Ilankai Tamil Sangam28th Year on the Web Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA |
|||
Home Archives |
A Voice from the AshesOn behalf of my own blood…!!by Theivigan, May 6, 2010
The ashes of the war – butchered Tamils haven’t been settled; the blood from their wounds hasn’t healed; we can still hear the cries of babies, unloved and alone, their parents slaughtered; the media continues to carry images of IDP detainees screaming from “Sri Lankan Guantanamoes”. But the International Community and their shady empires built on trade and territorial control remain reluctant to observe these tragic realities; balance statements seem to occupy their time. Who needs these healthy bank balances at the moment? What do Tamils really need now? Tamils across the globe cried at the feet of international governments. Every single Tamil in the Diaspora went and begged their elected representatives to stop the genocide against the Tamils. Memories from one year ago bring into nightmarish focus the most heart-wrenching moments from the last days of the war. However, the well-laid plans of the international community chose to remain deaf until they got ''what they wanted to hear''. The well-informed diplomats recognized the inhumanity of the situation, but chose to shut their doors so they could enjoy the luxury of not having to make tough statements or honourable decisions. But these diplomats never considered what the dying people wanted to hear, or the small comforts they were denied, the tough statements they could not make, or the pride of those who fought to the very end. Now it is all over. The powers that be in this world have fulfilled their goals. They successfully fit their own interests in the bags of each other, by making the Tamils bloodied and battered pawns in their game. But they never thought that post – war responsibilities would be completely in their hands if they do so, and money alone would not fix such issues. They never considered the power-hungry Singhalese government would be completely arrogant, and that it would obtain a massive majority in its own parliament, by taking the international aid while back-handing the same western powers. The Sri Lankan government has now been applying “Condom Theory” to international donors. Yes. “Use and discard” The power struggle and geo – political re arrangements between the West and East had laid some fortunate stones for Sri Lanka to step up its desired mission. Each country wanted plays the role by using Sri lanka to raise their own interests. But, the Rajapakse government wanted to blow open the Tamil homeland for its own interest. Timing paved the way for their win. The result not only destroyed an honourable freedom struggle, but also delivered a raised middle finger to the western world from the Singhalese government without any fear of reprisal. The ultimate fact is that no country wants to interfere in the Sri Lankan ethnic issue without India’s support. At the same time, India wanted to taste the win against the LTTE more than Sri Lanka. Thereby, India – and in particular the Congress government, showed its absolute immaturity with foreign policy by annihilating the LTTE in the name of a “solution for Tamils”. All this has revealed is that in the name of a solution for Tamils, India couldn’t find the solution to its own Tamils, never mind Eelam’s. Now the election results prevail, and Sri lanka has shown absolute adamance to listen to any country, feeling comfortable to treat these one-time friends as out door owls. What stance do these spurned former comrades take now? Are they still going to wait for India’s green light for everything and anything regarding the Tamil’s issue, despite the growing recognition that India’s past policy was bordering on absurd? Are they still going to sit and watch with the same excitement as they did in the past, watching with baited breach the actions of the Sri Lankan government? They will have to admit that Tamils in Sri Lanka are deserving of their own aspirations, which is possible only through the IC’s Intervention. This has been the Diaspora’s long-time call; even the LTTE appealed constantly. However, the IC’s ultimate announcement was that the Singhala government’s war was against terrorism, and whoever resisted against this war were terrorists. The 9/11 world order has admitted this bleached lie. To those who easily frame LTTE as terrorists and Tamils as supporting terrorists, it is important to face the reality that LTTE was needed by the Tamils to reply to the Sri Lankan government’s terrorist tactics, which were unleashed upon the Tamils daily. Are the people chanting about terrorism and terrorists able to define a terrorist clearly? The type of abuse determines the form of resistance. The Sri Lankan regime's terror tactics of rape, pogroms, discrimination thru employment, education, government constitutional amendments to discriminate against the Tamil language and land grabbing by establishing new Singhala villages in traditional Tamil homelands, called for the formation of LTTE and its tactics in attacking back. Suicide bombing is horrifying by all means; how about being bombarded when you sought refuge in a church or temple and the bomber plane goes back to base unscathed? Is it ok if you decide to drop bombs on innocent children and regular people because they belong to a minority group of people( Tamils) but wrong if the minority people then decide to bring a bomb and blow themselves up out of frustration? Is it ok for a Tamil child to watch their mother or sister being raped in front of their eyes by the Sri Lankan army, but then somehow wrong if the child then joins an armed movement to take its revenge? It is horrible that Tamil have to blast themselves to explain to the world and it is a disgrace that children take up arms. Fine. There is now no terrorism, which was huge impediment as far as the IC was concerned. Clearly, Tamils have been penalized by the ruling Singhala government by all possible means. Their roots, culture and identity are in the process of being tarnished by the government. Their history has been changed even in school text books. The voice of Tamils against any of this post war genocide has been shut by the fear of Singhala hegemony. Can the IC reveal its adventures, at least now, to find the solution for the Tamils? Now it’s clear that Tamils don’t see India and the rest of the IC in a different manner. As far as they’re concerned, the whole world helped to crush their freedom struggle, and supported ethnic cleansing. Perhaps the IC, rather making flaccid statements asking the Singhala government to win Tamil’s hearts, should instead win the hearts of Tamils, to keep the belief not only amongst the Tamils, but also other minorities across the world.
|