HearFromYourMP

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• Posted by Meenakshi Parameshwaran, 17:57, Mon 18 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Now that the government has taken control of the whole area, they should allow immediate access to NGOs and to the outside media. The excuse of "safety" concerns are not valid. Also the IDPs should have the free movement and allowed visitation by the relatives and others.

  The free world should demand these and take action against if refused.

• Posted by Steve, 19:38, Mon 18 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Yes, I think we would all like to see the fighting stop and I agree that access should be given to NGO's and the media etc so we can find out the truth.

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 19:58, Mon 18 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  It is sad that innocent civilians are caught up in this war upon terrorism.Every help and intervention possible should be extended at once, and the army should ensure that takes place.

  But one cannot understand when the LTTE raged its ruthless war, no one demanded the intervention of civility to stop them.Did we the civilsed world now, failed in our duty then ?

  The LTTE, described as the world's most ruthless terrorist organisation and built on a mountain of carcasses - Sinhala, Tamil and Indian - now rests solely on the survival of its murderous leader Prbakaran. What does he do when the endgame in the No Fire Zone finally ends? Take his life a-la Adolf Hitler and have his body cremated or crawl sheepishly out of a spider hole, hands held high like Saddam Hussein?

  Anyone who knows this murderous leader who virtually institutionalised suicide attacks as a form of terrorism in the 20th century, says the Tiger supremo will prefer to chew the glass capsule around his neck.

  Prabhakaran, the loneliest man in Sri Lanka today, must envy Osama bin Laden and Sheikh Nasrallah. The al-Qaeda chief is hiding out in the rugged Afghan -Pak tribal regions, away from the airborne drone assassins and special forces of the world's only superpower; Sheikh Nasrallah has continued to elude the Israeli Defence Forces in the ghettoes of Beirut's urban jungle.

  Prabhakaran does not have the luxury of either time or the terrain and even his last shield - thousands of civilians are slipping away. With fewer than 1,000 terrorist Tiger fighters corralled in a tiny patch in the NFZ ringed by the 60,000 advancing Sri Lankan divisions, the grains of sand are fast slipping away in his countdown clock.

  Should the civilised world community not demand him to put down his arms to allow the helpless civilians to be saved?

  If he refuses,what should we do ?

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 20:13, Mon 18 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  It is sad that innocent civilians are caught up in this war upon terrorism.Every help and intervention possible should be extended at once, and the army should ensure that takes place.

  But one cannot understand when the LTTE raged its ruthless war, no one demanded the intervention of civility to stop them.Did we the civilsed world now, failed in our duty then ?

  The LTTE, described as the world's most ruthless terrorist organisation and built on a mountain of carcasses - Sinhala, Tamil and Indian - now rests solely on the survival of its murderous leader Prbakaran. What does he do when the endgame in the No Fire Zone finally ends? Take his life a-la Adolf Hitler and have his body cremated or crawl sheepishly out of a spider hole, hands held high like Saddam Hussein?

  Anyone who knows this murderous leader who virtually institutionalised suicide attacks as a form of terrorism in the 20th century, says the Tiger supremo will prefer to chew the glass capsule around his neck.

  Prabhakaran, the loneliest man in Sri Lanka today, must envy Osama bin Laden and Sheikh Nasrallah. The al-Qaeda chief is hiding out in the rugged Afghan -Pak tribal regions, away from the airborne drone assassins and special forces of the world's only superpower; Sheikh Nasrallah has continued to elude the Israeli Defence Forces in the ghettoes of Beirut's urban jungle.

  Prabhakaran does not have the luxury of either time or the terrain and even his last shield - thousands of civilians are slipping away. With fewer than 1,000 terrorist Tiger fighters corralled in a tiny patch in the NFZ ringed by the 60,000 advancing Sri Lankan divisions, the grains of sand are fast slipping away in his countdown clock.

  Should the civilised world community not demand him to put down his arms to allow the helpless civilians to be saved?

  If he refuses,what should we do ?

