{"id":95803,"date":"2019-11-29T18:09:27","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T01:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95803"},"modified":"2019-11-29T18:09:27","modified_gmt":"2019-11-30T01:09:27","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/11\/29\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The Tamil Separatist Movement has charged\nthat Eelam War IV was an act of genocide by the Sri Lanka government. This was\nyet another way of erasing the Eelam victory, by declaring that the Eelam war\nwas not a clean war, it was genocide initiated by the government. The Tamil Separatist\nMovement started to call May 18th<\/sup> Genocide Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of Genocide Day came from Tamil Separatists\nliving outside Sri Lanka. In 2015 Tamils in Switzerland called for a Genocide\nDay on May 18 2015,to protest\nthe 6th<\/sup> anniversary of the victory over war. Tamils in UK also\njoined in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genocide celebrations\nstarted in earnest in 2017. Yahapalana government permitted such celebrations. Northern\nProvince Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran thanked the government for allowing\nthe people to remember the cadres killed in the conflict. Education Minister, Northern Province, had\nordered that flags be hung at half mast in schools and that the celebrations must\ninclude the school children.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 40\nevents were held across the Northern Province in 2017. Thousands of people took\npart in ceremonies at decorated tombs where LTTE cadres had been buried,\nreported the media. People also\nremembered their relatives not just in burial sites but in their residences and\nkovils as well, the media said.   There\nwere two events where the organizers had displayed the portraits of LTTE leader\nVelupillai Prabhakaran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, the\nmain celebration was at Mullavaikkal. A commemorative event was organized at\nthe Mullivaikkal memorial ground on May 18  \nto mark what the Tamil National Alliance called the 9th anniversary of\nthe Mullivaikkal Genocide Day, reported the media. It was\norganized by civil society organizations and political parties and was attended\nby TNA leader R Sampanthan and Northern Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran.\nSampanthan was heckled by some of the participants as he spoke. The suggestion that\nMay 18 be declared a Day of Genocide was made at this event.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several\nthousands of people attended the ceremony of remembrance held there  at the monument erected in memory of the\ncivilians killed in the war, said Jehan Perera.  Yahapalana government did not obstruct these\nactivities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, at this event, the TNA politicians\nwho attended the event were not permitted to speak. Instead university students\nand nationalist members of civil society groups took the centre stage. The\nChairman of the Northern Provincial Council was physically stopped from\nentering the podium. The only politician who addressed the gathering was\nNorthern Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran. \nToday, we gather together to remember the 9th anniversary of\nMullivaikkal Genocide Day, he declared.” Every May 19 hereafter must be declared as\nTamil genocide day,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Minister Wigneswaran said that the Tamil\ncommunity had been subjected to \u2018institutional genocide\u2019. Wigneswaran sought an\nassurance from the international community (read as Western powers) as regards\na sustainable political settlement based on their sovereignty, their homelands\nand their individuality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wigneswaran moved a six-point resolution. They\nwere: declaring every May 18 in the coming years as “Tamil Genocide\nDay,” an international mechanism to be set up by the international\ncommunity to ensure justice for the people affected by the genocide, ensure a\nsustainable political settlement based on Tamil sovereignty, homeland and individuality,\nwithdrawal of the armed forces from the Tamil areas of traditional habitation and\nthe necessary infrastructure to rehabilitate the people directly, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wigneswaran had more to say. “Still\nsteadfast in their Mahawansa-oriented perception, the Sinhalese politicians\nconsider the Mullivaikal debacle as the end of a Tamil \u2013 Sinhala war. That is\nwhy commemorative victory festivals are held in the South during this period,”\nsaid Wigneswaran. “Calling\non the military to withdraw completely from the North-East, Wigneswaran said,”The Vanni area has become the\ncitadel for Sinhala colonization. Especially in this Mullaitivu District both\nland and sea have been seized by force by the Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HERE ARE FURTHER\nEXCERPTS FROM THE MULLIVAIKAL DECLARATION OF 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We would like\nto declare today as the Awakening Day of Tamil Nation against Genocide and we\ndeclare year 2019 is a year to heighten the international support for political\njustice and campaign against Genocide. (Mullivaikal Declaration, 2018.