The Tamil Diaspora and the Future of the Tamil Struggle
Repost This ArticleToday, the 18th of February, finds us three months away from the second anniversary of the “Mullivaikal Massacre”. At this juncture it is important to ask the question: What constructive action can be taken by the Tamil Diaspora to build a better future for the Tamil nation?
In Tamil culture, at a funeral, all the people of the village are expected to attend. It’s tradition. But if the whole village was a funeral house, who will go and to whose house? Also, who will heal the existing souls?
This is not just a philosophical question, but an unavoidable reflection on the May 2009 humanitarian catastrophe, where 40,000 Tamils were massacred and nearly 60,000 were wounded. Nearly one in four Tamil people became direct victims of the Sri Lankan government’s offensive military operation. And today the survivors still suffer lingering effects of structural and cultural violence.
The disastrous events of May 2009, which were sold to the International Community as a “humanitarian rescue operation” by the Rajapakse regime, led to nearly 300,000 Tamil people being detained against their will in military run internment camps for almost a year.
Tamil people in Sri Lanka lost kith and kin, lost their livelihoods, and lost their hope for the future. What is left is an identity shaped by trauma and a situation of needless fatality.
This begs the question, what is the role of the Tamil Diaspora–who remain a voice of voiceless as they are connected to the kith and kin back home?
Until May of 2009, the Tamil Diaspora remained actively engaged, but after the “May Ashes,” their efforts have been limited and do not appear to be able to function in a sustainable manner in order to achieve long-term goals.
It is obvious after the tragedy, each community needs considerable time to recover and rebuild. At the same time, the Tamil Diaspora became the next priority target of Rajapakse regime after its military victory over the LTTE. Soon after the end of the war in May 2009, the GoSL adopted a full-scale operation to destroy or weaken the function and the network of the Tamil Diaspora. Presently, the GoSL is using its maximum resources to weaken the Tamil Diaspora and is spending millions of dollars for this purpose. They hired top-level public-relations firms. For instance, in the UK, Bill Pottinger is working to build up Sri Lanka’s image. This is the same organization that is working for the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged by International Criminal Court with alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Tamil Diaspora is not as well equipped to face the challenges, as there are sharp divisions within the community. The transformation from a unipolar front to multipolar approach is worthwhile, if misunderstandings are sorted out through peaceful dialogue. Otherwise, it may end up in a disaster. Swift action without a realization of the implications of these actions creates more misunderstandings among any community. The Tamil Diaspora is a recent example of it. Compared to other Diaspora communities, the Tamil Diaspora has re-awakened relatively soon and has productively engaged in certain activities. However there are still setbacks which need to be overcome before applying any strong initiative in the future.
In order to properly move forward the Diaspora need to deal with following issues.
Collective mourning – to work on deep emotional feelings
The May 2009 tragedy is still a shock to the Tamil Diaspora. It was something so unbelievable, that still today the Diaspora does not know how to deal with it. For months everybody was checking news on the internet, TV and radio every minute, was following the events on the screens, the phones, saw and heard the bombings and killings, and had to realize that the rest of the world did not care. The Diaspora experienced the war as a virtual reality. Is it therefore, that they haven’t gathered for collective mourning in the same way that they gathered for other remembrance days. Denial of emotion is a disaster and an impediment to a better future. On the ground, the Tamil people cannot commemorate the loss of their kith and kin as they faced intimidation by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. Also, their atmosphere and attitude is desperate as they are living under severe oppression for a long time.
However, the Tamil Diaspora has the environment to commemorate it. Mourning is part of humanity and a long tradition and deep rooted aspect of Tamil culture. Tamils shared their sorrow and showed their sympathy when it was needed, but in this particular situation they have not done it so far. At the same time, they are considered the voice of voiceless of the oppressed Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Suppressing emotions may lead to frustration and has the potential to end up in a lack of productivity. This is also a reason why the Tamil people always give paramount importance to funerals, especially when the older generation cries together for the first few days – particularly on the burial day. This tradition still continues at the individual level and needs to be followed for those 40,000 people collectively as well. To honor and remember the lost ones is a healing sort of mourning, which the Tamil Diaspora should do in great degree. Tamil tradition and culture shows how and why it’s important for recovery and re-emergence.
Brainstorming and reflection with constructive self-critique of the past, present and future
There is a time to fight, a time to rest, and a time to rethink and reflect. Like collective mourning, this has also not taken place. It is a crucial step that will decide the future of the Tamil people. In this stage, to have a constructive self-critique of the past successes, deadlocks and failures would be helpful to identify, how successes were brought about, why deadlocks could not be overcome, how and why the Tamil people in Sri Lanka faced failure. We should also think about the present, while connecting it with the past and future. We must also, be pragmatic, when dealing with the past and build smart strategies for the future. There is a need to build concrete and different scenarios, while learning lessons from the past—and at the same time—to be pragmatic, radically honest and comprehensive.
A Tamil reflection needs comprehensive discussions and a constructive dialogue concerning its goals. It should consider possible solutions and what Tamils really want. It can be an analysis of common political perspectives and personal needs. It should be a realistic assessment based on the ground realities, even though there may be a contradiction between short-term personal emotions and long-term perspectives on sustainable political goals. It might lead to some disputes, but these disputes should not be avoided, but constructively dealt with. A self-critical reflection process demands for looking at our weaknesses, which can be frightening in the face of a much more powerful opponent. But if Tamils are to avoid the same mistakes in the future, it is needed. And what might be perceived as weakness in the short-term, it is a long-term precondition for strength and magnitude. Recognizing mistakes requires more courage, commitment, hard work and dedication than merely blaming others. Such a process can provide Tamils the necessary building blocks for future achievement and growth.
Understanding the Reality, Cognitive Actions and the Way Forward
The successive governments of Sri Lanka targeted the LTTE while talking about peace. Now the Rajapaksa Regime is targeting the Tamil Diaspora, in order to destroy them, at the same time talking about reconciliation. At present the Tamil Diaspora is the only challenging factor to the government. Otherwise, the Rajapakse regiments would not need to spend $4.7 million to build up its post-war image and hide mass atrocities. Apart from this, their diplomatic missions are carrying out special assignments at a high cost to weaken the Tamil Diaspora’s peaceful resistance activities. Most of these activities function with the aim of weakening the Tamil Diaspora.
The Tamil Diaspora has become a focal point as the LTTE’s armed structure is no more. Therefore, the Tamil Diaspora must understand their external and internal challenges, limitations and strengths. In particular, internal contradictions are not dealt with in a constructive way. A critical self-reflection process might lead the Tamil Diaspora to a new understanding and concept of unity, not a monolithic concept of unity, but a unity, which is achieved by coordinated diversity, and in which different roles and functions are carried out in autonomous and non-hierarchic structures.
It is obvious that the present dynastic government is more powerful than any of the previous governments in Sri Lanka. But this does not mean they will yield this kind of power forever. There was a time for Augusto Pinochet, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Slobodan Milosevic and so on. Their rule eventually ended. Hopefully a similar end would befall the current regime in Sri Lanka as well. Tunisia and Egypt are very recent examples that undemocratic rulers and bad governance cannot be sustained indefinitely. This will not happen by accident, but will depend on the hard work of the people – those who really want to restore democracy and stability in Sri Lanka, and who want to contribute towards global peace. Those who want to regain their rights and sovereignty need to do the appropriate homework and adequate preparation.
In this process, the Tamil Diaspora can play a crucial role. In a way it’s an opportunity for them to play a constructive role, if they consider the above mentioned points. The present circumstances are a challenge at the current time, but if they work hard with a clear goal, but it is not an obstacle that cannot be overcome. The events in Egypt proved this possible.
Engagement with the International Community should not be limited to war crimes and crimes against humanity issues only. While it is vital to seek justice, the Diaspora needs to realize that this is a mid-term goal. Long and short term goals need to be pursued as well. The long-term goal has to remain to find and achieve a political sustainable solution for the Tamil people, especially for the people in Sri Lanka. The short-term goal is the humanitarian and developmental support of the Tamils in Sri Lanka thorough genuine channels. All three goals needs different strategies and can be pursued by different Diaspora organizations.
In conclusion, the Tamil Diaspora should respect each other’s opinions and appreciate what everybody can contribute to fulfill the needs of the Tamil people, so their rights, sovereignty and dignity can be regained. Prof. Abraham Maslow once said, “If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I’d still swim. And I’d despise the one who gave up.” Like this, the Tamil Diaspora also has to fight for this struggle constructively until it reaches fruition.
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Thank you for your valuable advice to the Tamil Diaspora. You have articulated the wishes of not only a majority of the Tamil Diaspora, but also of a majority of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. It would also be true to a section of the Sinhala Civil Society.
Mourning of the dead in a ritualistic way is very important to most persons, family or community in the World. The ritual mourning at cremation/burial, 7th day, 31st day and on the anniversary by the families that lost their loved ones during the last six months of the war has not taken place. Most of the survivors were and are concerned with their safety in tents and trying to keep the family from hunger. All cultures understand the value of mourning. Until the families are given the opportunity and assistance to mourn speaking of reconciliation is an insult to the loss of lives of the families. That is important for them to reconcile and make peace with the departed.
It borders around stupidity and callousness when I heard from politicians in public forum in the North uttering that Tamils must forget what has happened and look to the future. One could ask for forgiveness, but not ask to forget the death of their loved ones. As the saying goes, those who forget history will live to repeat it. That we all should avoid.
“As the saying goes, those who forget history will live to repeat it. That we all should avoid.”
Isn’t that the same for those who have the Mahavamsa mentality?? They avoid forgetting their history!
So lets hold on to each other’s respective pieces of history that are contradictory and at times controvercial.
Who told you that the Mahavamsa is historical? It’s like the Odyssey or the Bible. Stories about a woman having sex with a lion and producing an offspring, women with snakes for hair, and a virgin giving birth are not history; they’re mythology.
tamils were opressed by the LTTE not the government.They cut the mouths of the people who talked against them.you could see people walking with plasters on their mouths for the crime of talking against them.Children were taken by force as soldiers.If anyone went against them they were killed.People didnt have any choice but obey.Terror ruled North and East.At least they breathe freely now.Dont spoil it for them.they suffered enough.Who gave you these numbers 40000,60000.Please do not lie.
I am the real Krish who has been posting with that name/handle/account for about a year now on this forum and I did NOT write/submit the post above. Looks like someone is trying to impersonate my name/account. Or may be, it is someone who also happens to have the same name as me or use my name. It is hard to say. Either way, I did not post what has been said above.
And whoever posted as “krish” above, please try to use a different name or account. That would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Gamini:
“Wait for a few years and see. The Tamil Diaspora may still be craving Eelam, but Sri Lankan Tamils will be too busy enjoying life to remember it.”
I think SL will be part of India in few years and do not think SL will be an independent country in the near future. Either it will be part of India or part of “greater Tamil Country” with Sinhala minirity of 20 Millicon and 150 Million tamils. Then if the tamils Govern the minority shinhalese as you did to Eelam Tamils, then you have to start Liberation Lion of Sri Lanka(LLSL) to fight for your rights after exposing all democaratic options. But tamils are not fools to refuse your peaceful existance just as you did to Eelam tamils. Tamil will give you state givernment where you could develop your part of the state.
Very touchingly written story – but wholly untrue. Congrats – keep up the facade.
The ONLY people who consider the events of May 2009 a tragedy are probably the Tamil Diaspora. Not Sri Lankan Tamils. Their suffering ended then.
Wait for a few years and see. The Tamil Diaspora may still be craving Eelam, but Sri Lankan Tamils will be too busy enjoying life to remember it.
Take your loss and walk away from it. It was never an ethnic struggle, but a political and military struggle for power from the beginning. Don’t do what the LTTE did – the Diaspora are trying to use SL Tamils as pawns for their false cause.
