Isaac Falconer is a pseudonym in the spirit of George Eliot (Mary Ann / Marian / Evans) and Isak Dinesen (Karen Christentze von Blixen-Finecke) merely TWO of a myriad giants on whose (proverbial) shoulders I stand.

Isaac: Hebrew, meaning laughter ~ deeply ironic when taken in the context of current and historic Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East.
Falconer: taken from the William Butler Yeats poem, "The Second Coming" (1921): "Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer . . ." ~ an Irish poet's deep lament for the fragmented human relationships which mar post-modern life.

Historically, Tamils were a persecuted minority ethnic population in Sri Lanka~because the "majority" Sinhala population of Sri Lanka believe themselves to be members of a "Aryan Master Race"~like Hitler's Nazi "Aryan Master Race"~and therefore feel "perfectly and naturally entitled" to the fascist subjugation of "minority Tamils"~in every sense of the word "subjugate" ~including committing the crime against humanity that is genocide.  Since 1949 [Nineteen Forty-Nine] Sri Lankan Tamils have faced genocide.  Between May 19th and December 1st, 2009~1,400 unarmed civilian Tamils were dying each week~at the concentration camps at Manik Farm~controlled by the Sri Lankan government of Mahinda Rajapakse.  Even though approximately 130,000 unarmed Tamil civilians were told by the neo-Nazi fascist and genocidal Sinhala government they were "free to leave Manik Farm concentration camp" on December 1st, 2009~many Tamil civilians have nowhere to go~having lost all they possess~including ENTIRE families~in the ceaseless artillery bombardments and bombings they have been exposed to between 2006 and 2009~NOT at the hands of those "dirty Tamil Tiger terrorists" The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [LTTE] but at the hands of THEIR OWN NEO-NAZI, FASCIST AND OPENLY GENOCIDAL [ethnic majority] SINHALA SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT. 
Ethnic minority Eelam Tamils who attempt to seek asylum from Sinhala state-sponsored terrorism against them~in "foreign" countries~countries like the USA, Australia, and in European countries~are actively impeded~with terrific success rates~obstructed on the path of their righteous cause~by the powerful and persistent and globally gloriously successful efforts of successive neo-Nazi Sinhala Sri Lankan government administrations~who successfully paint ethnic Tamil efforts to seek refugee or asylum status in "foreign countries" as "merely" the acts of economic refugees fleeing poverty~and NOT the immeasurably heroic and valiant acts of human beings fleeing their own deaths.

Ethnic minority Tamils have declined from 15% [fifteen percent] of the Sri Lankan population to 3.9% [three point nine percent] of the Sri Lankan population [CIA World Factbook~please see "Sri Lankan Tamil" 3.9%~at the top of the linked page] as both a DIRECT~as well as an INDIRECTresult~of relentless genocidal acts perpetrated against them by successive genocidal neo-Nazi fascist Sri Lankan Sinhala administrations~dating back to 1949~[30 years prior to 1979~in other words looooooong before the founding of the freedom fighting~genocide-opposing LTTE in 1979]~and continued currently by the government of the neo-Nazi fascist Sinhala President Mahinda Rajapakse]~now~even "after" the so-called "military defeat" of  the LTTE on May 19th, 2009~even AFTER the so-called "triumph over terrorists."  The most recent few Sinhala Sri Lankan administrations have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams~on a global scale~in "characterizing" and effectively "mislabeling" any/all opposition to Sinhala neo-Nazi fascism and genocide as "LTTE terrorism" or in many cases accuse opponents of being "friends of the LTTE."  Part of the "opposition-crushing strategy" of successive neo-Nazi Sinhala fascist administrations has been declaring and extending a "state of emergency"~permitting the crushing of the human rights of ALL Sri Lankans~not "just ethnic minority Tamils"~for 27 years.  Sadly~to compound matters~and to further delegitimize the current Sri Lankan government~as IF that were even possible~the BBC news reports that every election law in Sri Lanka has been violated by Mahinda Rajapakse and by his ruling party in 2009.

Dr. Saku Gunasegaram is a Christian Eelam Tamil [most Eelam Tamils are Hindu] originally from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) who is deeply committed to peace-making.  Although Dr. Gunasegaram was no longer living in Sri Lanka in 1983 [nineteen eighty-three]~she was visiting with family members there and witnessed "firsthand" and "in person" what Tamils themselves euphemistically term:  "The 1983 Riots."  What occurred in 1983~the event Tamils commonly refer to by the euphemism "The '83 Riots" is ACCURATELY, and PRECISELY and CORRECTLY described as "The 1983 Intensification of neo-Nazi [majority ethnic group] Sinhala Fascist Genocide Against [minority ethnic group] Tamils."   What ethnic minority Tamils in Sri Lanka have "longed for"~since 1949~is the a "devolution of power"~like the "devolution of power" negotiated for Northern Ireland.

Even though NOT ONE SINGLE "DIRTY TAMIL TIGER TERRORIST" was to be found ANYWHERE in Colombo~in 1983~it did not deter gangs of Sinhala ethnic majority government-sponsored genocidal neo-Nazi fascist thugs from pulling unarmed Tamil ethnic minority civilians out of public transportation buses~and bludgeoning them to death~right there~on Galle Road~the "main" thorofare in Colombo [the capital of Sri Lanka]~with complete impunity~unhindered by Sinhala police.  Tamil-owned homes and businesses were burned to the ground~with complete impunity~by neo-Nazi Sinhala fascist gangs roaming the streets freely~brandishing government-generated "lists"~of where Tamils owned their own homes and business~and where they rented.  The destruction was planned with such care that ONLY Tamil-owned homes were destroyed by the marauding Sinhala bandits.  In CONTRAST~only the Tamil-owned CONTENTS of rental properties were destroyed. Sinhala-owned-homes and business~naturally!~were entirely unscathed.

Dr. Gunasegaram is in the company of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Elie Wiesel [Please scroll down to June 30th, 2009 entry on Elie Wiesel's web page]~and The Boston Globe~in her calls for justice and equality for Tamils in Sri Lanka~within a separate and Independent Peaceable Kingdom Light-Filled Tamil Homeland [Eelam]. 
She is in the company of Nobel Peace Prize winners Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Amnesty International in calling for the IMMEDIATE and UNCONDITIONAL and TRUE release [NOT the "latest eyewash" of 15-day passes for Tamil concentration camp inmates]~from captivity of what had originally been 550,000 [Five Hundred and Fifty Thousand] unarmed civilian Tamils~who HAD been imprisoned since May 19th, 2009~decreased to approximately 250,000 in number [Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand] including 100,000 Tamil CHILDREN [One Hundred Thousand Tamil CHILDREN]~tens of thousands of Tamils having been slaughtered by the Sri Lankan government~under the command of Army General Sarath Fonseka~and a few thousand [no one knows EXACTLY] Tamils having been released in the interim.  The "remaining" 250,000 unarmed civilian Tamils were "temporarily" released for a period of up to 15 days on December 1st, 2009.  Most "normal human beings" would NOT call being given permission to leave a concentration camp for 15 days "freedom"~but that's how the neo-Nazi genocidal [majority ethnic group] Sinhala fascists in the current Sri Lankan government define "Tamil freedom."  These civilian Tamils were [from May 19th, 2009 until December 1st, 2009] and are TODAY "still" incarcerated in the most appallingly unspeakable, unsanitary, inhumane conditions~by the neo-Nazi genocidal fascist Sinhala regime of Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse.  Reiteration:  The incarceration without legal charge of civilian Tamils~numbering more than 250,000 [Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand]~including 100,000 [One Hundred Thousand Tamil CHILDREN] continues TODAY~in 2010.  The so-called "release" from Manik Farm concentration camp of approximately 130,000 [One Hundred and Thirty Thousand] unarmed civilian Tamils~on December 1st, 2009 is "yet another" in a long succession of cynical moves on the part of Sri Lanka's neo-Nazi genocidal fascists ruling Sinhala coalition.  The current neo-Nazi fascist government was hoping for Tamil votes in the ILLEGAL Presidential elections which were held on January 26th, 2010~called TWO CALENDAR YEARS "in advance" of the "normal" democratic schedule~an election in which LESS than 30% of the eligible minority ethnic group Tamils voted.  The overwhelming grief and disenfranchisement of minority ethnic Tamils in the Sri Lankan electorate was naturally presented as "non-existent"~treated as "invisible"~by many media outlets~especially those inside Sri Lanka.

