Well Said Kusal. Thank you for making this point.
Could someone please translate this and publish in Sinhala?

Only charity these IDPs need is freedom to be where ever they want to be. If they have no place to go, then run a voluntary refugee camp. I hope all Sinhalese who want peace in a united Sri Lanka will fight to close these camps immediately.

Kusal perera...............

Nobody from the Southern polity urged the LTTE to wage a war with a sovereign government.
Neither did anyone urge the Pro LTTE Intl Diaspora to pour in millions of Dollars to the so0 called representatives of the Tamils, the LTTE & to their coffers to arm them to the teeth to annhilate a sovereign government.

What percentage of Tamils lived in the North???
Majority of the Tamils reside either outside the North or Overseas.
Then, for whom was this eelam to be achieved??
For the LTTE'ers, Intl Diaspora, Local politicians and to certain IC with hidden agenda.........

These IDPs became refugees was not of their own but forced into it to serve the chauvanistic aspirations
of the above......
Why blame the GOSL or anyone who was not a party to their predicament.

Yes... there was a war.. bombs rained and the GOSL had a responsibility to do anything to make the state unitary as this was the aspiration of the majority community.

Those vultures & conspirators were overcomed. And the end result was IDPs. But those Vultures and Conspirators have yet not given up. Those very people in thia group who shed tears for the sufferings of the Tamils in IDP camps are the very people whyo funded the LTTE to break up the state.

IDPs nor the Tamils residing elsewhere in the South did not want a seperate state.
Then who wanted ?
International pro-LTTe diaspora, hidden hand of the IC or a Bunch of Youth ???????

Why was not the LTTE sincere with Ranil Wickramasinghe's Peace overtures? Why did they the LTTe and the Intl. Diaspora accept what was offered then but instead re-armed themselves? Nobody, not aware??????????

Why blame the GOSL after LTTE with serious provocations took the fight to the GOSL after 2002. Slaughtered villages and brutal killings, where was Kusal perera?

Now, these IDPs have been rescued & the LTTe decimated. Let the GOSL attend to them with their limited capability. Those Diaspora who poured millions of dollars on weapons procurement maintains a deafening silence with their hands tightly in their pockets & blind to the sufferings of their own kith *& kin whom they are responsible of creating.

Therefore, the IDPs will have to wait untill the GOSL screen them all and complete demining. Let those who want to assist the IDPs go ahead and do it. It is an experience on compassion & a lesson they learn first hand. Let the GOSL do whatever possible within their means as not only the IDPs but there are many other citizens they need to focus on to help them get on their feet.

In the meantime, the GOSL has a responsibility to keep the vultures at bay.
I am positive, the GOSL would do whatever necessary within their means to settle these IDPs.

GOSL should not be shaken by these crocodile tears with hidden agedas that pour in each and everyday pointing the accusing fingure.

the Vultures and Diasporas should know they were responsible for the IDP situation of today.
They need to await their turn of RETRIBUTION for any suffering these IDPs undergo.

get down to positive work where you could assist these IDPs and do not deter what others do.

This IDPs are a creation of pro Tamil Intl Diaspora who funded the LTTE for their selfish gains and use the LTTE as a means of a vehicle for their existence.

Country needs more voice like yours to bring the truth out. Majority of the Sri Lankans do not understand the aftermath of the war and their ignorance is benefiting the Government to abuse the power.

Writers with imagination can really twist and turn. The Victors are sri lankans. The Vanquished were Terrorists. Why should one substitute Sinhalese and Tamils respectively for those groups? The average resident in the North and East in a way was responsible for the plight in that he/she did not oppose the Terrorists. This may be out of fear. However, everybody should now take in to his head never to support gun weilders in future and bring upon himself a similar fate. Thankfully there will be no further loss of life due to 'war'. If as the writer wishes we did not engage in this 'war' how many more lives would continue to be lost in many decades to come? Would one not choose the lesser of the evils? I am talking about a 'reasonable person'.

A typical article to shrug responsibility.

It’s pretty clear as to who's responsible for the plight of these civilians. They got themselves into this mess by backing a terrorist group. Now when paying the consequence of their actions all people such as yourself start to vomit out this trash.

