Showing posts with label The Tamil myth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Tamil myth. Show all posts

Friday, May 1, 2015

Taming the Tamil Tigers From Here in the U.S.

Taming the Tamil Tigers
From Here in the U.S. 
A woman fighter of the Tamil Tigers takes a shooting position in Sri Lanka in July 2007. AP Photo.
A woman fighter of the Tamil Tigers takes a shooting position in Sri Lanka in July 2007. AP Photo.
01/10/08
As terrorist groups go, it has quite a résumé:
  • Perfected the use of suicide bombers;
  • Invented the suicide belt;
  • Pioneered the use of women in suicide attacks;
  • Murdered some 4,000 people in the past two years alone; and
  • Assassinated two world leaders—the only terrorist organization to do so.
No, it’s not al Qaeda or Hezbollah or even HAMAS. The group is called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or the Tamil Tigers for short.
Needless to say, the Tamil Tigers are among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world. For more than three decades, the group has launched a campaign of violence and bloodshed in Sri Lanka, the island republic off the southern coast of India.
Map of Sri Lanka and India with Area of Detail
Its ultimate goal: to seize control of the country from the Sinhalese ethnic majority and create an independent Tamil state. Along the way, it has launched suicide attacks, assassinated politicians (including a government minister this week and even the Sri Lankan President), taken hostages, and committed all of kinds of crimes to finance its operations. The resulting civil war has taken the lives of nearly 70,000 Sri Lankans on both sides of the conflict since 1983 alone.
Why should you care? Certainly because of the suffering and bloodshed that the Tamil Tigers have caused. And because its ruthless tactics have inspired terrorist networks worldwide, including al Qaeda in Iraq. But also because the group has placed operatives right here in our own backyard, discreetly raising money to fund its bloody terrorist campaign overseas, including purchases of weapons and explosives.
The U.S. government has designated the Tigers a foreign terrorist organization, so their activities here are illegal. And we’re determined to stop them, using the full range of our investigative and intelligence capabilities.
In April, for example, we struck an important blow when our Joint Terrorism Task Force in New Yorkarrested the alleged U.S. director of the Tigers. The man supposedly held several fundraising events at a church and various public schools in Queens and in northern New Jersey in 2004. He is also accused of arranging high-level meetings between the group’s leaders and U.S. supporters.
We’ve also arrested another 11 Tamil Tiger-related suspects in the New York City region. And in Baltimore, following a multi-agency investigation, a pair of Indonesian men pled guilty and were sentenced recently for working with others to export surface to air missiles, state-of-the-art firearms, machine guns, and night vision goggles to the Tigers in Sri Lanka.
You can help by being careful with your donations. Like other terrorists, the Tigers have raised funds under a variety of cover organizations, often by posing as charities. A great deal of money, for example, was raised for the Tigers following the 2004 tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka and many other countries.
And please report any suspicious activities to your local field office or anonymously through this website.


http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/january/tamil_tigers011008

When will TNA stop using innocent tamils in Sri Lanka?

 September 7, 2011 

There was a time when the LTTE terrorist organization self-claimed as the sole representative of the Tamil people. And at the same time, the TNA (Tamil National Alliance) behaved in the Parliament in such a way that they are representatives of the LTTE terrorist organization.
In a nutshell, it was a known fact that LTTE terrorist organization pretended to represent Tamil People and TNA represented LTTE at the Parliament, or rather in Sri Lankan Political arena.

Now, TNA having acquired power in majority of provincial councils in the North claims oneself as the sole representative of Tamil people. However, the entire Tamil community has not voted for TNA. TNA was having talks with the government for issues in the North, but now have left the discussion table and issued an ultimatum to the government. If examined closely, one can easily understand that if these demands are met, the united country will again be divided – the very need of the TNA.

Ever since Sri Lanka was liberated from the British Empire, it had been facing issues because of corrupted malpractices of some of the political leaders.
There were many at that time – when the freedom was given – who was in the mindset that the English is “THE” thing and Sri Lanka better be a colony of the British rather a sovereign country. It was only Abdul Aziz – a Muslim leader insisted that British should leave the country with no conditions.
Having said that it’ not to be mistaken as Sri Lanka never had freedom fighters. Sri Lanka had numerous freedom fighters with immense patriotism. However, traitors also became stronger while patriots scarified their lives for the motherland.

