CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

A reply to Prof. Hoole's "Peace in Sri Lanka" speech

Shenali Waduge

If anyone is to take serious note of the speech made by Prof. Hoole on the invitation of "Canadians for Peace" on 17 August 2008 in Canada, it should be the underlying seriousness with which he was steering Tamil thought towards an "Indian intervention" in Sri Lanka.

Essentially the crux of Prof. Hoole's speech was predominately to "invite foreign intervention". The backdrop to this obviously is the looming question of the fate of the LTTE with the facile military successes of the Sri Lankan armed forces. Thus, before the State takes over the entire control of the country & confine the LTTE to clandestine attacks it would serve a purpose to immediately identify & accept a "weak LTTE" & encourage a ninety degree transition by the Tamils. Implying that by blaming the LTTE for its arbitrary actions over 30 years, their follies & disinterest in a peace talks it is apparent that Prof. Hoole is now steering the Tamil community to accepting India's direct involvement in Sri Lanka & perhaps to even consider the possibility of Sri Lanka turning into the 29th State of India.

Prof. Hoole is a Tamil dissident hunted by the LTTE who opposed his appointment as Vice Chancellor to the University of Jaffna. His right to life & a right to live in his country has been denied by the LTTE.

It is true that the Government cannot bomb the LTTE into extinction - the Army Commander himself claims that the LTTE has lost its conventional warfare capabilities so obviously this implies that they will either have to return to guerilla tactics or surrender themselves.

It is clear that the Prof. deems that there prevails Sinhala nationalism & discrimination against the Tamils though he does not encourage the path taken by the LTTE. It is then pertinent to know what exactly these "problems" & "discriminations" are to actually come to a solution. In a few earlier examples he has cited only a few cases applicable to him & these too have been challenged as falsifications. In this larger context of understanding it does not permeate into credible arguments especially when the LTTE themselves are guilty themselves of bigotry including the annihilation of Tamils. What is the derivative of wooing the international community & India - what is the just settlement that they can provide in a UN-member sovereign country.

Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary very honestly implied that the country needs to "show the sincerity to the Tamils and to the outside world. We have to improve that... It will take time..." & the Government has set up rehabilitation programs for former LTTErs - can we say the same of the Tamil leadership, do we see them appeal to the disillusioned young men, women & children to see the futility of war - essentially is it not these Tamil leaders who have failed the 30% of conscripts who are now dead?

We are "all for a peace that every Sri Lanka is free to seek his freedom, well-being, & development while respecting the rights of others to the same" - did not Prof. Hoole teach at the University of Peradeniya & was he not appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Jaffna by the Sri Lankan President & is his post still not being kept open - is this the discrimination that Prof. Hoole is speaking of? The peace loving Tamils who gave voice to their views & who became slandered, vilified & demonized met their fate by the LTTE.

Prof. Hoole says that most Tamils know what is wrong but keep quiet for safety issues - now the names of Ketheesh Loganathan, Neelan Thiruchelvan, Amithralingam were all silenced not by the Sinhalese or the State Government. They & all moderate thinking Tamil voices were silenced by the LTTE - an armed group proclaiming to be the sole representative of the Tamil people. Prof. Hoole has conveniently omitted that.

Speaking from Canada, Prof. Hoole may have forgotten that in reality the ordinary Sinhala, Muslim & Tamils do enjoy much interaction free of all the supposed strife that present day politicos, foreign forces & even academics like Prof. Hoole now project. With that reality why should these three communities wish to live in separate geographical units just because a few who have the opportunity to vocalize themselves internationally say so?

It is obvious that Prof. Hoole & perhaps a few other likeminded souls now regret not backing the Indians & their IPKF troops - it seems they have forgotten the thefts, intimidations & scores of rape cases that constituted the cries for the departure of the IPKF. Perhaps the innocence lost of these women are now not important considering the larger picture of what these people really wanted from an Indian intervention.

Living in fear of the LTTE, having to be safely transported out of LTTE clutches & now in safety from the LTTE, Prof. Hoole suddenly thinks that "federalism" or "outright separation" or "some form of separation is the only answer" - basically echoing LTTE's aim but removing the gun culture attached to it.

The gist of his speech does direct the Tamil diaspora & other pro-LTTE lobbyists to conclude that the LTTE cannot deliver the Eelam they expect & we see Prof. Hoole suggesting the first of an alternate option.

The Prof. seems also to be pessimistic about the Eastern province - where having forced the LTTE to retreat to the North, the Government held elections & was given the mandate to rule. The issue of colonization has been a guise to rue an estranged notion that Sinhalese should not consider the North or East as possible areas of new cohabitation.

What of "Tamil colonization" of Colombo, where even those living abroad on "asylum ticket" invest in property - has there been a time where the Sinhalese have objected to their leaders over the 90% Tamil population in Wellawatte (Colombo South)?
Have there been any form of uproar over the rise in property purchases by the Tamils especially in the Western province?
So we are to accept that it is ok for Tamils to purchase land, build property & live anywhere they like but the Sinhalese have to confine themselves to all areas other than the North & the East?
Does this not deny the right under Article 14 (1) of the Constitution?

Prof. himself admits to "genocide" of Muslims in the North but once again does not include the genocide of the Sinhalese who were also living in the North & even ran very lucrative bakery shops in Jaffna. There are enough & more good Sri Lankans - they combine all the ethnic groups but like the Prof. quite rightly said, their voices are overpowered by the voices like Prof, the politicians, the LTTE & those nursing hidden agendas that use their status quo & voice to show a different picture to what actually exits. This in reality is the truth & Prof. Hoole too is party to this.

