28 March, 2024

Blog

The Forever War?: Military Control In Sri Lanka’s North

By Crisis Group

The heavy militarisation of Sri Lanka’s northern province after the civil war’s bloody end in 2009 has been the subject of growing domestic and international concern. The large numbers of military personnel in the north, and the deep involvement of the military in the province’s governance, endanger the re-establishment of democratic institutions that is necessary to lasting peace (see our Nov 2013 report Sri Lanka’s Potemkin Peace: Democracy Under Fire).

Faced with international demands – including from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) – to “demilitarise” the north, the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) claims it has significantly reduced troops levels. It also says the civilian administration is fully functional and that “the involvement of security forces in resettlement and reconstruction activities … is being gradually phased out.”

This narrative is largely fictional. Best estimates based on available public information indicate the number of military personnel in the north remains extraordinarily high. Evidence from the military’s own publicity about its forces in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts reveals its deep involvement in civil affairs and administration, with the stated objective of “controlling and monitoring” the civilian population.

Adding up the numbers

The concerns around militarisation in Sri Lanka are not merely about numbers, yet the social and political consequences of the sheer number of boots on the ground are themselves disturbing. The government and military routinely deny that the post-war north is overly militarised and periodically claim troop numbers are on the decline. In advance of this month’s UNHRC meetings, senior government officials made a series of new claims in this regard.

On 19 January, President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered a speech claiming the entire northern province held only 12,000 military personnel, a “drastic reduction” from 70,000 at the end of the war in May 2009, with fewer than 10 military camps in the whole of the north. Two days later, a presentation made by his secretary, Lalith Weeratunga, to the diplomatic community in Geneva indicated that army numbers in the north had fallen by a third, from nearly 120,000 in May 2009 to about 80,000 toward the end of 2013.

Leaving aside the contradiction between the president’s figures and those of his senior civil servant, the one-third reduction in troops claimed by Weeratunga begins from an artificially low baseline figure. We know from defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapkasa himself that the total size of the army at the end of the war was 300,000 (with 450,000 total military personnel), not the 200,000 claimed by Weeratunga in his Geneva presentation. Additionally, in 2009 and afterward, almost two-thirds of troops were stationed in the north. On this basis, even accepting Weeratunga’s claim that the northern total has been reduced by a third since 2009, some 120,000 army personnel would still be stationed in the north.  Considering that the population of the northern province is 1,058,762, this yields a density of one army member for every 8.7 civilians, an extremely high ratio considering that hostilities ended almost five years ago.

map-sri-lanka-25march

Source: Security Force – Kilinochchi

It is also worth noting that Weeratunga’s presentation refers only to army personnel and thus leaves out tens of thousands of troops with other services stationed in the north: at three large naval commands and allied naval detachments spread along the coast and islands, at air force camps and bases, and in special task-force and civil-defence force detachments. With these included, the ratio of all military and paramilitary personnel to civilians may well approach the 1:5 ratio previous studies have indicated. (This is even higher than the ratio of military personnel to civilians found today in Kashmir, at the height of the second war in Chechnya or the conflict in Northern Ireland, during the surge in Iraq, or even during the French occupation of Algeria.)

Wildly contradictory figures for the number of troops in the north are nothing new. On 17 June 2012, defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa reported a substantial reduction in the military presence in Jaffna district, saying just 15,600 personnel remained there. This claim was widely challenged at the time, not least because, as late as 9 July 2012, the website of the Civil Military Coordination (CIMIC) of the Security Forces Head Quarters, Jaffna, a website that is actively updated and maintained, stated that “[o]ver 35,000 troops are under its command”. The figures on the CIMIC website were taken down soon after this contradiction was pointed out.

Repeated attempts to mislead the domestic and international community regarding the scale of the military presence in post-war northern Sri Lanka directly contradict the GoSL’s stated commitment to restore democracy and civil administration to the north.

Development as militarisation: the case of security forces in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu

Following the war, Sri Lanka’s northern province saw the establishment of Security Forces Headquarters (SFHQ) in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. A close analysis of the organisation, mission and activities of SFHQ Kilinochchi – drawing from on-site observations and interviews as well as the army’s own publicly available information – indicates the military has taken over civilian governance functions ranging from economic development and humanitarian assistance to maintaining law and order. Of particular concern is the elaborate and highly politicised architecture of surveillance and control woven into the military’s extensive development activities.

Security Forces Kilinochchi (SF-K) was raised on 29 June 2009 “with the objective of restoring peace and normalcy in the area in order to assist the rebuilding of Kilinochchi district.” The headquarters complex is presently located in Iranamadu, along the main A9 highway. SF-K’s capabilities include three army infantry divisions (the 57th, 65th and 66th divisions ), eleven infantry brigades, and thirty-nine battalions, including engineering, services and medical units. In addition, the area under SF-K also has detachments of the Navy, the Air Force and the Special Task Force, the paramilitary arm of the police.

