By Eelaventhan Manickavasakar –
Eelaventhan Manickavasakar
The Vaddukoddai Resolution of May 14th 1976 is a watershed in the history of the Eelam Tamil freedom struggle. The late Dr A.J.Wilson former head of the political science department of Brunswick University, described it in his book, S.J.V Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947 – 1977 – page 128, as the turning point when Eelam Tamils turned their minds towards liberation: “In the years after the onset of the Sirimavo government’s policies underlining Sinhala majoritarianism, the Tamil people turned their minds towards liberation and self-determination. Tamil youth understood such concepts as a meaningful step towards freedom and independence, for them – it was the only way in which their life chances could be improved, and they will no longer be at the mercy of the Sinhala political class.”
Dr A.J. Wilson in his careful and analytical study said further about the Vaddukoddai Resolution of May 1976 in the following words: “the goals were ratified in the Vaddukoddai Resolution of 14th May 1976 at the first national convention of the TULF under Chelvanayakam’s chairmanship. This historic pronouncement accused the Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranaike of having ‘callously ignored’ the TULF’s last attempt…to win constitutional recognition of the Tamil Nation without jeopardizing the unity of the country the convention called on the “Tamil Nation in general and the Tamil youth in particular to come forward to throw themselves fully in the sacred fight for freedom and to flinch not till the goal of a sovereign socialist state of Tamil Eelam is reached.”
Dr A.J. Wilson was always careful of the choice of words. This is how he described the collective decision of the main Ceylon Tamil components of the TULF, that is FP and ACTC – Chelvanayakam approving the choice of words. He was a conviction politician who never minced his words, and he was certainly also pragmatic in that he would, “not refuse bread if cake was not on offer”. As a lawyer and a politician he knew that goals could not be attained in a single leap; he believed in the policy of ‘a little now and more later’. The ‘little now’ could not therefore become an end in itself, although many of the comfortable Tamil bourgeoisie interpreted the ‘little now’ aspect of Chelva’s policy – best characterized by the ‘interim adjustments’ he arrived at with prime ministers, SWRD Bandaranaike in 1957 and Dudley Senanayake in 1965 – as final destinations. This was far from his own interpretation of Sinhala majoritarianism. He had come to the conclusion as early as 1958 that the Sinhala leaders were “not big enough to rule the Tamils”.
Dr A.J.Wilson who understood his father-in-law Chelva’s mindset, in his lucid manner he said what Chelvanayakam stood for. To quote Dr A.J.Wilson again “That Chelva stood unflinchingly for a separate Tamils state was clearly enunciated in the last important statement he made in the national state assembly, a few months before his death. Speaking on Nov 1976 at the second reading debate of the annual appropriate bill for 1977, He acknowledged to his listeners how his federal movement has failed to achieve the objective of obtaining the “lost rights on the Tamil – Speaking people”.
Our ancient people were wise, he said, and he seemed to fault himself by stressing that they “had their own Kingdom”, as if to say that is – the FP should at the very start have confronted the proposition of a separate state. He reminded his audience of parliamentarians that the Irish had won their freedom … but after centuries of struggle “against the British”. (He had also often told the Tamil public how a divided Poland had become unified on two different occasions). There was a finality and finiteness in his conclusion:
“We have abandoned the demand for a federal Constitution. Our movement will be all non-violent… we know the Sinhalese people will one day grant our demand and that we will be able to establish a state separate from the rest of the island.”
Whatever the comfortable Tamil middle class residing in Colombo said, Chelva’s last testament was that only a Tamil state could protect the Tamil people from repression by the Sinhala state apparatus. When asked by a journalist how the TULF would achieve its goals, Mr. Chelvanayakam replied prophetically… “We would make such a nuisance of ourselves that they (the Sinhalese) would throw us out.”
In this context it should be said to the credit of Chelvanayakam that he admitted in his interview to the BBC correspondence that “we had failed to produce a Tamil Jinnah at that time”.
To give weight-age to the writer’s argument of the Vaddukoddai Resolution the writer has quoted at length the academician’s statement. In the writers opinion the Vaddukoddai Resolution is a turning point in the history of Eelam Tamils struggle for freedom and an eye opener to the Tamils abroad.
Following the Vaddukoddai Convention the Govt. challenged the resolution and charged the TULF for treason. The trial -at -bar consisted of five eminent judges and 65 Tamil legal luminaries. Mr. Murugesu Thiruchelvam a constitutional authority presented his case in this beautiful manner: He said, “Sinhalese never conquered us nor did we give our consent”.
In a very convincing manner he said, what the Tamils are asking is what we had & what we lost, we want to regain and reassert ourselves. It comes within the category of restoration or reconstitution. He emphasized that the word separation is a misnomer.
In a very interesting manner, he drew parallel to the Tamils of Tamilnadu & Tamils of Eelam. “Tamilnadu is approx. 55,000 Sq. Miles and the population is roughly 80 million. The size of Eelam is smaller than Tamilnadu. And the population is also comparably small. But the Tamils of Tamilnadu ceased to rule themselves by the end of 1337- the beginning of the 14th century. With the conquest by the Muslims & the Andras. As far as the Eelam Tamils are concerned King Sankili lost his rule in 1619 to the Portuguese. But Pandaravanniyan – the Vanni King ruled till 1803, in other words till the beginning of the 19th century. Tamils of Tamil Eelam maintained their independence till the beginning of the 19th century. We are not here to decry or belittle the people of Tamilnadu. What is being emphasized here is that the Tamils of Tamil Eelam have maintained their contiguity till 1803 and therefore we demand that we have the legal right to rule ourselves.”
The question may be posed by doubting Thomases that the present area of the Tamils is in a weakened position, because of Sinhala colonization, but we would like to quote Muhammad Ali Jinnah the father of Pakistan. When he was asked the question whether he is going to have whole of Pakistan as envisaged by him. Typically of an able articulate civil lawyer Jinnah said, “let us have a truncated Pakistan or a moth eaten Pakistan than no Pakistan”. Eelam Tamils are quite conscious of our weakened position. But our agitation for an independent state of Tamil Eelam will be a reality even if we do not have the entire area for us. There are nations in the UN, which are even smaller than Tamil Eelam – the traditional homeland of the Tamils. Israel is a barren area where the seawater is converted into drinking water and vegetables are grown in polythene bags. The number of Jews in Israel is lesser than the Jews in America. But Israel being an Independent state the Jews in America are in a position to dictate terms to America in its foreign policy, finance and the media. In other words it’s not the size of the country or the strength of the population that counts in a freedom struggle. It is the will & determination of the people that counts in a freedom struggle. Let us not forget Singapore, is smaller than the Jaffna Peninsula. Whether we like it or not the name of Singapore is often mentioned by everybody and it is a power to be reckoned with.
