SRI LANKA: IS THERE democracy IN US ???????

SRI LANKA: IS THERE democracy IN US ???????: Whistle-blowing, ‘national security’ and the erosion of democracy December 26, 2IS THERE democracy  IN US ???????013, 7:52 pm   IS THERE...

WHAT HELL DOES SHE KNOW ABOUT SRI LANK AN TAMILS GO TAMILS NADU AND LEARN MORE ON TAMILS

Finding a resolution that does not polarise Sri Lanka even more

February 3, 2014, 12:00 pm 

By Jehan Perera

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal who visited Sri Lanka made it clear that the United States would continue to pursue a resolution on Sri Lanka at the forthcoming session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.   The Sri Lankan government is totally opposed to the initiative spearheaded by the US to have a resolution that calls for an international probe into the human rights issues that arose in the last phase of the war.   Ms Biswal also explained her country’s interest in Sri Lanka as being motivated by its values and desire to see peace and prosperity in Sri Lanka and the region.  However, this latter motivation is unlikely to impress the ethnic majority Sinhalese population at large whose view of post-war Sri Lanka corresponds to that of the government, which gives priority to post-war economic development over other values. 

While Assistant Secretary Biswal was meeting with the country’s decisionmakers and also visiting the North, I was in Avissawella in the Western Province.  The government has scheduled early elections in both the Western and Southern provinces and selected the day after the vote in Geneva for these elections.  The government appears to be calculating that the voters will be motivated by the spirit of nationalism to give it a victory at these elections, which will be a springboard for further victories at the more important Presidential and Parliamentary elections that are billed to follow in swift order.  On the Sunday morning I was in Avissawella, it presented a picture of tranquility and prosperity, with tea and rubber plantations and factories and schoolchildren going to Sunday school in their temples.  In conversation with people on the street getting about their daily business it could be seen that Ms Biswal’s concerns about post-war peace and prosperity were largely met, at least for them.

But the problem is that the same does not hold true in the North and East of the country where the war was fought, and even in the hearts of members of the ethnic minorities who live outside of those fromer war zones. The concerns of the Sinhalese majority are different from those of the Tamil and Muslim ethnic minorities, especially where it concerns their sense of security. The recently elected Northern Provincial Council has passed a resolution of its own calling for an international war crimes investigation.  The resolution of the Northern Provincial Council has pitted it frontally against the government and is likely to be based on their frustration at the emasculation of the Provincial Council despite its recent election.  However, most non-Tamil Sri Lankans would agree with the view that the government is being punished for having defied Western pressure to stop the war and negotiate with the LTTE.  Some would even say that the forces of separatism are at work again. 

GOVERNMENT WARNING

Given the issues at stake a victory by either side is not likely to further the post-war reconciliation process within Sri Lanka.  It will only induce bitterness and whet the appetite for revenge in the name of justice.   Reconciliation will be the first casualty.  At a media briefing in Washington DC, Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga has warned of a descent into chaos if there is an international investigation that probes war crimes and targets the Sri Lankan military.  The Presidential Secretary’s warning of a descent into chaos evokes the memory of July 1983.  After an LTTE ambush that killed 13 soldiers, the largest number to die in a single incident at that time, Sinhalese mobs went on the rampage and attacked Tamils in Colombo and elsewhere they lived as minorities. 

Those riots took place because the government of the day created the enabling environment for it, which proved in hindsight to be the greatest mistake on the part of any Sri Lankan government.  Such a descent into chaos would be a terrible tragedy to the entire country, and also to the government.  It was after July 1983 that the tide changed against the Sri Lankan government and towards the Tamil militancy.  They became strengthened immeasurably with scores of voluntary recruits and international support.  On the other hand, the government lost its international credibility as media images of the pogrom were beamed internationally.  The government hand in the mob violence, both through the active participation of government ministers and the inaction of the security forces became evident.  It required the election of a new government in 1994 to restore the international balance.

The Presidential Secretary’s second point was that the government should be given more time to make the reconciliation process take root.  He asked for five more years from a starting point of July 2012.  While taking this date as a starting point is not self-evident, it nevertheless is valid to observe that reconciliation takes a considerable period of time.  But it must also be noted that the post war period has seen a rise in the targeting of minorities — especially the Muslim community, with impunity, suggesting that reconciliation has not been on the forefront of the government agenda.  The government’s approach to reconciliation in the North continues to be contradictory.  On the one hand, the government uses the security forces to engage in surveillance over the people which creates a psychology of fear towards the security forces.  On the other hand, the government takes pride in using these same security forces to engage in economic development and welfare activities such as house building and provision of material handouts. 

BROADER INVESTIGATION

The third point raised by the Presidential Secretary was that any investigation to be just and comprehensive should span the longer period of the conflict and go back at least to the 1980s when the violence took root.  The international focus on only the last phase of the war is too obviously targeted on the government.   But there was more than one party to the conflict and to the atrocities that took place.  There is no justice in picking out a short period and investigating it so that only those who committed war crimes and other human rights violations in a particular period will be caught and punished.  The longer period too needs to be investigated.  That is what makes it fair and will give it legitimacy in the eyes of the larger population in the country.  The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission had a mandate that extended back from 1960 to the early 1990s and not just any one phase.

The absence of balance lies in the insistence on an investigation only into the last phase of the thirty year war.  The narrow focus on the last phase of the war is seen by many in Sri Lanka, and not only its government, as a partisan intervention to punish it for defeating the LTTE.  At best it seems to be a call for punitive justice for its own sake, rather than for reconciliation.  Any investigation of the past, either in the form of an international inquiry or a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission would need to win the acceptance of the different ethnic communities who constitute the Sri Lankan people.  There are many examples of such truth seeking commissions in which finding the truth for the sake of the victims who need to know what happened to their loved ones took priority over other considerations.  Whatever model Sri Lanka chooses, looking at what happened over the longer period than the last phase of the war would be necessary.

There is a need for Sri Lankan society as a whole to be apprised of the nature and consequences of the political violence conducted with impunity by all sides in the past, by the present government, previous governments and different militant movements, including Sinhalese, so that the cycle will not repeat itself.  In this context, a Truth and Reconciliation mechanism with international involvement that has the consent and involvement of all major stakeholders within Sri Lanka is an option worth considering. The South African government has indicated its interest in supporting a process if it has cross party support within Sri Lanka and is part and parcel of a larger process of political reform.  It could be an alternative to an international investigation if both the Sri Lankan government and the major minority parties agree to it.

