A plea from the state of Tamilnadu (India)
February 3, 2009 11:08 PM   Subscribe

What will happen to the tamilians of Sri Lanka?
posted by hadjiboy (22 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Kind of thin-ish, "here's a couple news stories" post is borderline. Acting like a jerk to people in thread about it is well into not-okay territory. Someone is welcome to give this another shot with more context and less defensiveness. -- cortex



 
Sorry, I think Tamilians should be in a capital T.
posted by hadjiboy at 11:19 PM on February 3, 2009


This is a pretty weak fpp. Recent developments in Sri Lanka are more complicated than these two uninteresting links. There's lots being written about the recent offensive and potential consequences, including these humanitarian issues. These articles leave much to be desired and offer little in the way of clarification. The LTTE is down, for now, it seems, but all of this needs to be contextualized far better than these articles allow.
posted by allen.spaulding at 11:20 PM on February 3, 2009


And I hope the spelling of the word doesn't have a double L in it. Tamillian.

/A sucker for spellings. Sorry.
posted by hadjiboy at 11:21 PM on February 3, 2009


They're called Tamils.
posted by shii at 11:24 PM on February 3, 2009


I feel sorry for the civilians caught in the crossfire.
posted by SteveTheRed at 11:26 PM on February 3, 2009


Well, thank you for enlightening us allen.spaulding. I'm sure that will be a big help to every one whose interested in this story.

Me, I just wanted people to know about Tamilnadu, that it's a state in India, and that's why it's worried about the folks there. But I guess I should have left that up to you as well, huh?

Idiot.
posted by hadjiboy at 11:27 PM on February 3, 2009


Sorry Matt, cortex, Jess--but he deserved that, at least.

In my book that is.
posted by hadjiboy at 11:30 PM on February 3, 2009


NewsFilter: not the best of the web.
posted by gen at 11:33 PM on February 3, 2009


It's not supposed to be the best of the web, gen. I'm sorry it doesn't meet your standards, but it's supposed to tell people about the Tamilians living in India, that they're worried about their kin, and would do anything to see them again.
posted by hadjiboy at 11:38 PM on February 3, 2009


"This is really important! We need to get the word out!" usually makes for a lousy MeFi post.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 12:08 AM on February 4, 2009


You know what even makes a worst one: ' "This is really important! We need to get the word out!" usually makes for a lousy MeFi post. ' But then this isn't a Mefi post, but a thread. Let's see, how many posts we have, 2 since Dec 15 2008. Not bad, but not great either. Come on, we can do better than that.
posted by hadjiboy at 12:26 AM on February 4, 2009


I feel sorry for the civilians caught in the crossfire.
posted by grobstein at 12:31 AM on February 4, 2009 [1 favorite]


The Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka are undoubtedly one of the most organized, effective and brutal terrorist groups in the world. They invented the suicide vest and, according to the FBI, are the only terrorist group to have assassinated two world leaders. The rebels, based in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, have been waging a violent offensive against the central government on and off for more than 20 years.

Freedom is never given. It has to be fought for and won.

Rising anti-India anger on websites linked to the Tamil Tigers is causing concern in New Delhi, which has alerted Tamil Nadu and other Indian states to increase vigilance against a terror threat from the Sri Lanka-based separatist group.

It may also put a crimp in the campaign outings of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, and her son and political heir, Rahul.

India is bracing itself for nationwide polls tipped to begin in April.

Mrs Gandhi's husband Rajiv, who was India's prime minister from 1984 to 1989, was killed in the 1991 election campaign by a woman suicide bomber belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

That murder was apparently ordered by Tiger chieftain Velupillai Prabhakaran as revenge for Mr Gandhi's ordering of Indian troops into Sri Lanka in 1987 to enforce a peace accord between the rebels and the government in Colombo.

One of the Tamil Tigers’ most senior leaders is reported to have been seriously wounded in an assault by soldiers that has pinned the rebels down in a small patch of jungle in northeastern Sri Lanka.

Puthinam.com, a pro-rebel website, reported that K. V. Balakumaran was wounded in an army attack on Monday near the town of Mullaittivu, which was captured from the rebels the day before. It was the first report since the military campaign began of the army injuring or killing one of the elite group of Tiger leaders who surround Velupillai Prabakharan, the group’s reclusive leader.
posted by netbros at 12:36 AM on February 4, 2009 [4 favorites]


Wow, netbros--you really hit the nail right on the head.

I hang my head in shame--That was a fantastic post.
posted by hadjiboy at 1:31 AM on February 4, 2009


Seven of 14 comments is too many, hadjiboy.
posted by ryanrs at 1:52 AM on February 4, 2009


The Economist have been giving pretty good coverage to the fate of the the Tamil Tigers - and the quarter million civilians who appear to be stuck in the region that they still control. Here are some of their recent articles.
posted by rongorongo at 2:36 AM on February 4, 2009


Sorry Matt, cortex, Jess--but he deserved that, at least.

You forgot to appologize to vacapinta. And the tamilians for not doing this story justice.
posted by gman at 4:14 AM on February 4, 2009


Thanks for the update, hadjiboy.

It might not make the news regularly in the west compared with what's going on in Gaza, but according to the UN, 52 civilians were killed in a single day just now, and in such a short time since the atrocities in Mumbai, India is on the alert against possible terrorist attacks in support of the Tamil Tigers.

Perhaps if you could have phrased the post so that Tamils = Palestinians & Sinhalese = Israelis, people might have cared a little more.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:30 AM on February 4, 2009


It's on the BBC each and every day. It's also on the CBC a lot due to the protests in downtown Toronto.
posted by gman at 4:34 AM on February 4, 2009


A very pregnant MIA talks about Sri Lanka on some CNN talk show.

And she was guest blogging on CNN.

groundviews.org is the best place for news on Sri Lanka, in that it's well written and nuanced.

For those wondering what the Government controlled East is like now, "Eastern Sri Lanka chafes under the oppressive rule of a government that says it is committed to democracy." The Globe and Mail has a few more stories on the war.

There was a huge protest here in Toronto. I don't know if the war is getting more press, but Sri Lanka is certainly getting more press than it has in recent years.

Personally, I think the government has already won, to some extent. Pretty much every educated Tamil person has left the Island. Countless more have fled. I've read that the Island probably has half as many Tamils on it now than it did in 20 years back.
posted by chunking express at 6:16 AM on February 4, 2009


And also, the LTTE should have given up on the Tamil Eelam dream in the 80s, and pushed for some sort of regional autonomy within Sri Lanka. Instead they blew up Rajiv Ghandi. Good fucking job there. The LTTE like the government thinks a military solution to the problems of the Tamils is possible, when clearly, it is not. The have isolated themselves from the international community -- and because they killed off every other group working for the freedom of the Tamil people -- they also isolated the Tamil community as a whole.

(And besides the war, the government routinely kills journalists and aid workers. The country is a hot bed for child pornography. The government used the tsunami as an excuse to steal land from local fisherman, and sell that land to foreign companies looking to build resorts. Sri Lanka is a big giant mess.)
posted by chunking express at 6:29 AM on February 4, 2009


They're called Tamils.
As a Tamilian, I can tell you that Tamilian is definitely the preferred term.
posted by peacheater at 6:34 AM on February 4, 2009


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