"Whatever may be
said, whosoever may say it - to determine the truth of
it, is wisdom"-Thirukural
Whats New Archive -January 2009 -
"...அரிய
சாதனைகள்
செய்யப்படுவது
வலிமையினால்
அல்ல
- விடா
முயற்சியினால்தான்..."
Month Ending
January 2009
Sathyam
Commentary
Sinhala Sri Lanka's
Genocide of Eelam Tamils
- a Crime Against Humanity... - Nadesan
Satyendra
"...And to
those Tamils who ask in despair: what
shall we do - the answer must be that
what each one us can do is limited only
by what each one of is prepared to put on
line. And it will be presumptuous for any
one Tamil to tell another Tamil what he
should or should not do. But to those who
believe that the answer lies in lobbying,
may I repeat something which I wrote in
"Who is lobbying whom"
in February 2008 - "...It is
not that each of
one us should not tirelessly, fearlessly
and openly lobby against the genocidal
onslaught launched by Sri Lanka on the
people of Tamil Eelam. We must. But at
the same time, we must equally
tirelessly, fearlessly and openly espouse
the lawfulness and justice of the Tamil
Eelam struggle for freedom from alien
Sinhala rule. It is not either or - it
is both. The charge is genocide - but
the struggle is for freedom..." more
"The other day, a migrant crane
from Chundikulam bird sanctuary landed
in my apartment balcony. Pleasantly
surprised by this visitor, I fed him
with some berries and grains to gather
the latest gossip..." more
2.Tim Marshall on Sri Gaza and the
Tamil Hamas "Sorry, got my
tragic-something-must-be-done-we-are-outraged
outrages mixed up. I was thinking of
the crisis in which, according to the
UN, 'many civilians are being killed',
thousands made homeless, hundreds of
thousands trapped, and to which, as
food shortages grow, the government
refuses to allow access to journalists.
Yes indeed, the British student
movement is stirring, galvanising
itself into action to be joined by
countless others of citizens who are
shocked, shocked I tell you about the
slaughter of the innocent. Already I
can hear the chanting in the streets -
'From The River To the Sea, The Tamil
Home Land Must be Free!' " more
Reflection
1.
Viktor Frankl in
Man's Search for Ultimate
Meaning "...We who lived in
concentration camps can remember the
men who walked through the huts
comforting others, giving away their
last piece of bread. They may have been
few in number, but they offer
sufficient proof that everything can
be taken from a man but one thing: the
last of the human freedoms - to choose
one's attitude in any given set of
circumstances, to choose one's own
way... Since Auschwitz we know
what man is capable of. And since
Hiroshima we know
what is at stake..."
2. Stephen Covey
inThe 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People"...First Habit
:..You can decide within yourself how
circumstances will affect you. Between
what happens to you, or the stimulus,
and your response to it, is
your freedom or
power to choose that response...
Borrowing strength builds weakness. It
builds weakness in the borrower because
it reinforces dependence on external
factors to get things done. It builds
weakness in the person forced to
acquiesce, stunting the development of
independent reasoning, growth and
internal discipline. And finally it
builds weakness in the relationship.
Fear replaces cooperation, and both
people involved become more arbitrary
and defensive... Fifth Habit:
If I were to summarise in one sentence
the single most important principle I
have learned in inter personal
relations, it would be this: 'Seek
first to understand, then to be
understood.'..."Comment
bytamilnation.orgThat which Stephen Covey has said
about highly effective people may have
equal applicability to a highly
effective nation of
people.
Revisited
Spirituality & the Tamil
Nation - Nadesan Satyendra"..Change will not come
simply by moaning about what is. Neither
will it come from a simple minded
moralising about that which ought to be.
It is when our words begin to coincide
with our deeds, that principle will
emerge with power to influence. We will
also begin to learn something about our
own
�dharma�
or own �way of
harmony�."more
"Dear Sinhalese:
I understand that you are upset
by us. Indeed, it appears that
you are quite upset, even
angry..."
Tamil National
Forum: One
Tamil in Tamil Eelam "Dear Sinhalese: I
understand that you are upset by us.
Indeed, it appears that you are quite
upset, even angry. Today, it is the
"barbarism of LTTE terrorism", yesterday it was the
Federal party, before that it was
the "favouritism of the British". It
appears that Tamils, who could achieve
equality and who, therefore, could
live, upset you. Indeed, every few
years you seem to become upset by us.
You were upset in 1956, in 1958, in 1961 and in 1977 and went on acts of
arson, rape, pillage, murder and plain
barbarity and we were scornfully asked to
go to the Federal party for help...
