http://vavuniya.org/ Vavuniya News Media Organization en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://vavuniya.org//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://vavuniya.org/ http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=84 Thousands of wounded are still crying out for help. They are bleeding to death on the streets. They have touched neither water nor food for days. Nobody has come to rescue them. Those who fight for the rights of the animals and those who preach about Buddha and Mahatma have no compassion for the dying Tamils. 

Chinese weapons, Indian intelligence, Sinhala Armed personals and racist Sri Lankan leaders came together to perform one of the most cruel war that has cost the lives of many thousands innocents.

While thousands of innocent children and women are facing painful and slow death, Sinhala Buddhist extremists are celebrating victory with flags and fire crackers in the south of the country.

War that was started with hidden agendas of local and international forces, went on for months not just with the strength of the weapons but with well organised false propaganda done by the Sri Lankan officials. 
This war was orchestrated and staged with lies and deceptions from the beginning till the end.

Sri Lankan leaders are still vomiting out worms of lies
Rulers of Sri Lanka are continuing to vomit out worms of lies to justify their atrocities against innocent lives. They started with “War on Terror” but changed the buzz word to “Humanitarian Operation” in order to deceive the international community. “War on Terror” was an accepted norm during the Bush era but lost it's validity now. Therefore they had changed the name of the game to “Humanitarian operation”
Why do they lie?

Because they have many hidden agendas behind this dirty war. They want to hide the atrocities that are being committed against innocent civilians. They themselves know, what they are doing is wrong and not acceptable in a civilised world. 
Above everything they want to protect India who are orchestrating the war in Sri Lanka. Indian intelligent agents and military experts are working closely with the Sri Lankan forces in the war zone.
How do they manage to lie?

They simply hide the truth. When the truth is hidden what comes out is lie. 
Foreign journalists and aid workers are barred from the war zone and IDP camps. Those who try to enter and report about the war, are kicked out of the country if they are critical of the government.

Local journalists are intimidated, tortured and sometime killed. Telling the truth is considered a crime in Sri Lanka.
Phone lines are tapped. Web sites are blocked. Anybody who talk against the government is considered as Terrorist or Terrorist supporter.
In the war front, dead bodies of the civilians are burned to ashes using powerful chemicals. This is to hide the number of innocent civilians that have perished in the war.

Sri Lankan government officials very often organise staged visits to the IDP camps and force the refugees to lie to the foreign diplomats.
What did they lie about?

They lied about the objective of the war, weapons used, number of civilian causalities and military operations.
Although they initially claimed that the objective of the war was to defeat the LTTE, they have in fact killed and wounded several thousands of innocent Tamil civilians with heavy weapons. They used chemical weapons and cluster bombs on innocents, but they continue to deny the usage of such weapons.
Sri Lankan forces have destroyed Schools, hospitals and farm lands and made the whole place into a graveyard for the Tamils. This is also regularly denied by the Sri Lankan authorities.

This war has claimed more than fifty thousands lives just within the last few months but the Sri Lankan government is not going to open their mouth and tell this truth to the world. Why didn't the UN intervene?

United Nations, who is supposed to be a guardian for the oppressed people in the world turned out to be a silent spectator of a man made disaster that has taken the lives of many thousands.
There is a conspiracy behind this whole war game. China was initially blocking every attempt that was made by UK and France to discuss the Sri Lankan issue in the Security Council.

Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar was sent to Sri Lanka to organise a cease fire. He failed to secure a ceasefire and returned back after meeting the Sri Lankan and Indian officials.
Interestingly Vijay Nambiar couldn't achieve anything constructive in his visit and he had also refused to meet the reporters.
This `unbiased` negotiator, who appears to actually be on the payroll of the Sri Lankan government, though indirectly, something that is obviously known to the United Nations. Vijay Nambiar`s brother (Satish Nambiar) is a paid consultant for the Sri Lankan army, and has been since 2002. Is there any link between the UN and the Sri Lankan army`s paid consultant? 

UN has once again proved to the world that it is no longer a trust worthy international body that can protect the vulnerable. 
They have all achieved what they wanted 
What we are witnessing in Sri Lanka is neither “war on terror” nor a Humanitarian operation. This is simply a racist war against the Tamils conducted with the help of India and China. You wouldn't shoot at the passengers and bomb the whole bus, if you had to rescue the hostages. 
Sinhala extremists are already celebrating and they have also started to intimidate Tamils in the South of the country.
India and China have started to work on their hidden agendas in Sri Lanka.
Tamils all over the world are mourning the death of their loved ones back home. 
What Next?