The reason as to why all of the 'Sinhala Buddhist' going there has absolutely nothing to do with any sort of guilt, more rather to help our fellow countrymen who were harassed by a deranged maniac named Prabakaran.

Now that that maniac is over and done with, as soon as the remaining bunch of terrorist are weeded out and the northern area is demined, everybody will be free to go about their business. You bloody well can't expect to let this people go to an area that is heavily mined by terrorist; imagine the amount of poor people that would die.

Kusal is right in pointing out that it's only the Sinhala Buddhist who had been providing aid and visiting the camps to help these people, because, other than funding terrorist, we haven’t see the Tamil Diaspora lift a finger to help these people.

I have never seen a bigger bunch of Racist than the Tamil people. Honestly! We are at a time in our lives where racism is given a back seat and we all become a single people free of Race, Cast & Creed. It’s about time that this people get with the program and stop all of this Race based nonsense.

I might sound racist, but just want to drive home a point and show who's doing what.

For those who are inclined to call me a Sinhala Racist, I'd like to point out that am together with a Tamil girl and we've been living together happily for a number of years. While my Sinhala friends had been very supportive, the Tamilians that we had known had a hard time plating us.

This charity is like feeding the animals in a zoo. What these people should be given is to have their fundemental rights restored, not be part of a circus to clean our blood stained consciences.
As the writer says we are all part of this by the misuse of our tax money and having kept silent fo this tragedy to happen.

...
It’s the typical, petty, Sinhala Buddhist mindset of the middle level village trader that froths as usual, even among the urban middle class. The mindset of the Trader who exploits the whole village the whole year through and then donates a basket of charity for the village "Dan-sela" during Wesak, to become the most "Sath-gunawath Mudalali Mahathtaya" (Most humane and pious Gentleman Trader) in the village.
...

You nailed it on the head Kusal.

Hope your message would reach to all the Sinhalese soles.

Buthu Saranai...

Buddhism has nothing to do with the Tamil Problem. The Tamil problem is essentialy a problem between the sinhalese and tamils.The majority of the sinhalese just happen to be buddhists. This anti Buddhist rhetoric that continues to flow is a part of the christian movements plan to discredit the native religeon.The present problems of the IDPs have been created by the people who funded and supported the war. ie India/RAW,Tamil diaspora and the west from where the diaspora collected the money, the christian church who aided and abetted. Interestingly it was the 14% Tamil christians who dominated the LTTE. The SL govt responded to the threat against the attack on its soverignity.What has buddhism got to do in this conflict.

Hard hitting and slightly dramatised but SO TRUE ! Unfortunately the Buffaloes that make up the majority voter of this country (and it includes all ethnicities including the Tamils who didn't vote on Prabhakaran's orders) will never understand this, at least not in our generation.

Translation and publication in SInhala is a MUST, please.

Mr. "Perera" seems to have forgotten that the the mass murderer, Velupillai Prabakaran, used these 300,000 civilians as human shields to cowardly defend himself against the Sri Lankan army.

Where was Mr. "Perera" when the LTTE terrorists killed and maimed thousads upon thousands of Sri Lankan civilians of all ethnic groups and religions for over thirty years? Finally, the Government of Mahinda Rajapakse was able to defeat an organization labelled the most "ruthless and brutal" terrorist regime by the FBI

At least the Sinhalese Buddhist majority of Sri Lanka are not as pea brained. They are staying true to their religion by helping people in need.

It seems to me that the Sinhala Buddhist just cannot win. Whatever he does, however altruistic, is viewed with suspicion. Even the most generous SB is suspected of ulterior motives by the writer.

We as Sinhalese do not support keeping anyone in camps. Not matter hwat their ethnic background is.

But:

1. The areas that these people come from MUST be de-mined. 100%

2.All hazardous material must be removed.

3.All LTTE and militia arms MUST be searched and destroyed.

4. Proper documentation and identity has to be established.

5. Then they must be re-settled.

THESE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE KEPT IN ANY CAMP ANY LONGER THAN IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for the above mentioned reasons.