WAR CRIME - NOT FOR THE ONES AT WAR BUT FOR ONES IN DOMESTIC TERRORISM

http://www.defence.lk/nfz.asp

 Stuart Cosgrove and Shirani Sabaratnam

The Sunday Leader has unearthed startling evidence showing that the LTTE-leaning Diaspora in Britain have made in-roads to the highest levels within the British Channel 4 TV network.
Sri Lankan born Shirani Sabaratnam originally from Jaffna and Vaddukoddai is married to Channel 4 TV’s Director of Diversity, the well-known British journalist Stuart Cosgrove. Stuart Cosgrove’s responsibilities at Channel 4 is without doubt a major one: he oversees Channel 4’s strategy to have innovation and to have creative diversity. He also is in charge of managing strategy and development of new companies, within the general ambit of Channel 4’s operations with the ultimate aim of establishing Channel 4 as the “most creatively diverse media organisation in Europe”.
Vaddukoddai is famous for the so-called “Vaddukoddai Resolution” when the TULF in 1976 first called for the separation of the North  and the East in order that Tamil aspirations could be better dealt with.
In 2010 Stuart Cosgrove participated in an unusual referendum: amongst the Tamil people of the world who voted for the creation of “Eelam” – a motherland for the Tamil community in the North  and the East of Sri Lanka.  Sometime thereafter, Stuart Cosgrove wrote about that election, “Maryhill (in Scotland) was chosen as a polling station in a global referendum organised by expatriate Tamils in their tense stand-off with Sri Lanka, a country that has resisted their independence.” He added, the “referendum is a fascinating story of democracy withheld, with more plotlines than a political thriller and enough constitutional twists to send Scotland’s political intelligentsia into paroxysms of near-erotic delight.” Cosgrove also said, “My interest went beyond the observational. I was there to cast my vote. My wife, Shirani Sabaratnam, is a native Tamil speaker from Jaffna, on the northern peninsula of Sri Lanka. She still holds Sri Lankan citizenship and, as a “qualifying spouse”, I am allowed to participate in the poll. So, strange as it seems, the stubby pencil of democracy was rightfully mine. As I handed over my identity papers, I was acutely aware of the paradox. Voting Yes/Yes in the 1997 Scottish referendum on devolution seemed natural; voting in a referendum on Tamil independence was an unexpected experience.”
Cosgrove was able to vote at the referendum  because under the so-called rules of the Tamil Diaspora, he was a “qualifying spouse” through his marriage to Shirani Sabaratnam. Stuart Cosgrove waxed eloquent about the Tamil Diaspora’s battle with Sri Lanka’s government, “Tamils have for decades fought a relentless battle with successive Sri Lankan governments, demanding greater civil rights. With well-organised communities in Toronto, London and Paris, the Tamils are the undisputed world champions of diaspora politics.”
Sabaratnam and Cosgrove live in South London and are perhaps the best known husband and wife media combination in Britain – they make a formidable team: Sabaratnam is the Commissioning Editor at UKTV and Cosgrove had similar responsibilities at Channel 4 for a while. Neither Sabaratnam nor Cosgrove had any direct input on the production of the films broadcast on Channel 4 about Sri Lanka. Both have made visits back to Sri Lanka – the fact that Cosgrove was permitted to enter Sri Lanka in spite of his professional job at Channel 4 – and in an interview published locally Sabaratnam indicated that there were plans to make a film in Sri Lanka. Whether it was a film about Sri Lanka was not immediately clear. Her plans for a film in Sri Lanka on the surface would be of immense benefit in terms of tourism, international positive exposure and for the film industry in Sri Lanka. However, the current revelations that Sabaratnam is very much an activist with the Eelam-seeking Diaspora in Britain, will serve only to sully those intentions. Additionally industry sources in Britain have indicated that following up on the made-for-TV films, a full-screen film is also being considered for release next year.
Many questions have been raised as to how it is that in spite of the world’s hot trouble spots like in Zimbabwe, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Tibet, Iraq and Afghanistan, Channel 4 have yet to make a film based on their coverage of events in those countries and continues to have an abiding interest in the Diaspora’s battles with Sri Lanka. Many in Sri Lanka complained that Channel 4 had not given coverage to the atrocities committed by the LTTE which also included killings of civilians and children. Zimbabwe in particular is of interest as it was the Channel 4 reporting that brought the world news of the ‘land grab’ from white farmers.
We attempted to contact both Sabaratnam and Cosgrove for a comment, but both were not reachable at the time of going to press.

TAMILS WAY BETTER OFF THEY ARE ALL OVER NOT THE ------

NE students proved Eelam propagandists wrong, says former STF chief

 

December 24, 2013, 8:32 pm 

By Shamindra Ferdinando

One-time commandant of the elite Special Task Force (STF), Senior DIG Nimal Lewke, yesterday told The Island that the Northern Province achieving the highest success rate of 63.3 percent, at the GCE Advance Level examination 2013, was proof of peaceful environment in the war-torn region.

Those who had been alleging that the intimidating military presence, four years after the conclusion of the conflict, was causing anxiety among the community were proved wrong, the veteran anti-insurgency specialist said. The Tamil political leadership, Western powers as well as the LTTE rump should re-examine their position on the post-war situation, Lewke said, adding that the examination results couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Northern Province comprises Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Mannar districts.

Under Lewke’s command, the STF played a pivotal role in the overall combined security forces campaign during Eelam war IV.

Responding to a query, the ex-commando said that those who had sat the examination in the Eastern province, comprising the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee, recorded a success rate of 60.1 percent, thereby proving that there was normalcy in the region. The Eastern Province was placed third in the rankings behind Sabaragamuwa Province.

The government brought the Eastern Province under its control in June 2007. The Vanni region was secured in May 2009.

Lewke said that the examination results meant that the eradication of the LTTE was having a significant positive impact on the northern and eastern communities. In fact, those who had been alleging uncertainty and insecurity. particularly in the Northern Province. in spite of the conclusion of the conflict. ended with egg on their face. Lewke said that the Tamil speaking student community would never have achieved such results if they were apprehensive of the post-war military deployment. The bottom line was that the eradication of the LTTE in May 2009 brought forcible recruitment of children to its fighting cadre, he said. Although the LTTE promised the UNO in May 1998 to cease child recruitment it continued the despicable practice until Prabhakaran was eliminated on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon, Lewke said.

Lewke said that parents of those children who fared well at the examination should be grateful to the armed forces, the police, the STF and the Civil Defenec Force (CDF) for making it possible for their children to have four years of uninterrupted classes. The global community should recognize that the annihilation of the LTTE had been beneficial to the Tamil community, though the Tamil Diaspora and the Tamil political leadership pretended otherwise.

The retired policeman asserted that the outcome of the examination results wouldn’t be to the liking of many. The results would have come as a shock to those who had been accusing the government of depriving the northerners of even the basis democratic freedoms, he said. The recently elected Northern Provincial Council, run by the five-party alliance, led by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), would have to re-examine its position, he said.

