Teng Jin Wei / Reporter
A vigil for the victims of the Sri Lankan civil war was held at Speaker’s Corner on Saturday by World Without War (WWW). The civil society group, made up of nine Singaporeans and founded just three weeks ago, hopes to raise awareness about the ongoing civil war through the vigil. “This is a small step towards global integration and caring without distinction,” explained Chong Kai Xiong, 27, spokesperson for WWW.
Sri Lanka has been embroiled in a civil war for 25 years. Recently, the war escalated when the government not only went back on its word for a ceasefire, but also refused international aid and expelled personnel from international NGOs. The conflict has claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced more than 1.5 million people.
In an earlier press release, WWW said history has demonstrated that such wars can never be won. “The international community must take decisive steps to pressure the Government of Sri Lanka to abandon the path of militarism and opt for a negotiated political settlement,” it said. “Our prompt intervention will avert the loss of many more precious lives.”
The vigil at Hong Lim Park, which started at 5pm, saw the lighting of candles by participants. A message board was also available for the public to share their views on the war in Sri Lanka. Several members of the public were spotted leaving their particulars on the group’s mailing list, while others were seen holding flyers or sporting badges that were given out by the group.
Rachel Zeng, 25, one of the organisers for the event, said that they chose to kick-start their activities with the Sri Lanka conflict because the atrocities there are reaching a critical stage. “The atrocities of the civil war in Sri Lanka have reached their peak,” she said. “It saddens me to see picture evidence of the cruelty and violence from this war,” she added, “especially when very young children have become victims.”
Another organiser for the event, S Sivabalan, 53, said, “No other country understands the importance of racial harmony more than Singapore.” He gave a brief history of the civil war to those present. Expressing his anger, he accused the Sri Lankan government of using weapons on its own people. “This is the most unacceptable thing I have ever heard of,” he said.
Thevakumar, 23, a member of the public, found out about the event from The Online Citizen and was there to show support. He expressed his concerns avidly, saying, “We should do what we can.”
WWW hopes to bring more people to the cause to achieve their aim of an end to all wars in the world.
Their website can be accessed here.
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TOC’s video interview with World Without War:
The following video is by tlc2jon:
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Pictures of the event by Sijia:
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Hooray for activism!
Funny…
16/11/08
Both Sri Lanka and Singapre are independence and sovereign nation and we must not interfer in each other’s domestic affairs. Sri Lanka’s civil war is their domestic affairs and both sides ie Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers are not sincere and must share equally the blames not honouring the terms and conditions for peace.
andrew chuah (#3),
The Singapore Government may choose not to speak out, the choice to do so remains with each citizen. It is also not the government’s business to instruct citizens what not to say.
16/11/08
Hi smallvice585-We as Singapore citizens have our own set of problems and we must focus on solving our problems then to participate in this Vigil.Let me ask you can we really help to bring real peace in Sri Lanka (both the Sri Lanka government and Tamil Tigers broke the Peace Agreement and neighbouring India who tried to help these two parties are getting fedup.
andrew chuah (#5),
You are not making any sense too. One can exert soft power in such a situation by enticing either parties with goodies. It is common knowledge that foreign aid is often used to solve or polarise political situations in conflicts.
Foreign aid does not have to come from a government. It can come from NGOs too. Oxfam and Red Cross are among the most influential aid organisations in the world. They also play important roles in mediating conflicts too.
16/11/08
Hi smallvice585-You are very wrong in saying I don’t make any sense. Both Sri Lanka government and Tamil Tigers have hidden agenda and each just wants t o win and couldn’t be bothered or care about their fellow countrymen ie the ordinary Sri Lankans who are the ones caught in between. Foreign Aids esepcially those private ones did not reach these ordinary Sri Lankans caught between,please check your fact. We must continue to focus on our set of problems in Singapore rather than trying to interfer in other countries domestic affairs.In Singapore, there are poor Singaporeans who que up for free food,perhaps we get these foreign aids to help feed these poor Singaporeans
please do not comment any things, this is a good step to proof singaporean’s heart is very big. i also like the world without war this is everybody responsible.
