On
February Tenth, Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council passed a resolution
accusing subsequent governments in the nation of committing ‘genocide’ against
the native Tamils. The Colombo leadership has thus far not condoned the
resolution, especially since it has been involving multiple external countries
in hopes to gain international support ahead of the U.N. Human Rights Council gathering
in Geneva. The resolution was moved by Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran with the
intent to deliver, “an overview of the evidence demonstrating successive Sri
Lankan governments’ genocide against Tamils”. It appealed to the U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights for the examination of the claim and hope for a
reciprocated action. The eleven page document included and exemplified episodes
of violence, persecution, and oppression in Sri Lankan history, especially
considering the controversial Sinhala Only Act of 1956. In culmination, these
acts have, according to U.N. estimates, claimed 40, 000 civilian lives. Health
Minister and Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said President Maithripala
Sirisena had promised to initiate an internationally approved, domestic inquiry
process saying, “This is a period of reconciliation, and both sides should
engage constructively, rejecting extremism”. He says that although the Northern
Provincial Council may be justified in raising concern over alleged war crimes,
“they cannot call it genocide,” and that, “Choosing confrontational ways will
hamper forward movement on the issue.” To complicate the dilemma, most of the
issue, as the article articulates, is driven by the lack of representation of
all parties and native ethnicities, pointing to apparent differences within the
main political party representing the island’s northern Tamils versus the
contrasting parties.
This article shows how often Genocide is committed on a
domestic basis in order to establish a “pure race” nation or due to the
possible discrimination and prosecution embedded in leadership. It is evident
that in Sri Lanka, there is a power struggle between the two native peoples,
the Tamils and the Sinhalese. Genocide is defined differently throughout
languages in cultures, simply from the socially constructed association it
suggests. I think once comparing this article to my previous blog, it shows how
Genocide as a term may be used interchangeable as a way of describing War
Crimes, no matter how accurate the description or association may be.
February 13, 2015
10:56 PM
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