SL Tamil Leader Urges Modi to Fix Ethnic Issue Permanently

[CONNAN]

CHENNAI:Vocal Lankan Tamil leader and Northern Province Councillor MK Shivajilingam on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be visiting Sri Lanka in a few days, to take steps for a permanent political solution to the ethnic issue jointly facilitated, mediated, and underwritten by India, EU, US, and the UN.

The former MP also urged Modi to help provide immediate relief to the Tamils by persuading Colombo to demilitarise the North-East and return all the land forcibly taken from Tamils. Besides, Modi should help release all the Tamil political prisoners and information on all those who surrendered, imprisoned, and disappeared during the end of the war.

Welcoming Modi to Sri Lanka, Shivajilingam said, “We are hopeful that your history making visit, evoking parallels to the visit by Mahathma Gandhi to Jaffna on November 27, 1927, will further strengthen our relationships for this new century.”

Observing that the Tamil people did not believe in the 13th Amendment leading to an equitable political solution, he said Modi should initiate steps towards a lasting political solution.

“The solution, at the minimum, must be based on the Oslo Declaration where both the Tamil side and Sri Lankan side agreed on December 5, 2002 to explore political solution based on a federal structure which was welcomed by the International Community. PM Ranil Wickeramasinghe was also the Prime Minister of the government that agreed to the Oslo Declaration in Norway”, Shivajilingam added.

Stating that the Tamil people in the North-East as well as their brethren in Tamil Nadu and the Diaspora overwhelmingly support ed and called for an independent UN investigation on Lanka, Shivajilingam said and urged India to change its position of opposing the UN probe and support it as that would be the only hope of Tamils for justice, accountability and protection.

Shivajilingam also urged Modi to send Tamil speaking doctors, and English and IT teachers from Tamil Nadu to help the Tamils rebuild their livelihood. He has also sought Modi’s help in solving the issues faced by the fishermen from both India and Lanka, creating closer economic integration between Tamil Nadu and the Tamil speaking Northern and Eastern Provinces and in restoring the ferry service between Thalaimannar and Rameswaram, and also the air-link from Tamil Nadu to Palaly and Trincomalee.

SL Tamil Leader Urges Modi to Fix Ethnic Issue Permanently -The New Indian Express

 

[Azizam]

How? By taking them into India which is their homeland.

 

[kurup]

How? By taking them into India which is their homeland.

Isn't India the homeland pf Sinhalas as well ??

 

[Gibbs]

Isn't India the homeland pf Sinhalas as well ??

Nope.. For Sinhalese and non Sinhalese Sri Lankans like myself and many Tamils as well Sri Lanka is our homeland.. The whole of Sri Lanka.. Not ethno linguistic exclusive pseudo parts of the country.. We have build a unique civilization on the island that is seen no where else in the world.. .. LTTE leeches like Sivajilingam survives of scraps thrown by TN based Dravidian extremists and their LTTE rump in the West.. Why would a Sri Lankan plead Indian PM for their so called rights ? How would you see if Indian Buddhists in Bihar and elsewhere plead the SL president for their rights ?

If his interests are of those in Tamil Nadu and diaspora.. And if he recognizes himself as a Tamil with kinship to Tamil Nadu.. Then ofcause his homeland should be either Tamil Nadu or the West

 

[HeinzG]

Isn't India the homeland pf Sinhalas as well ??

There are no Sinhalese in India.

 

[kurup]

Nope.. For Sinhalese and non Sinhalese Sri Lankans like myself and many Tamils as well Sri Lanka is our homeland.. The whole of Sri Lanka.. Not ethno linguistic exclusive pseudo parts of the country.. We have build a unique civilization on the island that is seen no where else in the world.. .. LTTE leeches like Sivajilingam survives of scraps thrown by TN based Dravidian extremists and their LTTE rump in the West.. Why would a Sri Lankan plead Indian PM for their so called rights ? How would you see if Indian Buddhists in Bihar and elsewhere plead the SL president for their rights ?

If his interests are of those in Tamil Nadu and diaspora.. And if he recognizes himself as a Tamil with kinship to Tamil Nadu.. Then ofcause his homeland should be either Tamil Nadu or the West

There are no Sinhalese in India.

None of those Tamils that today lives in Sl comes from India ..... their forefathers did .

Afaik , the forefathers of people , today called as Sinhalas , came from India .

 

[Gibbs]

None of those Tamils that today lives in Sl comes from India ..... their forefathers did .

Afaik , the forefathers of people , today called as Sinhalas , came from India .

