Ms Jaya Nathan
Australian Representative
Tamil Youth Organization
Sydney

30 March 2009

Dear Ms Nathan,

`Tamils are not Sri Lankans`???????

I refer to the Sydney Morning Herald Report about Saturday`s rally at Martin Place, at which you are reported to have made the above claim.

I am a Tamil and I am Sri Lankan. I challenge you to deny me that status if you are courageous enough to do that.
The report says `TYO representative Jay Nathan spoke, describing the difference between life in Australia and life in the island nation of Sri Lanka.
`I see my fellow Tamils living in Sri Lanka and I am overcome with sorrow to see that they are denied the luxuries that I enjoy here in Australia,` Ms Nathan said.
Ms Nathan, there is a simple remedy for that. I denied myself that luxury here in Australia. Feelings of ownership transcend space and time barriers. The luxury I am referring to is the richer food, the vehicles, most modern phone and computer facilities. I forewent much of these when I fought for racial equality here in Australia, through the University of NSW, from where many in your organisations must have graduated.

Then when I went to work in Vanni to help the Tiger Administration I learnt that they were expecting more comforts than I especially in terms of travelling by vehicles.

Later, through my projects in North & East, I learnt that the folks there were not seeking the higher comforts. They just accept them when others especially foreign aid agencies including Australian agencies, `give` them those goods. They are merely goods and not services because the minds of the people do not go with the goods.

So, I would like to know what it is that you enjoy that they do not. It has to be relative to their earnings and not as per the `goods` seen to be enjoyed by you.
Here in Sydney I sleep on the floor, whilst most in Tamil capital cities slept/sleep on beds.
I gave up non-vegetarian food when I started fighting against the `system` but most Tamils I work/ed with in Sri Lanka, enjoy non-vegetarian food.
I reduced my socializing to a minimum, but most Tamils in Sri Lanka continue with their regular social activities which now include grand parties for even one year old kids!
I identify some Truth in your following statement:
`They live their lives in fear of persecution, abduction and death because of who they are.`
Some do. Most have gotten used to the presence of the army in occupied areas. The worst problem encountered by me in the Tamil Capital of Jaffna was from a politically indifferent individual who held me by the neck to remove my silver jewelry whilst I was on my way to Nallur Temple where I saw more jewelry than I see here at the Sydney Murugan Temple during festival times. By the way, today is the beginning of the Sydney Murugan Temple festival. To me our faith in God is part of our deep rooted culture. It`s that faith that helps us complete the Cycle of Truth by filling in the gap ourselves. That is what I recommend strongly to all of you especially the youth involved in religious groups. To others I strongly recommend focus on Truth and not quickly accessed data.
Tamils who openly fight against the Government, do live in anxiety. But then that applies also to those who disagree openly with the Tamil armed groups including the Tigers. Journalist Lasantha Wicrematunge is an example of the fact that Sinhalse who speak against the government are also not immune from the threat of persecution, abduction and death. As a Sri Lankan I have the duty to recognize that fact too. Hence you have the responsibility to limit yourself to your own direct experience as I do here in Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald report says about your speech:
She said oppression against Tamil civilians had lasted more than 60 years with the government controlling the media and prohibiting access by overseas aid organisations to conflict zones.`
Given that you are part of the Youth group, and I am old enough to be included as a Senior citizen, I conclude that I qualify to be your elder in this until you establish that you feel more than I for all Tamils including those who suffered indirectly due to the government`s policies and practices. On that basis I deny that Tamils were oppressed. We always fought against oppression and we never allowed ourselves to be oppressed. That holds true todate in the case of majority Tamils known to me. If therefore there are oppressed Tamils then I do not know of them. I would like you to point them out to me so I would share my free spirit with them to feel liberated from their oppression.

