By
Hemantha Warnakulasuriya
When we were conducting a Mobile Service in Modana, three Tamil women wanted to meet me to discuss problems relating to the Tamils in Italy. Two days earlier, I received an anonymous telephone call asking me to immediately stop my campaign against the LTTE and that they were following me and would destroy me, as it was a very minor matter as they were working with the Italian Mafia.
I did not take this threat seriously, but when the ladies wanted to meet me the Police immediately stopped them until they were searched thoroughly. They were permitted to meet me only when they were certain that there was no threat. The three Sri Lankan women did not know English and spoke to me in Tamil which was translated.
I was deeply moved by what they said. They said that most embassies in Europe treated the Tamils as pariahs and outcasts. They look at them with great suspicion as LTTE supporters or their agents. Most of them suffered at the hands of the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka. They were virtually being subjected to a cross-fire, LTTE asking for ransom at the slightest turn of events and the Sri Lankan missions suspecting them of being LTTE supporters. “We have only one TV Channel in Tamil which feeds us with LTTE propaganda and the attitude of the Embassies drives us towards the LTTE. As we need to get our consular documents approved by the Embassy we are compelled to go to the LTTE who have agents to do this for us at an enormous price. They said you have never had the courtesy to conduct a Mobile Service in our city, Regio Emillae, where there are more Tamils than Sinhalese. We request you to open your doors for the Tamil in Italy and conduct Mobile Service programmes in Tamil areas.” I explained to them that we have already conducted a consular mobile service in Lecce and were considering having another mobile service in Palermo.
Two months later, with the approval of the Foreign Ministry, we conducted a Mobile Service in Region Emillae, which was an outstanding success. This led to a permanent friendship and relationship with the leaders of the Tamil community in Italy. The Independence Day of 2009, took a different turn. It was a historic day for the Sri Lankans living in Italy.
We celebrated Independence Day with a cultural pageant with Tamils participating in it. Leading figures from the Tamil community, in Reggio Emillae and Palmore, came with a group of Tamil Dancers and a number of Tamil children and teachers, participated in the event inspite of the fact that the LTTE had threatened to kill them or their relatives in the North if they participated. These Tamils braved the LTTE threat. They were even frightened to travel by road and they had to fly to Rome to take part in the event.
One of the most touching moments of my life as an Ambassador was when they knelt before the Lion Flag and paid obeisance to me. The war was raging and there was no end in sight. Their performance included Katakali and Bharatha Natyam and another modern dance showed the naked truth about the horrendous facets of the war where the innocent Tamils were being killed in the crossfire. When the leader of the Tamil community addressed the gathering in Italian and said “our children have also died during the war and we do not blame anyone as the second generation of Tamils. We only want to extend our friendship and live together in peace,” the whole crowd, Italians and Sri Lankans gave him a standing ovation.
The LTTE failed to disrupt the proceedings. The Italian Police, with the Secret Police gave the Embassy and the participants protection. On 19th May, 2009 the war ended with a crushing defeat of the LTTE. One month afterwards, I received a four-page letter in Tamil marked ‘Confidential’.
As I have been receiving confidential letters about LTTE activities in Italy, I sent this letter, by special courier, to Sri Lanka to get it translated. When the translation was received I was shocked at its contents. This letter was addressed to me by the Tamil community in Reggio Emillia and Palermore. They had, with the most powerful trade union in Italy and one of the oldest Universities situated in Regio Emilliae, proposed the name of Mahinda Rajapaksa to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. In their letter, they stated, referring to their nominee “He has brought peace after 30 years of a rigorous war where the LTTE killed members of our society, political leaders who were opposed to them, our social workers, our parents, brothers and sisters and our children. They had recruited our children as slaves and child soldiers. They had extorted money from those who escaped the war and were living in Europe.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has liberated the Tamils. In his Victory Speech he has said there are no ethnic divisions in Sri Lanka. All Tamils, Muslims, Malays, Burghers have the same rights and privileges as the Sinhalese. We the Tamils, with the new era that has dawned, will be able to manage our affairs in our home country. Our languages will be protected, we will have a bright future. Other countries had tried and failed to solve the problem and as a result of some solutions proposed by them they had aggravated the situation with no end to the conflict. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is not only the leader of the Sinhalese but the leader of Tamils, Muslims, Malays and Burghers. Therefore, in our humble opinion he should be awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for bringing real peace to our mother country, Sri Lanka, which we love so much” The original application has been made in Italian and sponsored by this Tamil group and supported by the University in Reggio Emilia
I have, in my life as a lawyer, ambassador or as a writer, never been touched so much as when I saw this letter signed by a community of Tamils living in Italy, as they really wrote what they felt. The change in our attitude towards them caused them to turn away from the LTTE. They readily gave information about the activities of the LTTE and its leaders. The need of the hour is to fully implement the intentions of the President. Though many shout about KP and Karuna, I for one, fully endorse the attitude of the government toward these people. We must invite the Diaspora to invest in Sri Lanka and change their attitude towards us. I do not think it is a difficult task, provided we are genuine and sincere. When they nominated Mahinda Rajapaksa to be Nobel Laureate they believed that he and he alone could solve this problem permanently.
(The Writer a Presidents Counsel served as Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Italy)