• Posted by Ian Cox, 22:03, Mon 18 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Events have overtaken your question. The legitimate army is victorious, the Tamil Tiger leader and his last-ditch fighters reportedly slain and celebrations taking place in the capital. The humanitarian crises remains, of course. The refugees are being held in what can only be described as concentration camps. Not only do those people need supplies and medical aid, but also the international community must ascertain whether the army is making reprisals against men it suspects were Tamil Tiger fighters. There may be torture and executions taking place in secret. Now that the fighting is over, there is no valid excuse for excluding the international community. So now is the time to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government to open the region for international aid. Reporters too.

• Posted by Meenakshi Parameshwaran, 09:40, Tue 19 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Yes, I agree with the previous statement and would hope that the British government would continue to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government to behave appropriately and exercise restraint in their dealings with all people, regardless of whether or not Sri Lanka listened to our, or others', appeals in the past. In the long-term a political solution i.e. a separate state for the Tamils, is what is needed to ensure that the same type of conflict does not arise again. Should Britain be willing and able to broker the talks that must talk place, I would be very much in support.

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 20:20, Tue 19 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  My question is how many more separate states would the British Government insist on upon many other ex colonies to avoid "such conflicts" in future.

  Such conflicts are not the legacy of the British empire, but the willingness of many from the old colonies to go out in search of pastures new.We cannot over rule that as a major factor.

  As an ex subject from the colonies, I CHOSE to come to the UK.It is not because of the british colonial empire, but because I saw new opportunities here.I can choose to go back, not because of anyone, but because I chose to do so.

  If Britain takes upon itself to solve "such conflicts" and sats up the precedent for a separate Tamil Elaam in Sri Lanka, will it also act fairly and squarely and with similar humanitarian conviction to sat up a separate state for the Sikhs in Northern India?

  After all,it is a fact that the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab was captured by the British illegitimately through betrayal, subsequently snatched from the last Sikh infant Prince Maharajah Dalip Singh- and made part of the British Empire, is an act of gross injustice to the Sikh people.

  Will the British Government also take up this issue to sat up a separate Sikh state now, if such precedent is sat up in Sri Lanka?Next it would Northern Ireland, then Scotland ...where would such stop?Fiji,Malaysia or Guyana?

  If all these countries have learnt to have their multi racial populations live side by side peacefully so can and should the tamil and sinahala people within one island.

  In Sri Lanka talks must take place on humanitarian grounds-both sides need to behave and act civilisedly and learn to live together.That is as far as the role of the British government could be.

  It has no responsibilty to sat up separate states for any one-if it does ... a can of worms will open up, that would not help Britian at all.

• Posted by Roger Baxter, 00:14, Wed 20 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Absolutely agree with the comment "The Tamil people must be allowed to live in peace and freedom."

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 11:56, Wed 20 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Posted by Roger Baxter, 01:14 today: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Absolutely agree with the comment "The Tamil people must be allowed to live in peace and freedom."

  I would add at once ..."The Tamil and SINHALA people must be allowed to live in peace and freedom."

  It has two sides, not simply the tamil.

• Posted by Meenakshi Parameshwaran, 12:10, Wed 20 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  I would further note on that point that if the LTTE is no longer a threat, then the Sinhala people will be allowed to live in peace and freedom.

  The case for the Tamils is not so simple. Systematic marginalisation and discrimination across all aspects of society (including politial, educational, and civil rights) needs to be addressed so that Tamil people can enjoy the same privileges as the Sinhalese citizens.

  With regards to a "snowballing" of states demanding separation, it is important to remember the unique situations of each country. In the case of Sri Lanka, as mentioned earlier there is systematic discrimination against the Tamil people, which justifies the call for a separate state. I am sure the Tamil and Sinhalese people could learn to live together peacefully side by side if they were actually treated the same - but they are not, and that is the problem.

  In the case of the Punjab region, if similar discrimination was carried out by the Indian government and larger society against the Punjabi Sikhs after Indian independence, and if it reached the terrible stage of there being a similar 26-year long conflict (with all the associated years of atrocities being committed by both sides, and the many thousands of deaths of civilians on both sides), and then if a desire for separation was voiced by the Punjabi Sikhs after such suffering, and if it would bring peace to the land afterwards, then I would certainly hope the British government would support their pleas and help broker a deal.