I think there can be different approaches to help IDPs to make their life better in camps and get back to their land.Political approach is only a one, not the only one. Nothing wrong in helping IDPs by young volunteers.. At this moment it is the church and affiliated organisations collecting and sending what ever they can to IDP camps, not Colombo middle class. and I know how difficult to collect basic thinks to be sent to IDP camps. Many young people who go and work as volunteers do it in good faith and it helps. what they do may be a lighting a candle in darkness... why should we discourage them.. we need a holistic approach, a political campaign for their rights and organise support while gov and international organisations get their act together.. and many other activities, they should not be mutually exclusive ..

Its just not a question of allowing the people to leave the camps and go where they wish.Have you ever thought about the last thirty odd years when terrorists from this group killed and maimed the innocent people of srilanka. What about the hard group of killers in these camps.One can see from the behavior of the so called diaspora who are involved in violant behavior in australia,england canada and other countries where they have taken there vile behavior to.We say every one of these IDPs and everyone from this ethnic group and people who are suspect in supporting them must be weeded out and not allowed to spill any more blood in the future.So please do not cry for keeping these people in detention for they and their kind in the rest of the world are still a threat to srilanka.

Quote 'They are all ordinary Sri Lankan citizens, who would not have ended up in such agonising tragedy, if the South was willing to allow a democratic answer to the conflict, which was political. They are all SL citizens who are now herded behind barbed wire fences and they need not be devastated and broken lives in thousands, if the South, the Sinhala Buddhists in particular did not want that to happen.' Unquote.

May be all these years Kusal Perera's head was buried deep in Prabhakaran's .....hole, or perhaps your senses may have had a break down the last 30 yrs.

There is definitely a huge problem with the IDP camps and we need to resettle them soon as possible.
But that does not mean you suddenly forget all the reasons why LTTE needed to be defeated militarily changes. For god sake we all know how much peace negations failed and how much damage LTTE did during this time, so please before writing think in all angles!!!

Closing the "Camps" must be the only course of action, but this being the brain-work of a militaristic SF-GR duo, no amount of political-wise
thoughts can over-ride them, even with the delayed
IMF bowl. These two have a personal agenda
against Tamils, due to the attempted assainations
they will never forget. They wish to demoralise all
Vanni residents to terrorise them to Vote as they
want in the future - the hidden agenda for the so
called "home-grown" solution, easily achieveable with
50,000 recruits planned. What a wonderful era of
white-vanning political-space granted to its citizens!!
What is this Democracy, as even the elected M.PP are
prohibited from visiting Camps, on various feeble
excuses, of a glorified Public Servant.

Although I agree with this writer on his analysis on the IDP situation and the southerners attitude towards the people stuck in these camps, I do not agree at all with all else.

The writer seems bent on pointing the finger at the sinhalese buddhists as the cause of the problem ignoring well known facts. I dont believe that any result that will benefit the people in the IDP camps will surface by such callous writing.

It was not the tax payers money that nurtured the LTTE for 30 years and it was the LTTE that never agreed to any thing less than a seperated nation and killed many innocents. Do not forget the hard facts in analysing situations and please dont let your heart do the thinking.

Mitt, thank you for posting the comment.

Why can't people have some patience. This is not first world, only third world. Unless we change our ways (especially the waste and mismanagement at the top)we will be so for a long time to come. People who are impatient forget that the majority of these IDPs have been uprooted long time ago by the LTTE ( and their supporters including some of the clergy) to leave their homes and move with the tigers.

So after years of being used as shields, when they escape to the government side, do you expect them to be left out to fend for themselves. If that happened, all these bleeding hearts would be singing a different tune. So please, if you can help in whatever way, to ease the burden of the IDPs do so. Otherwise, just keep quiet and let the authorities continue with their work to re-settle the IDPs.

You are right Kusal. Did you read Kohuwana's article. What a twist cunning manipulative article. There is not even a bit of sincerity. Kusals and Bahus are very very rare.
Hence is the truth that a two nation solution is the right and fair one. Ask Lord Buddha even. Let us all work for it.

not all sinhala leaders openly stated about the sinhala mindsets.

BUT JR jeywardana said it.

I am not worried about the opinion of the Tamil people. Now we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion. The more you put pressure on the north, the happier the Sinhala people will be here. Really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy . (Quoted in Daily Telegraph, UK 11th July 1983)

today Mahinda Know too well , even this is the case even today.

An easy way to identify a biased report

If you find the words 'barbed wires' within the first few sentences in an article written on Tamil people in IDP camps, I guarantee you that it is full of rubbish, how hard they try to show otherwise.

