By: Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe –
I shall consider two of Dayan’s arguments to present my views: (1)That the LTTE was – is- a fascist organization, which he describes as ‘the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world’, and which, therefore, had to be militarily liquidated by the State. (2)That sovereignty of the State stands above the sovereignty of the People.
The militant Tamil youth organizations, including the EPRLF to which Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka belonged- and the LTTE, resorted to armed struggle to pursue the common political agenda of achieving a separate state.
What does he mean by applying the term ‘fascism’ to the LTTE? The concept refers to the political formation that occurred mainly in Germany, Italy and Japan in the context of the political conjuncture that took shape around the 2nd World war. It referred to a crisis of the system of world imperialism, where these three states resorted to an ideology and program to re-divide the world and restructure the system of international relations that had been foisted following the end of the 1st World War. Fascism refers to a particular political-ideological form of the Capitalist ruling classes and states that had been denied its ‘place in the sun’ by the other dominant imperialist powers. It refers to a particular form of state that emerges as a crisis of advanced monopoly capitalism. It is accompanied by a singular assertion of the superiority of one’s own race above all others, as the moral justification for world conquest. It is simple theoretical sophistry to apply this historically specific political category to the LTTE. But, of course, it plays into the gallery of all those who wish to deny and cover up for the gross, systematic, even systemic, and intensifying discrimination and violent suppression of the Tamil nation by the State. Alice was taught in Wonderland how ingeniously words and concepts are used to delude even the advanced, snare the idle and befuddle the masses. But Alice learnt to penetrate and de-mystify these vulgar abstract reifications and contorted obfuscations and grasped the vile deceptions of the Oppressor and the truth of the Oppressed and went on to struggle for their liberation.
The term “fascist” used by the ambassador-professor provides fuel and fire to all stripes of rabid chauvinists in their campaign to wipe out the identity and political status of the Tamil nation in rivers of genocidal blood. It serves to cover up for the repeated massacres of Tamil civilians, the looting, rape and plunder of Tamils in repeated state-sponsored pogroms, including the massacre of 53 Tamil political prisoners held in maximum custody of the State, that provided the background to the formation of the LTTE and its politics of separatism, including the resort to terrorism. In labeling the LTTE as fascist, the good Dr. hopes to wipe the blood off the face of state terrorism, and of the present regime, to which he is beholden. This is the guy who gives lectures to the Sri Lankan military on how to generalize the experience in wiping out terrorism and in the same breadth speaks on the “Ethics of Violence”.
The LTTE was a product of the Tamil National Movement that coalesced around the Vaddukkodai resolution that gave birth to the Tamil United Liberation Front, which was mandated to struggle constitutionally for a separate State of Thamil Eelam. The TULF, which represented this popular mandate was expelled from Parliament of which it functioned as the lead Opposition, by the adoption of the 6th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted by the 5/6 majority of the then UNP government, when the demand for a separate state itself, and all related activities connected with it was declared illegal. Thus, all legal-constitutional-democratic methods for pursuing this political demand was denied by a Sinhala-dominated parliament, just as the citizenship and voting rights of the entire Hill Country Tamil population had been denied in 1948. ( this is the State to which Dayan would offer supreme sovereignty, above that of the people, the same State that massacred some 100,000 Sinhala youth in suppressing two youth insurrections in the South) )
The ruthlessness and terror of the LTTE developed in direct proportion to the ruthlessness and terror of the State in its sustained military campaign to wipe out the separatist agenda, which the LTTE represented. The massacres, rape, arson, looting and pillage of the innocents in Black July 1983, the beheading of Tamil youth and decapitated heads hung on stakes in public, the open rigging of the DDC elections in 1981 in Jaffna, the burning of the Jaffna library, constituting an act of cultural genocide, the razing of the cemeteries honoring martyrs, the attacks on kovils and schools, gang rapes of Tamil women, the inhuman torture to which Tamil prisoners were subjected to- this policy of State Terrorism found its reaction in such equally abominable acts as the massacre of Bikkhus in Arantalawa, the massacre of civilian devotes at the Sri Maha Bodhi, the attack on the Dalada Maligawa, the bombing of civilians and so on.
Having no other option, the militant Tamil youth organizations, including the EPRLF to which Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka belonged- and the LTTE, resorted to armed struggle to pursue the common political agenda of achieving a separate state. All these organizations had connections with and were supported, trained, financed and manipulated by one or the other of the various fractions and agents of the Indian State, including by the infamous RAW. All of them engaged in bank robberies and acts of terror, intimidation and assassination, in the bid to gain dominance within the movement. The LTTE simply proved to be superior to all of them in being ruthless in asserting its dominance and hegemony within the Tamil National Movement. If at all, the EPRLF, in which provincial government Dr Jayatilleka functioned as a Minister and foremost ideologue, should also be tried for “fascist” war crimes, given its wholesale military assault against the people and the rigging of elections, aided by the notorious IPKF.
