British Tamils Forum
Encyclopedia
The British Tamils Forum (BTF, established 2006) is an umbrella organization of a number of Tamil diaspora
organizations in the United Kingdom
formed to highlight the humanitarian crises and human rights condition of Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka
. The forum is a movement to establish historical Tamil Eelam
, comprising the Northern and Eastern Province
, including the seat of the traditional former Jaffna Kingdom
, as an independent state. On its official website the forum states its aim as being to "highlight the humanitarian crises and human rights
violations perpetrated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), and to advance the Tamil national cause
through democratic means." The forum has garnered recognition and appraisal from several prominent figures in public life during its tenure. Mass rallys and exhibitions in London
have been organised by the group, condemning alleged human rights abuses in Sri Lanka and voicing strong support for self determination in the proposed state of Tamil Eelam
.
A senior member, Sen Kandiah, delivered a keynote speech at the 2008 Labour Party Conference condemning 60 years of oppression by successive governments against Tamils in Sri Lanka.
, after both sides had violated the agreement numerous times after LTTE instigation. Ivan Pedropillai of the forum stated that "£12m in foreign currency earned annually by the airline was being used to reinforce the government's war chest." The Forum organised a meeting chaired by MP Keith Vaz
who compared the Tamil plight to the Rwandan genocide
, Darfur killings
and Bosnian ethnic cleansing
. BTF spokesman Suren Surendiran surmised that the international community had continually pursued a double standard in its approach to conflict resolution
in Sri Lanka compared to in states such as Zimbabwe
, stating that the Sri Lankan government was “abusing the Tamils’ fundamental human rights and killing innocent Tamil civilians with the aid and assistance from the international community."
pogrom, and marked 50 years since the 1958 riots on the island. Photos depicted political figures according to BTF responsible for structural and physical violence in the North-East
since Ceylon's independence from Britain
as well as victims of the Sri Lankan civil war
. The event was attended by MPs of all partys, Members of the House of Lords
, Former Cabinet Ministers, Mayors, Councillors, University students, and representatives of international & UK organisations.
Attendees included three MPs of the Tamil National Alliance
- Ms Padmini Sithamparanathan MP,
Jayananthamoorthi MP and Gagendran MP, a representative of the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London, Labour Party
MPs Joan Ryan MP
, Virendra Sharma MP
, Keith Vaz MP
, Andy Love MP
and Lord Waddington QC of the Conservative Party
. It was hailed by Neil Gerrard MP
as "making a clear case for self-determination
" and as a final note, Barry Gardiner MP
wrote of the exhibition "We Build a Nation."
sought the backing of the BTF in Harrow
during a meeting. According to a column by Andrew Gilligan
, Livingstone was accused by the Sri Lankan High Commission and Gilligan as speaking to "a front of the terror group LTTE." The BTF rejected the allegation. Gilligan has been noted by Livingstone to have led a sustained partisan campaign against the former mayor during his time in office. At the meeting, co-organised with councillor Thaya Iddaikadar and local Harrow Tamilians, Livingstone stated of the claim "the Metropolitan Police came under [me] and where there was a legitimate request for a legitimate event his office would always be supportive." Livingstone also gave the forum his "personal commitment" that he would support its candlelit vigil
in Trafalgar Square
in July 2008 to mark the 25th anniversary of "Black July
."
, the Socialist Party
, International Socialist Group
and South Asia Solidarity Group in condemning Mahinda Rajapakse's visit to London, and supported the right to self determination of the Tamil people in "Tamil Eelam
." All Party debates in UK Parliament have highlighted gatherings organised by the BTF and the issues the forum has raised.
"restricting free movement of civilians within and out of Jaffna Peninsula
, where the Sinhala army
is an occupying force." Its statement went on to note how "degrading restrictions laid on the Tamil community living in and around Colombo, restrictions placed on journalists to travel around Sri Lanka to report on current security situations and human rights violations and the inhuman treatment of IDPs by restricting their mobility, by placing them in 'detention centres' (e.g. in Mannar
) [was] in contravention of humanitarian practices, human rights laws, U.N. Charters and Geneva Conventions." The forum has criticized British authorities for not condemning the Sri Lankan Government's human rights violations.
Passing peacefully for one of its size, with three MPs, Keith Vaz MP
, Simon Hughes MP
and Andrew Pelling MP
joining the protest, Vaz stated that in his 21 year career in politics, he had never seen a protest as large as it in London. Addressing the crowd, he challenged the Indian High Commission to pressure Colombo to give peace a chance in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi
.
MP, forum representative Nathan Kumar received the award from John Reid MP
at the event.
