Saturday, May 30, 2015

NATIONAL ANTHEM AND NATIONALISM

NATIONAL ANTHEM AND NATIONALISM

Once upon a time there was a beautiful island with wonderful people and it was called the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean “. The island is still beautiful and the people are still wonderful except for a few who consistently engage in a diabolical attempt to make it “Ugly “.
This is my response to the article published in the Daily Mirror of March 21st titled “Mother Lanka as Sri Lanka Thaye “ written by DBS Jeyaraj. He says that the Tamil version of the National Anthem too salutes Mother Lanka and not an “Eelam”, and it was his hope and prayer that patriotic Tamils would be able to hail “Mother Lanka “as “Sri Lanka Thaye” in their “Thaai Mozhi” ( Mother Tongue).
This subject came on stage when Mr. Mano ganeshan sought approval from the National Executive Committee to sing the National Anthem in the Tamil language. Approval was granted and immediately thereafter those who objected to it were branded as “Extremists”, “Communalists” and “Chauvinists".  In addition to that, the learned and moderate Tamil opinion makers/ journalists like Jeyaraj make evocative comments such as that by way of being “a most affected minority community” in this country, the Tamils would at least get some molecule of relief by having this request acceded to. But is thisthe reality?  Who are they – Jeyaraj, Manoganeshan and those of their ilk - trying to deceive?  As a matter of fact, do those who object to the National Anthem being sung in Tamil, really despise and block the progress of the Tamil people? In comparison to the other nationalities, are the Tamils discriminated against in our country? By allowing the National Anthem to be sung in Tamil will all the alleged discrimination disappear? I think it is high time to lay bare the nudity of those who very cunningly try to paint a wrong picture, locally and internationally, about the Sinhalese and Tamils in our country, in order to achieve their vicious objective.
            Let us for the moment move away from dealing with the terms such as communalism, nationalism, patriotism, emotions etc. and examine the Constitutional provisions relating to singing of the National Anthem in Tamil. Article 7 of the Constitution stipulates that the National Anthem of Sri Lanka should be “Sri Lanka Matha”. The words and the music should be as spelt out in the Third Schedule. The English transliteration rightly carries the words “Sri Lanka Matha”.  But the Tamil rendering is a translation, not a transliteration. This means that instead of writing the same Sinhala original words in Tamil characters, the Sinhala words of the National Anthem have been “translated” into the Tamil language. The most important thing here is that the very act of translation is done in a wrong manner. If it is done in the same manner the English script should have been Sri Lanka “Mother or Mater”!! It is very clear that the decision/initiative taken to “translate” it into Tamil had been taken with a predetermined mind set with ulterior motives such as to create communal unrest at a later stage.
            In view of this “translation”, people like Manoganeshan argue that singing the National Anthem in Tamil is in conformity with the ConstitutionHowever, the moment the National Anthem is sung in Tamil, Article 7 of the Constitution is violated, because, in it, it is clearly stated that the National Anthem should be Sri Lanka “Matha” and nothing else. This has led to an inconsistency between the two texts and in the event of such an “inconsistency” Article 23.1 clearly says that the text in which the written laws was “enacted” should prevail. In other words the Sinhala text should prevail over the Tamil one. Thus it proves beyond reasonable doubt that the singing  the National Anthem in Tamil definitely violates the Constitution of the country.            
We know that it is illegal to violate the Constitution of the country for whatever the purpose. Avenues are openeven to impeach the President of the country, if it can be proved that he has willfully violated the Constitution. In such a context, if a person takes up the position that singing the National Anthem in Tamil is a violation of the Constitution, can anyone brand him a communalist or a racist?
Most people who use the word “Racialism“ or “communalism” do not know the difference between “racialism” and “nationalism”. Racialism is primarily the belief that one’s own race is superior to others and suppress or deny the lawful rights of other communities. Nationalism, on the other hand, is patriotism, is loyalty and devotion to one’s community; to come forward and selflessly protect the interests of the community in the face of any danger. Germany and Japan became powerful nations after the Second World War as there were people with such patriotic mind sets.
Jeyaraj says that the Tamils should be allowed to sing the National Anthem in their own language for greater national unity and ethnic reconciliation, implying that Tamils are a deprived community compared to the Sinhalese. Is this true? Today one must ask what the Tamil grievances are; one can ask what “injustice “Tamils face because of being a Tamil”. They live in Colombo happily and comfortably, purchase land, build houses, send children to school, engage in businesses, are properly employed, build Kovils/Hindu temples and freely engage in religious activities. Only 48% of Tamils in Sri Lanka live in Jaffna; 52% live in the rest of the country amongst the Sinhalese and other communities. Do the Sinhalese harass Tamils at sight? There are hundreds of shops belonging to Tamils in Hetti Veediya (Sea Street), Kotahena, Wellawatta, Bambalapitiya, Pettah etc. The monopoly of the business of major food items such as sugar, potatoes, dhal etc. are in the hands of Tamil multi millionaire buisnessmen.  Have the Sinhalese objected to it? What will happen if all the Sinhalese boycott the Tamil shops and businesses? They do not do that because the Sinhalese strongly believe in living in harmony and in reconciliation. The Sinhalese in general do believe that the Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils are members of the same Sri Lankan family.
            Today the Tamils have bought over/acquired most of the land/properties in the metropolitan area. For instance in most of the lanes in Kotahena there are no Sinhalese news papers for sale because there are no Sinhalese living there. Have the Sinhalese revolted against that? Not at all.
            While that is the position of the Tamils in Colombo  - for that matter in the entire country, what is the position of the Sinhalese people in the North? Can a Sinhalese purchase a piece of land in Vavunia, Mulative, Kilinochchi, Point Pedro or in Jaffna? Everyone knows it is impossible. Why? Because they are “born” as Sinhalese and that is the tragic truth. What happened to around 25,000 Sinhalese who lived in Jaffna prior to 1983? Who talks about their land and properties? Who stands up for them? Mr. Vigneshvaram, Chief Minister of Jaffna, who was born among Sinhalese in Colombo, studied with the Sinhalese, lived with the Sinhalese for more than 60 years in Colombo, having acquired land and built houses in Colombo, has the audacity to tell that the Sinhalese do not have any right to own land in the North.  People like Manoganeshan whilst living a lavish life in Colombo and engaged in various businesses have viciously blocked the Sinhalese from running any business in Jaffna. Any Tamil student can get enrolled in any University in Sri Lanka but can a Sinhalese student get enrolled in the Jaffna University without creating trepidation in the hearts and minds of the parents? The Sinhalese do tolerate this situation and the contemptuous racial attitude of the Tamil politicians not because they are cowards but mainly because of the “discipline” and “tolerance” they have acquired through the practice of Buddhist Philosophy through the centuries.
            Today who wants the National Anthem to be sung in Tamil? It is not the ordinary and enlightened Tamil people but the corrupt Tamil politicians together with their acolytes and ‘torch bearers’ who are hell bent on creating disharmony in the country. We have to accept the fact that when Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha took over the country in 2005 it was virtually or de facto a divided country. In the North they had their own banks, a separate administrative system, a separate court system, a separate taxation system and a separate police force. Such a divided country was united and unified by Mahinda Rajapaksha. This benefitted at the outset the Tamil people at large. If a separate national anthem is demanded to be sung in the North, withIn a country which has been united after so much of strife isn’t it reasonable to consider it as a “threat” to the unitary status of the country? Is the demand for a separate National Anthem a prelude to demanding once again, a separate state?
            The population in India is about 1.3 billion and the Tamils constitute 65 million. In Sri lanka the population is 22 million with approx. 2.8 Tamils. In India there are many ethnic groups such as Hindu, Muslim, Marati, Gujarati, Tamil, Bengali, Panjab, etc but the National Anthem is “ Jana Gana Mana Adinayaka Jayahe Bharatha Baghya Vidhatha” written by Rabindranath Tagore  in a highly Sanskritized form of the Bengali language. Although we do not understand the Bengali language, when we browse the internet and listen to the Indian National Anthem sung by Latha Mangeshkar lying on sprawling sandy shores, we too are inspired and enthralled by its stirring melody and words. Indian cinema artists, with Sharook Khan as the main actor, jerk white men and women in England off their seats, make them spring up from their seats in salutation when the Indian National Anthem is played in his film. What would the response of Prime Minister Modi be, if the 65 million Tamils in India (as Jeyaraj thinks it fit to say it here)  ask that they be allowed to salute “their” motherland, which gave them Knowledge, Truth, Strength, and Inner Faith, to be saluted by singing the “ jana gana mana” National Anthem in “Tamil”! Why not the fond heart of Jeyaraj feel for the 65 million Tamil people in India, in like manner?
 Jeyaraj maintains that the Tamils get the “real national feeling” of the Motherland only if the National Anthem is sung in their own language. To me it is no patriotic statement. In the same token then, for the Veddhas to get the national feeling, the National Anthem should be altered to say “Sri Lanka Ammila Eththo” instead of “Sri Lanka Matha”. As a person who has been in India on several occasions for training I have observed, on very sensitive occasions, the eyes of Indians, be they Marati, Gujarati, Hindu, Tamil or Muslim, filling with tears when they sing the Indian National Anthem. According to Jeyaraj it may be because of conjunctivitis, for, the Maratis, Gujaratis & others do not get this national feeling because they do not understand the Sanskritized Bengali!! In some schools in India, the meaning of the song is taught to students. But when the National Anthem is played, tears well up, not because they all understand each & every word but because it generates patriotic emotions and the feeling that it symbolizes the nation - the feeling that this is our country, it is the “honour” and “pride” of our country, we are Indians, not different nations; and whatever enemy forces advance towards us we will protect the nation at any cost. Irrespective of the different ethnic identities they all think as “Indians” and that is the very reason why there is no demand from any one of the communities to sing the National Anthem in their respective languages.
            As in the case of India, if one argues that in our country the National Anthem should be in the original/single language is’nt it because one thinks of oneself as a “Sri Lankan”?  If that be so,  if people like Jeyaraj, Manoganeshan, Dilan Perera and Handunnethi demand that the National Anthem should be allowed to be sung in Tamil also, that is because they do not think of themselves as “Sri Lankans” or people of one country. Who then are the racists? According to Jeyaraj the racists are the “so called patriots” like us. But aren’t the racists the very same people who try to destroy efforts towards national reconciliation by making this type of request?