When the rocket scientists designed highly complex derivatives and greedy traders traded these new emperors cloths, many investment banks collapsed. Pension funds lost money. Bankers committed suicide.
The whole financial disaster was caused by greedy and selfish individuals who had short term hidden agendas.
We took action. Greedy bankers and traders were taken to courts. New rules and regulations are now in place to prevent this happening again.
In the same way, the masters of this war in Sri Lanka should be brought to justice.
Sinhala government with racist agendas , China and India with their strategic interests and UN with corrupt officers are the evil ingredients of this dirty war that has cost the lives of many thousands innocent Tamils.
Leaders of Sri Lanka and some responsible officers in the UN, should be questioned in international courts in order to find out if they were responsible for the deaths of innocent Tamils.

If we didn't, we would end up seeing more of such evil games repeated over and over again.

Richard Dixon
London, UK
Voice for the Voiceless
RichardDixons@googlemail.com
Source link
]]> Articles http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=84 Thu, 21 May 2009 01:09:53 +0100 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=75
Full text of the statement issued by the British High Commission on behalf of the European Union, follows:

"The European Union condemns yesterday's terrorist attacks in Colombo and deplores the deliberate targeting of civilians. These callous attacks can have no political justification and serve only to add to the suffering and grief of ordinary Sri Lankans. We extend our condolences to the victims and their families and friends.

The EU remains gravely concerned about the welfare of civilians caught up in the Sri Lanka's conflict - in the Wanni, in Colombo or wherever. It expects the parties to take the utmost care to avoid civilian casualties in accordance with international humanitarian law.”

The EU called Colombo attacks a "terrorist attacks", and extended their condolences to the victims of Colombo attack in which 17 people were killed, but a day earlier 24 people were killed by Sri Lankan Air Force and Sri Lankan military in Kilinochchi, but they didn't want to offer any condolences or call it a "state terrorist attacks".

]]> World News http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=75 Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:37:39 +0000 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=73 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemns suicide attacks in Sri Lanka.

Ban Ki-moon has voiced outrage at today’s (November 28, 2007) twin suicide attacks in the Sri Lankan capital, which have killed or wounded dozens of people, and yesterday’s aerial assault on a United Nations aid office in the far north of the troubled country.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban condemned the attacks in Colombo, which occurred outside the Ministry of Social Services building and in the Nugegoda district, and offered his condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

Media reports state that at least 16 people were killed in the Nugegoda blast and 37 others were injured, while one person was killed and two others hurt in the earlier bombing at the ministry building.

The statement from Mr. Ban’s spokesperson noted that he was also concerned about yesterday’s aerial attack in the town of Kilinochchi in which the office of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was damaged.

Honourable Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon didn't realize that a day earlier on (November 27, 2007) there were two attacks in Killinochchi in which more than 24 people including 11 school children were killed by the Sri Lankan military. Mr. Ban Ki-moon knew there was an aerial attack in Kilinochchi by the Sri Lankan Air Force and the UN World Food Programme office was damaged in the attack, and concerned about it, but he didn't know or care that 24 people were also killed by the aerial attacks and DPU of Sri Lankan military. Mr. Ban Ki-moon didn't offer his condolences to the families and friends of the victims of Kilinochchi as he did for Colombo.

“The Secretary-General appeals for an end to the destructive spiral of violence in Sri Lanka and calls on the parties to the conflict [Government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)] to return to the peace process while making every effort to ensure the protection of civilians,” the statement said.

Vavuniya News Media strongly condemn the UN secretary-General's one side approach in the Sri Lankan Conflict.]]> World News http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=73 Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:01:05 +0000 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=67
Drawing the attention of the international community to this long history of deception by the chauvinistic Sinhala State, the Tamil national leader said that the confidence of the Tamil people on the international community has been eroded by their one-sided approach. He pointed out that nations like East Timor and Montenegro broke free of their subjugation and gained their freedom with the help and support of the international community. He added that the actions of the international community with respect to the Tamil national question are unjust and said that Tamil people hoped that the international community would change their biased approach and recognize the sovereignty of the Tamil nation.

The LTTE leader called on the global Tamil community to support the Tamil Eelam freedom struggle. “I wish to express my love and gratitude to you for your past participation in the building of our nation, bringing together your abundant intellectual, material, monetary and many other resources in the service of our nation and ask that you stand with us in the coming years of our freedom struggle,” he said.


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The full text of the official translation of his speech follows:

The 21st century began as the ‘Asian century’ and the world is looking towards Asia. Many countries in our region have grown in leaps and bounds in social, economical and scientific fields. They are researching space, moon and atom. The whole human race is taking up new challenges and has embarked on a united path, seeking answers to many of nature’s mysteries and looking for remedies to incurable diseases. It is seeking to protect the entire globe and its plant and animal lives. Sadly, the Sinhala nation is moving in exactly the opposite direction, on a path of destruction. It is trying to destroy the Tamil nation and, in the process, it is destroying itself. This beautiful island continues to soak in blood.

