in general and the armed struggle in particular. Furthermore, the ongoing violence andcounter-violence that characterize the Tamil conflict have given rise to variousmisrepresentations about the aims and objectives of the Tamil armed freedommovement.This political document attempts to clarify some of the misconceptions surrounding thearmed struggle of the Tamils. While examining the historical conditions that gave rise tothe armed resistance movement, we argue that the Tamils reserve the right to armeddefence against the military repression and genocide. Countering Sri Lanka's falsepropaganda that the Tamil struggle is a mode of terrorism, we explain that the armedcampaign is a form of legitimate political struggle for self-determination. In brief, thedocument Sets out the position of the Tamils based on their quest for politicalindependence and self-government.
Why did the Tamils take up arms?
The birth and growth of the armed resistance movement should be analysed within thehistorical development of the Tamil struggle for self-determination. The Tamil strugglefor self-determination has an evolutionary history of nearly half a century. It is a historycharacterized by state repression and resistance by the Tamils. The political struggles inthe early periods were peaceful, democratic and non-violent but later assumed the formof armed resistance as the military repression of the state intensified into genocidalproportions.Sinhala state repression against the Tamils began to manifest in concrete forms followingthe independence of the island in 1948, when the British colonial masters transferred thestate's power to the Sinhala dominated parliamentary system. By discriminatorylegislation and by other measures, successive Sinhala majority governments unleashed asystematic form of oppression that deprived the Tamils of their linguistic, educationaland employment rights. Gradually and systematically, the thrust of state oppressionaffected the sphere of economic and social life of the Tamils. In the meantime, the state-aided aggressive colonization in the Tamil areas not only deprived them of their rightsover their historical lands but also altered the ethnic composition of the populationrendering the Tamils a minority in certain traditional Tamil regions. The features of Sinhala state oppression clearly indicated a devious plan calculated to destroy thenational identity of the Tamil people.As the Sinhala state oppression and discrimination unfolded in its ugly forms threateningthe national identity, the Tamil parliamentary political leadership responded withmass political agitations. Adopting Gandhi's concept of 'ahimsa', the Tamilleadership organized non-violent campaigns demanding justice and fair play fromSinhala rulers. In the early sixties, the 'satyagraha' (peaceful picketing)campaigns attracted huge masses of people in massive demonstrations symbolizing anational uprising against the state. The Sinhala Government reacted with militaryviolence and terror, brutally crushing the non-violent peaceful campaigns of the Tamils.Instead of looking into the genuine grievances of an aggrieved people, ColomboGovernments adopted a harsh policy of military repression. Such high-handed tactics of
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