SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Silence Surrounding Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI - The horror that is unfolding in Sri Lanka
becomes possible because of the silence that surrounds it. There is
almost no reporting in the international press - or in the mainstream
media in India, where I live - about what is happening. From the little
information that is filtering through, it looks as though the Sri
Lankan government is using the propaganda of "the war on terror" as a
fig leaf to dismantle any semblance of democracy in the country and
commit unspeakable crimes against the Tamil people.
Mar 31, 2009
NEW DELHI - The horror that is unfolding in Sri Lanka
becomes possible because of the silence that surrounds it. There is
almost no reporting in the international press - or in the mainstream
media in India, where I live - about what is happening. From the little
information that is filtering through, it looks as though the Sri
Lankan government is using the propaganda of "the war on terror" as a
fig leaf to dismantle any semblance of democracy in the country and
commit unspeakable crimes against the Tamil people.
The government is working on the principle that every Tamil is a
terrorist unless he or she can prove otherwise, and civilian areas,
hospitals, and shelters are being bombed and turned into a war zone.
Reliable estimates put the number of civilians trapped at over 200,000.
The Sri Lankan army is advancing, armed with tanks and aircraft.
Meanwhile, there are reports that several "welfare villages" have
been established to house displaced Tamils in the Vavuniya and Mannar
districts. The Daily Telegraph in London reports that these villages
"will be compulsory holding centers for all civilians fleeing the
fighting." Is this a euphemism for concentration camps?
Mangala Samaraweera, a former foreign minister of Sri Lanka, told
The Daily Telegraph: "A few months ago the government started
registering all Tamils in Colombo on the grounds that they could be a
security threat, but this could be exploited for other purposes like
the Nazis in the 1930s. They're basically going to label the whole
civilian Tamil population as potential terrorists."
Given the government's stated objective of "wiping out" the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan, this malevolent collapse of civilians
and "terrorists" does seem to signal that the government is on the
verge of committing what could end up being genocide. According to a
United Nations estimate, several thousand people have already been
killed. Thousands more are critically wounded.
What we are witnessing - or, rather, what is happening in Sri Lanka
and is being so effectively hidden from public scrutiny - is a brazen,
openly racist war. The impunity with which the Sri Lankan government is
able to commit these crimes unveils the deeply ingrained racist
prejudice that is precisely what led to the marginalization and
alienation of the Tamils of Sri Lanka in the first place. That racism
has a long history, involving social ostracization, economic blockades,
pogroms, and torture. The brutal nature of the decades-long civil war,
which started as a peaceful, nonviolent protest, has its roots here.
Why the silence? In another interview, Mangala Samaraweera said, "A
free media is virtually nonexistent in Sri Lanka today." He described
death squads and "white van abductions," which have made society
"freeze with fear." Voices of dissent have been abducted and
assassinated. The International Federation of Journalists accuses the
government of Sri Lanka of using a combination of anti-terrorism laws,
disappearances, and assassinations to silence journalists.
There are unconfirmed reports that the Indian government is lending
material and logistical support to the Sri Lankan government. If this
is true, it is outrageous. What about the governments of other
countries? Pakistan? China? What are they doing to help or harm the
situation?
In Tamil Nadu, India, the war in Sri Lanka has fueled passions that
have led to more than 10 people immolating themselves. The public anger
and anguish - much of it genuine, but some of it obviously cynical
political manipulation - has become an election issue.
It is extraordinary that this concern has not traveled to the rest of India. Why is there silence?
Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka, the silence is
inexcusable. More so because of the Indian government's long history of
irresponsible dabbling in the conflict, first taking one side and then
the other. Several of us who should have spoken out much earlier, have
not done so, simply because of a lack of information about the war.
So while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people
are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000
face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence
from this great country. It's a colossal humanitarian tragedy. The
world must step in. Now. Before it's too late.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Boston Globe
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy was born in 1959 in Shillong, India. She studied architecture in New Delhi, where she now lives, and has worked as a film designer, actor, and screenplay writer in India. Her most recent book, a novel, is: "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness." Her other books include: "Listening to Grasshoppers: Fields Notes on Democracy," "The God of Small Things," and "The End of Imagination."
NEW DELHI - The horror that is unfolding in Sri Lanka
becomes possible because of the silence that surrounds it. There is
almost no reporting in the international press - or in the mainstream
media in India, where I live - about what is happening. From the little
information that is filtering through, it looks as though the Sri
Lankan government is using the propaganda of "the war on terror" as a
fig leaf to dismantle any semblance of democracy in the country and
commit unspeakable crimes against the Tamil people.
The government is working on the principle that every Tamil is a
terrorist unless he or she can prove otherwise, and civilian areas,
hospitals, and shelters are being bombed and turned into a war zone.
Reliable estimates put the number of civilians trapped at over 200,000.
The Sri Lankan army is advancing, armed with tanks and aircraft.
Meanwhile, there are reports that several "welfare villages" have
been established to house displaced Tamils in the Vavuniya and Mannar
districts. The Daily Telegraph in London reports that these villages
"will be compulsory holding centers for all civilians fleeing the
fighting." Is this a euphemism for concentration camps?
Mangala Samaraweera, a former foreign minister of Sri Lanka, told
The Daily Telegraph: "A few months ago the government started
registering all Tamils in Colombo on the grounds that they could be a
security threat, but this could be exploited for other purposes like
the Nazis in the 1930s. They're basically going to label the whole
civilian Tamil population as potential terrorists."