As in the case of other SFHQs, the Area of Responsibility (AoR) of SF-K does not correspond to long-established civilian administrative boundaries but includes a significant part of Mullaitivu district, while a part of Kilinochchi district that lies on the Jaffna peninsula is excluded. The AoR is divided among the three army divisions of SF-K as indicated in the map below.

The SF-K website makes clear that the population of the AoR has been meticulously surveyed, with different units of SF-K given the explicit responsibility of “controlling and monitoring” specific sections of the population. For instance, the website notes that the 661 Brigade, part of the 66th Division based in Pooneryn, “is Controlling & Monitoring 6595 Civil Population & 175 Beneficiaries & 18 not rehabilitated ex combatants”. Similarly, the 662 Brigade, also part of the 66th Division, is described as “Controlling and Monitoring 11844 Civil Pop, 334 Beneficiaries and 30 not rehabilitated ex combatants”.

The architecture to enable such “controlling and monitoring” is provided by a network of camps of varying sizes spread across the AoR. A number have recently been renamed “Civil Affairs Offices”, with a board outside prominently displaying the mobile numbers of three or four key personnel. These camps are first and foremost the eyes and ears of SF-K, also serving as launch pads for regular armed patrols, including on bicycles.

Integral to this architecture are other regimes of surveillance and control. Crisis Group interviews with residents in rural Kilinochchi indicate that many from the local community have been recruited as informers. While this leads to an atmosphere of suspicion and fear within communities, it is a central part of the military’s project of “controlling and monitoring” civilians.  In a similar vein a hotel employee reported that they had been “instructed” to have CCTV cameras on site. CCTV cameras are conspicuous by their presence even in ordinary restaurants in Kilinochchi, yet again raising awkward questions as to how the government can have it both ways: on the one hand, declaring that peace has come to the north; on the other hand, exercising draconian control over nearly every facet of civilian life, including eating out.

More striking is the central role SF-K’s development activities play in its clearly stated control and pacification agenda. Its web page on “Development and Employment” lists as one of the objectives of its development interventions “[a]ssisting in image building of the Sri Lanka Army in order to pacify the differences from the local population”.

Such ongoing work by the military runs counter to government assurances to members of the UNHRC that the army’s role in civilian affairs is being “phased out”. Instead, nearly five years after the war, military interference in civilian governance appears to be expanding rather than contracting. The SF-K website notes that the military oversee several civilian projects and departments, ranging from a housing scheme funded by the Indian government to the construction of nurses’ quarters at the Kilinochchi General Hospital and road construction by the Road Development Authority.

The SF-K website also refers to a scheme for “provisioning of Labour for Public and Private Sector”, while noting that the “progress of the scheme is yet to be informed by all the formations and battalions”. Promoting employment may be laudable, but the intervention of a powerful military establishment in the labour market raises many serious concerns, asCrisis Group has previously argued.

It is also clear that the SF-K is deeply politicised. The page on Development and Employment on SF-K’s website carries photographs of events (see below) that are obviously integrated into the election campaign of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). This is entirely consistent with reports of the military’s partisan role in the run-up to the recent northern provincial council elections.

Concerns over the large military presence in the north are compounded by the government’s continuing efforts to mislead domestic and international audiences. Even accounting for an element of exaggeration concerning its own development footprint, there is no doubt that the military continues to exercise a high degree of control over all aspects of people’s lives in the north. Reconciliation and lasting peace are made harder as a result.

*Crisis Group’s blog, “Sri Lanka’s Search for Lasting Peace”

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Latest comments

  • 10
    9

    Mr Sumanthiran –

    “Nearly five years have passed since the end of the war. The people of the North are still living under the dark shadow of what is effectively, military rule. The Sri Lankan Government proudly declares to the world that it has successfully stamped out terrorism in Sri Lanka. For the Tamils of the North however, it has only meant that they are now being forced to live under the rule of the military. The Sri Lankan government has been asked time and again to change this, and it has failed to deliver. It is time the international community ensures that it finally does.”

    Post-war Sri Lanka: The Role of International Justice in Ending Military Oppression and Protecting the Rights of Tamil People
    http://regnet.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/events/attachments/2014/Mar/Militarisation%20ANU%20lecture.pdf

    • 5
      4

      The International Crisis Group has a reputation for bending the truth. Their reports on various countries have been criticized as biased by informed critics. Please Google to see the critiques of ICG reports on Venezuela (July 23, 2008), Eritrea (Sep 21, 2010), Ivory Coast (April 3, 2011) and Haiti (Aug 2, 2012).

