�International legal systems have so far failed to bring the Sri
Lankan War Criminals to justice. It is time for the average Joe, an
ethical shopper to say No to �Holiday Packages to Sri Lanka�, No to
�Sri Lankan Airlines�, No to �Sri Lankan Cricket�, No to �Ceylon
Tea�, No to �Garments or any other products made in Sri Lanka� and
No to any �Organisations having commercial interests in Sri Lanka�
until Sri Lanka stop the killings of the innocents with it's death
squads, until the last person is set free from the death camps of
Sri Lanka, until the people of Sri Lanka start to live without the
fear of abductions, torture, rape and murder by the Sri Lankan State
and its armed forces, Until Sri Lanka starts to treat all its
citizens equally with dignity and give them the rights they deserve�
�Money goes into the hands of Sri Lanka are now used to destroy
individuals, families and communities therefore, it is rational,
ethical, sensible and right to stop supporting a country that is
determined continue with its genocide agenda, despite calls from the
international community�
Fifty thousand innocent men, women and children were brutally
murdered on the sandy beaches and in the jungles of Sri Lanka, by
the Sri Lankan Military while the whole world stood back and
watched.
Three hundred thousands are now locked up in the death camps of Sri
Lanka. Men are tortured, Women are abused and raped, Children are
psychologically tormented, foreign media is banned, aid workers are
blocked and the Tamils are now let to die like flies without proper
food, medicine and water. Dead bodies are thrown outside the tents
and let to rot while the young and old stand in the hot sun for
hours to beg for food.
They are let to languish behind barbed wires
Times UK has recently reported that fourteen hundreds are dying
every week in the horror camps manly due to waterborne diseases and
many preventable illnesses. The rate at which people are dying now,
the whole camp will be empty just in three years time. Many who are
prisoned in these camps have relatives and friends living in other
parts of the country and overseas, who are willing to help.
Sri Lankan government is so adamant that it is not helping the dying
Tamils and also not letting others to help.
Purpose of these Nazi style camps is to cause death and maximum
destruction to an oppressed and vulnerable Tamil community that is
now pleading to the Nations for help. Few camps are purposefully
built for propaganda purposes in order to deceive the international
community.
Horrors in Sri Lanka are sending shock waves across the World
Torture, murder, rape, forced starvation, and all kind of human
rights violations in the concentration camps of Sri Lanka, are now
sending shock waves across the world.
Deportations of Western reporters, Journalists and Politicians from
the Sri Lankan Airport and denial of access to the death camps of
Sri Lanka for aid workers are showing the face of rebellious country
that is willing go to any extent to defy international humanitarian
laws.
Western countries have recently been pressurising Sri Lanka to stop
the abuses and State sponsored killings. US, Britain and France
including many other European countries are taking all the necessary
measures to send strong messages to Sri Lanka.
US $1.9 Billion IMF loan to this country is now delayed. Sri Lanka
had been denied a seat on UN Human Rights Council. US are delaying
aid to the displaced people till the Sri Lankan government give free
access to the camps.
There are also talks about suspending Sri Lanka from the
commonwealth
Can an average Joe make a difference?
I have written few articles on the subject of Sri Lankan civil war.
One of the popular questions, I received from the readers was �What
can the average Joe do other than writing a letter to the local MP?�
While our international legal systems are still failing to bring the
culprits to justice, Average Joe might probably be in a better
position to send a powerful message to countries like Sri Lanka. Joe
should see and understand the bigger picture of what is happening in
Sri Lanka before start doing anything about the injustice done
against the innocents.
Joe living in the West is a consumer just like many other millions
around the world. Any marketing professional would know about the
Power of a Consumer. Joe is an ethical shopper, who has the freedom
to choose where to go on a holiday, which airline to fly with, where
to buy his cloths and who to bank with. Joe can meet up with many
like minded people and persuade his government to stop playing
sports with countries that are persecuting its people. Joe is now on
the net. He has access to email, facebook, twitter and many other
social networking sites. He can share his views with millions around
the world.
Even a great nation like China needs to sell its products in the
world market in order to feed its people. Sri Lanka that is acting
arrogantly with many countries should know, that it can't keep on
killing the innocents and expect the people to buy their products
and services that are covered in blood.
Joe along with millions around the world should be able to convince
the People of Sri Lanka that they are not safe in the hands of
corrupt regimes that are even prepared to sell the soul of a nation
to satisfy the cravings of the Sinhala Buddhist extremists whose
only goal is to wipe out Tamils.
�Sri Lanka for Dummies� is a simple Introduction to Sri Lanka and
Sri Lankan war for the average Joe to get an understanding of the
man made humanitarian crisis in this little island.
