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Authenticity of Tamil GrievancesShenali Waduge
Let us be frank & forthright – what are the discriminations
faced by the Tamils, what are their grievances? Let all be aware of
what these “grievances” are & let these grievances be
relevant to the present. It is finally time for some honest answers.
Before working out any “political solution” what is it that
the Tamil leadership want or desire, or better still what is it that
the Tamil common masses desire, do they both share the same “grievances”
& desire the “same solutions” & what is this “political
solution” “they” seek? & how will this “political
solution” address these “grievances” & if these grievances
are not satisfied by the newly adopted “political solution”
what is the next recourse? A “problem” does exist but we should
be aware of what the problem actually is before drafting any solutions?
It would create another set of problems if the present “solutions”
do not actually address the
Critically analyzing post-independence Sri Lanka all the communities of the nation will be in agreement that all our leaders have failed us because they have failed to carve out the Sri Lankan Identity in our minds. The colonial masters have won the day by successfully dividing us even through post-independence through the “ethnic” tag. It is pointless pointing to a few issues & raising those as marginalizing one particular community on international platforms projecting oneself as the aggrieved party. For every grievance that a minority citizen claims the majority citizen will have tenfold of grievances to produce & match since irrespective of one’s ethnicity people are bound to have their grievances, instances of discriminations etc. Possibly this is so in all countries that have a majority of over 70% population & all others falling into a minority category. Are we not in agreement that dividing ourselves further by ethnically differentiating is going to aggravate the situation further? Can we also agree that ethnically formed political parties only seek to further the divide?
Politics means taking decisions, adapting policies & steering ones campaign towards a party’s ultimate goal which is to come into power & reign through the period they are in power. What are the real issues of the people – education, infrastructure, employment, better health care….& the need to live in peaceful cohabitation. They are not interested in the useless debates or the futile political attacks by opposing parties. Despite whatever all political leaders, local social movements & locally stationed foreign NGOs say of the present conflict ….does anyone see Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims in daily battle, fighting at work, fighting in their neighborhoods, fighting in schools? Does a Sinhalese who enters a market get served first, do the Sinhalese enjoy front row seats in buses or theatres or even in queues, do public or private establishments say “Sinhalese line up first” or are the letters delivered to Sinhalese first? Please remember that the prisons are full of more Sinhalese than Tamils. Things are being blown out of proportion & they have been & it is the fault of all leaders that the world is misinformed & the media should take more accountability for always projecting the country as a “failed state” for all the wrong reasons. Are there no problems in America, UK, EU nations, Canada, India Australia, Japan…there is not a single country in the world that does not suffer from problems (rape, murder, kidnapping, theft, robberies etc) – this is the reality. It would be interesting to see what the Tamils being discriminated in a foreign country would end up doing? Can we expect countries having problems themselves to solve our problem when we seem not to know what it is or have some others saying we have a problem but refraining from really putting them down in clear understandable points for all to see? All our leaders seem to enjoy going round the mulberry bush!
The Hutus (majority – 85% population) & Tutsi (minority – 15% of population but were the elite class) of Rwanda were living in peaceful coexistence until the colonial masters came & divided them. The French are an embarrassed nation today as it has been accused of taking part in the genocide, raping Tutsi women & assisting the 1994 Rwandan genocide where Hutus hacked almost 1million Tutsis in 100 days of carnage. Similarly it was the colonial masters who divided the Sinhalese & Tamils through their divide & rule policy. What the colonial masters did effectively is being carried forward by our so called leaders who are unable to bury their own personal agendas & desires for power & work towards a common goal. That common goal should not be to have a Sinhala homeland, a Tamil homeland or a Muslim homeland. Discounting all those who we call “leaders”, all those who steer “communal hatred”, all those who “steer public opinion” towards agendas that satisfy their existence…I presume still there is over 99% of the population who will agree that they do not want to be divided, do not want to be in separate “homelands”, do not want to continue this “garnered hatred”, do not want “foreign intervention” of any form but wish to live as they presently do because that is the reality of what the common man shares. Go to a supermarket, you will find workers of all communities working their daily shifts, go to an ordinary market a similar environment will prevail, go to the schools, enter public & private establishments….can you see any fighting, any bickering over one’s “ethnicity”? Where is the problem then? The only real grievance that I can see is that a Tamil cannot become the President of Sri Lanka…but then can you change this status quo in a country that has over 70% Sinhalese? And we are talking of just one man holding this post amongst the 12% of Tamils….can we be a little more realistic! At the same time in the present security situation in the country I can empathize with the security measures & in some instances Tamils have been unfairly treated. In the same argument, we must realize & accept that those who planted bombs, undertook suicide missions were all living as normal human beings & posing off as ordinary citizens….are the security forces clairvoyant to see through LTTE’s disguise & let us not forget that even the Sinhalese are checked & some of us too have been rudely treated but that doesn’t mean we take up arms?