The ruthlessness and terror of the LTTE developed in direct proportion to the ruthlessness and terror of the State in its sustained military campaign to wipe out the separatist agenda, which the LTTE represented. The massacres, rape, arson, looting and pillage of the innocents in Black July 1983, the beheading of Tamil youth and decapitated heads hung on stakes in public, the open rigging of the DDC elections in 1981 in Jaffna, the burning of the Jaffna library, constituting an act of cultural genocide, the razing of the cemeteries honoring martyrs, the attacks on kovils and schools, gang rapes of Tamil women, the inhuman torture to which Tamil prisoners were subjected to- this policy of State Terrorism found its reaction in such equally abominable acts as the massacre of Bikkhus in Arantalawa, the massacre of civilian devotes at the Sri Maha Bodhi, the attack on the Dalada Maligawa, the bombing of civilians and so on. However, none of this history can ever justify the alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, replete with the most barbaric atrocities said to have been committed during the final stages of the war. These accusations have brought indignity and shame upon all of us as citizens of lanka, and we have a foremost right and duty to protect ourselves from such infamy. Until and unless there is a credible, transparent, independent mechanism for accountability, the state and the regime shall remain on the dock! As it is, the Regime is simply trying its utmost to slide away from the dock, instead of facing up to the trial, in the exercise of which H.E. Ambassador Dr. Jayatilleka is to be trusted to contribute his exalted and devoted service.
Any approach to genuine reconciliation should begin by a profound analysis of the structural roots and generative causes of Terrorism, based on a genuine commitment to address the grievances and the national democratic aspirations of the Tamil nation, inclusive of the Moslem and Hill Country Tamil nationalities, to be given expression in a democratic political solution and required constitutional reform. Anyone who expects such democratic reform and a process of healing and reconciliation from the Mahinda Rajapakse Regime is far more deluded and lost in Wonderland, than Alice could ever have been! The Rajapakse project is none other than to perpetuate its dynastic rule by selling out the country to each all foreign predators, including to the IMF and the World Bank ( here no anti-imperialist demagoguery) to appropriate the traditional land of the Tamil people and of the farmers and fishermen for giant multi-national agro-industries and tourism, to build seven star hotels and hospitals, luxury spas and brothels, casinos and bars and super highways, airports, ports and sports stadiums- all that which can fill the pockets of the regime and its mafia cronies and superimpose the monumental ego of the Emperor, while sucking the life-blood of the toiling masses and crushing them to dust. This regime has the audacity to state that it does not have the funds to increase the wages of university lecturers and workers, or even to pay the pensions of the farmers!
The argument that the sovereignty of the State is above the sovereignty of the People is indeed a fascist argument. In Marxist terms, the State is a special instrument for the enforcement of class dictatorship. Lenin stated that the Capitalist State, however democratic it may appear in form, is, in essence, nothing but the embodiment of the naked, terrorist dictatorship of the bourgeoisie”. Even in bourgeois-liberal terms, the State is supposed to be the embodiment of the people’s sovereignty. Even within this bourgeois theoretical-ideological paradigm, the State derives its definition, meaning and function only in terms of acting as the guardian of the people’s sovereignty. It is to be controlled, supervised and legitimated by the people through regular free and fair elections, and through a representative parliament with a vigorously independent Opposition, under the judicious review of an independent judiciary. The separation of powers and the subordination of the Executive to the Legislature are all part of exercising popular sovereignty. What we have in Sri Lanka, is one the most centralized unitary states, commanded by an omnipotent Executive Presidency where the Legislature is but a supine rubber stamp, legitimated by an equally servile judiciary, where the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, the Inspector General Of Police, the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission are appointed by the Executive President. The Rajapakse triumvirate controls some 60% of all public funds through the various ministries and departments allocated to them. They function as a dynastic oligarchy, acting with supreme impunity, standing above the Law. The Rajapakse Regime is accountable for continuing series of killings, abductions, disappearances, including media personnel. It is accountable for daylight attacks against media institutions. It is enforcing a draconian regime of military occupation in the North and East, while steadily militarizing and politicizing the entire social order, including the institutions of higher education.
Hitler came to power through elections and achieved a ruling collation majority. There is nothing sacrosanct about having being elected to power, particularly when elections have been won through naked abuse of power, thuggery and rigging, as in Sri Lanka. Neither the State nor indeed, the Rajapakse regime stands above the sovereign will of the people. The time is approaching when the Regime, including the learned Dr. Jayatilleka shall be taught this most basic lesson in Political Science, by the awakened and organized will of the masses, exercising its inviolable sovereignty on the streets.
Peter Casie Chetty / January 25, 2012
What utter rubbish! The LTTE did not represent the Tamil people. They were a repressive organisation with a supreme commander. Your writer seem to be either a Tamil LTTE supporter using a Sinhalese name or a Sinhalese who has never seen any of the LTTE atrocities committed on Sinhalese civilians.
The 1983 riots was not sparked by an ember in Colombo but one that blew up soldiers in the North. That was rabid provocation meant to gain the sympathy of the wide world. Were all those lives lost worth the result the LTTE got in the end.
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Pearl Thevanayagam / January 25, 2012
Thanks Ajith. Your argument is well articulated and thanks again for letting us read this without resorting to Roget’s Thesaurus. Dayan’s genuflecting before the government would even embarrass Mahinda Rajapakse and I wonder what it would take Dayan to control his narcissistic writings where he often refers to his many presentations in seminars in obscure foreign universities.
He must be very insecure to have to forever remind us of his credentials
Pearl Thevanayagam
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PresiDunce Bean / January 25, 2012
One man’s terrorist, is another man’s freedom fighter… just like the Rajapaksa state terrorism is equated by Dr.The Yarn as sovereignty of the State.