And it is because we became so upset
over upsetting you, dear Sinhalese,
that we decided to leave
you - in a manner of speaking - and
establish a Tamil state... And
since we know that the Sinhalese dream
daily of our extinction, we will do
everything possible to remain alive in
our own homeland. If that bothers you,
dear Sinhalese, well ? - think of how
many times in the past you bothered us.
In any event, dear Sinhalese, if you
are bothered by us, here is one Tamil
in Eelam who could not care less and,
frankly doesn't give a damn..."
more
Reflections
"...I have neither
the moral standing nor the slightest
desire to disparage the courage of those
who engage in non-violence.... But,
non-violence, so often recommended.. has
never 'worked' in any politically
relevant sense of the word, and there is
no reason to suppose it ever will. It has
never, largely on its own strength,
achieved the political objectives of
those who employed it... There are
supposedly three major examples of
successful nonviolence: Gandhi's
independence movement, the US civil
rights movement, and the South African
campaign against apartheid. None of them performed as
advertised. The notion that a
people can free itself literally by
allowing their captors to walk all over
them is historical fantasy..." Nonviolence:
Its Histories and Myths - Professor
Michael Neumann, 2003
'�..
Freedom is not given, it is taken..
One individual may die for an idea; but that idea
will, after his death, incarnate
itself in a thousand lives. That is
how the wheel of evolution moves on
and the ideas and
dreams of one nation are bequeathed
to the next...' Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose'
"...Subhash Chandra
Bose's life was a beacon to me,
lighting up the path I should
follow. His disciplined life and
his total commitment and dedication
to the cause of his country's
freedom deeply impressed me and
served as my guiding
light..."Velupillai Pirabakaran, 'How I
Became a Freedom Fighter', April
1994
"My name is
Kalaivani and I am an avid reader of
articles in your website. With the
current humanitarian crisis unfolding in
Sri Lanka, I wrote an article, 'The
New Face of Revolution: The Tamil
Revolution' to express my concern. As
your website has a wide reach to the
international Tamil community, I feel
that it is most suited to achieve my
objective of sharing my concerns with the
International Tamil
community...Though the
�Modern
World� boasting to be at
Mankind�s most humane
stage, has set up institutions like the
United Nations, Security Council and
International Courts of Justice, day by
day, Tamils are slain and bombed by the
Sri Lankan government for possessing the
same thirst for freedom that many others
had previously possessed... The
�Eelam
Tamil� revolution
differs greatly from the revolutions of
the past. It is not a revolution confined
to space or time. It is a worldwide
phenomenon. It encompasses the
international Tamil community rallying
behind a common cause, the attainment of
freedom for the Tamils from years of
mistreatment and abuse by the Sri Lankan
Government. The failure of the
�most
humane� countries to
understand this complexity, will only
lead to a single consequence. The
escalation of Tamil Nationalism, watered
by the blood of every Tamil slain and
bombed by the Sri Lankan
Government."
more
2. Appapillai Rajendra -
On Wall Street Journal Opinion
Column
titled
�Defeating
Terrorists� "Other
than the territorial gains, the
information in the lead paragraph of the
Wall Street Journal Opinion (WSJ)is dubious,
grossly inaccurate and is based on the
misinformation fed by Sri Lankan
Government propaganda....What is going on in
Sri Lanka is best described as State
terrorism. It is genocide.
If you
call this a war, then it is asymmetric,
disgustingly unjust, and directed on the
innocent Tamils in their own soil where
they have been living from the dawn of
history even before the advent of the
Sinhalese in the Island..."
more
"...The dream of an
independent homeland for Tamils in Sri
Lanka, or Eelam, still burns bright in
Tamil Nadu, despite the fall of
Kilinochchi, the de-facto capital of the
LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)
controlled territory in north Sri
Lanka... In the recent battle, the LTTE
has kept its losses to a minimum...
Kilinochchi is cited as a classic example
of the LTTE strategy. After putting up
days of stiff resistance at Paranthan, a
small town located a few miles from
Kilinochchi, the army virtually walked
into a deserted Kilinochchi town.
Mysteriously, there was barely any one
around of the one lakh population.... An
estimated 30,000 Lankan soldiers are
protecting Kilinochchi, which the media
has labelled a 'ghost town.'.." more
Tamil
National Forum
Sachi Sri Kantha writes
from Japan - Remembering American
Humorist Art Buchwald
"Two years have passed since
humorist Art Buchwald bid permanent adieu
to his fans on January 17, 2007. For me,
January 17th was a special day. It was
the birthday of two of my childhood
idols, Tamil cine star M.G. Ramachandran (MGR)
and boxing champion Muhammad Ali. In
1987, January 17th happened to be a
Saturday, and in one of the Tokyo ward
offices, I took all the courage provided
by my two childhood idols to dip into
matrimony by registering my marriage to
Saki Endo, against parental opposition.
