Ancient Tamil script. Photo by Ravages
The LTTE’s claim to be ‘sole representatives’ of the Tamil People has always confused me. I’ve known quite a few Tamils who have no connection to the LTTE or Sri Lanka at all. I also know a lot of Tamils who live in Colombo and vote and pay taxes here. However, those people are as diverse and divided as anybody else I know, and I’m curious as to how they came to have a sole representative. So, I checked the numbers, and there’s no possible way the LTTE can be the sole rep of any demographic slice. The LTTE has direct control of about 200,000 out of the 3.6 million Tamils in Sri Lanka. They have indirect control of 1.36 million. That is at best half, and a fraction of the 74 million Tamils in the world.
They are also fractured in the East and don’t allow a free vote in the North, so I don’t see how they’re really representative. They may wave the bloody flag of Tamil suffering and be the only ones live enough to sit at a negotiation table, but that doesn’t make them a sole representative. It doesn’t make Tamil suffering any less real, it just means that the LTTE doesn’t really represent them in any real way. And I’m not even talking ideology, I’m talking numbers. Their violence exaggerates their moral strength.
Tamil People
The first claim, that the LTTE represents the Tamil people, is obviously false. There are over 74 million Tamil people worthwhile in various nations. “The oldest Tamil communities are those of southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka. There are also a number of Tamil emigrant communities scattered around the world, especially in central Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Africa and Singapore, with more recent emigrants found in Australia, Canada, the United States, and Europe (Wikipedia).”
The highest concentration of Tamils is in India (Tamil Nadu) and I know Tamils from Singapore, Malaysia etc who don’t identify with Sri Lanka or the Wanni at all. They’re definitely Tamil, but the “Tamil people” are united more by language and culture than any particular land. If they do have a land it’s probably India. That is why I don’t think it’s accurate to say the LTTE represents the ‘Tamil People’. Most Tamils have nothing to do with this island, and they vote for their own leadership in their respective countries.
To repeat myself, the LTTE is not the sole representative of the 74 million Tamil people by an stretch of the imagination.
Sri Lankan Tamils
So, let’s refine the term ‘Tamil People’ to mean ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’. In Sri Lanka as a whole there are an estimated 3.6 million Tamil people, loosely defined as Tamil speaking. According to the 2001 Census, there are about 750,000 Sri Lankan Tamils and 850,000 Indian Tamils in government controlled areas (Excluding Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullativu, Kilinochchi, and Batticaloa). So, let’s say 1.6 million total. Sri Lanka has grown about 22% since then. Of course, the Tamil population has grown at a lower rate. Let’s say there are 1.8 million Tamils in Sri Lanka proper, a growth of less than 20% from the last census. I don’t know where they got the 3.6 million figure, but it is for 2005.
Anyways, the point is that there are at most 1.8 million Tamils in the North and East. There are 1.8 million Tamils in the rest of the country, like Colombo and Nuwara Eliya. So it’s pretty much half and half. The Tamils in Sri Lanka pay taxes and vote and hold office in Sri Lanka. I don’t know if they sympathize with the LTTE, but they certainly have more interactions with GoSL and the LTTE is by no means their ‘sole representative’. That means that the LTTE represents – at the most – half of the Sri Lankan Tamils. I mean, Nuwara Eliya isn’t trying to secede.
Which is to say, the LTTE is certainly not the representative of all Sri Lankan Tamils, because half of them live in the democratic part of Sri Lanka, pay taxes, vote here, etc. Note that I’m not saying that there aren’t LTTE sympathizers, I’m just saying that the LTTE is not the sole representative. In fact, those people could’ve voted with their feet and gone abroad or to the NorthEast, and they haven’t. Whatever their freedom fighter merits, the LTTE can’t really claim to represent Sri Lankan Tamils.
North East Tamils
This is the land the LTTE claims as Tamil Eelam. Unfortunately, since the NorthEast is so unstable, the government hasn’t been able to conduct a proper census there since 1981. All this data is therefore patchy, but I’ve tried to err in the oppositions favor. According to the 2001 Census data, they estimated that the total SL population is 18.7 million. There were about 17 million people outside the NorthEast. Therefore we can guess that there are 1.7 million people in the NorthEast.
However, these people are not all Tamil. Tamils accounted for 73% of the NorthEast in 1981. Let’s say due to war and whatnot that number is now 80%. That means about 1.36 million Tamils in the NorthEast. However, that’s not the end of the story. According to Sarvi at Point Pedro,
Though LTTE controls about 50% of the total land area of the N&E Province only about 15% of the total population of the N&E Province actually lives in LTTE controlled areas (Point Pedro Working Paper)
So, let’s be generous and say that the all people in those areas are Tamil. That’s still only 200,000 people. Let me repeat that. The LTTE is controls the lives of about 200,000 people. They have an indirect influence on another 1.16 million. Still, that is very very far from being the sole representative of even NorthEast Tamils.
This is not to say that people in Government controlled areas don’t support the LTTE. Again, my only point is that the LTTE can’t claim to be the sole representative of even the NorthEast Tamils.
The East
I won’t go much into this, but the North and the East are very different places. This article on Native Sri Lankan Tamils is a good place to start. Note that this doesn’t include ‘Indian’ Tamils who live primarily in the GOSL hilly country. Anyways, the North and East have different cultures, caste practices, and levels of development. Now they also have competing ‘sole representives’ since the LTTE’s Eastern Commander Karuna broke away from the group.
