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EELAM IN CANADA?
Conflict Resolution Proposal is submitted for your consideration.

Mahinda Gunasekera Toronto, Canada

A far thinking Sri Lankan living in the southern town of Galle has made a very detailed proposal to resolving the Sri Lankan conflict, by transplanting the proponents of a separate state of "Eelam" in Sri Lanka including the self declared sole representative of the Tamil community, namely the LTTE headed by the Sungod, Velupillai Prabhakaran and his Guardians of Human Rights made up of the armed LTTE cadres, lock, stock and barrel, from the contested parts of Sri Lanka to the wide expanse of Canada, bringing much needed labour and capital acquired through both illicit and legal means, to form a new federal state with more powers than the existing provinceswithin a united Canada to be negotiated with Norwegian facilitation and British mediation.

Whilst many of us Canadians of Sri Lankan origin may support the proposal, we are likely to uphold the principle of NIMBY, not in my back yard, but would certainly be amenable to creation of the new federal state of "Eelam- Canada" somewhere in the prairies to be parcelled out by the Prairie Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This arrangement is likely to have a far reaching impact, as the industrious Sri Lankan Tamils are bound to make it a highly successful granary that would become the food basket of the world, along with cash crops which have a demand in the narcotics consuming regions.

I am not sure if the Federal Government and the affected Provinces would appoint Special Task Forces to study and implement the proposal. I understand that the proposal also requires the donor countries that pledged $4.5 billion towards the division of Sri Lanka into two states to contribute such funds to Canada to implement the whole package notwithstanding the fact that the LTTE has accumulated funds, and frozen funds that could be released and utilized in the re-settlement process.

EELAM – AN ALTERNATIVE WAY

M. Ananda Kuruneru.Thani Polgaha Junction, Galle, Sri Lanka

What is it?

Now that we know that the LTTE and its supporters will be satisfied with nothing less than a separate state and are by devious means doing everything to achieve it no matter how, it is my view that both the Government and the international community, particularly, Norway, in trying to restart the peace talks, are only flogging a dead horse. Instead, it may be more productive to help the LTTE and their supporters to achieve their goal than thwart them. But the problem here is the fact that, other than them, the majority of all varieties of Sri Lankans will never agree to a separate state or any kind of division of this country. Yet, going to ‘war’ with them again is not the only option available.

In these circumstances, my proposal is that they be helped to have an Eelam in another land. My suggestion is Canada.

Why Canada?

Why Canada of all countries? Well, I have carefully considered all other countries sympathetic to the Tamil cause, and Canada emerged as the most suitable. Here is my reasoning:

1. The Canadian Government and its people are very sympathetic to the Tamil cause. They are probably convinced that the Tamil people in this country are indeed a discriminated lot who are reported to be suffering due to discrimination as no other minority in the world.

2. Canada has already accommodated over 250, 000 Tamils as refugees who are well settled there. Only, may be a further 500,000 the maximum, from the North and the East, that need to be accommodated.

3. Geographically, Canada is probably one of the largest countries in the world with large tracts of unoccupied land.

4. Canada is greatly under-populated.

5. Is a country full of natural resources and is blessed with a sound economy. Hence, she can contain within her resources this additional population without any strain. Besides, Tamils who are an industrious people, could significantly contribute to the economy, that way, a great resource. In that sense it not a bad investment either.

As an incentive for Canada to consider this proposal favourbly, and also to reduce any financial burden that may arise owing to this project, I would recommend that the US$ 4.5 billion offered by the Donor Countries as incentive to the Sri Lanka Government to divide this country, be diverted to Canada, to be used for the welfare of the Tamil people she takes over and to cover their administrative costs.

Canada could also asked keep back any future aid to Sri Lanka, and could be used for rehabilitation of the Tamil people in their new home. Sri Lanka will be able to manage her development with her own funds because by that time the money that she would have to spent for war with the LTTE will be saved. This might also be a blessing in disguise to Sri Lanka as it would help reduce her corruption level since the Government will be minus that much Foreign Aid, for misappropriation at its different levels, by way of commissions.

LTTE could also be allowed to move to Canada, the monies regularly collected by the Tamil Diaspora all over the world to fund their ‘war’ in Sri Lanka. The countries which have withheld their bank accounts could release them to enable the funds to be taken to Canada on the LTTE giving an assurance that these monies will no longer be utilized to fund terrorism or any violent ‘freedom struggles’ in any country.

Will Canada like it?

Well, Canada has to be persuaded. There is a good prospect that she may consider the idea favourably since she is genuinely aware of the discrimination meted out to the Tamils in Sri Lanka from time immemorial and is concerned for their welfare. She may also be aware that with the insincerity of the successive governments in Sri Lanka there could be no lasting solution to this never ending problem.

We could also seek the assistance of the international community to help us in engaging in friendly persuasion of Canada and even to bring some mild pressure on her, as they did on Sri Lanka during the last twenty years, when they tried to pressurize her to give in to the LTTE.

In this regard, I think if Britain and Norway have a great role to play. If they would show the same anxiety that they evinced to help Sri Lanka by persuading her to agree to Eelam or ISGA , to get Canada to agree to this alternative solution, they are bound to succeed with their great
diplomacy.

Will the LTTE agree ?

