Sri Lanka has become an unfair pastime for some world leaders who are taking their condemnations against Sri Lanka a little too far. A country that has managed to eliminate the world’s worst terrorist outfit – its entire 3-tiered leadership deserves more respect than it is getting & it is a shame that even the UN & some of its heads are taking a personal vendetta against Sri Lanka & this needs to stop. The accusations against Sri Lanka are not only unfair it is overrated & fabricated & Sri Lanka deserves an apology for the manner it has been treated.
It is within the argument of discrimination that a few questions are posed for the reader to wonder whether there is any country that does not suffer from some sort of discrimination & many of the very countries that condemn Sri Lanka are themselves faced with discriminations that are not only ethnic but racial as well. In the present, there have been increased violence against Indian’s studying in Australia & Indian’s themselves have retaliated & unless the authorities deal with the issue it is likely to spread to other states & possibly other countries as well.
Remaining on the subject of migrant populations the International Labor Organization estimates that there are 120 million migrant workers throughout the globe. Migrant workers are often prepared to work for lower wages under poorer conditions than their native workers & an ILO report states “Discrimination affects the lives of migrant and ethnic minority workers throughout the countries of western Europe. The marginalization and segregation resulting from this discrimination feed the very stereotypes and prejudices which originally generated it — to the detriment of not only the migrant and ethnic minority communities, but also to the society as a whole.” Minorities and migrants face discrimination in employment, housing and education. In everyday life people of ‘colored’ skin are confronted with offensive behavior and disrespect.
There is enough historical evidence to show how immigrants have suffered & continue to suffer wherever they make their second home. In the 1899s & early 20th century, the Jews & Italian immigrants were subject to extreme prejudice & racism in the US. Latin Americans have also been target of bias-motivated crimes as have been Asians. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882 barring Chinese laborers entering the US & this Act was repealed only in 1943. Following the 9/11 attacks US discrimination is presently targeted towards Muslims. Similarly, it was at the advent of industrialization & during post-war that saw an influx of migrants to Britain to cater to the shortages of labor. The UK has the highest level of racially-motivated violence & harassment in Western Europe. “I don’t-feel fully British: non-whites are not yet completely first-class citizens” is often what is on most immigrant minds especially those who are frequently called “paki” “nigger” or other such names.
Europe is the region with the highest concentrations of non-nationals in the world, with 26-30 million non-national residents. Even 60 years after the end of the Second World War racially motivated discrimination is a constant companion of Europe. A survey conducted in Europe (23,500 people – Agency for Fundamental Rights) has revealed that discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin (48%) is widespread & increasing. In the Netherlands 4 out of 5 people say ethnic discrimination is widespread & more than one in five have actually witnessed these incidents. In Demark ethnic discrimination is 69%, Italy 58%, Belgium 56% while Cyprus is 23%. The bulk of discrimination is targeted at Roma category.
75% of Czechs do not want Roma people as their neighbors & every fifth person doesn’t want to live next to foreigners. 50% of immigrants living in Finland have experienced racism & a report released in 2005 by the Finnish League for Human Rights revealed that racism & ethnic discrimination were regrettably common in Finland. Racist & anti-Semitic violence has doubled in France since 2004 with Jews & Muslims the main victims. A report by the European Commission Against Racism & Tolerance reported in 2005 that “minority groups, including immigrants & persons with an immigrant background have to contend with discrimination especially in access to employment & housing”. Similarly in 2005, the European Court of Justice ruled that Germany had failed to implement EU race anti-discrimination law which prohibited discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic group in a wide range of areas including employment, education, social security, healthcare, access to goods & services & housing.
The survey, in which 23,500 people from ethnic and immigrant minorities were interviewed, is the first by the European Union to study the experience of minorities in member countries. It was conducted by the Vienna-based European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, an E.U. body set up in 2007 to advise policy makers on safeguarding human rights.
The survey showed that 55 percent of minorities considered discrimination based on ethnic origin to be widespread in the country where they were living; 37 percent said they personally had suffered discrimination over the previous year. Twelve percent of respondents said they had experienced a racist crime in the last 12 months, but of those 80 percent said they did not report it.
The highest reported level of discrimination based on ethnic or immigrant origin was reported by North African migrants in Italy, where 94 percent of respondents said it was widespread. Ninety percent of Roma, also called gypsies, in Hungary said discrimination was rife.
Throughout Europe, one out of two Roma interviewed said that he or she had been mistreated on racist grounds in the previous 12 months.
The outcome of the survey was plain – while most of these EU nations enjoy pulling up smaller developing nations & accusing them of discrimination these very nations are committing atrocities in their own homes. What can the 27 member EU states say about 90% having experienced discrimination in these countries? A report by the Council of Europe’s European Commission Against Racism & Tolerance has found France rife with racist activity & accused the French authorities of not doing enough to combat this.
We cannot deny that most of the discriminations based on ethnicity & caste arose as a direct result of colonial rule where it suited colonial powers to divide the nations. It is tragic how despite only a few years of gaining independence from colonial rule, most of the African continent is at war or facing some unrest. The conflicts have arisen due to the involvement of non-African nations & corporations most of whom are stirring up ethnic differences & enticing hatred further aggravated by the artificial boundaries imposed in Africa by European colonialism & imperialism as a result of their divide & rule policies. The manner in which large corporations run regimes is evident by the landmark judgment with Shell having to pay USD55.5million in compensation.
