<!--QuoteBegin-G.Subramaniam+Feb 23 2009, 06:33 PM-->QUOTE(G.Subramaniam @ Feb 23 2009, 06:33 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->You are missing the main point
The initial sinhala pogroms were aimed at hindu symbols
Even now the sinhalese desecrate hindu temples
[right][snapback]94867[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->But the 'alternative' is no better. How pro-Hindu is the LTTE:
1. http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/285
The christian LTTE murdered the 61-year old Sri Lankan Hindu priest Parameshwara Gurukkal
2. http://www.christianaggression.org/item_di...S&id=1141381467
Go to the link to read the full article. Excerpts:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>A neo-colonial conspiracy</b>
By Sandhya Jain
February 26, 2006
Organiser
[...]
Hindus comprise almost 85 per cent of Lanka's Tamil population, and their traditions and culture are being eroded by the LTTE and its profoundly pro-western bias. Few Lankan Hindus are even now willing to speak of the LTTE's Christian character, though this is now increasingly visible, with the ironical result that Hindus in government-controlled territory are for the first time better off than those living under LTTE domination. Tamil writers note that Hindu temples are being reconstructed and having a vibrant service, with all festivals celebrated with great fervour in areas like Jaffna, Vavuniya and Batticaloa. But this is not true of the LTTE-controlled districts.
On the contrary, the LTTE is taking Hindu dharma out of the public arena. The important Tamil festival of Navaratri is accorded great respect in the government-held territory. Last year, the Buddhist Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Lokubandara, led the celebrations, which were attended by Sinhalese, Tamils and even Muslim MPs of various political parties. The JVP participated with enthusiasm, but the pro-LTTE TNA kept away from this major Hindu event in the nation's Parliament. LTTE's undeniable European tilt is becoming a matter of comment in Tamil circles. It is pointed out that the LTTE refused to negotiate with the Lankan government in Japan or Thailand; Prabhakaran boycotted the Tokyo conference. He is also anti-India. Instead, he preferred to talk only in <b>Norway</b> or Switzerland, countries with little understanding of Lanka. Political analysts say the LTTE ideology sidelines the indigenous religious traditions of the Lankan people as a whole. The organisation is anti-Buddhist, anti-Muslim, anti-Indian and anti-Asian, and has no Hindu sympathies either. It crushed the Batticaloa-based cadre that resulted in Karuna's revolt in 2004. <b>The LTTE has in fact been described as "a neo-colonial fifth column" in the Midweek Review Island Newspaper, because it seeks to denude Tamil nationalism of its Hindu roots and is too close to Christian missionaries.</b> This is also why the Tamil movement has become internationally isolated. Tamils have suffered in other ways as well. They once led the country in education, but now LTTE's politicisation of universities has led to the prolonged closure of the Jaffna and Eastern Universities. At the same time, the Muslim-dominated South-Eastern University is developing fast and producing good students and high quality research. Worse, when paramilitary groups allegedly killed the pro-LTTE principal of Kopay Hindu College, the organisation hit back by murdering the distinguished principal of Jaffna Central College, who opposed child conscription. He was killed when going to join Navaratri festivities organised by students. LTTE supremo Prabhakaran designated the pro-LTTE principal as Mamanithar, but the majority of Jaffna's inhabitants preferred to mourn for the principal of Jaffna Central College. <b>Tamil Hindus have been the worst sufferer of the LTTE's human rights record. According to government sources, the LTTE murdered 562 people since the ceasefire of 2002, which include 388 Tamil and Muslim civilians. There were 117 attempted murders and 620 reports of kidnapping. It murdered several Hindu priests in recent years, thus violating the spirit of the ceasefire. Finally, the LTTE prevented 500,000 Tamils from exercising their democratic franchise in 2005; it forcibly evicted 350,000 Tamils from their homes in the Jaffna peninsula in 1995; and it systematically murdered independent-minded Tamil Hindu intellectuals. Democracy cannot thrive under the shadow of the sword. This bodes ill for the forthcoming elections in the North-East.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
3. http://www.christianaggression.org/item_di...S&id=1112887194
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>LTTE And Churches Protect Each Other</b>
The history of LTTE reveals a discernible pattern in its relations with religious institutions: it has ruthlessly attacked and killed Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists but hardly ever touched Christians. It has never confronted the Churches the way it has taken on the other three main religionists.
