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United States & the struggle for Tamil Eelam
American Tamils call for Recognition of Tamil
Sovereignty
[Association of Tamil Americans, Carolina Tamil Americans , Center for
Women�s Development and Rehabilitation � USA , Ilankai Tamil Sangam �
California, Ilankai Tamil Sangam � Florida, Ilankai Tamil Sangam � USA,
Ilankai Tamil Sangam - Vancouver-Portland � Washington, Midwest Tamil
Sangam � Illinois, Ohio Tamil Association - Ohio, Tamil Heritage
International � USA, Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization -
California, World Tamil Organization - Illinois, World Tamil
Coordinating Committee - USA, World Tamil Women Organization � USA]
".... Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
...whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their Safety and Happiness..."
The Unanimous
Declaration, of the Thirteen United States of America
In Congress, 4 July 1776
26 February 2007
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 We,
the Tamil Americans of the great country of the United States, that has
historically
championed human rights, freedom, justice and peace for oppressed peoples of
the world, hereby declare our unequivocal support for the self-determination and
political independence of the Tamils in NorthEast Sri Lanka.
Last week marked the completion of
five years of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the Tamils and the Sri
Lankan state. The agreement, negotiated by the Royal Norwegian Government and
supported widely by the International Community, failed to bring real peace to
the Tamils. The Sri Lanka government
defaulted on its obligations embodied in the ceasefire agreement and on
commitments reached in the eight rounds of peace talks held with the Tamils.
Importantly, the half-a-million Tamil people displaced by the war were not
allowed to resettle in their homes and rebuild their war-shattered lives in a
situation accorded to other citizens of the country. The internationally
assisted agreement to share Tsunami aid
was not honored. The traditional Tamil homeland of the Tamils in the North
and East that was unified under the
Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 was
once again bifurcated.
Emboldened by the muted response of the International Community to its
violations of the CFA, the Sri Lankan State has intensified its campaign to
subjugate the Tamils. Despite the ceasefire, over 1500 Tamil civilians were
killed and more than 600 disappeared in the past year. Through aerial
bombarding, shelling, grabbing Tamil land, and displacing another 210,000 Tamils
the Sri Lankan State is now engaged in ethnic cleansing of genocidal
proportions.
We Tamil Americans note and respect the legitimacy rendered by the Tamil people
to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by electing 22 legislators of the
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in 2004. Over 90% of Tamils voted for the TNA on
the platform that the LTTE
are the authentic representatives of the Tamils to advance their interests.
We commend the LTTE for not retaliating against Sinhalese civilians, despite
intense provocations by the Sri Lankan government and its armed forces in
terrorizing the Tamil population.
We plead with the International Community to not be an impediment to the Tamil
people realizing their self-determination. The just aspirations of the Tamils
should not be held hostage by fictitious claims of protecting the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of a
failed state. Rather, the International Community must recognize the
current de-facto Tamil state should their authentic representatives exercise
the right to
external self-determination.
We call upon the US Government to recognize the Tamil struggle for what it is -
a legitimate freedom struggle.
We should resist the propaganda by interested parties to portray their violence
against the Tamil people and their political rights as
a war against terrorism. Tamils� quest for self-rule should be accepted just
as much as we yielded to the ultimate wishes of the Kosova people without
worrying about Serbian sovereignty.
Finally, we call upon our fellow Americans to stand with the Tamil Americans in
support of the
inalienable right of self-determination for the kith and kin we have left
behind in the Tamil homeland.
Association of Tamil Americans
Carolina Tamil Americans
Center for Women�s Development and Rehabilitation � USA
Ilankai Tamil Sangam � California
Ilankai Tamil Sangam � Florida
Ilankai Tamil Sangam � USA
Ilankai Tamil Sangam - Vancouver-Portland � Washington
Midwest Tamil Sangam � Illinois
Ohio Tamil Association - Ohio
Tamil Heritage International � USA
Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization - California
World Tamil Organization - Illinois
World Tamil Coordinating Committee - USA
World Tamil Women Organization � USA
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