Here, there are two parties. The LTTE and the Tamil people. The LTTE however claims to be the sole representative of the Tamil people. There are a few people who disagree openly. And there is the large silent majority.

If all the arguments that have been advanced to justify demanding a separate state as the only solution, this proposal should appear as a strong and a viable alternative to those who advocate the separatist cause. Therefore logically, if they are genuine, both LTTE and any other varieties of Eelamists are likely to agree to the proposal should Government and the Opposition speaking in one voice, succeed in persuading Canada, like the Sirima-Shastri Pact.

The Eelam Tamils also have two other encouraging factors to take into account. Whoever Tamils who settled down in Canada have no regrets and are comfortable in their newfound home country. Sinhala Language is not thrust down their throats in those civilized countries. There they have willingly embraced Canadian English without any fuss .So no problem there. There are precedents too. There is the Ceylon Burgher community who feared that they would be discriminated against after the changes in 1956 migrated to Australia, are happily settled down there and absorbed into the Australian population. Similarly, there are even Sinhalese, especially, the plantation superintendent community who left in disgust after the nationalization of plantations in the Seventies and even later, another group, due to the 1988/89 JVP insurgency, now living in different countries, some of them well absorbed into those communities while some others jealously maintaining their national identities.

Besides, there are the Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Italians, Cypriots etc. all having their own countries planted abroad. So a tiny Eelam in Canada is not going to hurt either party, unlike in small and complicated Sri Lanka. At least, here in their Eelam they will be rid of their hated tormentors, the Sinhalese who Poya day Sil and Friday kill.

So in all likelihood, the LTTE are likely to agree, because it means no longer have they to go round daily killing their own people, which they do, not because they like to. They will not have to wrench away children from their wailing parents who even commit suicide unable contain their grief. They will not loose any more cadres in battle. No more Mahavirs. The Sea Tigers could then patrol the entire Atlantic Ocean, unharrassed by Sri Lanka or Indian Navies. Prabhakaran and Karuna need no longer be hiding from each other. They could live freely with their families as could other Tamils could with theirs.

But why is an Eelam not possible in Sri Lanka ?

1. Because this country in its entirety belongs equally to all its citizens and no group could claim any particular part of the country to belong exclusively to themselves, reducing the other groups in that locality to a minority. It will infringe the right to this Land by the rest of the people. ( In fact, the song goes as: “/This land belongs to all of us/…..! ) It is a dangerous precedence which can lead to further dismemberment of a country which is only 25,000 sq. miles in extent. Besides there is no basis to such claim.

2. Because this country is one whole unit and is indivisible. It does not comprise several separate states or provinces brought together at any time.

3. Because, more than half the Tamil population live /outside/ the demanded Eelam, in other parts of the country. Hence, an Eelam is no solution to the alleged discrimination being suffered by these Tamils who, curiously by their own choice, have elected to live among their tormentors.

4. Because it creates a new problem of Minorities in the ‘Eelam country’ who will suffer discrimination at the hands of the Eelam Tamils It will be like “/Atuwa kada putwa heduma”- “/Like breaking the barn and making a chair”.

5. Only 10% of the population live in the area claimed for Eelam occupying 30% of the total land mass in the country and 2/3^rd of the country’s coast line and the sea , leaving 90% of the people only 70% of the land to live.

6. The vast majority of the people of this country do not want this country to be divided, to accommodate a separate state in two of its provinces.

7. In any case, a country cannot be divided on the basis of a linguistic group. More so in Sri Lanka where language of the Tamils is an official language in the whole country

8. Because, constitutionally this country is a unitary state.

Who gains who looses?

Nobody. In fact everybody gains.

Firstly, Canada gains an industrious and a literate work force who will help in their economic progress. And they are not coming as penniless refugees to live on them, but with substantial funds to back them.

Secondly Sri Lanka will gain because she will have no insurgency to hold her back in her progress. She could plunge herself into economic development.

Thirdly, Norway will add to their laurels, as their success in negotiating this peace will be another feather in their cap.

Fourthly, LTTE will have a country for them selves achieving what they failed for over 25 years, destroying so many lives and families and so much property.

Fifthly, the Tamil people will be free from the torments of the LTTE grabbing their children away, to be used as child soldiers. They will no longer be extracted, robbed of their earnings as ‘taxes’. The Tamil Diaspora will be rid of the LTTE snooping on them to grab their earnings abroad threatening their lives.

Sixthly, the UNESCO will be saved of their embarrassment caused by Prabhakaran treating them with scant respect on the Child Soldiers issue.

One apparent group of losers will be the local NGOs who will temporarily have no cause, without an ‘ethnic war’. But they are adept at finding new causes to earn their living. They could now concentrate on Human rights and the rights of elephants whose are legs are chained in order to prevent them from violating the rights of humans to their lives, when they run berserk occasionally. They can perhaps starts an agitation against horse racing termed Royal Sport, where horses are being whipped unmercifully by jockeys till they reach the winning post, gleefully cheered by thousands of onlookers.

But the real losers will be the Sri Lankan Politicians on either side of the divide. They will not be able to cheat the people on the Tamil issue. Now, after 50 years they will be compelled to find something else. That might be hard.

M. Ananda Kuruneru.
Thani Polgaha Junction,
Galle
Sri Lanka



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