Responsibility Of International Community to Protect Tamil Civilians
by Prof. M Sornarajah
It has been reported that the Sri Lankan government has rejected the appointment of Mr. Des Brown by the British Government as an envoy to deal with issues arising from the persecution by the state of the Tamil population in the country. As with all totalitarian governments, like those in Zimbabwe and Sudan, the Sri Lankan government takes refuge in its sovereignty to deny the competence of the international community’s concern with the plight of the Tamil civilians who have been confined to a small space and subjected to relentless bombings by the Sri Lankan army.
The brutality with which Tamils have been treated in Sri Lanka by successive Sinhalese governments has justified a claim to self-determination in the Tamil minority. It is an idea and a claim that cannot be extinguished by the killing of people, either the LTTE militants or the civilian Tamils. As with Palestine, the more killing there is, the more entrenched the determination and will of the suppressed people to continue the struggle, a fact lost both on Israel as well as the Rajapakse government. The history of the Tamil struggle shows that the more the repression, the greater becomes the resolve of the people to ensure their freedom.
In Sri Lanka, every government of every major party, from that of the two Bandaranaikes, the Jayawardene government and that of Chandrika Kumaranatunge kept themselves in power by stoking ethnic hatred and unleashing the army on the Tamil population, without making efforts at a political solution to an obviously political problem. That tendency has become more severe under the government of Mahinda Rajapakse, who finds in ethnic chauvinism, not only the means of maintaining the power of his family group but also of hiding the looting of the country and the economic decline that such plunder has created. Many civilians, largely Tamils but also Sinhalese, have suffered so that this coterie could be kept in power. Sinhalese journalists brave enough to question the fact that the government is bombing its own people out of existence have been murdered within security zones which the government itself has established. No one has yet been arrested in connection with any of these murders. Sinhalese of good will, who queried the conduct of the government, have been quelled through fear or have left the country under threats of violence.
The plight of the Tamils at the present moment is grave. They are being decimated by bombings of hospitals and safety zones by the air-force and direction of artillery fire at these zones. The luring of these people into the safety zones and then bombing the zones smacks of genocide. This practice gives rise to the inescapable inference that ethnic cleansing is the clear purpose of what is being attempted. Taken together with the views expressed by the army commander about his mission to make the island under Singhalese rule and the obvious destruction of Tamil lives, there is genocide taking place in Sri Lanka. In the South, the torture of arrested persons, the disappearances of those opposed to the regime and the violence unleashed on the voices of dissent indicate that the whole of Sri Lanka is being subjected to colossal violations of a diverse category of vital human rights.
In the light of these circumstances, a responsibility to protect the Tamil civilians arises in the international community. The Responsibility to Protect is now well recognized in international law. It results from an international instrument which the General Assembly of the United Nations approved in 2005 at the World Summit. The Responsibility to Protect is a duty every state owes its minorities. The Responsibility requires that the minority not be subjected to atrocities involving genocide or crimes against humanity like torture. Where this duty is violated by the state, it is incumbent on other members of the international community to intervene and ensure that the persecuted group is protected. Such intervention is legitimate in international law. It is opposed only by a few states like China, Russia, Sudan and Zimbabwe, fellow travelers with the government of Sri Lanka and persistent violators of the rights of their own citizens.
There has been a history of violence against Tamils by the Sri Lankan government. The entrenched discrimination began with the independence of Sri Lanka in 1948 with a slew of legislative measures disadvantaging the minority Tamils. But, it soon turned into violence to dispossess them of their traditional homelands. This resulted in violent resistance which successive Sinhalese governments have sought to crush. Tamil men and women have been arrested and tortured. They have been transferred out of the main cities. Their homes have been taken over for construction of high security zones. Bombings of schools and hospitals in the Tamil region have been frequent. Women have been raped by the occupying forces. Children have been killed. Temples and churches have been demolished or desecrated.