This was actually not the first sign of tension between North and East. In 2002, Prabhakaran sacked Karikalan as Special Political Commissar for Batticaloa-Amparai (East). The sacking was partly because Norway didn’t meet with the East separately, and Karikalan responded saying,
“[A]ny decisions that are arrived at with the top hierarchy could not be implemented without cooperation from regional leaders. “Solutions to real problems can be achieved by holding discussions with the regional commanders in areas where such problems really exist. Instead of doing so, making attempts to resolve problems by talking to our hierarchy will not help because solutions about the exact field situation, the ongoing problems and how to resolve it won’t be available there. Matters should be resolved through discussing issues in places where they exist. Unity cannot be reached through commandments or insistence,” Karikalan told the newspaper [Virakesari] (Jeyaraj in The Hindu’s Frontline).”
The guy sacking Karikalan was Karuna, and in 2004 he completely broke off from the LTTE. He claimed it was because the LTTE wasn’t paying due attention to Eastern Tamils and the LTTE claimed that Karuna was corrupt. There’s an interesting report from Hindu Frontline and Wikipedia says
In March 2004, Karuna broke away from the mainstream LTTE after he alleged they were ignoring the interests of the eastern Tamil people. The LTTE alleges that the real reason he broke way because the LTTE’s intelligence wing was closing in on him for corruption and violating the LTTE code of conducts. The Tigers reacted by launching attacks against Karuna’s forces, and heavy clashes ensued. The LTTE claimed they fully evicted his fources from the district he controlled.
However, the Karuna Faction, as it has now been dubbed, continues to maintain a stronghold in the southeast of Sri Lanka with a force estimated to number a few hundred. They continue to regularly attack the LTTE, causing heavy casualties.
Regardless, this also calls into doubt the claims to represent the NorthEast in any fashion.
The Sum
I’d like to reiterate that Tamils in Sri Lanka have valid concerns and a separate state may be an option, I don’t know. All I am saying is that, aside from the moral repugnance of a sole representative, the numbers simply don’t hold up. There are 74 million ‘Tamil People’ who the LTTE definitely doesn’t represent. Of the 3.6 million million Tamils in Sri Lanka, only about 200,000 are in LTTE controlled areas. Even if you give them every Tamil in the NorthEast then that’s still only 1.36 million, and that is assuming that all Tamils think the same which, being people, I doubt. Even make huge assumptions in their favor, there’s still no way to look at the numbers that makes the LTTE sole representatives of any slice of the Tamil people, besides the hefty sliver that is Prabhakaran. Again again, this does not mean that the Tamil people don’t have serious concerns about life, limb, property and dignity. They do. I believe that my nation is slowly growing to be less of a collective ass, though it may be too little too late. All I am arguing here is that the LTTE is not the sole representative of anybody. Like Al Qaeda, they claim a broad and vague suffering as their property. However, like Al Qaeda, they are not a representative body by any stretch.
Not at all. I’m not saying the Sri Lankan government is not without fault. Not even the government of the most powerful country in the world is without fault. Can you really justify America’s actions in the last 5 years as morally justifiable?
The question has nothing to do with the issue. What I’m saying is what needs to be done to to facilitate a solution. The LTTE can’t win this war purely militarily, and neither can the GoSL. Tehy can weaken each others’ negotiating position and that’s all they can do before reaching a negotiated solution.
The government of Sri Lanka, I think, will never hand over power to the LTTE in it’s present form. So, if there is to be a solution, the LTTE will have to change. Otherwise the war will go on. The war going on is worse for the Tamils tyhan it is for the rest of the country. If the LTTE truly does want what is best for Tamils, then they must realise this and change.
One view would be to fault the government for not discussing the ISGA and offering thier own proposals. Another view would be to see this rejection as a negotiating tactic. “Your first offer is absurd. It’s not even worth discussing. Not interested if you’re going to be like this. Make another offer.”
Anti muslim and Anti-christian? I thought it was definitely more about being anti Buddhist – the massacre of the Sri Maha Bodhi Pilgrims and the attack on the Temple of the Tooth being two prime examples. And what examples are their of anti-Christian behaviour? I’m not challenging you, I just don’t know of any. I always thought Velupillai was a good Catholic boy.
Ravana’s right. The GoSL will not hand over power to the LTTE as long as it remains a terrorist outfit, and the LTTE cannot take power by force. So what’s left? A long stalemate. In other words, the status quo is extended — war continues, Tamils are killed, wounded, dispossessed, disenfranchised, with no end in sight. Meanwhile, the rest of Sri Lanka cruises happily along, doing fairly decently for a 3rd world nation. Is that what you & the LTTE suggest is best for the Tamil people? Wouldn’t it be far more reasonable for the LTTE to swallow its pride and adapt to the situation the way PIRA did?
Sniggums is referring to attacks on other Tamil-speaking minorities (Muslims, Christians). As far as I know there is no large segment of the Buddhist population that speaks Tamil. There have been many attacks on Christians by the LTTE, but it’s rarely publicized as such any more than an attack on a Tamil by the LTTE is classed as Hindu. However, at least two RC priests have been killed by the Tigers. But whether this was an attack on Christianity or merely on the individual is arguable.
