KAMALIKA PIERIS
The Tamil separatist movement was not prepared to take the Eelam war
defeat lying down. The war ended in May 2009. The very next year, TNA called for a day of mourning in May
17.2010 the government objected but the commemoration took place. May 18 became
a day of tension in the North, said the media. May 18 is for them a stark
reminder of all they have lost. The government was celebrating its victory, in
Colombo while prohibiting any public memorial services in the North.
After
Yahapalana took power the Tamil Separatist Movement regained its confidence.
Yahapalana rule saw the rise of an assertive Tamil separatism in the Northern
Province.
In December 2015 the University of Jaffna put
up black flags and posters which deified Prabhakaran and a call for Eelam.
There was a revival of the Pongu Thamil movement. This movement supported the
nationhood of the Tamils, their right to self-determination and the framing of
the North and East regions of Sri Lanka as the Tamil homeland , said analysts.
In
October 2016, the Tamil People’s Council (TPC) staged a protest march and rally
campaign called the Eluga Thamil. ‘Eluga Tamil’ means ‘Rise Up Tamil’. the
Ezhuga Thamil rally called for the return of land, finding missing persons,
release of those detained without trial, resettlement of displaced people and
demilitarization and restoration of full civilian rule. It also had political demands. They wanted a federal constitution, and the
merger of North and East into one large Tamil controlled province.
This was a very successful
protest march and rally. Speakers
asked Tamil people to get on the streets and protest, because sending
representatives to legislative bodies will not win Tamil rights. The rally is
estimated t have drawn the largest crowd after the war. An estimated 10 to
15000 had attended. The rally was supported by the university and the civil
society groups, This means that the intelligentsia of Jaffna were supporting
the rally, said Jehan Perera.
S.I.Keethaponcalan commented on the rally. The campaign was organized
not only to protest about the problems of the Tamil people, but also to kindle
Tamil nationalism. This is exactly what the slogan of Eluga Thamil means. It
asks the Tamil people to rise up. Eluga Thamil type events, which are marked by
nationalist fervor, could turn violent easily. They need only a minor incident,
an ignition, executed by a Tamil nationalist sympathizer or a motivated
opponent. The direction taken by the TPC is
clear, said Keethaponcalan. It is towards radical politics, which could, in the
long run, turn violent.
Tamil Makkal Peravai Organisation held a hartal in 2017, demanding the
merger of the North and East, dismantling of security forces camps in the area
and the right to information about their missing persons. The event was organized by Northern Province Chief
Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. Districts
observed a shutdown. Offices, businesses, schools and public transport came to
a halt. There was a mass rally, in Jaffna. Stones
were thrown at a Vavuniya bound bus carrying army personnel.
In 2018 students of Jaffna
University announced a plan to observe Sri Lanka’s Independence Day on February
4 2018 as a Black Day”, reported the media. Since independence from Britain in
1948 successive Sri Lankan governments have continually denied the Tamils
their legitimate rights and heaped disabilities on them. Black Day will bring
to the attention of the world the fact that since independence from the British
in 1948 and even ten years after the end of the war in the island, successive
Sri Lankan governments have only discriminated against the Tamil people, and
failed to address their basic concerns, they said.
Black day was observed in
2019. The media reported that Led by the
Students Union of Jaffna University, large numbers of men and women in several
major towns wore black armbands or headscarves and demonstrated in
public places demanding the release of lands occupied by the Sri Lankan army,
information about the whereabouts of their missing kin, and justice to Tamils
who were subjected to war crimes” by the Security Forces during the last phase
of the war. Posters called upon the army to leave the Tamil lands.
In the Jaffna University campus,
the Sri Lankan national flag was brought down and a Black Flag was hoisted.
former Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V.Wigneswaran participated in
a protest at the Kandaswami Hindu temple in Kilinochchi. TNA did not support
the activity. TNA said that Sri Lanka’s Independence Day could not be
considered a Black Day.
Jaffna University students had a major protest on March 2019, to
coincide with UNHRC session in Geneva.
They demand a hybrid court to investigate war crimes allegations against
Sri Lanka. Several vehicles carrying the replicas of ‘war memorial’ built at
the Jaffna University in memory of LTTE cadres paraded the streets.
Vijayakala Maheswaran, State Minister of Child
Affairs, staged a protest of her own. In a speech delivered at the 8th
Presidential Public Service programme titled ‘Nila Mehewera for Northern
Province’ held at the Veerasingham Hall in Jaffna on July 3,2018 Vijayakala Maheswaran called for the return of the LTTE.
Today we realize from our bottom of our heart how proud we are to have
lived under the times of LTTE prior to May 18, 2009. We must resurrect the LTTE in the North and East, if we
want to lead a peaceful life. If our school going children are to return home
safely, the hands of the LTTE should be strengthened. The LTTE must come back for us to live and to be
free,” she said.
