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May-27-2011 14:35TweetFollow @OregonNews New Song 'Depression' - Graphic Truth of Sri Lanka Tamil GenocideSong by Agron Belica Story by Tim King Salem-News.comGenocide: the sad ambitions of Buddhist militants and their need for real estate.
(SALEM, Ore.) - Black July, is the term generally associated with the start of deadly combat ops in the Sri Lanka Civil War that began in 1983, and ended two years ago. It is a story of a minority population living in a country that seeks to be a religious nation; not Christian, or Jewish, or Muslim, but Buddhist. Mobs of Sinhalese rampaged in Tamil neighborhoods back in July '83, murdering between 400 and 3000 people, according to reports. Their anger stemmed from a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) operation that left 13 SLA soldiers dead. The rioting Sinhala mobs are said to have destroyed tens of thousands of Tamil homes. Though the Tamil Tiger attack was a military operation against the SLA, the retribution by angry mobs was carried out against civilians who were not involved in the attack on the Sri Lankan soldiers. Religious governments rarely if ever run smoothly, and the struggle of the Hindu, Christian and Muslim Tamil minority in Sri Lanka is riddled with tragedy and soaked in blood.
Religious freedom is one of the greatest and most essential gifts a nation can offer its people. Without it, human beings fall into patterns scarcely more elevated than cave men. Patterns in colonialismThere are remarkable similarities between the plight of the Tamil people, and the Palestinians who today live surrounded by Israel. Israel became a government after the British turned over control in 1948. That is the same year that the nation we now known as Sri Lanka, also gained independence from the UK, though the circumstances were different. Until 1948, the occupied island nation was 'British Ceylon'. The name officially changed in 1972, to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka". In 1978 it changed again, to the current name, the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka". Under British rule, the Tamil people were favored over the Buddhist Sinhalese. Each culture has suffered its share of oppression. That much is clear. The island was colonized in the late 1700's by the English, when it became a hub of business for the East India Trading Company. Known for its amazing spices including cinnamon, Sri Lanka naturally and quickly became a desirable spot for western interests. The colonists abused the civil rights of natives on the island and increasing grievances, along with reports of mistreatment and the frequent abuse of authorities, gave rise to a struggle for independence by the 1930s. Youth leagues opposed what was known as the "Ministers' Memorandum," which sought to increase colonial authority by increasing the powers of the board of ministers without granting popular representation or civil freedoms.
Everything changed during World War II, when the island became an important base of operations for allied forces fighting the Japanese. Wikipedia explains that large segments of the British and American fleet were deployed on British Ceylon, along with of thousands of ground forces. Tolerance of DiversityIn Sri Lanka, religious difference culminated in a genocide of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians and also military prisoners of war. Oh wait, if a liberation resistance group is deemed 'terrorist' by western governments, they aren't classified as POW's, and that is a highly problematic situation when it comes to maintaining human rights that are mandated by the United Nations. The final toll from the Tamil Genocide in terms of human lives, will really never truly be known, but up to 146,000 people remain unaccounted for according to some sources. As I indicated in my last report about the deadly events that led to so much death, the Sri Lanka government and its supporters were sure to either kill or kidnap Tamil friendly journalists, some of whom were Sinhalese, and that largely kept the Genocide from public view. Revelation of MayhemHowever eight months after the mayhem took place, an unidentified SLA soldier released the images of not only the endless piles of bodies, children slashed to death, hung by their necks, babies dismembered, their heads smashed; but also video showing everything but actual rape taking place. At one point female Tamil Tigers (presumably) are laying on the ground, all at least partially nude, and the soldiers on the video are heard talking about having sex with them because the women's bodies 'are still warm'. One as it turns out, was a well known Tamil newscaster who worked for an LTTE Website. As the young women are roughly picked up and tossed into the back of a pickup, it is clear that at least one is still alive and moving. NumbersWhen it all came down in 2009, Tamil people were cut off and surrounded, and they were unable to escape the SLA's