In fact, it has had a very cozy relationship with the Churches. Though the LTTE has raided and taken over Hindu Temples by force in Western countries it has never dared to touch a single Christian church run by the Jaffna Tamils abroad. The Christian churches are considered to be richer than the Hindu Temples. Nevertheless, the fear of severe backlash from the dominant Christian governments and Christian communities abroad has prevented the LTTE from grabbing Christian Churches.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->This only goes to show the christo LTTE is not Hindus friends. SL Buddhists are not either.
But much of the present SL Buddhist violent tendencies toward the SL Hindus may not be entirely owing to the aggression displayed by Buddhists of earlier times, but rather due to the calculated meddling of the christian Portuguese, christian oryan-dravoodian fable and the christian LTTE in the recent era. Hindus are being doubly victimised now, since christoterrorists are playing a game with them as bait.
http://www.christianaggression.org/item_di...S&id=1136168172
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>That anti-Portuguese feeling in Lanka</b>
COLOMBO DIARY | PK Balachandran
December 19, 2005
Hindustan Times
Prior to the advent of the Portuguese, there was much Sinhala-Tamil and Buddhist-Tamil amity in Sri Lanka.
MU de Silva says that Hindu temples dotted the maritime provinces, though these were Buddhist-majority areas. In the Thottagamuwa school, no distinction was made between Sinhala and Tamil, Pali and Sanskrit.
There was a famous Tamil scholar on its rolls. The famous Buddhist monk Buddhaghosha was a Tamil.
The people of Kotte had not liked Dharmapala's conversion to Christianity and had transferred their allegiance to the King of Kandy.
But the Portuguese were to extend their power to the Kandy area soon. Here again they tried to convert people to Christianity, but with less success than in the maritime provinces.
<b>Tamil-Sinhala divide created by Portuguese</b>
According to Prof Endagama, it was the Portuguese who first created a division between the Sinhalas and the Tamils.
One reason for this, according to Prof Dewaraja, was the fact that the Portuguese found it easier to convert the Tamils.
"They made the Tamils of Jaffna compete with the Sinhalas and the percentage of Tamils who converted to Christianity was more," adds Prof Endagama.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Many a similar divisive insertion are christianism's bequest to the subcontinent: anti-brahminism, the invention of oryanism-dravoodianism=christianism. Behind every destructive subversion, one finds the ugly terrorism of christianism staring back at you with its beady eyes.
Buddhism, while it may have caused troubles in its beginnings in the subcontinent, managed to settle down at some point in Sri Lanka's history.
<b>Christianism is behind all the recent enmity.</b> Just as it is behind every fractured Natural Traditionalist society.
Need to analyse the entire situation.
<b>ADDED:</b>
While Sinhala violence against Hindus is a reality, there is so much christian meddling going on that it's not as certain that one can point to Buddhism as being the <i>root</i> cause in Hindus' persecution, the way one can point to LTTE's christianism being the cause in LTTE's persecution of Hindus. It is christoism in the form of LTTE that is inviting further Sinhala reprisals against the *Hindus*. Christianism is achieving the murder of pagans on both sides and no one points a finger at it. Instead they're too busy pointing the finger only at each other.
Consider the usual Looney Toonsy sort of scenario: If I made myself invisible and slapped you while you were standing next to someone you felt neutral about, and then slapped them too and started a violent confrontation between you two, the subsequent punching bout you both have would be very real, certainly. But the silent initiator (and the one still slapping either of you every time you both quiten down) would be me.
And your real enemy <i>should</i> be me, though you both <i>do</i> have real mutually-inflicted wounds to resent - again, owing to me ultimately. But neither of you can see me. And if you could stop looking past me to realise who caused it all, one still doesn't know whether both of you could ever actually get along after the violence that transpired.
