{"id":102062,"date":"2020-05-08T21:34:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-09T04:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=102062"},"modified":"2020-05-09T04:27:43","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T11:27:43","slug":"75th-anniversary-of-world-war-victory-amid-covid19-germany-too-celebrates-will-tamils-celebrate-victory-over-ltte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/05\/08\/75th-anniversary-of-world-war-victory-amid-covid19-germany-too-celebrates-will-tamils-celebrate-victory-over-ltte\/","title":{"rendered":"75th anniversary of World War Victory amid COVID19: Germany too celebrates. Will Tamils celebrate victory over LTTE?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-09-at-9.34.47-AM-1024x268.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102063\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Those\nthat demanded Sri Lanka stop \u2018triumphalism\u2019 when the nation celebrated victory\nover LTTE in May 2009, have been triumphing victory over Germany &amp; Japan\nsince 1945 by even enacting battle victories annually. V_E Day Europe has been\ncelebrated annually since 1946 on 8 May. The 6year war ended with Germany\u2019s\nsurrender. Sri Lanka\u2019s LTTE refused offers to lay down arms &amp; surrender and\nwas vanquished by the Sri Lanka Army in 3 years. <strong>What is special about this 75<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary V-E DAY for\nGermany is that the defeated country leader has announced a one-off public\nholiday as a \u2018<\/strong><strong>day\nof liberation and the toppling of the Nazi regime&#8221;<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> Now if a defeated country is also celebrating\ndefeat of its own Nazi leader Hitler and regarding Hitler\u2019s defeat as\nliberating the German people from Nazi rule, perhaps <strong>it\u2019s time for Tamils too to openly celebrate the defeat of LTTE on 19\nMay 2009 and liberation of the Tamil people from LTTE tyranny.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>World War 2 &amp; LTTE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The War began with Germany\u2019s invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. LTTE\u2019s downfall began when it closed the Mavil Aru anicut in July 2006. The World War 2 saw 60million deaths. Sri Lanka\u2019s Armed Forces saved close to 300,000 Tamils and accepted surrender of close to 12,000 LTTE combatants which included 594 child soldiers, later given a Presidential Pardon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hilter, the Nazi leader committed suicide on 30 April during the Battle of Berlin in 1945 but Prabakaran LTTE leader was too shy to bite his cyanide capsule and was killed trying to escape on 18 May 2009. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-09-at-9.30.40-AM-1024x423.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102064\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>VE Day celebrations &#8211; Re-enacting\nwar victories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>V-E Day is observed on May 8, 1945 in\nGreat Britain, Western Europe, the United States and Australia, and on May 9 in\nthe Soviet Union and New Zealand. In\nFrance, Norway and Russia, 8 May is a holiday. &nbsp;The Allied countries annually re-enact battle\nvictories. People get to see exactly how the War was fought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-american-scholar-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"QNZpX3dcn1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanscholargroup.com\/d-day-reenactment-18\/\">Students Attend the Annual D-DAY Reenactment!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Students Attend the Annual D-DAY Reenactment!&#8221; &#8212; American Scholar Group\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanscholargroup.com\/d-day-reenactment-18\/embed\/#?secret=bSt7Lg61VD#?secret=QNZpX3dcn1\" data-secret=\"QNZpX3dcn1\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-pariscityvision\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"b1jb2VP1Qu\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.pariscityvision.com\/75th-anniversary-of-the-d-day-landings-and-the-battle-of-normandy-in-2019.html\">75th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the battle of Normandy in 2019!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;75th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the battle of Normandy in 2019!&#8221; &#8212; PARISCityVISION\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.pariscityvision.com\/75th-anniversary-of-the-d-day-landings-and-the-battle-of-normandy-in-2019.html\/embed#?secret=b1jb2VP1Qu\" data-secret=\"b1jb2VP1Qu\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>V-E Day amidst Covid-19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of the mega-events planned by Allied nations for the 75<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary victory over Germany has had to be scaled down because of COVID19. Veterans could not attend because of impact to health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-09-at-9.10.09-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102065\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nQueen was just 19years on the first V-E Day celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2020\/05\/08\/ve-day-2020-75-anniversary-celebrations-live-latest-news\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>US President Trump laid a wreath<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/video.fcmb2-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t42.26565-2\/10000000_531490044215116_5762942837246573635_n.mp4?