LTTE has become an easy scapegoat for all war crimes, the double genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Tamil Elamists. True, LTTE did commit most crimes but it was not the LTTE alone. Tamil Elamists actively participated in all these war crimes. Ideological, physical and propaganda support for these war crimes came from non-LTTE sections of Tamil Elamists. It is essential to investigate these crimes to stop their recurrence, punish the culprits, put the nation in order and deter the malicious false campaign launched by Tamil Elamists abroad to divert attention from real war crimes.
One striking fact about peaceful Tamil Elamists’ contribution to war crimes comes from the ideological front. LTTE was not a bunch of bandits. They were driven by a political ideology based on Tamil communal aspirations. Where did they get this ideology? LTTE was never an ideology factory. LTTE was merely made up of school dropouts, common criminals, under-aged fighters, suicide bombers and other similar elements. There was no one capable of providing it with it’s ideology within the outfit. Besides, the LTTE didn’t tolerate anyone telling it what to do. It had a strong conviction of what is to be done. Who injected this headstrong ideological conviction to the LTTE that led to mass murder, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, communalism and other similar violence?
Who Are Tamil Elamists?
Tamil and Sinhala communal feelings in politics emerged during the British rule of the country. However, the Sinhalese soon discontinued it in favour of national consensus. But Tamils, influenced by similar communal politics in Tamil Nadu, India, didn’t give up. In 1931 Tamil leaders demanded 50% representation in the legislature for 25% Tamil speaking people. That means only 50% representation for 75% Sinhalas. In other words Tamil leaders in 1931 sought three times more power for Tamil individuals than Sinhala individuals. Although the demand was cut down by British rulers with contempt, this insatiable greed for power defined Tamil politics. In 1944 All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) was registered as the premier political party of Northern and Eastern Tamils. At the 1947 election, it won the majority vote of Tamils in the North and the East. “Tamil” was its political ideology. This was the first time racism entered party politics officially. In 1949 Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), which interprets to Lanka Tamil Kingdom Party, was formed. Once again it was all about Tamil racism in politics. Therefore, the demand for a Tamil kingdom in Sri Lanka arose independent of the ‘Sinhala-only’ issue of 1956. It was merely an excuse to continue with the Tamil kingdom project. In 1976 this was renewed with the Vadukoddai Resolution. As a result, another racism based political party by the name Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was formed. Highly educated and senior politicians were behind all these moves and they are the ideologists behind the Tamil Elam project. LTTE merely followed the ideology created by them.
However, LTTE is not the only group to follow their ideology.
A Brief Comparison of Tamil Elam and Nazi Campaigns
The Tamil Elam campaign is identical to the Nazi campaign. Both aimed to create racially-pure nations for specific races; both vowed to follow national-socialism as the dominant political/economic ideology within, both campaigns showed incredible intolerance to persons of other communities, both followed a genocidal approach towards other communities, both campaigns glorified horrendous crimes previously unknown to mankind. The Vaddukoddai Resolution, like the Nazi ideology, resolved to create the Free Sovereign, Secular, Socialist State of Tamil Eelam. (http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/document/papers/vaddukoddai_resolution.htm) Just like in the case of the Nazis, the word, “secular” meant the opposite. Nazi “secularism” meant a “multiethnic” society as long as it had only the German race! In exact words, Tamil Elam “secularism” also means “plurality” as long as the entire society is comprised of Tamils of different religions!
The Vaddukoddai Resolution was an exact replication of Nuremberg Laws of 1935 to classify people of an established nation based on race and create a new state on this classification. Why was Nuremberg and Vaddukoddai chosen? Nuremberg had a sympathetic view of the ideology propagated by the Nazis for a long time and hence was a safe place to have the event just as SJV Chelvanayakam’s own Vaddukoddai electorate. Just as its Nazi predecessor, the Vadukoddai Resolution defined who can be a citizen of the Tamil nation and who cannot be a citizen. This classification was the guiding light of both the military under the Nazi leadership and the LTTE.
