tamilweek.com

by C. Sugumar

There has been a spate of bombings targeting civilians in Colombo, its suburbs and other areas during the course of the past six months or so. These bombs have been placed in crowded buses and trains on most occasions. The perception that many people have of these bombings is that they are mindless acts of terrorism perpetrated by a desperate terrorist group unable to withstand the onslaught of the government’s mighty armed forces on the battlefield.

Certain persons in the government declare that the objective of these bombings is to provoke a backlash against the Tamils living in the south like in July, 1983 in the hope that it would destroy the economy and lead to foreign intervention. But what has to be said is that even without these bomb blasts the economy has already been destroyed anyway.

The Tamil newspapers however paint an entirely different picture. According to them most of the bus and train bombings of the recent past have been in the nature of retaliatory attacks triggered by the deaths or serious injuries caused to innocent civilians in the north by the government’s armed forces who oddly enough are portrayed as benevolent persons in a series of state sponsored television advertisements.

It is being reported that each incident relating to a bus or train bombing here was connected to some specific earlier event that occurred in the conflict areas resulting in civilian deaths and injuries. Some of these incidents are blamed on the Deep Penetration Units (DPUs) of the army which are deployed to carry out search and destroy missions in enemy territory.

They are supposed to attack strategic targets and also eliminate key personnel in the LTTE hierarchy whenever possible. Apparently the DPUs have a propensity to pick on civilian targets when they are unable to zero in on any hard target. This inevitably results in a very prompt ‘tit for tat’ bombing in the south.

Aerial bombings and heavy calibre machine guns fired from aircraft also cause a large number of civilian deaths, serious injuries and property damage in the north regularly. If the damage is heavy, swift retribution is meted out in some other place by way of a bus or train bombing. It would seem that every time there is an explosion or blast in the north its echo is heard in the south within two, three days.

The Tamil newspapers also state that little or no information is presented in the Colombo based Sinhala and English media about the regular massacres and mayhem inflicted on Tamil civilians in the conflict areas by the army, air force and other special forces. At most there may be a passing reference to some incident and that too after it is no longer newsworthy.

This, they say is in sharp contrast to the massive coverage given to the acts of violence unleashed by the LTTE in these parts with graphic footage and in such an impressive manner that even the wail of ambulance sirens is projected into the drawing rooms of persons living in places far removed from the scene of disaster!

As the Tamil newspapers continue to carry on in this vein, I just thought I should draw attention to these rather divergent views for the benefit of those who cannot or do not read these newspapers.

by S. Rajaratnam

How useful is SAARC?

For sometime many Lankans have questioned the validity of the SAARC grouping. The Press has highlighted these concerns with little response from the Government. The time has come for us to seriously ask ourselves as to what good has SAARC done so far in terms of invigorating trade, freeing of travel restrictions to enable the different peoples of the region to visit each other? Has trade improved within the region in the past few years of the existence of SAARC? How many Lankans have seen merchandise from Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan here? Have our exporters found new markets in countries other than India and Pakistan? It may be noted the increased trade between India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is due to specific bilateral trades between the 3 countries and has little to do with SAARC endeavours. Just because the EU and ASEAN were successes there is no reason why the already meagre resources of the smaller countries in the region should be wasted on the regular unnecessary tamashas under the SAARC flag.

Lankans have been demanding reciprocity from India for the “Visa on arrival” facility we extend to their nationals for years. This Sri Lanka has faithfully done in prompt compliance with SAARC resolutions. India flippantly continues to ignore her responsibility. She has only succeeded in convincing our weak Foreign Ministry officials with strange and untenable excuses of potential danger from imaginary LTTE and Pakistani terrorists. Hundreds of Lankans – old men and women, some of whom are in poor physical shape; pregnant women, children – are allowed to suffer only in search of a mere Visa. The escape route the IHC chose to be rid of the public glare by outsourcing Visa formalities at Bambalapitiya has only exacerbated the Lankan woe. Whereas earlier sometimes lucky applicants were able to get their Visas in a day, the present out-sourcing process requires one to hand over the documents one day and call to check the fate of their Visas many days later. Imagine the suffering and unnecessary expenses of an applicant coming from Jaffna, Trincomalee or Batticaloa – from where, in fact, many of the applications come from. I am tempted to believe it is suffering such as this that regional groupings – believed to be committed to assist their nationals should concentrate and not the wining and dining one often sees and hears. It is clear, where Sri Lanka is concerned, the return on investment on SAARC cannot be justified. SAARC seems to dominate TV and media time when in session to the bloated egos of politicians but has offered little to solve the problems of the people. I have not commented on the asymmetry between countries e.g. India and Maldives that immediately brings to question the wisdom of SAARC. The insensitive refusal by India to assist in the Visa matter makes it clear SAARC should be done away with pronto. It is not only Visa applicants to India will support my call but also several hundreds of mendicants who have been ordered “to get lost” from Colombo streets until the SAARC VIP’s leave. They will be as keen to be SAARCers as much as I. O tempora! O mores! [dailymirror.lk]

