The humanitarian dilemma
Friday, May 29, 2009
Editorial, Dawn, Pakistan
By Maheen A. Rashdi
Friday, 29 May, 2009
THE Sri Lankan government might have forced the Tamil rebels to lay down their arms but the destruction which the intensive military action wreaked hardly spells peace for the region. In fact the morality of the action is being questioned by Tamil communities in the West.
In Canada, as the action between the Sri Lankan military continued to rage, supporters of the Tamil Tigers thronged the streets in Canada’s main cities protesting against the ‘genocide’ being perpetrated by Sri Lanka on Tamil civilians. Who are the Tamils? Why do they call themselves Tigers? Why are their innocent family members being killed by their government? These and many other questions were soon raised and the local media scrambled to educate itself on the Sri Lankan-Tamil conflict.
And that began their dilemma. The LTTE they realised was not only an internationally banned outfit but its early members were the ones to conceptualise and perfect the ‘art’ of suicide bombing. But being painfully correct in their ‘humanitarian’ outlook, the Canadian government — despite acknowledging the LTTE as a terrorist organisation — could neither ignore the call for humanitarian assistance nor condemn LTTE supporters in Canada for critically disrupting life on an almost daily basis.
When Tamil Canadians decided to protest by picketing on the main streets, especially in densely populated Toronto, the workforce was held up by many hours for consecutive days. When the police began to intervene with force, they were immediately condemned for hindering a Canadian’s ‘freedom of expression’. Editorials and columns began commenting on the right of these ‘free’ Canadians to protest peacefully and the intolerance and apathy of the average Canadian to the problems of lesser mortals outside their safe haven. Canada’s commitment to diversity was deemed superficial.
The police eventually found a middle ground and in the name of protecting the protesters continued to ‘surround’ Tamil Canadians every time they came out. Mounted police were deployed, guardsmen monitored the traffic flow and Tamil Canadians were allowed their space despite frowns from many inconvenienced civilians who could not care two hoots for the freedom of expression if it constrained their daily existence. The Toronto police has now forwarded a bill of CAD$900,000 to the federal government as cost for manning the protests.
Being a Pakistani one can’t help but draw a parallel with the situation in Swat. What if immigrant ‘supporters’ of the Taliban decide to start picketing in Ottawa against the innocent civilian deaths in Swat, Lower Dir and Mingora? What if they too start shouting slogans of ‘stop military action in Swat’ and hold Tamil Canadian-style peaceful protests in downtown Toronto? Will this too be looked upon as ‘freedom of expression’ by the western media with protesters given police protection? Or will they be put behind bars and sent to an unknown prison as ‘supporters of Taliban and Al Qaeda’ and presumed culpable?
Freedom of expression has many expressions of its own. Diversity and inclusiveness cannot escape the hidden undertones of discrimination — and it is tricky being politically correct at all times. It would be most uncomfortable to see ‘polite Canadians’ facing the humanitarian dilemma if protesters came out on the streets to stop the operation in Swat.
Many international calls for ‘restraint’ were issued to the Sri Lankan military but the action raged on and has now ended in victory declared by the Sri Lankan government. But much depends on what the Sri Lankan authorities do next and the extent to which they win Tamil trust. Currently the Tamils are garnering much sympathy and the military action could have given birth to a new generation of Tamil supporters, both within Sri Lanka and the Tamil diaspora. The crowds of protesters were proof of this — the majority were students.
The same fears could apply to the military action in Swat. Like the Lal Masjid debacle when Pakistanis settled in foreign countries could only see the belligerent military action being perpetrated on women and children in the mosque, so too the humanitarian crisis arising out of the Swat action might find a new generation of supporters being created for the Taliban whose barbarism might be overshadowed by the civilian casualties and human tragedies caused by the ongoing operation.
Source
By Maheen A. Rashdi
Friday, 29 May, 2009
THE Sri Lankan government might have forced the Tamil rebels to lay down their arms but the destruction which the intensive military action wreaked hardly spells peace for the region. In fact the morality of the action is being questioned by Tamil communities in the West.
In Canada, as the action between the Sri Lankan military continued to rage, supporters of the Tamil Tigers thronged the streets in Canada’s main cities protesting against the ‘genocide’ being perpetrated by Sri Lanka on Tamil civilians. Who are the Tamils? Why do they call themselves Tigers? Why are their innocent family members being killed by their government? These and many other questions were soon raised and the local media scrambled to educate itself on the Sri Lankan-Tamil conflict.
And that began their dilemma. The LTTE they realised was not only an internationally banned outfit but its early members were the ones to conceptualise and perfect the ‘art’ of suicide bombing. But being painfully correct in their ‘humanitarian’ outlook, the Canadian government — despite acknowledging the LTTE as a terrorist organisation — could neither ignore the call for humanitarian assistance nor condemn LTTE supporters in Canada for critically disrupting life on an almost daily basis.
When Tamil Canadians decided to protest by picketing on the main streets, especially in densely populated Toronto, the workforce was held up by many hours for consecutive days. When the police began to intervene with force, they were immediately condemned for hindering a Canadian’s ‘freedom of expression’. Editorials and columns began commenting on the right of these ‘free’ Canadians to protest peacefully and the intolerance and apathy of the average Canadian to the problems of lesser mortals outside their safe haven. Canada’s commitment to diversity was deemed superficial.
The police eventually found a middle ground and in the name of protecting the protesters continued to ‘surround’ Tamil Canadians every time they came out. Mounted police were deployed, guardsmen monitored the traffic flow and Tamil Canadians were allowed their space despite frowns from many inconvenienced civilians who could not care two hoots for the freedom of expression if it constrained their daily existence. The Toronto police has now forwarded a bill of CAD$900,000 to the federal government as cost for manning the protests.
Being a Pakistani one can’t help but draw a parallel with the situation in Swat. What if immigrant ‘supporters’ of the Taliban decide to start picketing in Ottawa against the innocent civilian deaths in Swat, Lower Dir and Mingora? What if they too start shouting slogans of ‘stop military action in Swat’ and hold Tamil Canadian-style peaceful protests in downtown Toronto? Will this too be looked upon as ‘freedom of expression’ by the western media with protesters given police protection? Or will they be put behind bars and sent to an unknown prison as ‘supporters of Taliban and Al Qaeda’ and presumed culpable?
Freedom of expression has many expressions of its own. Diversity and inclusiveness cannot escape the hidden undertones of discrimination — and it is tricky being politically correct at all times. It would be most uncomfortable to see ‘polite Canadians’ facing the humanitarian dilemma if protesters came out on the streets to stop the operation in Swat.
Many international calls for ‘restraint’ were issued to the Sri Lankan military but the action raged on and has now ended in victory declared by the Sri Lankan government. But much depends on what the Sri Lankan authorities do next and the extent to which they win Tamil trust. Currently the Tamils are garnering much sympathy and the military action could have given birth to a new generation of Tamil supporters, both within Sri Lanka and the Tamil diaspora. The crowds of protesters were proof of this — the majority were students.
The same fears could apply to the military action in Swat. Like the Lal Masjid debacle when Pakistanis settled in foreign countries could only see the belligerent military action being perpetrated on women and children in the mosque, so too the humanitarian crisis arising out of the Swat action might find a new generation of supporters being created for the Taliban whose barbarism might be overshadowed by the civilian casualties and human tragedies caused by the ongoing operation.
Source
Labels: Extremism, LTTE, Militancy, Pakistan Army Operation, Swat Operation, Taliban, Tamil Tigers, Terrorism
posted @ 6:57 PM,
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