Death threat to a Sri Lankan blogger?
Posted by Ajith on January 15, 2009
I knew this would happen sooner or later. In a forsaken land, where no dissenting views are tolerated, the bloggers are going to be the next target. Still I did not expect that to happen so soon. My understanding was what happens in blogsphere still has relatively less impact on society, when compared to mainstream media content. May be I was wrong.
The victim in this case is Shan of BumuturuNu fame, a Sinhala blogger who aligns himself with new left. Not that I agree with him, Trotskyites are anyway an engendered species and make little impact in society. (Once a lecturer of mine describing Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne said the only weakness this otherwise dynamic and intelligent leader is a vision not shared by the masses anymore) The question is not that. Does someone deserve a death threat (almost anonymous) for bluntly expressing his views in cyberspace?
The comment in Sinhala (reproduced above) expresses nothing but sheer hatred. The commenter, it seems, is not interested in the arguments. All he wants is to hang the blogger. The blogger is also given a ‘friendly’ advice that he should spend all ‘Dollars’ he earned quickly on food and drinks because ‘otherwise there will be no time for that’. (Talibans usually assumes that all NGOs pay their staff in Dollars – perhaps the only foreign currency they know) Interestingly, the comment is signed in Tamil. The misspelled Tamil word, as far as I know with my little Tamil, is a reference to female genitalia. (Please correct me if I am wrong)
Even sadder is someone abuses my name to put a similar comment. I invite all readers to have a look at comments. It gives an idea how pathetic our Taliban’s have gone down in their behavior in blogsphere.
This is not an isolated case. Apart from threats, filth has become common in Sri Lankan blogspehere. The targets invariably are those who question the politica views of Rajapaksa regime. I receive more than my fair share. Beyond Frame, a Sinhala Blogger, who often antagonizes the Talibans, says he receives the everyday. There are also bloggers who use filth in their posts. (Avoid naming them as I have no intentions provoking them.) Is filth a part and parcel of Mahinda Chinthana, that the good uncle’s supporters use them so generously?
Two weeks back, we could have ignored a comment like that without thinking twice. Can we do that anymore? A question for every blogger – more so if you challenge the political views of current regime.
Anandawardhana said
This is really disturbing. Bloggers getting death threats is not a new thing in Sri Lanka. Same happened in 2005 (specially during presidential election months). Several bloggers (including myself) had to stop blogging as a result.
As I wrote in a different context “නමුත් එය සැබෑවට ම මරන අදහසකින් – තර්ජනය ක්රියාවට නගන අදහසකින් – නොකළත් තර්ජනය මගේ හිත යට වැඩ කරන තුරු මම කොහොමද නිදහසේ ජීවත් වෙන්නේ? ගමන් බිමන් යන්නේ? තර්ජනයක ක්රියාකාරී ඵලය තර්ජනය මයි. එය ක්රියාවට නැගීම නොවෙයි.”
http://webalochana.blogspot.com/2007/05/blog-post_28.html
The threat itself causes the “mortal damage”.
But now, the situation is far more worse than 2005. I really fear for the safety of some of these bloggers.
Mal said
Well, Punda makes a good point. If he’s actually planning to hang the blogger, the said blogger might as well spend all the dollars he’s earned before his death. Makes sense to me. What seems to be the issue here.
P said
Mal as usual weighs in with his outstanding brilliance…
Lasantha said
Guys,
This is all I can say. One of the Sinhala bloggers is someone who actually works for Army. IT division, but you get the message. His own blog looks very innocuous, but not the comments he puts in other blogs. Please keep your eyes open about this guy. No harm.
If I were you, I will never comment on his site – or any site of a friend of his. As you all know the blog owner has the access to your IP number.
Voice in Colombo said
LOL! Reading the Sinhala comment was so fun. It was nicely written. Pure Sinhala
But I don’t think this type of things should be tolerated, no matter who did it and against whom. The threat might not be serious. But still it’s a death threat, which can raise legal concerns. Honestly, it should not be taken lightllitely.
