Over 150 Buddhist, Hindu and Christian religious dignitaries took part in the discussions with govt officials involved in the rehabilitation of POWs!

Sunday, 24 October 2010

Home is where your heart is :

Ex-Tigers yearn for recognition

By Shanika Sriyananda




Paskaran Selvakumari Kumar
Can you remember the days when you refused to eat food and your mother made you scary saying that devils would come and swallow you?

Looking around with wide open eyes and without troubling your mum anymore, you meekly emptied the dish.

For more than two decades, the children of the North, were made scary when they did not eat food not by calling devils but telling them that Sinhalese soldiers would come and cut them into pieces.

Whenever they committed an innocent naughty act, their parents ‘called’ the soldiers. “We did not utter a word but ate dosai silently when my mother called the Sinhalese soldiers. From our small days, we saw posters where soldiers kill small children,” Kaneshapillai Ranjith Kumar said.

Released from the rehabilitation centre at Vavuniya, Kumar who is disabled is waiting for a sponsorship for an artificial limb.

Northern children who were born two decades ago were continuously exposed to posters and propaganda campaigns by the LTTE to cultivate their animosity towards the Sinhalese and their soldiers.

The LTTE’s long-term plan for the cause - to get the brain washed youth to fight - became successful to a greater extent and they made it easy to motivate the innocent youth die for their useless cause - Eelam.

Today thousands and thousands of Tamils who have seen the Sinhalese and their soldiers after the end of the war know the ‘breed’ that they were taught to be devils are humans that saved them from the real ‘devils’.

Married to escape the forced conscription and hidden in a bunker with his newly married wife, Kumar who escaped terror filled Puthumathalan in 2009, a few days before the battle came to a complete end, is trying to become a popular garage owner in Mullaithivu.


Their hope is for a better future - Pix: Thilak Perera
Despite his disability, he repairs whatever vehicle that comes to his garage. Clad in a sarong and shirt with black grease patches he apologises for coming to meet us in dirty and smelly clothes.

He has put up a temporary garage at Thanniuththu with the material given to build a house in the resettled village.

“I can earn Rs. 1,000 to 1,500 daily”, the 29-year-old, who had run a garage in the Mullaithivu town since 2006 said.

The LTTE police which was hunting civilians to strengthen the outfit ordered hundreds of people to get photos wearing LTTE uniforms and Kumar went to get a photo and never returned home. When he refused to join the LTTE threatened to recruit his brother.

He was trucked with over 250 civilians including underaged children to the Kokuthuduwai training camp for a half a month training and then deployed at the Forward Defence Lines in Tampanai, where he lost his left limb to an AP mine buried by the LTTE itself.

Treated for six months at the Mullaithivu hospital, Kumar was asked to work in a LTTE garage in Pokkanei.

“I could not work in that garage and I escaped. I came home and tried to surrender to the soldiers but the LTTE shot at us. My sister, aunt and her sister were killed by the LTTE while they were running. However we reached the huge earth bund at Ampalanpokkanei.

Over 45 people were shot dead. There were pregnant women, old people and children “, he said.

Kumar, his family and others thought the Army would kill them but tried to escape the LTTE terror. “LTTE sympathisers got the chance of escaping in boats but they herded us towards the fighting areas and asked us not to run. But the soldiers saved our lives”, he recalled.

New life
He is not alone. There are over 4,000 ex-LTTE cadres who have gone back home to start a new life free of violence. Having undergone a successful rehabilitation process where they were taught to brush up their hidden skills and the values of life, they are aspiring to lead a peaceful life to make a brighter future for them.

Talk to them... you will realise they don’t harbour the LTTE’s day dream - Eelam- anymore. They all want to be a part of the efforts to bring a new culture and a brighter future for Sri Lanka.

Exposed to terror since their birth, this segment of youth who were forcibly misled and lived with hatred against the Sinhalese, have learnt that there is no discrimination against them.

The artificially created ‘ruse’ by the LTTE and some interested segments are fading away in the horizon painting a new colourful picture from the far end of the North to the South bridging gaps that distanced historical ties.

Paskaran Selvakumari, another young female, is grateful to the Sinhalese soldiers who helped her to build the tiny house in her village. After return from the rehabilitation centre at Pompemadu, she has been reunited with her family of two daughters - Pathmakumari (7) and Banusha (6) and is trying hard to meet the day’s expenses with the meagre earnings of her deaf husband who is doing odd jobs in the Mullaithivu town.

Unable to find a job with her poor educational qualifications, the young mother who studied only upto grade five, dreams of giving her two daughters a good education.

“The LTTE did not want us to study. I had to stop schooling due to LTTE threats. My poor parents did not have an option other than to give me to the LTTE to save the lives of my younger brother and sister. I was taken to Mullankavil training centre while my parents came behind the white van full of people who were dragged in”, she recalled while taking a deep breath.

After a two-month training in Pooneryn with over 150 girls, she was recruited to the Malathi regiment and sent to Jaffna FDLs. She had to fight in Nagar Kovil, Palei FDLs but in 2000 she got injured at a clearing operation where over 30 terrorists died.

The bullet that ripped through her right ear came out from the right eye.

Admitted to the Kilinochchi Hospital she came home partially blind.

When they were planning to flee from Pokkanei, the military announced that LTTE cadres who were with the LTTE even for a day could surrender. As she wanted to save her children’s lives she surrendered to the military with the family.

Suffering from frequent headaches, Selvakumari feared to undergo an eye operation. “ I am scared that I will die and there would be no one for my two children”, she said.

These youth, who were born and bred under LTTE terror, had been denied their rights as children and youth. Their parents had to pay taxes from each cent they earned.

When they defied LTTE orders they were harassed or killed. Though the LTTE boasted that the dead LTTE cadres were venerated and their families known as Mahaweera families looked after well, these ex-LTTE cadres claim those were only propaganda slogans to get more innocent victims to the outfit.

“When a boy or a girl died in battle, the LTTE gave a few thousands of rupees as compensation and the stay about looking after the family was a lie. The families of the senior LTTE cadres were looked after well and they had luxurious lives”, they complained.

Slowly threading their lives with the new found peace, every ex-LTTE cadre who came back home after rehabilitation wants a better future.

Harbouring new hopes, they yearn for equal recognition from society to forget the bitter past.“But still some of our own people look at us differently. They still see us as terrorists. We never wanted to fight but we were helpless.

We joined the LTTE as we wanted our families to survive”, Thambiraja (21) said.

At the moment over 4,000 ex-LTTE cadres are back in society and also another 4,000 are waiting to come back. The need of the hour is to change the mindset of society to welcome them warmly.

If we cast doubts on them, they would naturally be cornered with the same hatred nulifying all fruitful efforts to rehabilitate them.

Back home
The Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe said society had a great responsibility to welcome them as normal youth.

“After rehabilitation, they go back to their homes as normal youth.The Government Agent, Grama sevaka and the Army Civil Affairs officers in each district are aware of the number of rehabilitated ex-cadres are in their respective areas. They monitor their movements in a way not disturbing their freedom”, he said adding that the system was initiated to facilitate them in their day-to-day activities.

He said so far not a single incident of violence created by the rehabilitated ex-LTTE cadres has been reported from the North.

“Instead, they coordinate with government officers now. They have been issued ‘Released Certificates’ which will facilitate them in travelling, banking and finding jobs”, he said.

Brigadier Ranasinghe said there were no child soldiers under rehabilitation and they, who had gone home, were now continuing their education with the help of the UNICEF.

Meanwhile, religious dignitaries in the North got together last week to discuss the rehabilitation process of the ex-LTTE cadres.

Over 150 Buddhist, Hindu and Christian religious dignitaries took part in the discussions with government officials involved in the rehabilitation of these youth.

“The clergy in each religion can make a huge impact on the lives of these youth. Once they are released and go back to their villages they should be welcomed and given recognition as they have come back to society as new souls. This situation can be created through the clergy. They can contribute to a greater extent to make these youth feel comfortable in their own societies. They also can make a huge impact on these lives through getting them involved in their religious activities”, he said.

SUNDAYOBSERVER.LK

Sunday, 24 October 2010

Home is where your heart is :

Ex-Tigers yearn for recognition

By Shanika Sriyananda




Paskaran Selvakumari Kumar
Can you remember the days when you refused to eat food and your mother made you scary saying that devils would come and swallow you?

Looking around with wide open eyes and without troubling your mum anymore, you meekly emptied the dish.

For more than two decades, the children of the North, were made scary when they did not eat food not by calling devils but telling them that Sinhalese soldiers would come and cut them into pieces.

Whenever they committed an innocent naughty act, their parents ‘called’ the soldiers. “We did not utter a word but ate dosai silently when my mother called the Sinhalese soldiers. From our small days, we saw posters where soldiers kill small children,” Kaneshapillai Ranjith Kumar said.

Released from the rehabilitation centre at Vavuniya, Kumar who is disabled is waiting for a sponsorship for an artificial limb.

Northern children who were born two decades ago were continuously exposed to posters and propaganda campaigns by the LTTE to cultivate their animosity towards the Sinhalese and their soldiers.

The LTTE’s long-term plan for the cause - to get the brain washed youth to fight - became successful to a greater extent and they made it easy to motivate the innocent youth die for their useless cause - Eelam.

Today thousands and thousands of Tamils who have seen the Sinhalese and their soldiers after the end of the war know the ‘breed’ that they were taught to be devils are humans that saved them from the real ‘devils’.

Married to escape the forced conscription and hidden in a bunker with his newly married wife, Kumar who escaped terror filled Puthumathalan in 2009, a few days before the battle came to a complete end, is trying to become a popular garage owner in Mullaithivu.


Their hope is for a better future - Pix: Thilak Perera
Despite his disability, he repairs whatever vehicle that comes to his garage. Clad in a sarong and shirt with black grease patches he apologises for coming to meet us in dirty and smelly clothes.

He has put up a temporary garage at Thanniuththu with the material given to build a house in the resettled village.

“I can earn Rs. 1,000 to 1,500 daily”, the 29-year-old, who had run a garage in the Mullaithivu town since 2006 said.

The LTTE police which was hunting civilians to strengthen the outfit ordered hundreds of people to get photos wearing LTTE uniforms and Kumar went to get a photo and never returned home. When he refused to join the LTTE threatened to recruit his brother.

He was trucked with over 250 civilians including underaged children to the Kokuthuduwai training camp for a half a month training and then deployed at the Forward Defence Lines in Tampanai, where he lost his left limb to an AP mine buried by the LTTE itself.

Treated for six months at the Mullaithivu hospital, Kumar was asked to work in a LTTE garage in Pokkanei.

“I could not work in that garage and I escaped. I came home and tried to surrender to the soldiers but the LTTE shot at us. My sister, aunt and her sister were killed by the LTTE while they were running. However we reached the huge earth bund at Ampalanpokkanei.

Over 45 people were shot dead. There were pregnant women, old people and children “, he said.

Kumar, his family and others thought the Army would kill them but tried to escape the LTTE terror. “LTTE sympathisers got the chance of escaping in boats but they herded us towards the fighting areas and asked us not to run. But the soldiers saved our lives”, he recalled.

New life
He is not alone. There are over 4,000 ex-LTTE cadres who have gone back home to start a new life free of violence. Having undergone a successful rehabilitation process where they were taught to brush up their hidden skills and the values of life, they are aspiring to lead a peaceful life to make a brighter future for them.

Talk to them... you will realise they don’t harbour the LTTE’s day dream - Eelam- anymore. They all want to be a part of the efforts to bring a new culture and a brighter future for Sri Lanka.

Exposed to terror since their birth, this segment of youth who were forcibly misled and lived with hatred against the Sinhalese, have learnt that there is no discrimination against them.

The artificially created ‘ruse’ by the LTTE and some interested segments are fading away in the horizon painting a new colourful picture from the far end of the North to the South bridging gaps that distanced historical ties.

Paskaran Selvakumari, another young female, is grateful to the Sinhalese soldiers who helped her to build the tiny house in her village. After return from the rehabilitation centre at Pompemadu, she has been reunited with her family of two daughters - Pathmakumari (7) and Banusha (6) and is trying hard to meet the day’s expenses with the meagre earnings of her deaf husband who is doing odd jobs in the Mullaithivu town.

Unable to find a job with her poor educational qualifications, the young mother who studied only upto grade five, dreams of giving her two daughters a good education.

“The LTTE did not want us to study. I had to stop schooling due to LTTE threats. My poor parents did not have an option other than to give me to the LTTE to save the lives of my younger brother and sister. I was taken to Mullankavil training centre while my parents came behind the white van full of people who were dragged in”, she recalled while taking a deep breath.

After a two-month training in Pooneryn with over 150 girls, she was recruited to the Malathi regiment and sent to Jaffna FDLs. She had to fight in Nagar Kovil, Palei FDLs but in 2000 she got injured at a clearing operation where over 30 terrorists died.

The bullet that ripped through her right ear came out from the right eye.

Admitted to the Kilinochchi Hospital she came home partially blind.

When they were planning to flee from Pokkanei, the military announced that LTTE cadres who were with the LTTE even for a day could surrender. As she wanted to save her children’s lives she surrendered to the military with the family.

Suffering from frequent headaches, Selvakumari feared to undergo an eye operation. “ I am scared that I will die and there would be no one for my two children”, she said.

These youth, who were born and bred under LTTE terror, had been denied their rights as children and youth. Their parents had to pay taxes from each cent they earned.

When they defied LTTE orders they were harassed or killed. Though the LTTE boasted that the dead LTTE cadres were venerated and their families known as Mahaweera families looked after well, these ex-LTTE cadres claim those were only propaganda slogans to get more innocent victims to the outfit.

“When a boy or a girl died in battle, the LTTE gave a few thousands of rupees as compensation and the stay about looking after the family was a lie. The families of the senior LTTE cadres were looked after well and they had luxurious lives”, they complained.

Slowly threading their lives with the new found peace, every ex-LTTE cadre who came back home after rehabilitation wants a better future.

Harbouring new hopes, they yearn for equal recognition from society to forget the bitter past.“But still some of our own people look at us differently. They still see us as terrorists. We never wanted to fight but we were helpless.

We joined the LTTE as we wanted our families to survive”, Thambiraja (21) said.

At the moment over 4,000 ex-LTTE cadres are back in society and also another 4,000 are waiting to come back. The need of the hour is to change the mindset of society to welcome them warmly.

If we cast doubts on them, they would naturally be cornered with the same hatred nulifying all fruitful efforts to rehabilitate them.

Back home
The Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe said society had a great responsibility to welcome them as normal youth.

“After rehabilitation, they go back to their homes as normal youth.The Government Agent, Grama sevaka and the Army Civil Affairs officers in each district are aware of the number of rehabilitated ex-cadres are in their respective areas. They monitor their movements in a way not disturbing their freedom”, he said adding that the system was initiated to facilitate them in their day-to-day activities.

He said so far not a single incident of violence created by the rehabilitated ex-LTTE cadres has been reported from the North.

“Instead, they coordinate with government officers now. They have been issued ‘Released Certificates’ which will facilitate them in travelling, banking and finding jobs”, he said.

Brigadier Ranasinghe said there were no child soldiers under rehabilitation and they, who had gone home, were now continuing their education with the help of the UNICEF.

Meanwhile, religious dignitaries in the North got together last week to discuss the rehabilitation process of the ex-LTTE cadres.

Over 150 Buddhist, Hindu and Christian religious dignitaries took part in the discussions with government officials involved in the rehabilitation of these youth.

“The clergy in each religion can make a huge impact on the lives of these youth. Once they are released and go back to their villages they should be welcomed and given recognition as they have come back to society as new souls. This situation can be created through the clergy. They can contribute to a greater extent to make these youth feel comfortable in their own societies. They also can make a huge impact on these lives through getting them involved in their religious activities”, he said.

SUNDAYOBSERVER.LK

CONSTITUTION OF THE TRANS NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL EELAM - நாடுகடந்த தமிழீழஅரசின் யாப்பு– 2010

நாடு கடந்த தமிழீழ அரசின் யாப்பு – 2010 (ஆங்கில வடிவம்)
இவ் விடயம் 18. 10. 2010, (சனி),தமிழீழ நேரம் 17:34க்கு பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டது
புலத்தமிழர்அண்மையில் உத்தியோகபூர்வமாக நிறுவப்பட்ட நாடுகடந்த தமிழீழ அரசின் யாப்பு உத்தியோகபூர்வமற்ற முறையில் எமக்கு கிடைக்கப்பெற்றுள்ளது. நாடு கடந்த தமிழீழ அரசின் செல்நெறி அதன் வலுவுடமை ஆகியன தொடர்பாக வாசகர்களுக்கு முழுமையான விளக்கத்தை அளிக்கும் நோக்குடன் அதனை இங்கு பதிவிடுகின்றோம்.


TGTE

CONSTITUTION OF THE

TRANS NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL EELAM

(TGTE)

PREAMBLE

Consistent with the principles of the rule of law, respect for the human rights democracy, equality of all persons, and the right to self-determination of Peoples,

Determined to ensure the right to life and physical security of Tamil people,

Being aware that the history of the relations between the Tamil People and the Sinhala People has been a process of broken promises and unilateral abrogation, by successive governments of Sri Lanka, of pacts and agreements solemnly entered into between the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the representatives of the Tamil People,

Bearing in mind that successive Governments of Sri Lanka have perpetrated genocide, crime against humanities and war crimes against the Tamil People,

Noting that the Tamil people mandated their elected representatives to establish an independent sovereign, secular State for the Tamil people in their traditional homeland, in the general elections held in 1977 subsequent to the Vaddukoddai Resolution of May 14, 1976,

Bearing in mind that the Tamils’ non-violent campaign to realize the mandate given by the Tamils proved to be futile due to Sri Lankan state’s aggression coupled with lack of political will and space for Tamils in the island,

Bearing in mind that the Tamil armed struggle as a measure of self-defense and as a means for the realization of the Tamils’ right to self-determination arose only after more than four decades of non-violent and peaceful constitutional struggle proved to be futile due to the absence of means to resolve the conflict peacefully,

Bearing in mind that the Tamils’ political and armed struggle and the resultant de facto state of Tamil Eelam created a political space to articulate the political aspirations of the Tamil people.

Noting the genocide and state terrorism of the Sri Lankan state weakens the Tamils’ power and destroys the political space enjoyed by them,

Noting the absence of political space inside the island to articulate the political aspirations of the Tamil people,

Realizing the historical obligation of the Tamil Diaspora to create the political space outside the island of Sri Lanka,

Noting the referendums held in Norway, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, France and Netherlands reaffirming the mandate given in the Vaddukkoddai Resolution and the sacrifice of the Tamil people in the ensuing 30 years.

Noting the emergence of Trans nationalism and the Tamil peoples’ Trans national political activism articulated in the Advisory Committee’s report published on March 15, 2010,

Noting the democratic elections held in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Canada and the United States,

Noting the formation of the Trans national Government of Tamil Eelam on May 17, 2010 at the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia, USA,

Whereas, the TGTE has been formed to realize the Tamils’ right to self determination and exercise their sovereignty,

Whereas the TGTE has guided us towards a democratic system of government, in order to establish an independent state of Tamil Eelam based on the principles of good governance, peace, non-violence, tolerance, pluralism, transparency and accountability,

Whereas in particular, efforts shall be made in promoting the achievement of Eelam Tamils’ common goal as well as to strengthen the solidarity of Tamils, both within and outside of Eelam.

The Second Assembly of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam do hereby promulgate and legalize this Constitution as their fundamental guide.

Adopted this day on September 2010 at __________.

CHAPTER – I

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE

1. The TGTE shall endeavor to establish an independent, sovereign State of Tamil Eelam.

2. The human dignity is untouchable.

3. The TGTE shall promote the Welfare of the People in the Homeland, the Tamil Diaspora and the Global Tamil Community that consists of Tamils who have migrated and are now living in other areas of the world.

4. The TGTE shall protect and promote the distinctiveness of Eelam Tamil culture in the Diaspora countries and safeguard its links with other Tamil cultures within the Tamil Diaspora and the Global Tamil community.

5. The TGTE shall promote Education with emphasis on Science in the homeland.

6. The TGTE shall promote the economic welfare of the Homeland through ensuring greater trade for the industrial, higher technological and related products of the Homeland in the states inhabited by the Tamil Diaspora.

7. The TGTE shall ensure that perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against the Tamil people are prosecuted and those responsible are brought to justice.

8. The TGTE shall protect and promote the fundamental human right of Equality of Women in (among) all aspects of Tamil life and Tamils around the world. delete ( and at large.).

9. The TGTE shall protect and promote the welfare of families of Martyrs, Former Combatants, and families affected by war.

STRUCTURE OF THE TGTE

Note:

Whether we call as Executive or Parliament is not decided yet.

The constitution committee decided to decide on this matter at the assembly.

So please read as you like

TGTE Chief Executive officer / TGTE Prime minister Chief Minister

TGTE DeputyAss. Chief executive officer / TGTE Dep. PM

TGTE Executive committee / TGTE Cabinet

TGTE Member / TGTE MP

Language

Tamil shall be the official language of TGTE. English will be the link language. Other languages may be used when deemed necessary.

All official archives of TGTE shall be both in Tamil and English.

Each country can use its own language for its communication within the Country.

The TGTE Shall Consist Of An Executive And A Legislature

THE EXECUTIVE / THE CABINET

The Executive shall be comprised of a Chief Executive Officer and an Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee shall be comprised of Eleven members namely, the Chief Executive Officer, three(3) Assistant Chief Executive Officers and seven(7) Committee members.

The executive power of the TGTE shall vest in the Executive, and shall be exercised by it, either directly or through officers subordinate to it, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. In particular, Executive shall be empowered to execute the following executive powers:

a) approve and promulgate bills and regulations prescribed by the Legislature;

b) promulgate acts and ordinances that have the force of law;

c) confer honours and appointments;

d) summon the legislature;

e) send messages and addresses to the TGTE Assembly whenever necessary;

f) the Executive shall be exclusively responsible for the execution of resolutions passed thereof in the meetings of the Assembly.

Election of the Executive.

(1) The Chief Executive Officer shall be elected by the members of TGTE Assembly by means of a secret ballot.

(2) Three (3) Assistant Chief Executive Officers shall be elected by secret ballots from the regions of Europe, North-America, and Australia-New Zealand.

The balance seven (7) members shall be appointed by the Chief Executive with the consent and concurrence of the three Assistant Chief Executive Officers.

(3) Each Executive Officer may appoint separately Planning Officers for the responsibilities assigned to them. These appointees shall be from members of the Assembly. These appointees shall not have any powers of the Executive Committee members.

(4) Qualifications of an Executive Committee member:

(a) Must be a citizen of Tamil Eelam as defined by the Advisory Committee Report published on March 15, 2010;

(b) Not convicted for any criminal offence by any court of law for an offence committed for profit or with profit motive or in whose case the conviction has been removed from the register of convictions;

(c) Not declared disqualified by more than two-thirds majority in the TGTE Assembly;

(d) Not a person who has served in the Executive Committee for two terms already.

(e) Not a person previously removed as an Executive Committee member by the TGTE Assembly;

(f) Does not enjoy service, status or economic benefit from other countries detrimental to the interest of the Eelam Tamil people.

(5) In the event of the death, replacement, or resignation of an Executive Committee member, a person to replace him/her shall be elected within three months by the TGTE Assembly.

(6) An Executive Committee Member so elected shall hold office for the same period as that of the remaining term of the incumbent member.

Tenure of Executive Committee

(1) Unless otherwise specified, such as the dissolution of the Executive Committee or the removal of an Executive Committee member before the expiration of a term, the tenure of the Executive shall be 3 years.

(2) Except in cases of dissolution of the Executive as specified, the re-election of any Executive member shall not be invalid, provided that such re-election of an Executive shall not exceed two consecutive terms.

Election of the Chief Executive Officer

A Chief Executive Officer shall be elected, by the TGTE assembly by secret ballet. Election of a Chief Executive shall be determined (valid) by a simple majority.

Tenure of the Chief Executive Officer

Except in the case of a removal, in accordance with, and before the expiration of a term, the tenure of the Chief Executive shall be three(3) years.

Oath or Affirmation by the Chief Executive and members of the Executive

All Executive members, including the Chief Executive, shall, before assuming office, as stipulated in the constitution take and subscribe an oath or affirmation of office and secrecy before the Speaker or Deputy Speaker.

Meeting of the Executive

The Chief Executive shall preside over meetings of the Executive Committee and during his or her absence, it shall be presided over by an executive committee member elected for that purpose.

The Chief Executive Officer Summoning of the Executive Committee Meetings

The Chief Executive Officer may summon a meeting of the Executive committee whenever necessary. or may be requested by the Executive to attend Executive meetings. The Executive Officer shall be in attendance during such meetings and Chief Executive shall preside over these Executive meetings.

Obligations of the Executive Committee and Removal of Executive Committee Members

(1) The Executive shall be collectively responsible for the discharge of their duties, and in general it shall be accountable and answerable to the TGTE Assembly.

(2) The Chief Executive Officer shall allocate portfolios to the individual Executive Members.

(3) The entire Executive may be dissolved, or any Executive or Executive Members may be removed, as the case may be, with the approval of more than two-thirds majority of the total members of the TGTE Assembly. However in the case of the three(3) Assistant Chief Executive Officers a decision shall be taken only by those regional members who elected them.

(4) If at any time the Chief Executive makes a reasonable recommendation regarding the dissolution of the Executive Committee or the removal of an Executive Officer, including himself, such a recommendation submitted to the TGTE Assembly, shall come into force with the support of a two-thirds majority of the total number present at the TGTE Assembly.

(5) If the entire Executive Committee is so dissolved, a new Executive shall be elected in not less than 60 calendar days from the day of dissolution.

(6) The Executive Committee shall continue to hold office even after the expiration of its term until such time as the newly elected Executive Committee takes and subscribes its oath or affirmation of office. In the case of a removal of a particular Executive Committee Member, as specified in clauses (3) (4) (5) of this article, he or she shall cease to hold his or her office. In the case of the dissolution of the entire Executive, the incumbent Executive shall continue to hold office until such time as the newly elected Executive Committee takes and subscribes the oath or affirmation of office provided that they do not make new decisions relating to policy matters.

THE LEGISLATURE

Legislative Power.

All legislative power and authority shall vest in the TGTE Assembly, and such legislation shall require the assent of Chief Executive Officer to become law.

Legislature

The legislature shall consist of an Assembly consisting of elected members and appointed members.

Composition of the TGTE Assembly.

The TGTE Assembly shall consist of: 115 number of elected members and _20 number of appointed members.

Qualifications for Membership of the TGTE Assembly.

The qualifications of a member of the TGTE Assembly shall be:

a) Must be a citizen of Tamil Eelam as defined by the Advisory Committee Report published March 15, 2010.

b)Should have completed 17 years of age.

c) Not convicted for any criminal offence by any court of law for an offence committed for profit or with profit motive or in whose case the conviction has been removed from the register of convictions;

d) Does not enjoy service, status or economic benefit from other countries detrimental to the interest of the Tamil Eelam people.

(e) accepts the aims and objectives of the TGTE as stated in the Constitution.

Duration of the TGTE Assembly

The term of each TGTE Assembly shall be 3 years from the first sitting after the election of all the members of the Assembly.

Sessions of the TGTE Assembly

The Chief Executive Officer shall summon the regular TGTE Assembly to meet at such time, place and duration as may be recommended by the Speaker and the majority of the TGTE Assembly in this behalf.

Senate (Experts Committee)

The Senate shall consist of ____ number of members.

The members of the senate shall be appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the TGTE Assembly. No bill or any other legislation shall be originated from the Senate. Each legislation enacted by the Assembly or any measures taken by the Chief Executive or the Executive Committee should be sent to the Senate for a non binding opinion. The duration of the Senate shall be the same as that of the members of the TGTE Assembly

RIGHTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TGTE ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

The members of the TGTE shall have the right to attend and participate in the debates and discussions , to give any explanations and to vote therein. The members shall have the right to move a motion, resolution or submit a bill and take part in debate, discussion and submit any recommendations or explanation in the sessions of the TGTE Assembly, and to vote.

The President or Vice-President of the TGTE Assembly (Speaker and the Deputy Speaker) .

(1) At the commencement of the first session of each TGTE Assembly, the members shall elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among the Assembly members by means of a secret ballot.

(2) After the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the TGTE Assembly, and as soon as possible before assuming their respective offices, they shall each take an oath or affirmation of office, the Speaker before the person identified as the eldest in the Assembly and the Deputy speaker before the Speaker according to the form as prescribed by law.

(3) If either the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker so elected is removed by more than a two-thirds majority of the total members present in the TGTE Assembly, he or she shall vacate his or her office on and from the day of such a resolution.

(4) When the TGTE Assembly is in session deliberating on a matter concerning the removal of either the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the TGTE Assembly, he or she shall not partake in such a session.

(5) In the event of the seat of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the TGTE Assembly falling vacant due to removal, death or otherwise, as soon as possible, their replacement shall be elected in accordance with law.

Oath or Affirmation by Members of the TGTE Assembly

Every member of the TGTE Assembly shall, before taking his or her seat, take and subscribe before the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the TGTE Assembly, or a person appointed on his or her behalf, an oath or affirmation of office according to the form as prescribed by law and set the signature.

Voting in the TGTE Assembly

Except as provided in the Articles and other provisions of this Constitution, all other business of the TGTE Assembly shall be determined by a majority vote. In the case of a even or tie of votes, with regard to a contested matter, the Speaker of the TGTE Assembly shall, in his or her discretion, cast the deciding vote whereupon the matter may be resolved.

Quorum of the TGTE Assembly

If two-thirds of the total number of members, of the TGTE Assembly is present, it shall have the right to resolve any matter.

Introduction and Passing of Bills

(1) Any member of the TGTE Assembly is entitled to introduce any bill or legislation, or propose any amendment, as prescribed in the rules of the TGTE Assembly.

(2) Any bill or legislation, if necessary, can be referred for consideration and recommendation to the Senate and Committee(s) specially appointed for that purpose before being discussed or deliberated in the TGTE Assembly.

Rules of Procedure of the TGTE Assembly

The TGTE Assembly shall formulate rules of procedure and conduct of business, with the approval of more than two-thirds of its total members, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, and such rules shall then come into force.

Promulgation of Ordinances.

(1) Any bill or proposal passed by the TGTE Assembly and presented to Chief Executive Officer shall be treated as law once He/She assents to its enactment. Chief Executive Officer shall decide within 14 working days whether such legislation shall be approved, or He/She may return the proposal with recommendations as is deemed fit within that time. Thereafter the TGTE Assembly shall deliberate upon Chief Executive Officer’s recommendations for the proposal and then present the same to the Chief Executive Officer for re-approval within fourteen working days.

(2) If at any time the TGTE Assembly is not in session, and if any issue of major significance arises which renders it necessary and urgent, the Chief Executive Officer, may in concurrence with the, majority of the Executive Committee members promulgate ordinances which have the same force of law.

(3) Any ordinances promulgated may be amended, altered or annulled by the TGTE Assembly through deliberation during their subsequent session.

REMOVAL OF MEMBERS OF TGTE ASSEMBLY FROM THEIR OFFICE

1) If at anytime after the assumption of office his/her conduct is found to be detrimental to the standards of the Assembly, the matter will be reported to the Ethics Committee. If the Ethics Committee recommends that such person may be removed from office, the said report shall be tabled in the Assembly through the Speaker. After the report is debated in the Assembly and passed by a two-thirds majority of those present that member will be removed from the office of the member of TGTE.

2) If a member is so removed, that vacancy shall be filled by an Election to be held within 90 days of such removal.

Special General Meeting

1) At the joint proposal by the Executive Committee, Speaker and Deputy Speaker, a Special General Meeting may be summoned.

(2) The composition of the representatives to such a meeting shall include the members of the TGTE Assembly; the Executive shall jointly decide, in consultation with the TGTE Assembly , the agenda, time, and venue of its occurrence.

(3) Once the agenda of the Meeting, and time and venue are decided, the Speaker of the TGTE Assembly shall issue notification within 15 days prior to the day of such a meeting.

Recall Mechanism

Any member from the Assembly can be recalled by the voters of the region ,for engaging by words or deeds contrary to the aims and objectives of the TGTE, or for not contributing to the aims and objectives of the TGTE, or bring disrespect conduct or who abuse his position in the TGTE.

The Recall Procedure for any member of the TGTE Assembly shall be initiated by stating the reason for it by a Petition signed by more than 2/3 of the voters who participated in the election of the country from where the member was elected, or in the case of a member who was appointed without an election by 300 voters, and submitting same to the Speaker of the TGTE Assembly. The member who is subject to the recall mechanism shall be given 45 days to respond to the Assembly.

The Assembly by a majority of vote can assent to the recall mechanism.

ANY OTHER MATTERS

Relationship with Domestic Organizations

The Structures of the TGTE may work in partnership with domestic organizations with aims that are not contrary to the objectives of this constitution.

Election Commission

The Chief Executive Officer shall appoint a three member election commission based on the recommendation of the TGTE Assembly. The Election Commission shall be responsible for conducting future elections of the TGTE. The members of the Election Commission shall not be a member of the Assembly or the Advisory Committee or any other Committee of the TGTE.

Advisory Committee

In view of the unique and important role played by the Advisory Committee in the formation of the TGTE, the Advisory Committee with its present composition shall remain in force during the first term of the TGTE.

The Assembly or the Executive Committee or the Chief Executive may seek advice from the

Advisory Committee on any matter or measures and the advisory committee may advise the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Committee. However such advice will not bind them.

ETHICS COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee will appoint the Ethics Committee with the consent of the TGTE Assembly. It shall consist of three (3) members.

The Treasury of Transnational Government Of Tamil Eelam

PART A

MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

1. TGTE BUDGET

TGTE budget is a legal document that is to be passed by the TGTE legislature, and approved by the chief executive. The two basic elements of TGTE budget are the TGTE revenues and TGTE expenditure. The TGTE revenues can be derived from various sources to be determined. TGTE expenditure include TGTE administration expenses, TGTE Department allocations, TGTE investment expenditures and welfare payments.

2. Financial Year

The financial year for TGTE shall be (finance matters is considered the period) January 01 to December 31 of any year.

3. The Treasurer

The Treasurer is the Minister for Finance in the TGTE. He/she is responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He/she is the head of the Treasury, and plays a key role in shaping the economic policy of the government. The Treasurer must be a Member of Parliament of the TGTE, with a seat in the House of Representatives. Each year, during the first sitting of the parliament, the Treasurer presents the budget for the TGTE to the Parliament.

4. Role of the Treasurer in Policy-making

The Treasurer has an overall responsibility for all policy matters falling within the Treasury portfolio. These include: Economic policy; Economic development; Economic welfare; Taxation; Borrowing money; Banking; Currency; Foreign investment in Tamil Eelam; Census and statistics; and Trade and financial relations with neighbours.

5. Annual Budget Estimates

The Treasurer must prepare a statement of information to be laid before the Legislative Assembly under departmental headings setting out-

(a) a description of the amount available or to be available to each department during the period to which the statement relates, whether appropriated by the Parliament for that purpose or otherwise received or to be received by the department, together with comparative figures for the preceding financial year;

(b) the estimated amount of the receipts and receivables of each department during the period to which the statement relates, together with comparative figures for the preceding financial year;

6. Budget updates

The purpose of a budget update is to provide latest (updated) information to allow the assessment of the TGTE’s financial performance against the financial policy objectives and strategies set out in its current financial policy objectives and strategies statement.

Each quarter, the Treasurer must prepare a budget update to the parliament, detailing the financial position of the TGTE in that quarter.

7. Annual financial report

(1) The Treasurer must prepare an annual financial report for each financial year.

(2) The annual financial report must

(a) be prepared in the manner and form determined by the Treasurer, having regard to appropriate financial reporting frameworks;

(b) present fairly

(i) the financial position of the TGTE at the end of the financial year;

(ii) the transactions on the Public Account; and

(ii) other financial transactions of various departments of the TGTE – in respect of the financial year;

(c) include details of money credited into the TGTE accounts;

(d) include amounts appropriated in respect of the next financial year as a result of a determination in respect of unused appropriation for the financial year;

(e) include details of expenses and obligations met from money advanced to the Minister during the financial year;

(f) include a statement of the reasons for carrying forward any part of an unused advance to the next financial year;

(g) include details of payments made during the financial year out of money advanced to the Treasurer to meet urgent claims;

(h) include details of payments made during the financial year in fulfillment of any guarantee by the TGTE;

(i) include details of money received or recovered by the Treasurer during the financial year in respect of any guarantee payments; and

(j) be audited by the Auditor-General.

This audited annual financial report must be transmitted to the Parliament.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

1. Framework of the Management System

It is the intention of the Parliament that the TGTE Treasury establishes and maintains a budgeting and reporting framework that is consistent with the principles of sound financial management. This forms a basis for the provision of sustainable social and economic services fairly to all citizens of Tamil Eelam. A sound financial management of TGTE Treasury must provide full, accurate and timely disclosure of financial information relating to the activities of TGTE and its agencies. The following concepts form the framework of this management system.

2. Consolidated Revenue

(1) All monies received by the TGTE, regardless of nature, reason or source.

(2) Committees, Country Groups and individuals duly authorized to receive such monies shall promptly and without any set-offs or deductions, deposit the monies into designated bank account within 72 hours of such receipt.

3. The Consolidated Fund

An account, to be known as the Consolidated Fund, will be established. All money forming part of the Consolidated Revenue will be credited to this account.

4. Public Account

The Treasurer must open and maintain the Public Account with such authorised deposit-taking institution or institutions under the name of TGTE.

5. Liability under guarantees

If any borrowing or other contract or agreement to be guaranteed by the TGTE, any sums required by the Treasurer for fulfilling any such guarantee shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund and any sums received or recovered by the Treasurer in respect of any sum so paid by the Treasurer shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

6. Loans from Consolidated Fund

If a payment is made by way of a loan from the Consolidated Fund, the Treasurer may determine from time to time the terms and conditions of the loan and repayment.

7. Public ledger

The Treasurer must ensure that a ledger is established and maintained to record

(1) transactions on the Public Account;

(2) expenditure and obligations incurred that are to be met out of the Public Account; and

(3) other transactions and account balances as determined by the Treasurer.

8. Accounts of TGTE Departments

(1) A department of the TGTE may, with the written approval of the Treasurer, and in accordance with such terms and conditions as determined by the Treasurer, open and maintain an account with an authorised deposit-taking institution or institutions.

(2) Unless the Treasurer otherwise determines in writing, an account opened under this section does not form part of the Public Account.

(3) Money must not be withdrawn from an account opened under this section except in accordance with the regulations and directions.

9. Receipt of public money

A person who collects or receives public money on behalf of TGTE must, in accordance with the regulations and directions, daily or at such intervals as the Treasurer determines, pay the money into the Public Account or an account opened under section B8.

10. How money is to be issued

Public money forming part of the Consolidated Fund of TGTE may be drawn from the Public Account only in accordance with this section.

(1) The Treasurer must, as often as required during a financial year

(a) calculate the amount of public money likely to become due and payable out of the Public Account during that financial year;

(b) prepare an instrument in the form in Schedule B1 below or to the like effect specifying that amount; and

(c) sign the instrument and give it to the Auditor-General.

(2) The instrument, when countersigned by the Auditor-General and approved by the Prime Minister, is the warrant enabling the Treasurer to order the drawing of money from the Public Account.

(3) Before countersigning the instrument, the Auditor-General must ascertain that the sums mentioned in it are then legally available and, after countersigning the instrument, the Auditor-General must return it to the Treasurer, who must submit it to the PM for approval and signature, and then file the instrument.

11. Investment of money in Public Account

(1) Any money standing to the credit of the Public Account may be invested by the Treasurer by submitting a proposal to TGTE Executive Council (EC) and approved

by the TGTE EC and Auditor-General. The PM (on behalf of the EC) and the Auditor-General should sign the approval document for the treasurer to act on it.

(2) Any return received from the investment of any money made under B11(1) shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund.

C. OFFICE OF AUDIT

1. The Auditor General

The Auditor-General of the TGTE must be independent of the Executive Government. He/she provides the Parliament and public sector entities with independent, professional opinions on matters related to financial management, compliance with legislative requirements and, where appropriate, comments on the efficiency and economy with which public sector resources are utilised. The Auditor-General has full and free access to all accounts, records, documents and information required for the discharge of the audit function.

2. Appointment of Auditor-General

The Auditor-General will be appointed by the Prime Minister, on the recommendation of the Parliament.

3. Auditor-General’s Responsibilities

The Auditor-General may, on such conditions as he/she sees fit, engage any person to provide services that are, in the Auditor-General’s opinion, necessary or desirable to assist the Auditor-General in carrying out his/her functions.

4. Suspension of Auditor-General from office

The Executive Council may suspend the Auditor-General from office

(a) for incompetence,

(b) for neglect of duty, or

(c) for dishonourable conduct.

The Executive Council must

(a) when suspending the Auditor-General, deliver to him or her a statement of the reasons for the suspension, and

(b) within 7 days after the suspension, deliver to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a copy of the statement.

The Auditor-General may deliver to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a reply to the statement.

The Auditor-General will be restored to office or removed from office by resolution of the Houses of Parliament.

5. Vacation of office of Auditor

The office of Auditor-General becomes vacant if the Auditor-General

(a) dies,

(b) resigns by written notice to the Speaker of the parliament, or

(c) becomes a member of Parliament of the State.

6. Examination of publicly funded bodies and projects

The Auditor-General must, if requested by the Treasurer, examine accounts relating to a public funded project and the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the project. After making an examination, the Auditor-General must prepare a report setting out the results of the examination. The Auditor-General must deliver copies of the report to the Treasurer and to the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

7. Auditor-General’s annual report

The Auditor General’s report provides Audit observations and comments on aspects of the TGTE’s finances. In particular, it consists of a brief analysis of the financial performance and financial position of the TGTE for the year, based on an examination of the results for the past year, and the budget and forward projections included in the budget papers.

(1) This report

(a) states, in the Auditor-General’s opinion,

(i) whether the Treasurer’s statements reflect the financial transactions of the Treasurer as shown in the accounts and records of the Treasurer for the preceding financial year,

(ii) whether the financial statements of each public authority reflect the financial position of the authority at the end of the preceding financial year and the results of its operations and cash flows for that financial year, and

(iii) whether the controls exercised by the Treasurer and public authorities in relation to the receipt, expenditure and investment of money, the acquisition and disposal of property and the incurring of liabilities, are sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that the financial transactions of the Treasurer and public authorities have been conducted properly and in accordance with law, and

(b) sets out any matter that should, in the opinion of the Auditor-General, be brought to the attention of Parliament and the Government.

(2) The Auditor-General must deliver copies of

(a) the report; and

(b) the Treasurer’s statements and the financial statements of public authorities that are, in the Auditor-General’s opinion, of sufficient importance to warrant publication

to the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

8. Reports and other documents to be tabled before Parliament

The Speaker of the House of Assembly must, not later than the first sitting day after receiving a report and other documents from the Auditor-General, lay them before the parliament.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SCHEDULE B1

To the Auditor-General.

The amount of public moneys likely to become due and payable out of the Consolidated Fund during the period _______________ is ____________ Dollars.

Dated this ________________day of 20 _____ .

_____________________________

Treasure

_____/_____/__________

Treasurer, I certify that the abovementioned sums are now legally available. You are hereby authorised to issue out of the Consolidated Fund the above amount and this shall be your sufficient warrant.

_______________________ ___________________________

Auditor-General Prime Minister

___/_____/_____ ____/_____/_____

குறிப்பு – உத்தியோகபூர்வமற்ற ஆவணம்

நன்றி: ஈழநேசன்


கீழே உள்ள கருத்துக்கள் அனைத்தும் உங்களைப் போன்ற வாசகர்களால் எழுதப்பட்டது. இக் கருத்துக்களுக்கு எவ்வகையிலும் நெருடல் இணையம் பொறுப்பேற்கமாட்டாது என்பதை அறியத்தருகின்றோம்.
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One Comment on “நாடு கடந்த தமிழீழ அரசின் யாப்பு – 2010 (ஆங்கில வடிவம்)”
karikalan wrote on 22 October, 2010, 18:25
Thank you for publishing this document for the public of Tamil people. We appreciate your work with sincerely but on the other hand it is very sad that the work which is carried on behalf of the people is not properly enlightened to them.

We Tamil people are in a state of shock, heartbroken, suspicious and shattered down. At this stage we are not in a position to believe anything, on the other hand we also agree that we cannot let our enemies to destroy the rest of our people, our language, our homeland and our own culture by being like this forever. We are not criticizing any of the people or any organization who are trying their best to remove the burdens of our people. What we want is you make us believe on you, on your work and give us the hope we all will join our hands with you.

We Tamil people have many weaknesses which made us to this state that we are now which has to be sadly accepted but this cannot be an excuse for being treated us so badly by our enemy and by the whole world. If we want to achieve what we are trying for more than two decades by losing so many valuable lives and time we should get rid of our weaknesses and unite together. First of all we should make our own people believe themselves and the others around them to work together. People should believe that they are on the right path and guided by reliable people so that they can follow too. If we think this is hard then how are we going convince the world to say that what we are doing is right?

We people are more frightened by the traitors than our enemy which make us no choice other than look everybody with suspicious. Our people should be educated on the current situation and to find out the enemies among us. Today we are totally blind and don’t know what to believe or to do and there should be someone who should take care of us and make us believe, bring us hope, show us the path. You cannot just say that each and every person should work towards our goal you should specify how and what. There is no win without a proper guidance.

We people to believe in you, be closer to us, be transparent on your work and show all what you can to make us believe this is what lacks at the moment. You cannot expect the world to agree without getting agreed from your own people. The way the world is looking at us should be changed. At this very critical moment we should carry out lots of thinking, planning and proper execution to achieve our Goal.

People who are devoting their precious time on working with various projects on behalf of Tamil people, please unite all the people with you and fight together to achieve our Goal.

Copyright © 2010 நெருடல். All rights reserved.

Dear Mr.George Willy Ratnasingam , I am SS , from London (UK) , came across your speech in front of Sri Lankan president Rajapakse..!!!

Bas Baskaran

An excerpt of Mr. George Willie's awesome speech in Houston, at the reception given to Rajapakshe is given below. Also given are his outstanding credentials.

Mr George Willie is one of very few tamil, who use his professional status, education and political influence for the betterment of his kith and kin back in the island unanimuosly named by majority Sinhalese as Srilanka. A true intellectual, who very well deserve honour and respect from every tamil living around the world.

Many so called tamil warriors by mouth, who still carry their tamil name even visit the island after May 2009 to personally greet MR and to ensure their financial and business interests are met on the expense of thousands of Tamil's life. They are shamelessly loose their self-respect to get crumbs thrown at them by MR government. On the other hand, George is a real warrior who gave advice to Srilankan president at his doorstep how to rule the island. His speech is very well within the democratic norms and political boundaries. He could have simply utilized this opportunity like many other tamils for his own benefit, but he didn’t. A Statesman, Gentleman, and his speech will definitely go on the history books of tamils.

Dear Mr.George Willy Ratnasingam , I am SS , from London (UK) , came across your speech in front of Sri Lankan president Rajapakse last week on a you tube video , wishes to thank you from bottom of my heart. As a person born and brought up in Jaffna and Colombo , and then moved to UK after 30 years , since you left the country , I have many 1000 stories about the atrocities of the brutal war. I , myself has missed the death by seconds during my teen aged life , and I have been put in Jail three times in south even though me or my family never ever had any connections to Tamil Tigers in our life. So I finished my degree in University of Peradeniya , as every Tamil intend to do in my generation , I tried my best to escape from Sri Lanka and at last successfully I did in 2005. Even after I left , I never failed to keep my touch with the country's political situation and I became a Tamil activists to fight for the rights of Tamils determine what they want. I believe you might have gone through million stories and even after Tigers are completely defeated , militarising the Tamil homeland never ever stopped. The key reasons for the Tamil youth to take arms which are , restricted entrance to Universities , Sinhala colonisations and human rights of Tamils are still been unanswered. With the recent arrival of Sinhala families who want land in Jaffna is once again begun to aggravate the local Tamils who are just trying to persuade themselves to live in peace. With incidents like what happened in a public bus , where a Sri Lankan soldiers abused a 14 year old school girl front of others , have not stopped. University systems are not changed to open the entrance without racial religious discrimination. Rajapakse's government has killed thousands of youth who surrendered to Sri Lankan military. Also the youth who are taken from Vanni , based on their age from the IDP camps are kept in military monitored camps for one and a half years now. Even we hear many abuses , threaten to commit sex , and the camps are not open to world wide NGOs or common public. I personally believe current government is just enjoying the victory, and once again repeating the history by trying to keep the Tamils under guns. They have succeeded so far due Chinese and Iranians who were keen on seeking allies with Sri Lanka. The question is we have seen that in the international arena, allies and enemies change. In this climate Sri Lanka do not believe in reconciliation with Tamils rather showing the imperialism policies with hegemonic strategies. I do not believe current Rajapakse regime will win anything by doing this. Rather Rajapakse is keen on changing legislation to bring more powers to president which J.R.Jayawardane began in 1977 which has caused the huge war. At last Tamil have become transnational society with very good economic growth but Sinhalese are keen on capturing a small island. So provided Rajapkse listened to your speech (in fact his facial expressions showed his feelings during the speech) and acted as you requested, me too would love to see a Sinhala nation which respects Tamils in the future. We were broken into pieces when Sinhala nation danced and praised Rajapakse in May 17th which has made me personally more pessimistic about the way Sinhala nation is heading towards to. We will continue to watch and voice for the reasonable cause.We still believe Sinhala nation can correct the whole issue at this at this point of time by allowing Tamils to have their equal power and dignity on their homeland. Once again thank you for your wonderful brave speech. Good Luck Regards

SS
SE |
-LONDON,UK

Banners displayed that if they go back to Sri Lanka they will be killed! This was main news on TV & print media! That was terrible publicity for SL!

Mechanism to engage skilled expats needed - Immigration Lawyer
By Manjula FERNANDO

An established lawyer domiciled in Melbourne for the past 20 years Susantha Katugampala says skilled Sri Lankan expatriates holding key positions overseas need an effective mechanism to join in the post war development process of the country.


Susantha Katugampala
Pic: Chinthaka Kumarasinghe

With over ten years experience as an immigration lawyer, Katugampala says the LTTE fund-raising among Tamil diaspora is still very much active and the boat people are the latest form of the LTTE's propaganda war.

A lot of people were forced to leave the country due to lack of opportunities. They thought the future in Sri Lanka was uncertain and they could not possibly bring up their children in such an environment.

The highest proportion of the Sri Lankans expatriates left Sri Lanka during the last 25 years. Most Tamils after the 1983 riots.

Sri Lankan expatriates are in Australia, UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and the Middle East. Most of them have international qualifications, education and training to international standards.

Dave Whatmore is a Sri Lankan born cricket coach and Test cricket player in Australia. We won the World Cup with his guidance. More Dave Whatmores should be brought to Sri Lanka.

Expatriates can be important stakeholders in development. These migrants who play keyroles in their respective countries overseas are willing to work with the Government in its post war rebuilding effort. They want to give something back to their motherland and do not think in terms of revenue.

It is tantamount for the Government to create a conducive business environment for expatriates to return and invest here.

Q: Many of these Expats left Sri Lanka a long time back, why would they comeback now?

A: They need not live here. We need them to return as tourists, investors and resource personnel. They need to comeback with a positive vision for Sri Lanka.

Even if you become a citizen and hold a foreign passport, you are identified as a Sri Lankan in any country except for the United States. In the US this is not the case as the country boasts of a multi-cultural and multi ethnic community. There, regardless of your skin colour you are treated as a US citizen.

Some expats work with our missions overseas. People who maintain close contacts with the missions are either retired individuals or unemployed. Most of them do not represent the corporate sector or part of the mainstream.

It is important for people who are in the mainstream to participate in Lanka's development process. A lot of them are in the Corporate, Finance, Banking, Engineering and IT sectors. There are top Sri Lankan scientists in NASA.

And also second generation expatriates, who left Sri Lanka as children or who were born there. They need to preserve our identity and perhaps come back and contribute in the development process.

Q: What should be the mechanism to engage these people more productively?

A: We have the Ministry of External Affairs under whose purview the embassies and the High Commissions fall in.

Maintaining a high degree of interaction with expatriates via consular services is an important aspect. The confidence of expatriates in the Government should be high for them to venture on this risky voyage. There should be openness to accept any ethnicity.

Preservation of democracy, transparency, peace as well as political stability are key ingredients for confidence building.

Expatriates should realise that they have to work with the Government of the day.

Q: What is your take on the Tamil diaspora ?

A: Some actions by certain parts of the diaspora still damage the image of the country. We must understand the psychology behind this. They are disappointed. We must approach these people and make them understand that they are part of Sri Lanka.

Inspite of the wonderful work done by our missions we must admit this area still lags behind.

After the war we tried to keep our woes to ourselves. This sent wrong signals to the international community and diaspora. We should have exposed our problems. This would have created a better understanding of our difficult situation.

We need to create job opportunities.

We must convince the diaspora that if they delay helping the country it will take longer to restore lives in the North and East.

Q: You do counselling for Tamil migrants. What is the situation with regard to the issue of illegal immigrants which is a grave issue and a hot topic in Australia?

A: Yes I do counsel them because I am not a racist. But there are people among the Tamil and Sinhala communities who carry extreme sentiments.

Iillegal immigration to Australia is a big issue for both Governments. When I left Australia in late September some Tamil asylum seekers were holding a protest at a detention centre in Sydney.

Banners displayed that if they went back to Sri Lanka they will be killed. This was main news on television and print media. That was terrible publicity for the country.

Unfortunately there was no one to deny that there was no such situation back in Sri Lanka. It was very disappointing.

Everyone knows that Tamils are not killed in Sri Lanka; no one is targeted or harassed due to ethnicity or religion, unless there is some association with a terrorist organisation or engaged in illegal activity.

They have been coming out like this for the last two years. These campaigns are funded by the diaspora, to help the LTTE cause.

I do not believe these people would have paid for their boat trip to Australia. It would have cost them some Aus $20,000. An organisation would have paid in bulk. This is an ideal way of pushing their propaganda. Free but highly convincing publicity.

The boat that went to Canada with some 500 asylum seekers are into the same propaganda work.

This is pathetic for the Governments. While they sympathise with genuine asylum seekers as both Australia and Canada are signatories to the UN convention on refugees, these people are taking political advantage.

Legal and security measures should be taken to prevent these boats from reaching foreign shores. Most of these people are not going to leave from Sri Lanka. They may have left Sri Lanka already.

They may be in Thailand, Malaysia, India or Indonesia.

To counter the issue we must dig out the cause. The cause is certainly not harassment. It is that a proportion of diaspora is disappointed. We have to address this issue.

The extortion among the Tamil diaspora by LTTE is still taking place. It is not as intense as it was since the fear for LTTE is not so strong now after the killing of Prabhakaran.

We must tap those who contribute to this cause and shift their attention to the good cause. That is where diplomacy in different tiers comes in handy.

Q: The issue of boat people took centre stage at the Australian polls. Has it affected the overall attitude towards genuine Lankan migrants?

A: The Australian government is yet to lift the travel ban on Sri Lanka. A lot of Australians do travel to Sri Lanka.

There is no security issue now. But when people come down for investment, certain insurances will not cover their visits when a travel ban is in effect. As a result we stand to lose investors.

Genuine Sri Lankan migrants will always be welcome. But there is a change in receiving migrants at the moment, not only from Sri Lanka but from all countries since Australia is also trying to recover from the global financial crisis.

Australia had not been affected as much as the US where there were millions of job losses, nevertheless they have taken a very hard line on assessing and processing migrant applications.


Lake House Copyright © 2010 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

ASYLUM on basis of a well-founded fear of being persecuted on political opinion,nationality,religion,race or member of a particular social group.!!!

Jennifer Pagonis

Refugees return as country back to normal...???????? - UNHCR Dy Representative
By Ranil WIJAYAPALA

Many Sri Lankans who left in fear of terrorism have begun returning home as they feel the country is safe. According to latest UNHCR statistics a total of 146,098 Sri Lankan refugees live in 64 countries.


India, France, Canada, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Malaysia, Australia, the United States and Italy are the top 10 countries hosting Sri Lankan refugees. The UNHCR assisted many Sri Lankan refugees living in India to return. The UNHCR Deputy Representative in Sri Lanka Jennifer Pagonis says that Sri Lankan refugees in Malaysia and Hong Kong say they are seriously thinking of returning and that more Sri Lankan refugees may return in the year 2011. Their decision should be voluntary. As armed conflict has ceased in the North, it is important that persons seeking asylum take this positive development into account. She also says that UNHCR Headquarters recommends asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka need no longer be recognized as refugees solely on the basis of the 'extended definition' (i.e. due to generalised violence). Following is the text of the interview the Sunday Observer had with Jennifer Pagonis.

Q: What is UNHCR's final count on the Sri Lankan refugees living in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in India and also refugees who returned to Sri Lanka after May 2009?

A: According to Indian government figures end-July 2010, there are 71,654 Sri Lankan refugees living in some 112 camps and 32,467 living outside.

The latest figures from Jan - September 30 show that 1,280 refugees returned voluntarily from India with UNHCR facilitated returns compared to 843 in all of 2009. Also this year, over 1,000 refugees approached UNHCR offices in Sri Lanka to report that they had returned on their own accord - (spontaneous returns). The number of refugee returns are increasing and UNHCR thinks this trend will continue.

Q: What is the status of Sri Lankans who had sought UNHCR refugee status living in other countries? Are they also willing to return?

A: It's not easy to predict how many Sri Lankan refugees will want to return home. Many have been away for years and have established themselves elsewhere. But others will want to come home. No one wants to be a refugee and usually there is a strong desire of refugees to return home when they feel it is safe. Refugees want to be reunited with their families and friends and live in their own country. A year after the conflict, some Sri Lankan refugees in Malaysia and Hong Kong say they are seriously thinking of coming home. It is a process that takes time as refugees look at conditions in their home area, weigh it up to return.

According to UNHCR's most recent statistics for end-June 2010, - gathered from governments and also from UNHCR - a total of 146,098 Sri Lankan refugees are in 64 countries. India, France, Canada, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Malaysia, Australia, the United States and Italy are the top 10 countries hosting Sri Lankan refugees.

Q: What kind of trend do you observe among Sri Lankan refugees in India?

A: This year we estimate there may be around 2,000 refugees that UNHCR will help return home, and around 3,000 spontaneous returnees that later approach UNHCR, Sri Lanka for help in restarting their lives.

But, we have to be cautious about figures. Without full access to the refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, it is difficult for UNHCR to get an accurate picture of the wishes of refugees to return. Many may be well integrated into their lives in Tamil Nadu and not wish to return.

Q: Does UNHCR have direct access to the camps where Sri Lankan refugees live? If not, how do you deal with Sri Lankan refugees living there?

A: UNHCR has access to the Sri Lankan refugees in India. However, UNHCR does not have access to work in the Sri Lankan refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. These camps were established by the Indian government and are directly managed by the authorities. Refugees who wish to repatriate can contact UNHCR's office in Chennai where we can provide assistance to help them return.

Q: There are contradicting reports - some wish to return while some are reluctant to do so.

What is UNHCR's observation on these reports? Have you made any survey on those lines?

A: The decision to return is an individual one. Since the end of the conflict last year, UNHCR has seen an increase in the numbers of Sri Lankan refugees in India who wish to return home. However, it is always difficult to predict with any certainty how refugees will react to the end of a conflict in their country. But, in UNHCR's wide experience around the globe with voluntary repatriation, refugees frequently want to return home as soon as they possibly can. In one of the largest repatriation operations in the world, more than 3.5 million Afghans have returned home to Afghanistan from Pakistan with UNHCR help since 2002. Some develop family ties in the country of asylum or they have continuing fears of persecution in the country of origin-and need to remain in the country of asylum or to resettle in a third country. That is why it is essential that all repatriation movements are voluntary ones.

Q: The UNHCR a few months back made a statement that Sri Lanka is safe for refugee return. What steps have you taken to convey this message to the refugees living there?

A: At this stage UNHCR is not actively encouraging the return of refugees to Sri Lanka. Our current task is to ensure that Sri Lankan refugees abroad have up to date information about the situation in their areas of origin, and to help them come home if and when they decide to return. When they decide they want to come home to Sri Lanka, we help them do so. We call this 'facilitated' voluntary repatriation. In fact, most voluntary repatriations worldwide are facilitated, rather than promoted.

Q: In which way are you extending support to refugees to return and resettle in their villages?

A: Currently, those returning under UNHCR's facilitated voluntary repatriation program are met at the airport by a UNHCR staff member.

They receive a modest transport grant from UNHCR to help them make their own arrangements to get from the airport to their home area.

After arriving in their home area, they can contact the nearest UNHCR local office for a standard package of non-food items (NFIs) to help them with the basic essentials to restart their lives such as mosquito nets, bucket, jerry can, plastic mats, plastic sheets, cooking set. (the same kit as for IDP returnees).

UNHCR local offices also give advice on where to go to obtain replacement legal documentation such as birth certificates, which can be a big concern for refugees. We are currently in discussion with relevant national authorities about how we can better support the government offices who issue these documents in the areas of largest numbers of returns.

UNHCR cannot meet refugees returning spontaneously at the airport as these refugees return on their own without notice to us. Similarly, we are unable to provide such returnees with an onward transport grant.

Q: There may be thousands of Tamil refugees who are without any travel documents living in those refugee camps in India with the hope of returning to their country. How is UNHCR supporting those refugees to return to their country through legal channels?

A: The issuance or replacement of travel documents is carried out by the Government of Sri Lanka. We understand this is a fairly straightforward process. Refugees who wish to return can contact the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner's office in Chennai to obtain their one-way emergency travel documents.

Q: There were many instances in which some refugees tried to return to the country by illegal means paying exorbitant prices to human smugglers. What steps can UNHCR take to avoid such situations? What is your message to those refugees?

A: Due to the positive developments in Sri Lanka's security situation, UNHCR is streamlining the return process to help Sri Lankan refugees in India who wish to return home. We hope that this will reduce delays and make the return process easier, so that they would not have to resort to other means.

Q: There may be children born to refugees during their stay in India. What would be the plight of these children if they were to return?

A: Generally Sri Lankans abroad are required to register the birth of a child in the Sri Lankan mission in that country. For refugee families in India, this means registering the birth with the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner's Office in Chennai. Once they return to Sri Lanka, the families are also required to validate these registrations. At the same time, the Government of Sri Lanka has taken several positive steps to resolve citizenship issues among the Sri Lankan refugee population in Chennai.

Q: What sort of dialogue does the UNHCR now have with the Indian Government, the Provincial Government and also with the Sri Lankan Government with regard to the return of Sri Lankan refugees?

A: UNHCR continues to be in close dialogue with both the Sri Lankan and Indian Governments on the situation of Sri Lankan refugees in Chennai.

Q: How long would it take for all Sri Lankan refugees to return to their country?

A: We are trying to assist all who wish to return. Others may wish to wait.

Some may wish to remain in the current countries of asylum, having developed strong links there over the years.

Q: There are certain Tamil groups and civilians still seeking refugee status in other countries. What is UNHCR's observation on those people?

A: It is UNHCR's position that all claims filed by asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka should be examined and decided upon on the basis of individual merit and the need for international protection.

Armed conflict has now ceased in the North, and it is important that persons deciding asylum applications today take into account this positive development.

UNHCR Headquarters globally recommends that asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka need no longer be recognized as refugees solely on the basis of the "extended definition" (i.e. due to generalized violence).

Claims should instead be considered on the basis of a well-founded fear of being persecuted on one of the five grounds, political opinion, nationality, religion, race or membership of a particular social group.

UNHCR's recently issued eligibility guidelines (June 2010) elaborate on the main profiles of types of people who may continue to be at risk of persecution.



SUNDAYOBSERVER.LK

An Open Letter to the Sinhalese....!!!

http://www.tamilweek.com/Open_Letter_Sinhalese_0010.html


An Open Letter to the Sinhalese

By Dr. Rajasingham Narendran


Dear Sinhalese,

I am addressing this letter to you – the Sinhala
people, directly, because your leaders of the past
did not and the present do not, have the capacity or
intention to resolve the Sinhala-Tamil and the
majority-minority problems in Sri Lanka. You are their
excuse! I am writing this letter firstly as a human
being, secondly as a Tamil and thirdly as a fellow Sri
Lankan. I am addressing this letter to you as a
people with a proud culture and heritage; a people who
are compassionate and decent; a people who are largely
Buddhist and practice a compassionate religion
grounded in the principles of dhamma and karma. I am
also addressing you as a people who are the closest to
me as a Tamil, in appearance, culture and beliefs.

I am a Tamil with roots in the north, who was born
among Sinhalese, grew among Sinhalese, played with
Sinhalese, was educated among and taught by Sinhalese,
worked among Sinhalese, taught the Sinhalese, lived a
large part of my life among Sinhalese and speaks the
Sinhala language fairly well. My home is yet Sri Lanka
and my family lives there, although I work abroad. I
am proud of my Sri Lankan nationality and like to see
Sri Lanka prosper. I have also suffered as a result
of the Tamil militancy and its aftermath. I know that
the Tamils have no alternative but to support the
militancy and the LTTE because an acceptable political
solution has not been offered to them yet. I also know
that the LTTE in particular has committed acts of
terror against innocent Sinhala and Muslim civilians,
and fellow Tamils. I am also aware that the LTTE is
cynically and violently manipulating the Tamils to
achieve their ends. I also believe that the LTTE
should reform and change their approach and thinking
to accommodate current realities in the Tamil areas in
particular and Sri Lanka and the world in general. I
am no less a Tamil on account of these.

I am proud of my rich mother tongue-Tamil, my
heritage as a Tamil, my cultural identity as a
Tamil-Hindu and my mixed Hindu-Christian parentage. I
yet feel most at home in Jaffna, my land and that of
my ancestors, although I have been fortunate to have
had the opportunity to travel widely both within Sri
Lanka and other countries, and live in the west and
the Middle East. I firmly believe that the Tamils
have been mistreated in independent Sri Lanka and by
design made to suffer at the hands of the Sinhala
rabble. I know that the Sri Lankan armed forces have
committed serious acts of violence and terror against
innocent Tamil civilians. I also believe that the
responsibility for the Tamil militancy and the
resulting civil war has to be borne by the Sinhala
political leadership. I am aware of the Machiavellian
tactics and, the ‘divide and rule’ and
‘bribe and rule’ policies adopted by the
Sinhala political establishment throughout the
post-independence period, until the present times,
when dealing with the Sinhala-Tamil problem in Sri
Lanka. I am also aware of the ‘friend of the
enemy is my foe and the foe of the enemy is my
friend’ ploy adopted by your leaders at various
times in our recent history. I also believe the Tamil
militancy or terrorism as many of you would call it,
was a reflection of the impotence, frustration and
anger that the Tamils felt in the face of repeated
transgressions by the Sinhala political establishment.
I also believe the LTTE has played a crucial
historical role in the Tamil liberation struggle, as
many Tamils do. I am no less a Sri Lankan on account
of these.

I think I am what a typical Sri Lankan is and if not,
should be in many ways, whether Sinhalese, Tamil,
Muslim or any other. This letter is being addressed
on the basis of this legitimacy and with the fervent,
some may call it misplaced and naïve, hope that you
are capable of responding reasonably, if matters are
presented truthfully and objectively. Better
communication, awareness and sincere debate, I am sure
can yet resolve our problems sensibly and silence the
guns permanently. It is about time we truly get to
know each other after several decades of relative
separation and mutual suspicions, begin to celebrate
our commonalities and accept as normal our
differences. There can be unity in diversity. This is
how this world is made. If not for its diversity,
there will not be any beauty in this world. Uniformity
is quite unnatural and very undesirable. If we are
continuously indoctrinated to believe that we are
somehow superior to every one else in Sri Lanka and in
this planet, there can only be continued conflict and
war. We can be proud of who we are, while conceding
the right of others to be proud of themselves.

The problems have grown more complex over the years
and more difficult to resolve, because of your short
sighted, visionless, vicious and self- seeking
leaders. If these problem are not resolved even at
this stage, however difficult it may be, indications
are that the situation would get far worse than
anything we have experienced this far. The Tamil
resistance that started with eloquent speeches,
sit-ins and walk-outs in parliament, satyagrahas and
sale of Ealam stamps, and progressed through simple
pistols (sometimes wooden imitations!) to machine
guns, suicide bombers, gun boats and multi-barrel
rocket launchers, is now acquiring the skills to
operate and capability to acquire helicopters and
fixed wing aircraft. This is a fact that is staring in
our face and which your leaders are unable to sense
and sensibly respond to. Your leaders are yet
fiddling like Nero did when Rome was burning! Do you
believe that what could not be achieved over the past
twenty years to suppress and eliminate the Tamil
rebellion, during most of which time the advantage was
stacked in favour of the Sri Lankan armed forces, can
be achieved now by military means, without a
calamitous cost to the average Sinhala people and Sri
Lanka? Had the money spent by the Sri Lankan
government (and the LTTE) on the war over twenty
years, been invested in infra-structure and human
resource development, our per capita income now would
have likely been U.S $ 10,000/= or more instead of the
paltry U.S $ 1000/= we are gloating over. It is also
a tragedy that a government that is unable to mobilize
finances to reconstruct the tsunami affected areas,
was able in the past to find ingenious ways to finance
an unnecessary, prolonged, futile, expensive and
destructive war. What was simple and easily solvable
problem in the 1950’s, has been permitted to
escalate to the present level of complexity by the
incredible stupidity, to use the mildest term, of your
political leaders. All this was done in your name and
in the name of democracy!

I am a Tamil, who was a witness to the 1958 riots as
a child and was directly affected by the riots of 1977
and 1983 in the south, and by the Tamil militancy,
IPKF operations and the civil war in the north. I am a
Tamil who never aspired to leave Sri Lanka for
employment, but was forced to do so, as a consequence
of the 1977 riots, which left me destitute. I am also
a Tamil, whose mother and brother were killed in 1987,
quite unnecessarily by the IPKF in Jaffna. I am also a
Tamil who was looted of material possessions in 1977
by the Sinhala mob and in 1990 in Jaffna by the LTTE.
I am also a Tamil who is very apprehensive of the
negative impact of the militancy on the Tamils, their
culture, values and way of life. In effect, I am an
average Tamil of Sri Lanka.

I know what it feels like when informed in the middle
of a lecture at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya
that a Sinhala mob had attacked my home, where I had
left my wife and child. I know what it feels like to
run over mountains, pursued by a Sinhala mob, to save
my life and limb. I know what it feels like to lose
everything I possessed and worked hard for. I know
what it feels like to live in a refugee camp with all
its misery and squalor. I know what it feels like to
be destitute and dependent on charity. I know what it
feels like to experience a beloved maternal uncle,
later an Archdeacon of the Anglican church, who chose
to live amongst his people in Vavuniya, being arrested
by the police and kept for a month in the fourth floor
of the police headquarters in Colombo, for the sole
reason that there were audio cassettes with Tamil
liberation music among the large collection of books
on various topics in his library. I know what it
feels like to have a child caught in the middle of a
riot and not know what happened to him for several
days. I know what it feels like to see the rotting
remains of a mother and brother killed by the IPKF,
crawling with maggots, being eaten by crows and dogs.
I know what it feels like to cremate a mother’s
and a brother’s remains in the scrub with old
tyres and petrol, sans any ceremony. I know what it
feels like to be surrounded by IPKF soldiers with
pointed rifles and every intention to shoot. I know
what it feels like to see IPKF soldiers, brutally beat
ordinary middle aged and old folk who were tied to
trees for the only reason that they breached a
thoughtless and prolonged curfew to search for their
near and dear. I know what it feels like to see only
the skull of a person I had known, who was shot and
killed by the IPKF. I know what it feels like to face
the wife and young children of a brother who was
killed by the IPKF. I know what it feels like to see a
fellow human being shot and ‘Lamp posted’
for public display by the LTTE. I know what it feels
like to be helpless and paralyzed, when a brother is
held captive in the Vanni by the LTTE, with all the
possibility that he may be hurt or even killed. I am
a Tamil who has experienced the brutality and the
horrors of the Sinhala-Tamil conflict in all its
facets and during all its phases. It is fortunate
that despite being deeply touched by these unfortunate
events, I have been able to retain my sanity and
objectivity. I am indeed an average Tamil in Sri
Lanka.

I also know what it feels like to have students
–Sinhalese and Tamils, rallying around me amidst
a raging riot. I know what it feels like, when a
person like the late Bishop Lakshman Wickremasinghe,
amidst the attendant danger, using his influence to
help in my hour of need. I know what it feels like
when Sinhala and Tamil friends rallied to help and
console, in the aftermath of a riot. I know what it
feels like when Brig.’ Bull’ Weeratunge on
seeing the sorry plight of my wife and child after the
riot, giving me- a stranger, my first decent meal in
several days and offering to provide police and army
assistance to recover looted property. I know what it
feels like when personnel from the Sri Lankan army
ranging from Gen. Denzil Kobbekadduwa and Maj. Raja
Uyangoda to ordinary soldiers rallying to help a
helpless, but determined Tamil, whom they did not know
before, reach the site of murder of his mother and
brother in the midst of an IPKF imposed curfew, and
help cremate them. I know what it feels like when a
Sinhalese army officer of the standing of Maj.
Uyangoda empathized with me as though his own mother
was killed! I know what it feels like to sleep in a
Sri Lankan army camp during an on-going war and be
treated with kindness, sympathy and respect. I know
what it feels like to receive letters of sympathy from
ordinary Sinhalese who had read about what the IPKF
had done to my mother and brother. I also know what
it feels like when persons affiliated to the LTTE- who
cannot be named, and others offered sympathy and help,
when my brother was recently incarcerated in the
Vanni. These are spontaneous human responses that
transcend our affiliations and labels; demonstrate
that most of us are decent human beings with our
hearts in the right place; and affirm that we are yet
by and large a civilized people.

I am not writing my history- it can even be my epitaph
in what Sri Lanka has become today- to win sympathy or
favours from anyone, or to seek self aggrandizement,
but to highlight the plight of an average Tamil caught
in the Sri Lankan maelstrom. There are easier ways to
seek personal gain or fame, if my intentions are that.
My experiences are real and have been the experiences
of most Tamils to a greater or lesser degree. There
are also Sinhalese and Muslims, although much fewer,
who have had similar or worse experiences due to the
so-called Sinhala-Tamil problem in Sri Lanka. I am
exposing my feelings as sincerely, honestly and
directly as possible, in the hope that the human
suffering entailed in this conflict is appreciated,
acknowledged and given over riding importance. As
predominantly Buddhists, I am sure you will come
forward to do your best to resolve the underlying
cause of this suffering swiftly. Only you have the
power to do it! You have already demonstrated your
humanity in the aftermath of the tsunami, with your
spontaneous responses that transcended the artificial
barriers of race, language and religion that were
erected by our politicians and militants, and are now
being fiercely defended by them.

