A video showing a senior Sinhala police officer using racially motivated and disrespectful language at an elderly Jaffna Tamil woman is going viral on Facebook.
The incident took place in Jaffna during the protest against the rape and murder of a schoolgirl.
The recording captures phrases like ‘You should make sure that your men behave’ (thamuselage pirimi hadāganna ōne thamusela). The police officer then threatened to the person who was recording to stop recording.
The protest and hartal took a violent turn in Jaffna on 20th May, with crowds stoning the Jaffna courthouse and burning tyres. 130 suspects arrested on charges of unlawful assembly and the stoning the Jaffna Courts Complex were yesterday remanded by the Jaffna Magistrate.
Senthil / May 25, 2015
The reality is this incident is an example to show Singhalese police will never act for the benefit of Tamils. Singhalese should understand how humiliating for a Tamil person (ladies could never visit) to go to a police station and complain. So this incident stress once again the need for police and land power in 13 amendment to maintain piece full life in North and East and to control paramilitary animals created by MR including killer Douglas in North. Douglas in north and MR in south – curse to this country. Once again that Therar asked Vijethasa to ask pardon in public reminds the past, when Badaramayaka tore off the pact made with Tamil politicians – These Buddhist monks are the main reason for the present junk status of this country. Once again remind to that monk, Tamils lived in this country when Singhalese thugs arrived at the coast of Ceylon and he has to withdrew his stupid statement without insisting for pardon from others. By repeating one statement again and again, the history will not change.
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Off the Cuff / May 25, 2015
Dear All,
I would like to thank all the Tamil commentators who are looking at this incident rationally and has seen through the “Racist”
incitement that is attempted.
Here is the backdrop to this event.
Mobs burnt tyres on the streets, stoned the court and the police station, ordered hartals, and called for the public execution of the perpetrators. Unable to calm the people, Tamil politicos blamed their rivals. Sinhalese politicians in the South saw the revival of terrorism and separatism and called for stern action. Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran warned that if the agitation continued, the government might re-militarize the province. Pressed to act, three top Jaffna police officers were transferred on Friday. (Indian Express)
The Police that you see in the video are trying to defuse a potentially incendiary situation.
The first 10 seconds show the Police officer speaking kindly to the agitated Tamil lady. The Police officer uses a placating tone that one would use towards a child.
His questions elicits from the lady that the miscreants are themselves Tamil thus deflecting any anger that can be directed at Non Tamils, in a Tamil dominated North, sensitive to the presence of Non Tamil officer’s of the Law.
The Policeman uses the word “Please” “Karunakarala” (at 27sec)when asking the lady (and the crowd) to leave Law enforcement to the Police and disperse without creating a situation that the Police would be forced to act on (meaning with force).
It is idiotic to ignore the background unless that is done with malicious intent.
The presence of the camera amongst a “spontaneous” crowd led by an old lady could have been due to the expectation of a different type of reaction from the Police.
Then the clip would have really gone Viral with a suitably inflaming title, such as “A civilian protest led by an Old Lady, tear gassed and baton charged by the Sinhalese Police”
The Old Lady could have been an unsuspecting participant, a cat’s paw, used by interested parties, in a situation engineered by them. Might have ended up even on CH4.
Gunasekere DJ says “This Vet Doctor cannot understand Sinhala or since the bugger is living in Jaffna trying tom play smart. This police officer says “Your men”/in this context your men means “Tamil men” ! That is racism.”
Idiotic. In an area where blaming the Non Tamils for ALL ills is the norm, how can averting such a situation be Racist?
Perhaps Gunasekera DJ can, with his superior command of Sinhala, provide an alternative.
Alahakoon says “Rajasingham, You have to improve your Sinhalese before makings comment like this. Listen to it again, this foolish Gov police man loudly says it is not his responsibility to maintain law & order in Tamil areas. That fool think it is Tamil mothers responsibility. All the murders & rapes in Sinhala areas should be Sinhala mother’s responsibility????”
Alahakoon does not understand Sinhala and possibly is a Tamil hiding behind a Sinhala name.
