Urgent international intervention is needed where diplomacy and militancy failed
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| India has attempted several times to coerce the government to placate Tamils. Its intentions are clear but so far India has failed in its attempts. But time is now ripe for international intervention. A Cyprus style UN Green Zone between the North and South could probably be one solution which could ensure Tamils getting their rights while preserving the unity of the island nation. |
by Pearl Thevanayagam
(May 29, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose .... goes a popular song of the sixties. And given the predicament of the ethnic Tamils and the intransigence of successive majority Sinhala governments who have absolutely no intention of seceding their rights denied since independence the fight for freedom is far from over. Rather the demise of the core LTTE seems to be only the beginning of a complete overhaul of the strategies used so far by Tamil freedom fighters be they politicians or militants.
When the evangelist broadcaster in the US Harold Camping reversed his apocalypse date to October 21, 2011 one could not help wondering about the eventual collapse of the Rajapakse Government to end the UPFA (metamorphosed SLFP)’s 17 year rule. The 17 year rule of the UNP despite its various attempts at seceding minority rights ended with the ascension of Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga in October 1994.
The dominoes effect of the Middle East unrest seems to be gradually heading eastwards and as far as Sri Lanka is concerned it is hurtling at a much faster pace towards its own demise in alienating and angering battered Tamil civilians with its unbridled enthusiasm projected in the grandiose celebrations of military defeat reminding them of the horrors inflicted on them two years ago.
The chutzpah of this government in the many open celebrations of the war victory while Tamil civilians are still struggling to come to terms with completely restarting their lives, dignity and livelihood destroyed since the LTTE was defeated militarily is certainly a harbinger of a catastrophic and certain end to the antics of a stark raving mad and euphoric leader Mahinda Rajapakse.
The grins of Mubarak and Mahinda seem increasingly indistinguishable and one cannot help wondering about the fate of Mubarak awaiting Mahinda too. Is it just a co-incidence they share the same first letter?
The most frustrating picture in the current scenario is that the mainstream media from Colombo sincerely and naively believes that the Tamil question has been answered and their rights restored with the annihilation of the LTTE. Nothing is furthest from the truth. Just as Kadirgamar and Devanayagam were token Tamil politicians which the government dangled as carrots we now have KP, Douglas, Karuna and Pillayan albeit with less finesse. One has to admit the latter group would be an embarrassment at the breakfast table of diplomats and international politicians for fear they might confuse the cutlery and order ice cubes to cool the soup instead of shaking whiskey on the rocks. Yet, these are but minor issues and could be corrected with a course on etiquette.
Still, the government needs these latter quartet for the time being and without their help the LTTE could not have been defeated. But how KP would face the Norwegian Judge and whether Mahinda would stand by him now that his mission in nearing accomplishment is worth watching.
Celebrations of defeating terrorism is being eyed with much anger and determination by Tamils everywhere including those in Tamil Nadu where Ms Jayalalitha Jayaram defeated a hugely popular Karunanidhi and whose election manifesto pledged to fight for justice for her Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka.
As J.N.Dixit, Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka from 1985 to 1989, writes in his memoirs, `Assignment to Colombo’ , India’s interest in Sri Lankan politics in incontrovertibly linked with Tamil Nadu whose substantial voter base is crucial for any party to gain power. And Tamil Nadu is not a small force to be ignored. Tamil Nadu politics is Indian politics and if Tamil Nadu demands the Central Government intervenes in our ethnic issue then that is exactly what it will do.
The disingenuousness of all the Sinhala leaders is open history. There was never a genuine concern for any of these leaders to grant minority rights since the common Sinhala sentiment - Buddhist Dharmistic principles and adherence to non-violence notwithstanding - is psyched up to believe this island belongs to the Sinhalese and they are a unique and blessed species on earth but Tamils are alien migrants from India ergo they can hop on the next boat and be reunited with their brethren in Tamil Nadu.
Dixit’s term of office in Sri Lanka was at a crucial phase in the island’s history in that he was witness, mediator, messenger and participant of the Indo- Lanka Accord of 1987. The shenanigans of the Old Fox, J.R. Jayewardene, in trying to scupper the agreement citing PM Premadasa, the Buddhist clergy and of course the Sinhala Marxist JVP rebels is well documented in Assignment Colombo , a worthy publication written almost a decade after he left his post as High Commissioner.
He is quite frank about India’s strategic interest in intervening on behalf of the Tamils while at the same time protecting the unity of the nation as a whole since it is after all South Asia’s dominant and largest State and this is a fact.
Despite Dudley-Chelva Pact, Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact, Thimpu Talks to Annexure C, 13th Amendment, Indo Lanka Accord of 1987 and subsequent Indian intervention by way of IPKF (Indian Peace-Keeping Force) , Norway’s mediation, four rounds of peace talks under Kumaratunga with the LTTE and several ceasefire agreements between 1986 and 2004 the Tamil question remains unanswered and no concessions have been permanently granted to date.
India has attempted several times to coerce the government to placate Tamils. Its intentions are clear but so far India has failed in its attempts. But time is now ripe for international intervention. A Cyprus style UN Green Zone between the North and South could probably be one solution which could ensure Tamils getting their rights while preserving the unity of the island nation.
Just food for thought.
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