PROJECT Belonging: Photo montages of Sri Lankans living in Switzerland

This project intends to share personal stories and anecdotes of people who would otherwise be categorised into a generic migrant community; a glimpse into the lives of these people which could break down stereotypes and facilitate co-existence with not only the host community but also with other migrant communities. The project also hopes to enable a deeper understanding within the Sri Lankan diaspora particularly as a reconciliatory step towards bringing the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim populations together.

To view photo Montage, The Entrepreneur http://vimeo.com/27938892

Eelam experiments: The transnational versus local realities

Tanuja Thurairajah



‘Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign.

But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize.’[1]

Chimamanda Adichie

I was inspired by the above words of Chimamanda Adichie talking about the ¨Danger of a single story’ and I reflected on how true this has been and will be in the case of Sri Lanka and its instrasigient history of political misfortune and human suffering. It’s been a year since the decisive end of the military offensive that had succeeded in re-claiming territorial sovereignity of the Sri Lankan state, but it was a victory that failed in claiming the Tamils as an integral and respected part of it is citizenry.

The recently concluded elections in Sri Lanka which registered a low voter turn out in the North & East draws focus to a deeper political malaise. While procrastinations and empty promises along with an impotent Tamil political representation within the country symbolise a crisis in Tamil political representation including the fragmentation of existing political parties which plagues the post-war context, the desperate second bid for Tamil Eelam has taken centre stage in a renewed diabolic game.

The Tamil diaspora has undoubtedly been very vocal during the last stages of the military offensive and has through its extreme activism summoned widespread international attention raising the question whether there has been an oversimplification of the power of diaspora activism. Their activism took the form of media campaigns and public protests which fueled nationalistic sentiments and crippled transport systems of their host countries but essentially their activism seemed to continue the chase after an unrealistic dream at an unbelievably high cost.

R. Cheran believes that this latest obsession of the Tamil diaspora, the Transitional Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) should be viewed positively and encouraged as an ‘experiment in democracy’[2]. But would this experiment steal another generation of Sri Lankans from an opportunity of breaking away from the time hardened vines of the failures of the past? and could it in reality be an attempt at harnessing international credibility, creating hardliners and even fuel the resurgence of terrorism?

The TGTE Advisory committee report[3] quotes examples of the Eritrean, Israeli and Croatian diaspora and their political activism regarding the politics of their respective homelands. While this reiterates the importance of diaspora activism and its contribution as critiques of internal political processes including political representation and their function as key players in reconstruction and investment, equating the activities of the Tamil diaspora with these diaspora groups seems to be inappropriate even though the potential of the Tamil diaspora in functioning as a social movement would be able to harness more realistic and far-reaching consequences.

One of the most important issues is that the TGTE Advisory Committee while claiming to find a solution to the aspirations of the Tamils has made a colossal mistake in failing to de-link itself from the LTTE which is clearly highlighted in their final study report which glorifies the role played by the LTTE, ‘The LTTE’s military power and the resultant de facto state created a political space for Tamils to freely express their political aspirations for the realization of the right to self-determination. However, that political space no longer exists‘. This also symbolises a deeply fragmented Tamil community and its inability for self reflection. A future Tamil Eelam will not succeed in bringing together the whole Tamil community together as it transgresses the core elements of democratic theory; legitimacy and a healthy representation.

Another issue of concern is the potential resuscitation of the Eelam campaign of ‘fundraising for the cause’ which had a large part to play in the protraction of the military side of the conflict in Sri Lanka. Groups supportive of the TGTE and Eelamist propaganda are getting increasingly vocal in relation to this as illustrated by the statement of the spokesperson for the US based group ‘Tamils for Obama’ states[4] that ‘One of our duties will be financial support of the TGTE. We suggested that each diaspora Tamil should make a monthly contribution of $25 to the TGTE after the election when the TGTE is able to accept and use the money. Tamils should consider this a voluntary tax. The TGTE is going to need the money for all of the things of any national government does. For the TGTE these tasks will include maintaining a think tank to advise them on how to advance the goal of Tamil Eelam“.

In terms of the more operational aspects of the TGTE the final study report outlines the tasks of the provisional government states the following:

• Uniting Tamil entities and subscribing to the Vadukkodai resolution
• Work with the Tamil leadership in SL
• Negotiating with the Sinhala nation
• Direct links with foreign governments and international organization
• Political programme with participation of Muslim representatives

Nevertheless, these tasks are merely secondary when compared to a much more important issue which is the acceptance of the TGTE as a government or power centre. The report states that in order to recognise the TGTE as a power centre key actors such as the Tamil diaspora, Tamil people in homeland, global Tamil community from other countries such as Malaysia, India and Singapore and the international community need only to accept it through their ‘actions’ – ‘These actors need not publicly endorse TGTE but should accept it through their actions’. As it is the case with the entire report the vagueness and lack of forethought into the practical application of the concept of transnational governance is severely lacking as is the explanation of how such a government will ensure legitimacy and its territorial sovereignty .