This confused idiot arrogantly asks Dr RN to listen again to the clip “Listen to it again, this foolish Gov police man loudly says it is not his responsibility to maintain law & order in Tamil areas”
The officer does not say anything of the sort. In fact the Policeman’s request is diametrically opposed to Alahakoon’s stupid interpretation.
The officer asked the Lady to leave Law enforcement to the Police.
Alahakoon continuing with his foolish tirade says “That fool think it is Tamil mothers responsibility”
Confusion again. The policeman talks about “BRINGING UP” which is obviously the Parent’s responsibility and not that of the Police. IDIOTIC.
Alahakoon seems to be the Real Racist.
Both Gunasekera and Alahakoon cannot stomach alternative opinions expressed by Tamils, that go counter to their own thinking (or design?).
It is not surprising to see Dr. Rajasingham Narendran and Heretic writing such comments. They have always been balanced and truthful in what they have written. I was pleasantly surprised to read what Backlash and Rajash wrote. Thank you both.
There are two others who are new to me, they are Raja and Nettabomman, thank you.
There may be others that I have omitted due to the pseudonyms used.
Spoken Language is more than just a string of words. It is dressed up with intonation, nuances, body language etc (just observe the animation of a person talking to another on the phone oblivious to the fact that the other party cannot see the expressions).
the word “Uba” (“You” in English) can be derogative or endearing depending on the usage. It is a common form of address between good friends as well as a threatening word when used in anger.
Mr Sebastian Rasalingam spoke about a form of derogative Tamil that he called “Inga Wa” Tamil. I know that “wa” means come in Tamil and have heard elders using it on children hence I believe it is not derogative. But I assume “Inga wa” is a curt form (or rude command) of asking someone to come (please correct me if I am wrong).
Kind Regards,
OTC
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Alahakoon / May 26, 2015
Super Intelligent Cuff,
In general, do you believe Lanka police is polite, professionals? All of a sudden you heard loudly and very clearly the word “Karunakarala” in this incident and argue that police officer acted very professionally. I believe you really heard & feel that way and you are not lying. But how that happened? What’s your egos, knowledge/perceptions you acquired as a child from your loving elders’ influence here?
When a police officer knelt down street prostitute (වෙසගන) in a public street, Ratnapura, and cane her, abuse her in public, did you see it as professional or compassionate act? Probably not.. What caused these different views?
Journalist Jehan Perera reported this after his recent visit to Jaffna. “The deficiencies in the police are more aggravating to the people of the North as most of the police officers in Jaffna, and indeed the North, are Sinhalese from far away, and not Tamils from the same community. In more democratic countries like those in Europe where participatory democracy is valued, the local police are usually drawn from the community themselves and not from far away.”
By the way, thank you for calling me Tamil, I am honored.
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Off the Cuff / May 26, 2015
Dear Alahakoon,
Thank you for responding but you have dropped your pants in public.
This discussion is focused on a SPECIFIC Video depicting a SPECIFIC incident and pertaining to what was said by a SPECIFIC Police Officer, which you have labeled as Racist.
You have avoided ANY attempt at justifying your stand and instead tries to draw a Red Herring to cover your present Nudity.
You say “All of a sudden you heard loudly and very clearly the word “Karunakarala” in this incident and argue that police officer acted very professionally”
I am sorry to contradict you but it is not me who heard the word “Karunakarala” (means please) all of a sudden, it was you, AFTER I pointed it out.
In fact you have found NOTHING RACIST in the Video, AFTER I posted my comment.
I listened to the Sound Track very carefully before commenting but you have not. That was IDIOTIC. On second thought SUPER IDIOTIC.
But I must thank you for admitting that I wrote the TRUTH.
The General attitude of the Police is not under discussion here. You based your stupid inappropriate comment on a SPECIFIC Voice clip from the video under discussion. Hence JUSTIFY what you said so arrogantly to Dr. Rajasingham Narendran. If you can’t then apologize to him for your disgusting Rudeness.
BTW it is IDIOTIC to judge others using your own upbringing as a Yardstick.