Eh over a million were dumped there as slave labor for the British in Coffee and Teas plantations, in the 1870's Totally changing the demographics of the country over night.. The consequences they're still dealing with

Adding to that those bought over by the Dutch to work in the tobacco plantations prior to that in the 1500's were also in to their millions.. Those that the Tamils who call themselves Vanni Tamils and live in the North.. The Tamils of Sri Lankan origin of those of natural migration through marriage and conquest only constitute to the Jaffna peninsular.. It is they who call themselves Sri Lankan Tamils

In the end it does not matter when you came from or where even Indians are migrants to that land mass one time or another.. What matter is how you identify yourself with.. Sri Lankans over the millenia have created a unique civilization, Seen no where else in the world from language to architecture food and music.. So the island is thier homeland

 

[Tshering22]

The issue became serious with the LTTE war.

Those days are gone. Now I think the Lankans and SL Tamils must respect their country's constitution and live in harmony.

Time to move forward beyond all these issues.

As for Mr.Shivajilingam, he seems to be a sincere man willing to overcome past differences.

Let's hope that this gets solved and both the countries move beyond this nonsense.

 

[HeinzG]

None of those Tamils that today lives in Sl comes from India ..... their forefathers did .

Afaik , the forefathers of people , today called as Sinhalas , came from India .

And the Indian came from Africa. Therefore India is not the home place of Indians.

What a stupid logic.

It doesn't matter who came from where. What matters is who built the civilization in Sri Lanka. It is not Tamils. It is Sinhalese. The land belongs to the people who civilized it.

 

[Azizam]

None of those Tamils that today lives in Sl comes from India ..... their forefathers did .

Afaik , the forefathers of people , today called as Sinhalas , came from India .

Sinhalese not only came to Sr Lanka, they built the civilisation while hordes of Tamils from Tamil Nadu flattened what the Sinhalese built with hard work. I will prefer to welcome any person who identifies as a Sri Lankan and contribute to our country, not the cry babies who ask for special treatments while they haven't done whatsoever to deserve any special treatment. Sri Lanka is one of the countries where a minority language is forced upon others with the school curriculum and there is no constitutional discrimination towards anyone in the country. In fact our society is more welcoming towards minorities than many countries out there. Now it is their duty to integrate in our society but they are way too communal minded and not willing to mix with others, learn other languages or cultures. The same attitude is displayed by Tamils all around the world whether in UK, Canada or Singapore. In UK for instance, there are Tamils who have been here for 30 years but unable to speak English. Tamils are not even the only minority in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Burghers, Malays, Parsis etc. and some Tamils are all integrated and contribute to the country instead of crying at others to get special treatment.

 

[East or West India Best]

Great, now the Tamils are going to get a 2nd round of genocide.

 

[kurup]

Eh over a million were dumped there as slave labor for the British in Coffee and Teas plantations, in the 1870's Totally changing the demographics of the country over night.. The consequences they're still dealing with

Adding to that those bought over by the Dutch to work in the tobacco plantations prior to that in the 1500's were also in to their millions.. Those that the Tamils who call themselves Vanni Tamils and live in the North.. The Tamils of Sri Lankan origin of those of natural migration through marriage and conquest only constitute to the Jaffna peninsular.. It is they who call themselves Sri Lankan Tamils

In the end it does not matter when you came from or where even Indians are migrants to that land mass one time or another.. What matter is how you identify yourself with.. Sri Lankans over the millenia have created a unique civilization, Seen no where else in the world from language to architecture food and music.. So the island is thier homeland

How does any of these counter what I said ??

And the Indian came from Africa. Therefore India is not the home place of Indians.

What a stupid logic.

It doesn't matter who came from where. What matters is who built the civilization in Sri Lanka. It is not Tamils. It is Sinhalese. The land belongs to the people who civilized it.

The only stupid logic here presented is by you .

I never said SL is not the homeland of Tamils or Sinhala .

It was your own countrymen who made the claim that SL is not the homeland of SLan Tamils .

I only made a counter argument to that .

 

[Water Car Engineer]

It's really none of India's business. Just hope everything cools down in Sri Lanka, and continue the peace.

 

[ravi kiran]

none of our business. its internal matter of another nation.
and Hindu Tamils are always welcome to migrate India if their lives are insecure in SL.

 

[HeinzG]

The only stupid logic here presented is by you .

I never said SL is not the homeland of Tamils or Sinhala .

It was your own countrymen who made the claim that SL is not the homeland of SLan Tamils .

I only made a counter argument to that .

What we refer as Tamils here is the Tamil civilization. Indeed the Tamil people live in SL are sons of the soil. But their civilization is not. Tamil civilization is alien to SL.