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"NOTWITHSTANDING THE DIVIDING SEA…" Mahaveera, Mumbai & the Madrasi Mad Max modeH.E. Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Sri Lanka's Ambassador & Permanent Representative to the UN Geneva Courtesy Daily MirrorThough there was much tut-tutting by the so-called peace lobby in Colombo,
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga never spoke a truer word
than when she described Velupillai Prabhakaran as a megalomaniac. The
man is quite plainly mad, as evidenced by this claim early on in his
Mahaveera speech this year: "
the sacrifices they made have
no parallel in the history of the world. No country but ours had at
any time encountered such wonderful dedication as expressed in the actions
of our valiant heroes." So, from the 300 Spartans under Leonidas who, according to Herodotus,
held off a one and a half million strong Persian army at Thermopylae,
to the Soviet defenders at Stalingrad who broke the back of the Nazi
army; from the Vietnamese who defeated the world's greatest military
power to the Hezbollah of Southern Lebanon who twice made the Israelis
retreat from Lebanese soil (the Israelis held a commission of inquiry
on the debacle of the 2006 war), the sacrifices, dedication and heroism
of fighters in all of "the history of the world" no less,
pale by comparison with Prabhakaran's Tigers, who it might be noted,
have diminishing control over two districts (and not all of them) after
over thirty years of war. Yep, its time to exchange the flak jacket
for the straitjacket. Prabhakaran seems to derive his hubris at least in part from his achievement
against the IPKF. He keeps referring to "happenings in the past"
where they faced "forces much mightier than ours
superior
forces". What he does not seem to comprehend is that the IPKF was
not motivated to fight him to a finish, it received mixed signals from
its political masters, it had limitations in the kind of firepower it
could dispose of, it had social hostility in its rear, and above all
it had somewhere else to go back home to. None of these conditions apply
to the Sri Lankan armed forces. Indeed their opposites do. What is new about Prabhakaran's Mahaveera message this year is the
attempt to trigger a new cycle of mega violence against Sri Lanka by
young Tamils in Tamil Nadu and overseas. It is the Mumbai model of "jihadi"
type violence; the script of a million Madrasi Mad Maxes. We have already been the target of two, three, many Mumbais, one may
argue in truth. From old woman pilgrims in Anuradhapura, to boy bhikkhus
in Arantalawa, from pedestrians in Maradana to commuters on trains in
Dehiwela, from women employees in the Central Bank to suburban shoppers
and passengers on buses, Sri Lankans of all ethnicities have been the
victims of Tiger terrorism. So what is new, one may ask. What is new is that Prabhakaran's pitch
is clear, unequivocal, martial and Pan Tamilian. He hopes to whip up
support for the cause of Tamil Eelam and hatred against Sri Lanka and
Sinhalese among Tamils, especially young Tamils the world over. Consider
his words carefully: "
We are conducting this struggle with the unrelenting support
of the Tamil people, the world over
Today, there are great changes taking place in India. The dormant
voices in support of our struggle are re-emerging aloud again. There
are also indications of our struggle becoming accepted there. The positive
change in environment gives us courage to seek renewal of our relationship
with the Indian super power
Not withstanding the dividing sea, Tamil Nadu, with its perfect
understanding of our plight, has taken heart to rise on behalf of our
people at this hour of need. This timely intervention has gratified
the people of Tamil Eelam and our freedom movement and given us a sense
of relief. I wish to express my love and gratitude at this juncture
to the people and leaders of Tamil Nadu and the leaders of India for
the voice of support and love they have extended. I would cordially
request them to raise their voice firmly in favour of our struggle for
a Tamil Eelam state...
At this historic juncture, I would request Tamils, in whatever
part of the world that they may live in to raise their voices, firmly
and with determination, in support of the freedom struggle of their
brothers and sisters in Tamil Eelam. I would request them from my heart
to strengthen the hands of our freedom movement and continue to extend
their contributions and help. I would also take this opportunity to
express my affection and my praise to our Tamil youth living outside
our homeland for the prominent and committed role they play in actively
contributing towards the liberation of our nation
" This is structurally similar to the call for "jihad" that
emanates from those fanatical preachers and ideologues who managed to
motivate the young men who perpetrated the massacres in Mumbai. There
is great similarity between Prabhakaran's discourse and the words of
"Imran", one of the Mumbai terrorists speaking to Indian TV
while under siege, who justified his depredations by an incantatory
narrative about the sufferings of Muslims, especially in Gujarat and
Kashmir. This has to be supplemented by political measures. That is not because
terrorism can be prevented or appeased by autonomy however generous
that autonomy may be. Colombo's coffee club cosmopolitans are wrong
in this too. Take the case of Indian Kashmir. Not only is India a federal
or quasi federal state, it is also secular and democratic. Furthermore,
Kashmir enjoys "special status" within the Indian Union. That
has not deterred terrorism including cross border terrorism in Kashmir.
There are even Chechen and Afghan terrorist fighters who regard Kashmir
as a cause and carry out violent acts in that province. Nor has autonomy ended secessionism: the recent forceful protests in
Indian held Kashmir resulted in numerous deaths from police shootings
while the elections were held with many secessionist political leaders
in custody. India's exemplary secularism and federalism has not eliminated
secessionist terrorism in the Northeast either. Just weeks ago there
were coordinated bombings in Guwahati. Why then bother with autonomy? Simple: there are 2 billion Indians who will always outnumber the mass base of the terrorists. However there are 80 million Tamils and only 18 million Sinhalese. Therefore the Sinhalese need the support of the anti-Tiger Tamils. They also need to increase the numbers of anti-Tiger, anti-terrorist Tamils. They need to counter the attraction of separatism and terrorism for young Tamils, incorporating and integrating them as fully fledged Sri Lankan citizens. This requires the creation of an authentically Sri Lankan identity, in which Sri Lanka has a broader connotation than a thin disguise and mere synonym for Sinhala-Buddhist or Sinhala. That requires the elimination of all discrimination and the implementation of genuine regional/provincial autonomy. Furthermore, Sri Lanka, a small country, needs the support of India
and the international community, without which it cannot handle Pan-Tamil
terrorism which will have its sources and origins in the territories
of other states. In the first instance the pre-emption of Pan Tamil
terrorism requires the active support of India (the Central govt, other
states and moderates in Tamil nadu). It can only be handled jointly.
This requires substantive autonomy as an urgent strategic and security
imperative. |
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