New photographs of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabakaran’s son just before he was shot dead, obtained by Channel 4 TV, leave more questions for Sri Lanka to answer about war crimes
It is a war that has produced some truly terrible images, but this one is particularly disturbing. A young boy sits looking distressed, like a child who has been lost in a supermarket. He has been given a biscuit or some kind of snack. In the second photograph, he is looking anxiously up, as though hoping to see someone he recognises.
The boy is Balachandran Prabakaran, the 12-year-old son of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabakaran.
These photographs, which we are releasing today, form part of the new evidence in the forthcoming feature documentary “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,” the culmination of three years of research which will be shown for the first time next month in Geneva, to coincide with the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting. The new evidence in the film is certain to increase pressure on the Indian government not only to support a resolution on Sri Lanka and accountability, but also to ensure that it is robustly worded, and that it outlines an effective plan for international action to end impunity in Sri Lanka.
The new photographs tell a chilling story. This child is not been lost of course: he has been captured and is being held in a sandbag bunker, apparently guarded by a Sri Lankan Army soldier. In less than two hours he will be taken, executed in cold blood — and then photographed again.
Forensic pathologist’s opinion
In these photographs, which digital image analysis indicates were taken with the same camera, we can see he has been shot five times in the chest. Separate video footage, also apparently filmed as a war trophy by government soldiers, shows that alongside him lie the bodies of five men. They appear to have been Tamil Tiger fighters, probably his bodyguards. They have been stripped, bound, blindfolded and then shot in the head.
The new photographs are particularly important evidentially, because they prove that Balachandran was not killed in crossfire, or in a battle. His death was deliberate and calculated. The pictures fill in chilling details on the circumstances of his murder — and leave the Sri Lankan government with yet more questions to answer about just how systematic the executions at the end of the war appear to have been. Last year, we first revealed video footage and stills which showed Balachandran’s body shortly after his execution. These were analysed for us by a respected forensic pathologist, Professor Derrick Pounder, to assess the cause of death.
The professor identified what he thinks is the first of the shots to be fired at the boy: “There is a speckling (on the skin) from propellant tattooing, indicating that the distance of the muzzle of the weapon to this boy’s chest was two to three feet or less. He could have reached out with his hand and touched the gun that killed him.”
The professor said the angle of the shots suggested that after that bullet was fired, the boy fell backwards and was then shot four more times. Unlike the men around him, there was no indication that the boy had been blindfolded or bound, so it was possible that the boy may have been made to watch the execution of his guards before the gun was turned on him.
The new photographs released today give us a chilling insight into what happened before that. They appear to demonstrate that the situation was calm and orderly. Balachandran was given a snack and some water. There was time to take photographs while he was held in the bunker and again afterwards. The forensic analysis report on the photographs concludes that there is “no evidence to indicate fabrication, manipulation or the use of effects to create the images” and concludes that the photographs “appear to be an accurate representation of the events depicted.”
From the separate video sequence recorded later (which has also been authenticated by both digital video analysis), it is clear that there were several military personnel in the area.
Where the trail leads to
It is difficult to imagine the mindset of an army in which a child can be executed in cold blood with apparent impunity. It also raises extremely difficult questions for the Sri Lankan military. With every month that passes, the evidence of systematic execution of prisoners grows. The pattern of apparent sexual violence against female fighters is disturbing in the extreme.
As the respected international human rights lawyer, Professor William A. Schabas, says in our film: “If you look at what looks like the mass execution of naked prisoners, these all add up to possibly the claim that this was in fact systematic — and that could point to the highest levels in the military authority of Sri Lanka as being responsible for war crimes of summary execution, killing and torture.”
India’s role
And in Sri Lanka, of course, the highest levels of the military are virtually the same as the highest levels of the government. President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, have some very difficult questions to answer.
They may well continue to simply deny the evidence and cite the undoubted crimes of the Tamil Tigers. But as a defence, it is becoming increasingly threadbare. The crimes of one side do not justify the crimes of another. A government which claims to adhere to international humanitarian law cannot hide behind the brutal suicide bombings or the brutalised child soldiers of the Tigers. But for India there is a dilemma too. Because it matters not just what the answers to these questions are. It also matters who asks these questions. India is central to this.
It has been said before, but it is true, and worth repeating. Without justice there can be no peace and reconciliation, and without truth there can be no justice.
This is not an academic exercise in historical accountability. The men responsible for these crimes are still in charge. They are continuing to brutally repress Tamils in the north and persecute anyone who criticises the government including, as we have seen with the impeachment of the Chief Justice, their own judiciary.
If there is no attempt to address these issues and to bring justice to those who suffered, the fear is that in the short term, political repression in Sri Lanka will increase and that in the long term, history is destined to repeat itself with yet more bloodshed and regional instability.
It seems to most human rights defenders around the world, including those in India, that the only way ahead in this situation is for the creation of a credible, independent, international inquiry into these events, as called for by the U.N.’s Panel of Experts. That inquiry should examine all the crimes committed by both sides.
If India was to declare its support for such an inquiry, many hope it could mark the start of the long, delayed movement towards peace, reconciliation and political justice in Sri Lanka.
(Callum Macrae is director, “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.” nofirezone.org. Follow him on Twitter @nofirezonemovie)
This article has been corrected for a typographical error
Keywords: Velupillai Prabakaran, Balachandran Prabakaran, Balachandran death, Sri Lanka war crimes, Channel 4 TV photographs, Sri Lankan military, No War Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka documentary, Eelam War, LTTE, Sri Lankan Tamils, ethnic conflict
Indian ruling class was basically responsible for this carnage... their
callousness..... inhuman policies....
Enough been said about the kiliings of innocent people,be it
Tamils,Sinhalas or Muslims.This particular cold blooded murder of a
young 12 year old boy by the Sri Lanka army has a lot of explaining to
be done and not blatant denial by the parties concerned.It does not
matter if the 12 year old boy was a Tamil or Sinhala or if he was LTTE
chief's son or the SLA chief's son.Maybe the soldier who pulled the
trigger thought he was doing a favour to his country for killing or
wiping off Prabhakaran's lineage?Any rational person will find these
news sickening as I do eventhough I never condoned what the LTTE did
to obtain so called Eelam.
The tendency for vengeance is a rabid desire to quench one's fire of hatred. It is intense hatred that begets such vengeance. It should be condemned by all with strongest of strong words. It is a pity that such a young boy succumbed to such inhuman tendency.
Mr S Raghavan
You do not see this sad conflict and this atrocity in its proper historical context.
The LTTE and Prabhakaran interlude in Sri Lanka is nothing more than a small blip
in the history of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The process of discrimination against ethnic
Tamils has been endemic in Sri Lankan politics and has indeed preceded the armed
struggles of the kind that LTTE espoused. It is that discrimination that eventually
lead to the emergence of outfits like the LTTE.
And lest it be forgotten, the LTTE and similar outfits were trained in India at least
until 1987 and the conflict in Sri Lanka benefited India. So, at least for some length
of time, the LTTE & other groups were NOT regarded as terrorists by India.
Politics makes strange bedfellows indeed !
7. for maintaining the unity of the country while preserving the
integrity of the Tamil people by the establishment of an autonomous
Tamil State within the framework of a Federal Republic of Ceylon were
summarily and totally rejected without even the courtesy of a
consideration of its merits; And,
Whereas, the amendments to the basic resolutions, intended to ensure
the minimum of safeguards to the Tamil people moved on the basis of
the nine point demands formulated at the conference of all Tamil
Political parties at Valvettithurai on 7th February 1971 and by
individual parties and Tamil members of Parliament including those now
in the government party, were rejected in toto by the government and
Constituent Assembly; And,
Whereas, even amendments to the draft proposals relating to language,
religion, and fundamental-rights including one calculated to ensure
that at least the provisions of the Tamil Language
(Special Provisions) Regulations of 1956 be included in the
Constitution, were defeated, resulting in the boycott of the
Constituent Assembly by a large majority of the Tamil members of
Parliament; And,
All right Mr.Raagavan. How to apply the adage of “ murappakal
seiyyin pirpaakal vilaiyum” to all such preceding events in the
course of democratic –NOT TERRORIST AND UN-ARMED AND NON VIOLENT-
struggle of the eezham tamils in the island? Did at any point of time
the majority Sinhalese prove to be accommodative of rightful demand of
Eezham tamils in the preceding period of demand for separate Eezham ?
Then why curse LTTE? Please have some mercy to our ethnic kinsmen in the
island, Sir. PLEASE!!
This is not an accidental killing that often happens in a conflict and miltary action. This deliberate murder, a killing that defies any logic or justification. The Sri Lankan govt has to answer for this wanton violation of human rights.
Never have images saddened me to this extent. Three days have gone by since I read this article and Balachandran's face-lost, fearful-seems to have permanently etched in my mind. Hard to imagine how anyone could have committed such an inhumane act.
The acts of the LTTE too are very cold blooded. The assassination of
Rajiv Gandhi and the systematic killings of the other Tamil leaders .
The LTTE too used children as soldiers in their war. It is only Karma
that Prabhakaran's son too suffered the fate which other children
suffered. But the photos conveyed a very poignant scene. He knew that
he will be killed.
As per the Geneva Convention, this act is quite deplorable. But
Balachandran alive would have given the Si lanka's more headaches and
also given the pro- LTTE supporters in Tamilnadu a rallying point
for further pushing their own interests. Hence, a decision by the Si
Lanka's honchos to eliminate the entire Prabhakar's family. Now Sri
Lanka is quite safe and is terrorism is also eliminated.