The British giving freedom to Sri Lanka is an impact of India getting Independence from the British Empire. India and Sri Lanka was rules by the British under a consolidated fund. When the freedom fight in India got geared up, British had to let India free which result the British loosing a huge income. Ruling Sri Lanka incurring a considerable lose was quite difficult and eventually British let Sri Lanka also free.
Resources and prosperity in Sri Lanka attracted many foreign states and during the time which British was ruling Sri Lanka, many Indian immigrants came to Sri Lanka due to that reason. Indian immigrants came to Sri Lanka under British sponsorship to work on plantations in the central highlands. Comparing to labour charges, Indian labour was better and Human trafficking became a profitable business. This illegal trade made some Tamil laborers richer.
Nobody concerned about the consequences of bringing down Indian labour, they only thought about the profit they could make. This favored Indian migrates giving them a better life than the native Sinhalese and the Sinhalese became an orphan in his motherland.
Gradually, the Indian Immigrants were absorbed to the society granting citizenship, power of voting and almost every right to contribute to the country’s ruling, which again made them stronger than the native Sinhalese. They even got the backing of English and eventually the concept of separate regions came in.
This so called “separate region” concept had cost many civilian lives so far. Surprisingly, the Tamil leaders do not see the privileges enjoyed by the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
There was a constant stream of migration from southern India to Sri Lanka from primitive times. Arrival of Vijaya (first informal king of ancient Sri Lanka as per Mahavamsa), Arrival of service castes with the introduction of Buddhism, foreign traders, struggles between the kings of Sri Lanka and southern India, arrival of south Indian armies, Sri Lankan kings bringing down Indian princesses as their queens provide evidence.
Coming back to the current situation, the issues with Tamil population is used by some as a political weapon. Though they claim that the Tamil community faces problems and they are treated as a minority, none had ever specified what exactly are the issues faced by the Tamils.
Sri Lanka is the only country that has Tamil as an official language. As far as TNA is concerned, they are not bothered of Tamil issues but their main intention is to divide the country and get their share. By division, which problem of the Tamils is solved, is unclear.
Divisions happened throughout the history has done no good. Instead of addressing the issue of being united and progressing, still both Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil leaders take advantage of this “made-up Tamil Problem” with different editions just to settle their political scores.
Pilgrims getting attacked in South India in the recent times are evidence as to how bad of the guidance provided by Vaiko, Nedumaran and Jayalalitha has given to their followers.
However, objection of one Indian Political party has shown over Channel 4’s intrusion into Sri Lanka’s matters, must be commendable.
Still some political parties directly and indirectly support separatism and the propaganda of pro-LTTE elements. Thrive for power has made them blind and they are unknown that their own activities favor anti-Sri Lankan forces.
Certain parties which once showed immense patriotism by destroying public property and killing countries valuable intellectuals, is now worried of how LTTE terrorists were died.
Meanwhile, the TNA has now given the government a 10-day period to grant their demands in written. TNA is backed by the foreign Tamil population, pro-LTTE elements and even certain local political figures.
But the government should not obey these conditions. There was no TNA when the fight against terrorism was occurring. Even when LTTE terrorism was destroying public property and thousands and thousands of innocent civilians TNA was favoring the LTTE terrorists. So the government is not in anyway obliged to TNA to meet any of their demands.
In world politics there are many instances in which the Heads of States, took precautions to avoid future disturbances with the pro-LTTE elements. Having sensed the future troubles with the pro-LTTE forces during the bogus Thimpu discussions, the facilitator, king of Bhutan – Chanchuk cancelled the citizenship of all non-Buddhists. It protected the natives’ rights.
Kenya deported everyone who failed to become Africans.
In spite of being a country with higher density of Indian immigrants, Uganda departed all Indians and Asians.
Ruler of Burma, deported all Indians back to India making the native Burmese safe.
Fiji made a constitutional change and was able to shield from Tamil influence. Similarly, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore made constitutional changes releasing the country from future problems of Tamils.
Unluckily, the equality policy maintained in Sri Lanka has made the Sinhalese suffer abundantly by the various injustices caused by Tamil leaders.
The Thesawalamei Law – A highly race centric discriminatory law has secured the lands in North for the Tamils. They are allowed to reside any part in the Island but not Sinhalese. Sinhalese were chased from Northern and Eastern regions.
According to the 1981 census, the Tamil population in Colombo was 130,210. It is said that Colombo has around 50 newly-built Kovils and 500 churches belong to fundamentalism Christianity. Most of the “orphans” are now very-well settled in Colombo.
2001 census showed higher density of Tamil Population in the island and by now, the number might have increased.
However, the ethnic clearance happned after 1971, left many Sinhalese orphans in their motherland. Sinhalese in Northern and Eastern regions were either chased or killed but it didn’t make sense to anybody.
Activities of certain political leaders along with the support of foreign Tamil Diaspora and LTTE terrorists favored the anti-Sri Lankan propagandas of foreign forces and INGOs.
Still the extremist groups, drug smugglers, illegal Arm dealers, foreign spy agents, bankrupted politicians and leftists do support these sources. Nevertheless, the facts doctored by the TNA internationally has affected badly on Sri Lanka.
It is said that Norway has also sponsored certain anti-Sinhalese, anti-army forces indirectly supporting LTTE terrorists.
Bogus Peace agreement, Ceasefire agreement, Sinhalese political leaders addressing the injustices faced by the Tamils in the history, Tamil racism, extortion and even discouraging the State Armed forces made the LTTE terrorists stronger in both locally and internationally.
More than 72,000 non-Tamil lives were already sacrificed for the country’s Peace.
Just because one being a Tamilian, there is no special injustice caused. It at all there is an injustice, it is common for all – Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils. The “make up Tamil Problem” is nothing but an arm used by the bankrupted and mentally-retarded politicians and the High class Tamil community.
Though in 2004, the then President Ms. Chandrika Kumarathunga apologized the world for Tamil massacre happened in 1983 July uprising and compensated the Tamil victims, the Sinhalese victims were not treated in the same manner. Both Sinhalese and Tamil were killing in the 1983 insurgency but only the Tamils were compensated.
Government has provided food, medicine to Tamil people and even has paid salaries to the officials worked for LTTE terrorists. Unlike South, Northern region receives immense foreign donations yet most of them ended up in LTTE terrorists’ hands.
“As per our records, there are only 60,000 Tamil orphans on Sri Lanka but the central government releases aids for more than a millions people, where does this go?” told by an Indian commander of Indian Peacekeeping force while commenting on the aids process.