Which country are you from?! The Tamils of Sri lanka have suffered immensely. First under successive Sinhala Regimes who ignored the plights and problems of the Tamils and more recently, during the latter stages of the war under the Liberation Tigers, the sole authority whom they believed in. A humanitarian mission maybe, but only for those who lead a luxurious life.
It’s Easy for us to ponder on the ‘has beens’ and will bes’. Step into the shoes of those who have lived through the misery, seen their loved ones perish before their eyes and be betrayed by the state, the very state many served before their lives were engulfed by this problem.
There was and will always be an ethnic problem until the main cause of this is addressed. The minority of this country will feel oppressed and subdued until they too can like their brethren walk freely and converse freely.
Peace in a United Sri Lanka?! I live to see that day.
Tamils, whose origins are indigenous to South India, comprises of a large community totaling around 100 million scattered throughout the world. During the British colonization in India, several of these people were forcibly taken to various other countries around the world such as Sri Lanka, Fiji, South Africa, etc. which were occupied by the British and forced to work as slave labor on plantations they had established. Due to their large numbers and the need for a National identity, these Tamil people must be encouraged and supported for cessation of Tamil Nadu from the Central Government of India and a separate Tamil homeland established there for them especially since it is the original homeland of Tamil Speaking People.
“these Tamil people must be encouraged and supported for cessation of Tamil Nadu from the Central Government of India”
Why?
Don’t worry, we will ask for an independant tamil nation in South India and when that is done, we will come and finish the Job off in Sri-Lanka. Stupid Sinhala bigots.
Devon,
What a brilliant idea! Then the powerful nation of Tamil Nadu will attack SL and the result is obvious. At the moment TN is kept under the Indian control and has no army, navy or air force. Just imagine TN having all these. SL will stand no chance.
The best way is to keep TN as it is and frustrate TE in SL by permanant militarisation and colonization of the north, PEACEFULLY. (East is done).
God Bless the Souls, and Peace be upon them. They are roaming around Temple Tress for Landing.
They fought for a purpose, not for them, but for us and for future generations to come, so that our people can live in peace and dignity, and prosper as a Nation. The world Tamil Diaspora will not and will never extinguish the flames that is burning within our hearts, that after all the state terrorism inflicted on our people, that we will never ever give up, until the Dreams of the Tamils of Eelam are realised. There is no ifs, no buts, no devolution, no deviation, it will be a separate state of Tamil Eelam.
They want the Tamils to forget the past, come home, enjoy and built their nation. We are now suddenly brothers and sisters. WOW!.
Go and tell the dependents and loved ones of those 40,000 killed.
Who in the world said having separate tamil Eelam is not good. Infact the Singhalese as well as the tamils can prosper and lead a high standard of living rather than living in endless slums and under dictatorial Govt who only prosper themselves. Rgds.
I agree with you in principle provided it is equitable.
Assuming “Elam Tamils” to be 12% of the population, if they all occupy a landmass 12% of the island, it is acceptable to allow them seperation, if they and others agree so.
If “Tamil Elam” is about all Tamils (not Tamil speaking as Tamil speaking Muslims have not liked that idea), then it is 18%.
But I doubt those who seek Tamil Ealm will ever agree to it. They have always asked for MORE than what is equitable. That means it is a nonstarter. Therefore the most suitable solution is 100% of the landmass for 100% of the people, everywhere.
”tamils were opressed by the LTTE not the government”
State terrorism: 1948- 2011 and continuing
LTTE Terroism: 1970s- 2009
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/08/outline_of_submission_made_to.html
Jayantha Dhanapala’s written submission to Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, September 2010: ”Each and every Government which held office from 1948 till the present bear culpability for the failure to achieve good governance, national unity and a framework of peace, stability and economic development. …. …. I think we need to rectify this bad governance. governance and the first and foremost task before us is to undertake constitutional reform in order to ensure that we have adequate devolution of power. We have already missed several opportunities in the past; we have had an APRC functioning for quite some time but its report is still languishing in obscurity and needs to be presented to the public of Sri Lanka for discussion. We need to have State reform; we need to have rule of law established; we need to ensure non discrimination amongst our citizens; we need to have devolution of power, tolerance of dissent and strengthening of democratic institutions.’’
Tamil diaspora will shut up if and when the Tamils left behind within the shores of the island are served justice:
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/Harim%20Peiris.pdf
”…. Strengthen individual human rights and fundamental and democratic political freedoms by acceding to Sri Lanka’s international and treaty obligations and in keeping with Supreme Court Judgments in this regard, through the passing of enabling domestic legislation, that will fundamentally strengthen the rights of the individual citizens. Its fundamental Human rights.”
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/Sep2010/K%20Godage.pdf
”‘’The Tamils have undergone, and are undergoing immense hardship. We need to reach out to them. ……… There is no reason for any one to be insecure, as a result of giving into the reasonable demands of the Tamil people.’’
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/Prof.%20Priyan%20Dias.pdf
”…. If we do not feel guilty for the Northern military uprising we cannot go anywhere in the future as a country.’’
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/Sep2010/John%20Goonaratne.pdf
”…. If the grievances of Sri Lankan Tamils are not reconciled within Sri Lanka and are done merely to keep Chennai and New Delhi off our backs, we will only have ourselves to blame.’’
Some Tamils may ask for investigation into war crimes for the few months preceding May 2009. Some others should ask for the crimes of severely restricting aid agents from reaching the war-ravaged in the Northeast after May 2009.
Thank you Nirmanusan. An open letter to the Oxford Union regarding President Rajapaksa By: Brian Senewiratne http://www.tamilcanadian.com/article/6015
President could have responded to George Willy http://www.srilankandiaspora.com/blog/?p=326. He did have the guts.
Egypt? Egypt? What if the Egyptian democrats had taken up a dumbass slogan of “accountability for acts committed during successive wars by the Egyptian armed forces”? Instead the intelligent line they actually did take was best summed up by the young Google exec’s quote: “Egypt above all…We trust the Egyptian Army”.
You cannot have it both ways: denouncing the last military offensive, and ‘Egypt’.
It’s a well-written article and need of the hour. It answers the important questions of Tamil Diaspora. Well-done
Mr Nirmanusan’s article has a more fundamental flaw- the Egyptians did not overthrow Mubarak by demonstrating in London.
The article provides absolutely no insight let alone strategy how the Tamil diaspora can or should engage with the Sri Lankan state that now controls the Tamil parts of the island. He is just saying that the diaspora needs time to mourn. How much time does he need?
At the root of the problem is bad governance from day 1 of independence in 1948. Jayantha Dhanapala has hit the nail on the head well and truly and boldly said so to the LLRC for whatever this Commission is worth. Farnkly this is yet another time biding and money wasting Commission by ruling governments like all like predecessor Commisions before it, all of which came to zilch. Even the UN SG and the Americans are just talking about it. Good talking point, if only they can scratch the surface and see the skull and bones of tesn and tousands of hapless citizens buried beneath of all those who heve been murdered by the state from the 1970s and yet in train in the 21st century. That is politics isn’t it? Keep talking to keep those in power and comfort for yet more years.
The Author is obviosuly trying his best to open up a constructive dialogue to solve the grim and serious existential problems faced by the Tamil people in the north and east teeming with refugees after the massscre in Mulliviykal. Although he points to help from the “Tamil Diaspora” there is no basis for such initiative. As pointed out there are several “groups” each with their own point of view. The TGTE is one such initiative to perhaps seek a voluntary assemblage of like minded Tamils along with their sympathisers.
But the yawning vacuum lies in the zero effort by the state itself which claims soeverignty over the people of the north and east and yat has contributed the least towards rconciliation efforts other than the holding of ‘poojas’ and ‘tamashas’ along with muderous reminders of white van abductions, murders and ransom collection from jewellery merchants and select returnees of Diaspora Tamils with dosh to part with in return for safe return or to end up on oaccsions on the 4th Floor of the TID! This is where the real start has to be made in the form of at least minimal good governance despite its inglorious past.
What for instance has happeend about the 50,000 housing units promised to refugees by India about 2 long years ago. Why has not a single unit not been constructed while the Sri lankan government has settled Sinhala settlers in new housing schemes even on private lands owned by Tamils under tne pretetxt of HSZs. This is ethnic cleaning at its worst.
Finally without justice in respect of the 40,000 murders of Tamil civilians in the final onslaught at Mullivaykal by an independent UN body the problem of reconciliation will reamain to haunt the victims and their supporters not only in Sri Lanka but around the world. There is little Bell Pottinger can do to whitewash gross crimes against humanity. It’s a waste of public tax payer’s money which can be put to far far better use by spending on the victims of murderous governance by the state. That is where the buck has to start.
Sri,
“At the root of the problem is bad governance from day 1 of independence in 1948.”
Wrong!
This problem started even before.
1. All ceylon Tamil Congress – the first race based political party was registered in 1944. its leader was GGP.
2. ACTC won the 1947 election in jaffna district. GGP leading.
3. In 1931 GGP made a highly racist demand which was even rejected by the British!
But the important thing is the intention and the leader who continued this.
Take a look at how racially discriminating this demand was.
According to the 1921 census there were about 1,155,000 “Tamil speaking people” were there. Others were 2,695,000.
If the legislature had 100 representatives, that means,
0.000019 representaives for a non-Tamil
0.000043 representatives for a Tamil
In millions,
19 representatives for a million non-Tamils
a staggering 43 representatives for a million Tamils!!
This goes directly against equal individual rights.
This was the start of the problem.
Sri Lankans will do ANYTHING (yes your imagination serves you right!:) anything!) for equal individual rights. Threaten it and all hell will break lose.
These views of TT’s have been comprehensively demolished in this thread: http://groundviews.org/2011/02/02/imaging-the-aftermath/#comments But it seems, like Alexander, he wishes to fight his battles again
DB,
LOL! The exact oppositte is true!
There is absolutely no way to dispute the FACT that the 1931 demand was a grave threat to equal individual rights. That was the start of racial bargaining at the highest place of the country and hence the start of the problem way back in 1931. That’s 17 years before independance.
But I like the Alexander bit.
Now isn’t that a real improvement!
It has already been explained to you at great length, TT, that there are certain rights such as collective rights. You refuse to acknowledge this,
Trust was a crucial component, yes. The Egyptian army showed restraint and did not side with the Mubarak regime. The Egyptians wanted the despot out; the army did not resist but cooperated and hardly laid a finger on the protesters. If the military was hostile and sided with Mubarak the story would have been different!!!!! Wael Ghonim knew what he was saying and whom he had to placate. The ‘lay of the land’ was such that for the revolution to succeed the people needed the army – they also trusted the army not to hurt them – in fact even while Mubarak was digging his heels the army had assured the protesters that all their demands would be met! No comparison to Sri Lanka here please! It is more than 50 years since an entirely peaceful non-violent protest by the Tamils against language discrimination was violently dispersed by the Sri Lankan army. Look to Bahrain and Libya for similarities not Egypt!
And don’t you be forgetting the Tamils Dayan Master, they are always there for us to be using whenver it is getting a little bit on the hard side. What is that word that you are using all the time these days? National security??
Yes, Mervyn the, I noticed you brought this up before. SL has put down two largely Sinhalese communist uprisings with ruthless determination, never attempting to blame it on the Tamils. Your prose is much more readable when you mock the ideas of others rather than trying to introduce those of your own. It would be a great pity if you were to abandon that ‘talent’ for a non-existent one
The biggest issue for the anti-GoSL, pro-Tiger, or Tamil nationalist groups amongst the diaspora is their inability to gain relevance with the SL Tamils and the general NE situation. They’re unable to either influence or coerce the GoSL, and their agenda seems to be at odds with the actual desires and needs of the SL Tamils, especially the NE Tamils. Unless they can bridge this gulf, they’ll be relegated to remaining bitter but impotent bystanders to developments in the NE.
