By Kumar David –
Prof. Kumar David
When the LTTE was at the height of its power, if the TNA had dared to say it opposed the Right of Nations to Self-Determination (RSD) the original Leninist wording its leadership would have been murdered by these liberators of the Tamil people, have no doubts about that. If it had said it was for RSD the leaders would have been summarily locked up and tortured by our heroic armed forces, have no doubt about that either. So, rather imaginatively the TNA coined the term “Right to Internal Self Determination” or RISD. Such a thing never existed nor does exist now in the Leninist lexicon. But necessity is the mother invention and the TNA in all its previous and current avatars managed to survive un-assassinated and unhanged thanks to RISD. But times have changed; the LTTE is no more and the SL regime is licking its putrefying financial sores and international lacerations and is in no position to set off another habitual round of human and democratic rights violations. Therefore, the TNA can chose its terms with more freedom. That’s good. Of course the Tamils will not commit hara-kiri and march out on to the streets in the prevailing autocratic climate. Hence the TNA is clever to probe alternative methods, including canvassing international pressure.
As an old hand who learnt his Leftism more than half a century ago, RISD to me is a strange creation of the TULF-TNA imagination. Old boy Lenin would have baulked. RSD, crucially, included the RIGHT of nations to secession. (A nation is a distinct people with their own culture and language living in a clearly separate area). A right can be exercised, but why not stay if the others offer you a good deal? Pooling together makes everyone stronger. The unsuccessful Scottish referendum and the successful referendum in South Sudan would measure up to the Leninist norm. RISD, or RSD without balls (read teeth is you are the sensitive type), is just a demand for greater devolution of power and at most federalism. The TNA had no choice but to opt for that mask. I think it was right; to fight another day you have to live for another day.
Successful federal states are the USA, India, China, Germany, Malaysia, and for that matter de facto the United Kingdom today. Actually not just successful, these are very successful in that there is stability of the national constitutional structure as opposed to Sri Lanka’s endless bickering, rioting, racial hatred, a 30-year civil war and three constitutions. The pending fourth will be the nastiest on many counts, so my dear countrymen of all nationalities and faiths, gird up your loins, the worst is still to come. It will be 20 times worse than 20A. Is the country also staring down the barrel of a gun?
The Tamils have been plain fed-up with all governments since 1956, fed-up with Sinhala-Buddhism, discrimination, de facto Sinhala Only to this day, continued military occupation without justification, robbery of land by the army and navy and so on. They have a long list of grievances, and many if not most of the whinges are justified. This state of affairs cannot go on and if it does “When will the next Prabaharan make an appearance”? This is the suicidal option; the Thamil Eelam door has been slammed shut.
Sumanthiran declared in parliament that if the government and the Sinhalese rule out devolution of power and a reasonable degree of self-administration, then the matter of “external self-determination” a non-provocative way of saying demand for a separate Tamil state, is bound to surface. A second civil war will again end in disaster and defeat, but it will also inflict as much destruction on the whole country as the first one did. The day Prabaharan decided to spit in India’s eye and murder Rajiv Gandhi he killed Thamil Eelam at the same time. If separatism rises again no one can say how the chips will fall nor how India will respond a second time. For heaven’s sake isn’t all this obvious to every Sinhalese?
I simply cannot understand why the Sinhala-Buddhist majority does not cut a deal with the Tamils and the Muslims and lay this demon to rest. Are they afraid that a Tamil-Muslim de facto federal unit will do better than the Sinhalese unit(s)? What does it matter if California, Michigan, Kerala or Punjab pulls ahead of other federal units? That is in the nature of things and sometimes it inspires others to put their shoulder to the mill with added effort. Today we have the sickliest government in our post-independence history and an economy that has never been as legless as now.
The TNA-GTF conference with the American State Department in November brought all this into the open. But Washington (I don’t know about New Delhi) will be reluctant to be drawn into these small-change issues unless big dividends on the China and Indian Ocean strategic front are factored in. The Gotabaya regime will have to be very stupid to place itself in the ross-hairs of Biden’s current human-rights democratic rights double-barrelled crusade. Assuming that the regime is not quite that stupid, most likely the Americans will not interfere but stand aside and watch Sri Lanka and the incumbent regime rot.
Jambu / December 8, 2021
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Dinuk / December 8, 2021
KD: Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen, exposed how Social Media is being used by external actors to spread ethnic and religious violence in Myanmar and Ethiopea
.The CIA which has its operatives all over South Asia is now stoking a Muslim-Buddhist “Clash of Civilizations” in the region. The Killing of a Sri Lankan in Pakistan must be read in this wider GEOPOLITICAL CONTEXT.
The current media frenzy, particularly Social Media about the sad fate of Priyantha Kumara and the bringing of his body to Sri Lanka is very much like the stories that circulated in 1983 after the LTTE killed 13 solders in Jaffna and their bodies bought to Colombo after which the 1983 riots happened, or the stories after the Easter attacks that Muslim women were buying white cloths to attack Buddhist temples!
This is part of the Divide, destabilize, rule and loot project, now that the Covid-19 bioterrorism of the US Deepstate is known they are back at their old games of Divide. Distract, Rule and Loot to reboot colonialism and Make America and her White Anglo Saxon and EU partner’s great again and sink the rise of Asia led by China as the growth hub of the world. The Empire with 800 military bases whose biggest export is weapons of destruction is a pathetic, deeply divided and racist Rouge State which claims to love minorities and Human Rights!