"...and Anne [Frank] died of typhus in the German concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen"  The quote is taken DIRECTLY from a BBC story~referring to Anne Frank~in the year 1944.  It is now the year 2010~nearly seven decades after Anne Frank~and genocidal neo-Nazi [majority ethnic group] Sinhala fascists within the general population of Sri Lanka and within the government of Sri Lanka~have between them "created" a series of concentration camps reserved for ethnic minority TAMILS ONLY.  The most "infamous" of these series of camps~scattered throughout the North and East of Sri Lanka~is Manik Farm concentration camp.  While no one in the camps is called "Anne Frank" the STORY IS IDENTICAL TODAY IN 2010~SEVEN DECADES AFTER 1944~the time of Anne Frank~for many TINY, DEFENSELESS [ethnic minority] Tamil girls being imprisoned in concentration camps run by the Sri Lankan government~TINY LITTLE GIRLS it is well within your power~"our power"~to ASSIST IMMEDIATELY.  While no one tiny Tamil girl in "particular" has died of typhus~as Anne Frank died~[Please see second story down~after Chad~MANY TINY, DEFENSELESS, TAMIL GIRLS~EXACTLY LIKE ANNE FRANK~HAVE ALREADY DIED in the present day concentration camps in Sri Lanka~as a DIRECT result of untreated medical conditions~INDEED as Anne Frank died in Bergen-Belsen as a direct result of Nazi genocide against Jews in 1944. 

Each of us CAN ACT to STOP THE GENOCIDE OF TAMILS IN SRI LANKA TODAY by *INSISTING* that Nuremberg-style trials be held IMMEDIATELY at The International Criminal Court~to bring to IMMEDIATE trial the perpetrators of Tamil genocide.  The court must not "wait" until Rajapakse and Fonseka~the perpetrators of the genocide on minority ethnic Tamils~turn 89 years old~as the court has indeed done in the case of alleged Nazi concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk~thought responsible for the deaths of 27,000 Jews in Nazi Germany.  The neo-Nazi genocidal Sinhala fascists currently governing Sri Lanka are persons who have "to-date" NOT ONLY perpetrated genocide against unarmed civilian Tamils with complete and utter impunity~but were also "elevated" to the status of contending for Sri Lanka's Presidency on January 26th, 2010.  The blood of tens of thousands of civilian Tamils LURIDLY STAINED the hands of BOTH Sri Lanka's front-running Presidential candidates on January 26th, 2010:   Sarath Fonseka and Mahinda Rajapakse.  Sarath Fonseka~who lost the Presidential Election on January 26th, 2010 began calling for "outside intervention" from the international community~to help STOP the despotic dictator Mahinda Rajapakse~who easily won a second term in office.  Sarath Fonseka~although he "LOST" Sri Lanka's Presidential Election on January 26th, 2010~by 2 million votes~was unceremoniously arrested and charged with "incoherent/non-existent" charges by his former pal Rajapakse~on February 8th, 2010. 

While Fonseka's arrest on February 8th, 2010 has been described as a "shock" to "some" Western journalists~few ethnic Tamils~not to mention readers of _The New Yorker_ magazine in 2006~were taken by surprise~since almost ALL of Rajapakse's current actions were "perfectly predicted" in 2006~by those whose eyes and ears were NOT altogether "shut down" by prejudice and racism against minority ethnic Tamils.  It appears that the label "terrorist" once it becomes attached to the word "Tamil" effectively BLOCKS THE EYES AND EARS of "some" Western journalists in the international media~and continues to do so in some cases.  Prejudice and racism and gullibility [being completely fooled by shining white Rajapakse robes/shining white lies/and shining bright Sinhala smiles] are tough habits to break.  Indeed.

The neo-fascist military dictatorship of Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse has been "firmly in place" and "immovably entrenched" since 2006~AND at THIS VERY INSTANT is busily making preparations for BEQUEATHING the current brutal military dictatorship in Sri Lanka to the "Next Generation of Smiling-At-The West-While-Simultaneously-Perpetrating Horrendous Atrocities-AgainstJournalists and Ethnic Minority Tamils-Rajapakse."
Just IMAGINE if Hitler had had An Equally Smiling Mahinda Son.  What would THAT have been like-do you think?

Is TODAY not the PERFECT "opportunity" to ATONE for the international community's actions and inactions~ENABLING and SUPPORTING the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka~by categorizing and labeling the ONLY EFFECTIVE [albeit FLAWED] GUARANTORS OF BASIC TAMIL HUMAN RIGHTS "terrorists?"
We MUST HURRY to accomplish the URGENT task of conducting Nuremberg-style trials at The International Criminal Court~to try the neo-Nazi genocidal Sinhala fascists for their crimes against civilian Tamils~IN SPITE of the illegal Sri Lankan Presidential elections held on January 26th, 2010~called years in advance of the democratic schedule~which handed the despotic dictator Mahinda Rajapkse Sri Lanka's Presidency~for yet another term.
We MUST call to IMMEDIATE account the perpetrators of the genocide of Tamil civilians IF we are to bequeath a "just and equitable world" to generations of the world's children~a world in which "international justice" is NOT "reserved" for Jews only~or for "Caucasians ONLY"~or for the "white-skinned ONLY"~or "reserved" for the beck and call of "celebrity political rock stars like President Obama and his family members ONLY"~or "reserved" for the "wealthy" and the "well-connected ONLY."

In spite of the "so-called" declaration of military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [LTTE] on May 19th, 2009~the Sinhala neo-Nazi genocidal fascists in Sri Lanka [and globally] CONTINUE dancing their ENDLESS "Genocidal Dances of Celebration" in an extraordinarily public manner.  These neo-Nazi fascists informed Tamil Eelam voters of their "fantastic choices"~deciding between re-electing the Reincarnated Adolf Hitler [current Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse]~who violates the Sri Lankan constitution on a DAILY basis~with almost COMPLETE impunity~a neo-Nazi Sinhala genocidal fascist by EVERY standard of judgment and measurement
OR choosing an entirely "New and Improved Genocidal Fascist Regime" under the Reincarnated Heinrich Himmler [Major General Sarath Fonseka].  Illegal Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka were called TWO YEARS IN ADVANCE OF THE DEMOCRATIC SCHEDULE~and held on January 26th, 2010.
President Rajapakse~a perpetrator of "Crimes Against Tamil Humanity"~easily won re-election for a second term as Sri Lanka's President~on January 26th, 2010~and now claims an "unlimited mandate" to continue his policies of neo-Nazi fascist genocide against unarmed ethnic minority Tamils~Tamils numbering more than two hundred thousand~including one hundred thousand Tamil CHILDREN~STILL housed in concentration camps and prisons scattered throughout the north and east of Sri Lanka.

It is completely wrong to characterize such a seriously lopsided "effort to CONFRONT and DEFEAT Sinhala neo-Nazi fascism and genocide" conducted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [LTTE]~such a classically "David vs. Goliath" situation~as "civil war."  Innumerable news outlets~including the world's largest news outlet~the BBC~CONTINUE employing the words "civil war"~to describe a hideously LOPSIDED LTTE effort to combat systematic genocide against ethnic minority Tamils.

The neo-Nazi genocidal fascist Sinhala Sri Lankan government has been most "ably" assisted~in what it has most diabolically and masterfully "framed" as its "war against LTTE terrorists"~and in its current genocidal actions against minority ethnic Tamils~in its crimes against Tamil humanity~by media outlets who continuously and persistently paint ALL "legitimate" efforts by ethnic minority Tamils to combat ethnic majority Sinhala genocide against ethnic minority Tamils as "outsider" as "terrorism"~and not a "true and effective resistance to genocide." 
Further assistance has been provided by the Russian government of Dmitry Medvedev [aka Vladimir Putin] and his military~known for its brutal suppressions in Chechnya~and the brutal murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya [murdered for her reporting of the Russian government's acts of genocide in Chechnya].  To quote Patrick Henry:  "The Liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them."  By assassinating journalists, both Russia and Sri Lanka have essentially renounced democracy itself. 
Additional, crucial, military "assistance" was provided to the neo-Nazi fascist and genocidal Sinhala government of Rajapakse~in its relentless acts of genocide against civilian Tamils~by the governments of China and India.