stormtrooper style military onslaught. The government of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa has alleged repeatedly that the Tamil people used civilians as 'human shields' and that they say, is why so many civilians died. Personally, I have a hard time believing that a group of resistance fighters would sacrifice the very people they were fighting on behalf of. The United Nations must bring criminals to justice if they ever want to see a world exist without Genocide. According to Wikipedia, about 300,000 Tamils were displaced in Sri Lanka at the end of the civil war and by 2 May 2010, 214,227 of the displaced had returned, that amounts to 74% that according to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), have either been released or returned to their places of origin. A review of history shows that there are instances where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam committed war crimes that included the ethnic cleansing of Muslims at one point, however Tamil Tigers say the government drove wedges between the Muslim community, their former allies, and the Tamil Hindus and Christians. But the Tamil Tigers didn't slaughter people by the tens of thousands; people who were totally innocent and had no connections to reported 'terrorist' groups. I believe the human race eventually heels from hardship, but the wanton slaughter of human beings over affiliations, over past history, over religious difference and for a desire to live free, that is not acceptable. The new song Depression by Agron Belica is his latest news/music fusion (Coining the term newsic) cut that takes a heap of human conscience, mixes it with a hip hop beat, a high degree of factual accuracy, plenty of raw emotion, and drives it home with a video that speaks of horrific tragedy; the Tamil Genocide of 2009. Please download this video, upload it on your own account and and make it go viral. This is the web address to the YouTube version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4VyeVavb1g Past reports on the Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka;May-21-2011: Sri Lanka Tamil Genocide: Killing the Messenger - Tim King Salem-News.com May-10-2011: Rally Demanding Justice for Genocide Victims of Thamil Eelam - Salem-News.com Apr-27-2011: Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka Emerges Into Public View - Tim King Salem-News.com Apr-22-2011: World Ignores Genocide of Sri Lanka's Tamil Population - Tim King Salem-News.com Aug-07-2010: Grisly Photos Reveal Genocide by Sri Lankan Government Against Tamil People - Muthamizh Vendhan for Salem-News.com Mar-15-2009: Sri Lanka: Possible War Crimes - Salem-News.com May-10-2009: UN Says Urgent International Scrutiny Needed in Sri Lanka - Salem-News.com
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Mira May 29, 2011 5:26 am (Pacific time)
"what you can't hide is GENOCIDE" What happened or what is happening to Tamils in Srilanka is systematically genocide. The world has the responsibility to bring justice for those who were slaughtered and victimized in internment camps.
jo May 29, 2011 1:56 am (Pacific time)
thanks.
Vasan May 28, 2011 2:40 pm (Pacific time)
Thank you for brining some truth out. Please continue the great task.
Jay R. Crook May 28, 2011 11:11 am (Pacific time)
Congratulations to Tim King and Co. for calling our neglectful attention to still another sad episode of the human experience, another ghastly product of racial, religious, and national hatred and disrespect. The atrocities in Sri Lanka have not attracted much notice in the major media; no oil, no influential vocal minorities in the West where what is important and what is unimportant is decided. Brutality is horror wherever it takes place, be it in government torture chambers, Bosnia, Palestine, the old-line Arab regimes, or a little corner of the world called Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was long considered an earthly paradise. We are reminded that there are snakes and demons even in paradise. Kudos to Agron Belica for his poignant, heartfelt lyrics, once again broadening the potential of hip-hop music. "Newsic" is a good term for the product of the King-Belica combination. I hope to see it as a new entry in the dictionary soon.
Elias May 28, 2011 4:02 am (Pacific time)
Funny how those tactics employed in Sri Lanka by the Sri Lankan govenment bear a striking resemblance to tactics employed by the Syrian, Libyan, Yemeni, and Bahraini governments today. Same lies and same propaganda. A grand example of that, is the north African country, from hell, of Algeria. In 1997, the army murdered 250,000 of their fellow citizens during the uprising. General Toufik Mediene was quoted as saying that he was ready willing and able to murder 3 million more just to maitain the status quo. As a matter of fact there was good article about the general called " General Mediene God, of Algeria". So it makes me wonder where all these third world tyrants get that same ideology from???