Did Kusal use the words 'barbed wire'?

Don;t just balme sinhalese or the majority govt. but blame the tamil diaspora who promoted and financed war and destruction for 25yrs...

You have blood on your hands too people who supported seperatism & violence.

When these IDPs were suffering under the LTTE claws and didn't even have any freedom to voice thier grievences for more than a decade... did anyone of you care...

Please don't curse the darkness but light a candle. I don't know where you live... in SL or abroad... but you don't seem to overcome your own bitterness and racism and shows immaturity in your biased writings.

You people are afraid that these mislead and misinformed prisnors of the LTTE few months ago will have a change of mind about the sinhala people and thier generosity towards the tamils... so that all the misinformation fed by the LTTE and the hatered planted in the hearts of these trapped tamils will change.

Please wake up to the need of the hour. Until the process of rehabilitaion to thier own home take place they need help from charity.

Only positive steps any one who genuinely care for the freedom of the IDPs should help to expedite to clear the stumbling blocks that prevent resettlement of the civillians in north and east. Find out the real facts of what prevents/delay them from doing so without blaming sinhala budists or the govt.

It is very easy for folks like Kusal to pontificate about the tragedy of IDPs without confronting the fact that the terrorist Tigers who drove these people from their homes were the main cause of this are still hiding among them.

The responsibility of the government is to release and resettle these people after a screening, and making sure that their villages are free from land mines and bombs planted by the fleeing Tigers. Doing all this takes time, while the IDPs are kept in camps.

I have not heard Kusal or others who critique the government present a practical alternative considering all these complexities, except provide very naive emotional outbursts, followed quickly by foolish Tiger diaspora who are happy to pipe in with their two cents.

Kusal,
I could feel the anger and pain in your article .This is an enlightened soul who sees human beings as human beings, not along any man made divisions.
SL is in transformation more and more people have to be proactive.Civic responsibilities has to be full filled.Mere elections and governance doesn't automatically become true full fledged democracies.The elected governments should be held accountable by the same people who elected them.The elected representative should be made to understand that they are public servants elected by people to serve them .Not the other way around.
I agree and hope some one will translate and publish these articles in all local vernacular print media.This is true nation building and reconciliation.
One question begS an answer, why didn't the president create a national reconciliation council and entrust the job? This will not only take the burden from him ,will open the way for shouldering responsibility and accountability.I hear he had created an APC as of yesterday.Again no details on functions and responsibilities.
Participatory democracy should be encourage not discouraged.Citizen advocacy should be encouraged not trampled upon.
GoSL need to learn and understand the word transparency and accountability.

Kusal,
I've seen few of your articels in the past.
Unfortunately, they were loaded with baseless complains on your mother land
and Sinhalese people.
All of them implied ...
- you never liked buddhist people of Sri Lanka.
Unfortunately, it's unrealistic to think of a Sri Lanka without buddhism.
- you were never happy about being a southerner.
Unfortunately you are and you cant change that.
- you never happy being a Sinhalese.
Which is Unfortunate for Sri Lanka.
- you were not happy to see Seperatists being defeated.
and ...etc etc

Do you really belong to Sri Lanka?
Readers will decide.

The only one trying to lay the Guilt Trip on the Sinhalese is you... The people supported this war because they wanted an END to this WAR. WAR MEANS CASUALTIES.... Please try to understand that simple Fact. People Like Mr. Perera continue to Jabber about the predicament of these Tamil IDPs but when they were under the Brutal Rule of the LTTE, they had a Never ending subjugation of the following:

1). Forced Conscription of Family for War including Children.
2). Taxation without Representation.
3). ZERO Freedom of Speech
4). ZERO Political Representation.
5). ZERO Freedom of movement.

Mr. Perera does not squeak a word about that. Somehow their Predicament before was better,...? Is that what you are saying?

He only says the Sinhalese are to Blame for this temporary situation now? He also says nothing about the LTTE who put these people in this situation in the first place...?

First of all I would like to tell you Kusal, that these IDP's uprooted by LTTE not by government or forces. When the army marching forward, LTTE need the protection from army,so these civilians used as a human shield for the last ten months or so.Your weakness is you don't see the misdeed of LTTE, and what they have done to their own people.You only put the blame on to government and Sinhala Buddhists.

