Sri Lanka: We Will Push For Self-determination - Rudrakumaran
The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and its leader V. Rudrakumaran accused the government of ‘selective de-listing’ and said that it will not contribute to reaching a political resolution to the Tamil national question. He said his organisation will push for self-determination for the Tamils.
" I would like to take this moment also to point out that presently not a single Diaspora entity is talking about violence as a means to realize the Tamils’ political aspirations. The TGTE’s constitution mandates that it should realize its political goal through peaceful means. The GoSL’s harping on violence is nothing other than a ruse to justify its repressive Sinhala militarization of the Tamil homeland." Rudrakumaran.
Below, please find Q&A with Sunday Leader:
Q. The Sri Lankan government has decided not to de-proscribe the TGTE. How will this affect the reconciliation process?
A. Given the fact that the TGTE’s constitution states its goal is the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Tamil Eelam, we are not surprised that it was not ‘sanitized’ by the Sri Lankan government. The government’s selective sanitization smacks of a ‘divide and rule’ policy of the government towards the Tamil diaspora. The UNP and its leader Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe is well versed in the art of ‘divide and rule’ tactics. Ranil employed these tactics during the ceasefire period and got Karuna to defect from the LTTE. Now it seems that he is trying this on the Diaspora.
This selective de-listing will not contribute to reaching a political resolution to the Tamil national question. On the contrary it is counter-productive. Selectively embracing certain groups who are also equally committed to the Tamil aspiration carries the danger of delegitimizing these groups in the eyes of the Tamil people. This will impair and undermine their contribution to the resolution of the Tamil national question.
Successive Sri Lankan governments used the terrorism label to tarnish the Tamil campaign for an independent state. The new regime is not only doing that but goes further to drive a wedge among the Tamil Diaspora with that same terrorism label to divide and rule them. However, we believe that these tactics will contribute to consolidation of the mutual understanding among the Tamil Diaspora entities and will contribute to a reaffirmation of the fundamentals, namely, Nation, Homeland, and Right to self-determination.
Q. The Government wants those still on the list to denounce separatism. Will you denounce separatism?
A. The question before us is not whether the TGTE will renounce or denounce separatism, but whether the Tamil people denounce separation ideals if they are allowed to exercise their free will in the absence of the 6th Amendment to the Constitution, which criminalizes peaceful advocacy for an independent state.
While TGTE believes that due to the rigidity of the ethnocratic nature of the Sri Lankan State, and only in an independent State can the Tamils live in dignity and security, we also believe that it is up to the Tamil people to decide on this if and when they are given a choice through a referendum to decide their future. In my view all the Tamil Diaspora entities including the de-listed ones are also subscribed to this position.
To my knowledge while some de-listed entities say that Tamils do not want separation, they themselves will not oppose a demand that the Tamils should be given a choice to decide their future. It is not just a political issue, but a human rights issue. Even the TNA leadership, whenever they visited abroad, have agreed on this position and pledged to raise it. Next year will see the fortieth anniversary of the Vaddukoddai Resolution. Thus TGTE, along with other Diaspora and domestic entities, are planning to file a complaint with the Human Rights Committee of the UN arguing that the 6th Amendment is a violation of freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and freedom of association.
It is a fact that the people’s thirst for freedom cannot be quenched by a mere listing phenomenon. As the late South Korean President Kim Young-sam said, “Dawn will come, even if the rooster is strangled.”
I must also say that the UN Security Council Resolution 1373, the resolution cited by the government of Sri Lanka as a basis for the listing, is not promulgated to combat independence or separatism. There is not a single word about separatism in those 1,287 words resolution. Not only that the UN Security Council Resolutions pertains to terrorism, but it is also true that none of the constitutions in any country nor statutes of any country equate separatism with terrorism.
It is true that in some countries their constitutions prohibit separatism, but no country equates separatism with terrorism. David Cameron did not put Alex Salmond in the terrorism list, nor did President Rajoy designate Arthur Mass as a terrorist. It might be true that we cannot expect such statesmanship and moral and legal clarity from the Sinhala leadership, but the international community cannot turn a blind eye to this outrageous and idiotic abuse of the UN Security Council Resolution.
It is an irony that the new regime which came to power to uphold rule of law is deliberately abusing the international legal process. We call upon the International Community to condemn this.
I must also point out that while Sri Lanka has not done anything constructively to fulfill its obligation under the Human Rights Council Resolution pertaining to accountability, a Resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, it is embarked on a mission to distort the International legal process. Anticipating this, we at the TGTE have nominated a Monitoring and Accountability Panel (MAP) comprising experts with much depth of experience of participation in UN-sponsored international and hybrid tribunals.
I would like to take this moment also to point out that presently not a single Diaspora entity is talking about violence as a means to realize the Tamils’ political aspirations. The TGTE’s constitution mandates that it should realize its political goal through peaceful means. The GoSL’s harping on violence is nothing other than a ruse to justify its repressive Sinhala militarization of the Tamil homeland.
ABOUT TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL EELAM (TGTE):
Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is a democratically elected Government of a million strong Tamils (from the island of Sri Lanka) living in several countries around the world. TGTE was formed after the mass killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan Government in 2009.
TGTE twice held internationally supervised elections among Tamils around the world to elect 132 Members of Parliament. It has a bicameral legislature and a Cabinet. It held one of its Parliamentary sittings in the British Parliament.
TGTE is leading a campaign to realize Tamils’ political aspirations through peaceful, democratic and diplomatic means. The Constitution of the TGTE mandates that it should realize its political objective only through peaceful means.
The Prime Minister of TGTE is Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a New York based lawyer.
BACKGROUND:
Tamils have faced repeated mass killings since 1958 and the mass killings in 2009 prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a Panel of Experts to report on the scale of killings.
According to UN internal review report on Sri Lanka, over 70,000 Tamils were killed in five months in early 2009 and Tamil women were sexually assaulted and raped by Sri Lankan Security forces. There are over 90,000 Tamil war widows and thousands of Tamils disappeared due the conflict.
According to this UN Panel, the killings and other abuses that took place amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Independent experts believe that there are elements of these abuses that constitute an act of genocide.
Members of the Sri Lankan security forces are almost exclusively from the Sinhalese community and the victims are all from the Tamil community.
A Buddhist Monk shot and killed a Sri Lankan Prime Minister 1959 for having talks with Tamil political leaders to find a solution to the ethnic conflict.
Tamils overwhelmingly voted in a Parliamentary election in 1977 to establish an independent and sovereign country called Tamil Eelam. This Parliamentary election was conducted by the Sri Lankan Government.
Visuvanathan Rudrakumaram
Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)
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