Under Rajapakse, these practices have taken a more intense turn. Hiding under the war on terror initiated by a now defunct American government which also unleashed un-American practices in the name of the war on terror, the Rajapakse government has intensified atrocities on the Tamils. The Tamils have now been driven into a thin strip of land and are subjected to constant shelling by the government troops even in the designated safety zones. Independent verification for such shelling exists.
In these circumstances, a clear responsibility to protect arises. It is unlikely that the United Nations would act, as Russia and China, both Security Council members, have their own incidents of oppression of minorities in Chechnya, Tibet and Xiamen to hide. It is incumbent now on individual members of the international community who respect this Responsibility to protect the Tamil minority in its current plight of helplessness against atrocities. Britain has made a start in attempting to send an envoy. More requires to be done so that the gang of international criminals who rule Sri Lanka do not commit further atrocities. As with the British government, other Western states should insist on sending envoys to determine the situation that prevails in the hope of bringing help to a besieged people. The urgency of this situation is great as the people face decimation at the hands of the government troops.
One other urgent measure is to identify the coterie in power in Sri Lanka as international criminals who will have to pay for their crimes in the future in the same way Milosovic was expected to pay for his. What is happening in Sri Lanka is no different from what is happening in Dafur or what happened in Gaza. The equality principles requires these situations to be treated alike. As the impeachment of the President of Sudan is being contemplated by the International Criminal Court, it is necessary to think in terms of the prosecution of Rajapakse as well. Another is to ensure that the corrupt wealth the Rajapakse coterie has spirited away in Western banks is identified and returned to the people of Sri Lanka. The announcement of these measures by well-meaning states will deter the continued persecution of the people, both Tamil and Sinhalese alike, by the Rajapakse government.
It is important to remember that a right to self-determination has arisen in the Tamil people as a result of continued discrimination and oppression which cannot be extinguished through government violence. It will live on however many people of whatever combatant status - terrorists, armed thugs, civilians call them what you want - are eliminated. It can only be dealt with politically through discussion between the two parties. There is a possibility still, as the majority of Sinhalese people who refuse to be deluded by ethnic chauvinism believe, of resolving this issue peacefully through the search for a constitutional mechanism. It must be said that the LTTE itself was not averse to this idea. It is time that the international community intervened in order to ensure that a guranteed settlement comes about through peaceful means and that a problem which has befuddled the island for over a generation is ended.
(Professor M Sornarajah, teaches and works in the area of public international law.)
17 Comments
Appropriate timing. amble evidence is there.
Dear Prof, Sornaraja,
Your comments are bias and baseless.There may be injusice in the country, but it is unfair to say it it is only for tamils.What ever the cause it is, now it is too late for you people to act.Remember when LTTE pul out from negotiation in 2002? They pu the blame on Ranil Wickramasinghe.What you guys have achieved since then? Nohing! Then LTTE has work hard to bring Mahinda to power, remember?Now dont blame Sri Lankan government for your own benefit.It is absolutely rediculous,shameful!
Hello Sornaraja,
Nice to hear from you. Could you please list a few instances of systematic discrimation?
Thanks
The traditional homelands of the Tamils are in South India. This article lacks merit
very well presented article highligting the genoside of tamils by the singalese racist goverment
LTTE was not averse to this idea of contitutional mechanism.Dr.Neelan Tiruchelvam tried to do this and singularly targeted and termed as a traitor and killed.Nice try Prof!
This is an absolutely onesided article. He has deliberately forgotten the attrocities committed by LTTE.
International community and brutal tamil diaspora seems to approve the massacre of 16 civilians at Inginiyagala by LTTE.
When I read these articles I feel how helpless we sinhalese are and how important it is to support MR.
I am glad that VP brought MR to power & I feel ashamed of myself for supporting Ranil at that election.
Sir.
Thank you for your expert analysis and request and justification for action by the International Community.
I hope and pray that this auricle will make the difference in the thinking of the minds of the international leaders. I am sure that your students and your colleagues who are part of the Government machinery or otherwise in Sri Lanka and elsewhere will take serious note of your advice and warnings and act and advice the Sri Lankan leaders wisely.