      International Crisis Group’s involvement in the whole Arab Spring and especially in the current crisis in Syria has come under devastating attacks by eminent analysts such as Tony Cartalucci. I’ve attached his article on ICG’s role in Syria that appeared on – Infowars – http://www.infowars.com

      International Crisis Group Sweating over Syria Soros think-tank concedes to “possible foreign involvement.

      Tony Cartalucci
      Infowars.com
      May 4, 2011

      The International Crisis Group (ICG) has been at the center of the unfolding “Arab Spring” since the very beginning. Mohamed ElBaradei, a member of the ICG board of trustees, was literally leading the color revolution in the streets of Cairo along with his admitted underling, Google executive Wael Ghonim. The ICG has also recently made a heeded call for intervention in the Ivory Coast.

      ICG includes George Soros and Zbigniew Brzezinski, two men notorious for their extraterritorial meddling and their fomenting of color revolutions in far flung lands. To explain why they are so eager to pry their way into sovereign nations, despoil, topple, and rebuild them, one only has to look at ICG’s corporate supporters. They include such ignoble organizations as Chevron, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank Group with equally ignoble intentions that are confidently expressed through ICG’s nefarious agenda.

      In the ICG’s most recent report, “Syria: Quickly Going beyond the Point of No Return,” they worryingly state that, “By denouncing all forms of protest as sedition, and dealing with them through escalating violence, the regime [Syria] is closing the door on any possible honourable exit to a deepening national crisis. With little the international community can do, the optimal outcome is one whose chances are dwindling by the day: an immediate end to the violence and a genuine national dialogue to pave the way for a transition to a representative, democratic political order.”In other words, the window is closing on Western-engineered regime change in Syria.

      The ICG goes on to state that “the regime blames all casualties on its foes — agents provocateurs and, more recently, jihadis,” but they concede that “one cannot exclude possible foreign involvement in the ongoing crisis…” ICG’s report degenerates into a hypocritical, somewhat bizarre and uncharacteristically incoherent rant stating that even though foreign influence is evident and that “there are plausible reports of security forces being ambushed by unidentified armed groups, as well as of protesters firing back when attacked,” Syria’s bid to restore order amidst a clearly violent, foreign-funded insurrection is a “violent, unlawful and disorderly response.”

      Perhaps the deep pockets of George Soros and the myriad of influential world leaders that populate the International Crisis Group’s board of trustees and serve as advisers, are unable to afford a copy of the New York Times paper stating that the entire “Arab Spring” was prepared and directed years in advance by the US. Perhaps the ICG is incapable of reading AFP reports openly stating that Syrian protesters were trained abroad by the US and sent back to Syria to fuel a “ripple effect.” It seems they are also absent-minded of the corporate-funded Brookings Institution report, “Which Path to Persia?” which gives specific acknowledgment to the Smith Richardson Foundation, upon which Zbigniew Brzezinski sits as an acting governor.

      In this Brookings report, fueling simultaneous popular revolutions, armed insurgencies, and tempting military units to carry out a coup are openly talked about as viable options used in tandem to destabilize a targeted nation. In addition, “some form of military support” is cited as an absolute necessity when fomenting a popular revolution to prevent it from being crushed by competent security forces. Judging from Damascus’ daily claims, video, and photographic evidence, coupled with eye witness accounts from the protesters themselves of mysterious gunmen, it appears the “Which Path to Persia?” doctrine is being carried out in earnest within Syria’s borders.

      The untenable position the global corporate-financiers are in to intervene further is illustrated in ICG’s report where they conclude, “the international community clearly has an important stake in the outcome of the current crisis, even if little capacity to influence it.” ICG recognizes how further intervention will make it abundantly clear to the general population that indeed this is an orchestrated, foreign-funded plot – something the world’s leaders, from Cairo to Damascus, from Minsk to Beijing have already pointed out.

      Despite ICG’s apparent resignation to sitting the Syrian conflict out on the sidelines (apparently not counting the already admitted funding and support the US has given the Syrian opposition) it should be noted that a campaign to build up support for a Libyan-style military intervention in Syria is already underway. The Economist notes that the missing component is the Arab League’s support – without which, military intervention is almost unimaginable. We can then expect a concerted and furious effort made to twist arms in Riyadh, Cairo, Amman, and even Istanbul to match Qatar’s fervent support for this Western-driven regional conflagration. The impetus to wring out such a concession however, is almost unimaginable.

      URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/international-crisis-group-sweating-over-syria/

      [Tony Cartalucci is a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer. He has been published on many alternative media websites, including Alternative Thai News Network and LocalOrg. His writings deal with world events from a Southeast Asian perspective as well as promoting self-sufficiency as one of the keys to true freedom. His website is Land Destroyer Report.]

      • 2
        3

        Your post attacking the ICG and other Western elites to coverup GOSL crimes is as predictable as the sun rising and setting. Whatever Western institutions and think tanks did or do does not negate the guilt of GOSL and its crimes againsts Tamils.

