Tamils still face repression in Sri Lanka ! “The worst genocide of this century” was how Paul Newman, professor of human rights at the University of Bangalore, described what has happened to the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Newman was delivering the Eliezer memorial lecture, in memory of Professor CJ Eliezer, the founder of the Eelam Tamil Association of Victoria, at Monash University on August 25. Newman was speaking on democracy in south Asia. He began by outlining some common features of the south Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, before discussing Sri Lanka in more detail. The south Asian region was under British colonial rule for centuries, and the colonial legacy continues to influence the region today. Before British colonialism, the region had been divided into numerous small kingdoms out of which Britain created larger administrative entities. For example, the island of Sri Lanka, previously divided amongst two Sinhalese kingdoms and one Tamil kingdom, was ruled by Britain as a single administrative unit. When colonial rule ended, Britain handed over power to local elites. In the case of Sri Lanka, power was given to a Sinhalese elite, which suppressed the aspirations of Tamils for self-determination. It even denied citizenship rights to Tamil plantation workers. Similar events happened in other south Asian countries. For example, India has violently suppressed the people of Kashmir, and Bhutan has expelled its Hindu minority. greenleft.org.au/node/54932
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 20:04:07 +0000
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