Sri Lanka’s sixty years of oppression has reached a climax. The machinery of the state is now focussed quite brazenly on eradicating the Tamil national identity. The internment of Tamils in squalid camps, the abductions and assassinations, the killing of journalists are all aimed at annihilating the existence of the Tamil nation.
Under these conditions, we in the Diaspora have an important role to play in preserving the Tamil national identity and continuing the struggle to secure Tamil political rights. By doing so we can ensure that Sri Lanka is never able to completely erase the Tamil national identity.
Nations only exist when their members act as if they exist. Conditions in Sri Lanka are increasingly making it impossible for Tamils to express their political will or maintain their national identity. In the Diaspora however, we face no such restrictions and must take every opportunity to set forth our demands and express our aspirations.
Disappointment with international inactivity or apathy over Sri Lanka must not be allowed to deter these efforts. Sri Lanka will have succeeded in its objective of obliterating the Tamil nation if all the Tamils in the Diaspora slipped into apathy and fell silent.
Just by making our demands in public we deny Sri Lanka’s claim that there is no Tamil nation and no Tamil problem in Sri Lanka. Every time Tamils get together to express their wishes Tamil national identity is affirmed. We are all familiar with Sri Lankan agents’ constant efforts to disrupt our activities. Sri Lankan officials do this because they understand how important protests, meetings and marches are in preserving and maintaining the Tamil national cause.
Meetings, protests and marches are therefore not just about setting out a series of demands, they are also about expressing who we are and demonstrating our determination to continue our struggle whatever the obstacles we may face.
Symbols are therefore very important. When we protest or march demanding an end to internment or the enforcement of international law, we are not merely marching or protesting as human rights or humanitarian advocates. We were also marching and protesting as Tamils determined to defend our national identity. This is why along with countless placards demanding humanitarian access, ceasefires and the observance of human rights norms, there is always a sea of red and yellow symbols and maps of our homeland.
There are many different types of activity through which the Diaspora can keep the Tamil identity alive. Huge marches, massive demonstrations and high profile protests are sometimes the best way and will continue to play an important role. At other times small constituency meetings, public lectures and debates, meetings at universities or community organisations, smaller and more limited protests and petitions are also equally effective.
These efforts are important in part because they keep the Tamil problem in the public eye. They are also important because they serve as a constant and visible reminder of the continued existence of the Tamil nation. So long as the Diaspora remains active and engaged, the Tamil national cause will continue to withstand the genocidal violence of the Sri Lankan state.
The previous months of almost constant and frenetic activity have achieved some important results. Firstly the Tamil issue now on the international agenda as it has never been before. Although the Tamils continue to endure Sri Lanka choking violence, there is now widespread international agreement that Sri Lanka’s treatment of the Tamils is at the core of the island’s protracted political crisis.
There is also a growing consensus on the need for a credible mechanism of justice. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned Sri Lanka’s efforts to investigate its own abuses as shambolic and farcical. For the first time key Tamil concerns – such as the use of rape as a weapon of war, ethnic cleansing, the violation of the rule of law – have been taken up by prominent international actors and organisations.
This past year of protest, which coincided with arguably the worst year for the Tamil nation, has shown that the Tamil people are not easily defeated. Whilst Sri Lanka stays true to its past by refusing to engage with credible Tamil leaders, the international community now knows that the Tamils must be taken on board.
For this reason we must continue to make our demands and express our identity in public. Every time we do so we defy Sri Lanka’s genocide.
-- Tamil Guardian, 28 October 2009