By Paul Newman –
Dr. Paul Newman
Students Movement In Tamilnadu And India Against Sri Lanka – Not a movement of Riffraff’s or Fringe Groups
Last week my friend Pon.Chandran wrote an article in Colombo Telegraph titled, ‘Will the IC respond to the Just Voices of the Tamil Students’, in response an esteemed Sinhala friend wrote an article in CT covering a whole lot of issues connected with the Tamil struggle, in the beginning of the article he was referring to the students protests in Tamilnadu and called them as ‘riffraff’s’ and people belonging to ‘fringe groups’. It is sad that the few Sinhala ‘alternate thinker’ missed the point and called these continuing protests as those whipped by emotions. My friend also questions the IQ of the student community by questioning whether these youngsters know anything about the Tamil politics in Sri Lanka. It is here I felt as a person involved with the students movement I should respond.
It is a well known fact that these students have time and again reiterated that they do not want to support any political parties, if only my Sinhala friends had the luxury of watching the Tamil television channels they would have been proud of the responsible students community which articulates so well their demands.
These students are frustrated more with the Indian government than Mahinda Rajapakse. They know for sure the way the Indian government had helped the Sri Lankans defeat the LTTE and carry out the massacre at Mullivaikal. For that they need not know ‘Tamil politics of Sri Lanka’, for they never spoke or articulated about the Sri Lankan Tamil politics.
Talking about the origin of the ‘anti-Sri Lankan protests’, I have been involved along with a host of other human rights activists from Tamilnadu and Karnataka including the likes of Pon Chandran, Kurinji, Prof.Ramu Manivannan,Dr.Bernard D’Samy, Prof.Saraswathi, Ms.Pandima Devi, Dr.V.Suresh, Prof.Nagaragere Ramesh, Dr.Ambrose Pinto, Lawyer Manohar, Prof. Babiah, Prof.M.G.Krishnan (the present Vice Chancellor of Karnataka State Open University), Prof.Hargopal of National Law School to name a few in conscientizing the students community on the issue in which India is deeply involved .
The All India Catholic University Federation, a well known student’s movement with over 100 units in Tamilnadu has been in the forefront in bringing to light the injustice suffered by the voiceless civilians during the course of the civil war. The world renowned Jesuit institutions have played a key role in highlighting this issue. The Jesuits on their part had the ‘Jesuit Task Force on Sri Lanka’, in which I was a consultant and we even brought out a booklet titled, ‘Sri Lanka – A humanitarian Catasrophy’, which was circulated in the more than 40 colleges they run across India.
The protests started inside the Loyola college campus with eight students, the institution is one of the top three colleges in India, it is an apolitical one. Among its alumni it boasts of names like former Indian President R.Venkataraman, finance minister P.Chidambaram and West Bengal Governor M.K.Narayanan, journalist N.Ram, key men who formulated Sri Lankan foreign policy at different times in India. The sister colleges of Loyola including the fames St. Joseph’s College Trichy and St.Xavier’s Palaymkottai were the first ones to start the protests as these institutions inculcate the ‘option for justice’ among its students.
The AICUF is not the only students movement which asked its members to join, even All India students Organisations including the Left-wing students organisations like Students Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students Federation (AISF), demanded, among other things, an ‘economic embargo’ against Sri Lanka for its ‘genocide’ in the last days of ‘Eelam War-1V’ in 2009. (Read here)
The movement is very well planned, designed and executed. It may have started by a mere eight students but today it is one of the most well organized non-violent struggles seen in the history of post-independent India. The students are so ariculate and well informed that they drew their own plan of action and worked out their set of demands. The demands put forward by them to the Government of India are:
- We strongly condemn the US-draft resolution. Do not pass it at UNHRC
- What took place in Ilangkai [Sri Lanka] is not merely war crimes or violations of human rights, but planned genocide
- International investigation and referendum are the only solutions for the Tamils. Government of India should propose a resolution to bring in international investigation and to conduct a referendum on independent Tamil Eelam.
- A proposal should be made to remove the Deputy High Commission of the Sinhala chauvinistic State from the Tamil soil [Tamil Nadu]. India should severe all diplomatic relations with Ilangkai [Sri Lanka].
- Government of India, accepting the request of the Tamil Nadu State Government, should implement economic sanctions on Ilangkai [Sri Lanka].
- On behalf of the Tamil Nadu State Government, a foreign relations department should be created to assure the security of global Tamils.
- No Asian country should be a member in the [international] investigation committee.
- Killing Tamil Nadu fishermen should be stopped immediately.
- If the Government of India is not finding solution to the question of Eezham Tamils, we will not pay any taxes from Tamil Nadu. We, students, will actively engage in this campaign.
The ever anti-Tamil English media in India too for a change did a decent reporting on the students protest. They highlighted the student protests at the elite Indian Institute of Technology Madras (Chennai) and Bombay(Mumbai). A few illustrations are given below to demonstrate that these students’ protests were not in isolation, these were mass movements.
IIT-M students join anti-Lanka protests
IIT-B students protest Lankan war crimes
It is believed to be the largest ever students’ upsurge for the Tamil cause from seemingly apolitical campuses like IIT and Loyola. It is also touted as the second largest mass protest of students after anti-Hindi agitation (Read here)
With students of professional colleges and universities too joining what is turning out be a massive upsurge of students against alleged human rights abuses in Sri Lanka,the Tamil Nadu government on Monday moved quickly to shut down 525 engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University indefinitely (Read here )
Even as late as yesterday, 3 days after the passing of the resolution, IIT Madras students renewed their protests (Read here)
It was not just the students who came to the streets, the software enginers at Tidel park left their work to show solidarity with the students,lawyers, the auto drivers unions and lorry drivers unions called for a strike, Tamil Nadu Film Directors Association and the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council, Koyambedu wholesale market traders selling fruits and vegetables shut down their business.
