Tag: LTTE

Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza 6

~ The Koboi Project

WARNING: DO NOT PROCEED TO THE VIDEO ABOVE IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DISTURBING DOCUMENTARY WITH VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF DEATH, INJURY, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, TORTURE, AND MURDER. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE VIDEO ABOVE ONLY AFTER REFLECTING ON THE POSSIBLE IMPACT ON YOUR EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.

Following the establishment of the de-facto Tamil state in the North and East of the island, the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government maintained a tenuous ceasefire from 2001 to 2006. Between 2004 and 2005, the tsunami hit eastern Sri Lanka, the LTTE Eastern wing broke away from the Northern Command, weakening the Tamil Tigers hold on their territory. In late 2006, large-scale fighting resumed, and by May the LTTE was finally defeated ending the de-facto state of Tamil Elam. The last months of this bloody three-decade-long war are the subject of a deeply disturbing documentary titled No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.

With the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, the seemingly deliberate targeting of civilians by the Israeli Defence Forces, and the scale of the casualties recorded thus far, there is good reason to remember such precedents as the Sri Lankan Genocide evidenced in the video above and to call for an end to the Israeli action. Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, reports how the Israeli Defence Force’s extensive use of Artificial Intelligence programmes that treat high-rise buildings as “power targets” with large civilian casualties, has turned it into a “mass assassination factory.” Between October 7th and December 3rd, there have been 15,207 killed of which 6,150 are children.

The cronology presented above has been compiled from the following three articles:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-srilanka-war-timeline-sb-idUSTRE54F16620090518/
https://www.wionews.com/photos/a-timeline-to-tamil-tigers-37-year-marathon-struggle-against-lankan-army-for-separate-state-219592
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Eelam#cite_note-sunday-42

https://nofirezone.org/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-

https://www.972mag.com/mass-assassination-factory-israel-calculated-bombing-gaza/

Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza 4

~ The Koboi Project

A significant aspect of the Sri Lanka Genocide model (for an explanation of this term, see Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza 2) is the suppression of news and expression in the media. I will go into the similarities of censorship in the wars in Sri Lanka and in Gaza later but, in the present post, I would like to address a suppression I have just experienced on Facebook. My previous WordPress post, titled Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza 3, was originally headed by the image of a Tamil Elam flag. This is very similar to the LTTE flag but it is not the same; the difference being in inscriptions in Tamil and English. This difference is explained clearly on Tamilnation.org as follows, “The Tiger symbol of Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) created in 1977, was designated as the National Flag of Tamileelam in 1990 differentiating it from the LTTE’s emblem by leaving out the letters inscribing the movement’s name. The Restructure site explains further, “Yes, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam created and use the Tamil Eelam flag. It makes sense since they support the Tamil Eelam. However, not everyone who supports the Tamil Eelam supports the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Liberation Tigers of Eelam supporters are a proper subset of Tamil Eelam supporters.”

When I re-posted my WordPress post on on Facebook, I received a warning about posting offensive material, and my post was blocked. I have also had many Facebook privileges removed for a period of one month as some kind of penalty. In this context, it is important to note that, while the LTTE is a proscribed organization and that it would be reasonable for their flag to be prohibited on Facebook, the Tamil Elam flag is different from the LTTE flag, and its display is permitted in many nations around the world that have prohibited the LTTE. Canada, where I reside, is a case in point, as here it is not only legal but also promoted by representatives of different levels of Canadian government.

The scene pictured above is of the Tamil Eelam National Flag Day being celebrated in Brampton Ontario in Nov 2023. Brampton Mayor Patrick Broey, who officiated at the ceremony at the town hall where the Tamil Eelam flags were flown, said, “Today and every day, we celebrate the resilience of the Tamil community and the contributions that Canadian Tamils have made in enriching our communities in Brampton and across the country. We will never forget the atrocities and human rights abuses of the Tamil genocide. We celebrate the resilience of the Tamil community.” Other government representatives who made statements of support on this Tamil Eelam National Flag Day include,  Shaun Collier, Mayor of Ajax;  Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP); Ruby Sahota, Member of Parliament for Brampton North; David West, Mayor of the City of Richmond Hill; Iqra Khalid, Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Erin Mills; Shaun Chen, Member of Parliament for Scarborough North; Shafqat Ali, Member of Parliament Brampton Centre: Logan Kanapathi, Member of Provincial Parliament for Markham-Thornhill; and Elizabeth Roy, Mayor of the City of Whitby.

