Socialist Worker issue 503 l 13 February 2009
The Sri Lankan government’s attacks on Tamils in recent weeks have sparked protests around the world. But Sri Lanka’s war on Tamils is nothing new. Here, James Clark interviews Thamilselvi, a Tamil student in Toronto, about the history of the conflict and how non-Tamils can support the struggle for peace and justice.
Describe the attacks by the Sri Lankan government on Tamils in Sri Lanka. Why has the government escalated its violence in recent weeks?In recent weeks, the Sri Lankan government has engaged in a brutal war against Tamils in Sri Lanka. Daily artillery and aerial attacks on displaced people have aggravated an already serious situation facing Tamil civilians. In mid-January, over 300 were killed and over 1,000 were wounded—in a single day.
In early February, another 150 were killed in a single day, and remain without any medical attention. The situation has become catastrophic.
There is a mass exodus as people try to flee, but the Sri Lankan Army continues to shell fleeing civilians. Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) surveillance aircraft are still circling over the region, providing coordinates for the SLA to direct artillery shelling on civilians, said one activist on the ground. There are dead bodies everywhere.
Sadly, the international community has done little to stop the Sri Lankan government from committing genocide against the Tamils.
The Sri Lankan government has been firing into “safe zones”, hospitals, and orphanages. One orphanage that came under attack by the Sri Lankan Army housed tens of Tamil children that are visually and hearing impaired. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “hundreds of people have been killed and scores of wounded are overwhelming understaffed and ill-equipped medical facilities in Sri Lanka’s northern Vanni region. Hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling, and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded.
“The violence is preventing the ICRC from operating in the region,” said Jacques de Maio, ICRC head of operations for South Asia in Geneva.
The Sri Lankan government recently announced that it will place 200,000 displaced Tamils in what they call “welfare villages” that would be enclosed with barbed-wire. To the Tamil community, it sounds like concentration camps for Tamils.
How bad is the humanitarian situation among Tamils? How has the Sri Lankan government made it worse?
Over half a million Tamil civilians have been displaced, and remain without access to shelter, clean water, food, or medical aid. International aid workers have expressed their concern for the fate of these civilians who are cut off from all basic necessities.
Many of these civilians have been displaced from earlier stages of the conflict, and from the December 2004 tsunami. Sadly, the tsunami aid never reached the Tamil regions that were hit the hardest. The Sri Lankan government has used this aid to fuel its war against Tamils.
As a result of the recent military aggression, aid agencies estimate that more than 500,000 innocent Tamil civilians are internally displaced in the Vanni region of Northern Sri Lanka. Several leading aid agencies and NGOs have described the developing situation as a “humanitarian nightmare”.
The government has implemented a genocidal strategy through the expulsion of NGOs; by placing an embargo on food, medicines, fuel, and other essentials; and by enforcing a media blackout where the genocide is taking place.
“The government wants to control the number of people going into sensitive (conflict) areas due to negative stories appearing in the media overseas,” said one foreign humanitarian worker. “We are careful not to criticize the government. There is a kind of subtle censorship. We are careful what we say or visas could get cancelled,” she said.
Without the presence of aid workers and NGOs, the Sri Lankan government has unleashed an onslaught on the Tamils. To make matters worse, it has also refused any assistance by other nations to diffuse the conflict.
By contrast, the rebels have continually stated that they are in favour of a ceasefire and peace talks, and welcome the British government’s proposed envoy.
The recent attacks by the Sri Lankan government are part of a longer campaign against the Tamil people. How long have Tamils been struggling for self-determination, and what are their demands? How has the Sri Lankan government attempted to wipe out Tamil culture and identity?
The Tamils have been struggling for self-determination for three decades. Their demands are to live in peace with justice in their homeland: Tamil Eelam, in northeast Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan government has systematically attempted to wipe out the Tamil culture and identity. In 1956, the Sinhala Only Act was passed, which resulted in the immediate loss of employment opportunities to Tamils in government.
