IDP camps and False Propaganda of the Tamil Diaspora

By Sebastian Rasalingam

(July 13, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) The historic subjugation of the poor Tamils by Prabhakaran and the Rich Diaspora Tamils has been brought to an end. Some 300,000 hostages have been freed and are now living in camps for "internally displace persons"(IDPs). I have just recently visited some of these IDP camps, and I wish to categorically state that the Tamils all over the world must celebrate this moment when we have, with the help of the Rajapaksa government, triumphed over the greatest misfortune that befell the Ilankai Thamils since Independence.

The Ilankai Tamils were on the verge of extinction under the toll taken by Prabakaran for three decades, massacring or banishing the cream of Tamil society, recruiting the younger generation for cannonfodder , and instilling a culture of violence, extortion and criminality for Tamils globally. The upper-class expatriate Tamils, driven by their hate and racism supported this exercise of self-annihilation and sadism. It is this cancer which has been surgically removed, at least in Sri Lanka. This kind of racism still exists amond members of the Disapora. They demonstrated in front of Western Parliaments hoping to save Prabhakaran the Vanni-Yakkhavar.

This is the greatest atonement of the Ilankai Tamils. It is the moment for a new "Uchhaaham" (enthusiasm). And yet, that this is a cause for celebration is being denied. It is being condemned as "Triumphalism".

The Tamil propagandists and their client intellectuals have returned to their "Pirasittamana Poi" (public lies) activity of spinning falsehoods based on self-interest and racism. In some cases, it is the ill-informed

"self- righteous" individuals who agitate without information or judgment. The Tamils, and even some Sinhalese, think that there is no cause for celebration but only somber religious observations of mourning or praying "for the IDPS". The London Times is very busy falsely claiming that some 1,400 Tamils are massacred every week at the Manik Farm, a place I visited thanks to the influence of an official who works there. Leaders of the Diaspora are demanding that the IDPs "be allowed to return to their villages" immediately.

The Mohan Sekarams and their likes are e-mailing the whole globe asking for "PUBLIC ACTION" for the release of "the elderly, children, nursing and pregnant mothers as the initial step. ... towards reconciliation, unity and equality ... to secure the release and see the well being of the IDP's". If only the old, sick and pregnant, or children are released, who are there to look after them? Can such release be done into villages where the infrastructure is destroyed, water towers and wells blown up, bridges and culverts filled with dengue mosquitoes? In any case, it is the hosting community itself, and NOT the Diaspora living in Scarborough or Melbourne who should decide about accepting such people.

These individuals do not understand that in the west, even a minor sex offender is not released to civil society without a long period of re-education as well as consultation with the public. Many western communities refuse to accept the "healed" offender for fear of re-offending. In Sri Lanka, all the able bodied civilians under the LTTE were conscripted (by force or willingly) for terrorism. The young were snatched from school and trained as fighters and cannon fodder. How long would it take to rehabilitate an illiterate teenage fighter and train him for a job? Would you give a job to a "rehabilitated" ex-LTTE fighter in your business? Will they re-offend? That is the stark reality.

The Moan Sekarams and others who wax eloquent among the chattering classes are clueless individuals who have not assessed the problem.

I believe that the government is unrealistic in attempting to release the IDPs "in 180 days". IT should go more slowly and recognize that it is doing an excellent job. The criticisms of the western press and the ever-blind Tamil Diaspora should be duly countered.

The IDP camps are much better than I expected them to be. A community sense and a new social consciousness superseding the old order of caste and class prevail in the camps. The logistics of feeding 300,000 people, ensuring their health, education and security are enormous. They would be even more enormous if they were released into derelict, dysfunctional villages full of mines and mosquitoes, as demanded by misguided Diaspora Tamils and their client intellectuals. Given the circumstances, the government is doing a far better job of handling the IDPs than India in its camps. The effort is far better than for the Muslims evicted in the 1990s.

I also visited the Eastern Province liberated in August 2007. It was indeed a pleasure to see the new network of roads in the East. There are several IDP rehabilitation schools in the Akkaripattu-Oluvil area and I learnt how the ex-fighters are being re-trained and released back to their villages. In my view, such a process needs at least five years.

The government should NOT listen to ill-informed political meddlers and do-gooders. It should follow the advice of professional educationists, psychiatrists and probation officers in dealing with the IDPs. Finally, before individuals are released to civil society, the community (i.e., the local citizens) should be consulted to ensure that the returned ex-fighters are accepted into that society with their full knowledge, and NOT in some clandestine manner.

-Sri Lanka Guardian