Recently Mr. Urudrakumaran Prime Minister of the TGTE when addressing his members said, “That even if Maithri is going to be mother Teresa, is he going to live forever to entrust our future to him?” The writer was in the audience and endorsed what Mr. Urudrakumaran said by quoting what Jinnah said when a reporter asked him that “Gandhi & Nehru are great men and they think of India as a whole and their above narrow parochialism, if that is so why do you harp on Pakistan?” Mr. Jinnah with his unforgettable smile uttered “that he readily agree that Gandhi & Nehru are great men. They think of India as a whole & they’re above narrow parochialism. But I’m asking this question, are they immortal beings for us to entrust the future of our nation to these mortal beings. That is why I say, that the permanent political safe guard for the Muslims is the creation of Pakistan.” It is in this context TGTE PM’s statement is considered a prophetic utterance. TGTE is a transparent political body and believes in the democratic procedure to win over world opinion. It believes in convincing and converting global opinion.
Dr A.J. Wilson in his book The breakup of Sri Lanka – Sinhala Tamil conflict says in a very prophetic manner “what the Sinhalese leaders must do. To any Sinhalese political leader it should be clear the neighbour Tamilnadu with 52 million Tamil inhabitants, is an important factor in the Indian democratic system. Thus any attempt by the Sinhalese majority in Ceylon to organize a pogrom against the Tamils would present a problem to the govt. of India. Yet for all that, President Jayewardene & Minister Gamini Dissanayake made public statement threatening the very existence of Ceylon Tamils if India were to invade. An invasion was not even contemplated at that time. The dire consequences that President Jayewardene & his Minister indicated were empty threats. Romesh Bandhari , who at one stage was in charge of Ceylonese affair in New Delhi, once told Lalith Authlathmuthali when they happened to meet in Oman that if the Ceylon govt. was looking for a military solution, that could not happen; the inference was that India would not allow it. None the less after the calamity of July 1983, Mrs. Gandhi offered her good offices to help resolve the imbroglio. With the govt. of India in the picture, it was obvious that my role as an intermediary was at an end.”
In conclusion, the writer wishes to quote what the Washington post August 4, 1983 said about the situation in Sri Lanka: “If living together is so hard, what about a separate state in the north for the Tamils? They have as good a claim to a nation of their own as most members of the United Nations. But as always it is a question of power, and in Sri Lanka the Sinhalese have the power. Do they also have the wisdom to see that the Tamil minority is treated in a way that justifies its retention within a unitary state?” (Quoting from the book The Pen & the Gun by S.Sivanayagam – page 75)
When Tamil Eelam was justified in 1983, is there any reason to deny in 2009 after the worst massacres amounting to genocide were carried?
Let us unite under the TGTE banner to fulfill the Vaddukkoddai Resolution as the panacea for all the political ills facing Eelam Tamils.
Barathan / April 1, 2016
In the checkered history of the Tamils during the last 9 decades, many are the watersheds. Each one pushed us further into the mire and 2009 furthest into the morass. We are yet dithering and hark back to 1976 because there is not a glimmer even in 2016.
/
Native Vedda / April 1, 2016
Eelaventhan Manickavasakar
The Vaddukoddai Resolution was dead minutes after its arrival on May 14th 1976.
Every election held after 1977 were one more nail in the coffin.
The grand funeral was held in May 2009.
/
Ajith / April 1, 2016
Native Vedda
I don’t think that May 2009 was a grand funeral for Vaddukoddai resolution. Do you think that Buddhist Sinhala Fundamentalism (BSF) is weakinging? I don’t think so. As long as the BSF remain active, the chances for re emergence ofVaddukoddai resolution is more likely. Don’t think that grand funeral is always one sided.
/
Native Vedda / April 2, 2016
Ajith
Say for some unknown strange reasons one day Dimwit Jim Softy, sachooooo the stupid II, Nuisance the stupid I, Somass, Lal Loo, KASmaalam, Vibushana, … Somwansa, AKD, MR, GR, RW, MS, Vasu, Wimal, Dhinesh HLD M,Izeth Hussain, Dayan, …. 100% of the Sinhala/Buddhists decide to go their separate ways, and want to establish their own (Sinhala Kingdom, Buddhist Kingdom, Sinhala/Buddhist Kingdom) country.
They will have to make an application to New Delhi seeking permission to do so. I am confident Hindians will not grand permission to divide this island and ensure this island remains one country at any cost.
/
soma / April 2, 2016
No way Ajith, as long as majority of you guys (Tamil speaking people) crave to live among the Sinhalese. Remember when your people in the plantations were given the opportunity to go back and live among their relatives of their own language, culture and religion in an emerging economic and military superpower they still opted to live as coolies among the Sinhalese in Sri lanka. With a long term objective of creating Ealam TNA must launch a concerted effort to encourage the +50% Tamils presently living in Sinhala majority areas to relocate themselves into North and East (govt must facilitate this by releasing land). Further your own Tamils who practise Islam as their religion must be treated as equals and attract them out of South into North and East.
Let me repeat Ajith, this “North AND East for us only but the rest is for all of us” strategy will not work. We will not allow it to happen. In an eventuality of a Tamil Homeland in a combined North and East we Sinhalese will demand that all Tamils (Tamil speaking people)living outside North and East to be relocated.
I am among the few Sinhalese who support a separate Tamil Homeland for all Tamil speaking people of Sri Lanka though I prefer to see one Sri Lanka where all citizens are equal in all respects irrespective of their caste religion, denomination, ethnicity or language with the right to live anywhere. The day I observe any tendency among the Tamils(Tamil speaking people) to leave Sinhala areas to settle down in North and East I will actively campaign for a separate Tamil Homeland. That is the day I will feel ashamed as a Sinhalese.