The TNA which speaks about the difficulties of the Tamil people all the time, seem to be unaware of the infrastrucre development happening in the North.

However, the amount of diplomacy shown by the Indian Central government amidst the influence of the South Indian political forces is highly commendable. The advice given by the Indian Prime Minister to Vaiko is also to be understood by the TNA. TNA being realistic and practical is highly required if they truly are concerned about the Tamil people.
But it should be recalled that, there is a leader and majority population who do not fall prey to the TNA and their allied foreign countries.

(An adoption of the Sinhalese article of H.L. Austin Silva for Divaina on 02.09.2011)


- Sinhalaya News
 

Friday, April 24, 2015

A sample of Tamil Tiger (LTTE) atrocities against civilians shown on the U-Tube.


Click here for other interesting posts.

The Tamil Tigers were the first terrorist group to perfect the body-detonator that they supplied to the various middle-eastern terror groups and Jihadists as well. Many of the suicide blasts carried out in Sri Lanka have been captured in video and are available as U-tube videos. Another genre of killing took place in the absence of photo evidence except for photos taken by the propaganda wing of the Tigers. Prabhakaran wanted to see the action at the war front, as well as visual evidence that prisoners were eliminated. But these are not easily available.

The Tigers killed many of the civilians that they trapped as human shields, as they wanted to eliminated the dead and wounded. They also wanted to put the blame on the government and evoke international sympathy. Some authenticated examples of where they did that are: In some instances, the wounded were loaded in an old bus and set fire. They would move sick people to the firing zone at war front, allow the sick (Tamil) civilians to get shelled, and announce to the red cross that the area had a hospital! Later they would claim that a hospital was shell after they declared the area to be a hospital!

Such Atrocities and misrepresentations cannot be tolerated under any circumstance.


Warning - some of the links are graphic.

Keep your audio on







Sri Lankan (Sinhalese and Tamil) victims murdered by the Terrorist LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) seem to be forgotten by the UN and the `Human Rights' NGOs. In fact, the blame for ALL THE LTTE killings has been transferred to the army, using propaganda films like those of channel-4 British-LTTE co-production. The UN has been hoodwinked into releasing reports claiming `credible sources' with no sources revealed! Hack writers have claimed 40,000 missing persons, without counting those in Indian camps, `refugees' in the West, Australia etc.

However, Sri Lankans be they Tamils, Muslims or Sinhalese, they are forever indebted to the soldiers. Now people can venture out without the fear of being blasted.



Here is a small sample of the Bomb Blasts- suicide attacks.


  • Abimanpura LTTE Terrorists attack a civilian bus 18 killed by Tamil Tigers abi 1 abi 2 abi 3
    Moratuwa Bomb Blast 2008.06.06 19 killed by Tamil Tigers
  • Moratuwa
    Piliyandala Bus Bomb Blast on 25th April 2008 at 6.40 PM 10 killed by Tamil Tigers
  • Pili 1
  • Pili 2
  • Pili 3
    Anuradhapura MORE THAN 120 KILLED by Tamil-Tiger KILLING FIELD IN SRI LANKA.
  • Anu 1
  • Anu 2
  • Anu 3
    KANDY WATTEGAMA BUS BOMB BLAST killed by Tamil Tigers.
  • Watte 1
    LTTE Terrorist Bomb Blast in Nugegoda by Tamil Tigers - 28 Nov 2007
  • Nuge 2
    Bomb Blast in Colombo by Tamil Tigers - Detail News 16/05/2008
  • Colombo-2008
    LTTE Terrorist Blast Another Bus Bomb - Sep 16 2008
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpD153VfZYY&feature=related
    Social Services and Social Welfare Ministry by Tamil Tigers
  • Welfare min
    Mt. Lavinia, Sri Lanka Bus Bomb – killed by Tamil Tigers 23-02-2008
  • Mt. Lavinia
    LTTE Terrorists Bomb Kills 4 Including 2 School Children by Tamil Tigers
  • School kids
    LTTE Attack Kebithigollewa 26 killed by Tamil Tigers
  • Kebilithi

Adapted with thanks from a compilation by James Corea.

