A PRESS RELEASE FROM Mr V. RUDRAKUMARAN

originally posted on 16/06/09
edited on 22/06/09...

A press statement has been released by Mr Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, Coordinator of the Committee for the formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam.

The legitimate campaign of the Tamils to realize their right to self-determination has been brutally crushed through military aggression, which has been in violation of humanitarian laws and all civilized norms. People all over the world are shocked and deeply saddened by the massacres of Tamils in the Vanni.

Of particular note, banned weapons and heavy shelling by the Sinhalese military were responsible for the massacre of an estimated 30,000 Tamil civilians in the no fire zone this year. Today the government of Sri Lanka continues to incarcerate 300,000 Tamils, who have been herded into internment camps guarded by the Sinhalese military. The UN, INGOS and other relief organizations and journalists have been barred from free access to these internment camps. Those Tamils who live outside the camps hardly fare better in terms of their safety and well-being. The Jaffna Peninsula is an open prison camp. The Eastern part of the island, part of traditional habitation of Tamil-speaking people, is occupied territory. The South of the island is under the control of an anti-Tamil government, and the Tamils who live there are securitized, harassed and live in constant fear of violence. All Tamil civilians are being targeted solely on account of their Tamil ethnicity. Tamils are on the verge of being annihilated as a nation, a people and a community through deliberate killing and disappearance, forced assimilation, ethnic cleansing and colonization.

Not only is the very physical survival of Tamils in danger in the island of Sri Lanka, but Tamils also do not have any political space to articulate their legitimate political aspirations on the island.
Politicians who articulate the voices of their people are in grave danger of their life. Three Tamil Members of Parliament have been killed since Pres. Rajapakse was elected in 2005, more have fled the country and the ones who remain are very brave. In addition, because of the systematic colonization of Tamil areas, the gerrymandering of electoral districts, the large numbers who were driven from or fled the Tamil areas because of violence and the lack of new voter registration, Tamil representation has decreased substantially in the legislature since independence. Moreover, the electoral process in the island of Sri Lanka is entrenched with pervasive racism and has resulted in further marginalization and oppression of Tamil people at each and every election as acknowledged by academics. Consequently the Tamils are denied effective participation in the political process of the island.

A symptom of this lack of political space is the 1983 Sixth Amendment which prohibits even discussion of a separate state in violation of freedom of speech. The physical insecurity of Tamils is embodied in the 1979 Prevention of Terrorism Act which has been described as “an ugly blot on the statute book of any civilized country” by the International Commission of Jurists, and in the Emergency laws that have allowed hundreds of thousands of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture and rape of Tamils with total impunity by the perpetrators. There is no political space for the full articulation of Tamil political aspirations within the constraints of the Sri Lankan state’s constitutional structure, and, with the lack of personal security for Tamils within the island, the Tamils’ political campaign for their rights can be pursued only from outside the island.

We, the people of Tamil Eelam and its Diaspora, therefore, firmly believe that the formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam is imperative. It is a well accepted proposition in international law that the legal claim to establish a government in exile arises the more readily when the exclusion of its political leaders is achieved through acts contrary to principles of ius cogens, such as the unlawful use of force, abductions with a view to torture, genocide, war crimes, detention in internment camps or “open prisons,” the rape of women and the kidnapping of children.

In this connection, we, the people of Tamil Eelam and its Diaspora, propose to put together a committee for the Formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam. Our program and efforts in this regard are fundamentally democratic.

The Committee is given the task of structuring such a provisional government, with the view of

1. Uniting all Tamil entities and elements who subscribe to the fundamental tenets of Tamil political aspiration, namely the recognition of Tamil Nationhood, a Tamil homeland as recognized in the 1987 Indo- Sri Lanka Agreement, and the Tamils’ right to self-determination found in the 1976 Vaddukoddai Resolution, which was subsequently endorsed and mandated in the general election of 1977, the 1985 Thimpu Declaration and the 2003 Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals;

2. Working in partnership with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), considering that the political policies and aspirations articulated by the TNA at consecutive elections in 2001 and 2004 were strongly endorsed and, thereby mandated, by the Tamil people, and with any other Tamil political party or representatives of other parties that support and advocate for the realization of the Tamils’ right to self-determination.

3. Articulating positions for negotiations with the Sinhala nation;

4. Conducting voter registration among the Tamil Diaspora within various countries in collaboration with an internationally reputed firm in preparation for electing a constituent assembly to frame a Constitution and to vote at a referendum subject to international supervision with respect to a final resolution of the Tamil national question;

5. Establishing procedures for electing a Congress and an Executive;

6. Establishing direct links with foreign Governments and other international organizations;

7. Working for the social, economic and cultural well-being of the one million members of the Tamil Diaspora;

8. Building a political program with the participation of Muslim representatives, taking into account that the diversity of Tamil and Muslim regions has been used as a threat in the past against the realization of the Tamils’ right to self-determination;

9. Performing such other tasks as may be necessary to promote the interests of the Tamil people in the North East of the island of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Diaspora.
Given the urgent need to halt the ongoing genocide of Tamils on the island, the Committee is also given the task of liaising with international nongovernmental organizations and international organizations to ensure that Tamils’ physical survival is guaranteed; to stop the sexual violence against Tamil women; to stop the physical abuse of Tamil children by the Sri Lankan government’s mono-ethnic armed forces and ensure their speedy reunification with their families; to ensure the return of the 300,000 Tamils held in internment camps to their homes and to bring to justice those who have committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Committee shall also liaise with organizations representing the global Tamil Diaspora from various parts of the world and, especially, the second generation, to realize its task.

Members of the Formation Committee consist of a core team and many subcommittees on a country and sector basis, and are now being recruited.

The Formation Committee is supported by an Advisory Committee of experts in various fields. Professor M. Sornarajah (UK), Professor Francis Boyle (USA), Professor P. Ramasamy (Malaysia), Professor Rev A.J.C Chandrakanthan (Canada), Professor Nadaraja Sriskandarajah (Sweden), Dr Murugar Gunasingham (Australia), Dr Sivanendran Seevanayagam (Australia), Dr A.L. Vasanthakumar (UK), Ms Karen Parker (USA), Dr N. Jeyalingam (USA), Mr Selva Sivarajah (Australia), Mr Paul Williams (Netherlands) and Professor Peter Schalk (Sweden) have agreed to function as Advisory Committee members.

We kindly request all committed individuals to come forward to work for the important task of the formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam.

The Formation Committee is expected to function until December 31, 2009. Upon completion of its term, the Committee is required to produce a report of its work. The Committee invites suggestions from the general public in the above matter. In this connection the Committee has setup an email address for the public to use – info@govtamileelam.org


Courtesy :
TamilNational

Tamils on mission to rebrand Tigers

But with no presence inside Sri Lanka, and a wanted arms smuggler as leader, defeated rebels face an uphill battle

Ravi Nessman
ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels are trying to rise from the ashes of their devastating battlefield defeat, swearing off violence and pledging to transform their internationally shunned terror group into a democratic movement for Tamil statehood.

Their rebranding effort faces long odds. The Tamil Tigers' self-proclaimed new leader is a wanted arms smuggler, the group has no presence inside Sri Lanka and the government has brushed off the remaining rebels as irrelevant. It's not even clear if anyone is really in charge of the tattered and demoralized group.

"There is no LTTE now, because we have totally destroyed their capabilities and their hierarchy," said Media Minister Anura Yapa, referring to the rebels by an acronym of their formal name, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The rebels once controlled a shadow state across northern Sri Lanka backed by thousands of guerrilla fighters, a navy and even a nascent air force. They were crushed by government forces last month after a quarter century of civil war.

In the final days of the battle, the military killed much of the Tamil Tigers' leadership, including Velupillai Prabhakaran, the unquestioned ruler of the group. His dispatch of hundreds of suicide attackers – whose victims ranged from former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to commuters in a train station – landed the group on terror lists around the world.

Now, nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamil civilians from the rebels' former stronghold are being held in displacement camps in the north as security forces sweep through the rest of the country searching for remaining sleeper cells.

But the rebels also maintained a vast international support network among the estimated 800,000 Tamil expatriates living in Canada, Australia, Britain and other countries.

In the wake of Prabhakaran's death, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the group's chief of international relations, has seized the leadership mantle and immediately begun trying to recreate the Tamil Tigers' image.

He acknowledged the rebels could no longer hope to achieve their dream of a separate state for minority Tamils – known as Eelam – on the battlefield and renounced violence. He promised the group would reorganize itself based on democratic principles – a major change from Prabhakaran's almost cultlike leadership style. And he announced the creation of a committee to set up a "provisional transnational government" for the proposed Tamil state.

"The struggle of the people of Tamil Eelam for their right to self-rule has reached a new stage," he said in a statement Monday. "It is time now for us to move forward with our political vision towards our freedom, bearing in mind the practical realities in our homeland."

Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a former rebel legal adviser appointed to head the committee, said he planned to register Tamils abroad to vote for a constitutional assembly. The committee would also reach out to foreign governments and create a platform for negotiations with Sri Lanka.

But Pathmanathan may not be the ideal person to transform the Tamil Tigers into an internationally respected liberation movement.

Known as "KP," he ran the group's vast international weapons-smuggling ring and remains a wanted man internationally. The government has appealed to foreign governments in recent days to find and arrest him.

"I don't know where he is, but basically we are asking his extradition from whatever country (he is in)," Yapa said.


Courtesy :
The Star
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/653982

Sri Lanka scoffs at new Tamil exiled government

By C. Bryson Hull

COLOMBO, June 17 (Reuters) - The remnants of the Tamil Tigers have vowed to form a government in exile to push their separatist cause, which Sri Lanka on Wednesday called an "hallucination" and another illegal attempt to violate its unitary status.

The decision came less than a month after the Sri Lankan military finally crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a 25-year civil war, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared Sri Lanka reunified.

Selvarajah Pathmanathan, the top remaining LTTE leader, in a voice clip e-mailed on Tuesday signed off on the formation of a committee to create a "provisional transnational government of Tamil Eelam to take forward the next phase of the struggle".

Tamil Eelam was the name for the separate state the LTTE fought to create for Sri Lanka's Tamils, and what it had called the areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka it had ruled until the end of the war.

Reacting to the announcement, Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said "imagination will lead to hallucinations" and said the country had stepped up efforts to have Pathmanathan, known as KP, arrested.

"I have carried personally the arrest warrants for KP and handed them over to my counterparts in several countries and I expect the earliest arrest of KP. He will stand trial in the judicial system in our country," Bogollagama told reporters.

Pathmanathan spent most of his career building and operating the LTTE's weapons and smuggling networks, and is wanted by Interpol.

IN HIDING

He is believed to have control over the LTTE's substantial financial assets and is thought to be in hiding somewhere in southeast Asia under one of his many assumed names.

Pathmanathan named a committee, to be led by former LTTE peace negotiator Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, which is expected to form a plan by the end of the year to create the government.

"We call all Tamil people and Tamil organisations to provide this committee their wholehearted support and assistance," Pathmanathan said.

Pathmanathan is the highest-ranking LTTE member believed still alive after most of the leadership including founder Vellupillai Prabhakaran were killed in a cataclysmic final battle.

Rajiva Wijesinha, the head of Sri Lanka's peace secretariat, said the plan was an attempt by the "rump of the LTTE" to keep its control over Tamil politics in Sri Lanka.