Also while the TGTE claims that it will be ‘formed and sustained by the people‘ and that ‘it relies on the exercise of the democratic political rights such as freedom of association and freedom of expression’ and that it will accommodate the Muslims within the TGTE and ensure that they will be able to exercise their right to a separate autonomous state if the need arises, it has failed to acknowledge its part in the deaths, disappearances and its role in the deprivation of the Tamils’ right to peaceful coexistence thereby ignoring the need for truth seeking. Will the Tamil diaspora fail to acknowledge the past suffering of all Sri Lankans, the half-truths[5] and the wrong choices and continue this foolish gamble, deaf to the real aspirations of the Tamils who are living in the country, in a sad bid to appease their guilt ridden desires?

The elections for Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) commenced on May 2, 2010, in 26 countries with an expectation of a 60 – 70% voter turn out. While detailed information regarding the elections (number of votes polled etc.) is still not publicly available the representatives have been identified and the inaugural sessions of the TGTE took place on May 17 – 19, 2010 in Philadelphia. Conversations with some of the diaspora Tamils who had voted in this election reveal a disturbing but persistent trend that has marred the politics of the Tamils for a long time, essentially the danger of the single story. Tamils keep repeating the same mistake of uninformed decision making while standing steadfastly to the belief that as ‘victims’ all their actions would amount to self-defence; at any cost.

---

[1] ‘The danger of the single story’, Chimamanda Adichie, Novelist on TED Talks, www.ted.com

[2] ‘Transitional government of Tamil Eelam is an experiment in democracy – Dr. Cheran’, Antony Reinhart, http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/05/transnational_govt_of_tamil_ee.html#more

[3] ‘Formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam: Final report based on the study’, TGTE Advisory Committee, http://govtamileelam.org/gov/

[4] http://diasporaweekend.com/a931917-tamils-for-obama-says-we-should.cfm

[5] ‘Provisional Transitional Government of Tamil Eelam is a dangerous exercise’, Rajan Hoole http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/07/provisional_transnational_gove.html

Courtesy: Groundviews

People’s lives remain in the decision of the Tigers!

J. Sathasivam












The report that was released subsequent to the closed door UN Security Council meeting emphasised that the Tigers must lay down arms; that they must free the civilians trapped by them and that the GoSL must hasten to avoid further war suffering and find a solution to the ethnic conflict. US President Obama has also stressed on these same lines.

At the same time with a view of bringing an end to the immense human destruction, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s Special Envoy is to talk to the GoSL.

In reality if the Tiger terrorists put down arms and Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and other important co-terrorists surrender to the Sri Lankan Army, what does the Sri Lankan Army have more to do in Mullivaikkal?

As the Tiger cubs repeatedly wrap themselves into a twist, the international community is constantly reminded that the Tigers are indeed terrorists. The UN Security Council has also reiterated that the Sri Lankan government has a reasonable right to eradicate terrorism.

Therefore, the Tamil diaspora realising that the GoSL and the Army have decided to finish off the tigers in Mullivaikkal, have switched onto battle mode holding high the Tiger flag.

It is alright if they consider themselves intelligent but they take to the streets wailing, in the belief that they are the only intelligent ones and that the rest are fools. Using to their benefit the western world’s importance to the rights of children and the aged, they push forward their children in strollers and highlight their cheap mentality to the international community.

They continue to refuse to be held in check believing that ‘we (they) will not fall’, failing to understand that for India and Sri Lanka, ‘God is the law’ but for countries like Canada, London and America, ‘the Law is God’. It is only in India and Sri Lanka that the situation is in line with the old Tamil proverb, "The King will punish immediately whereas God will punish after awhile.” For countries that consider the law as God, the reality is that the ‘Government will punish after awhile”! So then, God? The western world has realised that God has died and that religion has become redundant.

So without realising that the ‘Government will punish after awhile’ the Tiger cubs continue their racket. They behave like their leadership which does not realise what is to happen subsequently, and continue to act given their inability to understand the repercussions. The bigwigs of this racket are in danger of being deported. Those who participate in the racket are enabling a future environment which would re-examine their past income taxes and other related information. The Canadian Embassy in Sri Lanka will further prolong granting of visas. Due to their actions, everyone else will have to face this situation; the only fault, being born as a Tamil. There is no other alternative!

This being as it is, the highlight of the racket remains the Tiger flag. This is also the problem for the media of these countries. It revolves around the question as to why and how they are holding aloft a flag belonging to a banned terrorist group. That too, together with the national flag of the respective country! Furthermore, the organisors through radio broadcasts ask people to flood in; that there are ‘trained’ students amongst these crowds and if the media seeks opinions only these ‘trained’ students must be introduced. To summarise, come like a herd of goats; if the goat in front of you skips you must also skip without using your head; that is all that there is to it!

