{"id":96300,"date":"2019-12-12T01:11:24","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T07:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=96300"},"modified":"2019-12-11T17:53:24","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T00:53:24","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/12\/12\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-9\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The Tamil separatist movement was not prepared to take the Eelam war\ndefeat lying down. The war ended in May 2009. The very next year, TNA called for a day of mourning in May\n17.2010 the government objected but the commemoration took place. May 18 became\na day of tension in the North, said the media. May 18 is for them a stark\nreminder of all they have lost. The government was celebrating its victory, in\nColombo while prohibiting any public memorial services in the North.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\nYahapalana took power the Tamil Separatist Movement regained its confidence.\nYahapalana rule saw the rise of an assertive Tamil separatism in the Northern\nProvince. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In December 2015 the University of Jaffna put\nup black flags and posters which deified Prabhakaran and a call for Eelam.\nThere was a revival of the Pongu Thamil movement. This movement supported the\nnationhood of the Tamils, their right to self-determination and the framing of\nthe North and East regions of Sri Lanka as the Tamil homeland , said analysts. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nOctober 2016, the Tamil People\u2019s Council (TPC) staged a protest march and rally\ncampaign called the Eluga Thamil. \u2018Eluga Tamil\u2019 means ‘Rise Up Tamil’. the\nEzhuga Thamil rally called for the return of land, finding missing persons,\nrelease of those detained without trial, resettlement of displaced people and\ndemilitarization and restoration of full civilian rule.  It also had political demands.   They wanted a federal constitution, and the\nmerger of North and East into one large Tamil controlled province. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a very successful  \nprotest march and rally. Speakers  \nasked Tamil people to get on the streets and protest, because sending\nrepresentatives to legislative bodies will not win Tamil rights. The rally is\nestimated t have drawn the largest crowd after the war. An estimated 10 to\n15000 had attended. The rally was supported by the university and the civil\nsociety groups, This means that the intelligentsia of Jaffna were supporting\nthe rally, said Jehan Perera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

S.I.Keethaponcalan commented on the rally. The campaign was organized\nnot only to protest about the problems of the Tamil people, but also to kindle\nTamil nationalism. This is exactly what the slogan of Eluga Thamil means. It\nasks the Tamil people to rise up. Eluga Thamil type events, which are marked by\nnationalist fervor, could turn violent easily. They need only a minor incident,\nan ignition, executed by a Tamil nationalist sympathizer or a motivated\nopponent. The direction taken by the TPC is\nclear, said Keethaponcalan. It is towards radical politics, which could, in the\nlong run, turn violent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil Makkal Peravai Organisation held a hartal in 2017, demanding the\nmerger of the North and East, dismantling of security forces camps in the area\nand the right to information about their missing persons. The event was organized by Northern Province Chief\nMinister 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 students of Jaffna\nUniversity announced a plan to observe Sri Lanka\u2019s Independence Day on February\n4 2018 as a Black Day\u201d, reported the media. Since independence from Britain in\n1948 successive Sri Lankan governments have continually denied the Tamils\ntheir legitimate rights and heaped disabilities on them. Black Day will bring\nto the attention of the world the fact that since independence from the British\nin 1948 and even ten years after the end of the war in the island, successive\nSri Lankan governments have only discriminated against the Tamil people, and\nfailed to address their basic concerns, they said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black day was observed in\n2019.  The media reported that Led by the\nStudents Union of Jaffna University, large numbers of men and women in several\nmajor towns wore black armbands or headscarves and demonstrated in\npublic places demanding the release of lands occupied by the Sri Lankan army,\ninformation about the whereabouts of their missing kin, and justice to Tamils\nwho were subjected to war crimes\u201d by the Security Forces during the last phase\nof the war. Posters called upon the army to leave the Tamil lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Jaffna University campus,\nthe Sri Lankan national flag was brought down and a Black Flag was hoisted.\nformer Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V.Wigneswaran participated in\na protest at the Kandaswami Hindu temple in Kilinochchi. TNA did not support\nthe activity. TNA said that Sri Lanka\u2019s Independence Day could not be\nconsidered a Black Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffna University students had a major protest on March 2019, to\ncoincide with UNHRC session in Geneva. \nThey demand a hybrid court to investigate war crimes allegations against\nSri Lanka. Several vehicles carrying the replicas of \u2018war memorial\u2019 built at\nthe Jaffna University in memory of LTTE cadres paraded the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vijayakala Maheswaran, State Minister of Child\nAffairs, staged a protest of her own. In a speech delivered at the 8th\nPresidential Public Service programme titled \u2018Nila Mehewera for Northern\nProvince\u2019 held at the Veerasingham Hall in Jaffna on July 3,2018  Vijayakala Maheswaran  called for the return of the LTTE. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we realize from our bottom of our heart how proud we are to have\nlived under the times of LTTE prior to May 18, 2009. We must resurrect the LTTE in the North and East, if we\nwant to lead a peaceful life. If our school going children are to return home\nsafely, the hands of the LTTE should be strengthened. The LTTE must come back for us to live and to be\nfree,” she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffna applauded. There were posters in Jaffna in support of\nVijayakala. There was uproar in Parliament. National Sangha Council asked for\nher arrest. Protests against Vijayakala\u2019s statement in Galle, Biyagama, Ampara.\nSinhala Ravaya filed a case against her in Colombo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana government   ran to appease the separatists. I<\/strong>n 2015  it removed the proscriptions on 8 banned pro\nLTTE  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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana government released\n32 terrorists held under the PTA. a further 32 will also be released reported\nthe media in 2015. Top sea Tigress, Pakeerathy  \nwas discharged. She had fled to France in 2000.   dangerous LTTE cadres who were deemed by the\nprevious government to be impossible to rehabilitate, were released without trial\nby the present government, observed Chandraprema. it was pardoning and releasing hardcore LTTE cadres. In\n2016 the media reported that Yahapalana government had cleared more than 400\npeople with links to LTTE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016\na delegation of Sri Lanka ministers met the UK Tamil Diaspora in a public forum\nand responded to their concerns. The meeting was organization 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 Yahapalana took power, the\nNorthern Provincial Council became bold. \nIn April 2016 NPC 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There would also be an\nautonomous state for the estate Tamils. There would be Muslim majority\ndistricts as autonomous provinces within the state. Muslims opposed this. It is\nridiculous to make language the basis for a re-merger. Muslims have a distinct\nreligious and cultural identity. There was also a petition in Supreme Court\nagainst this resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A resolution demanding the UN Human Rights\nCouncil to establish a special court in Sri Lanka to probe allegations of war\ncrimes and human right violations in the North at the last stage of war on\nterrorism was also passed by the NPC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TNA was courted by the western countries\nduring Yahapalana rule. The list of foreign official who met the TNA leaders,\nSampanthan and Sumanthiran included, US House of Representatives Armed Services\nCommittee delegation, led by McClellen Thornberry, visiting US Assistant\nSecretary of State, Ambassador Alice Wells  \nvisiting United States member of Congress F. James Sensenbrenner and His\nChief of Staff Matt Bisenius and Rodney Frelinghuysen Chairman, House\nAppropriations Committee and Rep. Henry Cuellar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From UK\ncameMinister of State for Asia and\nPacific Mark Field   and Members of\nWestminster Foundation for Democracy.   A delegation\nfrom the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, including the\nStanding Rapporteur for South Asia, the visiting Belgium-Sri Lanka\nParliamentary Friendship Group, the visiting Norwegian State Secretary for\nDevelopment Cooperation   and a senior\nJapanese diplomat and United Nations administrator Yasushi Akashi also met the\npair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TNA leaders Sumanthiran and Sampanthan spent the full Yahapalana\nperiod, (2015-2019) telling fancy stories to these gullible visitors. There was\na glorious return to the old Tamil Separatist arguments. They said the Tamils\nare separate nation, the Tamils have a homeland comprising of the northern and\neastern provinces and they are entitled to the right of self-determination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Colonial subjugation, there were Sinhala and Tamil Kingdoms in\nthe Country, which were captured by different Colonial powers, differently, and\nat different times. These different territories were unified together in 1833\nunder British Colonial Rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TNA wanted a merger of North and East provinces\nciting \u2018the two provinces largely represent Tamil majority\u2019. They wanted a new\nconstitution. The 1972 Constitution was framed by one of the two major Sinhala\npolitical parties without the consent of the Tamils. So was the 1978\nconstitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil people in this country are hurt and offended that they are\nalways being treated as second-class citizens. We have been insulted and\nhumiliated. “We cannot go on like this Sampanthan said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamils were subjected to physical violence whenever they made just\npolitical demands .This happened for several decades. The result was armed\nrevolt by Tamil Youth for almost three decades .This was a classic instance, in\nwhich the Bullet filled the void created by failure in the process of the\nBallot, said Sampanthan. Sampanthan is justifying LTTE terrorism, said critics.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a veiled threat. if Sri Lanka\u2019s leaders failed to negotiate\nwith all the people to evolve an acceptable political solution, <\/strong>We will not hesitate to do what we\nmust to get a just solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The international community must ensure that the\npromises and the commitments given by the Sri Lankan government are adhered to\nand implemented. The international community cannot be a spectator anymore with\nregard to Sri Lanka, said the TNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People in many areas in North and East are staging protests over land,\npersons in custody and on the issue of missing persons. “These are matters\nthat are of concern to our people and we want the international community to\nplay an important role in finding solutions to these issues”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International community must ensure that the promises and the\ncommitments given by the Sri Lankan Government are adhered to and implemented.