"It is an effort by the Tigers to pursue yet another illegal action, and I only hope the world won't react positively," Wijesinha said. "The real problem is it puts pressure on the democratic Tamil parties."

In his announcement, Pathmanathan said the Tamil National Alliance, a grouping of Tamil parties long known as its front, would remain so.

Col. R. Hariharan, a security analyst who was head of military intelligence for India's 1987-1990 peacekeeping mission to Sri Lanka, said the plan was more likely an effort to harness the financial resources the LTTE left all over the world.

"It is more connected with recouping the Tigers assets," he said. "Nobody will recognise it in any case, but some countries might tolerate this kind of thing. There are kinds of ghost governments in existence."

OPINION: Mr S. Pathmanathan & legitimate representation of Tamils

LET US WORK UNITED & STOP THE IC DEMONISING US AS BEING/SUPPORTING ONE OR THE OTHER.

Those who would NOT fit in a democratic setup of Tamils should not ruin the Tamils' cry for democratic legitimacy & international recognition. It's crucial for us, Eelam Tamils, to act wisely.

DO NOT LET ANY ANTI-TAMIL FORCES TO DEMONISE OUR LEGITIMATE REPRESENTATION.

Mr.Selvarasa Pathmanathan may have worked hard for Tamil nation in different ways. Though I have lot of respect for him, I do NOT think he is the man to lead us in an elected democratic Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam. If he wants to do good for Tamils, he should keep himself out of it & let Tamils who can't be demonised by Sinhala state & IC for any involvement which would be used to demonise the democratic Transnational Government Of Tamil Eelam in any way or form . As he is indicted & a wanted man by Interpol, he would NOT serve any good for Tamils in a democratic setup which badly needs international recognition. This body will loose legitimacy & support if he involves. This new democratic body will be a laugh in the eyes of International Community(IC).


“It’s definitely progress,” Prem Hariendran, a student at the University of Portsmouth, said. “No one is listening to our rallies but if we have a provisional government people should listen.”

With an indicted arms dealer at its head, that is questionable - says Times,UK

read more @
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6515026.ece





The Times, UK artcle in Full


Tamil Tiger rebels' chance to keep the nationalist dream alive

by Catherine Philp and James Bishop


Provisional transnational government is not the snappiest of phrases. But its vagueness, and the emphasis on the global Tamil network, is exactly what the handful of surviving Tiger leaders are aiming for as they struggle to work out how best to resurrect their bloodied, beaten cause.

For weeks Tamils around the world have waited for word from their leaders-in-exile about what would happen next. Until Selvarasa Pathmanathan confirmed that the Tigers’ supreme leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, was indeed dead, many in the diaspora refused to believe it.

Mr Pathmanathan’s pronouncement is the best chance they now have of keeping the Tamil nationalist dream alive. About half the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora live in Canada — 400,000 — and in Britain, where they number 300,000. There are also smaller but vocal communities in Norway and Germany.

In Parliament Square, where British Tamils have been staging a protest against the Sri Lankan Government since April, there was a cautious welcome for Mr Pathmanathan’s call.

“It’s definitely progress,” Prem Hariendran, a student at the University of Portsmouth, said. “No one is listening to our rallies but if we have a provisional government people should listen.”

With an indicted arms dealer at its head, that is questionable. Sri Lanka has fended off much international criticism of its conduct during the military offensive by insisting on its right to wipe out a home-based terrorist force. Many foreign governments have been reluctant to confront Colombo over its conduct, given their own battles with terrorists.

None of which is any consolation to the thousands of Tamil civilians languishing in camps. This week Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, added his voice to the growing international chorus, warning Sri Lanka that lasting peace cannot be achieved without reconciliation. Sri Lanka’s problems, he said, were “larger than the LTTE” and Tamils still nurse bitter grievances.

Mr Hariendran is a good example. “We don’t just want a government abroad, we want one in Sri Lanka,” he said. “The only solution we will accept is a separate country for ourselves.”

Breaking the deadlock through transnational governance

The need of the time now is the metamorphosis of the existing infrastructure into a democratic and inclusive transnational government of Eezham Tamils to strengthen the diaspora socially, economically and culturally; to achieve the goal of independence and sovereignty of Eezham Tamils in the home country and to meet the international challenges internationally. Many of our readers confuse between the concepts of transnational government and government in exile. While the government in exile is a conventional phenomenon that needs a host country, the transnational government is a novel experiment that has no precedence.

A government in exile functions outside of its territory with an aim of taking control of that territory. Such a government may have already existed in an independent and sovereign country and have lost its power or may have been formed anew to claim an independent and sovereign country. Whatever the case may be, a government in exile needs a host country.

But the transnational government we speak of is a novel experiment that has no precedence.

Whatever excuses there may be, the contemporary world system including its apex body the United Nations, have shown least regards for the life, safety, dignity and human rights of Eezham Tamils and even now continue to abet structural genocide in the island of Sri Lanka.

There is no second word that all Eezham Tamils are traumatised and grieved by the grave injustice committed on them by the entire world system. Unless the world system recognizes the self-determination of Eezham Tamils and directly intervenes in the island, no justice is going to be seen.

With the kind of blunders made by the powers involved in forfeiting leverages and with the development of new axes in the region, it is doubtful whether the world system will have any pressure to act on its own to justify the cause of Eezham Tamils other than oppressing them further to accept subjugation within the rot of the united Sri Lanka.

It is the ways of the contemporary world system that impels Eezham Tamils to respond with the unique experiment of a transnational government to safe guard their unity, identity, dignity, aspirations and well-being.

A contemporary reality that is going to be faced by Eezham Tamils in the home country is compulsion in brutal ways by Colombo, the Indian Establishment and by certain other powers to drop Tamil national aspirations and to accept an imposed Sri Lankan identity.

Colombo is already intimidating with success the subservient Tamil political entities to drop the ethnic identity. What is proposed is a ‘home grown solution’ that is none other than structural genocide.

The Indian Establishment and its agents are said to be busy in forging a ‘coalition’ of political parties, not to go beyond the 'Rajiv’s dream' of 13th Amendment. It is also said that certain sections in the West are also behind it.

A situation is going to emerge in which no Tamil in the home country could open mouth to ask for justice and to express their heart-felt aspirations.

Only the diaspora and the transnational government could uphold the freedom of aspiration and freedom of expression of Eezham Tamils.

Those who have to face the reality from the ‘conquerors’ in Colombo and New Delhi may do so for survival but the transnational government should emerge in parallel in the diaspora to uphold the unconquered spirit of Eezham Tamils, to support the political course in the homeland and to see the Eezham Tamil politics are not hijacked by others. The transnational government need not openly include the home politicians even though both should collaborate with each other.

The disastrous geopolitics played by the Beijing-New Delhi-Islamabad axis and the West at the cost of Eezham Tamils, undeservingly favouring genocidal Colombo and the continued injustice they are committing, are not ephemeral episodes to subside with patchwork solutions envisaged by the conquerors and geopolitical players.

When the volcano erupts, a genuine support the Eezham Tamils at home could fall back on is going to be nothing but a transnational government of the diaspora.

Therefore, all Tamil political players, irrespective of differences and shades of opinion, should extend support to forge such an outfit, at least symbolic in the beginning.

One of the positive achievements of the LTTE is the international infrastructure uniting and motivating the diaspora. Otherwise the diaspora would have gone astray like the 19th century migrants.

The need of the time now is the metamorphosis of the infrastructure into a democratic and inclusive transnational government of Eezham Tamils to strengthen the diaspora socially, economically and culturally; to achieve the goal of independence and sovereignty of Eezham Tamils in the home country and to meet the international challenges internationally.

It is not a must that the transnational government needs a host country to operate. What is actually needed is the will power of more than a million Eezham Tamils living across the world.

Despite a global ban, if the LTTE had successfully demonstrated a global infrastructure in raising revenue, in mobilising the masses and in running economic and cultural institutions, why a democratised and inclusive transnational government not feasible?

If multinational corporations can operate as successful power centres why can’t transnational governments?

Some of our readers have mailed meaningful feedback how such a government can viably operate for the well-being of the diaspora as well as for the liberation of the people in the home country.

If the traumatised Eezham Tamils at home are going to be kept voiceless by the conquerors and the international community, at least the traumatised diaspora should be immediately engaged with a positive and noble venture of resurrection. Otherwise the diaspora will be disillusioned.

However, the process of this noble venture is not a hasty affair. For a smooth beginning, primarily it needs consensus of the existing infrastructure, and to become inclusive it needs the consensus of the circles outside of it also. It needs a strong foundation, careful planning and step-by-step implementation. The existing infrastructure has a greater responsibility in the metamorphosis from command structure to representative structure.

Possible steps are re-affirming the political fundamentals of the Vaddukkoaddai resolution through mandate, electing representatives at national as well as at global level for an Assembly, which will also initially be a constitutional assembly, and then electing an executive.

It is also advisable to create as many as possible grass-root democratic organizations among Eezham Tamils, vested with specific tasks to face the different facets of the current misery. Such grass-root institutions are helpful in sustaining and safe guarding the democratic nature of the superstructure of transnational governance.

If successful, and if the time demands, the transnational government can also become the government in exile.

An important prerequisite with the Eezham Tamil people, who for ages have seen nothing but deception, is that those who take the proposals for implementation with people need to be above all suspicion. Sectarian initiatives will only bungle the move at the outset itself.

Obviously the move for a transnational government based on democratic mandate is going to raise eyebrows in the Establishments that have a strong reservation against Eezham Tamil nationalism and want to erase it by coercion, deception, seemingly sympathetic talk and the hoodwink of devolution and development. Any genuinely mass-oriented structure will only be viewed more dangerous than armed groups that could readily be lured to play stooges to them. But the Eezham Tamils pushed to frustration’s end can’t help looking after their own affairs at their own will power. They need not any more care for other’s national or imperial interests unless there are returns.

It is not out of context to bring in here two examples from the South Asian scenario:

Those who have travelled in the northeastern frontier states of India might have noticed that people from these states whenever travel to Kolkata (Culcutta) and beyond, use to say that they go to ‘India’. In their heart, India is a foreign country, different from theirs and perhaps a coloniser. The Indian Establishment, which attempts to impose Sri Lankan identity on Eezham Tamils, after all what had happened and while the threat of genocide persists, should realise the futility of it at least through its own experience.

Anyone who compares the Tibetan refugees and the Eezham Tamil refugees in India can see a big difference in the treatment. The Tibetans are allowed a government in exile. They are allowed to manage themselves through their own co-operative systems. They are also helped and allowed to develop into an affluent identity on par with Anglo Indians. From the status of refugees in India they now operate all over the world with dignity and self-assurance. Their nationhood is now respected and recognised everywhere in the world, even though their independence and sovereignty are not conceded by China.

In contrast, the Eezham Tamil refugees in India disintegrated in the camps. For over quarter a century they are living under suspicious eyes. Only one organization trusted by the Indian Establishment is allowed to work in these camps. And, now, there are proposals to send them back to end up in the internment camps run by Colombo.

The difference is not merely because of the bias of the Indian Establishment in treating Eezham Tamils. It is also because of deficiencies in the social and political organisation of Eezham Tamils.

That is yet another reason why we need a transnational government for the diaspora.

Courtesy :
TamilNet

Formation of Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam

Mr Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the Head of International Relations for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam while explaining the necessity for a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam has issued a media release today announcing the establishment of a working committee under the leadership of legal advisor, Mr Rudrakumar Viswanathan to make all necessary pre-arrangements to form such a Government.

