The Subjugated Tamil People in Sri Lanka A brief historical background & An appeal to Great Britain Peoples Forum : North - East, Sri Lanka Title : The Subjugated Tamil People In Sri Lanka Author : Sabaratnam Selvendra Copyright : © 2019 Selvendra, S Edition : First Edition, 2019 June Publication : Tholthamizh,Tellippalai, Jaffna. [email protected] Printers : Evergreen Printers, Jaffna. Pages : 74 Price : 250.00 LK Rs ISBN : 978-624-5067-00-8 This book is published on-behalf of Peoples Forum : North - East, Sri Lanka. 45/4, Stanly College Lane, Ariyalai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. [email protected] www.tamilsovereignty.org Contents Page Appeal Letter to Great Britain 7 Foreword 13 Author’s Preface 15 Executive Summary 21 Chapter 1 : Introduction 25 1.1 Political Agitation 26 1.2 Rise of Militancy 27 1.3 Post Ethnic War 28 1.4 Sinhala Political Mindset 29 1.5 British Government Mediation 31 1.6 Obligation of the Members of the International Community 31 1.7 Durable Solution for the Ethnic Problem 31 Chapter 2 : A Brief Historical Background 33 2.1 The Jaffna Kingdom 33 2.2 Subjugation under Portuguese Rule 34 2.3 Dutch Rule 35 2.4 British Rule 36 2.4.1 Consolidation of Tamil & Sinhala Kingdoms into one Country 36 2.4.2 Unified System of Administration 37 2.4.3 Territorial Representation under Donoughmore Constitution 38 Chapter 3 : Transfer of Power from British to Sinhalese 40 3.1 Events leading to the Introduction of Soulbury Constitution 40 3.2 The Soulbury Commissioners in Ceylon 42 3.3 Soulbury Commission Recommendations 44 3.4 Failure of the Soulbury Commission 46 Chapter 4 : The Sinhalese Rule 49 4.1 Oppressive Measures Against the Tamils 50 4.1.1 State Aided Colonisation 51 4.1.2 Adoption of Lion Flag as National Flag 53 4.1.3 Dis-Enfranchisement of Plantation Tamils 54 4.1.4 Sinhala Only Act of 1956 56 4.1.5 Language-Wise Standardisation for University Admissions 58 4.1.6 Abolishing of Appeals to Privy Council 58 4.1.7 Doing away with Soulbury Constitution 58 4.1.8 Neglect of infrastructure of the Tamil homeland 60 4.2 Violence Orchestrated against Tamils 61 4.3 An Unjust War Imposed on the Tamils 66 4.4 Events since the War Ended 68 5. Conclusion 70 6. Reference 73 Appeal Letter to Great Britain 45/4, Stanly College Lane, Ariyalai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, t a m i l s o v e r e i g n t y @ g m a i l . c o m , 14th March 2019. Prime Minister of United Kingdom, 10, Downing Street, London Sw1A 2AA, England. Honuorable Sir, APPEAL TO GREAT BRITAIN ON BEHALF OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE IN SRI LANKA TO HELP LIBERATE US FROM SUBJUGATION The Sri Lankan Tamils, we had sovereignty over our lands in the Jaffna kingdom that encompassed the north, east and north-western regions of Sri Lanka until the year 1619 when we lost our kingdom to the Portuguese. After 329 years of foreign colonial rule when the last colonial ruler Britain granted independence to Ceylon (former name for Sri Lanka) on 4th February 1948, Tamils’ Sovereignty over our homeland was not restored to us. On the contrary, the governance of the entire integrated multiethnic country was handed over to the Sinhalese Nation, under a Unitary Constitution. The Soulbury Commission who were responsible for the transfer of power arrangements stated in their report, “that it was satisfied that the government of Ceylon was fully aware that the contentment of the minorities was essential not only to their own well-being but to the well-being of the Island as a whole. And to quote the commissions report “If it were otherwise, no safeguard that we could devise would in the long run be of much avail. Recent years have shown that this observation was only too true”. (Farmer, 1963) 7 Events since independence clearly proved that the premise on which the Soulbury Commissioners based their recommendations was unfounded and out of context.They had done a grave injustice to the Tamils by subjugating us to be at the mercy of the racially oppressive Sinhalese Nation. It was rather unfortunate that the Soulbury Commissioners came to their decision while they were not unaware of the racially oppressive tendencies of the Sinhalese leaders and despite this impending danger having been pointed out to them by the Tamil representatives. Tamils have been continuously subjected to cruel and degrading oppressive measures by the Sinhalese rulers affecting our ethnicity, integrity of our homeland, language, education, religion, culture, economic well-being and our very existence itself. This has resulted in immense suffering for the Tamils. We are constrained to state that we find ourselves in this unacceptable situation due to the imposition of the unsuitable unitary ‘Soulbury Constitution’, for the adoption of which, the British Government was instrumental. We have realized that no