The Tamil Home Land
shankar
The Tamil people of the island of Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka)
constitute a distinct nation. They form a social entity, with their own
history, traditions, culture, language and traditional homeland. The
Tamil people call their nation 'Tamil Eelam'.
As a nation,
Tamils have the inalienable right to self-determination, a universal
principle enshrined in the U.N. Charter that guarantees the right of a
people to political independence.
Apart from the right to self
determination, the Tamil Eelam may also be justified in terms of
international law under the concept of reversion of sovereignty and the
concept of effectiveness.
Before a succession of western
nations (including the Portuguese, Dutch and the British) ruled the
island, there were two distinct kingdoms on the island, the Tamil
Kingdom in the north and the Sinhala kingdom in the South.
For
ease of administration, the British amalgamated the two distinct
nations into a single entity with its capital in Colombo. The British
gave Ceylon independence in 1948, handing over control of the entire
island to a Sinhalese government, based in Colombo, which renamed the
island Sri Lanka.
The Sinhala state's oppression of the Tamil
people began in various forms almost immediately, attacking everything
that defined the Tamils as a nation.
A series of laws that
discriminated against Tamils were implemented. These included making
Sinhala, instead of English, the only official language of the country,
i.e. Tamils could not be employed unless they learnt Sinhala. The
educational structures were altered to restrict Tamil admissions to
higher education. Investment in Tamil areas was minimised.
Recruitment of Tamils into the security forces was restricted. The Sri
Lankan security forces are almost exclusively Sinhalese. The security
forces have been responsible for and continue to carry out human rights
abuses and atrocities against Tamil civilians on a genocidal scale.
Sinhala colonisation of traditional Tamil areas was started in the
fifties, and was intensified in the eighties with the security forces
wiping out Tamil villages and replacing them with Sinhala settlements.
Colonisation continues unabated.
Anti-Tamil rioting, with the
active participation of the Sri Lankan security forces, has claimed
thousands of Tamil lives. Thousands more suffered torture and rape.
As the Tamil people sense of helplessness deepened, Tamil politicians
advocated a separate Tamil state. In 1977, the Tamil United Liberation
Front resolved in its Vaddukoddai Resolution to campaign for political
independence on the basis of the Tamil nation's right to self-
determination.
At the general elections of 1977, the TULF
demanded a clear mandate from the Tamil people to launch a national
campaign to establish the sovereignty of the Tamil homeland. These
elections were effectively a referendum the Tamil speaking people voted
overwhelmingly in favour of secession.
The Tamil call for
independence was met by island wide anti-Tamil rioting. The Sri Lankan
government forced all elected MPs to take an oath that they would not
seek a separate state.
With all democratic ways to achieve
equality having failed repeatedly, an armed struggle for independence
began, led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). International
Law recognises that the armed resistance of the Tamil people to Sri
Lankan rule is lawful and just.
Today, the LTTE has evolved
into a military and political organisation representing the aspirations
and hopes of the Tamil people.