Prabhakar exhorted his soldiers to use cyanide when cornered but
this did not apply to him and his family. Prabhakaran and his family
could have committed suicide.
Provoking...Yes provoking is the word that comes to me when I read this.
The cruelity of the Srilankan Army or whoever instructs them provokes the most violent emotions within me.
We can understand vengeance...but this is pure cowardice, killing a little boy just because his father is the enemy.
If I were a singalese, I would have died of shame. This is nothing but the most piteable cowardice.
I have lost all respect for even singalese as a people..though my rational mind chastises me against being baised against a people because of the evil of some around them.
Whoever has done this has to be punished. Rajapakshe should be punished by Singalese themselves for showing them as a cowardly race.
Though I am not a Tamil, I heart goes out to them. I could probably go on and on the betrayal of the Tamils by Srilankan Govt, the indian govt and selfish tamil politicians themselves, I would rather keep it for later.
I salute the young boy...
..I can't forget that innocent look for a long time..it is haunting me
terribly..I saw my son's face in that boy's innocent.How our leaders
abandoned our brothers in srilanka at a crucial time?.The person who
ordered this heinious crime must be punished..praying to god for that
It seems horrific and hesitates humans life. History always full of blooded. if above are true, need justice for this. the government responsibility to probe the incident and make peace in Sri lanka.
As a Singhalese, I am ashamed to see this horrific photos. Mahinda and his brother Gotha must be brought to International Court for committing such cruel acts of inhuman killing of innocent children.
If the above is true then ....we call on the Indian Cricket team to
boycott the Sri Lankan team till both President Mahinda Rajapaksa and
his brother, the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, give a written
apology and ensure the world that this will not be repeated in future
“Murpagal seiyyin, pirpagal Vilayum” – Anything good or bad done in the forenoon will get paid back in the afternoon is a famous adage in Tamil.
The megalomaniac Prabhakaran ruthlessly trained school children and engaged them in their battle against government unmindful of the human rights violation. Irrespective of gender, the supermo forcibly patronized the young on wearing the pill around the neck and thus prepared young for a tragic end. Life is precious to be killed. Preparation to kill oneself or others is brute. Undeniably war crimes deserve answer from those at the helm in defense and administration but equivalent crimes committed by the outlawed organization that terrorized citizens, paralyzed normality and plunged the economy into shambles have got buried along with the masses.
Let us look at the issue pragmatically and not the way the author has portrayed.
Killing a young child is such a horrific thing. It is an utter senseless thing to harm the
vulnerable section of society and becoming proud.
Initially Sri Lankan Army had said Balachandran & others bodies were found in battle field. Now we know what happened. He was murdered. Same with pulidevan & few others who surrendered.
Likewise I suspect Prabhakaran & his family might have been executed as well. We may never know.
War crimes Galore
On seeing this photo - I remember the photo of KOHILAVANI of a remote village near Kanchipuram. She was killed by LTTE during the Rajiv Gandhi Killing. What that small girl did?
If killing of this small boy is a SHAMELESS ACT, then what we call that Kohilavani's death?
My view - both killings are shameless, whoever did.
I find this horrific. I come from a town which has possibly sent the maximum labour to Srilanaka in the 60's ( Tiruchy)
I have also seen the atrocities committed by the JVP ( so called Buddhists) on the Tamil people . This is the genesis of the problem
I strongly condemn the spineless attitude of the Indian Government.
Allowing someone like Rajapakshe into India itself is a mistake
Why cant we learn from UK how to stand up and be counted!!
I have a question. The LTTE cadres where known to commit suicides consuming cyaninde capsules rather than getting captured. You know Shivarasan, the one-eyed mastermind behind Rajiv Gandhi's killing. Similarly you know the case of Adolf hitler who killed his entire family including children and his dog and committed suicide with his newly married wife! Now the question is whether the Sri Lankan Soldiers were responsible or whether the LTTE bodyguards were under instructions from Pirbhakaran to end the boys life and then to commit suicide? I saw these Photographs carefully. Since I am a surgeon and a person well versed in forensic science, I think second is the more likely possibility!
Its very unlikely command to kill this child would have come from local commanders. Very much seems like the child was well taken care of until the command to kill arrived from the top echleons of the Sri Lankan Establishment. Rajapakse & his brother deserve to be tried in Hague for this cold blooded child murder.
We have seen so many gruesome pictures and videos from after the war in Sri Lanka. But, I felt the jolt and sick to my stomach. Just looking at the face of this innocent child makes me weep. I can’t imagine how much this little mind endured during the captive by these conniving (handing out biscuits before shooting the child) creatures.
These merciless should be brought to justice at any cost. This is worst a than a mad man killing innocent children in USA
This shows again that we are dealing with bunch of animals. UN and the world should hang their heads in shame for not getting this SL regime punished.
Where is Humanity?
Such an innocent soul... for no fault of his, he has suffered. the perpetrators of this heinous crime should be brought before justice at any cost. it is only right and just that the Hindu has published this opinion and the pictures. This should in a way help the world community to realize the war crimes that had happened in this tear shaped nation.
Please don't forget innocents killed by LTTE in India and Srilanka
Truly heart-rending - after seeing such an atrocity one cannot be ambivalent about the Sri Lankan problem. It is a shame that India admitted the Sri Lankan president on our soil and worse into one of our holiest places, Tirumala. With such evidence, it is hard not to agree with the Tamil politicians who want to treat these people as war criminals.
Shame on sri lankan government, the perpetrators of this must be brought to book. Killing the innocent cannot be forgiven. The World has to rise against this. Feigning ignorance or denying the truth is only a flimsy excuse.
I sincerely believe that you are the best newspaper in this country,in
terms of coverage,views,language etc. It seemed by displaying the gruesome picture on the front page in morning you are trying to build
a national consensus that India no matter what should take a stand
against the human rights violations against the Sri Lankan government
and I also believe the same but I have one issue.
Did you ever cover the torture on Bengali Hindus in Bangladesh so
extensively when they were being tortured raped murdered?To my
knowledge you haven't,perhaps you felt that that would put the
question of secularism at stake.I would really appreciate if in future
you put some effort on reporting on the sentiments of the people of
East and North East part of the country
So sad - Hard to fathom this grief. Shame on the Indian government for being a mute
spectator and playing politics yet again.
If citizens of a country fight for liberation or turn violent in the process, it does not give the right for the state to execute innocent civilians. If you agree Tamils in Srilanka are Srilankan citizens, then it is not even a war crime, it is a genocide and a premeditated one!! Shame on all the countries who stood and stand mute!! Let action on these perpetrators bring peace and reconciliation to the battered hearts and souls who have survived this horror.
With hope that nations will listen to the noise of the voiceless, another morning has dawned upon us!! Please make noise and fight for justice.
May the child's soul RIP
After doing all sins, Rajapakshe is busy cleaning the sins visiting the temples in India. Let us see whether God is going to clean the sins or clean Rajapakshe. Anything against children is barbaric and inhumane... Look at the pictures, the boy is so innocent. May his soul rest in peace, my prayers are with you Balachandran
oh my good. such an innocent child killed. God shall not forgive.
I read a facebook article during Delhi sexual violence. It read, many such acts happened in the last stages of LTTE-Srilanka govt war and none of us expressed support. But we did for Delhi victim. The reason is that the press in India did not report sufficiently about the atrocities against the srilankan tamils. I live in UK and get to read about the deeds of the srilankan, but my people in India don't have that opportunity. Did you recieve this gruesome picture only now? Didn't you have this evidence before? Why this picture now? Channel 4 documentary was released a year before.
Secondly, I want this news to be read by the cunning tamilnadu politicians who chose power instead of responsiblity. They are equally criminalistic as the people who killed the boy.
We Indians are such hypocrites. Before condemning the action taken by the Sri-Lankan military, we should pause and think about a similarly gruesome, inhumane incident that happened in Orissa, India.
On that fateful night of 22 January 1999, Orissa Leprosy Doctor Graham Staines and his two sons Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6) were burnt to death by a gang while sleeping in his Jeep.
How do we as Humans even accept the absolute evil of this crime? Has anyone raised this concern? Human beings are flawed creatures. Being a Sri-Lankan military or a Indian villager makes no difference as both are capable of killing perfectly innocent children.
The point is, do we still accept our flaws and try to be a better society, or fight like animals and bray after each others blood??
Saddest photo I have had the misfortune to ever see. I shall keep this
child's picture in my heart forever.
It is quite amazing only 3rd world coutries are questioned for War crimes. US have killed more than 700 civilians in drone attack including women and children in Pakistan. 1000s of civilians are beeing killed every day in Iraq after US and other European nations made a mess of Iraq by murdering Saddam Hussein. Going back a little in hisory US have never punished any of their soldiers for massacaring a village full of children and women.
I am neither a Tamil nor a Sinhala, neither for war or for liberation
because it will only lead to incessant divisions. But the sight of
killing an innocent child only brings tears to my eyes. The war
criminals from both the sides should be tried and sentenced in an
international court. My heart goes out to the boy though. May you Rest
in Peace.
Thank you Hindu for bringing this to the everyone's attention.
The news is depressing and devastating. How can anyone authorize a cold blooded murder of a 12 year old boy? Faith in humanity lost! It's unbelievable that genocide exists even after 60 years of Nazi Germany. The world needs to impose extremely tough sanctions on Sri Lankan Govt. and wake up and have trials like the Nuremberg ones to punish the guilty of war crimes.
