The editor
Daily News
Sri Lanka

27 April 2009

Dear Editor.

Help Sri Lanka rebuild
SRI LANKAN AMERICANS APPEAL TO US SECRETARY OF STATE

I refer to the letter published by you, without comments, under the above heading in today`s edition of the Daily News. (http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/04/27/fea002.asp)

The letter is described as follows:

`A group of Sri Lankan Americans have written to US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton replying to some of her comments regarding the current situation in Sri Lanka.`

Unless all in the group have dual citizenship, it is legally a wrong description to call them Sri Lankan Americans. They could be described as Americans of Sri Lankan origin but not Sri Lankan Americans. The contents of the letter indicate strongly that they are actually Sinhalese Americans. Facts are most important during this crisis time, when both sides to the war are lobbying support from international powers.

The letter states

`The entire nation of Sri Lanka`s peace loving democratic voters of all ethnicities has suffered through that long 25 year period.`

They do not recognize the pain, loss and suffering by Tamils after independence, that led to the war. Initially, it was managed by people from both communities who had in common their work and professions. With time, this kept going down and up came the Sinhala only and the quota system that disadvantaged the Tamils. Tamils were continuously subjected to physical attacks by Sinhalese, whilst the Government looked the other way. As a Tamil, I feel that was the root cause of why Tamils did not discipline the Tamil Tigers. Gradually, the younger generation lost that common connection and we find extreme separatists views on both sides. This has been confirmed by the landslide victory in a Sinhalese majority area, for the current President.

The letter says

`The International Community didn`t come to help us and voice disappointment in the path taken by the LTTE when suicide bombers ran amok in the country and ethnically cleansed parts of it committing Genocide against Sinhalese and Muslims.`

Neither did they come when the Sinhalese thugs attacked and murdered mercilessly, Tamils in multicultural areas. Our own government looked the other way. The intellectual leaders did not come to protest against Sinhala only nor quota system which had the effect of reducing the Tamil entrants to the Universities. It was after our strong opposition that we now have the Tamil Universities which confirm that the Government did not have a multicultural solution but had to separate on language basis. Such a government does not have the moral authority to block self determination on ethnic basis.

The letter says

`What you see now is the disruption of life in the Northern part of the country where civilians are being saved from the jaws of the most brutal Terrorist organization that has ever walked this earth in the history of mankind`

Given that the government has included some parts of the armed groups into its own folds as it did with the Sinhalese rebels, such expressions as the above have no legitimacy to those who have had the direct experience nor to the independent observer.

These Sinhalese say

`We know that finally the people of Sri Lanka have a Government that has taken the situation in hand to end the suffering of all people`

If they speak as Sri Lankans then they do not include as `people` the Tamils currently in war zone suffering untold misery, Tamils in detention camps yearning to go back home nor Tamils in areas dominated by Sinhalese armed forces. They must therefore know something that we do not that mentally they have separated Tamils into another country. When they say it, it is alright. When Tigers say it it is terrorism?????

Sinhalese Americans have said

`The civilians fleeing are being saved by the very forces referred to in the International Media as the Sinhala Buddhist Army of a Sinhala Buddhist Government`

Where the majority in a group are of a particular faith they have natural `looks` and `powers` of that faith. Sri Lanka is by constitution a Buddhist country. There is no affirmative action provision to offset that advantage to majority race. Given that these Sinhalese Americans are describing the Government forces through ethnic language rather than common merit based language of the world they are confirming the use of majority force. Tamils outside Sri Lanka have been working continuously to offset that advantage and hence the `safety` to this level which did not exist during the racial riots prior to 1983 when Tamils did not have access to this wider power. If , this power were limited arbitrarily and outside merit basis, Tamils in Sri Lanka would be subjected to worse pain and suffering than before 1983. Once armed forces take over control, our intellectual powers are automatically limited. When such armed forces have ethnic majority power intellectual powers are limited even further. These above Sinhalese must have not contributed to the American system. Hence they continue to talk as if they are the Sinhalese government. They ought to be deported to Sri Lanka for supporting a racist government. If Tamils do experience worse suffering, then American Government that failed to act would also be blamed in the court of Natural Justice which can only be managed through Truth and nothing but the Truth.

These Sinhalese Americans say to their Secretary of State Madam Clinton

`You are aware of the number of moderate Tamils murdered by the LTTE. You are also aware of the number of heads of State that were murdered by the LTTE under the orders of Prabakaran`

Why has the Sri Lankan government failed to capture Prabakaran as a criminal? Is it not able to do so? Is that why it is turning Tamils against Tamils and causing civilians to suffer because it does not have the faith of the Tamil people nor the skills to capture someone it considers to be a criminal? This confirms that the Sri Lankan government needs Tamils to govern as per global standards. Left to them, we would be limited to the whims and fancies of the Sinhalese most of whom say that Sri Lanka is for Sinhalese. This above letter is oozing of that flavor.

They say

`You may not be aware that even in the evacuation there were three suicide cadres that exploded themselves and killed the fleeing civilians`

In other words, the Government failed to protect the civilians. One who is seeking to blame someone else is dependent on someone else`s defeat for its victory. Hence it is prepared to risk the lives of civilians for its own victory. A good government would have evacuated all civilians before attacking the Tigers. It`s this failure by the government that is costing it at the international level. Not the Tigers who brought their weaknesses to the attention of wider world. If the Tigers are doing likewise they also have already lost the authority to govern Tamils. Both sides need to punish themselves and not block the path of international governments. Sinhalese Americans may help their side but not Tamil civilians to whose feelings they are not connected.

They say

`The Tamil Diaspora who financed the carnage of their own people has not come forward to launch a relief operation and assist the Government to provide humanitarian aid`

Here is what I say in my today`s letter to our Australian Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd on this:

[`Yesterday`s meeting for example was originally planned to be organized by Tamil Association. But because there was open objection to that on the basis that it was not usual activity for the Association it ended up being a Hindu Tamil gathering in the consciousness of Saint Yoga Swami the first and the best Lankan Tamil of our times. It `happened` that way because of common `faith`. When we have our common belief as the foundation and the deepest common faith as our trunk route, the right path for us emerges naturally.

Our discovery was that we needed to listen more to the feelers before seeking solutions, especially from the sources that are seen by the victims of war as the `cause` of their losses and the messengers of their pain.

Hence in terms of the Asylum seekers from war torn countries of the UN, you need to listen more and think less and facilitate Natural Justice to flow.

Mr. Rudd, there is a saying in Tamil Ruler slays today God slays through time (Arasan Indru Aruppaan Theivam Ninru arukum).

When you are dealing with people who `think` it is alright to rule today so long as you use the laws. But when you are managing feelers, who have fled their homes out of pain and loss, you have the responsibility to `facilitate` them to use our official system through their own community representatives. It is on this basis that a mistake was made by the Tamil leaders from Australia who met with Government of Sri Lanka as a group. They are now being called `traitors` by feelers.

When 9/11 happened, the western world felt pain and acted through that feeling rather than through common global principles. As part of those actions Tamils have been suffering your Anti Terrorism pain. It is therefore your responsibility to compensate our refugees through feelings and facilities and not through administration. Then you become the messengers of Natural Justice and therefore would not fear terrorism whose roots are racism.

Nature keeps `happening` as per feeling of majority in a system. Hence majority vote. Nature does not wait or hurry to show legal or social outcomes. This is why you did not wait for the legal system but visited and thanked Mr. Richard Pratt who is facing criminal charges. That was through your Natural feelings as a fellow Australian and I appreciate that very much.`]

I ask these Sinhalese Americans as to the last time they recognized through their feelings who the best Tamil through whom t...