[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 July 2013, 13:14 GMT]Reiterating their position that “the recognition of the distinct
sovereignty of the Eelam Tamil Nation and our right to
self-determination is non-negotiable,” the Tamil National People’s Front
(TNPF) in a statement released on Saturday asserted that the 13th
Amendment and the Provincial Councils system, rejected by the Eezham
Tamil nation way back in 1987, “can never play any part of a process to
reach a political solution today.” The statement released on the 30th
anniversary of Black July, further said “if there is a firm resolve of
the Eelam Tamil Diaspora to be true to this righteous cause at all
occasions and venues, we in the homeland believe that it can ultimately
serve to reinvigorate the Tamils in the homeland to mobilize and
democratically counter the machinations of the Genocidal intent of the
Sinhala Buddhist state.”
TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam had elaborated on similar ideas in
a two-part interview given to The Weekend Leader earlier.
TamilNet
reproduces full text of the statement of the TNPF released on the
occasion of Black July, followed by Mr. Ponnambalam’s interview to The
Weekend Leader.
Statement from the Tamil National People's Front on the 30th year remembrance of 'Black July'Like
every year, for the last 30 years, you are gathered today, along with
your fellow Tamils in other parts of the world, to commemorate the week
commencing the 23rd of July 1983 as “Black July”. That week was the
turning point in the Tamil Nation’s history. For Black July put beyond
the pale of any doubt, that it was not the result of the actions of a
few stray elements of Sinhala Buddhist society. Rather, it was a result
of complete state sponsorship of mass racism, institutionalized within
the state and political systems, and in Sinhala Buddhist society against
the Tamil people.
The Black July pogrom was not an “anti-Tamil
riot” but the most naked act of Genocide committed by the Sri Lankan
state against the Tamil Nation. The intention was not merely to cause
death to the Tamils, it was also designed to ethnically cleanse Tamils
from the Sinhala homeland and at the same time structurally undermine
the self-sustaining economy of the Tamil Nation.
Apologists of
the Sri Lankan state are endeavouring to depict the events of July ’83
as a one-off incident that has never, and will never be repeated. But
the reality is that with Black July, the armed struggle of the Tamils
escalated and with such escalation, the acts of Genocide against the
Tamils were cloaked in so-called counter insurgency actions.
Mullivaikkal in May ’09 was merely the peak of the Genocide of the Tamil
Nation that first caught the attention of the world through the events
of Black July.
Every event that the Tamil Nation commemorates,
like Black July, should not be a mere emotional outpouring of grief.
These events should serve as stark reminders of the nature of the
conflict – which is the systematic dismantling of the existence of the
Tamils as a distinct Nation in the island of Sri Lanka by the Sinhala
Buddhist state. In other words, the Genocide of the Tamil Nation. It is
this Genocide that the Tamils need to find protection from. It is a
process that delivers protection from this ongoing Genocide, that the
Tamil Nation can accept as a solution to the Tamil National question.
Sadly
today, the very nature of the conflict is being deliberately obfuscated
by not only the Sri Lankan state and its international backers, but
also by those who call themselves the elected representatives of the
Tamil Nation. From Tamils needing to find protection from Genocide, the
conflict is instead being portrayed as the Tamil desire for an arbitrary
notion of wanting share powers of governance of the Sri Lankan state.
And through these acts of obfuscation of the nature of the conflict,
these elements hope to impose a so-called solution in the form of the
“13th Amendment” and the long rejected Provincial Council system.
The
13th Amendment and the Provincial Council system was rejected by the
Tamil people in October 1987 as not meeting the aspirations of the Tamil
people, nor them being in any way, commensurate with the loss of life,
sufferings and privations suffered by the Tamil people. Much water has
flowed under the bridge since then. 30 years on the acts of Genocide
have only risen exponentially. 4 years after the conclusion of the war,
the systematic structural Genocide of the Tamil Nation is ongoing. There
can be no doubt in our minds that what was rejected way back in 1987 as
not being commensurate with the losses faced by the Tamil people, can
never play any part of a process to reach a political solution today.
It
is in these most trying times that the Tamil Nation commemorates this
years Black July. The Eelam Tamil Diaspora along with the people of
Tamil Nadu has remained the only real light at the end of, what
otherwise has been a very dark and long tunnel. The mobilization of the
Diaspora in calling for justice for the Genocide committed on the Tamil
Nation spanning the last 65 years, along with its uncompromising and
principled call for the recognition of the Eelam Tamils as a distinct
and sovereign Nation with the right to self-determination has given
tremendous inspiration to the homeland Tamils.
Above all, if
there is a firm resolve of the Eelam Tamil Diaspora to be true to this
righteous cause at all occasions and venues, we in the homeland believe
that it can ultimately serve to reinvigorate the Tamils in the homeland
to mobilize and democratically counter the machinations of the Genocidal
intent of the Sinhala Buddhist state. This resolve can also serve to
expose the betrayals of those amongst the Eelam Tamils who are willing
to sell out the entire Tamil Nation for a mess of pottage!
