Sri Lanka demands ‘time and space’ to complete genocide

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 November 2012, 16:53 GMT]
“What we ask our friends in the international community is to acknowledge the progress that has been made and at the same time give us the time and space to work towards further progress,” said Rajapaksa regime’s minister Mahinda Samarasinghe in his concluding remarks at the UPR session in Geneva on Thursday. The progress that has been made by Colombo in militarisation, colonisation, genocide, structural genocide and annihilation of the identity of the nation of Eezham Tamils in the island is explicit in the last few years. The regime’s audacity in asking for more time and space to complete the process stems from the continued failure of the International Community of Establishments (ICE) in addressing the issue as one that of genocide and national question, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.

Instead of addressing the crux of the matter, the ICE, especially Washington and New Delhi, have provided the LLRC implementation smokescreen for the Sri Lankan state to conveniently camouflage and twist the genocide into a ‘nation building’ process and to constantly ask for ‘time and space’.

“We are working for a new Sri Lanka. We are working for a united Sri Lanka. We, more than anyone else, are concerned about achieving comprehensive reconciliation […] so that Sri Lanka would never ever have to face the 30-years of conflict that we had to face […] Sri Lanka is a multicultural, multilingual and multireligious community. And what we are geared towards doing and what we are positive about doing is to ensure that this diversity is protected and nurtured so that […] we would be able to cultivate a true Sri Lankan identity,” Mahinda Samarasinghe was able to sanctify the genocide in the island in rosy words due to the premises provided by the ICE.

* * *

Whether in the guise of ‘terrorism’ or ‘end of terrorism,’ the ICE with atrocious consistency has not deviated from facilitating genocide of the nation of Eezham Tamils.

The voice of the affected nation of people, about their experience of genocide and aspiration for liberation, is never given with any international space even to make a case.

The voice is rejected, gagged, detracted, twisted and hijacked by the genocide-facilitators in the powers, orchestrations of their agent individuals, subtle opinion making in the so-called international media and by the money cum infrastructure power of their NGOs, Groups and Foundations.

The US statement at the UPR on Thursday that was acknowledging issues of militarisation, political devolution, individual human rights, judiciary, NGO protection and other infrastructure matters in the island, but not the colonisation and Sinhalicisation that are annihilating the nation of Ezham Tamils, continued to harp on implementing the LLRC recommendations that had set the time and roadmap for the completion of the structural genocide of Eezham Tamils.

The Amnesty International was counting trees in its report.

A group of countries at the UPR were seen orchestrating in preaching the ‘Paris Plan’ of institutional improvement for ‘good governance’ as solutions to the island.

The institutional or infrastructural improvement aims at only securing guarantees for investment and the so-called ‘development’ desired by some powers. It will not help a situation where the intention of genocide is congenital and has permeated to the core of a state.

* * *

Conspicuous at the UPR was the praise heard from the representative of the Maldives on the ‘progresses’ made by Sri Lanka.

Whether Nasheed’s regime or Waheed’s regime, or Gayoom’s daughter in the foreign ministry, the Maldivian ruling class choosing to get bracketed with the genocidal state in Colombo has to be carefully scrutinized by the people of the Maldives who face the same precarious geopolitical milieu faced by Eezham Tamils.

While on one hand resisting the West and India on certain domestic matters, the undue support provided by the Maldives to China-card-playing Rajapaksa on the question of genocide-affected Eezham Tamils, only shows a vicious nature of the post-Gayoom establishment in the making in the Maldives. It doesn’t augur well for the future and credibility of the struggle of Maldivians as a small nation in the world.

* * *

The trend in the deliberations at the UPR should be an eye-opener for Eezham Tamils, their natural allies and global humanity that unless the issues of genocide and self-determination of the affected people are not directly and specifically targeted at an international level, no civilized order will be set in the island and set for the universal norms of humanity.

Alen Keenan of the ICG, welcoming investigation on genocide and on-going genocide in the island, wanted that to be legally taken up by somebody else. The cumbersome and time-dragging task is once again put on the affected people, as the Establishments are not prepared to take a political decision.

On the self-determination and liberation of the affected nation, unless the people of the nation wage an active struggle along with their natural allies, no one is going to care.

* * *

Despite the gagged conditions, speaking from the island over Skype to a group that met for a side event of the UPR in Geneva on Wednesday, the Bishop of Mannaar, Rayappu Joseph, called for the recognition of Tamils as a nation in the island.

Solutions lie only in the recognition of Tamil nationhood. Tamils in the island are not a minority. Colonisation effectively renders the Tamil majority [in their territory] into a minority. From the beginning of history there have been two nations and that must be recognized, the Bishop said.

What is of utmost importance is that all Tamil groups, activists and articulators have to come out of the illusions created by their adversaries on ‘reconciliation, steps, tangent approaches’ etc. Demanding what you righteously deserve without fearing anyone is the first step of a healthy, democratic struggle.

Eezham Tamils in their democratic struggle also need to immediately mobilise an international civil society of credible and independent personalities completely outside of the Establishments and their outfits, primarily to expose and counter the orchestrations of the Establishments.

It is sad to see some reputed international personalities in their pro-Establishment enthusiasm getting tagged behind outfits that pretend blind on the genocide and need of independence to Eezham Tamils.

* * *

The unanimous resolution passed by Tamil Nadu State Assembly two years ago no doubt had its positive moral effect on the struggle of Eezham Tamils. But Tamil Nadu has to realise that it neither achieved anything practically with New Delhi nor contained structural genocide of Eezham Tamils in the island, nor set a course of struggle to the edification of the agenda of powers, because the fundamentals are yet to be boldly addressed by Tamil Nadu.

Ms. Jayalalithaa should be no more ambiguous on the need of recognizing the nation of Eezham Tamils and its right to self-determination, including its right to become independent.

The Tamil Nadu State Assembly, all political parties, civil groups, grassroot organisations and most importantly the masses have to be prepared for the next move, making impact not only with New Delhi, but internationally.

The rate at which Colombo carries out its genocidal agenda in the island, once again Tamil Nadu may have to lament for any inertia on its part, as it lamented after the Mu’l’livaaykkaal end of the war.

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