Desicritics Author: Morquendi

Collective Selective Amnesia - Indians and Cross Border Terrorism

Morquendi — Thu, 9 Mar 2006 13:30:37 EST

A lot of Indians whine about cross-border terrorism (the foreign-state-sponsored kind).

A lot of Sri Lankans whined about it too, when India was arming, training, funding and indoctrinating Tamil militants in the 70s and 80s.

But why did India engage in cross-border terrorism in that period?

Putting it simply, to shut the Tamils of South India up.

For all of you who suffer from collective selective amnesia about India's involvement in Sri Lanka's Tamil militancy, here's a little history lesson.

As anti-Sanskrit, anti-North Indian, anti-everything-non-dravidian sentiments began to rise in the South, Indira Gandhi opined: 'hold on, we like y'all people from the South, but we want y'all to chill out a bit. We'll support your brothers, them young Tamil boys in Sri Lanka. We'll give them guns and teach them how to shoot. We'll give them money. Why, we'll even teach them how to blow shit up!'

As much as the ISI runs training camps for militants on Pakistani soil, so did RAW run training camps for Tamil militants in India. Indian military people trained Sri Lankan Tamil militants in Indian military bases.

But then some of these groups had support from elsewhere. And they realised that the intentions of the Indian government were not entirely honorable.

But the Indian government didn't want a single shooter in Jaffna not trained by them holding a gun that they didn't supply.

Circa 1980 there's this annoying group the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) who've been taking guns, training and money from India, and had their command base in Mylapore, Madras, but are now getting suspicious of the Indian government's intentions. So the Indian government decides not to give those boys weapons anymore. (But they continue to arm and train other reletively pro-Indian groups)

But what many people in the Indian government don't know is that their runaway 'intelligence' people, RAW, are still lending a hand to the Tigers. By this time, after having being a vital component in the Tamil militant movement in Sri Lanka for almost a decade, RAW can't really leave the boys high and dry. That wouldn't be cricket.

Some might say India has already paid for her sins. The swift kick in the boot the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force) got in Jaffna must've hurt quite a bit. And it was a damn shame about that Rajiv fella.

And when militants trained by Pakistan set off bombs in India it hurts eh?

It does. We know.

But none of that changes the fact that there have been almost three and a half decades of conflict in Sri Lanka because the Indian government sponsored cross border terrorism.

So to all you collectively-selectively-amnesia-stricken Indians, if you want to talk about cross-border terrorism and how it really fucks things up, go on. Let's talk.

If you wanna just complain about it, shut up. Because you have no right to.

Afterthought - I'm not even going to bring up Nepal here.

The Indian Army In Kashmir - An Invading Force

Morquendi — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 00:29:07 EST

The Indian Army in Kashmir is an invading force. No one there wants them. I think all Indians need to deal with that.

The few days I spent in Leh, Khargil and Srinagar last year made this abundantly clear to me. I'd like to think I know a thing or two about invading forces. Here in Sri Lanka, our Army has been an invading force in the North and East of the country for over 20 years. Their presence in the North and East has fuelled the conflict in this country.

There is no difference between the way the Indian Army behaves on the streets of Srinagar and the way the Sri Lanka Army behaves on the streets of Jaffna.

Since we're talking about the Indian Army here, let me narrate to you two small personal experiences in Srinagar. Remember, I was only there for 3 days. It was in that short space that I saw what I did. Makes me wonder what I would've seen had I been there for longer.

The STD Booth

I'm sitting inside a little STD booth near the Polo Grounds in Srinagar. I'm trying to call my girlfriend in Rajasthan. Haven't spoken to her since I left Leh a few days before that so I really need this call to connect. Inside the booth I can't hear much of what's going on outside.

I hear a raised voice and I turn around to see a turban clad, gun toting jawan of the Indian Army shouting at the man who owns the STD booth, asking for access to the solitary phone (the one I was using). The owner apparently refused to ask me to vacate the booth, and now the jawan is making his life hell. It was nearing sundown so the man was counting his day's take. The jawan reaches over and brutishly messes the table, flinging his notes all over the hole-in-the-wall shop. The man quietly collects them while the jawan leaves. Shaken, I go back to hitting the redial button.

A few minutes later the jawan returns with two more friends. They begin questioning the man. While one stands guard outside, the first jawan and the other inspect his photocopier, his lockers and the shop. They cannot exactly make me out because the glass in the booth is heavily tinted. I can see them because there is a lot more light outside. It's clear to me that what they're doing is harassing the owner of the STD booth because he would not bend to their demand. By this time I have given up trying to make the call, and have started wondering how bad the situation is going to get.