Buddhism is a profound spiritual duty. Its philosophy emphasizes a life without desires, a life of love and justice. The Sinhala nation, claiming that it has followed this path for more than two thousand years, has in fact remained immersed in the poison of racism. It is unleashing unthinkable violence against another people. During the long history of the Tamil struggle, first through non-violence and later through armed struggle, the Sinhala mindset has remained unchanged. The Sinhala nation did not change even after so much destruction and lost lives. It continues on the path of violence. It only desires to find a solution to the Tamil question through military might and oppression. It cunningly evaded efforts to seek peace and is boldly taking forward its military plan. The international community’s economic and military aid, its moral and political support, its diplomatic efforts, and its one-sided involvement directly aided this turn of events.


We know very well that the military, economic and geo-political interests of the world’s powers are embedded in our region. We understand their concern to take forward their interests. We also recognize the concerns of the international community to bring about stability and good governance to this island for these reasons. At the same time the chauvinistic Sinhala State is attempting to exploit this interest in our region of the international powers. It is trapping the international community in its chauvinistic project and turning the international community against the Tamil freedom struggle. Our people are dismayed and disappointed that these countries, trapped in the deceptive net of the Sinhala State, are being unhelpful in their involvement to resolve our problem. These one-sided involvements of foreign powers are not new in our prolonged struggle. India intervened in our national question then as part of its regional expansion. India signed an accord with the Sinhala State without the consent of the Tamils. The Indo-Lanka Accord was not signed to meet the aspirations of the people of Tamil Eelam. In fact, India then attempted to force an ineffectual solution on our people - a solution which did not even devolve powers to the extent of the Banda-Chelva pact signed in the 1950’s. India tried to enforce that accord with the strength of more than 100,000 Indian forces, with the power of the agreement between two countries and with the assistance of treacherous Tamil paramilitary groups. However, even this ill-considered solution, which did not even address the basic national aspirations of the Tamils, was blocked by the chauvinistic Sinhala State.

We are intimately familiar with the Sinhala State and its deceptive politics. Our people have a long history of bitter experiences. That is why we explained to India on many occasions, at many locations and at many levels about the implacability of Sinhala chauvinism. We explained to India then that the aim of the Sinhala State was not to find a solution to the Tamil question and bring peace; but to occupy the Tamil homeland, destroy its resources, and enslave the Tamil nation. India refused to accept this reality. As a result our land witnessed great sorrow and destruction.


Today, the international community is making the same mistake that India made many years ago. Even the countries that are the guardians of the peace efforts succumbed to the deception of the Sinhala State and listed our freedom movement as a terrorist organization. What we find most incomprehensible is the fact that these same nations, which labeled us terrorists, not so long ago fought in defence of their own freedom.

The Sinhala nation is unable to stomach the support of our Diaspora for the Tamil freedom struggle; it is unable to accept the humanitarian help and the political lobbying by the Diaspora to end the misery heaped on our people. That is why the Sinhala nation is trying hard to shatter the bond between our people in our homeland and our Diaspora. Some countries are also assisting this amoral effort of Sinhala chauvinism. These countries are denouncing, as illegal activities, the humanitarian actions and political protests of our people abroad – actions that are carried out according to the laws of those countries. These countries have imprisoned and humiliated Tamil campaigners and representatives. These countries have ridiculed their protests and their efforts to seek justice.

This partisan and unjust conduct of the international community has severely undermined the confidence our people had in them. And it has paved the way for the breakdown of the ceasefire and the peace efforts. Furthermore, the generous military and economic aid they have given to the Sinhala State and their diplomatic efforts to prop up the chauvinistic Sinhala State has encouraged the Sinhala nation further and further along its militaristic path. This is the background to the confidence of the Rajapake regime in continuing with its unjust, inhuman war of occupation of our land.

Overconfident of its military victory over the Tamil freedom movement, the Rajapakse regime has shut fast the door for peace. The desire to oppress the Tamils has intensified as never before. With the entire world giving support, the Sinhala State, using the ceasefire as cover, and exploiting the peace environment, prepared its war of occupation. The SLMM that was monitoring the peace covered its eyes, tied its hands behind back, and went to sleep in Colombo. The exhausted Norwegian facilitators remained silent. The countries that preached peace to us also went silent and refused to speak out. The Sinhala State started its war and justified it with slogans like ‘War for Peace’, ‘War against terrorism’ and ‘War for the liberation of the Tamils’.

The Rajapakse regime assembled its military might and let loose a massive war on the eastern region of our homeland. This part of our homeland became a wasteland after incessant bombing and shelling. Trincomalee, the famous Tamil capital, was destroyed. Batticaloa, an ancient cultural city of the Tamils, became a land of refugees. Jaffna, the cultural centre of the Tamils, was cut off from the rest of the world and turned into an open prison.

The Sinhala State’s war of genocide destroyed the peaceful life of the Tamils. It turned the Tamils into refugees in their own homeland, ruined their nation’s social and economical infrastructure and plunged them into unprecedented hardships. While our motherland, caught within gruesome Sinhala military rule, is destroyed, Sinhalisation of our historic territory is going on under the pretexts of High Security Zones and Free Trade Zones. This naked Sinhalisation proceeds by the hoisting of Lion flags, the erection of Sidharthan statues, the renaming of Tamil streets with Sinhala names, the building of Buddhist temples. Sinhala settlements are mushrooming in the Tamil homeland.

