Home Secretary,
Home Office
50, Queen Anne's Gate London,
SW1H 9AT
Don’t Compound Past Mistake
Dear Rt. Hon Jack Straw
On behalf of our organisation, we write to
express our deep concern about British government move
to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam (LTTE) under Terrorism Act of 2000.
Ever since Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) gained independence
from British rule, the Thamil people have
suffered severe oppression under successive Sinhalese
dominated governments without respite. A series of discriminatory legislative acts like
the Citizenship Act No. 18 of 1948, Sinhala
Only Act of 1956, government sponsored Sinhala
colonization of traditional homeland etc.
have reduced the Thamil people’s parliamentary representation and their status to
second class citizens.
In 1971 the then “Socialist" government under Prime
Minister Mrs. Bandaranayake dealt a blow to
the Thamil students’ access to higher education by introducing standardization to admissions to Universities.
Between 1971 and 1975 the Ministry of Education devised four different schemes of
university admission which drastically increased the intake of Sinhalese students at the
expenses of Thamils students. These manifestly discriminatory schemes in the field of
higher education shut out a large number of young Thamils who otherwise qualified for
university education.
The new
republican constitution adopted in 1972 removed even the meagre safeguards [(Section 29
(2) (b) & (c)] contained in the Soulbury constitution and the preamble stated that the
constitution shall be a "Unitary Constitution". In retrospect Lord Soulbury confessed to his bitter disappointment and
misplaced confidence on Sinhala politicians
as follows:
“Unhappily and for
reasons indicated by Mr. Farmer, the death of Mr. D. S. Senanayake led to the eventual
adoption of a different policy which he would never have countenanced. Needless to say the
consequences have been bitter disappointment to myself and to my fellow Commissioners.
While the Commission was in Ceylon, the speech of certain Sinhala politicians calling for
the solidarity of the Sinhalese and threatening of the suppression of Thamils emphasised
the need for constitutional safe guards on behalf of that and other minorities, despite
the confidence felt by the Commission in Mr. D. S. Senanayake and any Government under his
control.” (Soulbury's Foreword, B. H. Farmer, Ceylon: A Divided Nation.)
In the circumstances any move by the British government to proscribe the LTTE at this juncture will only result in compounding
the mistake made in 1948. It will also jeopardise the efforts of the Norwegian government
efforts to facilitate a negotiated political settlement to the ethnic conflict between the
Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. The British government which has welcomed the efforts
of the Norwegian peace initiative should avail of this opportunity to right the wrongs of
the past and help the Thamil people to regain their lost rights. All what the Thamil
people want is to live in freedom and dignity like the Timorese or even Kosovos.
We prey saner counsel will prevail and Britain
will safeguard its unenviable reputation as
the cradle of peoples’ democracy, tolerance and
justice.
Veluppillai Thangavelu
President
(Text of the letter sent to the Minister of
Home Affairs, U.K by the President, World
Thamil Creative Writers Association. We kindly ask our readers to write similar letters of
protest to the Rt.Hon. Minister of Home Affairs- Fax: 020 7273 2684 Email: foi.ho@gtnet.gov.uk - Editor)