        You Sinhala Chauvinists won the war partly because of Western support, but now you criticise them for being critical of you. You Nationalists are soo arrgoant that you think Western governments must only support you but never criticise you.

        • 2
          1

          “partly because of Western support”. I think it is not partly. GOSL won the war because of western support.

  • 13
    11

    The so-called Crisis Group is another hymie vehicle created to gain control of the world, by the head-hymie George Soros. He is spending the millions he is stealing from stock markets the world over to introduce “freedom” to the world.

    What he is trying to do is to create instability through internal divisions.

    The “human rights activists” need to get brains good enough to see the hymie deception involved in these. They are trying to divert international attention away from Israel by fuelling wars wherever they can. They are angry that Sri lanka ended the war and now they are trying to create a Goldstein report on SL.

    These conspirators will not win in Sri Lanka.

  • 14
    8

    Playing with numbers is an act that the Sri Lankan have perfected.

    Zero Causality claim, playing down the number of civilians trapped in the no fire zone are well known.

    Very disappointed to note that demilitarisation has been dropped from the latest US draft put forward to the UN

  • 10
    5

    Why De-militarization or militarization has become an issue in the North?
    If, North is a part of Sri Lanka and the military and Government of Sri Lanka is there to protect people and the Nation then what is the problem?

    The problem is that Sri Lanka military is 100% Sinhala only from top to bottom. The North has got more than 95% Tamils. The Government of Sri Lanka represents Sinhala only and they are their to protect Sinhala whether he/she is criminal or President. Sinhalese wants to control Tamils. Sinhalese wants to control the law and justice. Sinhalese wants to control the welfare of Tamils.

    Sinhalese and Tamils are divided in many aspects and it is not possible to unite them together. The peace can be achieved only by separation or under foreign control as our history shown clearly. the 65 year Sinhala rule undoubtedly proved that Sinhala cannot live with another community sharing the power, wealth and humanity.

    • 2
      1

      It’s never one sided like that but a catch 22

      Estate Tamils can live and do live among themselves as long as they are supressed by the JT’s and Sihala.

      The JT’s cannot live among themselves and the internecine wars proved that without any doubt.

      The international community or great neighbour India will never let a division of the Island.

      You lost the romance but can’t divorce like Catherina first wife of Henry V111

      The Apaches are in reserves.

      What do you do minority???

  • 11
    5

    Mahinda, Gotha and whoever else are at the helm of Sri Lanka are asking for trouble:

    They don’t realize what they are doing to Tamils, and Sri Lankans in general. It has already got the negative attention of the international community and the people of India.

    If they go on like this without heeding the international powers and the UN, they will invite an intervention to keep the peace in the island.

    The over-militarized state and its military, however big it may be, will then be pulverized beyond redemption and humiliated. A new order will then be established in the island.

    Wisdom and reason seem to be in short supply among the ruling elite. It appears that God drives people mad before destroying them.

    • 4
      9

      We heeded to these mercenaries from 1983 and it didn’t give us anything other than suffering. USA still maintains armed bases in Germany, Japan and on an island in Indian ocean to name a few, we would also like to keep the forces in north and east until Tamils decide that separation is just a waste of positive energy of the whole country.

      • 2
        2

        US bases in Germany and Japan have the approval of the German and Japanese people. Tamils in the North do no approve of the Sinhala Army occupation.

        Diego Garci was a British property that was/is shared with the US.

        The whole reason for the Sinhala Army in the North is to suppress Tamils and demographically alter the North and East .

        • 1
          0

          and North is a part of Sri Lanka. You need to write it somewhere you can see often.

          • 2
            0

            Liberal One

            “and North is a part of Sri Lanka”

            North is part of my ancestral island.

            What is Sri Lanka, is it an imagined community based on your wildest dream?

            Go get a life.

          • 1
            0

            And Darfur was part of Sudan…

            Sri Lanka/Ceylon is a country made up by the White man (British).

      • 1
        1

        Liberal One –

        US Forces are in Germany and Japan with the concurrence of both countries and in the interest of the defence of both countries. The Terms of Surrender of WW2 have since been diluted with the evolution of a more liberal world and Covenants between the USA and both Germany and Japan.

        The Tamil Nation in the North, to the last man, woman and child – is opposed to the forced imposition of a Sinhala-speaking occupying force composed almost entirely of semi-educated brutes some of whom have now gained international notoriety for desecration of dead bodies of young girls by sadistic sex offences on them. These young brutes are of a mind set where they are made to believe the Tamil-speaking local population is a subject race and, therefore, anything goes. After all, their leader has publicly said “apey minissu api bera ganda oney ne” (we must save our – offending – people, no?) This is to give validity to impunity by the Supreme Commander of the armed forces.

