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"Real grievances of the Tamil People vs. Perceived grievances of the Tamil Politicians"Shenali Waduge"Sri Lanka may win the battle against Tamil Tigers but not the war as they haven't got the Tamils on their side"- N.K. Narayan National Security Advisor Grievances are not confined to one community - the Tamils, the Muslims as well as the Sinhalese all have their share of grievances. It has suited politicians well to use these "grievances" to their own political advantage & we are in agreement that very few politicians of all communities have worked to realistically address these grievances. The present predicament in Sri Lanka bewails a situation where all the communities have grievances but the Tamil leadership feels their grievances supersede that of all others so much so that they have attached an "ethnic" dimension to it & generated a need for a separate homeland over the years. This notion was first propagated by the TULF later to be turned into an obsessive dream of a psychopath despot. The world still seems to be misled that the legitimate grievances of the Tamil people & the perceived grievances of the Tamil leaders are not the same & unlikely to be so. Unless this scenario combined with the politicization of administrations alters itself the legitimate grievances of the Tamil people even after eliminating the LTTE are unlikely to be resolved. There is an undercurrent to grievances & legitimate grievances - the background to this argument goes to the time of the colonial rulers & their divide & rule policy which meant creating a division between the majority & minority & leaving them at loggerheads with one another. Creation of missionary schools in minority areas, providing English education only to those that converted, providing jobs to only those that came out of missionary schools were part & part of their grand scheme. There were no human rights organizations, NGOs or the international community that objected to the colonial masters & the manner in which they were creating "pseudo Englishmen" setting out to destroy age-old cultures, customs & traditions. Would Tamils receiving missionary education, well conversant in English, having Christian names & enjoying better employment wish to reverse their status quo even if they were aware that they were enjoying these privileges because of the masked intentions of the colonial masters? There were no human rights entity to champion for the Sinhalese & voices reaching out to ask why over 70% of the population was being deprived - unjustly treated, denied better education & employment. There were however, a few Sinhalese who were recipients of missionary
education - these were the few who gave up their Buddhist faiths &
converted to Christian faith to obtain missionary English education. Ultimately, it was not the ethnicity that bound the byproducts of the system introduced by the colonial masters - the Sinhalese & Tamils privy to the privileges were bound by their newly found "elite status" - their elite upbringing, the fact that they belonged to the landed gentry, the upper class of society ensured they would take over post-independence rule in Sri Lanka. The colonial education system divested the superiority notion that vocalized the demand for 50-50 representation in independent Sri Lanka by the Tamil leadership. It was nothing to be really surprised over - but its denial by the British was there farewell gift in leaving another reason for the two communities to have reason to be in contention over. This would soon augur into future problems for the nation. The backdrop to the situation created by the colonial masters is important. On the one hand we had a minority community that was privy to preferential privileges deny the majority of the same through a manipulative system & upon independence when leadership fell into the hands of majority rule, it was only natural that the beneficiaries of these preferential privileges would object. The lifestyles of thousands of Tamils were likely to be affected & the jolt was felt not so much politically by economically - the Tamil leadership however was quick to use it as a political issue as the present leaders are now doing. It is impossible to erase the fact that the majority populace in Sri Lanka so happens to be Sinhalese. It is however farcical to believe that the Sinhalese are the privileged class - why else would political parties veer for popular vote if Sinhalese are a favored lot. Just as much as we need to accept that all the communities have their share of grievances the world also needs to be aware that amongst the Tamils themselves are distinct differences - differences that are too deep to resolve by political intervention. Discrimination which has become a portal on which the Tamils enjoy western backing has effectively left out prominence over their own differences pertaining to caste - the differences among Tamils vis a vis the caste system is so intense & can be perfectly depicted through examples of how Tamils were hostile to one another at the many refugee camps following the 1983 mob riots. Many of the high caste Tamils did not wish to occupy the same space or use the same toilets as the lower castes - they were unwilling even to come together. Caste differences have ensured different seating in restaurants & even in schools, in marriage - even the East & Northern Tamils are divided which is a primary reason for former rebel Karuna to depart from the LTTE. The Jaffna Tamils especially the Vellala caste think themselves as the elitist class & caste - most of the Tamil leaders belong to the elite caste which naturally garners votes. With the majority of Tamils having to endure the caste systems that ostracizes the lower caste groups from the rest, the international commentaries on Sri Lanka's Tamil problem have rarely touched on the caste issue. Prabakaran himself belongs to a low caste - his initial followers were also low caste, for years they had been living a deprived life & the movement bound them together & gave them motivation to assemble just as how the JVP were able to get the unemployed Southern youth on its side to wage riots in Sri Lanka citing class differences. Caste differences in India outweigh that of its neighbor - you will have generations of caste systems that decide barbers, cleaners, coolies etc even the tiffin box carriers are based on a caste system. Similarly, the Tesawalamai Law (customary law of the Tamils) has a territorial application & provides little room for non-Jaffna inhabitants to purchase land in Jaffna. The fact that the LTTE denounced the Tesawalamai rule in areas they controlled shows the exact nature of the discrimination which further denies married women her right to own property (a married woman could not dispose of her immovable property without husbands consent). The Kandyan Law had similar attributes but it is today applicable more to marriage & property. The Tamil leadership especially those that carry the outdated ideology
of the likes of Chelvanayagam still wishes the world to accept the North
& East of Sri Lanka as traditional homeland of the Tamil people
- it was a distinct feature even in the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of 1987
& eventually led to the merger of the North & East & subsequently
to the 13th amendment. Little prominence is given to the fact that Sinhalese
& Muslims did live in the Northern peninsula - very few human rights
groups championed for the Sinhalese or the Muslims who were hacked to
death & ethnically cleansed of the North as a result of Tamil nationalism.
Many too do not accept that the Tamils become a minority in the Eastern
province when the Sinhalese & Muslim populace combines. Similarly, the Sinhalese are a minority in Colombo with the combined populace of Tamils & Muslims. Nullifying the discrimination theme that the Tamil politicos & pro-LTTE NGOs who so love to seduce the international community & media with is the fact that over 55% of Tamils actually live outside of the North & Eastern province, they own land & property, enjoy employment in both private & public sector, their children go to public, private & international schools, they are on the boards of directors of most of the blue chip companies in Sri Lanka, they hold membership in all of the professional bodies international & local. It is obvious that Tamil leaders desire to dissuade non-Tamils from
settling in the North or "their areas" & those that do
they immediately portray as programs of colonization by the Government.
Obviously changes need to be made to existing Tesawalamai Laws to enable
effective articulation of Article 14 (1) of the Constitution. Are these
Tamil leaders not aware that Tamils are purchasing land, property building
condominiums & operating very lucrative businesses in the South
of Sri Lanka & has the people ever objected to colonization by the
Tamils? Wellawatte often described as little Jaffna has almost 90% Tamil population...most of the condominiums now standing erect are those built by Tamils staying overseas on the "asylum ticket" - they pump money into purchase of land, build condominiums, give these on massive rent & still have enough time to claim to the world how much they are being discriminated. Discrimination is how the blacks of America were treated by the Whites, how the whites of South Africa treated the majority of blacks in their land or how the Belgian's created identity cards differentiating the Tutsis & Hutus that led to the eventual Rwandan genocide in 1994. The Tamils of Sri Lanka have nothing near to complain about. The present Tamil leadership today live in fear - they have to be given
24x7 armed security & protection by the State - they fear not the
Government but the LTTE even the proxy LTTE, the TNA are reluctant to
say anything adverse against the LTTE. But the beauty of democracy is
that despite the protection they are free to make remorseless accusations
against the State & living in Colombo pile onslaughts of discrimination
propaganda against the State. The LTTE has successfully eliminated every
moderate thinking Tamil, even leaders that once lovingly referred to
them as "our boys" (TULF Leader, Amirthalingam). LTTE also silenced a man who was drafting a possible political solution (Neelan Thiruchelvam), LTTE also silenced Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister (Lakshman Kadiragamar) & Chief Government Whip (Jeyraj Fernandopulle) all examples of Tamils enjoying public respect & nullifying any case for discrimination by the Sinhalese. To this list of LTTE assassinations are mayors, pastors, peace leaders & scores of ordinary citizens whose only fault was that they did not speak in favor of the LTTE. LTTE also killed a former Prime Minister of India on Indian soil alongside the 2000 or so IPKF troops who were butchered by the LTTE. The Indian Peace Keepers that arrived in Sri Lanka did very little in the two years they were stationed here despite their heavy presence - it was obvious that the ill-prepared & ill-advised IPKF downgraded the type of Indian training imparted upon the LTTE & other rebel groups by RAW & other intelligence forces through the late 1970s & underestimated a group India had created. In just over two years the Sri Lankan army having braved the pressures by the international community & pro-LTTE NGOs & prodded on, claiming LTTE areas, bunkers & territory. Sri Lanka has many problems but the primary problem is that the country
has identified that the LTTE is not the sole representative of the Tamil
people (its killing of scores of Tamils have proved that) & its
reluctance to give up arms also reveals that its power is yielded only
through its gun culture - essentially it cannot progress towards a democratic
reform. It is nothing but a terrorist movement. Its "political
wing" is purely a political tool to hoodwink the international
community - there have been no instances where LTTE political wing actually
worked towards resolving the "problems of the Tamil people"
- Nepal has elected a former Maoist leader who has denounced terror
and accepted mainstream politics. IRA too progressed from a terror outfit
