Comments on: Open Letter to the Government on the Recent Arrests and Detentions

By: jay

jay — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:23:11 +0000

Its very strange to witness the world wide out cry against the mass arrest & lock ups.

Why am i not witnessing any sort of out cry for sucide bombings, day light massacres & butchery

Why am i seeing celebrations on heros day and black tiger days. Why am i hearing british MP’s addressing fallen heros (many of whom are suicide bombers) celebrations

I know why. Road side bombs, suicide killings and day light masscre are a part of freedom struggle.

By: romesh

romesh — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:04:59 +0000

Dont forget these are the kind of acts that help to create terrorism in Srilanka in the first place. When are you going to learn your lessons?, As long as such short sighted and narrow minded people are in power , Srilanka have a long way to go before we see peace returns to this beatiful island

By: mahendra

mahendra — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:25:32 +0000

In a situation like this, where terrorists are all over it is the responsibility of any Governing body to protect its people. If a bomb explosion occurs and innocent civilians get killed & injured all those so civil organisations blame the authorities for not protecting them which happened all these years & still LTTE terrorists continues their brutal attacks everywhere. Therefore these organisations should give every possible assistance to eradicate this menance from this country create a peaceful enviourenment all peace loving people of this country. At the same time it should be the responsibility of the Govt. to protect the civic rights of the people with minimal hazzle to them.

By: Gamunu

Gamunu — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:55:57 +0000

I am disgusted with my government for doing this cruelty to Tamil people.

By: ilaya seran senguttuven

ilaya seran senguttuven — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:05:27 +0000

This humane effort of men and women from all communities, committed to prevent the bigotry and injustice that has eaten into the ruling clique, is one more example there is much space for Sri Lankans to build a united, accomodative and plural society in the future rising above parochial race/religious considerations. I am appalled in this enlightened 21st century there remain among us men and women insensitively trying to re-enact the scenes from
that part of Nazi-dominated Europe during WW2 – events that stand condemned by all humanity today. That this should happen in this land said to be sanctified by the teachings of The Enlightened one AGAIN in a period of a few months baffles the mind.

By: Roger Francis

Roger Francis — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 03:19:50 +0000

Dear Sirs: I will like to highlight a section from an American website about arbitrary arrests. I really worry when “holier than thou” western nations preach about how to react to terrorist attacks that have plagued our nation for over 25 years now. I also want to know why CPA and FMM were strangely silent when the terrorists attacks happened last Wednesday. I agree arrests of this large scale serve no purpose, but can CPA and FMM guarantee that we in Colombo and suburbs are free of Tamil Terrorists? What about measures USA and Britain take when they are faced with terrorist attacks? Will the CPA be liable for damages to life and property if some of t the people released turn out to be terrorists? I did not hear them condemn the terrorist attacks or the suicide cadre attack on a democratically elected TAMIL person in the Cabinet. I am confused.

EXCERPT

WASHINGTON – Measures take by the U.S. administration against Arab and Muslim immigrants after the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against New York and the Pentagon have not only failed to protect U.S. security, but may have made it more vulnerable, according to a major report released here Thursday.

The round-up and detention of more than 1,200 immigrants after the attacks were particularly abusive, says the report by the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute (MPI) an influential think tank.

It said that the government’s efforts to depict some of those who were detained as terrorists were simply wrong. ‘The only charges brought against them were actually for routine immigration violations or ordinary crimes,” concludes the 165-page report, ”America’s Challenge: Domestic Security, Civil Liberties and National Unity After September 11”.

”Many of the policies that have been adopted in the wake of Sep. 11 are an attempt to use immigration as a proxy for anti-terrorism,” said Vincent Cannistraro, a former senior counter-terrorism official in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who is on MPI’s board of advisers and helped prepare the report.

”We haven’t learned anything about pre-empting terrorism in America, but we have intimidated, antagonized and alienated many (minority) communities (which is) counter-productive to what the FBI and other agencies are trying to do,’ he added at the report’s release.

What breakthroughs have been made in identifying and apprehending terrorists have been the result of traditional police and intelligence work and co-operation and information-sharing with foreign intelligence agencies, not from any of the immigration initiatives taken by the administration, says the report, which also includes the most comprehensive compilation of the individuals detained after 9/11 and their experiences. -END EXCERPT

I humbly hope this will awaken the Western Ambassadors who preach to Sri Lanka about their own behaviour.