Collective Punishment for the Tamils

Uthayan (Jaffna) editorial, January 15, 2005 [translated from the Tamil]

Recent events, in the NorthEast, especially in the north, are distressing and worrying Tamils.

The north is currently witnessing an important turning point in the history of the Tamil people's struggle for freedom.

What sprouted as a tiny guerilla force to resist oppression has today matured into a full-fledged people's freedom struggle and we are witnessing this on the ground now.

If we view the present ground situation against the lessons of the past freedom struggles in world history, we will see that this situation is to be expected and must be faced.

It is, however, true that the freedom struggle of the LTTE, when compared to the other freedom struggles in the history of the world, is slightly different.
The growth of the LTTE from its inception as a guerilla group, formed within a minority community, to a conventional military force that stands as a threat to the majority community and a state's military is surprising and shocking to the superpowers.

One can catalog a long list of reasons and causes that has created a movement that is firm in its goal, passionate about its policies, unyielding in its stance, amazing in its military acumen, clever and subtle in its political moves, not easily cheated, and lead by a well structured and strong leadership.

A new dimension for this movement is developing. Presently, the NorthEast is witnessing this new development and facing up to its consequences.

The last four years of ceasefire period has been an important time for the Tamil freedom struggle. Whether the LTTE movement used this ceasefire period to militarily strengthen itself will only be known when the ceasefire itself comes to end.

It is, however, important to note that the LTTE has become a people's movement during this ceasefire period. This is the result of the LTTE and local people involving themselves in political work, throughout the Tamil homeland, during the ceasefire period.

Today we are witnessing that"the LTTE is the People and the People are the LTTE." What began as the "Pongu Thamil" movement of the people has spread throughout the Tamil homeland and even to the lands where Eelam Tamils have displaced to. The world is amazed by this.

Several Tamil political parties, that were pulling the freedom struggle in different directions, are today, after realizing the ground reality, standing behind the LTTE. Tje Tamil nation and Tamil nationalism are standing together with the yearning for their freedom. The time has come for the enemy to face up to the fact that Tamil people cannot be separated from their yearning for freedom.

World history presents us with several lessons about how the oppressors try to break a people's movement for freedom. This same lesson is practiced in the Tamil homeland today by the Sinhala military. We are facing up to it.

The Sinhala military is doing in Tamil homeland exactly what the Israel military did and is doing in Palestine. It is a common practice for oppressive governments, like that of Israel, to deal with the pressures of a people's movement by giving collective punishment to the entire people. The freedom struggle in the Tamil homeland which has become the people's struggle, is being handled by the Sinhala military in the same way.

The result is the beating and killing of innocent people to punish the grenade attack carried out by someone else. These military actions are not taken in the heat of the moment. These are well planned actions of the military to threaten the people into submission.

It is certain that this approach, too, will not succeed against the Tamil people who have come together en-mass yearning for freedom.

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