PM hit the other neighbour harder

PM hit the other neighbour harder Jyoti Malhotra / New Delhi July 06, 2011, 0:26 IST Very few grasped the significance of his critical remarks on Lanka’s handling of its Tamils Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks on Bangladesh during his interaction with senior editors last week have received extraordinary attention, both in Dhaka and in Delhi, but his forthright comments on Sri Lanka are equally deserving of scrutiny.  In contrast to the widespread unhappiness in Dhaka and subsequent damage control undertaken by the Indian establishment over his Bangladesh remarks — which culminated yesterday in a phone call by the PM himself to his Bangladeshi counterpart, Hasina — there has been a deafening silence in Colombo over the PM’s remarks on Sri Lanka’s Tamil population as “second-class citizens”. For the first time since the end of the Lankan civil war in 2009, the PM has gone public with criticism of Mahinda Rajapakse’s government, saying “Sinhala chauvinism is a reality” and these “hotheads” refuse to allow the Tamil population to live with equal dignity and respect.      Read More     ======================================= Tuesday, July 5, 2011 The attack on TNA Parliamentarians in Jaffna: A timeline of outrageous denials (Updated) groundviews journalism For citizens TNA MPs at the assault location. Photo courtesy Transcurrents A comment left on Groundviews left recently by a well-known commentator David Blacker, notes, “When you attempt to use terrorism to further your goals, it is then silly to whine about the other side giving you a taste of your own medicine. Every step of the way from 2001, the Tamils have no one to blame for their plight but the Tigers and those who financed and supported them. From breaking the CFA, walking out of talks, boycotting the presidential elections, chasing out the SLMM, and aggressively pushing for a military solution, the Tigers opened Pandora’s box. The legacy of this is that there will not be Eelam or even justice for the SL Tamils ever.“ Emphasis ours. Arguably, if there is to be no Eelam, then the people of Jaffna have to be presented with a range of democratic alternatives and enjoy an environment conducive for representatives of all political parties to contest ideas as well as elections. If there is to be a modicum of justice, voters in these areas need to be allowed to exercise their franchise, which in the past was denied by the LTTE in particular. This is clearly not happening. The recent attack on TNA MPs by the Sri Lankan Army occurs in a context of relative peace, not war. Condemning the brutal attack, the Island newspaper noted (and readers in Sri Lanka will recognise that this was emphatically not newspaper that was opposed to the war),     Continue reading »