by TamilNet, November 18, 2019
Newly sworn-in SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has denounced the existence of Eezham Tamils as a nation in the North and the East of the island. The wartime genocidaire Defense Secretary wants Tamils to become ‘Sri Lankans’ capitulating to the Sinhala Mahawansa doctrine, which possesses the requisite intent for Tamil genocide. The Tamils and their political leaders must unambiguously state now that there would be no engagement with genocidaire SL President and the SL State unless he openly and publicly declares Eezham Tamils as a nation entitled to the right of self-determination. The foreign state actors upholding the engagement paradigm are ultimately responsible for the continued crimes against Eezham Tamils in the island.
The external powers that engage with Gotabaya Rajapaksa and genocidal Sri Lanka under him must be told in clear terms that they should consider the SL State as an outcast in the international community until he resolves the national question.
It is also time for the Tamil-speaking Muslims to decide whether they are going to succumb as a ‘minority’ to the Mahawansa paradigm.
Those who claim to represent Eezham Tamils, particularly the TNA, must engage with the external powers and register their strong objection to those actors who want to apply realpolitik in their foreign policy approach towards the state headed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The geopolitical actors have been trading off international justice, human rights and Tamils right of self-determination with their geopolitical access to the island for long.
The powers that wish to engage with the SL State on the basis of their strategic interests must first recognise Tamils right of self-determination and resolve the national question.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was advised by the geopolitical powers to engage and negotiate with Mahinda Rajapaksa immediately after the end of the genocidal war in 2009. The process went futile and ended without any outcome.
Also, when the same external powers wanted a regime change due to the China-tilt by the previous Rajapaksa establishment, the TNA was again advised to take the route of engagement with actors opposing Rajapaksas.
Certain elitist Tamil diaspora groups which were listening to the advice of the Obama administration also chose the ‘engagement’ path through the so-called ‘Singapore principles’ discourse in 2013.
Mangala Samaraweera, who came as a ‘beggar’ to Singapore in 2013 seeking Tamils support, is now weeping for his ‘beloved country’ on Twitter.
After 2009, the nation of Eezham Tamils and its politicians have been forced to dance to the choir of the external powers, who were ultimately responsible for the 2009 genocide.
The lead dancer, M.A. Sumanthiran, was repeatedly telling Tamils that the international community would come forward with what he called the remedy of ‘last resort’ if the ‘engagement’ ended futilely.
The era of engagement has ended worse than futile.
The Singapore principles wanted Tamil leaders to subscribe to non-descriptive ‘good governance’. They were told not to mention terms and phrases such as Nation and Right of Self-Determination.
That discourse ended as Mr Sampanthan found himself addressing the vacant seats of SL Parliament on the failure of the non-descript constitutional process.
Subsequently, the TNA went back to the people engaging with other Tamil parties and formulating the 13 point descriptive points in the run-up to the SL Presidential election.
While one of the mainstream candidates, Sajith Premadasa, at least dropped the term ‘unitary’ and the phrase ‘foremost place to Buddhism’ in his election manifesto, Gotabaya Rajapaksa made it undoubtedly clear that genocidal Sri Lanka would remain unitary with the foremost place to Theravada Buddhism.
The return of Gotabaya has made the Eezham Tamils in the homeland, the diaspora and the Tamils of Tamil Nadu, take a deep breath.
Whether it is time for ‘last resort’ or ‘first strike’ of any sort, it is time that Eezham Tamils uphold their long-held principle of non-surrender of Tamil sovereignty in the island and let the world powers know that it is now their turn to dance to the Tamil music.
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