{"id":119580,"date":"2021-10-25T16:23:50","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T23:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=119580"},"modified":"2021-10-27T16:27:38","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T23:27:38","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-19e2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/10\/25\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-19e2\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 19E2"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Revised 25.10.21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil\nSeparatist Movement got a new lease of life under Yahapalana rule of 2015 –\n2018. Tamil Youth Organization and Canadian Tamil Congress hoisted Eelam flag\nand homage to Prabhakaran on internet in 2015. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u2018Tamils for Obama\u2019 and \u2018American Tamil Forum\u2019,\nasked Washington to arrest Gotabaya Rajapaksa who is visiting the USA.  They say he was responsible for large scale\nkilling of Tamils and rape of Tamil women. He is a war criminal.  They allege that around 70,000 Tamils were\nkilled in the six months of 2009. This could amount to Genocide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016 a\ndelegation of Sri Lanka\u2019s Yahapalana ministers met the UK Tamil Diaspora in a\npublic forum and responded to their concerns. The meeting was organized by the\nNonresident Tamils of Sri Lanka. Harsha de Silva and Rosie Senanayake\nparticipated.  Rosie made a public\napology for the 1983 riots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\nYahapalana took power, the Northern Provincial Council became bold.  It passed a resolution demanding the UN Human\nRights Council to establish a special court in Sri Lanka to probe allegations\nof war crimes and human right violations in the North at the last stage of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2016\nNorthern Provincial Council unanimously adopted a resolution for setting up two\nstates in the island merging North and East in one state. . The resolution also\nproposed a separate state parliament for the north and east  as\nwell as an autonomous state for the estate Tamils. Muslim majority districts\nwould be considered as autonomous provinces within the state. There was a\npetition in Supreme Court against this resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana\npuppet government cleared 267 persons of terrorism charges. In 2016 the media\nreported that Yahapalana government had cleared more than 400 people with links\nto LTTE. Yahapalana released 32 terrorists held under the PTA, a further 32\nwill also be released reported the media in 2015. Top sea Tigress, Pakeerathy  \nwas discharged. She had fled to France in 2000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics\ncomplained that Yahapalana was pardoning and releasing hardcore LTTE cadres. Dangerous\nLTTE cadres who were deemed by the previous government to be impossible to\nrehabilitate, were released without trial by the present government, observed Chandraprema. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana  government removed the proscriptions on 8\nbanned pro LTTE  organizations,  British Tamil Forum, Canadian Tamil Congress,  Australian Tamil congress, Global Tamil\nforum, National council of Eelam Tamils, Tamil National council, Tamil Youth\nOrganization , and World Tamil Coordinating committee. The National War Heroes Front\nin Sri Lanka strongly criticized the lifting of the ban. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana\nperiod  saw the creation of several new separatist  organizations in Jaffna namely  Tamil National People\u2019s Front (TNPF), Tamil\nCivil society Forum (TCSF) and Tamil Peoples Council . The members are largely from\nJaffna urban professional class of lawyers, doctors, Christian clergy,\nuniversity lecturers and journalists.  Not\nrural Jaffna and Vanni district.  They\nhave one foot in the Tamil Diaspora and their children consider emigration,\nsaid Ahilan Kadirgamar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were open\nexpressions of support for Eelam during Yahapalana time. In 2015 university of Jaffna\nhad black flags and posters deifying Prabhakaran and a calling for Eelam. Hartals\nand hunger strikes were organized in the north. The NPC ordered schools to be\nclosed.  In 2016 The Tamil undergrads of\nUniversity of Jaffna celebrated the dead LTTE before an Eelam map at the\nUniversity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u2018Maaveerar Naal\u2019\ncelebrations in the north continued. The north annually celebrated Mahaviru Day\non November 27, at decorated tombs where LTTE cadres had been buried.  In 2017 at least 40 events were held across\nthe province. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of those who took part in the celebrations in 2017 were very\nyoung people from 18 to 25, who were too young to remember the war and\nterrorism and the atrocities that were perpetrated. Now martyrdom, terrorism\nand suicide bombers are being glorified and the state has allowed that,\nobserved Arun Tambimuttu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were a lot of protest marches in Jaffna in Yahapalana time. <\/strong>In October\n2016, the Tamil People\u2019s Council (TPC) staged a protest march and rally called\nthe Eluga Thamil. \u2018Eluga Tamil\u2019 means ‘Rise Up Tamil’. They wanted a federal\nconstitution, and the merger of North and East into one large Tamil controlled\nprovince. This was a very successful  \nprotest march and rally. The rally is estimated to have drawn the\nlargest crowd after the war. An estimated 10,000 to 15000 had attended. The\nrally was supported by the university of Jaffna and the civil society groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This rally\ndemand that the occupying forces immediately leave the north and east and a\ncivilian administration be provided for north and east. The land remained\nmilitarized and the security forces continue to intervene in the day to day\ncivilian administration of the north and east. The social fabric of the Tamil\nnation is eroded by heavy militarization and deep surveillance of the north and\neast, the rally said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After viewing the videos of the speeches of major players, I\nbelieve that the campaign had dual objectives of raising the socio-political\nissues the Tamil people face in the Northern Province and kindling Tamil\nnationalism, said an analyst. (I think it is Keethaponcalan) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the direction of the Tamil politics under Wigneswaran is clear. It\nis taking a solid turn towards radical politics, which could, in the long run,\nturn to violent politics of the past. the analyst continued. Speakers of\nthe rally called for Tamil people to get on the streets and protest, because,\naccording to them, sending representatives to legislative bodies has no meaning\nand it will not win Tamil rights. Wigneswaran also to a certain extent\nreflected this sentiment. If and when\nthese events turn violent, Vigneswaran and his lieutenants will not be able\nto   control them, he concluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil Makkal Peravai Organisation held a hartal in 2017, demanding\nthe merger of the North and East, dismantling of security forces camps in the\narea and the right to information about their missing persons. The event was organized by Northern Province\nChief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. Districts\nobserved a shutdown. Offices, businesses, schools and public transport came to\na halt. There was a mass rally in Jaffna. Stones\nwere thrown at a Vavuniya bound bus carrying army personnel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018\nstudents of Jaffna University observed Independence Day on February 4 2018 as a\nBlack Day.  Black day was also observed\nin 2019.  The media reported that led by\nthe Students Union of Jaffna University, large numbers of men and women in\nseveral major towns wore black armbands or headscarves and\ndemonstrated in public places demanding the release of lands occupied by\nthe Sri Lankan army, information about the whereabouts of their missing kin,\nand justice to Tamils who were subjected to war crimes\u201d by the Security Forces\nduring the last phase of the war. Posters called upon the army to leave the\nTamil lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffna University students also\nhad a major protest on March 2019, to coincide with UNHRC session in\nGeneva.  They demanded a hybrid court to\ninvestigate war crimes allegations against Sri Lanka. Several vehicles carrying\nthe replicas of \u2018war memorial\u2019 built at the Jaffna University in memory of LTTE\ncadres paraded the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil\nSeparatist Movement succeeded in getting the support of foreign agencies too. Pasumai Thaayagam is an Indian NGO\nthat promotes nature conservation<\/a>. It has special\nconsultative status with the United\nNations<\/a>. In 2017 Pasumai Thaayagam strongly recommended that the UNHRC\nmust immediately refer Sri Lanka to the General Assembly and the International\nCriminal Court (ICC). It is high time the UNHRC and the International Community respects\nthe right of the Tamils to exercise the right to self determination and find a\nlasting solution through a referendum, it said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran was very active\non behalf of Eelam during Yahapalana rule. He said that when water from\nMoragahakanda is diverted to the Northern Province, some form of ownership of\nthe project should be granted to the NPC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2018, \nWigneswaran called for an “international legal framework” for\nthe Tamil Question, at a seminar in Jaffna and pledged to have this raised at\nthe upcoming March session of the UNHRC in Geneva .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wigneswaran wanted\nto see greater collaboration between the Government of India and his\nadministration in development projects in the province. We would like to be\nbrought in as an active stakeholder, in projects being carried out in the\nNorthern Province. At present, they are mostly done unilaterally by the Colombo\ngovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He met Indian\nHigh Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu and discussed possible\ndevelopment of the Palaly airport into a regional airport, and the revival of\nferry services between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wigneswaran, when visiting Canada, wanted to sign a sister city\u201d\nagreement between Vavuniya and the City of Brampton in Ontario. However, the\nmembers of the Brampton Council were opposed to the move.  