Even though we strictly do not follow the dictates of astrology, planetary configurations etc., it is no secret that we generally take them as a guide to important activities. When a child is born s/he is named having consideration for the planetary positions prevailing at the moment of birth. This is because we consider that it has a benevolent effect on the child every time the name is called (pronounced). Even the Anthem is composed on the same principles. When the initial words of the song were changed from ’Namo Namo Matha’ to ‘Sri Lanka Matha’ the composer of the song Ananda  Samarakoon threatened to commit suicide! People generally believe that the resonance of the ‘gana’ and ‘mathra’ of the song when pronounced correctly, the sound waves that are generated will have a benevolent effect on the nation. Whether or not such belief is  substantiated by logic or reasoning, any demand to sing the National Anthem in different words will be considered a contemptible insult to an age old valued sentiment/belief of our people.
We expect a much greater contribution from the moderate writers of the calibre of Jeyaraj to establish national reconciliation. I wish to enumerate briefly the sacrifices and contributions made by the Sinhalese in that regard. It is the Sinhalese soldiers who liberated the people of Jaffna from the grip of terrorism.  Since I was the Commander of the Northern Naval Area in Jaffna when the so called peace accord was signed in 2002, I witnessed the hardships the Tamil people had to undergo under the jack boot of the terrorists. Some shop keepers committed suicide as they could not pay the ransom to terrorists. At least 75 % of the catch of fishermen were confiscated by the terrorists daily.  At least 50% of the remittances received from their next of kin living abroad was grabbed by the terrorists. The School principals who did not release students for demonstrations were shot in public. It was a common scene to see weeping and wailing mothers at the security check point at Muhamalai to find whether their children abducted the previous night, were taken into the terrorist controlled area.  On most occasions Sinhala soldiers ventured, despite threat to their lives, to save such affected persons and they were highly respected by individual Tamils.
About 495,000 land mines strewn by terrorists in the area were cleared by Sinhalese soldiers disregarding the threat to their lives. It is the Sinhala soldiers who took into safe custody the gold and jewelry of the escaping Tamils around 290,000 and then later delivered to them intact when they were resettled. They were the Sinhala soldiers who de-activated about 4950 anti-tank mines and made it safe and secure for the Tamil residents to move in. It is the Sinhala soldiers who constructed about 8000 houses for the Tamil people contributing even their personal funds as a gesture of goodwill. When Prabhakaran used the Tamil people as a human shield, the Sinhalese soldiers marched through the heavily mined fields, without firing heavy artillery, knowing that they would even lose life and limb. This was just to save innocent Tamil lives. When pregnant Tamil women were escaping from the terrorists and running into the arms of our Sinhalese women soldiers, they went forward to meet them, knowing that there were tiger suicide women with bombs attached to their bellies. Many Sinhala women soldiers died in the processes whilst trying to identify the innocents from the terrorists.
Should we need any more examples to show the contribution and the commitment of the Sinhalese towards national reconciliation? Have the champions of reconciliation in the likes of Manoganeshan or Jeyaraj or any other do gooders offered even a cup of tea to the valiant soldiers as a mark of gratitude? Have they written a single article to the newspapers appreciating their services? I cannot recall any such.
Around 29,000 Sinhalese soldiers have sacrificed their lives in the protection of the unitary state of the country; 14,000 were permanently disabled too. (Here I wish to recall with deep respect the memory of the officers and men of other communities as well.)  The National Anthem is the symbol of “Sovereignty” and “territorial integrity” of the country. At the end of 30 years of war shouldn’t we consider that, allowing the National Anthem to be sung in Tamil in the North, as a symbolic infringement on the territorial integrity of the country that we selflessly liberated? Isn’t It a way of disgracing the valiant soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country? If that too is done by grossly violating the Constitution of the country, is’nt it a green light for the potential Elamist to raise their ugly head again?
I recollect here an interesting incident that occurred at Karainagar camp where I served as the Commanding Officer in the year 1993. During the war, the food for the island inhabitants were brought by the Navy with great effort despite the threat by the sea tiger terrorists. Since electricity was not available I brought kerosene oil from Trincomalee by using Chinese built attack crafts so that the Tamil children could do their studies. With the food quota of the sailors and officers we provided free food voluntarily to the starving families. I got the pension rights restored for many a public servant who were deprived of it for long years.
I was admired and respected by the people of Karainagar. However I was once targeted but I happened to change my plans. The terrorists being unaware that I had alighted from the vehicle attacked it and my driver and the junior officer were killed. The following day the entire village stormed my camp and apologized profusely, weeping and wailing. When I was transferred to Colombo they wrote to higher authorities to defer my transfer. At a simple farewell party organized for me a few little girls sang the National Anthem in Sinhala. The way they pronounced the words brought tears to my eyes. There was similar reaction by the villagers as well. Isn’t it adequate evidence of “genuine national reconciliation”? Those days no one agitated to sing the Anthem in Tamil. Then who were the people who injected the virus of hatred and communalism into their innocent hearts? They are the communalist Tamil politicians. They are the ones who demand a National Anthem in Tamil purely for political reasons. Is’nt it very unfortunate to note that even the moderate journalists such as Jeyaraj too are trying to justify this demand?

Rear Admiral (Dr). Sarath Weerasekara
Member of Parliament.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The article published in the Daily Mirror of March 21st titled “Mother Lanka as Sri Lanka Thaye “ written by DBS Jeyaraj. 




By D.B.S. Jeyaraj



Once upon a time there was a Beautiful Island with wonderful people  that  was  regarded as God’s own country. After gaining Independence from a colonial power, the modern nation  with an ancient civilization adopted a national anthem of its own. The anthem was written in the language spoken by the majority of its inhabitants.  Subsequently it was translated into the language  widely spoken by three of its  minority communities. While the song in the language of the majority received pride of place,  provision was made for both versions of the  anthem to be sung whenever or wherever necessary. The melody composed for the original was the same for the translated version also.