M. Inparajah
The good professor shows his ethnic hatred towards the Sinahalese, the successive governments and our country with his comments and such words like brutality, discrimination and genocide against the tamils. Why doesn't the good professor, who in all probability had his free eduction in Sri Lanka list out in detail with statistics the kind of discrimination that the tamils in Sri Lanaka are facing that is distinct from what the Sinhalese and Muslims are facing. Also, with respect to brutality against the tamils, professor if you are referring to the LTTE terrorists, I agree, there has been concerted efforts by successive governements to eliminate them, similar to the efforts against the JVP terrorists who were eliminated and dear Professor we all know they were mostly Sinhalese. Is there collateral damage where innocent tamils are killed and their property destroyed, I agree, but professor that is the ugly side of war. When the enemy has potent weapons like artillary guns, SAM missiles and suicide aircrafts, one wouldnt expect the government to respond with an AK47 rifle, do you professor? Finally, with respect to the claim of genocide against the tamils, the Sri Lankan forces must be the most incompetent army with all your claims of bombings and firing in the safe zones, we do not see any pictures of mass killings in news reports other than isolated cases of victims. Hospitals bombed? C'mon professor, even the news article which carried this allegation failed to carry a picture of the distruction. But we all saw an areal video of the said hospital with no apparent damage. Finally, did the professor read the news a couple of days back about the LTTE massacre of 21 innocent villages in Ampara. Guess not.
I am not surprised the rection from majority community, one has to do real soul searching to understand someone who is really oppressed and hurt. Both Government and LTTE are guilty of atrocities ( Old scores are settled and new hatred are forged and it goes on). if you want to help living and yet to be born in SL, think of how we arrived here( Goverment atrocities agaist tamils are well documented long before LTTE atrocities). Tamil diaspora is not only helping tamils by agitating to have internatioal community involved deeply, but also other minorities and certainly sinhalese as well. MR is not going to stop with Tamils, he is soon going to extend his goodwill with help of his brothers, to sinhalese, to make sure what he promised- equality. Then there will be united Tamil sinhala muslim diaspora protesting all over the world. My appeal to all Sri lankans do not wast time, please join your tamil brothers who is protesting peacefully all over the world now, as they have the will.
Look sinhala response, usual denial.I challenge all sinhala readers if you beleive its bias article, push your ruthless sinhala government to let international neutral body or reporters in tamil areas without following them. Let them speak with tamil people, you will find the differenc. or go and live with them for one day.
PROBLEM WITH MOST SINHALEASE BELEIVE EVERTHING GOVT SAYS. JUST ONE WAY. PLEASE CHANGE OR ONE DAY YOU ALL GOING TO REGRET.
My dear Professor, where were you when thousands of Sinhalese and Muslims were driven out of North and East in early 1980s? where were you when the LTTE were hacking new born babies with manna knifes, urinating on the people they killed? where were you when LTTE murdered all the "Tamil" intelectuals who spoke against both GOSL and LTTE and for the rights of Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims and others who live in Sri Lanka? Where were you when LTTE murdered the leaders of other groups like PLOTE? The discrimination of tamils came ONLY after the LTTE started the terrorist acts against the innocent civilians in SL. It did not come because of the race or religion, but because the other races in SL were scared. Because LTTE used even pregnant women to carry out attacks. The only "discrimination" happened was when the Brittish were here against the Sinhalese, and the Tamils were the instrument used by the British, before the independance in Sri Lanka, Brittish were 1st class, tamils second class and the rest along with sinhalese and muslims were "THIRD CLASS". The only discrimination was sinhalese trying to have the same rights the tamils had under brittish once they left. look at you all you so called "Intelectuals" you live in Europe, US,Australia, Canada.... do you live like fisrt class citizens there? what's the cjhance of you getting a job over a Cocassion who has even bit less skills and educational qualifications than you? get a life, even in North india tamils are traeted as second class citizens since the ancient times, they called your Greatest king Hanuman a "MONKEY". Sinhalese were the only , the only people who treated Tamils as equals, but you wanted to be superior to others in SL, you are reaping the benefits of your treachery. That's Karma, that's gods work.
