Shenali D Waduge

LTTE is demanding a separate Tamil Eelam – so is TNA & even LTTE fronts. Anyone in doubt need only to take their statements, press releases, election manifestos, webpages, interviews to relieve their doubt. What no one can forget is that TNA was created as the political wing of the LTTE no sooner US declared its War on Terror in 2001. Majority of the TNA members were part of the TULF that openly advocated a separate Tamil Eelam in 1976 via Vaddukoddai Resolution. It was in that same year that Prabakaran rechristened his Tamil New Tiger movement as LTTE. However, the US-India regime change in 2015 propped TNA/ITAK as leader of the Opposition. That same year Sri Lanka went on to co-sponsor the UNHRC resolution politically accepting war crimes by Sri Lanka’s armed forces & lifting bans on LTTE fronts. While Tamil politicians, LTTE & LTTE fronts seek a separate state, why would West, India & UN apparatus support this contrary to what they preach diplomatically?

If the statements by LTTE & Tamil political parties as well as echoed even inside the Jaffna university which is run with public funds, are virtually on par with each other, it means they share a common ideology.

However, with the defeat of LTTE in May 2009, the military arm of that ideology was quelled. What the political players failed to understand was that the ideological arm of separatism continued & began to thrive thereafter in fusion with geopolitical agendas.

To a certain extent the LTTE quelled the rise of the political ideology through Prabakaran’s military might, yet no sooner he was eliminated the separatist worms came out of the political closet both in Sri Lanka & overseas. They saw the weaknesses of Sri Lanka’s political parties & players & used their funds to accentuate their separatist quest to another level, that would have been impossible had Prabakaran been alive. Confounding matters was the manner that geopolitical players & their agents gave oxygen to this quest.

This is why all of the players that were on the side of LTTE have become the post-LTTE champions of reconciliation” peace doves” and accountability” crusaders. This surely exposes their hypocrisy. They ganged up to bring terror on Sri Lanka & now they are ganging up to bring a different form of terror. These come in the form of organizing street protests to remove military & camps in the North & East and not allowing Sinhalese & Muslims chased out from the North to return to their original habitats.

Will the countries that demand Sri Lanka close its camps in North & East, first leave the illegally occupied countries they are keeping their troops for over 20 years.

The quest to separate though initially launched in South India was encouraged in Sri Lanka via Tamil politicians. The 50-50 demand, to the formation of ITAK (Tamil State Party) in 1949 & thereafter the Vaddukoddai Resolution in 1976. The Church played a key role throughout & perhaps considered the architects of the slogans that were used. Fast forward to present day politicians – the younger politicians screaming for homelands” are all linked to some form of Church.

The TULF contested the 1977 general elections using the 1976 Vaddukoddai Resolution.

12 years later in 2001, LTTE took reigns & formed the TNA alliance which comprised TULF, All Ceylon Tamil Congress, India created TELO & EPRLF.

8 years later the Global Tamil Forum was created in 2009 & had as its policy advisor Joan Ryan, Labor MP. Following the demise of Prabakaran, a plethora of LTTE fronts began emerging to claim stake to the LTTE kitty as well as take the Eelam” demand to another level. These outsourced eelamists” must be the only foreign-passport holders claiming a ‘separate homeland’ that they will never live in but are able to generate funds & churn stories of history that even historians should feel embarrassed about.

 With LTTE military defeated & LTTE leader eliminated, the baton to ‘separate Sri Lanka’ was passed to ITAK which was echoed at the ITAK 2014 Convention – ITAK is now the legitimate representative of the Tamil people”.

It was at this same ITAK convention that R. Sambanthan its leader declared that India will never welcome a political solution in Sri lanka that does not accord with the interests of India”.

In short it meant that whatever solutions” were being laid on the table had to be advantageous to India not the Sri Lankan Tamils. While the Sri Lankan politicians both Tamil & Sinhalese are well aware of this fact, majority of Tamils are ignorant.

Thimpu Talks got nowhere because it was not ‘advantageous to India’,

The Federal  Constitution got nowhere because it was not ‘advantageous to India’.

Indo-Lanka Accord stands in limbo until India can secure its hold of key assets/resources in North & East & thereafter it will push for full implementation & autonomous rule. Another area that Sri Lanka’s politicians & policy advisors have failed to comprehend the scope of threat.

There is a steady pattern to the demands that were initiated by Tamil political parties & not the LTTE. All of Sri Lanka’s governments have failed to see these patterns & devise strategies to address them. Government police makers have failed to read the constitutions of TULF, ITAK, TNA, LTTE fronts & put the puzzle of their ultimate goals & aims. All of Sri Lanka’s Governments have fallen for the reconciliation bogey and followed a cuckoo land scenario thinking everything to be honky dory by spreading love while the enemy is busy preparing the grounds to declare self-determination.

There is no reason for any elected government to be negotiating with any party if their aspiration is to separate Sri Lanka under whatever nomenclature in an armed or political effort. This political bargaining, that is not based on the interest of the citizens, must stop.

Shenali D Waduge

• sangam.org – Vadukoddai Resolution 1976
• sangam.org– TULF General Election manifesto 1977
• tamilnet.com– TNA manifesto 2001
• tamilnet.com– TNA manifesto 2004
• com  – TNA manifesto 2010
• colombotelegraph.com– TNA manifesto for 2013 NPC elections
• colombotelegraph.com– TNA manifesto 2015
• colombotelegraph.com– Sambanthan speech at 14th ITAK Convention 2012
• tamilcanadian.com
• colombotelegraph.com– ITAK Convention 2014
• Global Tamil Forum – globaltamilforum.org
• tgte-us.org– Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam
• sinhalanet.net