Both versions of the National anthem were sung or played in all parts of the country on appropriate occasions. When Independence day was observed the majority language version was sung at national level. However, in regions where the minority language was spoken most, the version sung at district level was that of the minority language. Similarly, schools where the medium of instruction was in the majority language the national anthem sung was also in the same language. Likewise schools where the minority language was the medium of instruction sang the national anthem in their language. In some places both versions were played one after the other. The anthem played at official functions at national level was in the language of the majority which had been enshrined as the country’s sole official language. This however did not deter the minority communities from singing the national anthem with patriotic fervour in their mother tongue on suitable occasions.

Sadly,  the serpent of communal discord and ethnic strife entered this idyllic garden of Eden. Events deteriorated to the point where the premier  national minority  began to regard itself as a distinct nation and demanded the creation of a country of its own. An armed struggle was launched and civil war erupted. Substantial portions of the Island’s territory came under the control of separatist elements. Ethnic relations between the majority and chief minority community disintegrated widely and people speaking the language became increasingly alienated from the state and estranged from the majority community.

A symptom of this malady was in the national anthem itself. It began to be sung only in the majority language. With the secessionist state of mind  pervading community consciousness , there were no singers of the national anthem in the mother tongue of the minority community. Although the minority language version of the national anthem had been given Constitutional status, it was not sung in practice. The minority language had also been elevated as an official language by a Constitutional amendment. But in the climate of strife and confrontation it was not implemented widely. The national anthem in the minority community mother tongue was also not sung in practice though there was no legal or Constitutional barrier.

And then there was a change! The long war ended with the total annihilation of the armed organization espousing the separatist cause. The Island from north to south and east to west again came under the sole writ of the democratically elected government. Members of the minority nationality began re-entering the national mainstream again. They picked up the shattered pieces of their existence and began embarking upon a brave new journey of reconciliation. Once again these members of the minority group began to think of themselves as belonging to the country where their ancestors had lived for generations.It was farewell to secessionism and an embrace of  the motherland at an emotional and spiritual level. It was a strengthening of unity while retaining diversity.

 

Mother Tongue


What better way to celebrate this return other than to sing the national anthem once again in their mother tongue now constitutionally recognized as an official language? Would it not be significant  to salute their country as mother in their own language in which  language they think and feel? Would it not be great to thank the mother who gave them  “Knowledge, Truth, Strength and inner faith,” and was also their “light divine and sentient being”. Would it not be most meaningful for an estranged and embittered people to sing of an end to “ill-will, hatred and strife” and  to sing of themselves  again as a “ Mighty nation marching onward, all as one and enfolded in love”?

In any other land or country this  development would have been welcomed and encouraged. The State would have given every assistance and help to promote the singing of the national anthem  in their mother tongue by members of an ethnicity that had been out in the political cold for decades. Echoing the patriotic sentiments expressed in the national anthem in their own language which they knew best would have paved the way for greater national unity and ethnic reconciliation.

But this did not happen! Instead, moves were initiated to do away with the Constitutional right to sing the national anthem in the mother tongue  of the national minorities. A draft law to forbid the national anthem being sung in languages other than the majority official language was mooted but was shelved due to opposition within Cabinet ranks. This resulted in uncertainty about the legality of the singing of the national anthem. However in practice, very clear signals were conveyed “unofficially” that only the majority language  version of the national anthem should be sung everywhere. The bureaucracy as well as the armed forces were used to enforce this officially sanctioned unofficial diktat.

This  naturally resulted in huge disappointment and despondency. It was a slap in the face of those members of the minority ethnicity seeking to re-enter the national mainstream and foster ethnic reconciliation and harmony. It was perceived as one more instance of  majoritarian arrogance. The majoritarian supremacists who had plunged the country into chaos and despair were riding high once again adding insult to injury.

Dispassionate foreigners such as diplomats, academics, media and NGO personnel were aghast. They could not believe this was happening in a land that had been torn asunder by ethnic strife and was now on the path of ethnic amity and national unity. Why this intolerant attitude and heavy handed response to an issue that would have never been an issue in any sane and sensible  country?


 

“Third Class Politics”


But then these things do happen in the  beautiful Island called Sri Lanka, where I was born and bred. Hard as it may be to believe  many such things are possible in the pearl of the Indian ocean, now dubbed as the miracle of Asia. It is a land of paradoxes. “Third class politics” to use Gamini Fonseka’s description has been Sri Lanka’s bane and ruin.

Politicians from both sides of the ethnic divide have time and again pursued the politics of the irrational by appealing to raw emotions of the electorate. These political elements continue to thrive because the Sri Lankan people of all hues have demonstrated time and again that they can be whipped up into a frenzy at elections through emotive yet empty slogans and cheap political stunts. Thus it is a vicious circle of inter-dependence where the people continue to get the leaders they deserve.

What  prevents Sri Lanka from total misery is the ability of its leaders and people to take corrective measures at times and undo some, if not all of the damage caused. What is more these corrective measures are enacted through democratic methods. Democracy in Sri Lanka may be flawed, but nevertheless, the country can be proud that it remains basically democratic. One set of rascals may be replaced by another but these are done through democratic elections. Dictatorial tendencies are curbed through the casting of the vote. These have been  the silver linings  prevalent in the dark clouds looming over the Island’s political horizon.

One such silver lining was visible last week in the case of the national anthem. The new dispensation under President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe  is striving valiantly to  rectify some of the wrongs perpetrated by the previous Government. One such matter seems to be that of  the national anthem being sung in Tamil.

The Rajapaksa regime did not ban the Tamil national anthem legally, but saw to it that singing the national anthem  in Tamil was forbidden in day-to-day affairs. According to media reports, Democratic Peoples Front (DPF) leader Mano Ganesan had raised the issue  of the national anthem being sung in Tamil at the National Executive Council meeting. President Sirisena had responded positively and reiterated the Constitutional position that there was no bar on the  national anthem being sung in Tamil. He had guaranteed that the National Anthem would be sung in Tamil also.


 

Mano Ganesan


This column contacted the DPF leader to clarify the position. I am reproducing here Mano Ganesan’s responses to three questions  I posed.


Q”What were the circumstances that motivated you to raise this issue at the National  Executive Council meeting and how do you feel now that the President has answered positively”?

MG: National anthem, National Flag etc  are the elements of expression of nationalism of a citizen of any country.  This goes with us in Sri Lanka too. During the last regime, this subject was a highly  heated up issue in year 2010. Weerawansa, Gammanpila, BBS and others were on a (war) path of totally rejecting this constitutional right of the Tamil speaking community. They went to the extent of getting then Interior Minister John Senaviratne to submit a Cabinet paper. It was to “order” citizens and State admin & school administrators to refrain from singing the Tamil National Anthem.

But due to our combined opposition, Mahinda  Rajapakse who gave  tacit support to this backtracked. I remember saying then that those who claim to be “Deshapremi patriots” should on the contrary support the Tamil National Anthem. It is not about Eelam, but about  Sri Lanka. It is bringing in the Tamils into the national mainstream.

But I failed to convince the hardliners. Though  they stopped at that point, the fear psyche had already gone into  the minds of the State administrators in the Tamil speaking regions. Tamil regional GAs and AGAs and school principals  either refrained or blocked the use of the Tamil national anthem due to their fear of the regime. And the Army in the north added brutality to this. They trained the school children band to sing only the Sinhala version and barged into the civil events and at times, stopped  theTamil national anthem. The Sinhala only law was in action.

These hardliners failed to understand the basic facts.  The Tamil anthem is not a new strange song about Eelam but only the translation of the Sinhala version praising  Mother Lanka and the music score is also the same. Therefore, these hardliners are nothing but severe racists who reject anything Tamil and who are trying to take our country backwards.

NOW, This is the era of good governance and real reconciliation. So I thought of raising this issue at the National Executive Council (NEC). I am not in Parliament. If I had been, I would have raised it there.