VP’s a Hindu.
there have been no attacks on RELIGION… there may have been instances where persons of a certain religion were “attacked” but the attack was NOT based on their RELIGION…
even the alleged attacks on Muslims are not motivated by and anti-Islamic feeling… it has more to do with “communal” politics…
same thing with the alledged attacks on the buddhist sites, pilgrims, and monks… has to do with the “communal” and not the fact that they are BUDDHIST…
don’t try and make this a religious war… it’s an ethnic civil war… religion has nothing to do with it…
and by the way, there are sinhala and muslim members of the LTTE: Nadesan (police chief’s wife), one of the Women LTTE in geneva is half sinhala with a sinhala father, etc… so there are sinhala-buddhists who are members of the LTTE…
Your arguments are valid in that there must be a negotiated settlement for enduring peace on the island. However from a Tamils perspective the status quo must change and we must increase our bargaining power. In most Tamils minds we have lost a lot in terms of land, politicians and people during this ceasefire. No post war development aid, no post tsunami aid, no ISGA and hundreds of thousands displaced before the war are still living in refugee camps unable to return to their homes and land due to the high security zones. Like you said the south has enjoyed most of the peace dividends and even then the south was not affected during the last war. From what I have seen, heard and read the majority of Tamils are respolute that there must be no army presence in the Tamil areas in order to restore the normalcy that was promised by the CFA. And there is only one way that the army is going to leave those areas. The LTTE has to help them out.
I am talking about some of my distant relatives (uncles and aunts with old school mentality, Colombo style No) :- )
Ha Ha, that’s a silly argument. There are and have been Tamils in the armed forces (Thurairaja, the head of the Medical Corps, Devanayagam, who was a Sinha Regiment commander), so therefore I could claim this isn’t an ethnic war either. Or that the deaths of thousands of Tamils has nothing to do with their race/ethnicity, but a result of a war on terrorism. We could claim that the burning of the Jaffna Library was part of an anti-insurgency op. I could go on, but it would be silly; as silly as your argument. The attacks on the Temple of the Tooth, the Sri Maha Bodhiya, the Arantalawa monks, were certainly attacks on members of a religious group. Who were they trying to kill, Burghers?
Do you seriously think that the Tamils are going to get ANY of the things that you’ve mentioned through war? I have visited many areas of the NE during the truce (both GoSL and LTTE areas), and since, and believe me, things were a lot better then. Yes, a lot of things that the Tamils should be given, weren’t given, but you can’t expect things like aid monies to be simply handed over to a terrorist group without long negotiations. The LTTE grew impatient of these negotiations and moved back to war.
There was no land siezed by the GoSL during the CF, but before. Most of the politicians you’ve lost has been in fighting between factions of the LTTE.
If you’ve been reading that the Tamils demand the Army leaves their areas, I must be skeptical of your sources of information. As for the LTTE driving the Army out, forgive me if I smirk, but it hasn’t happened in 25 years, and doesn’t look likely now. The LTTE simply doesn’t have the manpower to hold the areas for any length of time unless there’s a massive influx of diaspora Tamils to reinforce the ranks (and I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for them). The only way the Tamils are going to get back their lands is through peace. If we can’t have free access to the roads of our capital, you think the Tamils are going to get free access to their lands until the war’s over? And from what I’ve heard, most Tamils are just as worried about their land being siezed by the Tigers.
but it wasn’t BECAUSE there were BUDDHIST – fuckwit
Anyone here knows what the above sentence means? What’s with this place? The only guys willing to defend the LTTE are retards and morons with names like ‘Haha’ and ‘Nuts’. Must be a reason, no?
“but it wasn’t BECAUSE there were BUDDHIST – fuckwit”
“there” should be “THEY”
and you know there is no religious dimension to this war… on either side…
but play your little game my little bitch…
So why DID they bomb those people? Funny that they don’t bomb kovils, eh? Only mosques, churches, and temples. My point, which while you were looking for your brain you missed, was that your denial of a religious dimension is as silly as a denial of an ethnic dimension.
We’ve never heard of non-Tamils in the LTTE because the LTTE wants this to look like an ethnic war. The GoSL proudly sports its Tamils to do the opposite. That’s why your Tigers hate our Tigers — the latter is proof that the Tamils don’t all want the LTTE.
Ha ha- your argument is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter that the LTTE bombed/ killed/ tortured de-humanized muslims or christians because they were muslims or christians (whatever your opinion is), the fact is is that they still inflicted significant harm on members of these tamil speaking groups. Hence muslims and christians that identify themselves as part of the collective that have been subject to such terror do not agree with the LTTE line of thinking and are NOT represented by the LTTE voice. It isn’t that complicated.
it is the same with the buddhists although thats really obvious
This is a great post Indi. Niyamai! You should send it to The Lanka Academic so they can feature it.
“what does the NorthEast add to Sri Lanka now…?”
That’s a good question. Why does the Singalese need the land (Tamil Eelam) which is inhabited by the Tamils? LTTE is getting killed while trying to free the land of the TAMILS, but why are the Singala youth “sacrifizing” their lives to keep the Tamils under the rule of their Sinhala leaders?
Indi, you would rather stick to writing your blog about economics & about useless government!
You and some JVP’ers here seem to know jack $hite about all the struggle tamils go through, and be advised majority of the Tamils I have met do support the LTTE!! Don’t live in the cookcoo land!! Admit that Tamils in the island would have got wiped out ages ago if LTTE weren’t there.
But I do like your articles touching finance & economics
Hi sorry for the delay in responding. How can you say that there was no land seized by the GoSL during the ceasefire. You must be suffering from a convinient form of acute amnesia. In August the Gosl invaded Mavillaru, then they took the whole chunk of Sampur and then they took Muhamalai all in gross violation of the ceasefire agreement. Thats what I meant and thats what you have conviniently forgot.
Anyway the Tamil TNA politicians including Kumar Ponnampalam, Raviraj, Joseph Pararajasingam, Chandra Nehru, Vanniyasingam and many other political, bank, aid and newspaper editors have all been killed off by the army or its paramilitaries. That is the truth.
Tamils are well aware that Karuna is a spent force and that the Gosl and army intelligence are proping his group up and shoring it up with ex EPDP, PLOTE etc. The UN report by Alan Rock even condemns the SL army for abducting underage Tamil children to fight for the Karuna group. Thats ample proof to prove the point.
Anyway we as Tamils are not prepared to wait and end up like Palestinians and Fatah. The Palestinian organisations are all pathetic firing into the air and blowing up innocents. By getting Yaser Arafat into the trap they corrupted him and the Fatah. The ordinary Palestinians still have a hopeless, forlorn future. Yes Isreal has to exist but not at the expense of the Palestinians. Palestinians have lost all their bargaining power.
Tamils have learnt our lessons and will never allow Eelam struggle to follow that pathetic path.
“As for the LTTE driving the Army out, forgive me if I smirk, but it hasn’t happened in 25 years, and doesn’t look likely now”
David Blacker. That was the past. The LTTE changed with their Vanni counter ops of late 1999 followed by the overrunning of Elephant Pass military complex in April 2000.
I am sure the LTTE have not wasted the last 5 years of talks . Lets not look into the past lets look to the future. The future’s Bright. The Future’s Tamil Eelam.
I’m afraid 1999 & 2000 are also the past. Have a look at the calendar, it’s almost 2007, and the LTTE haven’t had a SINGLE victory this year. I’m ready to believe if there was even a hint of fact in your statement. You use the words truth, proof, fact, but have nothing but the words to back it up. I’m not asking for drastic evidence, but a few simple signs that the LTTE has the ability to get what they want. Even as we speak they are losing the last bit of coastline they hold in the Batticaloa district.
Mavillaru and Sampur were both battles started by the LTTE which they couldn’t win. I meant that there were no lands siezed arbitarily from the Tamil population. The LTTE is not the latter.
Some people really think they are very clever and that they know everything. I admit u r brilliant because, even u ve written stupid things, it seems to be logic. Are u paid by the srilankan government to write so many bullshits? Is it so difficult to accept that a large majority of NE tamils and a large majority of tamils who left srilanka du to the war support the LTTE. Why don’t u talk about how the srilankan governments is trying to eradicate all the Tamils in Srilanka since the independance. Why don’t u talk about the state terrorism of the srilankan governemnt? Don’t try to discredit the ones who defend the Tamils against the genocide perpetrated by the nationalist and racist srilankan government. . Just talk about what u know.
It’s the same discussion all the time. The Sinhalese claim that the TAmil Tigers aren’t the representatives of the Tamil Nation, arguing that the Sinhala Governments are the only ones that have been authorized to “rule” the Tamil Nation.
The Tamils on the other hand claim that the Tamil Tigers are their representatives, arguing that the only thing that the Sinhala Government is interested in is “to eradicate all the Tamils from the Island”, which is partly the truth since more than a million Tamils have either gone aboard fearing for their lives (although Sinhalese say that they went aboard due to economical reasons) or killed in a war orchestrated by the Sinhala Army.
So, whom are we to believe in these sort of “discussions”??
One who is not a Sinhalese would definitely support the Tamils’ views. No doubt about that!
Btw, thanks for the picture at teh top of this post. It’s very useful!
THe Sinhala Army on the other hand hasn’t changed at all. They still keep targeting civlians, but now they have gone to a more brutal level: Click here to watch the recent victims of the Sinhala Army which is beeing hidden by the media in Colombo.
David is this plain ignorance or do you enjoy distorting the truth? Sampur and Mavilaru had 40 000 Tamil civilians who were displaced from the region due to SLA shelling. The BBC interview of civilians in October showed that the SLA had systematically used shelling to herd the population South across the Verugal into Vaharai. As they are all civilains who wish to remain in Vaharai rather than GOSL territory they are considered LTTE also and are being annhilated. All the areas the SLA captured were in total breach of the CFA no matter how you try and justify it. The LTTE said that it was a tactical withdrawal. What you haven’t realised is that the LTTE are playing a better political game here. They have shown by greater military restraint who the real aggressor is unlike the accustions against the LTTE in 1995.
The LTTE have shown their capability at Muhamalai against the cream of the SLA. That is proof enough.
All in the South including the SLA thought the war would erupt after the speach on 27 Nov. However at that time the SLA were ready. Also all critics of LTTE would have mindlessly parroted the age old accustation when the SLA is loosing. i.e “Oh they (LTTE) used the CF to rearm and regroup”.
The truth is in 2002 the LTTE came to the CFA with a stronger position than the SLA or GOSL. The counter ops against Rod of Fire in April 2001 and the July 24 firworks at Katunayake spiced down the economy as well as troop morale. Just read up the casualty rates for the 48hr battle on 24 April 2001. The GOSL had to talk and the SLA had to regroup. For the LTTE side the North and East had to have economic restrictions lifted as people were sufffering. They beleived that the ISGA would be possible.
The GOSL has used the 5 years to regroup and revamp the economy and are feeling cocky again.
Don’t know what Vanni have instore for 2007. Maybe nothing will happen until 2008. Maybe the SLA will die off with all the tension in the atmosphere. Like the BBC says only one man can decide the future peace for the island.
All said, can’t beleive the SLA did that dirty thing in Colombo today to diffuse the tension. Evil buggers.
David Blacker : “I’m afraid 1999 & 2000 are also the past. Have a look at the calendar, it’s almost 2007, and the LTTE haven’t had a SINGLE victory this year. I’m ready to believe if there was even a hint of fact in your statement. You use the words truth, proof, fact, but have nothing but the words to back it up. I’m not asking for drastic evidence, but a few simple signs that the LTTE has the ability to get what they want. Even as we speak they are losing the last bit of coastline they hold in the Batticaloa district.
Mavillaru and Sampur were both battles started by the LTTE which they couldn’t win. I meant that there were no lands siezed arbitarily from the Tamil population. The LTTE is not the latter. ”
Jey
2007-01-06 06:18:48
David is this plain ignorance or do you enjoy distorting the truth? Sampur and Mavilaru had 40 000 Tamil civilians who were displaced from the region due to SLA shelling. The BBC interview of civilians in October showed that the SLA had systematically used shelling to herd the population South across the Verugal into Vaharai. As they are all civilains who wish to remain in Vaharai rather than GOSL territory they are considered LTTE also and are being annhilated. All the areas the SLA captured were in total breach of the CFA no matter how you try and justify it. The LTTE said that it was a tactical withdrawal. What you haven’t realised is that the LTTE are playing a better political game here. They have shown by greater military restraint who the real aggressor is unlike the accustions against the LTTE in 1995.
The LTTE have shown their capability at Muhamalai against the cream of the SLA. That is proof enough.
All in the South including the SLA thought the war would erupt after the speach on 27 Nov. However at that time the SLA were ready. Also all critics of LTTE would have mindlessly parroted the age old accustation when the SLA is loosing. i.e “Oh they (LTTE) used the CF to rearm and regroupâ€.
The truth is in 2002 the LTTE came to the CFA with a stronger position than the SLA or GOSL. The counter ops against Rod of Fire in April 2001 and the July 24 firworks at Katunayake spiced down the economy as well as troop morale. Just read up the casualty rates for the 48hr battle on 24 April 2001. The GOSL had to talk and the SLA had to regroup. For the LTTE side the North and East had to have economic restrictions lifted as people were sufffering. They beleived that the ISGA would be possible.
The GOSL has used the 5 years to regroup and revamp the economy and are feeling cocky again.
Don’t know what Vanni have instore for 2007. Maybe nothing will happen until 2008. Maybe the SLA will die off with all the tension in the atmosphere. Like the BBC says only one man can decide the future peace for the island.
All said, can’t beleive the SLA did that dirty thing in Colombo today to diffuse the tension. Evil buggers.
Ha ha. Thanks for the comic relief, Jey. I must say you do it well.
I didn’t say that Sampur, etc weren’t violations of the CFA. Obviously it is. But the fact remains that they were retaliatory violations spurred by LTTE violations. For example, the closing of the sluice gates by the LTTE in order to deny water to civilians. Both sides are violationg the CFA with impunity, I agree. Point of fact however, is that the GoSL is achieving its military goals.
“The BBC interview of civilians in October showed that the SLA had systematically used shelling to herd the population South across the Verugal into Vaharai. ”
I doubt very much that civilians could give an objective account of SLA strategy or tactics beyound “Shells fell, we ran”, etc.
“As they are all civilains who wish to remain in Vaharai rather than GOSL territory they are considered LTTE also and are being annhilated.”
Sadly, your facts are incorrect, Jey. First, if they wish to remain in Vharai, why is it that everyone who could make the journey to GoSL territory have already done so, leaving behind mostly 15,000 old, sick, and very young? Second, if the GoSL wants to ‘anhilate’ these Tamils, why did they allow in the trucks of food in November? Third, if the LTTE cares so much about these civilians, why are they preventing them from leaving?
“The LTTE said that it was a tactical withdrawal.”
Yes, they DID say that. The point is, do we believe them?
“The truth is in 2002 the LTTE came to the CFA with a stronger position than the SLA or GOSL.”
This is one of the few parts of your post that actually is true. However, the LTTE wasted that opportunity and lost the advantage they had, resulting in the EU ban. The aggression by the LTTE in early 2006 when they were impatient with the peace process, whittled away their position. What exactly is your point, though?
“The LTTE have shown their capability at Muhamalai against the cream of the SLA. That is proof enough.”
Cream? Ha ha. I doubt I’d call the Armoured Corps the cream, but that’s a different story. Muhamalai was a brigade-sized probe to test the northern approaches to EPS. It was on a single squadron front. The LTTE knocked out five tanks and killed a few dozen troops. Hardly decisive in comparison to the loss of almost the entire eastern province, is it?
Bottom line is, Tamils in the NE are suffering badly; Tamils abroad and in the south are fairly happy; Sinhalese outside the border areas are fairly happy too. So only the NE is suffering. How does the LTTE plan on relieving this suffering? Obviously “tactical withdrawals” aren’t working. Bombing buses only makes things. So what does the LTTE have to offer the Tamil people of the NE for 2007, other than ineffective attacks against civilians that just make them look more like terrorists than ever before?
Jey, what guys like you need to do is stop listening to the bombast of Tamilselvam and the hatred of the diaspora, and start paying attention to the suffering of the NE Tamils. What are you going to do to save them? The LTTE can’t defeat the Security Forces. The best they can hope for is to cause enough casualties to force the GoSL back to the table. But that’ll take awhile, and many more Tamils will die proportionately. So what’s the plan?
“The Tamils on the other hand claim that the Tamil Tigers are their representatives, arguing that the only thing that the Sinhala Government is interested in is “to eradicate all the Tamils from the Islandâ€, ”
Where exactly do the “Tamils” say this?
“killed in a war orchestrated by the Sinhala Army.”
Actually the war was orchestrated by the LTTE when it took up arms. The cause for that war was Sinhalese racism.
You’re right that most non-Sinhalese would support a Tamil viewpoint. Like me. Just not an LTTE viewpoint.
Good question. I suggest we play our cards close to our chest for now.
Jey, good last two posts above and what was interesting to read was David’s response, wallowing in self-denial.
Just to serve some to the discussion…Muhamalai was a military lesson in defensive operations by the LTTE. David seems to be living in lala land when he claims the defeat had to messages to the SL government. It was a controlled operation by the LTTE that made the SL Army look like fools.
Maybe David is new to the military history of the Eelam Wars, but in any of the previous wars I, II or III, the ability to inflict the lose of around 5 battle tanks, multiple fighting vehicles and around 200 soldiers in a “few hours” is impressive for any army with limited weaponry. It was a display of the LTTE’s tactical and human superiority against massive enemy numbers of well trained and motivated troops. Yes, the SL Army has come a long way with the quality of its front line troops. The Americans were said to be quietly impressed with the LTTE victory.
http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/207
Maybe what in order for David Blacker is to stop believing in the Sri Lankan government’s own propaganda and take up a reality pill.
Having said that, if I could have resisted the urge to set the facts straight, it would have been wiser of me to keep my fingers to myself and “play our cards close to our chest”.
“It was a controlled operation by the LTTE that made the SL Army look like fools.”
Well, no one wins every battle in a war, so if you want to call the Army fools ‘cos they lost one battle, what do you call the arse kicking the LTTE is undergoing in the East? The security forces have lost one battle, the LTTE has won one; on the other hand, the Army has won every other battle, while the LTTE has lost every other battle. I wouldn’t presume to call the LTTE fools, but you certainly are one, Murali.
“Maybe David is new to the military history of the Eelam Wars, but in any of the previous wars I, II or III, the ability to inflict the lose of around 5 battle tanks, multiple fighting vehicles and around 200 soldiers in a “few hours†is impressive ”
Maybe I am new to war. Maybe actually participating in the fighting doesn’t compare to Googling, but that’s a different topic, for another time. What you, Murali, and the other LTTE apologists here need to do is stop glorying in the past and look at the present realities. Yes, back in ’91, when the Army had all of 25 MBTs, losing five would’ve been a major blow. Not today. And while saying that the LTTE inflicted 200 casualties (nice round figure that) looks impressive on paper, the KIAs were under 20. If you think holding back a half-squadron of tanks on a 300m front from prepared positions is “impressive”, I’m afraid I must conclude that you’re easily impressed.
“The Americans were said to be quietly impressed with the LTTE victory.”
Really? Any evidence of these quiet Americans? Like a link? Thought not. Branching out into fiction writing is laudable, Murali. Good luck with that.
“Maybe what in order for David Blacker is to stop believing in the Sri Lankan government’s own propaganda and take up a reality pill.”
I try to steer clear of all propoganda actually, aand I suggest you do the same.
“Having said that, if I could have resisted the urge to set the facts straight, it would have been wiser of me to keep my fingers to myself and “play our cards close to our chestâ€.”
Aw, stop trying to be such an LTTE wanna-be. Why don’t you say that you just don’t know what’s going on, and that the SL Tamils are like a rudderless ship hijacked by terrorists?
Maybe thats what we are – “rudderless ship hijacked by terrorists”…pity us, really. Moron.
Whoever claims to be the “sole representatives of the Tamil People” is NOT the question. But whom do the Tamils want to support. That’s the Question!
So, why don’t you Singalese discuss about whom is representing you, instead of wasting our time with discussions about everything else than the Question itself?
We know what’s best for ourselves, so there’s no reason for you to “voice-up” and hijack this discussion with all your thoughts which are useless in this context.
And concerning whether the LTTE is the representatives of all Tamils around the world IS OUT OF QUESTION! First of all the LTTE never claimed to represent all Tamils, secondly the author of this thread should know at least a little about the Tamil people to be able to begin a thread about the Tamil Nation.
