US To Back Sri Lanka In War Against LTTE
Looks like the US is going to back the Sri Lankan military up if war breaks out again with the Tamil terrorist group the LTTE. Most excellent (as in, the threat of US support could make the LTTE think twice about starting the war back up on a large & open & obvious scale). Not sure exactly why Sri Lanka has not yet used its massive army (I believe the government armed forces outnumber the rebels at this point 20:1 or about 100,000 strong gov't forces against 5,000 or so LTTE fighters) against the LTTE despite recent violations of the cease-fire agreement. Maybe because of the high civilian casualties that will result when fighting an open war against a guerilla group - both among Tamils and everyone else, both from traditional organized, collateral damage heavy, warfare conducted by the Sri Lankan armed forces and the relatively indiscriminate suicide bombing tactics used by the LTTE. Nothing pretty coming from this situation. Peace and not having a whole bunch of people killed & seriously injured is preferred but seeing the fascist military dictatorship of the LTTE being destroyed is also very attractive.
Films Inspired By The War
And here are links regarding 4 films that were inspired by the war in Sri Lanka:
The Forsaken Land
Cannes 2005 Camera d'Or award winning Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthy Jayasundara had to flee Sri Lanka due to the Sri Lankan military's displeasure with his movie. His film is called The Foresaken Land or Sulanga Enu Pinisa in the Sri Lankan language Sinhala. As this event shows, for some people in this world movies are not just entertainment, but a matter of life and death or staying and possibly getting imprisoned, killed or going to France and being a sort of an international cinema artist in exile. Perhaps Jayasundara will make a movie about his post-Cannes life, about being banned in Sri Lanka, being on the run. That would be an interesting story.
Saroja
Here are two takes on the film Saroja, a film about two young girls caught up in the war:
Looks like this is the site of the company that produced the film, a positive review & links can be found here.
And a not so favorable review from WSWS, which thinks the movie is government-friendly propaganda.
The Terrorist
Article and links about the Indian film The Terrorist, a drama about a female suicide bomber. A story believed to be inspired by the activities of the LTTE.
Death On A Full Moon Day
Purahanda Kaluwara or Death On A Full Moon Day (well, title officially translated to the English speaking world as Death On A Full Moon Day but the actual meaning of those words is something like Full Moon, Darkness. there I go, flexin' my limited Sinhala skillz) by
Prasana Withanage is an award winning and initially banned film that tells the story of a blind father who must accept the government's word that his soldier son has died.
You can buy a DVD of Purahanda Kaluwara from here.
Peacemakers
Nonviolent Peaceforce
Nonviolent Peaceforce, a US non-profit with US & international peace workers, is active in Sri Lanka, attempting to get both sides to honor the ceasefire, protecting civilians and in general doing what they can to try to bring peace to a troubled land.
Sarvodaya
This Sri Lankan NGO has been active in development and peacemaking in Sri Lanka for a long, long time.
Looks like the US is going to back the Sri Lankan military up if war breaks out again with the Tamil terrorist group the LTTE. Most excellent (as in, the threat of US support could make the LTTE think twice about starting the war back up on a large & open & obvious scale). Not sure exactly why Sri Lanka has not yet used its massive army (I believe the government armed forces outnumber the rebels at this point 20:1 or about 100,000 strong gov't forces against 5,000 or so LTTE fighters) against the LTTE despite recent violations of the cease-fire agreement. Maybe because of the high civilian casualties that will result when fighting an open war against a guerilla group - both among Tamils and everyone else, both from traditional organized, collateral damage heavy, warfare conducted by the Sri Lankan armed forces and the relatively indiscriminate suicide bombing tactics used by the LTTE. Nothing pretty coming from this situation. Peace and not having a whole bunch of people killed & seriously injured is preferred but seeing the fascist military dictatorship of the LTTE being destroyed is also very attractive.
Films Inspired By The War
And here are links regarding 4 films that were inspired by the war in Sri Lanka:
The Forsaken Land
Cannes 2005 Camera d'Or award winning Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthy Jayasundara had to flee Sri Lanka due to the Sri Lankan military's displeasure with his movie. His film is called The Foresaken Land or Sulanga Enu Pinisa in the Sri Lankan language Sinhala. As this event shows, for some people in this world movies are not just entertainment, but a matter of life and death or staying and possibly getting imprisoned, killed or going to France and being a sort of an international cinema artist in exile. Perhaps Jayasundara will make a movie about his post-Cannes life, about being banned in Sri Lanka, being on the run. That would be an interesting story.
Saroja
Here are two takes on the film Saroja, a film about two young girls caught up in the war:
Looks like this is the site of the company that produced the film, a positive review & links can be found here.
And a not so favorable review from WSWS, which thinks the movie is government-friendly propaganda.
The Terrorist
Article and links about the Indian film The Terrorist, a drama about a female suicide bomber. A story believed to be inspired by the activities of the LTTE.
Death On A Full Moon Day
Purahanda Kaluwara or Death On A Full Moon Day (well, title officially translated to the English speaking world as Death On A Full Moon Day but the actual meaning of those words is something like Full Moon, Darkness. there I go, flexin' my limited Sinhala skillz) by
Prasana Withanage is an award winning and initially banned film that tells the story of a blind father who must accept the government's word that his soldier son has died.
You can buy a DVD of Purahanda Kaluwara from here.
Peacemakers
Nonviolent Peaceforce
Nonviolent Peaceforce, a US non-profit with US & international peace workers, is active in Sri Lanka, attempting to get both sides to honor the ceasefire, protecting civilians and in general doing what they can to try to bring peace to a troubled land.
Sarvodaya
This Sri Lankan NGO has been active in development and peacemaking in Sri Lanka for a long, long time.
Comments
you may want to check out a movie made by a young Indian director called ''in the name of buddha''..check out its flashy website at www.inthenameofbuddha.com
would like to get in touch with you.
hasini.haputhanthri@gmail.com