Twenty years later, for me January 17th
also turned out to be a sad day, as it
marked the death of Art Buchwald, whom I
consider as one of my teachers in
American English, humor studies and
journalism..." more
International
Relations in the Age of Empire: Global
Economy
Capitalism's
Self-inflicted Apocalypse -Michael
Parenti"After the overthrow of communist
governments in Eastern Europe, capitalism
was paraded as the indomitable system
that brings prosperity and democracy, the
system that would prevail unto the end of
history.The present economic crisis,
however, has convinced even some
prominent free-marketeers that something
is gravely amiss....The classic
laissez-faire theory is even more
preposterous ... In fact, the theory
claims that everyone should pursue their
own selfish interests without restraint.
This unbridled competition supposedly
will produce maximum benefits for all
because the free market is governed by a
miraculously benign "invisible hand" that
optimizes collective outputs. ("Greed is
good.")" more
Reflection
" The blunt reality is that
those who proclaim that the 13th
Amendment is intended to share power
between the Tamil people and the
Sinhala people, are, to use a
colloquialism, 'trying to pull a fast
one' on the Tamil people. Under the
13th Amendment power will continue to
reside in a Sinhala dominated Central
government, within the frame of an
unitary constitution. The 13th
Amendment is intended to secure a
constitutional frame which will enable
a Sinhala majority to manage the Tamil
people more effectively than before. It
has created Provincial Ministers who
will not exercise executive power but
who will have executive power exercised
'through' them!. At the same time it
has created a Provincial Governor
appointed by the Sinhala President who
will exercise executive power in
respect of provincial matters - a
Provincial Governor who is also the
administrative head of the provincial
public service and who has control of
the Provincial Finance Fund. And the
13th Amendment has created a Provincial
Council without control of planning,
without control of the provincial
budget, without control of police and
public order within the province,
without control of disposition of state
land within the province, without
control of higher education and whose
remaining meagre legislative powers are
subject to the over riding will of the
Central Parliament. Finally, the
provisions of the Provincial Councils
Act itself may be amended from time to
time by a simple majority of members
present and voting in Parliament"
13th Amendment to Sri
Lanka Constitution - Devolution or
Comic Opera? - Nadesan
Satyendra
"On 15 January
Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar
Menon shamelessly declared in Colombo
that relations with Sri Lanka have
reached �an
unprecedented level of depth and quality
today�. It was
shameless because New Delhi armed and
trained Tamil militants in the 1980s and
used Eelam Tamils as expendable pawns in
order that New Delhi may destablise
Colombo and in that way secure the
'unprecedented depth and quality' of its
current relations with Sinhala Sri
Lanka.... The truth is that the
'unprecedented level of the depth and
quality' of New Delhi's current
relationship with Sinhala Sri Lanka was
purchased by New Delhi at the price of a
no less unprecedented loss of Tamil
lives and Tamil suffering... today,
Sinhala Sri Lanka's state controlled
Daily News may conclude that Indo-Lanka
relations are reaching zenith. It may be
that both Colombo and New Delhi may want
to bear in mind that the Arabic word for
Zenith is Zaw�l, meaning
"decline", that is, when the sun ceases
to rise and starts to decline.." more
The Tamil
Eelam Freedom StruggleRemembering Sathasivam Krishnakumar
(Kittu): 16th Death Anniversary - 16 January
2009
"கிட்டு
ஒரு
தனிமனித
சரித்திரம்,
நீண்ட
ஓய்வில்லாத
புயலாக
வீசும்
எமது
விடுதலை
வரலாற்றின்
ஒரு
காலத்தின்
பதிவு"
left:Tamil Eelam
Leader, Velupillai Pirabakaran with
Kittu's Mother at Kittu's Funeral in
Tamil Eelam, 1993 - and right: Sathasivam
Krishnakumar (Kittu) in London,
1992
Revisited:
The Struggle was his Life -
Nadesan Satyendra"...The Tamil national
liberation struggle is no afternoon tea
party. Freedom will not be served on a
silver platter. Aurobindo wrote many
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...' 'We are
building a road,' Kittu would often say.
'I do not know whether I myself will be
alive to see the road being completed.