Click here for other interesting posts.

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http://dh-web.org/place.names/posts/tiger-atr.html

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The myth of a traditional Tamil Homeland unmasked

The myth of a traditional Tamil Homeland unmasked

Secession is not a remedy for every ethno-religious conflict in the world. It is certainly not the solution for the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, which is viewed by some as an ethnic conflict. However, the roots of the conflict lie in poverty and underdevelopment.
Sri Lanka Ambassador in the U.S., Bernard Goonetilleke, explained that Sri Lanka Tamils’ cause was later hijacked by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in aiming to establish a mono-ethnic fascist state in the North and the East of Sri Lanka, through violent means.

STATEMENT

He was referring to a statement by U.S. constitutional lawyer, Bruce Fein, published in the website of Tamils for Justice, a front organization of the LTTE. For a stiff fee of $90,000 for the first three months of his services, Fein cannot but play the piper’s tune, albeit, most unconvincingly and inaccurately.
In a deeply flawed article titled “Tamil Statehood,” in the Washington Times of January 28, 2008, Fein said, “To deny the statehood right - sought by the Tamil people since 1976 - would mark one of the United States’ most ill-conceived hours.”
Ambassador Goonetilleke pointed out that the Vaddukkodai Resolution of 1976 has been skilfully exploited by the Eelamists to distort history, geography and demography, to mislead the world on a dubious claim of a traditional Tamil homeland.
His reflections reached another plateau as he referred to the 1977 Election Manifesto of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), which had laid the initial false claim for Tamil Eelam.
The Ambassador quoted from the manifesto, “Even before the Christian era, the entire island of Ceylon was ruled by the Tamil kings Senan, Kudditan and Elara (Ellalan), and thereafter, for over a thousand years, as a result of a struggle for supremacy between the Tamil kings and the Sinhalese kings, the capital of Sinhalese kings was gradually shifted southwards, away from Tamil centres.
These are facts of recorded history. It is also a fact that the entire island was under sway of Tamil kings at times, and the Sinhalese kings at other times.

POLITICAL FACT

From this background of altering fortunes emerged at the beginning of the 13th century, a clear and stable political fact. At this time, the territory stretching in the western seaboard, from Chilaw through Puttalam to Mannar, and thence to the Northern Regions, and in the East, Trincomalee and also the Batticaloa region and extended southwards up to Kumana or the northern banks of the river Kumbakhan Oya, were firmly established as the exclusive homeland of the Tamils. This is the territory of Eelam.”
Thus, Ambassador Goonetilleke explained, how the TULF deceptively used the fallacious Minute made by the first British Colonial Secretary, Hugh Cleghorn in 1799 in his ignorance, to argue that Tamils occupied the land from Walawe River in the south east to Chilaw, in the north west of the island.
Through fascinating insights into history, the Ambassador exposed the deception of the Eelamists, with unassailable facts from the annals of the past. For instance, through alluding to the management of the country’s lands during colonial times, he explained that from 1801 to 1833, no changes had been made by the British to the composition of the former Dutch territories.
However, in 1833, following the Colebrooke and Cameron reforms, the island was divided into 5 provinces, which resulted in the former Kandyan territories of Nuwara Kalaviya, (present day North Central Province), being annexed to the Northern Province, while Thamankaduwa (Polonnaruwa), to the Eastern Province, along with large tracts of land from the Kandyan Kingdom comprising Bintenna, Uva and Panama.
The Ambassador quoted Lenox A. Mills, from his publication ‘Ceylon Under British Rule,’ where he says that the British stratagem was “intended to weaken the national feelings of the Kandyans.”
Other documented information point to the fact that, contrary to the TULF claims of “an exclusive homeland of the Tamils,” Tamil settlements in the north and the east were of recent historical origin. Professor Karthigesu Indrapala of the Jaffna University, who, in his article titled ‘Early Tamil Settlements in Ceylon,’ makes a significant observation.
“Looking back on the body of evidence that is available to us, we have to conclude that there were no widespread Tamil settlements before the Tenth Century.”
His conclusions are redolent with powerful implications against Tamil Eelam, when he says, “However, the majority of the settlers appear to have migrated to that region (i.e. to the Jaffna Peninsula), in the latter half of the 13th Century.”
I listened, fascinated, as Ambassador Goonetilleke pulled out information from his fount of knowledge, with the professionalism of a seasoned intellectual.
As he presented the facts with unfaltering precision, I could see the claim of “Tamil Eelam” eroding before my very eyes. The facts speak for themselves with the clarity of truth. Portuguese historian De Queyros in his publication titled ‘Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon,” says that in the 16th century, Jaffnapatnam was a “sub-kingdom under a sub-ruler,” under the authority of the King of Kotte.