The armed forces and intelligence services paid a huge price for victory over the LTTE, he said.

Lewke said: "Those who had been painting a bleak picture of post-war Northern Province are likely to remain silent. They’ll never be able explain the tremendous improvement in the GCE Advance Level results at a time some local politicians and a section of the international community are alleging suppression of people in the Northern Province.

Canadian representative in Colombo for Commonwealth meet, MP Deepak Obhrai declared that the northern community was being suppressed by the government. Obhrai based his statement made in Canada after returning from Colombo to meetings he had in Jaffna with NP Chief Minister Wigneswaran, Bishop of Jaffna and those at Uthayan newspaper editorial.

Lewke said that the GCE Advance Level results could be part of Sri Lanka’s defence at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in March, 2014.

PREACH LIKE US THEN DO THE OPPOSITE PM HIS SON MUST GO

Heroin racket: PM’s son benefited from suspects – Monks

December 24, 2013, 12:00 pm 

National Organiser of the National Sangha Council, Ven. Pahiyangala Anandasagara Thera stresses a point at the media briefing. Ven. Rajawatte Wappa Thera (centre) and Wattahene Vijitha Thera look on. 
 Pix by Sujatha Jayaratne 
By Madura Ranwala

President of the National Sangha Council (NSC) Ven. Rajawatte Wappa Thera yesterday alleged that the provincial council election campaign of Prime Minsiter D. M. Jayaratne’s son, Anuradha Jayaratne, in  September, had been funded by those who brought in a container where heroin was subsequently found concealed in cans of grease.

Addressing the media at the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress Auditorium, at Bauddhaloka Mawatha, with National Organiser Ven. Pahiyangala Anandasagara Thera and Wattahene Vijitha Thera of the NSC, Ven. Wappa thera said that they had received information, from people in the area, that the PM’s son had spent millions of rupees to get the highest number of preferential

votes at the Central Provincial Council election last September.

The Thera also criticised the Bhikkus and other religious leaders, of the Inter Religious Alliance for National Unity, who backed the premier at a recent media briefing and added that they were interested only in their personal gain and not the country’s interests.

The Thera said that the coordinating secretary to the Premier had told the media that he issued the letter with the consent of the premier and therefore the premier should explain his stance without criticising the Bhikkus, who exposed his involvement in the incident, as it was the right of the Sangha to do so.

CAMERON, TORIES FUNDED BIG BY DIASPORA

CAMERON, TORIES FUNDED BIG BY DIASPORA

Conservative party given 420,000 Sterling Pounds:

British PM’s Jaffna visit at behest of Subaskaran Allirajah:

Funding for the British ruling coalition partner, the Conservative Party and the indebtedness of British Prime Minister David Cameron to the Tamil Diaspora has been exposed by a Tamil language website -- Athirvu.

The website points out that Sri Lankan born Subaskaran Allirajah, the founder and owner of British telephone company Lycamobile, is the second largest provider of funds to the Conservative Party and hence David Cameron acts as ‘an instrument of the Tamil Diaspora and against the Sri Lankan government.’

The website disclosed that Subaskaran substantially funds the British Conservative Party and points out that Subaskaran gave 420,000 Sterling Pounds to the Conservative Party as a one-off donation. The website claims that he has given over 20 million Sterling Pounds to the Prince Charles Foundation as well. The article claims that David Cameron’s visit to Jaffna and his statements against the Sri Lankan government were made at the behest of Subaskaran. It points out Cameron’s Jaffna visit was facilitated by the Ganam Foundation established by Subaskaran in Jaffna to steer their anti-Sri Lankan government activities.

- See more at: http://dailynews.lk/local/cameron-tories-funded-big-diaspora#sthash.AdyIaLNy.dpuf 

Mandela’s anti-homeland nationalism reflects : Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism

Features

Mandela’s anti-homeland nationalism reflects :

Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism- Part 1

H. L. D. Mahindapala

All shades of political opinion have rushed to claim the legacy of Nelson Mandela after his death than when he was alive. All of them hope that some of the saintly shine that glorifies Mandela will rub on them. In a sense, these claims by diverse actors in the political spectrum indicate that Mandela has suddenly become relevant to Sri Lankan politics. He, in fact, became relevant directly just shortly before his death when President Mahinda Rajapaksa discussed with President Jacob Zuma of S. Africa at the last CHOGM in Colombo the applicability of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the post-Nandikadal search for reconciliation.

In S. Africa this Commission set up by Mandela went a long way not only to ease the tensions that had built up between the white minority and the black majority but also to put aside the bitter past in order to renew faith in a constructive future. It wasn’t a mechanism to dig into the wounds of the past to keep them bleeding like the beggar’s wound to exploit guilt or for vindictive political bargaining. It was not a means to point an accusing finger at one party or the other. Rather it was a means of bringing down the boiling temperature to a tolerable level where shattered lives could return to normalcy and move on to bigger and greater fields ahead.

The success of Mandela’s enlightened nationalism guiding a volatile ethnic volcano, with the polarized white and black extremists ruling the day, made him an outstanding political genius of the 20th century. Mandela’s biography, Long Walk to Freedom, reveals that he relied only on one uncompromising strategic ideology: pure African nationalism. Mandela categorically rejected the political interpretation of the Marxists who came with their text books crying that it was a class struggle. He grasped the realistic historical facts in which a white racist minority was oppressing a black majority with inhuman disregard for basic rights. He had his feet firmly rooted in the soil of Africa. He and his leading colleagues in the ANC were wary of imported theories peddled by Marxists and Western ideologues who were trying to hijack African nationalism from committed patriots like him.

Apartheid regime

His political philosophy determined his political strategies. His attitude towards other political parties is made quite clear when he wrote: “I was among the Youth Leaguers who were suspicious of the white left. Even though I had befriended many white communists, I was wary of white influence in the ANC, and I opposed joint campaigns with the party. I was concerned that the communists were intent on taking over our movement under the guise of joint action. I believed that it was undiluted African nationalism, not Marxism or multi-racialism, that would liberate us. I even went as far as breaking up CP meetings by storming the stage, tearing up signs and capturing the microphone. At the national conference of the ANC in December, the Youth League introducing a motion demanding the expulsion of all members of the Communist Party, but we were soundly defeated. Despite the influence of the passive resistance campaign of 1946 had on me, I felt about the Indians the same way about the communists: that they would tend to dominate the ANC, in part because of their superior education, experience and training.” (p.124 – Long Walk to Freedom, ABACUS, 1994).

