This thread is very civilised – but I guess that must be because PP isn’t frequented by the average LTTE supporter. Whenever I’ve expressed these views in SL Tamil company, I have got a fair amount of negative feedback (although some support too). Arguments used are on the lines of middle class “bourgeois” preoccupation with democracy and human rights, when what we need now is revolutionary solidarity to save our “ancestral homeland” blah blah. MIA is an example of that opposing view.

Prescott Luva says SL is not an apartheid state and Tamils are not spat on etc. That’s all true. But I think the poison of recent history runs very deep and I fear it’s too late to go back to the unitary multi-ethnic state of the 1950s.

As I said in the last thread: There is still widespread SL Tamil support [in UK, Australia, Canada and in SL itself] for at least very extensive autonomy for the North and the East, and a general preference for independence, even if there is also a definite war weariness. Although things in Sri Lanka are a lot better than they were in the 1970s and 1980s when many SL Tamils left the country, there is still a general perception (and I believe reality) of anti-Tamil discrimination, and wide distrust of all the main Sinhala dominated political parties. (Unfair towards Wikramasinghe in my opinion.) As far as I’ve been able to find out, no Tamils were involved in the protests about BBC reporting – though I may be wrong.

The challenge for Tamils abroad who have any sense is to try and influence events back in SL so that we don’t end up with an LTTE/ Prabakharan military dictatorship. Self-determination? yes. Nutty militaristic suicide bombing dictatorship? no.

Let’s see what happens to LTTE support here in the UK in light of the just announced EU proscription and any other further developments – particularly if there’s a return to full scale war.

The song ‘Sunshowers’ has a lyrical reference to the PLO and ‘never surrendering’ – which might have something to do with it.

http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/music/1321

Seems this person has been denied entry for lyrics deemed supportive of the LTTE.
Hadn’t heard of her before I stumbled on this, but she sounds pretty crap tbh.

That is something I’d like to see more on as well. I’m glad Sunny reposted Ravi’s comments as they are well tempered.

I do know that the Canadian Intelligence services have done a lot of research into the Tamil/SL community presence in Canada, I’ll try to find something online – most of the stuff I have is back home

Some of the money is genuinely used for charity…some of it isn’t. The LTTE are VERY good at their propaganda and will be quick to ‘shoot down’ any form of dissent and questioning.

As I mentioned in my previous article – their interest is Power, not the wellbeing of the Tamil people. If that were the case, they’d allow the democratic process to take its course.
Many of the Tamil politicians who have done so are anything but a bunch of weaklings – they will fight just as rigourously for Tamils, just through peaceful means.

“This thread is so civilised and polite – imagine if this was Indo-Pak or hell, an Israel-palestine discussion!

I havn’t had the time to look into the previous discussion again but the situation isnt a case of race v. race. Race happens to be an issue but in my opinion the war in SL stopped being about it a while ago.
SL is not an apartheid state and I’m yet to see a Tamil being spat on or refused anything due to their race.

There is a myth that the Tamils are unwilling subjects in a race-oriented state – I’ve lived and travelled extensively for 20 years of my life without seeing any evidence of it.
Some terrible things have occurred in our recent history but the majority of folks have had nothing to do with it and to end the war is an ‘unfair’ mess on every single person who carries a Sri Lankan passport – that includes Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers (mixed/Portuguese-Dutch decent) and other Creole minorities.

I still think its worth evaluating all this in the context of diasporic community dynamics.

When I was in Australia, I encountered (for the first and only time) fundraising among SL Tamils for the cause. The fundraisers emphasised that the money was for charity but quite a few of my SL friends had doubts about this though no one openly challenged the story.