Tamil Tigers in terror spotlight
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/15Aug2005_opin32.php
The murder of Lakshman Kadirgamar, the foreign minister of
Kadirgamar was shot in the head and heart by one or more snipers, at his home. Authorities have made arrests and will continue their investigation. President Chandrika Kumaratunga called the shooting an act of wanton terror, and declared a state of emergency. which was prudent. There was a strong likelihood the Tamil Tigers or some of its factions have broken the shaky cease-fire to declare full war on the government once again. The president would be remiss if she did not assume the worst.
For a few days, at least, Sri Lankans will have to trust the president and government to proceed carefully, with a view to stabilising the country. The declaration of emergency gives authorities sweeping powers, particularly to detain suspects without charges. One hopes the president can act strongly in coming days to track and find those behind the assassination without further inflaming the situation.
The main reason for suspecting the Tamil Tigers in the assassination is the group's sworn enmity of Kadirgamar. A Tamil himself, Kadirgamar was thoroughly disgusted by the terrorism employed by the Tigers and its leaders, at home and abroad. He served as foreign minister from 1994 to 2001, and was reappointed last year when Mrs Kumaratunga's Sri Lankan Freedom Party regained power. He was bravely outspoken against the ruthless tactics of the Tiger Eelam, convincing many countries including the
That the Tigers devised, used and spread terrorism is beyond doubt. The group will live in infamy for planning, ordering and glorifying suicide bombings. Tiger leaders have convinced or ordered at least 240 young men and women to kill themselves in the inexcusable but often successful attempt to murder others. Among their victims was former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in his own country, Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa and 91 innocent people at the Central Bank in
The Tigers have talked peace with the government for several years, including briefly three years ago in negotiations facilitated by
Last month, in a ceremony that deserved far more publicity around the world, the rebels held grotesque celebrations of suicide bombing. The group held parades in several towns where the government has effectively ceded power in an attempt to keep the peace, to honour suicide bombers. In the eastern town of Batticaloa, where the tsunami killed at least 500 and destroyed transportation, they drove a special float with photos of the suicide bombers from school to school, to force the young children to praise suicide bombing. The Tigers seized orphans from tsunami refugee camps to impress into their terrorist-oriented army, in a manner so blatant that even United Nations aid agencies publicly condemned them.
Kadirgamar worked tirelessly to condemn terrorist tactics _ as he put it in a speech to the UN in 2001 _ anywhere, any time. He will be remembered for his attempts to win an honourable and lasting peace. The Tamil Tigers, whatever their involvement in his killing, will be remembered for their championing of suicide bombings, one of the least defensible acts of our time.
Irfan
Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page
***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise.
If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
| Converts to islam | Holy quran |
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
- Visit your group "islamcity" on the web.
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
