UN, a tool of Western colonialism
Chaminda Perera (This interview was given before the
UNHRC vote in Geneva)
Professor Nalin Kumara De Silva is a well known analyst and
theoretical physicist who has expressed his candid views on many
controversial issues ranging from the Arsenic issue to terrorism. An
opponent of what he calls Western cultural dominance, Professor Silva
says that members of the Tamil community do not have any problem merely
because of being Tamil. He insisted that there should be cultural
interaction between the Sinhala and Tamil communities.
While stressing that there is no language barrier, Professor Silva
insisted that no one can be forced to learn the language of another
community. Allowing the communities to mix with each other will enable
them find their common language, he said.
Professor Silva added that the British sowed the genesis of racism in
the country by discriminating against the majority community – the
Sinhalese.
Excerpts of the interview:
Q: How do you see the problem of the Tamil people in Sri
Lanka?
Professor Nalin Kumara De Silva. Picture by Ranjith Asanka |
A: There is no problem for the Tamil people merely due to
their being members of the Tamil community. The Tamil people have been
facing problems due to their own leaders for over two centuries.
Q: But the Tamils have been permanent settlers in the country
for centuries and they say that they receive step-motherly treatment
from successive governments. What do you have to say?
A: The Tamil people were not permanent settlers in Sri Lanka.
The Tamils in Jaffna today are really descendants of people who were
brought from India by the Dutch for Tobacco cultivation. When the Dutch
began tobacco cultivation in the country there were no Sinhalese people
to work for them. The Sinhalese people by tradition did not work for any
body. The Sinhalese were used to the Rajakari system and they never
worked as labourers for wages.
After harvest these Tamils went back to South India. Because of that
they introduced the Thesavalami law which encouraged these people to
stay in the island.
This Thesavalami law is not a Tamil Law. According to late Gamini
Iriyagolla, this law was brought in for the Muslims in South India.
There were no permanent Tamil settlements in any part of the country
before the 12th Century. The same goes for the Muslims. This was stated
by a Professor of the Jaffna University presenting a thesis to the
University of London.
By 1505 the majority community in the Jaffna peninsula were Sinhalese
and this fact has been mentioned by Portuguese historians(16th Century).
There were certain groups of people who were brought from Kerala and
they spoke Malayalam. They were called Vellakkara or mercenaries by the
Sinhalese Kings.
Q: How can you prove that they were not early settlers of Sri
Lanka?
A: I am ready to prove that Tamils are not early settlers of
the country. I challenge anybody to go and read the Land Register and
titles (Thombu) in the Jaffna Kachcheri on the families of Vellala
Tamils in Jaffna, particularly the Tamil leaders. I challenge
Parliamentarian R Sumanthiran to go and read the thombu at the Jaffna
Kachcheri and have a better understanding on how they came and settled
in the country. These are historical facts. These people claim that they
have been here from the Gemunu - Elara era. There were Tamils during
that time but they were not permanent settlers.
During the British era, the Tamil Vellalas were brought from the
Poonamandal coast in India. They were agricultural labourers.
Q: Why do you say that British sowed the genesis of racism on
Sri Lankan soil?
A: The American missionaries were chased out of Colombo with
the arrival of British to the country and they started schools in Jaffna.
Some of the Tamil Vellalas came to Colombo and their children received
education in schools in the Colombo Academy (which later became Royal
College), S. Thomas's, St Peter’s.
By that time there were more English speaking Tamils than English
speaking Sinhalese.
The British sowed the seeds of racism by allocating a single seat for
the majority community - the Sinhalese, who had been living in the
country for more than 2000 years - in the State Assembly under the
Donoughmore Commission. The composition of the Assembly was three
Europeans - one Burgher, one Tamil and one Sinhalese.
This is the first racist step taken by the British government in the
Legislature. Sinhala people with a history of more than 2000 years are
the majority community in the country while the Tamils who were brought
to the country by the Dutch, represented only 10 per cent of the
population.
The British wanted to bring the English speaking Tamils such as
Ponnambalam Arunachalam and Ponnambalam Ramanathan to power.