In 1962 he was picked up by the S. African police when he was driving a car disguised as a chauffeur. According to the current correspondence in The New York Times the S. African intelligence was tipped off by CIA which had categorized him as a communist. It was the height of the Cold War and the Americans viewed all nationalists as reds under their beds. Mandela was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment. What was thought to be victory for apartheid proved in the end to be the undoing of the most pernicious and oppressive regime structured by the White Man.

In short, he became the ultimate symbol of his people who trusted him as a passionate and uncompromising African nationalist. It won him the biggest political prize of his time. His overarching nationalism is revealed in his dealings with his nephew Daliwonga, a leading figure promoting separatist Bantustans, which was a ploy by the apartheid regime to split the unity of the rising nationalist movement. Referring to his discussion with Daliwonga he says unequivocally: “I did not want to complicate the discussion by introducing grand political theories. I would rely on common sense and the facts of our history.” (p. 215 – Ibid). This fact does not leave room for Nietschean “interpretations”. Mandela and his fellow-nationalists viewed the grand imported theories as a ruse to subvert the nationalists fighting to liberate themselves not only from political oppression but also from the ideological an cultural cringe.

Western ideologies

In his biography he makes it known that he was not for federalism or tribal claims for separate Bantustans, or for communism, or for imported Western ideologies. He fought within the Youth League to keep the tribal separatists fighting for their homelands, the Indians, the Communists, and the White Left, however well-meaning they were, as far away from ANC as possible. His goal was a united S. Africa under a unitary constitution led by the nationalists of the ANC. He saw through the maneuvers of Prime Ministers P. W. Botha and F. W. de Klerk for power sharing, or to reserve powers in the constitution for the white minority. He saw it as a devious mean to retain the grip of the minority on the levers of power.

The resistance of the white minority rule was to stem the rising tide of black majority yearning to overthrow the colonial oppression first by the British and then by the Afrikaners, the descendants of the Dutch. The white minority of Afrikaners was hanging on to the seats of power derived from a white colonial legacy. Analyzing the historical realities he informed P. W. Botha of where he stood: “I said the rejection of majority rule was a poorly disguised attempt to preserve power. I suggested he must face reality. ‘Majority rule and internal peace are like two sides of a single coin, and white South Africa simply has to accept that there will never be peace and stability in this country until this principle is fully applied.” (p. 654 – Ibid).

He added: “At the end of the letter (to Botha) I offered a very rough framework for negotiations: Two political issues will have to be addressed; firstly, the demand for majority rule in a unitary state; secondly, the concern for white South Africa over the demand, as well, as the insistence of whites on structural guarantees that majority rule will not mean domination of the white minority by the blacks. The most crucial task which will face the government and the ANC will be to reconcile these two positions.” (Ibid).

Mandela’s nationalism was home-grown which like all other nationalist movements was opposed to outside intruders. The S. African government allowed foreign dignitaries to visit him to test his political nerve as well as his political ideology. On one occasion he told Prof. Samuel Dash of Georgetown University and Lord Bethell what his minimum conditions were. He wrote: “I laid out what I saw as the minimum for a future non-racial South Africa: a unitary state without homelands, non-racial elections for the Central Parliament and one-person one-vote. (pp. 619-620 – Ibid).

He also defined his nationalism more precisely when he was dealing with the Eminent Persons Group. He says: “Various members of the group had concerns about my political ideology and what a South Africa under ANC leadership might look like. I told them I was a South African nationalist, not a communist, and that nationalists came in every hue and colour, and that I was committed to a non-racial society.” (p. 629 -- Ibid).

Historical injustices

A comparative study of Mandela’s nationalism will confirm that his brand of nationalism did not differ from the other popular nationalists who represented the will of the people. Besides, clearing the historical injustices left behind by the departing colonial masters was not an easy task for the leaders of the new order. Managing the transition was a balancing act as tricky as that of walking a tight rope across the Niagra: one misstep and you plunge into the unmanageable turbulent waters.

Mandela during his treason trial. Picture courtesy: CHINA DAILY

At the heart of the transition period was the critical issue of managing the privileged minority forces who were ruling the roost under the white man’s rule. The task before the new nationalist leaders was not only to overthrow the minority rulers dictating terms to majorities but also to dismantle constitutionally – and sometimes by force – the powers of oppressive colonial institutions and their allied agents, mostly minorities. Besides, adjusting historical injustices inflicted on the majority, who were denied their rightful place in the nations under colonialism, emerged as the most divisive issue. Mandela too had to face this issue. The dismantling of unjust and unfair privileges, perks, positions and power structures that gave the minority the upper hand over the majority was an inevitable and a necessary process to restore the lost rights of the majority and redress the historical injustices.

Colonial masters

The passing of power from one entrenched group to another is always a revolutionary moment – a moment pregnant with the potential of erupting into resistance and violence. A privileged community seldom relinquishes power without resistance. Mandela was facing the unenviable task of dismantling the power bases of the most vicious racist elite who were a part and parcel of African soil. Unlike the colonial masters they had nowhere to go. S. Africa was their home. Simultaneously, Mandela had to fight every inch of the way to prevent the white minority agitating for self-government, or having reserve powers entrenched in the constitution either for power sharing or gaining guarantees for them to control the government through the back door. The subsequent reconciliation that averted a violent backlash came when the white minority in S. Africa accepted the democratic principle that a minority has no power to rule a majority.

The transition from colonialism to independence had its own pitfalls and risks. Various nationalist leaders handled it their own way informed by the overwhelming historical forces released by the departing colonial masters. The most difficult task was to maintain, at any cost, the democratic process while redressing the historical imbalances with majorities and minorities crying foul at every turn of events. Mandela had the backing of the majority and the moral force that came with it though the West interpreted his anti-white apartheid as a communist plot to overthrow the white regime.

Mandela had a clear vision of the white forces ranged against him. He wrote: “The premise of apartheid was that the whites were superior to Africans, Coloured and Indians and the function of it was to entrench white supremacy forever. As the Nationalist put it, ‘Die wit man moet altyd bass wees.’ (The white man must always remain boss’)….The Dutch Reformed Church, which furnished apartheid with its religious underpinnings by suggesting that Afrikaners were God’s chosen people and that blacks were a subservient species. In the Afrikaner’s world view, apartheid and the church went hand in hand.”

Racist extremism

In 1948 S. Africa took a vicious turn to racist extremism. The National Party, led by Daniel Malan, a former minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, “were a bitter party animated by bitterness – bitterness towards the English, who had treated them as inferiors for decades, and bitterness towards the African, who the Nationalists believed was threatening the prosperity and purity of Afrikaner culture…. Malan’s platform was known as apartheid (apartness) .” (p.127 – Ibid.)