The latest is that many local media electronic and print have taken up this issue. Yesterday I was interviewed and thus spoke in many Sinhala radio channels. Last night I was in Rupavahini TV live this morning Weerawansa came on Neth FM radio live and blasted me. He said there can be only one language, one national anthem in this country, since this is a Sinhala country. But to my pleasant surprise, the former interior minister John Seneviratne who brought the Cabinet paper to ban the Tamil national anthem, said on the same radio that he regrets  his earlier stance  also adding that Tamils should have the right to use the Tamil national anthem.


 

Maithri Manifesto


So DBS, my efforts have brought about some positive developments. I was one of those who agreed with the idea of not putting the Tamil national issue in the Maithri manifesto during the presidential elections. We did not want to give any opportunity to hard liners. But it does not mean that we have to keep quiet all the time. We must choose  the right time to raise issues and  create discussions. It is my policy.


Q ”What is the follow up action needed now to give effect to the guarantee given by  President Sirisena ?

MG: The President needs to do two things.
(1) A relevant circular from the Presidential Secretariat to all the district Secretariats, ministries, Provincial Councils, all the Municipal and Urban Councils, Pradesiya Sabas  and especially, to all the schools and  education officials clarifying the official stance of the government on the use of the Tamil
national anthem.


(2) As promised, he should take up the issue at the next National Security Council meeting to send the message across to  the security establishment

Do you have any specific plans in this regard in your capacity as leader of a political party based essentially in Colombo and Up Country with a Sinhala majority”?

MG: My plans...? I am the  leader of a small party  trying to do big matters and getting into trouble with various labels.......Already as per my instructions, our member of the Western Provincial Council for Colombo district and the deputy general secretary of our party Shan Kuhavaradan are preparing 500 Audio CDs carrying the Tamil national Anthem. We plan to distribute these to the Tamil medium schools starting within Colombo and extending to the Western Province and then to all the Tamil medium schools in the country. I am also planning to play the Tamil national anthem at specially convened gatherings with Sinhala invitees where I plan to conduct discussions on real reconciliation. (I want  to do much… .....but your guys in the Diaspora help to buy guns but not make such CDs will you…?)


 

Not About  Tamil Eelam


As DPF leader Mano Ganesan rightly observed the national anthem in Tamil is only a translation of the Sinhala original. It hails  Mother Lanka and is not about Tamil Eelam. True patriots must support and not oppose the national anthem being sung in Tamil. In Sri Lanka, those claiming to be patriots are doing the opposite. Once again the Sinhala hawks are screeching that the national anthem should not be sung in Tamil. One hopes and prays that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Govt. will have the courage to stand firm and not give in to the protests of pseudo nationalist Sinhala patriots.

The issue of singing the national anthem in Tamil is one that I feel strongly about. I yearn nostalgically for a happy past where this was not an issue at all to me. When I was a student at St.Thomas’ prep school in Kollupitiya during the times of JTR Perinpanayagam as Headmaster, we used to sing the national anthem at the end of term assemblies and other important events. The students were multi-ethnic – Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher, Malay with a sprinkle of cultural minorities like Colombo Chetty, Bharatha, Sindhi, Bohra, Parsi, Chinese, Malayalee and Telugu (a great- great grandson of the last King of Kandy was a student too).

We were given “roneo”cyclo-styled sheets with the words in Sinhala and Tamil, and the Sinhala version scripted in English. We were free to sing in whichever language, but almost all of us being fluent in English preferred to sing the Sinhala words in English script. As a Tamil, I don’t think I understood the meaning of the words fully but at that  primary school and tender age it did not matter. The words had a musical tone and the tune was lively and lilting.

It was after I relocated to Jaffna in my mid-teens, that I started hearing the national anthem being sung in Tamil. The students at Jaffna College were almost entirely Tamil with one or two Muslims and Malayalees. By this time one had got “politicized”in terms of ethnicity. We were more aware politically in secondary school. Besides the early seventies of the 20th century was the era of standardization that caused much upheaval amidst Tamil students. ”Tamil Eelam”consciousness had not entered our lives then but we did feel strongly about discrimination and racist oppression.


 

Joi de Vivre


However, it was while listening or singing the national anthem in  my mother tongue Tamil that I really understood and above all felt what it was all about. Politically I found the content unobjectionable as the words were about mother Lanka and the virtues of the country and not  about any particular ethnicity. However, I must admit that though I understood the national anthem better in Tamil, I liked hearing it being sung in Sinhala, as the words seemed to resonate mellifluously exuding  a mood of joi de vivre.

All things changed utterly as the ethnic conflict escalated and the Sinhala and Tamil communities drew apart. The practice of singing the national anthem in Tamil in the North and East gradually diminished even as hostilities mounted. Before 1956, almost every major school in Jaffna had Sinhala teachers (many of them Buddhist priests)to teach Sinhala to students. After Sinhala was imposed as the sole official language to the exclusion of Tamil, this practice ceased. Likewise the singing of the national anthem in Tamil also went out of vogue in the Tamil area schools. This was reflected to some extent in Tamil schools in the South too but several Tamil medium Muslim schools continued with the practice.

This gloomy dark phase in Sri Lanka’s post-indepenence history is now over, and the country is slowly progressing towards its tryst with destiny. It is against this backdrop that the efforts to resurrect the national anthem must be viewed positively. Obstructing such efforts must be deplored and condemned. This is an issue that I feel strongly about and have written on it earlier in order to understand this totally unnecessary “ Tamil national anthem crisis,” I shall delve briefly into the history of the national anthem in Tamil and what transpired in the Cabinet of Mahinda Rajapaksa on this matter in 2010   relying on some of my past writings.

Sri Lanka’s national anthem was originally written in Sinhala  by Ananda Samarakoon who was a well-known painter as well as poet. He had been a student at Rabindanath Tagore’s “Shantiniketan”in Bengal, India. The song was not written originally for the purpose of being a national anthem.


 

“Namo Namo Matha”


In 1950, the then Finance Minister JR Jayewardene presented a Cabinet memorandum that the widely popular “Namo Namo Matha” be formally acknowledged as the official anthem. Prime Minister DS Senanayake set up a select committee under the Home Affairs and Rural Development Minister Sir EAP Wijeratne (Father of Dr. Nissanka Wijeratne) to finalize the issue. The committee headed by Sir Wijeratne considered “Namo Namo Matha” and some other lyrics and decided that Samarakoon’s song should be the national anthem.

Sir EAP Wijeratne then presented a Cabinet paper in August 1951, recommending “Namo Namo Matha” as the national anthem. It was unanimously approved by the Cabinet and formally adopted on November 22, 1951. There were two Tamil Ministers in the DS Senanayake Cabinet then. They were GG Ponnambalam and C. Sittambalam. It is said that even before they could make a request, Premier DS Senanayake  had stated that a suitable Tamil translation be formally adopted. The select committee headed by Sir EAP Wijeratne had accepted in principle that there be a Tamil version of the national anthem.

The Tamil scholar Pundit M. Nallathamby was entrusted this task and a neat transliteration was done. The Tamil version came into use and was extensively used in official functions in the predominantly Tamil speaking Northern and Eastern provinces.

The remarkable attribute of Sri Lanka’s national anthem is that, it sings paeans of patriotic praise to the country alone and not to any race, religion, caste, creed or community. It is not parochial or partisan and appeals to the patriotic sentiments of all children of the Lankan mother.

Hence, the Tamil people found no reason to reject or protest against the national anthem. Once the meaning of the Sinhala words was known, few Tamils  found it objectionable. With an appropriate transliteration available the Tamils of Sri Lanka found themselves singing the national anthem with emotion and fervour in their mother tongue.


 

National Anthem


Four years after Freedom on February 4, 1952 , “Namo Namo Matha” was sung at Independence Day ceremonies as the official national anthem. The Tamil version “Namo Namo Thaye” was sung in related Independence Day functions at the Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee and Batticaloa Kachcheries. When Sir John Kotelawela visited Jaffna in 1954, the Tamil version of the national anthem was sung at functions felicitating the Prime minister.

On March 12, 1952, the Government published huge advertisements in Sinhala,Tamil and English newspapers announcing that “Namo Namo Matha” was the national anthem, while words in Sinhala and Tamil were published in the Sinhala and Tamil newspapers respectively, the English newspapers had Sinhala words written in English.

