A Short History Of The Tamil Eelam Liberation Struggle
Sri Lanka formerly called Ceylon in English and known in Tamil as ILANKAI or EELAM is an island situated at the southern extremity of the Indian subcontinent, separated from it at its narrowest point by only 22 miles of sea called Palk Strait. It lies between six and ten degrees north of the Equator, and on the longitude of 79 to 81 degrees east. Its area is 25,332 square miles comprising Sri Lanka 18,042 and Tamil Eelam 7,290 sq miles. The total population is 17,103,000, according to latest population statistics (1991), consisting of 12,656,000 Sinhalese, 3,113,000 Tamils, Muslims (mostly Tamil speaking) 1,214,000 and others 120,000.
The Tamils are an ancient people with a history dating back to atleast 2,500 years. The Tamil language, the lingua franco of the Tamils, is one of the five oldest living languages of the world. The Tamil classical literature, popularly called the Sangam (Academy) literature (1st - 4th Century AD) is a collection of poems of lasting quality and artistic merit. They reflect faithfully the high level of civilization and literary attainments of the ancient Tamils.
The Sinhala people trace their origins in the island to the arrival of Prince Vijaya from Bengal in India, about 2500 years ago. The Mahavamsa, a Sinhala chronicle written by a Buddhist Bhikku by the name of Mahanama, (6th Century AD) records that Prince Vijaya arrived on the island on the same day that the Buddha attained enlightenment.
Although attempts are made to trace the history of Ceylon before the arrival of Vijaya (about 500 BC), who is credited as the founder of the present Sinhalese race, there is sufficient historical and archaeological evidence to prove the existence of a high level of civilization before him. The proto history of Ceylon could be traced back to atleast 5000 years to the period of Raman of the epic Ramayanam. Raman (the same Raman about whose temple there is violent dispute between the Hindus and Muslims in Uttar Pradesh India at present) who was an Aryan king from north India fought against the Tamil Yaksha king of Ilankai (Ceylon) Ravanan who had abducted Rama's wife Seethai. Jawaharlal Nehru in his book Glimpses of World History describes the war between Raman and Ravanan as a war between the Aryans and Dravidians. Therefore, the oft-repeated question as to who came first, the Tamils or the Sinhalese, is a controversial subject emotively debated by both the parties, but the following observation by the eminent Sinhala historian and Cambridge scholar, Paul Peiris represent an influential and common sese point of view:
" ... it stands to reason that a country which was only thirty miles from India and which would have been seen by Indian fisherman every morning as they sailed out to catch their fish, would have been occupied as soon as the continent was peopled by men who understood how to sail ..... Long before the arrival of Prince Vijaya, there were in Sri Lanka five recognised isvarams of Siva which claimed and received adoration of all India. These were Tiruketeeswaram near Mahatitha; Munneeswaram dominating Salawatta and the pearl fishery; Tondeswaram near Mantota; Tirkoneswaram near the great bay of Kottiyar and Nakuleswaram near Kankesanthurai. Their situation close to these ports cannot be the result of accident or caprice and was probably determined by the concourse of a wealthy mercantile population whose religious wants called for attention ...." (Paul E. Pieris: Nagadipa and Buddhist Remains in Jaffna: Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch Vol.28)
The early political history of the people of South India and Sri Lanka, before the advent of the European powers, is largely a chronicle of the rise and fall of individdual kingdoms. South India was ruled mostly by the three great Kings Cholas, Seras an Pandiyas. Sometimes they faught against the invaders and some times they warred against each other. In addition to these three great kings there were also petty kings who ruled over large tracts of land, nominally independant, but paying tribute to one or more of the three Kings. Among the three kings the Cholas were easily the most powereful and the only naval power in India. The army of Raja Raja the Great (984-1014) invaded Ceylon, made Rajarata a part of the Chola empire, and founded Polonnaruwa as the capital city.
Rarajah's sone Rajendra (1014 - 1044) further extended the Chola empire, so that in the 11th century the mighty Cholas ruledd over Ceylon, Kampuchea, Malaya and greater part of Indonesia.
The society was fuedal in structure and alnd was the most dominat means of production. The Sangam literature provides evidence of the lucrative two-way trade these kingdoms had with far away Roman and Greek empires.
Sri Lanka attained its independence from British colonial rule in February 04,1948. The first parliamentary elections were held in 1947 under the Soulbury constitution. The total members of parliament was 96 with an additional 6 appointed members representing minority communities. Mr.D.S.Senanayake, the leader of the United National Party (formerly Ceylon National Congress), formed the government. He became the first Prime Minister of an independent Ceylon.
Ceylon had been ruled by both Tamil and Sinhalese kings, the Tamil Kingdom comprising the north and eastern parts and the Sinhalese Kingdom(s) the western & southern parts of Ceylon. There were brief periods when the whole of Ceylon came under a single ruler. Otherwise, there existed two or more Kingdoms and the Tamil Kingdom always one of them. The Tamil Kingdom, later came to be called the Jaffna Kingdom existed as a separate polity for centuries. The first war between a Tamil King who ruled Anuradhapura and a Sinhalese king from the south was fought in the 2nd century BC.
In 1505 when the Portuguese landed in Ceylon there was not one but three Kingdoms, the Jaffna Kingdom in the north & east, the Kotte Kingdom in the west and Kandyan Kingdom in the centre. The Jaffna Kingdom was captured by the Portuguese when the king of Jaffna was defeated in June,1619. He was captured and taken by the Portuguese to Goa where he was hanged. The Portuguese ruled Jaffna Kingdom from 1619 to 1658. The Dutch who captured the Kingdom from the Portuguese ruled till 1795 and finally the British till February 03,1948.
