புத்தாண்டு கொண்டாடும் தமிழர்கள் கண்ணீர்த்துளிகளுடன்
ஈழப்போரை தடுக்க எந்த முயற்சியும் எடுக்காத இந்திய அரசின்
செயலை வரலாற்று களங்கமாக
இருண்ட காலமாக
நெஞ்சில் தைத்த நெருஞ்சி முள்ளாக எடுத்துக் கொண்டுள்ளனர்.
இந்திய அரசுக்கு நல்ல புத்தி பிறக்க பிறக்கட்டும் 2009
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N.Nandhivarman General Secretary Dravida Peravai
9 Ramaraja Street, Puducherry 605001
Tel: 0413-2221025
web: http://www.dravidaperavai.org.in
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| Genocide in Sri Lanka : Memorundum given by Shivajilingam MP to LK Advani Leader of BJP in India |  |  |  |
New Delhi Shri L.K. Advaniji Dear Sir: A MEMORANDUM
1. On 4th Feb. 1948, Sri Lanka (then, “Ceylon”) was granted independence by the British as a corollary to the freedom struggle and independence of India. Ever since, the majoritarian Sinhala regime started introducing legislative, executive and administrative measures aimed at politically debilitating the Tamils. Successive Sinhala leaders have manoeuvred to dispense with the Tamil element from the body politic of the country.
2. In 1948 Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake’s United National Party (UNP) govt. enacted the Indian Citizenship Act of 1948, stripping 1 million “Indian” Tamils of their citizenship rights and franchise. As a concomitant blow, 7 M.P.s representing these Tamils of Indian origin in Parliament lost their seats overnight. The “Indian” Tamils are the descendents of indentured labour brought to Sri Lanka by British govt. (in mid-1800s) from South India to work on tea, rubber plantations of the Hill country, promising them permanent residence and perks. 3. It was in protest against this cruel move by the UNP, targeting the Tamil plantation workers and also to express our affinity and empathy that (the late Tamil leader ) Mr. S.J.V. Chelvanayagam M.P., (”Chelva”) and his colleagues in Parliament, voted against them and in 1949, formed the Federal Party (FP, officially, “Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi”) to protect Tamil interests. The FP demanded a federal structure of government in which Tamils living in their traditional “Homeland” of North and East Provinces of Sri Lanka could have their own autonomous unit. It was intended that the “Indian” Tamils, facing persecution in the hill country areas could move and safely settle in the Tamil North-East. 4. In 1956, Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake enacted the “Sinhala Only” Act in Parliament, making Sinhala the only official and administrative language to the exclusion Tamil language. In protest, the Federal Party organized a peaceful Satyagraha campaign at the Colombo-Galleface maidan, situated across the parliament building. Instigated and encouraged by Sinhala politicians of the governing party, Tamil Leaders Chelvanayagam, Amirthalingam and hundreds of other Satyagrahis were set upon and beaten up by Sinhala goondas and gangs, under the watchful eye of the police. The language policy of successive governments had deprived Tamils of their employment opportunities. 5. With a view to defeating the Tamils’ claim to preserve their traditional homeland, under the guise of promoting development projects, successive governments have systematically planted - and continue to plant - Sinhala colonies in Tamil areas. These state-sponsored colonization schemes have altered the demographic structure of the North-East, to the detriment of the Tamils. The planted Sinhala colonies have since diluted Tamils’ electoral strength. Today, they are able to elect, at least, five Sinhala M.P.s. from the traditional Tamil areas, especially in the Eastern Province. 6. In the context of the ongoing war, having randomly demarcated high-security zones in Tamil areas, security forces have not only prevented displaced Tamils from reclaiming and returning to their own lands, but have also arbitrarily established Sinhala colonies on these lands. 7. The majority of the Tamils in Sri Lanka (85%) are Hindus. Because of the war and displacement of the local population, Hindu temples in the affected areas have been neglected. Members of the security forces are entirely Sinhalese and are mostly Buddhists. They have erected Buddhist viharas within the security zones and in other areas affected by displacement. 8. Seeking to resist and protest the various discriminatory policies pursued by different governments, Tamils had, from time to time, launched non-violent Satyagraha struggles and civil disobedience campaigns under the sagely leadership of Chelvanayagam (Chelva) In the wake of such campaigns, Sinhala leaders had entered into solemn accords with Chelva. Banda-Chelva Accord (1957), Sirima-Chelva accord (1960), Dudley-Chelva Agreement (1965) are only a few instances. These agreements were later unilaterally abrogated by different Prime Ministers under pressure from Buddhist clergy and Sinhala chauvinists. 9. In 1970, Prime Minister Srimavo Bandaranayake, while replacing the Soulbury constitution with a new Republican Constitution, conveniently got rid of two entrenched provisions of the Soulbury Constitution which had provided, though meekly, for protecting the rights of racial and religious minorities. She did so, notwithstanding the pleadings and protests from the Tamil leaders. 10. Periodically, Tamils have been the victims of large-scale anti-Tamil violence and organized pogroms instigated and indulged in by Sinhala racists, thugs and hoodlums with the connivance of security forces. Their experiences in the years 1958, 1961, 1970, 1977 are too painful to recall. The holocaust of July 1983 has inflicted physical, emotional and psychological injuries which remain festering. The genocidal killings in 1983 had claimed over 3000 Tamil lives, who were murdered and maimed, besides hundreds of incidents of arson, looting and sexual violence against Tamil women and destruction of property worth millions.