Wigneswaran was also scheduled to sign another\nFriendship Agreement\u201d between the city of Markham, Ontario and Mullaitivu.\nWigneswaran said these agreements are not for any economic assistance or\nregional co-operation but to coordinate the Tamil identity globally.\u201d The city\nof Markham is home for 30,000 Tamils of Sri Lankan origin while the Brampton\u2019s\nTamil community numbers around 20,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 five\nTamil political parties from the north put forward 13 demands. These demands mark\na watershed in northern Tamil politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five\npolitical parties involved in the process were the Ilangei Thamil Arasu Katchi\n(ITAK), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), Peoples Liberation\nOrganisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) ), the Eelam Peoples\u2019 Revolutionary\nLiberation Front (EPRLF) faction led by Suresh Premachandran and the Thamil\nMakkal Koottani led by C.V.Vigneswaran. A sixth political party, the All Ceylon\nTamil Congress (ACTC) led by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam participated in the\nprocess but did not sign the final document. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\npolitical parties represent the majority of the Tamil voters of the north and\neast and this list of demands can be said to mark a turning point in the Tamil\npolitics of the north. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the hope and expectation that a final solution to the\ncontinuing problems faced by the Tamils consequent to the effects of the\nconcluded war and yet continuing effects of such war, could be found, we the\nmembers of Political Parties that represent the Tamil People do hereby submit\nhereunder to the Presidential Candidates representing major Political Parties\nand to their respective Party Leadership the following requests:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. A solution to the Sri Lankan Tamil issue must be found by\nsetting up a new federal constitution rejecting the heretofore unitary\nconstitution accepting the nationhood of the Sri Lankan Tamils and recognizing\nits sovereignty and also accepting that Tamils under the provisions of\nInternational Law are entitled to the right of self determination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Full fledged independent impartial International mechanisms\nthrough the International Criminal Court \/International Arbitration Tribunal\nmust be set up to inquire into the War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity and\nGenocide committed during the final stages of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The Prevention of Terrorism Act must be withdrawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. (Consequently) All Tamil Political Prisoners must be freed\nunconditionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Justice must be found for those affected by the enforced\ndisappearance of persons through appropriate International mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. The Governmental Forces occupying private and state lands \/\nbuildings in the Northern and Eastern Province which were occupied by Tamils\nbefore the war must be withdrawn, the lands released and resettlement process\nmust be immediately set in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Sinhalisation, Buddhistization and Sinhala Colonization taking\nplace in the Northern and Eastern Provinces presently with State assistance\nmust be stopped immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Since the Mahaweli Development Authority is engaged in planned\nSinhala Colonization in the Northern Province under the pretext of redirecting\nthe Mahaweli River to the North, the jurisdiction of the said Authority in the\nNorthern Province must forthwith be terminated. Also the planned Sinhala\nColonization taking place in the Eastern Province under the Mahaweli\nDevelopment Scheme must also be terminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. The Moragaskande Irrigation Scheme recently introduced is\nindulging in planned Sinhala Colonization in the Vanni Region. All such Sinhala\nColonisation must forthwith be terminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. The expropriation of lands and areas of religious worship by\nGovernment Departments including Archaeology Department, Wild Life Department,\nForests\u2019 Department must forthwith be stopped. Those lands and places of\nworship already expropriated through these Departments must be freed from the\neffect of the Gazette Notifications which so expropriated them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11.Those affected in the Northern and Eastern Provinces by the\nWar, wanting to economically improve themselves or youth wanting to enhance\ntheir job opportunities receiving direct investments from our Diaspora and\nelsewhere must