Sri Lanka for Dummies
1) Sri Lanka in a Nutshell
2)
Tamil Rebellion against State Terrorism in Sri Lanka
3)
War in Vanni, that had revealed the face of the devil
Sri Lanka in a Nutshell
Sri Lanka is a tiny tropical island that was known as the pearl of
the Indian Ocean and paradise on earth. This country was once very
popular among the tourists but not any more.
Rulers of this country have made this place as one of the most
dangerous places to visit and live on this planet. The US has
recently given serious warnings to its citizens about the dangers of
travelling to Sri Lanka. Westerners are no longer welcome there.
Journalists and high profile diplomats are regularly deported back
from the Colombo international Airport. The recent victims were
Channel 4 TV journalists and Bob Rae who was once the Premier of
Ontario Canada. Western embassies are frequently attacked by angry
local mobs. British and Canadian High commissions became the latest
targets.
Sri Lanka is a graveyard for journalists. Sri Lankan Government is
using underground mafia and death squads to abduct, torture and kill
journalists, aid workers and any individuals who are critical of the
government. Doctors and journalists are locked up in prisons but the
evil ones are rewarded and let to roam around the streets with
knives and guns.
Journalist Tissainayagam in chains. Telling the truth is a crime in
Sri Lanka
Tamils are the prime targets but even foreigners, Sinhalese and
Muslims are not the exceptions. This country is now at the bottom of
the list in terms of human rights.
Sri Lanka has murdered fourteen journalists in the last few years.
More than twenty journalists have been forced out of the country.
Many are locked up in jails. Newspapers are burned, TV stations are
attacked, and News web sites are blocked. Even BBC and CNN had
received warnings in the past from the controversial defence
secretary of the country. Sri Lanka only allows reporters who write
well about the government.
Senior editor and Journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga
was brutally
murdered by the government backed mafia
Five medical doctors, who are praised as real heroes by the
international community for their tireless work during the Sri
Lankan war, are now locked up in Sri Lankan jails for speaking the
truth from the war zone. Sri Lankan rulers have recently paraded
these doctors in front of television cameras and
forced them make
false statements to support the government. This is another foolish
attempt by a murderous regime to hide the war crimes it had
committed .We all know how Al Qaeda had paraded western hostages on
TV in the past and forced them to say things that were not true.
In Sri Lanka, People disappear from their homes, schools, work
places and hospitals like flies. It is not the fulfilment of rapture
that is taking place according to the book of Revelation in the
Bible. But the Sri Lankan regime has mastered the art of using white
vans to abduct and kill anyone who is dare to question the conducts
of the government.
Half burned dead bodies with hands tied at the back is a typical
scene, one would be able to see quite often in Sri Lanka. Killer
demons regularly come on mysterious white vans without number plates
on them.
A typical Sri Lankan leader would talk like he has the whole world
under his feet and he doesn�t care about outside opinions. Many of
us remember the controversial Sri Lankan defence secretary of Sri
Lanka who appeared on many TV channels across the globe and
thundered that he had the right to bomb hospitals and schools. He
had indeed ordered to bomb several hospitals in the recent war in
Sri Lanka. This short tempered leader and the current military
commander of Sri Lanka are directly responsible for thousands of
killings in Sri Lanka.
Some of the ministers from the Jumbo cabinet of Sri Lanka have
degrees from western universities. They wear crisp clean suits and
speak in Queens English. But what comes out of their mouth don�t
reflect the real situation in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan rulers no longer tell the truth. According to them, the
Sun rises in the West and the rooster crows only in the evenings.
While murdering civilians with heavy weapons including tanks and
missiles with unconventional war heads, Sri Lanka was lying to the
world that they were only using light weapons.
Sri Lanka is the most militarised among the South Asian countries
with 13000 military personnel per one million population. Every
street corner of Sri Lanka is guarded by armed soldiers. Sri Lanka
has 266K active armed personal (Total Troops 374K) which is much
higher than many developed countries. [Australia (54k), Canada
(65K), South Africa (56K), Norway (28K), United Kingdom (188K),
Germany (248K), France (260K), Italy (230K)]
Sri Lanka has no foreign enemies. Multi barrel Rockets
were used to
kill thousands of Tamils in the recent war
In terms of military expenditure as percentage of GDP, Sri Lanka
spends the most in South Asia. The figure is 6% in Sri Lanka which
is much higher than the amount spent by its neighbours. (3.5% in
Pakistan; 2.5% in India and Nepal; and 1.5% in Bangladesh)
Sri Lanka is now planning to recruit fifty thousands more for its
armed forces
Sri Lanka has now become like another Myanmar in the region. Close
associations with nuclear armed China and Pakistan and friendships
with Iran, Libya, and Myanmar are already giving the danger signs.
