Eelam Tamils: A Question Of
Pressure And Strategy
By Chandi Sinnathurai
09 April, 2009
Countercurrents.org
Over 100,000 Tamil civilians are trapped within an ever shrinking 14 Sq km pocket of land in the Vanni. The Sri Lankan war has been rightly dubbed by the Media as the War on Civilians. Reports from the ground has emerged that the indiscriminate killings of Tamils is yet to cease. Thousands have lost their lives and multitudes are maimed for life. Both sides, the Tamil Tigers and the State Forces have traded blame.
In Western capitals, Tamils have held protest marches pleading countries like Norway, Denmark, the US, Canada and Britain to intervene and exert pressure on the Sri Lankan Government (SLG) to declare a humanitarian pause, in order for civilians to move out ‘safely’ from the conflict zone. The Tamil Tigers however, have maintained that the Tamils who are indigenous inhabitants of their “Traditional homeland” have every right to remain where they are now, despite the dangers. Evacuation denies them the right to live, the argument runs. In other words, the Tigers are demanding the SLG to stop the war on civilians.
It must be said, in no uncertain terms, that in this fatal tug-of-war sadly, it is the civilians who have become innocent victims.
The SLG is determined to eradicate the Tamil Tigers. In the process nonetheless, they have failed to guarantee the safety of its Tamil citizens.
The Tamil Tigers’ political head Balasingham Nadesan has repeatedly appealed to the international community to intervene and kick-start negotiations. It appears that the priority for the SLG (including the international community) is post-conflict development rather than eradicating the root causes of conflict. India is playing cloak and dagger while waiting for the end game. India is also making noises about a federal solution for Sri Lanka. Federal set-up as a solution to the Tamil national Question is not an Indian invention. Tantai Chelva’s Federal Party had been demanding a federal solution from the Sinhala State since the 1950s. Moving the ruling elites away from the deep-rooted unitary concept will be a seismic shift! Good luck to India.
At this precise moment, the SLG is focusing all its energy to capture a man named Vellupillai Prabakaran. It reveals that the Rajapaksha regime is missing the whole point. Killing Prabakaran off does not root out the perennial problem (That is, if they can locate him alive!). One can, of course, remember, even the foxy JR Jayewardene [1] did not finish off Rohana Wijeweera - the then JVP leader [2].
One can however observe, that the Tamil Tigers and the Diaspora will have to find the equilibrium in the realm of international relations. Accurately ascertaining the pressure points and discerning when to push, when to withdraw, and when to shove without accumulating animosity or adverse publicity is a fine art. People at this crucial juncture are looking for substance. What is now desperately needed for the Tamils is political acumen.
The Tamil Diaspora in the West cannot afford to be hoodwinked by the sweet talking vote-hungry politicians. So far, none of these politicians have managed to convince their governments (let alone their parties) that the Tamil Question is a struggle for liberation. Slapping the Tigers as a terror out fit has got stuck in the minds of every Westerner. And that is a serious loss of credibility.
Even the peace brokers in Oslo [3] have not managed to rip off the Tamil terrorist label! On the contrary, they have been playing second-fiddle to the international orchestrations.
Some body has got to clean up their act! All have to wake up and smell the coffee:
SAVE THE TAMILS.
[1] hrttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junius_Richard_Jayewardene
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohana_Wijeweera
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Solheim