\nThe International community cannot be a spectator anymore with regard to Sri\nLanka. The international community must clearly state their position and ensure\nthe non-recurrence of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Minister Wigneswaran agreed. “The international community\nhas a responsibility to protect the Tamil people, he said.” Wigneswaran\nhad his own take on the Tamil issue. The Tamils of North and East of Sri\nLanka do not consider themselves as minorities, Wigneswaran said. They consider\nthemselves as the majority. They have been in the North Eastern Province for\nmore than 2000 years.  It is\nin the last 100 years that intrusions and incursions have been made\ninto the terrain of the Tamil speaking by people from elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Sinhalese forget that the Tamils of the\nNorth and East occupied our Island even before the birth of Buddha.  The\nSinhalese have another wrong perception that Sri Lanka is the land of the\nSinhalese. Long before the Sinhalese language was born out of Pali, Tamil\nand indigenous dialects, the Tamil Dravidians have been\noccupying this land for centuries.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dayan Jayatilaka wanted to know, how come the\nSinhalese, the much \u2018later\u2019 inhabitants, were settled in the best and largest\npart of the island while the original ones were not? Why were these so-called\noriginal (Tamil) inhabitants stuck in the least arable, most inhospitable part\nof the island instead of strolling down to the rivers and the lush vegetation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, If the Tamils were the inhabitants of the\nisland before the Buddha was born and the Sinhala language arose, where did\nthose Tamils come from? And if they came from across the water, then It is that\ngroup who are entitled to the status of original inhabitants and owners,\nconcluded Dayan.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bodu\nBala Sena and Sinhala Ravaya wanted legal action taken against Wiggie\u201d and\nSampanthan on their recent statements.  A\ncomplaint was lodged with the police, saying they have breached the provisions\nof the Constitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is\na highly significant degree of aggression and hostility among the Tamils in\nJaffna. Here are three instances. Television news showed villagers in\nKilinochchi killing a single leopard with mammoties, sticks, and knives. They\nkept on attacking long after it was dead. (Derana news 21.6.18) A  fight over cinema tickets at a cinema hall in\nVavuniya, extended on to  the main  road. Television cameras showed youths\nhitting each other, with great violence.(Derana news 12.1.19)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twelve Sri Lanka Navy personnel were injured following\na clash with illegal sand miners in, Kinniya. Four among the injured were\ncritically injured. Muttur Police arrived at the scene and called for more\npolice reinforcements from Sampur and China Bay stations to control the\nsituation. A group of soldiers also came to the scene. Navy personnel fired in\nthe air to disperse an unruly crowd of about 500 people who had gathered there\nto protect the sand miners and protest against the Navy presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was hostility abroad too.\nIn September 2016, Chief priest of Malaysian Buddhist temple, Sentul,  in Malaysia,  was assaulted by members of the Malaysian\nTamilan Association and other groups when they heard that Mahinda Rajapaksa was\nto visit there.  They had abused the\npriest with vulgarities and then hit him. \nThey punched him in the face and also kicked him. The group had gathered\nat the temple as they wanted to give a stern warning to all Buddhist temples\nnot to allow the mass murderer Mahinda Rajapaksa here. They said they would keep\nvigil to make sure that Mahinda Rajapaksa did not enter the temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was belligerence of another sort at the\nUNHRC meeting of March 2018 in Geneva. The Tamil Separatist Movement was\nchallenged by a team led by Nalaka Godahewa and Sarath Weerasekera. Unable\nto   answer, the representative of the\nTamil Separatist Movement got ready to assault them. They were led away. The\nSinhala team observed,\u201d You are leaving the meeting that you yourselves\norganized.\u201d(https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-8Qf_yMu4O8.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was defiance too. S. Pathmanapan, a Central\nBank employee, who was summoned by the Presidential Commission of inquiry\nprobing bond scam, to record a statement, has complained to the Supreme Court\nthat he was aggressively questioned by some officials of the Attorney General\u2019s\nDepartment, assisting the commission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has said that he was taken to\nthe Chamber of Dappula de Livera, Senior Additional Solicitor General, who\nquestioned him. Later, he was questioned by senior Deputy Solicitor General,\nMilinda Goonetillake. The questioning was aggressive. He was questioned in an\narbitrary, unreasonable manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The petitioner requested Supreme\nCourt to prevent the Attorney General\u2019s Department from taking action against\nhim. Among the respondents are seven officials of the Attorney General\u2019s\nDepartment, the present Governor of the Central Bank, some members of the\nMonetary Board and the members of the commission. The first respondent is de\nLivera. (continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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, […]<\/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-96300","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\/96300","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=96300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}