We are damn happy that we aren’t the only Tamils around and we are damn proud of our brothers and sisters around the world, but still we do have our differences. So, somebody who doesn’t know the relations between the various communities in the Tamil Nation shouldn’t begin a thread about us and talk behind our back.
“Whoever claims to be the “sole representatives of the Tamil People†is NOT the question. But whom do the Tamils want to support. That’s the Question!”
But what’s the answer?
As for who represents the Sinhalese, I guess the GoSL represents everyone outside the NE. Isn’t that how democracy works? You vote and the winner represents you.
If you think this article is a waste of your time, why are you wasting even more time posting about it.
Behind your backs, eh? Naughty, Indi, naughty.
“As for who represents the Sinhalese, I guess the GoSL represents everyone outside the NE. Isn’t that how democracy works? You vote and the winner represents you.”
You’re damn right about that. The Singala leaders (GoSL) represent the Singala people, that’s how democracy SHOULD be like. But that’s not the case, cause the Singala leaders who were elected by the Singala people are automatically representing the Tamil people as well. What kind of democrazy is that? In how many places around the world does this pratics take place? How about Europe, America, Australia? Nowhere!
Concerning who’s the representatives of the Tamil people, we will choose when the circumstances allow us to conduct a fair election, were Tamil people are allowed to choose their own leaders. But a fake democracy where the Singalese are the ones who choose our leaders doesn’t belong to anywhere. So, only the Tamil people can give you answer to that Question, cause if I, on my own or the Singalese for that matter did that, it won’t be democracy anymore. Hence the Singalese or anybody else have no say at all in this matter. Don’t waste our time.
Let the Tamils discuss who’s their leaders.
“The Singala leaders (GoSL) represent the Singala people, that’s how democracy SHOULD be like. But that’s not the case, cause the Singala leaders who were elected by the Singala people are automatically representing the Tamil people as well. What kind of democrazy is that? ”
Actually, the Sinhalese-majority GoSL was elected by Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Malays, and Burghers outside the North & East. The population of the North & East (mostly Tamils), decided not to participate, thereby putting their vote on the side of the Mahinda regime. When you don’t vote, you allow things to bypass you. That is ALSO how democracy works. So what are you complaining about? If the NE Tamils had voted, you would’ve had a GoSL more to your liking.
“In how many places around the world does this pratics take place? How about Europe, America, Australia? Nowhere!”
Actually, in all of the above. In all these countries, the majority is white Caucasian Christians, and the elected administrations reflect that majority, but also represent the minorities such as blacks, Asians, Arabs, etc. Do you feel things should be different in SL?
“Concerning who’s the representatives of the Tamil people, we will choose when the circumstances allow us to conduct a fair election, were Tamil people are allowed to choose their own leaders. ”
So until then are you happy to let the strongest rule you? I’m not being sarcastic, but would like to know what you think. For example, in the Eastern Province the TMVP is gaining strength while the LTTE is diminishing; so will you be OK with the TMVP representing the Eastern Tamils?
“But a fake democracy where the Singalese are the ones who choose our leaders doesn’t belong to anywhere.”
Well who would you like your leaders to be?
“Don’t waste our time.”
Since you have the time to post, I assume you are willing to spend the time. If not, don’t. No one’s asking you to answer, but I have the right to ask.
“Let the Tamils discuss who’s their leaders.”
So where is this discussion taking place?
I wasn’t sure if this was ignorance or spin, but sounded more like ignorance, so I thought I’ll spare a few minutes.
The Tamil boycott of the presidential election was to allow the Sinhalese to choose their leader and their future, without skewing the results and help elect a Sinhalese president, regardless of who that may have been. It had become accepted fact that no Sinhalese president will represent Tamil interests equally, so why be a part of that fake democrasy.
Hence the “let them decide who they want – a professed peace lover or a war monger”. Surprise, surprise…the Sinhalese chose a war monger. End of story. The Sinhalese don’t want peace. They love blood. They just want to kill Tamil children, rape 5-year old Tamil girls and fornicate with their own children in the southern beaches.
Me thinks the state of affairs is pretty clear. The Tamils quite simply have no alternative but to win this war and realize Tamil Eelam.
bullshit, im a tamil and my family in the wanni didnt boycott. they didn’t vote because they were told not to by the big bad boyz!!! so go to hell with your dumb ideas
You can bet your fake ass that all Tamils were told not to vote in that presidential election. That was what was called for. The reasons are as previous post.
Interesting theory, Ggg, about the LTTE’s reason for the boycott. An alternate possibility is that it was a way of telling both the Tamil & Sinhalese communities that the NE is not part of SL, and therefore needn’t participate in an election. Also, it’s possible that this was a way of ensuring that the NE Tamil population (particularly the younger generation) doesn’t experience the electoral process, thereby ensuring that they are less likely to demand a multi-party system in the unlikely event that the LTTE secures its Eelam.
Multi-party or two-party or no party for Tamil Eelam is not crucial issue for the Tamils at this stage. We have a war of liberation to fight and win first. Once that first hurdle is reached, we will worry about the rest. Don’t hurt your head over it. The Sinhalese are not really in any position to lecture us on party democracies. We will choose the right format for us for the right time and period. The Tamils will decide that when appropriate AFTER Eelam is achieved.
In other words, never?
