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TAMIL NATIONAL FORUM -
2006
From: Alex Doss,
USA
27 December 2006
Tamil Eelam
and the U.S. Declaration of Independence
In United States history it was July 4th, 1776 when Thomas Jefferson authored
the Declaration of Independence for the separation of the13 colonies from Great
Britain. This Declaration was a list of grievances against King George III of
England. After endorsement of this Declaration of Independence came the American
Revolution. This list of grievances of the early Americans is parallel to that
of the Tamil people Northeast of Sri Lanka. The Tamils have similar grievances
against the Sri Lankan government which the early Americans went through over
200 years ago. The only difference is that during the American Revolution, it
was a war between Englishmen. In Sri Lanka, it is between two separate distinct
civilizations whose ancestry dates back for more than two thousand years.
During the
early American Independence Movement, General George Washington was looked at as
a terrorist in the eyes of the British who were oppressing the people he was
defending. Likewise, the Sinhala government which oppresses the people of the
Tamil nation views General Velupillai Pirabaharan as a threat to them. Therefore
a freedom fighter is a "patriot" to the oppressed and a "terrorist" to the
oppressors.
Some people
may argue that independence movements are a thing of the past. However, since
1990, thirty-one new countries have been created (1). The most recent nation to
gain independence was Montenegro on June 4th, 2006 (2). Prior to Montenegro was
the independence of East Timor on May 20th, 2002 with the blessings
of the international community. To those who say that Sri Lanka is too small a
nation to have two separate states, there are a few dozen countries smaller than
the Tamil homeland Northeast of Sri Lanka. Singapore is one of them.
There are also those who say that
genocide does not happen anymore like what happened in Nazi Germany during WWI
or during the Vietnam War era. However, there are countries at present which
undergo “genocide in places like the Congo, Chechnya, and Sudan (3). Sadly, we
do not hear of the genocide in Sri Lanka which has been unleashed upon the Tamil
people for decades through the governments state sponsored terrorism. The
following quotes below are excerpts from the United States Declaration of
Independence along with the grievances of the Tamil nation.
DENIAL OF
RIGHTS:
1. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“He
has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be
obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
Furthermore, He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of
large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and
formidable to tyrants only.” (4)
Similarly, since
the time the British left, the Sinhala government had refused to pass laws to
grant the Tamils Northeast of Sri Lanka representation and equal treatment. On
July 7 1956, a bill was passed making Sinhalese the only official language
of the country (5), thus marginalizing the Tamil population Northeast of Sri
Lanka. The Banda – Chelva B-C
pact and
Dudley – Chelva D-C pact were
offered to the Tamils only to be thrown out by the same government (6) offering
these so called proposals.
2. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing
with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.”
(7)
As with the
Tamil case in Sri Lanka, one year after the 2002 ceasefire, the
Interim Self Governing Authority
I.S.G.A. was presented to the Government of Sri Lanka
GOSL by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam LTTE representatives of the
people. On Oct of 2003, former
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
suspended parliament, and dismissed three ministers and the ISGA was dismissed
with the help of Kumaratunga’s new allies, the Marxist Sinhala Nationalist known
as the Janatha Vimukthi Permuna JVP, and the Buddhist clergy political
party called Jathika Hela
Urumaya
JHU. Similar actions
by the Sri Lankan government have occurred during the past failed peace talks
(8).
3. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“He
has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose
obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others
to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new
Appropriations of Lands.” (9)
Upon Independence from Britain
in 1948, the Sri Lankan government denied citizenship to the upland Tamil
plantation workers, who went there from Tamil Nadu during the period of 1825 -
1840s (10).
ILLEGAL OCCUPATION:
4. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“He has erected
a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our
people and eat out their substance.” (11)
Paramilitary groups such as the EPDP,
PLOTE, EPRLF, and the more recent Karuna group have been used by the Sri Lankan
government to wage a shadow war against the Tamils. Acts of violence and
harassment committed against innocent civilians at Sri
Lankan Army SLA checkpoints, and assassinations of
prominent Tamil representatives (12) have been the common activities of these
groups. While paramilitaries are being used for the violent part of the
governments further marginalizing of the Tamils, other collaborators such as Douglas Devananda of the
Eelam Peoples Democratic Party EPDP,
Veerasingham
Anandasangaree of the Tamil
United Liberation Front TULF, and Hoole of the
University
Teachers for Human Rights - Jaffna UTHRJ are being
used to mislead the international community about the situation in Sri Lanka.
During early American history, those who were used by the British government to
undermine the American Independence Struggle were called Torries. Just
last year the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC put out an article in
regards to the national Sri Lankan elections. In the article V. Anandasangaree
claiming to know what is good for the Tamils has even stated that if a solution
to the ethnic crisis is acceptable by the JVP, then it is good for the Tamil
people!
5. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“He
has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our
legislature.” (13)
In 1961, the Sri Lankan government
declared a state of emergency and for the first time dispatched military troops
to occupy the Tamil areas Northeast of Sri Lanka. This was in the wake of a mass
non-violent protest Satyagraha in Jaffna, Vavuniya, Trincomalee and
Batticaloa causing the entire Northeast to shut down (14).
6. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“He has
combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our
constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of
pretended Legislation. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.”
(15)
Thousands of Tamil civilians have been
displaced from their homes, only to have the Sri Lankan military to be quartered
in their former dwelling places. Today, there are “over 40,000 government troops
illegally residing in Jaffna (16),
while at present, 61,000 Sri
Lankan Tamils are living in 103 government-run refugees camps in the South
Indian state of Tamil Nadu” (17).
GENOCIDE:
7. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“For protecting
them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit
on the Inhabitants of these States.” (18)
The Sri Lankan military has been
responsible for literally thousands of grave human rights abuses equating to
genocide on the Tamil civilian population Northeast of Sri Lanka. From the
raping of our Tamil women and young girls to the butchering of innocent men,
women, and children all in the name of defending their so called territorial
sovereignty which was basically handed over to them by the former Crown of
England. All these perpetrators have been
protected by the Sri Lankan
government. A most recent example of this was the brutal executions of the 15
aid workers from Action against Hunger in the town of Muttur on August
08, 2006 and the delaying of the investigations (19).
8. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“For cutting
off our Trade with all parts of the world.” (20)
Trade may not be the issue in this case.
However, they have imposed heavy embargoes on food, medicine, and other supplies
to the Northeast for over the past 20 years. These
embargos have violated the most basic international charts and conventions
governing human rights, including the articles of the Geneva Convention
governing the treatment of civilians during wartime
(21).
After the devastating tsunami of December 26, 2004, the government of Sri Lanka
has prevented the flow of tsunami aid to Tamil areas (22). Furthermore, the Sri
Lankan military and police have stopped truckloads of aid destined for the
Northeast and reverted them to the Sinhala community. Tsunami aid coming in from
all over the world destined for the Northeast was even taxed by the government.
Container loads of medicine, clothing, and other aid materials were halted for
several weeks in the Colombo airport.
9. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“For depriving
us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury. For transporting us beyond
Seas to be tried for pretended offences.” (23)
The Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979,
deprived the Tamil population the right of Trial by Jury.
Further more, this
resulted in many abuses by the security forces such as extrajudicial killings,
disappearances, abuses of detainees, and arbitrary arrest and detention (24).
Thousands of innocent Tamils have been accused falsely of
crimes they have not committed. Many have been arrested without warrant and held
for numerous months (25).
10. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“He has abdicated Government here,
by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has
plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives
of our people.” (26)
The Government
of Sri Lanka has waged a war against the Tamil people Northeast of Sri Lanka
from the day it first deployed its troops in the Tamil homeland back in 1961
till present. Violent anti-Tamil riots exploded in the island in
1956,
1958,
1961,
1974,
1977,
1979,
1981, and in
July 1983 (27). Numerous homes and shops
destroyed thousands raped and butchered, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Many of whom have sought refuge throughout the world today. Even during
cease-fire, the government of Sri Lanka has continued its aerial bombardment
campaigns in the Tamil dominated areas of the Northeast. The BBC reported on
August 14, 2006 that the Sri Lankan air force had bombarded a girls school in
the North killing 61 schoolgirls, and injuring 150 other children (28). This was
condemned by Tamil Nadu with various protest rallies throughout most
of the state (29). The Sri Lankan Defense spokesman
Minister Keheliya Rambukwella in an interview has accused the girls of being
child soldiers. Rambukwella also referred to a statement by the UNICEF to the
effect that the LTTE has conscripted 1,347 children and they were being trained
to fight. In his words he stated that "to us they are terrorists and when
they come to kill our soldiers, does the UNICEF expect us to pamper them. What
matters is not their age or gender, but what they do" (30).
11. U.S
Declaration of Independence Indictment:
“He is at this time transporting
large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation,
and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a
civilized nation.” (31)
At present, the
Sri Lankan government is stocking up on its weaponry and personnel in the Jaffna
peninsula. They are conducting attacks on the forward defense lines from outside
of their posts and thus using breaching the cease fire agreement signed between
the government and the LTTE. The Sri Lankan military are making excuses not to
open up the A-9 freeway to bring some sort of normalcy to the people of the
North in order to continue their military buildup. The A-9 freeway is the only
major road link connecting the LTTE controlled areas in the north with the rest
of the island.
12. U.S
Declaration of Independence - Indictment:
“He has
constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms
against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren,
or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections
amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the
merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished
destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” (32)
Since the breakaway of Karuna in 2004,
Ranil Wikramasinghe and his United National Party UNP government
had a
hand in aiding the Karuna paramilitary group to stage attacks on the LTTE in the
Eastern areas of Batticaloa, Trincomalee, and Amaparai. Unarmed civilians too
have been victims of this government sponsored incitement (33). This was done
during the ceasefire! There have also been
several assassinations on prominent
members in the Tamil National Alliance TNA and Tamil community leaders.
The government has done nothing to investigate these murders. One of the
promises made by the Government of Sri Lanka during the first round of talks in
Geneva this year was to reign in on paramilitaries. So far, Rajapakse’s
government has not lived up to its word.
13. U.S
Declaration of Independence – Indictment:
“in every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for
redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated petitions have been answered only
by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which
may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
(34)
The Tamil
leadership under Velupillai Pirabaharan had petitioned, and warned the
government time and again of attempts by their Legislature to extend an
unwarrantable Jurisdiction over them. The government of Sri Lanka has been
reminded of the Circumstances, and of the Tamils Right to Self Determination.
CONCLUSION:
U.S. Declaration of Independence –
Denunciation:
“Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our
British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their
Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded
them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have
appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by
the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would
inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf
to the Voice of Justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in
the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the
rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.”
(35)
The
government of Sri Lanka has deliberately shunned away from the Voice of Justice
and has silenced the cries of the suffering through censorship of media over the
past two decades. Furthermore, for over half a century the cries, sufferings,
and pains of our Tamil brethren have fallen on deaf years of the international
community.
The Sri
Lankan government is heading down the road of destruction in which it shall soon
end up destroying itself. In the theological aspect of this, Pharaoh of Egypt
was reluctant to let the Hebrews leave his land while keeping them in bondage.
Moses was sent several times to warn Pharaoh of the circumstances if he did not
let his people go. Several times Pharaoh did not listen, and several times Egypt
was plagued with famine. Finally the last curse on Egypt came forth out of
Pharaohs very own mouth resulting in the entire first born of Egypt to die
including his own son. It was after that drastic event which took place when the
Hebrews were finally set free to the Promised Land.
Since the
ceasefire of February 22, 2002, Ranil Wickramasinghe
has brought deceit to the Tamil people, and his successor Mahinda Rajapakse has
brought about death and destruction.
“The thief commeth not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” – John 10:10
It is therefore time that the Tamil
people say enough is enough. Yesterday was the day of sorrows, today is the day
of declaration for freedom from bondage, and tomorrow shall be the day of rejoicing for the
rebirth of a nation Northeast outside of Sri Lanka called TAMIL EELAM!
Sources:
(1)
Rosenburg, Matt. “The 31 New Countries Created Since 1990” New Countries
of the World. About Geography. 22 November 2006.
Retrieved 29 November
2006
(2) Wood, Nicholas.
Pro-Independence Movement Leads in
Montenegro. The New York
Times. 22 May 2006.
Retrieved 29 November 2006
(3) Responding to Threats of
Genocide Today. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Retrieved on 29
November 2006
(4)
 Ellis, Joseph J. What Did the Declaration Declare?
Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s.1999. pp. 3 & 4.
(5) Peebles, Patrick.The History of Sri Lanka (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations) Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 2006. p.
113.
(6) Ponnambalam, Satchi.
Sri Lanka: The National Question and the
Tamil Liberation Struggle London: Zed Books. 1983. p. 110.
(7) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 4.
(8) Arivalan. “ISGA Proposals and Precedence.”
Norwegian Peace Initiative. Tamilnation.org. 28 Dec 2003.
Retrieved 29
November 2006
(9) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 4.
(10) Balasingham, Anton.
War and Peace. Fairmax Publishing
Ltd.: London. 2004. p. 4.
(11) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 4.
(12) “LTTE Report on Sri Lanka Paramilitary Forces.”
Sunday Leader. Tamilnation.org. 5 March 2006.
Retrieved 29 November 2006
(13) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 4.
(14) Ponnambalam,
Satchi. pp. 105 & 106.
(15) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 4.
(16) Outbreak of war predicted. The Morning
Leader. 18 January 2006.
Retrieved 29 November 2006
.
(17) Sri Lankan Refugees in
India: Hesitant to return.
Refugees International. 20 January 2004.
Retrieved 29 November 2006
(18) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 4.
(19) Aid workers’ bodies to be exhumed. British
Broadcasting Corporation. 14 October 2006.
Retrieved 29 November 2006.
(20) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 4.
(21) Suntharalingam, Dr. Shiamala.
“Sri
Lanka's Genocidal War - '95 to '01.” Indictment Against Sri Lanka.
Tamilnation.org.
(22) Peebles, Patrick. pp. 133 & 134.
(23) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 4.
(24) Peebles, Patrick. pp. 174 & 175.
(25) Ponnambalam,
Satchi. pp. 201 & 202.
(26) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 5.
(27)
Balasingham, Anton. p. 9.
(28) Sri Lanka strike ‘hits orphanage’. British
Broadcasting Corporation. 14 August 2006.
Retrieved 29 November 2006
(29) 61
schoolgirls killed, 129 wounded in air strike.
Tamil Info Service. 17 August 2006.
Retrieved 29 November 2006
(30)
Gunaratna, Harischandra. “Govt. dismisses SLMM claim on Mullaitivu bombings”
Lanka Web.
Retrieved 29 November 2006
(31) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 5.
(32) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 5.
(33) We trapped and split LTTE,
sank their ships, says UNP. Tamil Net. 08 November 2005.
Retrieved 29
November 2006
(34) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 5.
(35) Ellis, Joseph J. p. 5.
From: Sujay Rao,
27 December 2006
On the Unity of India
While I respect your culture and
language, I cannot agree with
some
Tamils views that India is an artificial country. Only a fool would call
India a homogenous country. However India is an aggregation of inter-related
cultures. Therefore why should any Tamil be against India? Some common
points of Tamil and Indo-Aryan cultures
• While Tamil is the oldest living Indian language, the present script is
clearly related to Brahmi . This is the opinion of several experts. As a
matter of fact, the letter arrangement is exactly the same.