• Posted by Bob Draper, 06:48, Sat 23 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Sorry Lee, I disagree with much of your message. I am pleased that the Sri Lankan government has pressed forward to end the war. If your view was applied to all conflicts then we were seriously in error in the second world war. Of course all civilian casualties are to be regreted but my perception is that the Tamils are the guilty parties here. They started this conflict. Another little known fact is that they have connections with Al qaeda. I am wondering why the west is showing so much interest in this conflict when other atrocious wars seem to be largly ignored. Addmitly small scale but a civilian was beheaded by moslem separatists in the Philippines this week and that event was mostly ignored by western journalists as are most of the atrocities committed by the Al qaeda based group there. Why is this? Is it because Sri Lanka has some strategic importnce to the west? Another interesting fact about Tamils is that many of them are moslems who refuse to acknowledge their Tamil heritage. Clearly there is potential for further conflict here which will not be the fault of the Sri Lankan government. However, I hope that now they are back in control the situation will be more peaceful for all the people.

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 21:58, Sat 23 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Dear Mr Scott,

  Considering that the LTTE has been established to be a terrorist organisation based upon it's factual history, and is as capable and deadly as the Al-Qaeda, should Britain be really now taking the role of a "broker" in this conflict?

  Perhaps we can now hear what are your views about this topic, having received a number of replies on the your views.

• Posted by Meenakshi Parameshwaran, 10:57, Mon 25 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Yes, I agree, it would be good to hear your views Mr Scott.

  However, it is shame that again the Tamil people are being confused with the LTTE. The peace deal to be brokered would presumably be between the minority Tamil people and the Sinhalese majority government. The LTTE do not have to be involved in such a peace deal.

  It is important to recognise that the Tamil people have legitimate grievances against their marginalised treatment by consecutive chauvinistic Sinhalese governments. While the LTTE may have sprung out of these grievances, their methods are not to be condoned. But this does not mean that the desires of the Tamil people should not be considered either. The Tamil people want to live freely and as equals in their own country - this is a justified aspiration that deserves support.

  Regarding connections to Al-Qaeda, again, this is a comment solely about the LTTE, not the thousands of ordinary Tamil civilians and their relationship with the Government of Sri Lanka. Tamil civilians are not extremists and as such, associating them with Al-Qaeda is unjustified and lacking factual support.

  Finally, the points about Islam are irrelevant and actually quite offensive if the suggestion is that a group's religious orientation should dictate whether or not they should be helped. In fact, 80% of Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindu. The remaining 20% are predominantly Catholic and Protestant. It appears that the Sri Lankan Moor population is being confused with the native ethnic Tamils. In any case, religion should have nothing to do with whether or not Britain is involved in brokering peace in a war-torn former colony.

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 22:31, Mon 25 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  There is absolutely no confusion about the tamil people and the LTTE -but that most tamils seem to take pride in LTTE being their representative is never far from a reallity.

  In the recent past days the nearing demise of the LTTE stirred great emotions and encouraged the breaking of laws on the streets of London is the proof in the pudding.No decent person can support a terrorist outfit one day and expect magically humane transformation the next day, because they picked the wrong hand of cards.It takes time to heal the anger, frustration etc.

  THE debate over whether Tamil Tigers Velupillai Prabhakaran, one of the most ruthless and audacious guerrilla commanders in modern history, is alive or dead will probably never end. Variously known as the Sun God, and Thambi (little brother), Prabhakaran, 54, will probabaly live on in the hearts of a new generation of Tigers who may now emerge, who will not give the TAMILS a chance to negotiate peace.Peace can never be negotiated with the threats of a gun or savagery as displayed by the LTTE killing machine; and reacted in return by the allegedly Sri Lankan army.

  Prabhakaran was the embodiment of the tactical dexterity of Afghanistan’s Ahmad Shah Masoud, the cruelty of Osama bin Laden and the passion of Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara. A lifelong devotee of Hollywood, he once cited Clint Eastwood as his role model. He watched action movies for inspiration, often using them as a training tool in Tiger camps.

  His bloodstained efforts embraced every form of warfare, ranging from large scale battles to the ambushes of classic insurgency tactics, to urban terrorism, complete with suicide bombings. He terrorised the island and even neighbouring powerhouse India, perfecting the recruitment and use of suicide bomber units before al-Qaeda existed.

