Sri Lanka crisis civil war

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John
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Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by John »

The Sri Lanka crisis civil war appears to be nearing a climax. As
horrible as this war is, it provides a fascinating opportunity to
watch a crisis war end in real time.

The civil war between the two Sri Lankan ethnic groups -- the market
and government dominant Sinhalese vs marginalized Tamils. The Tamil
rebels are called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),
informally known as the Tamil Tigers.

Here's a list of articles I've written on Sri Lanka over the past few
years:

** Sri Lanka crisis civil war nears climax, as army captures Mullaittivu
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 28#e090128


** Gaza war heads toward cease-fire, while violence surges in Sri Lanka
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 19#e090119


** In Gaza and Sri Lanka, war slides into genocide.
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 06#e090106


** Sri Lanka crisis war appears close to a genocidal climax.
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 27#e081227


** Sri Lanka government declares all out war against Tamil Tiger rebels
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 04#e080104


** Tamil Tiger rebel aircraft bomb government airfields, escalating Sri Lanka civil war
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 26#e070326


** Bird flu spreading rapidly in Asia during New Year's celebrations
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... b#e070217b


** Australian Govt. warns citizens to avoid Sri Lanka
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... b#e061020b


** While world watches Lebanon, Sri Lanka goes to war
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 03#e060803


** Massacre of civilians in Sri Lanka to crisis war
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 18#e060618


** Violence leading to Sri Lanka war is increasing
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 16#e060616


** Sri Lanka appears close to war
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 12#e060512


** Indian MP says that bird flu is a 'scam' - 'Tamil-flu'
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 03#e051203


Sincerely,

John

John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com/forum

Matt1989
Posts: 170
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:30 am

Re: Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by Matt1989 »

Do you put the start date in '83?

John
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Re: Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by John »

Dear Matt,
Matt1989 wrote: > you put the start date in '83?
All the news reports indicate that the LTTE was formed in 1975, but
the violent hostilities didn't begin until 1983. Do you know
something different?

Sincerely,

John

John
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Re: Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by John »

The Sri Lanka government is claiming that the Tamil Tigers
have been defeated.

John

John
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TamilNet surrender statement: Tamil Tigers surrender

Post by John »

-- TamilNet surrender statement: Tamil Tigers surrender

"We have decided to silence our guns. Our only regrets are for the
lives lost and that we could not hold out for longer. We can no longer
bear to see the innocent blood of our people being spilled."
TamilNet wrote: > Dignity and respect for our people is all we ask –
> Pathmanathan


> [TamilNet, Sunday, 17 May 2009, 08:22 GMT]

> “Despite our plea to the world to save the thousands of people in
> Vanni from the clutches of death, the silence of the
> international community has only encouraged the Sri Lankan
> military to execute the war to its bitter end. In the past 24
> hours, over 3000 civilians lie dead on the streets while another
> 25,000 are critically injured with no medical attention. To save
> the lives of our people is the need of the hour. Mindful of this,
> we have already announced to the world our position to silence our
> guns to save our people," Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the head of
> LTTE’s International Diplomatic Relations has said in an urgent
> statement issued Sunday.

> "This we have appealed to the countries of the world and called
> on them to halt the unrelenting massacre of our people by the Sri
> Lankan armed machinery. We are extremely saddened that this plea
> has fallen on deaf ears”, Mr Pathmanathan further said as he
> desperately called on the International Community to take
> immediate actions to save the Tamil people caught in the war zone
> and take necessary actions to protect the cadres and people giving
> themselves up to the military.

> “This battle has reached its bitter end. Against all odds, we
> have held back the advancing Sinhalese forces without help or
> support, except for the unending support of our people. It is our
> people who are dying now from bombs, shells, illness and hunger.
> We cannot permit any more harm to befall them. We remain with one
> last choice – to remove the last weak excuse of the enemy for
> killing our people. We have decided to silence our guns. Our only
> regrets are for the lives lost and that we could not hold out for
> longer. We can no longer bear to see the innocent blood of our
> people being spilled," Mr. Pathmanathan said.

