A new political road map for Tamils.....!!!

A new political road map for Tamils
May 05, 2009 04:30 AM

Martin Regg Cohn

The stoic expressions of the two Tamil Tigers who turned themselves in to Sri Lankan government forces said it all: defeat and surrender – of themselves and their dream.

Held hostage by their fellow Tigers, the long-time cadres had sought sanctuary with the government they once denounced. Now, on television, they were repudiating their erstwhile comrades for recruiting child soldiers and using Tamils as human shields in Sri Lanka's brutal civil war.

Their faces were familiar to me: Velayuthan Thayanithi, alias Daya Master, the Tigers' media handler; and Velupillai Pancharatnam, alias George Master, a translator.

Daya Master had arranged my safe passage to his former headquarters in the Tigers' rump state of Tamil Eelam (homeland) in the jungles of northern Sri Lanka. As gatekeeper, he'd set up an interview with the movement's political chief, S.P. Thamilchelvan (later killed in a government bombing), with George Master translating.

Before I left him in 2002, Daya Master presented a "gift" of one of those Tamil Eelam flags bearing the Tiger emblem (with two crossed rifles). More recently, I've been seeing them on the streets of Toronto and Ottawa when local Tamil Canadians stage protests.

This is a difficult time for the Tamil diaspora. Emotions are raw. More than 70,000 Sri Lankans have died in the fighting of the last three decades, and hundreds of thousands of Tamils became refugees of the civil war. The largest number of them emigrated to Canada, leaving cities such as Jaffna desolate and depopulated.

Now many of them – but by no means all – are holding up placards calling for Tamil independence, or waving that Tiger flag with its powerful symbolism. It sends confusing signals.

Are the local protesters mourning the imminent defeat of the Tigers? Or the loss of so many Tamil lives in the fighting? If the latter, it's hard to square that with all the available evidence from independent agencies and human rights groups pointing to the Tigers blocking Tamil civilians at gunpoint, and deploying suicide bombers at displaced persons camps.

The Tigers' fight is lost. They are defeated militarily and discredited politically. Their terrorist tactics are notorious. They not only assassinated Sinhalese targets (and India's prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi), but systematically eliminated any rival Tamil political voices. They hijacked a movement and crashed it into the ground.

When Sinhalese politicians signed on to a Norwegian-brokered peace process a few years ago, the Tigers sabotaged it by rearming for war, then ordered a Tamil boycott of the elections that allowed Sinhalese hard-liners to triumph. After three decades of fighting, they are no further ahead.

The Tamil diaspora needs to stop fighting the last battle, and instead lay the groundwork for the political fight that lies ahead. That means raising the consciousness of Canadians, so that when more than 60 Tamils are killed in an attack on a hospital, it is front page news, not buried inside. That means engaging Canadian politicians, rather than scaring them off with Tiger flags. Instead of blocking roads, why not a road map?

Canadian federalism, while imperfect, can serve as a model for Sri Lanka of how to deal with regional and ethnic grievances. Sri Lanka's post-independence history has been an unhappy tale of mutual enmity, with the Sinhalese majority trampling on the language rights of the Tamil minority that makes up 18 per cent of the population, while keeping power centralized.

"That's where the new battleground will be," one of Sri Lanka's most articulate Tamil intellectuals, Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, told me from Colombo last week. "I think it would be a strategic mistake if they (émigrés) cling to the Tamil Tigers. There have been horrendous human rights abuses by the Tigers."

Now, with its treasury bare and the humanitarian situation dire – hundreds of thousands of Tamils are in displaced persons camps – Sri Lanka needs international help. Its consul-general in Toronto, Bandula Jayasekara, tells me that "Canada should try to reach out" with humanitarian help, as International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda did this week, promising $3 million in aid.

But reconstruction will not bring reconciliation. Any humanitarian operation must be a prelude to a political enterprise. That means moderation and compromise on both sides of the divide.

Sri Lanka's government remains in a triumphalist mood. But having won the war, it must also win the peace. And the only way to do that is by recognizing that the politics of the past, and the human rights abuses that took place, only exacerbated tensions.

A military solution will not, on its own, bring a resolution of the conflict.



Martin Regg Cohn, the Star's deputy editorial page editor, writes Tuesday.
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If this is the first time...
Your advice is very good, if this is the first time. Please read the history of Eelam Wars.

Submitted by CAPitalZ at 9:51 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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Triumphalist mood?
“Sri Lanka's government remains in a triumphalist mood”. Exactly what sort of nation would ever be in a “triumphalist” mood while 7,000 innocent civilians dead and thousands more injured? How they can bear to crack a smile, let alone be jubilant? Draw your own conclusions. If these were 7,000 Sinhalese civilians dead, there is no way this government would be as overjoyed. This right here is a prime indication of the racial division in Sri Lanka. A roadmap to peace is not in the Sri Lankan government’s agenda. A roadmap to superiority, certainly is. It’s been in the works since 1948. Yet international ignorance on the issue rules the day. Congrats to all involved.

Submitted by diamond94 at 9:50 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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Well Written Article
I agree with the writer of this article. An average joe could tell that the small group of people persistently protesting around Toronto are Tigers supports. They made chants and held signs expressing support for the Tigers. Human casualty was not their concern. We all know that the Tigers are just as guilty of breaches of human rights as the Sri Lankan government. I got so sick of them trying to manipulate people into thinking they are merely VICTIMS. I'm glad that this writer finally expressed this in an eloquent fashion.

Submitted by rather_draconian at 9:26 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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Re: Chemical weapons To: Waterloo Engineer
Did you know Sri Lanka a tiny Island of 20 million people have 500,000 army?? It is 8 times bigger than the Canadian military! Did you know that Sri Lanka has very advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAV)?? Only 18 countries in the world has it. Did you know that there are 15,000 Indian soldiers fighting in the front line? Did you know that India did NOT sign the cluster bomb ban treaty? Did you know putting phosphorus in an artillery shell makes it a chemical bomb? Did you know Sri Lanka has MiG 26 and MiG29 super sonic fighters with 2000 lb bunker buster bombs which usually ends up on a Tamil hospital or church?? I am pretty sure you don't know anything! Your attempt at joking with a serious issue makes me feel pity for you!

Submitted by Proud Scarberian at 9:19 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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"When Sinhalese politicians signed on to a Norwegian-brokered peace process a few years ago, the Tigers sabotaged it by rearming for war,"// Not true. It was the Sri Lankan government who pulled out of the truce based on some stupid water hole issue. Google plz. Mr. Cohn, how do you know that the Sri Lankan military wasn't rear arming?? India created the Tamil Tigers. They trained them and armed them. They did this to destabelize this very strategic location called Ceylon. To this day 50% Indian exports are going through Colombo!!! India's 15 or so ports are not advanced to handle big tankers. Once they found out Tamils are "really" going for a separate state, they panicked and sent their forces. The Indian forces alone killed 8000 Tamil civilians in 3 years. Maybe, the Indian consulate should be sealed for "growing" terrorists!!

Submitted by Proud Scarberian at 9:11 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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LTTE did not start the War
After 60 years of oppresion we know that Sri-Lanka will never find a political solution. There will be more death and destruction of Tamils.If the IC and the foriegn media believe that Sri-lanka will have a political road map, then all I have to say is dream on. The mentality of Sri-Lankan rulers is Sri-lanka belongs to Sinhalease. They have said that many times. For bringing a political solution to address the grievences of Tamils, they did not do it yesterday, they are not doing it today, they will not do it tomorrow. Already in South the Churches have been attacked by Sinhalese mobs.

Submitted by vani at 9:08 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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Re: Balanced article by Vasantha Sri
" The war is imposed on them by the LTTE’s maximalist and suicidal politics"// Vasantha, It was the Tamil Tigers who have been calling for ceasefire not your Sri Lankan regime. Your dictator Rajabakse is the war mongerer. Just in case your ignorance pop up again and you start to unleash lies.......Sri Lanka rejects West 'lectures' : Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has again ruled out a ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels and says the West should not lecture him about it. (BBC, 30/4/2009)

Submitted by Proud Scarberian at 9:00 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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What about other disadvantaged groups???
Macedonians have been denied freedoms and human rights in Greece for over 50 years, What about Darfor? What about Tibetians? Georgians? Maybe if Macedonians, Georgians and Tibetians took to the streets, The Star can write nice articles about their struggles too!

Submitted by realtycoon at 8:52 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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Moderation will triumph
Finally, finally, a relatively balanced piece on Sri Lanka's conflict from the Star. Minority voices aren't always right and majority voices aren't always wrong, as the Star seems to believe. The greatest challenge for the Tamils in SL today is to find credible Tamil moderates to fight for them politically. The maximalists who control diaspora activities are destroying Tamil credibility around the world. Time to start thinking about the post-Prabhakaran era.

Submitted by Nightwatch at 8:44 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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Well balanced article - great job
Great job Martin - a very balanced article. The other writers of the Star should learn from you the art of writing balanced articles. The sensationalism of the other writers is hilarious and sad at the same time. The Star should strive to be more like the Globe & Mail and NOT the Sun :).

Submitted by Waterloo_Engineer at 8:37 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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Chemical weapons now, Nuclear bombs next!!!
"Last week alone, 4000 Tamils melted under chemical bombs!" Yeah, that's right. Sri Lanka is so mighty and powerful that they actually have chemical weapons. I bet next week, they will drop a nuclear bomb on the area and do even more damage. I mean, the intercontinental ballistic missiles that SL has is a threat to the whole world!!! Let us also not forget the "Star Wars" type laser anti-missile system that SL possesses!! :|..

Submitted by Waterloo_Engineer at 8:29 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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Support for Tamils not Tigers
The vast majority of protesters were there to raise awareness of the Tamils not the Tigers plight. The protesters should have simply kept the Tiger flags at home. Canadians are fully aware of the humanitarian crisis and do want their government to play a big part in that respect. The vast majority of tamil rebels are young, under 30.

Submitted by treat at 8:25 AM Tuesday, May 05 2009

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