The desperate attempts to draw parallels from the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa to SL remind me of the wishful thinking just before the last presidential election when the oddest coalition, made up of everyone from nationalist communists to diaspora Tamils to bleeding-heart liberals, all tried to convince each other that Sarath Fonseka, the onetime epitome of Sinhalese Buddhist state military repression, had suddenly become the Messaiah who was going to topple MR via a landslide victory.
How on earth can any sensible person compare SL to those situations in Africa and the Middle East? Those regimes have been in dictatorial control for many decades with no democracy whatsoever, and their populations have been unhappy for many many years. These spontaneous uprisings are the result of long years of repression with no recourse to democratic change. The MR regime is very popular, and has just won handsome victories in both presidential and general elections. If SL’s commitment to democracy changes, if the opposition is suppressed and destroyed, if the economy slows and aspirations dry up, while the regime thrives through corruption, perhaps then there’ll be a people’s uprising, but that’s decades away if ever.
On the subject of the Army; it’s worth taking note of the fact that in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as in Libya, Bahrain, etc, the Army certainly was and is an instrument of the regime, used repressively. However, the uprisings avoided alienating the armed forces, treating them as benefactors rather than lumping them with the regime. Sort of like the attempt to use SF at the last presidential elections, in spite of the fact that the general was as hated as MR was before his change of alliance. Also worthy of note is that none of these uprisings were speared by armed militant groups. If they had, I think we’d have found the reaction of the armies in those countries to be quite different.
Who is mocking? I am never mocking nobody, especialy the Dayan Master! I am only making point and you are deven responding to it! Then of course you are going on to be giving lots and lots of your ‘own’ ideas, very fresh and original also!
We have the BTF,GTF, TGTE, SCTE,CTC,TAG etc formed by the Tamil Diaspora working in their own sphere of expertise. There are also many individuals who are confined to the barracks because of their personal circumstances who are doing their utmost to replicate the activities of these organised groups.
The only gripe I have is lack of inter-communication between either members of these orgs. or orgs. or individuals who are actively involved in the liberation of the Tamils to share, learn and sharpen their skills.
But as the author points out there are also a large majority of Diaspora who are resting on their oars expecting others to paddle. But it is the responsibility of these orgs. to reach out to them stirring them to their full potentials.
Dayan
Was there an equivalent of the following in Egypt?
”Each and every Government which held office from 1948 till the present bear culpability for the failure to achieve good governance, national unity and a framework of peace, stability and economic development” – Jayantha Dhanapala’s written submission to LLRC, 30 August 2010
The Army has been one of the weapons these governments have been oppressing the Tamils by.
The draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act has been a weapon of the Army.
sr,
“The Army has been one of the weapons these governments have been oppressing the Tamils by.”
How did Sri Lankan governments from 1948 until 1977 use the army to oppress Tamils?
Sri Lanka has two different worlds in it:
government-controlled Southwest and Army-controlled Northeast(for four decades) with 99% of the army being fed on:
i.Respect for Diversity in Educational Publication – The Sri Lankan Experience, Ariya Wickrema and Peter Colenso, 2003: ”War is shown as patriotic while peace is portrayed as cowardice.’’
ii.The Two Faces of Education in Ethnic Conflict: Towards a Peacebuilding Education for Children – Kenneth D Bush and Diana Saltarelli(UNICEF 2000):”A review of the textbooks used in the segregated schools of Sri Lanka in the 1970s and 1980s, for example, found Sinhalese textbooks scattered with images of Tamils as the historical enemies of the Sinhalese, while celebrating ethnic heroes who had vanquished Tamils in ethnic wars. Ignoring historical fact, these textbooks tended to portray Sinhalese Buddhists as the only true Sri Lankans, with Tamils, Muslims and Christians as non- indigenous and extraneous to Sri Lankan history.”
I don’t know about Egypt.
Yes, you too have put your finger on one of the real basic problems, namely that of engendering ethnic and religious animosities right there from the school stage. Little wonder the country is in a permanent Mahavamsa state of ethnic and religious warring dating back to 100BC. Good for the politicians, the monks and their supporters.
The Tamils should also be allowed to mourn deceased friends/family members who may have been LTTE members. The author did not mention it (probably to remain neutral), but I think it is an important point. In the larger context, GOSL not continuing to demonize the LTTE will aid the reconciliation process considerably. Arguably, such a demonization may have served a valuable propaganda purpose in the not-too-distant past. But with the LTTE permanently vanquished, there is no further need to reinforce such characterizations.
from where did you get that 40k and 60k unrealistic figures?
when the ltte was finished, colorful dream of so called diaspora was over, so their anger can be understood! but even after 2yrs if they are still dreaming about ‘long term goals’ resist to work with govt for betterment of ppl in north n east, it is sheer stupidity n arrogance.
One passage is worthwhile quoting:
“Engagement with the International Community should not be limited to war crimes and crimes against humanity issues only. While it is vital to seek justice, the Diaspora needs to realize that this is a mid-term goal. Long and short term goals need to be pursued as well. The long-term goal has to remain to find and achieve a political sustainable solution for the Tamil people, especially for the people in Sri Lanka. The short-term goal is the humanitarian and developmental support of the Tamils in Sri Lanka thorough genuine channels. All three goals needs different strategies and can be pursued by different Diaspora organizations.”
It’s good to see a sensible approach being suggested, as opposed to the mindless violence espoused by the pro-LTTE elements, which only resulted in alienating even moderate people who wished to see a Sri Lanka where everyone can live in fairness and dignity.
What the Diaspora can do right now is to channel the millions of dollars that were previously spent on a fruitless venture, towards the following.
1. Short term – developmental support of Tamils in the North and East, as you said.
2. Mid/long term -
a. Education and opinion building, especially on democratic values and the creation of a just society, with emphasis on a multi-ethnic Sri Lankan identity. It is of grave importance to not make this exercise an ethnocentric one, but one with which *all Sri Lankans* can identify.
b. These should however include, Tamil language awareness programs, cultural programs etc. with an emphasis on unity, not division.
c. Incentives for those in the public service who are multi-lingual.
If the same kind of resources that were previously directed towards war are directed towards such educational programs, it should be trivial to air them 24/7 on multiple channels during prime-time, no less.
3. Long term – Campaigns for enactment of laws to ensure minority rights, especially anti-discrimination laws. Again, emphasis on its multi-ethnic nature.
4. Very long term – Issues of crimes committed against civilians, justice and reconciliation.
Justice is placed last on the list because the climate must be right for it, and right now, there is tremendous stigma surrounding the LTTE and the terrorism+racism it espoused. This stigma of LTTE racism needs to dissipate and a campaign that moderate individuals of any ethnicity can identify with regarding minority rights, should be established. Overall, if the Diaspora fails to re-establish high moral ground by standing on a multi-ethnic, non-race-centric platform, which everyone can identify with, they will probably be ignored or actively opposed. This is the reality as I see it.
”How did Sri Lankan governments from 1948 until 1977 use the army to oppress Tamils?”
1961 Satyagraha was squashed by the Army and militarisation of the North began then and there.
The calamities wreaked in the North from then on are endless to this day.
De we want peace and prosperity?
Then get on with the practical things in all spheres:
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/Sep2010/K%20Godage.pdf
K.Godage(former diplomat to LLRC, 15 September 2010:
‘’The Tamils have undergone, and are undergoing immense hardship. We need to reach out to them. ……..
Now I must tell you of a very, very sad situation, particularly bad and dangerous situation. We have in our prisons over 2000 young Tamil men. Some of them in the Remand Prisons have been taken on suspicion. Just picked up and taken. Incidentally I am the Chairman of the Prisons Visitors’ Board, that’s how I know all these, and I visit. …. the long period of detention without charges …. For years, Sir, some of them are for years. ………… There is no reason for any one to be insecure, as a result of giving into the reasonable demands of the Tamil people.’’
“Egypt? Egypt? What if the Egyptian democrats had taken up a dumbass slogan of “accountability for acts committed during successive wars by the Egyptian armed forces”?”
Egyptian uprising was against Hosni mubarak , his corrupt regime, stooges and the corrupt police , demonstrators were carrying placards ‘ down down Mubarak ‘ the Egyptian army was not corrupt as the police , that’s why army took a neutral stance , they never used violence against the demonstrators , naturally Egyptians people will embrace Egyptian army .
what is this so clever doctor trying to say , compare with sri lankan army ?, do not mix up , leave SL army aside , try to compare the two regimes, see the similarities to yourself .
Hi silva, thank you for your response.
“1961 Satyagraha was squashed by the Army and militarisation of the North began then and there.”
How many people were killed? How large was the army’s presence in north by 1975?
De we want peace and prosperity?
Then get on with the practical things in all spheres:
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/Harim%20Peiris.pdf
The President has only strengthened politically since his re-election in January 2010, and there is no cause for not implementing the Chintanaya:
i.Page 54: “I will re-establish the Northern Provincial Council under the 13th amendment with immediate effect.” (10 months after the Presidential election, Northern Provincial Council Election is yet to take place)
ii. Page 58: “The All Party Conference continued simultaneously and through its Representative Committee critical political issues were subject to open discussion. Rather than imposing a solution from above, I have sought to arrive at a solution through discussion and dialogue with political parties, civil society organisations and the people representatives – people themselves”. (Accordingly
the report of the All Party Representative Committee should be made public and its recommendations implemented).
(iii) Page 61: “Given the security risks and high security zones will be gradually phased out” (However even one year and four months after the end of the war in May 2009, the artillery range level protection extent, of the Jaffna High Security zones remain, though no conceivable threat of artillery attacks exists).
(iv) Page 63: “Each family that is resettled will be provided with Rs.50,000/- to construct temporary shelter and additional building materials worth Rs.50,000/-. On a long term basis, Rs.325,000/- will be provided to each family to reconstruct houses destroyed in the war”. (However as this Commission is aware from your sittings in the Wanni, no such monies have been made available).
Our good governance should make the voice of the diaspora redundant:
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/Prof.%20Priyan%20Dias.pdf
Prof Priyan Dias addresses LLRC, 07 October 2011:
‘’Mr. S.B. Dissanayake who is a current senior member of the Government was accusing the Government of being hand-in-glove with Karuna faction with regard to abductions. …. This was done through the abduction of various Tamil persons mostly in Colombo, many of them businessmen and the demand for ransoms. In fact there was one newspaper that in fact carried a name of a bank into which account this money had to be paid. I am talking about the response of our society. The response was very minimal. There was a one-man Commission appointed to look into this. We are not sure what happened to that. There was an Air Force officer who was arrested, one Gajanayake, but no one knows what has happened to him. …..”
Ho hum.
Ok, let’s forget Egypt.
Did the democracy movement which pushed out an almost 35 year old dictatorship and the Philipino democratic upsurge which displaced decades-long autocratic rule call for accountability on the part of their respective militaries for so-called crimes against humanity, war crimes, dah dah dah…?
Nope.
Why not?
What would have happened had they done so?
And have these countries benefited or suffered from that policy?
Sorry, that should read ‘the democracy movement in Indonesia…and …the Philippines’
David Blacker’s world: Democracy is flourishing in Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa never suppressed or jailed his most formidable opponent in the presidential elections; there is no dynasty emerging, no family-rule, no nepotism or family bandyism; no corruption. Lasantha died of natural causes; Prageeth has gone on holiday. The foreign media and NGOs are free to visit NE. MR is no autocrat although potentially he’s just made himself president for life; a people’s uprising that’s decades away if ever. How insensible for anyone to compare Mubarak to MR.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LK11Df02.html
Regardless of whether these things are happening or not, the point is that the overwhelming mass of SL is not bothered by it. They don’t care how Lasantha died or what happened to Prageeth. They’re not concerned about MR’s son getting into politics or his nepotism. Until the masses are upset by this, and have exhausted their democratic options in getting rid of MR, there will be no uprising.