You say “By the way, thank you for calling me Tamil, I am honored.”
Which Tamil are you honoured to be?
The OPPRESIVE High Cast Vellalar Land owners or the OPPRESSED destitute Tamil majority kept ignorant by the OPPRESSORS?
BTW I did not call you a Tamil. I said you are POSSIBLY a Tamil using a Sinhala name because you cannot understand Sinhala.
You have proved that your Sinhala is not up to the mark by your confused and foolish comments.
Kind Regards,
OTC
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Alahakoon / May 27, 2015
Cuff the Idiot,
SL is full of Idiotic Cuffs like you.. People like you will make couple of more generation killing each other.
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Siva Sankaran Sarma / May 27, 2015
Aaaand Alahagoom runs home crying after getting clean bowled by OTC :D
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Off the Cuff / May 28, 2015
Dear Alahakoon,
Your pants are STILL around your ankles because you have made no attempt to justify what you wrote. The reason is obvious. You were trying to MISREPRESENT the dialog in the Video because you had an ulterior motive.
That your motive is to INCITE Racial and Religious HATRED is clear from the fact that you have used a TRUNCATED section of the dialog in a comment under a different article when you have FAILED to defend what you wrote here under the main article.
(https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/are-women-to-be-blamed-for-rape/comment-page-1/#comment-1838125).
I addressed a comment to you under that article (May 27, 2015 at 11:01 am) https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/are-women-to-be-blamed-for-rape/comment-page-1/#comment-1838609
Though you have FAILED to respond, Kumar a Tamil writing to defend you on May 27, 2015 at 4:16 pm says “Alahakoon is a Tamil name you idiot”
Though Alahakoon is a common Sinhala name I did not know it is also a Tamil name.
Here is an extract from the comment that you failed to answer
You carry a Sinhala name, how knowledgeable are you about the Sinhalese issues? Does that knowledge of yours exceed your self advertised knowledge on Tamil Issues? Given your self confessed specialised knowledge of Tamil issues can you detail any special issues that the Tamils have, which the Sinhalese don’t have?
Your inability to respond to the above EXPOSED you as a Tamil Separatist using a deceptive name to hide your ethnicity. If you were a Sinhalese you would have stood up for the injustices that were perpetrated on the Sinhalese but I have not seen any such comment from you on CT.
Thus the name you use no longer provides you cover.
It’s easy to uncover frauds like you.
To make things clear to you, I will use your own words.
“People like you will make couple of more generation killing each other”
Kind Regards,
OTC
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heretic / May 27, 2015
otc,
” Hence JUSTIFY what you said so arrogantly to Dr. Rajasingham Narendran.”
where is the knowledgeable dr? even his comments are gone! what happened?
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Off the Cuff / May 28, 2015
Not sure Heretic but these Liar should not be allowed to spread his venomous propaganda commenting as if he was a Sinhalese.
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Off the Cuff / May 25, 2015
To ALL Readers,
The Professor of Psychiatry at Jaffna University, Dr.Daya Somasundaram, has assessed the Vithya gang rape and the current situation in Jaffna, as reported in the Indian Express, datelined Saturday, May 23, 2015 which is reproduced below.
It is an eye opener to those who are desperately trying to deflect attention from the real issues, using hair splitting puerile arguments, aimed at making political capital, by selling this tragedy, to inflame racial tensions in the Island.
COLOMBO: Dr.Daya Somasundaram, Professor of Psychiatry at Jaffna University, blames the breakdown of traditional social and administrative structures for the gang rape and murder of 18 year old school girl, S.Vithya, at Pungudithivu on May 13, and the mayhem that engulfed Sri Lanka’s Northern Province subsequently.
Mobs burnt tyres on the streets, stoned the court and the police station, ordered hartals, and called for the public execution of the perpetrators. Unable to calm the people, Tamil politicos blamed their rivals. Sinhalese politicians in the South saw the revival of terrorism and separatism and called for stern action. Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran warned that if the agitation continued, the government might re-militarize the province. Pressed to act, three top Jaffna police officers were transferred on Friday.