SUB-KINGDOM

If Jaffna was a sub-kingdom in the 16th century, where was the independent Tamil Kingdom of the 13th century, the Eelamists speak of De Queyros also makes the point that when the Portuguese expelled the Moors (i.e. Muslims), from their territories in 1626, King Senarath of Kandy resettled some of them in the east, and, “4000 were settled in Batticaloa alone by the idolatrous King.”
The King of Kandy could resettle people in Batticaloa because that area was under his suzerainty, just as much as the other areas of the east coast of the island. When Robert Knox, an English doctor, natural scientist and traveller, reached the eastern shores of the island in 1660, and landed at Kottiar Bay, he was captured, not by the soldiers of the then ruler of Jaffna, but by the soldiers of King Rajasinghe of Kandy. If the eastern coast of the island had been under the ruler of Jaffna, how could King Rajasinghe’s soldiers have had any authority in the area?
The records left by the Dutch missionary, Phillipus Baldeus, who had been in Jaffnapattnam in 1658, reveal that the King of Jaffna had jurisdiction over a limited area of the north, including Jaffnapattnam, the adjacent isles and the island of Mannar. However, the major part of the Vanni, which encompasses present day Mannar, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts, and the entire Eastern Province, came under the authority of the Kandyan Kingdom.

WREST CONTROL

This is the reason for Dutch Governor, Ryckloff Van Goens, to report, in 1663, as Kandyan kings held sway over the east, “The country between Waluwe and Trinquenemale (Trincomalee), mostly stretches East and South East, as far as Jale (Yala in the south east). I have not been able to visit this District as it is entirely inhabited by the King’s people.”
Ambassador explained that it took over a century for the Dutch, to the time of Governor Flack in 1766, to wrest control of the coastal areas in the east from the Kandyan King. Governor Flack coerced King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe of Kandy, to cede a small strip of land four miles wide, along the eastern seaboard of the island.
If, as the Eelamists claim, the east was under the King of Jaffna, Ambassador Goonetilleke asked, why did Governor Flack sign a treaty with the Kandyan King, and why did Governor Goens report that the Kandyan King’s subjects live along the eastern sea coast? Then again, why did Tamil scholars such as Mudliyar C. Rasanayagam and Prof. Karthigesu Indrapala claim that Jaffnapattnam, was first inhabited by the Sinhalese and subsequently, by the Tamils, toward the “latter part of the 13th century”? It is against this factual backdrop that Ambassador Goonetilleke asks, “When the Eelam lobby speaks of the north and the east being ‘a traditional homeland of the Tamils,’ when did this tradition begin exactly?” Yes, when exactly ? Was it since “time immemorial” as the TULF Election Manifesto of 1977 states ? Or was it since 1987, when the government of Sri Lanka was forced to accept such a concept with the signing of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord ?
LTTE leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, in his Heroes’ Day speech in November 2007, unwittingly unmasks the reason for the deception about a traditional homeland.

The myth of a traditional Tamil Homeland unmasked - Page 2

QUESTION

He lamented, “...although 80 million Tamils live all around the globe, the Tamils do not have a country of their own.” How many of these 80 million Tamils does Prabhakaran hope to settle in his mythical “Tamil homeland” in the North and the East?
The question that immediately springs to mind is whether Prabhakaran is seeking to establish a “Greater Tamil homeland” beyond the shores of Sri Lanka. If he is seeking a homeland for 80 million Tamils around the world, this would certainly appear to be the case. Remember the separatist struggle of the Tamils in Tamil Nadu in the 1950s, until secession was forbidden by the central government of India in 1963? Ambassador Goonetilleke recalled the statement by Thamilendhi, the financial czar of the LTTE, on March 18, 2008,”In ancient times, the whole of India was a Tamil land. And the Chola kings (from Tamil Nadu), ruled over Sri Lanka for 70 years. Today, the Tamils are slaves in India, and are fighting for their liberation in Sri Lanka.” On the same subject, the Ambassador whizzed me off to a flashback, to 1939, when the Tamils in India were demanding a separate state, to the first “Tamil Nadu for Tamils” conference, where Mr. C.N. Annadurai was the principal speaker.
This was the time that the Dravida Kazhagam (DK), and its offshoot, Dravida Munnetra Khazagam (DMK), had as their primary goal, an independent Dravida Nadu. Subsequently, with the Central Government enacting a law banning parties and individuals from demanding independence from India, DMK abandoned its demand, and those who supported secession were eventually forced to demand something short of total independence from India.

