When people begin to understand that there is no immaculate government in the world…then the day will come when people realise what is happening to their country today.

Demos = people +  Kratia = power, rule

The modern definition of democracy is “Form of government, where a constitution guarantees basic personal and political rights, fair and free elections, and independent courts of law.”

Therefore the key elements of a Democracy are:

• Guarantee of basic Human Rights to every individual person vis-à-vis the state and its authorities as well as vis-à-vis any social groups (especially religious institutions) and vis-à-vis other persons.

• Separation of Powers between the institutions of the state:

Government [Executive Power],

Parliament [Legislative Power] and

Courts of Law [Judicial Power]

• Freedom of opinion, speech, press and mass media

• Religious liberty

• General and equal right to vote (one person, one vote)

• Good Governance (focus on public interest and absence of corruption)

The U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) defined democracy as: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

The Sri Lankan style democracy can be defined as “Form of government appointed by the people, where a constitution is just a piece of paper, governing body decides the rule of the country as the ignorant people are duped to accept all that is dished out to them by the anointed governing body”.

Unfortunately for Sri Lanka even the governing body is ignorant of the meaning of a democracy…the country is somewhat a monarchical oligarchy…!

await for more…

It is hard to celebrate while fellow Sri Lankans are displaced from their homes, living in camps under very harsh conditions without adequate food, medicine and other basic essentials. While we celebrate we should also make this triumph of the soldiers worthwhile by extending a generous hand of help towards the displaced fellow Sri Lankans. To achieve peace one needs to change the perceptions and attitudes towards the “other”. What better way is there than extending a helping hand to those in need and proving not to anyone but ourselves that Sri Lankans are capable of taking care of their own. Through our actions we can change the perceptions and slowly contribute to the healing of all wounds and pave way to a lasting peace in the country. This effort needs to be supported by proper political solutions and actions of politicians. All the while effort must be taken to talk to the diaspora as well.

So we are at the brink of a decisive moment in time where everything depends on our actions and perceptions. As political beings humans can shape, change and transform the future.

This document is over 13.5MB. Please right click on the link and select “save link as” option to save it. If not given the size of the document it takes longer to open:

UNITAR/UNOSAT Report on damages to the Civilian Safe Zone

Given the conflict management and resolution expertise vested in the Swedish foreign minister it is definitely worthwhile to lend an ear to his suggestions. There is no hard and fast rule that the government of Sri Lanka need to exercise these suggestions as these are merely “suggestions”. Even if the government did invite the Swedish foreign minister for a different function in May, considering the prominence of getting an opinion as well as showing representatives of the international community the efforts the government has put in place to accommodate the IDPs, it is a smart move to extend an invitation to the Swedes together with the British and French delegation.

After all if the government can give these delegates as well as a few international media personnel access to the IDP camps and the battle field(I know it is pushing it a bit what with the governments no outside media policy) it might actually support the governments image rather than tarnish it. If what we see and hear on National TV where the rescued people talk about the atrocities they suffered at the hands of the LTTE and the negligence of human life by the LTTE is in fact true then the government should indeed let some of these delegates and international media in and let them talk to these people. They should witness the rest of the country pulling together to support their fellow citizens. This might help not only to depict that the government is not trying to commit genocide etc that the diaspora are portraying but that it is actually doing it’s duty to it’s people as a responsible state government.

By extending a grant to visit the country to the Swedes or any other country does not necessarily mean the government is bowing down to the international community or that the government needs to implement whatever they are suggesting. It is merely to show that the government is open for suggestions. Note “suggestions”. In a globalised world a country cannot be an island.Instead of pointing fingers at other international media outlets and leaders for being supporters of the LTTE why not prove the point by granting some of these international leaders and media access to the country and showing them the truth.

After all it is a wise move to keep the international community at hand now that we are close to phase ii, development and rehabilitation which is a costly affair by itself.

“…

The frenzied demonstrations have begun only when the military defeat of the LTTE appears a real prospect. Again, the confusion between humanitarian protest and political solidarity with the LTTE is evident. But this still leaves open the question: what explains the widespread support that the LTTE enjoys in the diaspora despite its declining fortunes in Sri Lanka, and the atrocities it commits against ordinary Tamil people there?