Luckily for me, and for the booth owner, the jawan standing guard outside spies a superior officer and calls the others and they swiftly vanish. I walk out of the booth and spend a few silent minutes trying to help that man pick his notes up. I stay for a while and talk to him. Using my broken Hindi/Urdu/English I'm able to thank him for his courage.

The Rice Fields

Traffic in Srinagar, and in the surrounding areas is often held up for long periods of time because of troop movements.

The bus from Srinagar to Jammu stopped by the roadside near a rice field for about half an hour. We waited for a convoy to pass us by . The rice stalks were reaching maturity. The velvet green of a rice field is something that will always please me, no matter where I see it.

The convoy came along, and also got caught in the traffic. A truck carrying soldiers pulled alongside us and the soldiers got down from the truck and began urinating into the rice field.

I was horrified.

I had never seen anyone urinating into a rice field before and they urinated into the rice field casually as if it were a public toilet. They were not concerned about the fact that the plants they were urinating on were soon going to bear rice. Rice that the people of the valley and others would eat.

I come from a rice growing culture. Our traditional new year begins the day we harvest the rice fields. At each significant point throughout the process of farming rice, from the preparation of the field to the planting and the harvesting, there are rituals which must be followed. Much of India lives in this way too. To me, urinating into a rice field, is equal to urinating on my plate.

So, are the soldiers of the Indian Army aware of the significance of urinating on a rice field? Or do they do it because they want to make a point?

And The Point Is?

So what is the point the Indian Army is trying to make in Kashmir?

They harass and terrorize the local populace. Yes, they terrorize. What were those jawans in the STD booth doing if not terrorizing that man? What makes them different from a terrorist who forces that man to photocopy leaflets? Nothing. They are as bad, perhaps even worse than those they claim they need to protect the people from. The people need protection from the Indian Army!

But the soldiers urinating on the rice fields illustrates my point. Only an invading force behaves in this manner. Only an invading force would so utterly disrespect the local sensitivities.

Face it. All of India needs to deal with the fact that the Indian Army in Kashmir is an invading force. Just spend a few days walking around Srinagar and see if I'm wrong.

Neighbourhood Imperialists

Morquendi — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 10:27:49 EST

This is for all Indians and Pakistanis who hate American Imperialism but support their Government's nuclear program.

A lot of Indians and Pakistanis love to trash the American Imperial War Machine. They use many names for it but they love bashing it. Many Indians and Pakistanis love to go on and on about how the Bush Government was being a big bad bully by not listening to the whole wide world when the whole wide world was asking them not to go invade Iraq. Yes, the whole world did shout and say don't invade Iraq. And their denial of this global outcry made them out to be the Imperialists they are. But that was already very very clear. They were never going to listen to anyone. This is what makes them the hated Imperialists warmongers that they are.

I'd like to point something out as a person living on a small island nearby.

The Indian and Pakistani Governments surge ahead with their nuclear programs even when much of the world and certainly the whole of the rest of South Asia (yes, South Asia is more than India and Pakistan and your stupid conflict). Look here, having two nuclear powers in the region scares the shit out of everyone. And everyone says so (Including a lot of Indians and Pakistanis too, granted, but not a lot of people look at it from this angle). So to all you Indians and Pakistanis who think your country is like totally cool! Because you have nukes, please understand that your inability to listen to regional opinion puts you on par with the US Government.

There are many reasons why I oppose anyone going nuclear. But I'm particularly concerned about the programs of the Indian and Pakistani Government because they display the same arrogance the US Government showed us just before the shocked and awed the shit out of Iraq.

Please understand that Sri Lankans are more worried about your little nuclear games than we're worried about the Americans taking over the world. That's a concern too, but this is a much more immediate concern.

You don't have proper delivery tools. Yet, says I. Very soon you're both going to have really cool, really long range, delivery capability and then some trigger happy bastard is going to want to see if they work and we're all going to be radioactive dust.

I refuse to become collateral damage.

So you want to get on the streets and protest about American Imperialism? Please go ahead. But also remember to shout a few slogans about how you want your Government to shut down its nuclear program. Because as long as you keep going ahead with it, you're as bad as they are. As far as the region is concerned, you are worse.

An earlier version of this article appeared on my personal blog some time ago.

Do Nuclear Weapons Prevent War?

Morquendi — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 00:06:38 EST

I object to nuclear weapons for several simple reasons.