The fascist culture of the Nationalists was confirmed when they went out of the way to back the Nazis of Germany in World War II. They adopted Hitler’s racism in toto. Mandela states: “The Nationalists’ slogan encapsulated their mission: ‘Eie volk, eie taal, eie land’ – Our own people, our own language, our own land.” (p.128 – Ibid.) This populist slogan runs through as a common thread linking violent fascist movements in the West and the East.

In the same year, the Youth League reacted with a clear manifesto against the apartheid regime. It was a document that aimed at (a) the overthrow of white domination, (b) rejected “the communist notion that the Africans were oppressed primarily as an economic notion rather than as a race”, and (c) “creating a powerful national liberation movement under the banner of African nationalism and ‘led by African themselves’”. (p.129 – Ibid).

However, “the document also spotlighted the push-and-pull between two rival theories of African nationalism, between the more extreme, Marcus Garvey-inspired, ‘Africa for the Africans’ nationalism and the Africanism of the Youth League, which recognized that South Africa was a multiracial country…..The Youth League was marginally more friendly to the Indians and the Coloureds, stating that Indians, like Africans were oppressed, but that Indians had India, a mother country that they could look to. The Coloureds, too, were oppressed, but unlike the Indians had no mother country except Africa. I was prepared to accept Indians and Coloureds provided they accepted our policies, but their interests were not identical with ours, and I doubted whether or not they could truly embrace our cause.” (p. 129 – Ibid.)

By now the readers who are familiar with the evolution of our post-independent era would have recognized the similarities between Mandela’s African nationalism and that of the nation-builders like D. S. Senanayake and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. S. African nationalism and Sri Lankan nationalism clearly had run on parallel lines. The irony is that Mandela’s nationalism is hailed as a model while Sri Lankan nationalism, led primarily by the Sinhala-Buddhist majority, is denigrated as “chauvinism”.

More of this in the next installment. - Part II this week. 

- See more at: http://dailynews.lk/features/sinhala-buddhist-nationalism-part-1#sthash.9VNE6Ew6.dpuf

IS THERE democracy IN US ???????

Whistle-blowing, ‘national security’ and the erosion of democracy

December 26, 2IS THERE democracy  IN US ???????013, 7:52 pm 

IS THERE democracy  IN US ??????? THEN WHY CANT THEY TALK WRITE ANNOUNCE SS THEY PLEASE THE TRUTH

Major Wikileaks activists, such as Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, who are on the run from Western political persecution, are being sheltered by states which, perhaps, identify with them on some issues, but the acid test for all states, whether they be pro-Wikileaks or otherwise, is whether they recognize and provide for the Right to Information. If this is not the case, protection for Wikileaks activists would only be an exercise in state-level hypocrisy and duplicity.

Both ‘democratic’ and authoritarian states are likely to unite over some of the controversial issues growing out of whistle-blowing, which is currently taking the form of Wikileaks disclosures. This is so mainly on account of the perceived primacy of ‘national security’, which is seen by many administrations as being threatened by Wikileaks revelations of ‘state secrets’.

For the majority of states, ’national security’ is a concern which cannot be compromised and on this issue authoritarian and ‘democratic’ rulers worldwide, in a way, make common cause. But how do ‘ordinary citizens’ define ‘national security’ and to what extent are their views on this matter taken into consideration and acted upon by governments? This ought to be a crucial question for democratic opinion anywhere.

Major Wikileaks activists, such as Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, who are on the run from Western political persecution, are being sheltered by states which, perhaps, identify with them on some issues, but the acid test for all states, whether they be pro-Wikileaks or otherwise, is whether they recognize and provide for the Right to Information. If this is not the case, protection for Wikileaks activists would only be an exercise in state-level hypocrisy and duplicity.

Wikileaks ‘activism’ or the process of disclosing what are seen by states as sensitive and controversial matters, but which are of public importance, is, in the final analysis, a reaction by the people to state repression and to the refusal by governments to recognize the public’s Right to Information. If the people’s Right to Information is respected by governments and transparency in governance is ensured, there would be little or no need for whistle-blowing or the disclosure of state-level irregularities by civic-minded persons or groups. In other words, if the Right to Information is ensured, Wikileaks and whistle-blowing would be superfluous.

It is no coincidence that Wikileaks-style whistle-blowing became a prime public issue initially at the height of the Arab Spring in the Middle East and neighbouring regions. The young of those countries wanted accountable, transparent governance, besides growing employment opportunities, and these factors, basically, sparked the Arab Spring.

It would be relevant to point out that the need for accountable governance has been catching on steadily even in the South Asian region, although Sri Lanka is yet to make any significant progress in this direction. There is, however, a glowing example in accountability from Pakistan, where its President is currently being hauled-up before the Accountability Court on corruption allegations. Prosecuting political leaders in the courts of a country on perceived or real wrong-doing, alone, does not constitute democratic vibrancy and accountable governance, but it is a certain sign that the Rule of Law reigns in that country. After all, the principle that no –one is above the law is central to the Rule of Law.

Coming from Pakistan, this instance of accountability is of tremendous importance, because Pakistan is now proving that it can steadily tread the path of democratic governance quite skillfully. It was just a few months back that Pakistan celebrated the occasion of a democratic administration in its history completing a full term in office. This is a milestone that needs to be noted region and worldwide.

Last week it was noted in this column that Bangladesh too is acting on the need for accountability. A Jamaat-e-Islami leader was found guilty of war crimes, which he committed in the early seventies, and was sentenced and this should be seen as a significant development in the history of Bangladeshi governance. It proves that Bangladesh is fully capable of initiating and sustaining accountable governance. It amounts to empty prattle to claim ‘top democracy status’ and do nothing to initiate accountable governance and this is something countries such as Sri Lanka need to take note of.

These are crucial times for democracy everywhere. There could not be any trade-offs between democratic freedoms and ‘national security’ or any such concerns which governments see as being of paramount importance. What are considered military and sensitive defence-related matters cannot be discussed in public, for sure, but what has gone awry in the ‘democratic world’ is that the norms of transparent governance are observed more in the breach by it. Besides, ‘national security’ concerns are unconscionably used by governments of the developing world in particular, to curb democratic freedoms. When such trends strengthen within states, they compel the public to take even to the streets to protect their rights and freedoms.

Accordingly, the people’s Right to Information must be guaranteed and protected by governments. If this does not happen the chances are that public frustration with the state would intensify and we would very soon have collective people’s protests and violence which would pose a grave threat to state and social stability. This is what the Arab Spring amounts to.

It is possible to arrive at compromise formulae to these current dilemmas of democracy. All information related to ‘national security’ cannot be released immediately to the public but it could be ‘classified’ and provided to the people after a reasonable time span. This must be done in recognition of the core value of democracy that the people are the prime stake-holders of the state. The people eventually react violently to political repression and it would be entirely counter-productive from a state’s point of view to keep the people in the dark about anything.