What this child has done and why he has been treated like this. The
SriLankan army don't have hearts at all. This pictures should be spread
all over the world. We have to do something to stop these kinds of acts.
This picture disturbing me a lot. Its high time that India should some
of the relations with SriLankan Govt.
International community must take a call on:
1. Proper rehabilitation of the minority tamils in Srilanka (Be it partition of Srilanka into two countries or equal distribution of power to the minorities).
2. Stringent punishment for those who involved in this genocide.
This issue will rise up like a tide and will disappear in no time.
Nothing is gonna happen other than hot debate, increase in TRP of news
channel, facebook protest and eventually nothing.
Gruesome and shocking!
Though this a a old news, its very important to increase awareness about
what happened to the Tamils.My question is how many Srilankans have come
forward to openly condemn this brutality?. Things like this make me
proud of India as there are always some humane individuals who are ready
to raise their voices for the oppressed and actively seek justice.When
this is lacking in Lanka, its up to us as neighbours and fellow tamils
to keep the fight for justice on.
it is a barbaric act of srilankan security force.UN human right
council should investigate the war crime and culprit should be
brought to justice.
Sri Lanka must face the truth, about this terrible war.
India need to support the world to bring long lasting peace
to Sri Lanka. What ever India has done in Sri Laka in the
past 30 years has not benefited the people who are suffering.
Now the time has come for India to act as mature democracy.
Defend the rights of innocent people.
This is against human rights,,, this activity shows that these government and politicians are vicious. We are here in this earth to live happily not for doing fight to show their best.
Its really hurting.
Even a little empathy could have saved him....I really could not
understand the mind set of the people who were there during his
execution....It is even more disturbing than the executions by
Taliban....
I am very sad very sad, why he has been killed, how innocent he looks shame shame on those who killed this lovely boy at this age
I am at loss of words to express my feeling
RIP.
Mr.Sri Krishna, how cruel your way of thinking. One thing is true you
told that Hindu has to publish the consequences of those terrorist
attacks. But before that one thing you have to understand terrorism is
the result of exploitation ,suppression etc. Some people endure their
feelings, some became terrorists. How LTTE evolved as a terrorist
group,because they were extremely alienated and became victim of
discrimination. I am hundred percentage against violence ,because it
will create nothing. But instead of killing that boy the government
can give counselling and make the boy a new person, if the government
is genuine.
The LTTE terrorist organisation over three decades recruited over
20,000 child solders some forcibly and sent them to the frontline to
die. They were given a cyanide capsules to bite and not surrender.
The LTTE also massacred civilians. In 1990s sinhala and muslim
civilians were hacked to death using axes in the dead of night by
attacking their homes in their villages (much proof is there of
these). For these attacks the LTTE used child soldiers. Terrible.
In an attack on a temple in the early 1980s they machine gunned and
massacred over 150 civilians who were praying. Further in the 1990s
mosques were attacked and civilians massacred in their hundreds,
machine gunned. All the details with proof are there if anyone cares
to investigate.
There are hundreds of such massacres of civilians by the brutal LTTE
if one even remotely cares to investigate.
So extrajudicial killings are wrong whoever committed them, if proven.
However LTTE was repeatedly asked to surrender at the end of the war,
Almost everyone did over 12,000 did and are free today. However the
LTTE leadership and a few black tiger suicide squad did not.
The Sri Lankan army under the President of Sri Lanka, seems to have
crossed all norms of humanity. What did this child do to him. If he was
so thirsting to vanquish the LTTE, he could have done what the company
adopted in the 18th Century as cheap war tactics under Arthur Wellesley
- keeping Tipu's children captive... that would have saved the child at
least. Shame on the Sri Lankan regime which claims itself as democratic!
In the name of NATION an innocent child was KILLED.Was this PREVENTIVE measure at all or simply COWARDICE act. I think in today's world no one care of even of innocent children.
we all must start on line protest against culprits.
It is Sad to see this cruel act. Anyway,there are few people wearing
slippers!! Sri Lankan soldiers do not wear slippers. Slipper clad guys
in you tube videos are LTTE. It is worth looking at whether it was a
honour killing by the his fathers orders!!
These are the most disturbing pictures I have ever seen. Much more than the little girl fleeing the Vietnam war or the half-buried child in Bhopal tragdey. Anybody with a little conscience cannot control a tear seeing this. I hope the culprits will be brought to book oneday.
It is sickening to see the video footage of the war crimes. LTTE and Sri
Lankan Army are equally responsible for the massacre of innocent Tamils.
I can not digest to see the 12 year old shot at point blank. Indian
Government should go all out the improve the quality of life of the
tamilians there. Forget politics.
The brutal killing of the boy shows the callous nature and the cold-blooded attitude of the Srilankans towards the down-trodden Tamils in the region.It was extremely heinous of the prseident and the defence secretaries ,of whose orders ,I believe the execution was carried out.
How could they kill a small boy with the fear of him being grown into another leader in the country.
I think there should be international consensus into the matter and there has to be some action to stop the atrocities rained over the poor Tmilians in the country.
In Srilanka the Tamilains actually fought for their freedom but along with their leader many people got killed sadly.Now that the war is over,the government has to stop vengeance against them and their rights are to be respected.
wat that boy did..wat they earned by killing this boy.....
Just because this case was show cased with photograph etc to create sympathy, one cannot forget thousands of cases where militants used child soldiers who got killed in the fighting. LTTE also bombed many places where innocent civilians were killed including women and children. Let us show sympathy to every victim and castigate the perpetrators whether govt or LTTE.
For every such atrocity that is being reported in the final days of the LTTE, hundreds
must have occurred but gone unreported. Without doubt, the SL Govt. and Army lost
any sense of humanity and behaved like the devil. The least the civilized world
should do is bring the perpetrators of these crimes to swift justice. The least India
should do is to put the SL Govt. on notice and stop playing silly cricket matches with
them when such unspeakable horror has occurred and things go on as if all is
normal.
I request The Hindu to display warning message to the readers about the very disturbing nature of these images who want to see these images. This is what New York Times, BBC and Reuters do if they have anything with disturbing content on their site
If there is strong evidence to substantiate the alleged crime, the UN should take action urgently against the perpetrators of this vile crime by putting them in front of the international criminal court and prosecuting them without any hesitation. The key to such matters is the evidence. If there is concrete evidence available and if the UN hesitates to act upon it, that would be a political position of the UN, something that would be a dishonorable thing for the organization!
This the truth about human rights- killing 12 year old boy, all countries including UN is witnessing this.
Where we are heading ? Hindu- Thanks for bringing this fact.
Heinous, barbaric faces of inhuman, cold blooded murder of a very young boy. No words are left to describe this modern day cannibalism that too supposed to be from a fundamentally Buddhist nation since the time of Emperor Asoka. Notorious war crimes were part & parcel of human war history. What LTTE is committed is also highly unpardonable crime against India. However, will Rajapakshe can eve r evade responsibility of murder of this little boy, just because he was born to a Velupillai Prabakaran ? People of all nations are claiming to be living in modern, civilized societies. Yet, brutality culminated with in-sensitiveness is become order of the day. Horrible indeed! Where does humanity go from here?
Its really disturbing to see the third picture. Cannot wish to see any
child, even enemy's child in that manner...
I feel ashamed to say I'm an Indian after watching this video. I don't say LTTE did a
great job, but as a responsible country's army ... they should have left that lil boy's
life... it is really painful to watch... I don't know why Indian government supports Sri
Lanka.
very gruesome, cowardly act from srilankan army. Even while killing osama
bin laden, US forces did not kill his son. This was recently revealed by
one army personnel who participated in the operation. Infact he said he
felt bad when the little kid beside osama cried hearing the gun sounds.
Children are innocent and they should not be punished for their parent
deeds. We cannot decide to whom we should born. So just because he was son
of prabhakaran, killing him is a cowardly act and this incident is a blot
on srilanka.
If it is a crime to kill such a young boy by the soldiers, it is a bigger crime by the Srilankan Govt to deny the act and protect the criminals who killed this innocent looking boy.
Appaling babaric acts to a child.
India's National Security Adviser and Foreign Secretary, Shiva Shankar Menon and MK Narayanan visited the Sri Lankan President & his brother druing the last stages of the war in 2009 many times. Further more UN Secretary General sent as his envoy Vijay Nambiar to Colombo for fact finding and to negotiate white flg surrender in 2009. We still do not know what they know and what information they have given to the Indian Governmewnt and the UN Secretary General respectively. India, as these are Indian Citizens, must propose at the UN for an Independent International Investigation(III) in to the allegations of war crimes and crime against humanity. Not Just Sri lanka but Indians who were involed in this should clear their names too!
I am very sad by the cruelities in this world happening. Killing of a child whose father was involved in the something is really a height of cruelity. This also shows how scared Sri lanka was/is of Tamil tigers and their revenge. This is not the way any1 can be stopped.
I am so much disturbed to see this picture. Killings by LTTE shakes
humanity and killing of this boy is the same notoriety.. His eyes are so
innocent and hurting me again and again as I look into the picture..rest
in piece boy..
Prabhakaran was no angel and his poor son must have been severely traumatized througout his life. But this atrocity committed by the Rajapaksa gang is beyond all doubt the most heinous act in the entire sordid story of the Lanka civil war. ICC warrant must be put out for these killers. Singh and Sonia have also to be held accountable for allowing this to happen.
Sir, when I first saw the photo in the first page, I thought that the
boy is alive somewhere and had a moment of joy. But, the article in the
Op-Ed page brought tears to a seasoned soldier, who had seen some brutal
killing in my service. Such brutality shall be repaid, sooner than
later. If Srilanka does not make amends, the resurrection of another
uprising shall be around the corner.
