What are the Tamils waiting for? (in inglese)

Marzo 13, 2009

More than three hundred thousand Tamil civilians have been driven out of their homes and lands to live in a tiny strip of land without any basic facilities. Hundreds are dying and many hundreds are getting injured everyday by the shells and rockets that are fired by the Sri Lankan forces. There is not enough food or medicine for these innocent civilians. All the hospitals in the surrounding areas have been bombed several times and destroyed by the Sri Lankan military. Few doctors who live among the civilians are running make shift hospitals in school buildings without adequate facilities.

Sri Lankan government has banned international aid groups, reporters and journalists from the war zone. Dead has to bury the dead because there are many deaths everyday but they haven’t got the time or resources to bury the bodies. Those who try to care for the injured and remove the bodies of the dead are also most likely be killed by the bombs. People are always on the run as they have to hide in the bunkers almost twenty four hours a day. Children are dying in front of their parents and parents are dying in front of their children. Cry of these innocents have not been heard to those who can do something to stop this dirty war. The questions are, Where are the good Samaritans? Where are those who preach to the masses about Jesus the Saviour who spoke about feeding the hungry , clothing the naked and visiting the prisoners? Has the world lost it’s conscience to help the needy when it has the ability and resources to do so

The war is between the Sri Lankan forces and Tamil rebels but the innocent civilians are paying a heavy price. Though the Sri Lankan government is telling the world that they are wiping out terrorism, that is not exactly what is happening on the ground. Innocent civilians are daily injured and killed. Those civilians who went to the government controlled areas are sent to concentration camps with electric barbed wires. Relatives, friends and independent journalists are not allowed see the people that are detained in these camps. Young boys and girls are taken out of these camps and there are reports of rape, torture and murder by Sri Lankan forces. Even the ones that are admitted in the hospitals for severe injuries are guarded by the armed personals.

In the last few weeks I have been going around London and asked questions from Tamils who have their friends and relatives that are stuck in the war zone. I myself is a Tamil but I left the country twenty years ago. Though Tamils have been oppressed for more than fifty years, I never heard of Tamil civilians being killed in thousands by the bombs and shells fired by the Sri Lankan forces within a short period of time . These are some of the facts that the world fail or refuse to understand. If the nations are willing listen to the ordinary Tamils, they will be able to get a better picture of what the truth is. Sri Lankan government has been telling the world that they are about to eliminate Terrorism from Sri Lanka but what the world fails to understand is that Sri Lankan government is a terrorist government that kills it’s own civilians daily by bombs and shells. Abductions, disappearances and white van killings are backed by the Sri Lankan government. Many journalists have been abducted and killed in the last few years for telling the truth to the world.

These are the questions that I asked from the Tamils in London

1) Why can’t the civilians go to the safe zone declared by the government?

2) Sri Lankan government is asking the Tamil civilians to move into the camps in the government controlled area? Why can’t the civilians come out of the war zone?

3) Sri Lankan government is winning the war because they have captured almost all the territories that were under LTTE. Why can’t you let them complete what they have started ?

4) How come there are some Tamil leaders still supporting the Sri Lankan government?

5) There are many Tamils safely living in Colombo?

6) If thousands are dying how come the UN is not calling for a ceasefire?

Why can’t the civilians go to the safe zone declared by the government?

Tamil civilians have indeed moved into the Safe Zone declared by the government. But the Sri Lankan armed forces are killing the Tamil civilians even within the Safe Zone by bombs and shells.

They are even dropping bombs on make shift hospitals. What is happening to these innocents is very cruel. Sri Lankan government is preventing independent reporters and journalists to go into these areas. Because they want to hide the truth from the international community.

Sri Lankan government has been asking the Tamil civilians to move to the camps in the government controlled area? Why can’t the civilians come out of the war zone?

Looking at the history of Sri Lanka in the last fifty years, Tamils never trust the Sri Lankan forces. Many of them see them as murders and rapists. The world surely knows how the Sri Lankan army was blamed for rapes in Haiti. Asking a Tamil to go into a camp run by Sri Lankan forces is almost like asking a Jewish refugee to go into a concentration camp run by the Nazis during world war 2. Many, including the international organisations fail to understand the mindset of a Tamil in the Vanni war zone. There are already reliable reports coming out about how the civilians are treated in these camps. Torture, rape and murder are what many innocent Tamils have to face in these barbed wired camps. Unless an international organisation take over the welfare of those who are coming out of the war zone into the government controlled area, it is very difficult to convince the Tamil civilians in Vanni to leave.