While whistle-blowing and Wikileaks need to be seen as welcome public reactions to state repression, governments would be only laying the basis for strong democratic countries by ensuring the prevalence of the Right to Information. In the case of the West, it has only hastened whistle-blowing by violating International Law in its dealings with the rest of the world. For instance, the US savaged UN norms and International Law by violating Serbia’s air space over Kosovo in 1999 and by militarily invading Iraq in 2003, without UN sanction. By doing so, the US put the world on notice that it would not let anything stand in its way when it comes to securing its interests.

Through such actions the US has only managed to further aggravate its domestic law and order issues, which have fueled state repression and corresponding public reaction. Thus, states have no choice but to empower their publics and ensure the continuation of democratic norms, along with transparent governance. Governments and ‘political classes’ cannot be laws unto themselves.

What are the Grievances Exclusive to Sri Lanka's Tamils

What are the Grievances Exclusive to Sri Lanka's Tamils....Very Little OR Nothing !!!  HAS ANY ONE WRITTEN ABOUT GRIEVANCES OF OTHER RACES IN SRI LANKA

 A Leisure Time Read......Good Article.....

 

An interesting article written by a political scientist cum journalist in Sri Lanka, Shenali Waduge.

 

What are the Grievances Exclusive to Sri Lanka’s Tamils?

 

This question has been propping over periods of time without any conclusive answer primarily because the topic has been perfect for political advantage to both political parties and individuals. With the chapter of terrorism more or less closed it is no perfect a time than now to directly address this issue. We need to once and for all know what it is that ONLY Tamils are suffering from that are not shared by Sinhalese or Muslims or even Burghers? For it is in knowing these exclusive Tamils only grievances that any Government or foreign leader has any right to champion on behalf of the Tamils. If nothing exclusive can be proved or shown then it is time we call the bluff and ask Tamils to get on with their lives just as how the other communities are without inviting every Tom, Dick and Harry onto Sri Lankan soil whereby bringing more troubles than solutions. We do not need any sound from them either.

 

Let us get down to the question itself.

 

Sri Lanka’s population stands at just over 20million of which the Sinhalese comprise 14.8million, Sri Lankan Tamils comprise 2.4million (2,400,000). It is believed that 1million of this number now live overseas.

 

Health sector

§  Are Tamils denied entry to Government or private hospitals because they are Tamil?

§  Are Tamils denied medical attention by doctors or nurses because they are Tamil – do Sinhalese doctors or nurses refused to treat any Tamil because he was Tamil?

§  Are Tamils purposely segregated and denied operations/surgery because they are Tamil?

The answer is that there is nothing in the health sector of Sri Lanka that Tamils can say they are discriminated against. In fact throughout LTTE terror the Sri Lankan Government sent medical supplies to the North including the final stages of the war. It is not the fault of the Government that the TNA heroes – the LTTE confiscated these medicines to be given to LTTE cadres and their families ONLY without giving them to the ordinary Tamils.

 

It is also to be stated that the Tamils of Jaffna do not donate blood because of their high caste mentality and majority of blood supplied to the Government hospitals in the North is by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces who donate blood on a voluntary basis regularly to ensure the blood bank is not short of blood. It must also be said that Muslims too do not donate blood but they are recipients of blood by Sinhalese. A little appreciation for this gesture is quite in order instead of always finding fault with the Sinhalese.

 

Education sector

§  Are Tamils denied entry to schools even day care or Montessori because they are Tamils?

§  Are Tamils denied education because they are Tamil?

§  Are Tamil children systematically denied high honors at exams?

§  Are Tamils denied entry to Universities because they are Tamil?

Answer is NO. In fact there has always been the allegation that in the North, Tamil teachers gave bogus high marks to Tamil students during paper marking and even while exams were being held so that Tamils could enter university in large numbers. These allegations were never investigated. Moreover, enough of Tamils have secured top class honors at the GCE Ordinary Level/Advanced level and even Medical/Law and other university competitive exams throughout. Gold medalists in medical and other degree programs for Tamils have been awarded – if there was discrimination for being Tamil would such awards have taken place?

 

Tamils drove out 400 Sinhalese undergraduates and lecturers from the Jaffna university in 1977. Some of these Sinhalese were handicapped for life. These attacks were so that the university would become an ONLY Tamil university while other universities throughout the country were taking students of all communities. Now the Muslims have started Only Muslim universities using their clout. There are no ONLY Sinhalese universities in Sri Lanka.

 

Daily domestic chores

§  Are Tamils denied entry to post offices, public or private banks, cinema, museums, shops or shopping malls because they are Tamil?

§  Are Tamils not served vegetables or other essentials in shops, market places or malls simply because they are Tamil?

§  Are Tamils denied entry to eat at Restaurants or Hotels because they are Tamil or are they made to sit in a separate area that says “Tamils Only”?

§  Are there sign boards that explicitly says “Tamils are not welcome’ or ‘No Tamils”?

§  Are there Sinhalese shops that deny the right to purchase to Tamils?

§  Are Tamils charged more or Sinhalese are waived off on any item because they are Sinhalese?

§  Do Tamils have to stand in different queues because they are Tamil (like how America/UK and South Africa treated blacks)

§  Are public facilities and utilities like washrooms, public drinking water denied to Tamils because they are Tamils (again like America/UK and South Africa treated blacks)

§  Are public transport – buses and trains denied to Tamils because they are Tamil or do Tamils have to sit separately because they are Tamil?

Let us remind the Tamils that the Blacks of America had to eat separately, use separate toilets, sit on separate benches, drink from separate water fountains, sit separately in restaurants, cinemas had separate ticket booths, libraries had separate sections, there was even separate telephone booths, whites had restrictive selling to ensure properties were never sold to blacks. While in Tamil Nadu 80% of its population are Dalits and over 60% of them are illiterate. This is in a State that is run by Tamils for Tamils.

 

Answer is NO.

Have Tamils ever been treated like the manner the Allied nations treated the Germans for 5 years after World War 2 – wherein all radio and other forms of communications especially posters referred to all Germans as Nazi’s and deserved to be murdered? 

Yes, the country celebrated the death of terrorists and the killing of Prabakaran. The country has no need to feel ashamed. We have every right to feel triumphant and we do not apologize for feeling jubilant that we can walk out of our homes without family worrying we will not return. For those who did not live in Sri Lanka to know what it felt like to live when LTTE was thriving have no right to be issuing how we should feel or act from overseas. Prabakaran and his terror force was responsible for murders, calculated, coldblooded murders that ran into thousands over 3 decades. If throughout these decades none mourned the deaths of those killed by LTTE, why should they mourn the death of Prabakaran unless they were part of the reason why LTTE prevailed?