Lenin is supposed to have referred to blind defenders and apologists for the Soviet Union in Western democracies as “useful idiots.” Yet even Lenin might have been surprised at how far these useful idiots would carry their partisanship in later years including our own times.
Stalin’s man-made famine in the Soviet Union during the 1930s killed more millions of people than Hitler killed in the Holocaust and Mao’s man-made famine in China killed more millions than died in the USSR. Yet we not only hear little or nothing about either of these staggering catastrophes in the Communist world today, very little was said about them in the Western democracies while they were going on. Indeed, many useful idiots denied that there were famines in the Soviet Union or in Communist China.
The Rajapaksa regime too, has it’s share of “useful idiots” who only talk about the atrocities of the LTTE and not of the atrocities perpetrated by the SL armed forces under various governments. The most horrendous atrocities that took place during the last months of the war are being swept under the carpet by people like Dr.The Yarn.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2010/07/100624_doc_useful_idiots_lenin.shtml
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Vasu / January 25, 2012
Thanks for your contribution to Sri Lankan politics Ajith!
Once upon a time we had politicians from political families like in India and they did only politics. The military captaincy came from different families. Today we have these two grouphs from same families like in Pakistan.
The worst developement / modification in SL is the accumulation of capital of sinhalese traders and companies are behind this structure which we call the pure fascism
This is what has happend in Nazi Germany
LTTE is defeated, Tamil diaspora is meaningless. These changes are not onlyTamil issues.
DJ remains always a timeserver, who knows under which conditions his reappointment has taken place.
If I die tomorrow, I know I was at least honest to my priciples.
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Malinda Seneviratne / January 25, 2012
The most uncritically used term here is ‘Tamil Nation’. Says a lot.
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nissankaliberalparty / January 25, 2012
LTTE is Prabhakarnist. It has Nazi., fascist as well as Zionist thinking.
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Nihal P / January 25, 2012
Dayan Jayatillake is no erudite scholar, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, he would be unheard of were it not for his close connections to the Rajapakse’s (or whatever ruling dictatorship may happen to preside over SL). It is indeed wrong to characterize the LTTE as fascist. For starters, the LTTE did not subscribe to any sort of race-based ideology. The idea of a “Tamil Homeland” was not based on Tamil superiority; rather, it was based on the failure of Tamil parliamentary politics, since the time of SJV Chelvanayakem, to achieve an equitable political solution with the southern Sinhalese. In other words, the Tamils did not take up arms simply to kick the non-Muslims out of the Northern Peninsula and establish a Tamil utopia; rather, the they took up arms to defend what was already theirs in the first place, from a formidable economic and military threat. To be fair, some of the methodology employed by the LTTE may have fascist connotations; e.g. unyielding loyalty to a supreme leader and imbibing virtually every sector of the larger society with nationalist sentiment. But the similarities end there.
Militant Sinhala-Buddhism, however, shows remarkable parallels to fascism. The Nazis burned books and destroyed cemeteries; so too did nationalist Sinhala-Buddhists. The Nazis believed the Germans had a special connection to the (German) soil. The Jews, in contrast, had no connection to any soil (hence the Jews were considered “eternal wanderers.” In a similar vein, the SB believe they have a special connection to the “Sri Lankan” soil; hence the phrase, “Sons of The Soil.” Within the context of the latter perspective, Tamils are thus viewed as “invaders.” This connection to the soil then leads to a desire for more “living space” (land) for the “master race.” Just as the Nazis wished to colonize greater Europe with Germans, the SB are presently engaged in colonizing all four corners of the island.
This is not to say that the SB share no differences with their fascist counterparts of a bygone era. One of the primary differences is that the German state, irrespective of its underlying politcs, was self-sufficient. The SB state, in contrast, is highly welfare dependent. The latter fact shows the pervasiveness of the feudal mindset which one can accord the average SB. Whereas the Nazis embraced modern technology, science, and manufacturing methods, the SB idea of “progress”, at least at this stage, is largely undefined. Perhaps this is why, as the author of the above article correctly notes, Mahinda Rajapakse is able to effortlessly sell off large tracts of prime real estate to the highest foreign bidder.
Now, the open question is what will be the end result of Sinhala-Buddhist fascism. The mythical kingdom depicted in Mahavamsa cannot be recreated in full, given the pervasiveness of globizalization and capitalist economics. However, the present system, such as it is structured, also lacks a certain cohesiveness. Therefore, I would agree with the author that a future revolution may well be in the cards.
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David Blacker / January 26, 2012
“In other words, the Tamils did not take up arms simply to kick the non-Muslims out of the Northern Peninsula and establish a Tamil utopia; rather, the they took up arms to defend what was already theirs in the first place, from a formidable economic and military threat.”
Sounds pretty much like Hitler’s Germany if you replace “Muslims” with “Jews” (I assume you meant Muslims, not non-Muslims, since non-Muslims were not kicked out of the North).
“The Nazis burned books and destroyed cemeteries; so too did nationalist Sinhala-Buddhists. The Nazis believed the Germans had a special connection to the (German) soil. The Jews, in contrast, had no connection to any soil (hence the Jews were considered “eternal wanderers.” In a similar vein, the SB believe they have a special connection to the “Sri Lankan” soil”
It is possible to find similarities to the Third Reich in every society if one is willing to ignore context. Americans believe the “Land of the Free” is their birthright and one must be born there to be its leader. The SL Tamils too believe that they have a connection to the land of the NE. And contrary to your claim, the Jews do indeed believe that the land of Israel was given to them by God Himself.