The career minded software engineers who are accused of having no social concern made a point that they too were with those demanding justice, on the 20th of march more than 4,000 of them formed a human chain at Tidel Park.(Read here )
One must not undermine the intelligence of the students in this age of technology, we must also note that there are 110 Sri Lankan Tamil refugee camps spread across the state of Tamilnadu. There are more than 100,000 Tamil refugees living here for more than two decades, is there anyone who has assured them that things are conducive for them to return? The Sri Lankan navy has killed nearly 550 Tamil fishermen which never went unnoticed by these students. They turned out to protest not in tens or hundreds as imagined by ‘expert analysts’ sitting in television studious of New Delhi or other parts of the world. They came in hundreds of thousands. It was not just in Tamilnadu, the protests were witnessed in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai as well as New Delhi.
This new generation of students did not mind sacrificing their classes though exams are around the corner. All that the student protesters are asking for is justice to their Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka, if seeking justice is wrong, yes they are wrong! If they are wrong, even my Sinhala friends who are content with a regime change are also wrong!
There is not a single incident of violence reported against this students protest. I salute these brave hearts for they are accomplishing what I could not accomplish during my student days.
msk / March 25, 2013
Yes, Indeed it is awaken the double hypocrisy of many political leaders and i salute the student. How naive is mr kusal in his article calling it as fringe group, what is indian student hold joint hands with international student community? If you cannot rule democratically like India, better leave them to rule themselves.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 25, 2013
Dr. Newman,
Whatever they mean to you, what is happening in Tamil Nadu will not have any positive impact here. What is happening is a emotional response to engineered stories. I saw the photographs of the 150 or so charred bodies broadcast by a TV station in Tamil Nadu in the past month. It was purported to be those of Tamils in the Wanni. However, in fact they were of Congolese, who were trying to pilfer fuel from a l bowser that had met with an accident and suddenly caught fire! No doubt the sight of these charred bodies would impact on humans emotions. But how long can such emotional reactions based on a large proportion of lies be sustained?
Tamils have no doubt their grievances. Some of these grievances are also the grievances of the other peoples in Sri Lanka. Only truth, honesty and wisdom will help the Tamils. Tactics and strategy based on untruths, exaggerations and emotional drama will not in the long run take us any where!
Admit in detail every instant the LTTE was wrong, brutal and malevolent towards the Tamils first and the other peoples in Sri Lanka second. Apologise to the Tamils and others, without reservations. Thereafter, ask the GOSL and its armed forces to do the same. This can be and should be done by Viswanathan Rudrakuman, who is the face of the LTTE in the public sphere now. This will work magic here.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Anpu / March 25, 2013
Dr RN
“what is happening in Tamil Nadu will not have any positive impact here.”?? Dont you think it mattered in Delhi and then in Geneva? What happened in Geneva – is not positive for Tamils and all SriLankans
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Wuliangguobinjiu / March 25, 2013
DRN:”What is happening is a emotional response to engineered stories.”
Ha ha ha You sound like a pook yourself hmmm. :)
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Anpu / March 25, 2013
Dr RN,
Dont you know Sinhalease PMs, Presidents and their supporters created LTTE. So on behalf of those PMs, Presidents – you ask the current president Rajapakse to APPOLOGISE to evry one affected by this on behalf BUDHISM, humans,…
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 25, 2013
Anpu and Wulianggubinjiu,
Your memories are not only very selective but also short. Have you forgotten President Chandrika Kumaratunge apologised for the sins that had been committed against the Tamils in the past and tried hard to adopt a new constitution to replace the present monster. Did her apology have any meaning for you? How many times should the Sinhalese apologise for their mistakes? if the Tamils aplogise for their part in the crimes of the past and the last war, we have a right to demand this government apologise for its crimes during the last war. Also who sabotaged the constitution President Chandrika Kumaratunge proposed? Did not the LTTE and the TNA have hand in this? Who sabotaged the last peace accord and gave the whip hand to Mahinda Rajapakse?
Come on guys do not try to hide a giant pumpkin in a small plate of rice! Admit the mistakes and crimes committed in the name of the Tamils by the LTTE. We know how it was born and why. The LTTE was the product of the rape of the Tamil polity by the Sinhala polity! It was a bastard born out of communal rape! But, admit it was nurtured by India and made into the monster it became by the very Tamils who today cry foul at the outcome. Oh, you hypocrites and Pharisees !
Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
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Anpu / March 25, 2013
Dr RN
Tx & sorry to you. I did not know about “President Chandrika Kumaratunge apologised ..”
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 26, 2013
Ampu,
Thanks. You are a fair minded person, although I had impressions to the contrary.
Dr. Rn
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 26, 2013
The following is the text of the apology made by President Chandrika Kumaratunge. She had also made a similar apology on an earlier occasion and on several subsequent occasions to the mistakes made by her parents.
“President Kumaratunga’s speech on the 21st Anniversary of ‘Black July’
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga rendered a speech on July 23, 2004, on the 21st Anniversary of ethnic riots in 1983. Following is the full text of the speech:
Speech by President Chandrika Kumaratunga at the 21st Anniversary of ‘Black July’, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo, July 23, 2004
23rd July 2004
I would like to first welcome all of you here today on this occasion when we commemorate one of the most shameful crimes ever perpetrated on this nation. Today is the 21st anniversary of what we commonly call ‘Black July’ of 1983. We know what occurred on that day and I don’t think I need to remind anyone of you here of the details of that day and the week that followed. Twenty one years is a long time, but I’m happy that at least today I have the opportunity to correct, even in a small way the tragedy that was perpetrated upon some of the Tamil people of this country.