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Nathan / December 8, 2021
A most salient sentence in the article is:
The day Prabaharan decided to spit in India’s eye and murder Rajiv Gandhi he killed Thamil Eelam at the same time.
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Do I grieve the death of Eelam. No. But, I grieve the way it was forced to die.
The treachery of the man who put many an immature youth into premature death was abominable.
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soma / December 8, 2021
Nathan
And the men promoted him worldwide as the sole representative of Tamils??
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Soma
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Native Vedda / December 8, 2021
soman
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“And the men promoted him worldwide as the sole representative of Tamils?”
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Actually, the state promoted him as sole representative of Tamils when Premadasa had good business with him and refused to listen to other parties, Mahinda exclusively bought services from him, ….
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Native Vedda / December 8, 2021
Nathan
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The idea of Tamil Eelam was dead on 14 May 1976.
It was kept on an artificial life support machine by Hindia, Premadasa, Mahinda, USA, UK, .Diaspora, Sinhala/Buddhist Racists …. above all by the Sri Lankan armed forces.
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The world pulled the plug on 16 May 2009.
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In between the cost of keeping Tamil Eelam on life support machine was too high.
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Who benefited from keeping the brain dead body sort of alive for 33 years?
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The war mongers, the analysts, the Sinhala/Buddhist corrupt politicians, the suppliers to armed forces, corrupt state functionaries, merchants of death, …. LTTE bagmen, benamies, arms dealers, ……
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By the way Shavendra and Kamala Gunaratne are still fighting the war.
Pathetic.
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Nathan / December 9, 2021
Native Vedda,
There is a whole lot of other dimensions to our long political struggle.
There was nothing wrong in the 1976 declaration, brought about by the 1972 Constitution. The declaration was a necessity of the time.
You and I and the rest of us can be faulted for how a legitimate struggle was brought to its ignoble ending.
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old codger / December 10, 2021
“Are they afraid that a Tamil-Muslim de facto federal unit will do better than the Sinhalese unit(s)? “
Exactly. In a non- federal set-up, one community can hog 95% of state employment, the high priests of only one religion are worshipped as founts of wisdom, while the other communities are assigned to produce much of the national wealth.
Pre-1956, the ones who produced the wealth had the jobs too. Someone like Nandasena wouldn’t have got into the Army pre-1956.
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soma / December 8, 2021
MY DEAR EALAMIST BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
I see you are in an upbeat mood following the success of your political class in engaging the US as a replacement for India. No time is more opportune than now with the economy in dire straits and people on the threshold of starvation, your political class have rightly calculated. As has always been they are very intelligent. And our government running around with the begging bawl.
Now comes the proverbial elephant in the room.
Please understand that this ostritch game your political class have been playing in regard to the +50% of Tamils in Sinhala majority provinces will soon be exposed when discussions start with the US. They will not be able to bamboozle the international community anymore with various permutations and combinations of Tamil Nation, Tamil People, Tamil Speaking People, Ealam Tamils, Eazam Tamils etc without defining unambiguously who exactly they are and in which parts of the country they live. They will study the demographic distribution across the island in order to formulate a scheme to accommodate your demand. In the process they will soon discover that majority of Tamils consider Sinhala Buddhist society as supirior to their own and find themselves stuck in an additional psychological quigmire to contend with.
There is only one way forward for you.
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GATAM / December 8, 2021
Muslims are a distinct ethnic group. Muslim is not Tamil. Just look at the census.
Trinco and Ampara districts are Muslim majority districts.
Sinhalas also have grievances and aspirations. They too must be met. Otherwise there will be another 1983 times 100.
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Native Vedda / December 8, 2021
GATAM
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“Sinhalas also have grievances and aspirations. They too must be met. Otherwise there will be another 1983 times 100.”
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I do agree irrespective of race religion region most people have grievances and aspirations.
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Why couldn’t the majority which has been forming the government since 1948, formulating their one sided policies, imposing stated and unstated policies on rest of the people, recruit its own functionaries, …. armed forces, ……….. attain all their aspirations and solve their grievances.
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“They too must be met.”
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It should have been met however under a racist, bigoted, greedy and parochially constructed state, which does not have the ability to produce a large enough economy when shared equitably each and everyone is guaranteed a larger share.
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With narrowly defined racist nation one cannot produce larger economy hence each get smaller share or none at all.
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This is basic political economy.
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Hope you understand and explain to the Hitler loving Asgiria.
