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Velupillai
Prabhakaran
Maha Veerar Naal Address
மாவீரர் நாள் -
National Heroes Day
27 November 1995
"This
is our land, the land in which we were born, grew and live, the land
which bears the foot prints of our forefathers, the land in which our
culture and history are rooted...The LTTE will not participate in peace
negotiations imposed at the point of a gun …This is the message we wish to
address to the Chandrika regime"
My beloved people of Tamil Eelam,
Today is Martyrs' Day, a sacred day in which we cherish the memory of our
heroes who have sacrificed their precious lives for the cause of the freedom of
our nation.
Our martyrs have died for the liberation of this land so that our people
could live in our land with freedom, dignity and security.
This is our land, the land in which we were born, grew and live, the land
which bears the foot prints of our forefathers, the land in which our
culture
and history are
rooted. 
Our martyrs have died for the objective that this land should belong to us.
They have died for the cause of liberating this land from the shackles of alien
domination and transforming it into an independent sovereign nation.
In the sacred war of liberating our homeland our heroes have made supreme
sacrifices which cannot be described in words. Extraordinary deeds never before
happened in the history of the world have taken place in this land, for the
freedom of this land. The ideal dream, the spiritual yearning of those thousands
of martyrs who have created this heroic legend will be actualised one day.
Today the
war of aggression against our land by the enemy has reached a phenomenal
scale. Having mobilised all its military power and having utilised all its
national resources, the enemy has launched a massive invasion on the Jaffna
soil.
Our
traditional land of ancient historical glory is being systematically destroyed
by the enemy's firepower. The intense shelling that rains down unabatingly
has wiped out the face of Jaffna. The fundamental objective of this war of
aggression is to destroy the economic resources and the cultural heritage of
Jaffna thereby uprooting the national life of the people.
This war is not, as the government claims, against the LTTE. This war is
against the Tamil people, against the Tamil Nation. The objective of this war is
to destroy the Tamil Nation.
This racist war of Sinhala chauvinism has a long history.
It has been going on before the birth of the LTTE. It has started by
Chandrika's father. Now, Chandrika's government has given total expression to
this racist war. The strategic objective of this war is to annihilate the
national identity of the Tamils by destroying their life and property and their
land and resources.
Wearing a
peace mask and pretending that she was committed to a peaceful resolution of
this conflict, Chandrika was able to cheat the Sinhala people and the world and
assumed political power. Having taken the reins of power she staged a drama of
peace negotiations. We extended our hands of friendship seeking a peaceful
solution to the Tamil National question. To promote the peace process, we
released the prisoners of war as a gesture of goodwill. During the
peace negotiations we neither put forward stringent conditions nor rigid
demands.
We requested Chandrika government to lift the economic embargo and the
restrictions on travelling and to create conditions of normalcy. We requested
the government to alleviate the suffering of our people who have been subjected
to extreme difficulties without the basic needs of life.
But
Chandrika government was not prepared to concede even these meagre concessions.
As the talks prolonged fruitlessly for over a period of six months we realised
an important fact - that Chandrika government was not interested in peace nor in
a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Since primacy was given to military
concerns throughout the negotiations it became very apparent to us that
Chandrika regime was seriously considering the military option.
The monumental scale in which the invasion has been launched on Jaffna amply
illustrates the politico-military objective of the government. The strategy aims
at the encirclement and occupation of the densely populated vital area of the
Tamil homeland and to proclaim to the world that Jaffna society is 'liberated'.
But this strategy of Chandrika government has turned out to be a disaster since
the people of Jaffna city and Valigamam region evacuated the area before the
encirclement of the army.
This
massive exodus has demonstrated the fact that the people of Jaffna, in a
unanimous stand, have expressed their opposition to the government war effort
and absurd reasons attributed to it. This mass exodus has impressed upon the
Sinhala Nation and the world that the Tamil people are no more prepared to be
subjected to Sinhala state administration and that the people and the LTTE could
not be separated. Therefore, Chandrika regime has failed to achieve the
political objective behind the Jaffna offensive.