Hats off to Srilanka!! LTTE through their bombings and such terrorist activities were killing many innocents irrespective of age group. They could not only chop that tree off but nip any future buds also is commendable. We need such strong leadership in India should we end terrorism, naxalism etc.
i am a srilankan not from north. its so sad to see a small child getting killed in this way. most of the people have stated its sad to see him killed in this manner, not only this boy any child shouldn't be killed in this way. but people don't get sad over one dead boy as there were more that 1000 children died in this war. everyone have suffered enough over the war. when sending suicide bombers to colombo prabakaran would have never thought one day his child will die like this.
there was a time we were scared to leave the house as we don't know which place gonna blast today. the days passes each day when we return home we thank god for saving us and returning our loved ones safe. all have said their sympathy over prabakarans son do u know how many school going children have died in suicide bomb attacks in buses and railway stations? have u all seen the pictures of those children dead bodies headless face burnt eyes wide open. i have seen many parents have cried and cursed prabakan.
Violence is to be condemed - irrespective of who commited it. The killing of a 12yr old is pathetic. But the truth needs to be told of the other side too. The LTTE's hands were never clean - it was a terrorist organisation. It has the blood of many 12yr olds on its hands - probably not as well documented - in the dirty war it conducted. Any tribunal that may be setup needs to prosecute people from both sides. Simply put, the war in Sri Lanka has not ended - just moved to another phase.
It is sad that a child has to face such a death. But, it was his father who was chiefly responsible and accountable for this child's and many many more young childrens' death. How many children were denied education, forcefully sepearated from their parents and forced into armed struggle and finally killed in the war field? LTTE's bombs and bullets have killed many many more innocents and what do you expect a government to do? Keep watching the killings fearing the UN sanctions or hesitating about the collateral damages? Remember the world war II came to an end because of the nuclear bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. How many innocent civilians were killed? But the end result was peace. Sometimes, collaterals cannot be avoided. We feel sad, but that is the way it is.
Cruel, terrible, what did this child do to them, think about the fate of
other innocent civilians - women and children, may the god save them
This is absolute atrocity & human rights violations to the core. The
Military & Srilankan govt. without whom these 'Systematic' executions
cannot take place are very cruel in their basic mindset. This is not
the age of the kings, where they wipe out the entire clan.
@Sri Krishna Kayithi: "necessary evil"? Are you kidding? Since, some
nations does it doesn't mean it is right or should be turned blind eye
too. It is a shame that India stood by and let Srilanka oppress tamils
in a such a brutal way. Coming back to the point, why do you think
there inspiration to join taliban ranks still exist? Why do you think
there are sympathizers to Maoists? Actually, the reason terrorism
could exists is because those in power failed to recognize that they
are oppressing fellow humans with feelings and emotions. So please,
don't justify murder in the name of necessary evil. If so, it is a
necessary evil from the perspective of the GoI to swindle people and
let farmers die of hunger - would you agree with that, even if your
own family is the victim?!
My heart is bleeding.What a cruel world we live in..
Cannot imagine the mentality of the person who has taken and executed such decision. Unfair in war too.. Even if the child is in jungle, I'm sure he would be alive today..the real animals would have spared him..
What did the Innocent Children,women and men do,when LTTE suicide Bombers detonated themselves killing all of them.Where were these Human rights organization at that time.For 20 years LTTE killed mercilessly without sparing anyone.When the time came back,when they had to pay for their crimes Human Rights are shouting from roof top.why did LTTe chief Prabhakarn keep quiet when Innocent children were made suicide bombers.
What has happend is the revenge the srilankan soldiers have taken for what they have sufferd on the hands of the LTTE.As the proverb goes "What you sow,so shall you reap".It is good that the LTTE is wiped out from the Roots.-- Jai Hind
when will we learn to forgive and forget ?
Highly disturbing !!!! :-(
A humble request to The Hindu: Please remove the photographs and the article. What purpose would this article serve other than inciting emotions and immature reactions from Tamilnadu politicians? These kind of articles and meaningless reactions would only increase the sufferings of poor Tamils living there. Rajapakse is the President of Sri Lanka and that's the fact. I do not think The Hindu wants to create senseless sensationalism. If that 's true, please remove the article and allow the people in Sri Lanka to settle down and live in peace.
If Government of India is right in not giving Afzal Guru's body to his family, then this act may also be ...................... I do not want to justify the gruesome act.
my heart broken when i saw the innocent look of the kid not knowing what
is gonna happen. if there is a teeny tiny bit of justice exists in this
world, let that prove itself for this kid. :-(
As a human it makes me very angry, he was no son of saddam hussain or Gadaffi, had not raped anyone or murdered innocent people....how could he have killed....its looking very bad for Sri Lanka and they have a future battle at hand for their deeds...Prabhakaran should have been killed and LTTE destroyed but what was that boy's mistake as he did not even get to make a choice for his life...
This must be strongly condemned. Indeed disgusting and inhuman!
This clearly shows that the country is ruled by demons and I foresee that their will be no extinct of Tamils in this country in few years. God has to reborn again to save the people.
It is precisely acts like these that make it impossible for a government to win over
the hearts and minds of insurgents and their sympathisizers and put an effective
end to terrorism.
A government has the mandate to protect all civilians, given that it claims the
territories as being under its control and given that it claims that the other side are
terrorists. It is asymmetrical warfare where the government must act with care and
restraint whereas terrorists will always tend to attack civilians.
If a government does the same, then what is the difference between it and
terrorists? We've seen the pattern over and over, in India in Kashmir, Punjab and
NE.
A rare instance of better conduct was offered by the US Marines post-WWII in
Germany and Japan where they won the hearts and minds of the locals forever by
doling out chocolate instead of bullets and rape. Sadly! that lesson has not been
learnt by anyone.
How in the world can anyone kill an innocent young boy? How cruel these grown ups are! You have no conscience! Humans are the worst of all. Damn people. My heart bleeds.
Those are Very sad and depressing pictures.None should encounter such
incident.Atleast now India should awake and react to the genocides
which are still happening in Srilanka. Such cruel people will face the
wrath of God.
If we recap India's role in the whole scenario, it will show a clear pattern.
first they allowed all tamil groups to take refuge in India and particularly in chennai. this made for all of them fighting with each other and getting wiped out.
then they were made to come to negotiating table yielding no results.
they were then trained inside Tamilnadu and sent back to srilanka.
when the srilankan army was about to wipe them out, India sent its planes in a show of strength.this then led to sending IPKF to srilanka .Tamils were made to lay down their arms in the hope that IPKF would protect them.Wily premadasa made IPKF fight the tamils which led to the attack on Rajiv.This virtually led to India abandon the tamils for ever. Srilanks seized the opportunity to wipe out tamils tigers encore and unleash torture and violence on the tamils.This is the chronology of events that had taken place.Now we are beating our chest against these war crimes while rajapakse visit tirupathi to atone.
I don't agree with readers requesting the photo to be removed. It is
this very photo that has triggered the responses that Human rights
activists have been crying for before/during/after the Srilankan
military operations in Tamil dominated region.
It is a grim reminder of our callousness and indifferent attitude
towards a society and the gross violations that happened at our
doorstep and we conveniently chose to ignore it.
It is high time Indian government calls spade a spade and increases
pressure along with International community and bring the culprits to
book. Till then please don't roll out Red Carpets for the very leaders
who were responsible for this and refrain from training the army which
carried out this and many such barbaric act.
Ashamed to have been a mute spectator
Where are the human rights groups? Where is USA's missiles that did not hesitate to strike on Afghanistan, Iraq, now shutting their eyes over the cruel killings in Sri Lanka? It is unfortunate to see that the Sri Lankan Tamils did not a massive moment against the government. All Tamils in Sri Lanka, irrespective of their allegiance to political parties, religion, should join hands, and come out on the street against the government. Only a mass movement will prevent the government from taking anti-Tamil stance. Tamils in Sri Lanka stand up now and fight for their rights, otherwise it will be too late.
"As you sow, shall you reap". In all fairness the LTTE were no saints. They recruited women, children and targeted civilians in equal measure as the politicians and army generals. They had women and children fight for their said cause of a new Tamil Eelam in a different nation state, Sri Lanka. Ever since an 18 year old Prabakaran picked up arms in the late 70s all these fighters have done is wreak havoc on that island. The SLA are no saints either. They have done their share of pillaging, raping and executing LTTE cadres and their associated civilians.
But this was war. Thats what happens in war. You play with fire, you get burnt. You kill people, your people kill you. Today, i find this cry over the execution of Prabakaran's son amusing. His father was a cold blooded killer. Sins of the father. Sometimes the sons must pay. Its not fair. But imagine if you were a sri lankan soldier whose family were attacked by the LTTE all for the cause of a separate state ... Anger and hatred.
Prabhakaran during his hey-day massacred many innocent Srilankan people including his own Tamil people and Political leaders in his country for more than 35 years.So where were these so called human rights group then? So what they had started eventually made themselves victims.
Feel ashamed to be in this country. When Prabakaran's mother came for treatment, she was sent
back in the same flight. But when Rajapakshe and his family came to Thirupathi, they
support him stating we cannot stop him to enter the country as per the law. And what did this
small child did to him................. Rajapakshe and his followers are to be declared as
Terrorist......................
Insane !!! Insane !!! Insane !!! first to publish and highlight a childs
picture and secondly how can someone or army do such cruel activity
against innocent child.