That's christianism's role in all this, IMO.
The initial sinhala pogroms were aimed at hindu symbols
Even now the sinhalese desecrate hindu temples
[right][snapback]94867[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->But the 'alternative' is no better. How pro-Hindu is the LTTE:
1. http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/285
The christian LTTE murdered the 61-year old Sri Lankan Hindu priest Parameshwara Gurukkal
2. http://www.christianaggression.org/item_di...S&id=1141381467
Go to the link to read the full article. Excerpts:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>A neo-colonial conspiracy</b>
By Sandhya Jain
February 26, 2006
Organiser
[...]
Hindus comprise almost 85 per cent of Lanka's Tamil population, and their traditions and culture are being eroded by the LTTE and its profoundly pro-western bias. Few Lankan Hindus are even now willing to speak of the LTTE's Christian character, though this is now increasingly visible, with the ironical result that Hindus in government-controlled territory are for the first time better off than those living under LTTE domination. Tamil writers note that Hindu temples are being reconstructed and having a vibrant service, with all festivals celebrated with great fervour in areas like Jaffna, Vavuniya and Batticaloa. But this is not true of the LTTE-controlled districts.
On the contrary, the LTTE is taking Hindu dharma out of the public arena. The important Tamil festival of Navaratri is accorded great respect in the government-held territory. Last year, the Buddhist Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Lokubandara, led the celebrations, which were attended by Sinhalese, Tamils and even Muslim MPs of various political parties. The JVP participated with enthusiasm, but the pro-LTTE TNA kept away from this major Hindu event in the nation's Parliament. LTTE's undeniable European tilt is becoming a matter of comment in Tamil circles. It is pointed out that the LTTE refused to negotiate with the Lankan government in Japan or Thailand; Prabhakaran boycotted the Tokyo conference. He is also anti-India. Instead, he preferred to talk only in <b>Norway</b> or Switzerland, countries with little understanding of Lanka. Political analysts say the LTTE ideology sidelines the indigenous religious traditions of the Lankan people as a whole. The organisation is anti-Buddhist, anti-Muslim, anti-Indian and anti-Asian, and has no Hindu sympathies either. It crushed the Batticaloa-based cadre that resulted in Karuna's revolt in 2004. <b>The LTTE has in fact been described as "a neo-colonial fifth column" in the Midweek Review Island Newspaper, because it seeks to denude Tamil nationalism of its Hindu roots and is too close to Christian missionaries.</b> This is also why the Tamil movement has become internationally isolated. Tamils have suffered in other ways as well. They once led the country in education, but now LTTE's politicisation of universities has led to the prolonged closure of the Jaffna and Eastern Universities. At the same time, the Muslim-dominated South-Eastern University is developing fast and producing good students and high quality research. Worse, when paramilitary groups allegedly killed the pro-LTTE principal of Kopay Hindu College, the organisation hit back by murdering the distinguished principal of Jaffna Central College, who opposed child conscription. He was killed when going to join Navaratri festivities organised by students. LTTE supremo Prabhakaran designated the pro-LTTE principal as Mamanithar, but the majority of Jaffna's inhabitants preferred to mourn for the principal of Jaffna Central College. <b>Tamil Hindus have been the worst sufferer of the LTTE's human rights record. According to government sources, the LTTE murdered 562 people since the ceasefire of 2002, which include 388 Tamil and Muslim civilians. There were 117 attempted murders and 620 reports of kidnapping. It murdered several Hindu priests in recent years, thus violating the spirit of the ceasefire. Finally, the LTTE prevented 500,000 Tamils from exercising their democratic franchise in 2005; it forcibly evicted 350,000 Tamils from their homes in the Jaffna peninsula in 1995; and it systematically murdered independent-minded Tamil Hindu intellectuals. Democracy cannot thrive under the shadow of the sword. This bodes ill for the forthcoming elections in the North-East.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
3. http://www.christianaggression.org/item_di...S&id=1112887194
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>LTTE And Churches Protect Each Other</b>
The history of LTTE reveals a discernible pattern in its relations with religious institutions: it has ruthlessly attacked and killed Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists but hardly ever touched Christians. It has never confronted the Churches the way it has taken on the other three main religionists.