Sri Lanka is a democracy; the Tiger belief in VP was cult-like, and very similar to the Nazi German veneration of Hitler. Like the Nazis, everything came out of the power of violence, and strength was at the core of society. No doubt, the current SL regime may have certain fascist traits, but it is not fascist. The Tigers most certainly were.
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Nihal P / January 27, 2012
First of all, Sri Lanka is not a democracy. Its political model is a hybrid consisting of theocracy,fascism, and quasi-socialism. Secondly, the LTTE gave the Muslims ample time to leave Jaffna, whereas in the case of Nazi Germany, the Jews were first herded into ghettos and then sent to camps. There is no comparison here. On the other hand, the total militarization and colonization of predominantly Tamil areas in the North and East is synonymous with a deep mistrust of the Tamils pursuant to an intentional policy of marginalizing the latter and reducing their numbers demographically. A very good example is the East, which has been thoroughly colonized by wave after wave of Sinhalese settlers, to the extent that places such as Trincomalee can hardly be called Tamil majority anymore.
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David Blacker / January 30, 2012
“First of all, Sri Lanka is not a democracy. Its political model is a hybrid consisting of theocracy,fascism, and quasi-socialism.”
Socialism doesn’t oppose democracy. One can be socialist as well as democratic. There is no sign of any theocratic or fascist traits in SL’s political system. Heshan/Nihal has been called on by both DJ and myself (amongst others) to substantiate these claims repeatedly on Groundviews; eventually he ran away from the site in humiliation, protesting that he would never return. Nevertheless, he unashamedly returned to post under the name Nihal. :D
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David Blacker / January 30, 2012
“Secondly, the LTTE gave the Muslims ample time to leave Jaffna”
The Tigers gave the Muslims 24 hours to leave with only the clothes on their backs. As I said, Nihal/Heshan has a long history of defending the Tigers and the Nazis. He also is on record attacking Muslims (again, just go to Groundviews and type in “Heshan + Muslims ), and calling for Muslims nations to be invaded. He has also claimed that the Jews bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and that Hitler won WW2 :D I think these things should be considered when reading his comments here.
Whatever colonisation has occurred in SL has nothing to do with fascism; since everyone from the Communists to the British to the US has enaged in colonisation of some form.
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Mango / January 26, 2012
Only a partially educated Sinhala Buddhist like Nihal/Heshan could be so ignorant of basic history. :)
“the Jews, in contrast, had no connection to any soil (hence the Jews were considered “eternal wanderers.”
Israel exists because of the Jewish claim to the soil of Israel/Palestine. The Jews were called ‘eternal wanderers’ because they had been ejected from their lands by various rulers and empires. Hell, it’s even mentioned in the Bible! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_diaspora
“….One of the primary differences is that the German state, irrespective of its underlying politcs, was self-sufficient.”
Only a complete moron would claim that Nazi Germany was self-sufficient. Above all, it lacked oil and by the end of the WW2 their war machine was literally unable to move.
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Karu Abesinga / January 26, 2012
Here is Dr Jayatilleka’s reply; :)
FASCISM, SOVEREIGNTY AND THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TAMIL STRUGGLE
http://colombotelegraph.com/2012/01/26/fascism-sovereignty-and-the-truth-about-the-tamil-struggle/
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David Blacker / January 27, 2012
Heshan/Nihal has a long history of defending the Nazis and the Tigers, and trying to show the GoSL to be Nazis by paralleling the destruction of Tiger war memorials to the destruction of Jewish cemeteries. If anyone is interested just go to http://groundviews.org/ and type “Heshan Nazis WW2” and check out the comments threads it turns up.
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Pingback: FASCISM, SOVEREIGNTY AND THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TAMIL STRUGGLE « Colombo Telegraph / January 26, 2012
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Nihal P / January 27, 2012
David Blacker, a former soldier, is also a war criminal who is paid (by the Defense Ministry) to blindly defend the Sri Lankan Army and government on numerous internet websites. Readers are encouraged to peruse his recent exchange with a Harvard-trained lawyer, Gehan, in which Mr. Blacker unsuccessfully tried to demonstrate that the SLA did not fire into so-called safe zones.
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Nihal P / January 27, 2012
That should read as, “unsuccessfully tried to demonstrate that the SLA did not violate IHL (international humanitarian law) by firing into safe zones.”
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David Blacker / January 30, 2012
I think I quite successfully dismissed the claim of IHL violations. The fact that Nihal/Heshan avoids linking to the debate evidences the truth. You can see most of the points in this article, which the Sunday Leader (hardly a bastion of the government) ran, and which was instrumental in my being asked to be part of the Marga Institute’s defence panel on the seminar reviewing the Darusman Report: Why Does the Darusman Report Ignore Evidence of War Crimes? (http://blacklightarrow.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/why-does-the-darusman-panel-ignore-evidence-of-war-crimes/ )
There is a brief exchange with Niran Anketell in the comments thread as well, and a longer debate can be followed on Groundviews.
The main points on the military action brought up at the Marga Institute seminar can be seen here: The Holes in the Darusman Defence — Examining the Probable Events (http://blacklightarrow.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/2064/ ). This too was featured in the Sunday Leader as a double-page spread.
