Talk:Special Task Force/Archives1

Citation needed

A citation has been requested for the allegation of involvement in the incident dubbed Batticalo Massacare since October 19th.[1] If a reliable citation is not given that directly says the STF was involved in the incident (the STF is not part of the Sri Lanka Army), it probably means it is incorrect, and I will have to remove it within the next few days. --snowolfD4^{( talk / @ )} 13:45, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Section headings in Criticism section

The current series of reverts seems to be about the inclusion or exclusion of subsection headings in the "Criticism" section. I suggest discussing the matter on the talk page (rather than a potentially escalating series of reverts) as there is obviously disagreement between editors. Cheers, Black Falcon 17:44, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

• Comment. I personally prefer the section with headings as it subdivides the section into the two types of criticisms levelled against the STF: involvement in "disappearances" and "extrajudicial killings". The section seems more fragmented and awkward without the headings, especially considering how specialized the information is (the disappearances statistic is about one region only and the killings discussed occur in one short time period).

• Agree With both points, to discuss and also that the removal of headers causes formatting issues in the text. However, I doubt either user Iwazaki or Snowolfd4 will stop their editing (using two users to surplant 3RR that is also going on in other articles currently) unless action is taken to stop this advantage over normal users. --Sharz 22:16, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

First, why don't YOU go ahead and take any "action" you want instead of simply complaining. Wikipedia has various polivies to protect users, and if you feel victimized why don't you do something about it.

Next, adding separate sentence headings for just 1 paragraph sections is pretty ridiculous and completely against WP:Mos and WP:FA guidelines. Look at any well written article and you wont see anything like this. Do you suggest we add section heading to every paragraph in Wikipedia? If not, please stop your disruptive POV editing.--snowolfD4^{( talk / @ )} 16:43, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually, many articles on WP:FA have section headings or subheadings for single paragraphs: 2 of the first 5 on WP:FA (Matthew Brettingham, Buddhist art). I see the purpose of the section headings to provide a clearer separation of distinct criticisms. I am not opposed to their removal if the text is better integrated. In any case, I urge everyone to please assume good faith. To me, this is mostly a stylistic issue. If there are concerns that the inclusion or exclusion of the subheadings raises POV concerns, please express them. Cheers, Black Falcon 19:58, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

• • I do not think the "Extrajudicial killings" section should be removed. Although it is not claimed that the actions were perperated on orders from the STF leadership, both involved multiple members of the STF. I agree the section should not try to blame the STF for the actions of a few members (without proof that they acted on orders), but I believe the information should stay as part of the "criticisms" levelled against the STF: disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Cheers, Black Falcon 20:02, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

To:

Members of the STF were implicated by the Sri Lankan government or outside observers in two cases of extrajudicial killings following the newest round of fighting between the government and the LTTE starting in April 1994. In the first case, 10 STF officers (and 15 others) were charged with murdering between 21 and 31 Tamil males, allegedly at the STF headquarters in Colombo. In the second, 17 extrajudicial killings were carried out by Sri Lankan security forces (including the STF) in Eastern Province in retaliation for LTTE attacks. Although security forces insisted that the dead were LTTE fighters, "human rights monitors determined that these victims were civilians".[24][25]

Would this be an acceptable (to you, Snowolfd, and Sharz, and any other editors who wish to comment) compromise? This cuts the length of the text by about one-sixth (thereby automatically placing less emphasis on the section) and also more prominently highlights that the killings were carried out by STF members (and not necessarily the whole STF itself). -- Black Falcon 04:55, 26 February 2007 (UTC)