• Bhakti , Paatam (lesson) , Sathyam, Jananaakam, Maaverar, Maanagaram,
Raja, Rani, ettu (aat, ashta), madhiya, seekram, swargam, narakam and
thousands more are clearly related to Indo-Aryan languages. However, the
direction of flow is not clear. Different words may have their origin in
different sources and some may be of Dravidian origin.
• Tamils are clearly related to other Dravidian people. eg Telegus. Telegus
are hybrids. While they are ethnically Dravidians, most aspects of their
culture are from North India (eg Vedas: Punjab)
• Again, many people of the Jharkhand, Chattisgarh belt are clearly
Dravidians
• The religion of the Tamils has several common points with the religions of
the Gangetic plain eg Siva, Ganesha are worshipped in the north. There
is a Thiruppurasundari Temple in Rajasthan
• All Tamils are not ethnically Dravidians
• Many north Indians worship in temples in Tamilnadu
• There have been significant cultural exchanges eg Agastiyar’s visit to the
south. Tamil kings mentioned in Sanskrit epics such as the Mahabharata as
allies.
• Some more common points: Greeting style, Food habits, Dress . In other
words, India is a collection of inter-related cultures.
What we need is a Unity in Diversity model and India is slowly moving in
this direction. Although this will take time, we must all chalk out a
strategy and make this happen. Please refer the following links
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=342860&sid=NAT
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200612031140.htm
http://www.business-standard.com/opinionanalysis/storypage.php?leftnm=4&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=268217&tab=r
http://www.indiaenews.com/politics/20061106/27718.htm
Please post this on your site for a debate.
Response by
tamilnation.org
The matters raised by Sunjay Rao are important and need to
be addressed. He is right to point out that the Tamil national identity has often been
linked to ideas of 'race'. If Hitler was wrong to found his political
ideology on theories of the 'Aryan' race it seems that it is equally
erronoeous to found the Tamil national identity on the basis of a
'Dravidian' race. We take the view that both approaches are 'racist'.
A nation is not a race.
In the sense that India was in some ways a
creation of British rule, it may be seen by some as an 'artificial country'.
But in that sense all states are 'artificial' creations. States do not just
happen.
It is right that India
needs Unity in Diversity. India is not only an aggregation of
inter-related cultures
but it is also an aggregation of separate national formations - not
dissimilar to the European Union of today. India is a multi national
state. We ourselves believe that the unity of India will be secured only if
we take on board the views which Pramatha Chauduri expressed more than 80 years ago -
"...It is not a bad thing to try and weld many into one but to jumble them
all up is dangerous, because the only way we can do that is by force. If you say that this
does not apply to India, the reply is that if
self determination is not suited to us, then
it is not suited at all to Europe. No people in Europe are as different, one from another,
as our people. There is not that much difference between England and Holland as there
is between Madras and Bengal. Even France and Germany are not that far apart. If some
of our politicians shudder at the mention of provincial patriotism, it is because their
beliefs smack of narrow national selfishness.To be united due to outside pressure and to unite through mutual regard are not
the same. Just as there is a difference between the getting together of five convicts in a
jail and between five free men, so the Congress union of the various nations of India and
tomorrow's link between the peoples of a free country will be very different. Indian
patriotism will then be built on the foundation of provincial patriotism, not just in
words but in reality."
Our own views were reflected in
Tamil Eelam, Kurds and Bhutan,
written twenty years ago in 1985:
"...The growing togetherness
of the Tamil people,
is but a step in the growth of a larger unity. We know that in the end, national freedom
can only be secured by a voluntary pooling of sovereignties, in a regional, and ultimately
in a world context. Let us say that we recognize that our future lies with the peoples of
the Indian region and the path of a greater and a larger Indian union is the direction of
that future. It is a union that will reflect the compelling and inevitable need
for a common market and a common defence and will be rooted in the
common heritage that we share with our brothers and sisters of not only
Tamil Nadu but also of India. It is a shared heritage that we freely
acknowledge and it is a shared heritage from which we derive strength."
Sujay Rao is right to question: "why should any Tamil be against India?".
The answer is that there should be no reason for any Tamil to be against India. Equally there
should be
no reason for any Indian to be against the struggle of the people of Tamil
Eelam for freedom - especially, given the Sri Lanka's
record of ethnic
cleansing during the past fifty years and more - a Sri Lanka where the
intent and goal of all Sinhala governments (without exception) has been to
secure the island as a Sinhala
Buddhist Deepa. Rule by a permanent Sinhala ethnic majority
within the confines of a single state is the
dark side
of democracy in Sri Lanka. There may be a need to
recognise that a people's struggle for freedom is a nuclear energy and
that the
Fourth World is a
part of today's enduring political reality. India may need to adopt a more
'principle centred' approach towards struggles for self determination in the
Indian region. A myopic approach, apart from anything else, will
serve only to encourage the very outside 'pressures' which may threaten the unity of
India.
From: Mathini
Sreetharan, மாதினி சிறீதரன், USA 29 November 2006
நீதிக்கு இங்கெ பொருள் என்ன?
நீதியின் கரங்கள் எத்தனை நீளம்?
அநீதியை அழிக்கப்
போதுமா தூரம்?
நீதியின் காவலா, ஆண்டவா கூறு!
அநீதியோ தமிழனாய்ப் பிறந்தது என்று.
உரிமையைக் கெட்டால் பயங்கரவாதி.
தமிழன் என்றால் இன்னொரு நீதி.
உணவினை மறுத்து மருந்தினை நிறுத்தி
துவக்கினைக் காட்டுது இலங்கை அரசு.
இரவும் பகலும் வெடி குண்டுகளாலே
பரவலாய்த் தூவுது குடிசைகள்
மேலே
குடும்பமாய் அழிகிறோம், தனியனாய் அழுகிறோம்.
முடிவெது என்று கெட்கிறோம் நாங்கள்.
அன்னையும் அப்பரும் பந்தமும் பாசமும்
வெடியுடன் சிதறியே முடிந்ததைக் கண்டு
என்ன நாம் செய்து இப்படி நடந்தது
என்றென்று அழுகுது தப்பிய குழந்தைகள்.
பதிலென்ன இதற்குச் சொல்லிவிடு இறைவா,
எங்களின் வாழ்க்கையின் கருத்தென்ன?
பிள்ளைகள் வளர இடமில்லை இங்கு.
நீதிக்கு இங்கெ பொருள் என்ன சொல்லு.
comment by
tamilnation.org
"We are fully aware that the world is not rotating on the axis of
human justice. Every country in this world advances its own interests. It is the economic
and trade interests that determine the order of the present world, not the moral law of
justice nor the rights of people.