You can make up your own minds on how successful my arguments are ;)
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Nihal P / January 31, 2012
Here is Blacker at his best:
Blacker: “The deaths of civilians within the NFZs. Firstly, it’ll have to be proven that the GoSL targeted civilians or that they inadvertently killed them because they callously ignored their presence. So far there has been no such evidence.”
http://groundviews.org/2011/05/26/a-robust-debate-on-no-fire-zones-nfzs-and-international-humanitarian-law-artful-dodging-of-war-crimes-in-sri-lanka/
Notice how Blacker sneaks in the word “inadvertently.” What Blacker is really saying is that even if the SLA shelled the NFZ, it did so “inadvertently”, which means such shelling does not constitute a war crime. What Blacker fails to realize is that intention doesn’t matter in this case – the mere act of shelling a safe zone constitutes a war crime.
I encourage readers to click on the above link and laugh at some more of Blacker’s pathetic arguments; the buffoon and war criminal (who has never seen the inside of a university) actually thought he could successfully argue with a Harvard-trained lawyer.
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David Blacker / January 31, 2012
“Notice how Blacker sneaks in the word “inadvertently.” “
:D There’s nothing sneaky about it, Heshan/Nihal. It’s a pity that you cannot understand basic English. I have said that it must be proven that the attacks on civilians were deliberate, or that if they were inadvertent, they were done out of callous disregard. “Inadvertent” is the opposite of “deliberate”, and I fail to see how both options could be articulated without using the word “inadvertent”.
“What Blacker fails to realize is that intention doesn’t matter in this case – the mere act of shelling a safe zone constitutes a war crime.”
As usual, Heshan/Nihal, you are wrong. Intention is all important. The NFZs had no legal standing whatsoever, since the Tigers had not agreed to them, and continued to fight from within them.
As for your paraphrasing my debate with Gehan and Niran, why do you feel the need to call me names and tell readers here what has happened? Are they not capable of reading for themselves? Or are you worried they will come across your statements of bigotry against the Mulims and the Jews, your defence of the Nazis, and other such foolishness?
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Das / January 27, 2012
David Blacker is an Army Deserter who ran away after the battle at Elephant Pass and became a writer of fiction.
He is referred to as a Defence Analyst in the critique of the Darusman Report by the Marga Institute – though, usually army personnel of General rank who have degrees from defence colleges are more suitable.
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Nihal P / January 27, 2012
Certainly an apt description; nearly everything David Blacker writes is fiction.Fiction aside,in the following extract, Blacker personally reveals the joy of abusing dead corpses, as an SLA soldier.
“I myself have helped dispose of bodies in this way, and we did make crude juvenile jokes. We were all just 19 or 20 years old, and you joke about everything if you don’t wanna go insane. Many of us had never even seen a real naked woman before, so obviously we commented, even though they were dead. It isn’t a polite tea party, but it isn’t a war crime either.”
http://groundviews.org/2011/06/21/the-story-of-the-hypocrite-in-a-tamil-man/
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David Blacker / January 30, 2012
I am certainly not an Army deserter, and it was impossible to desert Elephant Pass in ’91 since it was surrounded. I welcome any general (with or without degrees) to write on these matters.
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David Blacker / January 30, 2012
“in the following extract, Blacker personally reveals the joy of abusing dead corpses, as an SLA soldier.”
I urge anyone to find in that quote a reference to abusing of bodies, or a reference to taking pleasure or joy in the task of disposal. You will find that as with all of Heshan/Nihal’s “facts”, there is in fact very little fact ;)
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Nihal P / January 31, 2012
Nice try Blacker, but the NFZ’s were protected under IHL, given the large number of civilians within the vicinity. Your rather absurd argument that IHL applies only when both parties agree to it is exactly that – absurd.SL is a signatory to the Geneve Conventions, therefore it is required to abide by the stipulations of GC as they pertain to IHL, which include not attacking civilians.
Common Article 2 relating to International Armed Conflicts
“This article states that the Geneva Conventions apply to all cases of international conflict, where at least one of the warring nations have ratified the Conventions”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conventions
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David Blacker / February 1, 2012
‘Nice try Blacker, but the NFZ’s were protected under IHL”
Lol, the usual ignorant drivel most Groundviews readers have seen for years from Untersturmfuhrer Heshan. Please quote for us the IHL ruling that says NFZ’s are protected. Here, go and have a read before you make as big an idiot of yourself on this site as you have on Groundviews :D :http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul
““This article states that the Geneva Conventions apply to all cases of international conflict, where at least one of the warring nations have ratified the Conventions””
Since you have quoted the above, can you explain how it applies to the war in SL which wasn’t an international conflict? :D
:Your rather absurd argument that IHL applies only when both parties agree to it is exactly that – absurd.”
Where have I said such a thing, Untersturmfuhrer Heshan? Your boarding school English failing you again? I said the NFZs become legitimate when both sides agree to it. Moreover, the GoSL hasn’t signed up to the Rome Statutes, and so is exempt from them, which is why the head of the ICC has said plainly that SL is beyond it’s jurisdiction. You’re a joke, Heshan.
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David Blacker / January 30, 2012
Lo, I wish the buggers would pay me :D I have certainly argued against some of the absurd comments made by the likes of Heshan/Nihal over the years. I have debated with many people and made my point, usually in intelligent exchanges. With Heshan/Nihal, he usually resorts to posting under multiple pseudonyms and name-calling when substantiation of his claims are impossible (just scroll down and you’ll see what I mean).
