அரசியல்

[ July 24, 2012 ] Many things are said about Black July, 1983. That there were many culprits who caused the havoc that virtually destroyed the image of Sri Lanka and which gave justification for a prolonged period of violence. However, there was one man who was the creator of this havoc. It was then-President of the country, Junius Richard Jayawardene. His work of destroying the fabric of Sri Lankan democracy started from the very first day after he won the election as the leader of the United National Party, in 1977. His very first act as the Prime Minister elect was to grant a “holiday to the police”. That holiday lasted for two or three weeks. That was the first act done to intimidate his political opponents. With an ambition to hold onto power and not to give up what he had won, he knew one of his major strategies needed to be to launch a period of violence in order not to allow space for internal challenges from disaffected democratic forces. That process went on through various kinds of initiatives, which are well-recorded. The 1982 referendum was a major assault he made on the electoral politics in Sri Lanka. He was seriously pursuing his ambition to “close the electoral map” of Sri Lanka for some time.

By 1983, he was fully aware of the dissatisfaction among the democratically minded sections of society due to the erosion of democracy that he was causing. He needed a lot more violence and he was looking for events that could enable the unleashing of greater violence. That opportunity came when the news of thirteen soldiers being killed in the north arrived. He was aware that the discontent was growing in the armed forces. He also knew that there were suggestions to have a common funeral for the thirteen soldiers in Colombo Cemetery. According to accounts published by his own close collaborators, Prime Minister Premadasa himself advised JR Jayawardene of the unavoidable consequence of there being riots in Colombo if this was allowed. However, JR Jayawardene made his own calculations about the opportunity that he had before him to divert the attention of the country away from him. He quite deliberately allowed the funerals to take place in a manner that would bring about what we know today as Black July. It was a calculated action to take advantage of a situation for his own political survival.

- ஜூலை 24, 2012 - இலங்கை சிறைச்சாலை ஒன்றில் தாக்குதலுக்கு உள்ளாகி, அதனால் மரணடைந்ததாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்படுகின்ற அரசியல் கைதி நிமலரூபனின் உடல் வவுனியாவில் அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. வவுனியாச் சிறைச்சாலையில் சில கண்காணிபாளர்களை கைதிகள் தாக்கினார்கள் என்று எழுந்த குற்றச்சாட்டை அடுத்து பலர் மகர சிறைச்சாலைக்கு மாற்றப்பட்டனர். அங்கு இவர்கள் தாக்குதலுக்கு உள்ளானதாகவும், சிகிச்சைக்காக ராகம வைத்தியசாலைக்கு கொண்டு செல்லப்பட்ட போது, நிமலரூபன் இறந்த நிலையிலேயே கொண்டுவரப்பட்டார் என்றும் மருத்துவர்கள் தெரிவித்தனர். மரணமடைந்த நிமலரூபன் அடிகாயங்ளினாலும், உரிய சிகிச்சையில்லாமலுமே உயிரிழக்க நேரிட்டதாக தமிழ் அரசியல்வாதிகளும், மனித உரிமைச் செயற்பாட்டாளர்களும் குற்றம் சுமத்தியிருந்தனர். அவரின் மரணம் தொடர்பான விசாரணைகள் நடைபெற்ற போதிலும் மரணத்திற்கான காரணம் இன்னும் வெளியிடப்படவில்லை.

'It is now crystal clear that the Sinhala leaders will never put forward a just resolution to the Tamil national question. Therefore, we are not prepared to place our trust in the impossible and walk along the same old futile path…. We therefore ask the international community and the countries of the world that respect justice to recognize our freedom struggle.” This is the key sections of the annual Heroes’ Day statement delivered by the slain leader of the disabled Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), V. Pirapaharan. Serious Sri Lanka watchers would agree that such a statement represents not only the Tamil disappointments and distrust, but also it effectively exposes the duplicity of five decades old southern Sinhalese politics, which categorically refused to do meaningful political business with the Tamil leaders who represent the North and East Tamils.  Moderates The Tamil Tigers, who mirrored the Sinhala political establishment in its dealing with dissent and pluralism, unquestionably are the deadly elements of the Sri Lanka society. Whether the Tamil Tigers, for that matter, violent Tamil nationalists are freedom fighters as they claim themselves or deadly terrorists as the Sri Lanka governments describe, history will answer it. My point here is that the birth of Tamil Tiger movement had roots in Sri Lanka’s history and its anti-Tamil agendas. It is important to point that there was not an overnight decision among the ordinary Tamils to approve the agendas of the Tamil Tigers: the failure of Sri Lankan polity to meet the demands of the Tamil moderates was a key foundation for the origin of the Tamil extremism in Sri Lanka. Instead of listening to the Tamil leaders and accommodating their reasonable demands, the Sinhalese ruling leaders of the time assaulted and stoned the Tamils and their leaders, and even hired the Sinhalese to become butchers to kill innocent Tamils and moderate leaders. One needs to realize that successive governments since 1956 controlled by the Sinhalese miserably failed to engage the Tamil moderates such as the Federal Party (FP).

- July 20, 2012 Ottawa, Ontario - Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement to mark the beginning of the month of Ramadan: “I would like to extend warm wishes to Muslim Canadians and to Muslims around the world as they embark on the month-long spiritual journey that is Ramadan. Ramadan is a time of devotion and reflection as families and friends gather in prayer and fasting, ending each day with the Iftar – the evening meal to break the daily fast. It is also a time of charity and almsgiving when Muslims remember those less fortunate and reach out to those in need, both at home and abroad. Laureen and I wish all those observing the holy month of Ramadan peace and happiness.”

The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
இந்த மின்-அஞ்சல் முகவரி spambots இடமிருந்து பாதுகாக்கப்படுகிறது. இதைப் பார்ப்பதற்குத் தாங்கள் JavaScript-ஐ இயலுமைப்படுத்த வேண்டும்.

July is a time for Sri Lankans to reflect on the tragic anti-Tamil violence carried out in July 1983, known as Black July in our community. Twenty-nine years later, we mark this sombre anniversary and remind ourselves how important it is to educate all Canadians, but especially Canadian Tamil youth, of the suffering faced by hundreds of thousands of people from the island of Sri Lanka throughout Black July. As we remember the atrocities committed in 1983, as well as the brutality of the 30 year civil war, we must also look forward to what we can do to ensure a better future for those living on the island of Sri Lanka. Canada must play its part in working to end the culture of impunity. We all must work together to build a sustainable process based on respect, dignity and justice for all of the victims of this horrific war.

http://rathikasitsabaiesan.ndp.ca/post/statement-by-ndp-mp-rathika-sitsabaiesan-on-black-july