Reflections on the Vadukoddai War: who’s guilty?
Posted on May 9th, 2012
H. L. D. Mahindapala
After the end of the longest war in Asia in the 20th century, after the end of the longest war in Sri Lankan history, after the decimation of the Tamil leadership in the democratic mainstream, after the killing of IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, which boomeranged on the Jaffna Tamil leadership, after the assassination of some of the leading Sinhala leaders negotiating for peace, after the massacre of babies and pregnant mothers in all communities, after throwing forcibly recruited Tamil children into a futile war violating international humanitarian law, after the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the north, after the slaughter of Muslims at prayer in Kathankkudy, after the end of the needless bloodshed, after the end of fear, tensions and uncertainties, it is the duty of all moral beings who had lived through the 33-year-old war which began with the declaration of war in the Vadukoddai Resolution passed on May 14, 1976, to ask one obvious question: was the Vadukoddai War declared in the Vadukoddai Resolution necessary?
By and large, wars are considered necessary to achieve well defined political goals. The Vadukoddai Resolution defined it as a means to achieve Eelam, a separate state under Jaffna Tamil hegemony. If, however, the Vadukoddai War failed to achieve what they set out to achieve by what reasoning, logic, politics or morality can the Vadukoddians justify a futile war? Should not the current Tamil leadership in the Tamil National Front, who were an integral part and parcel of this needless war apologise, however late it may be , to the Tamil people for the folly of their fellow leaders who lured and led the Tamil people like the Pied Piper of Hamelin to the beguiling tunes of a separate state until they all drowned in the Nandikadal Lagoon?
Besides, has anything been achieved that non-violent negotiations could not have achieved? After throwing all the fire power, the man power, and dollar power ($300 million annually, according to JaneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Weekly) the Tamil leadership is forced now to come back to the negotiating table. If so why did they deliberately decide to go down the war path knowing that jaw-jaw is always better than war-war? Why did they take the circuitous and bloody route from Vadukoddai to Nandikadal to come back to the negotiating table?
Also on the way to Nandikadal did the Vadukodddians have to commit the war crimes and the crimes against humanity against their own Tamil people ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” let alone the other communities? Ultimately, who is going to be held accountable for the crimes committed by the Tamil leaders of Jaffna against the Tamil people ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” let alone other communities — in the name of the Tamil people? Who is going to be answerable for crafting, endorsing, financing, directing , internationalizing and leading the Vadukoddai War that came out of the Vadukoddai Resolution? Would this nation ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” particularly the Jaffna Tamils — be in the plight they are in today if the Jaffna Tamil leadership took the alternative path of democratic negotiations non-violently like the other Tamil-speaking communities, however tardy it may have been?
When the Jaffna Tamil leadership decided to engage in a military solution, abandoning the non-violent process of negotiations, it was a huge gamble. No one assembled in Vadukoddai on May 14, 1976 and passed the Vadukoddai Resolution knew what the final outcome would be. The elderly fathers of the Vadukoddai Resolution were relying on the Tamil youth to grab power from “the Sinhala state” through violence (since they couldn’t get a separate state through negotiations) and deliver it into their hands for them to rule the Tamils. They failed to calculate that like most wars the Vadukoddai War could go either way. Nor did they have a strategically calculated political or military plan to achieve their goals other than whipping up anti-Sinhala phobia to divert attention from their failures to solve problems arising from endemic feudalistic stagnation. For their electoral survival they continued to raise expectations of the Tamil people to an unattainable illusion. In the end they fell into the graves they dug for the Sinhalese.
Only Sen. M. Tiruchelvam, questioned the viability and the necessity of a military solution. The story as told in The Broken Palmyrah runs like this: “Tiruchelvam a senior member of the TULF who was in Colombo at the time the resolution for a separate state was adopted and sensing trouble asked Mr Amirthalingam “What is the meaning of this?” Mr Amirthalingam replied that, this resolution was adopted under pressure from the youth, and that when the time comes to negotiate with the government, a compromise can be reached. But it can be safely assumed there was no viable plan to fight for such a state. Having promised Tamil Eelam, the TULF kept on saying they had a secret plan…”(p. 16 – The Broken Palmyra, University Teachers for Human Rights, Jaffna.)
