In a previous comment I discussed the economic and sovereignty issues that may arise if the Indians revive a 2002 proposal for a land bridge over the Palk straits. Surprisingly, many Northern nationalists think that the opposition to the land bridge is a matter of ‘Sinhala chauvinism’. In fact, the entity most threatened by the bridge is the “Illankai-Thamil” culture. The distinctive flora and fauna of the island, evolved since the last glaciation are equally threatened. The robustness of eco- systems and communities is strengthened by their bio-diversity and complexity. Hence all tendencies to mono-cultures and bio-uniformity should be resisted.

Tamils account for 76million the world over. The British transported Tamils all round the world as indentured labor during colonial times. The Tamils functioned as loyal slaves of the British.  Disproportionate opportunities and privileges paved the way for Tamils to mentally believe they were superior and above all others and from this has sprouted the notion for the Tamils to have a separate state. While there are hardly 2million Tamils physically living in Sri Lanka, 72million Tamils actually live in an Indian State that is referred to as State of the Tamils (Tamil Nadu) where Tamils are over 99% of the population, where Tamil language is the state language, where Tamil culture dominates, where Hinduism prevails – virtually all ingredients need for self-determination in a state that was amalgamated by the British to be called India. It is these arguments that the Tamils of Tamil Nadu started using to demand separatism from India but with India passing the pillow to Sri Lanka by creating Tamil militancy/LTTE Sri Lanka has become saddled with India’s headache. Nonetheless, carving out separate states being the newest norm of the capitalist West outcome of which Kosovo came about in 2008 the latest attempt is Tamil Eelam but there are serious lessons for Tamils themselves to learn from. They first need to come down a peg or two from cheering an eelam to wondering if Eelam will become a nightmare as the Kosovars are now discovering with no return too!

Certain matters do not get the attention they deserve because everybody is so focused on the election. Last week, a group of 38 NGO activists sent off a petition to President Maithripala Sirisena demanding that Sir Desmond de Silva QC, be removed from the panel of international lawyers advising the government of Sri Lanka on the Geneva issue. What they did was to get one NGO to lodge a complaint against Sir Desmond with the British Bar Standards Board and then send a petition to the president demanding his removal on the grounds that he is being investigated by the British Bar Standards Board! These are the same NGOs that presided over the removal of former Chief Justice Mohan Peiris through a combination of mob action and yahapalana executive fiat. They are now trying the same tactics to get Desmond de Silva removed.

SPUR NSW

Media Release                                                                                           3 August 2015

Canberra Sri Lanka HC mum about the crap dished out on ABC’s 7.30

As reported by Australia’s ABC’s 7.30 report of today, Canberra’s  Sri Lanka High Commission has declined the opportunity to comment on the crap and canards dished out by two Sri Lankan boat people Tamil refugees, by the infamous Bruce Haig, by the program producer and by the ‘Freedom from Torture’ Policy Institute on its program.

The vitriolic ranting against Sri Lanka went on for 10 minutes, and the ABC took refuge against the ‘balanced reporting’ requirement by quoting that the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra and the AFP had declined to come on the program. However, there are several prominent Sri Lankan organisations or other resources ABC could have called to provide a balanced view, and these had been readily available having been used by the ABC over the past 10 years.