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Whose Responsibility is it to
protect?
As the
world watches and India
celebrates elections and cricket, hundreds upon thousands are dying
a few hundred kilometers away. It is time to awaken our conscience
and the spirit of universal brotherhood.
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The death of Eelam Tamils and the
destruction of their homeland in Sri Lanka have prompted
Jagmohan Singh to write an Open Letter to Charles Anthony, the
son of Vellupillai Prabhakaran. The writer pleads for immediate
international intervention by civil society from all over the
world and expresses solidarity with Tamil fighters and
civilians. |
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 Dear
Charles Anthony
Please accept my
solidarity with your struggle for survival, identity and freedom.
Having witnessed
the struggle in
Punjab from
close quarters, I can understand the circumstances in which you and
your people are waging a fight for survival.
In the media,
one day, your father –Vellupillai Prabhakaran is a friend, the other
day he is a foe. Some day he was protected, today he is haunted.
For some he is a terrorist, for many he is a saviour. What he is
should be best left for history to judge.
I belong to a
martial race. Sikhs are known to befriend martial people. Though
many political leaders in
Punjab may not
have opened their mouths and made bold statements, believe me,there
are many who admire the spirit, determination and fighting prowess
of Tamil Eelam fighters. The present news about the downtrend in
your struggle has saddened many here.
I write this
letter to express solidarity when you and your people face the
chemical weapons and poisonous gasses of the Sri Lankan army and
when thousands of innocents trapped in the cross fire are given just
a few hours to leave.
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“Norwegian Minister for International Development Erik Solheim
may not be able to perform miracles, but at least he should have
restrained himself from committing blunders. Diplomacy may be
the art of the possible, but a liberation struggle is to make
impossible, possible.” |
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I am moved by
the suffering of the Tamil Eelam population in
Sri Lanka.
The photographs of the misery of women and children should move
mountains but sadly it does not. The whole world, thanks to 24 hour
multiple television channels has become immune to pain and
suffering.
My heart goes
out to all men, women and children who are forced to flee their
homeland and also to the core Tamil Eelam fighters. While writing
so, I feel a sense of guilt that my writing is only an expression of
my inner feelings, though as a Sikh the only thing that I should be
doing is joining you in your fight. My prayers and good wishes are
with you.
For the Tamil
Eelam as for many organizations worldwide, despite the best of
timely and thorough documentation, the international community has
failed to take action to mitigate the misery and suffering of the
thousands in
Sri Lanka.
Like India downing the Sikhs, Kashmiris and the people of the
North-East and getting away with it, today, the Sri Lankan
government is getting away with broad daylight murder and mayhem.
It is heartening
to see the Tamil Diaspora taking to the streets and forcing dialogue
in European capitals. I am particularly impressed by the retort of
the Tamil Diaspora to the Norwegian leadership. I have read reports
that when Norwegian Tamils laid a siege of the Oslo-based office of
the country’s Prime Minister and confronted the government there,
the Norwegian Minister for International Development, Erik Solheim
is reported to have said, “I can understand the level of desperation
among the Tamils in
Norway. But, I
can't cause miracles."
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Like the
stand of the Tamil leadership, the Indian leadership too has
been playing Chanakya with you and your leadership. And,
successfully. The world cannot clearly decipher whether
India is your foe or friend. India revels in this kind of double
entendre. It continues to train and arm Sri Lankan army
personnel to the teeth and yet maintains a soft face.
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He is reported
to have replied to a question posed by the journalists of Norwegian
state owned NRK, "I can talk to the demonstrators. I can talk to
USA,
Japan and EU once again to see if there is anything more that could
be done to stop the war in Sri Lanka." Tamil writer K. P.
Aravintham’s reply to him is apt and classic. He said, “Solheim may
not be able to perform miracles, but at least he should have
restrained himself from committing blunders. Diplomacy may be the
art of the possible, but a liberation struggle is to make
impossible, possible.”
