News Update - 20051202
*** Topics: Maveerar Naal speech, Brief synopsis of speech, Reactions to the Maveerar Naal speech and the future, News round-up ***
** Maveerar Naal speech:
For those of you who have not read, heard, or seen the Maaveerar Naal speech, it is definitely worth a full read-through. The following are ways to access the speech.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=16429 - English text
http://www.eelamweb.com/leader/messages/herosday/2005/ - English & Tamil text, Tamil audio
http://www.tvttn.com/ - video of the speech, and video of Anton Balasingham's speech available for download. Balasingham has been the ideologue (ideological strategy spokesman) and chief negotiator for the LTTE since 1982. He is said to contribute a lot in the writing of the Maveerar Naal speeches, and includes a few jokes in his own speeches, making this worth seeing for those with the time.
** Brief synopsis of speech:
"The entrenched supremacist Buddhist mindset of the Sinhala people is the cause of the conflict, but we don't not expect it to change, either. We have to fight for our rights. We engaged in the peace process to prove the justness of our cause and to be understood. We knew that the peace process was designed to be a trap to trick and weaken us, but we knew we could face whatever happens. The peace process did turn out to be an sophisticated attempt to weaken our struggle. We were through with this and ready to take action but the tsunami struck. The whole tragedy of the P-TOMS structure for tsunami relief, a non-political humanitarian structure, is the most drastic proof of this, symbolic of everything, and was the last straw for us Tamils. The ongoing shadow war weakens us overtly. Tamils will no longer tolerate their 57 year plight any longer, and their rejection of the Sri Lankan govt. through the elections boycott shows this. We are stronger than ever before. The Sinhalese people have represented themselves by electing the hardline Rajapakse. Due to an intentionally vague definition of terrorism, our liberation movement is unfairly branded as such. We will give Rajapakse a short period of time to prove his genuineness. But if he doesn't produce anything by then, in the next year, we will be ready to liberate ourselves."
** Reactions to the Maveerar Naal speech and the future:
If the idea of a peace process being a trap seems hard to understand, consider the freedom struggle in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, which has slight parallels to this situation in Eelam. The Acehense had similar donor conferences and peace talks in Tokyo back in the middle of 2003, but they didn't see things coming and paid heavy consequences for it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3035925.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3105733.stm
http://www.eelamnation.com/news_item.asp?NewsID=2978 - an interesting look at how populism and a distorted media can distort people's opinions.
Audio and text of Balasingham's speech:
http://www.eelampage.com/index9.php?cn=22081
http://www.tamilnaatham.com/special/bala_speech_2005/1.htm
News reports clearly called Rajapakse a hardliner during his campaign and while the election was underway. Although some now portray him as interested in peace for inviting the LTTE to talks, his rejection of the core demands of Tamils makes his peace talk ring hollow. Although Rajapakse mentions peace to regain credit with the international community, he is really at the mercy of the hardline parties JVP & JHU for support. They will not let him avoid following through his hardline campaign promises for too long. This will lead towards war. Perhaps the LTTE, perhaps is allowing Rajapakse enough time for him to reveal his true intentions (just as the LTTE did with Karuna) before taking swift, decisive action. Statements made by senior officials and others who convey LTTE thinking seem to suggest so.
http://www.sangam.org/taraki/articles/2005/11-30_Flashback_to_Pirabhakaran_1995_Interview.php - an article that concisely dispels myths in the media about their interpretations of the LTTE's intentions. As the article says, SL govt. insincerity might remain the same, but the LTTE is much more powerful than it ever was. The following are examples of distorted media reports:
http://www.eelamnation.com/news_item.asp?NewsID=3001
http://in.news.yahoo.com//051128/43/6191h.html
** News round-up:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051121/wl_sthasia_afp/srilankapoliticswickremanayake_051121104550 - The president named an outspoken, overt racist as prime minister.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=16428 - The president also appointed a very hardline army commander.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051201/wl_sthasia_afp/sri_051201080147 - The president is ignoring the appeal by the LTTE, and is coyly trying to mimic Kumaratunga and Wickremasinge by talking peace and preparing for war.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=16449
The president and his administration is hoping for international intervention in the conflict (which is unlikely given the war in Iraq and India's previous failed attempt), and they are seeking India for help.
Norway has cancelled the visit of the chief facilitator of the peace process to SL that was previously scheduled. Another Norwegian govt. official who was involved in the peace process will also not visit SL.