the grave of s. thinusika, 8 years

click image to enlarge

in his comment on a bitter victory, thomas stated that there is no justification for terrorist attacks like the ones the ltte comitted. of course he is correct, still my answer contained a big 'however'.

to understand why many of the tamils did not support the ltte any more due to their murderous acts even against their own people, but still mourn their demise as it seemed to be the only force able to face the government and it's allies, let me tell you the story of the murder of the 8 years old s. thinusika, already subject of my post out of my depth.

thinusika was the daughter of s. santhirarajah, who was abducted for ransom in a white van and probably killed 2 years ago. already at that time it was suspected that this crime was a joint venture of tamil and government (para)military forces. now his daughter was abducted for ransom and killed, her body was found 3 days later in an abandoned well. only days afterwards, her assumed kidnappers were found, bullet-riddled and with bound hands. so no trial, no testimonial, but probably some cover-up of unwanted evidence. lifes, especially tamil lifes don't count very much in sri lanka. and again this crime and the way it is treated nourishes assumptions that a paramilitary group is involved.

my discussions with many tamil friends circled again and again around the question of justice. before the war there was an average number of murders followed by trials and convictions. the war changed this completely: now there are killings on a weekly basis and no persecution, no trials. spies and denunciators rule, and army, police and paramilitary groups are accused of making people vanish at will, 'white vans' are now the current name for this threat. the tamil groups cooperating with their government still wear their arms and use them for their own profit by stealing, robbing, kidnapping. in obligatory briefings, united nations security names those gangs and their organized crimes as biggest threat for safety for locals and foreigners.

so there is no hope for the tamils: the ltte is dead and gone. army, paramilitary and other armed groups operate outside the law, and the government offers nothing but propaganda about patriot and non-patriot sri lankans.

so the grievances of thinusika's mother will replicate on and on.

this photo on flickr

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for a given reason: think about tibet

most of us, yours truly included, live in countries where freedom, including freedom of religion and freedom of speech are a everyday commodity. we enjoy it without thinking and honestly couldn't even imagine that it could be different.

my friendship with colleagues in sri lanka has opened my eyes in this context: it is not commonplace that you can speak freely, and not everywhere physical integrity is warranted by constitution and state. instead speaking openly can make vanish you in a white van (that's the common mechanism in sri lanka), and not so many of those victims of abductions are found even as corpses.

tibet yesterday celebrated the sad 50th anniversary of its uprising against the chinese invaders and the following suppression. we all should at least take notice of this (reading the dalai lama's statement here gives some background information) and maybe take even small action against injustice and suppression, not only in tibet. injustice, illegal actions by the state unfortunately happen all over the world. but if everyone of us remembers, if we do act, that will accumulate and help change the world. i am convinced of this.