11. Discriminatory practice against Tamil students, designed to deny them university education, particularly to the more coveted courses of Medicine and Engineering was introduced by Srimavo govt. through a device, ostensibly called “standardization”. In plain words, Tamil students were required to obtain more marks than Sinhala students and meet a higher threshold to enter university for these courses.Thus, Sinhala leaders had left no option for the young Tamils, but to fight back, tooth and nail. 12. In these circumstances, in the face of Sinhala intransigence, on 14 May 1976 the Tamil political leaders united under the new banner of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) at Vaddukoddai in Jaffna. Under the stewardship of the octogenarian Chelva, they proclaimed the Vaddukoddai Resolution to establish a separate Tamil state for the Tamils, as the only way to live in dignity. They realized that Federalism would not work in the face of hostility from the Sinhala leadership. The recent outburst by the Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka that Sri Lanka belonged only to the Sinhalese and that Tamils could not claim any rights here may justify the Tamil resolve. In fact, before the arrival of imperial powers ' the Portugese, the Dutch and the British ' the Tamils had their sovereign kingdom. Thus, they are now seeking restoration and not separation !. 13. Chelva died in 1977. The TULF which contested the 1977 General Elections on the basis of the Vaddukoddai Resolution opting for separation, obtained an overwhelming mandate from the Tamil people. 14. In the wake of the July 1983 genocidal killings, dubbed as “Black July”, Tamil moderate leadership had lost its clout and the Gandhian methods of struggle lost their credibility. Thus, Tamil militancy gathered momentum. 15. Commencing with the “Black July” and continuing through to this day, more than a 100,000 lives, mostly of innocent Tamil civilians, have been lost. The current scenario is a sad saga of deaths, destruction and devastation spawn by the ongoing war and the horrific abuses and atrocities committed by security forces and armed groups and gangs associated with them, operating mostly in govt.controlled areas. There are no safe spots for Tamils in any part of Sri Lanka. 16. The deadly dimensions of the risks that Tamils face and the harassment and hardships they endure in Sri Lanka are manifest in different forms : (1) Sri Lanka Air Force continue to attack civilian settlements in Vanni and indiscriminately bomb and shell shelters occupied by the displaced. Contrary to the ostensible assurances given to the Indian govt. by Rajapakse, civilian targets, including a hospital in Mullaitivu, have not been spared. The victims include young children, the aged and the infirm and medical staff, besides those affected by monsoon rain. (2) Besides deaths, destruction, devastation and displacement caused by incessant aerial and artillery attacks, flooding has displaced thousands of others; (3) Killings, Abductions, “disappearances”, extortion etc., by gangs/groups associated with the security forces and targeting Tamils have created a climate of terror and fear; (4) Regularly, hundreds of Tamils in govt.-controlled areas, specially in Colombo and the South, face arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention and torture. (5) Human rights abuses and atrocities against Tamils are rampant. (6) Tamil Refugees fleeing to India precariously by boats, seeking safety. 17. In this context, let me briefly refer to the observations made by eminent international human rights advocacy groups: Amnesty International, Review of Sri Lanka, June 2008, (3) Human Rights Watch, March 2008, (4) U.S. Dept. of State Report on Sri Lanka, released on 11 March 2008 Amnesty International, June 2008 “Eighth session of the UN Human rights Council” “Review of Sri Lanka under the Universal Periodic Review: Amnesty International’s reflection on the outcome” Themes raised by member states participating in the review of Sri Lanka under the UPR dialogue included concerns related to the lack of protection of civilians caught in the internal conflict; enforced disappearances, unlawful/extrajudicial killings; torture and other forms of ill treatment, threats to freedom of expression, the need to strengthen national human rights institutions, attacks on dissent and ongoing impunity for human rights violations.
