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கருணா மீண்டும் ஓடிவிட்டதாக செய்திகள் வருகின்றன. கருணா அடிக்கடி ஓடுவதால் எங்களுடைய ஊடகங்களுக்கும் சலிப்பு வந்து விட்டது. கருணா இம் முறை ஓடியதைப் பற்றி யாரும் பெரிதாக அலட்டிக் கொள்ளவில்லை. ஒரு சிறிய செய்தியாக மட்டுமே வெளியிட்டிருந்தார்கள். மக்களும் பெரிதாக அதுபற்றி அக்கறை செலுத்தவில்லை.

  இம் முறை கருணாவை "கருணா குழுவில்" இருந்தே இடைநீக்கம் செய்து விட்டதாக சொல்லப்படுவதுதான் கருணாவின் ஓட்டத்தில் உள்ள ஒரு புதிய விடயம். இது பற்றி பலவாறு கூறுப்படுகிறது. கருணா உண்மையிலேயே நீக்கப்பட்டுவிட்டதாக ஒரு தரப்பினரும், சர்வதேசத்தை அமைதிப்படுத்துவதற்கு நடக்கும் ஒரு நாடகம் என்று தரப்பினரும் கருத்துக் கூறுகிறார்கள்.

After a glorious fact finding mission to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Louise Arbour, described the killings, disappearances, forceful evictions and land grabbings of the Tamils by the Sri Lankan Government, as ‘alarming’ and called for UN-Government cooperation to address the problem.

Her simplistic statement has disappointed us, the Tamils. We wonder why the UN is so insensitive to the suffering of our people.

Maybe we would better understand if we examined the history of the international community’s behaviour towards those weak and oppressed.
 
A few years ago, there was a man who was both intelligent and ambitious who lived in a beautiful country, a blessed one. His people were cultured but they mistrusted and oppressed the minorities.
 
He was from a privileged back ground. He studied hard and became a lawyer and in his youth he joined a political party. His direct style and advocacy of nationalism appealed to his people. He travelled to many towns and villages to hear the grievances of his people living there. Nationalist rhetoric, and his profile, was further heightened by media coverage and rallies organised by his supporters.

The international media described him as a strong man.

He organised mass rallies and used the media to promote his nationalist agenda. His popularity climbed. Within a few months he won a presidential election as the most popular candidate and became the president of his country.

He immediately acted to oppose the movement for autonomy of the minorities living in the country and to subvert the multiparty system. He broke down the opposition parties and used legal loopholes to curtail existing local power modalities.

The international community continued to ignore his actions and considered it an internal matter.

This week I was approached by the editorial team to write an article about higher studies in non-‘science’ related fields. Cliché I know, but apparently still a necessary topic to write about. In addition, It seems that this task always falls on me as I am apparently ‘the obvious candidate’ to discuss such a topic.

As you readers may or may not know, I have just completed my studies in political science (ignore the science bit) and now I am studying for my MSc in the same field. Growing up I harboured the typical ambition for a Tamil youth and that was to become a doctor. But as I became older and slightly wiser I decided that it was not the career for me. Apart from being a complete germ’o’phobe I did not like the idea of having to work long arduous hours where I was in regular contact with blood, guts and the sorts. Now I know what you are thinking, that there are other fields within medicine that do not involve such gore…but it was not the career for me. Much to the disappointment of my parents, I decided to continue my studies in the dreaded Arts field.

Eventually with a lot of gentle persuasion and a lot of good exam results later my parents were happy that I followed a path that made me happy and that I could excel in. It just so happens that both my degrees have the word science stuck on the end of them…that’s always a bonus in for us Tamils.

ஐ.நா.வின் மனிதவுரிமைகள் ஆணையளார் லு}யிஸ் ஆர்பரின் இலங்கைப் பயணம் பற்றிய செய்திகளும், ஆய்வுகளும் கடந்த இரண்டு வாரங்களாக ஊடகங்களை நிறைத்திருந்தன. கனடா குபெக் மாநிலத்தைச் சேர்ந்த இந்தப் பெண்மணி சிறிலங்கா அரசுக்கும் சிங்கள் கடும்போக்காளர்களுக்கும் சிம்மசொப்பனமாகத் தெரிந்தார். அவரது பயணத்துக்கு பின்னர் தீவில் மனித உரிமை விடயத்தில மாற்றம் எதுவும் ஏற்படவில்லை. ஆனால் சிறிலங்கா அரசுக்கு இவ்விடயத்தில் ஆலோசனை வழங்கிக் கொண்டிருந்த நான்கு பிரமுகர்கள் பதவியிலிருந்து விலகியிருக்கிறார்கள். மேற்குலகை திருப்திப்படுத்துவதற்காக சிறிலங்கா அரசுடனான தமது உறவுகளைத் துண்டித்துக்கொள்ள வேண்டிய அவசியம் அவர்களுக்கு ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.