EELAM IN CANADA?
Conflict Resolution Proposal is submitted for your consideration.
Mahinda Gunasekera Toronto,
Canada
A far thinking Sri Lankan living in the southern town of Galle has
made a very detailed proposal to resolving the Sri Lankan conflict,
by transplanting the proponents of a separate state of "Eelam" in Sri
Lanka including the self declared sole representative of the Tamil community,
namely the LTTE headed by the Sungod, Velupillai Prabhakaran and his
Guardians of Human Rights made up of the armed LTTE cadres, lock, stock
and barrel, from the contested parts of Sri Lanka to the wide expanse
of Canada, bringing much needed labour and capital acquired through
both illicit and legal means, to form a new federal state with more
powers than the existing provinceswithin a united Canada to be negotiated
with Norwegian facilitation and British mediation.
Whilst many of us Canadians of Sri Lankan origin may support the proposal,
we are likely to uphold the principle of NIMBY, not in my back yard,
but would certainly be amenable to creation of the new federal state
of "Eelam- Canada" somewhere in the prairies to be parcelled out by
the Prairie Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This arrangement
is likely to have a far reaching impact, as the industrious Sri Lankan
Tamils are bound to make it a highly successful granary that would become
the food basket of the world, along with cash crops which have a demand
in the narcotics consuming regions.
I am not sure if the Federal Government and the affected Provinces
would appoint Special Task Forces to study and implement the proposal.
I understand that the proposal also requires the donor countries that
pledged $4.5 billion towards the division of Sri Lanka into two states
to contribute such funds to Canada to implement the whole package notwithstanding
the fact that the LTTE has accumulated funds, and frozen funds that
could be released and utilized in the re-settlement process.
EELAM – AN ALTERNATIVE
WAY
M. Ananda Kuruneru.Thani
Polgaha Junction, Galle, Sri Lanka
What is it?
Now that we know that the LTTE and its supporters will be satisfied
with nothing less than a separate state and are by devious means doing
everything to achieve it no matter how, it is my view that both the
Government and the international community, particularly, Norway, in
trying to restart the peace talks, are only flogging a dead horse. Instead,
it may be more productive to help the LTTE and their supporters to achieve
their goal than thwart them. But the problem here is the fact that,
other than them, the majority of all varieties of Sri Lankans will never
agree to a separate state or any kind of division of this country. Yet,
going to ‘war’ with them again is not the only option available.
In these circumstances, my proposal is that they be helped to have
an Eelam in another land. My suggestion is Canada.
Why Canada?
Why Canada of all countries? Well, I have carefully considered all
other countries sympathetic to the Tamil cause, and Canada emerged as
the most suitable. Here is my reasoning:
1. The Canadian Government and its people are very sympathetic to
the Tamil cause. They are probably convinced that the Tamil people in
this country are indeed a discriminated lot who are reported to be suffering
due to discrimination as no other minority in the world.
2. Canada has already accommodated over 250, 000 Tamils as refugees
who are well settled there. Only, may be a further 500,000 the maximum,
from the North and the East, that need to be accommodated.
3. Geographically, Canada is probably one of the largest countries
in the world with large tracts of unoccupied land.
4. Canada is greatly under-populated.
5. Is a country full of natural resources and is blessed with a sound
economy. Hence, she can contain within her resources this additional
population without any strain. Besides, Tamils who are an industrious
people, could significantly contribute to the economy, that way, a great
resource. In that sense it not a bad investment either.
As an incentive for Canada to consider this proposal favourbly, and
also to reduce any financial burden that may arise owing to this project,
I would recommend that the US$ 4.5 billion offered by the Donor Countries
as incentive to the Sri Lanka Government to divide this country, be
diverted to Canada, to be used for the welfare of the Tamil people she
takes over and to cover their administrative costs.
Canada could also asked keep back any future aid to Sri Lanka, and
could be used for rehabilitation of the Tamil people in their new home.
Sri Lanka will be able to manage her development with her own funds
because by that time the money that she would have to spent for war
with the LTTE will be saved. This might also be a blessing in disguise
to Sri Lanka as it would help reduce her corruption level since the
Government will be minus that much Foreign Aid, for misappropriation
at its different levels, by way of commissions.
LTTE could also be allowed to move to Canada, the monies regularly
collected by the Tamil Diaspora all over the world to fund their ‘war’
in Sri Lanka. The countries which have withheld their bank accounts
could release them to enable the funds to be taken to Canada on the
LTTE giving an assurance that these monies will no longer be utilized
to fund terrorism or any violent ‘freedom struggles’ in any country.
Will Canada like it?
Well, Canada has to be persuaded. There is a good prospect that she
may consider the idea favourably since she is genuinely aware of the
discrimination meted out to the Tamils in Sri Lanka from time immemorial
and is concerned for their welfare. She may also be aware that with
the insincerity of the successive governments in Sri Lanka there could
be no lasting solution to this never ending problem.
We could also seek the assistance of the international community to
help us in engaging in friendly persuasion of Canada and even to bring
some mild pressure on her, as they did on Sri Lanka during the last
twenty years, when they tried to pressurize her to give in to the LTTE.
In this regard, I think if Britain and Norway have a great role to
play. If they would show the same anxiety that they evinced to help
Sri Lanka by persuading her to agree to Eelam or ISGA , to get Canada
to agree to this alternative solution, they are bound to succeed with
their great
diplomacy.
Will the LTTE agree ?