In 2001, the UN World Conference on Racism was held. As expected what resulted from it was that the US & Europe were both against discussions on slavery reparations, Israel & US were against discussions Zionist racism against Palestinians, India was against discussions on caste-based discriminations & the Arab nations opposed discussions on oppression of Kurds or Arab slave trade.
A world that is faced with a plethora of challenges ranging from conflicts to terror, climate change to financial collapses the UN bringing together heads of Governments, NGOs, and Corporation heads should have met with success but more & more we begin to question what the UN has achieved all these years.
Evaluating the success of the UN lies fundamentally in seeing how far it has reached in eliminating wars, poverty & injustice….not much of a score & with examples like Rwanda, Darfur, the Balkans, scandals within the UN like the Oil-For-Food program in Iraq ….some of these conflicts were staged in order for NATO troops to enter these states. Can the world depend on the UN? Much of the world’s problems rest with economy & the poverty status therefore it would do the UN good to steer its programs primarily towards uplifting global trade, improving poverty & dismantling financial organizations that only serve to make developing nations caught up in debt.
Sri Lanka should not be fettered by any of these calls for quick-fix solutions by the very nations that have attempted to humiliate us. We are well aware that Prabakaran was only a mere guinea pig for foreign elements who have orchestrated the 30 year conflict in Sri Lanka to which most of Sri Lanka’s past Governments & leaders had fallen prey unable to see the larger picture & motives behind the strategy to create an “ethnic backlash”. It is more than evident as we run through Sri Lanka’s conflict that the 1983 incident was staged & foreign elements have also been party to this move….within days it was declared that an “ethnic conflict” was prevailing in Sri Lanka when it was well aware that the “riots” were staged & the JR Jayawardena Government was part responsible for it. A country that heard the news of 13 soldiers was supposed to have gone on a killing rampage against Tamils…this is hard to believe considering that post-83 with LTTE having committed over 200 heinous crimes & scores of deaths upon innocent women & children & student clergy there were no backlash against Tamils. The people had more reasons to strike than the 1983 incident. Which is why it is never too late that the Sinhalese should receive a formal apology from the world. The Tamil people who have remained silent all these years must admit even at this late hour that their Sinhalese neighbors protected them & did not as was depicted burn & destroy their homes. They owe this much to the Sinhalese.
None of these featured discriminations come close to the suffering the Blacks of America & the Blacks in their own home in South Africa suffered with perhaps the exception of the Dalits in India. Looking upon Sri Lanka it is very clear that the Tamils suffer none of these discriminations & none of the sufferings that the above examples provide. Tamils are employed everywhere – they have been holding top positions in both Government & Private sector & had Lakshman Kadiragamar not been assassinated by the LTTE he would have become Sri Lanka’s first Tamil Prime Minister…which is why we are beginning to wonder how a very visible caste-minded Tamil society would have ever accepted low-caste Prabakaran as the leader of the Tamil Eelaam….wasn’t he just being used to carve out the separate state only to later be dislodged eventually (as the case of Ben Bella of Algeria) & for a high caste Tamil to take control of Tamil Eelaam….unfortunately the elusive KP doesn’t figure at all as he too belongs to the low caste which is why his leadership role is being challenged despite being called the “international head” of the LTTE.
Therefore, in the realm of politics the conflicts & problems that prevail globally have elements of conspiracy & espionage very much woven into their existence….Iraq, Afghanistan, the African continent, Pakistan, Serbia are all good examples of masterminds at work & Sri Lanka has been no exception.
Therefore, now that Sri Lanka proudly stands as the only country to have eliminated modern terrorism militarily & nullifying elements that have been remote controlling the lives of Sri Lanka populace…we are in a good position to disregard all notions that we have had to accept under duress & confidently project the correct picture to the world. Tamils do not suffer discriminations – none of which are exclusively relevant to them, all types of “grievances” are shared by other communities including the Sinhalese & therefore we do not require any form of devolution except that whatever administrative systems in place must be energized, their shortcomings resolved, administrative hiccups attended to & Government circulars to be simplified & to ensure that there are dispatched in the correct medium that the recipient would comprehend. Similarly, infrastructure, education must all improve factoring into consideration that Sri Lanka needs a sound policy to ensure that we do not sacrifice our heritage & culture to elements that are out to dismantle countries socially.
Sri Lanka’s future should not be to cater to the political careers of a handful of Tamil leaders who desire to lead a small portion of Tamils in a devolved Northern area when the majority of these Tamils reside amongst the Sinhalese. No area must be demarcated by ethnic proportions for it is likely to merit future unrest. These are just some of the hypocrisies that prevail in the world & merits our leaders to be alert to all of the calls that are presently coming our way with regard to the type of solution we are offering. With the elimination of terrorism which has global reach Sri Lanka has restricted the interference of foreign players to Sri Lanka. Therefore, all concerned nations & leaders are not in any position to dictate terms to Sri Lanka – they can provide advice (if requested) & assistance but they cannot demand or dictate what we should do. What Sri Lanka does internally is Sri Lanka’s prerogative & even the UN chief has no right to ask us not to indulge in “triumph” – he and many other nations does not know the feeling that a country that had 30 years of terror & has managed to military defeat must be feeling. Therefore, it is rather farcical to imagine how a 13th amendment can look after the IDPs who are needing food, clothing, shelter etc!
Sri Lanka must not be in any hurry to offer any solution to any of the problems that “interested elements” have cast upon Sri Lanka, for we do not have any of the discriminations that prevail in most nations today & Tamils themselves barring their proxy leaders must be honest to admit so.
By: Shenali Waduge
TAMILS NOW YOU CAN DEMAND EELAM IN CANADA .LOL