A political movement built upon unparalleled sacrifices — the lives of more than fifty thousand fallen heroes, the deaths of nearly half a million people, and tens of thousands of enforced disappearances — is today fading by a thread, left directionless and helpless. As Eelam Tamils, we are deeply pained to witness the Tamil political movement being ridiculed by various quarters, reduced to a party devoid of principles and mocked in disgrace.
“We are gravely concerned that the Tamil political liberation movement is being destroyed before our very eyes due to internal power struggles within the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, and due to authoritarian political retaliation carried out by individuals using an illegitimate majority within the party to suppress a democratically elected leader.”
In particular, after the armed struggle was silenced in Mullivaikkal in 2009, Honourable S. Shritharan — who has been democratically elected by the people continuously in all four parliamentary elections since then and stands as a symbol of the Kilinochchi soil — has been subjected to forced political vendettas and hostility within the party. We have remained silent beyond the limits of patience while witnessing these injustices.
Preventing MP S. Shritharan, who was democratically elected as the party leader, from continuing in that role, and now unlawfully stripping him of his position as Parliamentary Group Leader without consulting the parliamentary group, are acts of grave injustice. No one who respects democratic values will accept such actions.
We strongly condemn the continuous targeting, retaliation, and expulsion of leaders who act in accordance with the ideological principles of Tamil nationalism. This condemnation has been collectively voiced by the mass organizations of the Kilinochchi District.
This is the essence of the statement read at the “Protest Meeting Against Injustice,” organized by the Federation of Public Organizations of Kilinochchi District, in opposition to the removal of MP S. Shritharan from the position of Parliamentary Group Leader.
With the participation of more than 36 public organizations in the Kilinochchi District, this protest meeting was held yesterday at the Cooperative Hall.
Furthermore, a memorandum containing the resolutions of this protest against injustice was handed over at the party headquarters to the Acting General Secretary, Mr. M.A. Sumanthiran, in the absence of the Acting Leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, Mr. C.V.K. Sivagnanam, who was not in the country at the time.
The event was chaired by Mr. Ilaiyathambi Veerasingam, President of the Kilinochchi Traders’ Association. Representatives of public organizations, religious clergy, and a large gathering of civilians participated in the meeting and registered their opposition.
