When we compare with the events in America, When Dr Martin Luther King Jr was speaking of his dream being deeply rooted in the American dream in 1963, our leader SJV Chelvanayakam was speaking of the Tamil dream, where Tamils and Sinhalese, would live with equality and justice, without any economic neglect and discrimination under a federal constitution of the island.

Non violent sit-in movements and direct action demonstrations were carried out by Tamils from 1950’s to 1970’s. The people of North East exhibited volcanic show of solidarity. The state often replied with degrading attack using Sinhalese mobs, the police and the armed forces. Tamils were dehumanised and either jailed or put under house arrest.

During the 1960’s, John F Kennedy was never desperate to please his white constituency. He gave public support to the sit-ins by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. In contrast, all the leaders of the south of Ceylon were competing desperately with one another to apeace the Sinhalese constituency.

Degrading discrimination of Tamils became a common practice and increased in vigour daily. Competition amongst the political leaders to make discrimination constitutional, produced the discriminatory unilateral constitution of the rebel state of Sri Lanka in 1972 in the south, illegally annexing the North East.

This action ignited the fire for freedom and a freedom movement for the North East was born. By self referendum, the people of North East mandated the birth of Tamil Eelam as an independent sovereign state.

The problem in Ceylon became the problem of two countries; Tamil Eelam and Sri Lanka. All the governments portrayed falsely, the problem in the island as ethnic problem and terrorist problem to the international community. Even the USA administration has erroneously understood the real problem in the island.

The political ideology of sit-ins in America and India yielded results because the citizens of America and Britain valued freedom, equality and justice for mankind. High morals and values were running in their blood streams and culture.

The sit-ins in Ceylon had a contrasting effect because the Sinhalese do not value human freedom, equality and justice. This made the state to gear up Tamil discrimination, violence, murder and displacements, forcing the Tamils to abandon non violent methods. Resistance against Sinhalese violence remained the only option available for survival.

Now, the cycle of violence has culminated into state terror and counter terror.

Morality cannot be legislated and laws cannot change attitudes. Military support to a country engaged in state terror is dangerous.

For these reasons, the present government should not venture to make the faulty constitution right. Independence should be initiated to the state of Tamil Eelam by Sri Lanka, before the other countries do it.