And regardless of the legality of SF’s arrest and conviction, he wasn’t incarcerated or otherwise prevented from contesting in the presidential elections.
To David Blacker
Yes I fully agree with your point. I t would be up to the people.
Speak no evil; see no evil; hear no evil: That’s a Pandankaaraya’s motto. As long as there are enough of them MR’s position is secure.
But isn’t that also underestimating the people’s intelligence?
Or are they still in a state of euphoria over the ‘Tamil defeat’; an issue that has been exploited to the hilt and used to win over the Sinhalese masses since time immemorial: the more concessions to Tamils the less popular the king/politician becomes.
Let me make it clear I got drawn into this conversation because of what was said earlier:
“‘These spontaneous uprisings are the result of long years of repression with no recourse to democratic change. The MR regime is very popular, and has just won handsome victories in both presidential and general elections. If SL’s commitment to democracy changes, if the opposition is suppressed and destroyed, if the economy slows and aspirations dry up, while the regime thrives through corruption, perhaps then there’ll be a people’s uprising, but that’s decades away if ever.”
I am not promoting an uprising.
A reminder to David Blacker:
US Assistant Secretary of State for public affairs, Philip J. Crowley on the 18th amendment:
(the 18th amendment) “eliminates term limits for the president and expands the power of the president over independent institutions, including the elections, police, and human rights commissions, as well as the judiciary. The United States is concerned that this constitutional amendment weakens checks and balances and thus undermines the principles of constitutional democracy. The United States calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to promote the principles of good governance, democracy, and independent State institutions. The United States looks to the government to take measures that will strengthen democracy including appointing appropriately qualified officials to bolster independent institutions, increase transparency, enhance power sharing and dialogue, and promote national reconciliation.”
Given that the US supports tyrants across the globe — including Hosni Mubarak — that’s not very credible, is it?
Some statements are factually incorrect.
1. “At present the Tamil Diaspora is the only challenging factor to the government. Otherwise, the Rajapakse regiments would not need to spend $4.7 million to build up its post-war image and hide mass atrocities.”
Compare $4.7 million against tourism revenue. It makes sense. And it certainly does not mean there is any need to hide mass atrocities. It only means the good name of SL has been tarnished by some and the government (without letting it go) is confronting it.
2. “humanitarian catastrophe, where 40,000 Tamils were massacred and nearly 60,000 were wounded.”
Another unfounded statement.
There is no evidence of the accuracy of these numbers picked from the sky.
More importantly this statement does not say the 40,000 and the 60,000 include LTTE cadres. There is absolutely nothing to bother if these numbers relate to LTTE cadres.
What is the message?
People are fed up with every Tom, Dick and Harry, listing the state crimes repeatedly without providing a meaningful solution for Sri Lanka quagmire.
Who said that the Tamil diaspora didn’t mourn for the people who perished during the last phase of the war?
For example in the UK On May 19, 2009, at Westminster parliament square, which still ‘occupied’ by the Tamils, people attended funeral like event. Tamils came in black attire and many women performed the traditional “oppaari” style crying. Since then there have been two Remembrance days organized by the Tamils in November 2009 and November 2010. The Tamil diaspora didn’t forget to remember those people.
Where is the evidence that Tamils haven’t mourned the Mullivaaikkaal dead or being intimidated by the Bill-Pottinger and prevented from mourning the dead?
Egypt comparison is a non-sense.
We all are missing an important caveat here, despite the noise whether the Tamil diaspora can be a partner in the post-war Sri Lankan politics sans LTTE. Because so far the LTTE was the conduit of diaspora power projection.
The present need is not mourning (that has already been done)but REFLECTION !
The biggest criticism of this is the writer has failed to address what his proposals would have in return. Do you think GOSL will not do anything allowing the Tamil Diaspora do all these things and get to their goal? I don’t think so. The harder the Tamil Diaspora paddles this issue, the harder the government, the military, etc. will frustrate all avenues of achieving the Tamil Diaspora’s goal.
Discounting the relevance of ground realities is the biggest shortcoming of most esseys.
Creating more reasons for collective mourning for the Tamil community is tragic. I don’t think most people, especially the younger generation and the people who actually suffered (not those who mourn for the fashion of it in developed countries), will find this any appealing. Those who don’t (and didn’t) mourn may find it good to mourn a bit time to time but those who did now wants to smile and laugh, not mourn!
What I can make out from this is, the Tamil Diaspora is moving further away from the SL Tamil community. It would be more productive if the Tamil Diaspora gives up on the Tamil Elam struggle or look for a better and SAFER place to create the Tamil nation.
Who in the world said having separate tamil Eelam is not good. Infact the Singhalese as well as the tamils can prosper and lead a high standard of living rather than living in endless slums and under dictatorial Govt who only prosper themselves. Rgds.
That is the view that I, too, take. Let us put aside any consideration of ethnicity for a moment. Then the performance of the so-called Tamil Eelam and Sri Lanka can be judged purely on the basis of economic performance and political freedoms. In the former case, Sri Lanka has a 40 year failure, while in the latter case, the very existence of the Sri Lankan state has been an affront to Tamil political freedoms – in other words, a 63 year old failure. So-called Tamil Eelam can be an opportunity to experiment with both of these – economics and politics. What are the barriers? I see none. The Tamil diaspora can provide the initial capital for such an entity to take off, while gradual international recognition will do the rest. The Sri Lankan state should allow a 10-year window for this experiment to occur. If within those 10 years, TE has met certain criteria, then the Sri Lankan state and TE can form other agreements that ensure peaceful side-by-side co-existence. What is the alternative to the above experiment? Well, it is what we have now – a dictatorship mired in feudalism, dynasty, and economic woes. What is wrong with allowing a small % of the population to escape from such bondage?
Heshan,
I agree with you in principle provided it is equitable.
Assuming “Elam Tamils” to be 12% of the population, if they all occupy a landmass 12% of the island, it is acceptable to allow them seperation, if they and others agree so.
If “Tamil Elam” is about all Tamils (not Tamil speaking as Tamil speaking Muslims have not liked that idea), then it is 18%.
But I doubt those who seek Tamil Ealm will ever agree to it. They have always asked for MORE than what is equitable. That means it is a nonstarter. Therefore the most suitable solution is 100% of the landmass for 100% of the people, everywhere.
“the very existence of the Sri Lankan state has been an affront to Tamil political freedoms”
Wrong.
It should be corrected as,
“the very existence of the Sri Lankan state has been an affront to a seperate Tamil nation”.
“Well, it is what we have now – a dictatorship mired in feudalism, dynasty, and economic woes. What is wrong with allowing a small % of the population to escape from such bondage?”
What is wrong? I wil be telling you what is wrong! Our bondage is for all Sri Lankans. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and if there are any Burghers left, for those buggers also! We are one country one king and one bondage! Don’t you ever be forgetting that, the Heshan!
You are wanting ten year window? What madness! You are not knowing what our mad beggars are like? Considering the price of the vegetables and the floodings coming at one month intervals nowadays even if there is ten minute window they will get out and run to another country! And you are wanting ten years!
I am saying all doors and windows closed for ten years. You are coming in only if you are wanting to be playing the cricket.
“Well, it is what we have now – a dictatorship mired in feudalism, dynasty, and economic woes. What is wrong with allowing a small % of the population to escape from such bondage?”
Nothing wrong. It will be bad news for regimes masquerading as a democracy, if people start to think and become aware of their rights.
Today, there is territorial integrity, nothing else.
Dear TT, I would like to respond to some of your questions,
“If you were a Sinhalese how do you like to live in a district won by the TAMIL united liberation front or Ilankai TAMIL arasu kachchi or TAMIL national alliance?”
What about the Tamils who live in districts won by the SLFP which introduced Sinhala nationalism into Sri Lankan politics, and today wants to remove the Tamil national anthem?
“8. Do you agree that SL offers EQUAL INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS and EQUAL FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS to Sinhalese as well as Tamils in the Constitution?”
Then how come these rights are not being implemented?
“Do you recognize that “colonization” schemes achieved much more towards a Sri Lankan version of peace than any of the things you preach including the Civil Rights movement? LOL!”
Not sure why you are LOLing given that Blacker is correct: colonisation in the 1980s hardly accomplished any peace at all. If anything it helped fuel Tamil insecurities and prolonged the war.
“Do you know that most old Buddhist temples have Hindu temples inside them? But the vice versa is not true?”
Your point is not very clear. I am a Buddhist, and although I respect Hinduism not simply as another religion but as part of our common cultural heritage (like how modern Westerners view Greek mythology), I feel that Hindu gods have no place in our temples because Buddha himself did not worship them. Therefore I can hardly see how having the devales in our temples is a good thing, at least for Buddhism. It does not really show our respect for Hinduism, but rather our inability to severe attachments to the notion of higher powers looking after us. (although in Tamil-majority places like Naga Vihara in Jaffna, it may be necessary to display Hindu gods to demonstrate that Buddhism is not anti-Hindu)
I have found that Tamil Hindus generally revere Buddha far more than we respect Hinduism, probably because many Hindus view the Buddha as part of the Hindu tradition. It is not uncommon for educated Hindus to include a Buddha image in their household shrines, and even uneducated Hindus like 3-wheeler or truck drivers will have Buddha alongside Murugan and Ganesh. If the Tamils demonstrate dislike for Buddhism, it may be related to the way we have practiced it for the last few decades.
“Gajabahu, Parakramabahu I, etc. Even Parakramabahu VI according to some.”
Could you please show me where in the Mahavamsa or which inscriptions describe how these kings colonised Sinhala people in Tamil-majority areas?
“But still the Veddha language is unique.”
No because it is not a separate language, at least not anymore.
“There are tens of thousands of maldivians now calling SL home. Their language must get equal recognition as Tamil (another minority language). Malay culture (may not be the language) needs equal recognition as Tamil cultural activites (both are minorities). Certain European cultures are minorities. They too deserve minority cultural rights as Tamil.”
Have the Maldivians, Malays, or Burghers asked for “minority cultural rights?”
Dear Wijayapala,
Thank you for the “answers”.
““If you were a Sinhalese how do you like to live in a district won by the TAMIL united liberation front or Ilankai TAMIL arasu kachchi or TAMIL national alliance?”
What about the Tamils who live in districts won by the SLFP which introduced Sinhala nationalism into Sri Lankan politics, and today wants to remove the Tamil national anthem?”
It is a question not an answer! Tamil population both in terms of numbers and percentages have massively increased in areas this party and the party (and the other party) wins! But Sinhalese left in thousands (80%) the district won by TULF after Vadukoddai resolution! By 1981 Sinhalese in Jaffna had fallen to 4,500 from 20,500!
This is enough proof which one is the worst. That same SLFP led government has MANY Tamil elected ministers too – a feat TAMIL ONLY ITAK, TULF, TNA, etc. can never achieve.
““8. Do you agree that SL offers EQUAL INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS and EQUAL FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS to Sinhalese as well as Tamils in the Constitution?”
Then how come these rights are not being implemented?”
They are implemented. The deficiencies in implementing EQUAL INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS and EQUAL FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS are not specific to Tamils. For a list of fundamental rights of ALL the countries, refer to their respective constitutions.
“Do you recognize that “colonization” schemes achieved much more towards a Sri Lankan version of peace than any of the things you preach including the Civil Rights movement? LOL!”
colonisation in the 1980s hardly accomplished any peace at all. If anything it helped fuel Tamil insecurities and prolonged the war.
