CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Re: Tamil Troubles - July 25,2007 by A. Mehta

Ira de Silva London, Ontario, Canada

July 27, 2007

The Editor
Wall Street Journal Asia
Hong Kong

Dear Sir:
Re: Tamil Troubles - July 25,2007 by A. Mehta

The motivation of the writer to continue with the falsehoods which keep appearing in what is euphemistically called the "international media"
whenever the Tamil terrorists in Sri Lanka are not strong is clear - the writer was a major general in India's failed military exercise in Sri Lanka in 1989. Whenever the small army of Sri Lanka does what the mighty Indian army, the fourth largest army in the world could not do, the media finds some retired army person to contribute his opinion regardless of whether it is based on fact or prejudice.

The major is correct in his statement that without the east the Tamil terrorists "Eelam" is just a dream. The LTTE have over the last thirty-five years systematically driven out the Sinhalese and Muslim populations of the north and east of Sri Lanka so that they could claim the north and east as their "homeland". What the writer should know and state is that the only Tamil homeland is in Tamil Nadu, India an integral part of his "homeland", India. For him to even think that "the displacement of the Tamil population internally as well as refugees fleeing to Tamil Nadu may even raise the question of Indian intervention" is the height of Indian arrogance/ignorance. The refugees "flee to Tamil Nadu" primarily because that is their "homeland". Also, they flee to Tamil Nadu because it is still a part of Indian strategy to provide support for the Tamil terrorists from India although not to the same extent as before. Let me remind the writer and your readers that it was a part of Indian foreign policy to provide military training (by retired Indian army generals), funds, bases, and political backing to the fledgling Tamil terrorists and make them into the monster they became which the Indian army could not control or defeat. The Indian government learned it's lesson the hard way fighting the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Having created the monster the Indian army thought they could behead it. They failed. It appears that the retired Indian army personnel are still living in their own dream world, out of touch with reality.

Another clear indication that the writer is out of touch with present day realities are such statements that "no Tamils from the north or eastern parts of the country are present in the mainstream political parties". While there are proxies of the LTTE elected to parliament, there are other elected members of parliament from these areas and they support the Rajapakse government. The fact that development projects are not set up in what he refers to as "Tamil areas" is because the LTTE do not permit any development in the areas they control. However, as he states, the districts of Trincomalee and Ampari are being developed, not because there are Sinhalese in these districts but because they are not and have never been under the control of the LTTE although the LTTE and the writer would like to incorporate these areas into the mythical "Tamil homeland". The fact that even the writer knows that these districts have large numbers of Sinhalese ( he has forgotten the considerable Muslim population) reinforces my argument that these areas are not a part of a Tamil homeland except in the minds of the LTTE and the writer.

I would also point out that it is the Government of Sri Lanka that provides the food, medicines, pays for education and other services even in the Wanni, the area currently controlled by the LTTE. The LTTE take all they can from Sri Lankan taxpayers as well as the people they oppress and use the money to continue the war, killing the people who are in fact feeding them. Where else in the world does any government feed, educate etc. the terrorists who are killing them?

There are many other inconsistencies in this article but I will deal with one more that the major general is familiar with, namely the Indo-Lanka Accord. India demanded the merger of the northern and eastern provinces as part of the agreement. It is important to remember that there were two distinct provinces. The merger was not permanent but to be decided by the people. As part of the agreement, the Indian government guaranteed that the LTTE would be disarmed within seventy-two hours. India not only did not disarm the LTTE but twenty years later are still providing support to the LTTE from Tamil Nadu and retired Indian generals from the failed Indian intervention are trying to justify the merger. They fail to realize that merger or de-merger is based on the laws of Sri Lanka, not the whims of Indians who fail to understand that the ONLY Tamil homeland is in India, not Sri Lanka.

Yours truly,

Ira de Silva
London, Ontario, Canada

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