Many years after 1983, my Government had the occasion to appoint the Truth Commission under the distinguished chairmanship of former Chief Justice, Mr. S Sharvananda and two other distinguished members, Mr. M M Zuhair and Mr. S S Sahabandu, both legal luminaries; and that we were able even to some extent to elucidate the details of the incidents that occurred on those days. I dare say much of the facts were not available to the Commission because of the long period that had ensued between ‘83 and the appointment of the Commission in the year 2001. Whatever representations and facts that were made available to them, I am aware the Commissioners went into in great detail and took much trouble to investigate these complaints placed before them. And as you know they have been able to find evidence of what was nearly a 1000 killings during that period and I believe 18,000 properties were destroyed, mainly by fire, and thousands of others were injured in incidents of violence. We suppose that there must have been many more incidents that have not been reported to the Commission, simply because there is nobody to report them anymore, either in this world or in this country.
The Commission has recommended certain amounts of monetary compensation to these victims of the various forms of violence. I must hasten to say that we do not believe that these small amounts of monetary compensation will in any way make up for the suffering undergone by those people. It is only symbolic of what the State wishes to do or say to those people, it is only symbolic of the apology that we wish to make to all those victims who have been identified and whose who may never be identified. The consequences of those incidents are horrendous. I don’t think I need to elaborate, those of you who are here are only too well aware of it. Over 700,000 Tamil people out of a total of about 1.2 million Tamil people living in this country at the time had to run away and find homes in other countries. Amongst these we count some of the best qualified professionals of Sri Lanka; committed qualified professionals and decent people. In addition these incidents of 21 years ago have radically changed the entire fabric of Sri Lankan society. From the top, right down to the bottom, vertically, horizontally and entirely. Violence became a major tool of socio-political behaviour in this country since then. Violence has rulers, leaders and those who govern; and thereafter in consequence many others have learned to use this tool of violence as a form of resolution of all problems. Sri Lanka has thereby become famous or rather infamous as one of the world’s most violent countries; All this in 21 years. As we know all nations have great achievements which they are proud of, they also have moments in their history which they need to be ashamed of. Only very few nations seem to have had the courage or the right leadership to accept the blame for their moments of shame. Some nations have done this and have been able to put their past behind them and move forward to becoming the world’s most developed nations. Many others like us have failed to look truth in the face, they have failed for some reason which I do not comprehend; maybe the sociologists and other types of researchers could tell us, tell us how to honestly and truthfully look at what happened on that fateful day in Black July 1983, the reasons that led up to this and the consequences of that day.
I believe at 21 years, one is supposed to come of age, human beings are said to come of age at 21 years. At least now I believe that we as a nation & especially the Sri Lankan State should come of age, look the truth in the face and make a national apology, first to all the victims of that day in Black July and then beyond them to the entire Nation.
Perhaps it is the responsibility of the State and the Government to engage in that exercise first and foremost, and then all of us as the Nation, every citizen in this country should collectively accept the blame and make that apology to all of you here who are the representatives or the direct victims of that violence, and through you to all the other tens of thousands who suffered by those incidents. I would like to assign to myself the necessary task on behalf of the State of Sri Lanka, the Government and on behalf of all of us; all the citizens of Sri Lanka to extend that apology. It is late but I think it is still not too late.
There is one other country… well there are several others, but I will only mention one, Germany, which also engaged in pogroms of this type, though on a much more massive scale. There was one man in that country who 61 years ago believed that he could annihilate a whole community of people in order to resolve the problems of his nation and the rest of the world. He is today called a mad man, but he managed to annihilate six million Jewish people before he could be stopped. I thank God that it did not go that far in this little Island of ours, also we don’t have so many people, but I believe honestly that what happened in 1983, the attitudes that led up to it, and the consequences are similar to what Germany suffered in the 1930’s and 40’s. We are still suffering the consequences of that day, 21 years later. Germany managed to resolve it very soon after that particular regime was done away with, and today they are marching forward as one of the worlds fiercest most democratic and developed nations.
Maybe if all of us can collectively put behind us all the little pettiness that has bound us in shackles, free ourselves from those many and numerous hatreds, jealousies that make of us little men and women, then I’m sure we could move forward towards working, living as one nation in harmony, in a search for that very necessary unity within the diversity that is Sri Lanka, the diverse ethnic communities, the diverse religious communities, and various other social groups that live together in this country.
Sri Lanka is not a new nation, we speak of a history of 2500 years, but now we know that it goes back to more than 5000 years according to recent archeological discoveries, maybe even more. We are proud we have a civilization, one of the world’s most developed civilizations, that we have had a technology that was one of the most advanced the world knew at that time, we can boast of the flourishing of the arts that had been stupendous; but somewhere down the line we lost our way and meandered off into all kinds of paths of conflict, without a vision, without knowing where we want to go, and I believe the cut-off point was the moment of Independence. We fought for our Independence together; we had great Sinhala leaders, great Tamil leaders, Muslim, Malay and Burgher leaders. Leaders of all the religions who worked and fought together, cried and laughed together, to achieve that freedom from the shackles of colonialism.
I do not venture to explain the whys and wherefores, the reasons and causes of what divided us and how we became divided, I shall leave that to the researchers and the scholars. I have also attempted to write many things about this, but this is not the moment to make exposes.
