Are we eliminating completely?

by S. Thevarajan

(October 16, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Eelam Tamil diaspora organizations and individuals worldwide are organizing demonstrations and issuing flyers, pamphlets etc. in different languages explaining the ongoing genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Different views are being expressed and some of them are not factually correct.

On the other hand, the Government of Sri Lanka is fooling the world that it believes in a political solution and that its concerns are being deliberated in an All Party Representatives Committee (APRC). This Committee comprises negligible small groups that are supportive of the Government’s military solution, besides the ruling SLFP (UPFA).

Some of them do not understand what parameters of constitution making or what democratic principles and traditions are. Knowing the worthlessness of this Committee, the UNP and the TNA(the elected representatives of the Tamil people)are boycotting it. It is no surprise that this Committee rejected the proposals of the Expert Committee and even the proposals, of its Chairman, Prof. Tissa Vitharane.

In short, the APRC is only a showcase Committee created by the President to fool the International Community, a veil for his policy of military solution – eventual subjugation of the Tamils. If he is genuine, he should have a meaningful draft of a Constitution with wide devolved powers to at least five peripheral units. The President and his racist supporters are prepared to forget the lovely Sinhala names of the past for the different regions – namely Raja Rata. Malaya Rata, Ruhunu Rata and Dhakshina Desa. If these names are used, they know that there should be a Tamil name for a Tamil Unit – Eelam. To avoid that they are content to use what the colonial masters used for their administrative convenience - North, South, East, West etc. Only three are Sinhala names – Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Wayamba. What a shame for these nationalists / racists!

The Tamils can be content with one thing. That is that it is not the Tamils who have been fooled all along from 1918. Now the International Community has also fallen into the category of the Tamils – i.e. the people fooled by the Sinhala leadership. The Sinhala leadership has zero credibility among the Tamils. Very soon they will lose credibility worldwide, because the world is NOT composed of gullible fools.

The greatest joke is that this Committee has recommended the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. At last, a public admission of the fact that as far as the Tamils are concerned, even the meager provisions of the Constitution are conveniently ignored. The 13th Amendment is too little too late and can in no way help solve the problem in its infested form today.

Time is running out for the Tamils. We cannot allow the foolery of Sri Lankan President and his associates to go far. He made a fool of the world Apex body – the UN – at its 63rd sessions by speaking a few words in Tamil which was NOT carried even in the Government websites or even Government print media. That is the place for Tamil in his own administration.

While the genocide is raging in Sri Lanka, the Security Council has not met to say STOP BOMBING AND SHELLING TAMIL CIVILIAN AREAS. The answer is simple. None of the members have an immediate regional stakes problem in Sri Lanka nor a question of manufacture of nuclear weapons. Even the use of chemical bombs by the Sri Lanka army is not a problem – only chemical Ali (in Iraq) was a problem. Selectivity and vested interests are guiding world order today and NOT principles of democracy, right to life and good governance.

It is a matter for grief that India, the cradle of non-violence and the land of the great Mahathma Gandhi is actively supporting the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

According to media reports, 265 technical officers and 25 pilots from India are conjoined to the Sri Lanka war machine engaged in the genocide of Tamils. The bombing of densely populated Tamil areas is an unfailing daily occurrence. Media reports claim that Indian pilots are manning these MIG bombers as the Sir Lanka pilots are not trained to pilot them. What a tragedy!

The US has passed a law that enables US to punish anyone engaged in using underage children for combat in a war situation. They have accused the LTTE and the TMVP of recruiting, even by force, of children for combat in the ongoing war. It is no secret that the UPFA Government of President Rajapakse is engaging the TMVP to annihilate not only LTTE supporters but even other political opponents.

Now Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna and his deputy Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan have been made MP and Chief Minister respectively by the UPFA Government.

Even Douglas Devananda, an UPFA Government Minister is alleged to be behind most abductions, ransoms and killings in the North especially in Jaffna. In other words, the current Government of President Rajapakse is engaged indirectly in using underage children in the war against the Tamils.

The US, UN, UK, EU and others are very worried about underage children being used in the war for equality and justice with dignity for the Tamils. There are over 50,000 children in the North-East deprived of education – over 26,000 in the North and an equal number in the East. They lack food, medicine and proper clothing, being chased by Government bombs and shells several times over. If the father/mother or brother/sister is killed by the racist Army, no youth, just because he/she is under 18 is going to lie low and offer him/her also to be killed. No Tamil, or for that matter, no human being will lie low.

There are a number of UN Instruments offering protection to children. The children are guaranteed inalienable rights to education. Why is it that those who raise their voices so loudly about few hundreds of underage children in war closing their eyes to over 50,000 Tamil children in Sri Lanka deprived of education, food, clothing, shelter and medicine ? Are they not children just because they are Tamils?

The Sri Lanka Supreme Court has held that since Karuna’s conviction and imprisonment for the offence of using a forged diplomatic Passport was not by a Sri Lankan Court, he has committed no offence under the Sri Lankan Law to be disqualified to become a MP. But the Colombo High Court sentenced former Senior Superintendent of Police, Douglas Peiris to three years rigorous imprisonment suspended for five years for using a forged Passport in the name of Wimalasena Thalpawila to escape from Sri Lanka. Civilized countries are preferring criminal charges against their own citizens for crimes committed in other countries.

The Sri Lanka President is taking cover under the failed “war on terror” catchy phrase to cover up his genocidal war on Tamils. As former British diplomat David Gladstone put it, this failed catchy phrase has only “offered a free hand to many tyrants in the world to clamp down their opponents committing gross human rights violations.” The preamble to the UN Declaration of Human rights says categorically that “if the people are not to rise in revolt” the rights guaranteed under the said UN instrument must be safeguarded. It is a tragedy if not a sin, that those people who rise in revolt against robbery of their rights are also called terrorists. The time has come to underline the distinction between justifiable revolt and terror. Let us do it this year in unambiguous terms - the 60th year since UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights was made in 1948.

The situation in Sri Lanka has become worse with two Saraths – Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, the emerging Zia Ul Hug of Sri Lanka saying that the minorities have no rights to agitate for – they have only to put up or shut up. And Sarath Nanda Silva the Chief Justice is speaking about a distinction between the ethnicity of the Tamils of the North and East. A new addition to the galaxy of Tamil scholars! The President’s acquiescence has made it worse confounded.

It is time that we the Tamil diaspora seriously work on a world conference on our issues early next year and put up a final request to the International role players for implementation. Politicians, Human Rights activists and organizations, human rights lawyers Worldwide can be invited to participate. There can be a working paper for a two day discussion by delegates and the final draft resolutions can be put forward on the third day and selected speakers can address on the resolutions followed by a media conference where questions from the media can be answered. The media, the fourth engine of democracy, has to be conjoined to make it fruitful. Now, even the media is selective and not even handed in exposing crimes against humanity. It is the media that should and can drive Governments, especially international role players, to act with will and courage to uphold justice and fair play.

Everyone willing must be prepared to work from now onwards. The venue can be Geneva where congregation from all over is easy and maximum participants can be expected. Expatriates in each country must be prepared to supplement the cost of travel of the delegates if need be. The expatriates in the country where the venue is selected must undertake to host the conference successfully. If it comes to the worst, New Zealand Tamils will host it in New Zealand.

We shall be pleased to have the views of concerned organizations and individuals without delay because it would be suicidal to delay this world conference anymore. -Sri Lanka Guardian