Protection and Promotion of Human Rights ..Amnesty International is alarmed that extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary killings continue, as illustrated by recent reports of five persons shot dead in the Batticaloa area on 22 May 2008. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions expressed serious concerns on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions stating that ‘the government has relied extensively on paramilitary groups to maintain control in the East and, to a lesser extent, in Jaffna. There is evidence that these groups conduct operations with the Government forces and are responsible for extrajudicial executions’. . Human Rights Watch, March 2008 “Recurring Nightmare” “State Responsibility for “Disappearances” and Abductions in Sri Lanka” Enforced disappearances have again become a salient feature of the conflict. Figures released by various governmental and nongovernmental sources suggest that more than 1,500 people were reported missing from December 2005 through December 2007. Some are known to have been killed, and other have surfaced in detention or otherwise have been found, but the majority remain unaccounted for. Evidence suggests that most have been “disappeared” or abducted. The national Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka does not publicize its data on “disappearances,” but Human Rights Watch learned that about 1,000cases were reported to the HRC in 2006 and over 300 cases in the first four months of 2007 alone. “Disappearances” have primarily occurred in the conflict areas in the country’s north and east-namely the districts of Jaffna, Mannar,Batticaloa, Ampara, and Vavuniya. A large number of cases have also been reported in Colombo. Who is Responsible? In the great majority of cases documented by Human Rights Watch and Sri Lankan groups, evidence indicates the involvement of government security forces-army, navy, or police. The Sri Lankan military, empowered by the country’s counterterrorism laws, has long relied on extrajudicial means, such as “disappearances” and summary executions- U.S. Department of State Report, 11 March 2008 “Sri Lanka: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices ' 2007″ The government’s respect for human rights continued to decline due in part to the escalation of the armed conflict. While ethnic Tamils composed approximately 16 percent of the overall population, the overwhelming majority of victims of human rights violations, such as killings and disappearances, were young male Tamils. Credible reports cited unlawful killings by government agents, assassinations by unknown perpetrators, politically motivated killings and child soldier recruitment by paramilitary forces associated with the government, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, poor prison conditions, denial of fair public trial, government corruption and lack of transparency, infringement of religious freedom, infringement of freedom of movement, and discrimination against minorities.
There were numerous reports that the army, police, and pro-government paramilitary groups participated in armed attacks against civilians and practiced torture, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and extortion with impunity. The situation deteriorated particularly in the government-controlled Jaffna peninsula. By year’s end extrajudicial killings occurred in Jaffna nearly on a daily basis and allegedly perpetrated by military intelligence units or associated paramilitaries. 18. The Rajapakse govt. had deliberately ordered all INGOs and even UN agencies to leave the Vanni area. The idea was to execute its war campaign unmonitored and undeterred by international outcry about civilian deaths and destruction. Carpet bombing and cluster bombs are part of this game plan. It is relevant to mention the killings of humanitarian workers by security agencies. Human Rights Watch, Jan. 2008 “Country Summary: Sri Lanka” Human Rights Defenders and Humanitarian Workers Human rights defenders, community leaders, and humanitarian workers in Sri Lanka have particularly come under attack. The government tries to silence those questioning or criticizing its approach to the armed conflict or its human rights record. It has dismissed peaceful critics as “traitors”, “terrorist sympathizers”, and “supporter of the LTTE”. The Law and Society Trust reported that from January 2006to August 2007, 40 humanitarian workers and religious leaders had been killed and 20 “disappeared” .. 19. I may recall that the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) headed by former Indian Chief Justice P.N. Bhagwati, invited by Rajapakse to oversee the probes into human rights abuses of selected cases, eventually left half-way in disgust. Further, three Nobel Peace laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Argentina’s Adolfo Esquivel, among many other human rights activists campaigned against Sri Lanka’s bid for re-election to UN Human Rights council while, to our dismay, India backed Sri Lanka. It is history that finally, Sri Lanka lost. 20. The Inter-Press Service News Agency (IPS), Nov. 26, 2008, reports on the plight of the civilians in the Vanni area: Inter-Press Service News Agency (IPS), Nov. 26, 2008: “SRI LANKA: Floods, Fighting, Food Shortages Hit Trapped Tamils” “Incessant rains and flooding in the Vann, the Tamil rebel stronghold in northern Sri Lanka, are adding to the woes of at least 200,000 people stranded in intensified fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan army, since mid-September. ” 21. You would appreciate Sir, that in the aftermath of the “Black July” 1983, India assumed an active role in resolving the Tamil question in Sri Lanka. In fact, it is no longer a secret that India provided training and propped up the armed struggle of the Tamil rebels. The same generation of militants is still on the battlefront, prosecuting and defending the campaign for which purpose they were groomed and trained. I believe that it is morally wrong for India to cut and run. 22. It is intriguing that Indian Defence Advisor is among a team of Defence Advisors/ Attaches who had visited Vanni three days back along with the Sri Lankan Military leaders. The others were from Pakistan, USA, UK, Japan, Bangladesh and Maldives. It is amusing that India’s strategic interests and Pakistani interests converged on Sri Lanka, specifically on Vanni. 23. On behalf of the Sri Lankan Tamils, I respectfully request you to use your good offices to present our case to the Indian government and to urge them to intervene without further delay. The Indian intervention is urgent and essential to address these issues and achieve the following purposes: (1) to ensure an immediate a ceasefire on the warfront; (3) to ensure the return of the INGOs to undertake urgent humanitarian tasks and respond to the crisis ; (5) to initiate immediate talks between the parties to the conflict and work out formulae for the resolution of the Tamil question. 24. I submit that I would be glad to present supporting documents to substantiate the matters which I have raised and discussed in the foregoing paragraphs. I thank you Sir, for your time and indulgence. May I wish you a very productive and successful year 2009. I remain, Yours truly, M.K. SHIVAJILINGAM, M.P., Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Sri Lanka. |
Sri Lankan
genocide has many sides
[Editorial, Eelam
Nation]
If the race riots from 1956 to 1981 directed
against the Tamils were to make them voiceless, then the genocide set in motion
as from 1983 is to make them lifeless. It has been designed to destroy the Tamil
nation in the hope, that whoever Tamil is left behind, would be morally,
physically and intellectually broken, having suffered immense multiple
catastrophes in their lives, to be resigned to be servile and subservient to
the Sinhala polity. Sri Lankan genocide against the Tamils is an undertaking as
old as it is multi faceted and immensely complex.
