Rudrakumar Viswanathan, Prime Minister, TGTE
The voices of the Sri Lankan Tamils, demoralised by a brutal military crackdown following LTTE’s defeat, still remain unheard, especially in Sinhalese-majority Sri Lanka. But away from home, they are making efforts to regroup. Elections were held among Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in 12 countries in 2010 to create theTransnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)and elect Rudrakumaran Viswanathan its prime minister. So far, TGTE hasn’t got any official recognition from any country. But Viswanathan, who lives in New York, says it enjoys overt support from various groups across the world, including in India. The Lankan government calls the TGTE a terrorist outfit, but Viswanathan says his organisation wants to fight for the Sri Lankan Tamil cause through peaceful, democratic means. The 54-year-old spoke to Ullekh NP on a range of issues. Excerpts:What are your plans of action?At present, the Tamil people of Sri Lanka have absolutely no prospect of articulating their political aspirations or of exercising their fundamental rights in their homeland. The Sri Lankan government, through legal impediments, military occupation and murder, is strangling the Tamil people’s aspirations and their rights. The Tamil diaspora have formed the TGTE in order to pursue this political struggle through democratic means.
Do you have a unit in India?
In India, a TGTE solidarity centre and the Tamil Youth and Student Centre have been formed by Tamil activists in support of the TGTE. We have filled the position of nominated MPs with some representatives from India, too … we enjoy overt support from Indian activists, academics, civil society and many local politicians.
How hopeful are you of winning international community’s support for your cause?
When the truth emerges about what really happened in the final days of the war (in Sri Lanka), when the international community becomes aware that what happened in Mullivaikal (located in Northern Lanka where a hospital in the “safe zone” was allegedly bombed by the Lankan army) was genocide, when it becomes aware of how the state machinery is structurally adapted for systematic genocidal activities, when it is sensitised to the fact that the overriding concern of the Lankan government is the total obliteration of the Tamil identity, we are confident that the international community will support us … The UNSG Expert Panel Report and the Channel 4 documentary have already shocked the conscience of the international community. In the coming days, there will be many more revelations that will come from within the ranks of the army itself.
What are your goals and what are the means you plan to use to arrive at those goals?
The TGTE is a political entity formed to set up a sovereign state of Tamil Eelam (within Sri Lanka) through peaceful, democratic means…As far as the TGTE is concerned, armed struggle is not an option. However, were the TGTE to fail in its mandate, I cannot predict what would succeed us.
How are countries like India and the US responding?
We are not expecting explicit recognition from these countries. Explicit recognition of the TGTE, which openly challenges the sovereignty of the Sri Lankan government over the Tamil area, would require a radical change in the diplomatic relations of these governments with the government of Sri Lanka. However, we are confident, given the changes in the geopolitical dynamics in South Asia, the interests of India and the US and the Tamil interest will converge at one point.
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