Iran has indicated that it is willing to share nuclear technologies
with Sri Lanka for peaceful purposes. Those who follow the current
trend in the world, very well know what these peaceful purposes are.
Sri Lanka is trying to get hold of nuclear technology (to supplement
its power needs). Having been turned away by India, Sri Lanka is
turning to States like Iran to fulfil its nuclear ambitions. This is
why Sri Lanka always backs Iran�s nuclear program
It may not be well known that Sri Lanka was instrumental in Iran
acquiring nuclear technology. Some Sri Lankan businessmen and
engineers are among those whose names appear in a United States
blacklist over the alleged involvement in the world�s worst illicit
nuclear proliferation racket, the British media reported recently.
Although, Sri Lanka is a democratic country, the majority Sinhala
people support Nazi Style right wing parties. Racist politicians and
military leaders are looked upon as heroes and saviours of the
country. Tamils who once had their own nation are now considered as
aliens and invaders even though the majority of the Tamils are the
original inhabitants of this land. Politics is driven by the powers
of ignorance, greed, lies and deceptions.
Today, three hundred thousands of Tamils in Sri Lanka are locked up
in concentration camps and the rest live in homes that are heavily
guarded by the Sri Lankan military. People who once lived dignified
and prosperous lives are now treated like stray dogs. Tamil women
are raped by the Sri Lankan army and young Tamil men are tortured
and killed.
Tamil Rebellion against State Terrorism in Sri Lanka
Tamils, who are one of the most oppressed communities in the world,
have been fighting to free themselves from the evil regimes of the
country. But they have so far failed to achieve their goals. Tamils
initially fought through democratic means. Democracy no longer works
in favour of Tamils because the majority prefers the Tamils to be
wiped out from the country.
Tamils were slaughtered in thousands with swords and knives in the
buses, trains and in their own homes in the fifties, sixties,
seventies and eighties. Frustrated Tamil youth took arms to fight
against fascism. Armed rebellion has now been crushed with the help
of China and India.
Tamil rebels were initially functioning like how IRA did things in
the eighties but from the early 2000s they did manage to build a
well disciplined conventional force with their own Air force and
Navy. According to the former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, who
retired only few weeks ago, Tamil rebels were better in honouring
the laws of the land than the government of Sri Lanka. For instance,
Seven Sri Lankan soldiers who were prisoners of war in the rebel
camps were set free by the rebels without any scratches, even at a
time when Sri Lankan forces were murdering Tamil women and babies in
cold blood.
Tamil Rebels and the Sri Lankan government signed a ceasefire in
2002, after the Sri Lankan forces had suffered a heavy defeat in a
conventional war between both parties. Negotiations were taking
place between the Tamils and the Sri Lankan government for five
years, with the help of the mediators from EU, Norway, Japan and US.
Sri Lankan government suddenly withdrew from the ceasefire
unilaterally in 2007, and launched a war against the rebels with
help of India and the weapons it got from China and Pakistan. War
broke out at a time when there were signs of peace becoming
materialised in Sri Lanka according to the former Norwegian mediator
Eric Solheim, who is now the Minister of Environment.
Sri Lankan army did manage to slaughter more than fifty thousand
Tamil civilians including women and children within few months time.
Banned weapons like cluster bombs and phosphorous bombs were used
against the innocents.
War in Vanni, that had revealed the face of the devil
Vanni is a Tamil land in the north eastern region of Sri Lanka that
was once flowing with milk and honey. People prospered in every
thing. Many of them did farming and deep sea fishing. They were not
poor. Their barns were filled with grains throughout the year. These
people ate a very healthy diet and lived in homes that were located
in unpolluted areas. In our terms, people of Vanni ate organic
grains, vegetables, fruits, meat and fish all their lives.
Few months ago, all of a sudden, Skis of Vanni became darkened.
Children stopped playing. Dancing was turned into mourning. Chinese
F7s, Russian MIGs f lied over Vanni and bombed homes, hospitals,
schools and farms. Cluster bombs, phosphorous bombs and other banned
weapons were used against innocent civilians.
They were slaughtered in their own homes
Men, women and children were hiding inside the bunkers without
adequate food and medicine for months. More than fifty thousands
innocents were slaughtered. Thirty thousands were injured. Thousands
of children became orphans. Wounded and maimed crawled on mud and
dirt to search for water and food.
Children were hiding inside the bunkers for weeks and months
Thousands of surrendered and wounded rebels were brutally murdered.
Military tanks rolled over the dying and the golden beaches of Sri
Lanka were turned into red carpets with the blood of the innocents.