International relations and
diplomacy between countries are determined by such interests. Therefore we cannot
expect an immediate recognition of the moral legitimacy of our cause by the international
community... In reality, the success of our struggle depends on us, not on the
world. Our success depends on our own efforts, on our own strength, on our
own determination." (Velupillai
Pirabakaran, Maha Veera Naal Address - November 1993)
From: அன்புதாசன்,
வடமராட்சி, 15 November 2006
சாவிலும் வாழ்வோம்
தமிழா உன்; மனதை கீறிவைத்து
விடுதலை என்ற விதைபோட்டாய்-அது
தசாப்த காலம் இரண்டு கடந்து
விருட்சமாய் உலகம் வியாபிக்கிது
சாவில் தோய்த எம்தேசத்தின் வாழ்வுகள்
சாவுமணி அடிக்கும் வல்லாதிக்க பயங்கரவாதத்திற்கு
மனமே ஓ தமிழ் மனமே உரக்க கூவுங்கள்
மரத்துபோன மனங்களுள் (எம்)உண்மையை உணர்துவதற்கு
ஒற்றுமையின் தேசத்தில் நின்று எடுத்துரைத்தோம்
எம்முறவுப்பாலத்தின் ஒரே தெருவை திறக்க
ஒற்றுமைத் தேசமும் சேர்ந்து கப்பல் விடுதாம்
எம்முயிர்களைக்காவும் சிங்களத்தை மூடி மறைக்க
கருவறையின் நிசப்தத்தில் துங்கும் மழழையும்
கருவுடலாய் நிரந்தரத்தில் அங்கு துயிலுது
கல்லறையகும் எம்நோயாளர் கட்டிடம்கூட
கணவான்கள் கண்களை ஏன் மறைக்கிது
சமாதானத்திற்கான தார்மீக போரம் தமிழர்மீது
சர்வதேசத்திடம் சிங்களம் தட்டேந்துது
பயங்கரவாதத்தை அழிக்கும் போராம் சர்வதேசம்
பட்டாயுதம் வழங்குது சிங்களத்திற்க்கு
விடியல் ஒவ்வொன்றும் புதிதாதாய் புலரும்போதும்
விடுதலையாயிராதோ என ஏங்கும் தமிழினமே
சாவிலும் வாழும் இவ்வொற்றுமைப் புலம்பல்போதும்
சாயம் களரும் எம்மீதகிலத்தின் பயங்கரவாதக்கோசம்
உயிர் தாங்கி செதுக்கும் பளிங்குச்சிலையில்
ஒளிவிளங்கும் ஒருகாலம் விடுதலையில்
உளிகொண்டு உருக்குலைந்த உள்ளங்கள்-அதில்
குளிர் காயும் நிலையான சுகம் காண
From: Himanshu B
[maleabroad@yahoo.ca] 6 November 2006
Are you advocating separatism?
Response by
tamilnation.org
You
may find the article
Tamil Nation & the Unity of India
of interest - and it may clarify the point that we sought to make by
publishing Pramatha Chauduri's essay on
'For Province Read Nation'
which he wrote in 1920. We quote here a short excerpt (though we do feel
that a reading of the entire article will be helpful) -
More than 80 years ago, in 1920, Pramatha Chaudhuri wrote an article titled
"Bengali Patriotism". It appeared in the well known Bengali monthly, Sabuj Patra
(Green Leaves), which he edited. Pramatha Chaudhuri spoke as a Bengali
and wrote in Bengali, but that which he so eloquently said would apply equally to the
Tamils, the Marathis, the Malayalees, and the other nations of the Indian sub continent.
Chaudhuri described the various people of India as
different "nations" entitled to national self determination. According to him
the possibility of harmony and co-operation was much more, if this separateness was
recognised rather than denied. He declared that the unity of India will not come from the efforts of "minds bred
on English textbooks" and insisted that that unity will be built only on the foundation of
"provincial patriotism". ..
True inter-dependence will come only between those who are independent.
Pramatha Chauduri's writing (in the 1920s) remains essential reading
today for all us who regard ourselves as Indians and who are concerned
to secure and protect the unity that is India... A stable unity will emerge only when New Delhi acquires the vision and the strength to structure a polity where the different
peoples of the sub continent (including those in the island of Sri Lanka)
may freely associate with each other in equality and in freedom. The price of
failure, will be the disintegration of the Indian state because, in the years
ahead, the
political awakening of the different peoples of India will continue to gather momentum
- and this will be unstoppable...
The real political question is not one of separation or division but one of
determining the terms on which different nations may 'associate' with one another in
equality and in freedom - and
this is the issue that
the 21st century may have to confront...
And, here we need to understand that the growing togetherness of the Tamil people,
is but a step in the growth of a larger unity. The words of Sumantra Bose in
Reconceptualising State, Nation and
Sovereignty merit attention: "The clash between the ever-increasing clamour of
claims to nationhood and aspirations to sovereignty, on the one hand. and the persistence,
indeed consolidation, of visions of a monolithic, unitarian, and indivisible statehood, on
the other, certainly represents one of the most striking contradictions, and one of the
most fundamental moral and ideological conflicts, of our times...
Demands for 'national selfdetermination' are in one sense, therefore, also a struggle
for a higher form of democracy....The poetical and philosophical vision that is required
today has been eloquently articulated, ironically enough,
by radical Tamil
nationalists ('chauvinists' and 'separatist terrorists', according to the official
wisdom)..."
It was a vision that was spelt out in
Tamil
Eelam, Kurds & Bhutan in July 1985, and
articulated
on behalf of the Tamil national movement at Thimpu in August 1985, more than 15 years
ago:"... we are not chauvinists. Neither are we racists.
The
togetherness of the Tamil people is not the expression of an exaggerated nationalism. We
do not say that our language is the sweetest in the world but we do say that our language
is sweet to our ears. We do not say that our culture is the oldest in the world but we do
say that it is a culture of great antiquity and that it has made a rich contribution to
the world. We do not say that our thinkers are the most influential that the world has
known but we do say that their thoughts have left the world with a greater understanding
of itself. We do not say that we are the chosen people but we do say that
we, too, are a
people, and that we are entitled to live our lives in the way we choose.
The growing togetherness of the Tamil people,
is but a step in the growth of a larger unity. We know that in the end, national freedom
can only be secured by a voluntary pooling of sovereignties, in a regional, and ultimately
in a world context. ... we recognize that our future lies with the peoples of
the Indian region and the path of a greater and a larger Indian union is the direction of
that future.
It is a union that will reflect the compelling and inevitable need for a common market
and a common defence and will be rooted in the common heritage that we share with our
brothers and sisters of not only Tamil Nadu but also of India. It is a shared heritage
that we freely acknowledge and it is a shared heritage to which we have
contributed and from which we derive strength..."
It is this vision which has directed our efforts in
cyberspace during the past several months....The break up of India, if it comes, will not come from our efforts. It will come despite
our efforts. It will come from a failure
of political leaders in India to openly recognise that India is a multi national
state - and recognise the enduring wisdom of the words of Pramatha Chaudhuri:
"...It is not a bad thing to try and weld many into one but to jumble them
all up is dangerous, because the only way we can do that is by force. If you say that this
does not apply to India, the reply is that if self determination is not suited to us, then
it is not suited at all to Europe. No people in Europe are as different, one from another,
as our people. There is not that much difference between England and Holland as there
is between Madras and Bengal. Even France and Germany are not that far apart. If some
of our politicians shudder at the mention of provincial patriotism, it is because their
beliefs smack of narrow national selfishness."
more
From: Chandi Sinnathurai, Tontaimannarru,
TE, 3 November 2006
Sir: The line that you have drawn concerning
the question of peace is clearly a straight one. Your position is,
quite rightly, that the armed struggle of the Eelamites "is NOT about
securing peace" (strictly speaking). More over you have succinctly said
that "It is not about changing the character of Sinhala rule." So what's
it all about? The yearning of the Eelamites boils down to one thing
alone, and that is: To live in peace within "an independent Tamil
state" and to live alongside peacefully "with an independent Sri Lanka."
That brings me to a perennial question that I have tried to grapple
with in my decrepit age: Why on earth have we not made it clear
each time we came around the Table of negotiation chasing for that
mirage of elusive peace? Instead we were brought several times to the
cliff hanger situations in our Talks and to babble this that but not
"this" which you have articulated. I'm sure the following video
would say something seriously important in a humorous way. Thank you! -
Video:
Pirates and Emporers
From: S. Suthanthiram, USA
23 October 2006
Sanctimonious predatory "democrats"!The Eelam Tamils have the
great misfortune of sharing the island home with another tribe called
the Sinhalese who have the habit of choosing to be governed by
politicians whose political platform consists entirely of Tamil baiting
rhetoric. What kind of edge does one Sinhala party then have over the
other at the hustings? It is the promise by one party to more thoroughly
deprive the Tamils of whatever residual rights they might have left
after more than half a century of Sinhala "democracy". Inevitably, the
Sri Lankan electioning is a sort of bidding war of escalating promises
for the scalps of the Tamils. That succinctly is the true nature of what
is called democracy by the denizens in the south of the island. Even the
last presidential (or pestilential!) election was a replay of this
invariant theme, so dear to the heart of the Sinhala electorate. Is this
then the unspoken reason why the Sinhala politicians would not let go of
us?