The Jaffna Kingdom was ruled as a separate polity by the Portuguese, Dutch and British till 1833. In 1833: British brought the Tamil and Sinhalese Kingdoms under one administration for administrative convenience.
When the Soulbury Commission came to Ceylon to draw up a new constitution Mr.G.G.Ponnambalam of the All Ceylon Thamil Congress a demand for equal representation. This demand came to be known as 50-50 envisaged allocating 50% of the parliamentary seats to the Sinhalese and the balance 50% to the Tamils, Muslims, Burgers and other minority groups. This was rejected by the Soulbury Commission, but they did incorporate Section 29 (2) (b) and (c) which curtailed the legislative power of Parliament to "make laws for the peace, order and good government of the island". This Section provided that no such law shall impose any disabilities, or confer any advantages, on members of any one community only.
Before the ink could dry on the new constitution the Ceylon parliament passed the Ceylon Citizenship Act No.18 of 1948 which deprived a million Tamils of Indian origin their citizenship.
This was followed up with the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Amendment Act No.48 of 1949 which deprived the Tamils of their franchise as well. This category of Tamils who had 7 seats in the Parliament and held balance of power in a further 20-30 electorates failed to elect even a single member in the elections to the parliament held in 1953.
The deprivation of citizenship of a million Tamils was the result of actions of a Sinhala -Buddhist majority which regarded the island as the exclusive home of Sinhala Buddism and the Tamils as invaders from Tamil Nadu in South India.
" The history of Sri Lanka is the history of the Sinhalese race ... The Sinhalese people were entrusted 2500 years ago, with a great and nobel charge, the preservation .... of Buddhism .. in 1956 will occur the unique three fold event - the completion of 2500 years of Ceylon's history, of the tie of the Sinhalese and Buddhism ... The birth of the Sinhalese race would thus seem to gave been not a mere chance, not an accidental occurrence, but a predetermined event of high import and purpose. The nation semed designed, as it were, from its rise, primarily to carry aloft for fifty centuries the torch that was lit by the grear World-Mentor (the Buddha) twenty five centuries ago.. " (The revolt in the Temple, by D.C VIjayawardena, 1953).
This is just one example of what has become the battle cry of the Sinhala-Buddhists sole and exclusive claim to the whole of Ceylon. Before him the great Buddhist revivalist Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1931), whose earlier name was Don David Hewavitarne took the name of Anagarika (in Pali meaning "the homeless one") and Dharmapala ( meaning "the guardian of the doctrine") in his book History of an Ancient Civilization (1902) wrote:
Ethnologically, the Sinhalese are a unique race, inasmuch as they can boast that they have no slave blood in them, and were never conququered by either the paga Tamils or European vanadals who for three centuries devastated the land, destroyed ancient temples, burnt valuable libraries, and nearly annihilated the historic race .... This bright, bueautiful island was made into a paradise by the Aryan Sinhalese before its destruction was brought about by the barbaric vandals .... For the students of ethnology the Sinhalese stand as the representatives of Aryan civilization ...
This potent mixture of legend and superstition, passe off as historical fact, was nurtured, refined and exploited by successive Sinhalese political leaders who sought to perpetuate their rule over the Tamils.
As predicted with remarkable foresight by S.J.V.Celvanayagm in Parliament during the debate on Citizenship Bill ( 1948) the next blow was dealt to the Tamils when the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Government of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake enacted Sinhala Only as the Official Language in June 1956. The enactment of this Act, quite contrary to the hitherto official policy of recognising both Sinhalese and Tamil as Official languages, made Tamils second class citizens in their country of birth overnight. It was undoubtedly a betrayal of the two language policy of considering both Tamil and Sinhalese as official languages. Politically it was a master stroke by the majority Sinhalese to deprive jobs in the government and state corporations. The Tamils were humiliated to a degree that left generations of Tamils to feel socially as outcasts and politically second class citizens.
Phillip Gunawardene, a Minister in Bandareanayake's government and a vocivorous champion of Sinhal Only told Parliament:
"We are completeting by this (Sinhala Only) Bill an important phase in our national struggle. The restoration of the Sinhala language to the position it occupied before the occupation of this country by foreign powers, marks an important stage in the history of the development of this island" (Hansard, 14th June 1956)
The peaceful Satyragraha by the Tamils to protest against the Sinhala Only language policy at Galle Face Green overlooking the Parliament in Colombo was broken up by Sinhalese hoodlums. This was followed by Island wide riots in which hundreds of Tamils lost their lives and property worth millions destroyed. The 1956 riots was the beginning of a series of racially motivated Tamil pogroms by Sinhalese covertly encouraged by successive governments and overtly supported by the security forces. These pogroms with increased ferocity and venom were repeated in 1958, 1961, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983.
In July 1957 Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranayake signed a pact with Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayagam, popularly called the Bandaranayake- Chelvanayagam pact, of the Tamil Federal Party giving a measure of regional autonomy in spheres of land, language, education, etc. But the pact was torn apart by Mr.Bandaranayake under pressure from Sinhalese-Buddhist chauvinists. Foremost among them was no other than Mr.J.R.Jayawardena of the United National Party who undertook a march to Kandy in protest. A similar Pact signed by Mr.Chelvanayagam with Mr.Dudley Senanayake in 1965 too met the same fate.
