Why Najib didn't boycott CHOGM in Sri Lanka

Some Malaysians and NGOs had urged PM Najib to boycott the recent CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) in Sri Lanka to show Malaysia's concerns over (allegations of) Sri Lanka's human rights abuses by its military during and after the country's 26-year old civil war which ended in May 2009.

What was this civil war then?

Most Malaysians know or at least have heard of it. It started as an armed insurrection in July 1983 by the separatist group Tamil Tigers against the Sri Lankan government. Its origin lies in the usual story of the ketuanan ('supremacy', but contextually 'racial supremacy') of one bangsa (race) and its acute marginalization of another.

In more than one way, from language to citizenship issues coupled with ketuanan institutionalized racism affecting miscellaneous aspects such as discrimination against the Tamils in university admissions, the Sri Lankan acrimonious socio-political-economic problem mirrored that of Malaysia's.

Because of this, the Sri Lankan Tamils wanted to bring about a forced but alas for them, failed separation from the Singhalese controlled state. 'Twas to be an unilateral secession, so to speak, of the north and eastern (Tamil populated) parts of the Island State from the rest of Singalese dominated Sri Lanka.

The aim of the Tamils was to form an independent state of Tamil Eelam, a home for Sri Lankan Tamils and members of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora (note: not Indian Tamil Diaspora, wakakaka), in short, a serious kind of SARSI, where in the confrontational pursuit of this, several thousands of lives were lost on both sides during the conflict, including those of PM Rajiv Gandhi* of India and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa, .

Rajiv Gandhi

* Though Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide 'human bomb' in Tamilnadu at Sriperumbudur village, 30 miles from Chennai, investigation after his death showed that the assassination was ordered by Thiruvenkadam Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Tamil Tigers. Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa was also killed in the same way, by a Tigers' suicide bomber.

* I believe that the origin of terrorism and assassination by suicide 'human bombs' started with the Tigers. The Japanese kamikaze aeroplane and mini submarine attacks against the Americans were in a different category altogether, not as acts of terrorism per se but desperate 'final' acts of defence of the Japanese homeland.

The civil war ended officially on 19 May 2006, a day after Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed by Sri Lankan troops.

green areas claimed by various groups of Tamil separatists

During the war the protagonists on both sides committed human rights abuses, many of which were alleged to be war crimes. The Tigers were notorious in this respect though it's difficult to say which side was worse in their criminal violations.

The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora has been a major financial and powerful political backer (in lobbying Western powers) of the secession for a Tamil Eelam, and thus also of the Tamil Tigers.

It would not be far fetched to say the accusations of alleged war crimes or human rights abuses directed against the Sri Lankan military today have in large part been 'pushed' by the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora.

Incidentally the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora includes the Sri Lankan Tamil Malaysians but not those descended from Indian Tamils (including those from the central highlands of Sri Lanka) - sorry lah, wakakaka.

Malaysian Tamil 'Ceylonese' wedding

Mind, this didn't mean our own Sri Lankan Tamils had actively backed the Tigers or would have wanted to stay in the would-be Tamil Eelam, but I personally suspect they probably would have lots of sympathy for the Tamil Eelam separatists.

I wonder whether the Sri Lankan Tamils in Malaysia are still referred to by Indian Tamils as, I believe derogatorily, Panamkottai, wakakaka, though I understand the Sri Lankan Tamils (not just those in Malaysia) prefer to be identified as Ceylonese or Jaffnese, rather than Tamils.

This lamentable race-class-caste consciousness is probably due to the Sri Lankan Tamils, sorry I mean, Ceylonese wakakaka, preferring to, or rather, insisting on differentiating themselves from Indian Tamils, whom they consider from a historical viewpoint as of 'common labourer' stock (coolie? wakakaka) in contrast to their own and far more prestigious 2000 year old 'nobler'(?) pedigree, as descendants of the people of ancient Jaffna Kingdom. 

a Jaffna King

ampun tuanku or ampu tuan? wakakaka

It's known in Malaysia that their snobbery extends to looking down on Indian (non-Ceylonese) Tamils, particularly in areas such as cross-marriages, almost an impossibility. I recall a Indian Tamil (non-Ceylonese, wakakaka) mate of mine, who had the hots for a Panamkottai sweetie, but in their romance encountered umpteen zillion barriers, all from her family. Mind you, he was a doctor, a prestigious profession among Indians and a prospective and highly desirable son-in-law for Indian families, yet sweetie's Ceylonese (wakakaka) family's silly belief in their superior-ketuanan heritage rejected my matey's request for their daughter's hand.