English


Tamil



S. Pathmanathan, Head of LTTE's International Diplomatic Relations“The struggle of the people of Tamil Eelam, for their right to self rule has reached a new stage. It is time now for us to move forward with our political vision towards our freedom, bearing in mind the practical realities in our homeland. Understanding the need for a common work plan based on a unified policy, we had called upon our people for their advice and opinions. Incorporating the advice provided by our people and the advice of our sectoral experts, we have deemed as necessary the formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam to take forward the next phase of the struggle. To make all necessary pre-arrangements to form such a Government, a working committee has been established under the leadership of our legal advisor, Mr Rudrakumar Viswanathan. We call on all Tamil people and Tamil organisations to provide this committee their whole hearted support and assistance”. Mr Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the Head of International Relations for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has stated in a media release today.

Mr Pathmanthan has further stated that, “the political aspirations of the people of Tamil Eelam were built on the foundations of a Tamil Nation, Homeland, and the right to self rule. These were expressed explicitly through the Vaddukoddai resolution of 1976, during the negotiations at Thimpu in 1985 and in the proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority in 2003. These aspirations should be kept alive, nurtured and strengthened.

At the same time, in our homeland where our people are subjected to a life under Sri Lanka’s military domination, it is not practical for these people to vocally express their political aspirations freely. The need for us to function understanding this pragmatic reality is imperative. Under these circumstances the Tamil Nation should implement two parallel operations to achieve a common vision under a common agreement.

“The Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam to be established shall operate representing the political aspirations and being the voice and conscience of the people of Tamil Eelam in the international arena. At the same time, the operational plan implemented in our homeland, the under the leadership of the Tamil National Alliance that represents the political aspirations of the people of Tamil Eelam, shall bear in mind the existential circumstances on the ground. There shall be a link between the two operational plans.

“The established working committee which is to function within democratic principles shall espouse the details of its operational plans to the people and maintain an active link with the people to capture the opinions and aspirations of our people. In order for this working committee to achieve its goals in whole I call on all Tamil People to work in unity” Mr Pathmanathan further stated in the media release.

Courtsey :
TamilEelamOnline

Moving forward- Making our mark!

Miss B's thoughts
originally posted 09/06/09
edited 10/06/09....


Dear all

I have taken some time to write my thoughts, ideas for moving forward for the plight of Tamils. I have met many people over this year. We all have ideas but we need to implement them. No longer sitting back and watch the older generation work it out. Please pass this onto those relevant.


NEXT STEP:

So Sri lanka thinks they have won... yes they defeated the LTTE, but the problem has not been resolved. The problem of discrimination and 2nd class citizenship of tamils still exists! Ethnic cleansing is now in full effect, the next phase in extreme, by rajapakse's military control over the north. As you know another 100k soldiers will be placed up north. Only to colonise our areas with there camps and possible Buddhist temples.

There have been many leaders before VP. TULF did their thing then passed the baton onto LTTE, and now it lies in the hands of the diaspora. Are you going to drop it, or reach the finish line? Build up our nation and then pass it onto the 2nd/3rd /4thgeneration.

To the Pro LTTE SUPPORTERS :Many Tamils have lost motivation and feel a sense of defeat as they believe VP is dead. The focus should not be on wondering if VP is dead or alive. They have done their best, you can agree or disagree with their methods. But they built a defacto state, where tamil kingdom was running with great courts, economy;people were making money.A defacto state which had no corruption. So now politically we have to achieve our freedom. Do not let thoughts of violence enter you mind as hard as it is to deal with the massacre sri lanka have orchestrated. I believe in karma and universal law. Those who did wrong will be punished. The focus is the humanitarian crisis, ethnic cleansing, state terror on tamils

VP dedicated 40 years of his life to the struggle . Those who supported him will get a chance to celebrate his life soon.

But leaders die and new leaders are born. This does not mean leaders of a new militant group. We the diaspora have succeeded all over the world, we are intelligent, resourceful, multilingual, mathematical, scientific, intellectuals, hustlers, entrepreneurs, individuals. NO ONE HAS SWAGGER LIKE US. As vadivelu would say "WE ARE TOP DA" !!!

We have the advantage that the sri lankan citizens do not have. Lets unite nationally then globally to build a great campaign politically to highlight the plight and finally get a resolution.

Rajapakse the hardliner in power , and corruption at its peak is ruling sri lanka. Tamil citizens in the south had to pay 300 rupees to be part of the party to celebrate the vicotry, and forced to hold the flag. Moderate tamils are being targetted by thugs all part of the plan to get rid of tamils and make them live like 2nd class citizens.

Political is the next step, we have to build up our campaign against sri lanka.



DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Those who understand politics, we know its a dirty game, do not be put off by this. Know that the world leaders all work towards their own political gain. But its up to us who vote these people into power. As a collective we can overrun these people.

Divide and conquer is a classic way of dividing up a group, culture ethnicity; by turning its own people onto each other.
The sri lankan government has orchestrated this many times, hence the people call those Tamils.... traitors.

We now have to forget our internal differences, I do not care if you are pro LTTE, ANTI LTTE, EROS, EPRLF, EPDP,TELO,PLOTE or NWA OR EVEN RSPCA OR TLC. call yourself what you will. But you are an eelam tamil, an oppressed eelam tamil!!!

Forget your differences with tamils, who went out with who, who nearly got arranged married to who, what town or village you are from. I never fitted in with tamil people. I do not need to, I fit in with my family!! I never got along with many tamils as I had more of an open minded individual mindset . In some cases I still do not fit in with the collective . But I have a responsibility for my homeland , the very reason my father and mother advised me that i have something to stand for in this country. My identity is Tamil.

THE FOCUS : WHAT WE CANNOT FORGET IS GENOCIDE, SYSTEMATIC GENOCIDE, STATE TERROR. TAMILS FOCUS ON BEING ANTI GOVERNMENT AND STATE TERROR. . We cannot afford to form many tamil groups or work against each other. As there are many sinhalese poltical groups but one ANTI TAMIL GROUP. United we stand divided we fall. The government will try to split the diaspora. But it cannot we are united more than ever. I am not encouraging anti sinhala mentality. Far from it. I have grown up with sinhalese families. My famiy dating way back before independence have socialised with sinhala family and friends. I am talking as a race we have been affected by systematic genocide by the state. So lets empower ourselves as a race and also build dialogue with sinhalese brethrens. I cannot fight with a sinhalese in the south who has been brainwashed by the state; for they do not know. There have been deaths on both sides, but more on the tamil side. Lets reduce this.


LIKE ALL RACES WE HAVE OUR FAULTS. OUR EGO!!!! We are individuals who all think we know better and know more than each other.

LTTE :some people say it did so well because it was a dictatorship. VP made all the decisions as he did try and let other groups make decisions , but all ended up arguing or nothing being implemented.Or some just slept with the government. Therefore he remained the dictator and stuck to the cause and the focus.Some may agree with his methods , some disagree. Overall he brought the tamil problem to the negotiation table. So now we have to learn from all mistakes and strategically analyse what has worked and what has failed. One major thing we have to work on is our pr, marketing.... our image from head to toe internally and externally. Communication has to to improve. Listening to each other has to be worked on

No longer do I hear about tamil gang fights, this has stopped as now these boys/girls are more focused on the very reason why their families left sri lanka ... for a better life in the western world. The western world, which has given us plentiful of choices and opportunities. Which people may have taken for granted. Utilise this to give back.

We have to hire a pr company for the plight of tamils. BOYCOTTING SRI LANKA SHOULD BE AN IMPACTING CAMPAIGN- GLOBAL ATTACK.

EELAM: Eelam to me our original homeland. Eelam has never been about a land just for tamils and sri lanka just for sinhalese. Eelam can be envisioned as Tamils having more power and govern their own. Self determination for Tamils. Investment in agriculture in the North and East. We do not want the south. Sinhalese can live up north but it will be governed by Tamils. MAINLY WE WANT THE ARMY OUT OF OUR HOMELAND. LET OUR PEOPLE LIVE IN FREEDOM. LETS LIVE SIDE BY SIDE, THERE WILL BE PEACE. If the state intends to oppress us with military control up in the North, how does one ever reconcile any tensions between the ethnicities.


FUTURE LEADERS/POLITICS

There are plentiful of tamil schools, we have to respect tamil culture which is getting wiped away in sri lanka. We have to maintain this in our politics. So learning to speak tamil , respecting the culture is a priority. Implementing western ideology to ancient culture never works, and brings the evilness of the west to the purity of our dying culture in sri lanka.

But tamil schools now have to implement subjects of politics in them to encourage the youth. Parents cannot force or expect their children to be doctors, engineers,accountants. Allow them to dream big. Then you allow your kids to dream big. But education does come first!!!

I myself listen to the news all the time. As every news from politician expenses to nuclear weapons in north Korea effects us all. This will help educate and broaden knowledge of how the world is working. There is nothing wrong with learning. Builds the mind. The number of Tamil intellectuals will rise.

We need to empower ourselves and build future leaders. I want to see Eelam tamils in football ...UK, EUROPEAN & INTERNATIONAL football... the next tamil David Beckham, Rooney or Pele.

• Next TV/ film directors.



• Next tamil actor in Hollywood, musicians mainstream.



• Next tamil politician Tamil priminister.



• .... Tamil Comedian( I may go for that ;))

Leaders can be bred, encouraged praised from our generation to get justice for our people.

We all need to contribute monthly payment like tax to the cause. So we can employ people to work full time for us the eelam tamils.

Please guys lets unite and work together to go forward. This a critical situation in sri lanka. But the best opportunity to bring something positive. Sri Lanka already looks like the shit it is in the international community. We can engineer to build a better sri lanka with equal rights to all ethnicities in sri lanka.

RISE UP PEOPLE. Its no longer about raising money for charity.Continue the charity fundraising, but get political to make the world a better place. Right now we have some evil charcters in power. Only we as people can make change

I want to see international conferences , where eelam tamils displaced all over the world congregate to celebrate each others achievements. Whether they are in america, canada, australia, south africa, Singapore, India, Middle East. Lets unite under one UMBRELLA ELLA ELLA EH EH EH like rihanna...lol

BLESS UP.

PEACE AND LOVE
I look forward to hearing your responses.


UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL


UNITED..REMAIN UNITED. THE GOAL IS FREEDOM

courtesy :
Miss b Dass
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=83411124628&topic=27184#/note.php?note_id=89476638183

Time for Tamils to Transcend and Transform

originally posted 25/05/09
edited 10/06/09....

by Arvalan

“Opportunity often comes in disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.” - Napoleon Hill

The armed liberation struggled waged by the Tamils have come to a “bitter end”. The defeat at the hands of the Sinhalese regime has shaken the Tamil community all over the world. Tamils all over world, irrespective of their political affiliations, feel the pain of defeat and their pride has been hurt. However this is not the time to mourn the defeat and acknowledge “condolence messages” from the international community.

-It is time for the Tamils to reignite their struggle for freedom with more vigour and commitment.

-It is time for the Tamils to learn from the mistakes of the past and march forward towards their dream homeland.