The bombings of civilian targets killing thousands
of people in the Vanni, the de facto state of Eelam, including children in
schools , the three major hospitals in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and the latest
in Puthukudiruppu with infants therein dying and the others fleeing to their
deaths, the stoppage of medicines, denial of ambulance services, the use of
cluster bombs and the inordinately massive proportion of TNT sufficient to
constitute a nuclear bomb dropped on civilian areas are only one side of the
genocide by the Sri Lankan state. Whenever the LTTE militants increase their
resistance against the Sri Lankan army aggression on the ground, the innocent
Tamil civilians now on the run and about 300,000 IDPs have to continually pay
the price to keep the Sinhala chauvinists morbidly happy in their make believe
notion that it is the Tamils, who are being killed and they are all terrorists
anyway. This keeps President Rajapakse and his three brothers who constitute the
Sri Lankan State popular and secure amongst the Sinhalese chauvinists, who
unfortunately form the majority, vital to keep them in power. The Tamils in the
Vanni who are still fortunate to be alive are either injured, maimed, orphaned
or traumatized beyond relief and are starving. All this is in keeping with the
defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse's doctrine that "anything is fair ",
implying that the Sri Lankan government is at war with its own Tamil subjects,
and because it is a war, the atrocities committed against them are justified.
The more the Tamils are harassed the more popular Rajapakse's ruling clique
become.
It is remarkable that there has been no significant
protest, debate, or discussion to say the least amongst the Sinhalese people,
on the persistent killings of the Tamil civilians, signifying the unfortunately
irreparable divide between the Sinhalese and the Tamils that has come to stay.
Evincing typical Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism the Venerable Udugama Sri
Buddharakkhita, the holy Mahanayake Thera of Asgiriya, one of the highest
ranking Buddhist prelates in the country, who as one would expect to plead for
peace, has earnestly urged the Sinhala Buddhist chauvinist political parties in
parliament that President Rajapakse's murderous war at the expense of the dying
Tamils should go on undisturbed. This noble prelate is by no means a relation of
a former High Priest of the Kelaniya Temple, Buddharakkhita Thera responsible
for the murder in 1959, of the Prime minister SWRD Bandaranaike (there was no
LTTE then!) and pioneering of the culture of violence against the Tamil people
initiated in 1956, leading the attack on Tamil Parliamentarians seated in
peaceful protest against the passage of the "Sinhala only" Act.
The prevailing idea in the current genocide is that
if the Tamils are decimated to the extent of not being a force to be reckoned
with and their cultural identity obliterated then the national question will go
away. Besides the mass killings of the Tamil people, the genocide since the
early 1980s by the tens of thousands has taken the form of unlawful arrests,
indefinite incarceration of persons,with their whereabouts still not known
culminating in mass burials, enforced disappearances, abductions in the white
vans and the various forms of barbaric torture.
Designed to starve the Tamil people, with their
traditional agriculture and fishing restricted from 1994 onwards, there have
been blockades of some kind or another of food and essential items going into
Tamil speaking areas. Even after the official embargo statutorily lifted there
has been the blockade of the trunk route to Jaffna with the people consequently
having to depend on hand outs at the mercy of an alien military. Besides the
trauma of living within a military environment, children have to grow up
malnourished and brain damaged. The food sent to the starving IDPs in the
Vanni, with some pilfered half way by the military, reach them with all manner
of restrictions placed on the INGOs and the NGOs, transporting and distributing
them, who are made out to be in the pay of the LTTE as is any independent
organisation that attempt to expose the truth or be objective.
