Tamil Americans Hold Peace Rally at Capitol Hill



Tamil Americans in the US held a massive Peace Rally on July 23rd in front of the US Capitol. The rally attended by nearly one thousand American Tamils of all ages from across the country projected the Tamils' right for self-determination as the peaceful solution for the vexed ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. Scores of non-Tamil Americans also participated in solidarity with the Tamils.

A declaration released at the conclusion of the rally stated: "We, the Tamil Americans, hereby proclaim that Eelam Tamils constitute a Nation. We resolve that our struggle to establish the right of Tamil people to Self-Determination, and to establish self-rule in the territories Tamil people have made their home for centuries will continue until our goal is achieved."

"We appeal to the legislators, the Administration and the people of the United States who fought and won their freedom to empathize with the Tamil people, and help to establish our right to Self-Determination from the remnants of the Sinhala colonial State," the declaration further said.

Carrying colorful placards and wearing T-shirts with message of peace, the participants chanted slogans drawing parallels from the United States declaration of independence to that of the Tamil struggle. "Raise your hands, free our land,"We reject Sri Lanka; Tamils can govern themselves," were some of the chants heard resonated. One placard said: "Life, Liberty & pursuit of Happiness: -What is good for US is good for Tamils in Eelam too." "Peace in two states better than war in one," stated another. The slogans highlighted the deaths of 100,000 Tamil civilians and the displacement of over 1 million at the hands of the Sri Lankan military and called for an end to ethnic cleansing in Sri Lanka.

The Tamil youth group participants who organized a pre- and post-rally congressional lobbying campaign, collected signatures from the attendees for a special memorandum to the US legislators calling for an end to all military aid to Sri Lanka, and pleading for humanitarian aid to the half-a-million Tamil refugees in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka. They also read messages of support from several Congresspersons between the speeches given by International Human Rights Lawyer, Karen Parker, New York Attorney Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, Dr. Thani Cheran of North Carolina, and Dr. Ellyn Shander of New Canaan, Connecticut who had visited the NorthEast to provide care and grief counseling to the tsunami survivors. The public meeting part of the Peace Rally was presided over by Lisa Hansen of the Clinton Foundation.

Pointing out the ongoing ethnic cleansing and the scale of government induced mass displacements of the Tamils, Ms. Parker argued that the actions of the Sri Lankan Government clearly constitute genocide. The Tamils' right to self-determination conforms to all international laws, Ms. Parker observed. "The Tamil areas belong to the Tamils. It is their land. The Sri Lankan government's occupation of part of the historic Tamil Eelam is de facto, whereas the civilian administration and the military force of the Tamils have a right de jure (by law) to the land they control," she said.

Dr. Shander electrified the crowd by her emotional speech sharing her dream of a peaceful Tamil homeland where the children going to school will look up the sky only to check the weather and not scout for fighter jets. "I have a dream that every pregnant Tamil will have access to a hospital and only be concerned if she is having a boy or girl and not whether a Sri Lankan Army shell will take her life and her newborns," she said.

Dr. Shander questioned the Sri Lankan Government, "If you don't want to treat the Tamils equally, fairly, or humanely then what is wrong with a two-state solution" "Two States in peace is better than war in one," she concluded.

Earlier in the afternoon, Chris Gaston, Senior Aide to Congressman Rush Holt came to the rally and met with the contingent that attended the rally from the Congressman's home state of New Jersey. The rally organized by Tamil Americans and Friends for Peace, concluded at 3pm and participants peacefully dispersed to their far way home states along the east coast, Midwest and far west.

(Pictures of the rally can be found and freely downloaded at:





Tamil Americans Hold Peace Rally at Capitol Hill