The ideological father of Tamil Elamism, SJV Chelvanayagam came to be known as “thanthai” Chelva. The word “thanthai” has the exact same meaning as Fuhrer in German! Hitler was called Fuhrer by the Nazis just the same way Chelvanayakam is called thanthai. Both refer to a fatherly figure leading a communal campaign.
Illankai Arasu Kachchi leaders vowed to “chase away” the Sinhalas from what they called “Tamil-only homelands”. They succeeded eventually. One big difference between the Nazi campaign and the Tamil Elam campaign is the separation of ideological leaders from those who carried forward their agenda. Nazis had unison of ideological and military leadership whereas Tamil Elamists had separate ideological and military leaders. Although Parkinson’s disease struck both Hitler and Chelvanayagam, it affected the latter very badly and didn’t live to see the fruit of his ideology. As a result Chelvanayagam didn’t get involved in the military campaign of Tamil Elamists whereas Hitler’s life was cut short by his involvement in violence.
Nazi campaign succeeded in chasing away or killing almost all the Jews in Germany. This has only one parallel in the whole world. That is the complete chase away and killing of Sinhalas from the North by Tamil Elamists.
Sinhalas are a small group of people numbering around the same as the Jews. They have their own language, religion, culture, traditions and history just like the Jews have their own. Sinhalas are the majority in Sri Lanka but are a regional minority in the South Indian region. Tamils on the other hand are the regional majority but a minority in Sri Lanka. Today Tamils live in each and every district (numbering 25) of Sri Lanka but Sinhalas, despite being the majority of Sri Lanka, are confined to only 20 districts.
According to the 1971 census, there were 20,402 Sinhalas in Jaffna. After the Vaddukoddai Resolution and resultant campaign of genocide against them, the number of Sinhalas fell to zero. Today the number of Sinhalas in the entire Jaffna district is zero. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffna_District). The same fate fell on Sinhalas in Batticaloa, Mulaitivu, Mannar and Kilinochchi districts as well. In other words, Sinhalas were entirely wiped out from five districts of the eight (8) districts of the North and the East that is claimed by Tamil Elamists to be the nation of Tamils and only Tamils. Apart from the Nazi genocide of Jews, nothing is comparable to this silent act of genocide by Tamil Elamists. However, Tamil Elamists didn’t stop at that. They went on to genocide Muslims too from the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mulaitivu and Mannar at a later stage. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffna_District)
This phased approach of Tamil Elamists coins with the Nazi campaign as described in vivid detail by Pastor Martin Niemöller. “They came first for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
First, Tamil Elamists went after political parties with secular ideologies and destroyed them in the North and Tamil areas of the East. UNP, SLFP and communist parties that formed ruling coalitions were rooted out in Tamil majority areas in the North and the East by Tamil Elamist communal parties including the ACTC, ITAK, TULF and Tamil National Alliance. Sadly, these Tamil communalist parties still dominate these areas. When peaceful and forceful means failed, violence was used. In 1975 Alfred Duriappa, who was a Tamil himself but rejected Tamil Elamism was killed in Jaffna.
Then Tamil Elamists went after the police, the public service and trade unions in the North and Tamil majority areas of the East. All anti-Tamil Elamists were forced to leave these services and got the positions filled by supporters. Scores were killed.
Then they targeted the Sinhalese, ethnically cleansing them out totally from five districts. Then they went after the Muslims, wiping them out totally from four districts. Then their attention fell on Christian clergy and there was no one to defend them. Then the unthinkable happened. A large number of Tamil Christian clergy supported the Tamil Elam movement.
These wide ranging ideological matters and direction were installed in the LTTE by Tamil Elam racist political leaders who dominated the Tamil polity in areas they referred to as ‘Tamil Homelands’. Sri Lanka must initiate war crimes investigations not into the LTTE which has been decimated, but against other Tamil Elamists, especially the ideological leaders who instigated, planned and prepared the infrastructure to commit war crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide. Having survived the war, these criminals are working to revive violence, racism, subversion and non-co-operation. They are older than the LTTE to influence it, yet young enough to outlive the LTTE.