We are relieved that our people have safely escaped from the military siege
and the political trap behind it, yet we are deeply sad about the enormous
suffering and pain they are subjected to as a consequence of this mass
displacement. It distresses us deeply that our people have had to vacate their
traditional villages where they lived for centuries and leave their houses,
lands and property and become destitutes.
Yet, we consider such tragic experience and suffering as a tremendous
contribution by our people to the cause of national emancipation. This mass
exodus proclaims to the world that our people are determined to live as free
beings with self-dignity and that they are prepared to face any form of
suffering to be independent rather than subjecting themselves to the domination
of the aggressor.
The
Sinhala military devils may hoist victory flags in depopulated Jaffna which
has been reduced to rubble. The Sinhala chauvinistic gangs in the South may
light crackers in jubilation assuming that they have captured the kingdom of
Jaffna. Chandrika may send peace signals believing that military hegemony has
been achieved. In these circumstances we wish to make it absolutely clear that
as long as the Sinhala army is occupying Jaffna the doors for peace will be
firmly closed.
The LTTE will not participate in peace negotiations imposed at the point of a
gun subjecting itself to military pressure. This is the message we wish to
address to Chandrika regime. It will be nothing other than political stupidity
if Chandrika government thinks that it can bring about peace and political
settlement by occupying Jaffna and uprooting hundreds of thousands of people.
The invasion of Jaffna is a gigantic historical blunder made by Chandrika
regime. As a consequence of this act the Colombo government has closed all
avenues for peace and plunged the entire island into grave conflictual
situation.
There is absolutely no truth in claims made by the government controlled
media that the LTTE has suffered heavy casualties and that it has been weakened
by the offensive on Jaffna. In the battle of Jaffna, we have neither suffered
heavy casualties nor been weakened. It is the armed forces that have suffered
more casualties than the LTTE.
We have fought efficiently within our capability against huge military
formations with formidable manpower and firepower which advanced along a
geographical terrain advantageous to them. Though we fought under extremely
difficult and dangerous conditions we did not suffer heavy casualties. Neither
our manpower nor our military structure is affected in anyway.
The army's strategy to entice us into a conventional war to destroy our
manpower did not work. In the battle of Jaffna we faced a set-back. It is a
temporary set-back. We faced serious set-back during the Indian military
occupation. But we were not defeated. In the end, it was the Indian army which
faced defeat. Therefore, today's set-back will turn out to be a victory
tomorrow.
Sri Lankan army has over-stretched its feet on the Jaffna soil. It is not a
difficult task to conquer territories by mobilising large formations of troops.
But it will be a difficult task to hold the territories captured. This is the
historical reality faced by the aggressive armies all over the world. The Sri
Lankan army will soon learn this historical truth.
Sri Lankan state is attempting to determine the political destiny of the
Tamils on the basis of military power. It assumes that it can impose an
inadequate solution on the Tamils by military hegemony and territorial
aggression. Such a military solution underlies Chandrika's conception of 'war
for peace'.
Any Tamil with self-dignity will not accept such a solution. To frustrate
this government's scheme and to advance our liberation struggle, we are left
with only one alternative. We have to strengthen our military structure and
intensify our struggle. It is only by strengthening the military power the
Tamils could freely determine their political destiny. It is only by
strengthening our military power we could live with security; we could gain our
lost territories; we could return to our homes as free men.
The task of building the military power of the Tamil Nation has become the
inevitable historical necessity today. This is crucial for the survival of the
Tamil Nation. Our Nation has been forced into a necessity to struggle for
survival. The young generation of Tamils cannot escape from this national duty,
from this call of history. Any delay in this task will endanger the existence of
our Nation. Therefore, I call upon the younger generation to join our liberation
movement without delay. The earlier the youth join our movement the quicker we
can achieve the objectives of our struggle.
We call for the support and solidarity of the
world Tamil community at this critical time when we are faced with a
genocidal war all alone without any external assistance. We appeal to the
people of Tamil Eelam living abroad to champion the cause of our struggle and
assist us in all possible ways.
On this sacred day when we remember our martyrs who have sacrificed their
lives for national freedom and attained historical immortality, let us pledge to
commit ourselves to the cause for which thousands of our freedom fighters laid
down their lives.
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