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\nmarks the tenth year since the Mullivaikal massacre in May, 2009. The unitary\nSri Lanka state that is constructed on Sinhala-Buddhist ideology perpetrated\nstructural genocide against the Tamils phase by phase since its independence in\n1948, and this still continues in the post-Mullivaikal setting. (Mullivaikal\nDeclaration, 2018)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tamils\nwere killed, tortured, raped, enforced disappeared, forcibly displaced\n(enforced displacement) for the fact that they were Tamils. Sinhala-Buddhist\nsupremacists have for decades portrayed Tamils as settlers from outside and\nthey imagine Sri Lanka primarily as a Sinhala-Buddhist country.  Since the\ncolonial powers departed from Sri Lanka, Sinhala-Buddhist supremacists have\nbeen able to execute their genocidal hatred of the Tamils through the unitary\nstate, the highpoint of which was in Mullivaikal. (Mullivaikal Declaration,\n2018)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npost-Mullivaikal era has marked by Sinhala-Buddhisisation and militarization of\nthe North-East provinces. The traditional lands have been deprived for the\nTamils by the armed forces under the guise of  Mahaweli development\nprojects, archeology and forest department works. The Sinhala state is using\ncollective psychological operations to thwart any resistance thus planting fear\npsychosis among people. After the end of armed struggle arrests, threats and\nsurveillance continue to take place. The space for freedom of speech in the\nNorth-East has been curtailed. The perpetrators of genocide and war crimes on\nthe other hand have been portrayed as heroes of the nation. (Mullivaikal\nDeclaration, 2018)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In as much as\nit is the inalienable right of every nation to enjoy full political freedom\nwithout which its spiritual, cultural and moral stature must degenerate, and in\nas much as the Tamil People in Sri Lanka constitutes a nation distinct from\nthat of the Sinhalese by every fundamental test of nationhood, firstly that of\na separate historical past on this island at least as ancient and glorious as\nthat of the Sinhalese; secondly by the fact that there being a linguistic\nentity entirely different from that of the Sinhalese, with an unsurpassed\nclassical heritage and a modern development of language which makes Tamil\nadequate for all present day needs, and finally, by reason of their territorial\nhabitation of the north and east of this island, and because it is this very\nexistence that the Sri Lanka State wishes to destroy through the genocide and\nstructural genocide of the Tamils. (Mullivaikal Declaration, 2018)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We make the\nfollowing call:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • To strengthen the call to refer Sri Lanka to the International\ncriminal court (ICC)   for the crimes perpetrated by the Sri Lankan\nstate, especially genocide;<\/li>
  • To demand for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, the recognition of\nthe Tamil nation and its inalienable right to political autonomy on the basis\nof our people\u2019s distinct sovereignty and inalienable right to\nself-determination;<\/li>
  • To call for the North-East merger, the territorial habitation of\nthe Tamils because it is this very existence that the Sri Lanka State wishes to\ndestroy through the genocide and structural genocide of the Tamils;<\/li>
  • To prevent the structural genocide unleashed on the collective\nexistence of Tamils;<\/li>
  • To strengthen social structures in the North-East in order to take\nthe struggle for Tamil collective rights forward; (Mullivaikal Declaration,\n2018 End of statement)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    14 British MPs\nsent messages of support to this Tamil Genocide Remembrance day. Here are some\nof the messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bob Blackman\nMP for Harrow East, Executive Officer of APPGT: “We honour those who lost\ntheir lives in the Civil War this Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day and shall do so\nevery May 18th. Justice now for Tamils and for the Sri Lankan government\nto be held accountable for their actions”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Gareth Thomas\nMP for Harrow West: “As the Member of Parliament for Harrow West, with the\nlargest Tamil community in the UK I have seen many cases of constituents\ndirectly affected by the terrible events that occurred during the conflict. I\nhave spoken to countless Tamil constituents who lost relatives killed or\ninjured in the fighting. I have seen the scars of people tortured in police\ncells, heard the stories of those who fled from communities where their friends\nand neighbours had been raped or murdered in cold blood or who had land and\nproperty stolen from them by the military. The demand for justice remains loud\nand clear. The scale of human rights abuses will never be forgotten.\nThe demand for an international UN-led investigation remains as pressing\nnow as it did 9 years ago and I will always, always, be a champion for\naction against those responsible for the abuses all of us know happened.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Robert\nHalfon, Member of Parliament for Harlow said: “On this very important day\nof remembrance, we should give our thanks to every member of the Tamil\ncommunity who keep the flame of the Tamils alive. And we remember all\nthe tragic victims of the genocide of the Tamils. We remember all the awful\ntreatment of the Tamils by the Sri Lankan regime. The Tamils deserve their\nautonomy. The Tamils deserve equality of opportunity. The Tamils deserve\nequality. One must never forget.