All I wish is that we can all do collectively; all I would like to ask you at this moment is that we put that unpleasant past of about 50 years or a little bit more behind us and attempt to move forward. I honestly believe we can do this successfully, but for that once again I would like to appeal to this entire nation. We cannot forget, we cannot blind ourselves to the mistakes we have made; we will have to accept collective guilt for the wrongs, and then move forward. When I say collective guilt I mean first the State of Sri Lanka for the horrors they perpetrated upon one section of our peoples, 21 years ago and at other lesser moments, but I also mean all the others on the other side of the divide who have also used young children as suicide bombers, and killed hundreds of people and caused much suffering to other people. They will have all kinds of justifications, they will say, we have been wronged so therefore we must do the same thing. I do not think any of the religious leaders here or anyone of us would accept those excuses. Those who use violence as a response to violence will have to understand as Lord Buddha has said and many others, Jesus Christ and all the other religious leaders, violence begets violence, it will never resolve the problem. It is only through understanding, love for each other, friendship and most of all understanding of each other’s problems and limitations that we can understand what has bedeviled this nation for many decades. We will have to move beyond the frontiers of our needs and our selfish requirements of what we think we should have as leaders, we will have to learn to think of our peoples, to forget ourselves, specially as leaders before anybody else, and think what the majority of our people need, even if we lose our positions of leadership, we will have to resolve this problem for our peoples.
I hope on this day, and I know that all of you here would hope and pray with me that all those who call themselves leaders, amongst the Sinhalese, the Tamils, the Muslims, the Hindus and everybody else would be able to reach at least for a brief moment that level of greatness that is required of us mere humans, those of us who pretend to be leaders to reach that greatness in order that we resolve this problem for our peoples.
We are willing to do that, I hope all the others are also ready to do that. I’m sure the Government will receive the support from all the citizens of this country, irrespective of who they are, or to what community they belong, in this enterprise which is the most difficult, the most challenging and the most dangerous any Government of this country has undertaken.
Finally I would like to thank the religious leaders who have agreed to participate in this simple ceremony with us today at short notice, to give us their blessing and their advice and their counsel. I would like mostly to thank all of you who have travelled from afar to come here today at our invitation and to be part of this occasion that we have organized. And lastly all the members of my Cabinet and the Government, the officials, the secretaries, and all the rest of you for being present here today. I would like to thank the officers of the Ministry of ‘Triple R’ for accepting to organize this function together with my officers of the President’s Office at very short notice. Today we are compensating just a handful of the victims, because we could not get together all the others, but from Monday onwards my office will be ready to undertake the task of distributing the relevant compensations to all those who would wish to present themselves, all those who have been identified in the Truth Commission Report. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deep and sincere gratitude to Justice Sharvananda and the members and the Secretary of the Truth Commission for having painstakingly gone into all the details and the complaints that were presented to you and for having done this gigantic job with great success.
I thank you very much.
Source: Official Website of the President of Sri Lanka
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Raja / March 25, 2013
Dr Naren how much pay you get from yoru Master Rajapakse. What is Engineered stories. We have seen enough from indpendent sources such Channel-4 and we have heard from ex UN staffer’s like Gordon Weiss. We also have heard enough from the Silence of Ban Ki Monn, Vijay Nambiar and the like.
If you add up the people killed by Armed forces and government goons starting from 1958, It will notbe ten time sthat killed by LTTE.
LTTE killed in Anuradhapura the civilina on the advice of RAW. Othe rthan that all othe rcivilian killings were collateral damages. Of course they weeded out the Traitors
But they freedom fighters
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 26, 2013
Raja,
Name the figure and it will become the truth! Please define what an independent source to you is? The LTTE were saints of the highest order and the killed only the apostates ( Traitors in their language) and were made to kill by the likes of RAW. Come on, there should be at least some logic in what you say!
Engineered stories: Have you seen a dead VP watching the announcement of his death on TV, while reading that day’s newspaper? have you seen the photographs of the 150 charred bodies of persons deemed to have been killed by the LTTE? Have you seen the LTTE heavy artillery embankments within the safety zone, captured in satellite imagery? Have you seen and read the ASAS report on the satellite imagery of mass graves ? I can go on listing many such commissions and omissions in the case being made against the GOSL. However, this does not mean that the armed forces did not breach norms. Both parties to this war were guilty of war crimes, but in my opinion the LTTE more so.
Dr.RN
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Anpu / March 25, 2013
Dr RN
“What is happening is a emotional response to engineered stories.” – you know what happened in Geneva recently. Geneva resolution – is it the result of “engineered stories”?
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JULAAMPITYE AMARAYA / March 26, 2013
DR N R,
In India, Specially in Tamizar Nadu,
When you walking on a street and Suppose had an argument with somebody, start a quarrell,
All passing by will hit you both or the other,
some time you will get knocked down to a drain also.
they don’t want hear or see what happened,
no need of any reason,
that type of mentality they have.
Not like you people in Sri Lankan Tamils.
same thing happening with all this tamizarnadu theater of politics .
Jeyalalitha And Kalanjar also former actress and actor.
so is Paul Newman Also A JESUIT ACTOR,
He wants to showoff and get his flock multiply.
And I saw news papers publishing the Gruesome Tragic photos of that Keblithgollewa Bus Messcare done by
L T TE, as SL ARMY’s TAMILS KILLING.
All those Want To go Piggy back on Innocent Sri Lankan Civilians.
SURELY, they will get their EEEEELAAAM IN TAMIZARNADU.
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msk / March 25, 2013
What Dr Narendran?? For genocide, mere apology is enough, will you accept the same when it was meted out to you by a powerful? Who said this will not impact anything. You either live in false paradise or denial mode. How are you so sure that those are morphed photographs of an accident. Are you a specialist ethical hacker to proove that. Whats your credibity to claim that? This shows the attitude of average srilankan towards others. If no genocide, Srilanka can accept international inquiry right? Why to fear?
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 25, 2013
Msk,
Genocide? Do not use words you do not understand and then become hysterical. If it is a genocide, this is first time in history that the victims engineered the circumstances for it to happen. Apologies should suffice since both have blood in their hands. However, what is critical is for the war-affected Tamils to recover and become the people they are capable of being. Hysteria and hypocrisy would not make this happen.
Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
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Anpu / March 25, 2013
What is genocide?
According to the Rome Statute, “genocide” means any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group:
•killing members of the group;
•causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
•deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
•imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
•forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 26, 2013
Anpu,
The following is the legal definition of genocide as accepted in the UN charter. It consitutes many elements including those listed by you. Both the ‘Íntent’ amd ‘Physical’ criteria have to be met for events to consitute a genocite. Riots and wars between two diffrent people do not automatically qualify to be called genocides:
“The international legal definition of the crime of genocide is found in Articles II and III of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
Article II describes two elements of the crime of genocide:
1) the mental element, meaning the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”, and
2) the physical element which includes five acts described in sections a, b, c, d and e. A crime must include both elements to be called “genocide.”
Article III described five punishable forms of the crime of genocide: genocide; conspiracy, incitement, attempt and complicity.
Excerpt from the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of Genocide (For full text click here)
“Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Article III: The following acts shall be punishable:
(a) Genocide;
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
(d) Attempt to commit genocide;
(e) Complicity in genocide. “
If these criteria are overlooked many acts of the LTTE against the Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils (Eg. The mass killing of Tamil recruits to the Tamil National Army)can also be construed to be genocides.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Anpu / March 26, 2013
Tx. I too have this information. But I wanted to be brief.
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msk / March 26, 2013
Yes, Dr, R.N. The UN is hysterical, Eric is hysterical, and even your own ally Sonia in war spoken out that ” atrocities of unspeakable nature” is hysterical, only nature provided you the brain, and everyone else is hysterical, what a narrow minded person. Immediate report in UN resource says that 20,000 civilians were killed in just one week. If thats not qualified for genocide, what else you claim as genocide? Completely eliminating all tamils in Srilanka? How cunningly cover a genocide with a word ” war affected people”
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Waran Vaithilingam / March 27, 2013
No wonder Dr.Rajasingham Narendran is all over traying to MR boros, It is A Genocide, What Happened in 1958 LTTE was alive then, How about 1975,1977 , Are you and Dr.Marvin Siva Went to same University?
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Srivas / March 25, 2013
100,000 civilians were killed by Sri Lanka government within a mater of 7 days.
If the world crying out for the 100,000 looks emotional, so be it.
The US and some of the world community were mistakenly happy for the genocidal minded Sri Lanka went on war. But when they said stop, as staggering proportions of genocide was taking place, the genocidal Sri Lanka government nor the vast majority of genocidal-mind set Sinhalese did not listen to the world opinion.
As one of the renowned police officer said, you have started the ball rolling and it will not stop untill a satisfactory resolution is reached. So it is up to Sinha people to decide if they tame them self or the international community will tame them.
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Safa / March 25, 2013
Students and intelligensia in TN and India cannot be dismissed as riff raff. They have access to highest levels of govt and technocracy. Thats why India is a giant in the field of industry and technology.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 25, 2013
Safa,
It is easy to bring people to the streets in India. It is easier in Tamil Nadu. They will even immolate themselves, when their favourite politicians lose in elections. They worship their favourite politicians and actors. They are easy victims of rabble rousers. Watch the Tamil Nadu news channels( Sun T V, Kalaignar TV, Raj TV Jaya TV etc.,) for a week and you will begin to think Tamil Nadu is experiencing multiple riots every day. I was a witness to the protests organised in Madras ( now Chennai) in the years following the 1983 riots. They were not spontaneous, but organised events by interested parties. Even today most Tamils in India are poorly educated on the situation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. While I appreciate the feelings of the students in Tamil Nadu, I do not give it much credence . They are also victims of manipulated news, tear jerking pictures and melodramatics. They think the Tamils here are yet living this hell, from what is being told. Their response is a liability for the Tamils here.
None of these will help the Tamils who have to live here. I support the demand that the GOSL do what it has promised over several years. It cannot play hide and seek any longer. The fundamental problems besetting this country and the minorities have to be addressed and solved . This has nothing to do with what is being orchestrated around the world by Tamil groups and persons who are answerable for crimes equaling those of the GOSL in the last war.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Sarath / March 25, 2013
The curse of Tamils is that they are never united in any issue affecting them.
History tells that there were some Tamil MPs like GG Ponnambalam
who for their own interests worked against the majority of Tamil leaders. Then there was Kadirgamer who was capable but used his talents in helping the anti-Tamil actions of the Govt. again for his personal benefit.
Currently there are men like Karuna, Douglas, Pilliyan and KP who cooperate with this family dictatorship.
In this post there is only one reader so called “Dr” Narendran who is trying to protect the regime, when the whole world knows what has happened during the end stages of the war, and still is happening in the occupied territoris in the North & East.
This Dr. N has been behaving like this in many other posts about the ethnic issue. It makes one to suspect whether he is rewarded
by the ruling clique, or by some of its agencies!!!
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 26, 2013
Sarath,
The following is what Dr. Bhaheerathan -Mr.A.Amirthalingam’s son- had to say after his recent visit to Jaffna (Colombo Today of 26/03/2013):
“Like father, like son
Dr. A. Baheerathan, son of the late TULF leader, Appapillai Amirthalingam, was in Sri Lanka last week and in an exclusive interview with Ceylon Today travelled extensively ‘down memory lane’ in the North. He was happy to note there were no more cruel deaths on a daily basis and the people were living without the sounds of guns. While regretting the process to find a political solution to the Tamil question is not on the right track yet, he emphasized the government should ensure an early solution is found to stabilize the hard-earned peace.
Excerpts:
By Ananth Palakidnar
Q: You are a son of a leading Tamil politician and you grew up in Jaffna. During your student days you would have seen the best part of Jaffna and later the emergence of the ‘darker period’, which lasted for nearly three decades. What is your impression about present day Jaffna?
A: Well, I am an old student of St. John’s College, Jaffna. Later, I entered the Medical Faculty of Peradeniya, where I couldn’t continue with my studies due to the unrest in the country. However, I completed my higher studies in Medicine at the Madurai Medical College in Tamil Nadu.
Soon after the end of the war, I came to Sri Lanka. This is my second visit since the war ended. Infrastructure developments are taking place extensively. People are moving around freely. But, there are plenty of things that have to be done to improve the living conditions of the Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs). When I was in Jaffna, I found a large number of IDPs have not yet been resettled in their original places and their lands have been acquired by the Security Forces. This should be stopped and the IDPs should be allowed to return to their original places. However, I am happy to note there are no more cruel deaths in the North and East and in the island at large. Nowadays, the people are confident they could return home safely without facing any dangerous situations.
Q: The North and East and the country at large suffered immensely for three decades. People in the North and East feel the Tamil militant struggle had not done anything constructive, but everything was destructive. Do you think the Tamil militancy was a wrong approach?
A: The Tamil militancy was an evolution of a political struggle. The Tamils had faced various disappointments in the Tamil political arena and there were communal unrests where the Tamils suffered immensely. Anyhow, the Tamil militants have gone on the wrong track without proper political thinking or the right leadership. The good solutions put forward by India, and later by the International Community to find an amicable solution to the Tamil question were discarded by the militants. The genuine objective of the struggle was ignored. So they had to pay for the mistakes they committed and the innocent civilians became the ‘scapegoat’ in the entire scenario.
India offered a good solution with the Indo-Lanka accord. I still remember the role played by the Tamil moderate leaders, including my late father Amirthalingam to make a success of the Indo-Lanka accord. If that accord had succeeded, and the 13th Amendment had been implemented satisfactorily, our problems would have been settled long ago.
In a special flight from Tiruchirappalli to New Delhi with Rajiv Gandhi, my father and the late M. Sivasithamparam had an extensive discussion with the late Indian Premier to convince him of the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and on devolving adequate powers to the merged Province.
When the North and East was merged and the Northern and Eastern Provincial council was mooted, the TULF became a dominant political party. My late father even came forward to offer more seats to the LTTE in the Council. The Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) was also present in the North and East to ensure the successful implementation of the accord.
Then again the efforts made by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and the initiatives by Ranil Wickremesinghe with the signing of a memorandum with the LTTE leader, Prabhakaran, had fizzled out as a result of arrogance and no proper political thinking on the part of the Tamil militants. As a result of it all good efforts backfired and now we are back to square one.
Q: How do you see the current state of the Tamil political scene and what sort of a solution will be ideal for the North and East crisis?
A: First of all, the Tamil political parties should shed their differences and stabilize themselves to emphasize on a political solution. Soon after the end of the war there was much expectation from the Tamils of a durable political solution. Even the Tamil expatriates and the International Community expected the political process would be expedited. But nothing happened in the manner the right thinking people expected.
The families of the disappeared persons and the Tamil political prisoners are still agitating to find their loved ones. There are several humanitarian issues to be settled in the North and East. Therefore, instead of blowing the trumpet over winning the war, the government should take action to address the grievances of Tamils.
My kind of political solution is that based on the 13th Amendment, a solution should be enhanced further. The Tamil moderate politicians and the Indian ‘think tanks’ such as G. Parthasarathy had put in substantial efforts in bringing about the Indo-Lanka accord. It had everything to devolve adequate powers to the merged North and East.
Even my late father was confident by implementing the Indo-Lanka accord with Indian support, the North and East crisis could be solved amicably. Therefore, the future effort could also be based on the 13th Amendment and further. What we see now is several things included in the 13th Amendment have been stripped off including the North and East merger. So, the need of the hour is to expedite the peace process and to arrive at an early solution for the betterment of Tamils and the country at large.
Q: You are a medical practitioner in the UK. With your political background what do you think about the hue and cry made by the Tamil expatriates abroad over the Lankan Tamil issues?
A: The majority of Tamil expatriates nowadays have experienced the brunt of the war. So, they have their reasons to agitate as most of them have lost their kith and kin, and their assets in their original places in the island. Therefore, we cannot simply turn a blind eye towards them. What I want from the expatriates is, while they insist on improving the humanitarian issues, they should also speak out for a meaningful solution instead of being disoriented. First of all we should understand the ground realities. The people who suffered during the three decades of war must live peacefully. They cannot afford another ruthless era. The expatriates should speak out for a dignified political solution for the Tamils and they should come forward to assist the people, especially the orphans and the war widows to lead a peaceful life.
Q: What do you think about the Tamil Nadu factor and the sentiments expressed towards the Tamil issues from the State?
