No offence meant to Tamils « makeSplash.com by Sush Jaitly

No offence meant to Tamils

June 13th, 2009

When I wrote this post Why did Prabhakaran die on 18 May? I did not know that it will generate so much of interest. But it did. Some for good and some for bad reasons too. I’m not sure why but few Tamils (I think so) got this impression that I was against them and their cause in Sri Lanka. So much so that someone wrote lousy stuff in their comments(in Tamil) which was brought to my notice by one of the readers and I’m grateful to him for this. But tell you what? I really do care for Tamils in Sri Lanka. This is exactly why I wrote in the same post that Tamils should be rehabilitated at the earliest and India, more than anyone else, should the first to send aid for this purpose. Thankfully, India is doing just that.

Before I go any further I wish to again say that If the way Sri Lankans were treating Tamils was wrong, well, so was Prabhakaran in killing so many innocents in his fight for justice. You see, two wrongs cannot really make a right. Can it? But I guess a few Tamils are indeed very deeply frustrated about the defeat of LTTE in Sri Lanka. To them all these words don’t mean a thing. For them LTTE was not a terrorist organization but a symbol of hope. Well, it is understandable, in a way. After having fought the Sri Lankans for three decades they thought that may be LTTE would realize their dreams of a separate and free Eelam.

He may have been a martyr for Tamils but for me he was not

He may have been a martyr for a few Tamils but for me he was not

Well, nothing could be further from the truth. They were hardly ever in such a strong position so as to cause the nation to break up. Like I said earlier Prabhakaran committed four blunders which ensured that one day he will pay for this with his life and he did. I’ll list them out for your benefit once more.

1. He did not let Tamils to be a part of mainstream politics in Sri Lanka. In fact he killed so many Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka who were participating in mainstream politics there. He was blinded by his desire for a separate Eelam. Because of this there is a big void today in Sri Lanka as there is hardly anyone to represent Tamils there. The Tamil National Alliance which has 22 members in 225 strong parliament is not strong enough to deal with this issue. Not just this, these guys are seen to have been hand in gloves with LTTE in the past to be given much credence by the ruling elite. It is for this reason that I say the parallel process of politics should never have been discouraged. It would have ensured that Tamils have a voice in Sri Lankan parliament who could have fought for the Tamil cause and brought the situation to the notice of the world community. Also, it would have ensured that there was some continuity in the fight against the Sri Lankans. But Prabhakaran never thought of Tamils beyond his own death. That’s the predicament of Tamils in Sri Lanka today.

2. He murdered their president Mr Premdasa. That was unforgivable. How can you expect Lankans to give you any kind of leverage when you have killed their president? That action ensured that the Sri Lankan govt would never really make peace with LTTE. The result of this is there for all to see.

3. He murdered Rajiv Gandhi. When he killed Rajiv he cut off his umbilical cord which was his lifeline. He thought that he did not need the support of India to realize his dreams. How wrong he was. In todays times you cannot just change international borders unless you have the support of a major power of the region which has a stake in it. And in this case it’s India. India may have supported him and his cause initially but after this killing there was no question of any support to LTTE despite people like Vaiko crying themselves hoarse from rooftops. Incidentally, ever since they lost in elections in Tamil Nadu these guys seem to have vanished from the face of this earth. Unfortunately for Prabhakaran, towards the end when Sri Lankan forces were closing in on him it was Rajiv’s widow who was in charge here in India. Quite obviously, she did not extend any support or sympathy towards him.

4. He stuck to his demand for a separate Eelam. Some would call it his sincerity towards the Tamil cause but I would say that it was impractical. When LTTE was still a force to reckon with and when Norwegians were mediating in the peace talks had he diluted his demand to ask for equal status for Tamils and some kind of autonomy in areas like Jaffna and others, there was a chance that it could have been possible. Lankans would have done anything to restore peace in the country and Prabhakaran would have then emerged as the Hero in this entire thing. Agreed, few Tamils would have still been frustrated but things would have been so much better than they are now. In the end his cause proved to be his nemesis.

Rehabilitation is the urgent need

Having said what I have about Prabhakaran it is high time we started thinking about the future of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Apart from the immediate requirement of aid there is a need for a political organization for Tamils who can work for their cause. The Tamil National Alliance which may fit the bill needs to be strengthened a lot if is to achieve something for the Tamils of Sri Lanka. These are the few things that they need to do.

1. To begin with they have to come out and say that they believe in the Sri Lankan constitution and do not ask for a separate Eelam. That will give them some kind of credibility within the Parliament.

2. Instead of sitting in the Parliament they need to be in the affected zone with the Tamils who have been affected. This will ensure that Tamils have faith in the TNA to deliver.

3. Instead of fighting over the number of Tamils killed by security forces they should be fighting for compensation for those killed, either by the LTTE or by the forces or even for those killed in cross fire. Trying to make the Sri Lankans agree that it was them who killed the Tamils will, at this stage, serve no purpose. The immediate requirement is of rehab and that’s what the focus should be. Let the Tamils get their dues first. This issue can be raised in due course.

4. They also have to reach out to ethnic Sinhalese population to ensure that Tamils are not ill treated in the society in general, which they are right now. This may seem ridiculous to some but believe me this is the most important thing to do in the long run if Tamils hope for an equal status within Sri Lanka.

5. Mobilize Non resident Tamils of Sri Lanka to give as much as they can for this cause. Going by the support we have seen on TV in the last few weeks I’m quite sure they can raise millions of dollars for the people who have been affected in this war.

A few words now about India and it’s future course of action. Apart from the aid that we should continue with, we, as a nation, have to be extremely careful that Indian soil is not used for carrying out any clandestine or extremist activity in Sri Lanka. While we can extend all diplomatic support to Tamils there is no question of supporting anything which is illegal under the international laws. All LTTE sympathizers and supporters need to be kept in check. Apart from this India needs to keep the pressure on the Sri Lankans to give Tamils their dues.

We have to appreciate this fact that the road ahead is not easy. Sri Lankans will not give in so easily. The fight will have to be waged against their atrocities, but non violently. Violence, as we have seen, will not achieve what Tamils want. And so they have to be prepared for the long haul. Nothing substantial has ever been achieved easily. They can and will win if they play their cards right.

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