16/11/08
Hi Peace *8-Let us be realistic and we are in the Real World which is totally impossible to avoid a world without war.Yes, Singaporeans regardless of races have very big heart and we must use our big heart for better things especially to feed our very poor Singaporeans who que up for meals at charitable organisation daily
Hi andrew, strongly i agreed with u, we need to solve our own problems together that is our duty ,
I learnt from singapore ” THING POSITIVE , ALL POSIBLE “
One can exert soft power in such a situation by enticing either parties with goodies. It is common knowledge that foreign aid is often used to solve or polarise political situations in conflicts. – smallvice585 (#6)
Foreign Aids esepcially those private ones did not reach these ordinary Sri Lankans caught between,please check your fact. – andrew chuah (#7)
Why must foreign aid that reach the victims or refugees to be considered as successful examples of soft power? That is not what soft power is about. It is about achieving specific political gains using material means or social influence.
However, not every aid organisations engage in such activities.
Protect lives of the innocents
There is an island in the Indian Ocean, south of India, its called Ceylon now known as Sri Langka, the homeland Tamil people (Tamil Eezham )
Now, there are currently about 230 000 babies, children, young & elderly woman and men without a decent shelter from the heat of the sun, the cold rain drops and the chilling winds at night. Above all they DO NOT have a meal to eat.
These people are suffering in their own mother land Eezham in full view of the International Community (IC) and the mighty United Nation (UN) while being indiscriminately bombed , killed , abducted , chased from their own soil & home by the inhumane Government of Sri Langka (GoSL).
Self determination for their rightful home, soil & land called Eelam has grabbed with such a violence and inhumane method in front of these watchful silence of International Community.
WHAT IT TAKES for the International Community (IC) to wake up to the cries of these 230,000 innocent helpless people (Internal Displaced People – IDP ). During tsunami Dec 04, there were about 250,000 people killed and entire world & International Community (IC) woke up, put their hands together to help and elevate the suffering of many hundred thousands of people.
ARE WE, the International Community (IC) and the world waiting for another man made tsunami by Government of Sri Langka (GoSL) against the innocence Tamils.
WAKE UP !!! SEE AROUND …. ALL THOSE READING THIS ARTICLE ARE AT their most comfortable position.
PLEASE Close your eyes and open your ears to the cries for those innocent 230,000 babies, children, young & elderly woman and men plight.
IMAGINE & THINK … WE ALL DO NOT WANT TO SEE ANOTHER man made tsunami by our own ignorance to voice objection to the oppression, indiscriminate bombing & killings by the inhumane institution called Government of Sri Langka (GoSL).
The term doestic problem or internal problem does not hold when it is ethnic cleansing./genocide Three years after being formed the All Party Representatives have failed to produce a draft themselves or accept the experts’ or chairman’s draft. They are so incompetent. President Rajapakse at every function promises a polical solution. But his hand is empty. He is inviting Pirabakatran to the negotiating table without the gun. There are several T56s and AK 47s right round him. Pirabakaran has handed over the ISGA draft in 2003 November for his part to start negotiations on power sharing. President Rajapakse must stop his buffoonery and make sensible offers. No man with an iota of self respect will talk to a man fooling the world for three full years.
ask prabakaran to stop war not to the democratic govenment, you all helping to terrorist organization which banded by many countries in the world. you all dont know what prabakaran doing. and you all dont ask prabakaran to stop war. he has killed more than anyone kill this world. he has killed priminister of india.he has killed so may tamil polititions.he has taken funds from UN for the TSUNAMI releaf , but all money goes to his pocket and his kids living in ENGLAND and study there. Because of him our kids cant go to schools.we have to pay him money or our life to come to colombo and live.
IF you dont know whats going on please dont talk any how
D o yo all know where the ltte getting food and provisions. Its ALL FROM GOVENMENT. govenment send food to civiliance but ltte take all the food.
do you need evidence listn to karuna who was the second in command LTTE and now he is NOT WITH THE LTTE.
A thousand cheers to WWW.
Noone knows about the Ceylon/Sri Lankan problem more than the GOM of S’pore, Lee Kuan Yiew. When individual politicians in S’pore with its multicultural and multilingual population were at one time toying with the idea of one official language LKY simply pointed to the example of Ceylon and the havoc it had done there and posed the question to S’poreans :Is that what we want here? You have 4 official languages and ended up with “One people and One country”! That was great wisdom. Besides LKY had been to that island a few times and even adviced the Leaders against pursuing one language so adamantly but it was ignored at the time. His memoirs has references to these comments and is well worth a read.
Although SL started off with one language- Sinhala- originally in 1956, it adopted two official languages by 1972, after much agitation and race riots by inclusion of Tamil also, it went in for 3 official languages by addition of English, in 1978, again after much violence. Even today Tamil, as an official language is only in the Statute Book only, not implemented vis-a-vis Tamil people in the north and east where they predominate even after decades! Bad faith has engendered more violence and counterviolence and bloody wars over the past 22 years.