The ploy used here is, though most of the people that participate in these protests go with the aim of trying to do their bit to save the lives of the people stuck in the war, if they are let to express their views the first thing to be revealed would be that the civilians are stuck there because of the Tigers. Secondly, what will happen to the income of those who claim to be the organisors? If the Tigers tomorrow become null they cannot luxuriously remain shaking their feet, hands or anything for that matter! What if they have to return to Sri Lanka tomorrow? Can they deal with the EPRLF (Pathmanaba) or PLOTE? Will they be left alone? Won’t the masses themselves, slipper them!

So, the Tiger flag and the Tiger leadership are the only income generator for these Tiger agents. People... people...they are only empty words for them.

The history of the tigers and what will they do, is the truth that the whole country knows, which now the whole world knows. No one can deny that on a daily basis people end up as corpses in Mullivaikkal. There is only one force that can put an end to this and avoid human suffering; the Tigers! If the Tigers lay down their arms or free the civilians, why would lives be lost? This is the only way to stop these deaths. There is no other way. Therefore, the fate of the people remains in the decision of the Tigers. Strange but true.

Even after international organisations inclusive of the UN and other countries have requested the ‘Tigers to lay down their arms’ the Tigers remain oblivious. There is one force that could convince the Tigers to give up their arms and that would be the Tamil diaspora. But the diaspora remains relentless and wiles away time in the belief that even if the people are destroyed, the Tiger leadership must survive.

If Gotabhaya’s response to the questions raised by the UN and the international community has been sufficient, the diaspora must take this into consideration. It seems that Gotabhaya has evidence of Tiger atrocities on his fingertips which seem to send those who have been coming to Sri Lanka the same way back.

Therefore, if the diaspora would do the needful in ensuring that the Tigers lay their arms down, many good things will happen. Most importantly the civilians stuck there will live and it will pave the way for their minimum democratic survival and political aspirations.

Translation of article originally published by Sahasamavada in Tamil.

How expats are fueling a bloodbath in Sri Lanka

By Nirmala Rajasingam

Since April 2009, hundreds of Tamil expatriates have been protesting the recent escalation of fighting in Sri Lanka in unprecedented numbers across the world's capitals. Demonstrators filled a Toronto park on May 13, and 100 Tamils marched outside the White House this week. In Britain, at least 500 Tamils held a sit-in protest outside of Parliament.

Yet the demonstrators are almost exclusively Tamil; there are no faces from the local host communities or the other Sri Lankan ethnicities at the demonstrations. Why has the situation in Sri Lanka failed to attract wider concern?

Certainly, there is an ongoing humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions in Sri Lanka today. More than 50,000 Tamil civilians are trapped between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), popularly known as the Tamil Tigers. While the government has shelled civilian areas, the LTTE has used those same civilians as human shields. Hundreds are dying and countless more are injured without medical assistance.

The government of Sri Lanka refuses to accept the extensive humanitarian assistance offered by the international community, and has refused a temporary cease-fire that could allow the trapped civilians to safely exit the combat zone. This is a war that the Sri Lankan state has fought against the Tamil Tiger rebels over two decades -- one it never thought it could win. Now, with a possible end in sight, even a temporary pause is out of the question. Despite international condemnation, the government shows little sign of budging.

But if the government garners little sympathy these days, the Tamil Tigers evoke even less. For 20 years, the Tigers have positioned themselves as the sole representative of the Tamil people, an ethnic group in north east Sri Lanka that was marginalized by a Sinhala nationalist majoritarian state in post-colonial times. As they tell it, the Tigers are brave rebels fighting for national liberation. In reality, the LTTE uses suicide bombs, civilian shields, and assassination to win political and territorial turf.

The LTTE, despite its decreasing popularity with Tamils within Sri Lanka, has been able to survive this long owing to one thing: the unquestioning support of the global Tamil diaspora. For more than two decades, the pro-Tiger diaspora has fueled the conflict in Sri Lanka, raising funds for the insurgents through coercion and threats. The LTTE gradually brought under its aegis most Tamil businesses and cultural organizations, sealing its control over community life in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Britain. Influential nationalists have carefully developed this pliant support base. Thus, it was easy to mobilise thousands of protestors for prolonged periods of time on the Tigers' behalf.

This is precisely why others have been loath to join in the protests throughout the Western world. The Tamil diaspora community is isolated by its own nationalism. Co-opted by the LTTE, it has made no contribution to peace. While the ravages of war encouraged Tamils in Sri Lanka to rethink the LTTE's secessionist project, the diaspora embraced it even more firmly, not having been affected by the collateral damage of that war directly.