A non-violent Satyragraha campaign launched by the Tamil Federal party in the northern eastern provinces which paralysed civil administration was ruthlessly broken-up using the army. This army is dominated by the Sinhalese (99%) and continued to be used as an instrument of state terrorism to this very day. The entire security forces now number over 100,000 and heavily armed with modern military hardware, fighter bombers, helicopter gun- ships,tanks, armoured vehicles, naval patrol boats etc. The government of Sri Lanka is currently spending upto 20% of the state budget to maintain it.
In 1970 the government of Mrs.Srimawo Bandaranayake (widow of Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranayake) rubbed salt into wounds by introducing the notorious "Standardisation" of education. This discriminate policy required higher marks from Tamil students for University admissions visas adopted which removed even the meagre safeguards [(Section 29 (2) (b) & (c)] contained in the Soulbury constitution. This infamous constitution, ironically authored by a Troskite (4th International) Minister in Mrs.Bandaranyake cabinet created the conditions for the political alienation of the Tamils and a deep wedge between the two nations. The constitution incorporated the Sinhala Only Act as part of the constitution and enthroned Buddhism as the foremost religion to be fostered by the state. Amendments moved by the Tamil Federal Party to the draft constitution demanding a federal constitution and parity of status for Tamil along with Sinhalese were defeated by the government. In protest the Federal Party withdrew from further deliberations of the Constituent Assembly and boycotted same. As a mark of protest Mr.Chelvanayagam resigned his seat in Parliament and challenged the government to hold an election to test the acceptability of the new constitution. He simultaneously sought a mandate from the Tamil people mandate for the restoration of the defunct Tamil state. No elections were held till January, 1975 and Mr.Chelvanayagam won the by-election against a government supported candidate with a huge margin of 16,000 votes.
In 1975 confronted with the steadily mounting national oppression, frustrated with the failure of the democratic political struggles, the Tamil national parties converged into a single movement styled Thamil United Liberation Front (TULF).
In the elections that followed the TULF received an overwhelming mandate having won 18 seats out of 24 contested. By fortuitous circumstances the TULF also emerged as the official opposition in Parliament. Unfortunately this was also the undoing of the TULF since Mr.Amirthalingam, the leader of the TULF, came to be more delighted in his new role as the Leader of the Opposition than leader of a movement committed to win liberation through peaceful means, direct action or struggle. Mr.Amirthalingam started talking about an alterative to the Eelam demand and eventually settled down for District Development Councils. This experiment failed in the face of a chauvinistic and intransigent cabinet. In any case the Tamils felt that the DDC was a sop and the Tamil leadership have been taken yet again for a ride by crafty Sinhalese politicians, specially Mr.J.R.Jayawardena, Prime Minister and later President of Sri Lanka.
In 1978 yet another Constitution was enacted which tightened the enslavement of the Tamils further. The TULF like in 1972 walked out of the constitution assembly and took no part in its deliberations.
In 1979 the Sri Lankan government enacted the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act to cope with the growing militancy, notably of the Liberation Tigers. This act and the subsequent crack down by the army of Tamil youths made the situation worse and confirmed the fears of the Tamils that the Sinhalese government was hell bent to exterminate them. The racial riots of 1977 and 1979 poured oil on already burning fire.
From 1979, because of the Sinhalese army occupation of Jaffna and the state terrorism let loose on the people, hostility began to grow and the emotional division between the Sinhalese and the Tamils became more acute. A group of highly organised young Tamil militants, first calling themselves the New Tamil Tigers and later The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1976 emerged to confront the government terrorism by bearing arms.
In July, 1983 the Tamil Tigers ambushed a convey of Sinhalese army in the north and killed 13 Sinhalese soldiers. This ignited another Tamil Pogrom surpassing all the previous ones in its intensity and destruction of life and property. A panicked government of Mr.Jayawardena at the growing militancy of the Tamils and the cry for separation sought to defuse the situation by the 6th amendment to the Constitution by compelling all office holders, including Members of Parliament, to take an oath of allegiance to the unitary constitution. Unable to comply with this forced allegiance the TULF boycotted the parliament and later lost their seats. With the forced political exile and eventual marginalization of the moderate leadership of the Tamils by the constitutional amendment, the Tamil militant groups, notably the Tigers gained ascendancy. Today LTTE is the undisputed and authentic leaders of the Tamil people in the vanguard of the national liberation war.
The many battles and the recent fighting at Elephant Pass which assumed all the hallmarks of a conventional war between the Tamil Tigers and Sinhalese army had established the fact that there are not only two separate nations but two separate armies as well.
It’s national first and then bifurcation
By Kusal Perera
The second reading of the budget over, the immediate outburst from the opposition UNP was that the final vote on the budget after its third reading would yield expected results. That’s defeating it comfortably. Mangala too has joined the same stable in forecasting a defeat of the government at the next and final reading of the budget. But what’s more interesting is the call for a “National Government”.
This call for national unity in the face of the North – East war, was the slogan that gave the opening for the “Karu” group to get their act together in joining the government. It was thereafter left in cold storage until the present tug of war on the budget 2008 vote came about.
This second time round, the idea of a “National Government” was proposed by former Commanders of the Security Forces at a recent meeting they had with President Rajapaksa a few days before the vote on the second reading of the budget.
Although the former Security Heads wanted a National Government immediately and was reported as saying they would also meet with other political leaders including Opposition Leader Wickramasinghe, the President was reported as having said he could give consideration to the proposal after winning the budget, lest it would be seen as a defeatist move.
Now after the budget vote, the call is on with leading Buddhist monk Ven. Galaboda Gnanissara Thera, making a request to both the President and the Opposition Leader to form a National government, without giving into the demands of “minority” political parties. Then come the Maha Nayake Theras of the Three Chapters. They want a National government to find a lasting solution to the national issue.
