Tamils for Obama: What should the Tamils do next?

Dear Friends,

We have received many suggestions from the Tamil Diaspora. We would like to share these suggestions with you.

1. One member wrote to us that “On May 18, when the Tigers fought bravely to their last bullet, they left a clean slate to the Tamil Diaspora to figure out our own way to carry on the struggle for the Tamil homeland.

“I salute them for their bravery and dedication to Tamil Eelam, and I believe we owe them thanks.”

2. The two-state solution is more possible now than it was before. There is a reason for this. This is that GOSL, with its more or less open killing of Tamil civilians, has exposed itself. It has shown its genocidal nature, and so has made the world less sympathetic to the GOSL and more ready to acknowledge the government’s history of persecution of Tamils.

3. Create a Government in Exile.
   1. This will be the Diaspora’s and Tamils in Tamil Eelam’s representative to all the other states and peoples in the world.
   2. Activities and duties of the government in exile might include writing a constitution for Tamil Eelam; serving as a clearing house for information about the proposed state of Tamil Eelam; seek recognition from legitimate states and other governments in exile (Tibet, Biafra and Burma, for instance).
   3. Find a country willing to accommodate the Tamil Eelam government in exile, and set up the government in exile there.
   4. We need to find people who can run this undertaking of a government in exile. It has to be headed by a person who has stature; diplomatic, leadership and administrative skills; patience; to some degree, charisma and charm; and humility.

4. We have to seek help from friendly states, which are willing to help us in our struggle.

5. Some of our correspondents suggested that we make Canada the site for our government in exile, lobbying efforts, and so forth. One reason is that the largest diaspora Tamil community is already there. Canada is and advanced nation with a relatively small population, which makes the Tamil voice louder there. Also, Canada belongs to all the right clubs: NATO, the G-8, and so forth.

6. We need to identify and support spokespeople. These are people who can present sympathetic and convincing arguments for Tamil Eelam. It is probably necessary to form a Tamil Eelam think tank to work out all the policies and arguments that our spokespeople will need to present.

7. Our thinkers and spokespeople have to be able to make thoughtful and believable explanations to academic institutions and private think tanks. We are thinking of place like Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, The Brooking Institute, The Heritage Foundation, The Trilateral Commission, and so forth.

8. We need to find and employ advisors who are experienced in helping new countries form their necessary institutions. These advisors are going to have to help us figure out how to make our dream of Tamil Eelam a possibility.

9. We need to choose an influential and effective lobbying firm in Washington D.C. We might need to find similar representative for us in Brussels (E.U.), London, Ottawa, Canberra, New Delhi, and so forth.

10. We must examine how the East Timor model applies to our goal of creating Tamil Eelam. Of course, East Timor is not the only model or experience we need to learn from. This has to be done not only by our think tank, but by all literate and thoughtful Tamils in the World.

11. We need to look into how we can build influence at the U.N. Push for a U.N. referendum on Tamil Eelam? Form a United Nations Tamil Eelam Authority? Try to get official observer status for our government in exile? What else can we do?

12. Make U.S. officials aware of and sympathetic to Tamil Eelam. This should be considered preparation for the time when Tamil Eelam is a real possibility and we will need to push these officials to taka actions.

13. Continue to collect evidence of war crimes and bring prosecutions against Sri Lankan officials. This is good exposure and preparation for our goal of creating Tamil Eelam. This will probably be easier to do now that the war is over and the Tigers are out of the picture.

14. Keep on making our case in all the media and journals. Much of our battle is publicity: a war of opinion.

Tamils for Obama has gathered and organized these thoughts from emails and other communications we have had with Tamils (and non-Tamils). We are passing them along for more thought and comment. We have to plan our struggle.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Tamils for Obama