The next statement is in deed very interesting for it certainly depicts the desires of possibly a few carried through the decades & which provided the disguise for the LTTE macabre program of terror. What caused the LTTE to enter the reign of terror was certainly not the need to liberate the Tamils from Sinhalese domination but a desire to live in a separate homeland that was nurtured into Tamil minds by leaderships like Chelvanayagam.

The problem of the Sri Lanka Tamils really stems from the fact that they are yet to identify their Sri Lankan identity. Firstly they need to think themselves as Sri Lankan Tamils & not Indian Tamil or Tamils belonging to the Tamil Nadu state. A country's people have woes & come each woe it is rather silly to go crying to a neigbouring country that is interested or will take action only since it expects political support from the State. If India's Central Government does not require the support of Tamil Nadu state for political support, Sri Lanka's Tamils will never be of interest to India - this is the reality of India's interest in the Tamil people of Sri Lanka, unless of course India is nursing a future possibility of amalgamating Sri Lanka to make it Indian territory under Indian rule. This argument has good support in a recent article by a former Sri Lanka diplomat - Bandu Silva ""The merger of the two provinces, as I have pointed out through these columns earlier, was not for the benefit of the Tamils either of the North or the East but to meet India's security needs - getting hold of Trincomalee which is strategically important for India - by paving for a 'de facto' satellite enclave comprising the North and the East whose leaders would take the cue not from Colombo but from New Delhi or Chennai. That was amply demonstrated during Vartharaja Perumal's short stint as Chief Minister. Colombo did not know even his movements across the Palk Strait to India!"

With the reality that an Eelam through military means is now fast diminishing the next alternative as espoused by Prof. & which is likely to augur enough international support is a federal drive - in other words what the Tamil leadership could not get through terror tactics has now translated into a fresh drive to work towards a federal approach since it would not restrict Tamils living in the South to move out. The Federal drive would suit the Tamil leadership perfectly for an Eelam would immediately draw calls for the 55% of Tamils living in the South to move out to the North - which obviously they would be reluctant to do, so the Federal state would be the ideal option.

What is there to "cede" to the Tamils - they have the right to live - they are living in all parts of the country, on the other hand the Sinhalese cannot even go to the North let alone buy land & live there.
They go to school, they enter jobs they like, they can buy property at a price they can afford, they can buy land without hindrance.....can someone please give a clearer picture of what exactly the Tamils are being denied -just one or two cases does not give ground for an Eelaam, a Federal state or terror attacks?

Prof. Hoole concludes that "Eelam through war is an impossible goal" - we are happy to hear that but in the same vein he resurges the sentiments that an "unvoiced Eelam" can be gained through a Federal solution & he seems to be routing the Tamil diaspora & all those ready to carry the "next cause" along those lines. So his obvious suggestion was the calls for "foreign mediation" - in short "intervention", in the same lines of Morgan Tsvangirais' calls for foreign intervention in Zimbabwe.

Prof. Hoole is sharp enough to realize that the world is seeing a counter reaction to the false propaganda by the LTTE - countries are changing their stand on the LTTE, there have been increased arrests, increased surveillance of LTTE front organizations etc...which obviously needs remedial measures. Quite rightly, the Prof. admits that the Tamils have lost the moral high ground & the world's sympathies on account of their role in "genocide", slaughtering of Muslims at prayer in Katankudi, massacring of Muslim villagers including babies & the many cases of the narcotics trade, smuggling & credit card scams rigging elections & fascist leadership by Tamils.

Thus Prof. Hoole's suggestions for the Tamils to "renounce terrorism & assassinations" for the Western world are suckers for "apologies" & request for "giving another chance".

Prof. Hoole now "wooing" for a Federal solution is careful enough to ask that they be sensitive towards India's insecurity & obvious that India's role in the Federal solution is mandatory for any international support.
In this same argument - for 30 years were not the Eelam lobbyists not aware that India would oppose an Eelam - if India's insecurity was ever considered by Tamil leaderships are they not responsible for the deaths of thousands of Tamil youth mesmerized into fighting an Eelam that India would never contend with?

Prof. Hoole's speech clearly underlies the need for the people to now disassociate themselves from the LTTE - because the LTTE is losing its power control & thus it would be to the advantage to quickly get the international support by blaming the LTTE for the sabotages to peace, the crimes that have been committed & thereby gradually enhancing India's role internationally & work towards removing any anxieties towards India to encourage an Indian involvement - possibly India is pulling the strings for a federal state to be set up with an illusion that Sri Lanka can be made into one of its own States.

Prof. Hoole has also not left out all forces that the Sinhalese will build argument against & thus the expatriate Tamils have also been urged to change their stance from the angry speeches against the Sinhalese, the slander campaigns over websites etc...all artful planning for a bigger plan that is now in progress.

Prof. Hoole's India is one of genuine elections, no rigging, stable democracy, independent judiciary - perhaps he could explain how India is placed 74th in the Transparency International corruption index, 77% Indians believe Indian Judiciary is corrupt (Global Corruption Report
2007) or the fact that 86% of India (394.9million workers) toil in the unorganized sector - with nearly 80% living on less than Rs.20 per day, that the total amount of money stashed in foreign bank accounts of Indian politicians & others is around USD$410billion, that "corruption is the single most major factor keeping India poor & backward despite having the best of natural & human resources", that the public servants received Rs.21,068 crores as bribes in 2007 & that "corruption in Indian bureaucracy has now come to be accepted as part of the machinery that governs India". (National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized
Sector)

Prof. Hoole for all these reasons desires for an "Indian Intervention" in Sri Lanka - it just shows his love for the country of his birth.

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