TAMIL NATIONAL FORUM
Selected
Writings -
Fr. Chandiravarman Sinnathurai
Eelam Tamils: Highlighting crimes against peace
[together with comment by
tamilnation.org]
23 November 2006
YESTERDAY
when
the Co-chairs [U.S; E.U; Norway and Japan] met in Washington, D.C., there
hardly was any policy change as far as the Tamils are concerned. With alarming
unanimity the Quartet announced that
“…the LTTE is a terrorist group responsible for
massive bloodshed, we hold the Tamil Tigers responsible…we are not neutral
in this respect.”
One must be grateful for the crudeness of meting out such
lop-sided spaghetti western justice — at least we must be thankful for the
openness of attitude on the part of the diplomats, in which admittance to
non-neutrality is claimed. There was sadly, no concern shown for the lives of
the Eelam Tamils.
Hundreds upon hundreds are slaughtered either by the state
forces or by state sponsored Para-militaries. Over 1000 Tamil civilians have
lost their lives since Rajapaksha regime took on the reins of power since
November 2005. This includes
members of
parliament, intellectuals,
humanitarian
workers, human
rights activists,
writers,
journalists – any one who
dares to raise their neck over the parapet!
Multitude of Tamils have become victims of the ‘crime of
proximity’. If you happen to be
in the vicinity of a
bomb blast or some thing of a similar nature; and if you are a Tamil then,
your survival rate is zero.
 
Tamils have succumbed to aerial bombardment in the North east.
The whole of the Jaffna peninsula is facing forced starvation owing to the Alpha
9 closure – notoriously nicknamed as the “road to perdition”.
Yet the burden of blame is on the Tamils. Surprised? Not at all.
There is a logical corollary to these one-sided approach. There are of course,
many a historical precedence. But I would for the sake of brevity, underscore
just that one central point.
One is compelled or compressed to view the world according to the ‘gospel’ of
Washington [D.C]. One ought to reflect on the American goals. One is coerced
into identifying with the aims and principles NOT of the UN and the
international law, but of the US. Remember the almighty refrain: If you are not
with US then you are against US.
Eelam Tamils ought to be working very hard at illuminating the western public
that there is a sharp difference between terror and resistance. The Tamils
[Tamil Tigers] have every
right to freedom, self-determination and independence as derived from the UN
charter. When a people are systematically denied of that right and are
victimised by systemic state terror,
then of course, they have the moral right to defend and resist by
taking up arms as the last
resort. People through out history have resisted against racist regimes and
colonial powers.
It is only right that any intelligent person would think that the world powers
are labelling the Tamil Tigers as terrorists
for a convenient
reason. If the Quartet are willing to support overtly the Sri Lankan
terrorist state then, it reveals their moral imbecility. More over, it tells the
Tamils that they are more concerned not about the balance of power but with the
balance of terror. That is the stark-naked difference here. This nuanced minor
detail impinges on geo-political master plan of the US.
 Diaspora
Tamils ought to advertise targeting the western public that the goals of the
Sinhala regime is identical in
its odious doctrine and
ideology of Hitler. It is ONLY the Tamil Tigers who have had the temerity,
political acumen (thanks to annar Palacinkam) and military strength to out wit
the majoritarian Sri Lankan Armed Forces. So the quest of the Sinhala forces
along side the pressure of the international community to circle around the
single question of disarmament of Tigers is unreasonable at worst; bloody minded
at its best. It is like asking David to stand before Goliath without the
singular sling and five polished stones. If David looses his aim then the whole
nation will be polished off the earth! That is how serious the ground reality is
for the survival of the Eelam Tamils.
There is however among other truisms a singular recalcitrant fact, the Diaspora
ought to keep repeating in advertising the struggle to the western public: The
Tamil Tigers is the Tamil army with a
(De facto) state. The current
stratagem of the Rajapaksha regime is to wipe out that reality. In the name of
local and national security; supra-national and regional security the argument
that the Tigers are a “security threat” is a hollow drum. It is for the Tamils
to show the world how hollow this argument is.
The De facto state is a symbol and reality that challenges the Sinhala hegemony.
Therefore, the difference here is Sri Lanka is a state with an army; while the
Tigers are an army (socio-politico movement) with a parallel state within the
traditional Tamil home land.
Now this fact of reality is a sore thumb to the Quartet and the Sinhala regime.
Most of my readers are aware that I have consistently held a dim view of the
so-called
Oslo inspired peace process. One of the reasons for my humble stand was that
I identified many similarities between the Sri Lankan Sinhala – Eelam Tamil
peace process and the “Oslo peace process” between Palestinians and Israelis.
In his most recent publication Chomsky writes,
“…Shlomo
Ben-Ami, considered a dove in the Israeli spectrum, published an
academic study in which he out lined the goal of the Oslo ‘peace process’:
to establish a ‘neo-colonial’ dependency for the Palestinians, which will be
‘permanent’.”
Things have hardly changed in their plight even after so many
years. There is however another note worthy lesson here. The Palestinians have
been portrayed by the mainstream corporate western media as the treacherous
terrorists who preferred violence instead of choosing peace.
The Quartet’s posture with the Tamils is no different.
The Sinhala regime and the Quartet are very worried about Colonel Soosai and his
sea Tigers. They fear the capture of Trinco may be caused by underwater
demolition and other strategic manoeuvres.
