Tamils - a Trans State Nation..

"To us all towns are one, all men our kin.
Life's good comes not from others' gift, nor ill
Man's pains and pains' relief are from within.
Thus have we seen in visions of the wise !."
- Tamil Poem in Purananuru, circa 500 B.C 

"The Tamil struggle evokes world-wide admiration"
Sigfrido Reyes, Executive Secretary,
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front,
El-Salvador

(From (left to right): Dr. Surya Subedi, Mr.Sigfrido Reyes and Mr.Gopal Veerabadhran

Dear friends,

I want to express my gratitude for having the invaluable opportunity to address this International Conference on Tamil national problem. I especially wish to give my deep thanks to all the organisers and the sponsors of this relevant event.

From this tribune let me share with you the feelings of solidarity and admiration that I, my party and my people have, toward the heroic and brave struggle of the Tamil people for its legitimate right to self-determination.

I am coming from El Salvador, one of the smallest countries in the American continent. I do represent a political party: the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. Until 1992 our Front was a political and military organisation. Then we transformed ourselves into a political structure. No matter the fact that a short time ago we were performing the role of a classic guerrilla force, fighting the US backed local army, nowadays we are the main opposition party in El Salvador, with a significant quota in both the national and the regional parliaments, and also ruling many important cities along the country.

Prior to talk about my thinking on the current situation the Tamil people is facing, let me tell you something about the recent history of my own country.

Until relatively a short time ago the people of El Salvador had to bear the rule of an opprobrious and bloody military dictatorship. Since 1931 the dictatorship of generals and colonels governed the country, closing any space to democratic participation of our citizens. Under the shadow of this dictatorship an oligarquic minority saw how its wealth increased more and more, meanwhile the vast majorityof our people laid in poverty, illness, illiteracy and had no chance for bettering its standard of life. I must say that unfortunately this military regime was always tolerated and supported by the US administrations. Americans trained the local army and the security forces, and also gave a strong financial, economic and moral support to the unpopular governments that ruled the country along various decades.

The pro-democratic committed sectors made large foolhardy attempts to open ways to the people's participation and emancipation. Political parties were created following this intentions. Many social organisations, such as trade unions and farmers associations, were developed.

Frequently those parties were participating in elections, but once and again fraud and imposition aborted any possibility of democratisation. For the military, elections were just an appearances play for keeping a face of openness and legitimacy.

In 1972 and then in 1977 the political opposition won the general elections, but one more time the victory was denied by the military regime. At that moment a broad persecution began against the democratic parties. Human rights abuses rapidly increased, hundreds of opposition activists were murdered or simply disappeared in the hands of the so-called "death squads", inspired in a furious anti- Communist ideology. Those who were able to avoid repression were compelled to leave the country or quickly go underground. Even the religious leadership was on the focus of that dirty war. In March 1980 the world opinion was shocked by the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the Roman Catholic Church leader.

He was killed because of his preaching demanded an immediate stop to repression.

In such conditions armed struggle remained the only way to achieve freedom and justice, fighting an unpopular army which became the hangman of its own people.

That's the way our Front was born, adopting the name of a legendary Salvadoran hero, who led the opposition to the military when they seized power in 1931. Five left political organisations, which separately were organising resistance to military decide to combine their forces and experience and upgrade the level of the armed actions against the dictatorship.

In the very beginning we had no weapons neither financial resources. We began defending the people and ourselves with small guns and homemade explosive devices. Our thinking at that time was resisting and move forward step by step, capturing more powerful weapons during the battles against the enemy troops. Everywhere people were coming to join the Front, desperately trying to escape away from repression. In those days frequently we had 5 or more combatants and scarcely 1 gun for getting them armed.

By the other hand, the government army was being heavily armed by the Reagan administration. Putting into practice the tactics they developed in Vietnam war the American military advisers turned the local army in the main piece of the so-called "low intensity conflict", designed to isolate guerrilla forces from their logistical, political and intelligence bases: the people.

Step by step we learned the lessons of the war, gaining a lot of experience in the first combats. Soon we were able to give tremendous strikes to an army, which overwhelmly surpassed us in terms of soldiers and fire power. Our struggle inspired the admiration of many honest people around the world and sooner than later international solidarity started to provide enormous moral and material support. Hundreds of internationalist volunteers came to our homeland and fought together with us. Many of them lay in our soil today.