While “Namo Namo Matha” was now being sung as the official anthem, there was no uniformity in the melody or manner of singing. Different choirs and singers were rendering it in different ways. This was causing much confusion. So the Government decided to appoint a Committee to ensure that uniformity was ensured in rendering the national anthem. An eleven-member committee was appointed in 1953. Among its members were Ananda Samarakoon himself, Devar Suryasena and JDA Perera.

This committee set out guidelines as to how the anthem should be sung and also defined the exact tune for it. The melody was a refined version of the original tune composed by Samarakoon. The reputed establishment Cargills, then agents for HMV records was given the order to make records of the national anthem.

A disc was also cut for the Tamil version of the national anthem. While the melody and music were the same as that of the Sinhala version by Ananda Samarakoon, the Tamil words written by Pundit Nallathamby were sung by two female vocalists Sangari and Meena. The Tamil version was first broadcast officially on “Radio Ceylon” on February 4, 1955.

On June 24, 1954, the Cabinet of Sir John Kotelawela formally endorsed the tune and singing of the National Anthem. The copyright ownership of “Namo Namo Matha” was formally acquired by the Government after payment of Rs. 2,500 on that day. The money however did not go to Ananda Samarakoon, as he had already transferred copyright to Siriwardena, the printing press owner who had first published the song in a book of poems. In February 1961, the SLFP Govt. of Sirimavo Bandaranaike changed the wording of the national anthem from “Namo, namo Matha”to “Sri Lanka Matha’. A similiar change was made to the Tamil version also.


 

Pride of Place


Both the Sinhala and Tamil versions  were in use for decades. There set in over the years a certain form of usage in relation to the national anthem. The  original Sinhala  song got pride of place in most state or official ceremonies and events. In some instances, the Tamil version was  also sung. It was however the practice for the Tamil version to be used in most events or functions in the Tamil-speaking areas of the Northern and Eastern provinces. Most Tamil-medium schools also sang  the national anthem in Tamil at school events. This applied to many Tamil medium schools  outside the
North – East too.

It was indeed noteworthy that the Tamil version continued to be in use even after Sinhala was made the sole official language in 1956.  Both the Sinhala and Tamil versions were sung in the sixties of the last century, when  the then  Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake visited Jaffna. When Sirimavo Bandaranaike came to Jaffna  as premier in  1974, to open the  newly set up Jaffna campus of the University of Sri Lanka both versions were sung.

 It was common in those days for selected school bands and choirs to render  the national anthem in Sinhala and Tamil. What is remarkable is that though the Tamil language held no official status then  the more enlightened governments of the day had no qualms about the national anthem being sung in  the Tamil language in Tamil medium schools or official functions in the predominantly Tamil-speaking regions.

The Constitution of 1978  ushered in by the UNP regime led by JR Jayewardene provided national language status to the Tamil language. It also granted  Constitutional status to the national anthem. Clause 7 of the Constitution says -  “The National Anthem of the Republic of Sri Lanka shall be “Sri Lanka Matha,” the words and music of which are set out in the Third Schedule”.

 Both the Sinhala original and Tamil translation were acknowledged. This was done mainly because of former Kalkudah MP  KW Devanayagam who was at that time the only Sri Lankan  Tamil Minister in the UNP government. This act evoked praise worthy mention as an indicator of inclusiveness and tolerance. It could be seen therefore, that this Island nation displayed  a sense of accommodation towards the  usage of Tamil language in the sphere of  “officially” singing the national anthem  for many many years.


 

Cabinet Memorandum


This state of affairs was upset in 2010 by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Govt. It was felt by some Ministers that no proper procedures  were being practiced at official functions,  where the national flag was raised or national anthem sung. President Rajapaksa therefore,  instructed  his Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister WDJ  (John) Senevirathne to  prepare  a Cabinet memorandum outlining the appropriate protocols to be adopted in relation to the national flag and national anthem.

A Cabinet paper  incorporating basic guidelines was duly prepared and submitted for  discussion and approval on November 3, 2010. After preliminary discussion in November,  the Cabinet paper  was taken up for detailed discussion again on December 8, 2010.


 

"It is my hope and prayer that patriotic Tamils should be able to hail “Mother Lanka” as “Sri Lanka Thaaye” in their  “Thaai Mozhi”(Mother tongue)"




The  officials who drafted the memorandum had relied greatly on a Singaporean piece of legislation as a model. The use of the national anthem is governed by Part IV of the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules made under the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act. This Act was amended in 2007 was used as a model by Sri Lankan officials.

Apparently there is a provision in the Singaporean Act  which stipulates that anyone singing the national anthem must sing the official lyric and not any translation of the lyric. The duplication of that provision in the Sri Lankan Cabinet memorandum   led to the  unwanted controversy. The Cabinet paper recommended the singing of the national anthem in Sinhala only and suggested that the Tamil translation in use for decades be summarily abolished. It was also proposed that  those who were not proficient in the Sinhala language, could write down the  Sinhala words in Tamil or English and sing them.


 

“Onwards Singapore”


The Sri Lankan officials in emulating the letter of the Singaporean guidelines had missed the spirit of the Lion City State anthem. Although  the majority  community in Singapore are Chinese (75.2%), the national anthem is in the Malay language, spoken by 13.6% of the people. The national anthem written by Zubir Said is titled “Majulah Singapura” or “Onwards Singapore.” English, Chinese (Mandarin), Malay and Tamil are recognized as official languages in Singapore, but Malay is regarded as the National language. Thus it is considered appropriate that the national anthem be in Malay. Translations are available in English, Mandarin and Tamil, but only Malay could be used to sing the national anthem  in official functions.

Thus in Singapore, where the national anthem is in a “minority” language there was an imperative need to debar translations and insist upon Malay  alone being used officially to sing the national anthem. If translations were allowed, the Mandarin or English version could swamp the Malay version. But this is not the case in Sri Lanka where Sinhala is firmly entrenched as the language of the majority and primary official language. It is the Tamil language that requires special measures and guarantees in the present situation.

It was in this context, that the Cabinet paper dated November 3, 2010 was taken up for detailed discussion  by the Cabinet on December 8, 2010. National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and  former Construction, Engineering services, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa  at the outset welcomed the  proposal to abolish the Tamil translation and sing the national anthem in Sinhala alone.

Weerawansa informed his Cabinet colleagues that the Tamils wanted to sing the anthem in Sinhala and said that when he was in Jaffna recently, the national anthem had been sung in Sinhala only at an official function. The Jaffna Tamil gathering had sung enthusiastically, Weerawansa said. Pontificating further, the former Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) stalwart observed that it was a joke for a national anthem to be sung in two languages. He also “enlightened” his co-ministers that in India where so many languages are spoken, including Tamil, the national anthem was in Hindi only.


 

Wimal Weerawansa


Unfortunately,  Wimal Weerawansa  as is typical, was not well-informed on the topic he was waxing eloquent. There are several  countries like  Canada, Philippines ,  Belgium, Switzerland and South Africa, where the national anthem is sung in two or more languages in full or in parts. At the same time, many more  countries allow  limited use of translations.  

More importantly, Weerawansa was incorrect in his reference to the Indian national anthem. The song “Jana Gana Mana” was written in Bengali by the illustrious Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali himself. It is however written in “Tatsama” and not colloquial Bengali. Tatsama-Bengali is somewhat classical and has an extensive vocabulary of words “loaned” from the  ancient  Sanskrit  language. About 70% of words used in Tatsama-Bengali is of Sanskrit origin, while  only about 40%  words in colloquial Bengali is Sanskrit.

Bengali poets of the 10th century resorted to Tatsama because they felt that a greater deal of classical Sanskrit was required to  express  their thoughts in poetic form. Later in the 19th century, another school of  thought comprising English- educated Bengalis revived the Tatsama poetry in a big way. Tagore was influenced by this school of thought and resorted to Tatsama in conveying his poetic thoughts in Bengali. “Jana gana mana” therefore had a lot of Sanskrit words intelligible to most Indo-Aryan languages . Incidentally, another of Tagore’s compositions “Sonar Bangla” or “golden Bengal” is the national anthem
of Bangladesh. Weerawansa was therefore incorrect in saying the Indian national anthem is in the official language Hindi. Weerawansa’s ill-informed onslaught on  Tamil being used  to sing the national anthem found a responsive chord in several Ministers in Mahinda’s Cabinet. One reason for this type of  response was the view shared by some that Weerawansa was only articulating the wishes of President Rajapaksa. So some better informed Ministers were seemingly in agreement with Weerawansa to curry- favour with the President.


