Letter to our Tamil friends in the USA

Dear compatriots:

The assassination of Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam adds another name to the long list of Tamil leaders who have been sentenced to death by the LTTE kangaroo courts operating in the jungles of the Wanni. Mr. Ponnambalam, as you know, was a vociferous spokesman for the LTTE in Colombo but his services were not satisfactory enough for the LTTE Supremo whom you have still not yet seen in person, except in propaganda pictures sent to you. His family was aware that he was under threat during the last few months because of increasing visits by LTTE cadres to his house in Colombo and the order that the family members should leave the house during these times.

Politicians in power on all sides have caused many problems for Sri Lanka in the last few decades. People of all communities have suffered because of the erosion of their democratic rights. Politicians have taken advantage of the social tensions and the terrorist uprisings of the JVP and the violent Tamil groups to wreak vengeance on those who stand in their way and also to amass wealth through the misuse of power. Leave aside war atrocities, which are inevitable in modern warfare, where civilians suffer most, the Sinhala people have seen numerous extra-judicial political executions and harassment, and the Tamil people experienced the terrible program of 1983.

The Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher citizens of Sri Lanka have lived in harmony and peace in the past. You know that the kind of racial discrimination that has existed in Europe and North America, where the colored people were held in contempt as an under-class, never existed in Sri Lanka. Tamils, Burghers, and Muslims were generally the leaders of Colombo society. Sinhala and Tamil people share common religious beliefs and Sinhala people pray in Hindu kovils. It is quite different from what prevailed in colonial times. Those of us who are older will remember that, even as late as 1960, Europeans did not allow Sri Lankans into their clubs and had a "whites only" policy for top posts in the mercantile sector in Colombo.

The expatriate Tamils think of the LTTE war as a cricket match, with Prabhakaran as their captain. A middle aged middle class Tamil lady told us on a social occasion in the Washington area that Prabhakaran and the LTTE will bring the best prospects for Tamils in Sri Lanka. Someone asked her whether she likes the prospect of living in a totalitarian state under the dictatorship of a man who has killed thousands of Tamils and Sinhala people. Her answer was "We will get rid of Prabhakaran when that time comes". When we see the absolute power of dictatorial rulers in modern states, it seems such a foolish answer. Remember Mao Zedong’s famous statement; "A revolution is not a dinner party". This lady’s husband (and she) received free education in Sri Lanka, held the highest public sector and foreign service posts in that country, and yet wanted to destroy the country. We all know that this lady is not an exception.

The Sinhala people have behaved with unimaginable restraint in recent years. While LTTE death squads slaughtered peaceful Sinhala villagers by the thousand in cold blood, bombed public places and assassinated leaders (including Presidents and Cabinet Ministers), Tamils in Colombo remained unharmed. When a Sikh killed Indira Gandhi, over two thousand Sikhs were killed in Delhi by Hindu mobs. When a fundamentalist Muslim group carries out attacks in some part of the world, there is mass hysteria evoked against Moslems in Europe and North America. Do you not see the advantages of living in peace with the Sinhala and Muslim people in Sri Lanka?

Sri Lankans have inherited a unique Sri Lankan culture to which all communities living there have contributed. It is now a country shattered by divisive and greedy self-seeking politics. Many Tamils have contributed substantially to this chaos by persistently choosing to opt out of the mainstream of politics. If all Tamil people join hands with the other races in Sri Lanka, they can help to establish an honest leadership, which can create a prosperous and united Sri Lanka for its entire people.

Time is running out and the Tamil people are suffering the most in this situation. Do you really want a divided Sri Lanka where you will have to leave your wealth, property and social life in the South of Sri Lanka to live in a totalitarian state run by a murderous dictator with fundamentalist morals? Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and Slobodan Milosevic’s Yugoslavia are paradises compared to the proposed Eelam, as the LTTE-controlled regions of Sri Lanka indicate.

Tamil friends, don’t be intimidated: voice your opinion according to the dictates of your conscience at this crucial hour and stop funding terrorists!