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Rohan25 / December 9, 2021
This is what Jinnah, the founder of Islamic Pakistan, whose grandfather belonged to an orthodox Hindu community also stated. ” Being a Muslim is an ethnicity “. Jinnah’s grandfather was a faithful Hindu, Premjibhai Meghji Thakkar. In the early 19th century, Premji, who joined a fishing business, was forced to convert to Islam after his excommunication by the Hindu orthodoxy. His family members opposed this conversion and tried to get him re-converted. He stated the Indian Muslims are a distinct ethnic group and need a nation of their own and the British and America, fearing Soviet influence in future independent India, granted his wish. What a load of bullshit. Islam is a religion and a race or ethnicity. There is nothing common between a Baluch, Pathan, Punjabi, or Sindhi Muslim with a Muslim from Kerala or Tamil Nadu. Pakistan itself broke on ethnic lines and the eastern portion became Bangladesh, proving ethnicity, language and culture are much stronger than religion. Even in modern Pakistan the there is great friction. The Baluch want their own state and so do the Sindhi and even the ethnic Kashmiris from the so-called Azad Kashmir. ( Free Kashmir) . They are sick to death with this Punjabi/Pathan domination in their own
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Rohan25 / December 9, 2021
The Sri Lankan Muslims or Moors as call themselves are descended from immigrant ethnic Indian Tamil, largely low caste Hindus, who converted to Islam. This is a fact Historical records and now even DNA has proven that they are indeed South Asian converts to Islam and not from Western Asia or North Africa, as they love to claim. This means they are Tamil from other religions. Hindu, Jain Christian who converted to Islam. There is a little bit of Arab and Sinhalese in a small minority of them but this is minuscule and this still does not make them Arabs or Sinhalese but Tamils. They are Tamils by ethnicity and Muslims by religion. Descendants of Arabs and Sinhalese will not be speaking Tamil, even deep in the heart of the Sinhalese homelands and following South Indian Tamil Islamic customs. They will be either speaking Arabic or Sinhalese, just like the way Sinhalese who converted to Christianity do. A minority of them migrated to the island around the late 14Th century, after the fall of the Madurai Delhi Sultanate, and started settlements along the then Tamil northwest coast. Later many of them fled to the Tamil east as refugees, after the arrival of the Portuguese, who started to persecute them. However, the vast majority of them migrated to the island from South India, during the early British colonial era.
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Rohan25 / December 9, 2021
They are not in a majority anywhere. In Trincomalee, they are around 37% and the Tamils who were a majority until very recently in this district, due to large-scale killing, ethnic cleansing, and deliberate settlement of outside Sinhalese, are 36% and occupy the coastal belt including Trincomalee town. Muslims predominate in the Mutur enclave. Sinhalese in the interior. If all the displaced Tamil refugees from Trincomalee internal and from South India return. Tamils will become over 40% of Trincomalee. This is why the authorities are not keen on their return. In Amparai the Muslims are 40% and not a majority again. Only predominate along the coast from Kalmunai to Sainthamaruthu, A distance of 30 miles. The Sinhalese are also 40% and predominate in the interior, just like in Trincomalee. The indigenous Tamils of the east, who are the real owners of the east, are still the largest population in the east, despite all the killing and ethnic cleansing. These Tamil Muslims arrived in the east, as refugees fleeing Portuguese persecution. They claimed refuge in Tamil east, as fellow Tamils and were given refuge there as fellow Tamils, irrespective of their religion.
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Pandi Kutti / December 9, 2021
Muslims are a religious identity and not an ethnic group. Please learn the difference between religious identity and an ethnic grou[p. All Muslims are not Thamizh as Muslims can belong to any race or ethnicity. However, Sri Lankan Muslims or Moors are definitely Tamil by ethnicity, just like the Tamil Nadu Muslims, who are their parent population. There may be some element of Arab, Persian Sinhalese. in them but the predominant and overwhelming origin is Thamizh Dravidian from South India. DNA has also proven this. Prior to the Arabization craze, the only thing that differentiated the island’s Muslims from the Thamizh is their religion. A prominent eastern
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Pandi Kutti / December 9, 2021
A prominent eastern province Muslim politician stated this. He stated that there is no difference between the Thamizh and Muslims, especially in the east, other than their religion. Other than that they share the same language, ethnic origin, and culture. Muslims are only around 35-37% in Trincomalee and are largely confined to the Mutur enclave. This is not a majority. Trincomalee is an ancient Eezham Thamizh district, where many ancient historic Saivite temples like Thirukeetheswaram and many ancient Thamizh Buddhists viharas exist. It was part of the Thamizh Jaffna kingdom or at least most of it was. Thamizh was the majority in this district until the 1970s and still around 34% and live along the strategic coastal belt and Trincomalee city. A lot of Eezham Thamizh refugees now living in India are from this district. Similarly Thamizh Muslim are only 40% of Amparai and this is also not a majority. The Thamizh Muslims living in the east are not native to the east but are of South Indian origin and arrived in the east, a few centuries ago as refugees. fleeing Portuguese persecution and killing. They have no claim to a homeland here or anywhere on the island, as they never had one but have the right to live in dignity and peace anywhere on the island.