Thereafter a local news website reported that Presidential Secretariat sources have also indicated the President may give thought to discussing the issue with the Leader of the Opposition. In Sri Lanka the call for a National government has cropped up on and off when the government in power finds it difficult to contain the opposition, especially with the protracted North – East war tying up Southern politics in jumbles.
What then is a “National Government”? According to ‘Wikipedia’ a National government (alternatively national unity government or national union government) is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature and is often formed during times of war or national emergency. This basically is the understanding of a National government on historical experiences.
Yet it needs to be stressed that in history, National governments have all been campaigned for or formed during wars that are considered as and are, external threats. That war or crisis is taken as a decisive condition in coalescing all the parties in the legislature into a National government to face the crisis that needs to be averted nationally.
Which also means such a coalition would have one single focus and that is to face the crisis together, leaving aside all other political differences.
Why do we in Sri Lanka want a National government ? Those who call for a National (Unity) government wants every one to accept that Tamil terrorism is the only major issue and it should be militarily crushed.
They assume the government should not have any opposition in fighting “separatist terrorists”, whatever mess the government creates on other issues of governance. Therefore this National government is called in to defeat LTTE terrorism that stands for a separate state without paying any heed to all the massive corruption, inefficiency and catapulting col, for which the government is responsible in every way.
Thus it provides an opportunity to the government to tame the opposition in the name of “separatist terrorists”.
That apart, this call for a National government is in no way to face an external threat. It’s not against any foreign invasion. Fight for a separate Thamil Eelam by the LTTE for sure is an internal political crisis to begin with. In fact when the JVP and the JHU oppose international facilitation in any form, they agree that this is an internal issue, although it has grown out of national proportions. It is a political crisis that had its beginnings in modern politics, since independence.
During the first part of this political crisis, there were no armed conflicts or political campaigns for a separate Thamil Eelam. Tamil political leaderships starting from Chelvanayagam was always willing to settle down within the Soulburry Constitution for regional / provincial administration as agreed by two Prime Ministers, once in 1957 and again in 1966. It was not the Tamil leadership that gave up on those agreements, but the two Prime Ministers who went back on their pledges purely to satisfy Sinhala sectarianism.
During all those times, Tamil agitations were nothing less democratic or more undemocratic than “pada yathras and jana goshas” led by the then opposition MP Mahinda Rajapaksa of the SLFP. Throwing away all agreements that Tamil leaderships consented to and then crushing their very civilian democratic agitations led to the radicalization of Tamil politics. It was such fundamental blunders of the Sinhala leaders that paved the way for armed Tamil politics. Over two and a half decades of stupid blundering brought all Tamil leaders including armed groups to formulate the Joint Thimpu Declaration in July 1985 on which the then UNP government had to sit for negotiations. It declared Tamil society as a Nation with a right for self determination and North – East as their homeland.
This assumption of a historically established Tamil Nation in this island has been contested and is being contested by Southern Sinhala historians, while Tamil historians claim they have historical proof to establish their case. But what is most interesting is the argument in favour of the Tamil homeland that was recorded at Thimpu by Nadesan Sathyendran as follows.
“A point was made by a member of the Tamil delegation yesterday and it was a point that was movingly made. He asked: 'where do we go for safety, when we are assaulted in the South of Sri Lanka? Where does the government of Sri Lanka send us when there are riots in Colombo? We seek sanctuary in our homeland in the North and East of Sri Lanka. That surely must be the best test of all, because we all know where we go - and so we say, once again, very respectfully, please do not seek hide that which is a self evident truth. Please do not deny the existence of our homelands.”
That is reason why, even Douglas Devananda and Anandasangaree cannot dispute Thimpu principles. They cannot run away from Thimpu positions politically, although they both detest and hate the armed authority of the LTTE, which is a dispute of political strategy among them. This thus brings us back to the question of a Tamil homeland.
The question of what is “National” when Tamil politics inclusive of anti – LTTE and LTTE, have a common agreement on their homeland in the North – East. Therefore any decision by Devananda and Sangaree to accept a coalition of Southern political parties as a National government would be purely a-political against the LTTE and such a Southern coalition would leave out the unarmed North – East representation of the Tamil people, the TNA.
That accepted, this National government that the Buddhist monks are calling for and what the former Security Commanders proposed could have only the Southern political parties in it.
It would completely cover Southern representation if the JVP accepts to sit with the UNP and if the UNP opts to further scale down their position on the North – East war, which is possible the way they clamour for political power. It would be a grand alliance of Southern politics against the North – East, although such a government would want to call itself “National”.
What would then be the ultimate result ? First and most clearly, it would polarise the two societies into two distinctly marked entities. It would be polarised as Sinhala and Tamil, forcing other minority groups to choose their affiliation with due respect for their own safety.
Therefore the ensuing war would be more clearly seen as a war waged by a pedigreed Sinhala regime against the Tamil people. Leaving out the TNA would give that image more strength and more credibility, not only among the Tamil people, but in Tamil Nadu, within the Indian government and internationally.
A National government of such strong Sinhala flavour would prove to the world that Tamil people have absolutely no space to negotiate. This therefore would be the ideal political polarisation Prabhakaran would wish for. What better guarantee than that could he have from the South, for a separate State ?” (The Daily Mirror - Nov 22, 2007)
How far is Sri Lanka a democracy?
by Tissa Balasuriya OMI
In his two responses, (published in the Island), to my Open Letter to President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremasnghe, Dr. Mahinda de Silva writes of democracy:
"In a democracy members of the legislature ‘are elected’ on a one person one vote basis."