The underlying reason is ‘majoritarian politics’ and winning elections by unscrupulous politicians to climb into power. This kind of divisive politics has resulted in an insoluble tragedy of great economic proportions too. By spending billions of $ on defence and the military (ethnicised too) destruction and poverty has increased significantly.
The ethnic humanitarian disaster is of epic proportions. the UN Human Rights Council wanted to place Monitors incountry but it ws turned down by SL under a figleaf of “sovereignty” even though this resides in “the people”. Meanwhile, the present government wants to make war to a finish, no matter the financial and humanitarian costs. That is why peace minded people everywhere can raise their voices againt such mindless bloodshed and sore human tragedy.
Whenever there is mass scale human tragedy in one country it must become a concern of other countries and come under careful scrutiny. Governments – irrespective whether it’s the mighty US or tiny Sri Lanka – should not be allowed to wage war at their whim without accountability to the human community. This is not to suggest that war is always unfounded – as with the case of the WW II in allied forces effort to defeat Nazi Germany. But no matter where we live, or our citizenship we should never succumb to the passive notion “we in nation X should be focused only on our problems and not that of other nations” – weach and every one of us has a moral responsibility to be a citizen of the world and a big part of that is to be a sincere busy-body – for those who doubt the validity of this – never forget Rwanda!
17/11/08
Since my last posting *9, the truth are out and we see the true picture in Sri Lanka (all the details).
As Singaporeans, let us not get involve and let the Sri Lankans solve their own internal problems be in via Guns & Bombs or via Peace Talk. We have more problems in Singapore to solve and hardly have spare resources and time to divert to Sri Lanka and the saying goes “Charity Begins At Home”
Regards
Andrew Chuah
thanks for ur care of eelam Tamils. we are always thankful to you. Anyway I dont feel that most of the ppl commented above doesn’t understand the simple meaning of http://www.sg. World Without War. so we must support and rise against war. It is simple to comment. The real problem is never understood unless u read a lot on both side. No one is perfect. but If they are terrorist then they must have wiped out. It is a real ethic problem there. I was from there and many eelam Tamils face all problem. Have u ever felt a chilling effect on your body a white van screeching beside u. U ALL NEVER. try to understand the feelings of the innocent people. Every country sells arms to both. Once India trained LTTE. (80s) Do you (andrew chuah) know this? They did as usa did to osama. It is not the war between LTTE and SL govt. it is war of big counties. pls learn from them. Have u ever wondered how many billions wasted for defense in the whole word. Singapore is a wonderful country. I respect ur care on us
The ignorance displayed in some of the comments posted here is deafening. This war is a sad struggle between an utterly corrupt state and a ruthless terrorist organisation.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-big-question-is-the-worlds-longestlasting-civil-war-finally-coming-to-an-end-1021689.html
18/11/08
Hi Arun A *118-I am fully aware of this. Perhaps, it is better we respect each other countries sovereignity and independence and mind our own business. Further Singapore an Sri Lanka are members of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) and we must stick to this NAM and focus solving our own domestic problems more effectively. Sir Lanka’s problem has no solution at the end of the tunnel and both the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers are to be blamed equally.
Further Singapore an Sri Lanka are members of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) and we must stick to this NAM and focus solving our own domestic problems more effectively. – andrew chuah
Just like I said before, the government can choose not to interfere, but it is not the government’s business to stop citizens from interfering with the domestic situation in other countries. Citizens can freely choose to take stand. You have the individual freedom to not condemn the war in Sri Lanka while WWW members have the individual freedom to condemn the war in Sri Lanka.
20) Andrew Chuah> since I am not at all aware of NAM I dont know anything. I read about UN’s basic function and stuff. But I have been witnessed what they do and what the govt allowed to do. If u ever have been from a minority only u will know the real problem. This is a problem about a minority Tamils from 1954. (1st communal riots. LTTE started fighting on 1976. They are not terrorists. They are freedom fighters. Since u know all this I dont have to explain u. but this place is for the people who have broad mind care for us. I respect them. If u dont like them u dont ask them to stop. U have no rights. I dont feel any different in ur approach and sri lankan govt. http://www.sg is for ppl who are grateful enough and I dont think they have many problem as u face in singapore. Only non Singaporeans and illegal immigrants face heavy problem. other than that Singapore is a wonderful place. I am strongly against u for discouraging good ppl to appeal against war. moreover they are neutral.