This is only one facet of the war on terror. War is Brutal, period! It makes no difference whether the victim was a child or a 80 year old grandparent. War is not fought on a level playing field nor is it fought with the same set of rules on both sides. If war was about rules and civility as many appear inclined to think, there would quite simply be no victors.
So sad for a young boy - So cruel on the part of Sri Lankan Army =
Thanks to the Hindu for publishing so that the world's human rights
should intervene.
Human values are being no value, its all a draw back and lesson will help to teach them lesson
I wonder what is the difference between the terrorists,i.e. the LTTE and those who sought to uproot terrorism, the Sri Lankan Army. All those who even morally support the SriLankan Army in this act, should reflect and retrospect and ask themselves the above question. The most stringent of punishment should be meted out to the personnel of the Sri Lankan armed forces who abused their power to commit such a crime. Yes, and it is a crime and it doesn't matter how many real terrorists they eliminated before committing this crime, they are NOT above reproach.
Its disturbing! Brutality in killing a 12 year old is no way a answer to the atrocities committed by the LTTE. India should take strong stance against Srilanka for the genocide, the Srilankan Army is carrying out.
Humans have no compassion left. Human values have reached the worst of
the bottoms it can reach. Hope we improve on our values and raise back
again and make this work a better place live...
look at his innocent face , he simply is not aware of the fact that in
a few seconds/minutes those cowards would 'remorselessly' pull the
trigger on him. How can any sane person pull the trigger looking at
the face of this child?. may this face hound those responsible forever
and ever.
when god's justice seems to completely flawed, how can human justice
be perfect.
Dear editor; I know that you have shared this picture with the right
intention and to throw light on such a barbaric and cowardice act, but
something tells me that you shudn't have published it.
@Raj: Your claim is that human rights violation can happen in a war
and killing the son is to stop the lineage of the LTTE .It is
pointless brother.A country which is recognized to run the government
democratically acknowledged my the international community must stick
to the norms of the war regulations .You also pointed out that no one
voiced against the war crimes of US in Middle East( my friend no one
in India supported that war crimes either). We will share our feelings
only to those what we see in media.These atrocities and the inhuman
hate crime by the SriLankan government hit the headlines when there is
a news about it as Indias role is crucial in the war. We were neutral
in the war against Afghanistan and Iraq.Be empathetic before you
comment your views as it hurts peoples sentiments .
I am also surprised that The Hindu published this news as I always had
this view their editors are promoting Srilankas agenda
This confirms that the Sri Lankan Army and its leader should be tried
for crimes against humanity. It is also germane to point out that our
Government and our reptilian foreign service time servers allowed this
cold blooded massacre to happen. Our pathetic Navy which instead of
allowing people to escape mounted a naval blockade ensuring the
genocide. This is a wake up call to all Indians on the sheer inhuman
leadership we have in New Delhi. What a tragedy! The Sri Lankans now
stand exposed for the duplicity they have been denying.
Inhuman and barbaric. The killers will rot in hell . May the boy's soul rest in peace.
plzzzzzzzzz cover his face ......... its enough to know that a kid - an
innocent soul got killed or should i say murdered just bcoz his father
is involved in some illegal activity ..........its insensitive on your
part "the journalist" .......u didn't feel like crying ???
My heart goes for the little boy. Even animals dont behave so cruelly...
This is disturbing. This must not go unpunished. This picture has enough
ammunition to take down Srilankan Sinhalese govt. I firmly believe that
LTTE had more than a fair chance to get their homeland only if they had
not assassinated Rajeev. Mind you Tamil resistance is down but not out..
It is brutal. 'Also Human rights violation on both sides', this statement undermine the army's mass killings. Violence against Tamils started long before the inception of LTTE.
Instead of looking at what has been done both by the Sri Lankan Govt and the LTTE, world community must look forward towards making a better future because one cannot decide now how military should have handed the LTTE caders since they are the most dared solders who don't even fear to blow themselves. A person at this extreme point of even killing himself will be dangerous in future if kept alive. So instead of thinking of the past one should face the challenge to reform the mentallity of the tamils as well as singhalis.
This article and photos yet agin highlight the genocide in Sri Lanka and the lip service paid to
it by the Indian government. I wish had not seen the photographs. I don't think it will be easy
to get over having watched the photo of the innocent kid. Sadly, as people there is not much
we can do as the indian government that Claims to represent us has its own agenda.
Disturbing images when seeing the photos on the main page.I hope some kind of justice has to be given for this barbaric act
My blood boils being a Tamilian. Our Government supports. The history
will repeat to see the brothers meet the same fate. People who shed
their life for many decades/ centuries in the development of SriLanka-
i.e Tamils had to /facing what kind of treatment from SriLankans.
Let us wait till Tamil Elam comes up atleast to save Tamils.
From the viewpoint of Some independent and free nations that are themselves victims of terror and terrorist organizations such gory, heinous deeds are a necessary evil. Having themselves lost many innocent people, young, old, men, woman and children alike to these terrorsit organizations, they decided to uproot,erase, liquidate anything that might even pose a remote threat to security of their nation in the future.Moreover, the terrorist organizations are very adept at using whatever means possible to renew their terror activities. Hindu should do extensive research on the heinous crimes committed by terrorist organizations.'Hindu' shoud bring public awareness by coming out with photos of the dreaded activities of these putfits and organize an exhibition. Hindu must come out with pics of young children killed by terror in Afghan, Iraq and Israel and also, lost due to collateral damage of US forces.Else, one would infer, that Hindu raises its voice only against weaker nations.
The war was won as result of many nations turning blind-eye to what was happening. India had very important role, they blocked the sea crossing and in fact any chances of Tigers fighting back or escaping so that civilian would have been spared. I think the whole world should leave Sri Lanka alone, in few years time all tamils there would be killed or converted to the point no issues exist anymore. One day, Rajapaksa & Co will be broght to pay his sins.
What crime did that child do? already there is a huge human massacare happend in srilianka. IS the Srilankan Army or govt scared of this young child will go against governement? Really sad to see innocent face of the child..
So cruel. I wish if the God is there, let those cruel minds face the
wrath of God. If at all, they denied they are cowards or if they accept
they still fear the next generation Tamil ethnic. It shows, their future
government policy would treat Tamil on par with slavery. OK, Now Let
them prove that the civilians are spared during civil war.
After World War II, civilized nations declared nazi attrocities will never happen again. With advanced communications and United Nations monitoring human rights violations, civilized nations let the attrocities repeat in the glare of cameras is a shame for the citizens of the world. Killing of a twelve year boy in a brutal manner even if he is guilty is unpardonable. It is also a shame for the Thirumala Devaesthanam in India to recieve the Sri Lankan President to the temple.
Feel very bad.where is the humanity??
I am not a ardent supporter of LTTE. Infact I do not like Prabakaran for
many reasons. Yet my heart boiled after seeing the picture and the news
behind it. A poor little boy, who is innocent was shot dead, that too
defying all war norms. Rajapakshe and his men are more cruel, and they
should be punished. We send criminals like Ajmal Kazab to death. What we
are going to do against a criminal whose action is worser than Ajmal.
This is devil, Inhuman. How can some one see in his eyes and shoot him.
I am sure even Raavana was not this barbaric, but Rajapakse is...We have learnt about this in epic where Kamsa kills 7 babies to eradicate his Future enemy (Lord krishna)., Now, we see one such Animal., I am not a Pro LTTE, but for a person to behave in such a manner is a Disgrace. I wonder who is he going to rule , when he has killed everyone in many territories, Killing a Race is a crime , But Why UN is just a spectator in this case. Universal peace will prevail not just by erasing the incidents in history , but behaving cultured and being human...!
As disturbing as this may seem, it is equally disturbing to see assumptions gaining ground. In any long drawn out battle, unethical behaviour is bound to raise its ugly head, no matter who the atrocity is committed by.
This child paid the ultimate price merely for being somebody's son, and that is something we as humans should be ashamed of. But it would be equally folly of us to place blame squarely on the leadership of Sri Lanka. In many situations, orders are not followed.
Any army that has engaged in a long war is bound to have elements that don't adhere to stipulated norms. It is the duty of Sri Lanka's government to punish the wrongdoers in this case. This is as far as we can push a nation, knowing fully well that hardly any nation has an untarnished record after having fought wars.
Fact is, the LTTE eliminated all its internal Tamil competition for leadership. Could we assume kind and compassionate acts were practised then?
The photos are very disturbing. Newspapers like TH should not publish
these kind of photos as it triggers public sentiments.
War is a War. There is no room for Humanity. (I am no fan of LTTE or
Srilankan Government). SL Govt. might have thought to nib the bud
also which is very cruel.
At the same time, one should not forget that LTTE has also done
similar kind of brutal killings of innocent people. The worst part
is, LTTE has executed their own people (Tamilians), just to establish
supremacy
So, when it comes to war, it is survival of the fittest which is the
theory of nature.
This looks gruesome. However, the last picture with the boy's body,
shows the feet of the probable killers. There are men wearing slippers.
Not sure if a state army like the SL Army would have soldiers wearing
slippers in the battlefield. This is really intriguing!
But it does not take away the brutality of the murderers of this
innocent boy. May his soul find peace in the next birth.
Poor boy. May his soul rest in peace. His bad luck that he was the son of a ruthless father who did not calculate that he would come up against an even more ruthless opponent like Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa.
Both Sri Lanka and India have much to answer for....