…”

Tamil diaspora demonstrating political solidarity with the LTTE while hundreds and thousands of innocent Tamil people in the Wanni are being forcefully kept as human shields is just appalling. As this blog noted earlier the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora seem to have conveniently forgotten that saving the lives of the innocent is far more important than saving the life of a leader who has brought nothing but grief, death and suffering to these fellow Sri Lankans. The uproar in the streets of Paris, London and Toronto displays the reality of a dream being lost for the Tamil diaspora and ironically the diaspora lived this dream on the expense of the thousands of fellow Sri Lankan Tamil citizens forcefully trapped by the LTTE.

The brutality of the LTTE is out in the open as this video footage shows the civilians being bashed and shot at when trying to escape from their clutches. Why are the diaspora still shouting for the safety of Prabhakaran? Would they trade their lives for the ones seen here beaten and shot at by the so called liberators of the Tamil people? I don’t think so.

We all have to get together now to help these civilians. All Sri Lankans together can help these people.

This is when we can let a sigh of momentary relief for the sake of all those innocent civilians.

As I have mentioned in one of my earlier posts it is time for Sri Lanka to get together and extend a helping hand to all these rescued civilians. Hope is but on it’s way.

Protest in London

The obviously organised demonstrations carried out in London, Norway, Paris and Sydney by the Tamil diaspora is somewhat disheartening and guile. You see placards of “Let our people remain in our homeland” and yet they seem oblivious to the fact that the people trapped in the war stricken pocket of land are in their homeland as hostages or as shrapnel sponges of the LTTE leadership. What seem to be dished out is their anger that the “homeland” they sponsored all this time was only an illusion as most of the money seem to have gone into killing machines of all sorts. These guns that they so funded are today used to shoot down any relative of theirs who try to escape the clutches of the LTTE. So how can these people cry for the dead and wounded when they have no idea of the suffering of the people still trapped in war stricken areas. There is no visible evidence of a homeland that the LTTE has built for these people what is evident is that these innocent civilians has become a mere human blanket for the egotist terrorist leader to hide in.

These diaspora seem not to realise that the flag they so proudly raise advocates terror. This flag depicts guns and bullets and the diaspora is willing to stand by and support terror while their relatives, friends and fellow citizens are dying every single day. They do not shout to help the people displaced or the people who are held against their will by the LTTE. The diaspora shouts to save their leader! They have definitely shown the will power to stand behind a megalomaniac leader and not their own people. It is easy to do that when they are in their own comfort zone while the fellow citizens in Wanni struggle to survive.

Protest in Sydney

It is a disgrace to quote from the nonviolent move of Gandhi when they are holding placards of a egotist with a revolver in his belt and a cyanide capsule hanging from his neck. Where is the non-violence in the flags and placards they are waving? When did glorifying a leader who preaches and advocates violence justified non-violent? The Tamil diaspora needs to evaluate their decision to support war from their comfortable adopted countries as opposed to extending a helping hand to the civilians who are at the receiving end of this war in Sri Lanka. It is high time they stopped this nonsensical rantings and got their act together to pressure the LTTE to release these civilians.

Why can not the diaspora organise means to help the people who have escaped the clutches of these terrorists? Rather than waving a flag that depicts weapons which can kill people why not wave a flag of hope and extend a hand to their fellow citizens in need at this timely hour. The people already displaced in their own homeland does not have the money to organise massive rallies around the globe to ask for assistance. The diaspora should consider taking a step back to open their eyes and ears to see and listen to the pleas of their brothers and sisters in the Wanni and lend a hand to help them live. At least that is what the people in the “homeland” we call Sri Lanka are trying to do at the moment.

For more information see here and here. There is also a “Ne Gam Yame Viyapruthiya” or visiting relatives for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year which is aimed at providing necessary items to the displaced in Wanni. The Colombo collection point for Ne Gam Yaame Viyapruthiya in Colombo is the Shanti Foundation on Buller’s Road (near Kanatte junction). Contact 071-377-7666 for more info.