What amuze me more, is Ajith’s “desperate effort” to link this death threat to Mahinda Chinthanaya
LOL LOL LOL These days every little things happening in all corners, are easily linked to Rajapakshes, Sarath Fonseka, or to Army. Very soon people will find out that Sonali Samarasinghe is 3 months pregnant, and will point the finger at Sri Lankan forces as responsible!
BTW, I used to get simmilar threats in my email inbox from anonymous Yahoo email ID’s time to time. Threatening to trace me down and burn my house to ashes! LOL. I simply ignored them because I eventually figured out the person who was writing those emails.
Anonymous said
Don’t think anyone will hold Ponseka responsible if Sonali becomes pregnant. Don’t all know he is no more equipped for such a task?
Devika said
Well lot of king of mihinlands blind supporters do various jara wada against me on facebook because I am against this corrupt mihinland administration.
I am glad I am sitting behind a computer, else these thugs would come and beat me up like sirasa/ Keith nior or even gun me down like Lasantha.
Global Voices Online » Sri Lanka: Death Threat To A Blogger said
[...] reports that a Sri Lankan blogger got threatened for his life for posting dissenting views. Read the post for details. Posted by Rezwan Print version Share [...]
Duminda said
‘Sri Lankan military is prevailing in the war on terror’ says Wall Street Journal
“For all those who argue that there’s no military solution for terrorism, we have two words: Sri Lanka.”- Wall Street Journal (16th Jan, 2009)
“Sri Lanka is beating the Tigers through military force, not negotiation”.
“We recount this history at length to make a simple point: Colombo’s military strategy against Tamil terrorists has worked. Negotiations haven’t. For all those who argue that there’s no military solution for terrorism, we have two words: Sri Lanka”, states the Wall Street Journal in a timely article titled ‘Defeating Terrorists’, posted in its Opinion page, Friday (Jan 16).
While commending the Sri Lankan political and military leadership for an unwavering multidimensional strategy against a most ruthless terrorist outfit, the Journal underscores the repeated negotiations made for a peaceful settlement which was sabotaged by LTTE on all occasions.
“A political settlement is something to discuss after the Tigers have been subdued,” the article further notes.
Following are excerpts of the Wall Street Journal article, on 16th Jan, 2009.
This week, the Sri Lankan army said it had captured the last piece of the northern Jaffna Peninsula, one of the few remaining strongholds of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a terrorist organization that has waged a 26-year civil war that’s claimed tens of thousands of lives, including those of a Sri Lankan President and an Indian Prime Minister.
That’s a huge turnaround from only three years ago, when the Tigers effectively controlled the bulk of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and were perpetrating suicide bombings in the country’s capital, Colombo.
Credit goes to the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has made eliminating the Tigers a priority and invested resources to make it happen. Military spending has surged to $1.7 billion for fiscal 2009, roughly 5% of GDP and nearly 20% of the government’s budget.
The expanded Sri Lankan army is now equipped to employ sophisticated counterinsurgency strategies — such as a multifront attack and quick raids behind Tiger lines. In 2007, the army won its first significant victory by pacifying the Tamil-Muslim-majority Eastern Province, historically a Tiger stronghold. Local and provincial elections were held there last year. The military offensive will now turn to Mullaittivu, the last district controlled by the Tigers in the Northern Province.
This string of victories is a shock to those who thought this conflict, which has political origins, could have only a political solution. Devolution of power to the provinces has long been floated as the best political fix.
But the Tigers always had other ideas. To wit: They wanted the Tamil homeland to be an independent state with the Tigers at its head. Like other terrorist outfits, the Tigers never accepted the legitimacy of any other group to speak on behalf of their supposed constituents. They were unwilling to accept any negotiated settlement that wouldn’t entrench their own power.
That’s why earlier efforts to negotiate away Sri Lanka’s terror problem failed. In 1987, then-President Junius Jayewardene offered the Tamils a homeland in the north and east that would have given them wide powers, although not a separate state. In the 1990s, another President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, offered another devolution plan. The Tigers refused both offers and the terrorism continued.
In 2002, Norway orchestrated a peace process that resulted in a cease-fire. This time, the Tigers themselves concocted a proposal for a form of regional autonomy in Tamil areas, and the government agreed in principle. Then the Tigers nixed their own deal, betting they could do better with violence after all. They spent the next four years violating the cease-fire.
