Sri Lanka: On the 40th Anniversary of a Landmark Resolution - Tamil Groups Unite to Campaign for Self-Determination
We extend out heartiest thai thirunaal greetings to all!
We have entered the 40th year since the people of Tamil Eelam proclaimed to the world their deeply held political aspirations through the Vaddukoddai Resolution in 1976, based on the principles of homeland, nationhood and the right to self-determination. The essence of the Resolution declared on 14 May 1976 under the leadership of the late S.J.V Chelvanayagam was the enunciation by Tamils that, in view of their long maligned experiences, they could no longer live under the hegemonic rule of a Sinhala Buddhist State.
In the subsequent General Elections of 1977, the Tamil people gave a clear mandate for the Resolution by electing all candidates who stood behind it. That mandate by the people lives in their spirit forty years on.
The introduction of the draconian Sixth Amendment to the Constitution in 1983, which denied people their freedom of expression and criminalised the advocacy of a separate state of Tamil Eelam, has removed today the political space for Tamils to express their true political aspirations. However, through exercising the inherent right of all Nations to self-determination according to universal law, Eelam Tamils continue to claim their right to self-rule.
Despite the efforts of Sri Lanka and its apparatus of state terrorism through the genocidal war unleashed in Mullivaaikaal to suppress the Tamil people’s thirst for freedom, Tamils the world over continue to breathe the thoughts and dreams of a free Tamil Eelam. The events of Mullivaaikaal have only reaffirmed how unfeasible it is for the Tamil people to exist within a Sinhala Buddhist State structure.
It is not an accident that there is convergence in the efforts of the Sinhala rulers to convert their military wins claimed through a war into political capital, and the attention paid by international State actors in consolidating the regime change in Sri Lanka built according to their own interests.
It is also remarkable that this year marks a confrontation between the 40th anniversary of the Vaddukoddai Resolution which is an expression of the political aspirations of the Eelam Tamil people, and the efforts of the Sinhala rulers to address the constitution itself in the name of solving the Tamil National question. Meanwhile, Tamils in the homeland have their everyday existence curtailed by the heavy military presence, and the space for expression of their political aspirations completely denied under the Sixth Amendment.
Under these circumstances, prudence dictates that we emphasise the significance of holding a UN supervised referendum for Eelam Tamils to express their political aspirations; and we, as Tamils in the homeland, the Diaspora, Tamil Nadu and indeed as World Tamils, come together to take on strategic action that is mutually reinforcing our political work.
It is with this in mind that the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, the International Council of Eelam Tamils and the International Tamil Youth Organisation have chosen to work together on projects which shall bolster the Vaddukoddai Resolution in this 40th anniversary year, and take it forward in all its dimensions with vigour towards our political goals.
As a unified expression of the immense significance of this the 40th year of the Vaddukoddai Resolution, we have designed a special logo that shall be adopted by us all. With solidarity and fellowship, we call upon all Tamil organisations and movements founded on the principles of the Vaddukoddai Resolution to come forward and work together on this momentous occasion
Tamil Groups
Tamil Groups
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