Sri Lanka entangles India with 13th Amendment & limits Indian diplomatic maneuverability to resolve Tamil question: TGTE

"Urges India to take Leadership to Resolve the Tamil National Question by Holding an Internationally Sponsored Referendum Led by India"

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, July 19, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's July 21st meeting in Delhi with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wikramasinghe, Prime Minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, sent a letter to Prime Minister Modi, urging him to take the leadership in resolving the Tamil National Question in the island of Sri Lanka by having India hold an internationally sponsored referendum among Eelam Tamils.

Mr. Rudrakumaran pointed out in the letter that, "Given the asymmetrical relationship between India and Sri Lanka in terms of military power and economic strength, Sri Lanka employs bad-faith diplomacy and duplicity to level the playing field."

The letter cautioned Prime Minister Modi against allowing Sri Lanka's successful moves to entangle India with the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution and thereby limits Indian diplomatic maneuverability to resolve the Tamil National Question to persist. It's high time that India cut the 13th Amendment rope that entangles it.

The letter also called attention to the fact that the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Wikramasinghe is taking place two days before the 40th anniversary of the 1983 Racial Pogrom against Eelam Tamils, during which thousands of Tamils were killed. Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi characterized the Pogrom as genocide.

The letter further highlights the fact that due to the Sixth Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution, which prohibits even peaceful advocacy for an independent state, Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka are not in a position to articulate their political aspirations fully.

About the fact that Eelam Tamil political leadership does not have a unified position with respect to a permanent solution to the Tamil National Question, TGTE views this as a healthy sign of pluralism. The ultimate decision makers are the Eelam Tamil people themselves.

TGTE's request for Prime Minister Modi and India regarding resolving the Tamil National Question: “The sovereignty of the Tamil Nation resides in each Tamil. Thus, TGTE believes that to honor this pluralism, the proper resolution of the Tamil National Question is an internationally sponsored referendum led by India among Eelam Tamils.”

About India position regarding the 13th Amendment, Rudrakumaran stated that “We are cognizant of the fact that India’s current position is the implementation of the 13th Amendment. I do not want to dwell on the merits or the demerits of the 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment was enacted in 1987. It has been in the books for more than 35 years. Despite India’s repeated calls for the implementation of the 13th Amendment and many Sri Lankan leaders’ promises of its implementation, the 13th Amendment has still not been implemented. Based on the above, coupled with Sri Lanka's Mahavamsa Mindset, the TGTE firmly believes that the Sinhala polity will NEVER implement the 13th Amendment. "To implement the 13th Amendment no one needs Tamils consent."

Regarding this repetition of history, the letter quoted Albert Einstein, saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

The letter further highlights “Since Sri Lanka’s independence, India has consistently made concessions to Sri Lanka to keep it in its [India's] zone of influence.”

The letter pointed out as examples of India’s concessions the following: 

(1) The 1954 Neru-Kotelawala Pact, the 1964 Srima-Shastri Pact, and the 1974 Sirima-Gandhi Pact, resulted in the expulsion of more than 300,000 Tamils of Indian origin similar to the expulsion of Asians by Idi Amin from Uganda, diluting India’s political influence in Sri Lanka. 

(2) The Sirima-Indira Maritime Boundary agreements of 1974 and 1976 resulted in the ceding of Kachchatheevu which was a part of the Zamindari of the Raja of Ramnad and sacrificed the traditional dishing rights of the Indian fishermen to Sri Lanka despite the opposition of Tamil Nadu State Assembly.

The letter further states that Sri Lanka’s aggressive colonization of the Tamil Homeland with Sinhala settlers is inimical and dangerous to India’s geopolitical interest. “At the time of Sri Lankan independence, the Sinhalese population in the island's Eastern province was less than 1/2 percent (.5%). Today, Sinhalese constitute 29% of the population in the Eastern province.”

The letter further pointed out that an independent Tamil Eelam is in India's interest, “Presently, the people across the Palk Strait are the Tamil Nadu Tamils on the one side and the Eelam Tamils on the other side. If Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese colonization of the Tamil Homeland continues, Tamil Nadu will be on one side while the Sinhalese will be on the other. Needless to say, this Sinhalization amounts to Chinazation. It is in Indias interest to stop this Sinhalese colonization and Tamil displacement and thereby prevent the Tamil displacement that ultimately results in Chinese control of these territories.”

TGTE believes that “Similar to the manner that small Iceland plays a pivotal role in contributing to security in Europe, the independent and sovereign state of Tamil Eelam will contribute to the security of South Asia region.” concludes the letter.

ABOUT THE TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL EELAM (TGTE):

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is a democratically elected Government of over a million strong Tamils (from the island of Sri Lanka) living in several countries around the world.

TGTE was formed after the mass killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan Government in 2009.

TGTE thrice held internationally supervised elections among Tamils around the world to elect 132 Members of Parliament. It has two chambers of Parliament: The House of Representatives and the Senate and also a Cabinet.

TGTE is leading a campaign to realize the political aspirations of Tamils through peaceful, democratic, and diplomatic means and its Constitution mandates that it should realize its political objectives only through peaceful means. It’s based on the principles of nationhood, homeland and self-determination.

TGTE seeks that the international community hold the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Tamil people to account. TGTE calls for a referendum to decide the political future of Tamils.

The Prime Minister of TGTE is Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a New York based lawyer.

Email: pmo@tgte.org
Twitter: @TGTE_PMO
Web: www.tgte-us.org

Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran
Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)
+1 614-202-3377
r.thave@tgte.org
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