        Let it also be known, Tamils in the North are not opposed to the stationing of troops in the North in reasonable numbers – in the manner they were before (1960s/1970s) This has been the position of the TNA, which Mr. Sampanthan or several occasions articulated publicly.

        R. Varathan

        • 1
          1

          The thing the Tamil chauvinists keep forgetting is that North is not a separate country. Sri Lankans have no problem with the military that saved the north from terrorists remaining in north except those who hate the military for annihilating the terrorists they supported.

          If you didn’t realize, the number of military personnel in 1960s was not enough to stop the terrorists from taking control of north and east. Why do you want the military to be reduced to that level?

          • 1
            1

            Liberal One

            “The thing the Tamil chauvinists keep forgetting is that North is not a separate country.”

            The important information that doesn’t get through to Sinhala/Buddhist racists is that this island is not a one nation Sinhala/Buddhist kingdom and doesn’t exclusively belong to them.

            • 0
              1

              This is a constitutional democracy not a kingdom.

              • 1
                1

                Liberal One

                “This is a constitutional democracy not a kingdom.”

                Only when rulers abide by the constitution and respect democratic values the country is constitutional democracy.

                A kleptocracy run by a few for a few does not deserved to be a democracy. In fact now that the saffron clad thugs wants to transform this island into a theocracy.

                You must be crazy for not noticing these transformation.

                However you prefer a state where you love to impose tyranny of the majority and justify it in the name of democracy.

                What have you got to do with constitution and democracy?

            • 1
              0

              NATIVE VEDDA:

              PROVE WHAT YOU SAY.

          • 0
            1

            The North / North East was historically speparate. For most of known Lankan history these regions were never part of the Sinhala kingdoms.

            Tamils hate the military because it is a military that only represents and works for Sinhala Nationalists. The military is responsible for deliberate slaughter of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians and the rape of thousands of Tamils. The military is also occupying large tracts of land that used to be home to Tamils.

    • 1
      1

      It is up to the rest of the Sinhala Nation – including the priesthood, outside the Rajapakse loop, to realise the damage the Rajapakses are
      bringing to this once-respected country by their mindless lying. If Rajapakse had even a basic inkling of how international law (I know he is a “lawyer”)functions, he will not engage in the terrible bungling the Rajapakse regime is notorious for – where they get caught with their pants down regularly. The other “powerpoint” Gathabaya is even less blessed with even average education or analytical skill. Lalith Weeratunga was a mediocre officer in the Administrative Service until
      the Rajapakses made him a super bureaucrat.

      The Sinhalese must organise themselves and save the country from the
      bungling and venal Rajapakses before the country tears into pieces.

      Dr. B. I. Passe

    • 1
      2

      Dream on… Belmo, by all your troll avatars.

      You are only dreaming!

  • 5
    9

    Another NGO that was used all over the world to push countless countries into chaos wants the military to be pulled back from North and East. After failing to establish Eelam using Solheim wonder what these mercenaries have in store for us now.

    Tamil Nationalists have still not given up the call for separation, the vast majority of citizen of this country wants the government to keep the forces where the military threats are. Do these NGO cockroaches have such low IQ not to understand this? or are they employing the Goebbels theory here?

    • 2
      1

      Considering non Muslim Tamils are the minority while Sinhalese , Tamil Muslims and non Tamil Muslims have always supported Sinhala Chauvinism , it is hardly surprising the vast majority would support the oppression of Tamils by the Sinhala Army. This is precisely why pure democrasy is not supported by modern democratic societies, because it turns into Majoritarian tyranny.

      Wasn’t it the Sinhala Chauvinist J R Jaywardene who said that Sinhalese would be happy if he starved the Tamils. A Sinhala Chauvinist President admits that Sinhalese society by and large wants to genocide the Tamils, so is it any surprise that the majority of Sri Lankans support the Sinhala military occupation of the North and East.

  • 4
    10

    There is no need for demilitarization.

    UNHRC resolution does NOT have demilitarization.

    Tamils can’t have their way in SL. This is SL not TN.

    If you can’t live in SL just get lost. No body wants you here in SL.

    • 3
      2

      Too bad for you that Tamils aren’t going to leave SL and let you Sinhalese have it all to yourself.

      • 1
        0

        You left and now living in west loyally when Tamil is not a national language, Tamils have no devolved power and the flag does not represent the Tamils isn’t it?

        • 1
          2

          Liberal One

          “You left and now living in west loyally”

          I thank Tamils for leaving my island.

          My heartfelt thanks to Sinhalese for ethnically cleansing them.

          • 0
            1

            except it is a lie propagated by your NGO masters.

        • 0
          0

          Atleast in the West, Tamils are not persecuted for being Tamil.

          There is no reason for Western nations to recognize Tamil language or to include Tamils in their flags as Tamils have no historical roots in these nations.