But it was too late. S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, the father of Tamil separatism, had gone through every word of the Vadukoddai Resolution with a fine comb and endorsed “the choice of words”. (p.128 —S. J.V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism 1947-1977, A Political Biography by A. J. Wilson). But did they know what they were doing? Or where they were heading?
Amplifying on the aggressive and arrogant attitude of the Vadukoddians The Broken Palmyrah said: ” The Tamil bourgeois (/casteist) leadership had to adopt the slogan of Tamil Eelam, the cry for a separate state for their political existence. But they had no concrete programme. Of course the Tamil nationalists could not pull the Eelam rabbit out of the parliamentary hat. The leadership had put forward a cry that they knew could never be fulfilled in a constitutional way, and Eelam had never been practicable with their class’s economic integration and dependency on the south…
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-They kept the people under an illusion, by such slogans, calling the TULF leader Chelvanayakam, the Mujibur of Eelam, and even hinted at taking arms from the election platforms. Critics of these slogans were called traitors to the “cause”…Tamil nationalists like their counterparts had a sense of superiority. Their historical build up from the feudal past was equally mythical and romantic. They were feeding their electorates and the youth with images of valour, preservation of race, language and a history heavily loaded with anti-Sinhalese, pro-Indian ingredients… They attributed their high levels of literacy and education to their superior intelligence, as opposed to the Sinhalese, whom they claimed were lazy and less intellectually inclined. The anger that the old guard Tamil leadership felt against the Sinhalese domination was due to their perception of themselves as rulers in the past, now enslaved by an “alien people.” ( pp 338-9)
The Vadukoddians, though pressured by the increasing militancy of the Tamil youth — a force generated by the active encouragement of the fathers of the Vadukoddai ideology — were also buoyed by the usual political arrogance and cocky Jaffna jingoism that led them to overestimate their power and underestimate the capacity of the south to respond to their challenge. Tamil youth militancy and the Vadukoddai ideology of the Tamil elders led by Chelvanayakam grew side by side, running parallel to each other. Both thrived on a symbiotic relationship. They were so close that Velupillai PrabhakaranƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s initial Tamil National Army which morphed into LTTE and the Vadukoddai Resolution were born and institutionalized within one month of each other in 1976. Prabhakaran established his para-military unit in April 1976 and the Vadukoddai Resolution was passed in May 1976. This sealed the fate of the northern Tamils. The Tamil seniors and juniors both agreed to wage a war hoping that violence alone would bring them Eelam.
In fact, the battles that see-sawed from time to time held the nation in suspense with imported theories and formulas designed in the airy-fairy heads of academics and NGO pundits prescribing solutions that never took off the paper on which they were written. Even after thirty years of war (i.e., in 2006 shortly after Mahinda Rajapakse won the election thanks to Prabhakaran’s boycott of presidential elections) the war-mongering children born of the Vadukoddai Resolution were determined to pursue the goal of Eelam defined in the Resolution not knowing what the end was going to be. The nation had reached a critical point where failed theories had to be replaced with a pragmatic solution that would end the 33-year-old Vadukoddai War.
Zig-zagging history has this unerring knack of picking the right man to execute the tasks of critical times. It was at this point of time that President Mahinda Rajapakse, the Commander-in-Chief, decided that enough was enough. He was the only Sri Lankan leader who gave unswerving leadership to meet the challenge of the north with a single-mindedness that resisted all forces, local and foreign. With his able General Sarath Fonseka he fought on all fronts, from opening the sluice gates of Mavil Aru (July 2006) to Nandikadal (May 2009), non-stop. The Jaffna Tamil leadership fought for 33 years, with intermittent stop-starts, and ended going nowhere. Within three years the Commander-in-Chief and the General put an end to war which practically all pundits said was unwinnable.
