The Tamil Tragedy
Today is Wednesday, 20 May 2009.
And so 26 years of armed Tamil struggle in Sri Lanka have ended, with the victory of the Sinhalese majority, and the deaths at government hands of more than 100,000 Tamils, or more than 5% of their number.
Surely the deaths can be overlooked, given that the Sinhalese dictatorship was mortally threatened by Tamil self-rule, let alone an independent Tamil state, given that the Sinhalese number a mere 70% of the population, and the Tamils an overwhelming 10%.
Sic.
The ethical character of the Sinhalese government was perfectly encapsulated in the final days of the conflict, when it denounced reports that its military was shelling Tamil civilians with heavy artillery, and then, a few days later, claimed it had ceased such shelling as an humanitarian gesture.
It should not escape notice that Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, was a British Crown Colony for the 152 years preceding re-independence in 1948. It is obvious that the re-structuring of the local society by the virulent white racism of the British Empire, and the example set by the latter, only exacerbated the extant prejudices of the Sinhalese majority against the Tamil minority. The present outcome was virtually guaranteed through the donation by “Western Civilization” of its highly refined tool-kit for military and social technologies of oppression, exploitation, and destruction.
Journalist: “Mr. Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?”
Gandhi: “I think it would be a good idea.”
And so 26 years of armed Tamil struggle in Sri Lanka have ended, with the victory of the Sinhalese majority, and the deaths at government hands of more than 100,000 Tamils, or more than 5% of their number.
Surely the deaths can be overlooked, given that the Sinhalese dictatorship was mortally threatened by Tamil self-rule, let alone an independent Tamil state, given that the Sinhalese number a mere 70% of the population, and the Tamils an overwhelming 10%.
Sic.
The ethical character of the Sinhalese government was perfectly encapsulated in the final days of the conflict, when it denounced reports that its military was shelling Tamil civilians with heavy artillery, and then, a few days later, claimed it had ceased such shelling as an humanitarian gesture.
It should not escape notice that Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, was a British Crown Colony for the 152 years preceding re-independence in 1948. It is obvious that the re-structuring of the local society by the virulent white racism of the British Empire, and the example set by the latter, only exacerbated the extant prejudices of the Sinhalese majority against the Tamil minority. The present outcome was virtually guaranteed through the donation by “Western Civilization” of its highly refined tool-kit for military and social technologies of oppression, exploitation, and destruction.
Journalist: “Mr. Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?”
Gandhi: “I think it would be a good idea.”
posted by HH at 2:14 PM
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