Image: https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamil-eelam-flags-fly-high-canada-and-uk

Image: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fzjmyfgv6buu51.png

Image: https://i1.wp.com/www.errimalai.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ltte-flag-1.jpg

https://tamilnation.org/tamileelam/defacto/flag.htm

https://restructure.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/tamil-eelam-flag-versus-tamil-tiger-flag/

|https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/tamil-flags-flown-at-protest-legal-toronto

https://www.tgte-homeland.org/2023/11/18/tamil-eelam-national-flag-day-to-be-observed-around-the-world-on-november-21st-tgte/

Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza 3

~ The Koboi Project

As I have said in previous posts (see Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza and applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza 2), I am having a sense of deja vu as I follow the recent events in Gaza. I am brought back to the state of psychic shock that I found myself in early 2009 as the short-lived Tamil nation of Elam came to its crushing end. In this post, I will outline the history of the formation of the de-facto Tamil state.

The island of Sri Lanka gained independence from the British in 1948 with the majority Sinhalese taking the reins of a unitary state which incorporated ancestral Tamil areas in the North and the East. After decades of discrimination and futile non-violent resistance, some Tamils organized to take up arms to wage a violent struggle. Indeed, in 1972 Velupillai Prabhakaran and others formed the Tamil New Tigers (TNT). In 1976, the TNT became the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) under the leadership of Prabhakaran. In July 1983 the LTTE killed 13 Sri Lankan soldiers in an action in the Jaffna peninsula, and this led to race riots in Colombo in which hundreds of Tamils were killed and thousands more were displaced. This was the start of a full-fledged guerrilla war referred to as the “First Eelam War.”

In 1987 India brokered the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord and deployed peacekeeping troops in Northern Sri Lanka to enforce it. When the LTTE refused to disarm, a full-scale war between the LTTE and India. After incurring heavy losses, the Indian troops withdrew in 1990 and the Tigers took control of large sections of northern Sri Lanka, and the fighting resumed between them and Sri Lankan troops. This was the beginning of the “Second Eelam War” which ended in a truce in 1995, with the LTTE controlling one-third of all Sri Lankan territory and two-thirds of the island’s coastline.

The “Third Elam War” began with the breakdown of the short-lived truce in April 1995 and a brutal 6 year war ensued across the North and East of the island. It was during this war, that the United States declared that the LTTE was a terrorist organisation. This US declaration was made in 1997. It was followed a British declaration in 2001 and other nations then followed suit. This “third Elam war” ended in 2001 when a ceasefire was instituted through a Memorandum of Understanding which was formalized in the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement, made under the auspices of Norwegian mediation.

From 1984 onwards the LTTE set up a functioning government in the territory under their control. They ran a sophisticated administration comprising a judicial system, a civil police force, Human Rights organizations, health and education systems, a Bank, as well as radio and Television stations Periods of Sri Lankan military occupation not withstanding, this de-facto Tamil state was fully functional and was recognized by many global institutions; notably, the World Bank’s Sri Lanka representative made the following statement in 2005, ‘Given the fact that there is an officially recognized LTTE-controlled area, a kind of unofficial state, and since it is a party to the ceasefire agreement with the Government, the LTTE has the status of a legitimate stakeholder’. 

Note: This WordPress post was originally headed by the image of a Tamil Elam flag. I re-posted it on Facebook and was warned about posting offensive material and my re-post was blocked. In this context, it is important to understand that, the Tamil Elam flag (above) is different from the LTTE flag (the LTTE is a proscribed organization). For a detailed explanation please see Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza 4.

Images: https://naimnikmat.blogspot.com/2019/10/siapa-ltte-dan-mengapa-ltte-ni-tiba.html
https://koboiproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/78545-save_20191011_122638.jpg

The cronology presented above has been compiled from the following three articles:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-srilanka-war-timeline-sb-idUSTRE54F16620090518/
https://www.wionews.com/photos/a-timeline-to-tamil-tigers-37-year-marathon-struggle-against-lankan-army-for-separate-state-219592
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Eelam#cite_note-sunday-42

https://academic.oup.com/isq/article/61/2/337/3078982?login=false

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436590600850434

https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamil-eelam-flags-fly-high-canada-and-uk

Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza 2

~ The Koboi Project

So what is the Sri Lanka model of Genocide that is indexed in the title of this series of posts? According to Dr. Jude Lal Fernando, a renowned Sinhala peace activist, and scholar, the Sri Lankan Army’s overwhelming and merciless approach to destroying the Tamil Tiger (LTTE) insurgency, in which massive numbers of civilians were massacred in a manner that has been determined to be Genocide by Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, has become a recognized counterinsurgency strategy. An article in the Hindu Students Council of North America states that according to UN reports, between 40,000 and 70,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the first five months of 2009 and that World Bank population data indicates that over 100,000 Tamils remain unaccounted for from these final months of the counterinsurgency. In July 2016, Dr Fernando suggested that this counter-insurgency model has been applied against resistance in Turkey, Israel, and Columbia. While DR. Fernando does not cite sources for this terminology, I find his lexicon meaningful. In my own reframing of this terminology, I mark the the disproportional of the killing of civilians, and posit that this is a strong indication that this killing was not simply a collateral consequence of the counterinsurgency, but an integral part of its objective. In short, Tamil civilians were not distinguished from LTTE cadre deliberately. In light of what is happening in Gaza today, there is no doubt that Israel continues to apply this model, only in the ongoing assault on Gaza, there is the added dimension of stated genocidal intent.

See Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza

See also the series of posts begining with On Being a Malaysian Tamil 1

Image: https://www.hindustudentscouncil.org/2022/remembering-the-mullivaikkal-massacre-in-sri-lanka/

https://www.ptsrilanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ppt_final_report_web_en.pdf

https://hrdag.org/srilanka/

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/frances-harrison/one-hundred-thousand-peop_b_2306136.html

Applying the Sri Lanka Genocide Model in Gaza

~ The Koboi Project

I am a Malaysian who was born in Jaffna and although I identify unequivocally as a Malaysian, I recognize the Tamil struggle for justice and self-determination in their ancestral lands in the north and the east of the Island of Sri Lanka. After decades of non-violent struggle for justice was met with intransigence by the Sinhalese hegemons of the Sri Lankan state, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) emerged to wage an armed struggle for an independent Tamil state. Through a brutal conflict that ensued, the LTTE succeeded in setting up a defacto Tamil state. I have observed this violent Elam struggle which has involved terror and counterterror, from afar. I have felt its pain vicariously, through my mother’s responses to the experiences of her family. The LTTE reign ended in 2009 when their organization was completely destroyed by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA). In the crushing final battle of this War, it is estimated that between 20,000 and 100,000 Tamil civilians were massacred with impunity by the Sri Lankan Army. As I have followed the ongoing Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, I have been reminded of the genocide of the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan state.

See also the series of posts begining with On Being a Malaysian Tamil 1

Image https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/post-war-sri-lanka-fractured-and-unjust-for-tamils/

https://www.ptsrilanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ppt_final_report_web_en.pdf

On Being Malaysian Tamil 11

~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

I signed the petition put forward by the families of the 12 Malaysian Indians arrested in 2019, charged and detained for supporting LTTE. The petition appeals to Malaysian parliamentarians and senators to call for a withdrawal of the charges against these 12 individuals. It also calls on the Home Ministry to annul the listing of the LTTE as a terror organization under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (ALMA ).

The LTTE, which many Tamils throughout the world see as a liberation force, lost their war with the Sri Lankan state in 2009 and there have been no tangible signs of a re-emergence since. Incredulously, it is as if a mere entry of an organization on the ALMA proscription list, no doubt a definition ‘in law’, has established the existence of the entity ‘in fact’. While the PDRM ( Malaysian police) had, at the time of the arrests, made intimations that large financial movements were involved, no such charges have as yet been brought.

The petition states that the ALMA listing of LTTE as a terrorist organization in 2014 was done without making the public aware and, as such, that the arrests of the 12 individuals were made without notice. Regardless of the question of notice, or lack there of, the perversity of the arrest of these Indians under ALMA, without attendant finance related charges, is highlighted by the 3rd consecutive dismissal of a related bail application by the High Court on Friday Feb 14. It is reported in the Star Newspaper that Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah dismissed the application by Suresh Kumar on grounds that a terrorism offence under Section 130J of the Penal Code is non-bailable as provided under Section 13 of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

http://tamilarthesiam.org/live/index.php/2020/02/03/sign-the-petition/?fbclid=IwAR2M9pz0zRWaKagQq_zmjoqEezArlE8ONYkAHFxh-nysV1YSA6HYJVUNaRs

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/02/14/ltte-dap-member-suresh-kumar039s-bail-application-rejected

On Being Malaysian Tamil 10

~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

The High Court dismissed an application for bail by B. Subramaniam on a charge, under Section 130J (1)(a) of the Penal Code, of giving support to the LTTE terrorist group. According to a report in the Malay Mail, the judge held that the offence under that section, which provides for a life sentence or a maximum 30 years, is not bailable. This is the second bail application from the group of 12 detainees charged with LTTE related offences to be brought forward. Both applications have been denied.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/02/10/ltte-businessmans-bail-application-dismissed/1836122

On Being Malaysian Tamil 9

~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

UPDATE 28 JAN 2020: Court denies Gadek assemblyperson G Saminathan bail.

