Menkent’s Blog

Freedom Denied! Are We Happy Now: The Crushing of Sri Lanka’s Tamils June 3, 2009

Freedom Denied! Are We Happy Now: The Crushing of Sri Lanka’s Tamils

Mike Cowie

“Terrorism doesn’t just blow up buildings; it blasts every other issue off the political map. The spectre of terrorism – real and exaggerated – has become a shield of impunity, protecting governments around the world from scrutiny for their human rights abuses”

      – Naomi Klein 

“If you listen to the politicians, you might think we are all terrorists”

      – Loesje (International – originally Dutch – free speech organization) 

“Our position is clear and frank… We consider the military occupation of our land a terrorist act”

      – Yasser Arafat 

So, with the war in Sri Lanka now over and the Tamils having been crushed and brought to their knees, I’d like to ask just one question: Are we happy now? With the Tamils’ decades-long struggle for self-determination quashed and their dreams of an independent homeland shattered, are we fully satisfied? Should we give ourselves a pat on the back?

Because there’s no denying that this result is largely due to us here in the freedom-loving West. Specifically, I’m referring to how the governments of Canada, America, Australia and the European Union all decided to take sides in this civil war – this brutal ethnic civil war. (more…)