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<font size=3>Wednesday, May 20, 2009 <br>
16:12 Mecca time, 13:12 GMT <br><br>
Tamil diaspora sceptical over 'win' <br><br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/05/2009520421048664.html" eudora="autourl">
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/05/2009520421048664.html<br>
</a><b>By Claudia Theophilus in Kuala Lumpur</b> <br>
<br>
<b>The struggle of Tamils in Sri Lanka has drawn sympathy from many in
Malaysia's Tamil community</b> <br><br>
As the Sri Lankan government basks in its self-declared victory over
Tamil rebels, the news of an end to almost three decades of civil war has
been met with scepticism and criticism by many Tamil descendants in
Malaysia.<br><br>
The Southeast Asian country is home to a sizeable Sri Lankan Tamil
community, many of whom were first brought here by the to work in the
British administrative services during the colonial era.<br>
<br>
Over the years many have kept in touch with relatives and friends back
home in Sri Lanka's northeast, and as with other parts of the diaspora
there is continuing and strong support for a Tamil homeland. <br><br>
Ethnic Indians make up about eight per cent of Malaysia's population, and
are mostly Tamils.<br><br>
S Senthe, a chartered accountant based outside the Malaysian capital,
Kuala Lumpur, echoes the feeling of many, describing the Sri Lankan
military's victory over the Tamil Tigers as "shallow" and
saying it would lead only to "superficial peace".<br><br>
<b>'Blatant discrimination'<br><br>
</b>Senthe said he had little doubt the struggle for a Tamil homeland
would continue after the Tigers' defeat, but on a more intellectual and
sophisticated level.<br><br>
<b>"No community will take up arms unless they have suffered decades
of continuing oppression"<br><br>
</b>M Manogaran, Malaysian member of parliament<br>
"The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, about one million scattered around
the world with many holding high positions in big corporations, will fuel
the next stage," he told Al Jazeera. <br><br>
"But it will not be through an armed struggle like
before."<br><br>
Senthe said the world must try to understand why the Tamils were forced
to take up arms.<br><br>
"It is because of the intransigence and unwillingness of the Sinhala
government to address long-standing grievances of blatant
discrimination," he said.<br><br>
Recent months have seen the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora stage huge protests
in major cities around the world demanding international intervention to
bring peace and aid to the escalating humanitarian crisis triggered by
the conflict.<br><br>
<b>Protests<br>
</b> <br>
In Malaysia, several ethnic Indian groups held protests outside the High
Commissions of India and Sri Lanka, as well as the US embassy.<br>
<br>
Among the groups calling for action was the Kuala Lumpur-based Global
Peace Initiative (GPI), which in April petitioned the Indian government
to stop its military assistance to the Sri Lankan army and to save the
Tamil minority there. <br><br>
S Pasupathi, a lawyer and the coordinator of the GPI, said the Sri Lankan
government's refusal to allow independent media and aid agencies access
to the war zone showed it was unconcerned about the plight of Tamil
civilians.<br><br>
He said the government may have won the war but "are far from
achieving real peace".<br><br>
"The mental and emotional scars resulting from decades of fighting
are not that easily healed," he said.<br><br>
<b>'Oppressive'<br><br>
</b>
<img src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/5/20/20095206101088621_3.jpg" width=270 height=180 alt="[]">
</b> <br>
<b>Tamils from Sri Lanka first came to Malaysia to work during the
British colonial era</b> <br>
"As long as the government acts in a very oppressive nature, any
reconciliation in real terms between the Sinhala Buddhists and Hindu or
Muslim Tamils will be hard." <br><br>
While the government may have declared victory, he said, Sri Lanka will
not see enduring peace "unless the dignity of the Tamils is restored
and some form of autonomy is considered".<br><br>
There were also doubts over the Sri Lankan government's claim that
Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE commander, was killed in the final
battle earlier this week.<br><br>
M Manogaran, a member of parliament of Tamil origin, said he does not
believe official claims that the LTTE has been totally wiped out because
there was no evidence.<br>
<br>
But he stressed that the more important and contentious issue is the
plight of the injured and displaced civilians in the war zone.<br><br>
"Why is the government not allowing international aid groups and
government representatives into the area to verify the extent of the
damage?"<br><br>
He also alleged that China, Russia and India had a role in providing
intelligence and arms for the bloody conflict.<br><br>
Manogaran said even the Tamils in southern India were sympathetic to the
Sri Lankan Tamil cause, particularly because of the prolonged suffering
of civilians in the war.<br><br>
"The Sri Lankan government should look at the root of the Tamil
struggle before it can work out any form of lasting peace," he
said.<br><br>
"The fact is … no community will take up arms unless they have
suffered decades of continuing oppression."<br>
Source: Al Jazeera <br>
<br><br>
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