Sri Lanka: Anuradhapura, Terrorism and Hillary Clinton · Global Voices
Mathy Kandasamy

On October 22, an air force base at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka was attacked by a Tamil Tiger suicide squad. [News: BBC]. According to BBC, Tamil Tigers claimed to have destroyed eight aircraft including spy places while losing 21 of their fighters. According to the Sri Lankan Government just two helicopters and a training plane were damaged along with nine military personnel and four airmen. While there was conflicting information about the damage and loss suffered on both the sides, this did not cause any furor in Tamil blogosphere. What caused intense anger was the way the Sri Lankan Government treated the bodies of the dead Tamil Tigers. The bodies were stripped and were taken around Anuradhapura in an open cart.
According to Varavanaiyan, nakedness of the dead Tamil Tigers were more beautiful than the fully dressed observers surrounding them (as seen in the photos). Varavanaiyan also remembers a similar incident in 1995 where dead female Tamil Tigers’ bodies were stripped and displayed in a similar fashion by the Sri Lankan Military.
Urupadathathu Narain titles his post ‘Abu Ghraib VS Anuradhapura’. In the discussions following the post bloggers compared American media and Indian (in particular Tamil Nadu) media. While the American media exposed the happenings in Abu Ghraib, the Tamil Nadu media, The Hindu in particular sided with the Sri Lankan Government on the Anuradhapura incident.
Osai Chella displays the photos of dead Tamil Tigers – both fully dressed and stripped down. He sarcastically demands if the editor of ‘The Hindu’ Mr. Ram who was felicitated by the former regime with the title ‘Lanka Ratna’ would write an editorial.
Julian compares two reports from India and wonders which one could have been the correct one. First report was from B.Raman of South Asia Analysis Group [link: Wikipedia]. Second from The Hindu. Julian has provided few sentences from both the reports with links.
Tamil Sasi also links to B.Raman's report and talks a bit about the past transgressions by the Sri Lankan Goverment. He compares the Anuradhapura incident with respect shown to the dead Sri Lankan military personnels’ bodies by Tamil Tigers in the past.
While all this is going on, half way around the globe Hillary Clinton says ‘You can't lump all terrorists together’ in an interview given to ‘The Guardian’. To a question whether terrorists have specific geopolitical objectives, she mentions Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka along with the Basque separatists of Spain and the insurgents in al-Anbar province.
Tamil Sasi and Vetri Kandaswamy respectively translate the specific bit from the interview.
Side Note: Nakkiran an Indian blogging from California, USA was temporarily displaced due to the ongoing wildfire. According to him, his move from his rented apartment was only temporary. Amidst wondering if the building would be intact when he returns and whether his beloved possessions would be safe, he thought about the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils. He thought about them trying to save themselves and the lives of their beloved. About them leaving everything behind. And was able to connect with them for a few minutes.