The Montreal Gazette in an editorial on June 19th, says The Mounties may have enough documentary evidence – but listing the Tamil Canadian Volunteer Organization, World Tamil Movement (WTM) as a terrorist organization, is a decision taken in haste. The newspaper adds that a recent ‘major raid on the movement’s headquarters last spring has resulted in no charges so far.’

Full Text of the Editorial as follows:

Tamil listing is a little hasty

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day appears, to us at least, to have been just a little too hasty in adding the World Tamil Movement to Canada’s official list of banned terrorist organizations, along with Hamas and Al-Qa’ida.

It’s quite possible that the WTM is, as Day said this week, a leading front for the Tamil Tiger insurgents back home in Sri Lanka. But so far the evidence against the group is pretty thin. No WTM member has ever been prosecuted for a crime, let alone convicted. And a major raid on the movement’s headquarters last spring has resulted in no charges so far.

The Mounties have certainly presented enough documentary evidence to make a reasonable person suspect that the WTM might well be doing more than just lobbying governments and raising money for Sri Lankan charities. And until those suspicions are laid to rest, the government should certainly keep a close eye on the group’s activities.

But until they’re confirmed, government suspicions alone should never be enough to shut down a voluntary organization of Canadians. [www.Montreal Gazette]

by Anton J.N. Selvadurai

This is the question that is in the minds of almost every one these days — especially the thousands of displaced Tamils from their homes in the northeast, whose homes have been occupied by the Sri Lanka Army for over 10 years.

Autonomy for the Tamils has been promised, but like a thousand broken promises one wonders whether any will be granted. The reasonable use of Tamil promised decades go is still to be officially implemented.

Will the Tamils be allowed to have all they need to fulfill their aspirations like in the various states of the US and India? Will they be allowed to live quite happily in the single unitary state of Sri Lanka with a sense of belonging?

Will the national cricket team include at least three to four Tamils selected purely on merit? I ask this question because it has not been happening all these years. Even in some schools ethnicity plays a part in the selection of teams.

The idea that Sri Lanka was more or less gifted to the Sinhala Buddhists by Lord Buddha seems to die hard and makes life quite difficult for the Tamil Hindus. The only hope is that there would be a change of thinking like in Turkey where they have decided to spend large amounts of money on the development of the infrastructure in Kurdish areas to reduce poverty, which feeds violence.

The Turks have been historically a very aggressive and violent people and have also been accused of a genocidal war against Armenia where millions of Armenians have been killed. The feudal war against the Kurds could have been avoided if they had been shown some sympathy and understanding and Kurdish areas had been developed instead of making them life-long enemies.

In Sri Lanka too, the Sinhala Buddhist majority allowed themselves to be overtaken by jealousy of the better-educated Tamils instead of acknowledging that their dry zone environment forced them into education for the sake of survival.

Using the glorious Buddhist principles of metta, karuna, muditha and upekka they should have developed the Tamil areas so that the Tamils would have remained in their home areas instead of coming down south and taking up job opportunities available to the Sinhalese.

However, this rational and intelligent thinking was overcome by jealousy — a very strong emotion — thanks to the ‘frogs in the well’ sangha and the political ambitions of Bandaranaike, Jayewardene and the rest.

