Group Urges Diaspora Tamils Not to Invest in Sri Lanka

by DoNotInvestinSriLanka, November 11, 2009

“There are lots of ways that good-hearted, well-meaning Tamils can wind up enriching the government in Colombo,” said the group’s leader. “We want our Tamil friends to be aware that even though Sri Lanka looks like a good place to invest right now, investing there will wind up hurting Ceylonese Tamils.”

DonotInvestInSriLanka, a group of diaspora Tamils, sent a letter to major Tamil organizations in several countries urging them and their members not to invest in Sri Lanka. Investing in Sri Lanka enriches and empowers the Sri Lankan government, the group explained, and the additional money will ultimately go to the Sri Lankan military and be used to oppress and uproot Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Scarsdale, NY (PRWEB) November 11, 2009 -- DonotInvestInSriLanka, a group of diaspora Tamils, is urging Tamils world-wide to keep their money at home, or at least not to invest it in Sri Lanka.

A leader of the group said that “Any money that we put into the Sri Lankan economy will eventually make its way to the Sri Lankan military and be used to oppress and uproot the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The group named a number of things which Tamils should avoid doing.

“We should not put our money in Sri Lanka,” said the group spokesman. “Here is a simple list of things not to do.”

Do not travel to Sri Lanka.
Do not buy any houses in Colombo.
Do not keep your money in a Sri Lankan bank.
Do not invest in Sri Lankan businesses.
Do not buy Sri Lankan bonds.
Do not be taken in by attractive slogans like “Jaffna Development Fund” or ”Batticaloa Revival Endowment” or anything with “Rehabilitation” as part of the name. Remember that most of the money that Colombo collected for Tsunami relief never went to Tamils; it stayed in Colombo.
Do not buy clothes, groceries, or any other items imported from Sri Lanka, and tell the retailer (and the distributor if you know who it is) not to sell them anymore.

The spokesman then put the argument in plain words. “We think that to get the world to withhold investment from Sri Lanka we have to set an example: we overseas Tamils have to be the first to take our money out of Sri Lanka and keep it someplace else. Nobody will do what we say unless we are willing to do it first.”

The group’s spokesman concluded “Remember that disinvesting in South Africa eventually had a good result. The South African government gave in and abandoned apartheid. We don’t know how long it will take to make Colombo give the Tamils a safe place to live, but we have keep at it.

“It takes many tiny drops to fill a bucket, but in the end the bucket gets filled.”

To read the Tamil version go to: www.donotinvestinsrilanka.com/PressRelease/Tamil_11112009.html

Ilankai Tamil Sangam

Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA

Group Urges Diaspora Tamils Not to Invest in Sri Lanka