But that does not matter. Others will
arise to take the road further.' The
struggle was Sathasivam Krishnakumar's
life and in the end he gave his life so
that the struggle may continue to live.
And as we salute Sathasivam Krishnakumar
let us also re dedicate ourselves to the
cause for which he gave his life."
more
Tamil
Culture - the Heart of Tamil National
Consciousness
2.தமிழர்
பேரவை
சுவிஸ்
On Thai Pongal 2009 "...ஒரு
இனம்
தன்னை
அடையாளப்
படுத்திக்கொள்ள
வேண்டும்
என்றால்
அந்த
இனம்
தனது
மொழி ,
தனது
பண்பாடு
. தனது
நாகரீகம்
போன்றவற்றை
பேணிக்கொள்ளுதல்
அவசியமாகின்றது.
இந்த
காப்பாற்றும்
தன்மையே
அந்த
இனத்தின்
தொடக்கத்தையும்
வாழ்வாதாரத்தின்
முதன்மையையும்
அறிமுகம்
செய்து
வைக்கும்
காரணியாகின்றது..."
more
Reports on Armed Conflict in Tamil
Eelam
�Conquering
Kilinochchi�:
Military delusions that ruin Sri
Lanka - Vasantha Raja "If the
LTTE succeeds in developing a
political strategy to unite the
Tamils under a united front and
approach the southern mass movement
in a productive way, the situation
can change in totally unexpected
ways. The Sinhala mass movement also
should realize that an alliance with
the Tamil side would be crucial for
their own emancipation in the
oncoming economic demise of the
island. In other words, Sinhala and
Tamil liberation are inseparably
linked, and they merely reflect two
sides of the same coin... Since
Independence anti-Tamil racism has
been an effective weapon in the hands
of the rulers to split Sri Lankan
masses along communalist lines and
protect the status-quo. This has
happened before. Predictably, it will
happen again - next time on a far
wider scale. Right now this may seem
unrealistic. But soon it won't;
global credit crunch will make sure
of that..." more
Reflection
"I lead no
party; I follow no leader.. I
propose, not to guide you in your
decision, but to attempt the humbler
task of bringing clearly to your
consciousness the main principle
which, in my opinion, should
determine the general character of
these decisions. There are
communalism and communities. A
community which is inspired by a
feeling of ill-will towards other
communities is low and ignoble. I
entertain the highest respect for the
customs, laws, religious and social
institutions of other
communities....The unity of an Indian
nation, therefore, must be sought,
not in the negation, but in the
mutual harmony and cooperation of the
many...In view of
India�s infinite
variety in climates, races,
languages, creeds and social systems,
the creation of autonomous states
based on the unity of language, race,
history, religion and identity of
economic interests, is the only
possible way to secure a stable
constitutional structure in India...
... If these demands are not agreed
to, then a question of a very great
and far-reaching importance will
arise for the community. Then will
arrive the moment for independent and
concerted political action by the
Muslims of India. If you are at all
serious about your ideals and
aspirations, you must be ready for
such action... In the near future our
community may be called upon to adopt
an independent line of action to cope
with the present crisis. And an
independent line of political action,
in such a crisis, is possible only to
a determined people, possessing a
will focalized by a single purpose.
... Rise above sectional interests
and private ambitions....Pass from
matter to spirit. Matter is
diversity; spirit is light, life and
unity....one lesson I have learnt
from the history of Muslims. "
Allama Muhammad
Iqbal, 1930 Presidential Address,
25th Session of All India Muslim
League, December 29-30, 1930 at
Allahabad - 17 Years before the Birth
of Pakistan
Revisited...
Tamil Eelam
Liberation Organisation Leader
Maveerar Nadarajah Thangathurai's
Dock Statement at his trial , 25
years ago in 1983 " We are
not lovers of violence nor victims of
mental disorders. We are honest
fighters belonging to an organization
that is struggling to liberate a
people. To those noble souls who keep
on prating "terrorism, terrorism" we
have something to say. Did you not
get frightened of terrorism when
hundreds of Tamils were massacred in
cold blood, when racist hate spread
like fire in this country of yours?
Did terrorism mean nothing to you
when Tamil women were raped? When
cultural treasures were set on fire?