Chilling to contemplate what else may come out if a Truth Commission
were to be set up...
these kinds of war crimes are shame to the human society and must be condemned in every possible way.The international community and specially India ,must take a hard and firm stand on these matters.
with heavy heart
its really shocking.......... how innocent his face....
I hope The Hindhu continues to posts such articles boldly whether the public likes the topic or not.(as seen in the recent case of death penalty)
I am not Tamilian. I was against the LTTE and Prabhakaran deeds.
But what happened to this innocent boy is so horrible. How can they do
like this to such a young one. Let the good people from Sinhalese people
come forward and protest against this kind of cruelties. So sad to see
this picture, really disturbing.
SriLankan Govt should be tried in a war crime tribunal like the nazis were tried. Each of the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
No words can describe such barbaric acts. Whatever victory Srilankan govt claims is hollow. They are fear of defeat thats why they didnt spare even an innocent child, lest he will resurrect and take revenge.
Cowards!
I really wonder why Srilanka is called Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. This is an absolute explanation or example of dictatorship. So many innocent people including women and children have been killed in (a ridiculous)'No war zone'. What kind justice could be given by the United Nations Council to those souls who were killed with no mercy.
Neeed to condemn this gruesome act.UN must take some action for this inhumane action .
I could not believe my eyes till i went through the centre page article. It is saddening and disturbing. The condition of the boy where he was been kept under captivity with a trouser and exposed body makes enough to believe the tortures he would have undergone. The genocide act of Srilankan army in committing a cold blood murder of an innocent looking boy is highly condemnable. The UN including Human Rights Commission should come out heavily on Srilankan government. Such world level forums should re-conduct a study on the developmental activities in settling / rehabilitating the people of war-torn states and spot out the actual status of the ongoing projects to the world.
Will GOI and GOTN should some responsibility ??
It is gut wrenching to see the bullet ridden body a young boy. I'm sure it will be equally gut wrenching to see similar photos of innocent people killed by the LTTE.
It is the duty of newspapers like yours to expose Human rights violations and excesses committed by Govt.'s and the Army in the name fighting terrorism / insurgency.
But in doing so, please desist from making martyrs out of hard core terrorists and murderers like Afzal Guru , Kasab or the LTTE.
All these things were done with the whole hearted support of Indian govt. Congress leadership, DMK leadership particularly Karuna is fully responsible for this genocide. He wanted only power for him and his family members. Had he withdrawn support to centre at that time all these things would not have happened. We dont know why Tamils in the name of Prabakaran /LTTE killed by Congress party. Sikh only killed Indra Gandhi and another sikh had been made PM. Why this bias for Tamils? Already many lost their lives violently in the Nehru family. Why the family accumulating sins still? One Srilankan army soldier tried to kill Rajiv after Rajiv-Jayawardane accord. But Congress would forgive Sinhalas but kill the entire Tamils in Srilanka. What type of logic or humanity, we do not understand. Even now I am sure UPA (Manmohan and Sonia) will protect Rajapakshe. Karuna will write letters as usual. Nobody can escape from nature's/God's punishment for their sins.
It is very heart-breaking. People should be cruel to kill these types of small children. How children can be punished for elders mistakes?
Thanks so much dear Hindu for publishing these. The people behind this
has to be brought before the international criminal justice and tried
for war crimes and inhuman treatment to their fellow citizen and the
leaders behind this should follow the fate of the Hitler and the rest.
Whoever is behind this should be taught a lesson and should be punished
severely!
Oh God it is really disturbing & frighting. We have lost humanity. Please god show us the way
To all those who want action to be taken against the Sri Lankan govt.
for this brutality, would you also want action to be taken against the
US govt for its actions against terrorist organizations in Afghan and
Pakistan? How about what the Indian govt for what it does in Kashmir?
Why did I hear only rejoicing when when Osama's relatives were
murdered in his home? I am not a Sri Lankan, but this one-sided
application of human rights needs examination. IMHO, terrorists lose
all human rights when they kill innocents.
As for the murder of Prabhakarans son, it is extremely unfortunate, but for those who live in the real world, killing the son was a harsh reality that had to be carried out to avoid the birth of another generation of LTTE warriors. I think that the person who killed him felt more terrible than the rights activists shedding tears here.
Wars are unfortunate, but in the battle fields, human rights violations are a survival requirement. And to be fair, LTTE started this war.
Really the Sri Lankan government policies are anti-Tamils. The government wants to eliminate Tamils altogether by giving them so many cruelities. It is shame that its President is welcomed in India. India should voice concern over the Tamils issues and if necessary invade Sri Lanka and anex it with India. That would be the final solution.
@The Editor. Can you please remove the pictures. They are very disturbing and hurting the sentiments of millions. I also request the other media in India, not to print or show these pics for sake of getting viewership.
Indian army and the gvt officials allowed these atrocities to happen and are complicit to these crimes, that is why they have protected Sri Lankan gvt at every step of the way in the UN except last time because the U S put their weight into the motion.
Evidence against the Sri Lankan gvt has always been overwhelming, very obvious to all except the Lankan gvt and the Indian gvt.
I'm just curious, what kind of soldiers wear slippers, and what did they shoot him with? ... a 3mm caliber gun?... a pea-shooter? the photos look extremely fake. it's probably a stunt, if the boy had been shot be a standard military rifle, the gun-shot wounds would look a whole lot bigger, especially on a child. and another question is, why feed a person about to be shot?
Very very disturbing pictures. Do not wish to see any child in this situation.
Its really disturbing...poor kid....
This is one of the brutal behavior of the ruthless Srilankan Army.
Let the child's soul rest in peace.
It is a saddest morning in my life to see this news.
Very much hurting...
Gruesome and We are giving red carpet welcome...
It is very-very disturbing images though,unfortunately ,speaking the
truth .When in the morning I saw these images and editorial penned by
CALLUM MACRAE from then I was shell shocked, I cried.Normally we North
Indians see the Tamil and LTTE's struggle as a matter of other nations
like the Hindus of Pakistan. But such brutal killings by Sri Lankan
army attracts the international investigation and perpetrators should
be severely punished. Indian Government should make the pressure on
the Srilankan government to make quick rehabilitation of Tamil
refugees but also provide more assistance ,since government is already
in action,but also support the inquiry called by U.N.’s Panel of
Experts.
Horrendous! Nobody can refute the crimes committed by the military of Lanka on Tamilians. India shouldn't relent until it secures the dignity and respect of its Tamilian brothers in Lanka which has been denied for a long time.
Reading this story of the young child being killed by Srilankan forces in point blank range brings tears eventhough we knew that LTTE was also responsible in some manner. This child had done no harm. If the Srilankan govt thinks that they have solved the tamil political problem once for all by eliminating the entire family of Prabhakaran, they are highly mistaken, as has been proved in history time and again. The international community should stand up and take the Srilankan govt to task. This is totally an inhumane act and needs strongest condemnation by the entire world.
This is very disturbing and this kind of terror activities should be
curbed with stringent punishment to culprits. What a inhumane!
my heart is boiling, Rajapaksa brothers will be eradicated soon if they
step in tamilnadu, no protest direct encounter.
its really an inhumane action done by the Srilanka soldiers.how could they kill that child so brutally?right action should be taken by India on this issue.
I agree the author's comment 'The crimes of one side do not justify the crimes of another'
This brutal act is not accepatable
It is been years we saw any bloodshed in Northern part of Sri Lanka,
the triumphant Army of Mother Lanka won the well deserve victory the
country needed. Who killed terrorist leader Prabakaran's son is not
the question the real question is who led innocent Tamil youth to the
war and got killed. Tamils of Sri Lanka were misled and specially the
youths. Time to time Sri Lankan Tamil politicians from generation to
generation gave ropes to the Tamil Mass that they can achieve a
separate nation. This lolly-pop style idea put the innocent to take
up arms against the Democratically elected government of Sri Lanka.
Many LTTE members after captured by the Army had confirmed the
inhuman acts of the rebels. So its a best time to the Tamils of Sri
Lanka to live in harmony if not another round of destruction is
inevitable.
There is a lesson here for India. India suffered its own Vietnam. Then the leader was
blown up and now this. However 'strategic' it may be, do not arm and finance cross
border terrorism.
Punishment should be severe, for those who were behind this incident.
Brutal murder of innocent boy.
SLA can deny all the wrong doings during the 2008/2009 war. These pictures are clear proof that it was a trophy killing which is a barbaric act even though he was only 12 years old. Just because he was son of someone does not give SLA any "right" to perform this atrocity. Hope UN awakes and Indian government acts sensibly in the upcoming March 4th UN vote.
India should stop training Army cadets form Sri Lanka, In the country of Ram we are training the soldiers of Ravan side, we Indians and Tamilians should strengthen our efforts to kneel down the Sri Lankan govt. Their army is behaving like militia, the world should ask who is more evil and criminal the LTTE or the Sri Lankan govt,
Execution of a small boy shows how much afraid is srilankan government about LTTE.They feared that if this young boy lives there is a possibility of resurgence of LTTE by using him as its head. It reminds me of chanakya quote that when you destroy enemy destroy him with out any trace left.
But these photos are really chilling. There is a greater possibility of reforming this young boy. Army has committed a ghastly and cowardly act. Now India is compelled to put pressure on srilanka to investigate war crimes and punish the guilty.Until that happens there is no hope for justice and reconciliation for tamils in srilanka
what India and world really wanted after this incident?
this is inhuman. i am in grief for killing an innocent child. Shame on
the murderers!!