The surveillance of international sea
lanes is paramount in their mind. Indian installations in Trinco and other
geo-political interests of the region might be jeopardized. That is a concern –
imagined or real. In order for these fears to not become a real nightmare they
have to now give military support and delivery systems to the Sinhala regime in
order to neutralise the Tamil Tigers. And in the course of events, the deal
might also include the international
community pretending to be asleep while the genocidal intent of the Sinhala
regime continues without any international condemnation!
Hence the Quartet had to play their tune without any concealment in Washington.
Finally, I have used the word ‘advertise’ in this piece purposefully. The
Diaspora lobby must break into the mainline PR/advertising world and of course,
raise funds if need be, in order to advertise the real plight of Tamils and
expose the egregious propaganda of the Hitlerite regime of Sri Lanka to the
western public. Things have moved on from terrorism to horrorism in Sri Lanka.And it is now that the Tamils must make that all too important difference.
comment by
tamilnation.org
Father Chandiravarman Sinnathurai is right to emphasise the
need to bring out in the open the strategic imperatives which impel the
actions of the 'international community'. As for breaking into 'the
mainline PR/advertising world' we may need to recognise that the
notion of a
'liberal' or 'independent' news media is
an enduring and influential political myth -
"...The notion of a “liberal” national news media is one of the
most enduring and influential political myths...the larger fallacy of the
“liberal media” argument is the idea that reporters and mid-level editors
set the editorial agenda at their news organizations.
In reality, most journalists have about as much say over what is presented
by newspapers and TV news programs as factory workers and foremen have over
what a factory manufactures. That is not to say factory workers
have no input in their company’s product: they can make suggestions and
ensure the product is professionally built. But top executives have a much
bigger say in what gets produced and how. The news business is essentially
the same.
News organizations are hierarchical
institutions often run by strong-willed men who insist that their
editorial vision be dominant within their news companies. Some
concessions are made to the broader professional standards of
journalism, such as the principles of objectivity and fairness.
But media owners historically have enforced their political views and
other preferences by installing senior editors whose careers depend on
delivering a news product that fits with the owner’s prejudices.
Mid-level editors and reporters who stray too far from the prescribed
path can expect to be demoted or fired. Editorial employees intuitively
understand the career risks of going beyond the boundaries..."
Robert Parry in Price of the 'Liberal Media' Myth, 2003
The political reality is that which John Harrington pointed
out many years ago -
".... in most cases the media present news and events in a manner
that not only agrees with the views of the powerful, but actually
supports their domination.... the maintenance of order is the key
idea... in earlier times violence and the threat of physical force was
used to maintain order. But today control is pursued most
effectively through ‘controlling the common sense’....the dominated are
encouraged to see the world as the powerful do ... (by articulating)
different visions of the world in such a way that their potential antagonism (to the dominant view) is
neutralised...."
John Harrington in Media,
Framing, and the Internet: Dominant Ideologies Persist, 1998
The western media follows the flag and the dominated are
encouraged to see the world as the powerful do. The western
media know that to be openly
one
sided is to be dismissed as being partial and propagandist.
The trick is to appear balanced and articulate different
visions of the world in such a way that their
potential antagonism to the establishment view is
neutralised. It is spin that rules. A recent instance is the
media coverage of the
targeted bombing of school children in Vallipunam.
Reuban Nanthakumar's
well researched study of the BBC coverage shows how the
'balanced approach' technique was used to neutralise any
potential antagonism to the broad political stance of the
international community in relation to the struggle for
Tamil Eelam. As he rightly points out 'the truth from one side cannot be “balanced” with
a lie from another'. Again Michael Rivero may well be right when he said that "most
propaganda is not designed to fool the critical thinker but
only to give moral cowards an excuse not to think at all" -
"..Most people prefer to believe their leaders are just and fair even
in the face of evidence to the contrary, because once a citizen
acknowledges that the government under which he or she lives is lying
and corrupt, the citizen has to choose what he or she will do about it.
To take action in the face of a corrupt government entails risks of harm
to life and loved ones. To choose to do nothing is to surrender one's
self-image of standing for principles. Most people do not have the
courage to face that choice. Hence, most propaganda is not designed
to fool the critical thinker but only to give moral cowards an excuse
not to think at all."
Michael
Rivero in What Really Happened
Neither Subhas Chandra Bose nor Ho Chi Minh diverted their
limited resources to break into the 'mainline' (read
'establishment') PR/advertising world - and for that matter, neither
did they lead their people to believe that 'the mainline PR/advertising world' would
help advance their struggle for freedom.
Aurobindo was right
when he said more than a hundred years ago -
"..It is a vain dream to suppose that what other nations have won by
struggle and battle, by suffering and tears of blood, we shall be allowed to
accomplish easily, without terrible sacrifices, merely by spending the ink
of the journalist and petition framer and the breath of the orator. Petitioning will not bring us one yard nearer
freedom; self development will not easily be suffered to advance to its goal.
For self development spells the doom of the ruling despotism, which must
therefore oppose our progress with all the art and force of which it is the
master..."
And Velupillai Pirabakaran too
was right when he said in 1993
-
".. In reality, the success of our struggle depends on us, not on
the world. Our success depends on our own efforts, on our own strength,
on our own determination."
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