This is only a brief comparison of two identical ethno-nationalist projects that used extreme violence to achieve their goals. There are many more similarities between them.
One striking fact about peaceful Tamil Elamists’ contribution to war crimes comes from the ideological front. LTTE was not a bunch of bandits. They were driven by a political ideology based on Tamil communal aspirations. Where did they get this ideology? LTTE was never an ideology factory. LTTE was merely made up of school dropouts, common criminals, under-aged fighters, suicide bombers and other similar elements. There was no one capable of providing it with it’s ideology within the outfit. Besides, the LTTE didn’t tolerate anyone telling it what to do. It had a strong conviction of what is to be done. Who injected this headstrong ideological conviction to the LTTE that led to mass murder, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, communalism and other similar violence?
Who Are Tamil Elamists?
Tamil and Sinhala communal feelings in politics emerged during the British rule of the country. However, the Sinhalese soon discontinued it in favour of national consensus. But Tamils, influenced by similar communal politics in Tamil Nadu, India, didn’t give up. In 1931 Tamil leaders demanded 50% representation in the legislature for 25% Tamil speaking people. That means only 50% representation for 75% Sinhalas. In other words Tamil leaders in 1931 sought three times more power for Tamil individuals than Sinhala individuals. Although the demand was cut down by British rulers with contempt, this insatiable greed for power defined Tamil politics. In 1944 All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) was registered as the premier political party of Northern and Eastern Tamils. At the 1947 election, it won the majority vote of Tamils in the North and the East. “Tamil” was its political ideology. This was the first time racism entered party politics officially. In 1949 Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), which interprets to Lanka Tamil Kingdom Party, was formed. Once again it was all about Tamil racism in politics. Therefore, the demand for a Tamil kingdom in Sri Lanka arose independent of the ‘Sinhala-only’ issue of 1956. It was merely an excuse to continue with the Tamil kingdom project. In 1976 this was renewed with the Vadukoddai Resolution. As a result, another racism based political party by the name Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was formed. Highly educated and senior politicians were behind all these moves and they are the ideologists behind the Tamil Elam project. LTTE merely followed the ideology created by them.
However, LTTE is not the only group to follow their ideology.
A Brief Comparison of Tamil Elam and Nazi Campaigns
The Tamil Elam campaign is identical to the Nazi campaign. Both aimed to create racially-pure nations for specific races; both vowed to follow national-socialism as the dominant political/economic ideology within, both campaigns showed incredible intolerance to persons of other communities, both followed a genocidal approach towards other communities, both campaigns glorified horrendous crimes previously unknown to mankind. The Vaddukoddai Resolution, like the Nazi ideology, resolved to create the Free Sovereign, Secular, Socialist State of Tamil Eelam. (http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/document/papers/vaddukoddai_resolution.htm) Just like in the case of the Nazis, the word, “secular” meant the opposite. Nazi “secularism” meant a “multiethnic” society as long as it had only the German race! In exact words, Tamil Elam “secularism” also means “plurality” as long as the entire society is comprised of Tamils of different religions!
The Vaddukoddai Resolution was an exact replication of Nuremberg Laws of 1935 to classify people of an established nation based on race and create a new state on this classification. Why was Nuremberg and Vaddukoddai chosen? Nuremberg had a sympathetic view of the ideology propagated by the Nazis for a long time and hence was a safe place to have the event just as SJV Chelvanayakam’s own Vaddukoddai electorate. Just as its Nazi predecessor, the Vadukoddai Resolution defined who can be a citizen of the Tamil nation and who cannot be a citizen. This classification was the guiding light of both the military under the Nazi leadership and the LTTE.
The ideological father of Tamil Elamism, SJV Chelvanayagam came to be known as “thanthai” Chelva. The word “thanthai” has the exact same meaning as Fuhrer in German! Hitler was called Fuhrer by the Nazis just the same way Chelvanayakam is called thanthai. Both refer to a fatherly figure leading a communal campaign.
