S. V. Kirubaharan, France
(General Secretary, Tamil Centre for Human Rights – TCHR, France)
Has the world noticed the standard reply from whoever comes to power in Sri Lanka regarding the bloody ethnic conflict and the political solution, and now regarding human rights violations, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing?
The world has witnessed how Tamil leaders trusted Sinhala leaders and cooperated with them during and after independence in 1948.
One human weakness is that, when the government changes, people forget the injustices and atrocities committed by previous governments. In other words, they revolt, demonstrate, protest, and hold vigils only against the government in power.
Since independence, the people in the North and East have not experienced any positive progress in political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Different governments manage their periods in power with broken promises, meetings, and committees concerning the North and East. The outcome is Zero.
Let us briefly analyze facts: The British granted independence to Ceylon, presuming that, Tamils and Sinhalese would live in peace and harmony.
The question of majority and numerical minority and the ethnic population began after 1833 when the British amalgamated the Tamil Kingdom with the other two Sinhala Kingdoms. Then, Tamil leaders never agitated like Jinnah of Pakistan. They had complete confidence and trusted Sinhala leaders who took over from the British.
If Tamils had reservations about Sinhala majority rule, Ceylon would undoubtedly have ended up with at least a Federal system. But betrayals started soon.
Trust in the Sinhala leaders started to melt. The rulers enacted laws that discriminated against Tamils, including the Up-country Tamils brought to the island by the British to work in the Tea plantation, like Tamils in South Africa, Mauritius, Malaysia, etc.
The Sri Lankan Citizenship Act in 1948-1949 prevented 700,000 Up-country Tamils from obtaining citizenship, rendering them stateless.
Sri Lankan leaders
Below is a list of the Sri Lankan leaders before and after independence in 1948. The atrocities committed against the Tamils are also given in brief.
D.S. Senanayake – DSS 24 September 1947 – 22 March 1952
Dudley Senanayake – DS 26 March 1952 – 12 October 1953
Sir John Kotelawala 12 October 1953 – 12 April 1956
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike – SWRD 12 April 1956 – 26 September 1959
Wijeyananda Dahanayake 26 September 1959 – 20 March 1960
Dudley Senanayake–DS 21 March 1960 – 21 July 1960
Sirimavo Bandaranaike–SB 21 July 1960 – 25 March 1965
Dudley Senanayake-DS 25 March 1965 – 29 May 1970
Sirimavo Bandaranaike-SB 29 May 1970 – 23 July 1977
J.R. Jayawardena-JR 23 July 1977 – 2 January 1989
Ranasinghe Premadasa-RP 2 January 1989 – 1 May 1993
D.B. Wijethunga-DB 1 May 1993 – 12 November 1994
Chandrika Kumaratunga–CK 12 November 1994 – 19 November 2005
Mahinda Rajapaksa–MR 19 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
Maithripala Sirisena-MS 9 January 2015 – 18 November 2019
Gottabhaya Rajapaksa-GR 18 November 2019 – 14 July 2022
Ranil Wickremesinghe-RW 14 July 2022 – 23 September 2024
Anura Dissanayake-AD 23 September 2024 – ——
Other than the Sri Lankan leaders in office for a few months, we could write volumes about the grievances others committed that affected the North and East.
The first Prime Minister, D.S.S., laid the foundation for the Sinhala settlements in the North and East, starting with Gal-Oya in Batticaloa and Allai-Kanthalai in Trincomalee under the pretext of development. During his time, the geography and population of the Eastern Province began to change.
In 1956, S. W. R. D. implemented the “Sinhala Only Act” making ‘Sinhala’ the only official language of the country. Tamils who could not read or write Sinhala in the civil service were excluded.
During his time, the island experienced the first anti-Tamil pogrom in 1956; then, 1958, 1961, 1977, 1979, 1981, and July 1983. In each anti-Tamil pogrom, Tamils living in the South were killed or made homeless, and properties worth millions and billions were looted and damaged. The government in power turned a blind eye, causing maximum damage to the Tamils in the South.
On 5 June 1956, the Tamil Satyagraha / non-violent protesters congregated outside the parliament in Colombo – beaten and pelted with stones by hundreds of extremists. Some were thrown into the Beira Lake, adjacent to parliament. Government MPs organized these attacks on Satyagragees. In July 1957 the “Banda-Selva” agreement for federal settlement was signed. Within a week, it was unilaterally abrogated by SWRD.
