<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\nwas the Illanka Tamil Arasu Katchchi party that gave birth to the concept of a\nseparate Tamil State in 1949 a year after Ceylon was given independence hardly\nvalid grounds to claim \u2018discrimination\u2019 by Sinhalese since the island was under\nWestern invader rule for 443 years since 1505. Since 1949 there have been\nvarious surrogates claiming to champion the Eelam cause and it has afforded\npolitical clout for those using Tamil Eelam as slogans while a set of others\nhave found it also politically advantageous to plug themselves to this\n\u2018separating Sri Lanka\u2019 cause for their own geopolitical benefits. Who seek Eelam in Sri Lanka \u2013 LTTE\nDiaspora, LTTE overseas fronts and LTTE political agents in Sri Lanka and who\nare tagging to their cause \u2013 Western Governments \/ India and all others who\nfeel they can use this to get a foothold into Sri Lanka and exert pressure\npolitically.<\/strong> While the external LTTE-separatist elements demand Tamil Eelam\ntheir cohorts the Western\/India backers demand a political solution\u201d implying Sri\nLanka has to give what the Eelamists want and we should not be na\u00efve not to\nrealize this combined game plan. Why\nshould the demands of the people living in Sri Lanka be ignored by catering to\nthe demands of the people not living in Sri Lanka or unlikely to be living in\nSri Lanka even after their demands are fulfilled?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n LTTE\nborrowed the Tamil Eelam cause from Tamil politicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n LTTE\nwas defeated in May 2009 but the Tamil Eelam cause was not <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tamil\nEelam cause remained & was given oxygen by the bandwagon of people who were\ncovertly assisting and others who rechristened themselves under new\norganizational names. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ONLY People solutions NOT Political\nSolutions\u201d for people living in Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This was clearly articulated to the\nIndian Premier by Sri Lanka\u2019s elected President Gotabaya Rajapakse recently.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What is this \u2018National\u2019 \u2018problem\u2019 that\nSri Lanka is supposed to suffer? During\nLTTE terror reign everyone except LTTE and LTTE families \/ LTTE supporters were\nsafe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How\nmany Tamils that supported LTTE (politicians, urban Tamils, foreign living\nTamils) used their own people as bait and did not raise a voice against Tamils\nwho were victims of LTTE? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did\nthey stop 1 Tamil child from being turned into a child soldier?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did\nthey stop 1 Tamil child from being trained to hold a gun and instead giving a\npen to study?<\/p>\n\n\n\n During\n& after LTTE terror reign external parties (foreign govts, NGOs, Media) did\nnot take the side of LTTE\u2019s victims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\ncan reaffirm this by the recent Swiss Court ruling that LTTE is not a terrorist\norganization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All\nforeign governments had enough of data on LTTE arms procurement and other\nillegal activities \u2013 why didn\u2019t they take action to stop LTTE terror? Because\nit served their interests to keep LTTE terror as a beggars wound \u2013 not curing\nit completely, just dressing it from time to time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From\nall of the \u2018political solutions\u2019 presented since 1980s (Indo-Lanka Accord \/ 13a\n\/ 2002 Cease Fire Agreement etc) \u2013 the solutions have been in the interests of\npoliticians or foreign governments and have shown no benefit whatsoever for the\npeople whom the solutions claimed to be drafted on behalf of. The ceasefire\nagreements and peace talks were all only opportunities given for LTTE to\nsilently regroup and re-arm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\npeaceniks were all brokers to present a tamasha and fool the masses through\ntheir well-articulate diplomatic gibberish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trade\ndeals \/ aid \/grants were used as soft power tools to bring governments to their\nknees (just as how MCC will use all avenues to have their agreement implemented\nunder even a new name to fool the masses)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among\nthe plethora of solutions forwarded over the years repeated demands have been\nfor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unprovable\nslogans are their mighty swords \u2013 these can be drummed and these serve as\nexcellent tools for the international players to make threats, appoint\ninternational investigations, threaten to impose sanctions, travel advisories,\ndenial of visas, diplomatic demands and adopting many more fisticuff methods\nagainst a government. All these tactics are already operational \u2013 OISL,\n\u2018genocide\u2019 \u2018war crimes\u2019 \u2018human rights\u2019 \u2018rule of law\u2019 \u2018threat of sanctions\u2019 are\njust a handful of in vogue tactics since 2009. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But,\nare these a solution? Why should a national solution be only for one community\nsegment only? How can a solution omit justice to 85% of the rest of the\ncommunities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what is the National Problem? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our National Problem is that we do not know what the\nproblem is! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Those that claim Sri Lanka has an ethnic problem must\nanswer why such problems did not exist prior to 1505? <\/p>\n\n\n\n The nomenclatures presently used are all christened\nby former colonial invaders who birthed much of the problems via their divide\nand rule policies and questions their moral right to appear & offer\nsolutions \u2013 how genuine will these solutions be! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is the\nNational problem the same as articulated by the 74% Sinhalese, 15% Tamils &\n9% Muslims?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nSinhalese claim the National problem is different to what the Tamils claim is\nthe National problem while Muslims claim something else is the National problem\n\u2013 how do we arrive at what the National Problem is?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According\nto Sinhalese \u2013 what is the National problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n According\nto Tamils \u2013 what is the National problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n According\nto Muslims \u2013 what is the National problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n According\nto Burghers \u2013 what is the National problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then\nour next question is who should determine what the problem is?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nonly the Sinhalese majority?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nonly the Tamil minority?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nonly the Muslim minority?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nonly the Burgher minority?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe UN?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe Foreign Envoys?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it the\nINGOs\/NGOs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe human rights activists?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe politicians (Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nonly the elite of Sri Lanka (Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or is it the ordinary PEOPLE who\naccount for the majority among the Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim & Burgher\ncommunity?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The more important question is in whose\ninterests & for whose benefit primarily must these solutions be drawn?