AS IF the issues outlined above were "insufficiently" distressing-to ALL TAMILS-in themselves-and AS IF to "add insult to injury"~AS IF to rub salt in Tamil wounds~The Obama Administration released the following statement~via the U.S. State Department on October 22nd, 2009:  "The United States looks to the [illegitimate~thanks to all Sri Lankan elections law violations by the ruling party] Government of Sri Lanka to identify an appropriate and credible mechanism and initiate a process for accountability." 
The ONLY "credible" and "appropriate" mechanism for this type of inquiry is a Nuremberg-style trial in The International Criminal Court~to try the neo-Nazi genocidal Sinhala fascists who perpetrated these murderous actions against civilian Tamils.  Unfortunately~China, India and Russia have employed their political power within the United Nations to assist the neo-Nazi Sinhala fascist government of Sri Lanka to effectively BLOCK The International Criminal Court from conducting appropriate criminal investigations into the genocide of civilian Tamils~and appropriate war crimes trials~for the Sinhala perpetrators of the Tamil civilian genocide.  This type of "caving in" to predominantly Chinese pressure to thwart advocacy for human rights on an international scale~whether it be in the case of the Sudanese government in Darfur~or in the case of Sinhala neo-Nazi fascists in Sri Lanka~or in the case of canceling two appointments in a single week with the Dalai Lama's Tibetan envoys~for fear of offending the Chinese government's spectacularly "delicate" sensibilities~SEEMS consistent with The Obama Administration's "overall stance" of permitting the Chinese government~with it's own appalling human rights record~to effectively "call the shots" on all vital international human rights issues~a stance few in the global community expect from a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

This type of "admiration" evinced BY the leader of The United States government~FOR the relentlessly fascist and genocidal tactics of a Sri Lankan government MUST be "stopped peaceably in its tracks."  In essence~President Obama is asking murderers to convict THEMSELVES~indeed as he might [hypothetically] have asked Nazis to conduct The Nuremberg Trials on THEIR OWN FASCIST AND GENOCIDAL CRIMES AGAINST JEWS~indeed as he might [hypothetically] ask the murderers of Emmett Till to "feel free" to "prosecute themselves!"~indeed as he might [hypothetically] ask Comrade Duch to "feel free" to "prosecute himself!"   In the same vein~in the light of this administration statement~The Obama Administration COULD easily be imagined [hypothetically] URGING the completely defenseless, unarmed, unnamed, anonymous, NONCELEBRITY, African-American slaves and freed men~about to be lynched by their White Supremacist oppressors~to "give in"~and "go quietly" to their certain deaths~while The Obama Administration [hypothetically] congratulates The White Supremacists themselves~for their "power."  In the same vein~in light of this administration statement~The Obama Administration COULD [hypothetically] be imagined proceeding to LABEL heroic American Revolutionary fighters~including General George Washington himself~those who miraculously "wrested power" from The THEN Almighty British Empire: "terrorists" and "extra-legal" "non-State-sanctioned actors." 

On November 2nd 2009, the BBC reported a story on infamous war crimes perpetrator~Radovan Karadzic~on trial at The International Criminal Court~in The Hague [Please scroll down to the bottom of the story]:  "In its opening remarks, the prosecution labeled Mr Karadzic the "undisputed leader" of Serbs responsible for carrying out atrocities during the 1992-1995 conflict."  Dr. Gunasegaram respectfully suggests that the prosecutor's words COULD with equally excruciating accuracy read:  "Mr. Rajapakse and Mr. Fonseka the "undisputed leaders" of the Sinhala [are] responsible for carrying out atrocities [against at LEAST 40,000 civilian ethnic minority Tamils] during the 2006-2009 conflict." In addition:  "This case is about these supreme commanders, the men who harnessed the forces of [Sinhala] nationalism, hatred and fear to implement their vision of an ethnically purified Sinhala Sri Lanka:  Mahinda Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka."

A fragile and tenuous peace (a ceasefire) held from 2002-2006 when peace talks brokered by Norwegian diplomats between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [LTTE] broke down.  The LTTE was formed in 1979~a "band of ragged men"~fighting desperate, suicidally brave, honest and open skirmishes~as they "DREAMED"~and spoke openly and extensively of their "dream"~of an "Independent Light-Filled Peaceable Kingdom Tamil homeland"~a "homeland" completely free of Sinhala fascism~of Sinhala state-sponsored terrorism against Tamils~of Sinhala crimes against Tamil humanity.  The precision and complete accuracy of LTTE's "assessment" that they indeed faced a truly "neo-Nazi Sinhala fascism and genocide"~in 1979~in 1983~in 2006~in 2009~and now in 2010 is most clearly demonstrated by the Sinhala Sri Lankan army's words [Please scroll down to the very last paragaraph to see the quote]:  "The military will be with the [Tamil] civilians even after the last refugee is resettled in his or her village," the official in overall charge of resettlement, Major General GA Chandrasiri told the BBC on Sunday, June 7th, 2009. 

The LTTE was "founded on a dream" of "An Independent and Separate Peaceable Kingdom Light-Filled Tamil Homeland" completely free of all forms of genocide~cultural and otherwise~perpetrated against minority ethnic Tamils~a "homeland" where being "Tamil" would not "automatically" mean "second-class citizenship"~"automatic disenfranchisement"~"automatic genocide" ~and beginning in 2004~after the Asian tsunami~"automatic starvation."  Since the very inception of their organization~LTTE members have fully comprehended and grasped and understood the "fact" that Tamil "freedoms" will never be "free."  Since they began~in 1979~the LTTE has tried to "purchase"  and "secure" the freedoms of all Tamil people~everywhere~with the price of their own members' lives~signing the contracts for "our" freedoms with "their" precious life's blood~"their" very heart's blood.  The LTTE's resorting to "violent methods" is a measure of their indescribably high idealism~by their own self-determined "standards"~their profound, almost immeasurable desperation~their minuscule numbers~and their desperate lack of material resources. 

From the start, they needed to get the "biggest effects" for their tiny amount of resources~in order to have even the faintest hope of achieving their dream~for which they "signed up" willingly to give their lives~since no other options existed~except to leave their country of origin~as so many diaspora Tamils have indeed done.  Their employment of "violent methods" for fighting genocide resulted from an almost "preternaturally brilliant" and "precise" "calculation" of the hideously weighted "odds" that were always arrayed against their cause [~their "cause" being to defend all civilian Tamils from genocide].  The LTTE's "methods" [abhorrent and despicable as they have been declared to be] have~from 1983 until 2009~effectively prevented the genocide of the Tamil equivalent of "Six Million Jews." 

The Tamil Tigers' shining, indomitable acts of valour~demonstrated over the course of 26 years~have exampled to the "rest of us cowards" that it is better to lose your life fighting for the freedoms of your people~than to "live" ["live" in quotations-because what kind of "living" is THAT?] under the tyrannical yoke of Sinhala neo-Nazi fascism and genocide~under the tyrannical yoke of Sinhala state-sponsored terrorism~a Sinhala neo-Nazi fascism rivaled in its dark depths only by Nazi fascism.  The aspirations to freedom spelled out in Tamil Tiger blood on the beaches of Mullaitivu are identical in every way to those aspirations to freedom spelled out in the blood of Allied servicemen on the beaches of Normandy. 

The "brilliance" and "precision" of LTTE's "calculations" [regardless of whether you agree with them, love them, hate them, remain a pacifist/ conscientious -objector] have been borne out, irrefutably, time and time again, over the course of 26 years~most recently in the "irrefutable fact" that~in spite of the desperate pleadings of the "international community" since January 2008~17 months prior to the "stop" in May 2009~[including the desperate pleadings of the USA and the EU~member countries of which "regularly" pour out billions of dollars in aid money to Sri Lanka~and the UN~and South Indian Tamils~including 22 South Indian Tamil ministers who walked out of the Indian parliament in "protest" over the genocide] begging for the genocide to "please stop"~since January 2008~for 17 months~the genocide against civilian Tamils ABSOLUTELY HAS NOT STOPPED~as of March 10th, 2010. 

Even though the use of aerial bombs and heavy artillery technically "stopped" as of  May 19th, 2009~the "remaining" innocent, unarmed, civilian Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka are being slowly and no-less-effectively "exterminated" through systematic and planned starvation, lack of access to medical care, exposure to terrible tropical diseases~like dengue fever~virtually UNHEARD of in Sri Lanka prior to the Sinhala atrocities committed against Tamils on a mass-scale in 2009~resulting from poor sanitation and unconscionably overcrowded conditions, "planned exposure" to monsoon rains~which flooded the entire concentration camp area with "killer" sewage~not to mention the psychological scarring of war and incarceration without the faintest possibility of "legal due process."  "Just because" the Sri Lankan government has "stopped using bombs, bullets, and heavy artillery" to kill Tamils~does not mean in any way, shape, or form that it has yet "stopped" its genocidal actions against civilian Tamils.  The Sinhala Sri Lankan government remains obdurately "impervious" to external influence~"even" to external influence exerted by those who have "already" poured billions and billions of dollars in aid money into its coffers~coffers in CONSTANT need of replenishment~thanks to the billions and billions of dollars spent on arms for exterminating its ethnic Tamil population~not to mention the exhorbitant costs of rank and rampant corruption within the government itself.