Soma
/
Ajith / April 2, 2016
Mr Soma,
No body ever said North East for Tamils only as Sinhalese claim that the island of Nagaland is only for Sinhla Buddhists. The Tamil people in planatations were not voluntraily moved to this land. They were brought by British when this land was owned by British. Further, Tamils of this land who lived in the North east did not move voluntarily outside of North East. Before 1948, Tamils were brought from North East to Colombo because the British needed them to do their administration when they merged different kingdom and made Colombo as Head office. At that time there were not sufficient educated people among Sinhalese to do efficient and honest administration. Now we know how corrupted are the administration under Sinhalese ownership. There were no problems between Sinhalese and Tamils when there was three different kingdoms until the ownership changed to Sinhalese. It is a proven fact that you can have a successful federal system in this island. You don’t need to relocate the people forcefully. Tamils who are happy to stay with Sinhalese can live. If you want the outside is only for Sinhalese and do not want to accomodate, Tamils are prepared to take them. I would guarantee that under the administration, those Sinhalese those who are willing to remain in the North East will have equal rights unlike under the Sinhalese administration.
The reality is that under the Sinhalese administration over the six decades, they failed to provide security to Tamils. The law and order was not equally applied. Still it is the same.
/
Prasad / April 2, 2016
NV,
By 1976 the leading Tamil parties including the Federal Party of SJV Chelvanayagham and Mr Thondaman’s Ceylon Workers Congress representing plantation Tamils, and Prof. Sunderalingam, a prominent Tamil nationalist, had combined to form the TULF (Tamil United Liberation Front) and adopted the Vadukoddai Resolution which put forward an Independent State of Tamil Eelam as being the solution to the problems of the Tamils. In the 1977 general election, the people of Tamil speaking North & East voted overwhelmingly for the Independent State of Tamil Eelam.
If you think that the Tamil freedom struggle for self-determination ended in 2009 at Nandikaddal, then you are worse than the worst fools in this world. Just like the Palestine-Jew conflict continues with the Western World supporting the Jews, the Sinhala-Tamil conflict will also continue until they achieve their goal.
/
Native Vedda / April 3, 2016
Prasad
Thanks for your emotional lessons in history. My Elders keep best records of whatever is happening on this island.
“In the 1977 general election, the people of Tamil speaking North & East voted overwhelmingly for the Independent State of Tamil Eelam.”
The North voted overwhelmingly in the North (about 84%). Would you give me the % of votes cast for TULF in the East?
Since 1977 there have been numerous elections in which Tamils continued to vote, accepting the unitary nature of the constitution, governed by it, and worst of all your elected representatives have taken oath under the constitution and enjoyed the perks and prestige went with the office.
The TULF, TNA, …… cannot have the cake and eat it.
“If you think that the Tamil freedom struggle for self-determination ended in 2009 at Nandikaddal, then you are worse than the worst fools in this world.”
What has self-determination got to do with the Separate state? Please note a region can exercise self-determination without a state.
The real struggle for a separate state never started. VP, Hindians, the West, Pakistan, China, …… all had their own agenda, VP being a stupid psychopath never understood what was needed, how to achieve it, … . He behaved like a drunken monkey with a razor blade.
Mere resolution and 84% votes in the North were not sufficient conditions to declare a separate state. The TULF or armed groups never had a cohesive programme to launch their struggle.
The central objective of the struggle should have been reclaiming their democratic rights of your which include ownership of their habitat, the right to use their language, safety, security, dignity, ….. preserving their cultural identities.
Instead, the failure of TULF and the Tamils created a fascistic organisation led by a megalomaniac psychopath, ……… finally produced a horrible tiger identity. In the process, pro-Tamil Eelamistas had alienated the progressive liberal Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils who would otherwise have supported a struggle for democracy.
Did Hindia promise or indicate its support for a Tamil Eelam when VR 1976 was passed?
What have you as a people achieved in the last 30 years of intensive destruction? Have you had time to draw up a Profit & Loss account and a Balance Sheet as at 19 May 2009?
Let me see your P&L and BS. Please note I am not interested in decentralised LTTE investments, nor those rich comfortably retired former money collectors.
After Biafra you are the only people who gained nothing from 30 years of war, bartered nothing in exchange for the arms the LTTE had.
You are the only people who turned your friends into enemies.
So what has the VR 1976 achieved since its declaration?
/
Northern VVT / April 1, 2016
The Jaffna peninsula, Kilinochi, Mannar, Wanni and Mullaitivu to the North is a regional territory of the island of Ceylon for centuries… We don’t have to fight for separatist goals anymore when we are a distinct zone already or have a homeland for ourselves. Lol. We don’t have to say Sri Lankan or cling on to one unified nationhood concept that exists in constitutional papers. We are simply the Northerners or the Northern Tamils.
The Eastern province may be sri lankan in character. But we are the distinct Northern Jaffnese. Next year there will be the Jaffna International airport and the KKS ports may get an upgrade. Lets build this place to the North that is growing fast! The Sinhalese don’t matter here anymore as it during the 3 decade civil war. On devolution of more powers/removal of army one has to wait and see :(
/
Kettikaran / April 2, 2016
Eelaventhan may have his shortcomings. But the man I knew in the Lecture circuit in Colombo 3 decades ago has been passionate about the cause of the Lankan Tamil Nation. He fearlessly espoused justice for Tamils in a dangerous atmosphere in those days when the Army/Police arrested anyone and everyone under the PTA almost merely for being a Tamil. The idea more was to make some quick money from these Tamils illegally taken in.
Let us give him some credit.
Kettikaran
/
K Sundaram / April 2, 2016
Barathan
Eelaventhan Manickavasakar must return to SL without fiddling with his asylum claim in Canada and reinvigorate the Vaddukodai resolution there.
He is a good man but a gutless pompous.
In Canada, he could negotiate with the Canadian government through a real estate agent to buy an island freehold in a freezing corner and host his Vaddukottai flag, thus achieving the transcontinental objective of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam.
Failures are pillars of success and for Eelaventhan likes failures are ongoing failures.
/
Prasad / April 2, 2016
Eelaventhan
“Mr. Jinnah with his unforgettable smile uttered “that he readily agree that Gandhi & Nehru are great men. They think of India as a whole & they’re above narrow parochialism. But I’m asking this question, are they immortal beings for us to entrust the future of our nation to these mortal beings. That is why I say, that the permanent political safe guard for the Muslims is the creation of Pakistan.”