"Fr. B must also realize that in a democratic election, politicians must of necessity address majority interests to get elected"17-9-2007} .
In his response entitled "Gratuitous Advice…he writes Fr.B will not accept that in a democracy the majority rules, and though basic human rights are guaranteed to minorities, public policies are determined by majority decision. "Balanced representation" to convert minorities into majorities, is not compatible with democracy" (26-10-2007).
Since we are engaged in a serious dialogue, permit me to raise the question, when, and how did Sri Lanka become a democracy? Are there some essential requirements for a country to be one democratic nation in the modern world?
Can we agree that Sri Lanka was not one democratic nation from 1505 to Independence in 1948? Further Lanka was not one unified democratic nation from about 1200 till 1505. Dr. Mahinda makes a reference to Prof. Karthigesu Indrapala who "tells of a Tamil inscription found in Jaffna which contains certain trade regulations issued by King Parakramabahu 1…"
May I refer Dr. Mahinda to a recent 2005 publication by Professor K. Indrapala "The Evolution of an Ethnic Identity- The Tamils in Sri Lanka C 300 BCE to 1200 CE"
He writes of the process of the formation of a Tamil kingdom in the North and a Sinhala kingdom in the South and their separation from each other by the thick jungle, specially with the decline of Anuradhapura and Pollonaruva.
"While the rulers of the North and the South claimed to rule the whole country, although they were de facto rulers of separate kingdoms, the Tamils of the North and the Sinhalese came to be isolated from each other ... There is absolutely no evidence of enmity between the Sinhalese people and the Tamil people in the centuries after the fall of Polonnaruwa, although there were occasions when the Tamil and Sinhala rulers invaded each other’s territory." (p.279)
This and other evidence shows that Sri Lanka was not under one ruler for most of the period since 1200 till the British unified the country for administrative purposes after 1815. The people lived in peace in so far as they met. It need hardly be recalled that the means of communication then did not include modern means - not even telephone, radio, airmail, or the motor car. It would have needed several days or weeks to travel from the South to the North. Till the mid 20th century a letter from Ceylon to Britain took several weeks, as also travelling from Colombo to London or Portugal. Much of the governance was by local authorities. Hence there was then hardly any possibility of a modern type unitary state even in a small country like ours. Our history as an island people impels us to be together as one nation under one state. But this has not been the clear historical legacy. With independence we have to form a united country as free peoples opting to be single united country.
Democracy
Democracy is the best form of government for a participative polity. But what has been our history of the 60 years since Independence? Today it is generally assumed that Sri Lanka is a democracy. In order to take the discussion to a further and deeper level may we ask since when are we a democracy, how did we become one, what are some of the essential characteristics and requirements for a genuine democracy in the modern international community?
Democracy is said to be a government of the people by the people for the people. It requires not merely that one person has one vote at free and fair elections, but also that when a majority government is installed, the rights of the minorities are respected. It implies that all citizens have their fundamental rights. These include the right to life, right to the freedom of opinion and expression, the freedom of peaceful assembly, the right to education. (cf Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNO, 1948). If basic human rights of the minorities are not respected what prevails would be a tyranny of the majority, and not a genuine democracy..
Ceylon has evolved its modern system of government under British rule with the introduction of universal adult franchise and internal self government in 1931 with the Donoughmore Constitution. In 1944 when the Soulbury Constitution was debated in the State Council, D. S Senanayake, the accepted father of the nation, pledged on behalf of the majority community to be fair to the minorities. Prior to Independence in 1948, the Soulbury Constitution was accepted by the representatives of all the communities in Ceylon. The Soulbury Constitution had special safeguards for the rights of the minorities. These included a weighted representation in the delimitation of constituencies to benefit the rural areas and Kandyan areas with the plantation workers of Indian origin. In addition to this there was a second Chamber, the Senate, in which minorities and others were well and ably represented, There was an entrenched clause in the Constitution which prevented a conferring of privileges to one community that were not granted to the other communities (section 29). Appointments to and functioning of the Public Services Commission were independent of the political powers.
Soon after Independence the new Government, took steps that reduced the rights of the minorities. First the plantation workers were deprived of their citizenship in 1948, and of the franchise in 1949. This changed the balance of power in the legislature in favour of the Sinhalese community. The 1956 "Sinhala Only" Act made knowledge of Sinhala essential for employment in the public service. This disadvantaged the Tamils who felt regarded as second class citizens. Many of them were not adequately competent in Sinhala. Under the 1972 Constitution the constitutional safeguard of section 29 was removed, the Senate was abolished (apparently to get socialistic legislation passed without impediments).
Sri Lanka has been governed since 1972 under constitutions of 1972 and 1978 that the representatives of the Tamil minority did not accept. A presidential system was imposed on the without their consent. The separation of powers of legislature, executive and judiciary was reduced, with much power being conferred on the President. In the 1977 general elections the Northern province voted with an overwhelming majority for the Tamil United Liberation Front, TULF, that had opted for a separate state of Tamil Eelam with the Vaddukodai Resolution of 1976 to be achieved by peaceful and democratic means.
The civil rights of the opposition leaders including of Mrs. Sirima Banadaranaike the Opposition candidate for the Presidency were removed by the reigning President who thus got a second term as President in 1982. The Referendum of 1982 extended the life of the Parliament of 1977 for another six years, through a rather rigged election. The younger generation of both Sinhala and Tamil communities were thereby excluded from facing the electorate and entering Parliament. This was a real distortion of democracy that led to the frustration of the youth and to the violent insurrections of the LTTE and of the JVP in 1987-1989.