Nevertheless, when we enlarge our military power and wide zones of our country were liberated by our forces we took into account that for a national liberation front the main is not the military power, but the confidence of the people we say we are defending. To be in touch with the people, listen to their advises, identify ourselves with the people's aspirations, take seriously their opinions: that's the key for winning a national liberation struggle.

We always must remind that for our struggle being a just struggle its imperative that our goals match with those of the people we are willing to represent. Remembering the experience we lived I must say: when we separated ourselves from the people's will, we were badly defeated. When we caught the feelings of the people, we achieved tremendous victories.

The war in El Salvador lasted almost 12 years. More than 70 thousand people were killed. About 5 thousand were disappeared by the dead squads and till this day their relatives are claiming for them. From a total population of about 6 millions more than a million had to leave the country, emigrating to United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and to the neighbour countries in Latin America. Dozens of villages and towns were completely destroyed by air bombings and artillery attacks.

By the end of the 80's there was a virtual strategic stalemate in El Salvador's civil war. We realised timefor negotiations has come and launched a world-wide political offensive to open the negotiating table and bringing the government to a serious effort to put an end to the war. Our initiative was backed by many governments around the world. The same United Nations Secretary General energetically held the peace process In January 1992, under the sponsorship of the UN organisation the FMLN and the Salvadoran government reached a political agreement to finally end the civil war.

From our point of view the Peace accords became a major political victory for our people. In practice the

political system designed by the military along 60 years was dis sembled. The armed forces wen reduced and those elements blame because of serious human right violations were purged. At the sam time the Constitution was reformer looking to close any chance for arm to become the holder of politic power. In the field of military concept the national security doctrine, prop( for the cold war age, was official abandoned and it was replaced by

new human rights oriented doctrine The former security forces were di' banded and on its place was creatE a new absolutely professional civ police corp. The judiciary system was

judges. The electoral system was deeply transformed, opening for the first time in our recent history the doors for unrestricted participation of all political sectors, no matter their ideological orientation.

Given the history of our country, and particularly the brutal features of the military dictatorship, we proudly affirm the Peace Accords mean for our homeland a true Democratic Revolution, the most important historical event since we got political independence from Spain in 1821.

At this point, perhaps you're asking yourselves, why do I relate all this story? Certainly, your country and mine are quite different. We have very distinct origins, our cultures and traditions have so little in common. Nevertheless, and I think you agree with me, a more detailed analysis will show important similarities for our both countries in the present century.

First of all our countries suffered or are suffering nowadays the terrible consequences of a civil war, with civilian population being the target of a genocidal army. In both cases we shall find the roots of the conflict in the attempts to deny to the people its legitimate rights to self- determination, freedom, justice and social progress. We had no other choice than take the arms and defend our people against a brutal aggression.

Until relatively a short time Sri Lanka was known all over the world as an exotic island, plenty of tea and coconut plantations, with sandy warm beaches and precious stones laying under the soil. For many of us your country was the Ceylon of the ancient Portuguese navigators, the land of magic and spices.

Actually the reality overwhelms the worse of the predictions. Thousands of people, men and women, elders and children, are on the focus of a cruel army, which pay little attention on the international law regarding human rights respect. The struggle of the Tamil people for its life and self-determination is raising a lot of admiration around the world. We know about the terrible conditions your people is living, the destruction and desolation that invade your cities and countryside.

Definitively the world must claim for this cruel war against the people come rapidly to an end. However, peace may be lasting and firm only if it is based upon justice. And justice in this situation means that Sri Lanka government finally recognises the right of Tamil people to choice what kind of state does want to live in, even if its decision favours an independent state. Peace must be based upon the right to each people to practice its own values, culture, language and traditions, with no any limit more than those accepted by the international community.

This commonwealth of civilised nations has to extend the expressions of solidarity with the Tamil people, isolating all those forces, both in and outer Sri Lanka, that show reluctance to recognise the legitimate rights of this people, standing exclusively in the use and abuse of force to keep their neo-colonialist interests.

Dear friends,

Let me again repeat my message of solidarity with your self-sacrificing people. I'm sure that at the final stage of this heroic struggle justice and freedom will prevail for Tamil Eelam.

Thank you