[see also
Earned Sovereignty: Bridging
the Gap between Self Determination and Sovereignty 2003 "There are currently over fifty sovereignty-based
conflicts throughout the world, and nearly a third of the Specially
Designated Global Terrorists listed by the United States Treasury
Department are associated with sovereignty-based conflicts and
self-determination movements. To date, the “sovereignty first”
international response to these conflicts has been unable to stem the tide
of violence, and in many instances may have contributed to further outbreaks
of violence. This article will argue that the “sovereignty first” doctrine
is slowly being supplemented by a new conflict resolution approach which we
dub “earned sovereignty.”
Statement by LTTE on
5th Anniversary of Ceasefire by Sri Lanka, 22 February 2007
"In
contrast to current international practice with
respect to national conflicts in other parts of
the world, the international community’s
insistence on a solution that does not infringe
on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of
Sri Lanka is deeply frustrating for the Tamil
people. The denial of the Tamil people’s will is
itself a breach of the law of
self-determination. The international community
has not rejected, for example, the
South Sudan
Machkos Protocol facilitated by US, UK, Norway
and Italy on the basis it is affecting the
sovereignty of Sudan. Nor has the international community questioned
the
Serbia-Montenegro agreement and the recent
proposal on the future of Kosovo on the basis
that these contravene Serbian sovereignty. The
Papua
New Guinea- Bougainville Agreement was not
opposed by the international community on the
basis of safeguarding territorial integrity and
sovereignty. In all these cases the peoples
concerned have exercised their right to
self-determination and sovereignty. The
marginalisation of the 2002 CFA, which would have been a step towards just
peace, has destroyed the confidence of the Tamil people and their
expectations regarding future peace efforts."
Statement issued by Political Wing
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to the 62nd session of the United Nations
General Assembly,
24 September 2007 "...Expectations of the Tamil people from the
international community ...We urge the international community:
to recognize the concept of the sovereignty of the Tamil people, and support the
peace process in accordance with this principle (and) to provide appropriate opportunities to the Tamil people to express their
aspirations, as have been given to the people of East Timor and Kosovo..."
Earned Sovereignty:
East Timor…Kosovo…Sri Lanka? Defence Wire, 28 September 2007
"...The
statement issued by the LTTE political wing to coincide with
the 62nd General Assembly of the UN raises several interesting
concerns. A careful look at the statement reveals that this is
not just another statement of the LTTE but a policy statement
that spells out its future strategic direction. I refer to the
final section of the paper that refers to the expectations of the
Tamil people from the international community..."
Tigers will bring clarity to Sri
Lanka's conflict - K.V.Balakumaran, Senior Member, LTTE 1 January 2008
"Only the demonstration of military strength by
the Tigers can bring clarity to the situation, for
the international community to correctly relate
their interests, and assertively engage. Consider
the countries
Somaliland,
Kosovo, and
Montenegro.
The west will intervene when their interests are
impacted. But they are reluctant to enter forcefully
in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has state power.... During the war to open A-9, up
to 6000 Sri Lankan soldiers perished, and nearly
3000 Tigers sacrificed their lives. The
international community
accepted the results of that
war, and recognized the LTTE's strength. The
question is why they are not, responding the same
way now. In order to change the international
community's view, we are called to suffer more
sacrifices of life. We expect 2008 will be the year where we can
overcome the diplomatic hurdles that confront us. In
2003, we proposed
ISGA (Interim Self Governing
Authority) as a framework with which will satisfy
us, our minimal requirements for power-sharing. So
based on this, the international community cannot
call us obstinate, or terrorists.
Hillary Clinton
also identified us when she articulated a more
nuanced definition of terrorism."]
