A tale of two distant war zones
Martin Regg Cohn - Toronto Star:
Hundreds of thousands of trapped refugees are cowering under the assault of fighter jets and mortars, with uncounted casualties and warnings of "genocidal" atrocities from human rights activists.
Ignoring the pact cobbled together long ago by Norwegian negotiators, the government is using its lopsided military advantage to pummel enemy fighters who shelter in schools and use human shields. After decades of inconclusive fighting, the government still refuses to recognize the rump statelet on its doorstep, even at the cost of more suicide bombers stalking its civilians.
And despite its democratic pretensions, the government bans all foreign journalists from the war zone, perhaps hoping for less graphic images of the hospitals and schools it has bombed.
Welcome to Sri Lanka.
Rather than add to the millions of column inches analyzing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this is about Sri Lanka's civil war, which has claimed more than 70,000 lives since the 1980s. You wouldn't know it from the lack of concern at the United Nations, but the fighting in Sri Lanka has reached its bloodiest, climactic phase in recent weeks. It is causing catastrophic misery among Tamil innocents hemmed in on all sides – yet it hardly warrants a blip in our blogosphere.
And while Torontonians on either side of the Middle East conflict rage or reflect on events in Gaza – with sit-ins and street protests and letter writers at full bore – the world's largest émigré community of Sri Lankan Tamils is wondering why it barely rates a mention in the Canadian media. For David Poopalapillai of the Canadian Tamil Congress, the disparity is inexplicable.
"Please write about us," he implored after phoning twice last week, even though he knows we disagree about the notorious Tamil Tigers. "No one is writing about the Tamils, and you've been there many times."
During seven years in Asia, I visited Sri Lanka often enough. During four years in the Middle East, I also covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on my doorstep. And there are eerie similarities between the two conflict zones, despite the unequal attention they command.
Genocide by the Israelis? A report by the New York-based Genocide Prevention Project (an offshoot of Mia Farrow's Dream for Darfur campaign) ranked Sri Lanka in the top tier of its mass atrocity watch list, alongside Sudan, Burma, Somalia and others; Israel and the Palestinian territories were much further down a caution list (below Zimbabwe).
Shutting out the media? Israel's military is keeping out most Western media not already on the ground, using security as a pretext and ignoring its own Supreme Court rulings. But staff Palestinian reporters are in place for the wire services and The New York Times, and Al-Jazeera is filing daily from Gaza. If not for the kidnapping by Gazans of its correspondent last year, the BBC might have maintained its bureau in Gaza.
In Sri Lanka, the BBC is the only major news organization to keep full-time staff in the country, but the government is shamelessly barring foreign and domestic media from the front lines. We have a rough casualty count for Gaza, despite the fog of war; but we don't have a clue how many civilians or combatants have been killed in the all-out Sri Lankan offensive, or how many more have died from exposure in monsoon rains, snake bites and food shortages.
And while the Israelis have (albeit briefly) allowed relief groups in before and during the latest conflict, the UN and other NGOs pulled out of Sri Lanka's Tamil areas long ago, leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees in pitiable conditions to fend for themselves.
The fighting in Sri Lanka, as in Israel, reflects the utter failure of conflict resolution despite the best efforts of the Norwegians in recent years. I covered the Oslo peace process in the Middle East and was convinced the Israelis and Palestinians would never turn back because the human toll would be incalculable. And I covered the Norwegians once again in Sri Lanka as they tried to work their magic on two bitter antagonists.
For Canadians who believe the UN's blue helmets can resolve every conflict, the failure of the Norwegians – and the late, assassinated Rajiv Gandhi's Indian peacekeepers before them – is a reminder that both sides have to want peace to get peace.
Martin Regg Cohn, deputy editorial page editor, writes on Tuesday.
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Sri Lanka Genocide gbout to explode
Martin, thanks for balanced article. In Sri Lanka genocide is about to explode any time. Daily 4 to 10 people are being killed and this is going ot escalate to in 1000's in a week. World is not aware of what is happening in Sri Lanka because of media ban imposed conflict areas. It's Canadain government and media's responsiblity to contain this crisis. World leaders said never again for genocide. But they are unaware of what is going to happen in Sri Lanka. Please help Tamils live in Sri Lanka with you pen.
Submitted by Satya at 12:48 PM Tuesday, January 13 2009
Need of the Hour is Stop the war and force a peaceful Solution
Thank you for the article. As you are aware, over 320,000 Tamil people are in dire need of assistance in the northern (Vanni) areas of Sri Lanka due to the bloody and brutal military operations against its own Tamil citizens. This situation have gone to the worst catastrophic humanitarian tragedy as Sri Lankan forces indiscriminately shelling and bombing them. From the beginning of this year, 28 civilians were killed and over 185 injured so far. Need of the Hour is Stop the war and force a peaceful Solution to the Genocides against Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Toronto Star along with our many other mainstream media in Canada as well as other western world have the power to bring an end to this bloody war with a meaningful and acceptable solution based on self-determination rights to Tamils.
Submitted by kunaez at 12:17 PM Tuesday, January 13 2009
States are not moral agents. People are.
People are happy as long as articles are written in their favour regardless of the truth. One will not come to speak against injustice and stand for what is right when you refuse to question everything and think for yourself and not merely rely on gov't propaganda as a source of knowledge. States are not moral agents, people are. And therefore, people can put pressure on their governments to do what is right. Sri Lankan governments for the past five or six decades have been getting away with whatever injustice they've been inflicting on Tamils. Too bad that country doesn't have anything for us to benefit from. Otherwise, I'm sure there will be people shouting over what is happening there.
