Asada M Erpini

The LTTE members and the supporters of the terrorist group based in the richest countries in the World ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, etc. – are getting ready to hold their annual ritual under the banner ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Black JulyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. It is to tell the ignorant and gullible citizens of these countries how tens of thousands of innocent Tamils were massacred by the criminal Sinhalese in Sri Lanka in July1983, forcing those who managed to escape to seek refuge in far off lands.

The number of innocents killed during the July ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢83 riots may have been a few hundred ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the writer does not condone the killing of even a single individual by anyone ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” and certainly does not run into tens of thousands as projected to the rest of the world by the LTTE and its backers under the misnomers such as holocaust or genocide. There were many Sinhalese families who went out of their way to give shelter to those affected, but this fact is conveniently ignored as otherwise the whole argument that the Sinhalese ethnic group was hell bent on killing every Tamil would not hold water.

As pointed out by many writers to the Lankaweb and other forums, it is highly likely that the whole episode of the July ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢83 riots was pre-planned and orchestrated by interested parties outside Sri Lanka. Once it occurred, the Tamils used it as convenient excuse to go to the rich countries in the West ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” not to Tamil Nadu located a mere 20 miles away with over 65 million of their blood brothers, but to countries such as Canada, separated by nearly 3000 miles from Sri Lanka but having one of the highest Quality of Life indeces.

Sri Lanka has been lackadaisical in its approach to dealing with the false propaganda that is perpetuated by the LTTE Tamils. A classic example is the number of civilians killed in the final stages of the liberation war that was concluded on 19 May 2009: the entire world, except for a few open-mined individuals who desire objective data, has accepted that 40,000 innocents were killed by the armed forces of Sri Lanka, but the UN office in Colombo estimated the figure to be approximately 7200, and even that total was not released as an official figure because the UN Office could not confirm it. How did the falsified total become ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”factƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢? Sri Lanka kept quiet allowing the LTTE backers to have a field day.

It is not too late for Sri Lanka to plan to have anniversaries of the format that the LTTE is organising. The Arantalawa bhikku massacre, Sri Maha Bodi massacre of devotees, bombing of The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, killing of cultivators in Dollar Farm and Kent Farm, killing 600 policemen who surrendered to the LTTE (!) on the orders of a former Prime Minster of Sri Lanka, bombing of a school basketball team at the Fort Railway Station, killing of over 200 unarmed soldiers on leave near the Mirisgoniyawa Bridge close to Dambulla, bombing of schoolchildren near the Maradana Railway Station, Kebethigollewa massacre of innocent villagers, etc. should be given the widest possible publicity in all four corners of the world. Every Sri Lankan Embassy should have poster displays, talks by knowledgeable individuals, video presentations and other such publicity events to open the eyes of the world to the fact that it is the Sinhalese and also the non-LTTE Tamils and the Moors who suffered a great deal more than the LTTE propagandists who have managed to get citizenship in the rich countries.

Just like the events of the calibre of Deyata Kiruala and Mahapola, finances should be allocated and capable individuals assigned to organise commemorative programmes within Sri Lanka as well. Keeping quiet as a nation, allowing only the near and dear of those killed by the LTTE to suffer in silence, is not option.