1. A nuclear weapon is a nuclear 'weapon' only because it can be used as a weapon. And no one builds any weapon without considering the possibility of having to use it. Anyone who believes anything to the contrary needs a serious reality check.

2. Deterrence does not keep peace. Deterrence theory is based on the 'we might use it so don't piss us off' line of thought. Therefore deterrence theory is NOT about saying 'here are our nukes, but we're not going to use them'. Instead it's about 'here are our nukes and we're ready to use them'.

Let us look at a small scenario. Both countries A and B have nukes. A has nukes because it's afraid of B and vice versa. But deterrence theory only works when both are prepared to use their nukes. If both A and B were not prepared to use their nukes then they might as well not have any nukes.

If A and B have not used their nukes on each other so far, that's only because no one has crossed the line that would prompt the other to press the button. Have no doubt, there IS a line. Deterrence theory functions because of the existence of this line.

3. Nukes are designed to kill civilians and damage the environment. All other weapons are available in tactical forms, for battlefield use. Even chemical weapons are available for battlefield use, and have been used as tactical weapons. There is no way in which a nuke can be used in a battlefield as a tactical move (unless your enemy is doing a troop movement across the Sahara desert!). If a nuke is used it WILL kill civilians and it WILL damage the environment. There is NO other way to use a nuke. To me, neither of these is acceptable.

4. It will always be a human who presses the button. It will always be humans who decide when the line is crossed, and when the nukes need to fly. And humans make errors in judgement. I oppose the death penalty for the same reason.

The Big Story That Never Was

Morquendi — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 09:54:55 EST

Does everyone remember Baby 81? His real name is Abilash Jeyaraj. He was the three month old Tsunami survivor who was found among debris a few days after the Tsunami and handed over to the Government Hospital in Kalumani, in Eastern Sri Lanka.

The media went nuts about the story when it was discovered that 9 (15 according to some reports) families were claiming the baby as their own. The whole world was nuts about this story for quite some time. Go on and Google "Baby 81" and see what I'm talking about. Even Wikipedia has an entry on Baby 81. Wikipedia says he was the subject of a 'parental identity dispute'.

The fuss was all about the fact that all these different mothers had claimed the Baby as theirs. Once the media reported that one of the mothers had threatened to kill herself if she did not get the baby back. There was a moving photograph (and video footage) of three women wailing for the baby. Then the court ordered DNA tests to find out the baby's real parents. These tests proved that the Jeyaraj's were the real parents and the baby was handed over to them. NBC's Good Morning America had them flown to New York so they could be interviewed on the show. Abhilash even made a TV appearance with Uma Thruman.

But this story never happened. No other family other than the Jeyarajs ever claimed the baby.

Here's the real story. It's not really short, but read on if you want to find out how something that never happened became the greatest post Tsunami story worldwide.

During the Tsunami the 3 month old baby is seperated from his mother Juanita and is found later by a man who brings him over to the Government Hospital in Kalmunai. In the chaos following the Tsunami many women come to the hospital to look for their infants. They see this unclaimed baby and offer to take him if he remains unclaimed. But the never interact with the doctor, and never make a formal request for the baby. Infact no one ever says the baby is theirs. One or two of them say they will take the ONLY if he is unclaimed.

A few days later the Jeyarajs come to hospital and see the baby and asked the doctors if they could take him home. The doctor told them that they could not release the baby for medical reasons. The Jeyarajs heard of a nurse in the hospital who had been trying to take the baby, as she had lost her own. Fearing for the safety of their son they then went to the Kalmunai police to lodge a complaint in an attempt to get the baby back. By this time none of the other women who had asked for the baby stuck to their claim because as the hospital authorities said, it was very clear that the baby belonged to the Jeyaraj family. The only reason they didn't release him was because he was not fit enough to leave the hospital.

It is sometime around this that a reporter from an international news service goes over to the Kalmunai hospital. He's there to do some story, any story, about ther aftermath of the Tsunami (Kalmunai was the worst affected area in Sri Lanka). In an interview with one of the doctors in the hospitals this reporter picks up the story of this baby, and finds the fact that several mothers asked for the baby very newsworthy. The reporter is very aware of the fact that none of the other women claiming the baby stuck around long enough to make their a formal claim, but chooses to ignore that, because the story would sound much more dramatic if there were many women demanding the baby. So, the reporter picks the number 9 (perhaps it's the reporter's lucky number) and does a moving story about how there's a baby in the Kalmunai hospital who's been claimed by 9 women as their own infant.