EMBRYONIC

This brought to life an embryonic ‘Tamil Nation,’ within India, with maximum devolution of powers. Due to the crackdown by the Indian central government, the ‘Tamil Nation,’ concept went underground in India and resurfaced in 1976, in a less hostile environment in Sri Lanka. Is Bruce Fein, unaware of the diabolical plans of the Eelam lobby? Has he any idea of the history behind the dubious claim for Tamil Eelam? May be not, for his ignorance becomes more apparent each time he attempts to assert his opinion. For instance, he tries to justify the separatist demand of the Tamil lobby, by bringing in the recent unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.
“The reason why the Kosovo independence is so significant is because it addresses an issue that’s prevalent throughout the world...” continues Fein, “But surely I think the Kosovo independence should shine a spotlight on these areas of the world, because I think in the long run separate statehoods create greater stability,” and gives the example of the breakup of former Yugoslavia, unmindful of the carnage that ensued. He seems to ignore the ethnic mix in the Eastern Province, and the greater number of Sri Lankan Tamils, who have made other areas of the island their home, since fleeing the Tigers’ den in the North and the East.
Ambassador Goonetilleke observed that Fein appears to be desirous of drawing a parallel between Sri Lanka and Kosovo. However, he seems to have overlooked statements made by the countries, which hurriedly recognized the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo. For example, on February 18, 2008, U.S. Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, said, “The unusual combination of factors found in the Kosovo situation — including the context of Yugoslavia’s breakup, the history of ethnic cleansing and crimes against civilians in Kosovo, and the extended period of UN administration — are not found elsewhere and therefore make Kosovo a special case.” She emphasized, “Kosovo cannot be seen as a precedent for any other situation in the world today.”
Similarly, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, in an interview with BBC Radio 4 Today programme, on February 19, 2008, said of Kosovo’s declaration of independence, “What makes it unique is that for nine years, there’s been a UN protectorate within the independent country of Serbia. That does mean that this is a unique case and I think it’s not one that can be equated to the Basque issue or some of the other issues that have been raised.”
That was not all. When the EU members met in Brussels recently, they agreed that Kosovo should not set a precedent for other states, with Spain and others, concerned about separatism stalking their countries. However, such principled positions are not expected to deter a hardnosed lawyer of the ilk of Fein.

NOT FAMILIAR

Ambassador Goonetilleke pointed out that although Fein, on February 24, 2008, confidently referred to, “Sri Lanka in particular, with which I am familiar,” his article in the Washington Times on January 29, 2008, reveals that he is ignorant about even the basic facts on Sri Lanka - such as the difference between Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils. Fein says in his article, “Immediately upon independence, the Sinhalese denied citizenship and disenfranchised a staggering 1 million Tamils, ...” He appears to believe he is referring to Sri Lankan Tamils, but in reality he is talking about Indian Tamils. I find it presumptious that he should boast of his familiarity with the Sri Lanka situation, when he is ignorant of this basic distinction between Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils.
Doesn’t he know that Sri Lankan Tamils were citizens of Ceylon, and therefore the issue of denying them citizenship at the time of independence does not arise? “Disenfranchisement” was with reference to Indian Tamils, who were brought in as temporary workers by the British in the 19th century, to work as bonded labourers on the tea plantations.
Ambassador Goonetilleke illustrated with a contemporary example. “Today, Sri Lankans by the hundreds and thousands are working in the Middle East, as temporary workers. Can they claim citizenship in the Middle Eastern countries on the basis that they worked and lived there for many years?” he asked.

RIGHT TO DECIDE

Furthermore, he maintained that any newly independent country has the right to decide who should form or has a claim to be the citizens of that country. The Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948 provided for those born in Ceylon, prior to November 1949, of a father born in Ceylon, to be recognized as a citizen of Ceylon.
That Act was followed by the Indian and Pakistani (Residents) Citizenship Act of 1949, which sought to grant Ceylon Citizenship to people, who were able to satisfy residence in Ceylon for a period of 7 years from 1st January, 1939, in case of married persons, and for a period of 10 years (from 1st January, 1936) for unmarried persons.

NEGOTIATIONS

This arrangement enabled about 145,000 persons of Indian Origin to acquire citizenship of Ceylon leaving approximately 700,000 whose citizenship had to be determined through negotiations with India. As the Ambassador explained, the matter was sorted out after negotiations with India in 1964 and 1974 with other local administrative and legal arrangements, ending up with the ‘Grant of Citizenship of Persons of Indian Origin Act (Act No. 35 of 2003). Ambassador Goonetilleke has a question for the Eelam lobby.
“Can they explain why G.G. Ponnambalam (Sr.) voted in favour of the Indian Pakistani Residents (Citizenship) Act of 1949, having voted against the Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948?” And why S.V. J Chelvanayakam voted against both Acts and broke away from the ACTC and established the Federal Party in 1949? As the Ambassador explained, Ponnambalam founded the first Tamil political party, the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), and stood for the principle of minority representation. He then referred to a quote by G.G. Ponnambalam (Jr.), referring to a press statement made by the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) in the “Daily News” of 23rd June 1962..... “Had the TC been given an additional portfolio, as earlier agreed, it is a matter for conjecture as to whether Mr. Chelvanayakam and his followers would have been in a position to vote against the Bill”.The CWC represents the Indian Tamils on whose issue the Federal Party claims it split from the ACTC! However, Premier D.S. Senanayake, for reasons best known to him, refused to accept Chelvanayakam to his cabinet, thereby leading to the establishment of the Federal Party by the latter. The rest is history.
If the decision taken by the newly independent government was a treacherous act, did not the Tamil leadership of the day, collude with such policies? However, G.G. Ponnambalam (Jr.) disagrees that his father’s decision in 1949 was wrong. Referring to V. P. Vittachi’s letter to the Editor in “The Sunday Times” of October 6, under the headline “G.G. Ponnambalam and the Indian Tamils” he said on 13th October 1996, “Yes, I do not deny that G.G. Ponnambalam (Sr.) voted for the Indian and Pakistani Residents (Citizenship) Act No. 3 of 1949, and the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Act No. 48 of 1949, and see no wrong in having done so. In fact, I would go so far as to say that was the correct thing to have been done, under the circumstances. Perhaps, what he did was endorsed by the voters of the Northern Province in 1952...” Before resting his case, Ambassador Goonetilleke admitted that the tragedy of Sri Lanka was punctuated by missed opportunities and acts, the result of political greed of many.

