Cas Shivas,

I have been reading Michael Ondaatge’s book, ‘Anil’s Ghost’, the past few days. The following words (Page 119)referring to a war/rebellion zone children’s ward in a hospital, exactly reflect what I think about the situation in Sri lanka. They resonated within me.

” There were not too many fathers around them. He watched the children, who were unaware of their parents’ arms. Fifty yards away in Emergency he heard grown men scream for their mothers as they were dying. ‘Wait for me!’ ‘I know you are here!’ This was when he stopped believing in man’s rule on earth. He turned away from every person who stood up for war. Or the principle of one’s land, or pride od ownership, or even personal rights. All of these motives ended up somehow in the arms of careless power. One was no worse and no better than the enemy.”

I have seen the deadly harvest from repeating cycles of vicious actions and worse reactions. I have seen the suffering, pain , despair and utter hopelessness of the victims o the last war. I am seeing right here in Jaffna, the devastating effects of war on societal norms and values. I am seeing the war-affected making a tremendous effort to overcome their unimaginable burdens, to recover their basic human dignity, amidst many odds.

We need lasting peace now to survive as humans and then as a people speaking Tamil and living a Tamil culture. This is in itself a very big battle. The TNA reflects the thought processes of VP/LTTE- a child of its parent the TULF and its own creator- VP/LTTE . It is yet lost in a past that has placed the Tamils where they are at present. If this past were to repeat again, there will not be a distinct people called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’. The TNA has to re-think its strategy and lead the Tamils into a visionary future. Whatever, the difficulties, the Tamils here, have to be a part and a parcel of Sri Lanka. We have seek different solutions to our present problems. Old medicines are outdated now.

The TNA consists almost totally of cheap politicians. There are no leaders in the horizon. My quarrel with the TNA is about its inability to adjust and work in the new circumstances. It approach is already laying the foundations for more problems for the Tamils and alienating the Sinhalese who were convinced at the end of the war that the Tamils had been wronged in many ways. This is a tragedy. I have no hesitation in calling the TNA- the Tamil National Ailment!

Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

In the field of Development Northern Province is one region where there is no Development Bank. Even during the so called peace time not a single M.P. from TNA was invited to attend the District Development Committee meetings held in the District Secretariats. It was always Basil (at that time he was not even the Minister for Development, and even Douglas, in spite of being a Minister was not allowed to open his mouth) and the government members along with the Arm3ed Forces Representatives who took all decisions. The development they are talking about swimming pools and some roads are mainly from the service sector (Banks-26%) who have opened a large number of branches and collection centres in the North to collect the money from the frugal Jaffna man who receives money from his kith and kin who were chased out of the country in 1983 by an earlier government. Due to the land grabbing, Army cantonments and HSZ jaffna man can not cultivate his own fertile soil. Even Mr.Mavai Senathirajah can not return to his house in the HSZ in Maviddapuram inspite of a Supreme Court Order delivered during Sarath Nandana Silva’s period as the Chief Justice.During the CFA period General Sathish Nambiar was commissioned by the government to produce a report on HSZ. He said that it is possible to do it incrementally with the ltte Artillery positions being moved away from Palaly. Now there are no artillery positions or ltte.But the govt. needs these lands and more for the Armed forces for the expected regrouping of the ltte at some future time.Due to the land grabbing in the East(and attack on their places of worship elsewhere) even SLMC is opposed by their former supporters and are forced to contest under UPFA banner in the Eastern P.C. Elections. We are told that the Govt. was not prepared to carve out a Tamil speaking District in Amparai and appoint a Muslim/Tamil speaking G.A. there.
Yes, Trincomalee is a uniting force between Batti and Jaffna.It gave the Federal Party its first M.P., Mr.Rajavarothayam. Inspite of JR offering minister’s post several times Sampanthan never accepted it. Alas Trinco has been taken over by the Sinhalese through State aided colonisation and from 4.7 % in 1881 climbed to almost 33% today.
I hope Mano Ganesan will continue to do his Human Rights work and assist the relatives of those disappeared by the ‘unidentified’ inspite of his bad company.

Thank you for your response. If the Jaffna centrism that you identify must be called out, then that is how it must be called out. The claim must be that Vanni Tamils, Mannar Tamils, Battticaloa Tamils etc are all subordinated hierarchically to Jaffna politicians – Vellahlah JT politicians at that – who will always claim to lead. I think it’s dangerous to extrapolate a North – East divide from a perceived Jaffna centrism, because it is inaccurate, and also because it plays nicely into the divide and conquer stratagems that are being implemented.

wijayapala
July 20, 2012 • 9:43 am

Exactly, so the rural ‘yakkas’ would remain mono-lingual for generations without being able to converse with their Tamil, Muslim or Singhalse neighbour.
For me it was essentially a decision propagating class interest than a one meant to appease Sinhala masses.

Dear cyril

“The elite in society articulates the general will of the people and the NE Tamil people have expressed their will in numerous elections. What the Tamil elite has articulated is a nationalist sentiment as the Sinhala elite did in 1956 and laid the grounds for a Sinhala-Buddhist State.”

You say the elite articulate the general will; I say that the elite often will manipulate the general will of the people in order for the elite to stay in power. The Sinhala elite in 1956 could easily have satisfied the general will of the Sinhalese by having both Sinhala and Tamil as the official languages.

Dear Cyril,

Mass hunger, deprivation, oppresion and exploitation can spur sand revolutions. There is no doubt about that. Unfortunately, the Tamils in the north and east have experienced much worse than that at the hands of their so-called saviours and been already sacrificed at the alter of ‘utter Stupidity’. Please go and tell the war-affected in the Vanni that,”Man cannot live by bread alone” and see the result! Go and tell this slogan to the poor widows and orphans in Jaffna and see the result. Go and tell this to the people whose livelihood and lives have been destroyed by the war and be the recipient of choice words in utter filth, if not blows with the old broom.

Further whatever ‘nationalistic conciousness’was aroused among the Tamils in response to GOSL misrule at one time by the FP, TULF, the militant groups and the TNA, has been proved utterly counter-productive and the war-affected Tamils have seen the devastating results. The words, “Nationalistic conciousness” does not hold any meaning or hope for the war-affected, any more. I am critical of the TNA and the vocal Diaspora groups because they want to carry on in their old merry/bloody way, without caring tuppence for ground realities.

Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

Agreed, substance is meaningful. Thanks Mr. cyril, Nithy!

The lack of an untainted political alternative for Tamils is certainly a major reason for the TNA’s success. So far the TNA has not come up with a viable economic plan. They may look for ‘foreign funding’ but at what cost? Will it lead to a puppet regime? The TNA seems to be capitalising on the lack of information among the Tamil population, particularly those in the Wanni.

Since the Spartacus’ Rebellion there is ample historical evidence that human beings desire for freedom from oppression has no direct correlation to material existence. ‘Man does not live by bread alone’ (Bible). An oppressed people not only struggles for daily bread but also for their human dignity and desire for freedom. That is the fundamental difference between human beings and animals. The elite in society articulates the general will of the people and the NE Tamil people have expressed their will in numerous elections. What the Tamil elite has articulated is a nationalist sentiment as the Sinhala elite did in 1956 and laid the grounds for a Sinhala-Buddhist State. This State has been built excluding the Tamils from exercising real political power. In this context, it is the development of the Tamil collective consciousness which is not necessarily dependant on the level of economic development that brought about the struggle to assert their political rights. The 30-year war may have reduced them to economic poverty and development is necessary to uplift them from their misery but not at the expense of or in exchange for their political rights.