          It is matters little that Sri Lanka officially recognizes Tamil or that Tamils are represented in the flag , since GOSL has been trying for decades to drive out and suppress Tamils.

          GOSL and the military only exsist to safeguard Sinhala hegemony.

    • 4
      5

      Fathima Fukushima

      Have you visited Jaffna recently? Our Army boys are working like slaves to develop that area. The people there are not at all bothered about the (harmless) army, life goes on very smoothly, compared to other parts of the country, the people in Jaffna seems to be happier and prosperous (big money comes from the west from relatives). Not only that, the army is very much concerned about the safety and security of the people there. The army has become a part of their lives. The ordinary people there are not bothered about demilitarization. It is only the Tamil politicians who wants to show the world that ‘their areas’ are occupied by the army.

      • 0
        0

        Silva, The Northern Tamils are scared to open their mouths!! Do you think they will tell you their opinion about the rotten government and the murderous army. Are you guys not shamed to tell that the money comes from the west? Why, because the Tamils in Jaffna cannot live without their relatives help. They have no jobs, no way of earning their livelihood. Bread winners are either dead, imprisoned, maimed or abducted!! Jaffna women are clever and resilient, they can manage their affairs, but they are not free to do their own things as the “vultures in Uniform” are around to prey on them!!

    • 1
      0

      fatshitma, If all Tamils leave SL, whose toilet are you going to clean for a living? you will be jobless.

  • 6
    6

    The military rule started in the North and East in 1958. I was a school boy at that time. I remember how the army personnel stormed into Jaffna Central College and asked the students to vacate the hostel and they forcibly occupied the campus.There were barricades set up at various junctions in Jaffna which were army check points.
    It is important to know that the so called Tigers were not even born at that time. Jaffna people were so docile and timid they would’nt dare to throw a stone at someone,let alone stage an armed struggle.
    The army unleashed violence against poor men,women and children who tried to do a Gandhi style Satyagraha in protest.
    The Sinhalese must realize that it is these kind of treatment which made the Northern people become dejected and hardened to the extent that eventually led to the birth of LTTE.
    Again they are making the same,if not worse mistake. “United Srilanka” is a dream,now getting farther and farther

    • 5
      5

      “1958. I was a school boy at that time. “

      Ravi/Saranga/Ragavan, =Pot Plant with

      PPPPP – piss poor protoplasm poorly put-together (really old and/or decrepit)

      PPP: Probable Placement Problem

      you Peee eeeelam!

      Colomba Choppe (^‿◕)

  • 4
    4

    Mr. Liberal One, so what is your plan? You want to keep the Tamils under military rule for ever. Do you think NGOs and International Community will allow this? Have any idea about a geographical fact that there are 70 million Tamils who live only 22 miles away from YOUR SriLanka.

    • 5
      6

      There is no military rule in any part of the island except military bases. In-fact it is this same military that ended the illegitimate military rule that was in north and east previously.

      If the international community, their NGO tools and world wide Tamils go the extra mile they may very well create a separate tamil nation on this island wreaking havoc in centuries to come. But that does not mean we should offer the same in a platter without any fight. You are free to run away, we will continue to fight for our territorial integrity.

      • 1
        1

        A seperate Tamil nation was what existed before the British created this modern nation called Ceylon. There was no nation that encompassed the whole island before the White man made it.

        • 1
          0

          You told you? your grandma? Sri Lanka had on and off Tamil invasions that established themselves on north but there were plenty of time where the island was united under one kingdom. Don’t take a point of time in history that only suites your separatist needs.

          If you didn’t know India also had different kingdoms when Europeans set foot there. So why don’t you take your separatist struggle there?

          • 1
            0

            Liberal One

            “You told you? your grandma?”

            Probably Mahanama.

    • 6
      4

      Saranga, Are you threatening SL government?. What the hell NGO’S and IC can do to SL? Sri Lanka ruled by a leader whom choose by the people in a democratic way. If you cannot accept that fact get the f*** out of here and join the 70 million 22 miles away.

      And Srilankan forces do not need anybody’s permission to build camps or deploy forces in this country.

      • 2
        1

        noel-jones

        “What the hell NGO’S and IC can do to SL? .”

        International Community did win the war for SL.

        “Sri Lanka ruled by a leader whom choose by the people in a democratic way”

        Was it really?

        “If you cannot accept that fact get the f*** out of here and join the 70 million 22 miles away.”

        We know you are mad, but it seems that you are hopping mad, perhaps Saranga must have struck a raw nerve.

        Your use of swear word not only tell who you are but also about your parents, guruvarayo, friends,………. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Who do think you are, an immigration officer?

        The region which is only 22 miles away from this island is Tamilnadu, whence your Kallathoni ancestors came. Its funny one group of kallathonies telling the other group to get back to their homeland.

