Is the Tamil Diaspora Against Unity in Sri Lanka?

“The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Tamil Diaspora is a diverse ethnic group. Amongst it, the majority are strongly connected to their kith and kin in the island of Sri Lanka.

Arguably, the Tamil Diaspora is also a very powerful body. It reflects the aspirations and the grievances of the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka who continue to live under severe suppression, in an open prison. Considering the Sri Lankan state’s oppression of the Tamil people on the ground, the interaction between them and the Tamil Diaspora, though invisible, is very efficient and effective.

Since May 2009’s Tamil genocide, the role of the Tamil Diaspora has reshaped to rebuild the lives, and social, economic, cultural and political structures of their beloved ones.

This is no easy task, given a powerful section of the Tamil Diaspora chooses not to send any financial contributions to their loved ones through the Sri Lankan government, the very agent which carried out the genocidal war against the Tamil nation and one which is accelerating the Sinhalisation process under the banner of ’development‘ and ’reconstruction‘.

Furthermore, while no genuine attempts are being made by the Sri Lankan state for a political solution to the Tamil national question, the Tamil Diaspora views engagement with the Sri Lankan state as legitimising Sri Lanka’s genocide against the Tamil nation and permitting its time-buying strategy to continue the structural genocide of the Tamil people.

Yet, the Tamil Diaspora continues through other means to empower their brethren. Keeping in mind the safety, security, survival and well-being of the Tamil people, these approaches and methods used to rebuild the Tamil people’s lives in their nation cannot be further elaborated on.

Despite the many positive interventions by them, on many occasions, these are neglected and the Tamil Diaspora purposely labelled as spoilers by the Sri Lankan state and a section of the International Community.

I have co-authored a paper[1] and written an article[2] about the Tamil Diaspora in the past two years. Two very recent developments have made me once again see the need to record the observations from the Tamil Diaspora’s point of view.

I wish to note firstly that I am completely opposed to all forms of racist and hateful actions being carried out against the Muslim people by Sinhala Buddhist chauvinists such as the Bodu Bala Sena. This is similar to the position I have taken when the Sinhala state executed atrocities against the Tamil nation. I support all anti-racist campaigns. My Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil friends are also aware of this.

Photo credit: Colombo Telegraph

Having clarified this, a photograph from the recently held “Rally for Unity” event where former Sri Lankan diplomat Dr. Dayan Jayatillake was present, provoked my thoughts. Dr. Jayatillake was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva during and after the war in 2009. When a special session, requested by Germany on behalf of 17 member states, at the UN Human Rights Council in late May that year attempted through a resolution to bring accountability to grave human rights violations committed during the final stages of the war, it was defeated under the leadership of Dr. Jayatillake. In essence, Dr. Jayatillake misled and deceived a section of the international community, justifying the Sri Lanka state’s violation of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law. Now, he no longer holds a diplomatic post. Yet, to date he has neither apologised for his past wrong-doings nor acknowledged the mass atrocities carried out by the Sri Lankan state he once represented. While his participation at “Hate Has No Place in Sri Lanka – Rally For Unity”  may have been appreciated or welcomed if his attendance had followed an acceptance of past wrong doings, in light of his unwillingness to do so, it not only allows his actions to be criticised but also makes the intention of the rally questionable.

My second disturbing observation is that of Sri Lanka’s former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka’s attendance at the World Press Freedom Day celebrations in Colombo on 3 May 2013. Sarath Fonseka is an alleged war criminal. There are also reports which implicate his involvement in the assassinations of several journalists, in particular the murder of prominent journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga.

Photo credit : Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai 

The idea of a man involved in the very activities which suppress and obstruct freedom of expression, being allowed to participate in an event that celebrates media freedom, is more than simply ironic. Far more ominous though is the fact that he was invited to light candles while Sandya Eknalygoda, wife of cartoonist Prageeth Eknalygoda who disappeared in January 2010, was not invited to do so despite her presence at the event.

These types of disturbing trends not only demotivate like-minded people but question the aim of legitimate causes. Personally, I hope my Sri Lankan brothers and sisters take this into consideration.

Yet, when these genuine concerns were also raised by members of the Tamil Diaspora, they were seen as acts of stirring disharmony.

The Tamil Diaspora also originated from the island. The large majority have at least one family member or relative residing in the island. The members of the Tamil Diaspora are also against hate; they too love peace. They are not against unity and as long there are genuine efforts to create a just and peaceful environment in the island they will support, if not at least appreciate it, along with their struggle for justice for their brethren.

This is a lesson I have learnt from the Tamil Diaspora throughout the last four years.

Of course there are shortcomings in the Tamil Diaspora, as in all other communities, that need to be overcome swiftly. Yet, that does not justify referring to them as spoilers.

A section of the International Community once saw the LTTE as the problem to resolving the conflict, believing the Sri Lanka state that elimination of the LTTE would create a space for a political solution and national reconciliation. However, evolving developments are clear evidence that past assumptions were incorrect. The same section of the International Community and the Sri Lankan state now see the Tamil Diaspora as trouble-makers.

The false lesson once taught by the Sri Lankan state has today forced all stakeholders of the ethno-political conflict of Sri Lanka to endure the consequences. Now exists a new opportunity to either fall into another trap laid out by the Sri Lankan state or to utilise the opportunity for course correction.

The world has already learnt a bitter lesson from Sri Lanka. The question now is: Will the concerned actors grab the opportunity and walk in the right direction? If yes, the Tamil Diaspora will march alongside with them.

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[1] http://www.berghof-peacesupport.org/publications/SL_Diaspora_Papers_Senthan-Balasundram.pdf

[2] http://groundviews.org/2011/02/18/the-tamil-diaspora-and-the-future-of-the-tamil-struggle/

This article first published in http://groundviews.org/2013/05/04/is-the-tamil-diaspora-against-unity-in-sri-lanka/

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Remembering Lasantha: Now they come for “everyone”

Now more than ever with the current state of affairs in Sri Lanka, the vacuum left by Lasantha’s death and his importance can be felt by anyone who is concerned about human rights, democracy, rule of law, and, of course, the independence of the judiciary. The Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Sunday Leader newspaper Lasantha Wickrematunge , better known as Lasantha, was brutally assassinated four years ago.  The cold- blooded murder took place on 8 January 2009 in a High Security Zone [HSZ] area of the Colombo suburbs.

Lasantha addressed the Sri Lankan President in his last editorial, which was published posthumously, “You will never be allowed to forget that my death took place under your watch. As anguished as I know you will be, I also know that you will have no choice but to protect my killers: you will see to it that the guilty one is never convicted. You have no choice.” As he precisely said, the killers continue to enjoy the culture of impunity. It was not just a murder, but also a persisting strong message to dissident journalists who oppose the regime’s non-democratic actions.

Missing professionalism

The murder contains serious consequences in relation to freedom of expression in Sri Lanka. The commanders of the assassination are not just ‘powerful people’, but ‘smart people’, too. This was what made them decide to kill Lasantha at that specific time, as they knew that from a long-term perspective his existence would be a serious obstacle to their wrongdoings.

Now, we are not just remembering Lasantha as a courageous human being, but also the absence of the professionalism he showed. He wanted to tell the truth, even after he knew the price that he would have to pay for it, Once again in January, four years after Lasantha was assassinated, Sri Lanka is in turmoil as the country’s reigning ruler elongates his grip of terror and oppression on the supreme power of the Judiciary.

Words of prophecy

It is noteworthy that the present Cabinet Minister of Higher Education, S.B. Dissanayake was sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment by a five Judge Supreme Court Bench headed by the then Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva on 7 December 2004 for defaming the Supreme Court during a speech he made at a function in Habaraduwa.  An irony in this is that, eight years later, under the direction of Sri Lankan President, the parliament is in the process to move an impeachment against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. As Lasantha wrote in his last editorial, “Indeed, murder has become the primary tool whereby the state seeks to control the organs of liberty. Today it is the journalists, tomorrow it will be the judges.”

Here is where, again, we perceive the contribution of Lasantha and the motive of those who directed the killers. At the time Lasantha was killed, ‘Sri Lanka was united as they fought against a common enemy to defend their national sovereignty and security’.  However, unbowed and unafraid, Lasantha did not want to be part of the ‘united elements’, because Lasantha knew their ulterior intentions. Based on his analysis and decisions, he warned Sri Lankans and sent the message to the international community about the government’s motives. This he did even in his last editorial, which became known as his self-obituary.

Unfortunately the response from the receiver’s end was a mode of deafening silence and Lasantha paid his life as the price. Prior to assassinating Lasantha, the Sri Lankan regime waged a stern campaign and low intensity war alongside its psychological warfare against the Tamil nation. In this stage Tamil journalists, media workers, intellectuals, human rights activists, humanitarian workers and civil society activists became prime targets under the banner of ‘war on terror’. It was a time where it was quite normal for me to wake up to messages of killings and to go to bed after attending funerals.

Following conscience

Until the third week of April 2006, I was mostly based in Jaffna and informed Colombo based journalists and human rights organizations / activists about grave human rights violations with the aim of either preventing the killings or to seek justice for the victims and survivors. However, the response was not effective or efficient. Nevertheless, at least a few people acted with responsibility and moral obligation, but their fate was cut short as either they were killed, imprisoned or compelled to leave the country. Even after the threatening killings, imprisonment of journalists and a considerable number of journalists’ decision to function in exile, Lasantha remained in the soil where he was born, and decided to continue his fight bravely.  Lasantha followed his conscience despite of state treachery. Ultimately, he stood and died for what he believed in.

In his last editorial he precisely pointed out that “violating the rights of Tamil citizens, bombing and shooting mercilessly, is not only wrong but shames the Sinhalese, whose claim to be custodians of the Dhamma is for ever called into question by this savagery - much of it unknown to the public because of censorship. What is more, a military occupation of the country's north and east will require the Tamil people of those regions to live eternally as second-class citizens, deprived of all self-respect. Do not imagine you can placate them by showering "development" and "reconstruction" on them in the postwar era. The wounds of war will scar them for ever, and you will have an even more bitter and hateful diaspora to contend with.”

Sinhalese as victims

Today, Sri Lanka’s national sovereignty and security has turned counterproductive against those who were ‘united to fight against the common enemy to defend their national sovereignty’. The newly emerging direct and imminent victims of the Sri Lankan state system are Sinhalese, including those who in a way remained silent or supported the genocidal war against Tamils. Time heals, history records, but this is where Lasantha distinguished himself from others. It is common opinion now, that, the present disastrous development would not have happened, if the majority of the Sinhala community had in the past stood for the Tamils’ dignity, freedom and other rights.

Yet, there is no strong opposition in the south against ongoing genocide in the Tamil nation. The Sri Lankan regime is tightening its terror grip step by step on different ethnic groups in diverse forms. The failure to recognize and stop it, will lead to a formation of Sri Lanka’s Iron Gate. If anyone is serious about respecting and honoring Lasantha, then it is their moral obligation to lend their voice against the injustice and oppression that is taking place in the island, in particular against the ongoing genocide of the Tamil nation. Otherwise, their “Sri Lanka Matha” will not only cry, but will die inch by inch and then the entire island will be a curse of Asia. This was not what Lasantha scarified his life for.

Lasantha's inspiration

Lasantha noted in his last editorial, “I hope my murder will be seen not as a defeat of freedom but an inspiration”. I would like close this piece with a few words mentioned by me in London, in January 2010, at the first year commemoration ceremony of Lasantha. We, the journalists have a moral responsibility to speak the oblivious truth about the injustice and non-democratic actions, which we have witnessed. Our fidelity to our ambition is consolidated. Our aspiration is to bring to life the aspirations of oppressed people. We know the path and its consequences, which we have chosen, but we are confident to continue our struggle, despite the risks that we encounter.


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