The people in South collecting and distributing funds and relief to IDP's not to pacify what you called Sinhala Buddhist 'guilt'.It is because compassion which we buddhist have in their mind even for an enemy.It is a habit we buddhist nurtured in our minds from centuries.And it is not Mudalali's but common people that collecting funds and relief for IDP's.

Finally I would like to tell you nobody told that this country is Gautama Buddhas land.Don't insult our religious leader.THIS IS A SINGHALA LAND WHICH ONCE CALLED 'SINHALE'. The way you wrote,I can understand that you have grudge against Buddhism.And you are non other than sinner of one Christian NGO which funded by West.{These NGO's which funded and nurtured LTTE to eliminate Sinhala buddhists.}

Kusal, Please run for office. Sri Lanka needs leaders with a strong ethical sense. This is why the country has been in trouble for so long. This is really heartwrenchingly sensitive, and true. Thanks for writing this.

.
This reminds me, in 2005, LTTE sending relief supplies to Tsunami victims in the South.
.
:-)

Well thought out and heartfelt work.

Every word is true. Able to see through collective action and deep routed reasoning.

Translating it into Singhala is a good idea. But publish where? The media is all but subdued by brutality.

Can't see a future for mother lanka.

Future is dark indeed.

Good on you Kusal,
Beautifully written with the truth. Best article I have ever read in the blog. If only people like Kusal run the SL government, we would lead the world by example. Kusal, you touched my heart. THANK YOU. Please translate in Sinhala and pass onto follow sinhala brothers & sisters. Take Care Kusal
Regards,
Fellow Sri Lankan

Hello Kusal,
Agreed.Many thanks.It is not just guilt,it ought to be morbid guilt.There are many ways to purge it.The monks should be able to help.Start with one by one,Champika Ranawaka,Sarath Fonseka,the list may be endless but earlier the treatment better the out-come.This day and age even stupidity is treatable and am sure that we should be able to tackle morbid guilt.
Cheers,Siva.

The thousands - some estimate 20,000 - bodies in the No Fire Zone have probably been buried in the ready made graves called bomb craters ( shown in satellite photos )and the zone 'sanitized' for future visiters.

There is a report that the president has "no objection" to the IDPs migrating to canada,UK and other countries.This is shocking. Why should they migrate/seek asylum? They must go back to their ancestral lands. They have lived amidst & alongside "minefields" for several years. Therefore, the excuse that they must be in these camps until minefields are cleared ( this will take many months or even years ) does not sound sincere.

The committee of 19 to plan their future has not a single tamil member - official or unofficial.The 2008 ruling by the supreme court to resettle those displaced by the 'high security zones' is completely disregarded. Is there a plan to 'sinhalicise' the area by colonisation? The Roman Catholic First Lady is reported to have taken the statue of Sangamitta Theri and enshrined it at Maathagal in the presence of 250 tamils forced to attend by the army.Is this the coming 'colour'? Will many Buddha statues be planted in the north in "identified" buddhist areas?

All this is worrying to all tamils. Now another election in the north ruled by army & armed militias is to be held. Will it be a flawed one like what happened in the east? The sinhalese "pilgrims" to these camps do not seem worried about the future of these hapless 270,000 souls.
The government is terrified of a probe into the slaughter in the last two weeks of the war. Ms Navi Pillay is being vilified in the sinhala media for demanding it.

The international visiters have all been fobbed off with carefully conducted tours during which none of then could chat with IDPs in private.The government is worried that the story of what actually happened will come out when the IDPs are let out.Already there are shocking stories of what is happening in these camps.
I do not think that the sinhalese feel 'guilty' about what has happened. They will at most blame it on 'karma' or on Prabakaran & the LTTE - and they may be right.

We have nearly 300,000 IDP's -victims of the last months of the war, and those in the south competing to help them. What about all those others who have lived in camps for the displaced, throughout the last 25 years? There are Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in those camps, and I do not recall our southerners even being bothered by their plight. The much maligned NGO's and INGO's however, have been helping those people. Many human rights groups regularly visited the camps and addressed both the government and the LTTE on the pathetic situations that were experienced.
Even today, there is hardly a mention of all those others who still live in those camps. The difference between them and the Vanni IDP's is that the latter has absolutely no freedom of movement - a violation of our constitution.