Given the government's stated objective of "wiping out" the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan, this malevolent collapse of civilians
and "terrorists" does seem to signal that the government is on the
verge of committing what could end up being genocide. According to a
United Nations estimate, several thousand people have already been
killed. Thousands more are critically wounded.
What we are witnessing - or, rather, what is happening in Sri Lanka
and is being so effectively hidden from public scrutiny - is a brazen,
openly racist war. The impunity with which the Sri Lankan government is
able to commit these crimes unveils the deeply ingrained racist
prejudice that is precisely what led to the marginalization and
alienation of the Tamils of Sri Lanka in the first place. That racism
has a long history, involving social ostracization, economic blockades,
pogroms, and torture. The brutal nature of the decades-long civil war,
which started as a peaceful, nonviolent protest, has its roots here.
Why the silence? In another interview, Mangala Samaraweera said, "A
free media is virtually nonexistent in Sri Lanka today." He described
death squads and "white van abductions," which have made society
"freeze with fear." Voices of dissent have been abducted and
assassinated. The International Federation of Journalists accuses the
government of Sri Lanka of using a combination of anti-terrorism laws,
disappearances, and assassinations to silence journalists.
There are unconfirmed reports that the Indian government is lending
material and logistical support to the Sri Lankan government. If this
is true, it is outrageous. What about the governments of other
countries? Pakistan? China? What are they doing to help or harm the
situation?
In Tamil Nadu, India, the war in Sri Lanka has fueled passions that
have led to more than 10 people immolating themselves. The public anger
and anguish - much of it genuine, but some of it obviously cynical
political manipulation - has become an election issue.
It is extraordinary that this concern has not traveled to the rest of India. Why is there silence?
Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka, the silence is
inexcusable. More so because of the Indian government's long history of
irresponsible dabbling in the conflict, first taking one side and then
the other. Several of us who should have spoken out much earlier, have
not done so, simply because of a lack of information about the war.
So while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people
are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000
face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence
from this great country. It's a colossal humanitarian tragedy. The
world must step in. Now. Before it's too late.
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy was born in 1959 in Shillong, India. She studied architecture in New Delhi, where she now lives, and has worked as a film designer, actor, and screenplay writer in India. Her most recent book, a novel, is: "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness." Her other books include: "Listening to Grasshoppers: Fields Notes on Democracy," "The God of Small Things," and "The End of Imagination."
NEW DELHI - The horror that is unfolding in Sri Lanka
becomes possible because of the silence that surrounds it. There is
almost no reporting in the international press - or in the mainstream
media in India, where I live - about what is happening. From the little
information that is filtering through, it looks as though the Sri
Lankan government is using the propaganda of "the war on terror" as a
fig leaf to dismantle any semblance of democracy in the country and
commit unspeakable crimes against the Tamil people.
The government is working on the principle that every Tamil is a
terrorist unless he or she can prove otherwise, and civilian areas,
hospitals, and shelters are being bombed and turned into a war zone.
Reliable estimates put the number of civilians trapped at over 200,000.
The Sri Lankan army is advancing, armed with tanks and aircraft.
Meanwhile, there are reports that several "welfare villages" have
been established to house displaced Tamils in the Vavuniya and Mannar
districts. The Daily Telegraph in London reports that these villages
"will be compulsory holding centers for all civilians fleeing the
fighting." Is this a euphemism for concentration camps?
Mangala Samaraweera, a former foreign minister of Sri Lanka, told
The Daily Telegraph: "A few months ago the government started
registering all Tamils in Colombo on the grounds that they could be a
security threat, but this could be exploited for other purposes like
the Nazis in the 1930s. They're basically going to label the whole
civilian Tamil population as potential terrorists."
Given the government's stated objective of "wiping out" the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan, this malevolent collapse of civilians
and "terrorists" does seem to signal that the government is on the
verge of committing what could end up being genocide. According to a
United Nations estimate, several thousand people have already been
killed. Thousands more are critically wounded.
What we are witnessing - or, rather, what is happening in Sri Lanka
and is being so effectively hidden from public scrutiny - is a brazen,
openly racist war. The impunity with which the Sri Lankan government is
able to commit these crimes unveils the deeply ingrained racist
prejudice that is precisely what led to the marginalization and
alienation of the Tamils of Sri Lanka in the first place. That racism
has a long history, involving social ostracization, economic blockades,
pogroms, and torture. The brutal nature of the decades-long civil war,
which started as a peaceful, nonviolent protest, has its roots here.
Why the silence? In another interview, Mangala Samaraweera said, "A
free media is virtually nonexistent in Sri Lanka today." He described
death squads and "white van abductions," which have made society
"freeze with fear." Voices of dissent have been abducted and
assassinated. The International Federation of Journalists accuses the
government of Sri Lanka of using a combination of anti-terrorism laws,
disappearances, and assassinations to silence journalists.
There are unconfirmed reports that the Indian government is lending
material and logistical support to the Sri Lankan government. If this
is true, it is outrageous. What about the governments of other
countries? Pakistan? China? What are they doing to help or harm the
situation?
In Tamil Nadu, India, the war in Sri Lanka has fueled passions that
have led to more than 10 people immolating themselves. The public anger
and anguish - much of it genuine, but some of it obviously cynical
political manipulation - has become an election issue.
It is extraordinary that this concern has not traveled to the rest of India. Why is there silence?
Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka, the silence is
inexcusable. More so because of the Indian government's long history of
irresponsible dabbling in the conflict, first taking one side and then
the other. Several of us who should have spoken out much earlier, have
not done so, simply because of a lack of information about the war.
So while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people
are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000
face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence
from this great country. It's a colossal humanitarian tragedy. The
world must step in. Now. Before it's too late.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy