Committee for the Formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam

by Ilankai Tamil Sangam, June 24, 2009

PRESS RELEASE  

The Ilankai Tamil Sangam welcomes and supports the Committee for the Formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam.

Today, more than 300,000 Tamils are languishing indefinitely in internment camps guarded by the mono-ethnic Sri Lankan military, as US Amb. Lunstead said, 'simply because they are Tamil.'  No internal or external efforts have been made to bring to justice those who have committed genocide and war crimes against Tamils in the island's civil war.  The government of Sri Lanka is bent on destroying the distinct identity of the Tamil nation and changing the demography of the homeland of the Tamil-speaking people.   

The Tamil nation is experiencing one of its darkest periods.  The need of the hour is unity of all Tamils.   

After the military defeat of the Tamil leadership, the Tamil people have been left defenseless.  In this new, unheralded situation, the Tamil people are looking for political leadership.  

We believe that the Committee for the Formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam can and will fill the vacuum.  We are reassured that the Committee itself will be substantial and legitimate because the members of the already-formed advisory committee have been identified with the Tamils' struggle for the self-determination for a long time, understand the issues involved and have the necessary expertise for this enterprise.   

We also understand that the concept of the Transnational Government is a novel one.  The Committee should reflect the aspirations of the ordinary Tamil people who have taken to the streets in the capitals of the world in hundreds of thousands in snow and freezing weather.  The envisaged election among the nearly 1.5 million Tamil Diaspora for the Congress of the Transnational Government is the right step in that direction.  The Committee's emphasis on Muslim participation in building a political program for the Tamil-speaking people is a welcome feature.  The Committee should also find ways and means to work with the Tamil people and the Tamil leadership within Sri Lanka.  The task before the Committee will be monumental.   

We welcome the formation of the Committee and will lend it our full support.