The preamble to the Vadukoddai Resolution sets out the background that led them to take up arms. Historians and social scientists have exposed the fictitious history and the concocted geography outlined in preamble written by an inspired mono-ethnic mythomaniac. Whatever the wild hypotheses contained in the Resolution and whatever the perceived provocations cited in the Resolution the ultimate question after Nanandikdal boils down to the morality of deciding on a military solution as the only way out when other Tamil-speaking communities opted wisely for non-violent negotiations.
Since the Vadukoddians initiated violence and relied primarily on violence to achieve their political goals there is no doubt as to who should be held solely responsible and answerable to the consequences of their fateful decision. No democratically elected state in a multi-ethnic nation (in Sri Lanka all minorities were represented in the highest decision-making process in the Cabinet) could be expected to lie down and die, surrendering to a military challenge posed by a peripheral minority with a majority complex. Besides, separatism and violence are inseparable. Providing national security by quelling non-state violence disturbing peace, law and order is also the raison dƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢etre for the existence of a state. If a state fails to provide security to the nation then it loses its rationale for holding or being in power.
On this basis, the Sri Lankan state had the legitimacy to engage in a counter terrorist war to meet the military offensive launched by the Jaffna Tamil leadership. Both sides locked horns over who should rule what territory. But the Vadukoddians who launched their separatist War ended by blaming only one side ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the Sri Lankan Security Forces. And that too for the conduct of the last stages of a 33-year-old war which is roughly five months, from January 2009 to May 2009.
A range of moral and political issues cropped up from the time frame in which the conduct of the war was judged. Unlike other victorious nations the accusations against Sri Lanka began within days after May 18 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the last day of the Vadukoddai War. The Sri Lankan forces had hardly any time to put down their guns when the accusations came flying in like bullets.
Switzerland, backed by the EU, was the first to move the first resolution against the GOSL. The GOSL announced the end of the Vadukoddai War on May 19, 2009. The UNHRC in Geneva summoned a special session to consider the EU-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka on May 26. What prompted a special session within eight days of ending the Vadukoddai War? Why the indecent hurry? Why also pick only on Sri Lanka? Are they the guilty ones in the international arena ?
There were many actors ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” including the Indians — in the Sri Lankan theatre of war. How come only the Sri Lankan forces were put on the dock at the UN?
To be continued.
May 9th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Unfortunately not many VadaKundiyans died in war. That is why they are still living to carry on their racist campaign. Instead only low caste Tamils died. The military strategy should have been different to net the VadaKundiayans in larger numbers.
May 9th, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Rather than how the war was won, I am much more concerned about Waddukkodains newest ploy of waving the national flag with the UNP anti-national faction right now. Those of us who understand the Waddukkodain mentality knew very well that this TNA flag waving business is bogus and a mere act. But stooges of so-called IC, the NGO sharks that criticized the war and pandered separatism for decades already started to promote flag waving as a huge stride towards reconciliation. This conniving hatch must be exposed at the earliest unless of cause Sambandans prove otherwise.
If Sambandans are truthful and truly ready for reconciliation, they should clearly and loudly say what is wrong with the ITAK resolution that they and their peers had passed in Waddukkodai on May 14th, 1976 in verbatim and that they have jettisoned it. I doubt Sambandans would ever do that for it would make many of their backers go berserk and voters abandon them.
Leela
May 10th, 2012 at 6:13 am
Responsibilities that the present day Tamil Leadership must take on :
(1) The VR has yet to be repealed. The Vadukoddai Resolution must be retracted officially in public.
(2) Also, a public apology tendered by the Tamil Leaders of today to the Tamil People for the pain & loss of life caused through the Vadukoddai Resolution for which Tamil Leaders must take responsibility for failing to bring Peace through dialogue and other peaceful means, for which there was ample opportunity over the many years.
