Tweets from Tamil Eelam

A little bird told us the island nation of Sri Lanka is in big trouble...

Courtesy: The Sunday Leader

(SALEM / LONDON) - Described by many activists as the ‘final medium for free speech’, Twitter and Facebook quickly became both highly influential, and vitally important communication tools in this world. These mediums allow words, thoughts and updates to emerge from war zones and embattled regions, putting victims, journalists and humanitarian activists, on a single page.

It's a new century, we've come a long way with technology, just not humanity.

A recent article by our writer in Egypt, Dr. Ashraff Ezzat, Egypt Revolution - Tweets from Tahrir, blew minds with the dire, clever and historic one-liners defining a political movement we know as 'The Arab Spring'^[1].

Now welcome to 'Tweets from Tamil Eelam', a gathering of Twitter messages, courtesy of The Sri Lanka Campaign, that capture the spirit of the beleaguered Tamil People of Sri Lanka. Their culture suffered a terrible blow; a recent Genocide at the hands of their own government that arose from a bitter, protracted civil war.

Many in this Sinhalese Buddhist-majority country today believe it is, 'time to move on,' and they view the recent developments in the United Nations and growing world interest in the war crime allegations against Sri Lanka as both disturbing and counterproductive, and certainly both points are true.

No matter how you divide the picture...

Sri Lanka can't escape these images.

It would be much better if the people of the north (Tamil Eelam) were still alive and if the tourism industry was flourishing and dollars rolling in.

Instead it is one story after another about continuing human rights violations, ethnic violence, 'white van' disappearances, tourists at beach side resorts being raped, tortured and murdered.

The Rajapaksa brothers, who run this country, didn't worry about the results of their decisions to send forces north to kill the Tamils, at least not initially. They are worried now.

At a war crimes inquiry with the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva this week, Sri Lanka is facing increasing pressure and much of that is presently coming from the United States.

Sri Lanka finally handed over the results of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) last December, after the president sat on it for a full month. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa called for the commission in May 2010, instructing the members to look back at the Sri Lankan Civil War, from 1983 to 2009, and provide recommendations for an era of healing and peace building.

The LLRC has been heavily criticised by the UN Panel of Experts and others due its limited mandate, international human rights groups, Wikipedia explains, allege the LLRC lacks independence and fails to meet minimum international standards or offer protection to witnesses.

It has been suggested that Sri Lankan government officials simply used the commission as a tool to prevent an independent international investigation of alleged abuses^{2}.

Even though thousands of civilian deaths are recorded and documented, the LLRC attributed almost all of the blame to the resistance, the Tamil Tigers, officially known as the LTTE, (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) who George W. Bush and Tony Blair pushed to have labeled as "terrorist"- totally clearing the way for Rajapaksa to unleash his elimination of the Tamils.

Sadly, the results of the LLRC have only been released in English at this point, and this means many people in Sri Lanka and India are unable to read the contents of the report.

The government's final two acts before the killing kicked into overdrive, involved clearing the Tamil region of anyone who could report what they were about to do.

Step one for Rajapaksa's thugs was to Murder and disappear the journalists in Sri Lanka who were sympathetic to the Tamil plight; and it didn't matter if they were Sinhalese, dozens paid the price^[3][4].

Then the United Nations observers on the ground were told they were in a dangerous position and should evacuate, by the Sri Lanka government^[5].

Perhaps the most haunting image from the Ch-4 documentary, she is one of many Tamil victims shown in Sri Lanka's Killing Fields

They were the last hope for the Tamils in avoiding a large scale mass murder.

If the UN would have held its position, keeping its observers in place, many if not all of whom would have stayed, according to the Channel 4 documentary, 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields', the death toll would not have been as high, and the methods employed by the Sri Lankan Army would probably have been less inhumane.

The classifying of the LTTE as terrorists allowed this viscous Genocide to take place, the western powers were successful in eliminating the ability of Sri Lanka's Tamils to represent themselves politically, just like Hamas in Gaza.

Several Human Rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group, refused to appear before the commission over these criticisms.

The only thing that comes through as a result of the more objective, UN investigation, is the consistent finding of very serious war crimes and the orders for these, are said to have come from high in the government.

Shocking photo titled 'After Vanni War 2009' Courtesy: srilankagenocidehistory.blogspot.com

Indeed, little has changed in this so-called 'post war' period. The north is still under military occupation, sex crimes against Tamil women and girls are still extremely common, and people are still missing by the thousand, many held in secret camps, the location of which are not revealed to the public^[6].

Sri Lanka is a beautiful and dangerous place, not the spice laden paradise it once was.

Perhaps the government should have considered the fallout from ethnic cleansing before they performed the act, slaughtering somewhere between 40,000 and 160,000 human beings^[7].

The killing was cruel and cunning, nobody was spared, children were torn into pieces, women were raped and degraded and surrendering forces with white flags were cut down in cold blood^[8].

It is a culture that is truly supposed to understand the concept of 'bad karma' and whether it does or not, the Lankan government of Majinda Rajapaksa is definitely receiving its seeming share of payback.

With the Tweets below from The Sri Lanka Campaign, the related links are live and you can greatly expand your current knowledge of the situation in Lanka by reading the associated pages.

The Tweets...