Illankai Arasu Kachchi leaders vowed to “chase away” the Sinhalas from what they called “Tamil-only homelands”. They succeeded eventually. One big difference between the Nazi campaign and the Tamil Elam campaign is the separation of ideological leaders from those who carried forward their agenda. Nazis had unison of ideological and military leadership whereas Tamil Elamists had separate ideological and military leaders. Although Parkinson’s disease struck both Hitler and Chelvanayagam, it affected the latter very badly and didn’t live to see the fruit of his ideology. As a result Chelvanayagam didn’t get involved in the military campaign of Tamil Elamists whereas Hitler’s life was cut short by his involvement in violence.
Nazi campaign succeeded in chasing away or killing almost all the Jews in Germany. This has only one parallel in the whole world. That is the complete chase away and killing of Sinhalas from the North by Tamil Elamists.
Sinhalas are a small group of people numbering around the same as the Jews. They have their own language, religion, culture, traditions and history just like the Jews have their own. Sinhalas are the majority in Sri Lanka but are a regional minority in the South Indian region. Tamils on the other hand are the regional majority but a minority in Sri Lanka. Today Tamils live in each and every district (numbering 25) of Sri Lanka but Sinhalas, despite being the majority of Sri Lanka, are confined to only 20 districts.
According to the 1971 census, there were 20,402 Sinhalas in Jaffna. After the Vaddukoddai Resolution and resultant campaign of genocide against them, the number of Sinhalas fell to zero. Today the number of Sinhalas in the entire Jaffna district is zero. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffna_District). The same fate fell on Sinhalas in Batticaloa, Mulaitivu, Mannar and Kilinochchi districts as well. In other words, Sinhalas were entirely wiped out from five districts of the eight (8) districts of the North and the East that is claimed by Tamil Elamists to be the nation of Tamils and only Tamils. Apart from the Nazi genocide of Jews, nothing is comparable to this silent act of genocide by Tamil Elamists. However, Tamil Elamists didn’t stop at that. They went on to genocide Muslims too from the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mulaitivu and Mannar at a later stage. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffna_District)
This phased approach of Tamil Elamists coins with the Nazi campaign as described in vivid detail by Pastor Martin Niemöller. “They came first for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
First, Tamil Elamists went after political parties with secular ideologies and destroyed them in the North and Tamil areas of the East. UNP, SLFP and communist parties that formed ruling coalitions were rooted out in Tamil majority areas in the North and the East by Tamil Elamist communal parties including the ACTC, ITAK, TULF and Tamil National Alliance. Sadly, these Tamil communalist parties still dominate these areas. When peaceful and forceful means failed, violence was used. In 1975 Alfred Duriappa, who was a Tamil himself but rejected Tamil Elamism was killed in Jaffna.
Then Tamil Elamists went after the police, the public service and trade unions in the North and Tamil majority areas of the East. All anti-Tamil Elamists were forced to leave these services and got the positions filled by supporters. Scores were killed.
Then they targeted the Sinhalese, ethnically cleansing them out totally from five districts. Then they went after the Muslims, wiping them out totally from four districts. Then their attention fell on Christian clergy and there was no one to defend them. Then the unthinkable happened. A large number of Tamil Christian clergy supported the Tamil Elam movement.
These wide ranging ideological matters and direction were installed in the LTTE by Tamil Elam racist political leaders who dominated the Tamil polity in areas they referred to as ‘Tamil Homelands’. Sri Lanka must initiate war crimes investigations not into the LTTE which has been decimated, but against other Tamil Elamists, especially the ideological leaders who instigated, planned and prepared the infrastructure to commit war crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide. Having survived the war, these criminals are working to revive violence, racism, subversion and non-co-operation. They are older than the LTTE to influence it, yet young enough to outlive the LTTE.
This is only a brief comparison of two identical ethno-nationalist projects that used extreme violence to achieve their goals. There are many more similarities between them.