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Pandi Kutti / December 9, 2021
After the fall of the LTTE, certain Islamic groups aided and abetted by certain local and foreign organizations, now think the EEzham Thamizh are easy targets and have to aggressively claim for an Islamic homeland in the ancient Thamizh east for their immigrant South Indian origin community, that arrived in the east as refugees. Strangely will not do the same for Muslim majority areas in the Chingkalla south, where 72% of them live. Many Thamizh thinks this is a deliberate move by certain interested parties to muddy the waters and deny Eezham Thamil justice and steal as much as possible of their land, in the name of a separate Islamic identity and homeland, that had never existed.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / December 9, 2021
Oh yes, lots of inner-city ghettoes in the UK and in Europe now have an immigrant Muslim majority, originating from South Asia, North Africa, Western Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Many are now the second and third generation. Why don’t you also urge them to claim for an Islamic homeland in these inner-city western European ghettoes, in the name of Islam and an imagined Muslim distinct ethnic group? Other than the Malays and Gujarati Bohra, both are extremely minuscule in numbers. 99% of the Sri Lankan Muslims, speak the same language Tamil, followed the same type of Indian Islam, until Wahabbism was introduced a few decades ago and belong to the same ethnic group. Tamil. Even the part Arab or whatever amongst them will not be even 2% and these people too have a predominant Tamil Dravidian ancestry from South India, like the rest. Therefore it was very easy for them to use their religion, to create another identity from the rest of the Tamils. In other countries, the local Muslims will belong to different races, ethnicities and speak different languages, therefore cannot create a unique Muslim ethnicity or identity, as all these disparate races, ethnicities and identities are Muslim by religion. Eg. Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan, India to name a few.
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soma / December 8, 2021
contd…
Organise an intensive campaign under the leadership of Wingeshwarn and Sumathitharan directed at all Tamil speaking people presently living outside North East encouraging to relocate themselves into the would-be Homeland.
Only when such an effort begin showing results the Sinhalese and the international community will understand the seriousness of your purpose and things begin moving in the desired direction. Tamils should drop this inferiory complex in assuming that Sinhala Buddhist society is superior to their own.
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Soma
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Rohan25 / December 9, 2021
Soma 51% of the Tamil people live in the north and east. 70% of the island’s indigenous Tamils live in the north and east and 90% of the remainder in greater Colombo. Most of them living in Colombo have very close ties and even own lands in the north and east and will have no problem relocating, Only a small minority of them will not. This means even the Sinhalese will have to leave the north and east as per what you state and there are more Sinhalese living in the north and east than Eelam Tamils living down south. 90% of the Tamils living in the south are Indian origin estate Tamils, who have always lived there, as this is where they were settled by the British. Even here, the vast majority of them live in the Nuwara Eliya district, where they have a 75% majority. This district was more or less created by them from virgin jungles. This is why you hardly find any Sinhalese there. This is their district and they have every right to claim this as their homeland. If Gatam claim ancient ethnically cleansed Tamil lands for Muslims who arrive in the east as refugees with a 37% and 40% population, why cannot Tamils claim a district where they are in a 75% majority and was created from the virgin jungle by them.
‘
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Ajith / December 9, 2021
Rohan25,
You have made a valuable contribution with the statistical facts to shut the mouth of Soma who always tried to mislead with a threat of relocating Tamils in this forum.
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soma / December 10, 2021
Ajith
Why do you consider Sinhala Buddhist is superior to your own?
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Soma
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Mahila / December 10, 2021
Rohan25,
Add to that, the contribution made by these “Tamils of recent origin” (IToRO)or ‘Indian Tamils’ (all Tamils are of Indian origin from different parts of india, at different times, including the ‘so called’ Sinhalese from western Ghats for cinnamon farms and ‘Thambi Mudalese’ from Kerala).
These IToRO, who have made a significant and unmatched contribution in placing the ‘Ceylon Tea’ from then Ceylon, now Sri lanka
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soma / December 10, 2021
Manila
Some Tamils are as ancient as the Sinhalese, some arrived during the Dutch and others during the British.
Some Tamils practise Hinduism as their religion, some practise Islam and others Christianity.
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I am no historian – open to be corrected if wrong.
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Soma
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Native Vedda / December 10, 2021
soman
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“I am no historian – open to be corrected if wrong.”
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Nor am I.
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“………………… some arrived during the Dutch and others during the British.”
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Most converted to Christianity, Buddhism and Sinhala/Buddhism (whatever that maybe).
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If you are wise/humble enough to subject yourself for a DNA test, you will find yourself closely related to Wimal Weerawansa, Nalin de Silva, Gnanasara, …. Kamala Gunaratne, …… Hitler loving Saffron clad Warakagoda Thero, …..Seeman of South India, finally to public racist Anagarika Homeless Dharmapala.
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Forget Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims, …. South Indian, ….. however remember genetically you are in this together.
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soma / December 12, 2021
I am not no geneticist either.
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You are seeking a political solution for whom?
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Soma
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Native Vedda / December 12, 2021
soman
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“You are seeking a political solution for whom?”
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Actually I am seeking political solution for no one, though I am looking for psychological treatment for raging Stupid Sinhala/Buddhists and their Tamil speaking brothers. If possible I am also looking for ways and means to deport all those descendants of Kallathonie converts.
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In any case you are rest assured Eagle Blind Eye will catch the first boat along with people like you, back to your ancestral land.
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Mahila / December 10, 2021
“Part missed out due to accidental entry”
Rohan25,
Add to that, the contribution made by these “Tamils of recent origin” (IToRO) or ‘Indian Tamils’ (all Tamils are of Indian origin from different parts of India, at different times, including the ‘so called’ Sinhalese from Western Ghats for Cinnamon farms in South and ‘Thambi Mudale’s’ from Kerala).