Although 65% of the areas affected by the Tsunami
were Tamil speaking, the relief sent in cash and kind by the world community,
were denied to them with most of the victims still languishing leading a sub
standard life in contrast to the similarly affected parts in the Sinhalese
areas having improved by nearly 125%. We are not grudging this, except to say
that the rehabilitation should have been equitable. Most of the monies, we
understand, with no audit held, went to line the pockets of those said to have
been responsible for the rehabilitation of the victims.
Tamils
journalists have disappeared, abducted, imprisoned or killed. With all access to
civil infrastructure denied in their areas, the Tamils have been denied the
basic right of a decent civil and civilian life that any human being is entitled
to, which they had enjoyed until the onset of the signs of genocide. In areas
of military occupation like the Jaffna peninsula, for every ten civilians there
is an army personnel breathing over their back.
We have only touched the surface of the Sri Lankan
genocide. It warrants an in depth study to understand it and be fair by the
suffering Tamil people. We appreciate the work of the Genocide Prevention
Project looking at the UN for the prevention of genocide and to be sensitive to
the early warning signs. As regards Sri Lanka, which is now part of the "red
alert” watch list, it is too late for any form of prevention with the malady
having set in, not long after the year of the Declaration of Human Rights. It
needs a surgical operation, and not prevention as envisaged by the task force
headed by the former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the former
Defense Secretary Bill Cohen.
The report, however, is a ray of hope to the Sri
Lankan Tamil people, that with Barock Obama as the new US President elect and
his passion for the eradication of genocide the world over resonating with what
the 39 th. US president and Nobel Peace Laureate Jimmy Carter had to say on
the 60th. Year of the Declaration of Human Rights: "The moral footprint of the
United States has always been vast. Our next president has an unprecedented
opportunity to lead through example by inspiring and supporting those who would
reach for freedom and by being tough and effective with those who would impede
freedom’s march. All Americans must give him full support"
We have no doubt that all those right thinking
people opposed to genocide the world over will offer their unstinted support
and assistance to the new US President in his endeavours not only to prevent
genocide but also to eradicate it and save the peoples already in its
throes.
.
| India needs Iron Will to tell Sri Lanka to Stop Genocide - N.Nandhivarman General Secretary Dravida | | | |
 N.Nandhivarman General Secretary Dravida Peravai Unless other nations initiate India will not take the first step to redeem Eelam Tamils from genocide. This impression is gaining ground and getting entrenched in Tamil psyche, as even Tamils of Tamilnadu feel like orphans within India, not because of the Indian nation but due to some mischief mongers in bureaucracy who have a common thread, racial sacred thread with the so called Aryan-Sinhalese. In past when earnest efforts were made by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to resolve the Tamil Eelam issue, few misguided him, more prominent among them were Mr.Romesh Bhandari and Mr.J.N.Dixit. This time the needle of suspicion in the minds of Tamils living across the continents seems to point and suspect a rehearsal of that past with new players like Mr.M.K.Narayanan, National Security Adviser, misguiding Indian policies towards Eelam Tamils. It is normal that we in political class only will blame the political masters, and allows the bureaucracy to go scot-free, since bureaucracy is permanent and cannot defend itself on its own in public, unlike the politicians. But in the aftermath of Mumbai terrorist strikes, the Indian Home Minister Mr.Shivraj Patil, one who lost last elections but was inducted in cabinet due to his "slavish loyalty" as the leading New Delhi daily Mail Today described in its editorial dated 1st December 2008, had to quit office owning moral responsibility. We congratulate Mr. P.Chidambaram, a Tamilian the new home minister, who had been Minister of State in the Home ministry with special charge of internal security in 1988 when Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. "He is seen as a strong, assertive politician and close to Man Mohan Singh. But, he will be carrying some of Patil's baggage. The former home minister was not the only one responsible for making a mess of the security situation. National security advisor (NSA) M.K. Narayanan, home secretary Madhukar Gupta, Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief P.C. Haldar, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Ashok Chaturvedi, and director-general Coast Guard Vice Admiral R.F. Contractor were responsible for making the country safe from terrorist strikes. Like Patil, they failed repeatedly. Yet, they have kept their jobs. In short, the government has sacked Patil but chosen not to dismantle the architecture of incompetence that surrounded him till his resignation on Sunday morning" writes Mail Today. It points the accusing finger on Mr.M.K.Narayanan, the National Security Adviser." He failed in effective coordination between the intelligence and security agencies. Even the Prime Minister said such coordination was missing in pre-empting the latest attack. The PM now wants a mechanism for coordination between all security agencies. A shrewd operator and a survivor, Narayanan has been accused of undermining the IB and R&AW chiefs. He offered to resign when he met the PM on Sunday, but may have been saved by the TINA ('there is no alternative') factor. "The government does not have a replacement