There are roofless homes and abandoned street dogs. The Tamil areas in the north and eastern sides of Sri Lanka are silent and serious. These areas are awaiting normalcy. More than 2,50,000 Tamil refugees live in the so-called rehabilitation camps without proper food, water, sanitation and medication. The 26-year-old battlefield is over. Still fear and scare exist. The Lankan government basking in the new triumph of military victory will have to ensure that their lives do not end in camps.
The real work begins now. The Government of Sri Lanka needs to work for building a democratic, prosperous, tolerant and united Sri Lanka. Natural justice and reconciliation are required on both sides. The government needs to reach out and refrain from giving in to the temptation of further humiliating the Tamils. More importantly, the Tamil community needs to be assured that it is not a second-class citizen of the country.
Colombo is expected to evolve a political solution accepted to all parties. The international community, especially India, must put pressure on the Lankan government to ensure that the displaced people are helped in returning to normal life. The Rajapaksa government has to be responsible for the present and the future of these internally-displaced persons. Their treatment in the camps and then the process of rehabilitation should be transparent.
There are Tamil politicians who are now part of the government and hold ministerial portfolios. They have suggested to the government that a federal structure needs to be evolved within a united Sri Lanka. The Tamil-speaking people should have a substantial say in their own affairs like development, law and order and irrigation. The community’s share in public service, police and military should be increased. Bold actions are needed to share power and to reassure a future with respect, dignity and equality.
After Prabhakaran’s death, Tamil Tigers may have extinct but the genuine grievances of the Tamil minority remain to be addressed. This issue traces its roots way back to 1948 when the British colonial government handed over the power to the Sinhalese majority at the time of independence.
Tamils suffered abuses. They were discriminated in education and employment. Thus they were side-lined by several governments, which sparked political violence in the 1970s and a full-scale war in 1983. Even though Tamils were suffocating and suffering because of humiliation and ill-treatment, at the same time they did not support LTTE wholeheartedly. It is clear to Tamils that with suicide bombings, political assassinations, civilian shields against the army and forcing innocent Tamils into military cadres, the LTTE cannot provide the Tamils a credible solution.
The Tamils by and large want to live peacefully. Their presence in Sri Lanka dates back to times immemorial. The majority of Tamil population are worshippers of Lord Parameshwara. India and Sri Lanka have relationship from the time of the Ramayana. The saints of Tamil Nadu described Kedarnath in the Himalayas and Kedheechara in Sri Lanka as the symbols of cultural unity among Hindus. The abode of Shiva in Kedarnath near Badrinath is the same as Kedheechara, which is situated in the heart of Sri Lanka. Kandi and Kadirkama are famous for the worship of Lord Kartikeya and Mariamman, for Goddess Durga.
The people of Sri Lanka were converted to Buddhism by Prince Mahendra, said to be the son of emperor Ashoka, who had gone to the island as a Buddhist missionary. Even today people of Orissa and Bihar have links with the Sinhala community, which constitutes 74 per cent of Sri Lanka’s total population. The name Sinhala is said to have evolved from a king’s name “Sinha” which is a Sanskrit word meaning “lion”. In the same way, the people of Tamil Nadu just across the Palk strait have long-standing and continuing links with Sri Lanka. Hence, India has to play an effective role to stem the crisis in the island since the two nations are bonded together by history, culture and geography. Unfortunately, Government of India has yet not evolved any well-defined policy. India’s position towards Sri Lanka is not consistent and transparent. A Tamil can be a Tamil but at the same time a loyal Sri Lankan.
Recently, the Indian government representatives visited Colombo and offered Rs 500 crore to Sri Lanka without any condition. The 20-member committee appointed by Colombo to spend the money has 19 Sinhalese, one Muslim and no Tamil. India must use the grants and aids as a leverage for the devolution of power to Tamils.
United Nations accused Sri Lankan authorities of blocking access to civilians who have fled from the camps for the displaced people. The US has asked Colombo to heal the wounds of the Tamils by working out a new power-sharing arrangement with the Tamils, Sinhalese and all other Sri Lankans. There is a genuine need for devolution of power to the Tamils within the united Sri Lanka.
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