When hundreds and hundreds of Tamil
homes were looted?Why in
1977 alone400 Tamils lost their lives
reddening the sky above with their
splattered blood - did you not see
any terrorism then? Did your thoughts
and feelings become deadened when it
concerned Tamil lives and Tamil
property or are your minds unable to
conceive the very idea of Tamil
suffering?.... There is nothing that
prevents two neighbouring nations
living in co-operation. Even nations
with differing policies get together
for common economic good and for the
purpose of common security. Does that
mean that those nations give up their
distinctive characteristics or
sovereignty? .. I want to ask this
question from my Sinhala friends. Do
you accept as correct and justified
the various acts of oppression that
the Tamil people have suffered until
now not only in our land but in
various parts of your land as a
result of various acts of thuggery
and terrorism? Do you also consider
wrong our attempt to free ourselves
from the inhumane oppression of your
government? Or does it mean that you
do not care what happens because the
victims are Tamils? If that is so,
our sympathies are with you. Believe
me our freedom is an assured fact and
will come. Once that happens your law
books and terrorist laws cannot touch
us. Thereafter you will be the sole
'beneficiaries' of the very laws that
oppress us now. Will you urge your
government to stop the injustice
against us and acknowledge our
sovereignty? .Will you as a first
step towards this and towards the
eradication of terrorism, urge your
government to recall the Sri Lanka
Police Force and the Armed Forces -
wholesale merchants of terrorism
-from our soil? I leave it to you to
decide whether you will show the
world how committed you are to
justice... " more
Tamil National
Forum
Sachi Sri
Kantha writes from Japan onSinhalese Thought
Police and the Tamil Scapegoatism
Syndrome "Adolf Hitler,
during 1933-1945, made the Jews as
the scapegoats for his
Aryan-domination claims. Taking a
leaf from Hitler, in the blessed
island of Ceylon, since mid-1930s
Tamil political leaders when they
raised their voices on behalf of
Tamil rights, have been the victims
of scapegoatism by the Sinhalese
politicians, press and public who
prided themselves as the
Sinhala-Buddist Aryan thoughts."
more
"ஒரு
இனத்தின்
விடுதலைப்
போரை
அழிப்பதென்பது
அந்த
இலட்சியத்தை
சுமப்பவர்களின்
உயிருள்ளவரை
முடியாதென்பதை
உலகிற்கு
ஒரு
பாடமாக
வன்னி
மக்கள்
சொல்லி
வைத்தார்கள்.
இனியும்
சொல்வார்கள்.
சொல்வதற்கு
நாளும்
குறித்து
விட்டார்கள்.
வன்னிக்
களம்
வரலாற்றில்
ஒரு
எரிமலை.
அது
வெடிக்கும்
போது
சுற்றியிருக்கும்
சூறாவளிகளெல்லாம்
சிதறுண்டு
போகும்.
அந்த
நாளுக்காய்
நம்பிக்கையுடன்
செயல்படுவோம்."
more
Awakening - Painting
in Oils by Jayalakshmi
Satyendra
"....we have learnt
(and continue to learn) on the hard
anvil of experience that whilst power
without principle is unprincipled,
equally principle without power is
powerless. We are not a people of servile
pleaders for fair play and abject
supplicants for justice...The
success of our struggle will depend on
our own efforts, on our own strength,
and, above all else, on our own
determination to live in freedom and with
dignity - and every Tamil wherever he or she may
live, has a lawful contribution to
make, however small or large and in
whatever form or shape that may be... "
Nadesan Satyendra in
Power & Principle,
1994
I'm doing my
thing yo, Can't stereotype my thing
yo - "bongo with my lingo - And
beat it like a wing yo - To Congo To
Colombo - Can't stereotype my thing
yo - I salt and pepper my mango -
Shoot spit Out the window Bingo I got
em in the thing yo - Now what? - I'm
doing my thing yo - Quit bending all my
fingo - Quit beating me like
you're Ringo You wanna go?
You wanna win a
war? - Like P.L.O don't
surrendo..."M.I.A.- Maya
Arulpragasam in
Sunshowers...
Tamil National
Forum
Brian Senewiratne writes from
AustraliaA protest to the Roman
Catholic Archbishop of
Colombo"..I lie awake worrying
about what is happening to my Tamil
people in the North and East, at the
hands of one of the most brutal regimes
imaginable. How do you sleep? They
are my people, whose only crime was to be
born Tamil. Those on the other side are
my Sinhalese people whose only crime was
to be born poor, and hence have to be the
cannon fodder for this useless war. The
other is a hypothetical question. Rt.
Rev. Dr Oswald Gomis, Archbishop of
Colombo, let me ask you the same
hypothetical question that I asked Rt Rev
Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.
If your Lord and Master Jesus Christ,
were to suddenly appear, and heard what
the two of you said, do you think it
would find His approval? I doubt it. That
is why I remain a Christian, despite the
best efforts of the two of you, and
others of your ilk, to make me a
non-believer. Amen." more