OPPORTUNITY

What is needed is a tiny window of opportunity to demonstrate that Sri Lankans are able to leave the past behind and forge a new unity for the common good of future generations. He sees the recent decision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to implement in full, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, as a first step in that direction. Despite the small size of the country, the Ambassador believes the island is large enough for all of its citizens of all ethnic groups. There is no need for unacceptable myths and erroneous minutes.
So, pray tell me, where are the historical, archaeological and epigraphical evidence to prove the existence of a traditional Tamil homeland in the north and the east? Where does the tradition begin?
Rizana GAZZALI

~ dailynews.lk ~ 

Myth & Reality of Tamil Homeland


Myth: Northern and Eastern Provinces are the Traditional Tamil Homeland

Reality: There is no Tamil Homeland in any part of this island.

Northern and Eastern Provinces were administrative divisions initially created by the British. The criteria for demarcating these provinces were
1. Easy access from the coast.
2. Administrative convenience
3. Cartographic convenience (Southwestern border of Eastern Province)
Thus we have several long and parallel-to-the-sea provinces. Subsequently, the borders of these provinces were changed several times by the post-Independence Sri Lankan governments for various administrative reasons. There is no record by anyone anywhere to claim that the British were demarcating a Tamil Homeland when drawing the boundaries of Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Thus it is extremely insensible and unthoughtful for the Tamil ethnonationlists, this include even known Tamil academics (e.g. S.J. Tambiah, A.J. Wilson and S. Arasartnam) and lesser known academics (e.g. C. Manogaran) and self-appointed "academics" (e.g. Satchi Ponnambalam), not to mention all the Tamil politicians and of course LTTE to accept the administrative boundaries as that of Tamil homeland. The Tamils ethnonationalists must be eternally grateful to the British colonial masters for their visionary favour!
For a geographical area to be a defined as a homeland of a particular group of people certain prerequisites must be met.
1. A distinct civilization must have emerged from that region.
2. The existence of a politically autonomous entity over a significant length of time.
3. A long continued habitation by the same people
4. The concept of a homeland must have historically evolved in the minds of the people.
5 The cultural landscape must reflect the culture of the people All these should have objectively acceptable credible evidence.
The areas of Northern and Eastern Provinces do not satisfy any of these prerequisites and Jaffna peninsula which is predominantly inhabited by the Tamils are most numerous satisfies only the last of the above conditions. (Tamilnadu of course satisfy all these conditions). Thus it is not only factually incorrect but also a disgrace for the Tamils to consider a piece of earth that does not satisfy the above requirements as Tamil homeland. On this basis anyplace with a sizable Tamil population can become a Tamil homeland!

Myth: Sinhala Buddhist civilization did not extend to Northern and Eastern Provinces where a Tamil civilization existed.

Reality: No distinctive Tamil civilization existed in any part of the island but the Sinhala Buddhist civilization spread all over the island.

First of all, the present distribution of Tamils (the maximum spatial spread of Tamils in the history in the island) in the Northern and Eastern Provinces is limited to a few definite areas. This includes Jaffna Peninsula and the adjacent lands in the mainland, Batticaloa and the vicinity and a few littoral areas in Trincomallee. Thus to say that the entire Northern and Eastern Provinces came under a Tamil civilization is nothing but a blatant lie.
Second, the toponymy (place names) in the Tamil areas indicate that most of the current place names are Tamil translations of the original Sinhalese names. Third, there are over 600 ancient Buddhist shrines big and small distributed all over the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Archaeology Department has identified them on the ground and mapped them. However the civiliztion-cleansing and cultural-cleansing programs which TULF started and perfected by the LTTE have almost totally destroyed the evidences of most of these ancient shrines.
Fourth, in spite of these sacrilegious activities of the Tamil extremists, a large number of scared Buddhist places of worship (e.g. Nagadipa, Seruwila, Dighawapi) remain in these two provinces. Fifth, many a evidences of Sinhalese-Buddhist hydraulic civilization is abound in these two provinces. There are numerous stone inscriptions of Sinhalese-Buddhist kings are found in these two provinces. Sixth, the official records and communications of Portuguese, Dutch and English amply prove that these two provinces remained under the suzerainty of the Sinhalese Kings.
It is only in the 12th century that permanent Tamil settlements emerged in Jaffna and thereafter Hindu Tamil culture has spread outward. But it did not create a distinctive and a unique Tamil-Hindu civilization distinctly different from that of Tamil Nadu as the Sinhalese did.


