RESULTS OF REFERENDUM FOR TAMIL EELAM IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES : 2010

BRITAIN: REFERENDUM FOR TAMIL EELAM

Tamil Net, Monday, 01 February 2010, 01:09 GMT reports that 99.33 percent British Tamils aspire Tamil Eelam. In an unprecedented turnout that brought 64,692 Eelam Tamils to vote in the referendum held last weekend in UK, 64,256 (99.33%) Tamils endorsed the formation of independent and  sovereign state of Tamil Eelam in the contiguous north and east of the island of Sri Lanka. 185 (0.29%) voted against and 251 (0.39%) votes were spoilt. Polling took place in sixty-five booths across London and in major towns and cities throughout UK. Barry Gardner, MP Brent North Siobhan Mc Donagh, MP [Mitcham and Morden ]Professor Bryan Woodruff, Chairman of the overseeing body of the referendum Labour party activist and trade unionist Mike Griffiths were present.

The referendum was initiated by an independent group of British Tamils, who formed a body called Tamil National Council (TNC) a few months ago for this purpose. All main stakeholders of Eelam Tamil nationalism in UK, Tamil Youth Organization (TYO), British Tamils Forum (BTF), Tamil Eelam Activists and the Country Working Group - UK for the formation of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) joined in making the endeavor a success.

"British-based Tamils have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the creation of an independent sovereign state in Sri Lanka, days after the man credited with crushing the Tamil Tiger’s 26-year rebellion won a second term as the island's president," reported leading British newspaper Guardian on Monday. Meanwhile, BBC reported that an overwhelming majority among the Tamil Diaspora in UK has endorsed the call for a separate country for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. "The results of last week's poll demonstrate the gulf between Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority. Despite a resounding victory across much of the country Rajapaksa lost in areas hit hard by war and where Tamils are in the majority," the newspaper said. BBC, in its report said that people have been discussing the results in restaurants and community centers in London suburbs where Sri Lankan Tamils form considerable communities, such as East Ham and Wembley. On Sunday, Times Online carried an article by Stuart Cosgrove, saying Tamils are the undisputed world champions of Diaspora politics, who defy a new world order on the epic stage of global politics.

GERMANY

Tamil Net, Sunday, 24 January 2010, 23:00 GMT reported Overwhelming turnout of voters in Germany, 99.2 percent of voters said yes to Tamil Eelam in an impressive turn out of more than 90% of eligible Eelam Tamil voters for the referendum in Germany on Sunday. International Human Rights Association in Bremen conducted the referendum on the question of forming an independent and sovereign state of Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island of Sri Lanka. 23,089 voters participated in the poll in 110 centers across the country and 22,904 of them said yes. 136 voters said no and 49 votes were invalid.

NORWAY

 [Tamil Net, Monday, 11 May 2009, 10:51 GMT] reported that in a secret  ballot of universal suffrage, conducted by a Norwegian media simultaneously in 14 centers in the length and breath of the country among Eelam Tamils, 98.95 percent of the voters said that they aspire for the formation of an independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island of Sri Lanka. The voter turn out was a high 89.8 percent in the capital city of Oslo and an average 80 percent for the country, Strop biweekly that conducted the ballot said. The ballot gains significance not only in democratically and concretely revealing what the Tamils want, but also in telling that the so-called Oslo Declaration that speaks about internal self- determination is not up to their expectations, Tamil circles said. A couple of days before the ballot, Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim advocated a federal solution to the crisis.

DENMARK

[Tamil Net, Friday, 26 February 2010, 20:06 GMT] Denmark went for Tamil referendum and Eelam Tamils in Denmark cast their ballot in 32 centers across the country in a referendum on the question of independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island of Sri Lanka. The referendum conducted by a professional institute TNS Gallup, specialized in sociological and public opinion research services, deploying electronic system for confidential voting, said Dr. Remmon Washington, the spokesperson of the Denmark Tamils Forum formation committee, which has initiated the poll. The total number of eligible Eelam Tamil voters in Denmark is estimated to be ranging around 6,500.

RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION

 These referendums are an indication affirming the Tamils of Eelam  are for the right of Self-determination and the world cannot deny that right only to Tamil people of Eelam. “All peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Essentially, the right to self-determination is the right of a people to determine its own destiny. In particular, the  principle allows a people to choose its own political status and to determine its own form of economic, cultural and social development. Exercise of this right can result in a variety of different outcomes ranging from political independence through to full integration within a state. The importance lies in the right of choice, so that the outcome of a people's choice should not affect the existence of the right to make a choice. In practice, however, the possible outcome of an exercise of self-determination will often determine the attitude of governments towards the actual claim by a people or nation. Thus, while claims to cultural autonomy may be more readily recognized by states, claims to independence are more likely to be rejected by them. Nevertheless, the right to self-determination is recognized in international law as a right of process (not of outcome) belonging to peoples and not to states or governments.” As put by UNPO.

UNREPRESENTED NATIONS AND 

PEOPLES ORGANIZATION.

 You may be pondering on various options to resolve Tamil Eelam issue. Please keep the geopolitical interests at bay. With open heart please recall how Western nations acted in similar circumstances. Britain had faced Irish problem. Canada had met Quebec issue. India too faces Kashmir question. Why not Britain and Canada look for comparisons between their past problems and present problem of Tamil Eelam.? India has a special constitutional provision for Kashmir i.e. article 370, why India fails to understand that for sixty years Srilanka is not even willing to emulate Indian constitutional provision for Tamil Eelam?

Self-determination in International Law

The principle of self-determination is prominently embodied in Article I of the Charter of the United Nations. Earlier it was explicitly embraced by US President Woodrow Wilson, by Lenin and others, and became the guiding principle for the reconstruction of Europe following World War I. The principle was incorporated into the 1941 Atlantic Charter and the Dumbarton Oaks proposals which evolved into the United Nations Charter. Its inclusion in the UN Charter marks the universal recognition of the principle as fundamental to the maintenance of friendly relations and peace among states. It is recognized as a right of all peoples in the first article common to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which both entered into force in 1976. 1 Paragraph 1 of this Article provides:

All peoples have the right to self- determination. By virtue  of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

The right to self-determination of peoples is recognized in many other  international and regional instruments, including

►the Declaration of Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States adopted b the UN General Assembly in 1970,

► 2, the Helsinki Final Act adopted by the Conference on Security and Co- operation in Europe (CSCE) in 1975,

►3, the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981,

► 4, the CSCE Charter of Paris for a New Europe adopted in 1990,

► 5, and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of 1993.

►6, It has been affirmed by the International Court of Justice in the Namibia case

►7, the Western Sahara case

► 8, and the East Timor case

►9, in which its erga omnes character was confirmed. Furthermore, the scope and content of the right to self-determination has been elaborated upon by the UN Human Rights Committee

►10, and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

►11 and numerous leading international jurists. That the right to self- determination is part of so called hard law has been affirmed also by the International Meeting of Experts for the Elucidation of the Concepts of Rights of Peoples brought together by UNESCO from 1985 to 1991,

► 12, it came to the conclusion that (1) peoples' rights are recognized in international law; (2) the list of such rights is not very clear, but also that (3) hard law does in any event include the right to self-determination and the right to existence, in the sense of the Genocide Convention.

“The inclusion of the right to self-determination in the International Covenants on Human Rights and in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, referred to above, emphasizes that self-determination is an integral part of human rights law which has a universal application. At the same time, it is recognized that compliance with the right of self-determination is a fundamental condition for the enjoyment of other human rights and fundamental freedoms, be they civil, political, economic, social or cultural.” “The concept of self-determination is a very powerful one. As Wolfgang Danspeckgruber put it: "No other concept is as powerful, visceral, emotional, unruly, as steep in creating aspirations and hopes as self-determination." It evokes emotions, expectations and fears which often lead to conflict and bloodshed. Some experts argued that the title holders should be or are limited in international law. Others believed in the need to limit the possible outcome for all or categories of title holders. Ultimately, the best approach is to view the right to self-determination in its broad sense, as a process providing a wide range of possible outcomes dependent on the situations, needs, interests and conditions of concerned parties. The principle and fundamental right to self- determination of all peoples is firmly established in international law.”

Hence under International Law, Tamils have this right, if you include Tamils in human race. If Tamils are living human beings on Earth, they can have this right by virtue of their existence. Srilankan President Rajapakshe who committed genocide by killing 50000 Tamils in War must continue to kill every Tamil in Eelam and all in Tamil Diaspora and every Tamil of Tamilnadu before he can proclaim to the Member Nations of the United Nations, that since he has erased the existence of all Tamils on Earth, the right to self determination cannot be claimed by dead souls. Only living humans have such right, he must thunder before the world. Until such thing happens, as leaders of democracies and civilized world, we hope all leaders of member nations of United Nations will not snatch the right to self determination from the hands of Tamils of Eelam.

UN General Assembly adopts the Declaration in September 2007

 With an overwhelming majority of 143 votes in favour, only 4 negative votes cast (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United States) and 11 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly (GA) adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13, 2007. The Declaration has been negotiated through more than 20 years between nation-states and Indigenous Peoples. Les Malezer, Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples' Caucus, welcomed the adoption of the Declaration in a statement to the General Assembly: "The Declaration does not represent solely the viewpoint of the United Nations, nor does it represent solely the viewpoint of the Indigenous Peoples. It is a Declaration which combines our views and interests and which set the framework for the future. It is a tool for peace and justice, based upon mutual recognition and mutual respect." Tamils are indigenous people of Srilanka. As told by the sacred book of Sinhalese Mahavamsam, the first Sinhalese king set his foot on Ceylon where Tamils lived much before his advent.

UNPO  members  :Abkhazia  ,  Aboriginals  of  Australia  ,Afrikaner  ,Ahwazi

,Assyria ,Balochistan ,Batwa ,Burma ,Buryatia ,Cabinda ,Chechen Republic of Ichkeria  ,Chin  Chittagong Hill  Tracts  ,Circassia  ,Cordillera  ,Crimean Tatars ,East   Turkestan   ,Gilgit   Baltistan   ,Greek   Minority   in   Albania   ,  Hmong ,Hungarian  Minority  in  Romania  ,Inkeri  ,Inner  Mongolia,  Iranian  Kurdistan ,Iraqi Kurdistan  ,Iraqi Turkmen  ,Kalahui Hawaii  ,Karenni State  ,Khmer Krom

,Kosova ,Maasai ,Mapuche, Mon ,Montagnards – Degar, Nagalim ,Ogaden , Ogoni , Oromo ,Rehoboth Basters ,Sanjak ,Scania ,Sindh ,Somaliland ,South Moluccas             ,Southern   Azerbaijan                     ,Southern  Cameroons  ,Taiwan       ,Tibet

,Tsimshian ,Tuva ,Udmurt ,Vhavenda ,West Balochistan ,Zanzibar .

TAMILS OF EELAM must be included in the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Tamils are most civilized among the indigenous people possessing a classical language, which had a hoary past.