And from those who say the tamil civilians brought this on themseleves, I ask- did you speak up against the JVP when they killed and maimed the people in the South. Whose orders did you obey, to switch off the lights and stay home orders of the JVP or the orders of the government of the day?

Kusal said: "They are happy collecting funds and relief, happy taking them to Menik farm and happy they went and "saw" first hand. It's pacifying the Sinhala Buddhist 'guilt' that's sought for. Just that. Social responsibility ? That would not happen. It wouldn't in petty minds that lack the ability for reasoning. Lack the ability to read between what is told and what is seen. If they could, they would understand the simple human logic within these lines."

Kusal, Ironic isn't it that some of the criticism levied at you here proves the very points you are making! See how you are on the right track in questioning the ability of the majority community to think in terms of social responsibility? Some of the comments here prove that inability to engage with basic humanistic values.

Guilt is an interesting phenomenon. On the one hand, they volunteer aid to the IDPs to assuage their guilt. On the other hand, they must also hate the people to whom they give aid. To do otherwise, to truly understand the IDPs and their situation, they would need to point the finger at themselves, to acknowledge their own role that has led the IDPs to land up in internment camps. They will never do that because then they won't be able to live with themselves. Even when you write out of a deeply felt sympathy for other human beings, they can only see you as a Buddha-hating demon! If a Buddha came upon them now, they would never recognise him/her.

Rajah,
"Thankfully there will be no further loss of life due to 'war'. If as the writer wishes we did not engage in this 'war' how many more lives would continue to be lost in many decades to come? Would one not choose the lesser of the evils? I am talking about a 'reasonable person'."

You missed Kusal's point. He did not mean that SL should have just refused to engage in the war, but that they should have used legislative means to ensure equal rights for the minorities. If this had been done through the 1950s to the 1970s, there would be no Tigers in the first place. Hence, no need for bloody war. Why did SL have to wait for Tigers to do all their killings first before trying to negotiate with them?

Jan,
"What has buddhism got to do in this conflict."

You are right--Buddhism had nothing to do with this conflict. But given the fact that all these years of conflict were caused by the claim that Sri Lanka is for the Sinhalese as it is the home of the great Buddhist heritage, don't you think the Sinhalese people and their government should have practised their religion in the way they dealt with Tamils? Is it part of the Sri Lankan great Buddhist heritage to deny minorities their equal rights, to force minorities to flee their own land? Is it part of the great Buddhist heritage to be possessive?

Nobody is insulting Buddhism. In the West today, Christians are turning to Buddhist principles to guide their life. For eg, look at Eckhart Tolle's massive bestseller "A New Earth: Awakening to your Life's Purpose," which has been such a favourite all over the world. Robin Sharma is another such writer. They talk about humanism, one's duty to do good in the world, to promote peace, to detach oneself from one's ego. So, we ask why, when you say Sri Lanka is Buddhist, you don't practise Buddhism. Why do you betray your own religious principles and then uphold that religion as the definitive culture of the nation?

Look at your President's hypocrisy in talking about the need to use Buddhist principles in government and then stifling dissent, sending out the goon squads to kill and maim journalists, cheerfully killing innocent civilians in trying to get the Tigers (which is a war crime according to the UN conventions that Sri Lanka itself voluntarily signed). Where is the honour in this, in not keeping to your word?

It is not surprising to see the typical Sinhala reaction in the comments.
This has been the Sinhala attitude with the whole 'Tamil Problem'. As one US politician quoted, “It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept.”

Change can only come within for the ignorant.

It seems that Singhalese people are behaving in a manner that Mr. Perera’s outdated leftist thinking can not comprehend.

Visions of another Black July, demonstrating to the whole world the Singhala Buddhist racist mentality seems to have been dancing. Surprise, surprise! Nothing like that happened. In fact Singhalese are behaving exactly the opposite way. They are out trying to help the IDPs whichever way they can. People are collecting food and material. Havens forbid! They are even traveling to the IDP camps and volunteering their time and labour, trying to help.

