Sri Lanka’s genocide
On Monday, July 24, there was a memorial to commemorate Black July, 1983 — where the Sri Lankan government and Sinhalese ethnic nationalists massacred thousands of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The massacres continue to this day, and so this was also a rally of defiance and protest.
And it’s true. Most people largely ignore or are unaware of what’s going on in Sri Lanka.
Click here for more pictures from the memorial/rally.
Andrew Jun said,
July 27, 2006 @ 10:49 pm
Its good to see these rallies. I didn’t know but now I know.
fathima said,
July 28, 2006 @ 1:00 am
“Most people largely ignore or are unaware of what’s going on in Sri Lanka.”
True, and I would argue that presenting the civil war in Sri Lanka as being one in which the casualties were only Singhalese or Tamil perpetuates that ignorance. Populations that are of neither groups tend to become the enemies of both, but being neither garner very little the publicity. And of course I’m talking about the Sri Lankan Muslim community, which has been attacked by both Tamil and Singalese forces.
That said, loss of civilian life, regardless of ethnic/religious group, should be condemned.
nomes said,
July 28, 2006 @ 2:44 am
Fathima, I agree that my post and my pictures make it seem like a clearcut Sinhala on Tamil conflict, and the role of the LTTE and SLG in screwing with Muslims has largely been pushed to the back of the room. I think there is a great degree of information that needs to be disseminated about the causes and the consequences of the conflict in Sri Lanka and the complexities surrounding everything, including the complexities of a two-state solution.
fathima said,
July 29, 2006 @ 2:22 am
I didn’t mean for my comment to come across as a criticism of your post. After all, you covered a specific event and there is no requirement that you cover other material, as per your opinion on the condemning loss of Israeli life when protesting the loss of Lebanese/Palestinian life.
Nor do I have a problem with the Tamil community coming together to air legitimate concerns over the safety of its members.
My problem is with the broader media standpoint, one that presents Sri Lankan Muslims as a curiosity at best and collateral damage at worst. The fact is, however, that Muslims in Sri Lanka have been targeted for being Muslims, so that though the Sri Lankan war is not officially their own, in that they are not participants in it, their deaths are not merely accidental.
That said, it’s great that you’re bringing these issues up.