Really Pathetic.Is it right way of taking revenge against LTTE by
killing a juvenile ? India should take this matter seriously and appeal
to UN council with the support of other countries. An Independent body
should be formed under the UN head and the guilty who is accountable
behind the heinous crime should be punished severely.India should impose
ban against the visit of SriLankan Diplomats ,Officials and leaders till
the justice is ensured for the killing of the innocent boy and many
other tamil people during the end of the war.
I was numbed this morning after seeing the pics and the story. The depravity shown by the armed forces matches that of the Nazis. The theme is extermination. I hope the international rights groups raise the issue and ensure justice. The president and his famed band of brothers need to stand trial, whether it will be in a court of justice or god's court remains to be seen.
Humanity and words like these should now be better removed from our
dictionaries. They don't have any relevance in the current context.
We humans are worse than the wildest of carnivorous animals.
God save thee Sri Lanka.
An Eye for an Eye would end up in making the whole world blind....I am
not sure whether sanity would ever prevail in human race,when it comes
to issues like this,it is hard for logic to prevail over emotion,as
rightly said.
Shocking!!!!!!!!!!!!!It seems like ancient age times when every one was
killed in order to have no competetors ie. Great ashoka.
No more words.
Unfortunately, I do not see how the Indian government can be expected
to do the right thing, when it refuses to grant justice to its own
people, and has been caught countless times repressing its own
people's democratic protests, dissent and demands brutally. It takes a
society committed to justice irrespective of the
caste/class/gender/pol. party of the perpetrator, to really bring
substantial pressure on a govt. such as this. We, educated, middle
class of India have refused to take state sponsored violence in tribal
areas (to name but one instance) in Chattisgarh seriously, and build
pressure on the govt to stop killing and torturing its own people. We
have failed to hold it accountable for lives it has brutalised. How do
we expect the same state (I don't yet see reason to believe that other
parties would definitely do better) to build ask another state to
behave better with its people?
Totally disturbing images of killing an innocent boy. War crimes needs
to be investigated and the preparators should be booked.
No pictures have ever made me feel as sad as I feel today. I have been teary eyed since reading this article. The innocence on his face is telling. Just 12 years old. What happened to him is Wrong.
what happened in srilanka is not a war. Its a human genocide where 2 lakhs Tamils were killed. Free tamil eelam is the only solution
How can the army be so cruel to kill such an young cute boy? India should
put pressure on srilanka to punish guilty with the help of international
community and it should support US sponsored resolution again which US is
going to place in UN.
I thank the Europeans for focussing on the Sri Lankan regime's
horrendous crimes against its own people. I condemn the sorry state of
affairs of our External affairs policy that not a single strong message
has gone from PM or Ms SG to our neighbours on massacre of civilians and
non combatants.
I expect The Hindu will publish its view on this gruesome,barbaric incident had distinct evidence of a unimaginable war crime happened in Srilanka.
Sad, feel like crying. Shocking and stunning narration. Whatever that come out as facts, truth or reconciliation, the life of the boy can't be brought back. That's the only bitter truth!
.. Oh ! " The Hindu " has also reported this news ,long back
acknowledged UN resolution on brutal suppression of Human Rights even
today . The pity is , as Karunanidhi says , the man who has destroyed
more than 300 Hindu temples .is helped by GOI to pray in Tiruapathi
where ordinary citizens have to spend many hours to have the Glimpse of
Lord Venkateswara . Hindu's Editor should write about this . Oh , This
is Land Of Buddha !
very disturbing. Sri Lanka must try its army for war crimes and all
other charges that can be applied for killing an innocent 12 yr boy just
because he happened to be V Prabhakaran's son
It's indeed pathetic. Helpless child.
Every Tamilian knows that only solution to the crisis is a separate nation for Tamils in SL. Tamils are aborigines, only the sinhalese migrated from outside.
SHAME!!!!!!! hope our Indian govt takes a hard stand and we need to boycot srilanka in every way possible.
With Heavy heart,
Was the Sri Lankan army trained by the Indian Army? I am asking because
the Indian Army did similar things in Manipur.
So, do not fight with guns, do not think of splitting nations, handful
of elders with their stone age-idiotic ideologies are proving lethal
than atomic bombs. God, I wish my kid will see prosperous, peaceful
Asian sub-continent...
I have seen the video given on the above website link. And first
question is India must be shameful for not acting against the war
criminals during the war and after it. Govt. of India must not make
any excuse that they had no intelligence input or sovereignty of Sri
Lanka. Making a day night comment that India being largest democracy
follows all the ideal path. But where was your idealism when these
innocent people were being killed.
India self proclaiming itself as being super power in time limit of
2020, this is merely a bizarre wishful thinking nothing else. When
this country can't pressurize in its backyard to the countries like
Sri Lanka and Maldives, How can it even think about super power.
Indian leaders must ashamed of itself. And I dare to say Ms.
Jayalalitha had done very right by sending back these sri lankan.
Now world is watching How GOI take the step to resolve the crisis in
Sri Lanka. Will it again take middle path or boldly act against it on
the International arena.
Whatever may be, killing of this innocent boy is cruel. Really after seeing this photographs it brings tears in the eyes and really disturbing.
heartburns!
This is further irrefutable evidence. This article says,'The crimes of one side do not justify the crimes of another' as if suggesting that these crimes were committed in way of defending Sri Lanka against the LTTE. But the truth is that such gory, unspeakable acts of horror were perpetrated by the Sri Lankan army and military against the Tamils MUCH BEFORE the LTTE came into existence. It is high time the world saw Rajapaksa for the War Criminal that he is and ensure justice is done to the Tamils on the island. Because as this article says, without justice there cannot be lasting peace and history will be bound to repeat itself.
Disturbing......undemocratic regime of Rajpaksha will reap the bitter harvest.Poor soul....may he rest in peace.:((((
The Hindu, please remove those 3 photographs. It is really disturbing!
I can help but to feel how this young kid got entangled in the crossfire between two ideologies which he would not have cared two hoots about. Somewhere this shows the war is never the solution and the Government should act always in a mature manner taking everyone together.
Extremely heart wrenching. Irrespective of the gravity of the crimes by LTTE, this does not go down the throat. How can anyone kill a child in point blank range? Is this not planned murder? The innocence in the child's face makes me weep.
I have never ever felt a knot in my stomach before. But these photos are chilling. Without even reading the report i felt that the kid was murdered in cold blood. We need to have another version of Nuremberg trails.
What is the Srilankan army trying to achieve killing this innocent
little boy? After all just because he is the son of Prabhakaran doesn't
justify the reason to be killed like this. And at this age...What are
they trying to avoid by killing this boy? A future LTTE group led by
him!! This is pathetic!! Look at the boy's face while he eats the snack
given to him. What is the difference between LTTE and this army men?? I
have no words to express how upset i am seeing this.
truly disturbing.
the international community should take every possible step to punish the cruel minds behind all this.
This story is particularly disturbing. SriLankan Government has to answer to this brutality. It is just because of the differences among Tamils they are left in this state. There is no unity among Tamils. So they are suffering. It is better for Tamils in SriLanka to move out of the country as much as possible
Shame on the Indian central government and state government of Tamil Nadu for having done nothing other than shed crocodile tears on the atrocities committed by the Rajapaksa government and the Sri Lankan army. First a Frankenstein's monster in the form of Prabhakaran was created and supported, who unleashed a campaign of terror on the populace for over two decades. When the Sri Lankan army went on a killing rampage silence was maintained. The Tamils suffered twice once under Prabhakaran and under the Sri Lankan army. I hope at least now justice is brought to the Tamils. Rajapaksa and his senior army officials should be tried as a war criminals and the Sri Lankan army should be placed under a moratorium.
They are heartless....
I agree that this is a brutal way to end the war. The guilty need to
be punished. Having seen the impact of the war on his family, this 12-
year old boy would have simply longed for peace, rather than follow in
the foot steps of his father.
Now, why don't the human rights organizations focus a bit of their
attention on the brutalities of the acts of terror committed by LTTE?
For instance, the pioneering use of suicide bombers on a much larger
scale, use of child soldiers, use of civilians as shields,
assassination as a policy, complete ruthlessness and deception in
eliminating their perceived enemies, etc. How can this whole war be
reduced to the story of one boy?
The LTTE under the ruthless Prabhakaran had slaughtered thousands of his countrymen, including conscripting hundreds of children to fight on his side and lose their lives. while his son lived in luxury without ever suffering anything like the conscripted children. Did anyone ask the LTTE or Prabhakaran about his human rights violations? Letting his son live would have made him a hero and most likely the rebirth of another terrorist outfit in Sri Lankan soil causing another carnage. War is war: the LTTE had committed all atrocities with summary executions of enemies as well as those disagreeing with him on any matter.
These pictures are extremely disturbing. Till now, I had always been approving of the decimation of the LTTE organisation. These pictures brought tears to my eyes and convince me that the Sinhalese atrocities against tamils were even worse. What animal would kill such a beautiful and innocent child. No it cannot be a human being who killed this child.
Is there any humanity left in Srilankan Army? These people are seek.
And hats off to 'The Hindu' for the story.
The Sri Lankan Army's keenness to match the dreaded LTTE in brutality is evident in the heartless killing of Prabakaran's son which is nothing but cold blooded murder of an innocent child.The only way the perpetrators of such heinous crimes against those who had no part in the war or the atrocities can be brought to book is by instituting an independent inquiry by the UN or other agencies. The Sri Lankan government which spearheaded the assault on the LTTE has plenty to answer for.