‘The root cause of the crime and the mayhem that followed was the breakdown of traditional structures, norms and systems of support and control,’ Somasundaram told Express.
‘Traditional familial and social support and control mechanisms no longer exist, having been destroyed by the 30 year war. Given the lack of attention to human resources development after the war, youth see no future for themselves and go astray. Those who live on foreign remittances lead idle lives and indulge in crime as a pastime, setting a bad example to others,’ Somasundaram said.
According to D.Siddharthan, member of the Northern Provincial Council, even school kids drink and consume drugs, which are easily available.
‘The police wink at these because they are bribed. Those who live on remittances bribe habitually. Police see no need for investigating crimes,’ he noted.
In fact, it was police inaction which triggered public wrath in Vithya’s case. The stoning of the court and the police station showed lack of faith in State institutions.
Vithya’s case showed the extent of the rot. Involved were a Tamil expatriate plying drinks and drugs among youth, an ambitious local politico, unemployed local thugs and even a top Professor of Law.
‘The solution lies in re-building social, administrative and educational structures, and encouraging group activities with wholesome goals,’ Somasundaram said
Kind regards,
OTC
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Uthayan+ / May 25, 2015
OTC,
I agree but wish to add that in maybe 50000 families at least one parent has been lost in the war. In many others the father has migrated.
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Off the Cuff / May 25, 2015
Dear Uthayan+,
Yes you may be right. I have no reason to doubt it. It is a tragedy in itself.
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Native Vedda / May 25, 2015
Uthayan
“I agree but wish to add that in maybe 50000 families at least one parent has been lost in the war. In many others the father has migrated.”
Sri Lanka seeks help for 90,000 war widows: minister
Author LBO
Posted on September 30, 2010
September 29, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is seeking foreign help to care for nearly 90,000 women who have been widowed due to the island’s Tamil separatist war which ended last year, a minister said Wednesday. Child Development and Women’s Affairs Minister M. L. A. M. Hizbullah told reporters some 12,000 war widows were below the age of 40. Around 8,000 widows have three or more children to care for.
“We need help to look after the war widows and we are seeking help from abroad for this,” the minister said.
He said the government had already asked neighbouring India to provide vocational training for the widows.
He said his ministry had a list of 49,000 widows in the island’s embattled eastern province and another 40,000 in the the northern province where final battles between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels were fought last year.
The minister’s latest figures suggested that the number of people killed in Sri Lanka’s Tamil separatist conflict from 1972 to 2009 could be higher than the 100,000 estimated by the United Nations.
The military has estimated it killed more than 25,000 Tiger rebels in the final months of fighting while official estimates show 20,000 to 25,000 troops, police and
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/sri-lanka-seeks-help-for-90000-war-widows-minister/
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Uthayan+ / May 26, 2015
NV,
Thanks! I forgot the widows in the East. The peninsular isolation of Jaffna is affecting me also.
I don’t have official numbers of families where the father has migrated but in my area there are many. Might be as many as widows. A father away usually sends money but is not there for the children. We are lucky because our women with children rarely migrate like they do in the rest of SL.
Keep up the good work!
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Native Vedda / May 27, 2015
Uthayan
“Thanks! I forgot the widows in the East.”
It is understandable.
The Jaffna self serving man has the tendency to forget rest of the people.
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Cooray / May 25, 2015
Hi Everybody,
Having carefully studied the entire shooting discussions on very rare & shameful case in Northern history all writers concentrated in abusive language by the Police Officer. In fact the Police Officer was RUDE, the video proves his emotions, and Police fayed from their responsibilities from the beginning of the case. Police had ignored the preliminary guidelines of listening to the complaint(s) and must be recorded it. They failed the fundamental and abused a victim’s family Human rights by not registering the complaint.
Actually, the Yahapalanaya proved very well to transfer the corrupted Police Officers from North, An excellent piece of example without elaboration.
