“We all know that the process of Genocide is continuing. In Eelam the colonization process and the enslavement process in continuing, as the power of the LTTE is not there to stop it. The process of Genocide is continuing here too. It is happening inside these buildings here in Geneva,” said Mr. Viraj Medis, a progressive Sinhala rights activist and a long-term supporter of the struggle of Eezham Tamils, while addressing the Pongku Tamil rally held in front of the UN office in Geneva on Monday. The real external architects of the genocidal war are now trying their ultimate spin. The US/British political offensive which is a crucial part the genocidal process is taking place right now within the Diaspora, cautioned Mr. Mendis of the International Human Rights Association, Bremen, Germany.
Citing the reference to “some countries” in the Heroes Day speech of the LTTE leader Mr. Pirapaharan in November 2008, Mr. Mendis said “The peace talks, the negotiation process, would not have collapsed, if not for the actions of these countries that your leader talks about. The war would not have started if not for the actions of these countries.”
“We all know who these countries are,” Viraj Mendis said particularly accusing the USA and Britain.
The US insisted on having a crucial aid meeting in Washington and kept the LTTE away from the negotiation process. By encouraging the JHU and JVP to mobilise the Sinhala racists, the USA destroyed the EU-sponsored PTOMS, Mr Mendis said.
“When even these two measures failed to break the peace process because of the EU’s continued position of taking a nominally even-handed stand towards the two negotiating parties, it is the British which used all of its political power to force the EU to ban the LTTE.”
“The British, the architects of the Sinhala supremacist unitary-state was instrumental in destroying the peace process to avoid the possibility of power-sharing thus keeping their state system intact,” Mr Mendis pointed out.
According to Mr. Mendis, the architects of the genocidal war now try to gain influence among the Tamil diaspora, to effectively hide their part in the genocide, to use the pressure of the diaspora to veer the Sinhala state away from China and to distance the diaspora from the ideals for which the LTTE stood for.
In the opinion of Mr Mendis, the process of diaspora unashamedly refusing to distance itself from the LTTE, such as that was seen in the Pongku Thamizh rally, should continue in order to win practical victories.
Pointing out that “The LTTE fought uncompromisingly for the rights of Eelam Tamils,” Mr Viraj Mendis said: “we will start to show the world that the Tamil Diaspora will fearlessly stand with the LTTE and not with those who organised its destruction.”
Full text of the address by Mr. Viraj Mendis follows:
As you will all remember, the Pongu Tamil movement started at a time when the Tamil liberation movement was very strong militarily. The Pongu Tamil movement expressed a political consolidation of this military power; it expressed a confident political-cultural expression of the freedom from within the people. An outsider who saw this could see the spiritual quality reminiscent of the ‘negro spiritual’ in USA, which had emerged through the African-American people’s struggle against slavery and racism in the USA. The difference was, as well as expressing the pain and the oppression of the Tamil people, Pongu Tamil movement expressed the power and confidence of the Tamil people whose armed struggle had brought them military parity with the racist forces and expressed the real possibility of living in freedom. And the fact that during the period of the peace process – which lasted nearly six years – the people in the Vanni lived under their own government underlined this possibility.
The remarkable thing about this event today is that, even though the military power of the LTTE which enabled the Tamil people to live freely has been destroyed, this demonstration is still called ‘Pongu Tamil’ – asserting to the world that the will to freedom of the Tamil people cannot be defeated. Tamils have tasted freedom. Remembering the sweetness of this taste through the unbearable bitterness and sorrow of what happened in 2009 is I think part of the struggle.
We all know that the process of Genocide is continuing. In Eelam the colonization process and the enslavement process in continuing as the power of the LTTE is not there to stop it. The process of Genocide is continuing here too. It is happening inside these buildings here in Geneva.
Here I repeat the incomparable leader of the Tamil people Vellupillai Prabhakaran in the heroes day message in 2008.
‘.. some countries which identified themselves as so-called Peace Sponsors, rushed into activities which impaired negotiations. They denigrated our freedom movement as a terrorist organisation. They put us on their black list and ostracised us as unwanted and untouchable. Our people living in many lands were intimidated into submission by oppressive limitations imposed on them to prevent their political activities supporting our freedom struggle. Humanitarian activities pursued by our law-abiding people in many countries, well within the purview of the law of the land, have been belittled and curtailed. These activities were aimed at providing humanitarian aid to helpless victims of genocidal attacks by the Sinhala Sri Lanka state in Tamil areas. However, these humanitarian activities were branded as criminal activities in those countries. Representatives of the Tamil people, along with community leaders were arrested, jailed and insulted. The explicit bias shown by the activities of these countries affected the talks, in its balance and in its consideration of our status as an equal partner. This further aggravated the racist attitude of the Sinhala state. Sinhala chauvinism was encouraged to raise its head with impunity and inevitably push the Sinhala state further on its war path… ‘
The peace talks, the negotiation process, would not have collapsed, if not for the actions of these countries that your leader talks about. The war would not have started if not for the actions of these countries.
We all know who these countries are. It is the USA who destroyed the negotiation process by insisting on having a crucial aid meeting in Washington – breaking the parity of status for the the first time and thereby pushing the LTTE out of the negotiation process. It is the USA, who by refusing to give money to PTOMS, the EU sponsored Tsunami fund, destroying the PTOMS by encouraging the JHU and the JVP to take legal and political action to mobilise the Sinhala racists. When even these two measures failed to break the peace process because of the EU’s continued position of taking a nominally even-handed stand towards the two negotiating parties, it is the British which used all of its political power to force the EU to ban the LTTE. The British, the architects of the Sinhala supremacist unitary-state was instrumental in destroying the peace process to avoid the possibility of power-sharing thus keeping their state system intact.
But now, the real external architects of the genocidal war – those who unleashed the Sinhala ‘dogs of war’ on the Tamils are trying their ultimate spin. In what they think is their brilliant move, they are trying to gain influence among the Tamil Diaspora to do three things. One, by working with the Tamil Diaspora – they could effectively hide their part in the Genocide. Two, by using human rights arguments with the help of the Tamils, they could put political pressure on the current regime, either to change it or to modify it, to veer the Sinhala state away from an alliance with the Chinese axis. Three, by making it conditional that the Diaspora distance itself from the LTTE, by ‘admitting to faults of the LTTE’, ‘accepting that there is a better way than the LTTE way’ – they will lay the basis to undermine the ideas what the LTTE stood for within the Diaspora community. This US/British political offensive, is I think, a crucial part the genocidal process, which is taking place, right now within the Diaspora.
All this gives special significance to naming this protest ‘Pongu Tamil’ thereby unashamedly refusing to distance yourself from the LTTE at its prime. We should continue this process by winning practical victories – especially by supporting a Europe wide campaign to release our brothers who are sitting in prison under the EU ban. By fearlessly campaigning to release our brothers in Germany, in the Netherlands and in other countries – we will start to show the world that the Tamil Diaspora will fearlessly stand with the LTTE and not with those who organised its destruction. (details on our website www.humanrights.de next week)
The LTTE fought uncompromisingly for the rights of Eelam Tamils. It is the LTTE that gave honour and self-respect to the Tamil Diaspora. Now it is the time for the Diaspora Tamils to fight fearlessly to safeguard the honour of the LTTE and what it stood and fought for.
Viraj Mendis – International Human Rights Association Bremen – Germany
19.09.11 Geneva
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