Part 2
'The LTTE has been callous and counterproductive all these years'

George Iype

For over two decades, S C Chandrahasan has been fighting for the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils.

A refugee today, he was born to S J V Chelvanayakam, the Mahatma Gandhi of Sri Lanka, in the strife-torn Jaffna peninsula.

"Like Mahatma Gandhi, my father too followed non-violent struggles for Tamil rights," he says.

He lives in Madras, and heads the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation.

Chandrahasan studied at the Law College, Colombo. He led successful struggles to start Tamil medium classes in colleges.

In 1978 he began his legal practice, focussing on the human rights violations of the Jayawardene government. He was the legal secretary of the Tamil Liberation United Front.

Chandrahasan continued in that post till 1983 when communal carnage broke out and he had to flee.

He spoke to rediff.com about his struggle for social and economic justice to the two million Sri Lankan Tamils scattered all over the globe:

I have not visited my village for decades now. I hope that one day I will be able to return.

I came to India on August 18, 1983. By then I had single-handedly filed 140 cases of human rights violations against Tamils by the Sri Lankan army.

Then communal riots broke out. It affected my family very badly. The rioters attacked my house. They burned my library. I knew I would be killed if I remained in Colombo.

We all came to India. We thought we would be able to return soon. We thought it would be a temporary arrangement.

I wanted to help my fellow refugees go back full of motivation, with no hatred, with love towards our countrymen. So in 1984 we formed the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation. Its main objective is to render relief to Tamil refugees in India. It is now the biggest organisation in the world that refugees have formed for their welfare.

I have three children. My eldest son is a lawyer. He studied law in India and became a member of the Madras Bar. He wants to go back to Colombo and practice there.

My daughter is doing architecture in the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi.

The third daughter is studying in a Madras college. She is involved in drama. Of the four persons selected to represent India in Hollywood, she was one. One of her companions was the Miss Universe Sushmita Sen! So we mix well with India and the Indian way of life. But ultimately we do want to return to our homeland.

Look at the OERR office. It is temporary, made of bamboo shafts and coconut leaves. We are ready to dismantle it and go back to Sri Lanka any day, any hour.

In 1984, when we set up OERR, the first thing we wanted was to develop our human resources. When we returned we wanted to be a well-educated force, not pleading for mercy before the Sinhalese.

So we embarked on an education programme for refugee children. We approached the Tamil Nadu government with the request. Fortunately, the then Tamil Nadu chief minister M G Ramachandran and late prime minister Indira Gandhi were very considerate.

Gandhi in fact called an all-party meeting on the Tamil refugee issue. I represented our community. I suggested to the government that since India has excellent educational facilities, kindly reserve us a minimum number of seats.

The government agreed and issued an order facilitating education for refugee children in Indian schools. Now our children study various disciplines like engineering, agriculture and medicine.

In 1987 when the India-Sri Lanka Accord was signed, we were sure that the Sinhmala government would cheat India. We were certain that the pact was a premature step. But no one believed us. The unfortunate thing was that the Sri Lankan government gave money and weapons to the LTTE to fight the IPKF. It is something that has never happened anywhere in the world.

Tamils are the indigenous people of Sri Lanka. Our only request is, give us equal opportunity. But the Sinhalese have adopted violence so that they can kick us out. Today about one-third of the Tamil population is out of the country. We are scattered all over the world.

Our ultimate aim is to go back. When will that happen? We are longing for that day.

The basic problem in Sri Lanka is majority rule. The majority community oppresses the minority.

We have been trying to work out settlements within the framework of Ceylon. The Sinhalese often come to agreements with us, but they go back on their word. They do not want to share power. They use the police and army against us. It is now a 100 per cent Sinhala army in Sri Lanka.

In the current battle for Jaffna, the LTTE is at an advantage militarily. But many of us believe in non-violence. We do not believe in the killings perpetuated by the LTTE. LTTE tackles any dissent by destruction. More Tamil political leaders have been killed by the LTTE than by the Sinhalese government and the army.

We feel that unless Tamils get a democratic setup in Sri Lanka, the world is not going to accept the LTTE even if it seizes Jaffna. What the LTTE is doing is harmful to the Tamils and their aspirations. The LTTE has been callous and counterproductive all these years.

It is sad that the LTTE's killings and violence do not just stop in Sri Lanka. They came to India and assassinated Rajiv Gandhi. We the refugees feel that was unforgivable.

It is true that the LTTE was forced to take up the gun. Indeed it has made great sacrifices for the Tamil cause. Despite that, the LTTE in its present form is a great setback for the Tamil cause.

Now we have come to such a situation that the Sri Lankan government can no longer suppress the Tamil people. But even if we win militarily through the LTTE, our problems will not be solved.

Our lives have been spoilt. We have spent most of it as refugees. Our children have been killed. We are scattered all over the world. Families have been divided. Right to live means we need protection.

The world now knows that the Tamils deserve a separate country and a good settlement. But between our hope for Eelam and the present situation, there is a wide gap. We hope our problems will be resolved one day, whether we win or lose the battle for Jaffna.

We the refugees want India to intervene with a process of dialogue and negotiation. India's role is very important because the Sri Lankan government is famous for renouncing every settlement. They got rid of the IPKF by supplying money and weapons to the LTTE. The India-Lanka pact worked for at least two years because the Indian government took from here everything -- even tables and chairs -- to set up a provincial government for the Tamils.

Time is running out. We do not believe the LTTE will be able to give us Eelam. Many of us are not averse to a proposal from President Chandrika Kumaratunga under which a confederation of Tamil and Sinhala states can be created like in Canada.

I feel that a separate country for Tamils is the only solution. But the means to that end should be non-violent. Will it happen? We are getting ready for that day. The human resource development of Sri Lankan Tamils has been our main concern in India. The refugees here are the poorest of the poor. We do not want to be a burden to another poor country like India.

PART 3
'If Jaffna falls to LTTE, there will be a flood of refugees to Tamil Nadu'

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