A: We cannot forget the role played by Tamil Nadu and India when the Tamils in the island are affected by ethnic clashes. Tamil Nadu gave shelter to hundreds of thousands of Lankan Tamils and still there are Tamil refugees in the State. However, Tamil Nadu is more emotional towards what is happening in the island with regard to Tamil issues. Since the war has come to an end, the Tamil Nadu politicians could also play their part in a manner by bringing about a durable solution to the Lankan crisis without fanning extremism.
Q: You were in Jaffna a week ago. How did the people respond to you when they realized that you were the son of the late Amirthalingam?
A: It was moving. Some of them had even come from faraway places to see me. They remembered my father as a politician who had sacrificed his life to fulfil the political aspirations of Tamils.
I went to my ancestral home in Vaddukoddai. I was very sad to note a vast collection of my father’s books in his study have been destroyed. The collection of pictures with important political figures and the letters written to him by prominent people were lost. Only the picture he had taken with former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had remained in a corner. We talk about the burning of the Jaffna Public Library. But our house and the collection of books and other important documents have been destroyed by the LTTE. The house was used by LTTE theoretician, Anton Balasingham and the outfit’s political stalwart Yogaratnam Yogi.
Q: Have you any idea of entering politics?
A: Better not. I have already engaged in humanitarian activities to help the children affected by war. I am currently managing a charitable institution registered in the UK to assist children affected by war. During my stay in the North, I went around and saw the plight of the people affected by war. It is pathetic. We must do our best to give the best opportunities to the affected children. They should have a bright future. Therefore, the people in the island as well as the expatriates should help generously for the betterment of the people disillusioned by war.”
What is your take on this interview?
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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msk / March 25, 2013
Moreover, Students and young technocrats know mostly what has been happening since independence of island. One cannot fool long.. ultimately truth is too powerful for human to hide..
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Anpu / March 25, 2013
Many Thanks Paul. Keep up the good work.
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Trutham Gnanam / March 25, 2013
Thank you so much Dr. Paul Newman.
Very well info-stated article reflecting pure truth and the reality.
We have a big bunch of people who will always talk about how bad the LTTE was, when anyone try to talk about Tamil’s issue.
It is not important how long they will continue, but the impact of it. This well organised protest will have a very strong impact on Indian policy making.
Hope people stop talking nonsense and look into the blunders they made, “continue to make” and “expected to make”.
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saradiel / March 25, 2013
Paul Newman you sadists……..
First you denied an education and used the Northern Youth & Children and send them to their graves for your selfish intentions.
Now you want to use the Tamil Nadu Youth & Children. Ruin their education bring upon them a life of misery in the future for a lost opportunity to satisfy your lust for revenge.
What kind of a doctor your are??
Many thanks Paul & good work,,,,, Await your reward for it served with a good dose of RETRIBUTION.
Then it will be time for reflection and I wonder whether it will be too late………For people like you, the hand of God strike swiftly and unexpectedly. Enjoy your lopved ones while you can.
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Anpu / March 25, 2013
What about giving biscuit and then killing a small boy
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Siva Visvanathan / March 25, 2013
Student uprising cannot be described as Riffraff’s or Fringe Groups. They are intelligent students, who are clear in their minds on what their demands should be. They also made a point to keep clear of politicians or political parties. Most of these students are likely to turn out to be honest politicians, an asset to the state.
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Sridas Sivasambo / March 25, 2013
Most of the commentators including Dr. Narendran operate from an anti-Tamil platform of choice or compulsion and not conviction. The common thread would be denial of truth, exemplified by reference to a Congo bowser mishap, as if there has been a dearth of images of charred Tamil bodies in the “no fire zones”. Dr. Paul should not dignify such deliberate mischievous comments deserving to be totally ignored for their fallacy or impertinence.
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Jay / March 25, 2013
A Solidarity movement by TN students shoulder to shoulder with Sri Lankan Tamils is a welcome, This is an important step in a wider campaign for the rights of Sri lankan Tamils. The TNA representatives of Northeast Tamils sitting in Geneva welcomed the protests by TN students even USA made a statement on that. India admitted that quiet diplomacy and persuasion miserably failed in Sri Lanka, the argument that confrontational approach will hardened Rajapaksha GOvt and it will work against Sri lankan tamils is so naive since what ever the “small things” get done whether closure of internment camps, relaxation of emergency law (only on paper) or the LLRC all under international pressure, it is sure beyond any doubt That Rajapaksha Govt will do nothing on reconciliation on the contrary AN AUTOCRATIC SINHALA BUDDHIST SRI LANKA in Making
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Arumugam Gopalakrishnan / March 25, 2013
THANK YOU DR PAUL
GOPAL
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Srilankan / March 25, 2013
Dr.RN commented “I saw the photographs of the 150 or so charred bodies broadcast by a TV station in Tamil Nadu in the past month. It was purported to be those of Tamils in the Wanni. However, in fact they were of Congolese, who were trying to pilfer fuel from a l bowser that had met with an accident and suddenly caught fire! No doubt the sight of these charred bodies would impact on humans emotions. But how long can such emotional reactions based on a large proportion of lies be sustained?”
MSK in his comment(10.30 am)also queried ” How are you so sure that those are morphed photographs of an accident. Are you a specialist ethical hacker to proove that. Whats your credibity to claim that?”
Dr.Narendran made two comments after this but has conveniently forgotten to answer the query raised by MSK. Dr. Narendran will not have ANY CREDIBILITY till he replies the query.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 26, 2013
Sri Lankan,
Please look at the photographs . There are Africans in the background and the date line coincides with the incident in the Congo.
Dr. R.N
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Valluvan V / March 27, 2013
Dr Narendran,
It is obvious that you are running a biased campaign to defend GOSL and its its brutality towards Tamils.
