DMK President and TESO Chairman Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi has outlined the reasons for demanding a Referendum under the supervision of the UNO among Eelam Tamils in Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka and the Tamils diaspora, in the petition signed by him and submitted by DMK Treasurer Thalapathi M.K.Stalin and DMK Parliamentary Party leaderThiru T.R.Baalu to the Deputy Secretary General of the UNO Jan Ellison in New York on Nov.1.
The memorandum submitted to the Secretary General, UNO on the sufferings of Tamils in Sri Lanka and the need for a political solution contains a brief narrative of the attacks on Eelam Tamils and the steps taken by the DMK in their cause from 1956 upto the TESO conference in August this year which is the same as in the memorandum presented to UNHRC.
This historical discrimination has been instrumental in fuelling the situation and creating an anarchical condition in higher education. The Sinhalese Government has introduced a biased evaluation system which discriminates against Tamil students in schools, colleges and university.
Three years have passed since the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka and no action has been taken on the crucial commitments made by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Your Excellency UN Secretary-General on 23rd May 2009 for “addressing the aspirations and grievances of all communities and working towards a lasting political solution”.
According to the 1987 Indo- Sri Lankan Accord signed by the Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan President Jayawardene, it is accepted that “the Northern and Eastern provinces have been areas of historical habitation of the Sri Lankan Tamil speaking people, who have at all times hitherto lived in this territory”. The proposed 13th Amendment of Sri Lankan Constitution envisaged by 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord calls for the integration of the Northern and Eastern Provinces; devolution of land powers and police powers to the Provinces.
However, the 25 year-old Indo-Sri Lanka Accord has not been honoured by subsequent Sri Lankan Governments. Even as recently as 2009, President Rajapaksa had declared that he was unable to hold elections in the Northern Province due to lack of census data, however there were no qualms in conducting national level elections in 2010. This history of broken unkept promises by the Sri Lankan Government is a cause of utmost concern.
Article-1 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states:
“All people have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”.
Such a right of self-determination was given to Southern Sudanese people by the UN. The two decades-old civil war between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement from 1983 to 2005 resulted in over two million deaths and four million displaced. The UN-negotiated Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was part of the ceasefire agreement signed in 2005, included a referendum for Southern Sudanese people. The various agencies of the UN were instrumental in the successful conduct of the referendum held on 9th January 2011. The Southern Sudanese people overwhelmingly voted with 98.83% in favour of a sovereign, independent Republic of South Sudan.
Similar referenda on self-determination have been conducted in several other nations. If peace and tranquility is to be restored in the war-affected Tamil areas, the UN must intervene and hold an impartial referendum in the Northern and Eastern Provinces as well as diaspora Tamils and enable the Sri Lankan Tamils to decide their political future.
With no movement towards a mutually acceptable political solution and with swift government-sponsored demographic manipulations aimed at eliminating Tamils from their homeland, it is time to take action to protect the life and rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Therefore, I request Your Excellency, Secretary General of United Nations be pleased to consider this memorandum and do the needful in this regard.
Please hold referendum under UN supervision for self-determination of the Eelam Tamils residing in Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka including diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamils.
Sd.....
(Dr. M. Karunanidhi)
President, DMK party and TESO
Chennai
27.10.2012
The memorandum submitted to the Secretary General, UNO on the sufferings of Tamils in Sri Lanka and the need for a political solution contains a brief narrative of the attacks on Eelam Tamils and the steps taken by the DMK in their cause from 1956 upto the TESO conference in August this year which is the same as in the memorandum presented to UNHRC.
This historical discrimination has been instrumental in fuelling the situation and creating an anarchical condition in higher education. The Sinhalese Government has introduced a biased evaluation system which discriminates against Tamil students in schools, colleges and university.
Three years have passed since the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka and no action has been taken on the crucial commitments made by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Your Excellency UN Secretary-General on 23rd May 2009 for “addressing the aspirations and grievances of all communities and working towards a lasting political solution”.
According to the 1987 Indo- Sri Lankan Accord signed by the Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan President Jayawardene, it is accepted that “the Northern and Eastern provinces have been areas of historical habitation of the Sri Lankan Tamil speaking people, who have at all times hitherto lived in this territory”. The proposed 13th Amendment of Sri Lankan Constitution envisaged by 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord calls for the integration of the Northern and Eastern Provinces; devolution of land powers and police powers to the Provinces.
However, the 25 year-old Indo-Sri Lanka Accord has not been honoured by subsequent Sri Lankan Governments. Even as recently as 2009, President Rajapaksa had declared that he was unable to hold elections in the Northern Province due to lack of census data, however there were no qualms in conducting national level elections in 2010. This history of broken unkept promises by the Sri Lankan Government is a cause of utmost concern.
Article-1 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states:
“All people have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”.
Such a right of self-determination was given to Southern Sudanese people by the UN. The two decades-old civil war between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement from 1983 to 2005 resulted in over two million deaths and four million displaced. The UN-negotiated Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was part of the ceasefire agreement signed in 2005, included a referendum for Southern Sudanese people. The various agencies of the UN were instrumental in the successful conduct of the referendum held on 9th January 2011. The Southern Sudanese people overwhelmingly voted with 98.83% in favour of a sovereign, independent Republic of South Sudan.
Similar referenda on self-determination have been conducted in several other nations. If peace and tranquility is to be restored in the war-affected Tamil areas, the UN must intervene and hold an impartial referendum in the Northern and Eastern Provinces as well as diaspora Tamils and enable the Sri Lankan Tamils to decide their political future.
With no movement towards a mutually acceptable political solution and with swift government-sponsored demographic manipulations aimed at eliminating Tamils from their homeland, it is time to take action to protect the life and rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Therefore, I request Your Excellency, Secretary General of United Nations be pleased to consider this memorandum and do the needful in this regard.
Please hold referendum under UN supervision for self-determination of the Eelam Tamils residing in Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka including diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamils.
Sd.....
(Dr. M. Karunanidhi)
President, DMK party and TESO
Chennai
27.10.2012
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