Now, we hear laments from some quarters loudest from the Sinhala
south, about the lack of "democracy" for the "poor Tamils" in the LTTE
controlled areas. In this the Sinhalese are either blithely ignorant of
the irony or are willfully cynical in a Mephistophelean manner. I think
it is the latter. If the Tamil lambs are getting wet it is because they
would rather brave the weather than get eaten by the Sinhala wolves. The
wolf is now howling that the lambs are getting wet! Just think about it!
For more than fifty years the Tamils have been subjected to the
Sinhala brand of "democracy".
Over this period the Sinhalese behavior was by all accounts - predatory.
The Sinhala politicians have, up to this very minute,
always acted in bad faith towards the
Tamils. So, even as they talk about democracy and pluralism for the
Tamils that they themselves totally failed to practise, hitherto
particularly vis a vis the Tamils, one can be dead certain that it is
out of resolute bad faith! During all the years of Sinhala "democratic"
governance not a single piece of legislation had been enacted and
implemented with the welfare of the Tamils in mind, whereas all have
been intended to benefit the Sinhalese and to discriminate
against the Tamils. Clearly, therefore, in the view of the Sinhala
politicians, the raison detre of the Sri Lankan government is to
liquidate the Tamils. They almost succeeded. Remember, anything that the
Sinhala politician says or does about the Tamils is with the intent of
destroying their collective identity and ultimately individual
existence; beware of the ever present ulterior motives. There is, I
fear, not a semblance of humanity discernable in them which is the basic
ingredient of a democratic sensibility.
It is intriguing to know what construction that Mr. Rajapakse puts on
the words "democracy" and "pluralism". Is it the Sinhala brand of
democracy like the Sinhala Buddhism totally unrecognizable from the true
traditions or some political arrangement to sneak in his hatchet men,
"Douglas", "Karuna" and "Sangaree"? Whatever it is, his unsubtle
intentions are sinister and fraudulent. It is indeed pertinent to point
out that the Tamils have a far
better, fairer and efficient government right now under the LTTE
than they have in the GOSL occupied areas where murders, rapes,
disappearances arbitrary arrests and detentions, arbitrary, unannounced
closing of streets, economic blockades, violent crimes of all types
committed by Sinhala armed forces and its paramilitary minions are the
order of the day.
Does Mr. Rajapakse have in mind this mode of governance, the kind of
democracy under Sinhala rule for the Tamils? Or is he going to hedge and
say, despite fifty years of history to the contrary, the failed
governance is due to the freedom struggle on the part of the Tamils?
Then how is it that even under a greater threat the LTTE is able to
govern as well as they do? Is he not disingenuous, then, to complain
about lack of "democracy" in the liberated areas? The Sinhalese, history
has shown, are totally unqualified to talk about democracy to the
Tamils. We, certainly have the intellect, knowledge, temperament and
sensibilities to practice democracy and wish to tell them hereby, in
uncertain terms, to keep their counsels to themselves. It is the very
fact of the involuntary nature of the association, with the Sinhala
nation that is the singular negation of democracy for the Tamils.
There is no controversy about the desireability of democracy. By God,
we have been pleading for more than fifty years with the Sinhalese to
practice just that! We deduce from experience that the Sinhala leaders,
including Rajapakse, have no idea what democracy is. Thus to go on the
bully pulpit at international forums and accuse the LTTE of not
practising democracy is abysmal deceit and charlententry. Rajapakse
should, instead, sell snake oil or become an evangelist! The LTTE is
under constant threat of annihilation by the Sinhala government. The
GOSL maintains squadrons of Kfir bombers and attack helicopters that
destroy everything moving and otherwise in Tamil areas and does this
regularly. For the Tamils in the liberated areas living is a struggle;
yet the LTTE runs a government, more just, more responsive and cleaner
than the chaotic, corrupt, criminal, failed GOSL.
The liberated areas under LTTE administration is squeezed from the
south and north by the land based Sinhala army, attacked from the east
and west by the navy and bombarded from the sky by the air force. To add
to the woes traitorous Tamil paramilitary operatives armed and
facilitated by the GOSL commit attrocities not only in the occupied
north/east Tamil areas but also in the liberated areas. Whereas Gemunu,
the Sinhala hero par excellence, marched to the north with his army
against an elderly Ellalan, the justest ruler on record the island has
ever had, for purely Sinhala chauvinistic reasons, the LTTE simply asks
the GOSL to leave us in peace so that when the time is ripe and the
conditions suitable on the ground and our security is guaranteed we may
practise democracy, not the Sinhala variety but genuine, clean, just and
fair democracy. If Rajapakse is interested in democracy for the Tamils
in the liberated areas under the administration of the LTTE (he would,
apparently, rather continue the present state of tyranny in the occupied
Tamil areas) just allow for the conditions of normalcy for the Tamils in
the entire island, as the LTTE has been beseeching the GOSL for some
years now, by not instigating and urging the paramilitary mercenaries
and above all, stop the inhumane, wanton terrorism from the sky, land
and sea.
A word about "pluralism". I think Mr. Rajapakse means by it a
multi-party polity. For the sake of my instant analysis I will ignore
the bidding war between UNP and SLFP as to who will do more harm to the
Tamils or the JVP and the (serene and compassionate Buddhas) Bhikkus
party and their contribution to the great virtue of Sri Lankan political
pluralism Mr. Rajapakse obviously has in mind.
Institutionalizing opposition, that is virtually encouraging dissent,
is an important tradition of Western democratic polity and an aspect of
democratic governance. A successful freedom movement, when an armed
struggle is necessitated, on the other hand, borrows many practices from
an organized army of a state. An army cannot fight effectively, if at
all, if some of the soldiers attempt to conduct the battle contrary to
the instructions passed down the chain of command. Punishment for such
contumacy is traditionally severe even in highly democratic societies.
It will be apparent, then, to an honest observer it is too premature and
probably suicidal to incorporate this feature in a governance structure
in an ongoing freedom-struggle environment.
When a father debilitates his child by starving and physically
abusing and then complains to his neighbors that the child is lazy and
does not do enough exercise what does one think of this father?
From: P. Chandra, United Kingdom,
20 October 2006
Thank you for the eye opener on the
so called Sri Lankan
Democracy. The fight against terrorism is a convenient cloak to cover
all sins. The actions of the Sri Lankan 'Democratic Socialist State'
is a good example how the West is made to ignore the atrocities. It is clear
from the silent rumblings of the western democracies of their
dissatisfaction on the acts of state sponsored terrorism but for the fear of
giving the wrong signals to the wrong sort of "terrorists" there is a
deafening silence on this issue. Turning a blind eye to injustice is worse
than acts of injustice itself. We live in hope for the civilised world to
rise above petty benefits and call a spade a spade or rather call a
terrorist a terrorist even if it claims to be democratically elected
government. Sri Lanka should remember that she cannot fool all the people all
the time. The time for truth to prevail is round the corner and all fingers
will begin to point towards her soon.
Response by
tamilnation.org
There is much that we can agree with in your comments and in the
Tamilnet News Feature 'Illiberal Democracy'.
Having said that, we ourselves do not agree that the West has been
somehow fooled by Sri Lanka - and to suggest that is (at best) to
adopt the approach of the girl in the
pebble story.
Apart from anything else,
the pebble approach is an anuku murai that
has signally failed to deliver. US Congressman
Frank Pallone's recent statement
on the Habarane incident is a case in point.