In the Legislature, Tamils enjoyed the majority compared to the
Sinhalese or they were equally in number.
This injustice done to the majority community changed with the
establishment of the State Council and the introduction of Universal
Franchise.
With that the number of Sinhala representatives increased in
comparison to the Tamil representatives in the council. That was a
mistake done by the British from their(Tamil) point of view.
From about the end of the 19th Century, the Tamil leaders have been
agitating for more representatives in the Legislature.
Q: Why do you say that the Tamil community in the Northern
Province were not represented by leaders?
A: The Vellala leaders who identified themselves as saviours
of the Tamil people did not represent the people in Jaffna and other
parts of the Northern province.
Their aspiration was to become the leaders of the country at the
expense of the poor Tamil masses. The ordinary Tamils were not affected
by any of these things. They did not have any aspiration to be leaders
of the country.
They were cultivators and toddy tappers. The children of these
ordinary masses did not have schools. It was worse than in South Africa.
These low caste Tamils had no aspirations and all perks and privileges
were enjoyed by the Vellalas.
After the first Parliament was elected in 1947, S.J.V. Chelvanayagam,
a Tamil Christian who was a follower of the South Indian Church realized
that they could become leaders of the country.
He formed his own party in 1949 called Illangai Thamil Arusakachchi
or Ceylon Tamil State Party in order to carve out a separate State in
the North and the East. That was the beginning of the problem.
He organized a massive campaign in the North and the East and the
plantation sector too. The Muslims were also organized under the
umbrella of Tamil Speaking people.
In 1976, the Vadukkodai Resolution was brought in. Almost all Tamil
parties including Former Muslim Congress Leader A.H.M. Ashraff supported
it.
Q: How did the Separatist organization originate in Jaffna?
A: The low caste people in Jaffna wanted liberation from the
high class Vellalas and some of them rallied under Prabhakaran and some
other leaders.
There were some Marxist tendencies among the Tamil youth at that
time. Almost all of them wanted Tamil Eelam. Prabhakaran was fighting
against the Sinhala people as well as the Vellalas.
Prabhakaran was cruel though he was a good organizer. He became the
sole armed group representing the Tamil people and the Tamil Vellalas
had to give in due to various reasons. Prabhakaran started his killing
spree with Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah. By this time India had
extended training to these terrorist outfits against a sovereign
country.
Q: Tamil leaders extended support for the independence of the
country. How do you see their involvement in the independence struggle?
A: It was always only the Sinhala people who fought against
the British starting from Keppetipola, Gongalegoda Banda, Kudapola
Hamuduruwo. It took a cultural form during the latter part of the 19th
Century. People like Anagarika Dharmapala fought against the British.
But Tamil leaders were never involved in the struggle against
British. There was no resistance from anybody except the Sinhalese.
The British started some schools where they taught English and
everything else. Tamil racism introduced and nurtured by the British is
still continuing. There were Catholic priests smuggling arms to the LTTE.
The Bishop of Mannar allowed the LTTE to carry the Madhu statue.
In some churches the national anthem was sung in Tamil during the
last Independence Day. They have a grudge against Sinhala Buddhists.
There is no injustice as such done to the Tamil people.
Q: Tamils say making Sinhala the official language was an
injustice done to them?
A: The English speaking Tamil Vellalas were affected due to
Sinhala being made the official language. This has been construed as a
discrimination against the entire Tamil community. Our language was
English before Sinhala was made the official language of the country.
When Sinhala became the official language the ordinary Tamil masses
become familiar with Sinhala more than English.
I think the ordinary Tamil man is benefitted by this move even in an
indirect way.
The English speaking Tamils (Vellalas) and Burghers were affected by
this and the English speaking Sinhalese (the elite class) too were
against Sinhala being made the official language.
Q: How do you see the contribution of the SLFP led governments
to the country?
A: Through various SLFP led governments the independence
struggle continued. It is a process. We had some independence in 1948.
Former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike made the country a
Republic in May 22, 1972.