        Hope one day you (20 Million) too join your 70 million brethren across Palk Strait.

        “And Srilankan forces do not need anybody’s permission to build camps or deploy forces in this country.”

        However they need a lot of their women folks and VP’s big bum to hide behind them if and when foreign forces arrive in this island.

        Remember old times.

    • 3
      4

      Saranga/ravi!

      J P FROG -So you Just Plain F***ing Ran Out Of Gas

      Your TRO – Time ran out. Too Fat To Breathe like VP

      Pray Long and Hard before you get shot in the head like
      the mother of all step fathers.

      Coloba Choppe (^O^)

  • 3
    5

    No Tamil on this forum has had the ba**s to say why Vaiko lost his lungi to Sushma Swaraj! Tamil language vs Punjabi (^O^)

    The BTF fisherfolk never studied people and places but just tried to show off their new found wealth like the JT’s who purchased a new Benz and did the first trip to Jaffna to of course show off.

    She is an Indian politician serving as Leader of Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. She has been elected six times as a Member of Parliament and three times as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. At the age of 25, she became the Haryana’s youngest Cabinet Minister and has also served as Chief Minister of Delhi.[1] In Indian general election, 2014, she is contesting from Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh.

    Haryanavi has traditionally been the dominant mother tongue in Haryana, with Standard Hindi being spoken as a second language. Haryanvi has no official status, as it is seen as a dialect of Punjabi & Hindi. Therefore, Hindi and Punjabi are the official languages.

    __________Since it was the Punjabi suba agitation that had led to formation of Haryana, Bassi Lol thought, ‘Let any language other than Punjabi be the second language of the state’. Hence, Tamil became the second state language even though there might not have been even a single Tamil native family in the state at that point of time.[29] Since 1947,Punjabi has also been spoken by a lot of people in Haryana especially by those Hindus and Sikhs who came over from the older Punjab region at the time of partition and there was pressure on the government to make it an official language too. As such, Punjabi edged out Tamil as the second official language of the state in 2010.[29] Haryana is the second-largest Punjabi-speaking state after Punjab.
    The most striking feature of Haryana is its language itself or, rather, the manner in which it is spoken. Popularly known as Haryanavi, the language of Jat people, with Bangaru, spoken in the Heart of Haryana, being the most widely spoken dialect. Bagri is the 2nd largest dialect of Hindi spoken in Haryana largely in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hissar. And Ahirwati spoken in Ahirwal belt. With rapid urbanization, and due to Haryana’s close proximity to Delhi, the cultural aspects are now taking a more modern hue.

    Coloba Choppe 。◕‿◕。

  • 3
    1

    Speaking of NGOs? GOSL itself is now operating like a sort of NGO – according to its misanthropic Mahider Chinthanaya. plundering the country and sucking the blood of the nation in every possible manner while brainwashing the gullible followers praising the virtues of patriotism. The King of Kings braying so loudly these days about his great love and devotion for his dear motherland is selling valuable lands and resources so that his Company Ltd can collect commission!

  • 3
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    Why is this guy Javi blabbering about some Punjabi and Haryana without any connection to the topic. Is he delerious? Somebody please check is temperature.

    • 3
      3

      Oi JT terrorist you are licking Jaya’s arse for what??

  • 3
    1

    It appears that the Commander in Chief the President has no control over what his Defence Secretary does. Which begs the question, has there been a silent Military Coupe in Sri Lanka? Is President Rajapakse just a puppet President?

  • 6
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    Read the activities of the CRISIS GROUP to see what they are doing and what they do.

    They are kind of neo nazis.

  • 7
    5

    I am glad the army is doing their job . This is good news . Thank you for letting us know .,

    • 0
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      You always take it other way around :( typical nature of a [Edited out].

      • 1
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        unlike leelawathi I am not used being a whore

        • 0
          1

          That alone proves the reality, no need to talk more.

          Laptop journalism has ruined the nation. And you buggers will have no brains to get in this life.

        • 2
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          Abhaya

          “unlike leelawathi I am not used being a whore”

          It is a disgrace that you are forced to pay for sex.

          How much does leelawathi charge you for less than two minutes?

          • 1
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            leelewathi is a crack whore . I am guessing it is less than 10 $

        • 0
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          This is now a known fact to everyone on this platform. I could well agree with “Leelawathie and her views” but never with those of Abhaya – MR apologist – BORN abusive. Poor guy to have got appointed to that company on remote US – they should be idiots.

          Who is being used a whore ? Abhaya, is that your side job ?

  • 2
    2

    Today’s Lanka C news say that President Rajapakse has ALREADY agreed for an International Investigation.

    http://lankacnews.com/english/main-news/h-e-president-agreed-for-an-international-investigation-kumar-rupasinghe

    It says…….A famous N G O Member Kumar Rupasinghe has said that the President had agreed for an international investigation after the Human Rights council meeting in Geneva.