The efforts at a peaceful resolution of the ethnic issue between the Government and the moderate Tamil leadership led by S.J.V.Chelvanayagam as through the Bandaranaike –Chelvanayagam Pact of 1957 and the Dudley Senanayake Chelvanayagam Pact after 1965 were sabotaged by the opposition of the Opposition party led by J.R.Jayawardena against the B-C Pact, and of Mrs. Sirima Banadaranaike and the Left Alliance in the opposition then. A similar inter party rivalry has been preventing a peaceful democratic power sharing within a united Sri Lanka even at later efforts through the Indo –Lanka Accord of 1987, and further on in the 1990s and at present in the 21st century. (The Island - Nov 15, 2007)
Continued tomorrow
Ceylon 1931-1948
Administration . In 1931 the Donoughmore
Constitution was introduced, which foresaw the majority of seats in the new
State Council (succeeding the Legislative Council) being contested in elections,
based on universal franchise. These elections were boycotted by the JYC, a
boycott successful on the Tamil-majority Jaffna peninsula; 1934 by-elections
were held in this region. General elections again were held in 1936.
With most of the Straits Settlements falling under Japanese occupation in 1942,
the Cocos
Islands in that year were laced under the administration of Ceylon; in 1946
they were placed under the administration of
Singapore.
The visit of Lord Soulbury to Ceylon in 1945 set in
motion a process aiming at the transfer of authority. On Nov. 12th 1947 the
British and the Ceylonese governments signed an agreement according to which
Ceylon would be given a full responsible government; in December 1947 the
British parliament passed the Ceylon Independence Act; on February 10th 1948,
Ceylon was granted independence and dominion status within the Commonwealth of
Nations.
Political Organizations . In 1935, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, a
Trotskist Communist party, was founded, the first Ceylonese political
organization to demand the island's independence. Following the end of WW II,
the LSSP organized strikes in order to press for independence.
The Economy . The major export product was tea. The Great Depression
affected Ceylon; tea production had peaked in 1933 at 115,000 metric tons, sank
to 96,000 -99,000 metric tons in 1934 to 1938, then to rise again to an average
120,000 metric tons in the war years and to 137,000 metric tons in 1948.
B.R. Mitchell has established a table showing the total values of exports and
imports in aggregate current values. Exports exceeded imports throughout the
period from 1931 to 1948; total annual export figures, from a low of 189 million
Rupees in 1932, averaged 260 million Rupees in 1934-1936, then to rise in
through the war years to 680 million in 1944 and on to 1011 million in 1948 (IHS
pp.543, 549).
In 1937/1938, state expenses amounted to 7,340,497 Rupees, state revenues to
7,182,033 Rupees.
In 1941, the Ceylon Rupee, while still at par with the Indian Rupee, was
declared a separate currency.
Modern Infrastructure . In 1937, Ceylon had a total of 1,530 km of
railroads, 28,500 km of roads. In 1938, 20,181 cars, 2,571 buses and 3,924
trucks were registered.
The University College of Ceylon of 1921 was upgraded to the University of
Ceylon in 1942. In 1947 Ceylon Airways (soon renamed Air Ceylon) was
established.
Social History . In 1931, Ceylon had 5,312,548 inhabitants. Of the 1921
population, 1,928,000 were listed as lowland Sinhalese, 1,089,000 as Kandy
Sinhalese, 518,000 as Ceylon Tamils, 603,000 as Indian Tamils, 28,000 as
burghers (a Dutch expression refering to Ceylon residents of European descent).
Cultural History . The Ceylon National Olympic Committee was formed in
1937 and recognized by IOC in the same year.
World War II, 1942 to 1945 . During World War II, Ceylon, as featured in
the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai", was of major logistical importance for the
British. In 1942 the Japanese airforce bombed Colombo and Trincomalee. In 1944 a
Japanese submarine was to land four Ceylonese members of Hikari Kikan, trained
in Penang, on their native island, with the task of reporting intelligence via
radio transmitter. However, they were landed near Madras in southern India,
where they were caught and executed by the British. Overall, Ceylon was firmly
under British control and far away from military action; from her ports at
Colombo and Trincomalee the fleet recapturing
Malaya and
Singapore
from the Japanese in 1945 set out.
The
Cocos Islands
in 1942 experienced the mutiny of 15 members of the Ceylon Defence Force under
Captain G. Fernando; the mutiny was quickly subdued.
Ceylon Independent, 1948-1956
Political Status and Administration . In 1948,
the Dominion of Ceylon was granted full independence. The constitution foresaw
Parliamentary Democracy, an element completely new to a country which had been
governed by a paternatistic-authoritarian colonial administration until 1931.
In the elections of 1948, the United National Party (UNP) gained 42 out of 95
seats. In December 1952, PM Don Stephen Senanayake, died in a car accident; he
was succeeded by his son Dudley Senanayake. The UNP won the elections of 1952.
In the elections of 1956, the UNP suffered defeat; S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike of the
Socialist M.E.P. became PM.
Foreign Policy . Upon independence in 1948, Ceylon joined the
Commonwealth of Nations; the country joined the United Nations only in 1955; the
country's bid for membership in 1948 had been vetoed by the
USSR. In 1949,
the Ceylonese government refused a Dutch request to be allowed to use the ports
of Ceylon by Dutch vessels carrying troops and arms to
Indonesia
(Britannica BoY 1950). In 1950 Ceylon established diplomatic relations with the
PRC.