This is a joke! Did Tamil colonization of Colombo fuel Sinhala insecurities and prolong the war?
If you have recently visited Weli Oya, etc. you could see how people of all races live peacefully with each other. Anyhow why restrict to colonization of 1980s. It was happening way before.
“I have found that Tamil Hindus generally revere Buddha far more than we respect Hinduism”
I agree they revere Buddha but not necessarily far more than Buddhists respect Hindu gods. Many many Sinhalese have Hindu gods in their homes, buses, businesses, etc. But having temples dedicated to Hindu gods within Buddhist temple premises is something that can NEVER be matched by Hindus! What a great symbol of tolerance of others religious beliefs! UNMATCHED! In contrast there are dozens of gods’ statues in Hindu temples, not a single statue of Buddha! I have given you proof, you have given mere statements.
““Gajabahu, Parakramabahu I, etc. Even Parakramabahu VI according to some.”
Could you please show me where in the Mahavamsa or which inscriptions describe how these kings colonised Sinhala people in Tamil-majority areas?”
Tamil majority areas? No historical inscription says there were any Tamil majority areas in SL. These kings settled South Indians in areas the majority were not South Indians. Gajanahu settled South Indians in the deep south particularly where the Sinhalese were the vast majority. Parakramabahu settled south indians in the upcountry
where Sinhalese were the vast majority. In doing so they ensured that no part of the island will have a south indian identity.
““But still the Veddha language is unique.”
No because it is not a separate language, at least not anymore.”
No it is. It is certainly not Sinhala because the grammer, words, repetitive words, words used to respect persons, etc. are not the Sinhala language. I can understand Sinhala but cannot make out Veddha language that easily. Even some basic Sinhala words have a different meaning.
e.g. ura (In Sinhala this means wild boar or a dirty person but in Veddha language this means a respectable human.)
“Have the Maldivians, Malays, or Burghers asked for “minority cultural rights?””
Aha! Got ya! So we have to WAIT till minorities ASK for minority rights? What a pathetic way to handle it! No. We should give (before they ask) ALL minorities their due rights recognized by the UN Declaration of 1992 – nothing less and NOTHING MORE.
It is a good move to include “Vanniyela athho’s” (People of Vanni – another name for Veddhas) langugae into the curriculum of Vanni schools.
On the same note, we should NOT give any particular minority any rights the other minorities don’t have just because they ask, demand or create violence over it.
It’s a shame we (DB, Hesha and I) could not continue in the previous thread due to personal attacks by some. None of my comments was edited out whereas my friend’s comments were frequently edited out. Thanks again for responding.
Well, TT, given that you managed to understand just one question out of 15, and even then got that one answer wrong, I doubt that any further discussion would have gone anywhere beyond you repeating your foolish mantra
DB,
Mate, I think you are uttering your little foolish mantra.
There is an important lesson here. We cannot agree with everything but that does not mean the others’ views are foolish. No offence but this is life DB.
But that does not mean there is a stalemate on ground. Not at all. We will function on our convictions while you will function on your convictions. The most powerful politically, militarily and economically would win on ground and that is all that matters.
Convictions are fine things, TT, but they are no match for facts and reality
You may be convinced that the moon is made of cheese, but the reality is that it is not, and that’s a fact.
The reality is that though you claim to be 28 years old, you were unaware of the 24-year-old 13th Amendment (one of the most groundbreaking laws in SL’s post-independence history) and what it consisted of until I told you about it last week
That’s a fact.
The reality is that there are collective rights, a fact that you’re unable to comprehend, much less acknowledge.
The reality is that majority rule ceased to be a democratic pillar over 50 years ago, yet another fact that is beyond your seemingly shallow intellect.
The reality is that you were unable to comprehend 14 out of 15 simple questions put to you on the very basics of democratic tenets as is evidenced by your inability to answer them. The fact is that’s a pathetic statistic for someone of your age. Most o/level students would have done better.
So your convictions are unfortunately looking very foolish in the light of the facts
DB,
Another load of nonsense and frustrations!
I love it when the opponent goes down this path. It says a LOT.
Not just the 13th amendment DB. There are 18 amendments in total! I find the SIXTH amendment groundbreaking and for some, earth shattering!!
Fully implement the 6th amendment before implementing he 13th amendment. BTW I knew about the 13th amendment DB
Just that I don’t place much importance on it until the sixth amendment is FULLY implemented.
“I find the SIXTH amendment groundbreaking and for some, earth shattering!!”
My goodness, what melodrama, TT. Been watching One Shot 1 again?
“Fully implement the 6th amendment before implementing he 13th amendment. BTW I knew about the 13th amendment DB
Just that I don’t place much importance on it until the sixth amendment is FULLY implemented.”
Lol, really? Is that why you said it was “news to you” that Tamil was an official language?
And do tell us how the 6th hasn’t been implemented. I could use a bit of comedy.
TT: “I come to like them actually. Reminds me school days.:)).”
Yes, racists often enjoy masochism.
[Edited out.]
“No special rights for the majority. But the democratic ability of the political majority is acceptable.”
But it is not acceptable anywhere in the world, TT, Can you show me any country where the majority get to decide the official language policy over the minority?
“Anyway you have sidetracked. The point is ALL ethnic minorities in SL irrespective of the size, how long they were here, native/non-native, etc. should get equal minority rights.”
Of course, and if the 13th Amendment is implemented, they will. But why did you say that the 13th should be repealed?
DB,
Your smily faces are nice but they are no match to a propoer answer.
Also I noticed that you shoot the messenger and try to ridicule him instead of responding. Not that I have a problem with it, I find it too similar to what CBK once told about Lasantha. She called him a worm instead of responding to his many allegations! DB, do you have any experiene working in the police, politics or similar? That’s where most shoot the messenger type ladies and gentlemen are.
Once again I like your smily faces, etc.
“Your smily faces are nice but they are no match to a propoer answer.”
To receive a proper answer, you must ask a proper question. Got any? I’m lad you enjoy cartoon faces — childish people often do.
TT,
Since the issue from the previous thread has been resurrected, might I note one issue.
A particular comment you made struck me. “There is no LOGIC in “CURRENT”. It is a continuation DB. Pitty you don’t get it!”
Where in you feel that David hasn’t quite grasped your overall argument. I can’t speak for David, but just to find out whether I’ve understood it properly, please allow me to paraphrase it. Feel free to make corrections.
Your argument as I understand it, is that Tamil “racism” has been a phenomenon that manifested itself even before independence. As evidence, you present rumblings of secession in the form of federalism and the demands of GG Ponnambalam for 50-50 representation and that the first party with an ethnic name was created by Tamils, paving the way for “race” politics.
You go on to notice a broad pattern of such racism, and argue that it is an inherent component of Tamil culture, and as evidence you cite the absence of integration in Tamil Nadu and the proliferation of parties with Tamil agendas, that Tamils have not integrated Buddhism into their Kovils while the reverse has occurred, and that as far as ethnicities go, Tamils are well, pretty racist and secession was always on their agenda so that a purely Tamil state could be created.
As a solution, you propose forcible colonization, so that Tamils have no choice but to give up their inherent “racial chauvinism”, and mix with other cultures, thus subduing their racialism and long term scheme for secession¸ paving the way for a multi-ethnic society.
Have I summed up your argument correctly? What specific corrections would you make?
If anybody is interested in a reasonably fair solution there have been many suggestions to LLRC. One example:
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/Harim%20Peiris.pdf
”We may have united the nation geographically, but remain polarized ethno-socially. ……….. …………… ………………
x. Strengthen individual human rights and fundamental and democratic political freedoms by acceding to Sri Lanka’s international and treaty obligations and in keeping with Supreme Court Judgments in this regard, through the passing of enabling domestic legislation, that will fundamentally strengthen the rights of the individual citizens. Its fundamental Human rights.”
People are only talking about the war crimes of the few months preceding May 2009.
What about the large number of crimes that remain uninvestigated in the six decades preceding May 2009? What about those that have been committed since May 2009? When will all these be ever investigated? The culture of not investigating crimes should be brought to an end. Then the crimes will decline.
After reading about 60 comments on an article titled “The Tamil Diaspora and the Future of the Tamil Struggle”, there appear to be only a handful of posts discussing any kind of future, let alone a struggle. Are we to assume that other than grumbling and complaining about the atrocities of the government, that the Diaspora really doesn’t have a plan on making itself germane to the future of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka?
The author himself wrote one particularly interesting paragraph on the topic, and I, hopeful of some discussion, quoted it here with some suggestions of my own, in the hopes of spurring discussion.
Alas, the conversation seems to be once again gravitating towards “justice for warcrimes” (which is basically punishment for past actions desperately forwarded as a realistic action plan for the future) or Libyan style uprisings, both of which at present, remain naught but wishful pipe dreams.
I think it’s high time to marginalize those who present fanciful visions of the Rajapakses groveling in abject humiliation at the feet of a triumphant diaspora or that Eelam pie-in-the sky that has repeatedly been oversold for 30+ years, and instead of such vain, self-serving notions which have no relevance to the immediate needs of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, work with those who present a concrete plan that takes into account the realities on the ground. Starting from the pressing needs of the Tamil people, to long term goals in creating a just society for all human beings involved in this situation.
I hope this can be a start to that conversation.
SD,
“Are we to assume that other than grumbling and complaining about the atrocities of the government, that the Diaspora really doesn’t have a plan on making itself germane to the future of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka?”
Sounds pretty accurate to me. Being Sri Lankan, they’re waiting for someone else to fix the problem such as int’l community or Rudrakumaran. This isn’t really their problem.
SD,
Wonderfully said, once again! It seems to me that every topic here has lately been drifting off-topic easily. Most often you see 2 different sets of people fighting one another endlessly, when all that they should do is discuss the issue. While expressing one’s reservation, one has to accept his mistakes as well, but in environments where discussions are badly divided, that is less likely to happen. But then what can you do about it?
best wishes
Krish
Some people does not want to accept the truth and some does not know the truth. Please visit these sites and learn the truth
http://srilankastateterrorism.blogspot.com/2009/01/unspeakable-truth_09.html
http://srilankastateterrorism.blogspot.com/2009/01/srilanka-one-island-two-nations.html
Dear TT,
“Tamil population both in terms of numbers and percentages have massively increased in areas this party and the party (and the other party) wins!”
Could you kindly show us statistics to back this claim?
“The deficiencies in implementing EQUAL INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS and EQUAL FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS are not specific to Tamils.”
Could you please explain how the language rights of the Sinhalese are not being implemented in SL, just as the Tamils’ language rights under the Constitution are not being implemented?
“Did Tamil colonization of Colombo fuel Sinhala insecurities and prolong the war?”
No, because the Tamils never “colonised” Colombo. They migrated there when it was too unsafe in the N-E, and they purchased property legally without the backing of a government.
“I agree they revere Buddha but not necessarily far more than Buddhists respect Hindu gods.”
Buddhists might “respect” Hindu gods in a shallow and superstitious manner, but I clearly said that we do not respect Hinduism as a system of belief:
SLA blocks Hindus performing rituals in Keerimalai
http://www.thecolombotimes.com/featured-news/12853–sla-blocks-hindus-performing-rituals-in-keerimalai-
“Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna have obstructed Hindus performing religious rituals to their ancestors in the temple pond as well as dissolving the ashes of their cremated relatives in Keerimalai seas around the historically famous Nakuleasvaram temple claiming that Keerimalai has been declared as a tourist spot and no one should pollute the springs and sea therein…Keerimalai is one of the major tourist attractions in Jaffna peninsula and SLA has imposed this restriction in order to please the Sinhalese tourists who continue to pour in their thousands after the opening of A9 road, representatives of the organizations said.”