-It is time for the Tamils to mobilise their global resources to launch a diplomatic & economic offensives against the Sri Lanka

-It is time for the Tamils to avenge Sinhala Buddhist regime which has humiliated us in defeat in the courts of justice

-It is time for the Tamils to act, act immediately and act wisely

The Tamil struggle was initiated and lead by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in the late seventies until the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) became the sole representatives in late Eighties. The LTTE negotiated with the Indian & Sri Lankan governments from the late eighties for the next 20 years. The 30-year-old struggle has resulted in Tamils losing many of their political leaders who are astute, articulate, committed, diplomatic, knowledgeable and visionary. Further during the Eelam War IV LTTE not only lost their military leaders but unfortunately and tragically lost many of their front line political wing leaders in, Balasingham, Tamilselvan, Nadesan and Pulidevan

It is time for a new band of leadership to take the struggle forward. I believe this new leadership should originate from the Diaspora, which has been blessed with individuals who are experts in politics, diplomacy and international relations. We need these media savvy and committed individuals to come forward to lead the struggle for liberation from a diplomatic and political front.

I believe the umbrella organisations in Canada (such as Canadian Tamil Congress), Europe (such as British Tamil Forum) , USA (such as PEARL), Australia (such as Australian Federation of Tamil Associations) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in Sri Lanka need to come together to form a global body for the Tamils. This new global body for the Tamils could be called Tamil National Congress (TNC) and should be structured along the lines of a Tamil government in exile. TNC should be entrusted with the task of lobbying the international community and negotiating with the Sri Lankan government.

The guiding principles for the TNC will be the Thimpu principles, which are

· Recognition of the Tamils of Ceylon as a nation

· Recognition of the existence of an identified homeland for the Tamils of Ceylon

· Recognition of the right of self determination of the Tamil nation

The TNC should lobby the International community, particularly India, US & EU to endorse the Thimpu principles. The TNC need to embark on “classical lobbying” in their respective countries which is vastly different from the lobbying carried out in the past. I believe some of the lobbying techniques used in US by PEARL and Tamils for Obama will be good examples of effective lobbying methods.

It is also equally important the legal experts of the TNC should actively pursue the Sri Lankan leaders in war crime tribunals. TNC will need to bring the cream of the Tamil legal minds to prosecute the Sinhala leadership in the courts of international justice for crimes against humanity.

Whilst pursuing the diplomatic & legal offensives against the Sri Lankan government, TNC should also take the lead role in alleviating the sufferings of the Internally Displaced People (IDP’s). IC should be successfully persuaded by the TNC to allow it to run the rehabilitation and resettlement efforts in North and East of Sri Lanka. This will amount to a pseudo interim administration.

In the event of TNC not seeking a lead role the rehabilitation and resettlement efforts will be managed by Karuna and Douglas, catering for the interests of the Sri Lankan government. The danger in allowing Karuna and Douglas to manage the resettlement program is it will result in Sinhala colonisation of North and East and the aid fund being diverted to South (as evidenced with Tsunami reconstruction).

Therefore it is vital for the TNC to pursue a short-term strategy to address the immediate problems of our people whilst pursuing the long-term political solution to our conflict. TNC will be launching offensives in three major fronts, political, legal and economical, which are the hallmarks of a government in exile.

I believe there will be resistance from some quarters for any moves to form a new organisation. However the concept of TNC is not about compromising the LTTE. At this critical juncture in our history Tamils need global leadership, which LTTE is unable to provide at present (they have done so effectively in the past). TNC is all about proving that leadership and exploiting the support we have harvested in the international arena with our demonstrations, rallies and lobbying.

As symbolic step for the formation of the TNC, mass gatherings should be organised in Sydney, Chennai, Geneva, London and Toronto on the same day. Tamils should participate in these rallies in mass numbers wearing the traditional dress. Participants should avoid carrying Tiger flags (even though they call it Tamil national flags) as the international media will portray any rallies with the tiger flags as Pro LTTE rally and in that process we are losing the plot in getting the message across to the wider community. The purpose of these mass gatherings are to announce to the world that

-We are proud to be Tamils & We are united

-Tamil Eelam is our homeland and we want it to be liberated.

-Declare the President of Sri Lanka as a War Criminal

The end of the military phase of the Eelam war IV has opened many doors in the international community. It is critical we exploit these opportunities and contacts for our benefit to achieve a permanent solution for our legitimate grievances. If we miss this opportunity the future generations will continue to suffer in our homeland and overseas.

We are not done yet!

An Eelam government in exile to be formed

originally posted on 21/04/09
edited on 08/06/09....

As Sinhala armed forces occupies most of the Eelam land, it's Tamil diaspora's duty to do every thing possible to free Tamil Eelam & her people. In order to achieve that I suggest we should form an Eelam government-in-exile which becomes party to and accepts international norms & practices. So that it will make it easier for a country or even countries to recognise our country when we free it from Sinhala occupation.

A government in exile is a political group(s) that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their native country and regain power.

Governments in exile frequently occur during wartime occupation. For example, during the German expansion of the Second World War, numerous European governments and monarchs were forced to seek refuge in the United Kingdom rather than face certain destruction at the hands of the Nazis.

Actions of governments in exile

International law recognizes that governments in exile may undertake many types of actions in the conduct of their daily affairs. These actions include:

• becoming a party to a bilateral or international treaty


• amending or revising its own constitution


• retaining (or "newly obtaining") diplomatic recognition by sovereign states


• issuing identity cards


• allowing the formation of new political parties


• instituting democratic reforms


• holding elections


• allowing for direct (or more broadly-based) elections of its government officers, etc.
  

By definition, a government in exile is spoken of in terms of its native country, hence it must return to its native country and regain power there in order to obtain legitimacy as the legal government of that geographic area.

Historic task awaits all freedom fighters

The Eezham Tamil nation doesn’t need words to explain the current situation because everybody feels it in the core of their heart. This is a situation that warrants no one else but only the members of the nation to rise up to the occasion. Unprecedented catastrophe awaits unprecedented response from the nation.


TamilNet Editorial Board
It is time for all Eezham Tamil freedom fighters to realise that there is no credible alternative other than taking up the matter directly to the people concerned for a mandate to reaffirm the political fundamentals and to direct the course of action.

Incumbency, elitism and adventurism are no answers to the gravity of the situation that needs handling with legitimacy not only the genocidal regime of Colombo but also an entire world.

It is heartening to see moves being discussed towards the formation of a global structure for Eezham Tamils, but how to evolve it mass orientated, how to make it responsible to the people and what is the relationship of this body to the already existing infrastructure are the questions.

All freedom fighters with a record of service to the Eezham Tamil nation have a historic responsibility in this regard to come forward united in forging a neutral interim body with full commitment to execute conducting a mandate among Eezham Tamils in forming a government, even if it is going to be bereft of territory at the moment.

Fortunately the Eezham Tamil nation’s resources and organizational infrastructure are intact in the diaspora. But these have to be immediately transformed with unity and consensus into backing the formulation of the much-needed political structure. Any failure will only see the hijacking of the cause by the same forces that crushed Tamil nationalism militarily.

Some feedbacks to our earlier columns questioned the legitimacy of the diaspora in forming a government and hinted that the future politics of Eezham Tamils will surge up from the conditions of the internment camps.

While not denying the fact that the nature of politics is going to be determined by the ground realities of oppression in the homeland, a parallel political stream in the diaspora is not a liability but contributory to the Tamil nationalist cause. The diaspora on one hand cannot be idling at a historic responsibility in meeting the demands of the homeland and on the other hand has to look after its own needs of identity, self-respect and emotional integrity as well.

No one should forget that the diaspora, especially of those who migrated after the 1972 constitution have a say on Tamil Eelam, as the Eezham Tamils have not accepted the Sri Lankan state and have become the diaspora largely as a consequence to it.

Many readers may wonder why TamilNet doesn’t cover ongoing factional news and debate on Tamil politics. A media is expected to do that, but as an alternative media committed to a cause TamilNet wishes to refrain from contributing to confusion.

It is our earnest hope that an environment will be created soon, conducive for all freedom loving people of the nation to participate in unison in upholding the struggle.

It may be the worst of times but it is also the best of times for Phoenix-like regeneration.

courtesy :
TamilNet

An Appeal to the Thamil diaspora

by Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj

To the Tamil Diaspora,

It’s an extremely urgent appeal. After prosecuting a murderously brutal and inhuman war the Govt. of Lanka is currently wiping all evidences that would lead to genocide and war crimes trial. The next thing it will do is to confuse, divide and neutralize the ‘emotionally converged’ Tamil diaspora. If the emotionally converged diaspora is quickly stabilized and efficiently coordinated as a political community then advancement of the Tamil cause will see meaningful rapid progress.

In the immediate next phase the Government of SriLanka will unleash a hidden war, more treacherous than the one it let loose in Mullaitivu, to break the unity and political consolidation of the diaspora.

I am sure the diaspora has the moral capacities to withstand a dirty political war by the SriLankan Government. But what can shatter the hopes of a dignified political solution will be the unraveling of LTTE. Let’s concede that the massive military debacle would certainly have created serious gaps in LTTE’s command structure. I get a disturbing feeling that there is already an unseen power struggle among certain sections of the LTTE for the control of the organization and its vast resources. We can expect that intelligence agencies of various countries will welcome this development and do everything to hasten these divisions.

The enlightened ones among the expatriate community should come together with a tremendous sense of responsibility first to ensure that the organization does not unravel due to internal divisions, secondly to work vigorously to lift the ban imposed on it by several countries and then go on to build democratic people’s power of the diaspora around it. Such a development would keep moral and political pressure on Western countries to press for a meaningful political solution to our people. Further it will also ignite a broader Tamil renaissance. May the memory of the sacrifices our people endured guide us in this mission.

Kindly pass this message to the Tamils whom you consider as mature, responsible and reasonably selfless.

It is now when we walk in the valley of darkness, through the agonies, anxieties and uncertainties, we have re-discovered the bonds that unite us intensely as Tamils. We shall persevere. We shall prevail.

Thank you.

Yours cordially,

Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj.

Courtesy:
TamilCanadian - May 28, 2009

Comments & Views @ FB

last update 29/05/09....

Post #1
Eelam G wrote23 hours ago
I can see a healthy debate has started. Your views are highly valued. Some believe YES! we need a gov-in-exile & some beleive NO! we don't need it. This thread will help you put forward your views. please stick to the topic. THANKS.

here r some comments already posted in the wall

Sacktheish Sachein Thileepan (London) wrote
at 10:59pm yesterday
well this method suck very bad. e.g. if we divert into exile gov now...we will lose the rest of our land...the singalese will colonise our area faster than ever


Nathan wrote
at 10:20am yesterday
we have to do careful study on this? this is not a new concept. so many other nations and communities have done it in the past and some still have this kinda gov. first we should open the debate now. we should create a constitution which should accomodate the core principles(self-determination, nationhood, homeland etc) with the help of experts. then we have to form parties. we will have election in every 3/4 years. along with this government we sould also form a youth parliament which would be a platform to identify the talented youths. first we should take this idea to people and convince them how it could bring goods to us.
read more @
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_in_exile
Reply to EelamMark as IrrelevantReportDelete Post


Post #2
1 reply
Sacktheish wrote22 hours ago
what about a federal state...


Post #3
You replied to Sacktheish's post21 hours ago
federal state is acceptable but Sinhala mindset is not ready to even think abt giving a village to Tamils where we can call it our homeland(federal state) & lookafter our own affairs within united Sri Lanka.