(3) We want to add that such an apology must also include the Sinhala People and the rest of the People of Lanka, who have had their beloved country dragged through 30 yrs of war and futile negotiation, for loss of life and limb, for all the pain & unhappiness foisted on all Lankans, loss of reputation for all Lankans at international level, etc. The list of negativities is long indeed.
Other items that should be addressed :
(4) The LLRC recommends a one sided apology from GoSL. This is really absurd, when the fault lines ran deep in the Tamil Leadership and continues to do so. Is waving the Lion Flag one time by Mr Samanthan sufficient to sweep away 30 yrs of pain for all of Lanka ? We think not. Trust building must come from Tamil Leaders first. An apology to all who suffered is just the start. “Seva” (Service) to ALL the People of Lanka a must from the TNA, not dissent, false pride & war.
(5) On the part of the part of the GoSL, Education to suit the needs of the country and aim for Job Creation, if possible, for all of Lanka’s Youth. Awareness of Caste Games from Jaffna & Tamil Nadu must be watched for. Let us all bear in mind the many thousands of those who died (able politicians both Sinhala & Tamil, plus hundreds of innocent and ordinary people, and able and brave armed forces of Lanka) for the Caste/poverty wars of Jaffna, should not have died in vain.
(4) The LLRC Report ought to have considered the insurgencies with the JVP too. Ought not the Sinhala Leaders apologise to the Sinhala people for those insurgencies caused because of Class/poverty/political ideology issues, the pain & loss of life for all, plus the JVP leadership apologise to the people of Lanka for the pain they have caused to all Lankans ?
If all these things are done, then we can wipe the whole slate clean and start anew and bring real Closure to all those negative events in Lanka. End result : No more wars in Lanka. Peace, Dignity & Prosperity for ALL.
Correct me if I am wrong in the above assumptions.
May 10th, 2012 at 6:27 am
There were many actors – including the Indians — in the Sri Lankan theatre of war. How come only the Sri Lankan forces were put on the dock at the UN? Agrred
We all know who was main actor ( Super star) !!! India
Now time to take Dr Manmohan Singh to The ICC in The Hague( The International Criminal Court) !
May 10th, 2012 at 7:29 am
Fran Diaz
Trust building must come from Tamil Leaders first.- not agrred- should be from both side in same time as our real failer stared from sinhala leaders from 1956 riats to 1983 ( failed to stop) !
agreed all other above asuumption fully !
May 10th, 2012 at 7:36 am
Vaddukoddai Revolution was the unity of Tamil politicinas who visited Jaffna once in 5 years . They promised to
achieve a Tamil Homeland at the same time they lived in Colombo. Now TGTE follow the same in western coutries.
sampanthan showed the Flag of Sri Lanka in Public,after some hours Mavai Snathirajah excused for the action
of Sampanthan. Sampanthan is luckier, there is no LTTE more for Dead penalty.
Mentality of the politicains who play with the life of Tamils in the name of Tamil language is always dangerous.
They have no hearts for their own people. Vaddukoddai Revolution opened the way to the Tamil Youths take arms in
the hand . They diveded themself into many Groups, they killed themself. They became as the biggest Terrorist
Group in the world. Suffered only innocent Sri Lankans. Tamils politicians in SL and others who controll
the Tamil Organisations worldwide are wealthier as TN Politicians. Until Tamil community understand themself
who are their real enemy no one can help them.
May 10th, 2012 at 8:46 am
Andy,
Indian interference in Sri Lanka matters on Tamil peace started with failure of Tamil leaders to arrive at any peaceful arrangement with the then GoSLs. India feared instability in Tamil Nadu due to Lanka Tamil problems. The Cold War was on then, with pressure on the region by super powers. Really speaking, a political solution was not the need of that time either. It was a case of Tamil people entering mainstream life in Lanka. It is the same even now.
Both in Lanka and in Tamil Nadu, it was the Vellala Tamil people who ruled. Both had the same problem of keeping to their caste re leadership of Tamils.