The
Tamil National People’s Front wishes to recommit, on this very
significant occasion, that the recognition of the distinct sovereignty
of the Eelam Tamil Nation and our right to self-determination is
non-negotiable. It is self evident to mankind that the truth will
prevail. The Eelam Tamil Nation stands for the truth! The Eelam Tamil
Nation will prevail!
Signed by
President: Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam
Secretary: Selvarajah Kajendren
***
Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s interview with The Weekend Leader dated 27 July follows:TWL:
How do you respond to accusations that you are continuing with dynastic
politics without a real grasp of ground level Tamil politics?
Gajendrakumar:I
don’t see coming from a “dynasty” of Tamil politicians as an issue, as
long as I have the capacity to serve my people in my own right. One’s
own personal achievements and failures are what I believe one must be
judged by, and not by the family one belongs to.
But quite
honestly, I find the suggestion that I have not grasped ground level
Tamil politics a little surprising. I say this because I happen to be
the only Tamil politician who was born and bred in an elite Colombo
background, but who chose to eschew that same Colombo elite thinking and
move to Jaffna and settle down there.
In fact, most Tamil elites
accuse my politics of compromising their interests and only addressing
the interests of the ground level Tamil society.
TWL: Do you believe what happened during Eelam War IV was genocide? Is there any hope of international investigations?
Gajendrakumar:I
have no doubt whatsoever that what happened, not only during Eelam War
IV, but ever since the British departed from the island of Sri Lanka, is
an ongoing systematic genocide. The Sri Lankan state is systematically
dismantling the existence of the Tamils as a distinct nation in Sri
Lanka.
What I mean by nation is Tamils being a people who have a
distinct language, distinct territory, a distinct culture, and a
self-sustaining economy of our own. It is this nationhood that the
Sinhala State wishes to see the end of, as Tamil nationhood is the
biggest threat to Sinhala Buddhist nationalism that wishes to turn the
island into a Sinhala Buddhist Ethnocracy.
So in this genocide,
the loss of Tamil lives is just one aspect of the picture. Every one of
the pillars that qualify us for nationhood is being systematically
destroyed. It is the truth. And this is what the Tamils need to be
safeguarded from. This reality is what the conflict is all about.
War
crimes and crimes against humanity were also committed. What I oppose
is merely calling for the investigation of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, and leaving out the crime of genocide. Investigate all three
crimes is what we are saying.
The international community is only
interested in the last stages of the war. This is unacceptable. The
period that needs to be investigated is the last 65 years – that is, the
period ever since the British left the island. That is when the
Genocide against the Tamils commenced.
As to whether there ever
will be international investigations, well as you know, it all depends
on geopolitics and how the US (and the western countries) and India view
Sri Lanka’s shift towards China.
Even if you look at the way the
West and India frame the issue of accountability, they are merely
trying to use the issue to bring about a regime change and not genuine
accountability. If genuine accountability is what the West and India
want, then they should have no problem in investigating charges of
genocide, and also the last 65 years of Sinhala rule over the Tamil
nation.
There is a danger that international investigations will
only become a reality if the West and India believe that the regime
change that they want to see in Sri Lanka will not take place!
As
for the Tamils, we must not merely let geopolitics decide our fate. It
is the duty of every Tamil to mobilize our people in a democratic way,
to pressure the international community to act. I believe, if the Tamils
here, the Tamils in Tamil Nadu and the Diaspora mobilize in a
coordinated way, the international community, and particularly India and
the West will have to act.
TWL: You were the
first Tamil leader to demand internationally supervised transitional
administration of the Tamil homeland in the North and East of Sri Lanka
at the UNHRC in Geneva. Can you elaborate how it would function and
fulfill the aspirations of the Tamils?
Gajendrakumar:We
want an internationally backed Transitional Administration for three
main reasons. Firstly, we need to secure the Tamil Nation from the
ongoing Genocide. This can only happen if we are taken out of the
hegemonic grip of the Sinhala State.
The second reason is that if
we truly want an accountability mechanism to be successful, then the
Tamil people must feel safe in being able to come out and give evidence.
This
can only happen if the Tamil homeland is taken out of the strangulating
grip of the Sinhala State, and a protective mechanism is put in place.
We see the Transitional Administration as such a protective mechanism.
And
thirdly, a meaningful reconstruction of the destroyed livelihoods of
our people can only happen through an administration that is accountable
to the Tamil people.
In other words, the Administration we
envisage is not merely a protection mechanism, but one that would have
sufficient powers to handle the immediate resettlement, and the
rebuilding of livelihoods and development needs of our people.