The 1973 Standardization Act aimed to increase representation of Sinhalese students in universities, by limiting the number of Tamils. Tamils were required to score a higher average than Sinhalese students to be admitted to university. The Sri Lankan government also made constitutional changes that explicitly declare Buddhism the country’s religion, making Sri Lanka a Sinhala nation.
Tamils resisted these acts of discrimination through peaceful demonstrations and hunger strikes, organized by Tamil student activists who were outraged by the oppression of their people by the Sinhala State. In 1977, the Tamil United Liberation Front participated in national elections, calling for a separate state for Tamils. They won seats in all Tamil areas. But the government refused to recognize the results.
The events of July 1983 are poignant for the entire Tamil population around the world. Between July 24 and 29, Tamils were systematically targeted with violence in Colombo and many other parts of Sri Lanka. Tamils were killed and burnt alive. Their homes were set on fire while the Sri Lankan state simply watched and encouraged the anti-Tamil pogroms. These terrible events became known as “Black July”.
During this time, Tamils fearing persecution began to flee the homeland for Western countries. Tamils sought refuge in places such as Canada, Europe, Australia, and the US.
The course of events during Black July illustrates the Sri Lankan government’s undeniable involvement in genocidal acts against Tamils.
On January 2, 2008, the Sri Lankan government unilaterally withdrew from the ceasefire agreement that was in place since February 2002. This ended hopes for a peacefully negotiated settlement to the country’s long-running civil war.
The Sri Lankan government’s decision to annul the ceasefire was criticized by the international community, which rejected a military solution to the ethnic conflict. At that time, there was recognition that the termination of the ceasefire would intensify the conflict and place the lives of innocent Tamils at risk.
Today, a silent tragedy unfolds in Sri Lanka. Since the ceasefire of 2002, over 3,500 Tamil civilians have been killed, or have been disappeared. Countless more have been injured. However, the abrogation of the ceasefire has also led to atrocities unforeseen in the past.
The most vulnerable part of any society is its children. In Sri Lanka, Tamil children continue to suffer due to Sri Lanka’s military campaign. The war has all but stopped the education of Tamil children. More than 61,000 Tamil children are affected.
Genocide is defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide drafted in 1948. Article 2 of the Convention defines genocide as:
“Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; ...Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
The Sri Lankan government has committed all these acts against Tamils. The Tamil community is working to stop this genocide, and to prevent another Rwanda from happening. It has become very clear that the Sri Lankan government has one goal in mind: to wipe out every single Tamil in Sri Lanka, once and for all.
It continues to claim that they have destroyed the Tamil Tigers, but that is not the end of the three decade-conflict. Tamils have been demanding their right to self-determination long before the Tamil Tigers, and will continue to do so.
There has been widespread resistance to the Sri Lankan government’s recent attacks on Tamils. How has the Tamil community responded?
Around the world, Tamils have engaged in peaceful demonstrations on behalf of their brothers and sisters back home. Tens of thousands have mobilized in Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, other European countries, the US, and Canada to demand peace and justice for Tamils in Sri Lanka.
India’s Tamil population is 70 million people, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu. In the past few weeks, Tamil students in India have led school walk-outs, engaged in hunger strikes, and organized massive protests. Campuses have been shut down as a result.
There have also been massive uprisings involving labour unions and political parties, drawing out millions. The protesters are demanding that the central Indian government stop providing military intelligence, weapons, and other assistance to the Sri Lankan government.
In Jaffna, tens of thousands of students have also led walk-outs and engaged in hunger strikes for their brothers and sisters in Vanni—despite the killings and disappearances of activists.
In Europe, tens of thousands more have joined peaceful demonstrations. In London alone, over 100,000 protested. In response, the British Government promised to appoint a Special Envoy, but the Sri Lankan government has dismissed the move.
In Toronto, over 85,000 Tamils formed a human chain in the downtown core on January 30, provoking an emergency debate in Parliament the following week. Political leaders spoke in the House of Commons about the humanitarian crisis and genocide of Tamils.