Colombo and Western province, should be thankful for the services rendered by the predominant descendant of “Thambi Mudale’s”, becoming the first elected President of Sri Lanka, from the Colombo Chetties’ lineage, they should have the right to reside too in WP as theirs. His contribution to SL and following to date is without par! All subsequent Presidents’ follow with glee!!!
These IToRO, who have made a significant and unmatched contribution in placing the ‘Ceylon Tea’ from then Ceylon, now Sri Lanka in the world map, as the foremost Tea producer and exporter.
Tea Exports of Ceylon/Sri Lanka is one of the foremost Export and foreign exchange earner to date.
So they deserve the rightful place to call Nuwara Eliya “as their own”, no doubt, now with predominant tourist trade!!
Some parts of other district of the Central province too have IToRO predominant areas
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soma / December 10, 2021
Rohan25
Are you sure your opinion corresponds with that of TNA?
Are we making a mistake dealing with TNA?
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Soma
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Native Vedda / December 12, 2021
soman
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“Are we making a mistake dealing with TNA?”
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Forget TNA for a second.
Tell us when did you get anything right from 1948 in this island?
Please give us some examples.
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Mahila / December 10, 2021
Soma,
Ref,
“leadership of Wingeshwarn (Wigneswaran – Nanayakkara’s in-law) and Sumathitharan (Sumanthiran – leading the HR battle)”
Is it lack of education, etiquette, or ethics of a ‘great knowledgeable mind’?
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soma / December 10, 2021
Mahila
Are you referring to me?!!!
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Soma
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Mahila / December 10, 2021
Soma,
Ref,
“without defining unambiguously who exactly they are and in which parts of the country they live. They will study the demographic distribution across the island in order to formulate a scheme to accommodate your demand”
Fantasy of a fertile but infantile brain.
(Example) California, Arizona, New Mexico were based on Spanish speaking population at federation. No other community could live there, of Irish, English, Italian and Dutch origins.
Italians confined to NY and NJ states?!
Hawaii has other American ethnicities than Pacific indigenous natives?!!
That, is not US Federation! Worlds’ Foremost, FREE country
Definitely not, if you look at the demography and free movement accorded in that country.
Flights crisscrossing the entire nation like a giant tight knit mesh!!!
Why? Who uses? Only Tourists to US? NO, Gobbledygook!!!!
That is not US Federation! Definitely not, if you look at the demography and free movement in that country, with flights crisscrossing the entire nation like a tight knit mesh!!!!!
Nor in Switzerland, The UK, or even in India.
Kid yourself; Not others!!!!!
World is contracting due to the web availability and 24 hour news, except those ‘Deprived Poor’ SL.
Misinformation for the 6.9 million for your ulterior motives!!!!!!
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soma / December 8, 2021
So RSID was a subterfuge to stay alive!!
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Professor KD is proposing to drop all pretentions and get right back to Vadukodai days.
He is happy that the Tamil leadership have seized the right moment in economic doom staring at the people.
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Like all Tamils he too is quite unemotional about the murder of a gentle man , leader of 1.2 billion people with 14 innocent people but look at it as a ‘ strategical mistake’.
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One can see through his sheep’s skin.
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Soma
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soma / December 8, 2021
“I simply cannot understand why the Sinhala-Buddhist majority does not cut a deal with the Tamils and the Muslims and lay this demon to rest. Are they afraid that a Tamil-Muslim de facto federal unit will do better than the Sinhalese unit(s)? What does it matter if California, Michigan, Kerala or Punjab pulls ahead of other federal units? That is in the nature of things and sometimes it inspires others to put their shoulder to the mill with added effort”
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Aiyo saami!
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I thought Maxists are experts in ‘ historical analysis’.
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Soma
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SJ / December 9, 2021
S
This essay has more than its fair share of daft remarks.
Today, as a century ago, one’s Marxist credentials are best assessed on one’s stand on imperialism.
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GATAM / December 8, 2021
The only lasting solution is to split the island into 3 mono ethnic nations and relocate people based on ethnicity.
Until that is done there will be no solution. One tribe will rule all tribes. Just accept it.
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SJ / December 9, 2021
1 / 3 + map?
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soma / December 10, 2021
By whom?
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Soma
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srikrish / December 8, 2021
It was not TNA, But Anton Balasingham who had differentiated between External and internal self-determination.
TNA had at that time played a low- key politics in fear of LTTE, interested only in being members of Parliament.
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Plato / December 8, 2021
…………I simply cannot understand why the Sinhala-Buddhist majority does not cut a deal with the Tamils and Muslims and lay the demon to rest………
Prof. David asks in exasperation.
Simple! For the Sinhala-Buddhist entity to survive, first the Tamils and now the Muslims need to be check-mated. I have often heard politicians harp on the lines…..Jaathiya and Aagamaya. Economy, takes a secondary slot.
Besides those 6.9 Million voters voted in an EX; Colonel in the Army as Head of State to check-mate the minorities and push them up the wall. A new constitution perhaps may reflect those aspirations.
But Robert Burns thinks otherwise…………..
………..The best laid plans of Mice and Men go awry………
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Plato / December 8, 2021
As far as the TNA is concerned they are not on the Internal or External matters but are typically caught between Scylla and Charybdis in true Greek Mythology style………..
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SJ / December 8, 2021
The concept of self determination evolved in a context of colonial rule and domination of smaller countries by European powers.