Tamil diaspora
The Tamil diaspora is a demographic group of Tamil people of Indian or Sri Lankan origin who have settled in other parts of the world. Significant Tamil diaspora populations can be found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Middle East, Réunion, South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Fiji, Guyana,...
organizations in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
formed to highlight the humanitarian crises and human rights condition of Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. The forum is a movement to establish historical Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam , is the name given by certain Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to the independent state which they aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Tamil Eelam has no official status or recognition by any other state or authority...
, comprising the Northern and Eastern Province
North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
The North Eastern Province was one of the provinces of Sri Lanka. The province was created in September 1988 by merging the Northern and Eastern provinces. This merger was declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 2006. The province was formally demerged into the Northern and Eastern...
, including the seat of the traditional former Jaffna Kingdom
Jaffna Kingdom
The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India...
, as an independent state. On its official website the forum states its aim as being to "highlight the humanitarian crises and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations perpetrated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), and to advance the Tamil national cause
Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism
Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism is the conviction of the Sri Lankan Tamil people, a minority ethnic group in the South Asian island country of Sri Lanka , that they have the right to constitute an independent or autonomous political community. This idea has not always existed...
through democratic means." The forum has garnered recognition and appraisal from several prominent figures in public life during its tenure. Mass rallys and exhibitions in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
have been organised by the group, condemning alleged human rights abuses in Sri Lanka and voicing strong support for self determination in the proposed state of Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam , is the name given by certain Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to the independent state which they aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Tamil Eelam has no official status or recognition by any other state or authority...
.
A senior member, Sen Kandiah, delivered a keynote speech at the 2008 Labour Party Conference condemning 60 years of oppression by successive governments against Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Boycott call
In January 2008, the Forum called for a boycott of Sri Lankan Airlines as well as other trade and travel sanctions, in protest at the Government of Sri Lanka's withdrawal from a ceasefire with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil EelamLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
, after both sides had violated the agreement numerous times after LTTE instigation. Ivan Pedropillai of the forum stated that "£12m in foreign currency earned annually by the airline was being used to reinforce the government's war chest." The Forum organised a meeting chaired by MP Keith Vaz
Keith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...
who compared the Tamil plight to the Rwandan genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
, Darfur killings
War in Darfur
The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...
and Bosnian ethnic cleansing
Bosnian Genocide
The term Bosnian Genocide refers to either the genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995 or the ethnic cleansing campaign that took place throughout areas controlled by the Bosnian Serb Army during the 1992–1995 Bosnian War....
. BTF spokesman Suren Surendiran surmised that the international community had continually pursued a double standard in its approach to conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
in Sri Lanka compared to in states such as Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, stating that the Sri Lankan government was “abusing the Tamils’ fundamental human rights and killing innocent Tamil civilians with the aid and assistance from the international community."
2008 photo exhibition in UK Parliament
On the 16th July 2008, the BTF displayed a photo exhibition, sponsored by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG), which was held in the British Houses of Parliament premises on the anniversary of the Black JulyBlack July
Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
pogrom, and marked 50 years since the 1958 riots on the island. Photos depicted political figures according to BTF responsible for structural and physical violence in the North-East
Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam , is the name given by certain Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to the independent state which they aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Tamil Eelam has no official status or recognition by any other state or authority...
since Ceylon's independence from Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as well as victims of the Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
. The event was attended by MPs of all partys, Members of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, Former Cabinet Ministers, Mayors, Councillors, University students, and representatives of international & UK organisations.
Attendees included three MPs of the Tamil National Alliance
Tamil National Alliance
The Tamil National Alliance is a powerful minority Sri Lankan Tamil political alliance in Sri Lanka. It was formed as an amalgamation of moderate Tamil parties as well as number of former rebel groups...
- Ms Padmini Sithamparanathan MP,
Jayananthamoorthi MP and Gagendran MP, a representative of the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London, Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MPs Joan Ryan MP
Joan Ryan
Joan Marie Ryan is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was member of Parliament for Enfield North between 1997 and 2010, and is a member of the Labour Party. She had previously been deputy leader of Barnet Council....
, Virendra Sharma MP
Virendra Sharma
Virendra Kumar Sharma is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall since 2007.-Parliamentary career:...
, Keith Vaz MP
Keith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...
, Andy Love MP
Andrew Love
Andrew Love is an American actor and voice actor who work for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000. He graduated from the University of Houston with a B.A. degree in acting and directing...
and Lord Waddington QC of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. It was hailed by Neil Gerrard MP
Neil Gerrard
Neil Francis Gerrard is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Walthamstow from 1992 until 2010.-Early life:...
as "making a clear case for self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
" and as a final note, Barry Gardiner MP
Barry Gardiner
Barry Strachan Gardiner is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Brent North since 1997...
wrote of the exhibition "We Build a Nation."