Submitted by christinadal at 11:58 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
Journalistic White Phosphorous
Is Mr. Cohn using some journalistic white phosphorous on Sri Lanka, in order to obscure the conduct of Israel? Israel is an Occupying Power in violation of Security Council resolutions since 1967. Sri Lanka which had not invaded and occupied any other country, is not in violation of UN resolutions, and is fighting a war to safeguard its unity and territorial integrity against a separatist enemy which Barbara Crossette, in The Nation, Jan 6th, calls " the most totalitarian and lethal guerrilla organization in contemporary Asia"- not one firing homemade rockets causing double digit casualties over years. Sri Lanka has not used white phosphorous or any anti-personnel munitions. A third of the casualties that Sri Lanka has inflicted in its current successful offensive are not children. The Human Rights Council condemned Israel for its assault on Gaza and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has cautioned of possible war crimes, neither of which has been the case with Sri Lanka.
Submitted by dayan jayatilleka at 11:57 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
If you refuse to see Mr Cohn is using Sri Lanka to make Israel look better through comparison
then I feel sorry for you. But back to the point - where are the walls surrounding Jaffna? I find no reference anywhere to concrete and wire to wall a people in? The Palestinians can't run because of the wall, Tamil's at least have an option (why not look at the 2008 breach in the wall surrounding Gaza and see what the terrorist Palestinians got up to). If you want to see the violence stop in Sri Lanka then it has to stop in Israel (and by proxy the US) first. Israel’s ability to avoid UN reprisal has been the driving force behind most of the pain and suffering in the world (no I have no proof just opinion). For the record - I've been following the struggle for Tamil independence since the 80's. Not very long but like a lot of other places where there has been human suffering I haven't turned away - unlike those using that suffering to score political points in another part of the world.
Submitted by norinradd at 11:57 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
Sri Lanka Genocide of Tamils
Human Rights reported in 2008 that Sri Lanka had the world's worst record for the disappeared and abducted. US State department report on Sri Lanka concluded that the targeted where young Tamils by Sri Lankan government forces and their paramilitary groups. SRI LANKA HAS LOST ITS REPUTATION AS A PEARL OF THE INDIAN OCEAN. IT IS THE DEADLIEST ISLAND IN SOUTH ASIA AND NO JOURNALIST ARE ALLOWED BY THE GOVERNMENT. Infact, a senior prominant journalist was assasinated by alleged government-led gangs according the REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS. !!!!
Submitted by Natasha Sen at 11:45 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
Thank you for writing about Sri Lanka
Genocide must be stopped. Please write about the cause (discrimination) of the conflict. Unless the underlying cause of the conflict is addressed reasonably, there does't seem to be an end to the violence.
Submitted by Peace with dignity at 11:30 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
Truth is prevailed
We are proud of you, Martin Regg Cohn. We thought there are no people voice for us but now we are glad to hear from you.Its a great article. We don't know why the IC using two types of scales. They always put more pressure on the Middle issue but not a single word about our ethnic problem for more than 6 decades.
Submitted by kana at 11:01 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
A tale of two distant war zones
The US is the villain of peace everywhere around the globe. Its record of supporting undemocratic regimes under the charade of fighting terrorism became an obsession under George Bush. US embassy in Colombo issued a statement that welcomed the Sri Lankan state's recent victories in the war with LTTE and urged Sri Lanka's government and military to press forward with the annihilation of the LTTE. It said "The United States does not advocate that the Government of Sri Lanka negotiate with the LTTE, a group designated by America as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997." US's repudiation of the "peace process" exemplifies Washington's criminal role—as both instigator and facilitator—in the ethnic war. The Pentagon admits to having provided counter-insurgency training to Sri Lankan troops, as well as intelligence and "non-lethal" weapons. Meanwhile, Israel and Pakistan, have provided the Sri Lankan military with an expanded and technologically-enhanced arsenal.
Submitted by Thanga at 10:57 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
How long does it to complete the Genocide
In Comparision of Kosovo and Darfur I dont think it takes more than week to kill 100 000 people. Sri Lanka is in the door step of genocide according to the report we receive this might happen any time, it is Canadian and world media's responsiblity to protect people lives and bring this news to the outside world and stop genocide
Submitted by Jitterson at 9:53 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
Civilian deaths in Lanka Military bombings
Martin thanks for the coverage. These are the last few headlines on www.tamilnet.com Humanitarian tragedy unfolds in Vanni Pressure Colombo to stop attacking civilian targets, TRO appeals to India, UN, US SLA intensifies artillery attacks on civilian targets, hospital targeted SLN arrests 200 civilians fleeing from Jaffna to Mullaiththeevu Civilian casualties increases 8 fold in Ki'linochchi district 12 wounded, SLA shells Puthukkudiyiruppu, Ka'ndaava'lai Lasantha killing, a savage assault on media independence - TNA 4 killed, SLA artillery targets civilian settlement in Puthukkudiyiruppu SLA shells hit Health Secretariat of Ki'linochchi district 7 killed, Sri Lankan artillery attack targets civilian centre of Vanni Scores wounded in Sri Lankan bombardment on displacing civilians Civilians trapped in SLA artillery barrage
Submitted by MT007 at 9:40 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
Interesting Comparison
Thank you for shedding the light on the amount of coverage Sri Lanka's civil war is receiving in comparison to the conflict in Israel/Gaza. It is very important to note that aside form the political conflicts in both countries, what is of uttermost importance should be the ending of the various crimes against humanity.
Submitted by Claudia25 at 9:25 AM Tuesday, January 13 2009
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