The general populace is behaving in a manner that he can not understand or comprehend. Their actions do not fit in to the straightjacket of his leftist thinking. seems to have this strange notion that because the people cheered and celebrated the end of 30 years of madness and the end of one of the most brutal band of people that we have ever known that they are automatically disqualified from helping others.

In 1945, Allies had won the World War II by simply obliterating Germany and Japan. And they did not care too much for the civilian population when they were doing that either. And they all celebrated like crazy when the war ended. Then what did they do? They went and rebuild Germany and Japan, the same countries and the populations that only a few months ago they were trying to wipe off the face of earth.

Go help the IDP's in what ever way u can rather than spending time behind a desk and writing nonsense..

Kusal. most of of u have not understood the problem, the problem is the Tamils dissaminated all over the world and Tamils of north havent a mother land. Are the Majority Sinhalese have to be blamed for this ? . This is the crux of the problem. Tamils crying for a land excisted before independence it started in madras state under Naikers Justice party.

I advise u to read more about tamil nationalism where and how it originated by simply going to google for information. Sinhala buddhist and Tamils Hindus have lived together for many centuries, hindus belive buddha as the reincarnation of lord krisna.

I do not see any solution to the Tamil problem. Only less than 1 percent of Sinhalese (like Kusal) do understand the plight of Tamils.

The majority are still in denial or supporting the ill treatment of tamils. For eg Saman Gamage says, if any one use Barbed wire within a first few sentences, the article is rubbish.

Are the IDPs now living in first class hotels in an open space Mr Gamage?. Dagobert says - Majority of the Tamils reside either outside the North or Overseas. Well, why it happened buddy, because of the successful Sinhalese chauvinistic governments from 1956 unleashed terror on Tamils living in North and East, so many ran away, BTW GOSL lead by the Duta Rajapakse is the one shedding crocodile tears with hidden agedas and do you know that this bastard government con people are demoing 10 to 20 US dollars to relase IDPs from the camps, that is why the government is happy saying the hard currency is now pouring in each and every day.

Well well “the Vultures and Diasporas should know they were responsible for the IDP situation of today”, IDP situation is the solution by GOSL, they didn’t asked to be locked up behind barbed wires, your enemy Prabaharn and Co, did not lock them up behind the fence. Then anotgehr preacher “Iroshana Ekanayake” says “

I have never seen a bigger bunch of Racist than the Tamil people”, mate, go and read your Mahavamse, and you will see where the hatred started . get a good grip on history.another self claimed intellectual “Kanishka Dias” says “Mr. "Perera" seems to have forgotten that the the mass murderer, Velupillai Prabakaran, used these 300,000 civilians as human shields to cowardly defend himself against the Sri Lankan army”, well, Prabaharan was a terrorist, if terrorists are holding others as human shield, only countries like GOSL –will kill the whole populations to kill a few hundred terrorists, what Tamils have got is an evils is replaced by some satanic forces under the guidance of MR brothers.

Hello “Sinhala_Voice”, then why can’t your GOSL let the media to visit the camps or the iDPs live with their relatives and friends in others parts of Sri Lanka, give us your intellectually crappie argument. There are so many to comment on , finally my infamous friend “Devinda Fernando” comes with other ridicules justification. Yes, LTTE did all the thing, but they didn’t rape women, didn’t lock up the whole district behind barbed wire, those people had the freedom to live their lives.

BTW, have you got the Freedom to speak in Sri Lanka, look at the fate of the astrologer, and then you should know what you are talking about. What is happening to the journalists who are dared to write against the GOSL, look at your imbecile brain and talk about of freedom of speech and movement.

If GOSL is claiming to be a sovereign government, it cannot behave like a terrorist outfit.

this iarticle no substance except to raise a non-existence spectre of religous strife where none existed..is merely trying to import a religious facet into the Eelam conflict and insinuate that it is a Buddhist Plot

Your Article reminds me of a Quote from Dalai Lama when he was interviewed after the escape from Tibet into India.

The Interviewer had asked him If he was not frightened and He Said "Yes I was Frightened, I was frightened that I might lose my compassion for the Chinese Soldiers"

I hope the Displaced, Injured and the emotionally Hurt (Victims) have not lost their compassion for those that put them in their Plight.

For reconciliation, it is not that there must be compassion of the Victor but Victim too. And Compassion can neither be willed or demanded.