I urge you, once more, Heshan, to quote me denying the SL army fired into the NFZs.
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Nihal P / January 30, 2012
Making rude remarks about the naked bodies of dead corpses and deriving any sort of pleasure from the latter is certainly not normal behavior, regardless of the context. There is a special term in the literature (of abnormal psychology) for this: necrophilia, which one dictionary defines as “obsession with and usually erotic interest in or stimulation by corpses.” From your remarks above that stripping and abusing the corpses of LTTE fighters, all the while making rude remarks about the latter – was/is normal practice in the SLA – we can infer that necrophilia runs rampant throughout the Sri Lankan Army. Here is yet another example: http://media.nowpublic.net/images//47/5/475666a0858bd36f9379a5f587eb8594.jpg. It should be noted that this behavior differs from the usual torture, in that the latter is usually restricted to the living.
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David Blacker / January 31, 2012
I repeat, can you quote me saying that I derived any of the pleasure you describe, that there was anything erotic about the actions, or that I took part in any of the abuse you claim? So since there was neither abuse nor eroticism, how can it be necrophilia? Please don’t include your masturbatory fantasies here, Heshan/Nihal ;) It’s best kept to the privacy of your bedroom (or wherever it is you do it).
I also urge you to quote us a definition of necrophilia which suggests that rude remarks can be equated to it :D
It standard practice to strip all the dead to uncover any written material or hidden weapons and/or explosives before disposing of the bodies. There is nothing unusual or sinister in this.
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chula rajapakse / January 28, 2012
Sinhalese were the deprived majority and the Tamils were the privileged majority of the ” Divide & Rule” British Colonial policy. Post independence attempts to redress the deprivations of the Sinhalese lead to the inevitable loss of some of the Tamil privileges. Eg. At independence 60% of Doctors & 90% of Engineers were Tamils from Jaffna though only 12% of the population, leading to the then popular saying, “Father makes hay in Jaffna while Son shines in Colombo”.
The post independence loss of these privileges were seen by some sections of the Tamils as discrimination leading to some taking up arms to restore these privileges by creating their own Elam. This was the origin of the LTTE.
however, it must be emphasised that despite the loss of thee privileges,at no stage in post independence Sri Lanka were the representation of Tamilsin all sections of Sri Lankan society including professional, commercial and tertiary education, less than their population percentage,
The campaign of misinformation being orchestrated to conceal and detract from these realities with unsubstantiated allegations of discrimination, torture, rape also aims to conceal and detract from the unprecedented program of reconstruction,rehabilitation and reconciliation instituted after the end of armed hostilities in Sri Lanka. The deceit of this misinformation campaign needs to be exposed internationally with gusto and vehemence to permit these programs to achieve their just fruition.
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Mango / January 28, 2012
So, Nihal/Heshan claims to be shocked by soldiers making jokes about dead bodies. Yet, Nihal/Heshan’s claimed that it’s OK to torture Muslims, because, er… it’s their own fault.
“if the Muslims took responsibility for their own actions, torture would not be an issue.”
..”Americans are very careful about who gets tortured..”
Who are trying to fool, Nihal/Heshan?
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David Blacker / January 30, 2012
Nihal/Heshan has also gone on record on Groundviews claiming that it is perfectly OK for the US to hand prisoners over to be tortured by other nations, as long as the US itself doesn’t torture.
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Nihal P / January 31, 2012
Anyone with half a brain can see the absurdity of Blacker’s attempts to dismiss serious war crimes:
“Now, do you really think that a call from someone claiming to be a UN worker under fire would necessarily make a battery commander cease fire when he wouldn’t stop for an Army officer?”
http://groundviews.org/2011/05/26/a-robust-debate-on-no-fire-zones-nfzs-and-international-humanitarian-law-artful-dodging-of-war-crimes-in-sri-lanka/
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David Blacker / January 31, 2012
I leave it to the readers to make up their own mind rather than be instructed by Heshan/Nihal on how much of a brain they have :D
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David Blacker / January 31, 2012
Also, here is the rest of the comment I had made, from which Heshan/Nihal has selectively quoted out of context:
“Let me give you a scenario that actually happened during the offensive in the East. It’s a bit lengthy, but bear with me. An SL Army infantry unit was in heavy contact with a Tiger unit at dusk. The Tigers were pulling back and the Army was advancing to maintain contact so that the Tigers could be pinned in place for artillery and airstrikes. Both units were moving too fast for map grid coordinates to be used to direct air and arty. So a UAV was sent up to direct arty using a known location on a map. In this case a knoll by a river. To explain, map grids are numbered squares on a map into which strikes will be called regardless of what the terrain is. This system couldn’t be used because the Army unit was pressing the Tigers too hard and moving into grid squares just vacated by the Tigers. Using a known location, the range to which is known, the UAV could call in arty by telling the battery to drop a thousand metres from the knoll or whatever. OK so far?
As the UAV arrived in the area, the Tiger unit managed to break contact with the Army unit. The latter was not on the same radio frequency as the UAV and could not inform the aircraft commander that they’d lost contact with the Tigers. Meantime, a separate Army special forces team sprang an ambush on the Tiger unit from the side opposite the original infantry unit. In the dark, the UAV could only see the gunfire between the Tigers and the SF unit because by now there was no fire between the Tigers and the infantry unit. The UAV pilot assumes the fighting is between the infantry unit and the Tigers and calls in artillery on the Tigers.