Thambi May 27, 2011 11:37 pm (Pacific time)
What a load of uninformed crap. You "find it hard" to believe the LTTE heroes hid behind Tamil women and children? Funny because that's exactly what the recent panel report says they did. And kill people trying to leave. And force 14 year olds to fight. And fire heavy weapons from hospitals and crowds. Oh that's right, if you include those bits you wouldn't get the usual rabid masses coming here howling about "genocide".
Rajaguru KB May 27, 2011 11:36 pm (Pacific time)
My sincere thanks to you, the facts mentioned here made my heart burn. This is the most disastrous event of this generation.
Reviewer May 27, 2011 7:51 pm (Pacific time)
Video is off the wire, and dude knows how to put words together. You got my vote. I will pass it forward for sure. Fire!!!!!
Agron Belica May 27, 2011 6:53 pm (Pacific time)
@Eileen: You deserved it! Keep up the good work! Peace
Jonathan Agnes May 27, 2011 6:11 pm (Pacific time)
Its pretty pathetic the author didn't take the time to research. The Sri Lankan war was bloody and both sides committed atrocities, but it wasn't a genocide. You will find only one group calling it that, that are sympathisers of the Tamil Tiger proxy (the other party in the Sri Lankan war, the creators of the modern suicide bomb-belt). Imagine if Nazi supporters called the destruction of the Nazis and the death of their soldiers 'Genocide'? That's what this mounts to.
Editor: Oh that is totally ridiculous, the Tamil people simple wanted equality, 20% is actually a really large aspect of any country's population. About three fourth's of the BS you guys blab about the LTTE is made up anyway. Sure, particularly in the 70's and 80's, some bad things took place. That is referenced in this report. Comparing the LTTE to Nazi's is not the kind of thing that brings your point any respect.
eileen fleming May 27, 2011 5:45 pm (Pacific time)
Overwhelmed and most humbled to have been mentioned in the music video which rocked my soul and BROKE my heart;
And thus has filled me with even more passionate energy to never, never, never, ever give up in the pursuit of JUSTICE seeking PEACE so that ALL the children and innocent ones will know full FREEDOM and have life to the full.
My persistent prayer remains that God-for lack of a better name for the Divine Mystery of the Universe-will have Mercy and Patience on we the "people who are supposed to know better [but have been] standing around like furniture!"-Bob Dylan
Much love and Gratitude to Agron Belica, Tim and Bonnie King, Ken O'Keefe and EVERYONE who rises up and shines the LIGHT of TRUTH on hypocrisy in high places as "It's not dark yet, but its getting there...I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies...Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear. It's not dark yet, but it's getting there"-Dylan
YET i KNOW/BELIEVE and HOPE that the LIGHT of TRUTH fueled by COMPASSION and LOVE will begin this world again and GODSPEED on it!
one little most sister,
xoxe
Agron Belica May 27, 2011 3:29 pm (Pacific time)
@Laleh Bakhtiar: Thanks! I feel very much for these people. This evil must stop. Peace
Colli May 27, 2011 3:13 pm (Pacific time)
Once again, we see killing going on simply because a group of people call God by a different name than another group . . . because one group chooses to worship God in a way that is different . . . because they choose a different effigy. If anyone can explain to me why any of these things matter, I would be grateful. I cannot seem to wrap my mind around why anyone would choose to deny someone the right to worship whom or what they want, in any way they want short of human sacrifice. Maybe that is it. Those individuals taking part in the genocidal efforts, from the time of the Crusades on, are actually either consciously or sub-consciously viewing what they do as human sacrifice to whichever Deity they worship and war is a convenient cover-up.
Laleh Bakhtiar May 27, 2011 3:01 pm (Pacific time)
Thanks Tim and Team and Agron for standing against the genocide being systematically undertaken in Sri Lanka by the Buddhist leaders against the Hindus and Christians.
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