It
is important to state that this Transitional Administration would exist
only till such time an acceptable political solution is found to the
Tamil national question. So it is not a substitute for a negotiated
solution. It is something that must be set up in the interim period.
TWL:
It is a common perception that TNPF prefers to work with civil society
than the government of Sri Lanka. If that is the case how would you
negotiate for a settlement with the government?
Gajendrakumar:We
are not saying that the Tamils should not negotiate with the government
of Sri Lanka. What we are saying is that when we do sit down to
negotiate, the government of Sri Lanka must first accept certain
fundamentals.
They must accept that we are a distinct Nation with
our own sovereignty and that we are a people with the right to
self-determination. It is on this basis that negotiations can take place
to work out the modalities on how the Tamil and Sinhala Nations can
coexist in one country.
TWL: There have been
severe threats to your life. Recently there were reports of four
unidentified men visiting your house. The TID (Terrorism Investigation
Department) had summoned you to its headquarters. How do you cope with
all this given the fact that your own father was gunned down?
Gajendrakumar:I
work on the basis that I rather be killed than accept the genocide that
is being committed on my people, as a way of life. I am doing nothing
wrong!
I am not doing anything that even violates the most
draconian laws of the Sinhala State, like the Prevention of Terrorism
Act, or the notorious 6th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution that
prohibits the espousing of a separate state. All I am agitating for is a
re-envisioning of the State. That is my fundamental right and
democratic right!
TWL: What is your reaction to
the Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter declared by TGTE (Transnational
Government of Tamil Eelam) in May 2013?
Gajendrakumar:The
6th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution prohibits me to say or do
anything that might be construed as espousing the creating of a separate
state. Therefore I cannot comment on this matter.
TWL: How do you view the resurgence of the Tamil Diaspora world over?
Gajendrakumar:We
believe it is inevitable that the Eelam Tamil Diaspora would mobilize
again. Each and every member of the Diaspora is directly in touch with
their family members back in the homeland.
They know about the
genocide that their brethren are facing. They also know of the
unprecedented oppression that the Tamils are facing here. So it is only
natural that the Diaspora will take up the cause of the Tamils in the
homeland, when the Tamils here have been made voiceless. I fully
appreciate most of their efforts.
There are some groups though,
unfortunately, that are behaving in a very naïve way. These groups
refuse to see the geopolitics that is driving policy in the western
countries that they live in, and as a result are formulating strategies
that I believe are a waste of finances and effort. But these groups will
realize soon why their efforts will not succeed.
Then of course
there are some groups and individuals who are being promoted by some
western governments to more or less lobby the Tamil Diaspora on their
behalf. These groups function very similar to how India uses the Tamil
National Alliance to do its bidding in Sri Lanka. Such groups will get
discredited as time goes by.
But by and large, the Diaspora and their organizations are an asset to us.
TWL: What is your opinion on the students’ movement in Tamil Nadu in support of the Eelam struggle?
Gajendrakumar:The
students’ movement in Tamil Nadu is the very bright light that we see
at the end of the tunnel. My firm view is that the students’ movement
and their continued strategic mobilization are going to be the key for
the future of the Eelam Tamils.
TWL: India still
feels the 13th amendment (to the Sri Lankan constitution) is the final
answer to the Tamil problems and keeps pushing for it. Why are you
against it?
Gajendrakumar:The 13th amendment
purports to provide devolution within the unitary framework structure of
the Sri Lankan State. The term “unitary” has very specific legal
connotations under constitutional law.
All legislative and
executive powersare vested in one power centre in a unitary state. In
other words, the unitary state structure cannot provide for devolution
of power.
The 13th amendment only provides the mirage of devolution.
The
provincial councils that were created by the 13th amendment are mere
appendages to the central government. As several constitutional experts
have observed, the relationship between the central government and the
provincial council is akin to a principal – agent relationship.
Simply
put, thecentral government and the governor appointed by the president
ultimately control all the so-called powers that are to be vested in the
provincial council.
The provincial council’s elected chief
minister and the board of ministers’ official role can at best be
described as advisors to the governor, who is appointed by the
president. They hold no power.
What is actually happening in Sri
Lanka is a systematic genocide of the Tamil nation. That is the conflict
between the Tamils and the Sinhala Buddhist State.
As far as
Tamils are concerned, the solution lies in not only recognizing Tamil
nationhood, but also preventing any future undermining of its existence.
Then the question must be asked, given the nature of the 13th
amendment, how on earth is it going to be a basis for a solution to the
Tamil National question?
The truth is that the 13th amendment and
the provincial councils were forced on the Tamils by both India and the
Sri Lankan State.
This happened after India managed to use the
Tamil liberation struggle as a convenient pressure point to get the then
JR Jayawardena government to course correct its shift towards the USA
and firmly commit to India’s sphere of influence instead.