The first casualty,they say,in a war is the truth! In this instance also the truth is dead and the boy died after. Anything goes and anyone can do anything and get away in a war situation, it seems. Basic instincts overwhelm ethics, morals and humanity in conditions of war. Buddhism teaches 'ahimsa' and clearly in this case those spiritual upbringing did little to the assailants!
I am no fan of LTTE but when you see the boy's eyes, you can clearly see the innocense and fear. It is sad. I am sure LTTE has done the same thing to others.
Bottomline is that violence is not an answer.
It was highly provocative of The Hindu to publish Front Page Pictures of
LTTE Chief's son, just before execution. Of late TH is trying to emulate
other newspapers in quality of news and sensationalism. Digging old
graves will only keep antagonizing one community and sad others.
Chilling turn of events. Amazing journalism. Should be able to make some difference in sorry state of affairs in our southern neighbour.
Very distrubing images and information. High time India should stop protecting Srilanka from these war crimes. The Srilankan Government and the Military must be held responsible for this genocide. Wish Srilanka had Oil like the middle east countries, US would have surely come in for it by saying that they have come for the rescue. They could have saved few tamils from this torture and put an end to this Racist government.
Disgusting! Shame on them
This is nothing but cold-blooded murder. These pictures are going to
haunt every human soul that can see through the ever-spreading rhetoric
of bigotry and sectarianism. Absolute power along with impunity from
prosecution is so dangerous a mix that no one in this ruthless world
shall be bestowed with it, including the governments.
may we suggest the editors to warn the readers that the pictures are of disturbing nature, before letting it freely slide. It is really DISTURBING, wish I had specifically been told more about it before hand as a WARNING. Oh, gosh, I wish I hadn't seen it. It'll take weeks or months to get over it for me... I'm so depressed now after seeing it!
What the cowardly and brutal Srilankan Sinhalese Army did to that
innocent boy was reminiscent of what the German Nazis did on the Jews
under Adolf Hitler during the world war-II.
War has made them monsters in real life. How can this government bring unity when they go to an extreme of killing kids? Rajapaksa should be tried for war crimes.
Its a barbaric act done by the military, what did a 12 year old boy did to deservet his act of violence against him. Just because his father is a terrorist doesn't justify the death of his son.
Its clear the Sri lankan government is the culprit in this, as the military is giving him food and water. Then out of blue they just shot him.
Killing a boy without any reason like this it doesn't do any good to the government's credibity. They should well remember this 'Violence begets violence'. An eye for an eye will make the whole world go blind.
why the world are still blind?
The best course of action should have been to hang a cynide capsule around his neck and force him to chew it. That was precisely his father's medicine to thousands of children. Further, he advised his cadres not to waste any bullets on young infants and toddlers but to slam them against the walls. In hindsight, his son's punishment was quite lenient.
A barbaric act.
The killing of a child, an extra-judicial execution by the Sri Lankan
military, is an atrocious and brutal act. The Indian government should
act without delay and demand an impartial inquiry.
That said, I deplore the fact that The Hindu has reproduced the
photograph of the dead boy. This is just not on. Has TH done this to
shock us out of complacence? Perhaps it has, and perhaps it is
effective, but it is indecent.
It is noticeable to any one who has lived in the West, that the Western
media never shows the exposed bodies of their own soldiers, or those who
have otherwise died. This is is out of respect for the victim, and out
of respect for the sanctity of the dead. Of course, it maintains
different standards when showing images of the dead from other cultures.
But it is a useful norm.
The Hindu should evaluate the norms for showing such photographs. People
everywhere, whether they are civilians, soldiers, criminals, or
terrorists, deserve dignity in death.
Insane. first to photograph and secondly to treat boy who does not know
good or bad except his parents must have done something bad which he
was not mature to be part off.
The article itself is chilling and leaves one terribly shaken. I don’t see any difference between the Newtown, USA killing where one desperate psychopath killed children and a institutionalize killing like this which was managed by the same government which is supposed to protect its children. In what way a child’s life could be taken away and even thinking of those few hours of trauma the young kid would have gone through shows the wild beast inside the human body whoever executed and managed this program. Let justice prevail.
Knowing the gravity of this exposure, the Regime will do everything possible to remain in power. Hope the International Community and the UN will rescue the innocent civilians trapped in their own Country.
I have tried to type a comment for the past 10 minutes but words fail me. They are simply not enough to say how sad these photos are. Unfortunately it is all too late. Thousands of such boys and girls have already lost their childhoods and lives.
every practising sri lankan buddhist should be ashamed. there is still time to atone for your mistakes and raise your country from this ignominy.
The most disturbing news I have read in years. Killing the boy was in deed disturbing but the fact that he was given biscuits and water and that he was eating it proves that he was given hope of life and then hope was turned into dispair. I loath the army personnel whoever it may be for this action and hope that they get a deserving punishment.
Heights of cruelty. And what a pathetic situation for Sri Lankan Army to be scared of an innocent boy.
Dont know what to say, shocked, terrified with a sense of disbelief,the
face of the child will haunt me forever.
The skeletons of more than 40,000 innocent and hapless Tamils, killed in cold blood by the Srilankan Army during the last days of the war between the LTTE and the Lankan Army, are lying buried on the Srilankan soil. If any international organisation authorised by either the UN or the International Criminal Court (ICC)carries out search for the remains of the dead, it would help to prove the genocide by the Lankan Army and arraign both by the president, Mahinda Rajapakse and his brother and defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse along with the Army chief of the day in front of the ICC. That will help render justice to the needlessly executed Tamils.
Very gruesome and disturbing. President Mahinda Rajapaksa should be
held responsible for this despicable act cowardice and tried for cold
blooded murder. I am sick of Government of India treating him with silk gloves.
What a gruesome murder!! We knew this happened now we have the evidence. No human in the right sense can do this. The people who did this to this boy and other civilans are no humans. This is genocide of the highest degree. It is very sad UPA govt and an old fake supporter of Tamil cause did nothing to prevent such killings. The least India could do now is to condemn and expose the crimes by this war monger in power in SriLanka.
As the young generation in Bangladesh protest against war criminals of 1971... Sri Lanka reminds us that humans still have a long way to go. I hope India will not be silent on this issue.
There are Banana Republics I know, but this is a "Plantation State" I guess. A nation so drenched in histrionics (remember the chief executive kowtowing on the tarmac in the immediate aftermath of the victory over the LTTE?) and so done with history (That "two languages one nation, one language two nations" thingy). Why does one HAVE to be a Sinhala to be a Srilankan? So much for the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee...its more like a Lessons Taught and Subjugation Committee. Nothing Golden about this "Swaran"deep I tell u.
We in India need to be careful too. Genuine development issues were given a linguistic hue and states based on languages were carved out-Pandorra would have been put to shame. So, after nearly 60 years we have a more paranoid people trying to save their "asmita" or whatever and their hurt prides. Thats development I guess.
Mahinda Rajapaksa should not be encouraged to visit India or any other
country until this apparent violation of human rights in investigated.
There is nothing more despicable than the killing of a defenceless young
child. No matter what the child's father was accused of, his young child
should not have been made to pay with his innocent life. Whatever
happened to "the milk of human kindness" ? The man at the top has got to
take responsibility. The buck stops with him.
Killing children! Bravo, Sri Lanka, now you are on par with Nazi Germany.
Whatever Prabakaran has done, punishing the son / boy for that is very cruel.I feel sorry for this kind of vengeance by any one, and pray for the boy's soul to rest in peace.
Thank You Callum Macrae. Your forceful argument has taught me a lesson
in how to raise your voice against systematic oppression. Thank you.
This only confirms what the world has believed: the Sri Lankan government indulged in
ethnic cleansing. No wonder that the Tamils in Sri Lanka want freedom and a separate
nation. Shame on Rajapakse's government.
Unbelieveable!!!!. A child was killed in cold blood!!!. What more
evidence did Sonia and Manmohan need to declare Srilanka a war criminal
country.
There are some silent devils in India who support the Sri Lankan Government which is the
cause for such atrocities. India too has to be blamed equally.
Rather sad to see the killing of a Tamil child.
This is highly irresponsible journalism from 'The Hindu'. Please do not
openly publish such disturbing photos online. Many youngsters and women
have open access to your website. Please be responsible and remove the
pictures.
i would request The Hindu to not publish these disturbing photos
online. Please remove them as a lot of under-18s and women have easy
access to your website.
their is no difference between good and evil all are same.these sinhalese are not agreeing to give anything to tamilians despite of presence of india.and india can't interfere and force them to leave some sort of ground for tamilians too..war is never good and these type of photos should not be shown as it enrages public sentiments.LTTE killed innocent people and many innocent people paid the price from their side too.
This is the moment of truth for India. It must hold Sri Lanka accountable.
But then India also has to tell the whole truth: why it armed Prabhakaran, how it was related to possible establishment of an American Naval base in Sri Lanka, why India did not have an exit strategy once the Americans decided not to build the base, why Rajiv Gandhi followed an erratic policy, and so forth.
the srilankan govt & their war criminal leaders should be declared a terrorist, like syrian Asad, libiyan Gadafi.... these are much of modern age hitlers.
And we respect and warmly welcome him to our great Tirupati temple...
Shame on those who accepted and allowed his visit. I can't understand
at all how a person can kill an innocent child and at the same time
fold his hands as prayer in front of deity in a temple. Is that a
hypocrisy? At least now India should act tough with Sri Lanka. Very
pathetic situation.
this goes on to show that humanity no longer exists in the hearts of
human beings,whatever is left is craving for revenge,lust and desires
which one would expect from only species of the basest
level....horrid,to say the least about the monsters who committed such a
sin!!!
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