Anyway, only the PM of two Commonwealth members, namely India and Canada, did not attend the Commonwealth summit meeting in Colombo, although they sent their respective delegations to Colombo.

Just more than a week ago, Tamil Nadu's chief minister J Jayalalithaa and the state assembly passed a resolution demanding that India completely boycott CHOGM, but alas for those Aneh's, India sent her external affairs minister and his team.

Thus the calls to boycott CHOGM in Colombo had limited appeal among Commonwealth leaders.

I don't like to sound cynical but my guess is that the Canadian PM's reason for personally boycotting the 2013 CHOGM has a lot to do with the significant Indian community among its citizenry, therefore he was no doubt playing to the Canadian domestic gallery.

have to use a Canadian Bhai photo as I couldn't get one with Canadian Tamils, wakakaka 

Similarly, the Indian PM (and his ruling Indian Congress Party) has been obviously wary of the voters in Tamilnadu, not that he or Congress has forgotten it was the Tigers who murdered PM Rajiv Gandhi, the late hubby of Sonia Gandhi, the lady who's the real power behind the Indian Congress Party.

Incidentally, the Indian PM in boycotting the Colombo CHOGM was a damn bloody hypocrite as the Indian government had directly helped Sri Lanka in finishing off the Tigers - read my post Tamil Tigers mauled by Indian government? in which I wrote:

The people in Tamilnadu and the Tamil Diaspora (including those in Malaysia) have been outraged at what they see as the Indian government’s treacherous act of fratricide, but it's hardly likely the Congress Party-led Indian government would be sweet to the Tigers, bearing in mind Rajiv Gandhi's widow, Sonia, is the real power in Congress!

Now really, given this background and the lack of appeal towards the numerous calls to boycott CHOGM, how could one expect PM Najib to join in the boycott?

A second factor would be about an even handed approach to the vexatious problem of the Sri Lankan civil war, namely, human rights abuse.

Okay, this contentious issue behind the boycott calls, namely, allegations of human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan military, is no doubt important. But for Najib to boycott the event would show Sri Lankans that Malaysia deplores their military's excesses, but unfairly, not our fair sense of outrage towards the excesses of the Tamil Tigers and their suporters too, which had killed, maimed and destroyed the lives of not only many Singhalese families but also those of many Sri Lankan Tamils who were pro government.

Yup, the Tamil Tigers had been equally as guilty as, if not worse than the Sri Lanka military, in committing such alleged human rights abuses, so how would a Commonwealth nation (or its PM) boycotting the Sri Lankan organized CHOGM show an even handed and constructive approach to dealing with the issue of human rights abuse in that country?

I believe Australian Foreign Minister, Julia Bishop, said the more constructive words, that it was better to engage with Sri Lanka on the issue.

She stated, ''I have been having ongoing discussions with the Sri Lankan government and I have encouraged all member nations of the Commonwealth to attend the … meeting to engage with Sri Lanka on these issues rather than isolate Sri Lanka."

But wait, there is another far more important reason for Najib not to boycott CHOGM. It's the issue of the Tamil ... ooops ... sorry, wakakaka, Ceylonese intended secession.

Secession? Man, for a start that's a f**king no-no for Najib or any Malaysian PM to support, directly or indirectly, because that's a bloody dirty word in Malaysia - now go wash your mouth, wakakaka.

And to know why, read my KTemoc Konsider's post Will Sabah secede?

Therefore, there is no f**king blooming way a PM of Malaysia would ever show support for whatever issue, including alleged human rights abuses, when the musty malodorous mephitic secession (failed or otherwise) lurks like the proverbial doggie bola in the background.

Now, Aneh Ah Jib Gor certainly has far more Tamils than Stephen Harper (PM of Canada) to appease on the domestic political front, but despite or in spite of this, there's a snowflake's chance in burning hell he would ever support his tambee or tangechee fixed deposits(?), wakakaka, in opposing Colombo, no, not when the Ceylonese or if you like, Tamils had attempted to secede from Sri Lanka.

Rightly or wrongly there's no way Najib wants to 'encourage' blokes like dear Jeffery boy, or anyone else wakakaka, by planting the idea that it's okay to have a local version of Tamil Eelam in our backyard.

look like Malaysians but certainly smarter and better looking than those threadbare badly dressed MCP insurgents, wakakaka