I do not know why the government does not celebrate this day (May
22). I suggested to all SLFP led governments to mark May 18 to May 22 as
a sort of independence week because it is in 1972 that we became a
Republic by declaring that the English King is not our king.
In 2009, we were able to defeat Tamil terrorism fostered by the
British English and the West. Tamil terrorism and the racist ideology
was defeated by us within the country but it still continues in the UK,
Canada and the United States.
Q: Why is the Tamil Diaspora so strong in the West?
A: I do not use the word "Diaspora" it is a Biblical word
referring to the Jews who were chased out of the Middle East and were
living in other parts of the world. These are dispersed Tamils. The
English speaking dispersed Tamils in many Western countries had the
upper hand like their ancestors had the upper hand in Sri Lanka two
decades ago. They do not want us to live as an independent country. The
NGOs, the scattered Tamils, Catholic and Christian churches are used
against all Afro Asian countries including Sri Lanka.
Some Marxists are financed by the Westerners to act against the
Sinhala people. There are no Tamil leaders to lead the ordinary Tamils
together with the Sinhala people against Western colonialism.
A part of the UPFA government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa can
do this. I say this because there are various rogues in the government
who when the time comes will betray the President.
Q: How do you see the government's development drive, the
reconciliation and reconstruction effort?
A: The government is on the correct path. The country needs
reconciliation. It is not a reconciliation of two groups of people who
were against each other.
They have never been at loggerheads.
The country had a problem because the Tamil and Sinhala communities
were living separately. The Tamil and Sinhala people were separated by
the the UNP governments.
There should be cultural interaction between the Sinhalese and the
Tamils. I think that the Tamil community has not been given an
opportunity to improve their culture. Cultural troupes from the South
should visit the North and vise versa. Sinhalese have been living in the
country from the very beginning and their influence can be found in the
Tamil culture.
That is why the Sri Lankan Tamil culture is different from that in
South India.
The government should allow the Tamils to evolve by their own
methods. They should be encouraged to practise their traditional
medicine and traditional method of cultivation.
The government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa has initiated a
massive development drive in the Jaffna peninsula. It should extend
assistance to the farmers in the Jaffna peninsula.
Q: Don't you think that the language barrier hinders
reconciliation efforts?
A: There is no language barrier. Let the people mix, they will
find their common language. The common language cannot be forced. You
can't force Tamil people to learn Sinhala while the Sinhala people
cannot be forced to learn Tamil.
Q: Do you think you can achieve reconciliation through
learning three languages?
A: I know how I hated to learn English when I was forced to
learn it. You should never force anybody to learn anything. Whether its
maths or language or physics or anything. The moment you force, you
hate. Let the people learn it if they want.
Tamil public servants coming to Colombo have to learn Sinhala while
the Sinhalese public servants should have to learn Tamil when they work
in Jaffna.
Learning is by necessity not by force. That is reconciliation, our
way. We should not follow the British and Americans.
Sri Lanka Cricket should organize school cricket tournaments between
schools in the North and the South with the aim of promoting
interaction. I am not a fan of Cricket as it is a Sudda’s game
(Colonial). But still it should be used to promote reconciliation.
The Cabinet of Ministers have differences of opinion about the 13th
Amendment. Several Ministers say that the 13th Amendment should be fully
implemented while others say it should be done away with.
Q: What do you think of the 13th Amendment under which the
Provincial Councils were set up?
A: My view is that there is no necessity for the 13th
Amendment. It was forced on us by India. It is an Indian type of
solution for non existing problems.
If there are problems among the Tamils, those problems cannot be
solved by establishing Provincial Councils. In India, more than 90 per
cent of Tamils live in Tamil Nadu but 50 per cent of Tamils in Sri Lanka
are living outside the North and the East.
Only 35 per cent of the population in the Eastern province are Tamil.
There is no problem for the Tamils by merely being Tamils. That is a
pseudo problem.
There are problems of poverty which can be found in many parts of the
country including Hambantota, Moneragala, Kandy, Colombo and even in
Wanathamulla.
How can you solve their problems (if they have any) If more than 50
per cent of Tamils are living outside the Northern and Eastern province.