I believe that it is yet possible for the Sinhalese,
Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Malays, Buddhists, Hindus
and Christians to share our island and her bounty
peacefully and equitably. We are all her children. I
also believe that we as a people, irrespective of our
labels and affiliations have been badly led by our
so-called leaders- politicians, academics, priests,
journalists, trade unionists, militants, etc,. The
men and women who have assumed leadership roles in our
country have been our curse over the past fifty years
and will stand condemned by history for their perfidy.
It is time that we demanded better leadership and
got it. At this juncture of our history, you- the
Sinhalese, as a people and the majority community,
should take a lead in demanding an immediate
resolution of the political issues underlying the
Sinhala- Tamil and majority- minority problems in Sri
Lanka. This is the single most important problem that
has hampered our development, retarded our progress
and deprived us of greater prosperity, while eroding
our decency and humanity as peoples of Sri Lanka. If
these problems are satisfactorily resolved, we can
march hand in hand to becoming a proud and respected
nation, once again. We have the potential to be
among the best in Asia, if not the world. We have not
unleashed our potential as a people because we have
been kept trapped in the quagmire of racist,
intolerant and exclusive politics by our so- called
leaders. It is time that we moved towards real
democracy, genuine meritocracy, pragmatic governance
and rule of law in Sri Lanka that will transcend the
parochialism, tribalism, criminality, corruption and
unaccountability that dominate our polity.

Let bygones be bygones. There should be only lessons
to be learnt from the past, if we are to be
progressive nation. Let us open a new chapter in our
lives as citizens of Sri Lanka. Let us push our
leaders, to truly represent us as a people and reflect
our aspirations. They have been hitherto largely
rabble rousers who have appealed to our basest,
primitive and animal instincts, and thrived at our
expense. While, we Tamils have a contribution to make
towards resolving our problems, the larger burden is
on you, as the majority and politically dominating
segment of the population in Sri Lanka. This
necessitates that you answer some questions after some
fact finding and soul searching:

1.Do you accept that the Tamils have a problem within
the Sri Lankan polity?

2.Do you accept that the Tamils have been treated
unjustly and have immensely suffered as a result?

3.Do you accept that all citizens of Sri Lanka have to
be treated equally and equitably by the state?

4.Do you accept that it is foolish and even primitive
in the 21st century- when national barriers are being
transcended- to argue and fight over who came to the
island first centuries ago or who did what to whom
centuries back, to the detriment of our country?

5.Do you accept that the Tamil militancy and the
‘Tiger’ phenomenon are the result of the
failures of the Sri Lankan state?

6.Do you accept that the Sinhala- Tamil and
majority-minority problems have to be resolved
immediately?

7.Do you accept that these problems cannot be resolved
through ‘hot war’ as in the pre- ceasefire
period and ‘cold war’ as now in the post-
ceasefire period?

8.Do you accept that the system of governance in Sri
Lanka has to be changed from one that is highly
centralized to one that is very decentralized?

9.Do you understand the differences between a
‘unitary state’ and a ‘federal
state’?

10.Do you know that Sri Lanka can be a federal state
and at the same time be a united state?

11.Do you accept that the Sinhalese, Tamils and
Muslims have a right to manage their internal affairs
in areas where they are a majority, if true democracy
is to prevail?

12.Do you accept that the federal system of governance
is best suited for a multi-ethnic and multi-religious
country like Sri-Lanka, that is being torn apart by
the politics in a majoritarian unitary state?

13.Do you know that the predominantly Sinhala
provinces will also benefit from federal system of
decentralized governance?

14.Do you know that the federal system of governance
is successfully working in diverse countries such as
India, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, Germany, France
and the United States of America (Confederal )?

15.Do you know that a federal status within Sri Lanka
to the predominantly Tamil provinces will not
automatically lead to the formation of an independent
Tamil Ealam?

16.Do you know that ‘Tamil Nadu’ is a
state with a chief minister, cabinet, state assembly
and administrative, law making and law enforcement
systems, among many in India?

17.Do you know that most Tamils, including the LTTE
are ready to accept a well structured and organized
federal system of governance as an alternative
to an independent Tamil Ealam, within Sri Lanka?

18.Can you pressurize your leaders to immediately
propose a plan for effective federalization of the Sri
Lankan polity?

19.Do you think that an ‘Constitutional
Commission’ of eminent men- Sinhala, Tamil and
Muslim, and with international representation should
be formed now to
propose a binding federal constitution for Sri Lanka,
as our politicians are incapable of bringing forth
one on their own, unless it serves their self
interests ?

20. Do you understand that Sri Lanka will not be
able to develop and progress,unless the present
unitary system of governance is dumped as early as
possible?

Your answers to these questions will decide the fate
of Sri Lanka as a nation for centuries to come. If
the proper answers are not found you will stand
condemned by history for having unconscionably failed
mother Lanka in her hour of need. If you find the
right answers, we would be on the threshold of a
golden era, never before seen in our history.

May God bless you and give the guidance and wisdom
needed at the present time.

Yours sincerely,
Yet a Tamil Sri Lankan
==========



http://www.theacademic.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1890&sid=f8c7a44c68904a7252de5ebac8c49e85


tselvaranjan1970
Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 60
Location: Sri Lanka


Some mistakes in Dr.Rajasingham Narendran's recent article
I have posted the following under featerude articles section. But it has ended up in the 2nd page therefore many people may not be seeing. But I think I need to pinpoint certain mistakes in Dr.Rajasingham Narendran's thoughts, which I found that no one else has posted. Therefore I hereby ask apologies from the forum administrators for reposting this post again in this section. I beleive they will forgive me this time and allow this post.

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I like to put forward the mistakes in Dr.Rajasingham Narendran's thoughts.

Those who carefully read Dr.Rajasingham Narendran's article, with the background understanding of the evolution of the ethinic crisis in Sri Lanka, may be able to realise that Dr.Rajasingham Narendran is missing out some underlying logic in his article and is in many places contradicting himself. Through these mistakes, he is offering a very uncertain and quite dangerous option to the Tamils.

He is saying that things were moving towards a federal set up before the elections. He may be refering to Ranil Wickremasinghe's policies. Not only Dr.Rajasingham Narendran, I have seen some foreign writers also writing this was in a politically innocent manner.

The mistake Dr.Rajasingham Narendran is making is, he seems to be looking at "Federal Solution" just as a phrase that can solve all the problems.

What we need to think is, what kind of solution is acceptable to the Tamils. It would not be just an ordinary federal solution as practised in many countries. Those Tamils who understood politics and are reasonably intelligent, would except a solution which would gurantee the following:

1) The acceptance of the Thimpu principles, put forward during the peace talks in 1985 in Bhutan

2) Full control over the Tarditional homeland of the Tamils

3) A separate army and police for the Tamils

4) Full control over the economic matters

5) Some firm gurantee of some form through the United Nations that none of the matters related to this political solution in the new constitution will be removed without a referendum among Tamils.

Why these are expected is, because each of this has become a necessity from the lessons we learnt from the Sri Lankan governments during the last 57 years. There is a political history behind each of the above point in the last 57 years.

Now let Dr.Rajasingham Narendran answer, whether Ranil Wickremasinghe was ready to give a solution which would cover this extent.

It is true that an ordinary Tamil citizen just wanted some peace and they would have voted for Ranil. Because an "ordinary" citizen is more concerned about his tomorows food than thinking about what would be the case of his future generation in another 50 years. This is where we need leaders. Dr.Rajasingham Narendran and some others like him are trying to write as if the leaders should be guided by the wishes of the masses. While it should be like that on certain issues, it should not be the case always, expecially when it comes to the point of determining the future of a generation. Leaders are to "lead" and guide the people and "not to be lead and guided by the people".

If Ranil won, he would not have defintely given the above demands. Instead he would be dragging the peace talks in the hope of weakning the fighting strength of the LTTE via various means.

Finally a half-boiled solution might be given to the Tamils. And then after another 5 years, if a JVP or another party wants to come to power, they would show the prosperity of the Tamils to the Tamils and do an election campaign to bring back the "sinhala only" as Bandaranayake did in the 1950s.

Dr.Rajasingham Narendran is writing as if the International community is genuinely interested in a peaceful solution. This is gross politicial innocence. If the USA was genuinely interested in world peace, why didnot they try to create enough international pressure to bring Sadam Hussain to negiotiation tables?

It is so much suprising to see how Dr.Rajasingham Narendran can beleive the honestly of the International community even after seeing so much of publications in the media about the contradictions of the Inernational community in each and every aspects from the Bosnian genocide to the nueclear programme matters.

The real political scenario is that western countries and Japan are intersted in having some peace in Sri Lanka for their own political reasons and not because they feel sad for the poor people of Sri Lanka. What they would ask us is to compromise and therefore they will not gurantee the above demands of the Tamils.

In his article, in several places Dr.Rajasingham Narendran has said that the sinhalese leaders have behaved in such a way during the last 50 odd years, that Tamils cannot trust them.

So now how on earth, and based on what GURANTEE Dr.Rajasingham Narendran is advicing the Tamils to beleive Ranil wickremasinghe?

He is also wrongly saying that if Tamils fight with non-violence means, sinhalese will give. So what did happen from 1948 to late 1970s? He also says that the international community will help the Tamils in non-violent struggle. What did they do in the above period?

Dr.Rajasingham Narendran is again failing to see a political reality of the world. The International media and governments would look at the problem only if the problem is very much visible as in the case of South Africa and Palestine. But our problem is not that visible.

Israel occupied the palestinain lands overnight and it was very much visible to the world. Therefore it was easy for Palestinians to get the support of honest journalists and human rights activists and via them there was pressure for all governments in the world.

The same occupation of Tamil homeland was done by sinhalese leaders over a period of 50 years slowly and steadily. They would justify it by saying that most of those land were state owned lands. But the hidden intention was to destroy the identity of the Tamils. These are matters that require a PhD research for every journalist and human rights activist to research and see the truth. Thats why SJV Chelvanayagam's non-violent struggle did not get the attention of the world.

Now Dr.Rajasingham Narendran advices the tamils to go back to SJV Chelvanayagam's days.

Dr.Rajasingham Narendran may be thinking that it is possible educate the sinhalese people about the problems faced by Tamils. You can educate one or two. But not a whole country of people. Because the problem is rooted from the Mahawamsa matters and it is not so easy to educate and change.

Therefore the best solution is that the Tamils and Sinhalese split without further wars and try to live peacefully as good neighbours.

Dr.Rajasingham Narendran is also in many places misleading others by implying that many Tamil educated people do not like LTTE's political policies. Just looking at the internet itself would show us that so many educated Tamils back the LTTE.

--T.Selvaranjan


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T.Selvaranjan

"For a Nation to be free, it is sufficient that she wills it." - M. de la Fayette