Post #4
You wrote21 hours ago
Yes! We need a gov-in-exile which is elected by Tamil diaspora to defeat Sinhala propaganda which is successful in winning over the International community by using buzz words like democratic traditions, multi-party systems, pluralism and so on. To defeat that we should demonstrate by forming a body which would satisfy international norms & practices. It can not be formed in Eelam now.

GoSL plans is to create more 'Karuna' like leaders in all parts of Eelam(sadly there are many in our society) they r gonna divide us & rule. while we fight among us, they r gonna colonise our lands. Exile-gov is NOT a real gov but a shadow gov which will have democratic values. While it helps us to find talented people among ourselves, this would be more acceptable to IC than creating so many organisations which were failed to win over the IC.

I can understand some people view that it might go against our ultimate goal. To avoid that core principles such as Self-determination, Nationhood & homeland should be drawn in the constitution with the help of experts. No party can go against the core principles as it would be drawn in the constitution of the gov-in-exile to be formed.

This democratically elected gov-in-exile would be more acceptable to IC than creating so many organisations which were not accepted by vast majority of IC & UN as the voice of our people even though they succeeded in rallying 100s of thousands people behind them. I believe it will help the Tamil diasporas to unite under one body, win over friends among IC & move towards our ultimate goal. We have to act fast.


Post #5
1 reply
Sacktheish wrote21 hours ago
we should of done government in exile 30 years ago. tibet has been in exile for more than 50 years.


Post #6
Sacktheish wrote21 hours ago
first i agreed to this 'gov-in-exile' but now it is not a good idea, because i have read about very carefully.


Post #7
2 replies
You replied to Sacktheish's post21 hours ago
true! indeed. but 30 years we didn't have a powerful diaspora. if we don't do it now, we will cry the same after 30yrs or even 300 years. I believe we should form it now. alongside gov-in-exile, a youth parliament should be formed to identify talented youths & create a democratic culture which would make easier for us to politically integrate with International Community so that lobbying will be much more effective than now.


Post #8
Tamil Youth wrote20 hours ago
YES WE SHOULD>

While we concentrate our focus on IDPs to be able to get back to their homes, we should also focus on achieving our political aspirations. From the experience of last 60years of struggle, we should mature & take forward our struggle to next stage until our land & people are freed. World has changed after 9/11. We should look into ways & methods which are workable and accepted by todays world. Otherwise we will be doomed forever.

Our anger should be transformed into an energy of the wise to defeat Sinhala state terror. We should now take forward a political, diplomatic & economic offensives against the Sri Lanka. World is waking upto the reality in SL. Let's work with the UN and international communities to achieve Eelam wether it's a federal state or an independent state...let that to the people in Eelam to decide. Diaspora should concentrate on lobbying & getting international support to our cause.

THAMILARIN THAGAM THAMILEELA THAYAGAM.



Post #9
Gowry K wrote18 hours ago
Yes We have to other wise we will loose everything.

Post #10
Sacktheish Sachein Thileepan (London) replied to your post17 hours ago
just found something, self interim governing shit. basically to other governments this proposal is weak. its less demanding then asking for a separate country. then we have our government we can declare our selves independent. plus we can have our own army. USA **WILL** accept this.



Post #11
Sacktheish replied to your post16 hours ago
we should aim for

'Interim Self Governing Authority'

or

'Provisional Institutions of Self-Government'

or

'Ask USA to do a referendum'



Post #12
1 reply
Janani wrote16 hours ago
It's an interesting concept- my initial feeling would be that we should form one and quickly. It appears to strengthen the idea of a separate homeland- thus the separate government- rather than weaken it. Obviously though, we'd need to research it carefully, get the experts to help us and gauge the feelings and mood of the Tamil Diaspora on the matter- which is why I think this group requires far more members than we currently possess.



Post #13
Sacktheish wrote15 hours ago
where exactly are we going to find so called experts? even if we do there is a thing called money...

this all about planning and agreeing and then demanding.

we still need ltte, stronger then ever before. if our demands are not met, then all the countries are giving the green light for us to take up armed struggle.



Post #14
Eelam Govreplied to Janani's post14 hours ago
yes! i agree with you, Janani.

They are lot of Tamils around the world who are experts in international law and constitution formation. If not, we can hire people.

We need to win friends over the international community. Without the support of IC we will go nowhere. Democratic body among diaspora which is acceptable by IC would strengthen our struggle. In last 60 years, first 30years we tried political and non-violence way it didn't work... next 30yrs armed struggle achieved a little but v r still struggling. So from the experience we need to take both form of struggles in parallel. We shouldn't mix both and shouldn't let go one against other too. If we have no nations in the world to recognise & support country, who will recognise us if & when we get freedom?!

WE HAVE TO ACT WISELY.



Post #15
1 reply
Sacktheish wrote14 hours ago
No action will be taken at the UN.

But we should be looking to isolate the moda land from the West.

Given more than 2/3rd of its exports are to the West, moda land's economy can then be collapsed.

UN is full of useless countries like Ghana; friendship with which offer little rewards beyond vindication.

Sudan and Iran can survive Western onslaught because they have oil. Sri Lanka will have to bow to the West, sooner or later.



Post #16
1 reply
Eelam Gov InExile replied to Sacktheish's post13 hours ago
I agree with you, Thileepan. Don't you think we need a compatable system among ourselves to get the full support of the west? To win the Western countries as our partners in future the political, diplomatical & economical systems of the west should be accepted. The socialist & communists countries will never support our cause in one way or another. Indian gov led by Congress party will never support us either. Now we heavily rely on the west. To win them we should follow their system and politically integrate with them. That's the very reason we need a democratic setup among the diaspora. If we don't do that, we will loose the West support too. Time is running out.


Post #17
1 reply
Sacktheish replied to Eelam's post13 hours ago
USA will definitely support 'Interim Self Governing Authority'. (They did but then LTTE had problems.) UK and France will support it because USA will tell them to. That is 3 out 5 permanent security council members. The other two is Russia and China. If USA supports it, then other countries will support it because USA is their superior.

I am telling you this because, LTTE have done this and was appreciated. Why try out a new one when we clearly know this will work.

We don't need India. USA now hates Sri Lanka because they are not listening to them.

We have British Tamil Forum, Canadian Tamil Congress and so on.


Post #18
Sacktheish wrote13 hours ago
Interim Self Governing Authority will have:

* An ISGA will established for the eight districts in the and Northern and Eastern provinces until a final negotiated settlement is reached and implemented.
* Initially the members of the ISGA will be appointed by the parties to this agreement with the LTTE appointing an absolute majority, but
* Democratic elections will be held if no final negotiated settlement is reached and implemented within five years.
* The ISGA shall have plenary power for the governance of the north-east including powers in relation to resettlement, rehabilitation, reconstruction, development, raising revenue including imposition of taxes, revenue, levies and duties, law and order, and over land.
* The GOSL agrees that any and all of its expenditures in or for the north-east shall be subject to the control of the ISGA.
* The ISGA shall have powers to borrow internally and externally, provide guarantees and indemnities, receive aid directly, and engage in or regulate internal and external trade.
* The ISGA shall have direction and control over any and all administrative structures and personnel in the north-east.
* The ISGA shall have the power to alienate and determine the appropriate use of all land in the north-east that is not privately owned.
* Land occupied by the armed forces of the GOSL must be immediately vacated and restored to the possession of the previous owners. The GOSL must also compensate the owners for the past dispossession of their land.
* The ISGA shall be responsible for the resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced civilians and refugees in such lands.
* The ISGA shall have control over the marine and offshore resources of the adjacent seas and the power to regulate access thereto.
* The ISGA will have control over the natural resources in the north-east region. The GOSL shall ensure that all monies due under existing agreements are paid to the ISGA.
* All future agreements concerning matters under the jurisdiction of the ISGA shall be made with the ISGA.

Post #19
You replied to Sacktheish's post13 hours ago
BTF, CTG are doing excellent job. But what the west are looking for is a democratic setup which is acceptable for them. It's only the foolishness & arrogant of Rajapakse bros is turning the west against Sri Lanka. Say If Ranil/UNP comes back to power, west will change the stance. We must keep that in mind. The words west want to hear is democracy, multi-party system, pluralism, transparent & so on. I can understand these can not be done in Eelam when we are undertaking an armed struggle. But I strongly believe we can do that in diaspora to satisfy the western countries. As long as our core principles aint changed, we aint loosing anything.



Post #20
1 reply
Sacktheish S wrote13 hours ago
Mahinda will win the next election because Sinhalese are dumb and they think that LTTE are over. That is a good thing in way because, He ain't going to change and the west knows that.



Post #21
Tamil replied to Sacktheish's post12 hours ago
Yes! Mahinda will win coz Sinhala are dumb or wateva. but Tamil parties including TNA will lick his feet for power coz they are so scared or dumbest or wateva. Within current Sri Lankan constitution even Ranil can't do anything. West won't buy our case if we don't listen to them either. Ofcoz West is sympathetic to our cause. But to make the west to listen to us & act infavour of us, we should have something in common or similar structure. Every body has their own interest. West is bit reluctant they fear that our ideology might have similarity with communism/one party system. That's what Sinahala are telling the west for years in closed doors. We need to change their mind on this. We can assure them by forming an elected gov-in-exile that we are not communist/against their interests.



Post #22
1 reply
Sacktheish wrote12 hours ago
USA might help cos we can offer Trinco harbour to them, also because the plans China for the Trinco harbour will fail. Then UK and France will follow.


Post #23
Sacktheish Sachein Thileepan (London) wrote12 hours ago
I made this proposal and I backed out but now I decided that Government In Exile might be a good idea. We NEED an armed force though.

Like Tamil YouthParliament said, we need to show that we are not communist party but instead democratic.

Armed force has to be something like Tamil Eelam National Army and NOT LTTE. Or we will just make it even worse. We have to make it like we are not interested in LTTE. You may not agree with me for not supporting LTTE in this case. But I am related to Col Thileepan...Will that make it better...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_government_in_exile

We need more ideas for this proposal.

GOVERNMENT IN EXILE WILL ONLY WORK WITH ARMED FORCE. OR WE HAVE TO BE BORN ANOTHER 10 TIMES TO SEE TAMIL EELAM INDEPENDENT.



Post #24
Tamil replied to Sacktheish's post12 hours ago
It's all sound well & good. To negotiate with USA, we need a structure which could be recognised by the US. Don't you think so? Do you really think US would negotiate with BTF, CTG or any other single party which does not have a political mandate from the people? Come on, mate. We can be more wise than that.



Post #25
1 reply
Sacktheish wrote12 hours ago
I didn't say USA will negotiate with BTF or CTG did I? I said they can discuss in their respective parliament. The comment I made above was for Government In Exile.



Post #26
1 reply
Tamil replied to Sacktheish's post11 hours ago
no u didn't. i was just sayin that for argument sake. ok! cool, mate. it'z good to see we have lotta like-minded people here. Actually Nathan Surya proposed this idea few years back. No one took notice of that. Anyhow i dont see that itz too late. we shouldn't leave this 4 another 30 years. Let us all work together.



Post #27
1 reply
Sacktheish replied to Tamil's post11 hours ago
lol, dude I was getting mad and hope you weren't as well. Anyway it is better to argue than do nothing. At least we know what we will be doing. And yes we can't leave this for another thirty years.

We need more ideas, also we need to keep this group kinda secret and do this in a short period of time.