Scandinavian
countries are particularly known for their courage and conviction in
the area of human rights and that is why perhaps your leadership had
chosen the brokerage of
Norway. However,
Aravintham has hit the nail on the head when he said, “Norway failed
in grasping the point. Posing as a neutral party to peace
facilitation, Norway has no justification in joining the co-chairs
demanding the LTTE to lay down arms. More serious is the stand
expecting the civilians of Vanni to forfeit themselves into the
genocidal hands of Colombo. Through their procedural failures, the
Norwegians have brought in discredit to the whole idea of
international peace brokering. There is still time for them to mend
their ways if they can come out really independent from playing
stooges to geo-political ambitions of powers and are prepared to
commit themselves to the norms of global human civilization.”
The beleagured
people of Tamil Eelam continue to reel under the jackboots of the
Sinhalese despots with active and passive support from
India and many
other countries. The affinity of Eelam Tamils with their brethren in
the Indian state of Tamil Nadu is also being ignored. Thirteen Tamil
sisters and scores of others are on fast unto death in your support,
but do the media and the government care, particularly when the
whole country is in an election mode?
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Last
year around this time, Kosovo was born as a new country. A year
before that, Timor Lieste attained freedom. I was hoping that
2009 would belong to Tamil Eelam. I am still hopeful, though it
may not happen this year. |
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From a distance
the pan-Tamil posturing by the Tamil leadership in Tamil Nadu
appears to be deceptive and insincere. I am not sure whether they
are genuinely supporting your mission. You know better.
To me it seems
that like the Tamil leadership, the Indian leadership too has been
playing Chanakya with you and your cause. And, successfully. The
world cannot clearly decipher whether
India is your
foe or friend. India revels in this kind of double entendre. It
continues to train and arm Sri Lankan army personnel to the teeth,
yet maintains a soft face.
I am not a
defence analyst, but I think that when the Norway-led peace process
started, the struggle of your people was hit hard. I am sure your
leaders then had practical reasons for the decision but invariably
such peace process attempts of insincere governments enable the
entrenched violators to further arm themselves and cause more death
and destruction.
India has always
done the same with Sikhs, Kashmiris, Nagas and Mizos. The changed
geo-political situation of the world after 9/11 has changed the
paradigm of your struggle and this could also be the cause for
shifting stands by the Norwegians.
Last year around
this time, Kosovo was born a new country. A year before that, Timor
Lieste attained freedom. I was hoping that 2009 would belong to
Tamil Eelam. I am still hopeful, though it does not appear likely
this year.
There is an
impression worldwide that your struggle is at the last stage. With
truth as a casualty and facts not clearly emerging, it is my sincere
hope that it is not so. Your struggle must carry on. You must
continue to hold high the flag of rebellion and freedom.
It is also my
hope that former US attorney Bruce Fein succeeds in indicting US
citizen Gothabaya Rajapakse and green card holder Gen. Fonseka for
crimes against humanity. The
New York based
Genocide Prevention Project has issued a red alert against eight
countries where genocide is happening and Sri Lanka is one of them.
Let us hope they succeed in heightening awareness of the
deteriorating human rights situation in your homeland.
Even in the
United Nations Security Council, there is a bleak hope the Mexican
ambassador to UN -Claude Hellen’s attempt to bring a resolution on
the question of responsibility to protect one’s own population goes
through.
Dear Mr.
Charles, as the son of a man who ventures to change the geography of
South
Asia, I
am sure you would keep the fight on. From my side, I have this to
say, as I told the Kosovars when they won their freedom, “We have a
saying attributed to the Tenth master of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind
Singh, which reads, “no one gives you freedom on a platter; those
who have it, get it by the sheer grit of their own determination and
strength.” Sooner or later, you will have it.
I wish you and
your people to have the taste of freedom in this lifetime. Let God
Almighty shower his blessings on the Tamil people and their
suffering end and let them stand tall as a free people in the world.
Sincerely
Jagmohan
Singh
The author is a
commentator based in
Ludhiana,
Punjab. He may be contacted at jsbigideas@gmail.com
22
April 2009
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