Tamil People

Myth: All Tamils supports Eelam

Reality: All Tamils do not support Eelam

Yes, all LTTE supporters and sympathizers here and abroad support Eelam. Some of the Tamil people who have been treated brutally by the LTTE and other Tamil terrorist organizations that have supposedly entered into democratic politics oppose Eelam. Some of the former terrorist organizations now with representatives in the Parliament and support the government openly opposing Eelam.
Another group of Tamils specially the middle class and wealthy also oppose Eelam as their livelihood is totally dependent on the country at large and among the Sinhalese and not on an exclusively Tamil Eelam. Further they fear that if Eelam is ever realized that they would be the first to loose as it might compel them to leave their present jobs and status and settle inside Eelam. More than anything else they fear to live under LTTE which is authoritarian, undemocratic, brutal, unpredictable and intolerant of traditions of Hindu culture and society. The number of Tamils killed by the LTTE (a rough estimate is around 4000) is far greater than those who died as a result of the war. Those Tamils whose children were forcibly conscripted or abducted by the LTTE to fight for Eelam. A large number of Tamils in the East also opposes Eelam.
Unfortunately, those Tamils who have left for greener pastures, including academics, who live comfortable lives in Western Capitals extend unreserved support to Eelam and thus LTTE. Obviously, they may be trying to pay in dollars for the guilt of enjoying western standard of living while their brethrens are suffering under brutality of LTTE. A large number of Tamils have refugees as a result of LTTE attacks and strategy.
One of the sorry ironies in this saga is the support extended by Tamil political parties to Eelam and LTTE. What this means in real terms is nothing but endorsing and legitimizing terrorism, assassinations, destruction, and all the miseries directed against not only the Sinhalese but also the Tamils themselves. The Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka thus become unique in the world as representatives who assures not the welfare of their people but their destruction.

Myth: All Tamil speaking people supports Eelam
Reality: Tamil speaking Muslims oppose Eelam

The concept of a "Tamil speaking people" was devised as a strategy by the early Tamil political parties e.g. Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (Lanka Tamil State Party erroneously translated as Federal Party) to co-opt Muslims into Tamil political strategy of separation. However, Muslims realizing the covert intention of the Tamil political parties and subsequently the Tamil terrorist movements, disassociated with this concept and rejected Eelam altogether. Muslims have openly declared that they do not want to become a minority within a minority. The fate of the Muslims at the hands of the LTTE has galvanized the Muslims to openly oppose Eelam and LTTE. The Muslims fearing the extremist Tamil claim of homeland, have resorted to demand the southern Eastern Proavince as a Muslim region pausing a direct challenge to Tamil homeland.

Myth: Tamils are one of the two majority communities in Sri Lanka.
Reality: Tamils are a minority in Sri Lanka.

Tamils in Sri Lanka considered them to be one of the two majority communities (other being the Sinhalese) under British dominance. The British themselves nurtured this position for their own reasons during the colonial rule. Thus the Tamils elites were reluctant to accept that they were a minority in Sri Lanka. They then cultivated this mentality among the ordinary Tamils as well. They tried all tricks in the bag to artificially remain a majority. First by opposing universal adult franchise and second by demanding 50% of the seats in the Parliament for the minorities they tried to cling on to the artificial majority status they enjoyed under British. The British at the time, however, rejected this by arguing that any artificial measure to reduce a majority to a minority and eleveate a minority to majority is bound to fail. The pathological inability of the Tamils to accept the fact that they are a minority was expressed by the dictum proposed by S.J. Tambiah -a Tamil academic living in the West, as a "minority with a parity claim".

Tamils are and will be a minority under the democratic system in Sri Lanka. This is not the fault or a conspiracy of the Sinhalese. It is the plain fact. In fact current fate of the ordinary Tamils in this country at large and in Jaffna and the East in particular is a result of the continuing inability of their extremist political leaders to accept the fact and the reality that they are a minority. When the parity cannot be achieved through democracy, the Tamil leaders have resorted to violence and terrorism. What a leadership!

ජපානය ජපනුන්ගේ රටනම් සිංහලේ සිංහලුන්ගේ රටයි.

ඇමරිකාව ඇමරිකානුවන්ගේ රටයි. ජපානය ජපනුන්ගේ රටයි. චීනය චිනුන්ගේ රටයි. රුසියාව රුසියානුවන්ගේ රටයි. සිංහලේ සිංහලුන්ගේ රටයි. සිංහලේ රට(ceylon...