Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

11 October  2020

 

 

UK’s LTTE Proscription

Structures are essential in the development of regulated pathways. As individuals all of us carry our own structures as per the environment that we are consciously a part of.  These structures are a combination of our Karma and our consciousness of our environment. The Lankan armed war has caused untold damage to the governance structures that Tamils of Sri Lanka developed over generations. Without reliable structures, we are effectively orphans. Those who follow Due Processes and Laws of a particular structure – confirm the heritage value of that structure. It is such following that confirms the Energy value of the origin. When we carry such Energy within us, as Energy – it facilitates merger with any reliable structure that we seek to become part of. Once we ‘show’ this structure – we downgrade its value to that extent and its transferability is weakened.

Some Tamils blame the Sri Lankan government fully for the war pain. To the extent their experience was so – that is acceptable. Many Sinhalese blame the LTTE fully for the war pain which they call terrorism from time to time. The two cannot be the same in the one relationship at the one time. War attributes Equal status to the other side  - as in a game. Terrorism attributes junior status to the accused.

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam TGTE claims to carry the spirit of LTTE outside Sri Lanka. My attention  was drawn  to the report headed ‘Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission hears appeal against LTTE terrorism ban’ published by Bindmans.  As per that report:

[An organisation may only be proscribed if the Home Secretary “reasonably believes” that it is currently “concerned in ‘terrorism’” (as defined by the Terrorism Act 2000).  However, there is no mechanism by which the Government reviews the list of proscribed organisations to ensure the legal test for proscription continues to be met.  This means that organisations such as the LTTE remain listed indefinitely, unless an application to the Home Secretary for deproscription is successful.]

The question here is the reason why an individual and/or organisation would apply to remove the proscription. In this instance, why is TGTE applying is the question. To be valid – the UK Home Secretary needs to reasonably believe that LTTE’s heirs are free of Terrorism or that the potential victims in the UK are free of Apprehended anxiety, as defined by the UK law. One man’s freedom could be one woman’s terrorism. Hence, the Home Secretary needs to know the Sri Lankan community in the UK well enough to be able to have insight into the manifestations of the applicant and others in UK who are influenced by the LTTE ideology as well their Opposition in the UK. One such lead was included in the communication that came to me, under the heading ‘President of Irish Republican Shin Fein Paid Tribute to Lt.Col. Thileepan: TGTE’ which begins as follows:

Mr. Des Dalton, President of Irish Republican Shin Fein paid tribute to Lt. Col Thileepan during the memorial event organized by Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam

Mr Dalton’s speech began as follows:

[Just a few brief words on Bobby Sands and the 1981 Hunger Strike. Myself, I was nine years of age when I first heard of the hunger strike. And I was ten when Bobby Sands died on the 2nd hunger strike and it was an event that had a profound impact on myself, even at that young age.]

Bobby Sands is reported to have lived in Anglo-Catholic area which would indicate the root of his mind-structure that led to his Hunger Strike. But Thileepan’s (Rasaiah Parthipan’s) background is as follows:

[He was from Urelu near Urumpirai in northern Ceylon.  His father was a Tamil teacher and he had three older brothers. His mother died when Parthipan was three months old. After his father died of diabetes he was brought up by his brothers. He was educated at Jaffna Hindu College. After school he enrolled in the University of Jaffna.

Parthipan joined the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) prior to the 1983 Black July anti-Tamil riots. He was given the nom de guerre Thileepan. Injured in the stomach in May 1987 during the Vadamarachchi Operation (Operation Liberation), he became the LTTE's political leader for Jaffna peninsula] Wikipedia

The Indo Sri Lanka Peace accord was signed on 29 July 1987 and this was the foundation of the 13^th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution – the activation of which a good proportion of Tamils are pushing for presently. Obviously, it did not satisfy LTTE and this was confirmed through Thileepan’s fasting also. As per my knowledge, Thileepan did not live in Colombo or other multicultural areas of Sri Lanka, to be the parallel of IRA’s Bobby Sands. He seems to have been attracted to the LTTE’s pathway, which at the time of his joining did not include the July 1983 pogrom in Colombo and other major multicultural areas.

I am a native of Jaffna and to my mind, LTTE which allocated the Political Leadership status to Thileepan was a much junior grouping than the political group through whom we elected government. The above confirms the subsequent murder of leading members of that higher group of Institutional values – including Jaffna MP – the Hon Vettivelu Yogeswaran. Wikipedia presents the following about this Political Martyr:

[Yogeswaran and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure from Sri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state; and the Black July riots in which up to 3,000 Tamils were killed by Sinhalese mobs. After three months of absence, Yogeswaran forfeited his seat in Parliament on 22 October 1983]

The killing happened on 13 July 1989 – about 2 years after the promotion of Thileepan to political leadership within the LTTE. This confirms that Thileepan was the puppet installed by armed leadership whose followers did not believe in the already existing political structures in Jaffna. This confirms ‘invasion’ of Jaffna Political space by armed militants.

Until LTTE heirs including TGTE seek the pardon of Tamil Political elders and/or their voters for such invasions, this would lead them like their shadow. When we walk towards the sun – our shadow follows us. When the sun is behind us – our shadow would fall in front of us. When the sun is above our head – there is no shadow. The sun that shines through its own light depicts the independent mind.

To Reasonably Believe that there is no risk of suppression of political powers by the heirs of LTTE, the UK Home Secretary needs to “reasonably believe” that the LTTE Opposition in the UK feels free to express their political beliefs. I am such an Opposition here in Australia as well as in Sri Lanka because I value intellectual freedom above apparent physical freedom. So far I have not felt any ‘block’ to my freedom to express that opposition.