What were once considered individual countries like India and Indonesia in the colonial context were really colonial creations, and applying blindly the notion of self determination as right to secession can lead to chaos.
Self determination as proposed by Lenin was not about splitting but about uniting on a voluntary basis as equals. But many narrow nationalists equated self determination to secession.
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There is a new form of national oppression that came about after the end of colonial rule. The post-colonial national question is rather complex. One country that addressed it successfully was Nicaragua under Sandinista rule.
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Not only recognized ‘nationalities’ with some kind of definable territory but also other national minorities deserve justice. Indigenous people need recognition as a nationality or national minority with territorial rights.
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Addressing the post-colonial national question is serious business and needs serious thought.
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srikrish / December 9, 2021
SJ
Marxism, Leninism and Stalinism had a long time ago been thrown into the dustbin of history, but self – determination survives and still evolving because of its relevance to democracy and human rights
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SJ / December 10, 2021
Search the bin carefully before you get out.
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SJ / December 8, 2021
As for some reckless remarks:
RISD is not a TULF-TNA invention. TULF-TNA lacks the imagination to think of something that crafty.
RISD is a UNGA invention whereby member states of the UN could protect their majoritarian domination by denying RSD to minority nationalities.
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The TNA-GTF conference with the State Department was a repeat of a practical joke played on Tamil voters during the Obama years. It has zero clout, as everyone who played knows.
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“Successful federal states are the USA, India, China, Germany, Malaysia”
China is not federal. India is a union not federation. Germany and USA are not really federations of nation states in the way we understand nations today. Separately administered territories were brought together in the course of ‘nation building’ and neither can address its ethnic issues. Malaysia was created to ensure ‘ethnic Malay’ domination.
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“The day Prabaharan decided to spit in India’s eye and murder Rajiv Gandhi he killed Thamil Eelam at the same time”
Really? Had the LTTE spared RG’s life would we have got TE?
The LTTE lost out because it rubbed the Empire the wrong way.
But there was no guarantor for TE.
Smart remarks are interesting to listen to but can do with some substance.
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Mallaiyuran / December 9, 2021
” I simply cannot understand why the Sinhala-Buddhist majority does not cut a deal with the Tamils and the Muslims and lay this demon to rest. “ Professor Kumar is exasperating at how things got tightened during 12 years of the war’s end. This is not what he expected when proposing Single Issue Common Candidate. Still a lot of arrogance is left in him, so he is reluctant to differentiate between an electrical grid analysis and a political analysis. If so, this is not what would have been his prediction at then end of a kindergarten story: “But Washington (I don’t know about New Delhi) will be reluctant to be drawn into these small-change issues unless big dividends on the China and Indian Ocean strategic front are factored in. This is a naïve but tricky sentence. He just doesn’t want to say that “Washington will not engage in this” So he is putting a condition and he lets the readers to feel that nothing of this can happen but only if the earth starts to roll westward and the Sun appears in the West in the morning. What do say about an essay like this while the author laughing at TNA as if it is only trying to save it back, but has no policy of its own.
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Mallaiyuran / December 9, 2021
He is bringing Lenin’s story only to show his feeling of Washing which (as per him), has no understanding of politics but has antagonism only, against China. Let us finish this with one incident. During and after war Old Rowdy had said when he is finished with Leader Piraba, Tamils will get 13A+. After the war the Old King said that there is only one race in Lankawe & he will not make any pact with anybody (to remind Sinhalese- Chelva pacts). So, any possibility of negotiating with him came to an end. TNA tried to take the case with India on 13A. So, India pressed for an NPC election and a start for negotiation. TNA left with Old Rowdy to come out with a proposal, but considering the development took place in Mangala Munasinghe’s draft, CBK & Neelan’s Draft 2000 & Professor Tissa Vidharana’s all Party conference’s conclusions. But not doing anything, after negotiating for two years, Old Rowdy closed the meeting, even not informing TNA. TNA complained to India and Krishna, Indian FAM, came to resolve it. But after eating Royal Pukkai in Colombo, he went to Jaffna and told TNA that they must accept anything GOSL gives (but that was nothing). That time Ambassador Blake was working on taking Lankawe to the UNHRC.
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Mallaiyuran / December 9, 2021
TNA told him about the Krishna position. He replied, “Any solution must be acceptable to both Sinhalese and Tamils”. I know that type of comments is very hard to understand by everybody. So, we leave that subject. That means, it is not a solution Lankawe gives to Tamils, but both agree for a solution on equal parity.
The need of the hour is not these talks come out of people with heartburns, but SJV, Navaratnam, Vanniyasigham like politically honest leaders. Sampanthan Aiyya is imprisoned by associate Tamil political leaders like the way Jayalalitha was encircled in her last days by Shashikala, Nadarajan, Paneer Selvam, Edapadi etc. Sampanthar is forced by associates only to be dependent on India. International Community cannot count on that type of person. Leader Piraba has introduced the problem to the International Community. Now somebody has to get the IC to get involved in this. China is trying to get a monopoly in the international waters of the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. India’s mood suggests it is not going to work with IC to keep the Indian Ocean & South China sea waters monopoly free. It seems India is trying to control the IC from the Indian ocean first and then it can dislodge China which is already in Indian ocean.