“In contrast there are dozens of gods’ statues in Hindu temples, not a single statue of Buddha! I have given you proof, you have given mere statements.”
You have not given any proof. Many Hindu temples have Buddha statues.
“No historical inscription says there were any Tamil majority areas in SL.”
Then your example is irrelevant to modern times, where there are clearly Tamil-majority areas.
“In doing so they ensured that no part of the island will have a south indian identity.”
But the problem is that none of the Tamil-majority areas in the N-E have a “south indian identity.”
“It is certainly not Sinhala because the grammer, words, repetitive words, words used to respect persons, etc. are not the Sinhala language.”
The grammar is more or less the same as Sinhala, when they are speaking “Veddah-Sinhala.” Only some words are different. Actually Sinhala itself has a few but important words (like body parts) that most certainly are derived from the lost indigenous language.
“Aha! Got ya! So we have to WAIT till minorities ASK for minority rights?”
It would be nice if you could respond in a more mature manner. If the Malays, Veddahs, or Burghers have not asked for language rights, then why should any be given?
TT, the word “ura” means pig even in the Veddha dialect (yes, it’s a dialect of Sinhalese, not a separate language), and the pig or wild boar is considered a noble animal by the Veddhas (like a buffalo or bison in the American Indian tradition). A certain British film maker who spent long periods with the Veddhas, was given the name Sudhu Ura by them. If you understand the term, I guess you can speak Veddha
On the rights of the Burghers, Malays, etc, how come you’re so keen to grant language rights to these minorities who have never asked for those rights, but refuse to grant it to the Tamils who are asking for them? Is this another demonstration of the logic you claim to have a sound grasp of?
DB,
Thanks for the info. But Veddha language is unique. It is not Sinhala or Tamil. I couldn’t understand anything they spoke with each other when I visited them last time. The difference is somewhat akin to the difference between Malayalee and Tamil. Similar in some words but not the same.
“Burghers, Malays, etc, how come you’re so keen to grant language rights to these minorities who have never asked for those rights, but refuse to grant it to the Tamils who are asking for them?”
What world are you in DB? Tamils have been given language rights! You admitted it, didn’t you? I want the same rights to all other languages too.
All minoroties are same, in my belief. You may disagree.
TT,
RE: “It is not Sinhala or Tamil. I couldn’t understand anything they spoke with each other when I visited them last time.:
Hmm, I wonder, were you to be magically transported back in time a mere 500 to a 1000 years, do you reckon you would understand “Sinhalese” as it is spoken today? How about a 1000 to 1500? Would it then not be correct, to say that you do not speak Sinhalese? What would you ever have in common with such people?
The unfortunate tragedy for those who are inordinately attached to their ethnicities, be it Sinhalese, Tamil or Veddah, is that culture inevitably changes, whereas our basic humanity (as risen primates) doesn’t. Better to base our morality on common ground, don’t you think?
Therefore, language being peculiar to each ethnicity, does not fall on common ground and therefore must essentially be divorced from the state whenever possible, don’t you think? What then, is preventing you from supporting Tamils in using their own language, when Sinhalese already speak unimpeded in theirs?
“Thanks for the info. But Veddha language is unique. It is not Sinhala or Tamil. I couldn’t understand anything they spoke with each other when I visited them last time.”
Given that you have difficulties with modern English, this doesn’t mean much
“What world are you in DB? Tamils have been given language rights! You admitted it, didn’t you?”
On paper, yes, in practice, no. That’s the problem.
“I want the same rights to all other languages too.
All minoroties are same, in my belief.”
But different to the majority, eh? Yes, we know you believe that.
DB,
Leaving out the nonsense and kiddish personal attacks (I come to like them actually. Reminds me school days.:)).
“But different to the majority, eh? Yes, we know you believe that.”
No special rights for the majority. But the democratic ability of the political majority is acceptable.
Anyway you have sidetracked. The point is ALL ethnic minorities in SL irrespective of the size, how long they were here, native/non-native, etc. should get equal minority rights.
Dear Wijayapala,
Please refer to the district wise population breakdown of the 1981 and 2001 censuses. They show a huge increase in Tamil population in districts won by the SLFP and the UNP. This is despite 1958, 1977, 1983, etc. mind you! Also look at the Jaffna district population censuses by ethnicity for 1971, 1981 and 2007 estimates. Shows a huge reduction in the Sinhala, Muslim and Other ethnicities. In other words ALL NON-TAMILS have drastically reduced! Even before 1981 the Sinhala population has reduced. So you can see which parties are the worst.
Modern SL has places, etc. with the south Indian identity. E.g. Hindu temples, Bharatanatyam, “Saivar” restaurants and Thaipongal. There is also a language in SL that is identical to the language used in most parts of south India.
It does not matter. The point of discussion is Sinhala Buddhists are very accommodative of other faiths MUCH MORE than the other way round. This has been proven. The Dalada Maligawa and thousands of Buddhist temples have not one but 4 temples dedicated to Hindu gods. Contrary to your experience I have not seen Buddha statues in Hindu temples in SL. It may be in very few?
Also read the horrendous things some Tamil commentators say about Buddhism here. Compare it with what non-Tamils say (or don’t say) about other religions.
The example you cited is originally from either Tamilnet.com or Tamilnet.tv (2 identical websites in my view). Their credibility is dubious. So most likely it didn’t happen. If it happened it is wrong but it’s an isolated incident.
It has been implemented! There are thousands of schools where the medium of instruction is Tamil. All government services have Tamil speakers. All official forms have Tamil in them. There may be some shortcomings but Sinhalese should not be forced to work in Tamil. They too have the right to do their work in their language. Government should improve tri-linguistic public service which is already happening. This also includes Sinhala speaking public servants in Jaffna, Vanni, Batticaloa, etc. Apart from this there aren’t any other “equal individual rights” problems for Tamils! Don’t mix equal individual rights with the provincial council powers of the 13 Amendment. Each Tamil person has equal voting rights as a Sinhalese person.
If Tamils didn’t colonize Colombo, Sinhalese didn’t colonize Weli Oya, Gal Oya, Ampara district, etc. No problem. To inhabit and to settle are also meanings of the word colonize. State sponsorship or private sponsorship is a different issue and there is absolutely nothing wrong in that. However sponsored to colonize is to colonize.
The Veddha language is a different language altogether in the context of the UN Declaration of rights of persons belonging to minority and indigenous groups. Vaddha language must be protected and promoted without further ironing out the differences. As I said before Veddhas are also knowns as “Vanniye Attho” which means the people of Vanni. So it is a good move to introduce Vaddha language in Vanni schools in addition to what is already taught there.
We should not wait till anyone asks or demands. Their language and culture must be given their due place regardless of them asking or requesting recognition. Compared to Tamil which is a minority language, other minority languages have not got anything. This MUST change. They must get equal recognition as Tamil (which is also a minority language/culture). All minorities are equal.
The war was not (only) about Tamil grievances and aspirations as some would argue. It was about Sinhala, Muslim, Buddhist, Islamic, etc., grievances and aspirations too. So if anyone wants to stop its recurrence, they should address these grievances and aspirations as well. No point fixing the grievances/aspirations of 12% creating grievances and contravening the aspirations of 74%. For instance making and keeping SL unitary has been a repeatedly stated aspiration of a group of Sri Lankans. Another example is making Buddhism the state religion by people’s elected representatives repeatedly. These must be respected.
There are things we cannot agree. We have to agree to disagree and move on. As we oft say agree to disagree doesn’t mean there will be a stalemate on ground. Views similar to ours will peacefully (and/or violently) clash on ground and in most cases one would win over the other politically, militarily and/or economically, and the winning view will “do” things accordingly.
Dear TT,
RE: “Views similar to ours will peacefully (and/or violently) clash on ground and in most cases one would win over the other politically, militarily and/or economically, and the winning view will “do” things accordingly.”
Are you basically trying to say that might makes right?
Anyway TT, you didn’t really answer my question earlier, perhaps you missed it?
http://groundviews.org/2011/02/18/the-tamil-diaspora-and-the-future-of-the-tamil-struggle/comment-page-1/#comment-28265
Have I paraphrased the core of your argument fairly and correctly? What changes/additions would you make?
“It has been implemented!”
It hasn’t. You yourself have admitted that you were unaware of the law. I related to you a story where the Borella police were unable to provide anyone who spoke English or Tamil, nor were they able to produce any report in any language but Sinhlese. If this is so in the heart of Colombo, it’s very unlikely that such facilities will be available in rural areas. Until these things are implemented, it’s a bit silly to worry about having Sinhalese public servants in the Wanni, where you admit there are very few Sinhalese anyway.
“Each Tamil person has equal voting rights as a Sinhalese person.”
That is irrelevant if their voting base is intentionally diluted. I gave you the US example, but it’s obviously beyond your grasp, so I’ll give you a local one. It’s like the SLFP government moving large numbers of their supporters into Colombo, providing them with state housing and land so that in the next elections they will outnumber the UNP. This isn’t democracy, and if that’s your concept of it, you should first educate yourself before talking.
“If Tamils didn’t colonize Colombo, Sinhalese didn’t colonize Weli Oya, Gal Oya, Ampara district, etc.”
Colonisation and immigration are two different things. Do you not understand this either?
The former is when the state moves significant numbers of people into an area and provides them with land, housing and livelihoods, while the latter consists of natural movement. Can you show any such colonisation of Colombo by an organisation that moved Tamils in en masse and provided them with such facilities?
“However sponsored to colonize is to colonize.”
Do you even understand what you’re writing?
As I said before Veddhas are also knowns as “Vanniye Attho” which means the people of Vanni. So it is a good move to introduce Vaddha language in Vanni schools in addition to what is already taught there.”
Ha ha ha It is “Wanniyala Aththo” not “Vanniye Aththo” [Edited out.] And Wanniyala Aththo means people of the jungle or forest
Your grasp of language truly is inspiring lol.
“We should not wait till anyone asks or demands. Their language and culture must be given their due place regardless of them asking or requesting recognition.”
Really? Then why did the Sinhalese wait forty years to grant this right to the Tamils, and that only because of Indian pressure?
“The war was not (only) about Tamil grievances and aspirations as some would argue. It was about Sinhala, Muslim, Buddhist, Islamic, etc., grievances and aspirations too.”
Really? Can you show me where these, Sinhala, Buddhist, Muslim and Islamic aspirations have been articulated?
“There are things we cannot agree. We have to agree to disagree and move on.”
I’m afraid we won’t agree to disagree. We will keep after it until we eventually get it. And we who fought for this country when it needed us (unlike you) will also fight for the rights that this country needs.
SD,
My apologies. I missed it.
Let me concentrate on the future bit.
“As a solution, you propose forcible colonization, so that Tamils have no choice but to give up their inherent “racial chauvinism”, and mix with other cultures, thus subduing their racialism and long term scheme for secession¸ paving the way for a multi-ethnic society.”
This sounds not right. Let me reprase it.
It is not about forcing Tamils. Use all thinkable means of “colonization” staying ONLY within the enacted law.
1. Let Tamils in the north continue to vote for race politics (as Tamils do in Tamil Nadu and in northern SL since 1947). I understand that it is difficult to change this pattern as it has been in every election (1947,1952,1956,1960,1960,1965,1970,1977,1989,2001,2004,2010 plus Tamil nadu elections since 1967) But don’t let this to be the sole political force in the north. Do you get it?
e.g. MOST Tamils in Trincomalee district still vote for TAMIL national alliance. (2010 GE results TNA votes percentage divided by the Tamil population percentage of Trinco district is >50%) But there are others namely Sinhalese and Muslims who vote for multiethnic poltiical parties. The sum of all this is the victory of multiethnic poltiical parties.
This is the main thrust of my solution.