In 1961, the Federal Party launched a non-violent civil disobedience campaign in front of the Kachcheri/government secretariat in Jaffna. The government deployed Police and military to suppress the protests. Tamil political leaders were arrested, beaten, and, imprisoned.
In 1964, the Sirimavo-Shastri Accord was signed and 525,000 Tamils of Indian origin were repatriated to India.
In March 1965, DS and the Tamil leader S.J.V. Chelvanayake signed the “Dudley-Selva” agreement. This agreement was unilaterally abrogated, as the Banda-Selva agreement had been.
1972 Republican constitution
The May 1972 Republican constitution was a severe blow to the people of the North, East and the Up-country. It made Buddhism the state religion, and state discrimination against Tamil students entering universities reached its peak with the introduction of “standardization”. University admissions on merit were deliberately abandoned to prevent Tamil students from entering universities. This republican constitution birthed the Tamil militancy.
On 10 January 1974, the Sri Lankan Police carried out an unprovoked violent attack on the prestigious “4th Tamil Research Conference” in Jaffna, in which nine innocent civilians were killed.
On 14 May 1976, Tamil United Liberation Front -TULF passed the “Vaddukoddai Resolution” pledging to restore an independent, sovereign, secular, socialist ‘Tamil Eelam state’, based on the right to self-determination.
In July 1977, the TULF contested the parliamentary elections and won a landslide victory, obtaining a mandate to establish the “right to self-determination” for the North and East.
In 1978, another new constitution gave all powers to the Executive President. All other provisions were the same as in the 1972 Constitution.
Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)
In 1979, the government enacted the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), banning Tamil militant organizations. On July 11, the Jaffna peninsula was placed under martial law.
In June 1981, Military repression increased in the north. Under the direction of two senior government ministers, the Jaffna Public Library was burned down by the Sri Lankan armed forces. The actual culprit who master-minded this arson was identified very late! 95,000 volumes of books and buildings, including numerous culturally significant and irreplaceable manuscripts, were set on fire and destroyed.
Jaffna city market, the office of the Tamil daily “Eelanadu”, and the office of the political party TULF were burned down by the Sri Lankan security forces. In 1982, the government expanded Sinhalese settlements in Mullaitivu.
Between 27-28 July 1983, fifty-three Tamil political prisoners were massacred by Sinhalese inmates in Welikadai prison in Colombo. The massacre was planned by the government and carried out by Sinhala inmates. Those attackers were released from jail and rewarded with houses and properties in Sinhalese settlements in the North and East. Many other killings of Tamil prisoners took place in various parts of Sri Lanka.
On 8 August 1983, J.R. enacted the 6th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment made the mandate that Tamils had voted for in the 1977 general election, illegal. The Sixth Amendment, the PTA, and the Emergency Laws became instruments to unleash systematic oppression against the Tamil people.
Since the outbreak of the War in 1984, the governments in power have shown no mercy to the people of the North East, inflicting arrests, torture, sexual violence, and murder. Hundreds of properties were destroyed or seriously damaged by aerial bombing and shelling. The government also imposed an economic embargo on food, medicines, and, daily needs.
Massacres
Here are a few examples of massacres that have taken place in the North and East up to 2002. Can we forget and forgive what JR, RP, CK, MR, MS, GR and RW did?
Vandarumoolai 05-09-1990; Sathurukondan 10-09-1990; Kokkatticholai 12-06-1991; Maylanthanai – Batticaloa 09-08-1992; Killali Sea Massacre 02-01-1993; ICRC Refugee Camp – Jaffna 1993; Nachikuda Massacre 18-04-1995; Navali St. Peter’s Church 11-07-1995; Nagarkoli School Children 22-09-1995; Bolgoda Lake – Colombo 1995; Nachikuda 16-03-1996; Sitthandi, Kaluvengeni – Batticaloa 11-05-1996; Mullaitivu, Sutthanapuram 10-06-1998; Mullaitivu 15-09-1999; Maadu Church – Mannar 20-11-1999; Batticaloa (near Buddhist temple) 17-05-2000; Kaithadi (home for elderly) 19-05-2000; Mootur (Boomaratthadisenai) 04-10-2000; Bindunuwewa detention center 25-10-2000; Mirusuvil 19-12-2000.
In 1996, hundreds of innocent Tamils in Jaffna were killed and buried in Chemmani. Then, since the war resumed in 2005 until May 2009 – killings and disappearances became widespread, ultimately leading to the world’s largest genocide. (End)