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Mallaiyuran / December 9, 2021
India has no interest in getting South China sea free. While for a long time when India was warned of China’s String of Perl in the Indian Ocean, Congress leaders ignored Western Analysts’ warnings & contented to trade counterfeit money with Pakistan and China. Still India is not ready to take on Pakistan government or China, as much as it wants to take on local Muslims. India cancelled the Section 370 to start new wave of violence with Local Muslims instead of redeeming Pakistan consumed Kashmir. India seems to believe that it can monopolize Indian Ocean, like China doing with South China sea, if only it controls the local Muslims. Last decades, India only negotiated with China to get back the parts of the border area aggressed by China, but never fought straight forward and chased the enemy forever.
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Mallaiyuran / December 9, 2021
With this naïve attitude, India hopes to take over the Sinhalese, the same way it did with the Eastern Kashmir. It has no idea at all about the power of Lankawe’s Aappa Diplomacy. For 12 years India is calling TNA for meeting. But never honored any of those invitations. The US called them two times & both times they met with US officials. India’s way of doing is: if Lankawe feels weak it will run to India for help. India will help Lankawe and ignore Tamils. Once Lankawe gets the help and restores its position, it turns back and kicks on the butt of India. Then India will send an Invitation to TNA to meet but will never honor it. The Lankawe fooling India and in turn India fooling TNA is going to be a never stopping game. The only way to stop India – Lankawe cheat accord is going to Hague against the war criminals with America- Britain-Canada-EU help and bring back the CFA 2002 & SLMM. Then we can talk about Leninist & TNA’s internal-external things.
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Plato / December 9, 2021
Prof; Kumar David spent his salad days,after leaving S.T.C. Mt.lavinia with the teachings of Lenin………
He later became more or less a full-time LSSPer,and at Peradeniya where he was an Academic, for quite awhile,,he was known to be a leading member of the LSSP.
Perhaps, now in his not so young days, he must be still trying to figure out how and why
Dr.Colvin.R. De.Silva, the Architect of the Republican Constitution and a doctrinaire Trotskyite was tamed into an Ecclesiastic Enthusiast.
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Punchi Point / December 9, 2021
Tamils do not have the right to self-determination of any kind in any part of this island. Tamils are a relatively recent diaspora of Tamilnadu, and as such, Tamilnadu is where self-determination aspirations of the Tamils must be realized. Every Tom-Dick-and-Harry hyphenated recently defined nations like the 3 different sort of Tamils here (i.e. so-called Ceylon/Srilankan/pEelam/non-plantation Tamils, Plantation Tamils and Muslims) seeking self-determination and separate states, is going to destabilize regions and the world.
The solution to the Tamil problem is that Tamils are given the right to return to Tamilnadu. India denied even the Plantation Tamils their right to return. This issue must be taken up in the UN as soon as possible and referred to the International Court of Justice firstly to get a ruling whether the Tamils have a right to self-determination in this island, then depending on that ruling, international legal assistance must be sought to make India give back the Tamils their right to return to Tamilnadu. Tamils need not return to India, but if they wish they will have the right to return to Tamilnadu. This way Tamils’ aspiration of self-determination can be realized without creating endless wars here like in Israel/Palestine.
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Punchi Point / December 9, 2021
The Sinhalese people have suffered enough at the hands of the Tamils – Sinhalese have been massacred and ethnic cleansed from the north and east by Tamils. Tamils claim that they are being discriminated and that they do not have equal rights, but Tamils have exactly the same rights as Sinhalese. Tamils claim that it was discriminatory to make Sinhala the sole official language, but there have been provisions in the official language acts for the Tamil language, which even go beyond rights given to minority languages in international law. Tamils must understand that there’s no room for the linguistic parity Tamils seek in international law.
Its totally unjust that the Tamils want to break up this island, which they have only a very superficial relationship to and hardly can call a homeland in the true sense. Whatever said and done, the Sinhalese people’s right to self-determination in the entire island is irrevocable, and there will never ever be peace here if any form of undue self-determination rights are given to the Tamils, who are a recent diaspora of Tamilnadu and have all their history, culture and roots in Tamilnadu. Its totally UNJUST to the Sinhalese people.
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Mahila / December 10, 2021
Part II – Repatriation
3) “Then depending on that ruling, international legal assistance must be sought to make India give back the Tamils their right to return to Tamilnadu.”
Those SL in UK, Europe, USA, Australia, new Zealand also will have same thing applied for repatriation to SL, after work visa is over or on retirement, which they will have in all their splendour – like the Vistas of prosperity, Saubhakya Dekma, Viyathmaga, Eliya et all for just deserts!!
I mean escalating Food prices, lack of fertiliser, non-realisation of organic farming, pollution of surrounding sea bed, Gas explosions due non incorporation of Ethyl M in Gas bottles to detect pre-emptively gas leaks (circumvent $$ shortage for imports of Mercaptan), – Lives do not matter country, and to compensate for “White Vans”, R Bros Inc., style!
Or are R Bros Inc., averse to “Pungent Garlic smell”, when gas leaks?!
Who cares, anyway not the Kings!!
Happy days PP, seems good tidings are ahead, please venture out grasp with both hands!
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soma / December 10, 2021
Punchipoint
I have been always puzzled as to how the word ‘stateless’ being touted around to blame Sri Lanka.
