Our land’s freedom is our birthright

“The Tamils of Ampara have had to face the brunt of both Sinhala chauvinism and Muslim intimidation. But they have refused to submit or yield their national pride as Tamils. We have to show the world that we will never sell our dignity for a mess of pottage, that we will not be intimidated by the terror that the Sri Lankan state has unleashed on us. The democratic campaign of the Tamil national alliance for our people’s rights will strengthen the struggle of those who are fighting for our Liberation. We do not believe that we can achieve anything for the Tamils from the Sri Lankan Parliament. We consider it only as a forum to…

Speech by Nadesan Satyendra, representative of TELO, at Thimbu Talks (1985)

We recognise that the Tamil national struggle is not taking place in some Himalayan stratosphere… At the outset, we would like to emphasise something which all of us amongst the Tamil delegation present here today, recognise and indeed, welcome and accept – and that is, that the circumstance that these discussions are taking place in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is in itself, an open manifestation of the international dimension of the Tamil national question. The Tamil national struggle is not taking place in some Himalayan stratosphere – it is taking place on the ground and in the context of the power balances in the Indian region. We are mindful of this reality and we,…

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka

56th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, Geneva 2000, Item 10 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka The armed confrontation between the government’s security forces and the Tamils in the North and East of the country has claimed since 1983 more than 55.000 lives (90 % of them civilians), over 700 000 internally displaced persons and close to half a million expatriates: almost all of the victims are Tamils. The conflict is the result of the long standing violations of the rights of the Tamils by successive governments. And, as the 1998 report of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights observes, discrimination remains the central issue in…

TELO’s Proposal submitted to the Parliamentary select committee of the then Ranasinghe Premadas’s UNP Government to resolve the Sri Lanka’s North-East crisis

TO: The Chairman and Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the North-East Crisis PROPOSAL TO SOLVE THE NORTH-EAST CRISIS The political solution to the ethnic question should be one that is capable of satisfying the political aspirations of the Tamil speaking people-Tamils and Muslims-within the frame work of a united Srilanka. The present crisis in the North-East province cannot be politically and permanently solved unless autonomy is granted to the people of that province. Full-fledged autonomy is the only answer to the ethnic question, that shall while removing the reasonable and justifiable political grievances of the Tamils and Muslims inhabiting that region for the last so many centuries would undoubtedly ensure a truly united…