1/19/2024 0 Comments Saturday morning reflectionEvents of this nature also seem to serve a purely ‘psychological’ purpose, which Dr. Despite efforts to express their concerns through pacific measures such as locally organised referendums, it is more than crystal –clear that such steps are only reminiscent of the Sinhalese saying Palu gé valan bindinava (literally ‘breaking pots and pans in an abandoned house’). I find the current operational dynamics of hardline diaspora Tamil nationalism considerably worrying, as their strategies are near pointless. Some local politicians do seem to show an interest in garnering the support of Tamil vote banks in their respective electorates. In explaining her views on diaspora youth and Tamil nationalism, she notes that being fully part and parcel of the local society provides them with added leverage to pick up a phone, call their local MPs and put their concerns forward. A few weeks ago, I came across an interview with Jan Jananayagam, British Tamil banking professional cum aspiring politician. This is especially relevant with regards to the second generation youngsters of Tamil origin are native speakers of the local language, are brought up in the local culture, and their citizenship functions as an asset they can use in voicing their positions on Tamil nationalism. In effect, some local politicians seem to notice the advantages of courting the nationalist hardliners of the Tamil diaspora, as increasingly large numbers of its members are part of their local electorates. There is one group that tends to capitalise on referendums or any other events organised by hardline Tamil nationalist groups: local politicians in each country. The thoughts that follow largely concern this group of energetic youngsters, their ‘diasporic’ politics and the future ahead of them….and us. Nonetheless, looking through Facebook and elsewhere, I noticed a sense of tremendous enthusiasm among young diaspora Tamils over today’s referendum in France. Even that publicity tends to be largely marginal, as the Sri Lankan question does not constitute a key foreign policy or strategic priority to many of the Western states with large Tamil communities. within the countries where they are based). It may be easy enough to guess who organises these referendums, but reading the Tamilnet article this morning, I was struck by one question: what are they expecting to achieve through them? It is true that events of this nature enable them to make their voice heard locally ( i.e. Referendums on Tamil Eelam seem to be used  that has come to being in the aftermath of the decimation of the LTTE, which culminated in the assassination of all its senior leaders including supremo VP. Tamil nationalist hardliners who continue to support the concept of Tamil Eelam (a separate state for ethnic Tamils in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka). At a first glance, it appears that the idea of referendums on Tamil Eelam was developed by diaspora Tamil nationalists, i.e. A similar event held in Norway was given relatively substantial publicity back in May 2009. This is not the first occasion that a referendum of this nature has been organised. A so-called Formation committee for the country council of Eelam tamils in France was mentioned as the chief organisers of the referendum, supported by 61 Eezham Tamil organisations and two NGOs in France. The article, published in Tamilnet, further said that polling was to take place in 30 centres in Paris and suburbs and in five centres out of Paris. A week ago (Saturday 12 December 2009), I came across a news report about a referendum organised by Tamil nationalist activists in France, in order to say yes or no for independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the island of Sri Lanka.
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