Emotions are part of Tamils expression the will never realize the repercussions, here comes the tricky Tamil politicians working for the previous regime to divert the attention through their bogus angry. They certainly tarnish the victim’s voice by thuggery work. All knew that group was working for the previous government and were trained by the Police. This is the way Police use the language. The media also to be blamed for their part played for their own publicity. Media practice diminishes the weight of the horrific case.
Can the minority Tamils unite them self at this juncture. Definitely a group of Tamils are Opportunists, selfish, traitors for their own community. Please note if any Tamils are angry on my view that is incorrect. I lived In North for more than 25 good years and have plenty of experience about the social life there. I still have very good Tamils as good friends sincerely they do not involve in dirty politics.
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logan / May 27, 2015
Agree 100% with your view. The police had failed to act when the child’s mother report of missing her daughter on the same day. The police have done nothing until the body was recovered next day when found by the family mebmbers of the girl. Had they acted on time, there was a good chance to release her.
Also like you said, the previous regime had spoiled the community badly especially after the war with the help of this animal Dauglas and his gruops. They are still in large. Hope the current government could deal with this in a proper manner.
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Josh Simms / May 25, 2015
I am from Great Britain. I read all the comments here, most are biased against the Sinhalese. There is nothing wrong with this policeman’s language, demeanour and conduct. A good, polite man who should be promoted instantly
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Senanayake / May 25, 2015
I’m from Victoria – you say nothing wrong with this police officer. Okay, what does he mean by saying “who raped? it is us? it is your men who did it” So it is not racism?
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Perera / May 25, 2015
Come on, Senanayake you are only showing your stupidity. The Policeman is a good man, there is absolutely no racism there. Much better than Aussie policemen who don’t know how to speak to migrants
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Off the Cuff / May 25, 2015
Dear Senanayake,
Please read my comment of May 25, 2015 at 6:19 pm above. I hope it answers your question adequately. If not please detail your thinking.
There is absolutely no RACISM involved in what the Policeman says but I think an attempt at Engineering an explosive situation was defused.
Those who failed are trying their best to advance their agenda here.
Kind Regards,
OTC
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Off the Cuff / May 25, 2015
Dear Senanayake,
Kindly pin point the exact words that the Policeman said which translates to your interpretation.
I think you are hallucinating.
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Off the Cuff / May 26, 2015
Senanayake,
By the way is Gunasekere DJ your identical twin?
The two of you have an uncanny resemblance.
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thai / May 25, 2015
if ranil and president wanted to show that they are not racially biased sack this policeman. and charge him for his comment.
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Off the Cuff / May 26, 2015
thai,
That would be foolish because the policeman would get reinstated by the Supreme Court for infringing his fundamental rights and wrongful discharge.
You cannot punish a man for something he did not do just because a few clowns make a lot of noise.
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Champa / May 26, 2015
Peace Lover (your reply from the other page)
” ah champa champa champa my guess was right when I said you back MR and now you have admitted it yourself in the reply and let the cat out of the bag big time and your writing style gives way to the style of writing in Lankaweb hahahaha. read carefully did I say that the crowd was correct in asking to lynch the suspects? I made that comment because you said that the crowd was not happy that the Police caught the fellows . “
First of all, I can’t write this, without mentioning the word “Tamils”. How do we address them otherwise? It is hilarious to hear some people calling this ‘racism”. I am asking this from my Tamil brethren, aren’t you proud to be called “Tamils”? In my case, I love everyone calling me a “Sinhalese”. It is not racism. It is my identity. In fact, I am very proud to be called a “Sinhalese”.
Now back to the subject. My dear Peace Lover, it is no secret that I support Mahinda Rajapaksa. There is no need to ‘let the cat out from the bag’. In fact, the cat was not in the bag at all. I proudly announce to the world that I back Mahinda Rajapaksa, his principles and his brilliant political acumen wholeheartedly. What is Lankaweb, Peace Lover? It is not in my radar. My writing style is unique to me. I don’t know how to change it. If I had made any erroneous comment about you, re: ” “lynch the suspects”, I am sorry.