 

Vasudeva Nanayakkara


In that situation, several of the more enlightened Ministers also kept silent. There was also hesitation among Ministers of the Tamil and Muslim communities to speak out. But  not so the irrepressible Vasudeva Nanayakkara. The veteran leftist firebrand who had joined Cabinet ranks  then as Minister of  National Languages and Social Integration was the first to speak against the proposal to do away with Tamil in singing the national anthem.

Nanayakkara spoke eloquently on the need to be inclusive and fair by the minority communities. He saw no need for the removal of an arrangement that had been in practice for so many years. Comrade Vasu also pointed out that the need of the hour was to reach out to the  Tamil masses and bestow upon them a sense of belonging. The national anthem proposal would be detrimental to national unity, he said.

With Nanayakkara leading from the  front,  the counter-offensive to the “Sinhala only” imposition gained momentum. Rajitha Senaratne,  the then   Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister, Douglas Devananda,  the then  Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister, Rauff Hakeem the  then Justice Minister  and  A.L.M. Athaulla,  the  former  Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister also  joined the discussion and spoke out against the proposal.

Athaullah had a counter-proposal. Why not include verses from Tamil also into the national anthem along with Sinhala? he queried. For the national  anthem to be truly national, both the Sinhala and Tamil languages should  constitute it, observed the Akkaraipatru stalwart  who went on to propose a bi-lingual national anthem.

The mood at the Cabinet meeting changed and it soon became obvious that the proposal to do away with the Tamil translation of the national anthem  was being met with stiff resistance. It was also clear that deep divisions were emerging on this account within the Cabinet conclave.


 

Deferred Indefinitely


Gauging the situation correctly, President Rajapaksa brought the discussion and debate to an end by announcing that the decision on the Cabinet paper would be deferred indefinitely until a later date. He said that an intensive informed discussion was necessary before a final decision was arrived at. Meanwhile, the status quo would remain as usual, the President stated.

What happened thereafter is well known. Orders went out quietly  to Govt. officials and officers of the armed forces that the national anthem should not be sung in Tamil. There was no official decree but officially-sanctioned unofficial instructions resulted in  the silencing of the Tamil National anthem. Neither Vasudeva Nanayakkara nor Douglas Devananda could prevent this.

Now there is a ray of hope again after President Sirisena’s assurance to Mano Ganesan at the National Executive Council. There has always been a hiatus between pledges and performances in the ethnic relations sphere of Sri Lanka. Already the knives are out to scuttle the move and it remains to be seen, whether President Sirisena can bring about a transformation where the national anthem could be sung  by  the  Tamil speaking people in their mother tongue.
It is my hope and prayer that patriotic Tamils should be able to hail “Mother Lanka” as “Sri Lanka Thaaye” in their  “Thaai Mozhi”(Mother tongue)

D.B.S. Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com


http://www.dailymirror.lk/66895/singing-the-national-anthem-in-tamil-hailing-mother-lanka-as-sri-lanka-thaaye

Friday, May 29, 2015

Was LTTE bankrolled for different objectives!

Was LTTE bankrolled for different objectives!
Posted on May 27th, 2015

Shenali D Waduge


A movement created overseas and exported to destabalize Sri Lanka that lasted 3 decades despite a wave of serial murders/assassinations/suicides & crimes with offices placed overseas to carry out its propaganda despite international bans has to have some reasons for its existence. The business of LTTE being kept alive had benefits not necessarily the same or with same objectives as obviously prevails at the post-LTTE phase. It is a good time to look at the players involved in LTTE Inc.


India:
LTTE & possibly over 30 other militant organizations sprang into existence as a result of being clandestinely taken to India and trained in 1970s by retired Indian military personnel and handled by Indian intelligence with the sole aim of destabalizing Sri Lanka. India armed, trained, financed and supported LTTE and a host of other militants. Thus the initial killings by these movements had to be with the explicit knowledge/awareness & even approval of India. LTTE’s first killings was against Tamils and to remove all Nationalist Tamils. Mayor Alfred Duraippah became first target, thereafter scores of Tamil policemen and then eliminating other Tamil militant leaders before LTTE self-declared itself the sole representative of the Tamils using the force of their gun. It was only afterwards that the guns turned on Sri Lanka’s military and unarmed civilians – initially to chase Sinhalese and Muslims out of the North, thereafter to chase them out of the East and then to create mayhem across the country.

Tamil Homeland:
The first quest for separation and calls for a separate Tamil homeland began in India and by the Tamil Nadu state. Their argument was that the British mashed together independent territories and princely states and created one nation christening it India. This argument is true. There was never a nation called India before the British named it so. It is also true that Tamils migrated to Sri Lanka from India and that is why Tamil language finds its roots to Tamil Nadu. Therefore all ingredients required for self-determination are available in Tamil Nadu and not in Sri Lanka’s North because the indigenous language/culture all finds its source to Tamil Nadu. In the case of the Sinhalese, their language is indigenous to Sri Lanka, cultures are indigenous to Sri Lanka and the Sinhala race is found nowhere else but in Sri Lanka. Therefore, arguments related to homeland of Tamils carries no water when Tamils cannot claim homelands in different countries. With 72million of the world’s 76m Tamil Nadu is best placed to be declared Tamil Homeland as Sri Lanka has less than 2million Tamils.

Themes & Slogans:
Over the years the themes and slogans have shifted to suit the tastebuds of those funding the campaign. Initially, it started with grievance and discrimination using standardization, language then when counter arguments questioned why Tamils oppose less privileged Tamils from gaining education and entering university the slogan shifted to victimization when challenged to show examples of where Tamils were denied that only Sinhalese enjoyed, without giving examples they moved on to the newest slogan ‘genocide’. Why are the MPs not challenging these claims and why are lawyers not taking action – genocide is a serious word but can those using it prove statistically that such took place? But propaganda and money has allowed this single word to gain world-wide momentum and if not countered likely to put people behind bars for no valid reasons.  

Tamil Politicians:
Like all politicians, Tamil leaders search for reasons to rule their own. We must be mindful that prior to LTTE emerging from low-caste/poor/smuggler family backgrounds the Tamil leaders were all from high caste/class English educated families and they wanted that status quo to continue. They had to compromise because of India’s involvement but in their hearts/minds their objective was to continue caste/class culture so that only they would rotate power amongst their own. This was why when in 1956 when SWRD Bandaranaike introduce the Social Disabilities Prevention Act enabling poor Tamils to gain education Tamil leaders even wrote to the UK to make objections and when Soulbury Constitution was being drafted they wanted caste to be included which British refused

Tamil middle class
Former colonies all suffer from an inherent desire to live in Western climes and feel that whatever wealth they have unless they have lived abroad they do not measure up. The LTTE, the 1983 pre-planned riots provided the avenue and today close to 1million Tamils now live overseas. The references to them as economic refugees aligns well because the protestors howling about discrimination, genocide etc are by asylum seekers who are still buying time to get their PR and do not wish to jeopardize that. Also, the LTTE fund generating apparatus has provided avenues to make money for people, while it has also enabled a handful to move with foreign leaders at higher levels, the illegal rackets that LTTE is involve are also opportunities to make money as are the legal investments handled through proxies. The restaurants, businesses purchased with LTTE money provide a win-win situation. These are all areas that will come under threat and scrutiny if there is peace and stability in Sri Lanka. A lot of hardcore LTTErs who had escaped may also fear that they will be charged under local laws.