The artillery battery opens fire while the UAV observes the fall of shot and adjusts by talking to the battery commander. The shells are going in directly over the infantry and into the Tigers. By some mishap, there have been two different propellant charges issued to the battery, one for the high explosive shells they have, and the other for a lighter shell. Obviously the propellant for the lighter shells whenever it was used, dropped the heavier HE shell several thousand metres short — on the SL Army infantry unit. The latter called the battery telling them there rounds were short and to cease fire or raise their aim. However, the UAV was maintaining that there was no SL Army unit in tht area and that he was observing the fall of shot as well as the exchange of fire between the Tigers and the infantry unit. In reality what the UAV pilot was seeing was the SF unit. So the battery commander continued to fire, believing the UAV pilot who had eyes on the target, killing more infantrymen, in spite of the fact that the latter were begging him to stop.
Now, do you really think that a call from someone claiming to be a UN worker under fire would necessarily make a battery commander cease fire when he wouldn’t stop for an Army officer? If you exchange the battery for an airstrike in which seconds count for thousands of metres and tons of high explosive, how certain can you be that civilian deaths were deliberate?”
As most of us on Groundviews have learned over time is that Heshan/Nihal is both intellectually dishonest as well as an outright liar. He is also a thoroughgoing bigot.
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Nihal P / January 31, 2012
Indeed, the readers should make up their own mind. In the following extract, Blacker personally reveals the joy of abusing dead corpses, as an SLA soldier.
“I myself have helped dispose of bodies in this way, and we did make crude juvenile jokes. We were all just 19 or 20 years old, and you joke about everything if you don’t wanna go insane. Many of us had never even seen a real naked woman before, so obviously we commented, even though they were dead. It isn’t a polite tea party, but it isn’t a war crime either.”
http://groundviews.org/2011/06/21/the-story-of-the-hypocrite-in-a-tamil-man
According to Mr. Blacker, abusing dead corpses and making jokes about the female ones is standard practice in the SLA. Mr Blacker admits to personally having partaken in such activities. Mr Blacker’s justification for the latter behavior is essentially a “rite of passage” for many sexually frustrated SLA soldiers and an opportunity to vent such frustrations upon the corpses of dead female LTTE soldiers.
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Nihal P / January 31, 2012
*is essentially that such behavior
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David Blacker / February 1, 2012
Lol, it seems Untersturmfuhrer Heshan has to write an entire paragraph explaining my paragraph so that the readers won’t get the wrong meaning ;) Certainly, making juvenile jokes is common amongst all young men, not just soldiers in the SL Army. But at least we don’t urinate on our enemy dead.
I repeat, can you show me any portion of my claim stating that there was abuse of any kind? I thought not. The usual ignorant rubbish from Heshan ROFL.
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Nihal P / February 1, 2012
As we all know from the CH4 tape, the abuse of dead LTTE went well beyond making jokes. Taking photographs (of female LTTE cadre in a state of undress) with cell phones, desecrating LTTE cemeteries, even preventing the Hindu temples from letting their bells toll on so-called “Hero’s Day.” This total dehumanization of the LTTE exactly parallels the Nazi attitude towards the Jews. Which proves, once again, that the real fascists are the Sri Lankan Army and Government.
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David Blacker / February 2, 2012
“As we all know from the CH4 tape, the abuse of dead LTTE went well beyond making jokes.”
Really? Please describe to us the abuse that you say was shown on Ch4. Destroying cemeteries and preventing bells being rung (if this happened) are not war crimes. The dehumanization of the Tigers was done by the Tigers themselves when they sent young women and children out to kill themselves on behalf of the fat thugs hiding in their air-conditioned bunkers.
I note you have given up any attempt to prove me a war criminal. Some things never change do they, Untersturmfuhrer? ;)
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Chandra Goonewardene / February 1, 2012
Hey Colombo Telegraph, please moderate your conversations. This is a slanging match between egos, all of whom appear to be way out in the stratosphere!
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Vichara / February 4, 2012
Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe – January 25, 2012
“Thus, all legal-constitutional-democratic methods for pursuing this political demand was denied by a Sinhala-dominated parliament, just as the citizenship and voting rights of the entire Hill Country Tamil population had been denied in 1948.
“If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. ”
― Joseph Goebbels
In blatant misrepresentation of the issue of franchise and citizenship of the Hill Country Tamils Rupasinghe has applied the theory of Goebbels. The following are the facts of this issue in chronological order in some detail.
Franchise
1928
The Donoughmore Commission of 1928 recommended universal franchise, and this was also meant to include the plantation workers as well. Page 57 of the report proposed
“In the first place we consider it very desirable that a qualification of five years residence in the Island (allowing the temporary absence not exceeding eight months in all during the five years period) should be introduced in order that the privilege of voting should be confined to those who have an abiding interest in the country or who may be regarded as permanently settled in the Island…. this condition will be of particular importance in its application to the Indian immigrant population. Secondly, we consider that the registration of voters should not be compulsory or automatic but should be restricted to those who apply for it…”.