Jaffna applauded. There were posters in Jaffna in support of
Vijayakala. There was uproar in Parliament. National Sangha Council asked for
her arrest. Protests against Vijayakala’s statement in Galle, Biyagama, Ampara.
Sinhala Ravaya filed a case against her in Colombo.
Yahapalana government ran to appease the separatists. In 2015 it removed the proscriptions on 8 banned pro
LTTE organizations, British Tamil Forum, Canadian Tamil Congress, Australian Tamil congress, Global Tamil
forum, national council of Eelam Tamils, Tamil National council, Tamil Youth
Organization , and World Tamil Coordinating committee.
Yahapalana government released
32 terrorists held under the PTA. a further 32 will also be released reported
the media in 2015. Top sea Tigress, Pakeerathy
was discharged. She had fled to France in 2000. dangerous LTTE cadres who were deemed by the
previous government to be impossible to rehabilitate, were released without trial
by the present government, observed Chandraprema. it was pardoning and releasing hardcore LTTE cadres. In
2016 the media reported that Yahapalana government had cleared more than 400
people with links to LTTE.
In 2016
a delegation of Sri Lanka ministers met the UK Tamil Diaspora in a public forum
and responded to their concerns. The meeting was organization by the
Nonresident Tamils of Sri Lanka. Harsha de Silva and Rosie Senanayake
participated. Rosie made a public
apology for the 1983 riots.
After Yahapalana took power, the
Northern Provincial Council became bold.
In April 2016 NPC unanimously adopted a resolution for setting up two
states in the island merging North and East in one state. The resolution also
proposed a separate state parliament for the north and east.
There would also be an
autonomous state for the estate Tamils. There would be Muslim majority
districts as autonomous provinces within the state. Muslims opposed this. It is
ridiculous to make language the basis for a re-merger. Muslims have a distinct
religious and cultural identity. There was also a petition in Supreme Court
against this resolution.
A resolution demanding the UN Human Rights
Council to establish a special court in Sri Lanka to probe allegations of war
crimes and human right violations in the North at the last stage of war on
terrorism was also passed by the NPC.
The TNA was courted by the western countries
during Yahapalana rule. The list of foreign official who met the TNA leaders,
Sampanthan and Sumanthiran included, US House of Representatives Armed Services
Committee delegation, led by McClellen Thornberry, visiting US Assistant
Secretary of State, Ambassador Alice Wells
visiting United States member of Congress F. James Sensenbrenner and His
Chief of Staff Matt Bisenius and Rodney Frelinghuysen Chairman, House
Appropriations Committee and Rep. Henry Cuellar.
From UK
cameMinister of State for Asia and
Pacific Mark Field and Members of
Westminster Foundation for Democracy. A delegation
from the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, including the
Standing Rapporteur for South Asia, the visiting Belgium-Sri Lanka
Parliamentary Friendship Group, the visiting Norwegian State Secretary for
Development Cooperation and a senior
Japanese diplomat and United Nations administrator Yasushi Akashi also met the
pair.
TNA leaders Sumanthiran and Sampanthan spent the full Yahapalana
period, (2015-2019) telling fancy stories to these gullible visitors. There was
a glorious return to the old Tamil Separatist arguments. They said the Tamils
are separate nation, the Tamils have a homeland comprising of the northern and
eastern provinces and they are entitled to the right of self-determination.
Before Colonial subjugation, there were Sinhala and Tamil Kingdoms in
the Country, which were captured by different Colonial powers, differently, and
at different times. These different territories were unified together in 1833
under British Colonial Rule.
TNA wanted a merger of North and East provinces
citing ‘the two provinces largely represent Tamil majority’. They wanted a new
constitution. The 1972 Constitution was framed by one of the two major Sinhala
political parties without the consent of the Tamils. So was the 1978
constitution.
Tamil people in this country are hurt and offended that they are
always being treated as second-class citizens. We have been insulted and
humiliated. “We cannot go on like this Sampanthan said.
Tamils were subjected to physical violence whenever they made just
political demands .This happened for several decades. The result was armed
revolt by Tamil Youth for almost three decades .This was a classic instance, in
which the Bullet filled the void created by failure in the process of the
Ballot, said Sampanthan. Sampanthan is justifying LTTE terrorism, said critics.
There was a veiled threat. if Sri Lanka’s leaders failed to negotiate
with all the people to evolve an acceptable political solution, We will not hesitate to do what we
must to get a just solution.
The international community must ensure that the
promises and the commitments given by the Sri Lankan government are adhered to
and implemented. The international community cannot be a spectator anymore with
regard to Sri Lanka, said the TNA.