The unjust war, the economic blockade, the restrictions on our people’s freedom of movement, the killing of thousands, the displacement of hundreds of thousands, have all deeply wounded the Tamil psyche. The Sinhala nation is celebrating this tragedy as a victory. It is lighting firecrackers believing it has defeated the Tamils. The Sinhala military leadership believes that its occupation of the east has been completed and the barbed wire noose around the neck of Jaffna has been tightened. The Sinhala nation arrogantly believes it has manacled the eastern coast from Pothuvil to Pulmoddai. The Sinhala leadership thus believes it has won great victories against our struggle.

The Sinhala nation has always misunderstood our freedom struggle. It consistently underestimates us. Only after carefully scrutinising the global situation and external conditions; only after accurately estimating the strengths and weaknesses of the adversary; only after gauging the enemy’s goals and strategies; only after ensuring that we remain focused on our own strategy; only then did we implement our plans to take our liberation struggle forward. We have strategically withdrawn from the east while launching defensive attacks. The Sinhala nation could have learnt the dangers of putting its feet too wide apart in our land as it did during past battles. But the Sinhala military has fallen yet again into the net we spread and it is now forced to commit large numbers of troops to rule land without people. Caught in a territorial trap, it will soon be forced to face the serious consequences of its misguided ambitions.

Operation ‘Ellalan’, the very first combined Black Tiger and Tamil Eelam Air Force attack was a massive blow to the Sinhala military. It has disrupted the daydreams of the Sinhala nation. The Sinhala nation has not emerged from this massive shock delivered by our beloved fighters. The immeasurable dedication and sacrifice of our Heroes is delivering a message to the Sinhala nation. Those who plan to destroy the Tamil nation will in the end be forced to face their own destruction.

The Rajapakse regime is never going to realize that the Tamil national question cannot be resolved by military oppression. The Sinhala leadership is not going to shed its desire for military supremacy or the Sinhalisation of the Tamil homeland. The Rajapakse regime is working hard to import more and more destructive weapons from all over the world without care for the cost. Therefore, it is not going to give up its war of genocide.

The All Party Representative Committee was appointed by the Rajapakse regime to spread a smokescreen over the misery that its military adventures are creating in the Tamil homeland and to deceive other governments to get their aid and support. We clearly predicted this would happen one year ago. We have been proved right. After dragging on without putting forward any solution, the committee has gone on holiday.

The past sixty years have proven beyond any doubt that no political party in the South has the political honesty or firmness in policy to find a just solution to the Tamil national question. It has been also proved beyond any doubt that none of the Southern parties are ready to accept the core principles for a lasting peace: the Tamil homeland, the Tamil nation and the Tamil Right to self determination. The ruling party is adamant on unitary rule; the red and yellow parties are calling for no solution at all; and the main opposition party, somersaulting from its earlier position, is, on the one hand, saying nothing concrete and using evasive language to support the military actions of the government and, on the other hand, saying it supports peace efforts. All this clearly clarifies our point and proves beyond doubt that all the Sinhala political parties are essentially chauvinistic and anti-Tamil. To expect a political solution from any of these southern parties is political naivety.

The Sinhala nation showed eagerness in the peace talks only when we shattered their ‘Operation Fireball’ military action and made them realize that the Tigers cannot be defeated. It was only when we proved our military prowess and only when we were militarily in a position of strength that the Sinhala nation signed the ceasefire agreement. Now, with abundant monetary and military aid from several countries, it has rehabilitated its destroyed military and has prepared itself for war again. It is yet again walking the military path having abandoned the peace path.

The Rajapakse regime, after unilaterally abrogating the ceasefire agreement, is ruthlessly implementing its military plan to remove the contiguity of the Tamil homeland. It has killed and disappeared thousands of our people. It reprimands and controls the Norwegian facilitators. It vehemently criticizes the SLMM. It even dares to brand senior UN officials as terrorists in order to hide its own terrorism. It is obscuring the ground reality in the Tamil homeland by striking fear among journalists and NGO workers.

The world’s powers, even while taking forward their own geo-political interests, respect human rights and democratic institutions. Be it this universe, human affairs or international relationships, they all revolve on the wheel of justice. That is why nations like East Timor and Montenegro broke free of their subjugation and gained their freedom with the help and support of the international community. Even now, the international community continues to work for the freedom of nations like Kosovo.

