individual right to entitle to be on bail should not make chaos/disorder in the society. It is the Judge or Magistrate to decide who should go out or in.
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