> The LTTE had for almost three decades fought the Sri Lankan
> military and defended its right to carry arms as a means of
> protecting the Tamil people living in the island. After
> unilaterally walking away from the Peace Process that began in
> 2002 with Norwegian facilitation, The Sri Lankan Government had
> opted for a military solution to end the crisis. Since the war
> intensified in 2007, several thousand Tamil civilians have died.
> The recent thrust by the military into the Northern strong holds
> of the Tamils have seen an escalation in the deaths and has
> resulted in untold misery with people succumbing to starvation and
> lack of medical supplies.

> “We need to do everything within our means to stop this carnage.
> If this means silencing our arms and entering a peace process,
> that is something that we have already agreed to,” said Mr
> Pathamanathan. “This is the need of the hour. These are
> historically unprecedented times and require historically prudent
> decisions. If this means saving the lives of thousands of people,
> it needs to be done” he stated.

> Mr Pathamanathan further stated that, “There is not a person who
> can doubt the LTTEs fearless and unending commitment to this cause
> with which we have been entrusted by our people. Know that the
> Tamils are a people deeply rooted in culture and history. No force
> can prevent the attainment of justice for our people. Our sons and
> daughters have taken up this call without question and without
> hesitation or fear of death. None have hesitated to make the
> supreme sacrifice for the cause of liberating their motherland. We
> have not forgotten that it is for our people that we fight. In the
> face of the current conditions, we will no longer permit this
> battle to be used as a justification by the forces of the Sinhala
> state to kill our people. We willingly stand up with courage and
> silence our guns. We have no other option other than to continue
> our plea to the international community to save our people”.

> http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29389

Matt1989
Posts: 170
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:30 am

Re: Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by Matt1989 »

John, do you suppose that acts of terrorism and guerrilla warfare will continue (as most do)? It will be interesting to see how the public responds to it. If your thesis is right, they'll become increasingly hostile to the Tigers as the 1T wears on.

Matt1989
Posts: 170
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:30 am

Re: Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by Matt1989 »

Also, this is pretty weak as climaxes go. Probably due to utter exhaustion.

John
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Location: Cambridge, MA USA
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Re: Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by John »

Dear Matt,
Matt1989 wrote: > John, do you suppose that acts of terrorism and guerrilla warfare
> will continue (as most do)? It will be interesting to see how the
> public responds to it. If your thesis is right, they'll become
> increasingly hostile to the Tigers as the 1T wears on.
There'll always be a few "renegades," but there are plenty of
historical examples to look at. For example, after the 1948-49 war
between Jews and Palestinians, war between the two groups didn't
really start again until the 1989 Intifada. (I'm not counting the
wars between Israel and Egypt.)

And after the American Civil War, there was never another war between
North and South.
Matt1989 wrote: > Also, this is pretty weak as climaxes go. Probably due to utter
> exhaustion.
The last few weeks have been unbelievably brutal and bloody. Everyone
knows that the government will not tolerate the formation of a new
Tamil army. This is the perfect example of, "The survivors will spend
the rest of their lives doing everything they can to make sure that
their children don't have to go through anything like it."

** Tamil Tigers surrender, ending the Sri Lanka crisis civil war
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 17#e090517


Sincerely,

John

The Grey Badger
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 11:50 pm

Re: Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by The Grey Badger »

"I will fight no more forever." Chief Joseph, reacting to the exact same situation. And as far as I know, that pledge was kept.

On the Stirling list, which often concerns itself with alternate history, Steve Stirling remarked that a smart victor does not do his enemy a small injury and then leave him alive. A smart victor crushes him totally and then offers generous terms and brings him into the community of - whatever the victor represents. We crushed the Native Americans totally in a military sense and, however stingy and corrupt our subsequent dealings with them have been, just go by any reservation on Veteran's Day. Likewise we totally crushed Germany and Japan and then totally rebuilt them on terms that did not humiliate them.

An example of the "do him an injury and leave him alive" is found in the aftermath of World War I. (Which of course was a 3T war - is Steve actually looking at a difference in how wars and victory are handled in different Turnings?)

I know this is off the main topic, but the way Sri Lanka treats the surviving Tamils - hang the leaders and offer the civilians generous terms, as opposed to vindictiveness - will go a long way towards determining the nature of the 1T.

Just my $0.02.

protagonist
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:59 pm

Re: Sri Lanka crisis civil war

Post by protagonist »

Yes, that would be the intelligent thing to do. To subjugate another culture, you must enforce yours over theirs, through mass slaughter.

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