A Rare Video of SWRD

In this recent blog post, Sam reminds how S W R D Bandaranaike changed national language in 1956, something most people in the present generation [wrongly] call a "Sinhala-only" policy.

English was the Language in Sri Lanka until Bandaranayaka changed it in to Sinhala “with reasonable use of Tamil” (the part everyone forget to mention when they talk about this), and later on, Tamil also considered as national language.

This rare video on youtube is an interview with SWRD, where he states the "reasonable use of Tamil" part. He also admires Tamil as a "rich language with literature and so on".

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How "Free" Media Create Hatred

Here are two reports on the resettlement of displaced people in Sri Lanka: one by the BBC, and another by the Associated Press.

The BBC report talks about "most of the 250,000 Tamils displaced", while AP talks about "the fate of the ethnic Tamil civilians".

WTF?

In my eyes, they are Sri Lankan citizens, be it "Tamil" or not, our brothers and sisters who desperately need help after going through so much. I am sure that I am not alone.

But some media reports continue to highlight ethnic prefixes. Does someone, or more than one someone, want to stop our country from unifying under a single Sri Lankan identity?

Even if they have an excuse to add an ethnic prefix, how do they say for sure that all the 250,000 displaced people are in fact Tamil? It may be true, but can those reports be so authoritative without even a sample survey?

Here is another news item from Reuters, which talks about just "refugees". No prefixes.

Interestingly, BBC conveniently forgot the "Tamil" prefix when headlining the assassination of Lakshman Kadiragamar and Jeyaraj Fernandopulle but not when pro-LTTE persons got killed (e.g.: here, here and here).

The war is over, but we now have more reasons to be vigilant. Not just about LTTE sleeping sells, but also about those who subtly create and extend ethnic hatred to stop us from uniting as Sri Lankans.

I don't expect every media organization to positively contribute to peace and harmony in Sri Lanka; being neutral is just fine. But if they positively and systematically contribute to create hatred among us, that's where we need to take a stand. By "taking a stand", I don't mean that we should ban them here, but educating ourselves and peace-loving fellow citizens of perils much more dangerous than armed terrorist organizations will go a long way.

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We Salute You!

Our country has finally become a truly unified sovereign. Last time it happened was in the 1500s (no, not in 1948).

I salute all our armed forces, those who have sacrificed their lives for the betterment of others in our nation, for making this happen!

Our country is lucky to be blessed with a President like Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the right time, if not later, complimented by great military leadership. A leadership that didn't become pawns of some other intrusive nations who call themselves the "International Community".

We also should be thankful to the nations who were with us during these hard times. Such times are invaluable to figure out who our true friends are.

In this defining moment of history, I think it is important for all of these to happen.

• Victory celebrations. Peaceful celebrations is a good way to bring our nation together. It is important not to spend a lot of money, next two items in the list needs them. Serving milk rice, hoisting national flags, rallies are all good, as long as they don't grow violent. I noticed Police presence in most of these events, which is good, so things won't go out of control.
• Helping disabled/fallen heroes, and their families.
• Contributing to help displaced people.
• Get rid of ethnic identities, and treat everyones as "Sri Lankans". Just getting rid of the adjectives marking ethnicity is all we need to do. We don't need "Sinhala Villages", "Tamil areas" etc. We have only Sri Lankan stuff. We may use "Sinhala-speaking" or "Tamil-speaking" when necessary, but there is no need to label people in ethnic terms anymore.

I am hopeful and optimistic that this will be the beginning of prosperity to our country!

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How to become a Superhero

There is Superman. There is Catwoman. There is Spiderman. And a few others.

There was a time I could count the number of superheros with my fingers. Not anymore. They are now everywhere!

And you can become one, if you like; simple.

Join an NGO to become an "aid worker". Become a journalist. Become a doctor or anyone that can be called an "official", or just call yourself one.

That's all it takes to become a superhero these days. And you will be much more powerful than the handful or traditional superheros!

Whatever you say will be fully trusted by "international" media. Even if they hear your (claimed) voice over the phone, or an email. No cross checking. No verifications. How very convenient?

Your judgment powers will become objective all of a sudden. Your previous relationships, your religions and political beliefs and aspirations, your former affiliations, will never affect your decisions. All that will be past. If others can't make head or tail of something, they will ask you. You will always be treated as "independent".

You will never take sides. Even if you did so in the past, you will make sure to leave such allegiances in the past. You will not merely transform into a superhero; you will be re-born!

If harm comes your way, judgment will have be fast-tracked and accelerated. Justice for other human beings can wait. After all, you are super-human, right?

You will get full immunity. Since you are very objective in thinking, you will never do something wrong. So no one can arrest you. Even if they did, you will have a stream of fans who will do everything in their power, and possibly more, to set you free. Laws made by ordinary humans for themselves cannot apply to you, even when you are not acting in the capacity of a superhero.

And you will be allowed to go to any dangerous place, and any other place, too, for that matter. But unlike for Superman, you will not have to look after your own safety. Others will have to make sure that you are safe, even if that makes their job much more difficult and dangerous. It's their problem; not yours.

And last, but not least, Superman will feel very jealous of you, because he doesn't get paid! ;-)

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