Tens of thousands of residents of the Mullaitivu district converged on the Malathi Sports Ground in Puthukudiyiruppu on September 14 to express their support for self-determination and to appeal to the international community to recognize their right to greater autonomy from Colombo.
The ‘Tamil Resurgence’ event in Mullaitivu is the fourth in a recent series of public gatherings for Tamils of Sri Lanka’s Northeast express their political sentiments. Previous events held in Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Batticaloa, drew large crowds, some in excess of a hundred thousand people.
Increasing frustrations following the Sri Lankan state’s obstruction of the implementation of the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) have resulted in public frustrations and given fresh impetus to demands for greater Tamil self rule.
The ruling by a Sri Lankan court two months ago impeding the implementation of the aid distribution agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have reaffirmed Tamil sentiments that they cannot continue to be vulnerable on Colombo’s whim.
Tamils from all walks of life including academics, politicians and religious dignitaries lent their support to the various declarations made at the forum. Reflecting another popular sentiment, one of the handbills issued at the event called on the International Community to support Tamil self rule.
“Extend your moral support achieve self rule with just peace and dignity in our traditional homeland. Help us to live in our homeland with Self Rule in peace with the Sinhala South,” the declaration said. “Peace, Reconciliation and Co-existance are norms set and insisted upon by the International Community. We respect these norms. We Tamils too aspire for same.”
The declaration, which included elemetns of the Vavuniya rally’s statement, called upon the international community to exert their influence on Sri Lanka to allow the Tamils to have greater self-rule without the resumption of the war.
Since the February 2002 ceasefire, residents of the Northeast have been able to use public demonstrations as a means of expressing political opinions supporting the Tamil Tigers, without fear of a backlash from the Sri Lankan state.
Similar political events have been held in different parts of the Northeast in the past two months. Kilinochchi, the administrative capital of the Vanni region in Northern Sri Lanka saw another huge demonstration on September 1 by the region’s residents, appealing to the International community to recognize Tamils’ right to self-determination.
Over a hundred thousand people turned out in Kilinochchi to voice their support for the call for greater self-governance. “We, as Tamil people request the international community to recognize our just struggle for freedom with dignity,” said Bishop Dr. Jebanesan of the Church of South India, addressing the rally.
Speakers at rallies argue the residents of the North-East had lost confidence in the democratic rule of the Sri Lankan state after its transition to a mono-religious, mono-linguistic country, and the subsequent oppression of the minorities on the island.
A month before the Kilinochchi event, another rally took place in Batticaloa, despite a bombing by suspected Sri Lankan military-backed paramilitaries.
The district level conference at the grounds of Batticaloa Hindu College attracted thousands of participants from various parts of the districts, including academics, writers, religious dignitaries, representatives of civil organisations and politicians.
The first of the recent series of public events was held in Vavuniya in late July. The declaration of the event called for an environment to be created to enable Tamils to decide their own political destiny. It also demanded that occupying Sinhala forces must vacate with immediate effect homed and villages they are occupying in defiance of the February 2002 ceasefire.
That proclamation, like others, concluded urging the International Community to recognise the “basic rights and life of freedom with peace on the basis of our traditional homeland, our nationhood and self rule and struggle for sovereignty.”
The ‘Tamil Resurgence’ event in Mullaitivu is the fourth in a recent series of public gatherings for Tamils of Sri Lanka’s Northeast express their political sentiments. Previous events held in Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Batticaloa, drew large crowds, some in excess of a hundred thousand people.
Increasing frustrations following the Sri Lankan state’s obstruction of the implementation of the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) have resulted in public frustrations and given fresh impetus to demands for greater Tamil self rule.
The ruling by a Sri Lankan court two months ago impeding the implementation of the aid distribution agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have reaffirmed Tamil sentiments that they cannot continue to be vulnerable on Colombo’s whim.
Tamils from all walks of life including academics, politicians and religious dignitaries lent their support to the various declarations made at the forum. Reflecting another popular sentiment, one of the handbills issued at the event called on the International Community to support Tamil self rule.
“Extend your moral support achieve self rule with just peace and dignity in our traditional homeland. Help us to live in our homeland with Self Rule in peace with the Sinhala South,” the declaration said. “Peace, Reconciliation and Co-existance are norms set and insisted upon by the International Community. We respect these norms. We Tamils too aspire for same.”
The declaration, which included elemetns of the Vavuniya rally’s statement, called upon the international community to exert their influence on Sri Lanka to allow the Tamils to have greater self-rule without the resumption of the war.
Since the February 2002 ceasefire, residents of the Northeast have been able to use public demonstrations as a means of expressing political opinions supporting the Tamil Tigers, without fear of a backlash from the Sri Lankan state.
Similar political events have been held in different parts of the Northeast in the past two months. Kilinochchi, the administrative capital of the Vanni region in Northern Sri Lanka saw another huge demonstration on September 1 by the region’s residents, appealing to the International community to recognize Tamils’ right to self-determination.
Over a hundred thousand people turned out in Kilinochchi to voice their support for the call for greater self-governance. “We, as Tamil people request the international community to recognize our just struggle for freedom with dignity,” said Bishop Dr. Jebanesan of the Church of South India, addressing the rally.
Speakers at rallies argue the residents of the North-East had lost confidence in the democratic rule of the Sri Lankan state after its transition to a mono-religious, mono-linguistic country, and the subsequent oppression of the minorities on the island.
A month before the Kilinochchi event, another rally took place in Batticaloa, despite a bombing by suspected Sri Lankan military-backed paramilitaries.
The district level conference at the grounds of Batticaloa Hindu College attracted thousands of participants from various parts of the districts, including academics, writers, religious dignitaries, representatives of civil organisations and politicians.
The first of the recent series of public events was held in Vavuniya in late July. The declaration of the event called for an environment to be created to enable Tamils to decide their own political destiny. It also demanded that occupying Sinhala forces must vacate with immediate effect homed and villages they are occupying in defiance of the February 2002 ceasefire.
That proclamation, like others, concluded urging the International Community to recognise the “basic rights and life of freedom with peace on the basis of our traditional homeland, our nationhood and self rule and struggle for sovereignty.”
