Broader
Vision
of
the
Massacred
Political
Detainees
[On
24
February
1983,
Nadarajah
Thangathurai,
one
of
the
first
Tamil
freedom
fighters
incarcerated
by
the
Sri
Lanka
government,
was
sentenced
to
life
imprisonment.
On
the
first
of
March
1983,
he
made
a
statement
from
the
dock
of
the
courthouse,
which
to
this
day
remains
one
of
the
best
testaments
to
the
Tamil
sentiments
in
Sri
Lanka
He
was
later
killed
along
with
Kuttimani
in
the
Welikada
prison
massacre
on
July
25,
1983.]
Since
the
prison
massacre
20
years
have
passed
and
60,000
Tamils
have
perished.
Has
the
majority's
fundamental
mind
set
changed?
Is
it
capable
of
changing
to
a
higher
perspective?
Excerpts
from
the
testimony
by
the
detainees:
"When
our
vision
is
so
global
how
can
it
fail
to
take
into
account
the
future
good
of
the
Sinhala
people?"
When
the
British
government
entrusted
the
fate
of
the
Tamils
to
a
gro
up
of
Sinhala
politicians,
the
Tamil
people
did
not
clamour
for
freedom
for
themselves.
They
did
not
suspect
that
they
would
in
course
of
time
be
made
second-class
citizens
of
this
country.
But
some
Tamil
leaders
did
perceptively
ask
for
bigger
representation
for
the
Tamils
in
the
legislature.
This
was
justified
by
later
events
when
the
plantation
Tamils
were
deprived
of
their
franchise.
What
the
next
25
years
saw
was
not
only
the
erosion
of
Tamil
rights
but
also
the
erosion
of
the
Tamil
homeland.
For
25
years,
the
Tamil
leaders
expressed
their
protest
in
Parliament
and
outside,
adopting
the
principles
of
ahimsa
and
Satyagraha.
But
what
happened?
...
To
those
noble
souls
who
keep
on
prating
"terrorism,
terrorism"
we
have
something
to
say.
Did
you
n
ot
get
frightened
of
terrorism
when
hundreds
of
Tamils
were
massacred
in
cold
blood,
when
racist
hate
spread
like
fire
in
this
country
of
yours?
Did
terrorism
mean
nothing
to
you
when
Tamil
women
were
raped?
When
cultural
treasures
were
set
on
fire?
When
hundreds
and
hundreds
of
Tamil
homes
were
looted?
Why
in
1977
alone
400
Tamils
lost
their
lives
reddening
the
sky
above
with
their
splattered
blood
-
did
you
not
see
any
terrorism
then?
Did
your
thoughts
and
feelings
become
deadened
when
it
concerned
Tamil
lives
and
Tamil
property
or
are
your
minds
unable
to
conceive
the
very
idea
of
Tamil
suffering?
There
is
nothing
that
prevents
two
neighbouring
nations
living
in
co-operation.
You
must
not
run
away
with
the
thought
that
our
sole
objective
is
to
establish
Tamil
Eelam.
Tamil
Eelam
certainly
remains
an
objective
because
we
have
learnt
through
bitter
experience
over
the
past
several
years
that
it
is
only
by
establishing
a
State
of
Tamil
Eelam
can
Tamils
live
with
self-respect.
But
our
vision
is
broader
than
that.
Our
vision
is
global.
Wherever
there
is
oppression,
wherever
there
is
violation
of
human
dignity,
whether
in
Africa
or
in
Latin
America,
we
are
prepared
to
link
hands
with
the
oppressed
and
the
under
dog.
When
our
vision
is
so
global
how
can
it
fail
to
take
into
account
the
future
good
of
the
Sinhala
people?
###
Posted July 27, 2004