Can we all just get along?
After 26 years of fighting, the Sri Lankan civil war ended on May of 2009 and its hard to believe that the war ended more than five years ago. Everyday I come home and read the local as well as the foreign news to see what happened back home today. Like everyday all I say to myself is, “this never ends”. I just have a hard time understanding why people can’t get along. Of course after 26 years of war, everything cannot be settled in one year but as I read the news there is always a new dispute that I read about everyday. Since the war ended many western nations raised concerns over alleged human rights abuses against Tamil people. The Sri Lankan government does not like this idea of other nations rising against the brutal civil war they put an end to. Canada and United Kingdom are two nations that brought the attention of the rest of the world to think about the 40,000 plus innocent civilians who were killed during the final week of battles. The Sri Lankan government is taking all the steps to argue that the human rights violation issues are over exaggerated by some nations and that the national army did not kill innocent civilians. No ones knows the truth. These conversations attracted many other countries and requested the United Nations to take further steps and carry out the investigations.
The most recent issue that is widely talked about in Sri Lankan media is about how prime ministers and presidents of nations have no right to enter Sri Lanka to investigate about the Tamil rights violations and the war crimes. Months ago when the Prime minister of Great Britain, David Cameron visited Sri Lanka for the commonwealth games he visited the northern areas of Sri Lanka and even to this day the government is accusing him of breaching the protocol and that he had no right to address the tamil issues. The government also banned representatives of the United Nations from entering the country and denied visas applied by many of the foreign officials. Yesterday the president mentioned at a conference that Sri Lankan authorities will conduct the war crime allegations and for the United Nations and other countries to be patient. (and that has been the president’s response since the war ended) Many Sri Lankans are confused about why the president does not want outside sources to get involved and investigate the crime if they are denying they committed war crimes. These issues are continuing to divide the citizens of the country as heated arguments continue to rise daily. Many disputes are arising among tamil and sinhalese people today at work places and among school students, as a result of these issues that are unnecessarily dragged on since the war ended. As a Sri Lankan citizen I always worry whether these issues will ever be solved and whether Sri Lankans will ever be able to live peacefully or ultimately lead up to another war.
Thanks for the news/update on Sri Lanka. I had a friend/fellow student at LCC who was from Sri Lanka back in 2003-2004. He used to tell my some of what was going on in his home country. He and his family were fortunate enough to be able to move to the US to get away from the civil war.
ReplyDeleteFunny how in the US we only get news that is usually US centered even if it is international in content. It's like US citizens don't care about others unless they are involved or its pushed in their face. I think this is one of the lingering effects of the Vietnam War in regards to media coverage. Obviously there are alternative ways of finding out what goes on around the world but if you don't take a special interest in an area you may never know. Small world/Big world.
It is also interesting that the Sri Lankan government claims that atrocities are not being perpetrated but they are reluctant to allow foreigners to investigate allegations. As you say, "no one knows the truth," where it comes to human rights violations, but in my experience when a government make claims that they did not kill "innocent civilians" they usually have something to cover up.
Amanda, is it your contention that the civil war is reignited or never really ended? Are the Tamil Tigers still functioning (or other "rebel" groups)? Or do you think its a one sided attempt by the government to eradicate the Tamil people?
I don't know if anyone can ever just get along. Not on such a large scale and not when there is a lack of responsibility and an apology. Look at all the race and gender issues we still have in the US, and it's been more than a few decades since the Civil Rights Movement.
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of the many books and stories I have heard and read about wars from around the world that continue from decades back that people never learn about. I find it unfortunate that we are not more informed about conflicts around the world where thousands have died in.
I wasn’t fully informed about the Sri Lankan Civil War and it creates a heavy impact to read the perspective of someone who lived it. It is hard to accept the reasoning behind any leader’s decisions in a time of war, or even in the time after. Many decisions are often unacceptable to one or both “sides” of the conflict.
I do not foresee any conflict that has a real ending. I do not see it in human nature, but the fact that there are people like you who care, and who continue to inform the world about these issues gives me hope that the idea of conflict may one-day change to mean something different. Hopefully some day conflicts will not mean the deaths of so many.