People in many areas in North and East are staging protests over land,
persons in custody and on the issue of missing persons. “These are matters
that are of concern to our people and we want the international community to
play an important role in finding solutions to these issues”.
The International community must ensure that the promises and the
commitments given by the Sri Lankan Government are adhered to and implemented.
The International community cannot be a spectator anymore with regard to Sri
Lanka. The international community must clearly state their position and ensure
the non-recurrence of the past.
Chief Minister Wigneswaran agreed. “The international community
has a responsibility to protect the Tamil people, he said.” Wigneswaran
had his own take on the Tamil issue. The Tamils of North and East of Sri
Lanka do not consider themselves as minorities, Wigneswaran said. They consider
themselves as the majority. They have been in the North Eastern Province for
more than 2000 years. It is
in the last 100 years that intrusions and incursions have been made
into the terrain of the Tamil speaking by people from elsewhere.
Many Sinhalese forget that the Tamils of the
North and East occupied our Island even before the birth of Buddha. The
Sinhalese have another wrong perception that Sri Lanka is the land of the
Sinhalese. Long before the Sinhalese language was born out of Pali, Tamil
and indigenous dialects, the Tamil Dravidians have been
occupying this land for centuries.
Dayan Jayatilaka wanted to know, how come the
Sinhalese, the much ‘later’ inhabitants, were settled in the best and largest
part of the island while the original ones were not? Why were these so-called
original (Tamil) inhabitants stuck in the least arable, most inhospitable part
of the island instead of strolling down to the rivers and the lush vegetation.
Also, If the Tamils were the inhabitants of the
island before the Buddha was born and the Sinhala language arose, where did
those Tamils come from? And if they came from across the water, then It is that
group who are entitled to the status of original inhabitants and owners,
concluded Dayan.
Bodu
Bala Sena and Sinhala Ravaya wanted legal action taken against Wiggie” and
Sampanthan on their recent statements. A
complaint was lodged with the police, saying they have breached the provisions
of the Constitution.
There is
a highly significant degree of aggression and hostility among the Tamils in
Jaffna. Here are three instances. Television news showed villagers in
Kilinochchi killing a single leopard with mammoties, sticks, and knives. They
kept on attacking long after it was dead. (Derana news 21.6.18) A fight over cinema tickets at a cinema hall in
Vavuniya, extended on to the main road. Television cameras showed youths
hitting each other, with great violence.(Derana news 12.1.19)
Twelve Sri Lanka Navy personnel were injured following
a clash with illegal sand miners in, Kinniya. Four among the injured were
critically injured. Muttur Police arrived at the scene and called for more
police reinforcements from Sampur and China Bay stations to control the
situation. A group of soldiers also came to the scene. Navy personnel fired in
the air to disperse an unruly crowd of about 500 people who had gathered there
to protect the sand miners and protest against the Navy presence.
There was hostility abroad too.
In September 2016, Chief priest of Malaysian Buddhist temple, Sentul, in Malaysia, was assaulted by members of the Malaysian
Tamilan Association and other groups when they heard that Mahinda Rajapaksa was
to visit there. They had abused the
priest with vulgarities and then hit him.
They punched him in the face and also kicked him. The group had gathered
at the temple as they wanted to give a stern warning to all Buddhist temples
not to allow the mass murderer Mahinda Rajapaksa here. They said they would keep
vigil to make sure that Mahinda Rajapaksa did not enter the temple.
There was belligerence of another sort at the
UNHRC meeting of March 2018 in Geneva. The Tamil Separatist Movement was
challenged by a team led by Nalaka Godahewa and Sarath Weerasekera. Unable
to answer, the representative of the
Tamil Separatist Movement got ready to assault them. They were led away. The
Sinhala team observed,” You are leaving the meeting that you yourselves
organized.”(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8Qf_yMu4O8.)
There was defiance too. S. Pathmanapan, a Central
Bank employee, who was summoned by the Presidential Commission of inquiry
probing bond scam, to record a statement, has complained to the Supreme Court
that he was aggressively questioned by some officials of the Attorney General’s
Department, assisting the commission.
He has said that he was taken to
the Chamber of Dappula de Livera, Senior Additional Solicitor General, who
questioned him. Later, he was questioned by senior Deputy Solicitor General,
Milinda Goonetillake. The questioning was aggressive. He was questioned in an
arbitrary, unreasonable manner.
The petitioner requested Supreme
Court to prevent the Attorney General’s Department from taking action against
him. Among the respondents are seven officials of the Attorney General’s
Department, the present Governor of the Central Bank, some members of the
Monetary Board and the members of the commission. The first respondent is de
Livera. (continued)