Unfortunately, the international community bought into the notion that the LTTE represented the Tamils for years. During the last cease-fire agreement signed in 2002, negotiators -- hesitant to risk a new outbreak of violence -- were silent as the Tigers brutally repressed Tamil dissent and alternative leadership. If the LTTE are indeed crushed, as the government promises, there will be a political vacuum at the helm of the Tamil community. Searching for someone to fill the void, Western policymakers have turned to the pro-secession representatives of the diaspora. Hence, the government, which does not hesitate to conflate Tamil civilians with the LTTE, has cynically presented international mediation efforts as tantamount to support for the Tigers. The government sells this case to the majority Sinhala community -- whose support it needs for the war. And when it looks to China, India, and Iran for support, it can claim to be standing up to the bullying tactics of the ex-colonial, neo-imperial powers.

As Sri Lanka's humanitarian crisis unfolds, the international community must make its message clear and forthright. The Tigers and the diaspora that supports them have no claim as the "sole representation" of the Tamil people. Nor is secession a reasonable option. Anything more superficial than this firm engagement will play into the hands of the LTTE lobby in the West -- and inflame Sinhala nationalists in Sri Lanka. Only this firm message will serve the cause of peace and democracy.

Nirmala Rajasingam is a Sri Lankan Tamil activist who lives in exile in London. She is a member of the steering committee of the Sri Lanka Democracy Forum (SLDF).

Courtesy: experts.foreignpolicy.com

The Tamil diaspora: solidarities and realities

by Nirmala Rajasingam

The Sri Lankan Tamil community may not be the largest of the diaspora communities represented in London or other such greatly diverse cities around the world, but the numbers and conviction they have mobilised in recent days to highlight the plight of their brethren at home have been exceptional. The demonstrations by Tamils in the centres of London, Toronto and other cities have been spectacular, defiant and spirited displays of grief and anger: men, women, and many young people have gathered with colourful flags and banners, staged sit-ins, and chanted slogans, while several of their number have promised to fast unto death.

Their slogans are simple: "Genocide!", "Pirapaharan is our leader!", and "We want Tamil Eelam!". These references to the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the aspiration to an independent state in northern Sri Lanka are accompanied by the touting of images of this figure and the waving of flags showing the Tiger emblem. Several parliamentarians in Britain and Canada have voiced support for the demonstrators.

The humanitarian situation in parts of northern Sri Lanka - especially in the narrow strip of land around Mullaitivu - is indeed desperate, as the Sri Lankan army's advances have continued and as they lay siege to LTTE redoubts where approximately 100,000 civilians are confined - the latest stage of a long war that has persisted since 1983 (see "Sri Lanka's displaced: the political vice", 8 April 2009).

The cries of genocide have risen with the intensification of the military campaign and a sharp turn for the worse in the fortunes of the Tamil Tigers. They have spread too beyond the official Tiger propaganda stream (radio, TV and newspapers); the blood-splattered images and messages have inundated cyberspace: via Facebook and YouTube and other cyberspace outlets, via a torrent of emails, the drenching claim is simple, direct and frightening: genocide. This campaign has mobilised even those who had never been politically involved before.

The sorrows of commitment

The genocide alert is at heart about the trapped civilians in Mullaitivu. But the truth about the horrific circumstances in which civilians are stranded there is not stated in full. They are caught between two armies, each of which seeks to use them as pawns in this war. The government forces have shown no inhibition in bombing and shelling indiscriminately into crowded civilian areas, schools and hospitals as long as their military objective of crushing the Tigers is achieved. But the civilians are dying not only as a result of such bombardments or in crossfire; for credible reports indicate that Tigers are not allowing civilians to move out of the line of fire and escape to government-controlled areas, and may be going further to prevent attempts to flee.

It has long been established that many children have been forcibly recruited into the ranks of the Tigers, and that such cadres are forewarned that their families would be wiped out if they surrender. Now, as the Tigers' military situation becomes more and more desperate, the logic of their own anti-civilian approach is apparent: for the Tamil civilian presence now provides the only chance of ensuring the Tiger leadership's survival.

It is striking, however, that in all the demonstrations not a single cry, slogan or placard seems to demand that the Tigers should let the civilians go or cease their own assaults on them. The silence of the diaspora community on this issue is deafening. The general support for the Tamils' cause has in the public arena collapsed into one soundbite. There is no recognition in these demonstrations of the fact that the military objectives of the LTTE are no longer reconcilable with the safety of the trapped civilians. There is a disjunction between propaganda and reality here that reflects the way the logic of Tamil Tiger propaganda has become internalised by much of the diaspora. This does nothing to help Sri Lankan Tamils.

Such spectacular demonstrations have the potential to send a powerful message to the international community about the true nature of the predicament of the trapped civilians. Why then do the demonstrators fail to highlight this. Why have they not also raised their voices against Tiger atrocities as well as the government's? Why do they elide the horrifying predicament of the civilians with the political interest of the Tigers?