In a post titled Indian Vote: Entha Kabali? made before the Malaysian federal election in 2018, I wrote, . … “Whatever happens in the voting, it looks like it is indeed going to be close and, perhaps, the Indian vote is going to be important.” Further, I asked, ” … does the opposition look like they will treat us any different [from Barisan]? Just look at how they made unholy exaggerations and unfulfillable promises on the Stateless Indians issue … should they not be shown that the Indian vote, just like the vote of the other communities, has to be earned?”  While I was skeptical about the outcome for Indians, I did, as indicated in my post titled Kabali Da!, cast my lot with the new Malaysia promised by the Pakatan Harapan opposition led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Well, it came to pass that Mahathir and Harapan did win and, in the 2 years since, many have become disillusioned and dissatisfied with New Malaysia for their many unfulfilled promises. One such promise pertains to the Indian statelessness problem. Indeed, in this matter Harapan has been deeply disappointing. They promised a complete solution within 100 days, but their re-branded ‘Indian affairs’ body, the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (MITRA) has not solved the this problem as yet. As far as I can ascertain, the last statement issued by the minister responsible states that MITRA was still working “to outline a comprehensive solution to the stateless issue, in line with the PH government’s manifesto promise”.

Since then another issue has arisen to affect the Indian community at an equally deep symbolic level – the spate of LTTE related arrests and charges. I have discussed the apparent pervisity of these arrests and detentions under SOSMA of 12 Indians including 2 government MPs previously in this series (beginning with On Being a Malaysian Tamil 1) and the question I explore here is how one might understand the implications for the Harappan government visa vis the Indian vote. The perceived involvement of government, even if it is misplaced, will surely be detrimental to their ability to garner Indian votes in the next general elections

In principle the police act independently of the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Judiciary and the government is distant from the decisions of all these bodies. While the judiciary is independent by virtue of the separation of powers expected in Malaysia’s Westminster based legal system, the police and the AG’s chambers are extensions of the executive. They too, however, are expected to act independently of executive interference and without improper collusion with one another. If all is running as it should be in our nation’s governance, no blame can be laid at the feet of the Harappan government for these LTTE arrests, detentions, changes and for the eventual judicial outcomes, whatever they might turn out to be. However, the history of the relationships concerned in Malaysia is such that it will be very difficult for the people to believe in the integrity of the system, even if it were true.

There is no question that the majority of Malaysian Tamils, like most of their fellows throughout the world support the Elam struggle, regardless of their misgivings about the terror tactics of the LTTE. Certainly, most of us feel there was an equal amount of state terror being deployed by the Sri Lankan government in this conflict and that the Terrorist organization designation applied to the LTTE, however justified it might be, is ultimately a political assignation. Indeed, the evidence for this suggestion is the fact that the Tigers were not so designated in Malaysia till 2014, years after the war ended and all acts or terror had ceased. Given this fact and the fact that our Malaysian institutions of state are known for being questionably interdependent, it is going to be difficult for Harapan to win the hearts of the Indian community and, of course, this may have a bearing on their votes in the next elections.

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/508791

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/03/27/comprehensive-solution-on-the-issues-of-stateless-malaysians-says-minister/1737134

https://www.mitra.gov.my/about-us/mitra-background/

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/423372

On Being Malaysian Tamil 8

~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

According to a report in FMT, on 18 January 2020, hundreds of people rallied to call for the release 12 Malaysian Tamils detained under the draconian Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) for alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This gathering commemorated 100 days of detention for the 12 men who were arrested under the, commonly called Sosma.

The article also claims that the gathering called on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and the Pakatan Harapan Cabinet to release the men and abolish Sosma in keeping with their manifesto promise. I would like to note that, while Harapan promised to abolish some laws SOSMA was not one of these. Indeed, the widely held notion that Harapan promised to abolish SOSMA is incorrect. Here is what Promise 27 of the Harapan Manifesto said on the matter –

…. The Pakatan Harapan Government will also abolish draconian provisions in the following Acts:
• Penal Code 1997 especially on peaceful assembly and activities
harmful to democracy
• Communications and Multimedia Act 1998
• Security Offences (special measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA)
• Peaceful Assembly Act 2012
• Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) 2015″

So what exactly the people can hold the Harapan government to, depends on an interpretation of the phrase ‘draconian measures.’ In this regard, the manifesto itself states that a Harapan government would “ensure an effective check and balance” by revoking “all clauses that prevent the Court from reviewing decisions of the Government or the laws introduced by the Government.” I suggest that the provisions of SOSMA that allow for police detention without bail before trial are just such ‘draconian measures’, as they grant licence to the agents of the executive to incarce suspects outside of the ambit of judicial review.