It is unfortunate that the post-open economy era Sri Lanka’s Tamil leaders in all fronts have had to live in fear & against their conscience & play fiddle to the tune of the LTTE. Even the present Tamil Parliamentary representatives are referred to as proxy LTTE & they have not shown any reason not to be termed so either. Of the representatives of the Ceylon Workers Congress headed by Thondaman little said the better as it is our present system of governance that has turned him into a master briber for votes & Cabinet positioning with little or no desire to uplift the needs of the upcountry Tamils he represents – this was amply proven when the CWC that contested the recent Provincial Council polls failed to get a single seat & their vote base has significantly diminished, the same can be said of the leader of the Muslim Congress. But obviously these Tamil leaders too nurse a desire for real power…& through statements like those uttered by Prof. Hoole we see a new call for a change in the Eelaam stand which has failed through the gun but a drive to obtain it by federal means, affording them an opportunity to lead in a new form of governance. This will obviously mean that for Tamil leaders who wish to reign supreme ordinary Tamils will be driven along another course…& away from real peace. It is this over-ambitiousness amongst the Tamil leaders as seen through two divergent extremes (50-50 representation in independent Sri Lanka & the Eelaam homeland) that is the real reason for the inability for any compromise.
Departing from the gun would suit western democracies better for it will disassociate from bombs, suicide missions, assassinations & would instead involve travel, VIP chats & bargaining of a different kind…but essentially it will be peaceful.…Just as how the US forcefully entered Iraq for its oil, removed Saddam whose death took place undemocratically & now “democratic” talks are about to lead to a permanent US troop presence in Iraq & the no-bid contracts for oil by US oil giants. The US has perfected a similar endeavor in Afghanistan to draw up a gas pipeline but the real intent was revealed only much later. We are not naïve to know that despite its insignificant size Sri Lanka is of geographic importance to countries like US, UK, China & of course India. It was important to the British East India Company - that virtually ruled us & which eventually took our natural resources & sold them back as manufactured products.
We see a surge in a “reinvolvement by India” – but did India ever take its eye from whatever took place in Sri Lanka - have we forgotten the many times our Foreign Minister ends up taking flight to Delhi just to brief the Indian leadership, have we forgotten how India presses us to purchase weapons only from India, & even provide the details of Pakistani intelligence arriving in Sri Lanka, India even diplomatically ensured Japan limited its assistance only through aid programs, have we forgotten that Norway’s peace role in Sri Lanka was first consented by India…was it not President Jayawardena’s perceived closeness to US & Israel during the 80s that angered Indira Gandhi into taking sterner action against Sri Lanka which eventually meant starting a covert operation to ensure Sri Lanka remained a “vegetable” forever since it suited India perfectly. A covert operation would mean a destabilized Sri Lanka, its economy in decline (India’s ability to sell its products to Sri Lanka under trade “agreements”), political instability, ability to create an environment of disunity amongst its communities, escalation in internal unrest (covering all issues that are relevant to a country) with the people naturally blaming any Government in power, of course backed up by a media coverage that can outdo Government media – all these certainties would cover reasons for any foreign diplomatic endeavors to engage as “goodwill missions” in Sri Lanka.