Yet the actions of the international community with respect to our own national question are unjust. The confidence our people placed in the international community has been eroded. By only paying lip-service to peace the international community has contributed to the killing of an extraordinary son of our nation, Tamilselvan. It has stopped the heartbeat of a light that walked the path of peace. I will be lighting the lamp for my dear brother, Tamilselvan, who until last year was with me every time we, with a burning desire to reach our goal, lit the lamps for our fallen Heroes. The international community has made the entire Tamil world drown in its tears. Had the international community firmly and unambiguously condemned the anti-peace activities and the war mongering of the Sinhala regime, Tamilselvan would be alive today. A huge blow would not have fallen on peace efforts.

The Co-chairs, acting as the guardians of the peace process, have failed in their responsibility. If the Co-chairs do not have a moral obligation to protect peace efforts, what exactly is the purpose of their meeting from time to time in different places? Is it their intent to assist the Sinhala regime to wipe out the Tamils? Questions like these have arisen in the minds of our people. Our people firmly expect that at least from now on the international community will take a new approach in relation to our freedom struggle. On this sacred day it is the hope of our people that the international community will cease giving military and economic aid to the Sinhala regime and accept the right to self determination and the sovereignty of the Tamil nation.

My beloved people,

We are an ancient people with special qualities. We have a unique national identity and national foundation. We have been struggling non-violently and by armed struggle for a very long time against national oppression. We are not terrorists, committing blind acts of violence impelled by racist or religious fanaticism. Our struggle has a concrete, legitimate, political objective. We are struggling only to regain our sovereignty in our own historical land where we have lived for centuries, the sovereignty which we lost to colonial occupiers. We are struggling only to reestablish that sovereignty and rebuild our nation. The Sinhala nation is continuing to reject our just and civilized demands for freedom. Instead, it has declared a genocidal war on our land and our people. Behind the smokescreen of fighting terrorism, it is creating immense human misery.

Despite our people enduring injustice and oppression, facing death, destruction and massive displacement, no country, no nation, no international organization has raised its voice on our behalf. We face this situation alone because, although 80 million Tamils live all around the globe, the Tamils do not have a country of their own.

On this day, when we remember our Heroes, I ask the entire Tamil speaking world to rise up for the liberation of Tamil Eelam. I wish to express my love and gratitude to you for your past participation in the building of our nation, bringing together your abundant intellectual, material, monetary and many other resources in the service of our nation and ask that you stand with us in the coming years of our freedom struggle.

Thousands of our fighters are standing ready to fight with determination for our just goal of freedom and we will overcome the hurdles before us and liberate our motherland. On this day when we remember our Heroes who sacrificed themselves for this sacred goal, let each one of us carry their dream in our hearts and struggle until it is achieved.

]]> Articles http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=67 Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:48:00 +0000 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=60 It is not a secret that ever since the beginning of the liberation struggle of the Tamils of Sri Lanka, a small but influential group of individuals worked against it in India. People from opinion making sections of the society, i.e., journalists, professors, diplomats, former diplomats, bureaucrats, and officers of the armed and intelligence services were in this group. They were the main advisors of the government. Their words carried more weight than the public opinion.

It is an interesting irony that the members of this group predominantly come from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the immediate neighbours of Eelam / Sri Lanka. And, they come from certain powerful elite communities that have considerable influence in shaping India’s foreign policy. There is another section of them, who harbour a grudge, especially against the LTTE, resulting from their failures in handling it earlier.

In their opinion, the militant Tamil nationalism of Sri Lanka is a serious security threat to India. Even if the Sinhalese come forward to concede Eelam, these sections of opinion makers in India would sabotage it. For them, more than the national security of India, it is a question of emotional security of their own communities and for some of them it is gratification of wounded ego.

Perhaps a century old sociopolitical equations of Tamil Nadu and Kerala lie behind the biased attitude of this section of the high priests of Indian security. The way the Dravidian movement developed, especially during mid 20th century, it is always viewed as a threat to the existence and supremacy of certain sections of the elite of Tamil Nadu. The movment is a matter of contempt for competing ethnolinguistic formations who have to compete with Tamils for their opportunities within India and outside.

Unfortunately, the liberation struggle of the Tamils of Sri Lanka against oppression and genocide, which could find genuine and steadfast sympathy only from the Dravidian elements of Tamil Nadu, came to be viewed by the biased sections as a manifestation of what they perceived as the 'Dravidian monster'. It was projected in that way to the rest of India and was endorsed by the government. The sectarian security concern became a general security concern.

For more than a quarter century, the members of the said elite group took a personal interest in weakening the struggle of the Sri Lankan Tamils. They were passionately opposed to Tamil militancy but were blind to State terrorism, which forced the Sri Lankan Tamils to take up arms. There were intellectuals who worked to create a wedge between the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Upcountry Tamils. Prominent journalists actively participated in exploiting breakaway militants to pave way to the division of the Tamil homeland of North and East.

The Sri Lankan government and other governments interested in South Asia made the best use of this group. Some of them from the group even didn't hesitate to openly receive awards from the Sri Lankan government for their services.

The Dravidian politics and public opinion in Tamil Nadu seem to be limited in countering this sabotage. They don't seem to have the same leverage of the Bengalis who were able to support their brethren of Bangladesh, despite the difference in religion.