Mr. Mohd Ali Jinnah was a visionary leader who trusted Gandhi & Nehru but not the Hindu Indians where as our so called Ceylon Tamil leaders, the Ponambalams and others (accept SJV) were damn fools, they trusted the Sinhala-Buddhist leaders and today we see the consequences. If they had the vision like Mr. Jinnah, today the Sinhalese and Tamils would have been living in a developed and peaceful world.
/
Mahen / April 1, 2016
Could you identify youself,[Edited out]?how many countries you passed through to arrive in on your present sophisticated destination[Edited out]
/
soma / April 1, 2016
However hard the Tamil racists are trying to ignore the elephant in the room , the Tamil majority living in areas outside North/East , and their continued desire to live among the Sinhalese a separate state for minority Tamils is only a pipe dream. Why, because we Sinhalese will demand that all Tamils (Tamil speaking people ) be physically relocated to North and East or be classified as second class citizens.
Apparently, Tamils who practise Islam as their religion would have none of it. We can’t be bothered about your internal differences of caste, religion or date of arrival in dealing with this critical problem. It is up to the Tamil speaking people to form a common front and present themselves for negotiations ir order to formulate a suitable devolutionary model to satisfy at least 90% of them.
Soma
Soma
/
Paul - Real Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 2, 2016
The only racists here are you and many of the Sinhalese bloggers, who don’t want acknowledge the ancient Tamil history in their land, their claim to their land and the war crimes and genocide that has been committed by all Sinhalese led Sri Lankan governments since independence on the island’s Tamils and creating all sorts of stupid excuses as to why the island’s indigenous Eelam Tamils should not be treated as equals.
The Majority of the Tamils living outside the north and east, almost 90% are Indian origin estate Tamils who have always lived there and the Tamil Muslims, also of Indian origin but this community have always denied their obvious largely low caste converted immigrant Indian Tamil origin and pathetically claim a fake Arab origin that only a few hundred elite southern trading families partly have. They have never identified with their other fellow non Muslim Tamils and have since independence overtly and covertly connived with the Sinhalese, to destroy the island’s indigenous Tamils their language religion and culture and steal their land, especially in the Tamil east. These people never came into the equation at all, as first of all their not indigenous but of fairly recent immigrant origin and have no claim to anything. Secondly despite being ethnically Tamil, they deny this and never acknowledge this obvious fact and have been one of the biggest anti Tamils.
The only people who matter and have a claim to their land are the indigenous Eelam Tamils and 70% of them live in their lands and even if they do not they have every right to self determination in their own lands. Just like the Scots the Irish and the Jews did. Do not try to twist the facts and statistics
/
Siva Sankaran Sarma / April 2, 2016
Cool story, bro :D
/
Tamil from the north / April 2, 2016
Sivasankaram sarma the slave boy, it is time you grew up you dumb fu&*.
/
Prasad / April 2, 2016
Siva Sankaran Sarma is a white man’s slave in UK.
/
Bedrock Barney / April 1, 2016
The Vaddukoddai Resolution, as analyzed and opined on above, also, in the end resulted in the lower income ethnic Tamils getting a gigantic ass whooping.
The resolution continues to hinder the nation building process. The resolution is invoked every time it is necessary to get Tamils to place a check next the ‘house symbol’ inside a polling booth. Then shelved until the next round of elections.
some
The resolution along with the Mahavamsa give Sinhala racists raison d’être. Udaya Gammanpilla and Wimal Weerawansa love the Vaddukoddai resolution.
The resolution made any subsequent and less extreme solution seem inadequate and demeaning to Tamils.
The resolution was also a final gambit of a politician in his twilight.
/
TeluguDesam / April 1, 2016
You want to start another war? What about the 55% of Tamils living in traditional Sinhala areas? Will you all go?
/
soma / April 1, 2016
Telugudesam
This is precisely the point I am struggling hard to drive into the dumb heads of crazy Tamil racists.
Soma
/
lal / April 1, 2016
The North and the East were inhabited by the Sinhalese for thousands of years before Tamil invaders, looters and coolies arrived from India. Sri Lanka has been re-united by the Sinhalese geographically and politically. The Tamil rule in the North, if there was any was a blimp in history and no more. Fancy day dreaming by various Tamil psuedo-historians will not change the Unitary Character of Sri Lanka. Life in Sri Lanka is better than in Tamil Nadu for Tamils. If anyone thinks otherwise please feel free to cross the Palk Strait. A modern democracy for all but there will be no ghettos as those squalid “Little Indias” in Sri Lanka.
/
Paul / April 2, 2016
The North and East was inhabited by Sinhalese for thousands of years before Tamil invaders! What is this another Mahavamsa fairy tale? There were no Sinhalese living in the island for thousands of years. The Sinhalese language and a people called Sinhalese only really came into existence from the 9TH century AD. So how can a non existent people be inhabiting lands?
The Make up of the modern Sinhalese. The vast majority of them 80% are descended from indigenous and Indian origin Tamils ancient medieval and recent. Around 50% of the present day are descended from low caste indentured/slave labour that was imported from the then Tamil country in India by the Portuguese and the Dutch. Sinhalese DNA is 70% in common with Indian Tamils compared to 17%DNA that indigenous Sri Lankan Tamils have in common with Indian Tamils. SO who are the descendants of Tamil invaders? You can lie but DNA will never lie. Even the rest of the Sinhalese DNA is largely common with Bengali. That is also not indigenous but another invader group.
Let me also mention that in the recorded history of Sri Lanka and the epigraphic evidence found till today, nowhere it mentioned that there was a mass influx/settlement of Tamils from South India to the North & East of Sri Lanka or there was a mass exodus of Sinhalese from the North and East to the South. In other words, that all the Sinhalese living in the North & East simply pack their bags and went to the South leaving all their lands to the newly arrived Tamils without any protest? Most of the Sinhalese have their ancestral native place name also as a part of their name, known as Vasagama. Is there any Sinhalese person from any part of Sri Lanka who can come out and say that his Vasagama is a name from any part of North or East? Even those Sinhalese who are living in the North and East today were colonized after 1948 by DS Senanayake. The so called Sinhala history scholars will never fail to say that the East was under the Kandyan Kingdom. It is true that some parts of the Eastern province came under the Kandyan Kingdom from time to time but it makes no difference to the Tamil position in regard to the inhabitancy of the Eastern province. The Tamils would have had and yet have no objection what so ever to the benevolent and accommodating rule of the kandyan kings whether they were Kalinga or Nayakkar, and see no inconsistency in the Tamil claim to the Eastern province even under the Kandyan rule. On the other hand, I have never come across a Sinhala person or family that claimed an Eastern province habitancy or origin. If you speak to the Sinhalese living in the Eastern province, each one of them will say that their grandfather or great grandfather is from the South where as there are any number of Tamils who hail from the East and proudly proclaim their habitancy.