You’ve fought for 25 years and you’ve stilll not got Eelam. It doesn’t even look like it’s close. After 25 years of banging your head against the wall, you need to be able to figure out when you need a drill. And it’s not my head that’s hurting.
You’ve also got to realise that the LTTE is the reason you haven’t got Eelam. Once the East is free of the LTTE it will have self rule. The North willl have to wait. But since you assume that the Tamils will wait (and presumably fight) forever, enjoy the stay.
You seem to have a problem with logic. You are spinning yourself into a muddle.
The war will go one till Eelam is achieved. We wouldn’t wish the fate of living with you lot on any hapless and defenseless minority – anywhere in the world. Atleast we have a defense – the Tamil Tigers. The problem with the types of you is, you like to believe that wars of liberation were started with a flip of a coin. Sorry, that not you is it? You are just the spin king.
Keep weaving it baby. At the very least it the Tamils are thankful it keeps you away from the 5 year old girls and guns. Or at least we hope so.
“Actually, in all of the above. In all these countries, the majority is white Caucasian Christians, and the elected administrations reflect that majority, but also represent the minorities such as blacks, Asians, Arabs, etc. Do you feel things should be different in SL?”
Well I agree that the elected governments in the Western countries represents everybody equally, and as a foreigner in a Western country, I’m delighted to have the privileges of living in a country that respects and actually represents me and my fellow Tamils over here. And I don’t think things needs to change in any way in any of these countries. But let me ask you a few questions about how the Singala Governments have “represented” the Tamil-speaking people although we account for more than 25% of the total population.
1. In what why did the Singala Government “Represent” the Tamil people when it enacted the “Singala ONLY” legislation that deprived the Tamils some of their most fundamental rights and prevented them from participating in the democratic process of the Sri Lankan Parliament? And what did the Tamils gain from this legislation enacted by those who should make sure that everybody was equally “represented”?
2. In what why did the Singala Government “represent” the Tamil People when it allowed anti-Tamil riots to take place and even supported it, thus killing and injuring thousands of Tamils and making hundred thousands homeless and leaving them scared to death of the Government’s mobs? And in the aftermath of the 1983-riot, how did the Singala Government “represent” the Tamil People when the leader of their government claimed that he was not “worried about the opinion of the Jaffna people,” and even admitted that he “cannot think about them†or â€about their lives, or of their opinion†about the Singala Government?
3. In what why does the Singala Government “represent” the Tamil people when it’s actually punishing us collectively by allowing its Singala ONLY Army to starve out the Tamil Population of Jaffna and Vaharai and bomb and kill civilians while claiming to “liberate” the Tamil People as a mean to “suppress” the LTTE? If they really wanted to “liberate” us from the LTTE shouldn’t they have attacked the LTTE instead of attacking Tamil civilians which they do so often? The 1995 massacre of about 600 Tamil youth falls into that category of “collective punishment” of Tamils.
4. And how about the P-TOMS? It was supposed to allow Tamils to rebuild their lives after the Tsunami, but instead the Singala Government chose to use the funds for a war “to liberate Tamils from the LTTE”, making hundred thousands of Tamils remain homeless although it has secured that 90% of its own Singala Population have received permanent housing.
The Singala Government does NOT and did NEVER represent anybody else than the Singala People. And certainly it NEVER will be able to “represent” Tamil People. The Singala Government killed nearly 100.000 of its own Singala Youth as they did not obey them. How can these Mad Dogs ever “represent†the Tamil People?
Murali thinks a vote for Mahinda in the last election was motivated by a desire for war. That’s a flaw in Murali’s argument. Actually most people outside the NE don’t vote on the policy on the war. They vote on cost of living. This has been proved time and time again through surveys conducted by reputed agencies like AC Nielsen and Survey Research Lanka. It is only in the NE that a solution to the conflict is a priority. The rest of the country is not affected enough to be bothered. This is why Murali’s claim that the war will go on until Eelam is achieved doesn’t bother me that much. So what? My life is great.
Pity about my countrymen in the North and East though… but then again, if they say the LTTE represents them, they must know what they are getting themselves into. So, screw them. It’s their funeral. Literally.
Yes, Sakthi, I agree that the Sinhalese-majority GoSL (it isn’t Sinhalese-only as you claim, since there are Moors & Tamils in it) hasn’t done very well in representing minorities, and the failings you’ve pointed out (Sinhala only, ’83, etc) fully justified the Tamil move to a military solution. HOWEVER, my comment which you’ve quoted was in response to your claim that majority govt doesn’t exist in the west. If what you really mean is that majority representation of the minorities is far fairer in the west, I’d agree with you. We should demand and push for mor democratic governance.
Going back to the LTTE decision to resume the military angle, and saying that is the ONLY solution is flawed. It’s time to recognise and acknowledge what has been achieved by the military struggle and decide the route forward. If you feel that terrorism/militancy is the only weapon left to you, then I’m afraid your leaders have failed you, and you should look for more imaginative ones.
And btw, it isn’t a Sinhalese-only Army. I myself am an ex-soldier, and I’m certainly not Sinhalese. My 10-man rifle section had eight Sinhalese, one Moor, and one Burgher. There were lots of other non-Sinhalese in my battalion, in spite of my regiment being considered one of the more ‘hard core’ units. Sure, the Army’s demographic isn’t representative of the SL population, but that’s only to be expected because of the ethnic nature of the war.