2. When multiethnic political parties coninue to dominate, Tamil voters slowly join them further strengtehing multi ethnic governance teams in every district. This provides additional thrust.
3. Done! Jaffna and Vanni are now governed by multi ethnic teams that totally reject seperatism, Tamil homelands, federalism along race demarcations, etc.
4. Then there are large military bases that ensure no nonsense, no one is chased away because of their race, language, religion, etc. If required force may be used to subdue violent racists who don’t tolerate non-Tamils living in hundreds of thousands in what they believe “Tamil homelands”. This provides more thrust.
This is not an imaginary solution. Trinco and Ampara districts are examples of the success of this strategy. ALL other “solutions” including the 13 amendment have failed to take off (for whatever reasons).
SD,
Your other question.
“RE: “Views similar to ours will peacefully (and/or violently) clash on ground and in most cases one would win over the other politically, militarily and/or economically, and the winning view will “do” things accordingly.”
Are you basically trying to say that might makes right?”
No; right is might and then that mighty rightousness gets things done.
I like your SPECIFIC approach but don’t fall into the trap of mincing words (so far you didn’t I think).
Dear TT, David,
OK, TT, so you only disagree with my understanding of the last paragraph?
If I were to rephrase it as follows,
“As a solution,
you propose forcible colonizationyou propose surreptitious colonization, so that Tamils are no longer the sole political force in the north, and with the dominance of multi-ethnic parties, gradually cause Tamils to mix with other cultures, thus subduing their inherent “racial chauvinism” and long term scheme for secession¸ paving the way for a multi-ethnic society.”Does that sound more accurate? Would you consider it a reasonable synopsis for your central argument?
David, is this what you understood as TT’s argument? If not, perhaps you can make changes/additions of your own?
Yes, SD, that would be more or less as I see TT’s argument. In a sentence: Instead of granting Tamils their legitimate rights, ensure that they do not have the political power to gain these rights democratically, and keep a large military presence in the NE to ensure that they don’t once more revert to undemocratic means either.
However, you will soon see that TT will not allow you to abridge his ramblings, nor tolerate you dealing outlining his arguments with such brevity. He prefers long tangental diversions away from the core discussion so that he can eventually pretend that certain things haven’t actually been discussed already. Eg: he says that the 13th Amendment has “failed to take off (for whatever reasons)”, thereby dismissing all previous evidence of the state’s failure to implement the amendment. Once you focus on that, he will ramble on about that and then switch back to something else that has already been discussed, and so on.
It’s a good strategy for stalling from an indefensible position (if you’ve watched the Yes, Minister series, you’d have seen this used much more superbly by Sir Humphrey), but exposes the intellectual deceit of the user. Heshan uses this very well, too, but his ego prevents him using it as unashamedly as his friend, TT.
Dear Usha,
“But isn’t that also underestimating the people’s intelligence?”
Good question. There were many Tamils who lacked the basic intelligence to see where Prabakaran and the LTTE were leading them. There are some Tamils today of the flag-waving variety who think they can get their way through confrontation. There are even a few who think Prabakaran is still alive.
I would like to think that Sinhala people more or less have the same mentality. Therefore we should not be surprised when they make the same sort of mistakes.
Do we have the intelligence to see where rajapakse and his extended family are leading the srilankans?
Dear Wijayapala
I am ready for an honest discourse; I can see you are reasonable.
Human beings have a natural propensity to defend themselves and survival is an innate response. We saw that in the Egyptian revolution when pro-Mubarak forces threw Molotov cocktails at the peaceful protesters they started to defend themselves, there was an exchange of fire and stone throwing.
The Tamil struggle, against discrimination by majoritarian Sinhala governments who had a stranglehold on power, started with peaceful protests and several attempts at dialogue and negotiation until successive SL governments repudiated on all promises.
The LTTE was a product of Sinhala hegemony and Sinhala nationalism – Tamil militancy was the end product of Sinhala supremacist ideology manifested through discriminatory policies, violence and vandalism unleashed against Tamils.
It’s not fair to forget the violence inflicted on Tamils by the state and by Sinhala chauvinists and thugs encouraged by the state or by the paramilitaries who acted on the behest of the state.
The Tamil people’s right to self-determination is a fundamental right which they deserve to enjoy as the Sinhalese do under a united Sri Lanka if that’s possible – only if there are enough Sinhalese Statesmen who are courageous enough to do the right thing.
Flag waving? What’s wrong with that when the Sinhala flag, singing of the national anthem in Sinhalese, the erection of Buddha statues (I revere Lord Buddha) and Sinhala sign boards to establish Sinhala control in Tamil habitats are symbols and provocative acts used to perpetuate Sinhala supremacy. I am not playing the racist card but these actions are not helpful towards genuine peace and reconciliation and will only make the situation more volatile.
No war, no peace: the denial of minority rights and justice in Sri Lanka (19 January 2011 Complete report from http://www.minorityrights.org/download.php?id=921)
With the end of the conflict between Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE or ‘Tamil Tigers’) in 2009, normality has returned for much of the population of Sri Lanka. But for members of the country’s two main minority groups – Tamils and Muslims – living in the north and east of the country, harsh material conditions, economic marginalisation, and militarism remain prevalent. Drawing on interviews with activists, religious and political leaders, and ordinary people living in these areas of the country, MRG found a picture very much at odds with the official image of peace and prosperity following the end of armed conflict.
Some of the commentators seems to be blaming the Tamil Diaspora for not making any progress in resolving the conflict. They should read this http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/07/why-national-reconciliation-is-not.html
The way forward http://www.srilankacampaign.org/thewayforward.htm
http://www.srilankacampaign.org/contact.htm
No address, not even a phone number.
This kind of ‘comfort campaign’ will not bring any change to Sri Lanka.
usual diaspora ramblings.
If you put an address or a phone number , the white van will appear in no time !!!
What the Tamils Could Expect from the UN Panel of Experts
by Dr. Victor Rajakulendran, Sydney, Australia, December 8, 2010
http://www.sangam.org/2010/12/Tamils_Expect_Panle.php?uid=4149
Island of Tears (A short video clip showing the history of the conflict)- http://www.pearlaction.org/Island_of_Tears.wmv . One need to know the history first.
Dear Anpu,
I hope you don’t subscribe to this simplified version of history, wherein the LTTE, banned world-wide as a terrorist organization for good reasons, is depicted as a heroic outfit leading the Tamil people to emancipation. This kind of analysis mirrors the one-sided version of history painted by Sinhala nationalists, which you can see on this very forum.
I’m afraid that failure to take a moderate stance will guarantee further losses to the Tamil people, given that in any extremist confrontation, the Sinhalese stand numerically superior. This kind of thing also does not inspire the confidence of moderate people who would fight side-by-side to establish rights for all Sri Lankan people.
Instead of getting distracted by wretched caricatures of real history, would you care to instead, provide your suggestions on what you see as the way forward for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, in line with the main theme of this article?
Dear SD,
I have already provided a link and it looks like you have missed it and I am copying it again – The way forward http://www.srilankacampaign.org/thewayforward.htm
with best wishes
Do we have the intelligence to see where rajapakse and his extended family are leading the srilankans?
If only we could have a look at his bank balance , the above question would not be difficult to answer. The rumor is that Mubarak is worth 50 billion USD right now; is it any surprise he didn’t want to step down? 50 billion is not bad at all for 30 years of work.
Dear wijayapala and Dayan Jayatilleke,
Please visit…………………………………
http://nesohr.org/files/Lest_We_Forget.pdf
to know what the armed forces and other groups did to tamils since 1956 which caused tamil youth to take up arms, which caused the ultimate birth of the LTTE.
The two uprisings by sinhala youth were put down with equal ferocity.
Justitia, could you please quote something other than an LTTE website?
http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport20.htm
“NESOHR is headed by Fr. X. Karunaratnam described as Fr. P2 in our Bulletin No. 23 (Section 12. The Church: Between Nationalism & Fascism). He has a long record of service to the LTTE. NESOHR has no independent existence apart from the LTTE and was created after physically wiping out independent human rights activism that found internal violence among the Tamils more insidiously destructive than the external. Many pioneers of human rights who questioned this internal violence were killed, practically all of them by the LTTE. Among them were Soosaipillai Nobert, Selvi Thiagarajah, Manoharan, Rajani Thiranagama, Vimaleswaran and many other democratic political leaders and intellectuals.”
Thank you.
SD,
Your argument as I understand it, is that Tamil “racism” has been a phenomenon that manifested itself even before independence. As evidence, you present rumblings of secession in the form of federalism and the demands of GG Ponnambalam for 50-50 representation and that the first party with an ethnic name was created by Tamils, paving the way for “race” politics.
I would be surprised if you haven’t that argument before.
As a solution, you propose forcible colonization, so that Tamils have no choice but to give up their inherent “racial chauvinism”, and mix with other cultures, thus subduing their racialism and long term scheme for secession¸ paving the way for a multi-ethnic society.
Lack of a political solution and the above notion of colonization, are not, in my mind, mutually exclusive. If the Tamils had policing powers , for example (something which the TNA has consistently vouched for), it would be difficult to set up colonization schemes at the mere whim of a politician. As you would agree, the power of the military trumps the power of the police in the North and East, vis-a-vis de facto martial law. But the military is really a political tool. So if a politician wants to set up a colonization scheme, it is simply a matter of declaring a piece of land to be a high-security zone and starting the colonization scheme within the precints of that scheme. I cannot verify it, but Tamilnet claims this is already occurring – they go so far as to mention the particular high-security zone and the number of settlers.
If you find the above to be mind-boggling, then just ask yourself why there’s such a large military presence in the North and East. It seems natural that colonization would have to be on the top ten list. So TT is not making idle talk; what he talks about is already being implemented.
Heshan,
RE: “I would be surprised if you haven’t that argument before.”
Indeed, I have. This version seems to be making the rounds quite a bit these days! Still, I believe there is a modicum of truth to the argument, in that, racialism is not a one-sided phenomenon in the Sri Lankan context. It is not merely the case of a monolithic aggressor versus the valiant underdog, not a David vs Goliath, but two hideously rabid hounds going at each others’ throats, except that one hound is 4 times larger than the other. The two hounds are of course, the nationalists on either side of this divide.
Of course, I would agree that the rabid nationalists on the Tamil side only gained power thanks to the foolish populist policies of successive governments, however, it does not change the fact that both these hounds must be restrained, muzzled and neutered, if moderate people are to have any kind of say.
This is not being helped by those who continue to align themselves with extreme positions.
This is why I am personally of the opinion that the important thing right now is stabilization of the situation, followed by economic and societal uplifting. Talking about secession, eelams, federalism etc. at this stage, is precisely the wrong way to set about it, because it would only empower the Sinhala nationalist hound. I see no immediate, short-term solutions. This one has to be won through long term opinion building and education. I would be happy to stand corrected in this regard.
RE: “It seems natural that colonization would have to be on the top ten list. So TT is not making idle talk; what he talks about is already being implemented.”
I would be grateful to hear the opinions of others on this matter. Perhaps Wijayapala or David could comment?
“It seems natural that colonization would have to be on the top ten list.”
Well I’m sure it’s on the top of TT’s list, as well as the right-wing nut jobs like the JHU and the NFF, but I’m not sure about the rest. Obviously, a solution has to be found to move people away from race politics, but unlike TT who thinks that the solution is to remove what little power the oppressed have, I believe we should remove the oppression itself, thereby removing the fuel that fires race politics. There’s no such thing as black politics in the US anymore because blacks as a community are not treated any different to whites. Once the fire is doused, we’ll find ethnic communities integrating of their own volition without the necessity of the state-sponsored colonisation that TT advocates under the transparent guise of ethnic harmony.