In 2003, before we, an overseas Tamil group could meet up with Karuna Amman (now Minister Muralitharan in charge of National Integration) in Batticaloa, we had to wait for many clearances. But we alteast met with him and spoke to him. I did not meet up with any of the Tiger leaders in North even though I worked in Vanni. I took that to be their security precaution and therefore I accept the security measures of the Government in war zone. If that is a major reason why you consider our community to be oppressed then that is baseless.
The report says `Sydney`s CBD suffered traffic congestion and delays as approximately 2000 men, women and children gathered at Martin Place and marched to Town Hall, where a rally was held.
Coffins, children stained with fake blood and a man dressed as a tiger and armed with a sword were just some of the portrayals represented in the march.
They carried signs displaying the slogans: `Free Tamil`, `Tamils are not Sri Lankans` and `The charge is genocide, the struggle is for freedom`.`
As per the organisers the Sydney Morning Herald`s estimates were wrong. They claim the numbers to be close to 6000 and this would be taken as correct only if your other verifiable `facts` seem accurate.

I saw similar portrayals when I joined the group that went to Canberra to protest against the European Union`s ban against the Tamil Tigers. I found it very unpleasant and traumatic. When Tamil youth Murugathasan set himself on fire in front of the United Nations, I attributed part of the blame to such portrayals that fill the minds of youth who do not have a life outside the war zone in their minds.

I ridicule/d the action by the Vice Chancellor of the University of NSW in calling the armed Police to have me removed from the University for Peaceful Assembly. That to me was violence. So is yours. Violence be it physical or mental is to act in breach of trust to seriously harm one`s mind and/or body. By `showing` those pictures you are denying yourselves the value of the intellectual path. As a person who upholds Dharma (Righteousness), I condemn your actions as much as I condemn/ed those of the Vice Chancellor who is required by the mandate of the University to use the intellectual path to discover Truth. Yet, none of you were there for me. I conclude that none of you felt with Tamils who sought/seek freedom through the intellectual path. That to me is a real shame because the intellectual path is our richest investment. Just last week, a young pro Tiger Tamil living in London, accused me of having the Jaffna Intellectual Vellala caste `attitude`. He accused my father and my brothers (I have only one biological brother) of having tortured low caste people. He failed to find out that my father maintained a Vairavar Kali temple in a low caste area and that my brother regularly contributes to our maintenance of the temple and to the development activities, including the School of Human Values, around the temple. Most importantly he did not find out that a couple of thugs from that area kept subotaging our development activities to help the dysenfranchised group feel they were citizens in common where there is no merit basis.

When your organisation`s representatives rang us to inform about the rallies I answered the phone. On both occasions they asked for Mr. Paramasivam. I observed this gender based discrimination with the Tamil Tigers also. Hence I wonder how you could claim to be more democratic than the Sri Lankan Government.

Tamils of Sri Lanka are more than about armed combat. We use various paths to realise `freedom` especially the path to God through our respective religions. So long as we believe in our chosen path and limit ourselves to that chosen path, we would not by word or deed damage someone else`s earned benefits and/or opportunities.

If you choose the same path as the Government of Sri Lanka and you would if you keep talking about war zone and armed conflict all the time as if the Sri Lankan Government is your highest opposition then I am not able to identify with that. I am already successfully educating and training youth in poorest parts of North and East using global standards.

Most Tamil elders say about the Tamil Tigers `Siru Pillai Vellaanmai, veedu vanthu seraathu`. the crop harvested by youth would not reach home. Liekwise your group. We are not in the war zone because we have earned that karma.

If indeed you follow values through your own interpretation, I would like to know what those values are. Otherwise you have the responsibility to limit your representation to those who follow your own stated leadership and therefore shout `Free Australian Tamil Youth Organisation members` or `Australian Tamil Youth Organisation members are not Sri Lankans`.

The statements made by your group are disgraceful to the intellectual Tamils. Yes, we have much against the Government of Sri Lanka but we address them as part of Sri Lanka and not as aliens. Are your family elders prepared to forego their pensions from Sri Lanka`s common resources? My close relative who was caught up in Vanni but has now come out of the war zone and is living in detention, guards and values his pension-card as if that is his passport to freedom. Freedom is felt and it co...