  It can never be erased that LTTE was a terrorist outfit, but one that deceived many diplomats, while crying wolf about the civilians , it took opportunities such as that to kil, maim and blow up people in the name of the tamil people.

  The questions comes back... discrimination ...discrimination..that also takes place in UK, it was seen in the USA and it is seen in India, also within castes there, but laws should be erected through a parliamentary process to ensure all Sri Lankan citizens are treated equally and fairly.

  Perhaps the onus now falls upon the sensible Tamils, now to walk the extra mile to bring peace to their island and people; enssuring no return to the new killer terrorists who may emerge yet again

  The desire to live as part of a free people of a nation should be for all people.One small segment cannot black mail the majority by the barrel of a gun as LTTE did for the last 25 years.

  This issue is an internal affair of Sri Lanka, and should be allowed to be handled peacefully internally, so the Tamil and Sinhala can learn to live in peace.Learn to live they must, just as the Chinese, Tamils, and Malays do in Malaysia, Singapore, The Indians and Fijin in the Fiji; the Indians and Blacks in Guyana.

  What is so difficult for the Sri lankans of the tamil descent?It rests upon the willingingness to ..or not to.

  But ..yes Mr Scott, we are awaiting to hear your learned opinion here!!

• Posted by Bob Draper, 06:54, Tue 26 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  In reply to Meenakshi Parameshwaran, my comments about the religious makeup is based on information from Wikipedia. May I suggest that if you disagree with the figures stated there regarding the number of moselems in the Tamil community that you edit the entry with the correct information. There seems to be a parallel here with Northern Ireland where the minority catholic community had a grievence about their alleged poor treatment. In both cases the way to sort this out is through the political process with maybe demonstations etc. Guerrila warefare is not the answer.

• Posted by Meenakshi Parameshwaran, 10:16, Wed 27 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  In reply to Bob Draper: thank you for explaining where you found your figures. Having looked up Sri Lankan Tamil people in Wikipedia, the religious section notes that "[i]n 1981, about eighty percent of Sri Lankan Tamils were Hindus who followed the Shaiva sect". This reference is from a Library of Congress Study on Sri Lanka. I am unable to find any information in this Wikipedia article about Muslims in the Tamil commmunity.

  I very much agree with your statement about political processes rather than guerrilla warfare being the means with which to sort out some of the problems in Sri Lanka, which is why having Britain broker a peace deal would help reach and entrench a long-lasting political solution rather than risking a potential return to violence by some extremists.

  In reply to Mr GS Dhaliwal: regarding living peacefully in Sri Lanka - the Tamil civilians are willing to do this but the persistence of discrimination is the problem. Certainly "laws should be erected through a parliamentary process to ensure all Sri Lankan citizens are treated equally and fairly" but in the past 60-odd years of Sinhalese rule and conflict this has not happened. As such it appeas that it is not so much the Tamils who are unwilling to "walk the extra mile" but the Government who is stopping them.

• Posted by Bob Draper, 05:58, Thu 28 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  In reply to Meenakshi Parameshwaran. The link is: 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_people' under the section entitled 'Sri Lankan Tamils'.

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 23:16, Thu 28 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  It is also a fact, that when the British were in power in Sri Lanka , the Tamil community did not have much to complain as they were given preference in all administrative positions , and they were represented beyond their actual numbers.

  On independance, the majority naturally felt that this should be reversed in the national interests, and others given an equal opportunity.A fair move.

  One must recall exactly how much time was given to the legitimate majority government of Sri lanka to allow to a fairer system inclusive of the Tamil rights and equality?

  History tells us not much time considering it took the US blacks 200 years;while Britain took 30 years, and Fiji Islands & Malaysia are still struggling to this day to get it right for all communities.

  In the words of the writer Meenakshi, "60 years of persistence discrimination"-but what she forgot to tell is- more than 30 years of that included the bloodied killings of Sinahala, Tamil muslims and Tamils who opposed violence, excluding the government servants ranging from soldiers to police to civil servants etc.

  The LTTE emerged in early 1970s as one of the more than 30 tamil separatist movements.It means even in the initial twenty years of Sri Lankan independence the tamils had adopted the path of violence.[the presence of 30 separatist groups cannot be an over night production of events]When any legitimate Government is faced with violence, how can it pay attention to the needs of the people?The violent tamil approach was counter productive, naturally.

