How about a "sea change" in Tamil Chauvinist attitudes?

"The agenda of separation, initiated at Maradana in 1948, stated in the electoral battles of 1952, and reaffirmed in Vaddukkodei (1976) still holds today, and is the cause of suffering and ultimate decimation of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka."

by Sebastian Rasalingam

(October 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Mr. Rajan Philips, writing in the Island (weekend feature), and in the "Federalidea.com", and discussing the Interaction between Delhi and Colombo says "but the Colombo statement is silent on whatever the two leaders talked about the political process for a peacefully negotiated political settlement." He also alludes to there having occured a " sea change in the values and attitudes of Sri Lanka's two main political parties, the UNP and the SLFP" .

Unfortunately, there has been no change of ANY SORT in the thinking of the English-speaking Colombo Tamils and the Diaspora Tamils that I refers to as "Thimpu Tamils". They began by endorsing the uncompromising hand that holds the cyanide "kuppi". They continue to chant the need for negociated potical settelements with the odious LTTE.

Racism as a projection of Casteism.

In fact the willingness to compromise has been lacking on the side of the Tamils since the 1930s. When G. G. Ponnambalam agreed to give "responsible cooperation" to D. S. Senanayake in 1948, it was Chelvanayagam who raised the "You Traitor" cry and lead the push for "Arasu" while he talked of Federalism only in English. The votes of 1948 and 1952, and the sayings of the left parties, and even people like JR Jayawardena showed that the majority Singhalese were not as racist as the Tamils. Our racism is simply a projection of our casteism directed towards other communities. The Tamil leadership made no overtures to the Sinhalese. They did quite the opposite. Unlike the Muslims (whose minister Marikkar proposed the Sinhala Sri Letter on car plates), the Arasu katchchi used every opportunity to polarize the two communities. The leftist leaders who preached parity of status for language were rejected and ultimately forced to hang on to Madam Bandaranaike for political survival. Leftist movements were rejected by the Tamil leadership which wanted to continue to maintain the hierarchical society of Traditional Jaffna where the Land Lords lived in Colombo and the subject serfs managed their land in the villages. The Muslims, were discarded, and finally genocidically completely driven out of Jaffna by 1990. The Sinhalese had been driven out by 1977. The Up-country Tamils were already rejected with the cry of "Traditional Homelands in the North-East", and the implicit sense of Caste superiority over them asserted. Tamil Eelam became "Thani Eelam" (exclusive Tamil racism). Any Sinhalese or Tamil who showed friendship or cooperation with the other community, and attempted to build bridges, was labeled a traitor and eliminated. Men like Lalith Athulathmudalai who DID NOT begin as sinhala chauvinists, ended up as that due to negative interaction with the odious Colombo Tamil leadership which was the mouth piece of a terrorist who had killed their very best men.

Those who tried any political change were eliminated.

All the leaders of the "sea change in the values and attitudes" the Rajan Phillips talks about, were eliminated by the LTTE, backed by the Tamil Diaspora. Ranil was rejected and the Rajapaksa-Fonseka setup was ushered in by the LTTE which had armed itself for "Eelam War iV". These assassinations, conscription of children, the installation of a fascist society under the name of Eelam etc., were sanctioned by this expatriate leadership. Thus, instead of a "sea change", the mind-set of the Tamil Diaspora and the LTTE hardened even further and funneled millions of dollars into the separatist war. The agenda of separation, initiated at Maradana in 1948, stated in the electoral battles of 1952, and reaffirmed in Vaddukkodei (1976) still holds today, and is the cause of suffering and ultimate decimation of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka.

The "sea change" on the Tamil side has been ushered in by Karuna

The first rejection of this mind-set has been done by Karuna, if we leave out Devananda, Anadasangaree and others for whom the transtion was not such a big "sea change".
There was NO NEED for the Indians to discuss the "political process for a peacefully negotiated political settlement" as the Indian-made 13th amendement has been accepted by Rajapaksa and partially implemented in a partially liberated land. The leadership to the Tamils will now be given by people like Karuna, Devanandan, Thondaman and Anandasangaree. Unlike Chelvanayagam who was never trusted by the Sinhalese, there is a chance that Ananadasangaree will be recognized as a sincere man. The "political process for a peacefully negotiated political settlement" will be discussed by them with the Muslim and Sinhalese leaders IN THIS COUNTRY, and not with an outside nation like INDIA. India has always acted with her self interest in mind. It did not do any good to the tamils when India armed and trained various militant groups, and sowed seeds of disharmony among these groups using its secret service, RAW.

We DO NOT hand over our sovereignty to INDIA. The diplomatic niceties of NOT discussing them should be understood by Philips. The internal matters of a nation are NOT discussed like that, without prior formal preparation. And it is precisely this lack of understanding of the sovereinity and integrity of Sri Lanka by the Tamil leadership, i.e., the Philips, the Wilsons and the Wakeley Pauls that have been the cause of the strife. Names like Philips, Wilson, Wakeley Paul etc., make one wonder if these genetlemen are truly capable of understanding the aspirations of the poor Tamils who are NOT concerned with state power, but more with a getting job, bringing up a family, educating the kids, and leading a safe, health life. The search for state power by rich Tamils who have everything else has made them ulimately anti-sinhala and anti-national. If your mindset is anti-national and if you see your identity in India, then so be it. Leave the Sri Lankan Tamils to work out their destiny of peace and cooperation with the Muslims, Burghers and Sinhalese without this intrusion of anti-national behavior. Hate begets hate. "Thani-Urumam Eelam" is more extreme than the Fonseka doctrine.

Let me close with one word about the Sinhalese. Gen.Fonseka has expressed the view that the country will be ruled by he majority while the minorities have a place too. This language is objectionable, but it is far milder than the constant refrain of "Thani Eelam" of exclusive Tamilism and exculsive ownership of "traditional homelands" preached and practice by the Sri Lanka's Thimpu Tamils for several decades, with NOT AN IOTA OF CHANGE, as seen in the attitude of the TNA and the Diaspora. The Sansoni commission pointed out that this Thani Eelam will always be an obstacle to racial harmony. The TNA politicians should be arrested, just as Vaiko has been arrested in India, as their activities will reverse the "sea change" that Karuna has achieved, and Philips talks but fails to see. The forced ground swell will simply play into the hands of Sinhala chauvinism. - Sri Lanka Guardian