It would seem that ruling the state, organising public rallies, owning commercial media and having a number of ministers and MPs in the central government are not enough to meet the requirements.

An ability to rise to the occasion with a global vision to intellectually and fearlessly present the cause of the Tamils to be heard nationally and internationally is what required.

In a way, by its near total dependence on the Dravidian politics of Tamil Nadu to garner India's support, the Sri Lankan Tamil movement has failed to address and convince the Indian elite of its larger dimensions of liberation politics and its worthiness to regional stability and security.

The real security threat and catastrophe that is knocking the southern gates of India today, by not caring for the freedom aspirations of the Sri Lankan Tamils but, allowing and strengthening the genocide programme of the Sri Lankan government, is yet to be perceived, analysed and effectively articulated by the intellectuals of Tamil Nadu and the rest of India.

Everybody knows what is meant by the phrase 'International Community' today. The Sri Lankan Tamil militancy has not committed any offence to USA or EU. It is a local freedom struggle. If it has been internationalized that was with the connivance and encouragement of the International Community.

Yet, many may wonder the kind of vengeful ferocity shown towards the LTTE and along with it towards the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka, by the so-called International Community.

It is not that the IC doesn't know that the terrorism they speak of is a counter-product of genocide. The real reason for their wrath is the refusal of the LTTE to sell out the struggle to the strategic and economic interests of the International Community, where as the Sinhala polity is prepared to give away everything to have the Tamils exterminated as a nation.

It is disgusting and saddening for any fellow South Asian to see the way the leader of a huge country, that too a nuclear power, such as Pakistan, being openly dictated to by the US president, and the opposition leader aspiring for power, wooing the IC. Sri Lanka is fast heading into such a situation. It could happen to India tomorrow.

India has to consider the point seriously. A committed Tamil Nationalism is security for India in its southern frontiers. It is futile to compete with the USA, UK, China or any other country in giving military assistance to the Sri Lankan government, thinking of winning over the Sinhalese. Both the IC and the Sri Lankan government are playing the China card with India. Collaboration with the IC against the interests of the Tamils will boomerang on India in the long run.

It is often pointed out that India is worried about Sinhala nationalism turning against it in the event of any support to Tamils. Those who watch the paranoid Sri Lankan polity know that it won't be any better even by not supporting the Tamils.

Decades of appeasement policy helped only to worsen the situation in Sri Lanka. The isolation of the Tamil cause and the support of the IC and India to Sri Lanka have only encouraged the government to pursue its genocidal agenda with greater zeal.

It should be noted that so far neither the IC nor India is able to implement any political or human rights agenda with the Sri Lankan government.

Everyone including India has given guarantees and assurances for a united Sri Lanka. Some, who are now keen in placating the Sinhala nationalists, are prepared to go as far enough to advocate even a unitary Sri Lanka, suggesting that development, learning languages and local government are enough to solve the problem.

It is illogical to think unity can be thrust upon unwilling people. But, it seems that in the postmodern world of International Community, logic has been deconstructed and abandoned. Decisions need not to be logical. You decide and search for the logic afterwards.

However, given the conditions of Sri Lanka, it is sensible to think that one day or other, the Tamils and Sinhalese have to sit together to sort out matters for the sake of peaceful posterity.

With the current background of Sri Lanka it is unimaginable to achieve peace or unity through winning or losing a war. Decades of confrontation have led Sri Lanka nowhere.

We live in a time witnessing the European nation states that gave birth to modern nationalism and fought two world wars involving the entire world for the sake of their nationalistic competition, coming together under the common banner of European Union.

The Asean countries have set a similar agenda to be achieved in the next 15 years. Such wonders became possible when there were no conquests or outside interferences.

Perhaps it is much easier to come together and achieve unity if the concerned parties are free to choose.

The history of the past sixty years has brought us to a point that makes separation a necessary condition to renegotiate a union on an equal basis.

Rather than giving assurances for unity, providing arms, encouraging genocide and verbally talking about human rights, the IC and India should engage themselves with positive alternatives to resolve the human tragedy in Sri Lanka.

Some of the political boundaries we see in South Asia today are accidents in history.

Ceylon didn't become a British colony through the conquests of English East India Company. The British crown acquired it from the Dutch through a treaty. So, it was administered separately. Even when it was put under the Indian administration in 1796, the corrupt Indian officials of the Company bungled it. Had these events not happened, Sri Lanka would have been one of the states of India and with the re-organization of linguistic states, the North and East would have become parts of Tamil Nadu.

The Sultan of Maldives signed the protectorate treaty in 1885 with the English governor in Colombo. So, it became a protectorate of Ceylon. When Ceylon became independent in 1948, Maldives was excluded and retained by the British until 1965. Had the Sultan signed the treaty with the governor in Madras or Bombay, Maldives would have become a protectorate or a Union Territory of India.