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Labour Party\nMP Joan Ryan, Vice Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT)\nalso sent a message. Ryan was former Chief Executive and Policy Advisor of UK\nheadquartered Global Tamil Forum (GTF). Having represented Enfield North from\n1997, Ryan was rejected by the electorate at the 2010 parliamentary polls and\nsoon joined the GTF as its Chief Executive and Policy Advisor. Ryan gave up the\nassignment in 2015 when she regained Enfield North. The Labour Party politician\nhad been also embroiled in parliamentary expenses scandal, as one of those\nbeneficiaries of highly controversial claims and was directed to repay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Those leaving the commemorative event at\nMullivaikkal were offered cool drinks by the Army. Troops of the 68 Division,\ndeployed in the Mullivaikkal area, provided the cool drinks. Those returning to\nthe Jaffna peninsula, after having participated in the Mullivaikkal commemoration,\nwere also provided refreshments by 55.2 Brigade deployed in the Iyyakachchi\narea, a former LTTE stronghold, north of Elephant Pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Objections to\nthe Vellamullivaikal commemoration was raised at pinkama held at Peliyagoda\nVidyalankara Pirivena for soldiers who had died in the war. It was presided\nover by Ven, Valivitiyawe Kusaladhamma. There were protests in several other\nplaces as well, such as Kegalle. The relatives of soldiers who had died,\ndemonstrated on Galle- Matara road. An effigy of Prabhakaran was set on fire at\nSuriyawewa. Northern Provincial Council must be dissolved  immediately, \nothers said.   Sarath  Weerasekera said we have not have a\ngovernment like this before which attacks the Eelam victory  in this manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There were\ncelebration in 2019 too. Here is  a first\nperson report on the celebrations at Mullavaikkal in 2019. Ruki Fernando wrote,\nI then went to Mullivaikkal beach, where the war came to a bloody end. Locals\nas well as many others from the North and East were present. Amongst those\npresent were those whose family members were killed, or disappeared after\nsurrendering to the Army. Community activists who had been campaigning to regain\nmilitary occupied civilian lands were also there. Tamil politicians were\npresent, but they didn\u2019t play any significant part. Lamps were lit and\nMullivaikkaal Declaration\u201d was read out, though many present had tears in\ntheir eyes and seemed too overcome with emotion to listen and understand\nForeign Tamil media were visible, but mainstream English and Sinhalese media\nwere conspicuously absent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mullivaikkaal\nKanji (porridge)\u201d was a striking feature of 18th May in the North, continued\nRuki Fernando. This plain and simple food was all the hundreds of thousands in\nprecarious situation in bunkers, tents and on the move could eat in the last\nfew months of the war. Ten years later, there are calls to have Mullivaikkaal\nKanji\u201d for one meal on 18th May, to remember what happened. Kanji was served\nalong the Northern roads after the Mullivaikkaal memorial. My friend\u2019s family\nhad only Kanji for lunch that day. Having Mullivaikkaal Kanji for one meal\nacross the country on May 18 could be one way Sri Lankans can unite,\ncommemorate and express solidarity with the war dead, their families and\nsurvivors, suggested Ruki. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In 2019, to mark the tenth anniversary of  the massacre that took place at the end of the\narmed conflict in Mullivaikkal on May 18, 2009, over sixty Tamil Diaspora organizations\nsigned a declaration of solidarity to work towards justice for genocide, demilitarization\nand Tamil self-determination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The \njoint statement said, On 18 May 2019, ten years since the Sri Lankan\nstate\u2019s genocide against the Tamil nation reached its peak, we stand in\nsolidarity with our brethren in their quest for justice. We believe that an\ninternational independent investigation is the only credible path to achieve\ncriminal accountability and justice for mass atrocity crimes committed against\nthe Tamil people, including for over 146,679 Tamil people unaccounted for\nduring the final stages of the war in the Vanni region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sri Lanka\u2019s\ncontinuing state oppression and persecution of the Tamil people and its\npersisting military occupation of the Tamil homeland only further justifies the\nTamil nation struggle for self-determination. We declare today that  we will stand in solidarity with the Tamil\nvictims and survivors and pledge to continue to strive for peace justice and\nfreedom for the Tamil nation, concluded the statement. ( Continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    KAMALIKA PIERIS The Tamil Separatist Movement has charged that Eelam War IV was an act of genocide by the Sri Lanka government. This was yet another way of erasing the Eelam victory, by declaring that the Eelam war was not a clean war, it was genocide initiated by the government. The Tamil Separatist Movement started […]<\/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-95803","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\/95803","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=95803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}