Tamils:
Anti-Ethnocide Campaign
By
Chandi Sinnathurai
03 December,
2007
Countercurrents.org
After
the 8th India-European Union [EU] Summit held in Delhi a Joint-statement
was issued on 30 November 2007. There was nothing particularly ground-breaking
in the statement about the conflict in Sri Lanka. But the hypocrisy
of the statement betrays any diplomatic subtlety. Both – The EU
and India have surreptitiously supplied military hardware to Sri Lanka
knowing very well that these weapons are utilised to wipe out Tamil
civilians. Having done that, they want to speak about peace, openly.
The statement
read:
There is
no military solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka. A negotiated, political
settlement, acceptable to all communities within the framework of a
united Sri Lanka, is the goal that all international efforts should
encourage.
If the neighbouring
India and the International community are genuinely interested, as they
claim, in a political settlement, then, what could possibly be the tangible
steps towards halting the ethnocentric-war?
1) India
ought to be leading the way for an international arms embargo against
the Sri Lankan regime.
2) The EU
(and the US) ought to be asking serious questions about peace in the
context of the current Sinhala-Buddhist constitution of Sri Lanka which
runs diametrically opposed to a liberal, pluralistic, democratic society.
3) India
ought to be opening doors of communication via Tamil Nadu Government
with the political wing of the Tamil resistance movement. Refusal to
communicate could be tantamount to shutting doors to peace. India, at
all cost must be seen to be neutral.
Recently,
a Tamil political scientist from Vanni wrote a succinct analysis, placing
Eelam struggle within the international frame. Muna Tirunavukkarasu
concluded that, the Eelam Tamils could reach out to Delhi via Tamil
Nadu. And the freedom cry of the Tamils could be heard on the international
stage via Delhi. In effect, India has a responsible and crucial role
to play in the peace efforts. If that were to be true, India should
denounce its ‘secret’ unfounded phobia that, the Eelam cry
might turn out to be a stumbling block for its geo-political ambitions
in the region.
There are
however some, who are opposed to an Indo-centric approach. There are,
quite rightly, some historical reasons for that. Enough said.
Delhi cannot
pretend to be deaf, for much longer, to the loud cry and protest raised
on behalf of Eelam Tamils by the Indian Tamils in Tamil Nadu.
The International
community, the US in particular, has been going on for some years about
“a negotiated, political settlement” in Sri Lanka. When
there is a deliberate attempt by the Sri Lankan state to exterminate
the Tamils, how best can the international community build the trust
and confidence of the global Tamil community?
The Tamils
are aggrieved that the West has basically shut its doors to their cry
for freedom. Tamil armed resistance has been banned and branded as terrorism.
In this hostile
context, the global Tamils have to strive and effectively articulate
the counter-point. Such a challenging phase requires Tamils in the Diaspora
to push forward with an anti-ethnocide campaign in world capitals. This
very human narrative cannot run counter to the world’s democratic
space.
This sort
of peaceful campaign is not designed to speak to the powers. The powers
know the truth. And they conceal the truth to the public.
Anti-ethnocide
campaign will reveal the truth to the public. The truth of a slow ethnocide
happening in Sri Lanka for over 35 years. This conflict has claimed
over 80,000 lives. Let this truth echo in the hearts of the global community.
There cannot
be a “United Sri Lanka” when Tamils are systematically denied
their right to exist.
One might
suggest, that all international efforts should be encouraging the goal
of peace in light of justice. Failing that, one might only achieve synthetic
peace, as Norway did through its peace trap.
Many believe
that there can be unity, ONLY when the Sri Lankan unitary constitution
is discarded. All the other efforts, with all the best intentions in
the world, can only scratch the surface, while the tyranny continues.
The systemic
ethnocentric plague in Sri Lanka has to be tackled first.
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