The boundary of Sri Lanka is not a Sacred Cow. It was neither shaped by the people of the land nor evolved through a conducive political process, but merely a creation of colonialism.

Assurances given to the unity of a country, which has become a burden to the people concerned, and military might, are no guarantees for regional or international security. The real guarantee lies in the hearts of the people. If any government acts against the wishes of the people, it loses security.

What is needed is a strong political will in Delhi and Chennai to search for creative alternatives rather than leaving the matter in the hands of advisors, bureaucrats and intelligence officers. India need not tag herself behind the International Community at least in matters related to its own backyard.

]]> Articles http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=60 Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:44:02 +0000 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=59 The diamond jubilee number carried greetings from the Governor Generals of independent India and Ceylon in its opening page, in which C. Rajagopalachari, the Governor General of India was given precedence over Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore, the Ceylonese counterpart. It was just one year after the independence of Ceylon (Sri Lanka since 1972) and is an illustrative example to understand the way India was looked upon by the Sri Lankan Tamils.

At the time of independence, there was also another powerful pro Indian population in Sri Lanka, the Tamils of Indian origin or the Upcountry Tamils. In fact, at that time, they outnumbered the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Rather than strengthening these communities who had genuine sympathy for India and effectively using that social force to make Sri Lanka fall in line with the larger security concerns of South Asia, the Government of India pursued an unrealistic foreign policy of appeasing the Sinhala leaders who, in the core of their heart, always remained suspicious and contemptuous of India.

Some of the vital foreign policy and security concerns of India, in the 50s, 60s and later, i.e., Non-Alignment and the China factor were ingeniously exploited by the Sinhala leaders to get silent consent, and in some instances open consent, from India for their anti-Tamil programme such as the disenfranchisement of the Tamils of Indian Origin (1949), Sinhala Only Act (1956), anti-Tamil pogrom (1958), agreements to repatriate the Tamils of Indian Origin (1954 and 1964), constitutionally declaring Sri Lanka a Sinhala-Buddhist country (1972), etc.

The tune was actually set by the Sinhala leaders and India danced to it, sacrificing the interests of a people, who had deep feelings and trust in India. India chose to let down its natural ally in the hope of winning the loyalty of the Sinhala elite. Yet, the Sinhala leaders were never truly faithful to India.

China always enjoyed a special status in Sri Lanka, and Pakistan was permitted to use Sri Lankan facilities to refuel its fighter aircraft during Bangladesh war.

The one and only deviation from this appeasement policy of India took place in the early 1980s, during the times of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and there were strong reasons for it.

The foreign and economic policy of Sri Lanka under Jayawardane government, which came to power in 1977, was seen as a threat to the South Asian model envisaged by India. The anti-Tamil pogroms of 1977 and 1983, and the spontaneous beginnings of Tamil militancy set the alarm ringing in New Delhi.

Mrs. Gandhi decided to check both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil militancy at the initial stage itself.

Contrary to the thought of many ordinary Tamils, Sinhalese and militants, Mrs. Gandhi was never in favour of dividing the country. She strengthened the militants only to make the Sri Lankan government to come out with an acceptable political solution, and failing, to create a situation justifying India's intervention to implement a solution. She also maintained the plurality of the militant groups, not without purpose.

When the ground was set, Indra Gandhi was assassinated in November 1984.

History is not a discipline to pass judgement on events that have not taken place. Yet it would seem fair to believe that had she been alive, a solution would have reached for Sri Lanka within the perspectives of South Asia. Neither the Sri Lankan government nor any of the militant groups had the capacity or support to go beyond South Asia to pursue their strategic goals at that time. Those were still the days of the Cold War, when India was confidently playing the role of the policeman in South Asia.

The biggest mistake of Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister of India, was his line of thinking that his mother was wrong, and her advisors were wrong. It was the other way round. From the very beginning he was misled by wrong advisors.

Those were also the days when some Indian intelligence officers and diplomats were accused of, and even convicted for, being in the pay list of the Sri Lankan government.

Of all the militant groups, it was the LTTE, which first smelled out the hollowness of the foreign policy of Rajiv government and opted for alternative measures. In early 1985 itself the LTTE established bureaus in several countries outside of South Asia. It also started sending its cadres to Israel for training. It became known later that Israel was giving training to both Sri Lankan government forces and the LTTE without the knowledge of one another. For the first time the crisis started spilling out beyond South Asia and beyond India's control.

The deployment of the IPKF in 1987 was in fact a delayed mission. In between 1984 and 1987, due to the impasse of Indian policy, many of the militants sympathetic to India lost their bearing. The LTTE distanced itself and outshined the other militant groups. It was able to eliminate or check its militant competitors and moderate politicians. The sufferings of the people at the hands of the Sri Lanka Army and migrations made the Tamil struggle a wider people's movement of international connotations.

