The True Face of the International Community & a Rational Response from the Tamils of Eelam
by Siva Muthulingasamy, UK, December 16, 2004
The International Community(IC) is all united by just one common objective, a World Trade monopoly.
They work in partnership with the US, like “the good cop bad cop” duo in a Hollywood thriller, and they complement each other in spite of finer differences in foreign policy.
Multinationals work very closely with the governments of the G7 countries towards a common goal of Profit and exploitation. Hypocrisy plays a big part in this drama.
Take, for example, the current Zimbabwe cricket tour fiasco. Whereas for 25 years the Sri Lankan government imposed a ban on the basic necessities reaching the Tamil population in the northeast, prevented travel and denied power supply, the English did not complain and continued their Cricket tours, playing all the matches in the south of the country with hardly a whimper. In fact, by their actions they promoted even more tourism for Sri Lanka.
Even as I write this article the Prime Minister of Britain is hosting the military dictator of Pakistan, Musharaf, with all pomp.
Therefore, it is crystal clear that Trade dictates foreign policy in these countries and the concept of “human rights violations” is a weapon they use to break the backs of anyone who does not toe their line.
Any dissent from the third world will be dealt with with the three Bs. First they will try and Bribe you into submission; if that fails, then they will Bully you with sanctions; if that also fails, they will Bomb you to pieces.
Some hard facts to illustrate this phenomenon:
1) Military dictatorship in Pakistan is never criticised or bombed by the US unless they threaten US interests as happened under Zia.
2) No elections are ever held in Saudi Arabia, but that has never troubled the conscience of the west and particularly the US as long as a good proportion of their GDP comes from the Saudis.
3) China was a pariah communist state until they opened up their market to free trade, though China is still very communist, but in the process long-standing allies such as Tibet and Taiwan were swiftly abandoned.
4) In Sri Lanka, according to the ILO (International Labour Organisation) report, there are 1 million-child workers in the south, which remains a haven for western paedophiles. These facts are never highlighted or acted upon but a few rebels in the LTTE being under 18 remain a constant annoyance to these hypocrites.
How do we respond?
In my opinion the IC has no time either for the Sinhalese in the South or the Tamils of the NorthEast. The most vital commodity in Sri Lanka (SL), as far as this IC is concerned, are the hardworking, but downtrodden, Plantation Tamils (PTs), who continue to lead a life of misery neglected by politicians on both sides.
Contradictory to popular belief, that the British brought them from South India because the natives of SL refused to work in rough terrain, I feel the crafty Brits did this deliberately so that whoever came to work in the hills in SL would remain in bondage and not have the option to leave. Rather cynically, I feel that all efforts are made even now by interested parties to stop the wretched lot from moving out of the hill country.
Tea being the important commodity that Sri Lanka can deliver to the trading Nations, one should not forget that British firms like Lipton and Brooke Bond still control the international tea market and the plantation Tamils still remain the backbone for an uninterrupted supply of tea.
The IC also knows that the Sinhalese will never accept the PTs in their fold, but the Tamils of the NE may. Memories are still fresh of the fiasco in the Kent and Dollar Farms in the North in the 80’s. A few hundred PTs who ran away after the 1977 riots were accommodated in these farms, who for the first time breathed the sense of freedom and began to settle down to lead a prosperous and peaceful life as a farming community. When the authorities in the south sensed the train of events, a well-orchestrated effort was mounted with the use of force and the helpless lot were removed and dumped back on the streets of the hill town of Hatton. The entire act was designed to stop any precedence that would see a mass exodus of PTs from the hill country.
Therefore, if development work begins on a large scale in the NE, it is possible that the PTs may leave in their thousands as there is already a massive shortage of labour in the NE. Similarly the American Negroes fled in their thousands from the southern cotton industries to the car industries in the north as soon as they could.
Now, if I am right, then, like in Singapore, we should undertake major construction work in the NE and give very lucrative contracts to companies from the IC to counterbalance the demands of those in the Tea trade!
Siva Muthulingasamy
UK