In fact, as reported in Bernama, on Nov 29, the High Court ruled that this portion of SOSMA is unconstitutional “because it divests from the courts the judicial discretionary power to evaluate whether or not to grant or refuse bail.” These are the provisions that can be misused, and will be seen to be misused even when they are used with good intent. In the interest of all accused persons and for the good name of the Malaysian judicial process, these provisions must be revoked immediately.

As I have suggested before, the 12 Malaysian Tamils are being held on the basis of charges that, at best, seem to defy logic. As they sit out their 100th day in prison, and while their appeals for bail to work slowly through the courts system, there is, as yet, no credible sign that the LTTE exists. At worst, these charges are based on guile and malice. As Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy, is reported to have said on behalf of his organization, “We feel that these arrests are politically motivated.” Please see On Being Malaysian Tamil 7

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/01/18/hundreds-at-rally-to-mark-100-days-of-ltte-detention/

http://kempen.s3.amazonaws.com/manifesto/Manifesto_text/Manifesto_PH_EN.pdfhttp://kempen.s3.amazonaws.com/manifesto/Manifesto_text/Manifesto_PH_EN.pdf


http://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=1799295

On Being Malaysian Tamil 7

~ The Koboi Project ~ Leave a comment

So what makes Prabhakaran and the LTTE meaningful, beyond their obvious significance to the Ceylon Tamils of Malaysia, to the wider group of Malaysian Tamils. Is it that the Tigers said NO to abject racial discrimination and marginalization? Is it because they fought as Tamil nationalists and triumphed against incredible odds. Is it because they carved an autonomous Tamil domain out of the Sinhala state? Is it because they did this, ultimately, without the patronage of colonial or neo-colonial masters? Is it because they created a short but impactful ‘Elam‘ era in modern history? Whatever it is that is so appealing, it all ended with their defeat in 2009

So why do some Indian Tamils and Diaspora Tamils still have such a passion for the after-image of a long vanished LTTE, when the Sri Lankan Tamils have themselves moved on and are looking for new political solutions to the desperate situation for Tamils in Sri Lanka. The one word answer is Maanam. Or in Bahasa Melayu … Maruah. Yes, pride or dignity or that great Asian tradition of giving or saving ‘face.’ That’s what, and perhaps, this is all, the LTTE and their leader Prabhakaran mean to the global Tamil diaspora today. This Maanam is connected with many complex issues issues that were central to the lost Elam regime – issues of caste abolishment, Dravidianism, socialism, feminism and ethno-nationalism. Some of these issues are powerful currency in the vibrant and emotional political theatre of the Tamil motherland, Tamil Nadu. Charismatic figures like Senthamizhan Semaan, whose party Naam Tamilar Katchi plays on deeply ethnocentric themes, exploit and revivify the symbolism of the defunct LTTE. This brings us to the Malaysian connection. Malaysian Tamils of Indian origin seem to have invested in LTTE symbols as a means to uplift their Maanam in the face of Malaysian communalism. The Indians are without doubt amongst the losers in the Malaysian social arrangement. It is in this light that I, from the perspective of a Jaffna Tamil, see the wider Malaysian Indian communities’ passionate and heartfelt engagement with symbols and the cause of Elam.

Tomorrow, on 29 december, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur will give its decision on whether to allow the bail application of Gadek state assemblyman, G Saminathan, one of the 12 detainees charged with LTTE involvement and detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012. The LTTE has was defined as a terrorist outfit under Malaysia law in 2014. It is reasonable to understand this definition as applying to participants in the organization before its demise who are still at large. In fact, there have been a few arrests of such alleged LTTE members in Malaysia before and after 2014. If it can not be shown that the LTTE terrorist organization continues to exist or that it is presently being revived, those caught in possession of LTTE symbols, those caught in acts of LTTE commemoration, and those caught in the act of distributing LTTE symbols can not not rightly be deemed to be engaging with terror related activities. They are more appropriately seen as being engaged in the remembrance of symbols associated with a historical organization that has been associated with terrorism. Such actors are more appropriately understood as being involved with the myth of the LTTE, the dream of Thamil Elam and the quest for Maanam at home, not a mission of terrorism.

Please visit On Being a Malaysian Tamil 6