 

Also do Tamils ever feel shy to say ‘We sell only to Tamils’ when they are selling property or home? Is this not the same practice Muslims also follow? While Tamils and Muslims don’t sell to Sinhalese purely because of racial discrimination all the houses that Sinhalese have sold to have been to either Tamils or Muslims apart from a handful who realize that soon Sinhalese would become a majority tenant population.

 

Employment

§  Are Tamils denied employment to public sector or even private sector because they are Tamil?

§  Are job advertisements specifically mentioning that Tamils are not entertained?

§  Are Tamils treated differently in the public or private sector because they are Tamil?

Answer is NO

On the contrary most of the Tamil-biased employers place their advertisements in such a way that ensures Sinhalese job applicants cannot apply.

 

Most of the foreign embassies manned by Tamils ensures Sinhalese visa applicants have their visa’s requests rejected for trivial reasons too.

 

In private sector there are still many high caste Tamils who will not eat with low caste Tamils in the staff canteen, they will not share their food with them or even share the same cup and saucer.

 

Ponnambalam Ramanathan, went several times to London in the 1930s to ask the British government to uphold the caste system.

 

Sports Sector

§  Are Tamils denied participation in sports because they are Tamil?

§  Are they excluded from being nominated to the National teams because they are Tamil?

The example of Muttiah Muralitharan is a shining example of how a Tamil cricketer continues to gain the respect of the Sri Lankan polity, not because he is Tamil but because he is a great cricketer.

Public sector

§  Does the Government deny water, electricity and telephones to Tamils because they are Tamil?

§  Does the Government restrict Tamils to travel to any part of the country?

§  Does the Government deny Tamil public officials promotions because they are Tamil?

§  Does the Government have any legal, constitutional and legislative State orders or policies that can prove that the State is systematically discriminating the Tamils?

Answer is No.

The language factor has been because the Government as all foreign Governments do, did not make all natives to know the Sinhalese language. In a country where 14.8million of the 20million know Sinhalese, what has stopped the 5.2m learning Sinhalese? Now the Government insists 14.8million know Tamil whilst there is no ruling that the 5.2m need to also know Sinhalese. Only then can there be true communication. However in the public service all Tamils and Muslims are required to know Sinhalese and it is only practical as 7 out of 10 are Sinhalese in Sri Lanka.

 

As for random allegations of public documents been sent to Tamils in Sinhalese the case is no different as Sinhalese are also in receipt of communications in Tamil. This is the fault of one or two public servants who need to have their eyes tested for there is no excuse they can give to say they cannot differentiate between a Tamil surname and a Sinhalese surname. These are only administrative hiccups and have nothing to do with purposeful discrimination against a race.

 

Right to Live anywhere in Sri Lanka

However, as everyone can see a man who has lived virtually all his life in the South amongst the Sinhalese, was educated amongst the Sinhalese, secured employment and was nominated a Supreme Court judge by a Sinhalese who today is the Chief Minister of the North has the audacity to declare the North belongs ONLY to Tamils and asks Sinhalese and Muslims to leave the North and thinks that a mere title of Chief Minister affords him the power to dictate who the President of the country should appoint as Governor. He is definitely suffering from some complex and one that needs immediate treatment.

 

Between 1971 and 1981 the more than 30,000 Sinhalese were kicked out without notice from the Jaffna peninsula where they had been living for generations.

 

LTTE denied access to Sinhalese for 3 decades to visit the North while no such restrictions were placed on Tamils who steadily flowed to the South to make use of the conflict situation for their own advantage which is basically why most Tamils silently feel a sense of gratitude to the LTTE for their lives became better because of the LTTE – numerically only a handful of Tamils actually suffered the majority Tamils reaped the harvest of terrorism – that unfortunately is the bitter truth.

 

Moreover over 100s of Sinhala Cultural Heritage sites in the Northern Province and Eastern Province were destroyed with the sole aim of erasing the evidences of Sinhala civilization in the north and east. In most places after destroying the Buddhist temples Hindu kovils, Churches have been built on top of them to hide the truth.

 

Ethnic cleansing of Sinhalese in Vavuniya district in 1984 – with 73 Sinhalese shot dead in their villages to create a fear psychosis and make the Sinhalese leave on their own. 6000 Sinhalese refugees are still to return to their ancestral homes in the Wanni.

 

Ethnic cleansing of Sinhalese in the Trincomalee district 1984 – Over 150 Sinhalese villagers throughout the district including Buddhist priests have been killed and 20,000 Sinhalese refugees remain.

 

Ethnic cleansing of Sinhalese in Mannar district in 1980s – Sinhalese villages were attacked, their houses set on fire in order to either kill or chase them from the areas. Over 10,000 became refugees and some are still to return.

 

Expulsion of Sinhalese from Batticoloa in the 1980s – again attempts were made to reduce the percentage of Sinhalese living in Batticola to almost 0% by 1990s. A Sinhalese student was shot and killed in Vandaramullai University in Batticaloa in August 22nd, 2008.

 

Ethnic cleansing of Sinhalese in Ampara district 1980s – attempts to chase out Sinhalese by attacking villages and killing hundreds of Sinhalese whilst asleep or in their homes have been with the sole intention of forcing the Sinhalese out of the areas of North and East to claim that these areas are occupied ONLY by Tamils.

 

It was not only the Sinhalese who became targets – Muslims were chased out of the North too. They were given 48hours notice to vacate their homes which were looted by the LTTE and those Muslims who refused to leave were all killed. Similarly, LTTE attempting ethnic cleansing of the Muslims in the East too by killing 300 in one instance and a further 100 who were praying at the mosque

 

These ethnic cleansing attempts made after 1977, in 1978, 1981, 1983, 1984 and throughout 1990s have never made it to CNN, BBC or even C4. Close to 100,000 Sinhalese villagers have become refugees and around 3500 have been killed in order for the Tamils to claim a mono-ethnic area.Yet, a single event in 1983 not repeated for the past 30 odd years continues to be played like an old record still.

 

Why is it that the Sinhalese people being attacked, getting killed or massacred is not considered a violation of their ‘human rights’ by UN, INGOs, Human Rights Organizations or even foreign Governments?

 

Economic partners

Anyone contesting grievances of Tamils or Muslims need only to go to the commercial hub of Pettah to see who controls the wholesale establishments. Visit Pettah on a Friday just before 12noon and you can then count the number of shops owned by Muslims. Visit Pettah on a Tamil holiday to count the number of Tamil shops. 2 out of 10 shops are likely to be Sinhalese. Check the key business companies and count the numbers of minorities that hold top posts. More and more taking these statistics together the Government will realize that it is towards the Sinhalese in particular the Buddhists that policies have always been discriminated against. This unfortunately is the startling truth.