This
commitment to India by Sri Lanka can be clearly seen in the Letters of
Exchange annexed to the Indo – Sri Lanka accord (of 1987).
The
quid pro quo of Sri Lanka committing to India’s sphere of influence was
that the Tamils were asked to effectively surrender their struggle.
The Tamils, my party and I personally, have repeatedly stated that we are India’s natural allies.
We
are not against the provisions in the Indo – Lanka Accord that
safeguard India’s national security and strategic interests. What we
cannot accept is the part that prescribes a solution to the ethnic
conflict in the form of the 13thamendment and the provincial councils.
We
have in the past, and we will in the future too, do our utmost to
safeguard India’s interests in Sri Lanka. But India must not merely look
to safeguard her own interests at our expense. That is just not
acceptable.
TWL: Do you believe India can play a concrete role in getting justice for the Tamils? If so what do you expect India to do?
Gajendrakumar:Of
course, India can play a concrete role. I would go further and say that
India must play a concrete role. But that role cannot be played in a
constructive and honest manner as long as India only seeks to safeguard
its interests in Sri Lanka.
As starting point, India should
recognize the Eelam Tamils as a distinct nation with our own sovereignty
and right to self-determination. India must urge the Sinhala nation to
negotiate with the Tamils to arrive at a solution that re-envisions Sri
Lanka into a new plurinational state that is mutually beneficial for
both nations.
But as a matter of urgency though, India must play
the key role in setting up a Transitional Administration in the North –
East of Sri Lanka.
TWL: Given the animosity
between the Tamils and the Muslims who live in the north and east, how
do you propose to work with them in future?
Gajendrakumar:I cannot agree with the view that there is animosity between the Tamils and the Muslims in the North and East.
There
have been unfortunate mistakes made by the Tamils (against Muslims).
The Tamils have unreservedly apologized for those mistakes.
We
are keen to make sure they are never repeated. As far as the TNPF is
concerned, the North-East is as much the homeland of the Muslims as it
is for the Tamils. There can be no questions about it.
My party
however refuses to speak on behalf of the Muslim people. They don’t like
us to speak for them, as if we have a common identity. I think the
Tamils must respect their feeling and accept whatever identity they
choose for themselves.
We are committed to working out a
framework for the North-East that the Muslims and Tamils will feel
mutually comfortable and secure with. I have no doubts that such an
arrangement can be arrived at.
TWL: How do you view the attacks on Muslims by the BoduBalaSena?
Gajendrakumar:The
attacks on the Muslims by the BoduBalaSena are deplorable without
reservation. But quite honestly, the TNPF has been saying this (such
attacks) would happen for sometime now.
What the Muslims must understand is that in the Sinhala-Buddhist-Nationalist scheme of things, the Tamils were the No.1 targets.
Now
that they believe the Tamils have been sufficiently dealt with, they
are going after the next obvious hurdle to their vision of a Sinhala
Buddhist Ethnocracy, the Muslims.
TWL: Is your
party contesting the forthcoming provincial elections in the north? If
so,do you plan to go alone or strike an alliance with TNA? Do you
believe these elections will be free and fair?
Gajendrakumar:We
completely reject the 13th amendment and the provincial councils that
were created by it. We will have nothing to do with these elections.
TWL: Do you believe any Sinhala regime will give justice to the Tamils?
Gajendrakumar:Not
unless the international community intervenes in a meaningful and
effective manner. And for that to happen, the Tamils the world over need
to mobilize in a well coordinated and strategic way.
TWL: What are the future plans of TNPF?
Gajendrakumar:Our
vision is to transform the TNPF into a people’s movement. It is a tough
task given the conditions that prevail in the homeland.
But this
is where we see Tamil Nadu’s students’ movement and the Diaspora
mobilization as key. We take great inspiration from them. The people
here will follow provided we can give honest leadership.
TWL:
Lastly, what are the memories you have of the Black July (the
anti-Tamil pogrom of July 1983 in Sri Lanka that claimed the lives of
hundreds of Tamils) and how it shaped the political course of your
father and now you?
Gajendrakumar:Well I was 9 years old when Black July’83 happened. My family didn’t flee Sri Lanka like many Tamils did.
Instead
we were fortunate to find protection amongst Sinhalese friends of my
father. We would move from house to house as most Sinhalese families
were too frightened to shelter us beyond a couple of days.
The
truth is that Black July itself didn’t have too much of an impact on me.
I was sheltered by my parents from seeing the genocidal destruction to
life and property of the Tamil people. But it was my overall experience
as a Tamil that shaped my views. There is no single event that I can
point to and say “this is what convinced me!”
Many people think that my political views were shaped as a result of the assassination of my father. But that is not true.
My
views had been formed much earlier. My father’s assassination merely
served to reinforce the correctness of my views about Sinhala Buddhist
Nationalism and its genocidal agenda.
External Links:
