{"id":87681,"date":"2013-05-20T12:00:44","date_gmt":"2013-05-20T06:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=87681"},"modified":"2013-05-27T01:49:57","modified_gmt":"2013-05-26T20:19:57","slug":"tamil-eelam-freedom-charter-a-giant-step-in-the-right-direction-prof-francis-boyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/tamil-eelam-freedom-charter-a-giant-step-in-the-right-direction-prof-francis-boyle\/","title":{"rendered":"Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter: A Giant Step In The Right Direction – Prof. Francis Boyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lancaster, Pennsylvania \u00a0– report by\u00a0Nimal Vinayagamoorthy –\u00a0Chair, Conference Committee<\/em><\/p>\n

In the legendary city of Lancaster (Pennsylvania, U.S.A) the birth place of Thaddeus Stevens, the immortal 19th century egalitarian and a leading champion for the emancipation proclamation, the Prime Minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, Rt. Hon. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran<\/a><\/span>\u00a0solemnly unveiled the Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter<\/a><\/span> in the presence of a host of academics, Human Rights activists, legal luminaries, TGTE MPs, Senators, political pundits, and professionals and a large gathering of Tamils. They have travelled from countries far away as Norway to Australia and India to Italy to be present at this epoch-making event.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Enumerating the Cardinal principles of the Tamil nationhood, historic homelands with the Right of self-determination, the Prime Minister of TGTE Solemnly and eloquently read out the proclamation consisting of 21 articles of freedom. The traditional Tamil drum used by the Tamil Kings in Eelam in the pre-colonial era to herald any news to the people were sounded as a symbol of the heralding of the proclamation of the Freedom Charter.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Freedom Charter immediately after its official Proclamation, Professor Francis Boyle, one of the architects behind its formulation said that \u201c.. Under International laws and covenants the Tamils of Eelam have not only the Right to self-determination but that right also includes the right to establish a free and sovereign\u00a0\u00a0 State of Tamil Eelam consisting of their historical homelands. \u2026And here I wish to quote from an international treaty to which the government of Sri Lanka is a party, thus implicitly recognizing that the Tamils of Sri Lanka have a right of self determination and this is from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the government of Sri Lanka is a party. They are bound by their own treaty and it says quite clearly in Article One, \u201call peoples have the right of self-determination.\u201d The Tamils of Sri Lanka are a people. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cBy virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.\u201d Those are rights that the Tamils of Sri Lanka have today even as recognized by the government of Sri Lanka\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that \u201c..\u00a0 Those are group rights and not just individual rights. And those are group rights that must be protected because the government of Sri Lanka has attacked the Tamils as a group, not just as individuals but as a group. So, since Tamils have been victims as a group, they must be protected as a group. And one of the basic rights of all that the Tamils have is this right of self-determination\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>He continued,\u00a0 \u201cEelam Tamils living across the world must \u00a0\u00a0establish social, political, economic and financial\u00a0\u00a0 structures and institutions as if they are already an independent nation. Do not wait until your territory is liberated from foreign occupation..\u201d He further illustrated that \u201cTerritorial claim is only one of the elements of State formation. The TGTE has already taken the right steps to form a government with a cabinet exercising multiform ministerial functions\u00a0 and this is a great march forward in the right direction. In this context your solemn venture and proclamation of the Freedom Charter in keeping with international norms and\u00a0\u00a0 protocols is bound to receive the recognition and encouragement of other States and nations.\u00a0 Your position as an Observer in the United Nations like the State of Palestine is not far away. Now you must harness all your energies to attain that place ..\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately following the Proclamation of the Freedom Charter, Dr. Nuran Nabi a freedom fighter who was once counted as the brain behind the Bangladesh Mukti Bahini Liberation\u00a0 Front,\u00a0 Dr. Ramsay Clark, former Attorney General of the USA and Hon. Daniel Mayan, a Representative of the newly formed\u00a0 Government of South Sudan reiterated their support to the cause of Eelam Tamils and emphasized the historic significance and importance of the freedom charter.<\/p>\n

A two day International Academic conference exploring the means to realize the legitimate political aspirations of the Tamils of Eelam was held prior to the proclamation of the Freedom Charter in the Historic Freedom Hall of the city of Lancaster where Thaddeus Stevens the great Champion of the Rights of the oppressed slaves in America left behind a lasting legacy of advocating for free speech and abolition of slavery already in the early part of the 19th<\/sup> century. It is because of the symbolic importance of this place that the Prime Minister of\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 TGTE chose to unveil the Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter in this legendary city.<\/p>\n

Professor Francis Boyle a leading advocate for Freedom to the oppressed national communities was the resource person at this conference at which several research papers on an array of topics related to the Conference were presented by eminent scholars and academics.<\/p>\n

Among the research topics \u00a0discussed \u00a0were:\u00a0\u00a0 Eelam \u2013Geopolitical Perspectives<\/em> by Prof. Manivannan (Chennai), The Future of the Tamils of Eelam<\/em>\u00a0 by Dr. Brian Senaviratne (Australia), Dialects of Unity and Separation<\/em> by Dr. Satya Sivaram, Non-Violent Modes of Struggle for Freedom<\/em> by Dr. Paul Newman,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 International Crimes Prosecution under Universal Jurisdiction<\/em> Dr. Alkatout (Germany),\u00a0 Historico-Political Legitimacy for Tamil Nationhood <\/em>by Prof. Chandrakanthan, (Canada) Inside Camps, Outside Battlefields<\/em> by Dr. Nimmi Gowrinathan (Canada)\u00a0 The Abiding Spirit of Eelam Tamil Women<\/em> by Prof. Saraswathi (Chennai), International Protection of Tamil Refugees<\/em> by Prof. David Matas (Canada),\u00a0\u00a0 Homeland , Nationhood and Self-Determination<\/em> by Prof. Peter Schalk (Sweden), Remedial Self-Determination<\/em>: War Crimes, Military Occupation and Inevitability of Eelam<\/em> by Prof. M. Sornarajah, Mechanism for Protection of the Vulnerable<\/em>\u00a0 by Mrs. Usha Sriskandarajah, (Canada), Absolute Sovereignty: A Moot Question<\/em> by Mr. V. Thangavelu,(Canada), New States: A case Study of East Timor <\/em>by Dr. David Suntha (UK), and Political and Diplomatic Strategies for Worldwide Recognition of Tamil Eelam <\/em>by Prof. Frederic Fappani (Switzerland).\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Professor Sriskanda Rajah from Uppsala University in Sweden was the chief facilitator of this conference and stated that the proceedings of this Conference will be soon on the TGTE website.<\/p>\n

The Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter can be viewed at www.tamileelamfreedomcharter.org<\/p>\n

By\u00a0Nimal Vinayagamoorthy –\u00a0Chair, Conference Committee<\/em><\/p>\n

Related posts;<\/p>\n

TGTE Launched \u2018Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter To Enshrine Clearly Enunciated Principles Of International Law<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

TGTE To Gather \u2018Freedom Demands\u2019 From Tamils All Over The Globe For The Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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