Post #28
Tamil replied to Sacktheish's post11 hours ago
lol yeah! agreed. this group should go secret to avoid getting banned by racists.



Post #29
1 reply
Sackthe wrote11 hours ago
So basically as far as I know:

People who lived in the north or east (Basically Tamil Eelam) and now live in foreign countries are allowed to vote. This includes Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims. We have an advantage because 1 million Tamils live outside Sri Lanka.

The government is outside Sri Lanka...

**Questions** to be answered

-- Do we have parties or something?

--Do people vote for those parties/groups?
OR
--Do they vote if they want Government-In-Exile or not?

--What powers will we have?

Post #30
Sackthe wrote11 hours ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Tibetan_Administration

Tamil replied to Sacktheish's post11 hours ago
yeah! to proof that we are truly a democratic gov-in-exile, it should be inclusive of all the communities in Eelam. It should accomodate their political aspirations too. Parties should be allowed to form in accoradance with the constitution of the gov-in-exile. In the beginning other communties might not get involved. But we should get on with whoever accepts this concepts. As time goes & when we proof we are truly a democratic shadow gov-in-exile, others mite join in. When they do, we should welcome them with open arms.



Post #32
Sackthe replied to Tamil's post10 hours ago
we can send emails or something to mps. what do you think?



Post #33
1 reply
Tamil wrote10 hours ago
I agree with the Government in exile proposal. However, what I feel we need more includes many things.
Firstly, the main view, which is partially correct, is that only the diaspora wants a Tamil Eelam. The ground reality is that an average Vanni civillian hasn't seen a 1000 rupee note. The perspective is that they would live as slaves in Srilanka as part of a "democratic society". I know this is enraging, but there's much fact in it. What I feel is most necessary immediately is the resettlement of all or most of the IDPs to their original villages, the media, NGOs and other aid agencies being given free access to the camps and the places where Tamils are resettled. A replication of the East should be prevented by preventing muslim and sinhalese colonization. A monitoring mission with sufficient self defence should be sent before we take the next step. The first task is accomplishing this. I do not care how this is done- it can be Government is exile or by pressurizing through diplomatic offensives, but a Governemnt in Exile gives a more intense feeling of statehood and better co operation.
Tamil Win



Post #34
Sackthe replied to Tamil's post10 hours ago
china is like sri lanka. china has tibet government under their control. government.

we should concentrate on these:

1. UN should take responsibility to internment camps; thereby, converting them to genuine IDP camps.

2. All areas, including so called 'high security zone', must be demilitarized, allowing unhindered access for people to their privately owned land and properties.

3. Power devolution that allows people to decide how and by whom they want to be governed.



Post #35
Sackthe wrote10 hours ago
We need something like NATO to get sla out of our homeland



Post #36
Sacktheish wrote9 hours ago
Example, get info to help:

Tibet Websites:
http://www.freetibet.org/
http://www.freetibet.net/
http://www.savetibet.org/
http://www.tibet.com/



Post #37
1 reply
Daniel P wrote7 hours ago
I once heard it said that government officials were having trouble engaging with the Tamil protesters as they seemed to have no spokesperson. Personally, I feel that a gov-in-exile not only provides the eelam tamil people with a voice but also gives very good opportunities for people to get involved with our struggle. I agree with the previous comments that this group needs to remain secret to prevent it being compromised but we will need to ensure that the tamil diaspora knows about the gov-in-exile and that they can feel that it represents them. In the same vein I would like to also mention previous comments on not aligning ourselves with the LTTE. I also agree that being seen as an LTTE front group would be disastrous, but we need to be careful as to how we present ourselves to the diaspora in this regard. And of course, as i believe we have generally established, our leader is alive and we should bear that in mind. If our people continue to suffer the LTTE will rise again, more powerful than ever, and we must consider that. Just one final point, during the CFA we built an impressive civil administration, with a bank, courts, police force, NTT and many other services I'm sure you don't need reminding of. But it was Rajapakse who attacked us. I, personally, believe that an independent TamilEelam should be our ultimate goal. Of course, I am not Tamil and far be it from me to dictate the wills of your people. Should you accept a federal solution then I will support you all the way, and I genuinely want to be of some help in securing a satisfactory resolution and re-building afterwards. But, from what I have seen, I do think we should be careful not to lose sight of this goal. In my eyes, the Sinahla people and their gov. have repeatedly demonstrated that Tamils cannot live in safety, security, dignity and freedom within a united Sri Lanka.

Thank you.



Post #38
You replied to Daniel's post4 minutes ago
Daniel! Thank you so much for your excellent perspective. I agree that armed struggle & political struggle shouldn't be mixed and shouldn't go against each other either. They should lead in parallel to each other. one thing I'm sure that this formation of gov-in-exile and youth parliament will be a platform to identify the people & youngsters who are truly talented. It will help them politically integrate with the society they are living in. This will make our lobbying more effective. IC which wants to see a democratic tradition will accept us as legitimate voice of our people. We can put forward the people’s mandate to the individual countries, IC & the UN. When we have a democratically elected body, it surely clears lot of hurdles which we are facing now. I don't think that we need explanation on that. West is sympathetic towards us. But if don't have a system they can have dialogue with, it will be hard for them to help us in any way/form. We need a compatible system to the west. Russia, China, even Cuba are voicing against us and helping Sinhala. It is clear that old communist block does not like our freedom. It’s no point we talk abt socialism. We should keep them out. Indian Gov lead by Congress party won't give a damn about even the plight of our people. But the West is at least sympathetic to our cause. We can't blame them for their inaction. West has lotta bad experience helping one party administration in the past. So we need to proof them that we respect their values & interests in order to transform their sympathy into supporting us.
THANKS.
WE MUST ACT WISELY.


Post #39
Sacktheish replied to Nathan's post23 hours ago
hey,

[ I agree that armed struggle & political struggle shouldn't be mixed and shouldn't go against each other either.]

If international countries don't recognise Tamil Eelam that's when we have to have a backup army so that we can liberate it. Reply to Sacktheish



Post #40Tamil replied to Sacktheish's post21 hours ago
agreed.



Post #41Nerujan wrote20 hours ago
wth i dont know what government in exile stands for but i do agree with tamil win! they should be taken back to ther home town.


Post #42Daniel wrote19 hours ago
Yes, Tamil Win is absolutely right and that, I feel, sums up what I think the gov-in-exile should be for. I think it should be "pro-active" in organising and executing demonstrations, meetings, workshops, events, etc. for purposes such as the resettlement of the Vanni IDPs. Let's face it, Rajapakse will take as long as he can get away with, and the international community, from what I've seen, is not applying nearly enough pressure. So it's down to us, really, isn't it? This won't be the sole role of course, but that's one of our main purposes: ensuring the welfare of our people through political means such as those outlined above. Whilst we have probably "missed the boat" on the UN Human Rights Council meeting, important events such as the IMF loan are still very much ongoing and we need to ensure that the right results are achieved. Finally, hopefully we can remove the need for our long-suffering, hard-working friends who have to continue messaging us to remind us that the protests ARE ongoing. Hopefully we can provide a definitive voice and remove confusion such as this.



Post #43Visakan wrote12 hours ago
I think its a good idea, but not anything less than how a real govt would be. So you would have to have say at least 500 000 Tamils voting in about at least 5 different countries. Thats not that hard. Plus you need a vareity of ages so some illiterate SL high commisioner cannot say it is a youth or terrorist activity.Reply to Visakan


Post #44Brintha wrote7 hours ago
This is an interesting idea, and it sounds more likely to work for us (at the moment) than pressurising the UN and IC for a separate state. My only worry is that it will not ease the suffering of our people back home. Because essentially, what we would call Eelam, would still only be recognised as a part of Sri Lanka. My main concern is the people there, and I do not see them directly benefiting from this.

However, if we do manage to establish a gov-in-exile, it will definitely raise the morale of the already powerful Tamil Diaspora, all around the world. As long as we dont let it cause friction between us, there is no harm in it. Though, in my humble opinion, we should aim for this to be a temporary solution for us. If we do decide to proceed with this, we should not let ourselves get too comfortable with being a government (with no power!) on the outside. We certainly should not stop fighting to get our own separate state.

Overall, I reckon going through with this could either make us or break us. It will either split us or unify us. This definitely needs a lot of thinking through.

I would like to see more people's opinions on this.


Post #45Nathan relied to Brintha's post34 minutes ago
I agree with you, Brintha. It wouldn't help the suffering people directly & immediately. We have to continue lobbying and protesting to highlight the immediate concerns of our people. In the meantime, we should also think about a long term action plan to free our land & people through the acceptable means of the world. Otherwise we will be standing alone against the whole world without any friends among IC like we do now. Of course we have countries sympathetic to us. To transform these sympathetic countries into our friends, we should politically, diplomatically & economically integrate with them. To do that, we need a similar & compatible shadow system among ourselves. That’s why i believe this gov-in-exile would be a great platform. It will also help us spot the talented people. Youth parliament (YP) within the shadow gov-in-exile would be there to help us identify talented youths and future leaders. Do not confuse that youth parliament will be a separate body from gov-in-exile. YP will be only there to identify the talented leaders and to promote democratic culture among youths so that it makes easier for the youths to prepare themselves to become leaders of tomorrow and will also help them to politically integrate with the society they are living in.

Don't you think it will empower us when we follow the international norms & practices? I believe our lobbying will be much more effective than now. If we are to defeat Sinhala propaganda and the diplomatic & political offensives against Tamilnation, we should have a democratic & united wing which is recognised by IC as the voice of the people to counter Sinhala offensives. Yes! There will be frictions or rather different of opinions will be there. That will be part & parcels of the democratic culture. But the core principles such as self-determination, nationhood, homeland etc will be drafted in the constitution so that no party can go against it. End of the day people are going to vote for the party which is more suitable to govern us & that government will have legitimacy as the voice of the Tamil diaspora.

Why it should be formed among diaspora? Not among the people in Eelam? Sinhala gonna pick up people like 'Karuna' among the IDPs to stand for elections which won't be a free & fair one. They have already planned to divide the people in Eelam and rule. It's gonna be like what happened to the East. We all know very well what is happening in the East. The good old tactic divide & rule. The same thing is going to happen all over Eelam. If anyone in Eelam voice against it, they will be made 'silent'. So it's diaspora's duty to form an elected body which would voice in the international arena about the plight & the injustices against our people back home. What IC, namely the West, want to see is that an elected body which follows democratic traditions of the West. Otherwise they wiil only be sympathetic our cause, they will be reluctant to get involved if we do NOT follow their system & serve their interest a bit. After all every nations will be expecting something in return. We should have this in mind and win over some friends among international community. Most certainly diaspora won't do anything to harm the political aspirations of people in Eelam. would we? we will be the guiding force at time of need. If we don't do it now, in my opinion we will be crying the same in next 30 yrs or even 300 yrs.

Post #46 *****
LIKE THE PHOENIX BIRD, WE WILL RISE AGAIN FROM THE ASHES.

WE ARE NOT DONE YET!!!

LET'S FORM A GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE AND DEFY SINHALA RULE.