In July 1950 the Colombo Conference was held, adopting the Colombo Plan, a
Commonwealth framework aiding in the economic development of member nations. In
1954 the Conference of Asian Prime Ministers was held in Colombo; Ceylon, while
maintaining Commonwealth membership, adopted a policy of neutrality, the role of
a "Switzerland of the East" (Britannica BoY 1955). At the Bandung Conference of
1955, the Ceylonese PM John Kotelawala spoke of the threat of expanding
Communism. The issue of those Tamils on Ceylon treated as foreign nationals,
hence citizens of the Republic of India, continued to be a burden on
Ceylonese-Indian reloations.
Domestic Policies . A major problem for the young democracy was the
ethnic situation of the island : the population was split into two groups, the
majority Sinhalese who adhered to Buddhism (c.69 %) and the minority Tamil (c.21
%), descendants of immigrants from southeast India (Tamil Nadu) who had come to
Ceylon during the last 3 centuries and were concentrated in the north and
northeast of the island, who adhered to Hinduism. Of the 1,412,000 Tamils on
Ceylon in 1948, 562,000 were recent arrivals from the Indian mainland employed
on the plantations (Britannica BoY 1949).
The Economy . In the early years of independence, the government promoted
Ceylonese replacing Europeans in managerial and executive positions in the
economy. The Sri Lankan economy depended heavily on the export of three items,
tea, rubber and coconuts.
Tea production was expanded from 140,000 metric tons in 1949 to 220,000 metric
tons in 1963, then to stagnate at 200,000 to 220,000 metric tons annually.
Tourism grew in importance during the 1950es. From independence, the government
pursued the policy of subsidizing rice, with fixed rations per person. Ceylon
needed to import rice, as domestic production did not suffice to meet domestic
consumption.
B.R. Mitchell has established a table showing the total values of exports and
imports in aggregate current values. Exports exceeded imports throughout the
period from 1948 to 1956 with the exception of 1952.
The First Five Year Plan had been implemented in 1951-1955, the Second in
1956-1960. The modernization of the port of Colombo had been completed in 1956.
Tamil-Sinhalese Relations . An increase in the price of rice in 1953,
following the withdrawal of subsidies, caused riots in August 1953 Sinhalese
nationalists regarded themselves the only original inhabitants of Ceylon, the
Tamils as foreigners. In 1949 Ceylonese Tamils who had immigrated more recently
were disenfranchised.
Social History . From the mid-1950es onward, Ceylon suffered from labour
unrest. The port of Colombo, vital to the country's economy, was often targeted
by strikes.
Chris Slee
1 November
2008
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes
in recent months as the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) attempts to capture areas of
northern Sri Lanka held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a group
that has fought for 30 years for self-determination for the Tamil people.
Kilinochchi, a town in northern Sri Lanka that was the administrative centre
for all LTTE-controlled territory, is being subjected to aerial and ground
artillery bombardment, and most of its population has been evacuated to
LTTE-controlled rural areas.
United Nations agencies and international aid organisations withdrew from the
town in September, despite attempts by the local people to block their
departure. Their presence had been seen as providing some deterrent to massive
bombardment or other atrocities by the SLA, which has been slowly advancing
towards the town.
The displaced people lack sufficient food, medical supplies and other
necessities. Aid organisations attempting to bring supplies into
LTTE-controlled areas are often blocked by the SLA.
For example, three trucks loaded with medical supplies were held up for
several weeks during October. Two were eventually allowed to proceed on
October 27, but the third, with a cargo of oxygen cylinders needed by
Kilinochchi hospital was, not allowed through.
Origins
The roots of the conflict lie in a long history of state oppression of the
Tamils, which eventually led some Tamil youth to take up arms against the
government.
When the British granted formal independence to Sri Lanka in 1948, they handed
over power to politicians drawn mainly from the upper classes of the majority
Sinhala ethnic group. These politicians used racism as a tool to divide the
working class.
They also used it as a weapon in their struggles with each other: different
Sinhalese politicians would compete to show that they were the strongest
defenders of the Sinhalese people. This resulted in the adoption of racist
policies and the stirring up of antagonism against the Tamil minority.
Sinhalese was declared the sole official language of Sri Lanka, a move which
made speakers of the Tamil language second-class citizens. Knowledge of
Sinhalese was made a prerequisite for employment in the public service,
thereby excluding most Tamils from government jobs.
Discrimination against Tamils was also applied in education.
For many years Tamils opposed such discrimination by peaceful means, including
demonstrations, sit-ins and participation in elections.
But peaceful protests were met by violent repression, carried out by the
police and army as well as racist Sinhalese mobs.
There was a series of pogroms against Tamils, culminating in the murder of an
estimated 3000 people in the government-instigated riots of July 1983.
The growing repression led to the growth of Tamil nationalist sentiment. In
1977, the Tamil United Liberation Front won 17 seats in the Sri Lankan
parliament on a platform of self-determination for Tamils.
The repression of peaceful protest led many Tamil youth to turn to violent
methods. The LTTE was formed in 1972 and carried out its first major armed
action in 1978.
After the 1983 pogrom, the LTTE gained increased support from the Tamil
community and dramatically stepped up its war against the SLA.
The government forces were unable to defeat the LTTE, despite brutal
repression including numerous massacres of Tamil civilians.
In 1987, India sent a “peace-keeping force” to Sri Lanka, with the ostensible
aim of protecting the Tamils from SLA violence. However the Indian government
did not want to see the creation of an independent Tamil state, and the Indian
army soon began repressing the LTTE.
