US Ambassador's Democracy

The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake said from his discussions with Tamil people in Sri Lanka, he thinks "95 per cent of them support a solution within a framework of a united Sri Lanka.

"They (the Tamil people) are not seeking an independent Tamil Eelam which Prabhakaran is seeking," Blake told the Sunday Observer Newspaper.

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=445056&sid=SAS

Thanks a lot Ambassador, but I don't seem to remember that we elected you to represent our views on the possible solution we are seeking. It is truly amazing that you made a survey among the Tamil people (the first ever) and came up with the percentage (95%)of Tamils who do not seek independent Tamil Eelam State. By the way Ambassador, I really hope the margin of error in your survey is not 100% by any chance? Or did you first say to each one of the Tamils that you (the US) would never ever support independent Tamil Eelam before listening to their opinion?

You could try this Ambassador. Try telling them that the US would support an independent Tamil Eelam if majority of Tamils support it. The person you mentioned above (It might be illegal in your or most of the western laws now to even mention his name. So I will refrain from mentioning his name) would, I am sure be very happy to take a referendum to gauge Tamil opinion on that as long as it is held free and fairly. Are you ready to go on that direction Ambassador? Please Sir, do not recommend the Sri Lankan election commission who have just conducted a very "free and fair" election in the East!

I am asking this because I guess I must be counted into that 5% minority who believe a solution for the issue would be the creation of Tamil Eelam state. If your survey is truly authentic then I am a bit worried. Or may be I am an expatriate and possibly we the rich Tamil expatriates are the only Tamils who seek this independent state sitting in the the luxury of the western life? Yes I know you would say that championing the voice of the poor suffering Tamils in Sri Lanka who are a different breed to that of the Tamil expatriates?

So I checked with my uncle and cousins who are still living in Jaffna. And guess what? It seems they too were within your 5%.

Ambassador, you can say any thing you like because you are representing the most powerful state in the world. But please leave us to express our own views. Please don't hijack our right to express our political aspirations. Last time I checked that was called democracy which a greatest nation called United States of America claim to champion.

Of course you can say that you want a solution to the conflict in which the power would be solely vested in Sinhalese just because you like it that way. You can also say that you hate the Tamils and that is why you support the brutal Sinhalese government. Or you can even say that US interests (whatever those might be) are best served by propping up a Sinhala racist government. We have no problems with that.

What annoys us a bit is that you at times hijack our right to express our own political views and appoint yourself as our (sole) representative. Yes of course you are after all Ambassador of United States government and you have the right to be arrogant this way or in fact any way. But is there any chance that you could let us keep our beliefs and views? It is our belief that only solution to the conflict is an independent Tamil Eelam. It is just a belief Ambassador deep inside our mind. A belief we arrived at after decades of grief. We cannot just change this belief because you don't like it.

Certainly you don't have to agree and as you have been doing for decades you can throw every obstacles in the way to stop this belief of ours becoming a reality. But still we can keep this belief, can't we? Or would you be soon passing a legislation outlawing it so believing in an independent Tamil Eelam as a solution would also be illegal in most of the great western democracies?