Here, there are two parties. The LTTE and the Tamil people. The LTTE
however claims to be the sole representative of the Tamil people. There
are a few people who disagree openly. And there is the large silent
majority.
If all the arguments that have been advanced to justify demanding a
separate state as the only solution, this proposal should appear as
a strong and a viable alternative to those who advocate the separatist
cause. Therefore logically, if they are genuine, both LTTE and any other
varieties of Eelamists are likely to agree to the proposal should Government
and the Opposition speaking in one voice, succeed in persuading Canada,
like the Sirima-Shastri Pact.
The Eelam Tamils also have two other encouraging factors to take into
account. Whoever Tamils who settled down in Canada have no regrets and
are comfortable in their newfound home country. Sinhala Language is
not thrust down their throats in those civilized countries. There they
have willingly embraced Canadian English without any fuss .So no problem
there. There are precedents too. There is the Ceylon Burgher community
who feared that they would be discriminated against after the changes
in 1956 migrated to Australia, are happily settled down there and absorbed
into the Australian population. Similarly, there are even Sinhalese,
especially, the plantation superintendent community who left in disgust
after the nationalization of plantations in the Seventies and even later,
another group, due to the 1988/89 JVP insurgency, now living in different
countries, some of them well absorbed into those communities while some
others jealously maintaining their national identities.
Besides, there are the Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Italians, Cypriots
etc. all having their own countries planted abroad. So a tiny Eelam
in Canada is not going to hurt either party, unlike in small and complicated
Sri Lanka. At least, here in their Eelam they will be rid of their hated
tormentors, the Sinhalese who Poya day Sil and Friday kill.
So in all likelihood, the LTTE are likely to agree, because it means
no longer have they to go round daily killing their own people, which
they do, not because they like to. They will not have to wrench away
children from their wailing parents who even commit suicide unable contain
their grief. They will not loose any more cadres in battle. No more
Mahavirs. The Sea Tigers could then patrol the entire Atlantic Ocean,
unharrassed by Sri Lanka or Indian Navies. Prabhakaran and Karuna need
no longer be hiding from each other. They could live freely with their
families as could other Tamils could with theirs.
But why is an Eelam not possible in Sri Lanka ?
1. Because this country in its entirety belongs equally to all its
citizens and no group could claim any particular part of the country
to belong exclusively to themselves, reducing the other groups in that
locality to a minority. It will infringe the right to this Land by the
rest of the people. ( In fact, the song goes as: “/This land belongs
to all of us/…..! ) It is a dangerous precedence which can lead to further
dismemberment of a country which is only 25,000 sq. miles in extent.
Besides there is no basis to such claim.
2. Because this country is one whole unit and is indivisible. It does
not comprise several separate states or provinces brought together at
any time.
3. Because, more than half the Tamil population live /outside/ the
demanded Eelam, in other parts of the country. Hence, an Eelam is no
solution to the alleged discrimination being suffered by these Tamils
who, curiously by their own choice, have elected to live among their
tormentors.
4. Because it creates a new problem of Minorities in the ‘Eelam country’
who will suffer discrimination at the hands of the Eelam Tamils It will
be like “/Atuwa kada putwa heduma”- “/Like breaking the barn and making
a chair”.
5. Only 10% of the population live in the area claimed for Eelam occupying
30% of the total land mass in the country and 2/3^rd of the country’s
coast line and the sea , leaving 90% of the people only 70% of the land
to live.
6. The vast majority of the people of this country do not want this
country to be divided, to accommodate a separate state in two of its
provinces.
7. In any case, a country cannot be divided on the basis of a linguistic
group. More so in Sri Lanka where language of the Tamils is an official
language in the whole country
8. Because, constitutionally this country is a unitary state.
Who gains who looses?
Nobody. In fact everybody gains.
Firstly, Canada gains an industrious and a literate work force who
will help in their economic progress. And they are not coming as penniless
refugees to live on them, but with substantial funds to back them.
Secondly Sri Lanka will gain because she will have no insurgency to
hold her back in her progress. She could plunge herself into economic
development.
Thirdly, Norway will add to their laurels, as their success in negotiating
this peace will be another feather in their cap.
Fourthly, LTTE will have a country for them selves achieving what they
failed for over 25 years, destroying so many lives and families and
so much property.
Fifthly, the Tamil people will be free from the torments of the LTTE
grabbing their children away, to be used as child soldiers. They will
no longer be extracted, robbed of their earnings as ‘taxes’. The Tamil
Diaspora will be rid of the LTTE snooping on them to grab their earnings
abroad threatening their lives.
Sixthly, the UNESCO will be saved of their embarrassment caused by
Prabhakaran treating them with scant respect on the Child Soldiers issue.
One apparent group of losers will be the local NGOs who will temporarily
have no cause, without an ‘ethnic war’. But they are adept at finding
new causes to earn their living. They could now concentrate on Human
rights and the rights of elephants whose are legs are chained in order
to prevent them from violating the rights of humans to their lives,
when they run berserk occasionally. They can perhaps starts an agitation
against horse racing termed Royal Sport, where horses are being whipped
unmercifully by jockeys till they reach the winning post, gleefully
cheered by thousands of onlookers.
But the real losers will be the Sri Lankan Politicians on either side
of the divide. They will not be able to cheat the people on the Tamil
issue. Now, after 50 years they will be compelled to find something
else. That might be hard.
M. Ananda Kuruneru.
Thani Polgaha Junction,
Galle
Sri Lanka
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