The Tamil Nation shall take bold steps towards its Freedom in the New Year!
| by Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran
Views expressed in this article are author own
( January 3, 2014, New York City, Sri Lanka Guardian) On this day, I extend my warm New Year greetings to Tamils allover the world on behalf of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam in the full belief that the unfolding New Year will usher in bountiful goodness for the Tamil people.
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January 8, 2015 has been chosen as the day on which Sinhala Nation will hold elections to choose its President as the Head of State. If Mahinda Rajapaksa succeeds, the Tamils could expect a worsening of their situation in the short term and perhaps a better one in the long term. If Maithripala Sirisena prevails, there is a possibility of an immediate respite but in the long term a worsening of the situation. On the whole, Tamils could only expect negative outcomes from these elections.
The Tamil month of ‘thai’ or January is the month for renewal of faith and refreshing of our ambitions. Celebrations of ‘thai pongal’ and the ushering in of the Tamil New Year in January are embedded in the cultural heritage of the Tamils as an auspicious moment. Let us greet this New Year with as the time for new beginnings!
It is our fervent hope that the Eelam Tamil Nation shall take a few more bold steps forward in this New Year in its long struggle for freedom.
Our Steps Forward in 2014
The year 2014 saw the Eelam Tamil Nation and its freedom struggle take a few steps forward in the way our quest for justice against the Genocide of the Sinhala State has been internationalized further in the global arena. The positioning of the right to secede as a political choice when two Nations within a State are entrenched in a conflict, and the search for a solution to such conflicts through holding a referendum were recorded in Great Britain last year, a remarkable demonstration of the rich traditions of democracy in action.
These events have emboldened the Eelam Tamil Nation in embracing the creation of the separate State of Tamil Eelam as a political solution, built on our right to self-determination and our demand for remedial justice in order to protect the Tamil Nation from the Genocide being inflicted on it by Sinhala State. Those events have also greatly strengthened the moral basis for our call for a referendum to determine the political future of the Tamil Nation.
It is, therefore, a duty incumbent upon us to devise the appropriate political mechanism for our people to win back their democratic right to establish an independent State of Tamil Eelam. It is for this purpose that we have resolved to establish a new political movement to carry forward the ’Yes to Referendum’ campaign in 2015. This campaign will bring together all Tamil organizations around the world as well as those Civil Society Organizations that stand up for justice. We earnestly call upon all Tamil organisations to join us in the ‘Yes to Referendum’ Project.
The Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka
January 8, 2015 has been chosen as the day on which Sinhala Nation will hold elections to choose its President as the Head of State. This election is also being conducted in the Tamil homeland which is under occupation by Sri Lankan armed forces. Whichever of the two main candidates wins the election will rule as President of the hegemonic state of Sri Lanka. Tamils can only expect more calamities to befall them than any respite from either of these two candidates. If Mahinda Rajapaksa succeeds, the Tamils could expect a worsening of their situation in the short term and perhaps a better one in the long term. If Maithripala Sirisena prevails, there is a possibility of an immediate respite but in the long term a worsening of the situation. On the whole, Tamils could only expect negative outcomes from these elections. We trust that our people in the homeland will take these assessments into account when choosing their course of action in these elections.
History has taught us the bitter lesson that Tamils will neither win back their rights through the mercy of Sinhala leaders nor would they ever enjoy acceptance as a distinct people under the hegemony of a Sinhala-Buddhist state. Therefore, on this New Year’s Day, we call upon all political leaders in our homeland to put forward demands that protect our rightful struggle for freedom to whoever gets elected to the office of the President.
We believe that the following demands constitute the necessary conditions to safeguard the rights of the Tamil Nation at the present time:
An international investigation into the Sri Lankan Government’s Genocide of the Tamil people is absolutely crucial.
Under no circumstances can the 13th Amendment to the Constitution be accepted as basis for a solution to the Tamil National question.
It is imperative that the Sri Lankan military be withdrawn as a precondition to the creation of the civil space in the Tamil homeland
The Sinhalisation of the Tamil homeland through land grabbing has to cease immediately
A mechanism should be created to ensure the safety and participation by the Tamil Diaspora in development activities in the homeland under the aegis of the international community.
The 6th Amendment to the Constitution should be repealed forthwith to enable Tamil people to deliberate freely about their political future.
We trust that our leaders in the homeland will take into consideration this minimum set of democratic demands.
The Massive Working Program for 2015
The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam has set in motion a number of projects in order to scale up its activities in 2015. These projects are to be coordinated and implemented by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Some of the major projects touch on areas such as the setting up of a Publishing and Archiving House, Tamil Studies Advisory Council, World Tamil University, Martyrs Memorial and Friendship Centres in India and a Nature Protection Council, as well as the Yes to Referendum Campaign, Homeland Self Help Program, Land Protection Program, Martyrs and Cadres’ Families Liaison Program and a Goodwill Ambassadors Program. The 15 projects are to be implemented from the beginning of 2015 as part of a Massive Working Program.
We depend on the support and manpower of Tamils around the world to make this monumental undertaking to work, and we call upon all those wishing to participate in these projects.
Let us commit ourselves to the noble task of freeing our land and our people and let us take the first bold steps for this New Year in the direction of that goal today!
The Thirst of Tamils is the Nation of Tamil Eelam!
