Word: sri
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Incoming Harvard Law School Visiting Professor Neelan Tiruchelvam was murdered yesterday, the victim of a suicide bombing in his native Colombo, Sri Lanka...
...only has this Tamil history been conveniently erased, but media coverage of Sri Lanka, where journalists are severely restricted by the government, consistently fails to represent a diversity of views. For example, after Neelan's death, I made it a point to ask members of the Tamil community what they thought of his death and the war in general...
...there are some who say Neelan got caught up in the power of politics and forgot the common man. When Neelan's original constitutional changes--which the LTTE would have found less objectionable--were drastically rewritten, Neelan said nothing. There are those who told me that the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan government and the media made Neelan--who was appointed, not elected--a mouthpiece for the Tamil people. There are those who told me Neelan was a convenient, moderate leader for the West and those international leaders who ignore the Tamil cause...
...Tamil community who voiced their opinions so strongly in this matter were informed by ethnic newspapers, underground publications and word-of-mouth. What about those of us who don't have access to all those sources on a regular basis? How do we sort out our opinions? Now, in Sri Lanka, the air seethes with rumors of hidden horrors--torture, rape, looting, murder. Thankfully, in our family, the worst thing that has happened is the burning of my aunt's house 15 years ago. I could tell you stories much worse and much bloodier than that...
...this story so regularly ignored? Why are human rights abuses--a large number at the government's hands--occurring daily and ignored daily? Is it because Sri Lankans are people of color? Is it because the country's economy isn't worth enough? For the ethnic conflict in Kosovo, media attention meant international outrage--and international intervention and aid. If no one brings attention to what is happening in Sri Lanka, when will it stop? How can the journalists who can and don't cover Sri Lanka look at themselves in the mirror every morning...