Repeated negotiations made a settlement harder to achieve. The Tigers gladly murdered moderate Tamil leaders open to genuine negotiations with Colombo. The European Union dithered on declaring the Tigers a terrorist group for the sake of encouraging the peace process, hindering efforts to cut off funding and allowing the killing to continue.
Meanwhile, occasional efforts to subdue the Tigers by force failed through lack of political will or because of outside interference. In 1987, Mr. Jayewardene gained ground in the north, only to be undermined by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who airlifted food to the militants to curry favor with his country’s own Tamil population. Then the Indians changed tack, and an Indian peacekeeping force managed to quell the Tiger insurgency for a time between 1987 and 1989. But that operation was derided as a “quagmire” by some Indian politicians. The force was withdrawn prematurely in 1990. Another Sri Lankan military effort, begun in 1995, collapsed in 2000 due to insufficient troop numbers and political meddling in military decision-making.
Mr. Rajapaksa appears to have learned from all this, which is why he has insisted on military victory before implementing a political solution. It helps that India has stayed out this time around and other countries — including the EU — are now tracking and thwarting Tiger financing.
Peace still will not be easy or, despite recent good news, immediate. The Tigers may still be able to carry out some terror attacks, though they no longer pose a wide-scale threat. And Colombo faces questions about its commitment to a permanent political settlement. It has taken some steps, such as a 1987 constitutional amendment again making Tamil an official language, and in 2006 it convened an all-party conference to recommend further pro-devolution constitutional changes. It is dragging its feet on implementing other constitutional measures that would pave the way for devolution. But a political settlement is something to discuss after the Tigers have been subdued.
We recount this history at length to make a simple point: Colombo’s military strategy against Tamil terrorists has worked. Negotiations haven’t. That’s an important reminder as Israel faces its own terrorism problem and as the U.S. works to foster stability and political progress in Iraq. Take note, Barack Obama.
Duminda said
The Ministry of Defence official web portal http://www.defence.lk has become Sri Lanka ‘s most viewed web site, with an average daily hit rate of over 8.8 million, statistical data obtained over the past few months indicate.
According to latest analysis, the website has also become the most popular Sri Lankan news website at present. With the Sri Lankan Armed forces achieving their historic victory at Kilinochchi on 2 January 2009, the website received 13 million hits within a few hours, the highest number of hits ever received by a locally hosted website.
Anonymous said
yes yes 8.8 million thamai…yako lankawe inne million 20 witharai…oken bagayak computer ekak allalawath na….lankawema ochchara computers naha….
8.8 million kiyanne mehe inna pisso kihipadenek wena melo wadak karanne nathuwa dawasata 1000 parak oka bala bala kale kana nisa thamai…….ratakata giya kala…
Duminda said
Dear Anonymous,
Good thing you are anonymous.
It seems you belong to that 10 million who have a thing or two to learn about computers as you have mentioned yourself.
Or did you forget that http://www.defence.lk is a ‘website’ on the ‘world wide web’ ???
You may not know but there are people all around the world who are following the success of the Sri Lankan army against the most brutal terrorist outfit in the world. Other countries are learning from us how terrorism should be dealt with.
Anonymous said
oh really it might be obama learning how to destroy iraqe and iran…it also can be bin laden learning how to survive…….y cant it be olmet.. learning how to capture palastine….
according to our national hero wimal weerawansa(rajapakse)all foreigners are Ltte supporters dont u remember that……which means majority of defence.lk viewers are tiger supporters
Duminda said
What a great argument!
Even better than the one where you perceived that defence.lk can only be seen by people in Sri Lanka.
another anonoymous said
A hit rate of 8.8 million a day does not mean that much people access the site. It is mere the number of pages accessed. May be the actual number of viewer will be around 1 or 2 million. (actually I do not know) May be LTTE supporter two view the contents of http://www.defence.lk, most of us visit tamilnet and that does not mean we are LTTE supporters.
By the way that is not a surprising number and I know people living in other countries are indeed interested in Sri Lankan defense news. If you want a fact just read some comments on some Sri Lankan defense news blog
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