Opinion:

Who is funding Karunanidhi’s separatist dream?

by Shenali WADUGE

Tamil Nadu politicians appear to be taking turns to garner public support for something called “eelam” and the louder they wail they are assured of remuneration which explain why only politicians are interested in forming an eelam - be it rightfully in Tamil Nadu or its initial launch pad of Sri Lanka.

Essentially, Eelam has nothing to do with Tamils and everything to do with politicians ready to do anything and everything for money.

The elimination of the LTTE’s top tier including its erstwhile leader thus was naturally a blow, forcing reinforcements from the LTTE diaspora that has to now shoulder the international campaign to keep the momentum going. Momentums do not come free which brings us to the all important question of how these momentums are being funded.

The naive among us is likely to think that the human smuggling, the narcotics trade and the illegal weapons sales that the LTTE foreign network is involved in, will suffice to fund or rather “buy” allegiance of foreign and local politicians or decision makers. That is the surface camouflage.

The men pulling the strings are not those we think they are. Who they are becomes the next most important question and from what distance they are remote-controlling affairs is no less important, but will help us understand why the LTTE prevailed for 30 years.

With the LTTE now no more, it is naive of us to think that our nightmare with LTTE terror is over.

In all likelihood crimes against Sri Lanka will catch up and the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organization is just the start.

There is simple logic that is never explained. If Tamils which means Tamil people is the concern of Tamil politicians, whether they are in Tamil Nadu or Sri Lanka, why would they take the LTTE’s side when the LTTE was known to kill all its oppressors? These are not statements without proof - there are over 200 Tamil leaders, politicians, public officials and academics slain by the LTTE; it killed all the Tamil militant groups and their leaders that India had trained. It has killed all respected moderate Tamil politicians, leaving only former-LTTE members and a few others who will do anything for money and or power and politically dominate their own people.

Resettlement

The LTTE has kidnapped Tamil children and made them into killers - the UNICEF/UN has compiled enough of reports. Thus, when Tamil Nadu politicians scream over resettlement of Tamils, post-LTTE defeat, it aroused curiosity as to what was behind the new calls necessitating our preparedness as a nation. For their plans include nothing on the welfare of Sri Lankans including Sri Lankan Tamils - it is something Sri Lankan Tamils may well do to remember.

What no one can deny is that Tamil Nadu politicians have a knack of supporting “eelam” only when they are out of power and those like the DMK put a spin to gain leverage over the Central Government.

The first TESO (Tamil Eelam Supporters Organization) conference was held in Madurai in 1986 - when Prabhakaran killed another militant leader, Sabaratnam of TELO.

The 2012 TESO calls fall short of demand for self-determination in its 14 resolutions in view of its implications on Kashmir and the likelihood of upsetting its coalition partner, the Congress.

The only precaution Congress took was to simply demand that there was no reference to Eelam - but buckled to Tamil Nadu pressure by “shifting” 27 Sri Lankan military personnel undergoing training in an airbase in Chennai to the State of Karnataka.

Now, if Tamil Nadu can force actions of the Indian Defence Ministry, we are puzzled as to how powerful India’s central government is! Where are the Hindians or is it Italians running the show?

The DMK head may like to come over to Sri Lanka to see just how well Tamils are living in Sri Lanka. This naturally explains why Dr. Subramanian Swamy’s version of how Tamils are happy without the LTTE makes far more sense than someone ranting in Tamil Nadu.

Simply put, we are just not bothered anymore with the empty rhetoric from Tamil Nadu for Sri Lanka’s Security Forces have real life examples to counter these. Every 89-year-old must have his day; after all he has been dreaming for a long time and it escapes us to imagine how the DMK can achieve what Chelvanayagam nor Prabhakaran could achieve!

Peace accord

What is interesting is that the DMK chief refrained from mentioning the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord in 1987 nor the 13th Amendment to devolve powers.

Furthermore, with Vaiko and Nedumaran - all pro-Eelam lobbyists missing from the Conference, one wonders exactly what type of Eelam these groups are striving for.

Then the Naam Tamilar party (We are Tamils) staged a protest against the TESO Conference - which simply shows us that Tamils are more divided and reiterate the need to put their house in order first before claiming aspirations.

It is India’s prerogative to maintain the Eelam “aspiration” in the context that it serves India’s purpose of falling short of its realisation but vociferous enough to allow India to pressure Sri Lanka using the “Tamil” card whereby the need for India’s “monitoring” will mean nothing but flooding Indian labour and establishing economic stakes which will steadily engulf Sri Lanka without Sri Lankans even being aware of it.

This is the grandiose plan which will allow India to keep an eye on any external forces seeking to dislodge India while positioned in Sri Lanka and with time purge Sri Lanka altogether - it is in envisioning this reality that has little or no care for the wishes of the Sri Lankan citizens that implores Sri Lankan Tamils to finally rethink and disassociate themselves from the Tamil Nadu greater plan.

They must finally accept that apart from administrative hiccups that all ethnic groups encounter, the minorities are leading far better lives than the majority of Sinhalese and the Tamils that were never part of the deal and never had it any better even during the hayday of the LTTE. That is a fact that all Tamils must accept.

Unless Sri Lanka as a nation is able to come together - we cannot fight forces that pretend to be friends because such friends are far more dangerous than the visible enemy.

Courtesy: defence.lk