  In fact the LTTE was so bloodied and violent that it is beyond any civil measuring yardstick, it even eliminated tamil members of the more than 30 other tamil separatist groups.It has shown it had no respect for members its own community, how could one expect it to behave civilly with the Sri lankan government to agree to a parliamenatry process to resolve amicably the issues of concern?

  Now,the spider at the centre of the web of tamil terrorist evility has been wiped out, perhaps the 'unwilling' tamils will be more willing to realise it is in their interests to walk the extra mile,without fear of bloody violent reprisals from the dead terrorists.

  Perhaps, nations with experience of national intergration of multi comnmunities can help the tamil and others understand the importance of living together , united in national dreams and aspirations.

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 23:21, Thu 28 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  The paragraph below should have read as :-

  In the words of the writer Meenakshi, "60 years of persistence discrimination"-but what she forgot to tell is- more than 30 years of that included the bloodied killings by the tamil separatist groups and the LTTE of Sinahala, Tamil muslims and Tamils who opposed separatist violence including the government servants ranging from soldiers to police to civil servants etc.

• Posted by Meenakshi Parameshwaran, 09:44, Fri 29 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  In reply to Bob Draper: Thanks, I will have a look.

  In reply to Mr GS Ghaliwal:

  The actions of the British with regards to their treatment of the different ethnic groups in Sri Lanka is not adequate justification for the subsequent discrimination of the Tamils by Sinhalese-majority governments. Such "tit-for-tat" behaviour is unfair because it wasn't the Tamils who discriminated against the Sinhalese. Even if that were the case, a democratically elected government should be representing all the people and trying to address all their needs. Discrimination is not in national interests, but rather in-line with the interests and the preferences of the majority group.

  The time that the Sri Lankan government has had to implement a more inclusive system has been more than enough. This is government that came into existence in the 20th century, where international standards for equality and democracy are high, and where precedents have been set for how UN and Commonwealth members states should behave. Sri Lanka does not need to make all the mistakes by itself - it can learn from the experiences of other countries.

  The GoSL calls itself a democratically elected government and as such is meant to represent the people. The fact of the matter is that it does not represent all its people or treat them equally, and it does so out of choice.

  Once again, the LTTE is being used as a reason not to help the Tamil people. The LTTE's actions cannot be justified and they should not be involved in the brokering of any kind of peace deal. However it has been noted that they were "one of the more than 30 separatist Tamil movements". It is clear from this that Tamil people have political aspirations and want a voice. This should be a political voice that is actually listened to and heard. Having Britain broker a peace deal will help both sides listen to each other and address the grievances of the groups. It is a country that has many years of experience of uniting different ethnic groups - experience which Sri Lanka can certainly learn from.

  The LTTE do not have to be involved in a political solution but the Tamil people do.

• Posted by Philip Mano, 16:46, Tue 2 June 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Let us help to get freedom for Tamils in Sri lanka in their native land. The international community must do it now in order to avoid bloodshed for generations.

• Posted by Mr GS Dhaliwal, 17:48, Sat 6 June 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Let us help the Sikhs get Freedom in the Punjab.Let us help the Romanys get freedom.Let us help the South African whites get freedom from South African Blacks.Let us help, the tibetans, The Christians in Southern Sudan, the Pattani Malays in South Thailand [history tells us Britian cauld also be accused of the dividsion of tehir states], let us help the Indians in Malaysia get their indepedance, let us help the Chinese in Malaysia, Let us help the Muslims in Southern Phillipines,the supremist Whites in the Southern states of US, let us help the BNP supporters get their piece of white England, let us help the Welsh get their own...the question is which one shall we start first with ?

  Certainly not with the terrorist supporters who give threats of bloodshed for generations to come.Have they thought, there is a way to wipe out these blood banks as shown in the defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka.It is eveident enough they do not want peace.Perhaps not, UK has no bussines in setting up homes for the rest of the world on political grounds.We need to sat our own house in order , as things stand currently.

  I want a home for the pigeons in Trafalgar Square-known as Trafalagar land republic of Pigeonstan.I want Southall declared the Indian republic of UK.

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