2ND LEAD (ADDS STATEMENT)
[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2012, 07:06 GMT]
Tamil Nadu Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on
Thursday defended its parliamentarian TK Rangarajan saying that Eezham
Tamils don’t ask for independence. Citing statements of politicians
gagged in the island as authentic expression of the minds of Eezham
Tamils and endorsing Rangarajan’s negation of Eezham Tamil independence,
the CPI-M state secretary G. Ramakrishnan argued against the current
stand of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi and his criticism for Rangarajan. If
the CPI-M is truly a party of oppressed people, and a party valuing true
democracy, it should first demand removal of the Sri Lankan
constitutional ban on talking about secession to help people and their
politicians to talk from their heart, and it should support a
referendum, rather than imposing conclusions of genocidal
Establishments, said an Eezham Tamil politician having no freedom to
even reveal his name.
“On any issue, the opinion of the people involved takes precedence,”
said the CPI-M press statement, in support of its stand negating
independence as solution for Eezham Tamils.
According
to the CPI-M, the Tamil politicians in the island who met Rangarajan,
and politicians like Sampanthan and Suresh Premachandran of the
mainstream political party TNA that is engaged in talks with the Sri
Lanka government, didn’t ask for independence. They were all talking
about solutions within a united Sri Lanka.
The CPI-M consistently
stood for meaningful devolution of powers and maximum autonomy for
combined north and east, within united Sri Lanka, the statement said,
adding that the current needs of Eezham Tamils are reparations,
rehabilitation and devolution of powers.
The CPI-M was trying to
project an image that its stand on the issue is the true reflection of
the aspirations of the Eezham Tamils supported by their politicians, and
Mr. Karunanidhi’s current stand calling for referendum leading to
independence is not the wish of Eezham Tamils.
When the Eezham
Tamils and their politicians in the island had the last chance of freely
expressing their opinion, they came out with the Vaddukkoaddai
Resolution of 1976, calling for the independence of Tamil Eelam and
endorsed it in the General Elections of 1977.
Thereafter, Sri
Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979, and later the 6th Amendment
to the constitution enacted in August 1983, a month after a pogrom,
prevented the Eezham Tamils from even talking about their independence.
Only by holding arms their militant movements were able to speak the
truth of their heart.
* * *The following are the relevant provisions of the 6th Amendment:
“Article
157 A (1) No person shall, directly or indirectly, in or outside Sri
Lanka, support, espouse, promote, finance, encourage or advocate the
establishment of a separate state within the territory of Sri Lanka.
(2)
No political party or other association or organisation shall have as
one of its aims or objects the establishment of a separate state within
the territory of Sri Lanka.”
Under this law - 157 A (4) – “any
person may make an application to the Supreme Court for a declaration
against an organisation espousing the cause of establishing a separate
state in the island. Upon such declaration by the SC that the
organisation has violated Article 157 A (2), then that organisation
“shall be deemed, for all purposes to be proscribed”. Any member of such
an organisation shall cease to be a Member of Parliament. Any person
who is a member of such an organisation after the date of the SC
declaration “shall be guilty of an offence and shall, upon conviction by
the Court of Appeal” would be stripped of his or her civic rights for a
period not exceeding seven years; and his or her movable and immovable
property would be seized.”
* * *When
such are the provisions of the constitution, and under a heavily
militarised rule in which people ‘disappear’, how does the CPI-M expect
the Eezham Tamils and their politicians to come out with the truth of
their political aspirations?
The CPI-M should note that the 6th
Amendment provides against individuals and parties talking about
secession not only inside the island, but also outside of the island.
Strictly
speaking, when Rangarajan himself doesn’t have the freedom to talk
about the independence of Eezham Tamils and then visit Sri Lanka, how
does the CPI-M cite Premachandran speaking in Chennai as the authentic
expression of Eezham Tamil aspirations?
Is this the shade of the
‘People’s Democracy’ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), to first
gag the people and then to come out with its imperialistic designs as
the aspirations of the affected people, asks the Eezham Tamil politician
gagged in his own land.