All that is needed now is a small group of right thinking, honest statesmen to resolve this intractable problem or continue to live like fools when peace and prosperity is just a whisker away.

by Thanjai Nalankilli

This is time for western democracies to act. Those who gave an international safety net to the Sri Lankan government should now throw at least a lifeline to the Tamil minority. We do not expect the United States of America (USA) or the European Union (EU) to send troops to protect the Tamil minority as they did in Kosovo. All we ask is, “please put an arms embargo on Sri Lanka” on an emergency basis. This should be done now without delay, before the Sri Lankan military acquires large supplies of arms and ammunition. Maybe, maybe, then the Sri Lankan government would see that it could not score a decisive military victory over the LTTE and agree to a honourable political solution.

1. Sri Lanka’s Duplicity and Western Democracies

It is April 2008. By now the world knows that the Sri Lankan government has no intention of devolving reasonable powers to the Tamil minority (something the Tamils knew for decades). Until just a couple of years ago Sri Lankan government ministers and diplomats were going around the world telling them that they want to “soften” the LTTE militarily to force LTTE to agree to a reasonable solution to the ethnic conflict. Now we know that it was a lie and what the Sri Lankan government wanted was to destroy LTTE and impose a pax Sinhala rule over the Tamil minority.

Once the western democracies realized the Sri Lankan duplicity they stopped much of the financial aid. United States of America (USA) that gave some military assistance in the past also stopped much of it, hoping that the Sri Lankan government would stop its quest for a military solution and go to the peace table.

2. Who are the Financiers and Arms Suppliers?

Western democracies were not the only source of financial aid and weapons to Sri Lanka. In June 2007, faced with criticism from western democracies and cut in financial aid from them, Sri Lanka’s defence secretary (and the president’s brother) Gotabaya Rajapaksa said, “We won’t be isolated. We have all the SAARC (South Asia Association of Regional Co-operation) countries, the Asian countries. Britain, or Western countries, the EU (European Union) countries, they can do whatever. We don’t depend on them. They are not giving anything.”

Which Asian countries was Gotabaya Rajapaksa talking about? China is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastrucure and industrial projects. Indian government is quietly pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into Sri Lanka with no strings attached. India is also secretly, and sometimes openly, gifting weapons and training to Sri Lankan military. China and some Eastern European countries are selling weapons to Sri Lanka. Pakistan has emerged as a major arms seller to Sri Lanka.

Only thing that stands in the way of total subjugation of the Tamil minority as second class citizens for another half a century or more is the military strength of LTTE (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).

All news reports seem to indicate that LTTE is considerably weakened militarily. Yet they seem to put up stiff resistance against the Sri Lankan military making inroads into their territories in the north. A news item in an Indian newspaper on April 2, 2008 reported that Sri Lanka had ordered from Pakistan 150,000 rounds of 60 mm mortar ammunition for immediate delivery, in addition to $25 million worth of 81 mm, 120 mm and 130 mm mortar ammunition to be delivered within a month.

3. It is Time for Western Democracies to Act

It is time for western democracies to act urgently before the Sri Lankan military destroys the only leverage the Tamil minority has, the armed strength of LTTE. Western democracies must act now, before there is no leverage at all and an unjust, unfair solution is imposed.

This is time for western democracies to act. Those who gave an international safety net to the Sri Lankan government should now throw at least a lifeline to the Tamil minority. We do not expect the United States of America (USA) or the European Union (EU) to send troops to protect the Tamil minority as they did in Kosovo. All we ask is, “please put an arms embargo on Sri Lanka” on an emergency basis. This should be done now without delay, before the Sri Lankan military acquires large supplies of arms and ammunition. May be, may be, then the Sri Lankan government would see that it could not score a decisive military victory over the LTTE and agree to a honourable political solution.

When we say arms embargo, we do not mean that western democracies should not sell or give arms and ammunition to Sri Lanka, we mean a total international arms embargo, prohibiting any country from selling or giving arms and ammunition to Sri Lanka. We know that it may take considerable effort to persuade the United Nations (UN) Security Council to go along with an embargo. But efforts should be made to that end. In the meantime America and European Union should persuade countries like Pakistan and Ukraine to stop the sale of weapons to Sri Lanka.

