19 March, 2024

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On The Present Situation Of The North Eastern Tamils

By C.V. Wigneswaran

Justice C.V. Wigneswaran MP

Someone asked me; How do you view the present situation of the North Eastern Tamils?

My response was; Two days ago a woman aged about 30 years was seen fallen on the road close to my residence here in Nallur. An elderly lady saw this and immediately brought it to the notice of my Police Security. Initially those around her including this elderly lady gave water & something to eat to revive her. They brought her to my residence. On inquiring we were told she was married, her husband was blind in one eye and he was unemployed. They had a one and a half year old child. She had set out to find employment that day. She had not eaten anything that morning. She had fainted. We helped her with adequate provisions and sent her home.

The elderly lady had spent all the money in her purse amounting to Rs.300/= on this woman. The fact that people around an affected fallen person came forward to jointly help her, speaks well of our people.

But this type of unfortunate incidents could happen more and more in the future. Thefts and robberies may increase. Especialy cycle thefts would take place in a big way.

Therefore there is an urgency on our part to plan for the future. Who is responsible for the present crisis, how they should be punished, how we could ease our long term financial impasse are questions to be relegated to the backseat and how we should solve the difficulties our people face today should be the question that should come over to the forefront.

We need to change the direction of the present crisis to our benefit. Already in 2018 our party had identified self rule, self reliance and self sufficiency as our goals. In politics we were to agitate for self rule, socially and individually we advised people to act from the standpoint of self reliance and economically we were to work towards self sufficiency. While working towards self rule politically, we decided to induce our people to stand on their own feet and work with self confidence and self reliance. We are requesting our people to reach self sufficiency economically in the North and East working with self confidence. What we said then is what all Parties are now repeating.

We Tamils have a heritage, a culture and history of our own. Poetess Auwaiyar said “Not to step into the garden of those who do not respect us, is worth a crore”. Thus it is a sheer waste of time to respect the Sinhala Governments who do not respect us and expect them to help us. We need to learn to protect us and nourish us ourselves. We should be ashamed to hold begging bowls before others. We should learn to respect our own selves and act with self reliance.

To be self reliant is to have faith in our selves and make or obtain all what we need ourselves. During the time of the Tigers we were self reliant. After the war we have got used to holding the begging bowl before others. The culture of today is to expect everything from others. What will the government give us, what will the NGOs give us, what will the Donors give us, what will the Diaspora provide us are our expectations. It is sad that generally we do not think how we should improve our lot ourselves.

If you ask me how I am viewing our present predicament I would say we all stand perplexed and immobile today. But we must come out of this stupor to engage ourselves in self reliant activities. We must allow the adverse circumstances that have engulfed us to make us think and act with self confidence towards success. We need to learn to act unitedly. For example four neighbours could fill their vehicles with fuel individually but each could take turns to give the other three lift in their vehicle thus saving fuel and building up camaraderie among neighbours.

Our youth of today, males and females, must learn not to waste their precious times but think of ways and means to discover or invent new gadgets and things. We must try to improve our organic fertilizers to get a yield of our crops comparable to those yielded by inorganic fertilizers. We could research into alternative and cheaper modes of travel and transport.

Necessity is the mother of invention. We have many a need today. How to fulfill our several needs using newer and modern means should be our concern. We must stop blaming the government and others for our adverse circumstances and start thinking as to how we should meet the challenges that have beset us.

I would therefore say I view our present situation as a God given opportunity to improve ourselves. As far as we are concerned we have built home gardens, we have planted on the excess land surrounding our office area and we have taken land on lease to cultivate many crops. Several months would elapse before our conditions improve. Therefore we must act now with determination to avert hunger, famine and diseases in the near future.

Do not allow your lands to remain fallow. Plant on them! Borrow from Banks even to convert your bare lands into fertile lands that provide succour to us.

Let me pray that the present impasse do help us to engage ourselves to work for self rule, self reliance and self sufficiency.

*Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, Member of Parliament, Jaffna District.

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  • 6
    3

    On The Present Situation Of The North Eastern Tamils

    The whole country have the same story.First eradicate hunger for all, A hungry man is not a free man he cannot hear

    • 17
      7

      Yes, the whole country is now only experiencing what the north and east Thamizh experienced for the past 30 years, a situation deliberately created by the Sri Lankan state and the occupying Chingkalla armed forces. Even now these occupying Chingkalla armed forces, under various excuses are trying to take over privately owned land from the Thamizh people. EG; Expanding base etc, helping rabid racist Chingkall Buddhist monks and extremists also take over private lands in Thamizh areas and convert or destroy ancient Hindu temples. Does this happen in the Chingkalla south? The answer is no. Thamizh now has to face both these problems all created by Chingkalla Buddhist racism and fascism.