Donoughmore Commission in its report of 1928 (p.87) stated that “we have decided to recommend the adoption of manhood suffrage. On this basis according to the figures supplied to us, the possible voting strength of the electorate will be increased to 1,200,000. We desire however to make two reservations. In the first place we consider it very desirable that a qualification of five years residence in the Island (allowing the temporary absence not exceeding eight months in all during the five years period) should be introduced in order that the privilege of voting should be confined to those who have an abiding interest in the country or who may be regarded as permanently settled in the Island…. this condition will be of particular importance in its application to the Indian immigrant population. Secondly, we consider that the registration of voters should not be compulsory or automatic but should be restricted to those who apply for it…”
1929
The franchise status quo of the Tamils of the Indian origin, was referred by Sir Hebert Stanley, to Lord Passfield, the Secretary of States for Colonies. He in his reply dated October 10, 1929, wrote:
“I cannot fail to recognize that unless some material modification of the proposals relating to the franchise can be announced, the prospect of general acceptance of the scheme and of active cooperation in its working if it is put in force is remote. You have fully discussed in your dispatch the main outline of the controversy, which has arisen, and in paragraph 35, you submit proposals for modification of the recommendations of the commission, which appear to me not unfair in themselves and to be likely to command a large measure of acceptance.”
“I propose to adopt your suggestions under which, subject to special provisions being made for British subjects not domiciled in Ceylon being allowed to qualify for the franchise in accordance with the conditions of the present constitution, domiciled should be the standard test for the inclusion in the register. The definition of ‘domicile’ involves legal questions of much complexity, and qualification would hardly be suitable if it stood by itself. The difficulty would, however, be overcome by your proposal that the applicant, provided, he can furnish satisfactory evidence of five years’ residence, should be qualified for the vote on the production of a certificate of permanent settlement granted by some duly appointed officer. I propose that provision should be made for this qualification in the Order in Council.”
October 1928,
The Legislative Council accepted the recommendations with a few amendments.
1931
Governor Sir Herbert Stanley incorporated changes in the Order in Council 1931, after his proposal was accepted by Lord Passfield, the Secretary of State for Colonies.
Citizenship
1948
The British Nationality Act 1948
At the Commonwealth Conference in 1947, it was agreed that each of the self-governing dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, Newfoundland, India, Pakistan, Southern Rhodesia and Ceylon) would introduce separate citizenships for those persons who belonged to each country.
Accordingly the Ceylon Citizenship Act No 18 of 1948 was enacted with the following provisions.
(1) A person born in Ceylon before the appointed date (ie, November 15, 1948,) shall have the status of a citizen of Ceylon by descent, if (a) his father was born in Ceylon, or (b) his paternal grandfather and paternal great grandfather were born in Ceylon.
(2) A person born outside Ceylon before the appointed date shall have the status of the citizen of Ceylon by descent, if (a) his father and paternal grandfather were born in Ceylon, or (b) his paternal grandfather and paternal great grandfather were born in Ceylon.
(3) A person born in Ceylon on or after the appointed date shall have the status of a citizen of Ceylon by descent if at the time of his birth his father is a citizen of Ceylon.
The two Tamil ministers of that time, C Suntharalingham and C Sittampalam, voted with the government
1949
The government introduced the Indian and Pakistani (Resident Citizenship) Bill to provide for those who sought Ceylonese citizenship. The bill laid down the qualifications for the grant of citizenship, accordingly, seven years of continued residence in the country for a married person from January 1, 1939, and 10 years continued residence from January 1, 1939, for unmarried persons.
S J V Chelvanayakam and C Vanniasingham voted against the bill and members of the Tamil Congress led by G G Ponnampalam voted with the government,
1954
In the G.S.N.Kodakan Pillai case- Not satisfied with the judgement of the Supreme Court, the matter was further challenged in the Privy Council in Britain, with G.S.N.Kodakan Pillai, Appellant, vs. P.B.Mudanayake et al., Respondents. In delivering the judgement, Lord Oaksley made the following observations:
“Is it in the present case legislation on citizenship, or is it legislation intended to make and making Indian Tamils liable, to disabilities to which other communities are not liable? It is, as the Supreme Court observed, a perfectly natural and legitimate function of the legislature of a country to determine the composition of its nationals. Standards of literacy, of property, of residence are, as it seems to their Lordships, standards which a legislature may think it right to adopt in legislation on citizenship, and it is clear that such standards, though they may operate to exclude the illiterate, the poor and the immigrant to a greater degree than they exclude other people, do not create disabilities in a community as such, since the community is not bound together as a community by its illiteracy, its poverty or its migratory character, but by its race or its religion. The migratory habits of the Indian Tamils (see para.123snd para.203,Soulbury Report) are facts which, in their Lordship’s opinions, are directly relevant to the question of their suitability as citizens of Ceylon, and have nothing to do with them as a community.
For all these reasons, their Lordships have come to the conclusion that the Citizenship and Franchise Acts are intra vires of the Ceylon legislature, and they therefore humbly advise Her Majesty that this appeal ought to be dismissed the appellant must pay the costs of the appeal.”
There is no country in the world which gives franchise or citizenship to persons who do not have an abiding interest in the country.
If at all, it was the Indian government which denied Indian Citizenship to plantation workers which was their birthright in terms of Article 8 of the Constitution of India- which stipulated that –
Notwithstanding anything in article 5, any person who or either of whose parents or any of whose grand-parents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted), and who is ordinarily residing in any country outside India as so defined shall be deemed to be a citizen of India if he has been registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the country where he is for the time being residing on an application made by him therefore to such diplomatic or consular representative, whether before or after the commencement of this Constitution, in the form and manner prescribed by the Government of the Dominion of India or the Government of India
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