for the NSA's position right now," a senior PMO official said about the possible reason why Narayanan retained his job. On Sunday, the Prime Minister met Brijesh Mishra, former NSA in the NDA government. It set the rumour mills churning for a while, but the danger to Narayanan passed." so says the daily. In USA whenever new President or Party assumes office, new set of policies emanate with fresh leaders inducted into government. In India the cabinet system is supreme, but by-passing the cabinet system or the cabinet secretariat, imitating the West, we wrongly create posts like National Security Adviser, which erodes the authority of the Cabinet Minister or Cabinet Secretary. I would like to recall a comment by a columnist in a leading daily, where he said Indian Prime Minister Mr.Manmohan Singh started his innings as Prime Minister of India, but ultimately ended as Prime Minister of National Capital. This comment emanated to criticize the PM for going on creating committee after committee to induct all retired bureaucrats thereby catering to their power craziness. Once retired these bureaucrats must settle lives in grace and should not be inducted to disgrace the younger generations. The Government of India, and even the Prime Minister's lukewarm response, as reported in Tamil media, to the demands of the all party delegation led by Tamilnadu Chief Minister Kalaignar M.Karunanithi, is due to the wrong advice given by National Security Adviser and others like him in bureaucracy. The winter session of Indian Parliament is in session. North Indian Members of Parliament are raising many issues, stalling even proceedings, in the past. But Tamils are upset that the 40 Members of Parliament are neither articulating the views of Elam Tamils and the genocide they are subjected to nor doing justice to their people. The days when Nanjil Manoharan was the Leader of the DMK Parliamentary party, the DMK team included Mr.Era.Sezhian, Mr.G.Viswanathan, Mr.S.S.Marisamy and many others with oratorical skills. The Prime Minster Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was forced to assure DMK's EVK Sampath that Hindi will not be thrust. Later Sampath ditched DMK is another story. DMK is not sending scholars or orators to the Parliament, it sends only people who will keep their mouths shut, unless the high command gives signal, no one participates in debates. This brain drain results in Tamilnadu issues, be it on Cauvery to Eelam Tamil issues, not being focused in national media. Even the all party delegation led by Tamilnadu Chief Minister was either not reported or reported with little importance in national televisions, because the DMK lacked orators in English who can present their views. So bureaucrats easily misguide Government of India. The Tamil politics remains a battle of words and statements in Tamil televisions and media, and not one of national debate. Unless this drawback is addressed people like M.K.Narayanan can misguide, and we will not be shedding new light to the national debate. Why it is that Government of India's memory is weak on the failed promises of Srilankan Government? What should be the approach of Mr.Pranab Mukherjee while he goes to Colombo ? That was two years ago. He further goes on to say, I quote: "However, as time went by, it was also clear to me that the government, especially with the pressure exerted by the likes of the JHU, Wimal Weerawansa and also the Defence Secretary, were all out to sabotage and cripple the workings of the APC. The APC, as far as the President and his people were concerned was a ploy to keep the international community at bay and also a means of showing the international community that the government was interested in negotiating a settlement while it secretly operated a military option. In fact, when I met Dr. Singh later that year, it was very embarrassing, as I, in order to protect the government, had to pretend that a solution was forthcoming. In December 2006, the duplicity was evident when I accompanied the President to New Delhi to attend Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's daughter's wedding and met the Indian Prime Minister to brief him on the latest developments in Sri Lanka. At this meeting, we had in our delegation, Dr. Rohan Perera, who was an advisor to the Foreign Ministry and a member of the expert's panel of the APC that was drafting the final recommendations. At the meeting, the President got Dr. Perera to give a brief presentation to the Indian side on the proposed recommendations. Dr. Perera gave a concise presentation where he said they would propose absolute devolution of power similar to that of the quasi federal Indian Constitution. However, we were in for a rude shock once we got back to Sri Lanka when President Rajapakse, who was extremely peeved by Delhi's blackout of his photographs at the earlier visit, instructed that the experts committee of the APC be dissolved. Dr. Perera and other members were mercilessly attacked in government controlled newspapers and were forced to submit their resignations. The President presented a set of proposals to India, which he himself was to disown a few weeks later. At the Non Aligned Summit in Havana in September 2006, President Rajapakse again assured the Indian Prime Minister and the delegation that there would be no de-merger of the north and east. But he later instigated Wimal Weerawansa and the JVP to file action against the merger. Even today, it is a well-known fact the President is there behind the anti-Indian rhetoric of the JHU and the JVP. " Mr. R.Sampanthan, Parliamentary Group Leader Tamil National Alliance speaking in Srilankan Parliament told that "the Foreign Minister of this Government who was with the President of this country, at the meeting with the Indian Prime Minister in Havana where the President assured the Indian Prime