What makes these questions even more pertinent is that the huge demonstrations in the west that endorse the LTTE are in direct opposition to the waning popular support for the LTTE amongst Tamils in Sri Lanka itself. The eastern region of Sri Lanka where many Tamils live - and which has lost far more of its young people and children in this war than any other Tamil region - has largely abandoned support for an independent state. The Jaffna peninsula in the north has been largely uninvolved for more than a decade or so in the separatist cause; there, the vast majority of civilians have submitted to uneasy cohabitation with the army simply because amid available options, they prefer an absence of war. The LTTE's cynical and callous use of civilians for its war effort has also over the years undermined its status within the Tamil population in Sri Lanka.

There are other considerations absent from the demonstrators' concerns. The escalating military campaigns have placed great pressure on civilians for months, yet there have been no demonstrations to highlight the plight of those commandeered to retreat and follow the Tigers in the wake of government army advances - for example, those from the Mannar area in the western part of the northern province, who had to follow the trail of the Tiger retreat all the way across the Vanni jungles to their current pocket on the eastern coast of the Vanni. Many of these civilians had been corralled out of Jaffna at gunpoint by the LTTE in 1995 during the first big and enforced Pol-Pot-style exodus.

The frenzied demonstrations have begun only when the military defeat of the LTTE appears a real prospect. Again, the confusion between humanitarian protest and political solidarity with the LTTE is evident. But this still leaves open the question: what explains the widespread support that the LTTE enjoys in the diaspora despite its declining fortunes in Sri Lanka, and the atrocities it commits against ordinary Tamil people there?

The political war

The answer to this question lies in part in general conditions experienced by the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora community, and in part in the particular role of the LTTE in establishing its political dominance within it.

The Tamils in the west have like many other migrant communities from the global south faced racist discrimination, exclusion, social isolation and economic deprivation. Their search for membership of and integration with "host" societies is, even in the best of circumstances, difficult. The result is that Tamil communities often lead culturally and socially a ghettoised life in which they - in an attempt to preserve "Tamil cultural and social heritage" in these new environs - construct anew a self-conscious way of "being Tamil" or of "living as Tamil". This has meant the mushrooming of Tamil cultural organisations, self-help groups, Tamil schools, businesses and temples. This pattern is in itself not an unusual phenomenon with migrant communities. But with the Tamils, there is an unusual twist.

The LTTE in the course of its military and political campaign decimated all other political opinion within the Tamil polity in Sri Lanka, in order to establish itself as the "sole representative" of the Tamil people. At the same time, it began to flex its muscles within the Tamil community in the west. Its representatives moved in on community groups, temples, Tamil schools and businesses and took control of many of them. In time its stranglehold over the diaspora communities - including through methods of intimidation, assault, and threats to families in Sri Lanka - became an accomplished fact. Paris and Toronto were prime examples of the phenomenon, where unquestioning compliance was demanded and wrought.

The intimidation of independent media outlets is a key arm of this strategy. The LTTE has for a generation sought to dominate the "Tamil narrative" - martial, dogmatic, missionary, zealous, leader-fixated - with many tales of military valour, of brave conquests against a marauding Sri Lankan army, of resolute "final wars", of "operation motherland redemptions". To a great extent it has succeeded.

The Tiger lobbyists, fundraisers and propagandists in the diaspora are relentless in attempting to enforce submission to this narrative and its command performances. Even for events such as "martyrs' day" celebrations or the funeral of the LTTE ideologist Anton Balasingam, thousands are mobilised and bussed in. Every tragic event is turned into a fundraising opportunity.

The diaspora gaze

The outcome of this lengthy process of political manipulation is that the vast majority of Tamil homes in the diaspora are exposed to "Tamil" news that is heavily weighted towards LTTE propaganda - and it is a perspective that feeds into news about the rest of the world, not just Sri Lanka, as well. The LTTE channels provide a daily diet of culture and politics: everything is seen though the Tiger lens, including the international community's attitude to the conflict in Sri Lanka and to the Tigers.

The diaspora Tamil community has been acculturated to the LTTE message for a good part of two decades. But the message is the work of more than intimidation; its potency draws on and appeals to that aspect of life in exile which makes meaningful and satisfying the sense of abstract belonging to a homeland - especially if there is no tangible possibility of return in the immediate future. A "captive" audience that lives to a great degree in its own social and cultural bubble, determined to hold fast to the "Tamil culture" finds the mythical call for an independent Tamil state all the more attractive.

In this way the enterprise of preserving Tamil culture and Tamil way of living is wedded to the political quest for the independent state. At a moment when Tamil nationalism of the strident and dogmatic - indeed totalitarian - kind espoused by the LTTE is beginning to lose its flavour with Tamils in Sri Lanka, it is very much alive in the diaspora; and the Tigers are determined to use the serious military setbacks that they have experienced to entrench it further.