Whatever little India was able to offer to Tamils through the Indo-Sri Lanka treaty failed to meet the requirements of the outgrown situation. Even that little was not faithfully implemented, thanks to the manipulative ways of the Sinhala politicians and the failure of the people chosen by India to handle the circumstances. Once again the Sinhala leaders proved that they were smarter diplomats.

By failing to uphold the interest of the people sympathetic to it, and messing up the opportunities of resolving the matter within its backyard in 1987, India became the bigger loser than the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, as far as the security of the region is concerned.

As one Sri Lankan Tamil put it in his way through a local saying, the outcome for India was the situation of 'a chasing dog that missed the squirrel by allowing it to climb the tree' (A'nil ea'ravidda naay).

It is folly to argue that the LTTE was perfect in its political ideology, and was justifiable in all its strategies, tactics and actions. They are to be judged by history in times to come.

But, what is outstanding about the LTTE is its uncompromising commitment to the cause opted by it. The confidence and support it enjoys from the concerned people, who are left with no one but the LTTE to look upon to end their sufferings, is its strength.

It is unfortunate that the crisis in its historical course was not handled with farsightedness, to get resolved within Sri Lanka or within the region of South Asia, and was allowed to plunge into the intricacies of international politics.

As one of the main players sharing the responsibility of entrusting the issue with the International Community, the LTTE is morally and rightfully obliged to find ways and means to course through the current equations to resolve the crisis to the satisfaction of the people it represents.

What is precarious is that the isolation of the LTTE and active assistance for a military option against it by the International Community, may lead the LTTE and the people backing it with no option other than facing the situation. The repercussions are sure to threaten Indian security for a long time to come.

The major responsibility lies with the governments concerned than with the LTTE in avoiding a catastrophe to the already suffering masses of Sri Lanka. India cannot shed its responsibility, relying on secret protocols with the Sri Lankan government and covert assistance to it.

The gap between the Government of India and the LTTE is a serious impediment in bringing out a balance in the crisis management. A situation of having outraged people on either side of the Palk Strait is unaffordable to Indian security.

[Part II of the column, Eelam and Indian Security: Need for Policy Alternatives, is to be continued.]

]]> Articles http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=59 Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:42:42 +0000 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=55 The officer killed was identified as Captain Dammika Kumara. His body was first taken to Vavuniya hospital and then to the SLA camp.

The injured trooper was rushed to Vavuniya Military hospital.

Tension prevailed in Vepankulam, where all shops were shut and all traffic came to a halt, following the attack.

SLA claimed that the ambush was launched by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres who had escaped from the site of attack.

Meanwhile, the troopers injured in the Sector-5 attack were first first rushed to Vavuniya hospital and later transferred to Anuradapura hospital.

Vavuniya police claimed that an LTTE cadre was killed in the SLA retaliation and that arrangements are being made to bring the body to Vavuniya.

]]> Vavuniya News http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=55 Mon, 5 Feb 2007 14:01:26 +0000 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=54 France's President Jacques Chirac, in a message to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on the occasion of the Sri Lanka's Independence Day on February 04, said he wished that a dialogue would start again and that a political solution to the conflict that is tearing Sri Lanka apart would be found. In his message to Mr. Rajapakse, Mr. Chirac noted that "numerous civilians are suffering in a very difficult humanitarian situation," since the fighting resumed beween the Sri Lankan military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Full text of the message released by the Embassy of France in Colombo follows:

Mr. President,

On the occasion of the National Day of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, I convey to you as well as to the Sri Lankan people, my warmest congratulations.

While fighting has resumed between the Army and the LTTE, and numerous civilians are suffering in a very difficult humanitarian situation, allow me to wish that dialogue will start again and that a political solution to the conflict that is tearing Sri Lanka apart will be found.

Sincerely yours,

Signed: Jacques Chirac
]]> World News http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=54 Mon, 5 Feb 2007 03:44:51 +0000 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=51
Civilians at Mankerni school further said more IDPs were waiting to cross over the entry exit point.

ICRC and UNICEF officials were present at the entry/exit point.

The Government Agent of Batticaloa has already made arrangements at 4 places in Valaichenai area for displaced people from Vaharai.

All divisional secretaries were summoned at the District Secretariat to coordinate the arragements for the temporary settlement of the displaced people.

Batticaloa district is struggling with more than 70,000 internally displaced people following the Sri Lankan military operation against the LTTE territories in Trincomalee and Batticaloa.
]]> National News http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=51 Fri, 19 Jan 2007 04:52:00 +0000 http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=47
The police said the victims are belived to have been tortured and killed.

All of them have been strangeled to death, and there are gun shot injuris on two of them, according to the police.

Meanwhile, unknown armed men shot dead a youth at Maharambaikulam area in Vavuniya Thursday. The victim is yet to be identified, the police said.
]]> Vavuniya News http://vavuniya.org/index.php?itemid=47 Fri, 19 Jan 2007 04:33:00 +0000