There were no more mourners left in the land of Vanni to mourn for
the dead. Lands of the living didn�t send any comforters to the land
of the dead. Hearts of the world became stones and the so called
leaders of the world had once again revealed their ugly faces.
Nobody came to mourn for the dead
Number of people massacred on the beaches of Sri Lanka is almost ten
times of the people died in the Tiananmen Square massacre in China.
If the war was conducted fairly according to the international laws,
the outcome of the war would have been much different. Sri Lankan
army defeated the rebels by using unconventional banned weapons that
had caused thousands of civilian causalities and deaths.
Chemical weapons were used against the Civilians and Rebels
After killing so many thousands, the Sri Lankan government has sent
the remaining to Nazi style concentration camps. Now they are dying
in the death camps of Sri Lanka with lack of food and medicine.
Tamil women are abused and raped by Sri Lankan military in these
horror camps. Men are tortured and killed.
Although China, India and Pakistan are helping the Sri Lankan
rulers, Genocide is being carried out with the complete freewill of
this Nation. Sri Lankan leaders have made this beautiful country
into a half naked prostitute in the India Ocean. Ministers of this
country regularly fly to China and India to meet the political and
military leaders of those nations. Sri Lanka has become a puppet of
these superpowers with its own sweet will.
Sri Lanka is facing destruction by its own masters
People of this world are becoming more and more tolerant. Many
colours and races are learning to live together in Europe and
America. American people have even elected a Black president with a
Muslim middle name to give a powerful message to the world.
Nations that have systems based on racial and religious supremacies
should know that they are heading for isolation and destruction if
they continue with their racist policies.
Here we see a country that has gone out of control and acting
weirdly in the Indian Ocean. Beaches of Sri Lanka are stained with
the blood of thousands men, women and children who were slaughtered
by the cruel rulers of this country. There is no more media freedom.
Local and foreign journalists are intimidated, prisoned and killed.
Arrogant leaders of this country are confronting individuals,
organisations and even nations that are opposing the killings.
Average Joe has the tools to send a message to Sri Lanka who are
deliberately failing from the duties to protect its people.
Joe is conscious of the environment. He makes sure that papers,
cloths and empty bottles end up in recycling bins. He is very
concerned about the people living in the poorest countries on this
earth. He buys fair trade tea and coffee that are produced in
countries that need our help.
Joe takes his family for holidays at least once a year. As a matter
of conscience, Joe will not be holidaying on the blood stained
beaches of Sri Lanka where thousands of innocent men, women and
children were brutally murdered by Bombs and shells. Joe will not be
buying garments that are made in Sri Lanka, a country that has
locked up three hundred thousands Tamils including babies, pregnant
women and disabled in barbed wired concentration camps
People of Vanni, who once lived prosperously, are now left to wander
like vagabonds with skin and bones in the death camps of Sri Lanka.
Family ties are broken, their dignity is destroyed, and thousands of
children are psychologically tormented. Many thousands have already
become mental.
Money goes into the hands of Sri Lanka is used
to wound and kill
innocent Civilians. It is time to say "No"
Fourteen hundreds dying in the death camps of Sri Lanka in a week is
a clear proof that Sri Lanka is still mass murdering Tamils. These
people are not terrorists but men, women and children who also have
dreams and have every right on this earth to live with dignity. They
were not born to die of starvation, torture and deliberate medical
negligence in the hands foolish and arrogant rulers.
Sri Lanka should know that they can�t do business with the world
while slaughtering the civilians. No country prospers with the blood
of the innocents. Agents of the Sri Lanlan regime who live overseas
are still justifying the killings of Tamils. They should learn to
show respect the follow humans because they themselves enjoy equal
rights in foreign countries.
People of this world, no matter what their religion, race, colour
and culture are, they all have the freedom to live without the fear
of intimidation, torture rape and murder.
Time has for the international community say No to �Sri Lankan
package Holidays�, No to �Sri Lankan Airlines�, No to �Sri Lankan
Cricket�, No to �Ceylon Tea�, No to �Garment made in Sri Lanka� and
No to �Any organisation that has commercial interests in Sri Lanka�
until the killings stop and Sri Lanka come with clean hands.
We give money for Cancer Research, Save the Children, Christian Aid,
Tear Fund and many other leading charities because we very well know
that our money is used to protect, build and heal lives
What goes in the hands of Sri Lanka is not used to build lives but
to destroy lives therefore, it is rational, ethical and sensible to
stop supporting a country that is continuing with its genocide
agenda with arrogance.
Sri Lanka is already facing isolation and there will be serious
consequences if the leaders of this country continue to orchestrate
abductions, torture, rape and killings in order to suppress the
voice of the oppressed.
Destroying individuals, families and communities will eventually
lead to the destruction of the whole Nation of Sri Lanka by its own
masters.