Thus, whatever roads, infrastructure, housing, facilities given to the Tamils, the desire to live in the West cannot be removed and they find the LTTE project the best way to subtly provide the avenue for this goal. We need to all understand this inherent mental condition of Tamils. It may be one reason why most are reluctant to blame the LTTE since sub-consciously they feel they had a role to play in wanting the LTTE to prevail. A handful of Tamils however putting nation first have always come out with their views but under immense pressure and grave threat to their lives. They must be appreciated and applauded at all times.

Tamil poor & low caste
Very little attention is given to the fact that the guinea pigs for Tamil politicians and LTTE Terrorists have been these Tamil poor and low caste. It was from them that the cadres were taken. These mothers bred children as child soldiers, their men and young men were turned into virtual slaves and killed like dogs. Higher castes served as officials of LTTE with a handful low caste given opportunity just for propaganda purposes.

Tamil Diaspora (LTTE & Non-LTTE)
It is good to divide them as those openly supportive of the LTTE and the silent victims. To quantify this is rather difficult but the elections to the utopian Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam proscribed under UNSC 1373 shows that hardly any Tamils have voted over the years though the head refers to himself as ‘President’ to satisfy some inherent mental condition. For the LTTE Diaspora it has provided a gateway to stardom and today they are calling the shots because they have fitted themselves into a very cosy bargaining situation where they have coerced the foreigners into thinking that they hold the cards to how the Tamils in Sri Lanka think and function including the Tamil politicians – they ignore the Indian Govt influence over the Tamils as well as Tamils in Tamil Nadu though foreign intelligence has been able to use their links to Indian intelligence to tip the scales in favour of the West at crucial times. The deals being cut by the LTTE Diaspora with or without the Tamil leaders do not have the interests of the ordinary Tamils.

NGOs / Human Rights Organizations
These are all foreign-government sponsored entities linked to the policy of their governments and paid to advance those agendas by projecting themselves as good hearts. While it is unfair to place all NGOs in the same basket the majority of those stationed in Sri Lanka were upto nefarious activities and some have been caught transporting weapons for the LTTE, providing technical expertise, giving sophisticated equipment even vehicles and providing covert assistance to the LTTE.

The Church
Western imperialism is always pushed via the Church and many of the NGOs are church-based as it provides a great cover. Moreover the new cults created are another source of converting and controlling the minds of natives to align with their agendas. The links to LTTE with the Church is something not many would like to acknowledge but the links cannot be denied or refuted and none are willing to even launch an investigation knowing the outcome.

What are the lurking dangers in store for Sri Lanka?
That the Tamils who had used LTTE to better their personal lives may be ignorant of the larger picture is something we need to accept, that the Tamil leaders and LTTE Diaspora may have compromised their own people for personal benefit by deals struck with the West & India is likely to eventually lead not only Tamils to suffer but the entire nation as well.

Let us again repeat, the whole Kosovo independence was a farce. Serbs were chased out just as Sinhalese and Muslims were chased out of the North to style an argument called ‘homeland’ and ‘self-determination’. The genocide claims were used in Yugoslavia war as well and these were all used to enable the West to set up a military complex in Kosovo to use as a watch tower on Russia and China. The KLA – Kosovo Liberation Army like the LTTE were drug smugglers and the narcotics trade is one source of income to Western governments who money launder these illegal earnings. Kosovo is not a hub for transit of drugs from Afghanistan to Europe. Sri Lanka is in a great sea trade lane. India’s role in this is certainly confusing for it appears India has been led up the garden path satisfying its own complexes and making India lose focus that eventually what happened to Yugoslavia is destined to happen to India.

Knowingly and unknowingly our own people have carved out Sri Lanka’s down fall. Politicians have played footsie and functioned with selfish motives and the foreigners have returned to prey. The West goes for the kill and has no empathy or believe in reciprocation – they simply take the loot and disappear leaving a conflict ridden nation to fend for themselves. Even the local friends are eventually eliminated to cover their allegiance and links… the truth comes out far too late.

Can we salvage the situation? Only if we can unite.


Shenali D Waduge

12 Responses to “Was LTTE bankrolled for different objectives!”

  1. Lorenzo Says:
    Very nice to see patriots WAKING UP.
    CRANK UP patriotism to destroy the enemies of the nation.
    Look what is happening in Jaffna. Violence and riots EVERY DAY. Jaffna town, Punguduthivu, Palai, Chunnakam, etc. Yesterday a shooting incident in Batticaloa where one man was KILLED. DE JA VU?
    SL Buddhists should not perish like NALANDA Buddhists but FIGHT like SHAOLIN Buddhists. They have a duty to protect the teachings that will survive here in SL for the longest. It is a DUTY not a choice.
    Hyenas will hopefully run away from SL than face the awoken lion from a LONG LONG sleep.
  2. Independent Says:
    Looks like Loren has taken the batten from Ben.
    Here Shenali has forgotten yet another trick by Tamil Speratists.
    Very good example Sinhala Buddhists should take up is Israel.
    Israel was created by the west chasing away the Palestinians who have been living there for 1000 years.
    What is the argument ? well, the reason is Jews lived there earlier than 1000 AD. So one animal shamelessly builds a house on a land stolen by force by Zionists and call it “this is my land”.
    The Ultimate Aim of Tamil Separatists ( represented by Loren and supported by Ben) is exactly the same. However , it is difficult to show evidence that “Tamils” owned the island before even Vijaya came. So they have commenced the well planned action of changing Sinhala names to Tamil names. This was started 50 years ago according to my ex Tamil friend who confessed to me.
    They will say the DO NOT support separatism (typical Tamil Lying machine – born that way) and they want UNITARY (not united) Sinhale now for the time being. 6 year ago hate our Army, 5 years ago, support MR, few month ago, My3, now back to MR and very soon may be another one – but the real intention will not change. That is keeping on insisting “Tamil” names.
    Wellavathai for වැල්ලවත්ත​ and NOT Wellawatte as most people write.
    Thutugemunai for දුටුගැමුණු and not Dutugemunu as most people write.
    Kassy Appa for කාශ්‍යප but not as Kashyapa
    Thathsenen for ධාතුසේන​ but not as Dhatusena
    Raman for මුගලන් – here he creates a new name as he hates Buddhism
    He will create more names and subtlety introduce it in the web. I challenge this shameless ruthless killing supporter to use the proper Sinhala name. He learned Sinhala for 10 years in Sir Lanka as a kid. He knows the proper pronunciation. There is no excuse.
    Actually , a real Sinhala Buddhst government should not allow using names like “Yalpanam” and must insist on using one name යාපනය​ if we Sinhalese are not sleeping. See whether these pretenders agree with that too.
  3. Christie Says:
    Namaste: ශෙනාලි ඉන්දියානු අදිරද ත්රස්ත වාදය මොහන්දාස් කරම්චාන්ඩ් ගාන්ඬි, චන්ද්රා බෝසේ හා ජවහර්ලාල් නේරු පටන් ගත්ත දෙයක්. මේ තුන්දෙනා තමයි අපේ සහ ඉන්දියානු යටත්විජිත වල ඉන්න මුල් පදින්චි කාරයින්ගෙ මුල්ම හතුරො. මොහන්දාස් කරම්චාන්ඩ් ගාන්ඬි 1920 ගනන්වල යාපනයට ඇවිල්ල ඉන්දියානු පරපෝශිතයන්ගේ ජඩවාදයට අඩිතාලම දැම්මෙ. සින්හලයන් මරා දැමීමේ ඉන්දියානු අඩිතාලම දැම්මෙත් ඒ කාලයේමය. ලන්ඩනයේ ඉගෙනගනිමින් සිටි පසුව හැන්ඩි පවුලේ කාන්තාවක් හා විවාහූ එකල ඇමෙරිකානු බැප්ටිස්ට් ආගම වැලඳගත් පුද්ගලයෙකි. පසුව 1950 හා 1960 ගනන්වල මෙම අඩිතාලම මත සින්හලයින් කොටස්වලට බෙදා දැමීමත් ඇරඹුනි. 50ස් ගනන්වවල බන්ඩාරනායකගේ ශ්රීලන්කා නිදහස් පක්ෂයද 60ට ගනන්වල ලන්ඩන්වල පටන්ගත් ඊරෝස් ද හොඳම උදාහරනයන්ය. මෙම ඉන්දියානු ජඩවාදයෝ ඒ සමගම සින්හල මරුවන්වූ ජේ වී පී යද පටන්ගත්තෝය. Jai Hind
  4. SA Kumar Says:
    President Sirisena’s so-called ‘national governments’.!
    Well done President your suprise visited to Japanaya ! no Army ,only Baila what a simple visit !!!!
    Long life to Hon People Kirama sevaka President MS. At last Mother Lanka got it .
  5. Fran Diaz Says:
    Well done, Shenali !
    You have exposed the cracks in the fabric of Lanka.
    ———–
    There is one more large crack to be exposed and that is LANGUAGE. As Lorenzo points out, there is a creeping sickness happening through NAME CHANGE of places to suit Tamilisation of Lanka.
    One way to stop the rot is to REMOVE the Tamil language as an Official/National Language. For example, if Britain had the French language as an Official/National Language there, Britain would by now be over run with the French. They are not as stupid as our past leaders of Lanka to hand over their country in a platter.
    Lorenzo is right. Wake up Lanka or become an appendage of Tamil Nadu. Our leaders will have to prostrate themselves on the ground in front of Jaya ! What a sight to behold ! The Unpatriotic Non-National Party (the UNP) leader, Sir Ranil, has also gone a far to remove the Northern Naval training camp too. Unless the coastlines are guarded against illegal migrants Lanka will be over run with Tamil illegal migrants. There are some 15 Million Tamils of Dalit origin who want to leave Tamil Nadu.
    The UNP is unaware of this ??
  6. SA Kumar Says:
    machang Independent
    King Ravanan is Buddhst so Lord Bhudda is old than King Ravana ???
    Anpudan …
    Machan Hela Damila (Eelath Thamilan)
  7. Fran Diaz Says:
    typo correction. Read as ” … has gone too far …”
    —–
    Also in place is Ms Radhika C., the famously R2P person. This is so that ‘divorce’ can happen in Mother Lanka in case of riots as in 1983 ?
    Sir Ranil is transparently far thinking ?
    Let us recall with sorrow the trumped up RIOTS of 1983 which was the start of problems in Lanka with real foreign interference in internal matters. The same cycle begins again ? :
    Demand by Tamil leaders for seperatism (this time Federal state per Wigneswaran & PC of North) > this time Rape /murder of a young innocent Tamil school girl – 3 residents of Jaffna are the chief suspects > Riots > complaints re Northern Police > Hartal (closure of shops etc) > have Tamil Genocide week > draw public attention to North again > hope for Riots to spread > this time hoping R2P goes into action ??
    Forewarned is forearmed.
  8. Cerberus Says:
    This is an old one which I think was put out by Lorenzo but worth re-reading.Who are the real owners of Sri Lanka?
    Posted on May 26th, 2015
    – Kumar Moses
    Now the Sinhalese are challenged in their home turf. We are told Sinhalese don’t have a homeland despite sacrificing 26,010 Sinhala lives (out of 26,559 total) in the war. Did the Sinhalese die fighting a war with so much passion not knowing it is their only homeland? If Sinhalese had a separate homeland, they would have left there without fighting a war which no one wanted. It defies logic.
    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
    A very interesting comment on a website by a Tamil Christian is being shared to convey who the real owner of Sri Lanka is in very simple terms.
    Here is what he writes:
    Being a Tamil Christian, I believe Sri Lanka is a SINHALA BUDDHIST country.
    Let`s play a game.
    1. Show me where is Tamil Hindu country?
    Tamil Nadu. Good.
    2. Show me a English Anglican country?
    England. Good.
    3. Show me a Hindi Hindu country?
    India. Good.
    4. Show me an Islamic Arabic country?
    Saudi. Good.
    5. Now show me the Sinhala Buddhist country?
    ????
    It is now called Sri Lanka. Correct name Sinhela.
    Did God Jesus Christ visit Sri Lanka? NO.
    Did Prophet Mohammad visit Sri Lanka? NO.
    Did Krishna visit Sri Lanka? NO. (Rama did visit Sri Lanka but to destroy it.)
    Did Buddha visit Sri Lanka? Oh! Yes!
    So it is a Buddhist country. Sri Lanka is the ONLY country Buddha visited BY CHOICE. He was in Nepal/India so he had no choice there. But the moment he got a choice, where did he visit? Sri Lanka
    So this is why Sri Lanka is the Sinhala Buddhist country.
    But some foolish Sinhala Buddhists have out of GENEROSITY given up their claims. So all the cats and dogs have started to claim the house as theirs.
    If you still don`t believe it let me explain from the Bible Wise King Solomon.
    Once upon a time there was a very wise king by the name Solomon
    He was the king, army commander, the judge and the jury and the parliament. Somewhat like MR.(I like this!)
    One day 2 women came to him claiming ONE baby as theirs. 2 mothers 1 baby!
    King asked, Yako, whose son is this?
    MINE! Screamed both women.
    Then the king asked, whose son is this?
    MINE! Screamed both women.
    hmmmm thought the wise king. He ordered a soldier to cut the baby into half and give each half to each woman. Then ONE woman came to the baby`s rescue and stopped the king. She begged to spare the baby.
    So the king found the OWNER of the baby!
    And he hacked the other FAKE woman to death.
    When Norway, UK, India, USA, UNHRC, LTTE, PLOTE, IPKF, Tamil MODA-RATES, etc. tried to CUT SL into halves, who came forward to defend it?
    Muslims? NO.
    Tamils? NO.
    Europeans? NO.
    (Well VERY few of them DID come forward UNDER the leadership of real owners).
    Sinhalese. YES. Like the REAL mother of that baby, Sinhalese came forward to defend their baby Sri Lanka.
    That establishes who the REAL OWNER of Sri Lanka is.
    (I know we are not as wise as King Solomon, but we are enough intelligent to get it, aren`t we?)
  9. Fran Diaz Says:
    When a country has 74% majority of a certain group, then that is the predominant culture. The rest are welcome to live in peace. Constant bickering over territory and division of the country will not help the others.
    I wonder what would happen if these minorities who are now in various western countries want territorial rights there ?
    Tamil Homeland is in TAMIL NADU. If they do not like it there, then either change matters there, or fit into the host countries as others do.
  10. Independent Says:
    Lingam,
    There you go similar to Lorenzo you say “Rawanan” instead of “Rawana”.
    We are not attached to Buddha like Muslims to Allah or Christinas to God or to Siva / Krishna and thousand more to Hindus.
    Buddha is not a “person”. There were thousands of Buddhas in the past in different Solar systems.
    Whether Buddha came before Rawana or after is irrelevant.
    What is relevant is Buddhas are enemies of Lingams. They hate Buddhas but quote him whenever a Sinhala Sahodaraya makes a mistake.
    Lingams can kill, steal, rape, but no problem …. but Sinhalas cannot , because they are Buddhists.
    Lingams killed thousands of innocent civilians – no problem, when Lingams get killed in the battle it is Genocide.
    Many girls are raped killed in Sri Lanka by various Lingams but 1 girl raped and killed by Lingams- our President had to go and say sorry .
    No logic in this argument Machang.
  11. SA Kumar Says:
    Tamil Homeland is in TAMIL NADU- agreed but We-Hela Demila home land is Mother Lanka (TE)
    74% – have Sinhala Lanka 26% have TE !!! 100% have United Mother Lanka .( You know We know when to call UD of TE that is different mater)
  12. SA Kumar Says:
    Independent
    I mean Bhudda that is Gautama Buddha Born c. 563 BCE or c. 480 BCE you know that .
    Rawanan King of Ilanka puri is Sivas (Lingam/Sangar) devotee.
    No logic in this argument, Machan We lived together ( fight time to time) more than 2,500 years in mother lanka according to our Mahavamsam.
    We are two different community
    mahang – manchan
    japanaya- Jalpanam
    Mahavamsa- Mahavamsam
    Hela – Eelam
    Amme – Amma
    Akke – Akka
    Modaya – Sakkiliyar !!!! Happy now .

ජපානය ජපනුන්ගේ රටනම් සිංහලේ සිංහලුන්ගේ රටයි.

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