There was nothing the Sinhala people or GoSLs of that time could do about this mind set. There is nothing anyone can do now either. The change has to come from the Tamil leaders. We think it was the Tamil leadership who failed to arrive at peaceful solutions to help integrate Tamil people into mainstream life in Lanka. Lanka offered free education & free health care, even though a poor country, then as now. Now is the time to forgive and forget and move on.
Look at what Thurai has to say.
May 11th, 2012 at 2:38 am
Fran Diaz
Tamil leadership who failed to arrive at peaceful solutions to help integrate Tamil people into mainstream life in Lanka.- Fully agreed , Our sorted sider Tamil leders only worried about thier family ( parliment seat & colombo life).
failure of Tamil leaders to arrive at any peaceful arrangement with the then GoSLs- Not agreed ( SWDRD &CN pack, DS & CN pack to VP&RW peace agrrement not fully honered by Sinhala leders )
so both side have equal resposibly to solve this problm forever to avoid outsiders to interfare our own problm!
We should accept in our mind &heart Yes , We have diversity ( no point in saying we do not have minority in our land)
Unit in diversity !!! up to majority to came with a solution !!!
May 11th, 2012 at 5:36 am
Lingam Machang,
Nooooooooooh. It is up to the minority to join the main stream politics by voting non-racist parties. No TNA, No TMVP, No TULF, No Tamil Union, No Tamil this , no Tamil that no Muslim this , No Muslim that.
May 11th, 2012 at 5:42 am
Andy,
Anywhere in the world, it is the minority people who have to integrate into mainstream life of the land, not the other way around. Tamil people of Lanka have to become Sri Lankans first and think of the wellbeing of all citizens of Lanka first. Therein lies the solution. We have to find ways of living in Peace together. As human beings, we all have common problems. We should concentrate on finding solutions to these common problems instead of wasting our short time on earth in senseless quarrels.
Also, you say “SWDRD &CN pack, DS & CN pack to VP&RW peace agrrement not fully honered by Sinhala leders”. None of these ‘Pacts’ were endorsed by the Parliament or taken to the People of Lanka in the form of a Referendum, and therefore invalid under a Democracy. In particular, VP&RW ‘Pact’. No one has even seen this ‘Pact’ apart from RW, VP & a few Norwegians. These were “Pacts’ between two individuals, every time. What kind of Democracy exists in Sri Lanka re the People of the land ? It makes a mockery of Democracy and a Fool out of the ordinary People of Lanka, including the true born Tamils. In a Democracy, all ‘Pacts’ must be fully exposed to Public scrutiny & debated at Parliament & Public levels before it is accepted and becomes the Law of the Land. That is why the 13-A signed in under Duress, is null & void.
Let us make the most of what we CAN do, and leave alone what cannot be done.
May 11th, 2012 at 6:29 am
Dham Machchan,
It is up to the minority to join the main stream politics – Fully agreed but Majority have resposiblty to make that environment ! ( free gifts ,free arak, won’t make)
Eg: in NP now 5 army for one person (even war finished 3 years ago) , not even a Tamil woman can not bath in well (open)
EPDP was suppoted SLFP for last 25 years, can they achieve anythink from colombo govt – NO
Eg:is EP, is CM Pillayan achieve any think from colombo govt last 4 years – NO, wait & see whaen EP disolVe he will ask indipendant for his EP Eelam (like formar CM Perumal(NE P))
Fran Diaz
Tamil people of Lanka have to become Sri Lankans first -Agreed ,but We Tamil can not eg: name Sri Lanka in ultra sinhala name for us (eg: We like to call us a ceylonees rather than Sri Lankan )
any aggrement therefore invalid under a Democracy- Not agrred , We elected Govt & leader to make decion on behalf of us!
May 11th, 2012 at 8:10 am
Andy,
Whether we agree or disagree is immaterial. What matters is that the mass of the People can live together in Peace & Prosperity, and all agreements/pacts ought to be toward that end, not leading to Separatism. If a person does not like the name Sri Lanka, that person must necessarily emigrate to a more likable place with a suitable name. No one in Lanka holds such people back.