The West is not asleep. It
only pretends to be asleep. We may need to pay more attention to the words
of Arundhati Roy -
"..Way back in 1988, on the 3rd of July, the U.S.S. Vincennes, a
missile cruiser stationed in the Persian Gulf, accidentally shot
down an Iranian airliner and killed 290 civilian passengers. George
Bush the First, who was at the time on his presidential campaign,
was asked to comment on the incident. He said quite subtly, "I will
never apologize for the United States. I don't care what the facts
are." I don't care what the facts are. What a perfect maxim for the New
American Empire. Perhaps a slight variation on the theme would be
more apposite: The facts can be whatever we want them to be..."
Arundhati Roy in Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy (Buy One, Get One Free)
The West knows full well
Sri Lanka's 50 year record. The West
knows that the President Rajapakse government
seeks to pursue the Sinhala assimilative agenda by
reneging on the 2002 Oslo Declaration, by refusing to recognise
the existence of the
Tamil homeland, and by perpetuating a Sri Lankan state
structure within which the Tamil people may continue to
be ruled by a permanent
Sinhala majority. The West knows that the genocidal intent of the
President Rajapakse government is reflected
in the war crimes
committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces under the President's
command . The West knows that in the
shadow of a
ceasefire, Sri Lanka security forces and the Sri Lanka para
military have
raped,
murdered
Tamil
Parliamentarians,
Tamil
journalists,
executed
Tamil students with impunity,
arbitrarily arrested and detained Tamil civilians,
abducted
Tamil refugee
workers,
orchestrated
attacks on Tamil civilians and Tamil shops,
bombed Tamil
civilian population centres and
displaced thousands of Tamils from their homes.
But the actions of the West are directed to stabilise Sinhala Sri Lanka
in such a way as to secure and advance the West's own strategic interests in
the Indian Ocean region - and the
Tamil people are being called to pay the
price.
|
O'.... Do you hear our voices?
|
 |
Operation Seabird spells out
some of the features of the uneasy balance of power in the Indian Ocean
region - and two geopolitical triangles juxtaposing on the Indian Ocean's
background: U.S.-
India-
China relations and China-Pakistan-India relations.
We may want to remind ourselves of the support extended to Pinochet in
Chile, Marcos in the Philippines, the Shah in Iran - and indeed, Saddam Hussein
in his war against Iran. Justice always took a back seat.
 We
may want to avoid confusing the Tamil people by leading them to believe that all
that needs to be done is to wake up the international community to the
justice of our
cause and all will be well. Unfortunately,
the world is
not rotating on the axis of human justice.
Furthering our understanding of the strategic interests of the
international community, will better equip us to engage in the real
task of addressing those interests. In the end, the
success of the
struggle of the
Tamil people to be free from alien Sinhala rule will be a function of
the capacity of the leadership of the struggle to mobilise its own people
and its own resources at the broadest and deepest level - and this
means, amongst other things, broadening and deepening the
understanding of the Tamil people of the motivations of the
international actors in relation to the struggle for Tamil Eelam.
From:
Sachi Sri
Kantha, Japan 17 October 2006
40th anniversary of the First
International Conference Seminar on Tamil Studies
To fill in the
gaps relating to the first four International Conference
Seminars on Tamil Studies held in
Kuala Lumpur (1966),
Madras (1968),
Paris (1970) and
Jaffna (1974), I provide
the information available in my files, culled from my
handwritten notes made more than 25 years ago. These
notes were compiled in long hand, while I was affiliated
to the University of Peradeniya. In late 1970s,
photocopying facilities were unavailable at the
University of Peradeniya library (though at the Medical
Faculty, we had one photocopier for staff use). But, the
Proceedings of the International Conference Seminars on
Tamil Studies were placed in the Reference Books
section, and thus couldn't be checked out. For my
reference and research interests, I transcribed the
information about (a) the participants in the first,
third and fourth International Tamil Conferences,
and (b) the titles of presented research papers, from
the printed Proceedings then available at the University
of Peradeniya library."
From: Usha S Sri Skanda Rajah, Canada,
8 October 2006
Mother India?
I have read with interest the fascinating, penetrating and masterful
exchange between Mr. Sanmuga Suntharam, the writer of "Atharma
Bumi?” (6 October 2006) and tamilnation.org on
New Delhi & the Tamil Struggle - An Amoral
Role.
Reading the two, we cannot deny what a comprehensive and complete
analysis it is of our relationship with India and of the painful reckoning
behind our “India (will help us) syndrome” which is an affliction that seems
never to leave us. It’s the syndrome that raises false hopes - just when
expectations get high that India would help, the opposite becomes true and
our hopes get dashed time and time again. It’s one of the shackles that we
have to be freed from - but can’t seem to do.
In this exchange, Sanmuga Suntharam writes with bitterness and is
justified in describing our relations with India as “a one way street”. He
cries: “Let us therefore forget the ‘motherland’ complex and tell the
Indians that we are the only people who can be relied upon as friends if
they treat us with fairness.”
tamilnation.org
in its comment agrees on the one hand with Sanmuga Suntharam that India is truly
not the ‘Mother India’ that it’s portrayed to be. But this is where the two
part company.
tamilnation.org
in its comment puts paid to this fallacy of ours that we must tell India and India
must know that we are India’s only most reliable friend in the region. And
that in that persuasion lies our emancipation. tamilnation.org
in its comment virtually destroys the myth we hold dear in our
hearts that India is looking after us or even entertaining that thought. It
drives home the painful truth that India actually has been and is “using” us
and our struggle for its own gain and has been nurturing its own agenda:
" Having used the Tamil militant movement
to destabilise Sinhala Sri Lanka, New Delhi then infiltrated the
weakened Sinhala body politic through its many proxies and agents
and now its foreign policy is directed to stabilise its hold on Sri
Lanka and the Indian Ocean region - and the Tamils continue
to be called upon to pay the price.
It is the weak who usually act amorally.
tamilnation.org
reminds us of Velupillai Pirabakaran’s words, more than 10 years ago:
"...We
are fully aware that the world is not rotating
on the axis of human justice. Every country in
this world advances its own interests. It is the
economic and trade interests that determine the
order of the present world, not the moral law of
justice nor the rights of people.
International relations and diplomacy between
countries are determined by such interests.
Therefore we cannot expect an immediate
recognition of the moral legitimacy of our cause
by the international community... The world is
constantly changing and there will be unexpected changes. At a
particular conjuncture the international situation might change
favourably to us. At that time, the conscience of the world will be
conducive to the call of our just cause... In reality, the
success of our struggle depends on us, not on the world. Our success
depends on our own efforts, on our own strength, on our own
determination..."
How then do we remove this shackle that’s India? Our emancipation
from the shackle that’s India, tamilnation.org
says, lies in us being able to understand the “motivations” and “strategic
interests of the international community” to “better equip us to engage in
the real task of addressing those interests” and being able to convince all
vested interests (not only India) that our struggle poses no threat to any of
their underlying interests:
"In the end, the success of the struggle for Tamil Eelam
will be a function of
the capacity of the leadership of the struggle to mobilise its own people
and its own resources at the broadest and deepest
level - and this means, amongst other things, broadening
and deepening the understanding of the Tamil people of
the motivations of the international actors in relation to the
struggle for Tamil Eelam.
Furthering our understanding of the strategic interests of the
international community, will better equip us to engage in the real
task of addressing those interests - and to show that the
emergence of an independent Tamil Eelam will not pose a threat
to many of the underlying interests of all the parties (not simply India) concerned with
the conflict in the island."
And it is tamilnation.org's
view that it is any attempt to suppress the struggle "which will pose a
threat to the stability of the Indian Ocean Region”:
"On the contrary, it is the attempt to
suppress the
struggle of the Tamil people to be free from alien
Sinhala rule which will pose a threat to the stability of the Indian
Ocean region. see also
1.