There is enough archeological evidence to prove that the Tamils have also lived outside the North & East (even in down South) but there is NO evidence what so ever to prove that the Sinhalese lived in the North & East. The census of Ceylon conducted in 1881 also indicates that the two Tamil provinces were inhabited almost exclusively by Tamils in the late nineteenth century (Census of Ceylon, 1881). The Sinhalese population constituted only 1.8% of the total population of the two Tamil provinces in 1881; Sinhalese accounted for only 0.51% of the total population of the Northern Province, and 4.2% of the Eastern Province.
It is arrogance if the Sinhalese tell the Tamils of North East who have roots in Sri Lanka from the ancient Anuradhapura/Polonuwara period that they have no homeland in Sri Lanka and go back to Tamil Nadu if you cannot accept Sinhala-Buddhist language, religion and culture as the significant culture of Sri Lanka including the Tamil NorthEast.
In any historical research, it is natural to change the views and assumptions, because up to now, we have no definite answers to so many unanswered questions in the fields of Archeology, history, anthropology, epigraphy and etymology in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, daily we stumble across several new findings and they contribute to new historical vistas. Therefore, based on new facts, one’s earlier conclusion has to be compromised to adopt changes. History is a continuous process of investigation without any end in sight. For example, for the last 40 years, the Sinhala Buddhist Chauvinists, the Pseudo-historians and bogus scholars (charlatans) have built up a very strong love and affection towards the Tamil PhD student Karthigesu Indrapala due to his 1965 PhD thesis which was not in favor of the Tamils. When the well renowned and recognized former History professor of the Jaffna University, the same Prof. Karthigesu Indrapala retired from his profession after 30 years of research as a Senior Archeologist/Historian/epigraphist and a University Don, he settled down in Australia. All those who kept on using the PhD student Karthigesu Indrapala’s 1965 PhD thesis as a guide in all their writings must have had a heart attack when they read the book what Prof. K. Indrapala published in 2005, 40 years after his 1965 PhD thesis where he says his PhD dissertation is completely out of date that even he does not have a copy of his 1965 PhD thesis what he wrote 40 years ago as a PhD student. Therefore, it is absolutely natural that people change their opinions upon new findings.
Lastly it is Tamil and not Sanskrit or Pali that has made the largest contribution to the formation of modern Sinhala, proving the fact that modern day Sinhalese are basically Tamils who converted to Buddhism from around 2300 years ago and mixed their Tamil dialect with the Pali and Sanskrit of Buddhism to gradually form modern Sinhalese. 40% of modern Sinhalese vocabulary is derived from Tamil. That is the single largest contributor to modern Sinhalese vocabulary. The rest is a mixture of Pali, Prakrit and Sanskrit. Take out the Tamil out of Sinhalese and there is no Sinhalese. The Sinhalese grammar lexicon and syntax is purely Tamil based. Its alphabets are purely derived from the Tamil alphabets and not from Pali or Sanskrit. Basically Sinhalese is language that has a very strong Dravidian/Tamil foundation on which a Indo/Aryan super structure has been built.
All the words describing the island are derived from Tamil and not from Sinhalese Pali or Sanskrit. Even the word Sinhala.
Ceylon from the ancient Tamil word Eelam/Eezham, meaning the land of toddy or Metal. Just like the Eezhava community closely associated with toddy tapping and are supposed to have migrated to then Tamil Kerala from then Tamil Eezham.. Serendib from Cheranthivu( the island of the Cheras an ancient Tamil kingdom that is modern day Kerala). Taprobane is a corruption of the word Tamaraparani or Tamaraporuni that still flows in Southern Tamil Nadu and empties in the Gulf of Mannar. The word Sinhala is the Pali version of another ancient Tamil word for the island Chingkalam meaning the red land or land of copper. The ancient Tamil speaking population in the island were called either Chingkallavar or Eezhavar. ( Hela in Pali). Now one ethnic group uses one term to describe themselves and the other ethnic group the other term Eezham/Eelam. Lanka or it old Tamil version Illankai is Austronesian. Nothing derived from Sinhalese Pali or Sanskrit.
The ancient indigenous dialect of the island Elu( Hela in Pali) was a semi Tamil simple Dravidian language. So was the Vedah language. Both Elu as well as old Sinhalese was very close to Tamil.
Tamils who were good seafarers traders and invaders of other lands living 18 miles from the shores of the island in India would have come and settled here since prehistoric ancient times and not North Indians who never had a history of sea trade or invasions. Tamil fishermen would have been looking at the shores of northern and eastern Sri Lanka when they were fishing. Look at all the ancient Siva Temples thousands of years old in the north and east that were destroyed by the Portuguese and now rebuilt.
Whom are you trying to fool with these racist fairy tales?
/
Siva Sankaran Sarma / April 2, 2016
Cool story, bro :D
/
Bedrock Barney / April 3, 2016
You need to expand your argument further.
/
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / April 1, 2016
Watershed or quagmire?
The biggest mistake the Tamil politicians and hotheads made! One thing I have learned in life is that those who want to do something for a cause like ours, do not waste time passing resolutions, but do what has to be done. We never did. Our politicians- the shortsighted Vaichchol Veera ( Braves big in words) created the conditions, hand in hand with the Sinhala political establishment and extreme, for the Tiger phenomenon to arrive, do enormous damage and disappear, leaving the Tamils to drown in a quagmire.
Please repent and absolve yourselves for the foolish and shortsighted mistakes you and your ilk made.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
/
ramona therese fernando / April 1, 2016
If ever on Earth, a tiny exclusive minor country exists as a pure issue of the major country, or a tiny minor country exists to hold onto its purity in spite of the impurity of the major mother country, then that minor county resides in the state of Nazi Fascism.
/
Gopal Patpodi / April 1, 2016
//Mr. Chelvanayakam replied prophetically… “We would make such a nuisance of ourselves that they (the Sinhalese) would throw us out.”//
Can you not even now realise that the idiotic strategy didn’t work? Our idea of making a nuisance of ourselves was to go on a killing spree, their response was also the same, massacring tens of thousands in the finale at Mullivaikkaal.
Prophet? Bollocks!
/
Vibhushana / April 1, 2016
Just when Gamini Dissanayake, JRJ and Cyril Mathew were about to go down in history as “racist” this fella comes along with this fantastic piece of writing. Good timing I’d say!
This is what Gamini, JRJ and Cyril had to deal with. They were just reacting to this muck! I think one sentence hits the nail on the head.
Chelvanayagam had come to the conclusion as early as 1958 that the Sinhala leaders were “not big enough to rule the Tamils.
I have seen this strange psychology with kitchen hands who used to work for us. There are some servants who just cannot understand compassion. Its mostly taken as a sign of weakness and they begin to take all kinds of liberties.
Why else would Vellala who was made into a Saiva “untouchable” first and a European slave did nothing to protest?
The moment Buddhist compassion is shown and shackles taken away by the Tamil coolie all kinds of liberties are taken.
Its like this feral dog has entered the house, soils the carpet and breaks the fine China. When the dog tries to tell the owner he cannot kick him out because the landlord is “not big enough to rule the dog”.
/
Pacs / April 1, 2016
The Tamil politics is always guided by those who has no fundamental or basic knowledge in civics, politics and governance.
/
Aia / April 1, 2016
Mr Mani
Don’t you think it is more apt if it worded “Vadukoddai Resolution: A Blood Shed In the History of Illangai Tamils.”
At the least with hindsight, I thought Tamils have learnt a lesson, apparently people like you weren’t, even after sacrificing that many young lives. Keep harping on it as one of the best turning points in Tamils history might make you feel good and help seek some cheap attention, it only does just that. People like Dr Neelan were able to see the colossal blunder made by Tamils then, it took years for others to realize where it led us. Ironically Nelan had to pay a high price for some ones stupidity and short sighted motives. Moderates who facilitated the resolution were the ones first to realize the derailment when guns turned on them and tag them as traitors but it was too late to turn the clock back, and then all other militant groups were washed down. When all the moderates and not so moderates were cleaned up, it was only a matter of time before LTTE is cleaned up, and the rest is history. Gloating on the Resolution is no use for anyone other than hurting those who lost the loved ones.
Sadly, the maturity expected with aging hasn’t developed. And, so sad, you were the type who were trusted to guide Tamils destiny. Grow up.
/
Tungsan Yu / April 1, 2016
I notice there are 2 jokers on CT who keep us regularly entertained.
1.Eelaven Manick &
2.Dyan Jaya
What if we put them in a ring with gloves, one a weak vegetarian and the other a regular boozer.
Might resemble the 2 ronnies.
/
Tungsan Yu / April 1, 2016
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/vellahlas-first-crushed-tamil-rivals-for-jobs-power/
/
sekara / April 1, 2016
Many may have missed or forgotten that the drift towards the Vaddukkoddai Resolution started with the humiliation of A Amirthalingam in the 1970 polls.
To recapture his position at the top of Tamil nationalist politics, AA encouraged extreme positions on many issues as well as Tamil youth militancy, (part of which of course was due to anger about Standardization 1970/71 and a series of unwise acts of the government). Insensitive aspects of the constitution of 1972 contributed too.
What was bad about the Resolution was that the Tamil public were denied the opportunity to debate Tamil Eelam prior to the Resolution, after a series of public debates on “Tamil Eelam” between the revolutionary communists and Tamil nationalists in the North demonstrated that the TULF had no plans to achieve the goal, let alone its undesirability etc. Best known of those was the debate between TULF’s Dharmalingam and the (revolutionary) Communist Party’s Sanmugathasan in 1975, presided by ‘Orator’ Subramaniam. Sanmugathasan.
Debate thereafter were prohibited by the TULF leadership, and after the Resolution was adopted, sentiment got the better of sense and later gun-toting young men stifled dissent.
The hypocrisy of the FP leadership was significant too.The FP’s silence on the assassination of former Jaffna Mayor Duraiappa in 1975, was an effective endorsement. That was not long after followed by public hints that certain Tamil ‘traitors’ deserved to die.
After the 1977 elections, the FP/TULF was unable to control youth violence, which soon turned against their lot.
The Resolution also had much to do with the need for an issue on which the FP/TULF could plead for votes, as the language issue had exhausted itself as a vote puller after he FP joined the UNP-led regime in 1965.
Unlike earlier, the inaction of the FP/TULF– after receiving a massive mandate and a secret deal with the UNP, which they supported in the South –was seen as betrayal by many of its supporters, especially the young, who made the Resolution their own militant project.
Vaddukkoddai Resolution, really was no mistake of the Tamil leadership, but an inevitable and logical consequence of is elitist politics.
/
Barathan / April 1, 2016
Sekara
A graphic description of our regress. Three defeats (GGPonnambalam & M Sivasithambaram, TC + A.Amirthalingam, FP) brought two parties together into one formation, TULF. The governments confronted it with superior force, Tamils rejected the formation for its failures and impetuous youth faced defeat.
Where do we go from there is the challenge? Continuing to worship a Resolution of 40 year vintage which took us nowhere?
/
Native Vedda / April 2, 2016
Barathan
SJ/sekera is a self hating Demela.
He would be happy if China ruled this country.
There isn’t much difference between SJ/sekera and ramona grandma therese fernando, both type things in this forum that they don’t really mean.
/
Colgate / April 2, 2016
// SJ/sekera is a self hating Demela. //
Oh come on – that’s not fair. See comment from Agnes below (40 odd years too late, but at least he gets it now and is man enough to admit it!). VR laid the foundation for disaster. Idiot VP did the rest. SJ’s admiration for China is irrelevant.
/
Agnos / April 3, 2016
Colgate,
Are you by any chance Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake @Colgate?
Anyway, it didn’t take me 40 years to see the the downside of VR; maybe 10–15 years. I am Agnos, not Agnes. Thanks.
/
Colgate / April 3, 2016
Agnos: //10-15 and not 40//. Well done, you certainly are bit cleverer than we thought! Similarly, you were pushing for RH to be VC Jaffna, then it took you a couple of years to realize he was not suitable for such office and were recommending he be appointed Dean/Professor. Isn’t there a lesson in these for you to reflect upon?
/
SJ / April 4, 2016
Colgate
Thanks.
To clarify matters, I am no admirer of China, especially since it moved away from socialism. Yet there are matters where China conducts itself in better ways than other global powers, especially the West.
Tamil nationalists have chronic anti-China prejudices which blind them to reality, and one can do little about it, except occasionally point to factual errors for the benefit of the intellectually honest few.
Labelling people as this or that and attacking the label— since the content is too strong to handle —is for the weak and cowardly.
/
Agnos / April 2, 2016
Sekara,
As a barely 10 year old boy then, I was in sync with the Vaddukoddai Resolution (VR).
I could see that many people, including relatives who were stalwarts of the FP, held SJV in high esteem. Because the resolution was from such an esteemed man, I too believed in it. It was much later that I learned that by then he was suffering from an advanced stage of Parkinson’s. So Amirthalingam and some others in the FP must have been the driving force behind the resolution, with SJV merely acting as a figurehead by then.
Regardless, it is time for Tamils to acknowledge that VR was a grave blunder for two reasons:
1. The FP couldn’t even make any progress on its stated goal of federalism by then; so the declaration of the goal of Eelam was a fantasy, akin to children imagining going into space even before they could first learn to walk and run. It was all emotional make-believe. Perhaps they got the wrong lessons from Indira Gandhi’s intervention to separate Bangladesh from Pakistan– some speeches on TULF platforms, such as those by Vannai Anandan, indeed referred to Bangladesh; perhaps they forgot that geographically Bangladesh was already separate; perhaps TN’s Dravidian parties, indulging in emotional politics of their own within TN, found a convenient cause in SL and encouraged the FP leaders in the course they were adopting.
2. VR gave an excuse for extremists among the Sinhalese to rally around an anti-Tamil/anti-separatist cause, equating federalism with separatism. Had the TULF stayed with federalism as its maximal position, even in the face of anti-Tamil pogroms in 1958,1977 and 1983, they would still have faced militant pressure from Tamil youths, but could at least have argued consistently, within and without SL, that theirs was a principled, achievable goal, and garnered support from progressive segments of the Sinhalese polity as well as internationally. Instead, the only thing VR did was make even federalism less likely. Eelaventhan and others of his ilk, such as those with the TGTE, fail to realize this even after the colossal failure of the separatist Tamil nationalist project in Mullivaikkal.
/
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / April 2, 2016
Agnos,
In 1964 or 1965, Chelvanaygam accompanied by Amirthalingam came to our school to address us the senior students. SJV had to be supported to walk, was quite weak, his hands shook and he was mumbling. Amirthalingam put his ear near SJV’s mouth and then intoned the words the former supposedly uttered. It appeared even then that Amirthalingam was saying what he wanted to. Imagine the situation a few years later!
Dr.RN
/
sekara / April 4, 2016
I do not dispute much of what you say.
As I am a significantly older than you, I know a little more of the history of TC & FP politics.
There were some honest leaders in the two parties. But class and class interests dictated political thought and action all along.
/
Suresh / April 1, 2016
I’m sick to death of Mr Manickavasagar and his ilk, living in far-away lands in comfort, still bleating about Eelam. If they are so concerned for their people, why don’t they come back here, live among them and try to assist them monetarily, physically, socially and mentally? Don’t they realise that the Tamils in Sri Lanka have gone to hell and back? I can assure Mr M and co that the majority (and a big one at that!) have absolutely no desire to take up arms again. They just want to integrate with the rest of the country and get their lives back on track. So, my message to Messers Rudrakumaran and friends is, if you want to help, just drop this jaded,faded refrain, come over and try to get things back on track within a unified nation. Otherwise, just curl up and die!!
/
lal / April 1, 2016
The way forward is to transform Sri Lanka to a modern, secular, multi- religious and cultural, democratic socialist nation. The new costituition should reflect that character/s and empower the law and order officials to protect every citizen and their right to live in peace and with equal opportunity. I have never known a Tamil being refused services in a Sinhala restaurant or vice versa, as it frequently happened to people of color in UK, US and Australia (I along with Sinhala and Tamil friends have been refused entry to restaurants in England in late 1970s and it hurt). Discrimination in food, employment, housing in particular should be stamped out and perpetrators punished. The writer is not interested in fair play for all but has hunger for political power for which he will sacrifice the lives of thousands of innocents.
/
Native Vedda / April 2, 2016
lal loo
“I along with Sinhala and Tamil friends have been refused entry to restaurants in England in late 1970s and it hurt”
Probably they knew a racist when the saw one, hence they refused you entry.
/
Paul / April 2, 2016
All that is fine and how does devolution and self determination for the indigenous Eelam Tamils stop all this? It only enhances this and protects their land language culture from further Sinhalese/Muslim encroachment and discrimination. So that even if they are not treated well in the Sinhalese south, they are safe in their own lands, as the way the Sinhalese and their Muslim allies are behaving even this may not be an option soon.
/
Native Vedda / April 2, 2016
Suresh
” If they are so concerned for their people, why don’t they come back here, live among them and try to assist them monetarily, physically, socially and mentally?”
If racist living outside this island could put forward racist constitution, why not another equally stupid person living abroad to type equally stupid statement.
Here is the alternative proposal for a racist constitution:
Global Sri Lankans Forum calls for devolution of limited power to districts
Global Sri Lankans Forum, (GSLF), a group of expatriate Sri Lankans in Europe, North America, Australia and West Asia submitted their proposals to the proposed amendments to the Sri Lankan Constitution to the Chairman of the Committee of Public Representations on the Constitution (CPRC) Secretariat Office.
http://www.island.lk/
index.php?page_cat=article
-details&page=article-
details&code_title=142396
/
Bensen Berner / April 1, 2016
A very original piece of writing. Bensen
/
Pygmalion / April 1, 2016
Eelaventhan!
Kanagendran,have you still not been deported from Canada!
After reading this rubbish of yours,we all must rally round to keep you at Canada.
Tamils and Sinhalese are attempting Reconciliation.
You are dreaming of Separation!
A one time typist at the Central Bank is also dropping big names!
Please, its because of people like you that we are unable to find a durable solution to this ethnic problem!
/
Kopal / April 1, 2016
You also contributed much of the misery of the Tamil. At least at this old age try to reflect back on sending thousand of young youths to meaningless death and destruction by your rhetoric politics. If you cant do some thing good please do not do any harm to the future generation.
You cant find Sinhala racism with Tamil Racism. Period.