Post #47Rajeev wrote at 1:20pm on May 26th, 2009
All we need to do is watch out for our people...What we must realize is LTTE is not dead...and they will represent us...and for us to make their efforts worth all those lives...we must give our voice and explain the urgent need for the people...Save the people and our SAVIOUR will take care of the rest...HE is there don't worry but him...worry bout the people


Post #48 Daniel wrote at 6:56pm yesterday
"Participants should avoid carrying Tiger flags (even though they call it Tamil national flags) as the international media will portray any rallies with the tiger flags as Pro LTTE rally and in that process we are losing the plot in getting the message across to the wider community."

This is, I think, a very sensible suggestion. I have the TamilEelam National flag as my display pic and i am very proud to have it there. It is our national flag and we have no other. The purpose of a national flag is to provide a symbol for people to rally under and demonstrate their support for a nation. It seems inevitable, however, that we will have to refrain from flying the national flag, in which case, I think we surely need something to take its place. Some form of logo. Now, I am not artistic, but I thought that perhaps anybody who is might like to take some time to design such a logo. Whilst we may have to leave the tiger out, I personally think that red and yellow should feature. Thank you.

Post #49 Tamil wrote at 7:36pm yesterday
I go with daniel's proposal about the national flag. We should NOT let the Sinhala win the propaganda & diplomatic war. If we are to unite the Tamiils & make friends among IC, we should leave the flags which might be used to demonise us as one or the other. Tiger flag will remain as our national army flag. But the national flag should reflect something more peaceful & acceptable for all.


Post #50 Eelam wrote at 7:07am today
YES! WE SHOULD >

Today we are witnessing that West is doing everything possible to bring Mahitler Rajapakse & his Gov to books. All the corrupted Govs around the world are uniting and supporting the Sinhala terror gov. I agree that we should make the sympathy of the West into partnership in future. In order to do that we must follow the code of conduct, the norms & practices of the West. While we are voicing the concerns of the IDPs in Vanni, we should also focus on making friends around the World. If we can bring the West/NATO countries to work in partnership with us, our goals will be made easy. It has to be through democratic means. We should start the email/FB/other medium campaigns to create awareness & educate the people about the benefits of a democratic system among the Diaspora.

NEXT 6 MONTHS ARE DECLARED AS CAMPAIGNING PERIOD TO CREATE AWARENESS AMONG TAMIL DIASPORA FOR A GOV-IN-EXILE.

THANKS.



Post #51Daniel wrote32 minutes ago
Having seen the, frankly disgraceful, UN Human Rights Council's adoption of a resolution even Human Rights Watch has declared as flawed, I am even more convinced of the need for a gov-in-exile. The council debated two resolutions, neither of which were made in consultation with Tamils. A strong, meaningful gov-in-exile would be in a position to propose resolutions such as this, and lobby governments over their own resolutions. It would be capable of engaging in constructive diplomatic discussions over issues such as this. Personally, I would like to point out that we do need to be extremely careful, as has been said, tis could make or break us. However we do need quick and decisive action and I feel that the time to begin drafting a constitution, discussing modalities, means of operation, roles and responsibilities, etc. is very fast approaching, if it is not already upon us.

Thank you.


Post #52Sacktheish wrote at 11:09am
Scotland Yard Anti terriosm unit (SO15) has confirmed that the Tamil Eelam flag its not that of LTTE (prescriped organisation in UK). This is more than enough proof for tamil people to start hoisting our National Flag of Eelam...


Post #53Daniel wrote at 12:56pm
With regards to the post of Mr. Sacktheish, I think that this is a wonderful development. I love our national flag, have engaged in numerous arguments over its use and read angrily as it was portrayed negatively in the media. It is a very beautiful flag which inspires deep pride in me and I do not want to lose it. However, I brought up the idea of an alternative logo because I agreed with the point that it is portrayed negatively in the media. The fact of the matter is the Sri Lankan Army was armed to the teeth because of their diplomacy, their lies, their propaganda and their willingness to sell out most of their assets. Hambantota port being a prime example. Obviously, we must endeavor not to sellout our sovereignty before we've even achieved it, this is not the way to go. However, we do have to play the geopolitical game, even if we only have a few turns, before we get fed up with the cheaters and go and play the metaphorical PlayStation.

To conclude I think that the national flag is a small loss compared to the 70,000 - 100,000 lives and the freedom, property, safety and dignity of at least 325,000 Vanni IDPs. Hence, it is with regret, that I maintain that an alternative symbol is needed. Thank you.

Post #54Surya at 3:26pm May 28
We can not just blame others; blame lies with us too. The West is at least sympathetic to us. To transform the sympathy into actions, we do not have a system which is acceptable to the West. The buzz words they wanna hear r like democracy, pluralism, transparency and so on. We could have established that among the Diaspora. It aint too late; we ... Read Moregotta seriously sit down & think about an elected gov-in-exile among diaspora.

We need to win friends over the international community. Without the support of IC we will go nowhere. Democratic body among diaspora which is acceptable by IC would strengthen our struggle. In last 60 years, first 30years we tried political and non-violence way it didn't work... next 30yrs armed struggle achieved a little but v r still struggling. So from the experience we need to take both form of struggles in parallel. We shouldn't mix both and shouldn't let go one against other too.

Post #55Sambasivam at 4:45pm May 28
I agree with Surya...we do need to have a democratic body among Tamil Diaspora... I understand your frustration Gowry...lets look at the countries that backed SL...China, Russia, India, Cuba... great countries with Human rights records...right now, more than anything, our focus should be on getting unrestricted access to those in camps...every minute there is hell for them...

Post #56Vinayagamoorthy at 7:14pm May 28
I am confused... what is the objective of a govt. in exile?

Post #57Eelam at 8:25pm May 28
gov-in-exile aint a new concept. Many other nations & communities had it in the past; some still does. Core objective of gov-in-exile/Congress is to have an elected body by the Diaspora which would be acceptable to the IC(namely the West) as a democratic body instead of having so many organisations which don't have the democratic mandate of the people. It's not a real gov but a shadow one but it will follow all the democratic traditions, values, norms & practices as of the real one. We should also have youth parliament(shadow) within gov-in-exile to identify & encourage talented youths & to create future leaders. But the elected gov-in-exile will be the voice of people which will be inclusive of all communities & age group.

to read more abt gov-in-exile@
Government-in-exile an FB group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115523251489...

TIME TO TRANSCEND & TRANSFORM
http://gov-in-exile.blogspot.com/


Post #58Nathanwrote7 hours ago
Post 9/11 the West has been hostile towards us, the Tamils, & vice versa. They banned all the organisations who undertook an armed struggle and other organisations which are related to that organisations / group / community. Sinhala gov did use this scenario to max 2 crush our national armed struggle for freedom. Now, post Eelam war IV, environment in the international arena is fast changing b’coz of Sinhala arrogant & human rights violations. It's the best time to make the West / NATO as our allies and vice versa. What should we do to convince the West?

Post #59Daniel wrote6 hours ago
Personally, I have a lot of faith in our struggle. The Tamil people are brilliant and this is possible. We have a number of options, all of which warrant consideration in my view. Firstly, we have the moral-high ground undoubtedly. The events of the recent months speak for themselves. So the first thing we need to do is get the general population on our side. Increase general support. I'm not Tamil so lots of people, ask, why do you wish to be involved with the TamilEelam liberation struggle? This infuriates me, they would never ask why Africa, nor why Tibet, we need to show everybody why we are involved. This can be done through large-scale events, such as workshops, public displays and getting the media on our side. It can also be done or a much smaller basis, such as the traditional leaflets through the door, etc.

Continuing on that theme, we need to engage with governments. The IC has been tragically silent regarding us, but if we can show them the true face of the lion, this could change. We need to engage constructively with governments and, as has been mentioned, go through the hoops of democracy and prove that we represent the Tamil people and are not against Western interests. Bringing charges against the Sri Lankan government could also help here. However, I maintain that the need of the hour will always be the civilians. If we get rid of Fonskea, they will replace him. If we get rid of Rajapakse, they will replace him. However, this would help to prove to the West, just how bad the Sri Lankan government is.

Finally, we do have bargaining tools such as the Trincomalee Hrbour which has been mentioned before. However, I would just like to take this opportunity to stress extreme caution. I am not at all opposed to using these bargaining tools, nor to demonstrating that our ideology is not against the West. However, we must not give way to colonialism. We must not sell-out our sovereignty, nor our principles, otherwise we will ultimately achieve very little.

Thank you.


Post #60Theepan Vela wrote at 9:22pm
Tamil Eelam > the 13 Amendment > Interim Self-Governing Authority > Gov-In-Exile > DREAM


Post #61Jananayagath Thamilan wrote at 9:45pm
Tamil Eelam > the 13 Amendment > Interim Self-Governing Authority > are indeed a dream that can not be realised coz SL constitution & vast majority of Sinhala won't allow it to happen.

Gov-In-Exile > is a dream too but that can be realised if the Tamil Diaspora unite & act. We don't need GoSL / any other's permission to form it.

Are we gonna stick to the methods which have been nothing but absolute failures, loss of lives & destructions and of course a dream for last 60yrs. Are we gonna have this same day-dream for another 30 yrs / even 300 yrs OR act on a dream that can be realised which is to form an elected gov-in-exile/Congress?!


Post #62Sacktheish wrote at 11:37pm
Dream is a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep. Get it through your thick head. I don't care it is a figure of speech. People are pissing me off. When we lost Kilinochchi that's when we started protesting. wft. We should of done this before.

Anything is possible in this world. Its about how you do it.

LTTE was considered a dream. Everyone thought it wouldn't even exist for more than five years. LTTE became the strongest forces in the world.

See this is the difference between me, Pirabaharan, ltte members, real supporters and you.


Post #63Eelam wrote at 12:08am
We all have the same dream which is to free our land & people. There can be no doubt. But our methods & ways may differ. But the problem with us is that we never seem to respect other's point of view. Today Tamils are divided into far more groups /parties /para-militaries than ever before in Eelam, Tamilnadu and among Diaspora. It's nothing wrong to have no. of parties & differences of opinion but we've gotta agree on our core principles(self-determination, nationhood & nationality etc). I believe majority fo us do agree on core principles. That's why we proposed this gov-in-exile which will have an elected leadership. Under that leadership people of different opinions can work together. Instead of slagging off each other, we should create a platform where we can feel comfortable & work together. THANKS.
***************************************************************************

from 29/05/09......


Post #64Brintha wrote3 hours ago
My initial few doubts seem to have been cleared in the light of the UN Human Rights Council's decision. This disgusting news has made me even more determined that we should do something to empower us, and help us fight for our people and our cause. And if the only immediate way is through forming a gov-in-exile, then so be it. I, too, do not want the future generations blaming us for sitting back and not doing anything.

So where do we go from here? How do we spread the word? Forgive me if I'm jumping the gun, but the reality of this has just hit me. We need funding in order for us to create awareness. Obviously, if things happen in our favour at the upcoming European Elections, I'm sure Jan will support this. But we need enough people to agree with it. We need a spokesperson. A national flag. Any ideas people?



Post #65Daniel wrote at 12:36pm
It has been clearly established that the need of the hour is to raise awareness amongst the diaspora. I am pleased to note that action has already been undertaken in this regard with the collection of e-mail addresses. However, I think that we need to decide how we are going to present ourselves to the diaspora. Will we already have a constitution, with our rights, roles and responsibilities outlined? Will we present a number of different draft constitutions for them to vote on? Will we ask for the diaspora community to design their own? Will we draft the constitution first and then begin forming political parties, or will we form parties, each presenting their own constitution? Will we, even, adopt the Vaddukkoaddai Resolution? There are many options open to us, but our people are suffering now. We must ensure that whatever we choose is wise and effective and must not compromise this. However, swift and decisive action is also required.


