The North Is Living In Fear..!!! TAMILS: LTTE lost the War, But We have Lost our Freedom..!!!

The North Is Living In Fear
Posted by admin/thesundayleader.lk on Apr 4th, 2010

By Faraz Shauketaly in Jaffna


Jaffna is still wretched and undeveloped and President Rajapaksa at the Nallur Kovil in Jaffna
As the parliamentary election campaigning comes to an end, The Sunday Leader headed off to the North by road.

Anuradhapura was a virtual sea of blue with Duminda Dissanayake holding the fort and appearing to be heading towards a convincing majority. He has consistently done better at each election and 2010 is not expected to be any different. With the help of his Chief Minister father, Berty Premalal, Duminda appears to be heading straight to the cabinet in a new parliament.

The story was very different between Anuradhapura and Jaffna. Despite much talk of development in the North, the road from Habarana to Vavuniya, Omanthai, Kilinochchi and Jaffna was nothing short of disgraceful. The Army may well have built or rebuilt the A9 in a commendable hurry but the end result is a piece of shoddy workmanship.

The areas surrounding Kilinochchi were in ruins. The evidence of a savage battle fought virtually hand-to-hand and face-to-face was very evident. The destruction was very much there to be seen. Building after building was devastated, with very little proper housing remaining. There was some welcome reconstruction, but by and large the area was bereft of any development work. The sole exception was the vast quantities of pre-fabricated material that had been imported from China to build the Army cantonments in the area. As we passed through the ruins of Kilinochchi and saw camps housing the destitute, we could not but wonder at what the road to Mullaitivu would be like. The road from Kilinochchi to Mullaitivu is out of bounds to all but the armed forces, but having seen the complete destruction that is Kilinochchi, we could imagine with clarity what we would see if we were indeed allowed in. The area is said to be empty of civilians, with the armed forced being the only human presence.

The people of the North were clearly not in the mood for electioneering. There was, most said, more important matters at hand, like their very survival. They asked what development was. Was it not, they innocently suggested, the ability to get on with their lives? To farm their lands, to return to their homes and to restore some modicum of dignity to their wretched lives? Parliamentary elections are not at the top of their wish list. Nothing, they assured us, would be different after the elections.

Campaigning is hard work for the opposition. They have to clear every visit to the area with the Army. Typically, opposition figures said, permission was usually reserved for Rishad Bathiudeen, the Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, and the lead government politician. The opposition charged that he was in collusion with the Army and that his campaign was able to reach places where opposition politicians were simply not allowed to go. A request for a morning meeting, for example, would never be granted. An evening meeting was more likely to be approved, but holding a night meeting in a former war zone is not always the easiest thing to do.

The people of the North are living in fear. The LTTE lost the war, they said, but we have lost our freedom. And how true that was. They questioned the need to have fancy children’s parks and play areas in the devastated areas instead of housing.

There was a distinct lack of interest in the election amongst the people, and the voter turnout was expected to be low. Most gave extravagant praise to all the candidates – a dead giveaway that they were too frightened to reveal their true preference.

4 Responses for
“The North Is Living In Fear”

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SLFireBall says:
April 4, 2010 at 6:44 am“The people of the North are living in fear. The LTTE lost the war, they said, but we have lost our freedom. And how true that was. They questioned the need to have fancy children’s parks and play areas in the devastated areas instead of housing”

Wow people in North might have been really enjoying the “free” life under the jackboot of the LTTE, with child conscription and high cost of living. When did the author of this article was born? January 2010?

Reply
Logan says:
April 4, 2010 at 2:10 pmHello SLFireball have you ever been to these areas after the war. I don’t think you have. Please shut up your dirty mouth and keep silence. Go to a nursery and start from the beginning. Think other way round if the war has devatated your area and your family.

Reply panishkarsingh says:
April 4, 2010 at 2:30 pmLANKA’S WALK TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE DEMOCRACY

Enable tamils to prosper and Lanka benefits with it.

A commencement of political senility, Sri Lanka is sliding itself into anarchy, take examples of Myanmar, “they shoot monks they imprison monks and finally imprison the entire Nation.

By pissing on a Buddha statue, this shows how much of respect this person has for the majority of Lankans who venerate their Buddha.

The Tamil population has always been a strong dynamo within the economic tissue of all Nations, permit them to help SL prosper.

The STF was a force created to fight terrorism, but this force has been nurtured to contain any opposition and even kill dissent. The loyalty of this force will maintain the Presidents clan in power “even be it with violence”. Therefore, it is time that all Lankans ponder, “DO THEY WANT A DICTATORSHIP OR DO THEY WISH TO CONTINUE WITH A POTENT OLD FORCE FOR DEMOCRACY”. The UPFA, clan has to remain in power as long as it takes to keep their cohorts, who murdered journalists and civilians from a court of law.

The president of Peru thought that he was immunized against all legal punishment he is languishing in jail with a lengthy sentence of 30 years. Killing of the terrorists is certainly a debatable issue, but not killing journalists and civilians. VOTE UNP, AT LEAST YOU HAVE YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

Have no fear all Lankans, there is a torch for freedom.

Reply Shan Nalliah,Gandhiyist Norway says:
April 4, 2010 at 2:36 pm Sinhala racism,idiotism,arrogance,lies,empty promises,hatred,ignorance,adamant denials never stop ruining Tamils,who love justice,freedom,equality,HR,harmony with all! GOD SAVE SRILANKA!