_nc_cat=1&#038;_nc_sid=985c63&#038;efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6Im9lcF9zZCJ9&#038;_nc_ohc=-jruwcoXREQAX_p3Xk0&#038;_nc_ht=video.fcmb2-1.fna&#038;oh=3c91ac6956342749f8d4baab64db83ca&#038;oe=5EB64513\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Brussels, NATO Secretary General\nJens Stoltenberg marked the anniversary by honoring the millions who died in\nthe war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>V-E Day Celebrations around the world &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/world\/how-ve-day-is-being-celebrated-differently-this-year-under-pandemic-measures-1.4930424\">https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/world\/how-ve-day-is-being-celebrated-differently-this-year-under-pandemic-measures-1.4930424<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Post-World War 2 \u2013 How Germans\nwere treated<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between 1945 and 1950,\nEurope witnessed the largest episode of forced migration. Between 12 million\nand 14 million German-speaking civilians were forcibly ejected from their\nplaces of birth in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, and what are\ntoday the western districts of Poland to ruined Germany. Historians claim some\n500,000 died in this transfer operation. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Germans had to wear\nwhite armbands to be easily recognizable. German men, women and children were\nbeaten mercilessly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Historians\nclaim over 1million German women were raped during and after. The UK Telegraph\nsay some 3million Germans died after World War 2 and during Allied occupation\nof Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>De-nazification of Germany began with banning of anything to do with Nazi (an error by GoSL in not de-nazifying LTTE and removing all ideological emblems associated with LTTE eelam separatism) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-09-at-10.00.14-AM-1024x353.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102066\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Allies continue to occupy\nGermany <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Germany\nwas defeated in 1945. But the Allies remained in Germany till 1955 (10 years\nGermany was occupied by the Allies)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nBerlin Wall that divided East and West German was destroyed in 1991 unifying\nGermany. It was only in 1994 that Allied Troops from US \u2013 UK and France left\nGermany having being stationed in Berlin since end World War 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However,\nunder status of forces agreement US continues to have 21 military bases across\nGermany, <a href=\"https:\/\/militarybases.com\/overseas\/germany\/\">https:\/\/militarybases.com\/overseas\/germany\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>US\nhad 200,000 troops in Germany in 1990 which was reduced to 42,450 by 2014 in 38\nfacilities across Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UK\nhas 20,000 troops in Germany which has been reduced to 4000 and UK will even\nafter Brexit decide to keep its troops in Germany. Upto 2008 France had 4000\ntroops in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nvery countries demanding Sri Lanka remove its troops inside its own country,\nmaintain bases by force in Germany with thousands of foreign troop presence!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tamils \u2013 take a lesson from\nGermany<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While\nthe Allied Troops have celebrated annually, Germany, the country that the\nAllies defeated use 8 May to commemorate the Germans who fought against Nazism and\nthose that lost their lives in World War 2. Ideally, <strong>Sri Lanka must also use Sri Lanka\u2019s Victory Day to remember with\ngratitude the many Tamils that bravely stood against LTTE and were killed by\nLTTE because of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ironically,\nwhile Germany suffered for years after end of war, Sri Lanka\u2019s North saw\ndevelopment never seen throughout defacto LTTE rule of 30 years. Roads, train\nservice, renovations to schools and other properties damaged and even areas\nwhich never had electricity since 1980s saw a new life. All that the North was\nenjoying post-LTTE defeat was suppressed and diminished by the bandwagon of\nexternal trouble-makers who helped LTTE thrive and was partially seeking\nrevenge and a means of sustaining their $300m annually profitable LTTE kitty\nalive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/video.news24.com\/show\/259536\">https:\/\/video.news24.com\/show\/259536<\/a> Germany\u2019s Angela Merkel attends 75<sup>th<\/sup> Victory Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-09-at-9.20.23-AM-1024x739.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102067\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Allies\ncelebrate 75 years since end of Hitler and Nazi rule. Sri Lanka in a few days-time\nwill celebrate 11years since end of LTTE defeat. This is no better a time for\nthe Tamils to relook at what life was like during LTTE rule, what life became\nfor them after LTTE rule, how has TNA and other Tamil political parties\nactually served them, what are LTTE fronts really up to in drumming separatism\nwhile living overseas and holding foreign citizenship, how large is the LTTE\nkitty now without expense on maintaining LTTE combatants and buying weapons,\nwho is running the global LTTE illegal network that profits from money\nlaundering, credit card scams, hawala system, tax holiday manipulations by\nregistering as charities, human smuggling, illegal refugee application process\nthat involves paying to get burnt with cigarette butt ends and trained to act\nin front of foreign immigration officials to gain sympathy \u2026. How long can this\nfa\u00e7ade continue? How many have benefitted from this system of lying and\ncheating? Isn\u2019t it better to be inclusive citizens and partner development\ninstead of aligning to the bogus bandwagon of lies and liars?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Germany are now looking at defeat of Hitler &amp; Nazis as being liberated, it is good for Tamils to also think that they have been liberated of Prabakaran &amp; LTTE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Those that demanded Sri Lanka stop \u2018triumphalism\u2019 when the nation celebrated victory over LTTE in May 2009, have been triumphing victory over Germany &amp; Japan since 1945 by even enacting battle victories annually. V_E Day Europe has been celebrated annually since 1946 on 8 May. The 6year war ended with Germany\u2019s surrender. Sri Lanka\u2019s LTTE [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}