And all across Canada, Tamil organizations and community members joined rallies and vigils to urge the Canadian government to intervene. Some of the events were organized by the broader peace movement, including the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War and the Canadian Peace Alliance.
Tamil students held 24 “Fasts for Humanity” on campuses across Canada, and have organized an Ontario-wide educational speaking tour to oppose Sri Lanka’s genocide of Tamils. Tamil activists are also meeting with Canadian Members of Parliament and NGOs.
Even high school students have mobilized. One group held a demonstration in front of the Toronto District School Board, asking its members to recognize the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka.
In what ways does the Tamil community in Canada face repression and intimidation, from both Canadian security agencies and the Sri Lankan government?
The Tamil community in Canada is constantly faced with repression and intimidation by Canadian security agencies and the Sri Lankan government. Canadian security agencies have used fear and intimidation to silence the Tamil community. When tens of thousands of Tamils gather for peaceful events, Canadian security agencies are always present—photographing participants and treating us like second-class citizens.
One incident in particular shows how Canadian security agencies target us: police recently raided a Tamil cultural centre where young children were attending Tamil language classes and classical dance classes. The raid left the Tamil children and youth horrified.
Many Tamils who were born and raised here (Canadian citizens like anyone else), and who have absolutely no connection to terrorism, have been harassed and accused by Canadian security agencies of supporting terrorism.
The Sri Lankan government has also abused its power and authority to undermine the Tamil community. The decision by the Canadian government to add to its “terror list” the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has tarnished the reputation of the Tamil community. The decision was fully supported by the Sri Lankan government.
In addition, the Sri Lankan government has also accused numerous Tamil community organizations of operating as front groups for the LTTE. It has even tried to ban Tamil organizations that provide ESL courses for adults and Tamil language classes for students and youth.
Bandula Jayasekara, Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Toronto, has constantly referred to the Tamil community in Canada as “terrorists”. Bandula recently stated that Canadian political leaders who condemned attacks on Tamils by the Sri Lankan government were supporting terrorists.
Bandula Jayasekara does not represent the views of the Tamil community in Canada, yet he receives widespread media coverage, and is frequently interviewed by Canadian security agencies. The things he say about Tamils only reinforce negative stereotypes about the community, and attempt to justify the harassment and intimidation by Canadian security agencies.
How can non-Tamils show support for the Tamil community and its struggle against war and oppression?
Canadians can show their support for the Tamil community by advocating for the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians that are under daily attack by the Sri Lankan government. The Tamil community, now more than ever, needs the unified voice of Canadians, including groups like the International Socialists, to join forces to stop Sri Lanka’s genocide of Tamils.
Canadians can take steps to educate their families, friends, neighbours, and co-workers about the ongoing strife facing Tamils in Sri Lanka. We need to create awareness about the Sri Lankan government’s long-standing war on Tamils.
Canadians can also express their solidarity with the Tamil community at the many protests, rallies, vigils, public forums, and teach-ins that are being organized across Canada with organizations such as the Canadian Peace Alliance and the Canadian Federation of Students.
With no humanitarian aid workers or journalists on the ground, it is difficult to understand the situation among Tamils in Sri Lanka. Propaganda reports by the Sri Lankan government attempt to cover up the ongoing genocide of Tamils.
Canadians can also demand that Members of Parliament, policy-makers, and the media exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to end its war against Tamils, and to seek a negotiated political solution to the conflict.
The Sri Lankan government must also allow local and international NGOs and other humanitarian workers to provide much needed assistance to those displaced, lift the embargo on food, medicine, and other essential items and stop the indiscriminate bombings and shellings of civilians.
We would also ask Canadians to demand immediate action by the United Nations to adopt a Human Rights Council Emergency Resolution calling for an end to the massive human rights violations and genocide against Tamils.
Canadians can ask the United Nations to establish a monitoring mission in Sri Lanka with a mandate to report on all human rights violations and humanitarian issues on the ground.