    He has informed this to Ambassadors, senior officers in foreign service and few U N officers using his e mail. But, the foreign affairs officers are surprised on this and they say that they are unaware of this. Few days back, Dayan Jayatilake and Kumar Rupasinghe have met H E President at the Temple Trees and expressed their views about the Geneva proposals and have stated that there will be a worst situation if not agreed. The e mail was circulated after 2 days of the discussion.

    This is how the Fake Patriot cowards play double game in Sri Lanka.

    They say one thing to public and dupe them, while bowing to International community betraying the Country and Soldiers.

    Rakapakses have already accepted the UNHRC defeat.

    My prediction is that Sri Lanka will be defeated by 29 VOTES.
    (39 for UNHRC resolution and 10 against it)

    This is a stark loss compared to last year.

    ANY OTHER UNHRC VOTE PREDICTIONS ARE WELCOME.

    • 1
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      This is what President Rajapakse say in the same today’s news (Lanka C News).

      He says Not a single Proposal will be accepted from Geneva.

      Here’s the web.

      http://lankacnews.com/english/news/not-a-single-proposal-will-be-accepted-from-geneva/

      It say……March 25, 2014 at 6:07 pm | lanka C news
      President Mahinda Rajapakse stated that elections will not be held before the exact date in 2016.

      He made this statement addressing the public at P.D. Sirisena Grounds in Colombo, Maligawatta at an election campaign.

      “Some people who has made power a dream are trying to fulfill it through the support from overseas. They are ready to betray the country for power. I have no problem facing not only one even for thousand problems. I don’t care for them. I believe the people in the country.”

      WHO IS FOOLING WHOM……..

      I wonder……

    • 0
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      “This is a stark loss compared to last year ~゜・_・゜~ 

      admission that only a “Sieve” would accept”!

      …SOUTH ASIAN – SOFT, SOFTLY ADMIT”!

      ▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

      LANKIAN 13 VOTES TO 19 Votes, I guess…

      NEVER MIND – SLEEP ON RAILWAY LINE”!

  • 1
    0

    Well done Kothapaya.

    The more pressure SL get the more pressure should be on Tamilians.

    Tit-for-tat. The losers will collapse under army men. AGAIN!

    No one can dictate to SL where it should put its army. Even UNHRC resolution is SILENT on demilitarization!!

    If Gopi kills Viggie there will be a street party in Colombo. I wish so.

    • 1
      1

      !If Gopi kills Viggie there will be a street party in Colombo.
      I wish so”.!

      ____________

      [Edited out] ;Fathima”!

      Fukushima; Faecal Encephalopathy”!

  • 4
    0

    Good job the government is retaining a military presence. Post WW 2, allied forces remained in Germany since 1945 for more than half a century . Brits pulled out of Germany only at the beginning of 21st century. US forces are still there. US forces were occupying Japan for several decades, and in South Korea they are still there, despite that Korean war was over in the early 1950s. Indian forces are still in Kashmir, i.e. since partition.

    • 3
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      Absolutely.

      But Tamils have no country. They are just illegals in SL.

      Curse!

      • 0
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        And you are just Bengalis ,Orissans and South Indians masquerading as native Lankans.

    • 0
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      The West German public represented by the government of West Germany agreed to Allied forces remaining in West Germany.

      Allied forces weren’t there because they feared a new 3rd Reich, they were there to keep the USSR at bay.

  • 0
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    SL military presence in the North East becomes inevitable given the revelation that LTTE is trying to resurrect its armed struggle.

    Jeyaraj in an article published a couple of days describes how the LTTE plot was uncovered. According to his report, LTTE rump in the West have colluded with some diehard LTTE militants to scheme a plot to assassinate President Mahinda Rahjapase and/or his brother Gotabaya Rajapakse. They were going for Rajapakse brothers as this would lead to a repeat of the 1983 riots.In their thinking another race riot targeting Tamils in Colombo would lead to direct intervenion either from US or India that would enable the partition of the country or the creation of Tamil enclave in North East like in Cyprus.

    Sri Lankan government will have to be ever vigilant to prevent LTTE raising its head in Sri Lanka again because their international organisation is still active. LTTE rump in the western countries are active in many ways to revive the armed struggle in Sri Lanka for their Eelam. Some like Nediyavan do not hide their intentions for armed struggle but others have become champions for human rights and carry on with their sturggle for Eelam by other means. Global Tamil Forum and similar Tamil diaspora organisations are hell bent on destabilising Sri Lanka with the help of countries like the United States. Their struggle is not for human rights of the Tamils but for the creation of their Eelam.

    Given this development it is absurd to expect the Sri Lankan Government to pull out the Army and other Armed Forces from North East.

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