Re North, Mr Charles Perera wrote a report about his recent visit to Jaffna. He said that the Army camps are discreetly set away from the villages and cities. Re women bathing at wells, it was/is safer to go to wells in company and wells can be shielded from view with woven cadjan. It is the same anywhere in Lanka as times have changed and we now have about 21 Million in population.
To get a Life – you have to go Within through Meditation. No other way, for any one. It is not for nothing that Masters/Teachers/Gurus appear among us from time to time.
For more clarity, please listen to the free webcasts on http://www.wopg.org.
May 11th, 2012 at 8:40 am
Fran
like the name Sri Lanka- Sorry Fran , I took this one of the example for to explain where our different are coming from .
Our community has benn poisned by this sort of unneccesay matter proffesional by so call well english educated higher classes !
go to wells in company and wells can be shielded – not practable in our villages !
(it is very difficult you Sinhala brothers to understand unless you go through this situation )
all agreements/pacts ought to be toward that end, not leading to Separatism- this is what Mr Amirthalingam to Mr Sampanthan want , but JRJ to MR want to give Tamil Eelam to us ! what can we do (:-(
have nice weekend !
May 11th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Andy,
We are back at square one. As you say : “all agreements/pacts ought to be toward that end, not leading to Separatism- this is what Mr Amirthalingam to Mr Sampanthan want” – so you admit it is the TAMIL LEADERS who want Eelam, not the Tamil people.
I don’t know what kind of logic you have used to arrive at this part “but JRJ to MR want to give Tamil Eelam to us !” as neither leader ever wants/wanted Tamil Eelam. 13-A, as I said before, was IMPOSED under Duress on JR govt. and is therefore null & void. It still exists under the MR govt. Neither leader ever wanted/wants 13-A – they wanted/want Peace & Prosperity for all. We the People must get rid of the 13-A. It stands in the way of trust building and progress. In my view, a type of ‘Eelam’ exists in all our human Hearts only, for that is where the source of Bliss is.
I think wells can be shielded from view. Another method is to dig a large area first and have the well in the dug out. I have lived in the village (South) as a kid up to age 7 yrs before moving to Colombo, and know something about wells. Andy, these are small problems.
Stanley Perera who had also visited Jaffna complained about small slugs in the bathroom of the hotel he stayed in. The same problem is there even in Colombo. A perforated structure like a shower head with enlarged holes can be pushed into the waste water outlet to prevent creatures going into the bathroom from outside. It should be removed from time to time and cleaned out. Mosquitoes can be kept out of rooms by putting mosquito netting on windows. These are small problems and common sense innovation can solve such problems.
May 11th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Fran Diaz
1) Tamil leders demand Eelam in order to get more power to NE provice ( of cause that went wrong – it was taken over by VP )
2) JRJ to MR did not understand what Tamil want – not free gift ….
3) Well was my example to explain you why We need 40,000 Sinhala army for jaffna pensula ? (war finishe 3 years)
4) 13A – full implementation with 16A(similar in india- separation is ilegal) is final solution for us !
May 11th, 2012 at 7:22 pm
Andy,
Because of your points 1, 2 & 4, there is (3).
Trust begins where Separatism ends.
May 12th, 2012 at 1:23 am
Trust begins where Separatism ends.-fully agreed
You have to trust Mr Sampanthan & Mr Rani Wickramasingha with our National flag ( eg diversity -Lioan representing -Bhuddhist Sinhalese , Orage representing Hindhu Tamils & Green represending Muslim Tamil ) is end of Separatism demand ( end of vaddukoddai resolution for ever ) !
ok, can you majority come with solution for our diversity ? NO ( same old story no minority in our lanka ,,,,, same old lie give you better than 13+ , + + etc….)
unit in diversity is lasting solution !
May 12th, 2012 at 8:04 am
We like to see Vaddukoddai Resolution publicly retracted. For a small country like Sri Lanka, large ethnically specific areas are not possible, even under one government.