From "China fear" to "China fever"
- Pallavi Aiyar, Hindu, 27 February 2006; 2.
China undertakes construction of Hambantota Port,
11 April 2005; 3.
China, Sri Lanka Joint Communique, 3 September 2005 and
4.
Sethusamudram
Project "
This then reinforces the conviction of Velupillai Pirabakaran reflected
in his words: “Our success depends on our own efforts, on our own strength,
on our own determination.” Our strength then is our savior - and in our strength lies the emancipation of
our Motherland. Thank you to Mr. Sanmuga Suntharam and tamilnation.org.
From: Usha S Sri Skanda Rajah, Canada,
29
September 2006
[see also Boycott Sri Lanka Products and Services
& Save
Tamil Lives]
On The
debate on the boycott of Sri Lankan goods and services – a presentation of
views and concerns....
The Call:
A debate on the pros and cons of a boycott of
Sri Lankan goods and services has recently become quite intense: “Some how
we should control the terror state’s products not to be on the shelves of
the Tamil grocery stores immediately” was a clarion call from a member of
the Tamil Diaspora who stood fully committed to a total boycott.
Foreign exchange on a platter: It has become a
matter of growing concern to many in the Tamil Diaspora that they have over
the years unwittingly given Sri Lanka, foreign exchange, that it badly
needs, virtually on a platter, not for its people but to maintain a standing
army and wage a war against ironically the Tamils of the NorthEast.
Sri Lanka
has been enjoying a steady, assured and captive foreign market for its goods
(and for some of its services – ex: Sri Lankan Airlines). The demand for the
products has come from the Tamil Diaspora most of who had to flee Sri Lanka
from persecution and displacement due to the racist policies of successive
Sinhalese majoritarian governments and the war. The Tamil Diaspora now
living in relative comfort have “joined the club” and become avid consumers
in a material ridden world. Most are hard working and many belong to the
professional or business sector. And for their penchant and craving for
goodies and delicacies that they have been used to from home, there is glut
of such items never found before in the market to satisfy their every need.
And a number of these items are from Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka is making hay
while the sun shines!
We
need to learn from them: In February (2006)
when Arla Foods, a Danish-Swedish dairy giant said the Muslim boycott of
Danish products, in protest over cartoons derogatory of the Prophet,
published in a Danish Newspaper was costing the company 1million sterling
pounds a day, the chorus heard among many Tamils was “We need to learn from
them.”
Helping to kill our people: “With goods
imported from Sri Lanka we are helping the Sri Lankan government (GOSL) to
buy arms, we are feeding the Army Navy and Air Force to kill our people”
cried a community stalwart who likened Sri Lankan goods coming into Canada
to “a horrible Tsunami that’s crushing our people back home. Let us arrest
this killer wave by a total boycott of goods made in Sri Lanka.”
According
to a pro-boycott supporter some facts about Sri Lanka’s economy reveal Sri
Lanka’s military expenditure accounts for 19 percent of public expenditure,
this being higher than for education and health. This we believe could be a
gross underestimate.
Focus
on the enemy: The proscription of the LTTE in
Canada has resulted in renewed calls for a boycott. Although disappointment
and even anger at the Conservative Government is obvious, many felt the
focus should be on the enemy and the boycott would provide the rallying
point. “The enemy is the GOSL and our focus should be on the enemy, not
against Canadian political parties; by taking them to task we are increasing
our burden with more opposition. Our people need a moral boost, a rallying
point…we are making every Tamil a part of that process…and we will hit our
enemy most in the economy. We must encourage our people to boycott Sri
Lankan products in the Diaspora; not to buy air lines ticket from Sri Lankan
Air; not to invest in Sri Lanka, not to travel to Sri Lanka unnecessarily
and we must do this as a systematic campaign.”
“This
would also mean putting on hold the purchase of apartments in Colombo and
investment in the Colombo stock-exchange” said another who thought it was
the right thing to do.
Growth
of Sri Lankan Exports to the Tamil Diaspora:
Statistics show a systematic growth in Sri Lankan exports to Canada from $40
million in 1992 to $137 Million in 2000 and the numbers are growing. Exports
varied from Tea, Food stuffs, Garments, Rubber Tires, Clay Construction
Materials to Articles of iron or steel. A similar growth could be seen in
countries which have a significant Tamil community. Further, Sri Lankan Air
Lines is making ‘big bucks’ from the Tamil Diaspora frequently flying “back
home” especially during the ceasefire; In addition GOSL is making a fortune
in foreign exchange from the foreign currency that’s spent by visitors from
the Tamil Diaspora during their travels home as well as from monies sent by
them to relatives.
Damage
to Tamil businesses: As the debate over the
boycott continues some reservations were expressed; particularly the damage
the boycott could inflict on Tamil businesses in the Diaspora which at
present may rely on products imported from Sri Lanka.
“By
avoiding Marketing Department products we would be penalizing the importers
and the wholesale and retail industry in the Tamil Diaspora.” The Tamil
Diaspora businesses targeting the Tamil consumer would lose; besides some
Canadian Tamil business enterprises are selling products manufactured by the
Sri Lankan Marketing Department (MD) but under their own label without a
trace of it’s origin (very few know that the products are manufactured by
MD); some of them have their production centers in Sri Lanka where the labor
is cheap and the ingredients are cheaper; also there are Tamil industries in
Sri Lanka exporting their products to the Tamil Diaspora; some expressed
concern that boycotting Ceylon Tea would adversely affect the plantation
workers. The loss to Tamil businesses and to those people relying for their
livelihoods on these businesses are factors no doubt that need to be
considered.
NorthEast has not seen development: The loss
to Tamil businesses in the Diaspora could not only be minimized but averted
by some innovative methods and corrective action but their loss pales into
insignificance say many Tamils when considering GOSL’s brutish attitude over
the years towards the Tamils. “Let’s not forget the embargo that was imposed
on our people; a weapon that may be used again. What about our farmers and
fishermen who are getting a raw deal from the heartless GOSL? What about the
livelihood of the long suffering people of the Northeast and the GOSL’s non
implementation of certain ceasefire terms like dismantling the high security
zones and giving back public places and people’s land? What about the
restrictions imposed in the NorthEast on cement, steel, fuel and other
building materials affecting people’s quality of life and Tsunami
reconstruction as well as post war reconstruction and development?. What
about the economy of the NorthEast that has not been allowed to
prosper for decades and decades without an end in sight? What about the
right to self determination for the NorthEast people and the right to
directing their own economy?” You could not find a more convincing argument
to go full speed ahead with the boycott to wake up a government that has
been uncaring and deliberately neglectful. This is so noticeable when going
round the Sri Lankan government controlled areas in the NorthEast.
Strategic planning to prevent loss to Tamil businesses:
The solution to the problem of Tamil businesses losing
out may need some strategic planning in the short and long term.
The
solution would lie firstly in finding other sources other than Sri Lanka to
import these products. There is an abundance of products and produce of high
quality elsewhere which can be imported; there being plenty of choice and
variety out there. It’s for the existing wholesale agents to source these
products to supply the Tamil wholesale and retail market.
Secondly
the Tamil businesses in the countries where Tamils live can satisfy the
demand for delicacies and specialties from home and from Sri Lanka by
manufacturing and or producing these in those countries itself; the
ingredients and materials that go into making the products if not available
in those countries can be imported from elsewhere and not from Sri Lanka.
Although it’s being done on a small scale it’s nowhere near fulfilling the
currant demand for these products; an initiative must come from Tamil
businesses in the Diaspora, old and new to pursue this line with vigor.
Suggestions of “launching a website listing alternative products available
and ensuring such products meet or exceed quality with competitive prices
thereby making sure importers/ wholesalers (and manufacturers) do not lose
the competitive edge” are some sound ideas coming from a Tamil that should
considered.