When in Sri Lanka itself the Tigers peddle the dream of an independent state of Tamil Eelam, many people recall aspects of the LTTE's own record: the 1995 exodus, the eviction of Muslims, abductions of their children, the waste of lives, the internal and internecine killings, the fanatical hero-worship. Their tangible experiences are evidence that the Tigers' brand of uncompromising politics leads to suffering and death. The result is increasing questioning and dissent - including about Sri Lanka's political future, the interests of the Tamils and how a sustainable and democratic future can be built after decades of war.

For diaspora Tamils living far removed from the day-to-day problems of living with the Tigers in battle, it is much easier to support the LTTE's zero-sum solution.

For the Tiger lobby and their its large bank of support - as well as for many young diaspora Tamils whose compassion and concern is as yet unmatched by independent sources of information and argument on events in Sri Lanka - the complex questions of democratisation, demilitarisation, cohabitation with other communities and the search for political settlement of the conflict appear to be immaterial. The suffering of civilians only helps to further reinforce the "imaginary" of an independent state of Tamil Eelam as the only solution. The destructive logic of the Tiger cause is to annihilate political reason and progress in favour of a totalitarian fantasy of power and control. Those who dream from afar have a responsibility to think harder, to look deeper, and to break through to reality.

Nirmala Rajasingam is a Sri Lankan Tamil activist who lives in exile in London. She is a member of the steering committee of the Sri Lanka Democracy Forum (SLDF), an international network of progressive diaspora voices. She was the first woman to be detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in the early 1980s, survived the government-engineered Welikade prison massacre, and was subsequently freed from prison by LTTE guerrillas. She left the LTTE as a result of the lack of internal democracy within the movement and its serious human-rights abuses.

Nirmala Rajasingam is the sister of Rajani Thiranagama, founder-member of the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), who was assassinated by the LTTE for her outspoken views. They are the subjects of the documentary film No More Tears Sister (National Film Board of Canada)

Courtesy: openDemocracy (http://www.opendemocracy.net)

OPINION: a racial connection that helps no one!

by Priya Thangarajah

"We shall have to repent in this generation, not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good people."~ Martin Luther King, Jr.


A quote I love and believe as a feminist. But Tamil Nadu politics surrounding the issue of Sri Lanka has made me think otherwise regarding the silence of good people. For people who know me I must sound schizophrenic. Yesterday I am shouting asking progressive Indians to be more interested. Care about the arms India is sending. The hydro power plant (which is an SEZ) it is building in the land that belonged to Tamils. Arguing that progressive Indians can’t ignore what India does to its neighbors… its big brother mentality.

Today I am saying, almost begging Tamil Nadu to stop caring!! I still think India needs to take interest and be involved and its supposed hands off policy is not correct, given that India has had its hand in this soup for a long time. What I am saying is that when ‘progressive’ people show concern about Sri Lanka, there is a need to not let it feed in to the race politics that Sri Lanka has been battling with for the last three decades.

I am not arguing that Indians or any of us ignore the race dynamics of the issue. But when allegations are made that the Tamil race is being wiped out and that the Sinhala State is involved in the same, we are missing out on the fact that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are not letting the Tamil people leave. That they are conscripting child soldiers. That the Muslim’s are being killed as well.

A political articulation based on race and race alone, an articulation that does not call all parties to task, struggles that necessarily leaves other people out of it can never succeed.

It is with shock and amazement I have seen the Tamil Nadu involvement with the Sri Lankan war. The lawyers protest, the youth who set himself on fire and the parties that kept threatening to withdraw from the coalition. This level of involvement all because Tamil Nadu sees a connection….a race connection!!

Sri Lankan Tamils are many. Jaffna Tamils, Batticaloa Tamils, Indian Tamils and Up-country Tamils. The Tamils of Sri Lanka have struggled just like all identities to carve out a history and a culture. Some Tamils in Sri Lanka have been in Sri Lanka as long as the Sinhalese have. Others came before and during colonisation and others were brought as indentured labor to work in the plantations. A race politics misses these histories, the variety of struggles and the vibrancy of a people. This singular way of understanding a community has a potential to kill any struggle and movement..and movements. I wish to also argue that the local politics, be it the women’s movement or any other movement in Tamil Nadu has also been strangulated.

Tamils caught between the devil and deep deep blue sea: An interview with Ahilan Kadirgamar

By Namini Wijedasa

The defeat of the LTTE will enable the Tamil community to rebuild democratic politics but the government must make the minorities feel that they have a stake in Sri Lanka’s future, says Ahilan Kadirgamar, spokesman for the Sri Lanka Democracy Forum, an international network of mainly Tamil human rights and democracy activists. He also warns that the Rajapaksa regime is attempting to entrench itself as an oligarchy.



Do you think it is good for the LTTE to be militarily defeated?