have all legal obstacles faced removed so that handling lands\nand finances here would be easy and quick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Priority must be given to those belonging to the Northern and\nEastern Provinces in Governmental and Private Sector job opportunities in the\nsaid two Provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. An independent mechanism must be set up under the supervision\nof Elected Representatives of the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces\nto handle all finances for Development in the said two Provinces, after\nproclaiming the Northern and Eastern Provinces as areas affected by the War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Maha Sangha commented on the 13 points of the Tamil Separatist\nMovement. Panamure Tilakawansa of Arsirimale aranya spoke. This must be\nrejected in toto he said. At Palaly they didn\u2019t play the national anthem in Sinhala\nsaid Ven. Munhene Mettananda, chief priest Seruwila Raja Maha vihara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020 the All-Party\nParliamentary Group for Tamils of the House of Commons, UK has requested the\ngovernment to designate former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga,\nField Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva  and some others in terms of the Global Human\nRights Sanctions Regulation, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All-Party\nParliamentary Group for Tamils wrote to Dominic Raab MP Secretary of State for\nForeign and Commonwealth Affairs.  We\nwelcome the introduction of the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020\nwhich reiterates the United Kingdom\u2019s commitment to the rule of law. We are\nwriting to you to kindly request you to consider applying the new regime in\nrespect of Sri Lanka, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a first\nstep to doing this, we would urge you to designate former President Chandrika\nBandaranaike Kumaratunga, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Lieutenant General\nShavendra Silva and Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake under the new Global Human\nRights Sanctions Regime for their role in perpetrating atrocity crimes that\nviolate the right to life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Kumaratunga\nserved as president of Sri Lanka and Commander-in-Chief of the military forces\nfrom 1994 to 2005. A period marked by human rights abuses and mass bombings,\nincluding the bombing of Navaly Church that resulted in 140 civilian deaths and\nNagarkovil School that resulted in 71 civilian deaths including 25 school\nchildren. Despite the atrocity crimes she committed whilst in power,\nKumaratunga regularly visits the United Kingdom. For many torture victims of\nher regime who sought asylum and currently reside in the United Kingdom, her\nvisits instill fear and acts as reminder of the impunity Sri Lankan war\ncriminals enjoy at home and abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fonseka was\nthe commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 2005 until the end of the armed\nconflict in May 2009. Sri Lankan forces under his command have been implicated\nin numerous instances of unlawful shelling of civilians and hospitals, rape and\nother sexual violence, and the summary execution of prisoners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shavendra Silva\nwas head of the 58th Division of the Sri Lankan army during the last phase of\nthe war, which is named in the OISL report as having committed the most\negregious crimes. Instead of holding Silva accountable, the Sri Lankan\ngovernment promoted Silva to Head of the Army in August 2019, demonstrating\ntheir unwillingness to hold those accused of even the most heinous atrocity\ncrimes accountable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabaya\nRajapaksa is also mentioned. During Rajapaksa\u2019s tenure as Secretary of Defence,\nboth during and after the armed conflict, he is alleged to have overseen the\nabduction, torture and disappearance of several primarily Tamil journalists and\nhuman rights defenders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kumaratunga,\nFonseka, Silva and Ratnayake are only four of a long list of individuals from\nthe Sri Lankan military against whom there is credible evidence of grave human\nrights violations,  but their designation\nwill have the symbolic effect of sending a strong message to the Sri Lankan\ngovernment that the UK will not let go of the need for accountability for war\ncrimes and thereby contribute towards preventing further atrocity crimes.\nAccordingly, we ask respectfully that you consider our request to designate\nKumaratunga, Fonseka, Silva and Ratnayake under the Global Human Rights\nSanctions Regulation 2020.  (continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Revised 25.10.21 Tamil Separatist Movement got a new lease of life under Yahapalana rule of 2015 – 2018. Tamil Youth Organization and Canadian Tamil Congress hoisted Eelam flag and homage to Prabhakaran on internet in 2015.  \u2018Tamils for Obama\u2019 and \u2018American Tamil Forum\u2019, asked Washington to arrest Gotabaya Rajapaksa who is visiting the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}