The CPI-M in its statement says
withdrawal of the SL military was one of the issues discussed by Tamil
representatives who met the Indian delegation in which Rangarajan was a
member.
The representatives, especially the civil group led by
Prof SK Sitrampalam was specifically talking on Sinhala colonisation,
Sinhalicisation and Buddhicisation, as the burning issues apart from
militarization.
The CPI-M statement of G. Ramakrishnan has no
reference to the issues and demilitarisation is also not included in its
priorities that speak only about reparations, rehabilitation and
devolution.
Whether the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
tacitly supports the Sinhala militarisation, colonisation,
Sinhalicisation and Buddhicisation, as means of the agent state in
Colombo and as means of the imperialist aspirations of New Delhi, is the
crucial question asked by Eezham Tamils.
* * *If
so, people of Tamil Nadu have to reject such imperialist political
parties, have to take up the task of exposing them at an All-India level
and have to selectively target and rout their candidates in the
elections – whatever the electoral alliances with which the imperialist
parties of genocidal blood come clinging to ask for votes in Tamil Nadu,
the Eezham Tamil politician in the island urged.
Meanwhile,
thinking that they are supporting the politicians at home, sections in
the free diaspora that simply endorse whatever the Eezham Tamil
politicians say under compulsions, should realise the danger of their
endorsement being misused by unscrupulous elements.
There is
another articulating section in the Eezham Tamil diaspora that has
fallen prey to the intimidation and lures of the imperialist West.
There
is yet another microscopic section, which in its allegiance to the
former social imperialisms, is chronically jaundiced in seeing that
under genocidal circumstances national liberation is the priority. They
also don’t see that imperialisms in the West and East are together
today.
Indian imperialist elements like the CPI-M, gain their
confidence to tread on the issue of Eezham Tamils because of the follies
of the above sections among Eezham Tamils, the Eezham Tamil politician
in the island pointed out.
Marxists should be the first people to
realise that currently the question of Eezham Tamils is not merely a
question of national liberation.
As for the first time in
contemporary history the genocidal war was fought surprisingly with the
blessings of all the powers on the earth in unison, the national
liberation of Eezham Tamils has become a universal test case in the
edification of imperialism all over the world.
Only the
liberation of Eezham Tamils could course-correct the powers and agent
states all over the world to behave properly inside and outside of their
countries in the future. Otherwise, Sri Lanka will be a dangerous role
model for universal oppression.
The party members of the CPI-M
all over India have to realise that the independence of Eezham Tamils
will not affect the unity of India. On the contrary, it will be an
inspiration for dialectical developments within the Establishment in
India on many of its internal issues and will strengthen the unity and
prestige of India, if the Establishment is discouraged from opting for
the role model of Sri Lanka it abetted.
It is ideal for the
states to behave in such ways so that national questions don’t come up.
But once a national question matures to the extent of genocide, it is
either liberation or subjugation of a nation.
Where does the
leadership of the CPI-M in the garb of Marxism ideologically stand on
this universal as well as regional issue – With imperialisms and an
agent state or with the genocide-facing people of a nation without
state, the Eezham Tamil politician in the island further asked,
appealing to the supporters of the CPI-M all over India to
course-correct their leaders, especially in Tamil Nadu.
Chronology:
Related Articles:24.04.12
Militarisation of southern South Asia centres-around Sri Lan.. 15.03.12
Ram journalism faces criticism in JNU for pro-Sri Lanka bias.. 11.03.12
Without international investigation accused will become judg.. 07.02.12
Eezham Tamils await dividends to come from Mahendran’s book 19.01.12
Tamil sovereignty alone can check protracted genocide: Jose .. 03.10.11
‘Misplaced Loyalties’ 04.09.11
CPI(M) ‘keen’ in solutions within ‘united Sri Lanka’ 21.11.09
'Future bleak, but do not give up,' veteran Marxist reviewed 01.03.09
'Sri Lanka: A Besieged Society' - Sivasegaram 18.11.08
Students of JNU voice for Tamil Eelam 02.11.08
Discuss Tamil national question and self-determination: CPI ..
External Links:
