A Perspective - Prasad Gunewardene:
How Tamils divided Tamils...
The world has been misled to believe that it was the Sinhala majority
that divided the Tamil community, through the disinformation campaign of
the LTTE. But, the truth is quite different to the disinformation
campaign of that deadly terror movement.
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Appapillai Amirthalingam |
Cyril Mathew |
Gamini
Dissanayake |
The division of the Tamils were written on May 14, 1976, by Tamil
political leaders who misled their own community for political gain. It
was on that day, the infamous Vadukkodai Resolution gave birth to,
making a treacherous call for separation.
Distant dream
It resulted in many Tamil youth, forming groups as militants, to
fight for an impracticable demand for separation, which was a distant
dream. They all had the tag ‘Eelam’ on their heads.
They fought each other for supremacy. Many of them later realised
that separation was a distant dream and returned to the democratic fold.
The LTTE continued with the separation tag on its head for survival.
It is no exaggeration to state that this country has reached a
critical juncture. No Head of State, in the past nor present, ever
dreamt of a war within this country. Terrorism dragged the country to
war. And violence, continues for the thirty second year in succession.
During that period, several ‘Peace Pundits’ habitually attempted to
portray that the Sinhala majority administrations were racist.
The Government of the day of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, too was
viewed in that manner, by the squint eye of those self proclaimed Peace
Pundits. Belying all such Cassandra-like prognostications, Presidents of
the past and present extended the hand of friendship to the LTTE. But,
the LTTE bit that hand of friendship. Isn’t it clear that it was the
LTTE which dragged this country to war, time and again?
The division
Let us now get back to the period where the dark clouds began to hang
over the peace loving Tamil population of this country. The division, of
the once united Tamil people of this nation, was written on May 14,
1976.
A Resolution was moved seeking a separate State at the Vaddukkodai
meeting of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) on that ill-fated
day. Those who moved that resolution were living in a dreamland but
never dreamt they would perish sooner or later, as a result of such a
perilous resolution.
May 14, 1976 was a jubilant day for the then TULF high - command.
Crowds thronged the meetings they addressed in that year in preparation
for the July 1977 General Election. What more?
That dream was confined as the theme on every political platform. In
the true sense, the intellectual Tamil political leadership knew it was
only a distant dream. As usual, it was only a political slogan to
mislead the Tamil voters.
The tragedy of the Vaddukkodai Resolution was that Appapillai
Amirthalingam, a much respected leader of the Tamil community himself
was a victim of LTTE terrorism, that was born as a result of that
resolution. When Amirthalingam realised that a separate state was
impossible within this small island nation, he had a change of heart.
Truly, he was a democrat, who believed in the divinity of democracy.
Hardly two years later, from the Reporters’ Gallery in the old
Parliamentary Complex in Colombo Fort, I reported Opposition Leader,
Appapillai Amirthalingam’s speech on the debate to extend the State of
Emergency by a further month on December 19, 1978. He said - ‘Mr.
Speaker, people who have broken the law must be caught and punished.
Whether they are Tigers or Lions, they must be caught and punished
and, that is the duty of the Government’-. Amirthalingam further
stressed that innocent law abiding citizens must be able to go about
their normal vocations without being attacked.
While Amirthalingam expressed and stressed such democratic ideals
during that debate, his colleague, M.Sivasithamparam interrupted
Amirthalingam several times to scream,-’We want Eelam and we will
continue to demand Eelam’-.
An angry Industries and Scientific Affairs Minister, Cyril Mathew
hitting back on Sivasithamparam said,’ Sir, I have also got to say the
truth. There is also a political terror group stalking this land today,
that is killing at will’. Hell broke out in Parliament that day as
Amirthalingam looked a dejected man.
The TULF Members forced the leadership that the party should leave
the Chamber. Amirthlingam was the last of the 17 TULF MPs to leave the
Chamber that evening. As they were leaving, Minister Gamini Dissanayake
said, ‘Certainly, that is not the Gandhian way of principles! All I can
say is, Mahatma Gandhi would have been ashamed of disciples of this
sort’.
The reason for the TULF to leave the Chamber had nothing to do with
the ethnic problem nor the demand for a separate state during that
debate. Home Affairs Minister, K.W. Dewanayagam pointed out to the
Speaker that an accused in the Alfred Duraiappa (slain Mayor of Jaffna)
was seen in the Public Gallery in Parliament.
The difference
Sivasithamparam claimed the man in the Gallery was not a Tiger. In
reply, Prime Minister R.Premadasa in a jocular mood quipped, “ Mr.
Speaker, it is the Hon. Sivasithamparam who knows the difference between
a ‘Tiger’ and a ‘Non-Tiger’, because he lives with them”.
With that being the state of affairs in the North and East three
decades ago, smuggler turned terrorist, Velupillai Prabhakaran began his
violent campaign against all Governments in power, under the guise of
seeking a resolution to the ethnic strife.
But, at the back of his mind, he used the TULF slogan of a separate
state to mislead the Tamils for his survival. Prabhakaran used several
MPs in the 1977 Parliament to defend his terror group.
One of them were the vociferous speaker, Vettiveli Yogeswaran from
Jaffna. It was quite unfortunate that Yogeswaran, his wife Sarojini, a
former Mayor of Jaffna and Amirthalingam were gunned down by the very
LTTE, for whom they spoke in defence, in the hallowed Chambers of
Parliament.
In this tragic journey which now spans over three decades, the
majority of the TULF, have now turned as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA),
except for the strong minded, Veerasingham Ananda Sangaree, who yet
braves the dreaded LTTE. The TNA is the mouth piece of the LTTE at
present. But, the ruthless Tigers have not spared those in the TNA, who
voiced democratic views to find a lasting solution.
How long could Tamil politicians survive in this manner is the
question. The cream of the Tamil politicians had been wiped out. Only a
few more of them are left. Tamil political parties are in disarray. The
LTTE resorts to brazen attempts to kill all opposed to them. Race,
religion or colour do not matter to the venomous minds of the LTTE. We
all have witnessed many a horrendous acme of the LTTE. Even pregnant
Tamil women are used on suicide missions. What more brutality than that?
Be it the North or South, it is time to stop hair splitting over the
ethnic problem. Political parties should not absolve themselves from the
process of finding a resolution to the problem. Always condemning the
brutality of the LTTE will not help. Politicians must put the nation
before themselves.
The All Party Conference should not look a cosmetic gesture, for
parties to come, abstain or withdraw. Instead, all must join hands to
exert maximum pressure on the LTTE at this point, where the LTTE looks
weak, both militarily and politically. The LTTE, by its recent killings
had not assured the international community of its credentials. Hence,
this is the time most opportune for all political parties to speak in
one voice against terrorism.
Resurgence
The resurgence of LTTE violence, in other parts of the country
continues unabated, despite heavy setbacks they suffer in the
battlefront. The people cannot always remind all our politicians of the
need, to join hands to safeguard democracy, nation and the people.
Politicians should realise that they are on a mission for the people.
The crucial hour has come to speed up national reconciliation to seek
peace.
Reconciliation and Peace are twin elements in a country’s process of
reconstruction and development. Politicians must seek the participation
of the people to achieve those goals. Politicians should not await
invitations to resolve national issues. Be they in the Government or
Opposition, they must rid themselves of the phobia to hide behind power,
or, to come to power early. And, national crises should not be made a
bait to gain political advantage.
Lasting solution
While the political tug-of-war continued among all political parties
for past three decades, to find a lasting solution to the ethnic crisis,
the LTTE advanced to aircraft power. Did we ever think of the need to
behave in a manner that would promote the desire to eliminate terrorism,
to move towards reconciliation? Are we truly doing it now? All
politicians must answer these national questions.
Playing the ball to each others court had been the practice for three
decades. At least now, our politicians need to act with a sense of
responsibility, towards a honest response. Traversing on such a path
could be discomfiting. But, political party leaders and their parties
should not live on petty agendas. The Opposition has a major role to
play in that direction.
All politicians must realise that the LTTE is now in utter
desperation, out to destroy the lives of important individuals. It wants
to bring fear to the minds of the people and drive home the point, that
the country is on the brink of a division, a dream that is now far from
reality.
Political leaders of today cannot behave in a manner ignorant to the
obvious needs of the people. Nor should they sacrifice national needs
before the Altar for political gain.
Only devotion and commitment could stop the cyclonic ill winds that
blow across this nation. Having suffered for over three decades due to
ruthless terrorism, the people wish to live in a land devoid of racial
conflict, terror, corruption and abuse of power. Politicians are bound
to lead the nation towards the reality of that noble dream.
The extremist groups of the Sinhala society must now stop demonizing
the LTTE. The LTTE has miserably failed in the battle field, as well as
before the international community. Extremism from any quarter does not
pay dividends.
Those extremist groups must now let the Government and other
political parties place their cards on the table in an open manner, that
would hopefully bring about a settlement, acceptable to all, to this
festering national agony. Those ‘extremists’ who stage protests and
‘scream’ as patriots, must realise that more we delay a resolution to
the crisis, those who live fine would be our fortunate politicians. And,
the not so fine are the unfortunate masses. If that is allowed to play,
we would lack form and content in the direction towards stability as a
nation.
Petty politics and the misconception of ‘man before country’, has
dragged the nation into darkness over the years, since dark clouds began
to hang over this thrice blessed land three decades ago. The crisis will
prolong and drag us into further darkness if, both the Government and
the Opposition continue to judge each other with suspicion and contempt,
as they have done in the past.
The light
The people yearn to witness a process that is more responsive to
humanity. Democracy must be defined to devolve power to the people, and
not to satisfy the aspirations of a few politicians. People should not
be destined to experience misadventures as a result of political errors.
The completion of the first decade of this century, is quite near and
at hand. It’s time to create adventures that we could be proud of, and
leave them for our next generation. Could our politicians rise up to
that challenge in a unified manner?
If they do, the people could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Then, the first century of this new millennium will no longer carry the
dreadful plight of men, women and children with broken limbs and torn
bodies as a result of terrorism.
Gone are the days of the Vaddukodai Resolution. It had died a natural
death. Tamils do not now demand a separate state. Only the LTTE
terrorists dream of separation. Many former Tamils militants have now
embraced democracy. There’s no reason at present, to suspect or hate the
Tamil community.
Let not await another day, to build up partnership to take this
country forward towards prosperity. That is the clarion call of the
people to all politicians. Only a power sharing mechanism will
strengthen democracy to bury separation. Terrorism could be buried with
such a noble concept.
“Unity lies in the current of blood and not in torrent of words”,
said Rabindranath Tagore. |