Even those of "us" pacifists and conscientious objectors~who despise, abhor, and strongly denounce, all forms of inward [spiritual] and outward [armed physical conflict] violence, MUST acknowledge the "correctness," the "justness," of the LTTE's assessment of what they have "faced"~for 26 years~and what Eelam Tamil, ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils and diaspora Tamils face now~with the LTTE's military presence no longer on the ground~as Tamils MUST continue to advocate on behalf of the "rights" of innocent civilian victims of genocide~on behalf of the "rights" of Tamils "to live"~as all Tamil people are "forced" to listen to Rajapakse's insane rhetoric about having destroyed the "world's most notorious terrorist."  In Rajapakse's breathtakingly racist eyes~the leader of the LTTE is the "world's most notorious terrorist"~while most "sane"/"reasonable" people immediately think of Osama bin Laden~when they search their thoughts for "the world's most notorious terrorist."

Much has been made [justifiably made] in the international press regarding the LTTE's recruitment of child soldiers. 
Little~to~nothing has been made in the international press about the thousands of Tamil children who have been held for decades with NO ACCESS TO LEGAL REPRESENTATION under Sri Lanka's "Prevention of Terrorism Act."  Little~to~nothing has been made in the international press about the thousands of Tamil children who have been mercilessly slaughtered with impunity ["normal people" refer to this as "genocide"] by their own neo-Nazi genocidal fascist Sinhala government.
Little~to nothing~has been made in the international press of the many Tamil youths [would-be LTTE volunteers] who were actually turned away by LTTE recruiters as "unsuitable. 
Little~to nothing~has been made in the international press of the many Tamil children who have voluntarily joined the LTTE out of a sense of bottomless despair~created by decade after decade of Sinhala fascism~and the Sinhala government's lies about its own neo-Nazi fascist and genocidal ideals~ideals that the international press is simply not interested in reporting~or in analyzing with any degree of accuracy.
Little~to~nothing has been made of the "fact" that even though the Sinhala Sri Lankan government recaptured Jaffna [the main town inhabited by Tamils~historically] in 1995~from the hands of the LTTE [the so-called "terrorists"]~Jaffna REMAINS~in 2009~almost 15 [fifteen] years later a "bombed out" "unrecognizable" place.  This "proven track record" of the Sinhala-dominated Sri Lankan government~spanning a decade-and-a-half~spanning 15 [fifteen] straight years~of  murdering Tamil civilians~including Tamil children~and leaving a wake of utter destruction~bombing and destroying Tamil-owned properties with impunity~for 15 straight years can be resolved ONLY through the establishment of a Peaceful Tamil State~call it Eelam~if you like.
While members of the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] are successfully convicted for crimes such as "extortion" and "terrorism" in courts of law around the world~including in France~the perpetrators of relentless acts of genocide against civilian Tamils~the perpetrators-with-impunity of relentless acts of murder and of the repeated destruction of Tamil-owned property [since 1949] remain completely and utterly UNTOUCHED, entirely UNSCATHED by international criminal statute.

Currently there are 14 Sinhala Sri Lankan army soldiers~bristling with heavy weaponry~for every unarmed civilian Tamil camp resident at Manik Farm concentration camp.
If YOU were a Jew living in Nazi Germany~would YOU rather have "terrorists" known as The Allies~or The French Resistance~[in this case the LTTE]~"rescue you from certain death" using "violent methods?"~or have the Quakers and other Christians "continue fruitlessly pleading" for the Nazis to stop killing you~to no avail~70 years on?
If YOU were a Darfuri living in Sudan~this minute~watching everyone you know and hold beloved being slaughtered~would YOU "keep waiting in silent despair" for "peaceful" international "intervention?"~or would YOU resort to "violent methods"~if you had that path open to you~as an option~even IF "acting in your own defense" earned you the label "terrorist"~because of the actions you felt you were "forced to take"~in order to safeguard the freedoms of family and friends~against the diabolical machinations of an implacably neo-Nazi fascist enemy?
No less an eminence than His Holiness, the exiled Dalai Lama of Tibet, has openly acknowledged for the first time~"fifty years after the fact"~the abject failure of what is known as "the third way"~or peaceful means of resolving violent conflict through dialogue~[means valiantly attempted by Tamils prior to the formation of the LTTE in 1979]~by stating to The Wall Street Journal on April 1, 2009 [direct quote]:  "The main aim of dialogue is to improve the situation inside Tibet," he told reporters.  "We fundamentally acknowledge failure in that respect."  Like the Dalai Lama of Tibet~but before him~Tamils "fundamentally acknowledged the failure" of dialogue to achieve peace with Sinhala neo-Nazi fascism and genocide against Tamils~in 1979~back when LTTE was formed.

LTTE members whose number has always constituted the tiniest fraction~less than 1%~of the "total" Tamil population in Sri Lanka~dream of "an Independent Light-Filled Peaceable Kingdom Tamil homeland" free of cultural genocide, genocide, racism, and all forms of race-based oppression~not in a vacuum~but in a desperate "response" to pernicious, 6 decades-long, openly racist, neo-Nazi fascist, and genocidal (murderous) actions of successive Sinhala Sri Lankan governments~actions which are excruciatingly well-documented by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch which have placed the Sri Lankan government #1 (number one) on its' list of "worst" human-rights abusers, year after year after year.  Amnesty International's painstaking documentation of the Sri Lankan government's genocide against Tamils, dates all the way back to the 1970's~[Amnesty International was not even founded until 1961]~way before the formation of the LTTE~the "separatist group" labeled "terrorists" by the Sri Lankan government of Mahinda Rajapake.  As  Mark Twain famously phrased it:  [Please see highlighted box at the bottom of the linked page]:  A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.  Currently, Amnesty International ranks only Zimbabwe higher than Sri Lanka~for human rights abuses~for the Sinhala Sri Lankan government's acts of genocide against civilian Tamils.  Sri Lanka richly earns its place on Amnesty's list for the current [and past] neo-Nazi genocidal fascist Sinhala Sri Lankan government's atrocities~for Sinhala acts of state-sponsored terrorism~committed against its own Tamil citizens.

One way of thinking about the role of the LTTE in Northern Sri Lanka~a way NOT "promoted" generally in the media~particularly by Britain's _The Economist_ magazine~is as the "thin ragged line"~the ONLY "defense"~straggling "raggedly" and "haphazardly" between innocent civilian Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka~and their complete annihalation by successive regimes of the Sri Lankan government in "faraway" Colombo~as evidenced by the current and ongoing genocide~"TODAY" perpetrated by Rajapakse against civilian Tamils.  While _The Economist_~experiences NO DIFFICULTIES labeling LTTE members as NOTHING BUT [DIRTY] TAMIL TERRORISTS~it appears to experience a huge deal of trouble employing accurate English words like "neo-Nazi genocidal Sinhala fascists" "dictatorship" "persistent and pernicious and completely incorrigible election law violators"~to describe the current neo-Nazi fascist Sinhala Sri Lankan government.  The so-called "military defeat" of the LTTE~by the Sri Lankan army~in May 2009~is AS IF The Allied Command [in "band of ragged men" form] were defeated by Nazi Germany.  After all~would anyone in their "right mind" term The Allied Command fighting Nazis in WWII~"terrorists?"  Only Nazi-emulators~or hideously racist White Supremacist equivalents~like Rajapakse and his cabinet [former interior minister Palitha Kohona~currently Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United Nations in New York~in particular] and his army commanders [Chandrasiri, Nanyakkara, Fonseka]~term those fighting to protect victims of genocide~"terrorists."  Rajapakse's so-called "victory over terrorism" can be also be likened to Saddam Hussein's "victory" over the Kurdish people in Iraq. Horrible.  The "good guys" [labeled "terrorist" for attempting to prevent and/or minimize the genocide of their entire ethnic group's population] LOST.  Get it?

After observing the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 in the USA, the LTTE declared a "unilateral" ceasefire.  Note~if you will~PLEASE~that The Nobel Peace Prize Committe in Norway did NOT see fit to award its Peace Prize to the LTTE~for laying down their arms unilaterally with no preconditions in 2001~[the laying down of arms IS one of the conditions for eligibility for The Peace Nobel Prize]~their not being "celebrities"~their dark Tamil skins combined with their "Third World status" perhaps arousing all the "usual" racist attitudes against them~"real racism"~not the "form of racism" Obama claims to know~by reason of his ethnicity.  The Sri Lankan governmen followed the LTTE's ceasefire 6 months later~by declaring its own ceasefire.  After 3 billion+ of dollars of 2004 tsunami aid relief were "profoundly inequitably" distributed or stolen outright from under everyone's noses by the rampantly and rankly and utterly corrupt Sri Lankan government in "faraway" Colombo~not distributed at all to devastated Tamil areas~in a manner designed to starve the Tamil people to death~the LTTE resumed its courageous "fight" for justice and equality for all Tamils~its "fight" for "basic" Tamil civil rights~its fight against the neo-Nazi Sinhala genocidal fascists~in 2006.

The neo-Nazi genocidal fascist government of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse officially withdrew from peace talks in January 2008, and resumed its bombing of civilian populations in the north of Sri Lanka, where the ethnic minority Tamil population is concentrated.  The relentless neo-Nazi genocidal attacks against unarmed civilian ethnic Tamils continued from January 2008 until May 2009, for 17 [seventeen] straight months~with the government's bombings of civilian Tamils "paid for" with billions of dollars and euros in aid money~given by the USA and by the EU to the neo-Nazi genocidal fascists in the Sri Lankan government~with the government "convincing the world" of the LTTE's "terrorist acts" while busily perpetrating it's own acts of terrorism~with complete impunity~against innocent unarmed civilian Tamils.  This in spite of the patently false~albeit spectacularly grandiose~claims made by the "Tamil Judas Colonel Karuna" in many BBC reports over a period of several years~the "Tamil Judas Colonel Karuna" who has "sold" his own people [300,000 civilian Tamils] out for the proverbial pittance of "30 pieces of silver"~or 30 tiny pieces of political power within the neo-Nazi fascist and genocidal government of Mahinda Rajapakse.  The neo-Nazi fascist and genocidal Sinhala Sri Lankan government, together with "Tamil Judas Colonel Karuna"~"used" and continues to "use" the LTTE as "a perfect excuse" for first the apartheid, and now the "final solution" (ethnic cleansing and complete eradication of ethnic minority Tamils from the Sri Lankan landscape).  The tragic events of September 11th in the USA, and President George W. Bush's "response" to 9/11 provided the most convenient "cover" for the Sri Lankan government to label the LTTE a "terror group" [for the "first time"~18 years after the "so-called civil war" was said to have "begun"] to find a "new easily manufactured legitimacy" for wiping out all the Tamils remaining in Sri Lanka~with perfect impunity. 

Even though no member of the Liberation Tigers has ever posed a security threat to The United States in any way, shape or form~their battles have been for a Peaceable Kingdom Light-Filled Independent Tamil Homeland inside Sri Lanka~and nothing else~the group was placed on the U.S. "terror list" by George W. Bush's administration~and remains on the list in 2010~and its members treated "accordingly"~in spite of the devastation to unarmed, civilian Tamils in the North and East of Sri Lanka at the hands of genocidal Sinhala neo-Nazi fascists.  The group has never effectively managed to petition the U.S. government to be removed from the U.S. government's "terror list"~something that only these types of groups themselves are "authorized" to do~according to news reports televised on C-SPAN.

Former United Nations (UN) spokesman Gordon Weiss estimates that 40,000 [forty-thousand] unarmed civilian Tamils (including children) have been killed by the Sri Lankan government during the first 3 months of 2009 alone.  Even though United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon was made keenly aware that at  LEAST 20,000 unarmed Tamil civilians were slaughtered by neo-Nazi fascist Sinhala government forces between January 2009 and May 2009~he has successfully kept up a pretence of a complete lack of awareness of the FACT OF TAMIL GENOCIDE.  It's just so much EASIER that way[!]  The government of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, categorically and obstinately REFUSED to stop bombing and shelling unarmed Tamil civilians (including children) for 17 [seventeen] straight months on end~from January 2008 until May 2009~openly flouting both the The Geneva Convention~and international pleadings for a cessation to bombing civilian Tamils~made repeatedly~made almost "daily" during May 2009~by the UN, by the USA and by EU ministers~before it "finally" declared an "end to the civil war" on May 18th, 2009.  When Indian authorities repeatedly offered "safe passage" and refugee status in India~to Tamil civilians "trapped" in the war zone~Rajapakse categorically refused to "save" these innocent civilians.

January 27th, 2010~Holocaust Memorial Day at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland~was "marked" globally by "pretty speeches" delivered by world leaders of the stature of President Barack Obama [President of the United States~sent a video message] Angela Merkel [Chancellor of Germany] Nicolas Sarkozy [President of France] and Benjamin Netanyahu [Prime Minister of Israel] all of whom were televised globally delivering lots of "beautiful words" about "never again" ~would "genocide" be permitted to occur without "world intervention."  It "appears" [to the superficial observer] that this "never again" does NOT apply to ethnic minority Eelam Tamils who are currently experiencing genocide~IN 2010~even as these same world leaders criss-cross the globe~at inordinate tax-payer expense during a time of global economic recession~performing a lot of hand-wringing~and delivering "worthless speeches"~WORDS THAT ARE NOT BACKED UP BY CONCRETE ACTIONS DESIGNED TO STOP THE GENOCIDE BEING PERPETRATED BY RAJAPAKSE AGAINST TAMILS IN SRI LANKA NOW IN 2010.

Since January 2008, Rajapakse consistently denied access to independent journalists, and to aid agencies who wished to provide even minimal/"basic" "subsitance" humanitarian services to unarmed civilian Tamils, 550,000 [five hundred and fifty thousand] of whom were believed [by the UN] to be "trapped" for 5 straight months [from January 2009 until May 2009] in what the government euphemistically referred to as a "safe zone"  or "no fire zone."
A subset of the initially 550,000 unarmed Tamil civilians~trapped by their own neo-Nazi fascist and genocidal Sinhala government in what was euphemistically called a "no-fire zone" or "safety zone"~a "subset" number thought to be 350,000 [three hundred and fifty thousand] innocent, unarmed, defenseless, civilian Tamils~including approximately 200,000 [two hundred thousand] Tamil children~REMAINED "imprisoned" without legal charges of ANY KIND~from May 20th, 2009~December 1st, 2009~some 100,000 Tamils CHILDREN remain so through today-in 2010-by Rajapakse's government in Nazi concentration camp-evoking barbed-wire fenced "refugee camps," with no access to food, water, medical care, or sanitation facilities~under constant 24 hrs/day, 7days/week "supervision" by Sinhala Sri Lankan armed personnel bristling with guns.  This took place in CLEAR VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAWS to which the Sri Lankan government remains a signatory.  The "fact" that NO ONE EVER KNEW the "real number" of unarmed Tamil civilians imprisoned by their own government~at any given time~speaks to the profoundly neo-Nazi, fascist and genocidal instincts of the "Aryan" Sinhala race.  "TODAY" [March 10th, 2010~months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months after the declared "WINNING" of the genocidal war against LTTE so-called terrorists] 130,000 Tamils~including approximately 30,000 [thirty thousand] Tamil children~have NO PLACE TO GO~their homes, schools, and hospitals having been relentlessly fire-bombed~to~cinders~and~ashes~NOT at the hands of those "dirty terrorists" The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [LTTE] but at the hands of THEIR OWN NEO-NAZI, FASCIST AND OPENLY GENOCIDAL SINHALA SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT.
The unarmed Tamil civilians in the North and East of Sri Lanka enjoy EXTRAORDINARILY LITTLE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT~stopped by the fascist Sinhala military from free movement at every step. 
Keep in mind [please] that Rajapakse "declared" an "end" to the LTTE on May 19th, 2009~and "invited" the "world" to celebrate with him in his openly genocidal "dance of celebration."  The "world" obliged when the UN resolution "congratulating"  the Sri Lankan government for its' slaughter of 40,000 unarmed Tamil civilians on the beach in Mullaitivu "passed" on May 28, 2009~"passing" 17-26 with 6 abstentions~with the "assistance" of Russia, China, Egypt, India [India has more persons~24 million~living in "present-day-slavery" than all the other countries in the world "combined"]~in concert with a motley assortment of other brutal human rights-abusing regimes.

On May 21st, 2009, the International Committe for the Red Cross [ICRC] indefinitely "suspended" aid to government-incarcerated, completely destitute, Tamil refugees, because the neo-Nazi Sri Lankan government actively impeded its aid work.  Approximately 300,000 Tamil refugees had remained surrounded by barbed-wire fencing and Sri Lankan armed personnel~between May 21st, 2009 and December 1st, 2009~bristling with weaponry~continuing to "actively impede" "true ICRC access" to meet the terrible need of these destitute refugees to "tell their terrible stories of ongoing trauma" to ICRC aid workers.  Heart-breakingly~no one living today has the capacity or the power to "avert" the horrors of Auschwitz, of Bergen-Belsen, of Buchenwald~"ahead of time."  ALL of us living today CAN, however, work together to permanently and swiftly to create "A Separate and Peaceable Kingdom Light-Filled Tamil Homeland" where in the words of Elie Wiesel~[Please scroll down to June 30th, 2009 entry on Elie Wiesel's web page]:  "The Tamil people must be allowed to live in peace and flourish in their homeland."  It's a "complete fascination" that the "so-called civil war" does not appear to have created "even 1 [ONE] SINGLE" Sinhala [ethnic majority] refugee (!)~even after 17 continuous months of war (!) against so-called "dirty" terrorists (!)  On the other hand~the "so-called civil war" has "magically" and "effectively" created 375,000 [three hundred and seventy-five thousand] completely destitute Tamil refugees(!)~many of whom lost their lives in the unsanitary, inhumane consitions within Manik Farm concentration camp~between May 19th, 2009 and December 1st, 2009.

On July 9th, 2009~the neo-Nazi fascist and genocidal government of Sri Lanka "banned" the ICRC~the ONLY "independent entity" permitted to operate in the North and East of Sri Lanka~where completely destitute Tamil refugees continue being held without charge~without recourse to legal remedies~in concentration camps operated by the neo-Nazi fascist Sinhala Sri Lankan government of Mahinda Rajapakse.
While UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon declared the Nazi-emulating concentration camps near Vavuniya [Manik Farm] "by far the most appalling I have seen"~and BBC reporters were calling camp conditions "raw agony"~the Sri Lankan government was boasting about how "well-run" the camps are.  Therein lies the Sri Lankan government's "split" from "reality." 
Whenever the UK, US, or the UN have "confronted" Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rakapakse "directly" with evidence of his genocidal actions against Tamils~he "resists" their calls for ceasing the slaughter~and scolds them for "interfering in an internal matter"~exactly as Hitler did when Quakers and other Christians pleaded with him to stop slaughtering Jews in 1940's Nazi Germany~exactly as Saddam Hussein did when foreign diplomats pleaded with him to stop slaughtering Kurds in Iraq~during the 1980's and 1990's.
Like "Holocaust-Deniers" past and present~those who continually deny the slaughter of millions of Jews in Nazi Germany~Rajapakse and his military commanders continue denying the slaughter of tens of thousands of Tamils~effectively acting as "Tamil-Holocaust-Deniers."

At the "height" of the [ongoing] genocide against Tamils, openly racist, genocidal, and politically powerful [Hinayana] Buddhist clergy even suggested the government "shut down" the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo~simply because of its peace-making efforts.  During some of the "worst" genocide perpetrated  by the Sri Lankan government against civilian Tamils~British Foreign Secretary David Miliband was burned in effigy by irate Sinhala mobs in Colombo [Sri Lanka's capital]~"merely" because he had the temerity to suggest that peace talks be held with Tamil Tigers~at that time.  Independent news agencies inside Sri Lanka who have reported Rajapakse's human-rights abuses have had their broadcasting equipment destroyed, been threatened, persecuted, and even assassinated, when their journalistic voices were raised just a little "too loudly" in reporting the ongoing genocide [killing of Tamils for being Tamil].  The "noises of reconciliation" [yes~even "delivered" in the Tamil language! ] made by Rajapakse on May 19th, 2009~when he addressed the Sri Lankan nation~and on subsequent occasions~are just that: "noises"~a transparent and cynical attempt to obtain billions of dollars in aid from the West, as he carefully, with Hitler-like cunning and precision, plans the complete genocide of the destitute Tamil civilians "leftover" after the killing fields.

Rajapakse lies "NOW" [in 2010] about his truly murderous intentions against Tamils~in sugar-coated honeyed words "designed" for the media's ears~just as he has repeatedly lied in the past about the hundreds of bombs dropped on Tamil civilians from January 2008 until May 2009~during a period of 17 [seventeen] months~bombs that were being dropped concurrently with his "repeated assurances"~delivered to a group of EU ministers who came to "beg" for the genocide to stop~that "no bombs were dropped on Tamil civilians"~concurrently with his military commander Nanayakkara repeatedly lying directly into the lenses of BBC cameras that there was "no unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe" taking place in Mullaitivu [in other words~the slaughter of 40,000 unarmed civilian Tamils~including children~is ostensibly "no unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe" in neo-Nazi fascist Sinhala Sri Lanka's eyes]~conducted from January 2008 until May 2009~conditions BBC reporters have described as "hell on earth." 

Rajapakse lies "NOW" [in 2010] about the ongoing "detention" without charge of "9,000" [sometimes reported in _The Wall Street Journal_ and _The Times of London_ as "10,000" ] so-called "Tamil Tiger rebels~without a scintilla of "evidence."  These so-called "Tamil Tigers" referred to so "confidently" by _The Wall Street Journal_ and _The Times of London_  as "Tamil Tiger rebels being held by the Sri Lankan government"~are simply completely destitute Tamil refugees randomly "rounded up" from the concentration camps~AFTER the slaughter of 20,000 unarmed civilians on the beaches at Mullaitivu~and presented to the Western news media as "9,000 or 10,000 Tamil Tigers"~to hide the degrading truth about the government's truly complete genocide conducted against unarmed civilian Tamils.

Rajapakse's unimaginable success at manipulating the international press has been confirmed by the $2.6 billion [billion with a "b'] IMF loan "awarded" to Sri Lanka~as a "reward" for the continuing genocide being perpetrated by his government against ethnic minority Tamils~a continuing "reward" for the incarceration of 130,000 innocent, unarmed civilian Tamils still housed and being slowly exterminated in government-run concentration camps.

Most unfortunately for Sri Lanka, the hideously racist and openly genocidal "conditions" that "gave birth" to a "separatist" group like the LTTE~in the "first place"~remain more firmly "entrenched" than ever~to this day in 2010.  Unfortunately~the images on the disturbing video [on the link above] could "just as easily" have been captured in 1949, in 1956, and in 1977~when genocidal fascist neo-Nazi Sinhala Sri Lankan armed personnel behaved in exactly this way~except there were no independent cameras~and certainly no 'cell 'phone cameras~to record those horrors~in "real time." 
"Today"~in 2010~these conditions are "mother's milk nurtured"~"directly nurtured" by the relentlessly genocidal and racist actions of current Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse~and by the billions and billions of dollars [and euros] in aid money, pumped directly into the coffers of the Sri Lankan government by the USA, by the European Union, by the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and by The World Bank [among others] with no "restrictions" tying billions and billions of dollars in aid money, to any adherence to human rights standards, or even to international law. 
Rajapakse's "much-reported," "much-touted," "brilliant vision for Tamils in Sri Lanka"~the "bright shining lie"~is complete and utter extermination~a chillingly murderous vision "naturally" couched in honeyed words and poetic language!~or would international media sources be interested in reporting it? 
In other words~there is a gap as wide as The Grand Canyon~between Rajapakse's honeyed "WORDS OF RECONCILIATION with Tamils"~and his persistently GENOCIDAL NEO-NAZI ACTIONS against civilian Tamils~his relentless killing of unarmed civilian Tamils with bullets and bombs.  Some reports tell us the bombing of civilian Tamils began in "earnest" 2006-3 whole years ago.  One of Rajapakse's "open boasts" is:  "We have completely destroyed the terrorists in a mere matter of 3 years" [all the while complaining that the "Tamil Tiger terrorist threat remains alive"~so that he can continue justifying the concentration camps housing ONLY Tamil civilians] as he compared himself "favorably" against the United States which Rajapakse feels has "failed to defeat terrorism"~yet another "instance" of the Sinhala Master Aryan Race qualities shining through genocidal acts of violence and highly organized Sinhala state-sponsored terrorism against Tamils.

This well-documented, 6 decades-long, "endless" history of neglectful, abusive, and genocidal "neo-Nazi practice" against minority ethnic Tamils~perpetrated by successive Sri Lankan majority ethnic group Sinhala governments dating back to 1949~is "the perfect argument" in favor of granting a separate "Independent Light-Filled Peaceable Kingdom Tamil Homeland."  A"Two-State Solution"~just like that created for Israel~and proposed for Palestine~or the one in Northern Iraq for the Kurdish people~with complete self-determination granted to Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka [supported by the United Nations~and by the global community] appears to be the only "peaceful answer" to the continuing genocide.  The "fact" the government carefully planned ahead to "disenfranchise" 300,000 completely destitute Tamil refugees from voting in the "rigged January 26th, 2010 elections in Jaffna and Vavuniya" [Tamil populations in these areas "responded" with less than 30% voter turnout] only lends added weight to the argument "for" a separate "Tamil State." 
The "fact" that Sri Lanka's Sinhala top army general Sarath Fonseka "himself" has been disappointed by the Rajapakse government's fascist and genocidal acts against civilian Tamils at the concentration camp in Manik Farm~from May 19th, 2009 until December 1st, 2000~and continued through TODAY~in 2010~but was powerless to stop these acts of terror against civilian Tamils~further emphasizes the "desperate immediate need" for Eelam~A Peaceable Kingdom Light-Filled Tamil Homeland~A Separate Tamil Homeland.  The Nazi-emulating Sri Lankan Sinhala government in Colombo, through its fascist and genocidal acts, perpetrated over a period of 60 years, has established beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is completely incapable of ever recognizing the Tamil people as being entitled to anything remotely resembling "basic human rights."
Trusting the Sri Lankan government to "take care of Tamils" is like trusting Nazi Germany to "take care of Jews."

Things you can do to help secure the immediate and unconditional release of the 250,000 imprisoned civilian Tamils~including 100,000 innocent Tamil children:
(1)  Contact the The White House [mailtothechief@cnn.com] and explain to President Obama that the ONLY "credible" and "appropriate" mechanism for "inquiry" into war crimes committed by the current Sri Lankan goverment of Mahinda Rajapakse is:  A Nuremberg-style trial to try the neo-Nazi openly genocidal Sinhala fascists in Sri Lanka at The International Criminal Court.  "Explain" how "murderers" and genocidal fascists are UNLIKELY to "convict themselves."
Ask President Obama WHY The Obama Administration released the following statement~via the U.S. State Department on October 22nd, 2009:  "The United States looks to the [illegitimate~thanks to all Sri Lankan elections law violations by the ruling party] Government of Sri Lanka to identify an appropriate and credible mechanism and initiate a process for accountability."  This type of seemingly open "admiration" BY the leader of The United States government~FOR the relentlessly fascist and genocidal tactics of a Sri Lankan government MUST be "stopped in its tracks"~by all of us~working together~peacefully and nonviolently.  In the same vein~in light of this statement~The Obama Administration COULD easily be imagined URGING the completely defenseless, unarmed, unnamed, voiceless, defenseless, NONCELEBRITY, African-American slaves and freed men~about to be lynched by their White Supremacist oppressors~to "give in"~and "go quietly" to their certain deaths~while The Obama Administration congratulates The White Supremacists for their "power."  In the same vein~in light of this statement~The Obama Administration COULD be imagined proceeding to LABEL the heroic American Revolutionary fighters~including General George Washington himself~those who miraculoulsy "wrested power" from The THEN Almighty British Empire: "terrorists" and "extra-legal" "non-State-sanctioned actors"
Ask President Obama WHY the fascist and genocidal Sinhala Sri Lankan government continues to enjoy "preferred trading status"~with the United States~worth BILLIONS OF DOLLARS~when "even" the slow-moving European Union [EU] has initiated the process that would "eventually" remove Sri Lanka from its "preferred trading status" list [known as the EU's GSP PLUS list.]  Sri Lanka is the ONLY country in South Asia to enjoy this "preferred trading status" with the USA~enjoying it since 2005
Ask President Obama WHY the rankly and rampantly corrupt Sri Lankan government continues to enjoy "preferred trading status" with the United States~WORTH BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 
"Explain" to Presient Obama that while you think it's "perfectly appropriate" to "reflect" on the endless unspeakable atrocities of the Rwandan genocide of 1994 now in 2010~you find it unconsionable that "President Obama" has conveniently "forgotten" or "misplaced" "Candidate Obama's" so-called ethical standards [much~drooled~over~by~the Press like "All Things Obama"] by PRETENDING NOT TO NOTICE the ONGOING GENOCIDE OF TAMILS IN SRI LANKA IN 2010~a genocide that is NOT EVEN CALLED BY IT'S *TRUE* NAME~by President Obama~who had within his means the power to STOP THE GENOCIDE OF TAMILS IN SRI LANKA IN 2009~but very deliberately, very coolly [So Very Obama Coolness!] very calculatedly chose NOT to employ his "obvious power" to STOP THE GENOCIDE OF TAMILS IN SRI LANKA IN 2009.  Point out that BBC television cameras and U.S. State Department satellites were "not so very far away" when genocidal SINHALA neo-Nazi fascist government forces~under the military command of Major General Sarath Fonseka~at the specific instruction of the genocidal military dictator President Mahinda Rajapakse~were BOMBING what were at the time KNOWN to U.S. State Department satellites to be UNARMED, COMPLETELY DESTITUTE CIVILIAN Tamils~into oblivion.

(2) Contact United States' Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry [Senator_Kerry@senate.Kerry.gov], head of The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and "explain" to him that the report presented to him as "fact" by his illustrious staffer Nilmini Gunaratne Rubin is in FACT the IDENTICAL, UNEDITED, view of the hideously racist, neo-Nazi, fascist and openly genocidal powers which currently control the Sinhala Sri Lankan government~a government DIRECTLY responsible for the "humanitarian crisis" referred to by her report as "created by Tamil terrorists."  "Blaming" Tamils themselves for the neo-Nazi fascist genocide against them is like "blaming" rape victims for their own rapes.  While people do it "all the time"~it's profoundly and unspeakably unjust~and unspeakably cruel.  "Explain" to Senator Kerry that his staffer's "report" is in direct and polar opposition to views supported by such powerful FORCES for PEACE, such FORCES for GOOD as Nobel Peace Prize Winners:  Elie Wiesel, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Amnesty International.  When you write, remember to THANK Senator Kerry for his IMMEDIATE ATTENTION to this "life-and-death" issue for ethnic minority Eelam Tamils

(3)  Contact the The International Criminal Court  and ask Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo WHY EXACTLY he "personally obstructs" all international efforts to bring to criminal trial the perpetrators of genocide against ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka.  "Explain" to Prosecutor Moreno that The Rome Statue has its limitations~and DOES NOT LIMIT the court's jurisdiction~in bringing the perpetrators of genocide against ethnic Tamils to IMMEDIATE justice.  "Explain" that EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT passes realizes "more senseless Tamil deaths."  Ask the prosecutors and judges at The International Criminal Court in The Hague, WHY they delay in arresting and charging Sri Lankan President Rajapakse~his cabinet~including his brothers in the cabinet~and Sri Lanka's former interior minister Palitha Kohona~currently Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United Nations in New York]~and his military commanders~particularly Nanayakkara, Chandrasiri and Fonseka~with "crimes against Tamil humanity."   Point out the striking similarities between "history" [Nazi fascist behavior~like Demjanjuk's is alleged to be] and "current-and-ongoing conditions in Sri Lanka in 2010" [neo-Nazi Sinhala fascism].  Plead with the court NOT to "wait" until Rakjapakse, Fonseka and the complete coterie of compadres-in-genocide are 89 years old~to bring criminal prosecutions against them~as the court has indeed done in the case of John Demjanjuk~the alleged Nazi death camp guard on trial now at the court~for his alleged complicity in the murder of 27,000 Jews

(4)  Contact The Pope at The Vatican, Rome, ITALY and ask Pope Benedict the 16th [a former Member of Hitler's Nazi Youth Brigade] WHY he delays advocacy on behalf of Tamils staring "death in the face DAILY in 2010."  Remind him~when you write~that he was "on the side of Nazi fascism and genocide" the last time around [WWII].  Convince him that Sinhala President Rajapakse's fascist and genocidal acts against civilian Tamils "are just as lethal" as Hitler's fascist and genocidal acts against Jews~in Nazi Germany [WWII].  Here is The Pope's "chance" [finally!] to redeem himself~from past mistakes~a finer alternative to organizing "catholic celebrations"~within SIGHT of Manik Farm concentration camp~a concentration camp "reserved" for ethnic minority Tamils ONLY~as The Pope did on August 15th, 2009~a day called "Ferragosto"~a traditional catholic holiday celebrating The Assumption [to heaven] of The Virgin Mary.
When you write~convince the him that "rushing" to the immediate assistance of Tamils in Sri Lanka is indeed a "finer alternative" to Pope Benedict's "current rush" to cannonize Pope Pius the 12th~a Pope who by his obdurate INACTION~actively assisted Nazis in murdering Jews during WWII.  Explain to the Pope that you don't "buy" his "public statement to the Italian Press" that Pope Pius the 12th "helped Jews quietly~behind the scenes."
Remind The Pope that it was The American Friends' Service Committee [Quakers] who won The Nobel prize in 1947~for their work with Holocaust victims~including German victims~NOT The Roman Catholic Church.  This "tradition" of NOT rushing to the rescue of victims of fascism and genocide might be seen as a "deep-seated intractable irredeemable pernicious habit" of The Catholic Church

(5)  Contact Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany~and remind her~that as "leader" of a country [Germany] intimately acquainted with Nazi fascism~Germany has a PROFOUND moral and ethical obligation~to live up to publicly vowed pledges of "never again will genocide be permitted to proceed without the intervention of civilized powers" by using military action [if needed] to STOP the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka

(6)  Contact Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel~and remind him~that as "leader" of a country [Israel] intimately acquainted with Nazi fascism~Israel has a PROFOUND moral and ethical obligation~to live up to publicly vowed pledges of "We will never forget The Six Million" by using military action [if needed] to STOP the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.  Remind Prime Minister Netanyahu that United States taxpayers have PAID for Israel's military might~over a period of decades~and that you [if you are a United States taxpayer] are "owed" big time~by The State of Israel~and by Netanyahu himself~however indirectly~for his ritzy Harvard education.  Remind Prime Minister Netanyahu of his OWN WORDS~in Munich, Germany~in 2009~declared directly into television cameras~while standing next to German Chancellor Merkel: "The Holocaust happened because world civilized powers failed to act in time."  Ask him WHY he "fails to act in time"~to prevent The Holocaust of Tamils in Sri Lanka~in 2010

(7)  Contact your United States Senator or member of the United States House of Representatives and ask WHY no members of YOUR [as opposed to the Sri Lankan government lobbyists'] United States Congress have demanded that President Obama act immediately~to STOP the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka

(8)  Each time you think of purchasing a product that says "Made in Sri Lanka" or "Made in China" or "Made in India" or "Made in Russia"~or see "Ceylon Sapphires" or "Ceylon gemstones"~think to yourself~"Do I REALLY want to "vote with my dollar?" to support regimes in China and India and Russia~countries that have actively and persistently and enthusiastically PAID the neo-Nazi fascist Sinhala Sri Lankan government of Mahinda Rajapakse~to murder civilian Tamils~with complete impunity?  IS "saving a few dollars" [even in a tough economy] worth the precious lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent, unarmed, civilian Tamils?

