Posted on 04/20/2009 5:05:40 PM PDT by zaphod3000
Reporting from New Delhi -- In a sign of its growing confidence, Sri Lanka on Monday issued an ultimatum calling on Tamil rebels to surrender or perish after the army reportedly breached a major defensive barrier, paving the way for tens of thousands of civilians to make a run for it.
Troops captured an additional square-mile area of the rebels' shrinking terrain Monday, freeing about 19,000 civilians trapped by the fighting, while the navy freed 2,165 people as more fled in other directions, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.
By some reports, as many as 35,000 noncombatants fled the hotly contested battle zone.
None of the claims could be verified since the Sri Lankan government rarely allows independent media, civic or monitoring groups into the conflict area.
Government forces broke through part of a 7-mile-long barrier built by the rebels as they prepared for their last stand, military officials said. The breach allowed civilians to flee the area.
SNIP
The civil war has raged for the last quarter century. In recent months, however, largely due to more aggressive tactics and a major increase in its ranks, the army has made significant gains, trapping most Tiger fighters in an area as small as 6.5 square miles on the island's northern coast.
"Militarily, [the Tamil fighters] appear to have lost their major artillery weapons, including 130mm [millimeter] guns and antiaircraft weapons," wrote Col. R. Hariharan, a retired Indian military intelligence official who served in Sri Lanka in the late 1980s, in a recent report. "Thus the security forces have overwhelmed the LTTE, not only physically, but also psychologically."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Dude, nobody is denying the murders and the bombings-unless you want to say that all the Tamils are with the LTTE.
“Which people? The Sri Lankans, or the Tamil Tigers? (You do know that these so-called Tigers are nothing but Muslims trying to take over the country by force, right?) The Tamils of course! Need to go back to India.
If they are Muslim, don’t they belong in Bangladesh?”
I have seen a lot of pictures of the damage they have done.
Shoot them on sight.
Maybe you also need to see a few pictures of the riots that Sinhalese politicians orchestrated against the Tamils in the 60s-80s, when the LTTE didn’t exist. Does that mean all the Sinhalese were involved??
http://indianchristians.in/news/content/view/278/47/
http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/11/stories/2004041101791800.htm";
You miss the point by a mile they are the majority and this is their country.
We have to get to the "reason" if this is true, No different than Mexicans Here.
It was no one’s country till 60 years ago when the Brits created it....in fact it was not a country. There were Tamil kingdoms and principalities since the medieval era.
And if the think the Sinhalese are a monolithic bunch-well they aint-the Island has Christians, Moorish Muslims, Buddhists and of course the Tamils-each distinct.
Actually the reason is pretty much the opposite of what you think it is-the Tamils were far better off and occupied positions of power in the British civil service than the Sinhalese.
whatever the Britt's brought the Tamil's in en-mass..
You mean the Brits established all those Tamil settlements in the north-which began in the 14th century or so???
Here’s a very old report on the underlying issues of the Tamil population-it’s from the Library of Congress. Take a look at the education/enrollment figures for Tamils then and now and see who were the Mexicans-
http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/71.htm
So I guess for cheap Tea much akin to the Spaniard's spreading slaves throughout the Caribbean, BUT when colonial rule leaves then the trouble starts! SO My question is how do you undo it with an unwilling "Guest"?
Who said they were unwilling and guests at that??
I worked with them for 6 Years but of the two the Buddhists any day.Anyway my take on it was from what I read and saw while they were in my employee.
Since you keep bringing up the British colonial era constantly, I guess you don’t know that the Tamils they brought in are pretty different culturally from the Tamils who reached centuries earlier. And the Indian Tamils are not the majority of the Tamil population
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/903606.stm
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5249.htm
Why that was myself!! Aaahh I guess the bombings and people parts scattered around by the blast would create a slight dislike.
I’ve had plenty of friends from the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil (and Indian Tamil) groups and have been studying the situation for a long time and its not all black and white.
Are all the Tamils involved in these bombings-you aren’t answering that
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/903606.stm
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5249.htm";
No unfortunately I did not! But having worked crews of them and the daily news was a constant show of carnage I did a quick study and threw my lot with the Buddhists. Look I have no problem with Indians also having a lot of them also on staff.
I would guess because it is a stupid question!
Sure you can throw your lot with anyone you want-I prefer to look at what’s the real issue and as far as I see, the Buddhists (or rather their hypocritic politicians and clergy) are not angelic.
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