| by R.
Suthagaran
( September 28,
2012, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The
West (USA, Great Britain etc…) and other countries globally have over a period
of time come to the conclusion under full knowledge of the history or our
struggle or blatant ignorance that Sri Lankan Tamils either living within Sri
Lanka or the Diaspora living abroad who voice out for equality including many
who have been victims of racism, and gross human rights violations are often
viewed or perceived as “terrorist supporters” and even stereotyped as “Tamil
Tigers”. This perception of my community often enrages me personally at times.
The irony is
that whilst it is ok for the members of the majoritarian Sinhalese community of
Sri Lanka to promote “Sinhalese Nationalism”, the moment Sri Lankan Tamils
voice out or celebrate anything associated with Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism
they are labelled as “Tamil Tiger Terrorists”!!! This is thanks to the policies
adopted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the last bastion for a
large proportion of Sri Lankan Tamils both living in the island of Sri Lanka
and abroad who supported separatism and the goal of achieving an independent
Tamil Eelam within Sri Lanka.
Ever since the
civil war in Sri Lanka ended in May 2009 with the death of Vellupillai
Prabhakaran, the autocratic leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), the Sri Lankan Government administered by majoritarian Sinhalese
racists backed by their Buddhist clergy have enforced a strategy and policy of
cultural and structural ethnic cleansing in the North-East (the traditional
homeland of the Tamils known as Eelam).
Between 2009 and
now the Government of Sri Lanka has been clandestinely using the excuse of the
risk of another outbreak of terrorism or separatism by the likes of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or other former militant groups such as
TELO, PLOTE, EROS and the EPRLF, to systematically engulf the North –East’s
civilian populated areas with army camps and have utilised houses constructed
with aid from the Indian Government to house their soldiers (War Heroes) as a “thank
you” for defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil (Eelam).
What the West
and key foreign policy makers of other nations fail to understand is that the
civil war between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was not just a civil war, this was a war between the
majoritarian Sinhalese and the minority Tamils who both had established
separate kingdoms and carved territories within the island that were merged
into one entity thanks to the British who are guilty of leaving a mess in most
of their former colonies. Till date Britain has failed to address their past
mistakes during the pre-independence of Ceylon as it was known then and their
“Foreign and Commonwealth Office” policy makers led by William Hague (even
worse his predecessor David Milliband) continue to mislead the Sri Lankan Tamil
Diaspora.
Both Britain and
their colonial cousins across the pond the United States of America have a
history of double-standards and back stabbing… They will place despotic
dictators to rule nations globally in their interests and remove them when the
going gets tough... i.e. Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Colonel Gadaafi of Libya and
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt etc…
The policies of
Israel and their Zionist Jewish lobby does not help matters either which is why
you see the Palestinians of Palestine suffering the same fate as with us being
Sri Lankan Tamils and the Kurds. Ironically the Sri Lankan Government supports
the Palestinian Delegations cause and yet historically maintains good relations
with Israel going to the extent of purchasing Israeli Kfir fighter jets and
RADAR equipment. The Sri Lankan Government receives advice and specialist
guidance from the State of Israel on structural ethnic cleansing of Sri Lankan
Tamils dwelling in the North-East which is something that has seemed to have
worked for Israel quite well with their illegal Jewish settlements in the
Palestinian West Bank and its illegal occupation of the Golan Heights including
lands belonging to neighbouring Jordan.
The West and the
wider international community needs to understand that there is a vast
difference between Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, what is deemed to be acts of
terrorism and separatism. We being Sri Lankan Tamils have a fundamental right
to promote Tamil Nationalism and protect our rights under the right to
self-determination. The international community and governments including their
foreign policy makers such as the USA’s Robert Blake should refrain from
perceiving Sri Lankan Tamils as being “Tamil Tiger Terrorists” or pro-LTTE. We
are simply Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalists and proud to be as our cause is no
different than the cause of the Palestinians. The hypocrisy and irony of this
issue is that if the people of Kosovo, East Timor and South Sudan have been granted
assistance by the West then why should, Sri Lankan Tamils be treated any
differently?
We have suffered
as a community under the treacherous regime of the Sinhala state for decades
since independence from the British. We plead to the West and international
governments as follows:
We humbly urge
the international community and governments to support Sri Lankan Tamil
Nationalism and for us to seek justice against the Rajapakse regime of Sri
Lanka.
We humbly urge
the international community and governments to press the United Nations, the EU
and NATO to hold the Rajapakse regime to account for its war crimes, including
the crimes committed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) if any of
their members are proved to have committed gross acts of war crimes violations
as with the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.
We urge the
international community and governments to press the Indian establishment to
take a back seat and stop looking after their selfish strategic and
geo-political interests and allow for Sri Lanka to be held to account and its
Government under President Mahinda Rajapakse, his Ministers and members of the
Armed Forces including Paramilitaries to be punished by an international war
crimes Tribunal and Court of Law.
We urge the
international community and governments to impose tough sanctions against the
Sri Lankan State and press Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment of the
1987 Indo-Lanka Accord and accept the “Thimpu Principles of 1985” which are the
demands of the Tamil speaking people of Sri Lanka.
We urge the
international community and governments to press Sri Lanka to implement the
LLRC recommendation’s, withdraw its Armed Forces from the North-East in
civilian populated areas and devolve powers to the North and Eastern Provincial
Councils including holding the Northern Provincial Council elections followed
by parliamentary elections after the Rajapakse regime is finished and dealt
with without any further delay.
 The West (USA, Great Britain etc…) and other countries global...){kind=link}