Promote NorthEast products: The concerns of
some that the boycott would affect goods exported from the NorthEast are
without basis. The products that are being targeted for boycott are from Sri
Lanka and not from the NorthEast and could be easily distinguishable. And
actually speaking the more attractive proposition is to import, yes import
these products from the NorthEast. Though at the moment and until as long as
the NorthEast is under GOSL manipulation, Sri Lanka would still benefit from
the foreign exchange from the NorthEast exports; but the people in the
Northeast would none the less benefit from the livelihood and business
opportunities arising from these export ventures; which would justifiably go
far to alleviating the sufferings of the NorthEast people; barring of course
any untoward action from the GOSL to thwart such moves. The ready market
that’s out there from the huge Tamil Diaspora should be readily accessible
to the NorthEast; it would no doubt help to jump start the NorthEast economy
and raise the quality of life of the people now living in dire straights.
What’s required is to determine what the consumers want and produce these in
the NorthEast; taking a leaf from the Japanese and now the Chinese who are
good at finding out what the consumer wants and manufacturing and exporting
it to ‘consumers’ where ever they may be in the world.
Sri
Lanka not called to account for human rights violations although in contrast
IC hard on LTTE: The Tamil Diaspora is
justifiably angered by the Sri Lankan government headed by Mahinda Rajapakse
which is using its arsenal on innocent people including children. It’s state
terrorism of the worst kind. The fear is that if not stopped state violence
could once again turn to genocide of the proportions seen in Rwanda.
Although
bombing innocent people is a war crime under International law Sri Lanka has
not been called to account by the International Community (IC) for this or
any of its massive human rights violations, whilst the IC has been hard on
the heals after the LTTE, a liberation organization involved in armed
conflict who most Tamils consider to be freedom fighters and the sole Tamil
representatives and party to the peace talks with the GOSL. The LTTE is
involved in defending the integrity of the “historical habitats of the
Tamils” and wants a political settlement based on self determination and
equality for the people in the NorthEast. The final nail on the Tamil
people’s coffin was hammered on the 29th of May 2006 with the
proscription of the LTTE by the European Union (EU) and by Canada. Many are
outraged by this decision to ban the LTTE.
Sri
Lanka Embassy promoting both tourism and Sri Lankan Airlines despite the
bombing of civilians: The necessity for a
boycott was hammered home to many Tamils in the Diaspora recently when the
Sri Lanka Mission in America called Travel Agents to a meeting to promote
Sri Lanka to the American people. “We should not support this plan whilst
the GOSL is bombing our people. We should blacklist Sri Lankan Air Lines”
are few of the sentiments expressed by Tamils reflecting the mood of the
times.
The
extent of the promotion shows Sri Lanka is focused in its drive to collect
foreign exchange. It talks about the Tsunami revival programme ‘Bounce back
Sri Lanka’ with impunity (and would you believe it with the help of the ADB),
when the GOSL did not part with the funds that should have been rightfully
allocated to the worst affected NorthEast to “Bounce Back?”
The Sri
Lankan ambassador talks of the violence but hastens to say foreign tourists
are safe because tourists haven’t been targeted due to the fact that “the
LTTE did not wish to antagonize governments that hosted sizeable Sri Lankan
Tamil Diaspora.”
There was
immediate condemnation from many Tamils to this statement. “Sri Lanka has
the gall to say this about us and also about the LTTE as though the violence
on innocent people is being perpetrated by the LTTE! Tamils must think
again, let’s not help the GOSL earn revenue over the dead bodies of our
people and whilst they hold the NorthEast Tamils captive.”
Sri
Lankan embassy’s propaganda ploy against the LTTE:
“Is the ambassador there to sell Tourism or there for
propaganda against the LTTE. LTTE have never targeted Sinhalese civilians.
Where as day to day you hear the news of the butchering of poor Tamil
civilians by the army navy and air force”
Emirates major shareholder in Sri Lanka Airlines:
In considering the boycott of Sri Lanka Airlines
there are some issues that are worth noting. We hear the airline is owned by
Emirates, an Arab airline which holds majority shares in the corporation.
Also the way the system works most airlines are now making agreements to
work in association. In other words in this arrangement even though the
passenger may chose to purchase the ticket from an airline (other than Sri
Lanka Airlines) he or she would have to fly Sri Lanka Airlines for the Sri
Lanka leg of the journey. In addition Sri Lanka Airlines is offering good
rates and bigger luggage allowances. And for those passengers preferring
direct flights Sri Lanka Airlines has direct flights to Sri Lanka without
having to change flights. This would be an attractive proposition to those
who wish to fly direct.
Strength of resolve of Tamils: And most
correctly in the debate whether to boycott or not the onus was put on the
Tamil Diaspora; appealing to their strength of resolve in an issue that
demands a bit of sacrifice and inconvenience for a period of time until
alternative arrangements are made. “My view is not to target the Tamil
stores to boycott the Sri Lankan goods. It’s the public who should boycott
the Sri Lankan goods which should result in Sri Lankan goods disappearing in
the stores.”
Stop
buying items marked Sri Lanka: To say the
debate is heating up is putting it mildly. “I came to Canada ten years ago.
I stopped buying items marked Sri Lanka. I encouraged others but nobody
listened to me. However I rigidly stuck to my policy. I stopped drinking
Ceylon Tea, Chinese Tea is far healthier. I am aware of the chemicals
sprayed on Tea bushes as I worked in the plantations and I know the leaves
are plucked before the effects of the chemicals are gone.”
There was
a fervent cry for people to act now. “It would be too late to do so later.
We cannot depend on others to do what we need to do ourselves. We do not
need to carry the flag to tell others what we are. Just think beyond you and
your family, and then we can make a difference. We should avoid giving
foreign currency to a blood thirsty GOSL and let them know we are not paying
to ‘Kill’ our own. Also we must frequent Tamil businesses that are not
selling Sri Lankan products and encourage other businesses to do the same.”
Negative publicity for LTTE: There are a few
who were worried about the negative publicity the boycott would bring. The
concern was that “the GOSL and the media will spin the story ‘Tigers
intimidate Tamil shop owners from selling Sri Lankan goods in Toronto’ I
think boycotting Sri Lankan Airlines would be more effective.”
There is
also the worry that the boycott could hurt the Northeast people with GOSL
taking its revenge on them.
Use
another airline but do not stop sending money:
Some expressed pessimism calling the idea not a socially
feasible one for our Tamil Community here. We should see other best ways to
use our energy. “Will Tamils agree not to go to Sri Lanka and would they
stop sending money home?”
The short
answer to that many say is there is nothing to stop any Tamil from the
Diaspora from going to Sri Lanka, those who want to go despite the present
climate could use another airline and as for sending money no one was asking
for that to stop at all. “We cannot stop the lifeline to our people. It
would be a crime to deprive sustenance to a people already deprived.”
Another Sri Lankan promotion at Trafalgar Square:
What’s important is whether the Tamil Diaspora should
allow Sri Lanka to carry on with its marketing pursuits as normal without a
semblance of protest? There is word that another promotion/cultural event by
the Sri Lankan Tourist Board has been planned this time in London Trafalgar
Square in June. To that an eminent US lawyer suggested “Tamils in the UK
should organize their own cultural event at Trafalgar Square complete with
photos and signs. You know what photos, not ones of lovely beaches” she
added.
A Tamil
“British Councilor” seemed to agree: “advising tourist of the true situation
of Sri Lanka will have greater impact. I will not dream of going to Sri
Lanka for a holiday under the current situation.
Appeal
to American conscience: Further an appeal to
the “American conscience” is the right way to go was the advice of a veteran
of the tourism and hospitality industry. “If Americans are coming then they
should be aware …of the plight of the NorthEast people who are undergoing
hardships on account of the state’s historic discriminatory policies and
consequent neglect of one section of the body |