It is India who made them stateless by refusing to accept their own country men.
However India later acknowledged their right to return to the motherlandand and signed Sirima-Shastri pact.
JRJ with the support of JVP scuttled the whole thing for electoral benefit.
Considering the slavish, miserable life these hapless people going through even at this stage India should grant dual citizenship to these Tamils and offer them a personal choice.
Additionally our government should allocate a small block of land for a house to each family in the North to live as equal citizens within an environment of their own language, religion and culture IF THEY WISH SO.
Unfortunately nothing terrifies a Tamil than the thought of living in a Tamil only enclave.
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Soma
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Native Vedda / December 12, 2021
soman
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“I have been always puzzled as to how the word ‘stateless’ being touted around to blame Sri Lanka.”
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You will understand when we redefine who the sons of this island are, and pass new citizenship Acts.
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Perhaps you should start packing your bags immediately. K Stalin the Tamilnadu chief minister seems very efficient. He will look after you well.
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Native Vedda / December 12, 2021
soman
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“I have been always puzzled as to how the word ‘stateless’ being touted around to blame Sri Lanka.”
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You will understand when we redefine who the sons of this island are, and pass new citizenship Acts.
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Perhaps you should start packing your bags immediately. K Stalin the Tamilnadu chief minister seems very efficient. He will look after you well.
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Mahila / December 10, 2021
“Part missed out due to accidental entry”
Rohan25,
Add to that, the contribution made by these “Tamils of recent origin” (IToRO) or ‘Indian Tamils’ (all Tamils are of Indian origin from different parts of India, at different times, including the ‘so called’ Sinhalese from Western Ghats for Cinnamon farms in South and ‘Thambi Mudale’s’ from Kerala).
Colombo and Western province, should be thankful for the services rendered by the predominant descendant of “Thambi Mudale’s”, becoming the first elected President of Sri Lanka, from the Colombo Chetties’ lineage, they should have the right to reside too in WP as theirs. His contribution to SL and following to date is without par! All subsequent Presidents’ follow with glee!!!
These IToRO, who have made a significant and unmatched contribution in placing the ‘Ceylon Tea’ from then Ceylon, now Sri Lanka in the world map, as the foremost Tea producer and exporter.
Tea Exports of Ceylon/Sri Lanka is one of the foremost Export and foreign exchange earner to date.
So they deserve the rightful place to call Nuwara Eliya “as their own”, no doubt, now with predominant tourist trade!!
Some parts of other district of the Central province too have IToRO predominant areas
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Mahila / December 10, 2021
PP,
Really “Punchi Mind” to cast a solution for a wide spectrum issue?!
Your ref,
1) “The solution to the Tamil problem is that Tamils are given the right to return to Tamilnadu.”
Before that the clan from Western Ghats, Sri Wijeya Empire time imports for aiding SL Kings and Cinnamon cultivation approximately 500 – 600 must be repatriated first and forthwith to India.
2) “India denied even the Plantation Tamils their right to return. This issue must be taken up in the UN as soon as possible and referred to the International Court of Justice firstly to get a ruling whether the Tamils have a right to self-determination in this island”
You got the best out of them for 200+ years to grow Tea, Rubber to become the 2 foremost exports and for them to be now shipped out as non-entities?!
You think that the sleepy natives, who could not attend muster at 4-5 am in plantations were the reason these Indian Tamils of Recent Origin (IToRO) were brought in by the British imperialists, have now come of “Age and maturity”, to perform duties instead?
Great Hopes Punchi P.
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Mallaiyuran / December 11, 2021
Mahila ,
Please clean all your Imperialist- Colonialist’s tea bushes. We need to start real farming with Ganja and Yucca using China Hunu. We don’t need anything of imperialists’ reminiscence.
– by shadows of JOU Saddampy, Punchi, Somu, Eagle…
(Dr. WAW has mentioned somewhere that it may too late now to seek IMF’s help. If that assessment is correct, now there no way to avoid a famine in April as predicted by Dr. (Ms) Meththika Vithanage. Now Ganapathi Pillai says that there is no dollar to import crude so his trying to thatfor Rupees. Modaya Ganpath Pillai is truly comical. JVP Hndunetti predicts in new year all Island will be in dark even without kerosene. The nighttime burglaries in the North East will be promoted to Broad Daylight Events in the new year.)
Viva Lankawe! Long Live Nation’s Father Don Stephen’s fame!!
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Mallaiyuran / December 11, 2021
“The nighttime burglaries in the North East will be promoted to Broad Daylight Events in the new year. “ Yesterday, I just wrote this casually and forgot about it. I hear today that is what happened in a jewelry shop in Colombo. My guess is that is not co-incidental. That is the trend. These shop raids are many times done by Rapist – Army – Police teams, rather than by hungry rowdies. .
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Native Vedda / December 12, 2021
Punchi Point
Punchi Brain
Punchi Willi
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“The solution to the Tamil problem is that Tamils are given the right to return to Tamilnadu. “
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Punchi brain
It is not a “Tamil Problem” but a “Sinhala/Buddhist” problem imposed on rest of the people, including Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, …..
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I have various solutions to your Sinhala/Buddhist problem which we can discuss it later.
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