In a few days this story is headline news all over the world. Everything from local channels in Sri Lanka to the BBC and CNN are carrying this story.

But no one checks the story. Everyone sticks to the original figure of 9 (some increase it to 12, some to 15).

All it took was a day in Kalmunai to figure out that the Baby 81 story never happened.

Ask any of the doctors in the hospital, they never had any doubt about the parents. But when you ask them if there were other women claiming the baby the answer is always yes. When you ask them how they know there were other mothers claiming the baby they always say they saw it on TV or read it in the papers. Ask them if they ever saw any of the women other than Juanita and the answer is always no.

The Kalmunai police have never had anyone other than the Jeyrajs coming into make a formal claim for the baby. The Kalmunai magistrate hasn't heard of anyone other than the Jeyarajs coming into ask for the baby. But you ask the Kalmunai Police's OIC (Officer in Charge) or the Kalmunai magistrate and they'll tell you that they're certain there were 9 women claiming the baby. They're so sure because they saw it on the TV.

As the media began to scramble for a story that wasn't there, the lie kept snowballing. It grew and grew and grew. And when the story became so big, everyone started believing it, even the people involved. Kalmunai is a small town, yet no one there has heard of any of the other women who claimed the baby. Everyone knows the Jeyarajs. But they don't even know of someone who knows of someone who knows one of the other women.

That's because these women never existed.

But wait! What about that photograph of three women wailing and demanding the baby?

Are they demanding the baby? Yes.

Are there three of them? Yes.

Who are they? Juanita, her mother and her aunt.

So, actually, it's three women from the same family demanding their baby. The mother and the aunt wanted the baby back as badly as Juanita did. But what did the caption on the photograph read? "Three mothers claim Baby 81 as their own." or something like that.

Here's a challenge: Go through all the Baby 81 stories available online and find me one name of one woman (other than Juanita Jeyraj) who claimed the baby. A lot of news stories carry quotes from other women, but Juanita says that these things were said by her mother or her aunt who were with her all along during the whole ordeal. No one bothered to check who they were.

And now, why has their been no retraction or apology from anyone?

Do all the news wire services know it was a lie? Yes.

Does everyone in the media know it was a lie? Yes

But no one is going to say anything about it because everyone in the media was a part of this lie. Everyone from the reporters in Sri Lanka who rushed to Kalmunai to cover the story to the editors sitting at their desks in London and New York, EVERYONE, messed up. Everyone slipped up. No one checked their sources, and the story was covered simply because everyone else was covering it. And now, everyone is party to the crime and you sure as hell ain't going to see the media owning up to it's mistakes unless someone makes them, and here, no one's going to push anyone to make a retraction, and no one's going to call another media organisation a liar, because they ALL lied.

Ah, the elegance of the fourth estate.

Here is an updated version of this story about Baby 81

Will Colombo Go Left?

Morquendi — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 09:32:34 EST

Is Vasudeva Nanayakkara, leader of the Democratic Left Front, going to be the next mayor of Colombo?

What? An old commie is going to run the nation's Capital?

Formerly of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Nava Sama Samaja Party, arrested for subversive activities, Vasu's really shown that he's not all bark. But in the past few years, his bite's not really been that sharp because he's been losing his hold on the Left scene in Sri Lankan politics. Now he's back, and the Election Commissioner's decision to reject the UNP list for the Colombo Urban Council elections means that Vasu is now the front runner for the race.

This might just be what Colombo needs!

But how is Big Business going to deal with a anti-globalization, anti-capitalist 'comrade' heading the Urban Council? True, the UC doesn't really have the power to change much more than a few small things in Colombo. But how he can really annoy Big Business is by taking away money from some of the things big business wants done, and put that money into the making the lives of the rest of Colombo better. Also, he could begin poking his nose into some of the big land deals that have given public property to several big corporations in the past few years. Will he be the guy who throws all that shit at the fan?

Even if he chooses not to witchhunt Big Business there's a lot he can do. Maybe a few of the smaller schools in the city will get a bit more money, so that their students too can have some computers, or a lab. Maybe there will be a better effort to provide some permanent housing to several hundred thousand slum dwellers in the city. Maybe water and sanitation if not proper housing.

And maybe, just maybe, he'll have the balls to take that huge chunk of land in the middle of the city away from the Colombo Golf Club's miniscule elite membership and use the golf course property to give the city much needed housing space!

Anyways, even though all of Colombo is trying to deal with the fact that Vasudeva is probably going to be our next mayor, no one really knows what he's going to do.

Whatever happens, it's bound to be interesting.