Minister that there will be no de-merger. This is not being said by me. It is being said by a Foreign Minister of this Government and this is exactly what Mr. M. K. Narayanan, the National Security Adviser of the Indian Government told me and my colleagues when we met him in New Delhi before the judgment of the Supreme Court, after the President met with the Prime Minister in Havana. Mr. Narayanan told us that there was an assurance from the President that there will be no de-merger and that we do not have to worry about it; going further he told us that the Indian Prime Minister has told the President that if there was going to be a de-merger, India would have to keep all its options open. Those were the exact words of Mr. M. K. Narayanan, the National Security Adviser of India. Sir, where exactly is this government going? What is this government doing? Are you not cheating everybody, the people in this country, the international community and the much beleaguered Tamil people? In so far, Sir, as the sharing of powers of Government is concerned, the Thirteenth Amendment was rejected by the main Tamil political party of the Tamil people, the TULF as early as 1987 ' 1988, and continues to be rejected by the main Tamil political party, the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, the Tamil National Alliance, which has 22 Members in Parliament out of 23 Tamil Members of Parliament elected from the North and the East. It has not found acceptance with any Tamil political formation that does not carry out the dictates of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Such a worthless scheme can never be a solution to the Tamil question. Moreover, by seeking to implement the Thirteenth Amendment, President Mahinda Rajapaksa thereby seeks to set at naught all efforts to evolve an acceptable political solution between 1989 and 2007, including his own pronouncements and actions when he set up the APRC. The Thirteenth Amendment concentrates all powers in the Centre and the Provincial council is no more than a glorified local government institution. Such a worthless scheme can never be a solution to the Tamil question". These facts must be refreshed in the minds of Indian Foreign Minister Mr.Pranab Mukherjee, before he sets his foot in Srilankan soil next week. He should not go unprepared to argue. His visit is not a cosmetic exercise. It is the outcome of a unanimous resolution passed by Tamilnadu assembly and is a follow up to the appeal made by the all party delegation led by Dr.Kalaignar M.Karunanithi which met the Indian Prime Minister to request him to send a stern warning to Srilanka to halt the genocide and war against its own people. Mr.Mukherjee is not going to listen to same musical opera. Tamilnadu reminds him of his historical duty. His mission is not a fire fighting exercise. He needs strong words and not sugar coats. He needs iron will not will that will melt like ice in front of the red towel of Mr.Rajabakshe. It is needless to say that Rajiv Gandhi's murder is responsible for the inaction of Government of India towards Eelam Tamil's plight. The LTTE factor is the reason, all know, and what would you say? I cannot say poetically as Dr.Kalaignar M.Karunanithi, who said there are terrorists in many countries but nowhere bombing of civilians takes place to tackle terrorism. We in India all know the organization which was linked to the murder of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The ban on that organization was short lived. It operates openly. I don't think India can adopt one policy for Mahatma Gandhi and other for Rajiv Gandhi. We all know the Sikh connection to the Indira Gandhi murder, and the revenge killings of Sikhs, but that is past chapter. Now India has a Sikh Prime Minister, heading the same Congress party Government. Even if few Tamils of Eelam are connected to Rajiv Gandhi's killings that should never be a reason to curse entire 10 crore Tamils spread across the world, nor the Eelam Tamils who are fighting for freedom sacrificing more than Indian sacrifice in Indian freedom movement. Nobody's eyes were plucked in British prisons; no British sold Indian meat, such cannibals rule only in Srilanka. Let me quote from the exclusive cover story of Indian magazine OUTLOOK dated 24th November 1997in its wrapper story: THE MISSING FILES. Crucial files concerning Rajiv Gandhi assassination case have either been lost or suppressed. Outlook investigates the mystery. 1. File No: 8-1-WR/JSS/90/Vol III - containing notings of bureaucrats regarding security arrangements for Rajiv Gandhi from November 1989 was lost from the Prime Minister's Office in 1991. Later, it was doctored and reconstructed by the Narasimha Rao Government, before it was submitted to Jain Commission. 2. File No: 1/12014/5/91-IAS/DIII reported missing since 1995. It pertained to the terms of reference of the Verma and Jain Commission of Enquiry. 3. File containing intercepted messages from foreign intelligence services said to be addressed to Chandraswamy, destroyed by the senior officials of the PMO. 4. File on Intelligence Bureau's assessment of the role played by Zail Singh and Chandraswamy in 1987 to topple Rajiv Gandhi missing. 5. File with records of official briefings by intelligence agencies on the assassination to Rao's Home Minister S.B.Chavan missing. The former Minister confirms he was briefed orally. 6. The April 20, 1991, wireless intercept with the leading question-should Rajiv be killed in Delhi or Madras? Missing. 