The LTTE was never serious about a political settlement. And for those of us who belong to Tamil dissent, it was all along very clear that the interest of the LTTE and the interests of the Tamil people were two different things. The LTTE’s defeat is a good thing. It will create an opening within the Tamil community to rebuild democratic politics and to rebuild our society.
To the extent that it is causing civilian suffering, we cannot support this war. Furthermore, the government’s Sinhala nationalist propaganda is very worrying. If Sri Lanka, as a whole, is to gain from the defeat of the LTTE, there needs to be a clear shift in the attitude of the government to think about the interests of the minorities.

What is your perception of the government’s prevailing attitude towards the minorities?

As reflected by statements from senior government officials and military top brass, they don’t seem to have any respect for the minorities. The minorities are made to feel as outsiders who do not belong in Sri Lanka.

What would be the outcome of such an attitude?

It will lead to further polarization and alienation of, not only the Tamil community, but also the other minorities.

Will it turn into another conflict?

It may not immediately manifest itself as another conflict but this problem will fester and make resolution of the problem that much harder. We have always wanted a political process in parallel with the war. It is only a just political process that could give confidence to the minorities that they have a stake in Sri Lanka’s future.

Who will lead the Tamils in such a political process?

The Tamil community has been decimated by 25 years of war and the LTTE’s fascist politics. The post-LTTE era, as some of us are beginning to call it, poses a huge challenge to revitalize democratic politics in the Tamil community. It will take time for another political generation to emerge out of the ravages of war. In the meantime, in addition to salvaging what we can from the last 15 years of the devolution debate, the Tamil community needs to look inwards into the injustices that have led to its deterioration. For example, the ethnic cleansing of the northern Muslims, the anti-Muslim massacres in the East, the oppression of caste-minorities within the Tamil community are all issues that have to be addressed in the post-LTTE era. Given the state of the Tamil community, it can only confront the state in alliance with other minorities such as the Muslim community and the upcountry Tamil community. The next few years is a time when, not only the democratic minded among Tamil politicians, but also Tamil intellectuals and Tamil grassroots activists should take the lead in raising the issues within the Tamil community as well as in confronting the state towards reform.

Are you saying there is nobody to lead the Tamil in the short to medium term?

Those who do not have a militarized past should come to the fore in working with all the political actors towards a process of reconciliation within the Tamil community. There is much blood that has been spilled. Such a process of reconciliation is important to give leadership to the Tamil community.

Do you think the Tamil National Alliance has a future?

I think such a process of reconciliation will include some of the actors within the TNA as well as people like Veerasingham Anandasangaree and even many of the ex-militant groups.

What can we expect from the pro-LTTE diaspora in the near future?

I think they are still in the process of taking stock of the LTTE’s defeat. And until they come to terms with it, they will continue to play a negative role for the future of the Tamil people inside Sri Lanka. I have always been sceptical of any positive role by the diaspora in general. At best, the progressive sections within the diaspora can attempt to create the space for a democratic, political culture inside Sri Lanka. They cannot and should not attempt to become representatives of Tamils inside Sri Lanka.

You are speaking of a post-LTTE era. Would that be a reality if Prabhakaran continues to live?

There is no doubt that the LTTE is considerably marginalized but the LTTE’s end is very much dependent on whether or not Prabhakaran remains in the leadership. Prabakarhan has been the singlemost obstacle to any political settlement in the past twenty five years.

Nevertheless, hasn’t he kept the spotlight on the Tamil question?

Indeed, Prabhakaran — and the LTTE — has not only been the centre of attention as far as Tamil politics is concerned, but also politics within Sri Lanka. Every government in Sri Lanka has claimed that the problem is one of either negotiating with the LTTE or wiping out the LTTE. In the post-LTTE era, I believe other issues will come to the fore, not only about minorities but also issues in the south... questions about economic justice, etc. The Tamil community should realize that any political settlement including devolution will only work if Sri Lanka remains a democracy. The recent attacks on the media, the violation of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, are all signs that the democratic fabric is under threat. It is important for the minorities to join with democratic forces within the Sinhala community to ensure not only their rights but democratization in the entire country. Similarly, it is important for the Sinhala community to realize that the rights of the minorities are very much linked to their own democratic rights.

The 13th Amendment seems to be as far as this government is willing to go with devolution. Is that sufficient?

While the 13th amendment was an important step forward 20 years ago, it’s inadequate to meet the aspirations of the minority communities. Therefore, any solution taking off from the devolution debate which began in 1994, should go beyond the unitary structure of the state. In addition, there should be power sharing at the centre through a second chamber. And if there is to be serious democratization in this country, we must get rid of the executive presidency.

How do you assess the Rajapaksa regime?

What we see with the Rajapaksa regime is an emerging authoritarianism attempting to entrench an oligarchy. While they are riding on the successes of the war at the current moment, I am confident that the people of Sri Lanka have a democratic ethos which — much like they overthrew the UNP regimes after 17 years — will not allow an authoritarian oligarchy to take hold.