      • 14
        7

        The South was very happy and did not care when this was happening in the northeast, and pretended not to know or ignored and gave overt and covert support to these actions. Now crying as they are also affected and hungry due to their racism and electing racism. You still cannot understand, so do most Chingkallams or pretend not to. The answer comes pat. Big deal, we are also now starving but your starvation was your own racist creation, ours is due to racism imposed by the state and an oppressive racist occupying military, that is deliberately seeing that the Thamizh will suffer. The IMF, India, the West, and Japan should make it a condition that this racist occupying Chingkalla armed forces should be vastly reduced and remain in the barracks and not harass or intimidate the Thamizh living in the north and east and make life hell for them. 300000 armed forces for a small third-world country, that even many first-world nations like Britain do not have and 80% of this stationed in the north and east and living on the fat of the land and Thamizh people’s lands.

        • 13
          6

          Allow us to live our lives peacefully from state-sponsored racism both from an occupying armed force, various government departments and rabid Buddhist monks, just like in the south. Trying to compare what is happening to us with the south and trivialize it. You created your problems by electing racists, who are supported by rabid Buddhist monks and an equally racist armed force, we are the victims of this. That is the difference.

          • 1
            1

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          • 1
            1

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          • 3
            8

            No chance Pandiya. Temple building, Buddha statutes, land grabs, army occupation will continue whoever is in Government. Once this rice, fuel, gas mess is over, it will be back to the usual, I promise . Enjoy scratching yourself in Hounslow.

            • 4
              1

              Hounslow must be good but I do not live there, however, know where it is. Looks like you are very familiar with the place. How is Sukkar Pappa and all the reindeer back in Lapland? The rice fuel gas mess that was caused by Chingkalla’s racism and racist policies will never be over, as other than India and China, who have their own agenda, other countries, the IMF, the World Bank and even the Islamic nations have more or less refused to give any substantial money or aid, even Putin’s Russia and have demanded that the Chingkallams, including the ones who have opportunistically run to the west like you/Jester to herd reindeer for their Sukkar Pappa, have to mend and reform from their racist thieving/swindling ways and learn to be good, honest and obey the rule of law.

              • 5
                0

                Forcibly acquiring Thamizh people’s land and using the armed forces, the Archaeological/forestry/land departments for land grabs, temple building, installing Buddha statues, and settling outside Chingkallams, will ensure that the island will keep on starting with no food, and other essentials. However, you do not care as you are living a nice life in the west thanks to Viking Sukkar Pappa and from the comfort in the west, want the Thamizh to be destroyed at any cost. Even if your fellow Chingkallams starve, this does not affect you. Oh by the way the descendants of most of the Thamizh invaders and immigrants from South India are not the Eezham Thamizh but most of the present-day Chingkallams. Most probably you. Now beating the anti-Thamizh drum and running down your South Indian Thamizh invader/immigrant ancestors. May this is the reason the Chingkallams are very good at destroying, as most of them are descended and are spawns of violence. The lion raping woman, the incest that followed, a rowdy, criminal thugh and friends banished and lastly descended from South Indian mercenaries, invaders and immigrants.

        • 0
          1

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      • 0
        2

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      • 2
        7

        I’m afraid Pandiya, it is far too late for that. Your track record over centuries has been one of invasion and destruction. Your racist and vicious nature is visible in all our ruined cities, both ancient and modern

  • 9
    4

    “During the time of the Tigers we were self reliant. “
    Is this true?
    During the war even in the LTTE controlled areas, the salaries of government servants and pensions were regularly paid.

    Even dry rations and medicine were provided.

    Merchants in the uncleared areas made use of facilities of ships hired by government to transport provisions and other items of their choice and sold them to the people.

    They of course were prohibited from bringing in items banned by the security forces such as pen torch batteries and other items that the security forces suspected of being used to manufacture bombs or other offensive weapons’ for use by tigers against the security forces.

    The International Red Cross ICRC, Sri Lanka Red Cross SLRC and UNHCR facilitated the supply of essential items during the conflict.

    The areas were not at all self reliant, but continued to be dependent on the government and international humanitarian organizations for their immediate needs..

    • 4
      9

      srikrish,
      “Even dry rations and medicine were provided.”
      —-
      LTTE carders grabbed food and medicine meant for civilians.

      Sinhala Buddhists may be the only people in the world who kept on feeding the enemy who went on massacring them.

      • 4
        3

        TUCO Eagle Eye

        “LTTE carders grabbed food and medicine meant for civilians.”

        So did the armed forces at BORDERS.

        “Sinhala Buddhists may be the only people in the world who kept on feeding the enemy who went on massacring them.”

        Your distant relatives, Tamil Nadu chief ministers allowed professional smugglers and LTTE to buy and smuggle items in Tamilnadu and take them back to Vanni, including medicine in addition to Sri Lankan armed forces smuggling essentials to Vanni for a fee, including batteries, boots, spare parts, …….

        Please observe:
        Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt.
        Abraham Lincoln
        or
        Mark Twain

    • 4
      3

      Extracted from this article as desirable objectives by our former Chief Minister Wigneswaran
      • Self rule, self reliance and self sufficiency are our goals.
      • While working towards self rule politically, we shall induce our people to stand on their own feet and work with self confidence and self reliance.

      Is it feasible? Is it attainable? Is it desirable? We will continue to be the frog in the well as we were since independence.

      This concept may go well with the characteristic of a Jaffna man- a peninsula mentality to every issue.

      Bu it is a discredited closed economy concept and leads to narrow parochial thinking and isolate our people from the rest of the country, from the rest of the world and get in the course of time self annihilated.

      What if all Sri Lankans irrespective of ethnic, religious and other differences jointly fight against corrupt governance that had brought us to this sorry plight and rescue our country and work towards prosperity and splendor.

      We are global citizens, Think globally and act locally.

    • 8
      5

      srikrish,
      True or false is no matter. We cannot forget the period of economic sanctions during the period of LTTE controlled areas. You may not have been in that country during that period how people managed when there was no electricity, no trains, no fertilizer, no soaps (only one or two allowed), no soya meat etc. You may not remember that the government have estimated that only 70000 people are living in Vanni in the last phase of war and supplies of medicine and dry rations and medicine was supplied when the actual number of people were 400, 000.
      It is not about self reliance but also about self management of resources that is important factor.
      Do you think that Sri Lanka is a self reliant country even now?
      You may be against to LTTE but the self-reliance policy is not belong to them it belongs to people and there is nothing wrong on self reliance.

      • 4
        3

        Ajith,
        I was a Tamil nationalist and a supporter of LTTE till the very end- May 2009.

        Should we not learn lessons from the bitter defeat? Should we continue to follow the same strategy even in the future?

        Do we expect different result if we follow the same discredited polices?.

        From 1948 onwards we stood alone whether in civil disobedience campaigns or armed struggle.

        Remember more Sinhala members of Parliament voted against the citizenship acts that disfranchised the upcountry Tamils than Tamil members of Parliament .

        The same with Sinhala only Act in 1956.

        Both bills were passed by simple majorities, not be two third majorities. We lost all these friends and stand alone facing a bleak future.
        .
        We had then a lot of friends among Sinhala and Muslim communities.

        In this short period, we lost the moderate Sinhalese, Muslims and upcountry Tamils and the majority of Eastern Tamils are on the way out! And faced all discriminations alone

        • 2
          2

          Ajith,
          Is this the achievement of Tamil nationalism? Should we continue to follow this barren policy in the future as well? And expect a different outcome?

          I offer an alternative strategy with friendship with all and enmity towards none!
          Why not think outside the box? and join with the aragalaya at Galle face!
          -progressives among Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and upcountry Tamil communities and form a United Front and fight for a new Sri Lanka with equity and equality for all irrespective of ethnic or religious differences and build up a new Sri Lanka with democracy , human rights and a system of governance with extensive power devolution ,but without corruption and nepotism .

          Let all of us support and be part of aragalaya!

          • 4
            1

            srikrish,
            You call it Tamil nationalism. I call it equality to all. What you are saying is slavery to majority politics which is friendship with all including the majority dominance. What did you gain from those who were friendship with majority politics for the past 75 years and what was the outcome? If Aragalaya achieve your goals that is good for all.

            • 1
              3

              Ajith,
              Please do not be in a hurry, read it again, read it carefully and figure out what I try to convey. It will take some time.