/
Rajash / April 2, 2016
Vaddukoddai Resolution: A Watershed In The History Of Eelam Tamils….
The water shed that lead to bloodshed!
/
Dr C P Thiagarajah / April 2, 2016
We know all these histories. It is a waste of time trying to educate the Sinhalese who are convinced that they should preserve Sri-Lanka for the Sinhalese only against all democratic principles. I have worked in all parts of Sri-Lanka where none of the patriotic Sinhalese would have ever set foot on. Sinhalese know that they are not a pure race. Even Anantha Tissa de Alwis a minister in UNP or SLFP said so in parliament. He said that if Amirthalingam could change his name into a Sinhala name they would accept him as a Sinhalese.
Even to eradicate a rebel group the Sinhalese government should not have massacred 150000 Tamils in Mullivaikal in May 2009 alone. They also kept the entire Vanni population in filthy unsuitable concentration camps for years just to suppress the Tamils. This is the view of the UNHRC.
Therefore Mr Eelaventhan should give up all the follies carried out by the past Tamil leaders and now concentrate on getting some sort of a political settlement that will ensure the continuity of the Traditional Homeland.
The best opportunity is now to show the world that the Tamils need a separate land identity to live in Sri-Lanka where communal ism is rife in all Sinhala political parties. Will all Tamils ver the world te at this juncture a united demand to the UN.
/
Paracetamol / April 2, 2016
Dear Dr Thiyagarajah,
Your imagination seems a bit limited when you say “150000 were killed in May 2009 alone!” You should try “millions were wiped out by the genocidal regime” so the world will believe you even more.
/
Siva Sankaran Sarma / April 2, 2016
We Thamizh and our tales :D
/
Pacs / April 2, 2016
Reincarnation depends on the course of minds.
/
jansee / April 2, 2016
History and all aside, the hands that held together on independence day became the very hands for “fist fights” over the years. What was once a serendipity, even literally speaking, had become a nation of political rascals and confused citizens. The goodwill that prevailed in 1948 had vanished over the years and so much of blood has been spilled. The hardened positions that had emanated sees no prospect of diminishing any time soon.
To the extent that international involvement has taken a grip, and that now the UNHRC has been knocking on the doors, talking about sovereignty insofar as the divide is concerned is actually meaningless. The broken promises, again and again and again and the religious intrusion into politics, the penchant of rogue politicians to drive the wedge among the races wider and wider hardly can comfort any of us.
Now the dabbling had started, foreign or local investigation, there appears to be no closure for the gaping wounds that had torn apart the nation. The squabbling of who is right and who is at fault sickens our core and yet the politicians are having a field day. Let me in again and I will show the greatness of SL, says Gotabaya the former defence secretary. His brother, the former president, has not given up on the chance to bite the cherry again. I doubt the present president even has time to think on sorting out the colossal problems plaguing the country with the former rulers hell bent on checkmating his every move.
Then, this is the damning story of SL today and the crystal ball does not predict a better future any time sooner. The IMF had already started sharpening its claws to claw back into the lives of Sri Lankans. Yet the irony of holding each others throats, oblivious of smarting politicians laughing their way to the top, will continue to plague the country.
I know there will be those that will run down the suggestion that it is about time to honestly realise that amity between the Sinhalese and Tamils will be only a pipe dream. If anyone honestly believes that politicians are going to allow handshakes between them are nothing but dumb. It may either be two different nations or where each of the political structure does not encroach on the other. For one, politicians will certainly be stripped of the game they have been playing all along and each will not ride on stepping on the other on their way to the top. It will be fair game when they go for the mandate among their own.
Oh yes, we have heard that often stated “democracy, opportunities, fairness, etc. will somehow magically solve the problems but just show me one single proof that this magic is not illusory. You know the joke, after 68 years, these people are sitting in parliament warming their backsides to “find the best solution to rule this nation” Looking at the going-on, any confidence that this may be achievable is plainly stupid. After the 1983 riots came the SL accord, then came the ceasefire accord. Almost everyone had hoped that ending the war may finally nail the coffin, but the ghosts are still dancing as gleefully as ever. Again broken promises, finger-pointing, and all the politicking, who gives a damn about the sheep and the goats.
If the two feuding sides are to go their separate ways, then there will be no reason for foreigners to poke their nose, and breathing over the rulers of SL. This wretched emotion and ego that had pitted them into such a bloody animosity should not be allowed to continue. When politicians are deprived of the plot, then some sense of truism will emerge. Let there be serendipity in SL – in the true sense. All those who rode their way to the top, from SWRD, JJ, Srimavo all are gone leaving the nation to gasp for breath. Mahinda equated winning the war with winning the peace but he too lost. One thing is for sure. As long as that this problem festers, none of the races are going to live in peace, except for the politicians to build their empire. Who knows, this time around, Gotabaya may reserve a place for his brother Mahinda too in the USA. Where do you think the ordinary folks who worry about the next meal will go.
As much as the Tamils found about the difficulties in ruling after the NPC elections, the Sinhalese will find out who among their politicians will deserve to rule them if they had to rely only on Sinhalese votes. Ask Mahinda, he will tell you tons of stories – how the Tamils refusing to vote propelled him to power and how their votes contributed to his downfall. I am sure deep down he may sleep with this – either a blessing or a curse except that if it haunts him, he still has his mine to live his life through. The people are left to pick the pieces.
/
Lone Wolf / April 3, 2016
“Eelaventhan Manickavasakar” or what ever your real name is,
“Let us unite under the TGTE banner to fulfill the Vaddukkoddai Resolution as the panacea for all the political ills facing Eelam Tamils.”
You, Usha and the rest of the TGTE gang are on my list of not worth to read except for the comments but I accidentally read the very end of your article.
Is not the TGTE a spent shell and thus a totally useless organization for us still in SL?
How does a person living in Jaffna join your banned organization? Do you have any activities in SL?
Is this article part of your efforts to avoid deportation to SL?
Good luck with your fight. Please read about Custer’s Last Stand.
/
Mano / April 4, 2016
Only those who fail to understand regional and international power politics will blame the Sinhalese, Tamils and Prapakaran for the present day plight.
Can any Sinhalese or for that matter anybody be a Tamil, Christian or Muslim can genuinely claim that Sri Lanka is still a totally independent free Country? Free from Indian, American and Chinese Hegemony?
We all are idiots still fighting ourselves and without realizing that we have lost everything to the International Crooks.
/