Ken Livingstone meeting
Whilst campaigning for a renewed term as London Mayor, Ken Livingstone MPKen Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
sought the backing of the BTF in Harrow
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
during a meeting. According to a column by Andrew Gilligan
Andrew Gilligan
Andrew Paul Gilligan is a British journalist best known for a 2003 report on BBC Radio 4's The Today Programme in which he said a British government briefing paper on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction had been 'sexed up', a claim that ultimately led to a public inquiry that criticised Gilligan...
, Livingstone was accused by the Sri Lankan High Commission and Gilligan as speaking to "a front of the terror group LTTE." The BTF rejected the allegation. Gilligan has been noted by Livingstone to have led a sustained partisan campaign against the former mayor during his time in office. At the meeting, co-organised with councillor Thaya Iddaikadar and local Harrow Tamilians, Livingstone stated of the claim "the Metropolitan Police came under [me] and where there was a legitimate request for a legitimate event his office would always be supportive." Livingstone also gave the forum his "personal commitment" that he would support its candlelit vigil
Vigil
A vigil is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance...
in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
in July 2008 to mark the 25th anniversary of "Black July
Black July
Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
."
Rallies
Annual political rallies are organised by the BTF and in June, July, September and October 2008, the forum organised and participated in several public demonstrations in London. It worked in union with the NSSP, the TYO (Tamil Youth Organisation), S4P (Solidarity for Peace), Socialist ResistanceSocialist Resistance
Socialist Resistance is a Trotskyist and ecosocialist organisation in Britain which publishes a Marxist periodical of the same name. In July 2009 the International Socialist Group merged into it, making SR the British Section of the Fourth International.-Origins:It was launched on 8 September...
, the Socialist Party
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...
, International Socialist Group
International Socialist Group
The International Socialist Group was a Trotskyist organisation in Britain. It was the British section of the Fourth International until July 2009 when it dissolved into Socialist Resistance.- Origin :...
and South Asia Solidarity Group in condemning Mahinda Rajapakse's visit to London, and supported the right to self determination of the Tamil people in "Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam , is the name given by certain Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to the independent state which they aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Tamil Eelam has no official status or recognition by any other state or authority...
." All Party debates in UK Parliament have highlighted gatherings organised by the BTF and the issues the forum has raised.
Recent statements
In the wake of a return to full-scale hostilities in 2008 on the island, with Tamil civilians moving further into rebel areas amid army offensives and increasing international concern on the plight of civilians caught in Sri Lanka's conflict, the BTF released a statement, responding to an assertion by Lord Malloch Brown that “the LTTE should allow free movement of civilians”, accusing the Sri Lankan Government of deliberately"restricting free movement of civilians within and out of Jaffna Peninsula
Jaffna Peninsula
The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...
, where the Sinhala army
Sri Lankan Army
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972...
is an occupying force." Its statement went on to note how "degrading restrictions laid on the Tamil community living in and around Colombo, restrictions placed on journalists to travel around Sri Lanka to report on current security situations and human rights violations and the inhuman treatment of IDPs by restricting their mobility, by placing them in 'detention centres' (e.g. in Mannar
Mannar, Sri Lanka
Mannar , formerly spelled Manar, is the capital of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is located on Mannar Island.Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior...
) [was] in contravention of humanitarian practices, human rights laws, U.N. Charters and Geneva Conventions." The forum has criticized British authorities for not condemning the Sri Lankan Government's human rights violations.
2009 London Protest
On the 31st January 2009, up to 100,000 people marched through London on a BTF co-organised demonstration, protesting the deaths of hundreds of Tamils in Sri Lankan army attacks and demanding a permanent ceasefire. Protesters carried large flags of red and yellow – the Tamil national colours – and banners condemning the genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankan state, expressing their support for an independent Tamil Eelam.Passing peacefully for one of its size, with three MPs, Keith Vaz MP
Keith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...
, Simon Hughes MP
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...
and Andrew Pelling MP
Andrew Pelling
Andrew John Pelling is a British politician. First elected as a Conservative he was an independent Member of Parliament for Croydon Central and on 30 March 2010 announced his intention to contest the seat as an Independent at the 2010 general election, but lost the seat to his former party...
joining the protest, Vaz stated that in his 21 year career in politics, he had never seen a protest as large as it in London. Addressing the crowd, he challenged the Indian High Commission to pressure Colombo to give peace a chance in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
.
Awards and recognition
The BTF received the "Asian Voice Award" for the "Best Campaigning organisation of the Year" in 2008. Introduced by Keith VazKeith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...
MP, forum representative Nathan Kumar received the award from John Reid MP
John Reid (politician)
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...
at the event.
See also
- British Tamil
- Federation of Tamil Sangams in North America
- Tamils Against GenocideTamils Against GenocideTamils Against Genocide is a non-governmental organization formed in 2008, based in Columbia, Maryland, United States, which has actively protested the Sri Lankan Civil War and the alleged genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils in Northern Province, Sri Lanka...