4. The Question of India

Unlike the western democracies, India is not impartial in the Sri Lankan conflict. Its position is anti-Tamil; India’s actions are evidence of that. While western democracies are trying to douse the war fire in Sri Lanka, India is pouring oil into the fire by way of financial aid, military training and hardware. While western democracies cut their financial aid to Sri Lanka substantially, India increased it. While America stopped much of its military supplies to Sri Lanka, India is continuing to supply it. In the same way India opposed a European Union sponsored human rights resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006, it would lobby against an arms embargo too. Western democracies should ignore it and act quickly before it is too late. In the same way the west helped Kosvo in spite of objection from some of its neighbors, they should ignore Indian objections and proceed with an arms embargo.

Short of sending troops to protect the Tamil minority (which is not going to happen) or provide arms to LTTE (unlikely), only option the international community has is to place an arms embargo and thus put an end to the war and move to the peace table.

[LAST MINUTE ADDITION: After the article was completed and was ready for publication, author read on BBC web site that Slovakia (an EU member) is selling 10,000 military missiles to Sri Lanka. This new development makes the need for an arms embargo through a United Nations Security Council resolution or persuasion even more urgent.] [Tamil Tribune, May 2008/via ITS]

Advocating a confederation and urging an arms embargo against Sri Lanka, The Boston Globe wrote an editorial on Nov 14th. Now the prestigious broadsheet has published responses to the editorial from Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the US, Bernard Goonetilleke and a reader Siva Sivalogan of Dedham.

The Full Text of both responses is as follows:

“Violence drags on in Sri Lanka” contains numerous misperceptions.

It says Tamils “live mostly in the island nation’s north and east.” However, 54 percent of Sri Lanka’s Tamils now live outside the north and east, among Sinhalese, Muslims, and others.

We do not deny that human-rights abuses occur in a climate of conflict, but they are not part of government policy. Where credible evidence was available, legal action was taken, details of which have been communicated to US authorities.

Regarding the necessity of “a United Nations monitoring mission,” dialogue is underway with the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights on how assistance could best meet Sri Lanka’s needs.

A “current offensive into the Jaffna peninsula” resulting in 300,000 displaced civilians describes a situation that never happened.

The editorial proposes “an international arms embargo on Sri Lanka.” It is easy to impose embargoes on legitimate governments. How can embargoes be imposed on the Tamil Tigers, who purchase heavy artillery and other warlike material unhindered?

If, by “a meaningful devolution of power to the Tamil areas,” you mean the north and east, it is noteworthy that Sinhalese and Muslims together outnumber Tamils in the east.

The highway to the north is operational except at the Muhamalai entry point to the peninsula, which the Tigers tried to breach in August 2006.

“Constitutional changes” for devolution of power are being negotiated, the outcome of which cannot be determined by the international community, but by the people of Sri Lanka following a democratic process.

Bernard Goonetilleke
Sri Lankan ambassador
Washington

________________

Tamils have legitimate grievances
November 19, 2007

IN THE name of fighting global terrorism, the US policy in Sri Lanka unfairly supports the Sinhalese majority against the minority Tamils. Europeans, meanwhile, are debating removal of the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Most of the Tamils consider the Tamil Tigers as their legitimate representatives.

Sinhala politicians continue to deny rights to the Tamils. The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Sinhala coalition partner of the government, issued an ultimatum for its support: abolition of the 2002 cease-fire agreement, dissolution of the all-party group that was developing a plan for power sharing, and an end to negotiations with the Tamil Tigers.

The government’s “war for peace” strategy, while displacing half a million Tamils, is altering the demographics of the Tamil areas to ensure that Tamils will never again be able to make a demand for their rights. The Sinhala Army commander stated to Britain’s Channel 4 that kidnappings and killings of Tamils would continue until terrorism is defeated.

The international community agrees that Tamils have legitimate grievances. The former US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jeffrey Lunstead, acknowledged mistakes in not engaging the Tamil Tigers during his term. Senator Hillary Clinton has argued for nuance in how one regards the Tamil Tigers’ tactics in fighting for the Tamils’ freedom.

We need a coherent US policy that recognizes the Tamil Tigers as representatives of the Tamils, and supports an arms embargo along with UN intervention to allow the Tamils their right to self-determination and to decide their future.

Siva Sivalogan
Dedham