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe Sinhalese villages who were attacked by terrorists & killed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe Sinhala families who lost family members killed by LTTE?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe families of the Sinhala armed forces\/police who sacrificed their lives on\nduty?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe Tamils who were victims of LTTE (includes all forcibly conscripted, killed\nfor refusing to obey LTTE orders)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe Tamil LTTE families whose LTTE child died during hostilities with armed\nforces?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe Muslim villagers who were attacked & killed by LTTE<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nthe Sinhala & Muslim families chased out of their homes in the North?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nevery victim of LTTE terror?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nevery victim who died as a result of collateral damage by bombings of armed\nforces?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it\nfor the politicians & elite to enjoy power & privileges?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\ndo victims want?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nthey\u2019ve lost a home \u2013 they would want a home to live in,<\/p>\n\n\n\n if\nthey\u2019ve lost the only person who was providing them food \u2013 they would want some\nmeans of livelihood to keep the family fed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If they\nhave children \u2013 they would want schooling, means of employment<\/p>\n\n\n\n In what\nmanner will devolving powers to politicians, giving land\/police powers etc\nsolve their predicament \u2013 have they even asked for any of these?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do the\nvictims know what self-determination is or heard the word devolution, <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why is\nno one catering to the simple things they want and ask and instead trying to\nwaste time and money on what they are not asking for? <\/p>\n\n\n\n So\nfor whom & for whose benefit are these big \u2018solutions\u2019 being thrown at\nevery international negotiation table?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Politicians\n<\/strong>be they Sinhala,\nTamil, Muslim want a \u2018solution\u2019 that will sustain their power and role as\npolitician, keep them in power & ensure that they are in control. They have\nno qualms about transferring power to opposition so long as periodically they\ncan sit in power. This game we have seen since 1948.<\/p>\n\n\n\n International\nplayers<\/strong> want\n\u2018solutions\u2019 that are within their periphery of control too. So when they speak\nabout mechanisms that are \u2018internationally acceptable\u2019 what they imply is they\nwant solutions where they can poke their nose in from time to time which\ngenerates & sustains their livelihoods too (to this international list of\nplayers we can plug \u2013 UN, INGOs, NGOs, local NGOs, civil society, rights\nactivists etc) foreign governments of course will insist on having a say either\nway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what\nwe need to understand is that all these delays in formulating \u2018solutions\u2019\nreally is to find something \u2018acceptable\u2019 to all of them and not the ordinary\npeople \u2013 something that satisfies their lust for comfy positions,\nglobe-trotting opportunities, enjoying perks of office, VVIP status etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So have any of the innocent victims,\nhad a say in any of these \u2018supposed to be fantastic solutions\u2019, were they the\none\u2019s that proposed these solutions, will these \u2018solutions\u2019 benefit them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No\ncitizen would ever ask to cut a country to pieces when it would mean they would\nhave to take permission to enter each newly created state. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No\ncitizen would want to divide an island. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Clearly\nall these divisions and devolutions and decentralizing proposals were not what\npeople wanted or asked for but what a handful of people devised so that they\ncould redistribute power among themselves and turn citizens into modern day\nslaves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We come\nback to the question which unfortunately remains unanswered<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 What\nis the National problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Who\ndetermines the national problem<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Who\ndecides the solution?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 for\nWhose benefit is the solution(s)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n While\nwe are solving what the National Problem is let us also think about what the\nConflict was all about <\/p>\n\n\n\n Was conflict\nbetween Sinhala people and Tamil people \u2013 NO <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nconflict was between a non-state armed group & the Sri Lankan Armed Forces\n& victims were Sinhalese, Muslims, Foreigners including Tamils. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So,\nthere is no way that the conflict can be termed \u2018ethnic\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who was\nthis armed group? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Well\nthere were several Tamil armed groups but LTTE emerged victor after killing the\nleaders of the other groups & scaring them off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So\nwhat did LTTE demand?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n LTTE\ndemanded what Tamil extremist leaders had been demanding since 1949 (Tamil\nstate party \u2013 ITAK) and 1976 (Vaddukoddai Resolution) seeking a separate Tamil\nstate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LTTE\npolitical arm was TNA formed in 2001 and after LTTE\u2019s ground force was\neliminated TNA took over the baton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So\nwhere do Tamil diaspora fit in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They are\nall-powerful propaganda lobby operating from western shores where they thrived\nduring LTTE rule via nefarious illegal and legal operations that gave LTTE\n$300m annual profits. With no maintenance cost for LTTE combatants, procurement\nof arms & ammunition etc that annual profit must now be far more and\nutilized for other influential purposes \u2013 retaining international lawyers, buying\ninternational personages to speak on their behalf are just some of the wonders\nthe LTTE international kitty has been able to afford. When all things budge for\nmoney, LTTE diaspora know when to throw what & strike bingo. LTTE Diaspora\nis certainly a formidable force because of its propaganda & its kitty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The underlying question and common aspect of all of the problems Sri Lanka suffers is that the issues come at every juncture Sri Lanka sees some positive growth in development & economy & gets dragged behind again. Why and who serves to always keep Sri Lanka in a bottleneck?<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was the Illanka Tamil Arasu Katchchi party that gave birth to the concept of a separate Tamil State in 1949 a year after Ceylon was given independence hardly valid grounds to claim \u2018discrimination\u2019 by Sinhalese since the island was under Western invader rule for 443 years since 1505. Since 1949 there have been various […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96017","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\/1498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWho says so? It is the same bandwagon of players who have created the problem\nand who wish to be part of the solution for it affords them opportunity to plug\n\u2018their solutions\u2019 which are not realistically speaking solutions that benefit\nSri Lanka or its people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n