Thus, we had Indian involvement through the Indian Peace Keeping Force – its two year “peace” initiative did little to recover weapons from the LTTE or eliminate its rebel attacks. IPKF left Sri Lanka’s North disillusioned at how the “boys” trained by Indian intelligence & RAW had actually gunned down over 2000 Indian peace keepers & an outfit known to be respected for its “discipline” in fact had scores of rape, theft, vandalism charged against it by the very people who welcomed them with garlands. It is a pity that the present Tamil leaders & academics have forgotten the damage done & the social stigma that these young Tamil women would have had to endure for we see a drive for India to return to Sri Lanka. Is India the answer to whatever happens in Sri Lanka – it is India that is turning the Sri Lankan Tamils problem into a greater dilemma? With the continued interference of India it does make us wonder whether we are a sovereign nation after all – but we are still so & it should remain so until the people & not the leaders decide otherwise.
A country has options – I agree the word democracy has been abused & is misused but it is a better form of governance than having totalitarian ruler. By totalitarian I am implying dictators similar to that of Hitler, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Idi Amin… there are varied calls for a benevolent dictator – one who has the vision to see the country forward, a journey that would mean certain changes to privileges enjoyed by a few & certainly some hardships but working towards a common program where ultimately the good of the common masses would prevail & the economy, society would see positive changes & where finally it would be the people that benefit & not the leaders or a few rich businessmen. Tamil leaders routing for an Indian intervention or any other foreign intervention should feel ashamed of their representative status since their preferred option has been to seek foreign help. It is extremely prudent for Sri Lankans to identify their Sri Lankan Identity. Why should Tamil leaders think Indian…this new road that is drawing the people along is it really Federalism or another way to achieve Eelaam?
Being treated like equal citizens is what is echoed by Tamils who enjoy depicting that the calls for a separate homeland is because the problem has gone beyond the solution stage. Now, the pre-1983 Tamils who took flight to foreign shores were based on their financial ability, the post-83 mob riots meant that a large number of Tamils went to live in foreign shores as refugees. They cannot deny that they live as 3rd class citizens in those countries – those that remain without proper papers when mugged are unable to even go to the police. The dollars & pounds silence any ill-will against those that treat them unequally in those countries. In their own country naturally, they have all the right to project their “grievances” but these should be sensible & have some commonly applied format to actually present as a case against a community being purposely marginalized by the State. Political privileges & even in some cases where jobs are given on recommendations does happen around the world (even global companies are guilty of same) It is an unfortunate trait in developing nations but those benefitting from political privileges are likely to include people from all communities & not necessarily marginalizing one as is the common “belief”.
It is unfortunate that through decades the people have been unnecessarily fed with vengeance & hatred – they have come to believe that they are been discriminated against, they believe what their elders & leaders say & very few are really bold to realistically wonder whether all these accusations are really true & should be allowed to pass on to the next generations. The rebel youth of the late 70s lost their youth to a despot, who has turned them into individuals harboring hatred, similarly the JVP did the same through their insurgencies & their leaders still continue to destabilize the minds of the youth. We have leaders not wanting our minds to heal, leaders continuing to keep us in the past, a past that should be allowed to be buried & a need to start afresh. The present military drive in many ways is being viewed as a means to start a new approach – where the power of the LTTE will be forcefully diminished allowing a political change that would bring people closer together. It is not going to be an easy task for the simple reason that when one enemy is being purged another enemy is attempting to surface taking the people & the country away from journeying towards a single road & away from war & strife.
To the Tamil people & leaders is it not time that we steer the country towards peace? The common man does not want the leaders of all our communities to continue the campaigns for which the common man is really not party to….the more the nation continues to boil in hatred we allow external forces to descend upon us & take away our real sovereignty forever. The present leadership should be aware that what the people are really concerned about is simple matters like affordable & available food, better roads & transport, to obtain work for their qualifications, scope for self-employment, a better life….if a Government can cater to these simple needs the inflated issues of ethnicity, discrimination & all the glorified reasons that have kept the country at ransom will fade into insignificance….the people will gain their Sri Lankan identity…the day that Sri Lanka will progress is the day as Sri Lankans. Presently, the average Sri Lankans are being divided by the leaders & external forces & this needs to stop.
It took 443 years for us to be free of colonial rulers in the past…do we want to make the same mistake?
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