amount of pleading with the obdurate Sinhalese leaders is going to make them relent and restore our rights to us. It is only the involvement of a determined international community that can bring about a just settlement. It is our humble opinion that Britain should take the initiative and mediate a settlement because of historical obligation that Britain owes to this country and particularly to the aggrieved Tamils. It is in this desperate and helpless background that there is a general feeling among vast sections of our people that we have come to the end of our tether and are left with no alternatives now but to appeal to the British Government, whose actions over the years under their rule and particularly from 1920 onwards until the granting of independence, have brought us into this pathetic situation, for redress and for the British People to show their renowned sense of fair play and justice and save us, though belatedly. 8 It is only fair that this matter should be re-examined by British Government by appointing an inquiry Commission to look into the manner in which its officials handled the winding up of the Colonial rule in this country until the legal handing over of the Country on the basis of the ‘Soulbury Constitution’ and assessing the extent of damage and injustice done to the Tamils consequent to their actions. The legitimacy of the subsequent two constitutions imposed by the Sri Lankan Government should also be examined as these were done in contravention of Section 29 of the then existing ‘Soulbury Constitution’; without the concurrence of the Tamils and against the very sprit and characteristic of the conditional polity that the British Government bequeathed to the Peoples of this country. Britain could use its good offices to take up this matter with the Sri Lankan Government and if necessary at the United Nations Organization and initiate necessary measures to restore the political rights to the Tamils, as all other numerous attempts and avenues of conflict resolution have failed. As a first step in this regard Britain could formally recognize the historical fact that the indigenous Tamils in Sri Lanka are a People who constitute a Nation and are therefore entitled to their inherent right to Self Determination. In this centenary year of Balfour Declaration of 2nd November, 1917 of which Britain feels proud, Britain could support the Tamil’s aspiration similar to Balfour Declaration and actively involve itself to help win the political rights of the Tamil People in Sri Lanka. The plight of the long suffering Tamils in this country is so acute that the international community cannot be as insensitive as to show indifference to the suffering and humiliation of the Tamils. It is the obligation of the international community to exercise their right to protect (R2P) and we feel that Britain has a moral responsibility to take the initiative to mobilize the international community to help restore to the Tamil People their inalienable rights that remains unfairly usurped by the Sinhalese. 9 We are conscious of all the generous financial assistance and diplomatic advice that Britain has been giving to this country over the years to resolve its problems. We are ever grateful to former British Prime Minister Hon. David Cameron for visiting Jaffna in 2015 and personally consoling the grieving people. He was the first Prime Minister of a country to ever pay a visit to beleaguered Jaffna and we are indeed indebted to him and to the people of Great Britain for this kind gesture. In the following pages we are stating our case in some detail to enable you to appreciate the gravity of our plight and our justification for making this appeal to you, in a report form. Once again, we humbly appeal to the British Government to help the Tamil People to free ourselves from subjugation and to enable us to live in peace with dignity. Yours Sincerely On behalf of the Subjugated Tamil People in Sri Lanka Signed by 1. Dr. K. T. Ganeshalingam Ph.D Head, Department of Political Science, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. 2. Mr. S. Selvendra B.Sc.(Madras), FCA (Sri Lanka) Chartered Accountant, Member, Valvettiturai Urban Council. Customs Road, Valvettiturai, Sri Lanka. 3. Mr. M. Thillainathan B.Sc(Eng.), MIE(SL) Chartered Engineer, 375, Point Pedro Road, Nallur, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. 10 4. Mr. S. Divakalala B.A(Hons), CAS. SLAS Former Secretary Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs & Sports, North East Province. Chief Executive officer, Aruthal, 51, Wyman Road, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. 5. Mr.T. Kumaresan Web Master & Publisher 138, Bar Maniam Lane, Tellipalai East, Tellippalai, Sri Lanka. 6. Sri la Sri So. Thesiga Gnanasampantha Paramarchcharya Swamigal Nallai Thirugnanasampanthar Aatheenam Nallur, Sri Lanka.