What has been the effect of the war on Tamil civilians?

With the escalation of the war during the last three years, it has been Tamil civilians who have been at the receiving end. In addition to the conventional war, which the LTTE has clearly lost, there has been a dirty war resulting in a large number of abductions, killings, and disappearances by the security forces, armed groups linked to the state as well as the LTTE. So, the war is not limited to the Wanni. We continue to see this dirty war in places like Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna. It has created a climate of fear and the confidence of Tamil people in the state has collapsed. Much like the civilians in the East suffered due to mass displacement after the military advances in 2006, now we see the civilians in the Wanni caught between the security forces and the LTTE.

But is this displacement not a temporary phase?

Even over the last year, the civilians who fled LTTE controlled areas in Mannar and Kilinochchi have been subject to what might be called internment camps. Those civilians remain in a precarious and insecure situation where their rights continue to be violated.

What do you mean by internment camps?

The civilians who manage to flee LTTE controlled areas are not free to leave these camps. They continue to live in fear that they will be targeted, and possibly even killed, if they are seen to have been supporters of the LTTE.

Are they being held against their will?

Yes.

What of the fate of civilians who are still in the LTTE-controlled areas of Mullaitivu?

The 200,000 to 300,000 civilians trapped in Mullaitivu are being used as human shields by the LTTE. On the other hand, messages coming out of Mullaitivu from such civilians also point to their fear about crossing into government-controlled territory. They have suffered under the jackboot of the LTTE. When they cross over into government-controlled territory, they will, after a long time, be under the writ of the Sri Lankan state. Their perception of the Sri Lankan state and their sense of citizenship will be determined by how they are treated.

Do think civilians will leave LTTE areas as the fighting gets heavier?

They are trapped in a very small area and we continue to hear of reports of shelling. We hope they will cross over into government-controlled territory. Again, that will be determined by the message of the government. I would think rehabilitation camps under the auspices of UN agencies would be one way in which to increase the confidence of those people to cross over.

(Kadirgamar is also contributing editor of Himal Southasian and a member of the Kafila Collective)

Courtesy: Sunday LakbimaNews 25 January 2009

'Wanakkam' - a look into the lives of Tamil asylum seekers/ refugees in Switzerland

Intra-state conflict/wars, humanitarian crisis, displacement, forced migration, asylum seekers and refugees, terms that always seem to remain topical. Methods of diplomacy, the business deals that sustain conflicts, shifts in global power politics etc. continue to mutate but the human suffering that cross cuts all these issues remains and will remain unchanged.

asylum-seeker is a person who has left their country of origin, has applied for recognition as a refugee in another country, and is awaiting a decision on their application.

refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…" Article 1, The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

Wanakkam (35 mm, 83 min), a film by Thomas Isler which premiered in 2005 documents the ‘stories’ of asylum seekers and refugees from Sri Lanka in Switzerland. It succinctly highlights the emotional struggles of a few Tamils who had fled Sri Lanka in the hopes of a better and safe future, yet remain trapped between their yearning for their home country and the uncertainty of their ‘status’ in the country of asylum. Isler takes the viewer through a realistic frame and intertwines stories of Mena, Sivachelvam & Sasi, Aiya and Nixsan & his family creating a vivid snapshot into the challenges of integration and moving forward, an aspect that re-defines the concept of being alien, while at the same instance attempts to break down the popular romanticism seen in most 3^rd world countries that migrating to Western countries secures you with a good future. As Isler reflects, chances of integration are almost non-existent for most refugees and asylum seekers due to several issues, notably, language, skills and the 'herd mentality' especially prevalent amongst Sri Lankan refugees/ asylum seekers. The later is reflected in Isler's film through subtle nuances using images reflecting the lifestyle and strong cultural bond that binds the Tamil community together despite the 'baggage' of regional animosity and general mistrust they bring with them as a direct consequence of the conflict. But as with most things, 'integration' is a two way process and even while the Government of Switzerland has put in place several programmes to ensure that refugees/ asylum seekers are exposed to its importance, sometimes issues such as the uncertainty of a pending refugee application creates a strong deterrent factor for integration to really begin.

Watch Wannakkam - A film by Thomas Isler - CLIP I in Activism Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Watch Wannakkam - A film by Thomas Isler - CLIP II in Activism Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Watch Wannakkam - A film by Thomas Isler - CLIP III in Activism Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Watch Wannakkam - A film by Thomas Isler - CLIP IV in Activism Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Watch Wannakkam - A film by Thomas Isler - CLIP V in Activism Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Watch Wannakkam - A film by Thomas Isler - CLIP VI in Activism Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Copyrights: Freihändler Produktion/ Thomas Isler

SahaSamvada would like to thank Freihändler Produktion/ Thomas Isler for granting copyright permission to make this film available through this blog.