The Indian army withdrew in 1990, and war broke out again between the LTTE and
the SLA.
In February 2002, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the LTTE and the
United National Party government of Ranil Wickremesinghe. But once again the
government not only failed to offer the Tamil people a just solution that
could guarantee a lasting peace; it failed even to fully implement the
provisions of the ceasefire agreement.
For example, those provisions requiring the SLA to disarm pro-government
paramilitary groups. These groups continued to exist and carry out, in
collusion with the SLA, acts of violence and intimidation against LTTE
supporters.
The UNP government, which claimed to want peace but failed to deliver, was
replaced in 2004 by a more openly chauvinist government, led by the Sri Lanka
Freedom Party.
Following the election of the SLFP, violence escalated into full-scale war. On
January 2 this year, the government formally renounced the ceasefire agreement
that by this stage only existed on paper.
LTTE-controlled areas have been subjected to aerial and artillery bombardment,
as well as blockades preventing food supplies and other necessities from
entering these areas.
There have been a series of massacres by the armed forces. For example, on
June 17, 2006 in the fishing village of Pesalai, Sri Lankan Navy troops threw
grenades into a church where Tamil refugees were sheltering.
On August 4 in the town of Muttur, 17 aid workers (most of them Tamils)
employed by the French charity Action Contre le Faim (Action Against Hunger)
were murdered in cold blood by the SLA.
On August 14 in Mullaitivu, an orphanage was bombed by the Sri Lankan air
force, killing more than 50 children.
Repression against Tamils has intensified, not only in the traditional Tamil
areas of the north and east, but also in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo.
Many Tamils have fled to Colombo, both to escape the fighting in the north and
east and for economic reasons. But the renewed war has led to increased
harassment of Tamils in Colombo.
Police have carried out sweeps through Colombo suburbs, questioning Tamils
about their reasons for being in the capital. Military checkpoints have been
established at key junctions throughout the city.
On June 7, 2007 500 Tamils were forcefully expelled from Colombo and sent to
the north and east.
Military offensive
During 2007, the SLA carried out an offensive to capture the LTTE-controlled
areas in the eastern part of the island of Sri Lanka, and claimed to have been
completely successful.
During 2008, the SLA has been attempting to capture the LTTE-controlled areas
in the north of the island, and to wipe out the LTTE altogether.
The SLA has made some progress in capturing territory in the north, but is
meeting fierce resistance. In August alone, 155 SLA soldiers were killed and
983 wounded, according to figures given by Sri Lankan PM Ratnasiri
Wickremanayake.
While forced to retreat in some areas, the LTTE has carried out attacks behind
SLA lines. In the east, supposedly under firm government control, ambushes and
attacks on SLA bases continue to occur.
On September 9, the LTTE carried out an attack on the SLA military
headquarters for the Vanni district, killing 14 soldiers and causing severe
damage. This attack prompted the UNP opposition to question the government’s
claims of progress in the war.
According to UNP parliamentarian Lakshman Seneviratne, “The Air Force base and
the Police HQ of Vavuniya was attacked using heavy artillery. [The] Radar
defence system is completely destroyed. This happened in an area that [the]
government has always claimed has been liberated long ago, and cleared of any
LTTE activity.”
The LTTE has used light aircraft to carry out a series of bombing raids on
government targets, including an air base and oil installations in Colombo,
and a military base in the northern Jaffna peninsula.
On October 28, the Tamil Eelam Air Force attacked a military base in Mannar
province in the north of the island, as well as a power station in Colombo in
the south.
Imperialism
The United States and other imperialist powers have always supported the Sri
Lankan state against the Tamil struggle.
They have supplied weapons and military training to the SLA. Israel has
supplied Kfir jets to the Sri Lankan air force, which has used them to bomb
towns such as Kilinochchi.
The US has long banned the LTTE as a “terrorist organisation”, while ignoring
the campaign of state terrorism carried out by the SLA, except for an
occasional mild criticism of some human rights violations.
More recently, the European Union has also banned the LTTE.
But while essentially supporting the Sri Lankan government, the imperialist
powers have at times tried to pressure it into granting some concessions to
the Tamils, in the hope of winning them away from the LTTE.
Western governments sometimes criticise the Sri Lankan government for some of
its human rights violations.
In December 2007, the US Senate imposed restrictions on the sale of military
equipment to Sri Lanka, though equipment for the purpose of “maritime and air
surveillance and communications” was excluded from the ban.
The recent partial restrictions on military supplies to Sri Lanka are an
exception to the longstanding US policy of full support to the Sri Lankan
government’s war effort.
US officials have made their position very clear. In November 2006, US
Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said: “We are not neutral … We
support the [Sri Lankan] government … We believe the government has a right to
try to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country.”
Nevertheless, the Sri Lankan government has not relied solely on the US and
its allies for support. It has bought weapons from a range of sources,
including China, India, Pakistan, and Russia.
Ultimately, it is the government’s denial of the right of Tamils to
self-determination that remains the main obstacle to peace.
The SLA is an army of occupation in Tamil areas. Its removal from these areas
is a precondition for peace.
Self-determination need not lead to total separation of predominantly Tamil
areas from the Sri Lankan state. The LTTE has stated its willingness to
consider a federal structure.
But the crucial point is that the unity of Sri Lanka must be voluntary.
“Unity” can not be imposed by the SLA through violent repression of the Tamil
people.
[A significantly longer version of this article can be found at
Links.]
From: International News, Green Left Weekly issue #773 5 November 2008.