to broker a peace deal through its political wing. We simply have no example to show of LTTE's desire to disassociate themselves from terror tactics. A ludicrous cease fire agreement signed just months after the 9/11 attack & America's war on terror campaign was to safeguard itself from any perceived US pressure, though the FBI identified it as a ruthless terrorist outfit. Our present Opposition Leader continues to hail the agreement - the removal of road blocks & barriers his fete accompli & his supporters felt he had outwitted the fox but what happened was quite the opposite - the LTTE had officially declared areas to call its own, the deep penetration units were disclosed & the men gunned down one by one, LTTE leaders were given a carte blanche to travel in & out of the island, none of their "purchases" were checked....later it was discovered that spare parts, sophisticated satellite equipment etc were sent to the North & LTTE had craftily placed itself through sleeper cells in Colombo for future attacks. The links between LTTE & INGOs & NGOs are not unfounded & there have been many instances & examples of LTTE contriving with INGO & NGO assistance - the latest being the LTTE's possession of sophisticated trucks owned by Norwegian People's Aid - who did not care to report the matter to the Government but later declared it was "stolen". How can a Government eliminate a terrorist entity when there are forces such as these that assist them? It is common knowledge that for funds to be disbursed for projects a "need" is required. It serves these NGOs well when there is conflict thus requiring their "expertise" - should we be surprised then when the WFP declared that thousands were in hunger & reversed its statement following day when the Government objective that they had made an error but it was not before Japan had sent over a new allocation of funds....more than 60% of donations actually go towards the administrative costs borne by the workers ...salaries, perks etc... It is still baffling why the Government does not taken stern action against these NGOs when evidence proves for itself & it certainly raises the question of why? Returning to the topic....to move beyond the LTTE is likely to want a change in mindset. Firstly the country needs to heal itself from a 30 year old wound - more importantly the Tamil people need to also detach themselves from a notion that their present Tamil leaders the defacto LTTE in Parliament projects - these aged leaders living in a bygone era need to accept that the LTTE's program of hate & elimination should be laid to rest & their Parliamentary debates need to equally change its stance. Sri Lanka belongs to all its communities - Sri Lankan Tamils are not Indian Tamils, they have a right to live & work anywhere just as the Sinhalese & Muslims also have a right to live in the North if they so desired. The North cannot be declared the sole territory of the Tamils. India is Sri Lanka's neighbor, but it does not have any right to decide on how to govern our country & it has no right to demand the Government to apply change in policies only for the Tamils citing the brotherhood with the Tamil Nadu state. Obviously there is a need to change Tamil leadership into a new set of leaders that can take the country forward & similarly the Sinhalese leaders also need to change too. To move forward the Tamil community needs to bury any secessionist desires - it is this hidden manifestations that were carried by leaders like Chelvanayagam whose party's name itself connoted "separation" though it was artfully hidden in its English translation (Federal Party) & it was the Vaddokodai Resolution that provide Prabakaran the key to starting off his monstrous 30 year campaign which is now nearing its natural demise ....his early cadres have aged like himself, some have met natural deaths, while others never lived to see a dream...........the Tamil people never really shared Prabakaran's or the other Tamil Leaders desire for a "separate state"....Prabakaran didn't really have the adults he needed to fight the enemy...why else did he have to rely heavily on child soldiers? These brainwashed children have proven Milgram's Experiment to be true - how a leader can inculcate hatred & vengeance upon seemingly innocent minds.... The country has much healing to do...we will definitely see another dimension to the battle & war. The unprecedented hurry to implement proposals raises several questions & also questions whether those signatory to it actually comprehends the real status quo. Into this milieu are others that strive to further confuse by asking that the nation turn into federal - obviously with fiendish intents that would cater to their hidden agendas. The desire for peace should not blind our leaders to accepting any proposal despite pressures by the international community that will compromise on the nation's territorial integrity. It is desirous to see if the "grievances" of the Tamil people cannot be realistically addressed within the present systems. For that the country needs to know from the Tamil masses exactly what their "grievances" are - these essentially are not the grievances being projected by the Tamil leaders. In the same note the "grievances" of the Sinhalese & Muslims should also not be sidelined or forgotten. Our real challenge is yet to begin. "Every citizen is entitled to the freedom of movement and of choosing his residence within Sri Lanka" Article 14.1(h) of the Sri Lankan constitution
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