BETA

That single name above, signifies a great deal for the Tamil nation of Eelam. It denotes a gentle; calm; unassuming man who was always smiling.  Tamilchelvan may be gone but his smile will always remain with us.

Tamilchelvam died a victim to the bombs that the Sinhalas have taken to ‘raining’ on civilian targets. The Tamil nation expected an attempt by the Sinhala government and army to try to balance the loss of face they suffered, in what the Sinhala Brigadier called the ‘debacle’ of Anuradhapure. When 21 Tamil heroes made mince meat of the Sinhala Air Force. The Sinhalas tried taking their revenge on the dead bodies of the Tamil heroes, but world opinion rebounded on them.

This attack on the administrative capital of the Tamil nation in Kilinochi, when Tamilchelvan was killed, only goes to prove that the Sinhala government will stoop to the foulest and most primitive methods in trying to regain their lost ‘prestige’ that is if they had any in the first instance.

In the death of Tamilchelvan, the Tamils have lost a long time champion there is no doubt about that. However, the Sinhalas have got mud on their face by the extermination of a face that was well known to the international world who was interested in resolving the civil war in the island.

The international media have plenty of footage of Tamilchelvan with the world’s international representatives. He has met foreign ministers of some of the leading countries who interested themselves in the problems facing the Tamil nation. My first information of his death was from the news channel of New Delhi Television (NDTV).

The death of Tamilchelvan does not mean that the Freedom Movement of the Tamil nation will crumble. No! It will make Tamils more determined that ensure that the many great people, both men and women, did not give up their lives in vain.

In the case of the Sinhala leaders we Tamils have noticed a steady downward trend of succeeding leaders being inevitably more ignorant and incompetent. If one were to draw a statistical curve, it will show a steady downward movement. Starting from D S Senanayake – Dudley Senanayake – Bandaranayake – Mrs Bandaranayake – J R Jayawardene -  Premadasa – Kumaratunge and now Rajapakse. These of you who have followed the island’s politics will see a clear downward trend. The only thing that interests these Sinhala ‘Leaders’, is ‘lining their own pockets’. The Rajapakse triumvirate takes the cake! 

In the case of the Tamil Freedom Movement this is not the case. There will always be more Tamilchelvams. What we Tamils need to do is to show more concern in our brethren in our homeland. We have lost two high profile leaders in recent times, like Anton Balasingham and Tamilchelvam. The Tamil nation is resilient. We Tamils believe in the fairness of our cause. We know that there are other ‘Tamilchelvams’ – both male and female who will take his place.

I am reminded of my attempt to travel to Jaffna by road in October last year. I was stopped at a traffic block, like others going by road. This traffic block was manned by the Police, Army and LTTE cadres. What impressed me was the young female LTTE cadre who manned the LTTE post. She could not have been more than 20 years of age but, of all the persons who spoke with me at the road block, she was the most capable. She was calm and collected and spoke perfect English, unlike the Sinhala police and army persons.

I end with my thanks to Tamilchelvan for all his years of help in the Tamil cause. I am sure that all Tamils readers of this piece will echo my sentiments.

Tamilchelvan may be gone but, like the ‘grin of the Cheshire cat’ his smile will always remain with us.