              What I am advocating is a completely new strategy for Tamils to live with self respect and dignity as equals with the other fellow citizens.

              We had adopted negative approach since independence and we assumed that all Sinhalese are evil trying to harm the Tamils .

              Negative feelings evolve negative feelings among the opponents.

              Now take arraagalaya, it is a fight against politicians whose polices had created the greatest politico- economic crisis the country is facing today.

              It is a common struggle by all Sri Lankans for all Sri Lankans without any ethnic and religious differences.

              Why shouldn’t Tamils also join in this struggle as equal partners in a big
              way ?
              Where is slavery in this arrangement. Why you assign superior status to anyone?

              Did anybody ask you as a precondition?

              Joining aragalaya on equal footing is not slavery, it is equality.. You are a equal partner in the struggle. and comradeship develop among the participants-, a group dynamics develop !

              This is a new strategy, approach it with a positive attitude when you approach a problem with a positive mindset, the response will also be positive.

        • 4
          0

          Sri Krish, most eastern Tamils were on their way out due to the antics of Karuna and Pillayan but now they have realised their true nature and character, also after 2009 the way they were treated and marginalized in their own land, by the eastern Muslims, led by hardline Islamic extremist politicians, and Sinhalese Buddhist racists. they are now largely on their way in, as they have belatedly realized, that is their identity and that is now in danger of being taken away from them if they do not do anything. The eastern Tamils have a lot in common with northern Tamils, a common shared history, ethnicity, culture and form of spoken Tamil. Batticaloa Tamil is still very close to Jaffna Tamil.

          • 4
            0

            The up-country Tamils are not against the Eelam Tamil’s struggle and are sympathetic and understand it but they largely live amongst the Sinhalese and have other priorities also their immigration and history are completely different from the native indigenous northern and eastern Tamils. As for the Muslims despite being ethnically Tamil, they have never identified with the rest of the Tamils. In the name of their religion, Arabic culture and a little bit of Arab ancestors that a minority of them have, they had always sided with the Sinhalese against the rest of the Tamils and will do so in the future too, given the chance, as their aim is to take the east from the Tamils with Sinhalese help and the Sinhalese are using them as a tool to marginalize and destroy the native Tamils, especially in the east. The ultimate aim of the Sinhalese from the time of independence is a pure Sinhalese Buddhist-only land. Sinhalese have no intention of giving any sort of Islamic homeland, they will use the Muslims and then discard them.

          • 0
            5

            “most eastern Tamils were on their way out due to the antics of Karuna and Pillayan but now they have realised their true nature and character”
            *
            Interesting!
            Looking at the voting go in 2020 parliamentary elections, have not they also learned their lesson about the TNA?

            • 4
              0

              Come to nitpick again, as you usually do, through desperation to become popular. Sambhandan is an eastern Thamizh and so is Rasamanickam to the potential TNA leader. If the eastern Thamizh do not like the TNA, why do the vast majority of them vote for the TNA?

              • 1
                1

                Nitpick? Me?
                Where were you when the results came?
                The vast majority in Batticaloa voted for others. TNA (ITAK) won a mere 26.7% of the vote with TMVP securing 22.7%.
                In Amparai Akila Ilankai Thamilar Maha Sabai (7.6%) beat TNA (6.5%).
                In Trincomalee TNA secured 18.6% way behind the SLPP & SJB. (That was despite the general Tamil solidarity to keep Sinhalese & Muslims out of the race to the top).
                *
                What makes a vast majority I wonder!

  • 5
    12

    Wignaswaran is Tamil version of sinhalees Rajapkse. Thrive on racism. When Mahinda is eliminated we have take you on as well.

    • 7
      5

      Jack,
      What is your understanding of racism? I am not a fan of Wigneswaran but you have to explain what is the common between Rajapaksas and Wigneswaran of the racism. Did Wigneswaran ever wanted to convert Buddhist Temples into Hindu Temples in the South or North as a member of Parliament or Cheif Minister of NP. Do you think that you and your family wants to be self reliance without defending on your neighbour is racism?