#HRC19 In just a moment Mahinda Samarsinghe is going to address http://bit.ly/xPJFh8

#HRC19 If you want to hear some of the things Sri Lankans want said but that he won't say read on

#HRC19 don’t believe the hype demand accountability not spin

#HRC19 where are Lalith and Kugan? Activists missing in Jaffna since December 9, witnesses say army took them, http://tinyurl.com/7vbjqux

#HRC19 Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission recommendations not implemented by Sri Lankan Government, http://tinyurl.com/83oktx8

#HRC19 tell Minister Samarasinghe it’s not about “convincing” the international community. It’s about justice

#HRC19 6 years after his son’s murder Dr Manoharan still waits for an independent investigation

#HRC19 Peaceful protester shot dead when Sri Lankan military open fire on demonstrators, http://tinyurl.com/6mde22y

#HRC19 Where is Pradeep Eknaligoda? Lanka-e-News journalist critical of current Sri Lankan government disappeared on 24 Jan. 2010.

#HRC19 did Basil Rajapakse tell US STF killed Trinco 5? US gov. cable released by Wikileaks claims Pres. adviser told US on 3 Oct 2006.

#HRC19 Let #Srilanka govt know you don’t believe their version of #humanrights situation. Pls RT scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Srilanka civil society groups concerned that ‘murder is accepted part of post-war political culture.’ #HRC scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Since 18th session of #HRC extra-judicial executions continue in #Srilanka. scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Srilanka civil society group documents the serious #humanrights violations happening in the country scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 UN Committee against Torture observed in Nov 2011 that torture remains widespread in #Srilanka scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Pl read #Srilanka civil society statement on #humanrights violations there. Statement unsigned for a reason. scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 In 2011 #Srilanka saw upsurge in violence against #women scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Abduction & murder of #Srilanka #humanrights defender Pattani Razeek still unsolved aftr 2yrs scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Srilanka journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda still missing aftr abduction on 24 Jan 2010 scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Frequent cases of torture by #Srilanka Police leaves many scarred, suggests deliberate branding scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 96 cases of torture reported by #Srilanka NGOs in 2011. Given culture of fear, this is an underestimate scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 UN Comittee Against Torture considered intnatnl investig amid concerns#Srilanka investig unreliable scr.bi/A2QEL4

Recent Sri Lanka Human Rights protest Courtesy blogs.ucanews.com

#HRC19 Man in #Srilanka tortured for 2 dys with burning irons whilst under arrest by Police CID scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Srilanka Media Minister says just take fruit for hospitlsed Mr. Kuhanathan, editr of Tamil paper after assault scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 #Srilanka gov blocks 30+ news sites in Jan 2012 scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Man arrested 4 murder of @sundayleaderlk editr Lasantha Wickermatunga dies in custdy Oct 2011 #Srilanka scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 In last 10 yrs, 25 jrnlists flee as #Srilanka ranks 163 in Press Freedm Index @pressfreedom @RSF_RWB scr.bi/A2QEL4

#HRC19 Government of Sri Lanka must publish and implement the 2006 Commission of Inquiry Report

#HRC19 #SriLanka is not credibly investigating torture, http://tinyurl.com/87zc9wc

# When will mother’s of the disappeared get justice? , http://tinyurl.com/6ra9mny

#HRC19 #SriLanka’s long war with the Tamil Tigers ended in 2009 but its legacy of human rights violations continues, http://tinyurl.com/7hf8wtm

#HRC19 Enforced disappearances carried out by members of the security forces continue to be reported in many parts of the country

#Few detainees face proper trials in Sri Lanka, http://tinyurl.com/4msqmoe

#HRC19 No More Make Believe! Tell us about implementation of LLRC recommendations

#HRC19 Why are we campaigning? Because we love Sri Lanka! Here is some good news:

#HRC19 Columbo NGO works hard 4 multicultural coop http://38d.gs/wareproj

#HRC19 Meththa UK Sinhala Dr helps some of the worst-affected victims of #Srilanka war in Tamil area http://38d.gs/meththa

#HRC19 A tribute 2 how people in Jaffna adapted to life amid the chaos of war in #Srilanka http://38d.gs/w5btq7

References:

Visit the Sri Lanka Campaign

^[1] Egypt Revolution - Tweets from Tahrir - Dr. Ashraf Ezzat Salem-News.com

^[2] Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission - Wikipedia

^[3] Two of Sri Lanka's Foulest War Crimes - Tim King Salem-News.com

^[4] Sri Lanka Tamil Genocide: Killing the Messenger - Tim King Salem-News.com

^[5] Tamil Genocide Explored in Sri Lanka's Killing Fields

^[6] Sri Lanka: Tamil refugees plead for help to find missing relatives - Telegraph UK

^[7] Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka Emerges Into Public View - Tim King Salem-News.com

^[8] World Ignores Genocide of Sri Lanka's Tamil Population - Tim King Salem-News.com

Tim King in 2008, covering the Iraq War

Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer.

Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Tim is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from The Associated Press the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs, Electronic Media Association and The Red Cross He worked as a reporter, photojournalist and assignment editor at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon.

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Salem-News.com Writer/Author/Musician Agron Belica, faced many challenges growing up as a rootless street youth, situations so intense that they threatened to destroy him- that is until he rediscovered his Muslim roots a few years ago and turned his life around. In 2008, Agron Belica published his research article, The Revival of the Prophet Yahya, and has caused quite a stir in scholarly circles. In 2009, a new theory was born, The Crucifixion: Mistaken Identity? John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ.

With no formal advanced education, he offers new interpretations of certain key words in the Quran along with his challenging theories about the role of John the Baptist in the Crucifixion and has attracted the attention of well-known scholars in the field of comparative religion, such as Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar, the first American woman to translate the Quran into English, the noted university professor, Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub, and the author and translator, Dr. Jay R. Crook.

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