Post #66Nathan wrote at 9:23am
|| An Appeal to the Thamil diaspora - Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj||
"The enlightened ones among the expatriate community should come together with a tremendous sense of responsibility first to ensure that the organization does not unravel due to internal divisions."

read full appeal @
http://tamilcause.blogspot.com/


Post #67Eelam wrote at 2:38pm
Thanks to those who have posted the email adds. First wave of email campaign is kicked off. When you forward the emails, please do copy & paste so that it will look clean. If you have any ideas, do send that to us @ eelamgov_inexile@yahoo.co.uk. Thanks.

Post #68 Eelam wrote at 4:52pm
All you said are indeed true. But we’ve gotta learn from the history & move forward our struggle to free our land & people. Sinhala used post 9/11 scenario to the max to defeat/weaken our armed struggle. Eelam War 4 human rights violations and arrogant behaviour of GoSL has made the IC to see the real face of Sinhala. Thanks to Sinhala arrogant & stupidity. The West is at least sympathetic to us now. To transform this sympathy into work in partnership us, we need to act wisely and have a system compatible to theirs. The buzz words(democracy, pluralism & war on terror) which is seen as ‘heavenly mandra’ was used by Sinhala state to hoodwink the international community(IC). The IC, namely the West, has just waking up from their deep sleep.

To win friends over IC, we need to have a system which is acceptable to IC among the Diaspora. Sinhala has planned to hold elections as soon as possible & gonna make ‘Karuna’(sadly there r many in our society) like leaders all over Eelam and use them to divide us and rule. These traitors win by rigging the votes and these idiots gonna be the representatives of our powerless/voiceless people. We know what happened in the East, same will happen in the North too. If any one stand against them, will be made ‘silent’. We should defy Sinhala rule by forming so called ‘elected democratic body’ among the Diaspora to get legitimate recognition. BTF(UK), CTG(Canada), PEARL(USA) and other organisations are doing great work. There is no doubt about that. But what the IC, namely the West, is looking for is an elected body to represent our people who will have the mandate of the people. We can’t do that in Eelam now; but we can form that among Diaspora. I believe it will empower us diplomatically & politically. No one will be able to demonise us as one or the other by using all those buzz words I mentioned above. That’s why we propose an Eelam gov-in-exile/Congress to defeat Sinhala propaganda and their diplomatic & political offensives against us.
The armed struggle & political struggle shouldn't be mixed and shouldn't go against each other either. They should lead in parallel to each other. One thing I'm sure that this formation of gov-in-exile and youth parliament along with it will also be a platform to identify the people & youngsters who are truly talented. It will help them politically integrate with the society they are living in. This will make our lobbying more effective. IC which wants to see a democratic tradition will accept us as legitimate voice of our people. We can put forward the people’s mandate to the individual countries, IC & the UN. When we have a democratically elected body, it surely clears lot of hurdles which we are facing now. I don't think that we need explanation on that. West is sympathetic towards us. But if don't have a system they can have dialogue with, it will be hard for them to help us in any way/form. We need a compatible system to the west. Russia, China, even Cuba are voicing against us and helping Sinhala. It is clear that old communist block does not like our freedom. It’s no point we talk abt socialism. We should keep them out. Indian Gov lead by Congress party won't give a damn even about the plight of our people. But the West is at least sympathetic to our cause. We can't blame them for their inaction. West has lotta bad experience helping one party administration in the past. So we need to proof them that we respect their values & interests in order to transform their sympathy into supporting us.
THANKS.
WE MUST ACT WISELY.


Post #69Eelam wrote6 hours ago

ACTION PLAN - THE ROAD TO GOV-IN-EXILE

We have to be mindful that there will be lot of hurdles. It will take sometime for people accept & work on this new concept. I think that it might take up to 18 months or more for the gov-in-exile to become a reality.

We need to set clear agendas and time frame to work on.

Following is mine. Forward yours too. Let's finalise the one which could be realistically met.

ACTION PLAN

1. AWARENESS CAMPAIGN( June - Nov 2009)

2. MEETINGS & CONFERENCES (Sept 2009 - Feb 2010)

3. DRAFTING A CONSTITUTION (by March 2010)

4. FORMING PARTIES(March 2010 - June 2010)

5. ELECTING A HEAD OF GOV-IN-EXILE BY PARTIES (July 2010)

6. APPOINTING AN ELECTION COMMISSION (Aug 2010)

7. ELECTIONS FOR GOV-IN-EXILE (by Sep 2010)

Thanks.


Post #70Sacktheish wrote5 hours ago
Now we are talking business...

Thanks 'Eelam'


Post #71 Kutty wrote10 hours ago
yehh,, gud oneee,, we hav to do thissss!!!
i'lll do all icannnn for thisss,,,
giv me shout i'm beside tamilsss to help..


thamilarin thaagam tamil Eelam !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!we TAMILS love TAMIL EELAM !!!
THERE IS NO SOLUTION WITHOUT OUR TAMIL EELAM, SEPARATE NATION from singaleses and its ff govt.


Post #72Eelam wrote7 hours ago
All you said are indeed true. But we’ve gotta learn from the history & move forward our struggle to free our land & people. Sinhala used post 9/11 scenario to the max to defeat/weaken our armed struggle. Eelam War 4 human rights violations and arrogant behaviour of GoSL has made the IC to see the real face of Sinhala. Thanks to Sinhala arrogant & stupidity. The West is at least sympathetic to us now. To transform this sympathy into work in partnership us, we need to act wisely and have a system compatible to theirs. The buzz words(democracy, pluralism & war on terror) which is seen as ‘heavenly mandra’ was used by Sinhala state to hoodwink the international community(IC). The IC, namely the West, has just waking up from their deep sleep.

To win friends over IC, we need to have a system which is acceptable to IC among the Diaspora. Sinhala has planned to hold elections as soon as possible & gonna make ‘Karuna’(sadly there r many in our society) like leaders all over Eelam and use them to divide us and rule. These traitors win by rigging the votes and these idiots gonna be the representatives of our powerless/voiceless people. We know what happened in the East, same will happen in the North too. If any one stand against them, will be made ‘silent’. We should defy Sinhala rule by forming so called ‘elected democratic body’ among the Diaspora to get legitimate recognition. BTF(UK), CTG(Canada), PEARL(USA) and other organisations are doing great work. There is no doubt about that. But what the IC, namely the West, is looking for is an elected body to represent our people who will have the mandate of the people. We can’t do that in Eelam now; but we can form that among Diaspora. I believe it will empower us diplomatically & politically. No one will be able to demonise us as one or the other by using all those buzz words I mentioned above. That’s why we propose an Eelam gov-in-exile/Congress to defeat Sinhala propaganda and their diplomatic & political offensives against us.
The armed struggle & political struggle shouldn't be mixed and shouldn't go against each other either. They should lead in parallel to each other. One thing I'm sure that this formation of gov-in-exile and youth parliament along with it will also be a platform to identify the people & youngsters who are truly talented. It will help them politically integrate with the society they are living in. This will make our lobbying more effective. IC which wants to see a democratic tradition will accept us as legitimate voice of our people. We can put forward the people’s mandate to the individual countries, IC & the UN. When we have a democratically elected body, it surely clears lot of hurdles which we are facing now. I don't think that we need explanation on that. West is sympathetic towards us. But if don't have a system they can have dialogue with, it will be hard for them to help us in any way/form. We need a compatible system to the west. Russia, China, even Cuba are voicing against us and helping Sinhala. It is clear that old communist block does not like our freedom. It’s no point we talk abt socialism. We should keep them out. Indian Gov lead by Congress party won't give a damn even about the plight of our people. But the West is at least sympathetic to our cause. We can't blame them for their inaction. West has lotta bad experience helping one party administration in the past. So we need to proof them that we respect their values & interests in order to transform their sympathy into supporting us.
THANKS.
WE MUST ACT WISELY.


Post #73Poulson wrote6 hours ago
Exactly! Many of you may have seen reports such as this one:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/sri-lanka-wants-more-troop-to-keep-the-peace-than-win-the-war/article1158584/

But for those who haven't, to summarise, the Sri Lankan Army, despite its "defeat" of the LTTE, is looking to expand its forces to 300,000, possibly more. That's just the conventional army, let alone the paramilitaries that will undoubtedly be employed all-over the North. Eelam Gov InExile is exactly right. Whilst I do not believe that the LTTE are defeated, nor do I believe that our people will allow the Sri Lankan Army to stay in TamilEelam indefinitely, I think it's clear that the responsibility now falls on us.

I'm not an expert in military strategy, far from it, but everyone knows that the Tigers could never win the war by fighting a defensive battle. Everyone knows the Tigers withdrew from the East before they lost too many cadres. Kilinochchi was deserted by the time the army occupied it. Vadamaraadchi East had been impenetrable and suddenly the Army reached Elephant Pass in no time at all. The Tigers chose to defend their people, to fight to the bitter end for the sake of the civilians. This time it will be different. I personally think the majority of attacks will be sporadic, black tiger attacks, targeting large-scale objectives. After all, MBRLs, MiGs and advanced radars are no good against five Tigers with claymores and AKs. I could be proved wrong, but one thing is certain, I think. TamilEelam will be militarised and the population completely suppressed. Rebellion is inevitable, however, the formation of a conventional army and a return to the height of the LTTE on the ground, sadly, almost impossible.

I am more optimistic than many people I talk to and am firm in the belief that TamilEelam will be free. Our people will never accept subjugation and the West is beginning to see the true face of the lion. However, I also believe that we have the best opportunities to do something and hence, the biggest responsibility. In that vein, should any of you feel like TamilEelam is a lost cause. If any of you feel that we're getting nowhere, that it is just a dream then my response is that we need to do more. We cannot give up. We will not give up.

TamilEelam will be free - தமிழரின் தாகம் தமிழீழத் தாயகம்!

Thank you.

Post #74Daniel wrote4 hours ago
I would also like to take the opportunity to refer to a brilliant link posted, by Mr.Sacktheish Sachein Thileepan, which I think is well worth noting:

http://www.tamileelamonline.com/en/We_Are_Not_Defeated

As I have said, we do have a considerable responsibility. But if we live up to it, we can make huge gains in international diplomacy. The LTTE will continue to act as a guerilla organisation. However, if we play our part they can re-build. The LTTE is not defeated and neither are we.

Although, I must point out that as has been mentioned many times it would be disastrous for us to be seen as an LTTE-front group. We must be careful in how we present ourselves to the International Community and avoid allowing the Sinhalese to win the propaganda war by labeling us as "terrorists." We must be cautious. I, as I'm sure are most of you, am a firm LTTE-supporter. However, our diplomatic efforts should focus on living up to Western ideals. As has been established many times, the armed struggle and the political struggle both have a vital role to play, but we must be careful not to mix them.

Thank you.


Post #75Tamil Youth wrote at 1:21am

true said. we gotta concentrate on our military, diplomatic & political offensives against Sinhala state. New thinking should emerge. We gotta come up with new formula for success. YES! WE CAN. We should defy Sinhala rule. God bless my people & Eelam.

WE SHALL RISE FROM THE ASHES.
DEFY SINHALA RULE.
UNITED WE STAND.

peace.

.
.