      • 2
        6

        Ajith My reply to you once and last. Both of them get votes by showing falsehood to the voters of 3rd worlds whose minds are crippled by ages of false education of religions , ethnicity and cast system on top of lot of superstitious beliefs,
        Both of them very successful proved that people of their race is suffering due to the discrimination of their opposite race. They successfully hide their economic mismanagement. MR was president twice and Wiggi was chief minister, You will understand what harm they have done to so called their own people. If race is not a issue in Sri Lanka they will have no place in politics.
        Personalty their should not be place of religion , ethnicity and race in good governance.
        For you to get consoled MR is the worse crook than Wiggy but that does not make him good.

        • 3
          2

          Jack,
          I think Rohan25 have clearly answered to your response.

        • 0
          11

          Jack, it is not correct to claim MR is a racist. He conducted a humanitarian operation to rescue innocent Tamils from psychopathic terrorists. All the allegations about war crimes are nonsense. Diaspora lobbies paid Channel4 big money to create a fake documentary. See the truth for yourself:

          https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/nkl8y5/sri_lanka_army_troops_find_a_wounded_female_ltte/

          https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/10153768_1461234180858713_6021378969951531700_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=ba80b0&_nc_ohc=qhvMOVJnB3kAX-IAsBm&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=00_AT91YBSWIj2OWA18WImEkxFHIZpF2oZLM-_yL8HAgSwg0g&oe=62E764B2

          After the war, Gotha rehabilitated hundreds of former LTTE cadres. They did not spend a single day in jail. It is true that the top leadership of the LTTE was executed. Who cares? These people were hardcore terrorists not capable of rehabilitation. The only way to stop the Diaspora from funding suicide terrorism was to (physically) eliminate the top leadership, particularly the leader. The same thing the US did by killing Bin-Laden and dumping his body in the sea. Do you not find it ironic, Saudi Arabia & UAE do a real genocide in Yemen, yet there is no “investigation” into war crimes. Yemen is hardly shown in the Western media. While countries like SL and Russia are singled out for protecting their own territory.

          • 5
            0

            Jack MR is not a racist. LOL. You did not finish the rest however, I am and a very sick delusional one too, badly in need of medical help. He was conducting a humanitarian operation on Tamil, this takes the cake , proving how out of touch and delusional you have become. How was this humanitarian operation conducted? By deliberately killing over 145000 innocent Tamil civilians on the pretext of fighting the LTTE? Using banned Chemical weapons, ariel bombardment on, where civilians were asked to take shelter and when they did use the airforce, navy and army to shell and bomb them. Deliberately killing, torturing, raping, starving, humiliating the Vanni Tamil refugees and incarcerating them into concentration camps for months, until there was an international hue and cry. Not from India or China as they were supporting your Rajapakses to the hilt. Humanitarian operation indeed! You do not know the meaning of being human, kind or compassionate. God, how can someone be so sick, cruel and rejoice in the misery of other fellow humans, just because they speak Tamil?

    • 10
      0

      You do not know the definition of who is a racist. Maybe you are one from your comment. Highlighting or making the country or world aware of what your race or ethnicity is facing, due to state oppression is not racist. This means people like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi and many other world leaders are also racist, as they fought for the rights of their people from an oppressive colonial l power or a racist state. On the contrary advocating, encouraging and implementing policies that discriminate, marginalize and deliberately destroy a people their symbols, and history and commit acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and deliberately encourage extremists religious and racists, as well as the armed forces to destroy these peoples, their lands, temples and homes are racism. Vigneswaran only highlights and brings to everyone’s attention the problems and travails that the island’s Tamil people face due to state-sponsored Sinhalese racism against them but does not advocate the destruction or marginalization of any other people. The Rajapakses as well as all other Sinhalese leaders and most of their politicians as well as most Sinhalese advocates and implement this. This is the difference.

    • 5
      3

      Jack

      “Thrive on racism”

      Please define RACISM in Sri Lankan context (quoting examples).

      • 5
        3

        Jack

        Am I a racist because I simply want both Sinhala and Tamil speaking descendants of Kallathonies to go back to their ancestral homeland South India?

  • 0
    0

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  • 0
    1

    “..self rule,…”
    —-
    Only Vedda Eththo are entitled to ask for ‘Self-Rule’ because they are the only indigenous minority community in Sinhale.
    Sinhala rulers have not been fair to Vedda Eththo evolved in this country along with Sinhalayo. They should be given an Autonomous Region in the East and appoint Uruwarige Wannila Ethho as the head so that their culture and traditions can be preserved.

    • 0
      0

      EE
      Fair enough, but what about their territory in Mahiyangana and parts of Badulla?

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