Shame on you Mr Kusal for your thoughts that vomited all over this article. People of all ehnicities in Sri Lanka came forward to help their brothers and sisters in difficilties, not out of guilt, but it is the nature of human beings. Even animals do it once their conflicts are resolved in what ever the way they choose.You must have written this artlce out of guilt and to curry favours among the Tamil Diaspora who reward such actions handsomely.
Don't undermine the good actions of other people. Have altruistic joy when you see other people's good work. That is the only way to be happy as you can't do 1/1000,000 of the work done by people collectively. You are a very sad person Mr Kusal.

Kusal, Very good rationalization, some of your commentators insists that the LTTE waged war with the Singhalese. They have to ask - Where did the first bombing and killing of people start, if the first person to die was in the North, the South started the war, on the other hand, if the first person to die was in the South, obviously the Tigers started it.

From the information I read, government forces were sent North to suppress the population, resistance to this suppression brought more forces and it escalated.

One has to conclude that the Sri Lankan governments, without honestly addressing the issues, used devious tactics and more and more suppression.

It is also no surprise that an army of 150,000, with considerable international support, defeated a group of 10,000. The question is why did it take so long?

Could it be that the 150,000 strong fought for a pay-cheque while the 10,000 sacrificed for a cause?

You hit the bull's eye Kushal Perara. Well done! Unfortunately Sri Lankans are still in the 6th century mind set to see the light! All comments made here are proof!

In as much as some “Sinhala patriots” – IRC inmates themselves for serious crimes - in July ’83 drank the blood of Kuttimani, who lay dead having been bludgeoned to death by waves of enraged Sinhala rowdy mobs. They were lead by an internationally condemned airplane hijacker; in the “safety” of Welikade jail. It is believed some of these thugs, displaying their mis-directed national fervour also ate the flesh of these “terrorists” (mini malu) To these bizarre events, there is some parallel with the current Tamil civilian IDP’s in Menik Farm and elsewhere. The Welikade massacre is believed to be one aimed at satisfying Sinhala anger over the killing of the 13 soldiers in Jaffna.

What will become of the IDP’s kept in virtual chains - after the war is well over with the leaders of the “enemy” wiped out execution-style – puzzles many. It is widely believed these 300,000 IDP’s are punished for the indignities and desecration to the Sinhala psyche the “Tamil terrorists” imposed in the post-1983 period. The reported request made by the JHU to the President (highlighted by Mano Ganesan, MP to the Colombo Press) assumes some relevance here “the 300,000 IDP’s are asking only for food, clothes, medicine and shelter. Give them that. They are not asking for political rights and, therefore, there is no reason to consider this” concluded the enlightened priest-politicians. Is the real reason to keep the innocent Tamils within barbed wire camps is to humiliate and degrade them for “sins committed by the LTTE on the Sinhalese” by reducing them to a condition where these multi-thousands have to beg for their food, clothing and medicines? Do highly-placed sources at the higher levels of Govt want to prove to the Sinhala people “see what we have done to the families of the fellows who made things bad for all of you these many years”?

If need be, the entire 300,000 could be screened within hours in a day and a vast majority of them released to go home. The mountains of data and documentation the Government forced the people for long and in regularity detailing ID’s, places of birth, residence, work etc have all been with the authorities many a times as former CJ Hon. Sarath Silva mentioned in open courts. So the question of identity does not apply here. As to if some suspect terrorists are among the civilian IDP’s, this would have been known to the Police, the army and the administrative officials in the region in carefully maintained documents kept by them - I referred to above. So what then is the reason to keep these innocents in prison conditions, brutally separated from their kith and kin? How does the belief in the process of the army’s recruitment of another 100,000 there is a requirement that members of the family of applicants should reside in the North-East fit in? Elsewhere in these columns, several express the thought that more Sinhalese and Muslims, should be encouraged to go and live in the North East to reduce them to a minority there. How far is this true? While one appreciates those Sinhala people with kind intentions trekking to the camps to sincerely be of help, there could also be those – the focus of the Govt – who gain vicarious pleasure in seeing those multitude of helpless Tamils in wretched conditions. A repeat of a visit to the Royal College Refugee camp in July 83 – as someone pointed out.

ISS