It reinstates the reason why Tamils as a whole community missing ‘some qualities’ to be an independent community despite of having many in favour.
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AKP / March 26, 2013
It is inevitable that the fall out in Tamil Nadu will impact Indian politics in quite a significant way. To begin with it has and will continue to hurt the Congress Party widely perceived as being complicit in the massacre of Tamils. As result both the AIDMK and DMK will shun any alliance with the Congress. Consequently Tamil Nadu parties in the LOK Sabha will be parties with Pro -Tamil Eelam views.
This is a foreseeable and probable scenario. But then it’s hard to second guess the future. All what one can see is that New Delhi’s foreign policy can and indeed will be shaped by these developments.
Meanwhile Colombo can be expected to do what it has pursued through different means since ‘independence’ in 1948, Sinhalise the island by changing the demography of the Tamil Homeland-Tamil Eelam and thus seek to nullify the rationale for Tamil Eelam.
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Thanga / March 26, 2013
Narendran is in the business of doing the hatchet job for Sinhalese governments from day one. He is an unrepentant apologist for the fascist Sinhalese dominated government. Any straw is good enough for him to go to the defence of his masters. If the photo is not that of Tamils, why he cannot cite the thousands of photos that show dead bodies of Tamils killed by the army/air force/navy?
Did he not et sight to the Navaaly Church bombing in which 65 people died, including children?
On August 4/5 in August, 2006. Seventeen local humanitarian workers who worked for the Action International Contre la Faim (ACF) France based International Agency were brutally executed by the Sri Lankan armed forces.
“On the 10 of September 1990, Tamil civilians from Batticaloa, Saththurukkondan, Panichchaiyady, Kokkuvil, Pillaiyarady were taken to the Army camp for interrogation. I was the only survivor of that 185 civilians taken there. We were stabbed with sharp knives including a one and a half year old child, children and women.
On the 11th of February, men in military uniforms entered the village shouting “Demala kattiya maranuwa” (death to the Tamils). They killed at least 24 civilians, including 7 children under the age of 12, and wounded 26 more.
On February 19, 1986, Akkaraipattu Massacre: more than 90 Tamil civilians were killed! Source: Humphrey Hawksley reporting in the Guardian.
On January 28, 1987 -Kokkaddichcholai massacres: over 150 Tamil civilians killed by members of the Special Task Force, Source: Local Media.
On September 10, 1990 – Saththurukondan Massacres: 180 Tamils butchered by the Sri Lanka army at the Saththurukondan Army Camp.
In September 1995, 25 schoolchildren were killed on the spot and many more injured when Sri Lanka Air Force Pucara planes bombed the Nagarkoil Central School, in the Jaffna peninsula,
In February 1996, 7 children under the age of 12, the youngest being 3 years of age, were massacred in Kumarapuram in February 1996 by the armed forces.
In February, 1998 Amnesty International confirmed that three teenagers were deliberately shot at close range by police and home guards in Thampalakamam.
in late March 1998, in a particularly harrowing incident of military sadism which took place in Kiran, Batticaloa, a six-year-old girl, Peethamparam Sasikala, was ordered to run and then shot in the back by security personnel.
There was no official apology from Chandrika Kumaratunga. Anyway she has dubious distinction of having declared all out against the LTTE to eliminate them. She is also the politician who scuttled the peace process between the government and the LTTE by taking over 3 key ministries and then dissolving the parliament for short term political gains.
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Anpu / March 26, 2013
Thanks Thanga
1956-2001
http://www.nesohr.org/files/Lest_We_Forget.pdf
2002-2008
http://www.nesohr.org/files/Lest_We_Forget-II.pdf
Readers in SL – can you access the above links?
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 27, 2013
Thanga,
For this debate or discussion to be objective and fair, please also list the atrocities and acts of terror committed by the LTTE against fellow Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims. Thereafter, let us debate issues such as the quantum, meaninglessness and nastiness of the acts committed by both sides.
My being a Tamil and a very proud one too, does not mean that I have to lose my objectivity. I have learned a lot reading and studying Mahatma Gandhi’s life. I cannot become like him, because I am not blessed to be so. The lessons however mean much to me. Truthfulness is one. The other was his greatness is going on a fast on behalf of the Noakali Muslims and convincing a Hindu couple to adopt an orphaned Muslim child, and Muslim couple to adopt a Hindu child in the same circumstances. Were these hatchet jobs by a Hindu on behalf of the Muslims? Even if we never had and probably never have a leader of Gandhi’s calibre, let us at least learn bits and pieces of lessons from his life.
We have to win the respect of those who are our detractors or oppressors, even while opposing them. If we lose this respect, we lose our moral high ground.
Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
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Shiva / March 26, 2013
No they are not riff raffs – they are JOKERS… just like SF said of the TN politicians.
where were these protestors when LTTE were recruiting children?
Give me a break – do people actually believe these lies?
Just let us be – allow us to pick up the pieces.
Dont use us as dummies anymore.
We do not want trouble – we have been unnecessarily caught up in this mess. India, Tamil Nadu and TNA are all to blame with that emmanuel chap and suren and tgte all pocketing millions using us
we are just ordinary people – let us be
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msk / March 26, 2013
Time will tell you who is joker.. till then enjoy your moments
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maha / March 26, 2013
Thank you Dr Newman for this article on the students uprising. As expected some will chastise and belittle them and in this particular instance they are afraid of what the students power can do.
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kaveri .r / March 27, 2013
Hi Mr. paul Newman
You done a good job at every where.
Thank you so much.
Kaveri.R
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