At Dr Anton Balasingham Commemoration - 17 Dec 2006

 

Dear Friends,

As far as I recollect, Dr Anton Balasingham came to my attention as a member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, probably in the 1960s. In those days, we of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna had differences of opinion with the ‘traditional left’ about the ideologies, and we moved along in different paths. Dr Balasingham had many good friends in the left movement, though I did not have the opportunity to associate with him.

In the 1960s, the LSSP abandoned its struggle to unify Tamil and Sinhala workers and defend the equality and democratic rights of the Tamil people. Most of those in the left movement, from the old to the new, joined hands with the governments of the day to become appendages of chauvinism. The left movement’s betrayal of the Tamil people led Dr Balasingham to move away from the LSSP and become closer to Tamil militant movement. He was still committed to his socialist ideals and attempted to bring those ideas to the militant movement.

In their life time people make different choices. Some decide to lead their own individual lives enjoying the best comforts that they could enjoy. Many of them, from my personal experience, do not wish to care for others, who suffer due to many complex socio-economic and political circumstances. Dr Balasingham cared for the people at the suffering end and ultimately decided to fight for achieving human and democratic rights, human dignity and socio-economic justice for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, in particular, to the Tamil people living in the north and east. This he did in the way he chose to. He chose the path of Tamil nationalism as Tamils were increasingly subjected to military suppression.

He became the most trusted theoretician of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, closest confidante of the leader of the LTTE. He was also the LTTE’s chief political strategist and chief negotiator. Dr Balasingham led LTTE delegations at all negotiations with the government of Sri Lanka from Thimpu in 1985 to Geneva in 2006, except at the last two occasions when he was seriously ill. In this regard, he was perhaps the only leader of the LTTE who had the intricate understanding of the complexities involved in negotiations between two forms of extreme nationalism, one belonging to the oppressor and the other of the oppressed. That is why I consider the death of Dr Balasingham as a great loss not only to the LTTE and to the Tamil people but also to all peoples of Sri Lanka.

Dr Balasingham was resolutely committed to the cause of the LTTE, the way he believed in. At the same time, I considered him as a moderating influence within the LTTE, who believed in a negotiated political settlement as the means of ending the prolonged national question and the related armed conflict in Sri Lanka. It was through him that the international community sought any explanations and interpretations on LTTE activities.

He was the major channel the LTTE had in maintaining their links with the international community. In the current political-military context in Sri Lanka, his death has created a major vacuum in fulfilling these roles.

With regard to the national question, we agreed that the Tamil people should have the right to determine their own political destiny. To this extent, the JVP until 1983 accepted the Tamil people’s right to self determination. The JVP’s decision to renounce its position on national question led to my resignation from the JVP leadership.

The present government of Sri Lanka has launched almost an all-out war on the people living in the north and east and use large scale aerial bombardment with the assistance of the overseas governments to crush the will of the people in the north and east. To suppress any outcries in the island, the notorious prevention of terrorism act with its new set of regulations has been redeployed. On the other hand, in the midst of the LTTE’s suicide attacks and counter attacks, Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala civilians have become targets. The LTTE also relies on overseas governments to intervene and believes global capital will come to their assistance.

Our differences related to the exercise of democratic and human rights of the Tamil people in determining their destiny. The people should be able to exercise their democratic rights in a coercion-free environment, without the threat of gunpoint.

As the Sri Lankan experiences of insurrections and armed struggle indicate, without the support of people on the ground no movement will succeed. In this sense, unity of all oppressed people is an essential necessity.

I believe, that the vision of Dr Anton Balasingham, of achieving human and democratic rights of the Tamil people to live with fairness, justice and dignity can be achieved only through building equality, trust, unity and reconciliation among the people at the grass root level, however hard that task may be. Unity of the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people can be achieved only by accepting their equality and the right to determine their own destiny.

We have lost a tall man, who fought for the oppressed people in his own way.

I hereby solemnly express my condolences to the Australian Tamil community and Mrs Balasingham in this time of bereavement.

Thank you.