7. File relating to the Rao governments attempt to wind up the Jain commission is still withheld from the panel. The whole article will be reproduced later, if necessary. But this investigative journal points its accusing finger in its title THE DEADLY DUE. None from LTTE is branded as deadly due, the deadly duo has Congress connections, and hence Congress party must indulge in self introspection. Even if Eelam Tamils or drop outs from LTTE were tools, who directed these tools to hit. Tamil saying is there: எய்தவன் இருக்க அம்பை நோகலாமா ? In all political parties in India many people with criminal background, convicted for murders, continue as members. Why the same OUTLOOK before a general election brought out details of 72 Members of Parliament charged with various offences including murders. With more than 30 murder charges, even an M.P known to me, was in Parliament. Does this mean the political party that patronizes those people should be banned? It is ridiculous. Even to highlight the plight of Tamils caught in a genocidal war before United Nations, India has hesitancy. India should not shirk from its moral responsibility as a super power in this region, to save Tamils. India by this time must have sent all help to Zimbabwe to save its citizens from cholera. Such gestures will enhance India's moral standing. Indian shield for Eelam Tamils will not only serve Indian geo-political interests but also will go down in history as a nation that saved Tamils from genocide. [ Interviewed by A.S.T.Ansari Babu, Editor : Karai Union Pradesam ] |
| Breaking News : Genocide charges against Sri Lanka officials ready to be filed in USA by Fein | | | |
 Bruce Fein, a former U.S. Deputy Associate Attorney General and currently Counsel for a U.S. Tamil Group said in an interview this week that a 400+ page model indictment charging Sri Lanka officials for genocide against Tamils will be ready to be submitted to the U.S. Justice Department first week of January. He added that the document describes the motivational context, catalogues crimes, and constructs legal arguments establishing culpability of a U.S. citizen and a U.S. greencard holder for the crime of genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka under the U.S. Genocide Accountability Act (18 U.S.C. 1091). Sarath Fonseka and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa were selected as defendants in lieu of SL President Rajapaksa because Gotabhaya is a U.S. citizen and Fonseka, a permanent resident alien, for whom the United States is responsible as moral, political, and legal matter, Bruce Fein explains. Full text of the interview with Attorney Fein follows: TamilNet: Can you describe the legal process your group has chosen to bring Sarath Fonseka and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to justice in U.S. courts? The United States may constitutionally assert extra-territorial jurisdiction over a certain category of universally condemned crimes, which include genocide and torture. The United States recently brought a torture prosecution against the son of Liberia's Charles Taylor for torture perpetrated in Liberia. They are criminally culpable under the doctrine of command responsibility for criminal acts of their subordinates which they should have known about and prevented or neglected to punish after-the-fact. TAG [Tamils Against Genocide] has virtually completed a model federal grand jury indictment of Fonseka and Rajapaksa charging violations of the GAA. The facts demonstrating genocide have been compiled from TAG's independent research and investigations. The two were selected as defendants in lieu of President Mahinda Rajapaksa because Gotabhaya Rajapakse is a U.S. citizen and Sarath Fonseka is a permanent resident alien for whom the United States is responsible as moral, political, and legal matter. The model indictment will be presented to the new United States Attorney General appointed by President Obama and the new Secretary of State. The two appointees hold the keys to a genocide prosecution, which only the government can initiate.
Model indictment cover
TamilNet: Do U.S. courts have jurisdiction over acts violating international law or U.S. domestic law in Sri Lanka’s sovereign territory? The indictment then collects three categories of genocidal acts intended to destroy Tamil groups in whole or in part in various villages or municipalities in the northeast based on ethnicity or religion: extra-judicial killings, including disappearances; serious bodily injury; and, creating conditions of life intended to cause the physical destruction of Tamil groups, for example, starvation, malnutrition, impaired medical care or medicines, never-ending physical, economic, or physical insecurity, massive and repeated internal displacements, or Sinhalese Buddhist colonization. The genocidal acts TAG has chronicled in the draft indictment surpasses by far the genocidal evidence in the charges against former Bosnian leader Radovan Karadzic. TamilNet: In the U.S., criminal indictments can only be initiated by the Department of Justice. What is TAG’s next step to convince the Justice Department to begin a grand jury investigation? TamilNet: Is the international climate conducive for your legal action, and do you think Obama administration with Eric Holder as the new attorney general will be inclined to support this effort? Further, this week New York-based Genocide Prevention Project has included Sri Lanka as one of the eight “red alert” countries where genocide and other mass atrocities are underway or risk breaking out. Also, the Obama administration was handed a policy report on genocide with specific recommendations from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. This is likely to bring Sri Lanka's genocide into U.S. focus. TamilNet: Besides the U.S.Group, who else is supporting your legal action? TamilNet: Are you pursuing any other legal avenues, and if so, can you elaborate?
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Montenegrin National Anthem
“..On behalf of the Sri Lankan Tamils, I respectfully request you to use your good offices to present our case to the Indian government and to urge them to intervene without further delay…”