The second main reason is that these three hundred thousand civilians have been living under the rebel government since 2002 when an international brokered ceasefire was signed between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels. LTTE was running civil administration in three districts. People were so integrated that every family member has some kind of involvement with the administration that is being run by the LTTE. When the Asian Tsunami took away so many thousands of lives from the North and East of Sri Lanka, it was LTTE who went to help the people in these areas. Most of the Tsunami aid that was given by foreign governments to Sri Lanka was spent only in the Sinhala dominated south to build bridges and houses. Tamils completely relied on LTTE and some foreign NGOs at the time of need.

What the international community should understand is that it is difficult to differentiate LTTE and civilians who have been living in Vanni. If the government wants to filter out LTTE from the civilians who are going to the government controlled area, they will have to kill everybody. Most of the families in Vanni have their children in LTTE as armed forces, police or civil officers like teachers, technologists, doctors and lawyers.

This explains why people fear coming to the government controlled area. Instead of dying in the hands of the security forces through torture and rape, they prefer to be with LTTE in Vanni.

Sri Lankan government is winning war because they have captured almost all the territories that were under LTTE. Why can’t you let them complete what they have started ?

Sri Lankan government may capture the lands of the Tamils but they have failed to win the hearts of Tamils. Recent military operations by the Sri Lankan forces have convinced even many moderate Tamils that the Sri Lankan government that is backed by the Buddhist extremist groups are determined to wipe out Tamils from Sri Lanka. Countries that are supporting this war will get disappointed because Tamils will be more determined to fight for their rights after this tragic war Tamils will never be able to trust the Sinhala dominated governments.

How come there are some Tamil leaders supporting the Sri Lankan government?

They can be compared to few Jewish leaders who tell the world that the Holocaust never happened.

There are many Tamils safely living in Colombo?

Traditional homeland of the Tamils are the North and East of Sri Lanka. In the last twenty five years the Sri Lankan forces have destroyed most of the infrastructure in the North and East. There are thousands of Tamil widows, orphans and mentally retarded people currently living in these areas. More than a million Tamils have already left the country and living as refugees in other countries. There is an international air port in Sri Lanka. Many Tamils use Colombo as a hub before they leave the country. Those who have no opportunities to leave the country live in Colombo with fear. They live like prisoners. Tamils are abducted and killed very often in Sri Lanka. They are expected to register their names and address details in police stations. Government has in the past asked Tamils to leave Colombo and in one particular instance they even forced them out of their houses and sent them in buses to the North. Tamils in Colombo never consider it as their home. Many times in the past they have been killed, chased out and their properties were burned by the Sinhala Buddhist extremists.

If thousands are dying how come the UN is not calling for a ceasefire?

This puzzles every Tamil. The number of civilians died in the last two months in the Northern Sri Lanka is more than the number of people died in Gaza and Afghanistan in the year 2008. More than two thousand innocents Tamils have been killed and many thousands have been wounded just within the last two months. Sri Lankan government has convinced many countries that they are fighting with the LTTE and protecting the Tamil civilians.

But in reality, Sri Lankan government that is backed by the Buddhist extremist elements, is determined to wipe out Tamils in the name of “War on Terror”. The Sinhala military commander who is leading the current operations has even told the Canadian media that Sri Lanka is the land of the Sinhalese and Tamils can live only under their mercy. This clearly shows the mindset of a racist government.

Many countries are believing in what the Sri Lankan government is saying without looking at the ground realities. UN and the countries that are supporting this war should understand that the Sri Lankan government will not be able to eliminate LTTE through this war instead the Tamils will be more determined to carry on with their struggle for freedom and independence specially after seeing all these atrocities that are being committed against innocent civilians. UN and countries that are interested in resolving Sri Lankan ethnic problem should listen to the millions of Tamils who are living as refugees overseas. Every one of them have a story to tell about what happened to them and their loved ones in the hands of the Sri Lankan armed forces. UN should send independent observers to the war zone to find the facts on the ground.

TYO

Questo è il gruppo ufficiale di Tamil Youth Organization Switzerland (TYO). TYO è un’organizzazione giovanile attiva in tutto il mondo con l’obiettivo di unire tutti i giovani tamil di tutto il mondo.

TYO è presente in Svizzera dal 2004

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What are the Tamils waiting for? (in inglese)

TYO

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