Even if you go by their definition, Provincial Councils are not a
solution which was evolved by India depending on their experience. The
13th Amendment is not an Act of Parliament and it was not passed in
Parliament legally.
To be an Act of Parliament, there are various other procedures that
have to be followed.
The 13th Amendment was a regulation forced by JRJ using the 2/3rds
majority. We have to question the legality of the provincial councils.
These should simply be thrown out.
According to Former Supreme Court Judge Raja Wanasundera, the 13th
Amendment was not passed in Parliament legally. The Marxists in the
government who are clamouring for the full implementation of the 13th
Amendment have no power basis.
The Left is left out.
Q: The United States has already announced that they would
bring in another resolution against Sri Lanka at the forthcoming United
Nations Human Rights Council session next week? What would happen to Sri
Lanka if such a resolution was passed in the council?
A: The power balance that existed in the United Nations
Organization is no more with the collapse of Soviet Union. The UNO has
become an instrument of colonialism. In addition to NGOs, Christian and
Catholic churches and dispersed Tamils, the UN is also promoting
colonialism.
These forces are being used against many Afro Asian countries which
have States and governments that are not in the good books of the West.
The Westerners are ready to teach a lesson to the countries which are
not to their liking, under cover of good governance, freedom of speech
independence of the judiciary and human rights. These are nothing but
rubbish. They cannot be found in any country in the West.
The English speaking people in Sri Lanka think that there is freedom
of speech in the USA. There is no freedom of speech. How many people in
the US read newspapers? The national newspapers are not read by the
people in the USA. The people in the USA have no interest in the
government as they know by their experience that they can do nothing to
change the policies of the government. The ordinary people in the
Western countries are passive observers. They do not take part in
elections and voter turn out at US elections are very low. The United
States has no democracy at all. Most Americans have not even heard of
Noam Chomsky. All top secrets are hidden by the White House though they
boast of good governance and transparency. No average person has access
to any of this.
Sri Lanka is the reverse. All the Cabinet decisions are leaked out
immediately. There is no secret in Sri Lanka. Everybody knows what is
happening. Paikiasothy or Nimalka Fernando and their NGO bandwagon can
live in the USA. They can go to Hyde Park and make a speech, but these
will never be reported in the national press.
In contrast our media is giving prominence to Pakiasothy and Nimalka
though they do not have any power base in the country. These elements in
connivance with their Western masters are promoting colonialism and
acting against the country.
Can we try Paikiasothy Saravanamuththu for treason? The moment we do
that there would be agitation from the Western countries. But what will
happen to Paikiasothy in London if he is engaged in treachery against
that country. He will immediately be taken into custody, put in a jail
and dealt with. That is the good governance that exists in those
countries.
We are an open country. The colonials are using these crooks. The
government will be under pressure by various UN organizations even NGOs
like Amenesty International and so called watchdogs. The government
should ignore these people and the organizations as in the case of the
Human Rights Commission.
Whatever you do they will always bring in resolutions against the
government. There are human rights reports against the United States but
US media does not give any publicity to them. Almost all Western
countries ignore these reports against their countries. Israel does not
even go before the Council.
Why do we give so much prominence to these people and this useless
summit. The media should give more prominence to the Sri Lankan women’s
cricket team. They should be given more prominence than the Geneva
council. It is an organization used by Westerners to continue their
colonialism.
The so called representatives of Western countries and so called
organizations including the UN meet Paikiasothy, Nimalka Fernando et al
and the members of NGO bandwagon. Because they do not want to listen to
the voice of the other side.
Why is that they are always meeting Paikiasothy Saravanamutthu not
Nalin De Silva. Doesn’t Nalin De Silva represent the Sinhala voice of
this country at least to a certain extent. Is he not an opinion maker of
this country? I have a voice and represent a certain group of people.
They do not want to listen to the other side. They call themselves
impartial observers and open minded people but the truth is that they do
not want to listen to the voice of other side. None of the Sri Lankan
post graduates scholars in Western countries write a column to their
national papers. That is the asymmetric. We are still dictated to by the
IMF - this is colonialism. |