The Tamil Diaspora should stop financing demised LTTE and help our Tamil brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka

By Dr Raju Selva

(June 05, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I have been pleading through the print media over the last few years for the Tamil Diaspora to stop helping LTTE financially, logistically and politically and prolong the war between the Sri Lankan Government and LTTE. I have tried to convince the Tamil Diaspora that they were chasing a mirage of a mythical Eelam created by now dead Prabhakaran but was unsuccessful. Even at this moment, pro-LTTE apologists are continuing their protests down the streets of big cities in a vain attempt to justify LTTE and bring disrepute to the armed forces and Government of Sri Lanka.Now protesting for what? Surely they can’t bring the humanitarian factor of the IDPs as the Tamil Diaspora is also as guilty as LTTE of creating the IDP crisis. My last appeal to them thro print media on 16/5/2009 was the Tamil Diaspora to send their even underage children to Mullathivu to save now dead Prabhakaran as he was short of human numbers to fight the armed forces, if they really admire this brutal murderer who brought nothing but misery and humiliation to the Tamils in Sri Lanka. There was no misery or humiliation for the Tamil Diaspora enjoying comfortable life in affluent countries in the West and Australia. Every person in the Tamil Diaspora should read Dr. Noel Nadesan’s most recent letter titled “No More Tears for Tamils in Sri Lanka’ which has been published in Sri Lankan print media and many websites. The misled children and the youth by the senior Tamil Diaspora should also read this article by another Tamil journalist living in Down Under.

The LTTE ‘s autocratic self acclaimed one and only leader is now dead with his son (whilst trying to flee by betraying the other fighting Tamil Tigers). His top rank Tamil Tiger leaders are now dead and some have surrendered without swallowing the cyanide capsule. The dream of mythical Eelam of the Tamil Diaspora is now completely shattered into pieces. The money they contributed for the LTTE war chest voluntarily (those who contributed under duress and force can be pardoned) over the years running into $200-300 million a year according to British Jane’s Intelligent Report had just gone waste. Not a cent of those millions of dollars collected thro dubious pro-LTTE fronts spread in the western block has been used to help the poor Tamil people who were living under the jackboots of LTTE tyranny. If you consider the lowest amount collected by the Tamil Diaspora for LTTE per year as $200 million, over 25 years, this amount would come up to colossal amount of $7, 500, 000. What had happened to this money other than using to maintain luxury life style of Prabahakaran and his family and the other top rank Tamil Tigers? The armed forces had found $100,000 in a bag nearby Prabhakaran’s son Charles Anthony’s body. This is what happened to all those donations and contributions made by the Tamil Diaspora. Of course, a few millions would have spent on buying politicians, VIPs and print and electronic media men and maintaining a payroll for those who speak for LTTE’s cause. Now the self appointed LTTE leader who is wanted by Interpol for Gandhi’s assassination, procuring illegal arms for LTTE, drug and human trafficking for LTTE Kumaran Pathmananthan aka KP has overnight become “the slum dog millionaire” who has the custody of the residual funds of LTTE. The only other leader who had close associate with the killer now dead Prabhakaran is late Balasingham’s Australian born wife Adel Balasingham who was one time leader of the Tamil Tiger women suicide cadre. Even with these two remaining Tamil Tigers, LTTE will never be revived in Sri Lanka but still they can try their luck in Torronto, Harrow-Wembley or Tamil Nadu.

The Least the Tamil Diaspora can do now to cover up their past sins is to see that every dollar that LTTE is left with to be used for the improvement of the living conditions of the Tamil civilians once they are re-settled back in their original places. They have been suffering and living under trying conditions over 25 years under the LTTE tyranny. They badly need a good sigh of relief now.

Lastly, the Tamil Diaspora at least now should realize that LTTE cannot be revived again. Hence, they should stop vicious campaign against the Sri Lankan Government who has pledged to serve all Sri Lankans equally under one united nation irrespective of their ethnicity. The Tamil Diaspora should teach their children not to hate the Sinhalese but to learn to live with them in harmony as children of one mother-Sri Lanka. Instead of wasting your money of buying politicians, media people, VIPS and maintaining payroll for high profiles in the so called humanitarian organisations, INGOs and NGOs, the Tamil Diaspora must use that money to provide a decent life for the our Tamil brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka who were deprived of for 25 years. At least by doing that, the Tamil Diaspora can get rid of its guilt for helping LTTE for 25 years but ended up with nothing.

-Sri Lanka Guardian