Tamil people poured (one and a half Million) into Lanka from Tamil Nadu because of the plantations industry of tea & tobacco under the British & Dutch respectively, and also because of the Caste/Poverty issues of TN.
Also, Eelam was ‘invented’ because the lower caste people who outnumber the higher castes of Jaffna (the reverse is true in Tamil Nadu, out of some 60 Million caste Tamils, about 5-10 million are of the very low caste plus those of Dalit origins), were getting rough about equal treatment in the North of Lanka. ‘Eelam’ is a mythical idea. We think it was invented by the higher caste Tamils, likely the Vellalas of both Jaffna & Tamil Nadu, to distract the angry energy of the lower caste Tamils. If anyone has another theory on this, please do write it in.
There is no historical proof of such a myth as Eelam. It is somewhat like the British/French mythical ‘Camelot’, an invention of a romantic and ideal place “somewhere in Britain” where reigned King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The song from the film ‘Camelot’ says that even the rain fell on Camelot in a predictable and sweet way, and with temperatures there just right too. Such was the mythical dream of ‘Eelam’ thrown at the Tamils of Jaffna. In reality, such a place never existed, and in this real world will not. Has Tamil Nadu, which is 90% Tamil, achieved such status ?
The best place to look for ‘Camelot’ or Eelam is Within ourselves. In our Hearts there is a place full of Peace and high sweet feeling which we all long for. It may be accessed by any human being, including all Tamils if they want to, through Meditation. This is the ‘Promised Land’, ‘Camelot’ & ‘Eelam’, No one can stop us from finding such a place Within us, our true Freedom. All religions speak of this place Within us. Everything outside will fall into place if the inside of us is in the right place, at least some of the time. This a goal worth striving for and does not depend on the acquisition of wealth or fame. However, we have to gain our education to get employment, and also have our basic needs met.
May 12th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
Fran Diaz
We are back at square one. !!!
We like to see Vaddukoddai Resolution publicly retracted.- Yes done , Mr Sampanthan & Mr Ranil Wickramasingha ( Opposition leder & former Primibister) have Sri Lankan flag together in thier hand in May day selepration in Jaffna !
Sorry to repead JRJ to MR (they have invited American & India from back door) want to give Thamil Eelam to us, what We can do !!!!
Naalai pirakku Thamil EElam !!! Thmilarin Thakam Thamil Eela Thayakam !!!
May 12th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
Yes the Vada kundi resolution should be publicly retracted for there to be lasting peace.
May 13th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Andy,
Tamils have all the rights that other Sri Lankans have. They have to get past Caste System fears which is something coming from Tamil Nadu, not Sri Lanka.
Mr Sampanthan did NOT retract the Vadukoddai Resolution (VR) publicly. He merely waved the Sri Lanka flag on May Day, as a May Day celebration with the crowd there. That’s how I see it. The onus is on Mr Sampanthan to show proper retracting of the VR.
It is the Tamil Economic Refugees abroad (the so called Tamil Diaspora) who have internationalised the issue after the 1983 Riots which was a set up.
May 14th, 2012 at 2:26 am
Fran Diaz
FYI, as I am Srilankan Tamil I can tell you Caste System is not big issue ( compair by TN) in Srilankan Tamil,
Genivienly specking Our problm is no problm !!! Give happy Now !
May 14th, 2012 at 4:53 am
Andy,
You say ‘Caste not a big issue compared to TN”. So, though what you say is true, Caste issues are still there, here and in TN. That is where the Vellala leader link up between Lanka North & Tamil Nadu comes in. Because of this, we can never let our guard down in Sri Lanka. Since Tamil Nadu has a long way to go, it would be foolish to let our guard down in Sri Lanka.
The following items have yet to be attended to by Tamil leaders of Lanka & GoSL :
* Illegal Migrants have yet to be deported.
* Vadukoddai Resolution yet to be officially retracted.
* Call for Eelam yet to be dropped officially.
We can have a more relaxed attitude if the above are done. However, to ‘get Happy” one has to Meditate. No other way.