In fact, it has had a very cozy relationship with the Churches. Though the LTTE has raided and taken over Hindu Temples by force in Western countries it has never dared to touch a single Christian church run by the Jaffna Tamils abroad. The Christian churches are considered to be richer than the Hindu Temples. Nevertheless, the fear of severe backlash from the dominant Christian governments and Christian communities abroad has prevented the LTTE from grabbing Christian Churches.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->This only goes to show the christo LTTE is not Hindus friends. SL Buddhists are not either.
But much of the present SL Buddhist violent tendencies toward the SL Hindus may not be entirely owing to the aggression displayed by Buddhists of earlier times, but rather due to the calculated meddling of the christian Portuguese, christian oryan-dravoodian fable and the christian LTTE in the recent era. Hindus are being doubly victimised now, since christoterrorists are playing a game with them as bait.
http://www.christianaggression.org/item_di...S&id=1136168172
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>That anti-Portuguese feeling in Lanka</b>
COLOMBO DIARY | PK Balachandran
December 19, 2005
Hindustan Times
Prior to the advent of the Portuguese, there was much Sinhala-Tamil and Buddhist-Tamil amity in Sri Lanka.
MU de Silva says that Hindu temples dotted the maritime provinces, though these were Buddhist-majority areas. In the Thottagamuwa school, no distinction was made between Sinhala and Tamil, Pali and Sanskrit.
There was a famous Tamil scholar on its rolls. The famous Buddhist monk Buddhaghosha was a Tamil.
The people of Kotte had not liked Dharmapala's conversion to Christianity and had transferred their allegiance to the King of Kandy.
But the Portuguese were to extend their power to the Kandy area soon. Here again they tried to convert people to Christianity, but with less success than in the maritime provinces.
<b>Tamil-Sinhala divide created by Portuguese</b>
According to Prof Endagama, it was the Portuguese who first created a division between the Sinhalas and the Tamils.
One reason for this, according to Prof Dewaraja, was the fact that the Portuguese found it easier to convert the Tamils.
"They made the Tamils of Jaffna compete with the Sinhalas and the percentage of Tamils who converted to Christianity was more," adds Prof Endagama.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Many a similar divisive insertion are christianism's bequest to the subcontinent: anti-brahminism, the invention of oryanism-dravoodianism=christianism. Behind every destructive subversion, one finds the ugly terrorism of christianism staring back at you with its beady eyes.
Buddhism, while it may have caused troubles in its beginnings in the subcontinent, managed to settle down at some point in Sri Lanka's history.
<b>Christianism is behind all the recent enmity.</b> Just as it is behind every fractured Natural Traditionalist society.
Need to analyse the entire situation.
<b>ADDED:</b>
While Sinhala violence against Hindus is a reality, there is so much christian meddling going on that it's not as certain that one can point to Buddhism as being the <i>root</i> cause in Hindus' persecution, the way one can point to LTTE's christianism being the cause in LTTE's persecution of Hindus. It is christoism in the form of LTTE that is inviting further Sinhala reprisals against the *Hindus*. Christianism is achieving the murder of pagans on both sides and no one points a finger at it. Instead they're too busy pointing the finger only at each other.
Consider the usual Looney Toonsy sort of scenario: If I made myself invisible and slapped you while you were standing next to someone you felt neutral about, and then slapped them too and started a violent confrontation between you two, the subsequent punching bout you both have would be very real, certainly. But the silent initiator (and the one still slapping either of you every time you both quiten down) would be me.
And your real enemy <i>should</i> be me, though you both <i>do</i> have real mutually-inflicted wounds to resent - again, owing to me ultimately. But neither of you can see me. And if you could stop looking past me to realise who caused it all, one still doesn't know whether both of you could ever actually get along after the violence that transpired.
That's christianism's role in all this, IMO.