 

Making this more shocking is the fact that the minorities of Sri Lanka are not really minorities. The Tamils have the moral backing at least of 72million Tamils across the globe. The Muslim backing runs into billions. Taking the same argument by religious faith Tamil Hindus, Islam and the Christian world all have powerful lobbies and Muslims/Islam and Christian and the Vatican go hand in hand because they have all the accesses to push the correct buttons which makes the Sinhalese Buddhists the real minority in Sri Lanka with hardly 14million up against all others.

 

Law and Order

§  Are Tamil denied entry to police stations to lodge complaints?

§  Are there more Tamils in Sri Lanka’s jails?

§  Are Tamils falsely incriminated because they are Tamil?

Of course it is another matter how police treats ordinary citizens but that is a grievance the Sinhalese, Muslims and even Tamils can all claim equal suffering. This is not part of state strategy but simply the manner police have been inclined to behave though their courtesies have improved from what it was but not near the courtesies shown by members of the armed forces from what they were earlier.

 

Sri Lanka’s jails, houses more Sinhalese than Tamils and Muslims put together. whereas in US and UK statistics reveal that blacks and browns are more likely to be arrested and be put into prisons and these prisons are all private profit making entities.

 

There should be no areas designated to one race simply on the ground that they chase out the rest of the races in order to call it their own. Such is the case with the North. It started with the LTTE and is now being continued by the TNA their proxy. All those who can recall will remember how the bakeries of the North were run by the Sinhalese and when it came to April New Year the people of the North were in want of bread because the staff had all gone back home.

 

Constitutional provisions for Tamils

§  Under the 1978 Constitution, Chapter IV (Language Provisions) - Article 18 (1) & 18 (2) amended by 13th amendment Sinhala and Tamil official languages of Sri Lanka. Article 19 - National Languages of Sri Lanka shall be Sinhala and Tamil.  

§  A person is be entitled to be educated through the medium of either of the national Languages. - Article 21(1)

§  Sinhala and Tamil shall be the languages of administration throughout Sri Lanka. - Article 22(1) as amended by the 16th Amendment

§  In any area where Sinhala is used as the language of administration a person other than an official acting in his official capacity, shall be entitled:

                       I.        to receive communications from, and to communicate and transact business with, any official in his official capacity, in either Tamil or English;

                     II.        if the law recognizes his right to inspect or obtain copies of extracts from any official register, record, publication or other document, to obtain a copy of, or an extract from such register, record, publication or other document, or a translation thereof, as the case may be, in either Tamil or English.

                   III.        where a document is executed by any official for the purpose of being issued to him, to obtain such document or translation thereof, in either Tamil or English. - Article 22(2) (a) - (c) as amended by the 16th Amendment

 

·         In any area where Tamil is used as the language of administration, a person other than an official acting in his official capacity, shall be entitled to exercise the rights, and to obtain the services, referred to in above in Sinhala or English. - Article 22(3) as amended by the 16th Amendment

·         All laws and subordinate legislation shall be enacted or made and published in Sinhala and Tamil, together with a translation thereof in English. - Article 23(1) as amended by the 16th Amendment

·         Sinhala and Tamil shall be the language of the Courts throughout Sri Lanka. - Article 24(1) as amended by the 16th Amendment

·         What do Tamils enjoy in par with Sinhalese and Muslims?

·         Sri Lanka’s national flag denotes the 2 ethnic minorities - Orange depicted for Tamils & Green depicted for Muslims.

·         All public documents are in Sinhalese & Tamil (marriage certificate, death certificate, immigration forms etc)

·         Sri Lankan currency & notes are in Sinhalese & Tamil

·         All public events are presented in Sinhalese, Tamil & English

·         Tamils have ownership rights to property, land, business ventures - Tamils & Muslims together out number the Sinhalese in Colombo. But Sinhalese are denied purchase of property in the North.

So now the readers must ask themselves – what do the Tamils really suffer from? What are their real grievances?

 

Moreover the false claim of a territory for Tamils only comes in the backdrop of LTTE killing its own people. It is on this ground that it lost its ‘freedom fighter’ status. Scores of Tamil police officers were killed on duty, the entire moderate Tamil politicians were wiped out leaving a handful of puppets that make up the TNA. LTTE has killed over 200 Tamil public servants.

 

We have been misguided by the notion of grievance over aspirations. We all suffer aspirations – there are many things we want to become but we cannot. Only one person can become the President of Sri Lanka but all of us may aspire for that role – it cannot be categorized as a grievance. Lakshman Kadiragamar came close to becoming the country’s first Tamil Prime Minister – but that opportunity was lost because the LTTE decided to bump him off and Sri Lanka lost a bold and patriotic crusader, smarter and intelligent and with pluck nowhere near to the incumbent in his same role.

 

Loose words abound – former Indian envoy speaks of ‘self-esteem’ then there are other fanciful names thrown in like ‘self-respect’ ‘dignity’ which all lead back to ask the simple question what is it that Tamils do not enjoy that Sinhalese or Muslims ONLY enjoy which is the only way the Tamils can claim they have no self-esteem, dignity or self-respect?

 

Moreover with the divisions of caste dividing Tamils apart in every form of living in simple actions as to deny drinking from the same cup because of one’s caste is it not this self-esteem and dignity that should be the cause for concern not a piece of land that has no practical relevance to ordinary people carrying on with their lives?

 

The facts speak for themselves. At a time when low caste Tamils were denied education SWRD Bandaranaike a Sinhalese introduced the Social Disabilities Prevention Act 21 in 1957. This results in high caste Tamil politicians agitating against low caste Tamil children going to school so much so that these children ended up sitting on the floor to study and the Tamil politicians even wrote to UK asking them to legitimize caste system and objected to low castes obtaining education. It was this same issue that became a hot topic during the standardization for universities because the high caste Tamils did not want low caste Tamils to gain education.

The country is not ready to seek a political solution to satisfy a handful’s aspirations.

 

No Government should entertain aspirations as a basis for political bargaining.

 

Our leaders have been too weak to demand answers and put questions when allegations are being made.

 

Top priority must be given to the need to first demand to know what these grievances of Tamils are that requires political solutions that demand a separately carved out territory to be ruled by Tamils? What a laugh it is to demand a separate Tamil only territory while the rest of the Tamils live amongst the Sinhalese and we just have to wonder why Governmental representatives have failed to place this simple question before all those making representations for Tamil grievances.

 

Simply following the same mistake the previous Governments did by not putting this all important question – the single question that would silence all Tamil politicians is likely to make the country’s leaders commit the country towards greater divisions than we can handle.

   

Shenali Waduge