(9)  Contact CNN News and ASK "How can you proclaim yourself 'The Worldwide Leader in News'~when you absolutely REFUSED to cover the terrible plight of 550,000 completely destitute, unarmed, civilian Tamil refugees~between May 19th, 2009 and December 1st, 2009~approximately 250,000 continuing to be incarcerated through TODAY~in 2010~imprisoned by the neo-Nazi, fascist and genocidal [ethnic majority] Sinhala Sri Lankan government?~including 100,000 ethnic minority Tamil children?~while keeping yourself "busy" panting and drooling after every fly-swatting incident involving President Obama~every track mark on Michael Jackson's body~every incident of infidelity in Tiger Woods' life?" 
Ask WHY the death of the "a single" white-skinned Iranian girl Neda~shot through the heart~unbelievably tragic as her death IS~deserves infinitely MORE "airtime" on CNN News than the outright slaughter of tens of thousands of dark-skinned Tamils~at the hands of their own government.  Tell CNN News "Like Neda~I feel "shot through the heart"~at CNN's utter neglect of the genocide~with~impunity of Tamils in Sri Lanka in 2009." 
"Explain" CNN's own "criminally negligent" coverage bias to CNN by saying:  "Had these 550,000 completely destitute, unarmed, civilian Tamils been Iranian, or Haitian, or Chinese, or Chilean or "even" Palestinian~CNN would have been "ON THE STORY 24/7 ad nauseum" as that's CNN's "usual practice"~during any global and/or humanitarian "crisis." 
Ask:  "How can you tape an an hour-long interview with internationally recognized teenage Tamil music star M.I.A~then CUT IT DOWN to a mere "three minutes"~CNN's producer informing M.I.A. that the interview was "cut" because she had the audacity to mention the word "genocide"~in relation to what is happening to ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka~in 2010?"  Naturally Obama's "audacity" is a "different matter" ENTIRELY.
Explain to CNN that the ONLY "credible" and "appropriate" mechanism for the type of war crimes inquiry you are calling for at the present time~is a Nuremberg-style trial to try the neo-Nazi genocidal Sinhala fascists in Sri Lanka at The International Criminal Court~in the VERY FACE of Chinese government diabolical obstruction of international justice~and that CNN needs to start calling for it~in order to redeeem itself from repeated past mistakes in "criminally negligent" coverage choices

(10)  Contact The Oprah Winfrey Show~and ask Oprah:  "How come you promised internationally known teenage Tamil musical artist M.I.A. [at an awards ceremony in Spring 2009] to do all you can to STOP THE GENOCIDE OF [ethnic minority] TAMILS IN SRI LANKA?~then proceed to do EXACTLY NOTHING?~when you have the President's ear and everything?"  While you are writing you may also ask:  "How come _women_ are "just fine" as long as they are  (a) applauding enthusiastically in the audience of The Oprah Show  (b) uncritically lapping up Oprah's pearls of wisdom  (c) purchasing items/services/products/persons being _promoted_ by Oprah~but the MINUTE "A Woman" seeks REAL power [for example The United States' Presidency]~THEN~NOT SO MUCH?"

Dr. Gunasegaram has made a living as a professional research scientist and professional artist since 1999.  She has been a pacifist [conscientious objector] legal permanent resident (green card holder) of the USA since 1990.  She applied to be a naturalized citizen of the USA as soon as she became eligible, and passed all the tests required for naturalization in March 1994.  From 1994 until 2003 she was repeatedly told by the Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Service (BCIS) that her naturalization file was "lost."  Her "lost" naturalization file was "magically" found again in 2003, but then she was told by BCIS that her "application to be naturalized is no longer valid."  A United States Senate investigation of this pattern of abuse by BCIS, conducted by U. S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) indicates that 1 million 7 hundred thousand legally documented immigrants to the USA have been harassed, mistreated, and disenfranchised in this manner by BCIS.  If you find Senator Grassley's discoveries disturbing~and would like to do something about changing policies~immediately contact your United States Senator~and your United States Representative~and demand that legally documented immigrants have their backlogged cases adjudicated and completed BEFORE any OTHER immigration act is advanced.  Dr. Gunasegaram has been a convinced Quaker, a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) since 1998.

One of the most insightful descriptions of Isaac Falconer/Dr. Saku Gunasegaram's work is contained in the brochure An Element of Gold for a solo exhibit held at the Palazzo Montefano (Galeazza since Spring 2003) in Bologna, Italy, September 8 - October 9, 2000.  Curator Ross Lance Mitchell, former gallery director at the Barnes Foundation Museum writes as follows:

Falconer/Gunasegaram is a Tamil woman born in Sri Lanka, who immigrated legally with her family to the United States at the age of 18.  Although educated as a psychologist and employed in the United States as a scientist in the study of breast cancer, she was swept away by her creative passion to paint in Venice.

The story of her coming to Italy is as romantic as it gets.  While taking a rare vacation from her profession in molecular genetic epidemiology, she stayed in Venice for a month and painted.  During her stay in Venice, she met a gallery owner who was impressed by her work.  She was offered a monthly stipend and a place to live for a year.  The (Renaissance) Medicis live!  Although she has been a life-long artist, she never took the field seriously as a profession for herself.  Family pressures and a natural talent in the fields of psychology and science led her to success in both fields.  But there was an inner longing for something else, something even more creative.  You are surrounded in this gallery by the manifestation of that amazing journey.

Falconer/Gunasegaram is a deeply spiritual person and her art grows out of her spirituality and her sensitivity.  It also grows out of her feminism, represented by the element of gold symbolically woven into the construction of her art.  Her use of paper as the support for her painting perfectly reflects her weltanschaung.  The sensitivity of paper is quite different from that of canvas.  Paper changes the nature of the paint as it absorbs the pigment but it also is changed by the act of absorption.  As in Eisenberg's Uncertainty Principle where the mere fact of observation affects the results, Falconer/Gunasegaram absorbs her environment and changes it in the process.  She measures the emotional content of those around her as well as her surroundings and her paintings are a litmus test of her findings.  Further, there is a Rorschach ink blot test quality to the backgrounds of many of her pieces.  What we end up with is a body of work that asks a question and then answers it; the background asks and the foreground answers.  Like William Blake, Falconer/Gunasegaram is a visionary artist, one who searches her soul for the light within.

In her use of gold and the exotic nature of her work, we see the influence of her Sri Lankan origins. The pastiche aspect of the paintings bespeaks a post-modern influence as exemplified by the paintings-within-paintings in the work of David Salle. Her use of rectilinear forms superimposed on backgrounds remind one of the push/pull effects of Hanns Hoffmann and his floating rectangles. The effect is also reminiscent of the large floating units of Rothko, but on an intimate scale. Her work has a collage quality similar to Rauschenberg combined with a Paul Klee playfulness. There is also a Byzantine aspect created by the written text incorporated into each piece. The influences are all synthesized by Falconer/Gunasegaram into a unique voice expressing her own interpretations of her life experiences.

This show of nineteen paintings by Falconer/Gunasegaram in Bologna is her first since arriving in Italy.  Her growth as a painter is self-evident in the work surrounding you.  Her joie de vivre is also inherent in her artwork.  The playful quality comes through even in works of a darker nature.  The Janus nature of her double-sided pieces reflects her innate scientific perspective; she looks at things from all sides, and once she does, she sees a new world reflected there.  The fish motif running through several of her pieces can be viewed from numerous different perspectives, but who would be so presumptuous as to analyze the psychologist?  However, judging by the success she is achieving in her artwork, it appears that science's (temporary) loss will be the art world's everlasting gain.

"The objects seem to be bathed in the light of memory, yet they're painted with such solidity and real feeling that you can almost touch them.  One might say that art has left nothing to chance."  1960 - From a scene in Fellini's La Dolce Vita discussing a painting by Morandi.