There is a well known “Shadow” behind this incident pertaining to Vidhya and the chain of events prior to that, commemorating the LTTE. That ‘Shadow’ used the innocent Tamils to create the scene at the courts. They very well managed to change the mindset of innocent people. The best example is my Tamil friend, with whom I built up a friendship after the war was over, in 2009. He was dead against the LTTE. In fact, he was very happy when the war was over, as he needed not to pay an exorbitant ransom to the LTTE each month. Many times he told me that he was not against Mahinda Rajapaksa. Now, we are no longer friends due to the incident related to Sivaloganathan Vidhya. I severed my friendship with him when he told me that the Police made a mistake by not handing over the suspects to the Tamils to ‘finish’ them off. I can’t accept such brutality. Now my peace loving, innocent Tamil friend possesses a brutal mentality equal to LTTE ideology. Sadly, this is what is happening in the North and elsewhere today.
I blame the Tamil political parties creating this situation made to gain sheer political advantage. They mislead the Tamil community to vote in favour of a weak, puppet President. After that they planted seeds of suspicion, mistrust and hostility in the minds of Tamils against Sinhalese.
I must place on record that aftermath of the war, under the guidance of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, there was a remarkable unity, peace and solidarity between Tamils and security forces in the North and East leading up to the Presidential Election. The Navy looked after the interests of the Tamil fishermen and chased the illegal Indian fishermen away to the greatest admiration of Tamils. There were a large number of cultural and other events organized by the security forces to engage in Tamil community for which they participated in large numbers.
I must place on record that the majority of Tamils WERE NOT against Mahinda Rajapaksa or Gotabhaya Rajapaksa prior to the presidential election. It was the Tamil political parties who took innocent Tamils under their siege and changed their mentality for their own cheap political gain and in par with the ideology of LTTE remnants and sympathizers.
If the Tamil community has any issues, there is no other leader other than Mahinda Rajapaksa who could address them. He showed compassion to the surrendered LTTE cadre including child soldiers and made arrangements to rehabilitate and absorb them to the society by providing vocational training. He only brought ‘hardcore’ LTTE cadre to the justice after the war. He united Tamil parents with their ‘long lost’ children. There is no other leader in the world’s history other than MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA who had shown such noble compassion and kindness towards surrendered terrorists. He took every endeavour to rebuild the North and East in order to uplift the livelihood of Tamils.
You know what, my Tamil brethren, you made a monumental blunder by voting in favour of President Sirisena. Look at what a chaos it has brought to your otherwise peaceful lives now. A weak Sinhalese leader like President Sirisena who doesn’t have any vision, clear direction or understanding can’t bring reconciliation. It should be a STRONG LEADER LIKE MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA who could take steps towards reconciliation and bring the two communities together. The reason is, whatever measures MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA takes for the benefit of Tamils, the Sinhalese will endorse them without any question due to the utmost trust they placed in him.
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The Counsellor / May 26, 2015
There is nothing racist about this incident as far as i see.
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Rodney / May 26, 2015
Loosing all credibility of Colombo telegraph reporting.
He is a Sri Lankan police officer. What is the racially motivated language he uses I just can not understand
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Amara / May 26, 2015
There is noting racial that is the way they speak to sinhalese in the sinhalese also.There are many incidents in Jaffna where Tamils wanted presence of sinhalese policeman to solve their domestic issues not the Tamil Policeman in 2014. CM must understand army and navy will never move out as he wishes from North.
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Rajash / May 27, 2015
shall we talk about the rape?
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sinhala_voice / May 28, 2015
I am very GLAD that NO Sinhala(Christian or Buddhist) is involved in this violent attacked and murder of this girl.
Otherwise EVERY incident is linked to history and ALL problems blamed on Sinhala BUddhist with Mahavansm mindset they say……
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Vinivida / May 29, 2015
Due to intense Tamil lobby this Police Officer has been transferred out of North. I’m sure he will be interdicted. He is a good Police Officer. He spoke well to the Tamil woman. If this is the way this country is governed (transfer and then interdict the Policeman) God will not bless it
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Wilson / May 29, 2015
Tamils are running the Government and the entire show. There is no place for the Sinhalese to hide
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