Frankly, I’m quite surprised that all the Mervyns and Belles and Presidunces and other bleeding hearts seemed to have lost their tongues in the face of true Sinhalese Buddhist extremism articulated on this blog, preferring to argue with Wijayapala and myself whenever we make actual reasonable suggestions. I guess they know that only moderates tolerate bullshit.
Heshan
Thanks your for your intelligent answers. Many Sinhalese here only see a so-called Tamil “racism” but ignore the Sinhalese Racism and sick Colonization,Subjugation of the Ancestral Tamil Lands
Dear Singam,
“I think SL will be part of India in few years and do not think SL will be an independent country in the near future.”
Why?
David,
“Who told you that the Mahavamsa is historical? It’s like the Odyssey or the Bible.”
To a certain extent is it like the Bible, but it is not like the Odyssey. The pre-Buddhist sections are not reliable because we have no inscriptions or other archeology to confirm them, but the chronology from the introduction of Buddhism onward is more or less unchallenged by historians.
The Eelamists have not answered the question why the medieval Tamils in Jaffna and Batticaloa adopted some of the mythical parts of Mahavamsa, such as the Vijaya myth, into their own legends.
In addition to the link (massacres of Tamils from 1970 to 2001 ) provided by justitia above , massacres of Tamils from 2002 to Augsut 2008 is covered in http://www.nesohr.org/files/Lest_We_Forget-II.pdf. More documents covering human right abuses suffered by Tamils are available at http://www.nesohr.org/hrr/?show=all
SD,
This is why I am personally of the opinion that the important thing right now is stabilization of the situation,
I would say that the “security threat” – as per separatism has been permanently neutralized. Neutralized because only a person like VP could have taken the LTTE as far as it did. So at least in that regard, the situation has been stabilized. Now it is time to make the weapons conspicuous.
followed by economic and societal uplifting.
I agree with this. A lot of the nationalism you see – on either side – is due to mere ignorance, which stems from poverty. Nationalism needs a culprit; once people are economically well-off, they have little incentive to play the blame game.
Talking about secession, eelams, federalism etc. at this stage, is precisely the wrong way to set about it,
I think the political solution needs to come first, because politics (unfortunately) dictates much of economic policy.
because it would only empower the Sinhala nationalist hound.
Well, that is the central issue here. The hound needs to be reigned in.
I see no immediate, short-term solutions.
True; I would only add that the “traditional” solutions have failed. So even if you build up a solution over a longer period of time, it needs to incorporate elements that are probably somewhat exotic to the traditional mindset. The traditional model of keeping all power at the Center and imposing martial law backed by military force to keep one group of people in check – is not going to work. By work, I mean that it will not yield results which are amenable to different groups.
This one has to be won through long term opinion building and education.
Which cannot be done in an environment full of guns/weapons. Imagine if school-teachers wore a gun around their waist everyday. What message would they be sending the students? The students would question whether the education they received was “rational” or just a farce. When your opinion is backed by the threat of violence, people do one of either three things: blindly believe you, pretend to believe you, or revolt against you. They don’t take the time to question – for obvious reasons.
Dear Heshan,
RE: “So at least in that regard, the situation has been stabilized.”
Yes, but by stabilization I also meant the abatement of the spectre of secession.
RE: “I think the political solution needs to come first, because politics (unfortunately) dictates much of economic policy.”
Yes, but I’m not sure anything beyond the 13th is achievable at this stage. I would go on ahead to say that the Tamil cause should reboot itself altogether, given the previous point about the bogeyman of secession being counter-productive. Instead of campaigning for the hard to achieve, campaign on a platform of equal rights, which is far more difficult to deny and a platform which everyone can identify with.
RE: “Well, that is the central issue here. The hound needs to be reigned in.”
I think it’s difficult to reign it in by alarming or antagonizing it. It must be subdued through superior, undeniable moral arguments, not contestable ones. Again, a universally agreeable moral platform is needed – equal rights is one of them.
RE: “So even if you build up a solution over a longer period of time, it needs to incorporate elements that are probably somewhat exotic to the traditional mindset. The traditional model of keeping all power at the Center and imposing martial law backed by military force to keep one group of people in check – is not going to work.”
You may be right. But I think we both agree that this is not a near-term prospect.
RE: “Which cannot be done in an environment full of guns/weapons.”
No arguments there, I’m in complete agreement. But again, an environment of guns/weapons are difficult to campaign against as long as the bogeyman of a revitalized LTTE are conjured by the diaspora. That hound needs to be reigned in too. We must remove the excuses for having a continued military presence. For this, superior, undeniable moral arguments will always help, even if they don’t achieve things quickly. And let’s face it, we both agree this one is long term.
Correction: *Now it is time to make the political solution conspicuous, not weapons.
Dear Usha
“The LTTE was a product of Sinhala hegemony and Sinhala nationalism – Tamil militancy was the end product of Sinhala supremacist ideology manifested through discriminatory policies, violence and vandalism unleashed against Tamils.”
That may be true for how the LTTE originated, but it does not explain why the LTTE brutalised so many Tamils and ruined Tamil society.
If it is true that the LTTE was the product of Sinhala nationalism, it is equally true that the Rajapaksas and the current security presence in the N-E is the product of Tamil nationalism.
“It’s not fair to forget the violence inflicted on Tamils by the state and by Sinhala chauvinists and thugs encouraged by the state or by the paramilitaries who acted on the behest of the state.”
The “paramilitaries” are fellow Tamils. They did not exist prior to the LTTE and themselves were a product of the LTTE’s murder of anyone who disagreed with them.
“The Tamil people’s right to self-determination is a fundamental right which they deserve to enjoy as the Sinhalese do under a united Sri Lanka if that’s possible.”
The problem with the notion of “self-determination” is that you cannot make everyone happy. Recognising Tamil self-determination necessarily means denying Sinhala self-determination. It is a zero sum game.
“Flag waving? What’s wrong with that when the Sinhala flag, singing of the national anthem in Sinhalese, the erection of Buddha statues (I revere Lord Buddha) and Sinhala sign boards to establish Sinhala control in Tamil habitats are symbols and provocative acts used to perpetuate Sinhala supremacy.”
I agree with what you say about the national anthem, Buddha statues, and Sinhala-only signboards, and that is why I have the right to condemn the diaspora for waving the LTTE flag. I disagree about the Sri Lankan flag- it is not “Sinhala.” The flag was derived from that of the last king Sriwickremarajasinghe who was not a Sinhala, and it was proposed in Parliament by a Muslim. The colonial flag was more communal as it showed a Buddhist dagaba.
Hon. Wijayapala:
and that is why I have the right to condemn the diaspora for waving the LTTE flag.
I am surprised to see that a flag creates such tension in your mind. When the Buddha sat under the Bo Tree, his mind was calm enough that he could supposedly see into his past lives even. But when you sit under a tree, I suppose your mind is filled with images of Eelam flags and Tamil terrorist separatism. Perhaps Hon. Nalin De Silva could psychoanalyze your thought processes, using 100% Ayurvedic techniques, thereby leading to some kind of conflict resolution.
Dear Ceylon,
“Heshan
Thanks your for your intelligent answers.”
I too am grateful for Prof Heshan’s incisive insights. In the Curious Case of Diplomats thread he is making a strong case for how Hitler actually won WWII and did not lose as everyone else in the world is thinking. Please support Prof Heshan.
Dear Anpu,
RE: “I have already provided a link and it looks like you have missed it and I am copying it again – The way forward http://www.srilankacampaign.org/thewayforward.htm“
Thank you but I didn’t miss it. Honestly, I just didn’t think it constituted much of a plan. Here’s why.
1. First, it says “the international community must raise the Government’s humanitarian and human rights violations whenever it considers trading preferences and economic aid.”
Good! Make sure the govt. feels it must do something for its minorities, without denying it the ability to develop the country.
2. The it says “An immediate first step is to show full support for the UN Secretary General’s decision to appoint an independent panel of experts to advise him on accountability issues during the last stages of the separatist war – worryingly some countries have yet to do this ”
In other words, war crimes investigations and boycotts, which contradicts point 1. As many have argued, this is a silly goal at this stage. It is not an action plan for the future. If the ground situation is understood at all by those who are pursuing this path, they will realize that the only thing this will achieve is to further alienate the diaspora and strengthen the govt., not to mention possibly worsen the economic situation in Sri Lanka. And a worsening economic situation will magically elevate society to a higher consciousness how?
Apart from that, the article says nothing – absolutely nothing. No plan for helping the people in the north and east. No plan for charting a realistic course of action for ensuring minority rights. No plan for raising the level of conciousness in society. Basically, no useful plan for the future of the Tamils people in Sri Lanka. Just a self contradictory notion that boycotting Sri Lanka will magically constitute a useful plan of action for the future of the country.
I think we need to discuss something more useful than this.
“I think we need to discuss something more useful than this”
Well said.
Post-war mobilization by the Tamil diaspora has been around WWW and nothing pragmatic or practical. Unless someone from the ruling elite to visit Europe for the diaspora to stage a demonstration.
Its look like Nirmanusan has decided to stay in the Europe for good.
Oh! please, have no doubts about that, not only Mr.Nirmanusan the whole diaspora are there for good. They are not going to give up their green pasture for this little country. This is only a pass time for them!
Dear SD,
I am doing this in a rush. I think (1) Nirmanusan has written a good article (2) good points were exchanged (3) http://www.srilankacampaign.org/thewayforward.htm is good way to move forward. Of course not evry one would agree with everything. We need to start some where. In my opinion GoSL has not done anything to moveforward. Just the opposite. There were (1) so many talks before LTTE and after LTTE between sinhalese and tamil politicians (2) so many reports (3)….. In some of these IC were also involved. What about you listing the steps we need to take
Dear Anpu,
RE: “(3) http://www.srilankacampaign.org/thewayforward.htm is good way to move forward.”
In my previous post, I was making a case for why it’s not a good way forward. I’d be glad to listen to counter-arguments or for better alternatives.
RE: “In my opinion GoSL has not done anything to moveforward. Just the opposite.”
Politically, they have done little or nothing, I agree. However, the GOSL is doing a fair amount of rebuilding in the North and East. We shouldn’t necessarily look at everything as being bleak. Encourage the govt. in the good things it does (because not every action is bad), discourage it from the wrong things. Instead of confrontation, use diplomacy. Brains instead of brawn.
RE: “What about you listing the steps we need to take”
I already did that in this post and reiterated some points here. Be glad to take it up for discussion.
Dear Anpu,
“I am doing this in a rush.”
How can you help the Tamils when you are in a rush? Are there more important things you are involved with?
Dear TT,
You have missed my post again unfortunately:
http://groundviews.org/2011/02/18/the-tamil-diaspora-and-the-future-of-the-tamil-struggle/comment-page-1/#comment-28328
Since you have expounded your argument in great detail, I would like to make sure that I have understood the core of it properly. I’m also driving towards a point, but it requires affirmation that I have understood your overall argument.
So could you please let me know whether my outline of it is fair and whether my understanding is correct?
I am a Tamil man.At present we tamils and singhalese are living happily.But the problem is the tamil people in other countries are misleaded by fake news,videos and posts….etc.The best way for you to decide what really happened is visiting Sri Lanka and ask our Tamil people all the questions you’ve got.Instead of helping our Tamil people you guys are blaming everything and doing nothing to help our economy.If you really love tamils then show it by helping Sri Lanka to become a developed country.Becouse when people are educated and advanced they are not stupid enough to waste their time by joining some stupid organization in some far away foreign country.In Sri Lanka we enjoy our lives by partying,watching matches,singing…..etc.While we enjoy this peace you people are fighting for what???actually.I don’t understand.Wake up brothers.Its over.
Help your motherland Sri Lanka where you really belong.And we all waiting for you to come back and join our new nation of true peace.We all love you so much.