Prof.Sornarajah is spot on regarding the causes and curses of the liguuistic, ethnic, religious and landgrab policies and genocidal and ethnic cleansing actions of every government from 1948.
Even Tsunami and the the agreed donor funding of 4.5 b$ under the 2002 CFA for war ravaged, reconstructuion of affected Tamil people in such areas was robbed from them. Where did it all go? Did it go to re-arm teh governmnt while arms commissars and merchants of death in SL and abroad collected their booties and promoted arms trade foo their countries.
I fully agree Rajpakse government is murderous. This was stated by none other than his one-time former Foreign Minister, now in oppposition.
The UN watches idly by while the bloodleting of innocent Tamil people by unleashing "the dogs of war" acording to teh Mahinda Chintanaya. All for want of a longtime political solution, which never existed as evidenced over 60 years of political cheating.
The urgent need for war crimes trial and for setting the Tamil people free from oppression, servitude, crimes against humanity and war crimes have become fully patent and palpable. It is high time for them to exercise the right of self determination under the UN as done in previous bitter genocidal wars by murderous states.
Good article. Well done. Do you think that singala people will understand this? By looking the comments above i don't think so.Only God can save srilanka.
For some of the readers comments: Let me list the few descriminations
1. Sinhala only official language in 1956 in SL and the following riots against Tamils and people were sent back to NE home land in ships.
2. 1977 riots due to winning of TULF as the opposition part represented by Tamils. People aere killed houses burned and people were driven back to NE in bus load.
3. 1983 riots Tamils were burned alive becaue they were Tamils. Houses were burned. Again, we cam back to NE homeland in buses and ships (provided by India).
4. Massacre of 52 unarmed Tamil political prisoners.
5. Bindiruwela massacre in 2001. Was anyone prosecuted?
6. I myself escaped from a masscre carried out by SL in 1983.
7. Numerous massacres conducted by SLA, SLN and SLAF. The list goes on and on.
8. Besides there is no socio economics development in NE because we are Tamils. Government does not allocate any money. When it comes money and land everything belongs to Sinhalese. When it come to People only Sinhalese are human and not Tamils. NE have no infra structure because south never cares. We Tamils can develope it by devolution of power. Then South says "we cant trust Tamils"
I would like to remind Tamil Victim that discriminations you have listed in your comment are absolutely common for Sinhalalese and muslims too!
1. Before and after 1948 (untill now) sinhalese not the official language in SRi Lanka.Eventhough constitution says that everything including official documents are in English.Ordinary rural sinhala youths are not welcome to most jobs.They are unemployed without English language.
2. Why , dont you remember same thing happened to SLFP supporters in 1977 and UNP supporters in 1970, JVP in 1971 1nd in 1987!
3.Who started killing? Remember Aranthalawa? How many innocent civilians have been killed by LTTE so far?Is that fair?
4.You escape as Tamil in 1983! I escape as a Sinhalese in 1988/89
5. Dont talk about masscres now again. Who ever doing bad thing for whatever reason is not correct.Civilized world must condemned.It doesnt matter weather they are sinhalses or Tamils.But you talk about only Tamils.Why?
6.Do you think govt allocate money for all sinhala areas? Then sri lanka has to be like Singapore! Come and see Hambanthota, Wellawaya, Mahiyanganaya, Talatuoya anywhere....you are absolutely one sided.
There is no ethinic problem here...we all have a problems.It is common problem for us all!
Dear Professor Somarajah
Being an accadamic scholar, it requires some neutral thoughts and arguments. Internal Displacement is not a new phenominan to the Tamils. It is also phenominan to many Muslims and Sinhalese who evicted from their homes in the 1990s. So it is better to put forward the plight of IDPs on each ethnic gropus.