• Statement by International Educational Development under Agenda Item 6 on Racism

International Educational Development is concerned by the serious increase in racist activities and racism in the world today. While international law condemns racism it also provides, as a last resort, a powerful remedy for groups subjected to prolonged and serious racism on the part of a government -- the right to self determination from racist regimes. This right is an integral part of international law, and finds expression in numerous resolutions of the General Assembly as well as in Protocol Additional I of the Geneva Conventions and customary international law. This means, that even without the right to self-determination under the so-called "classic" definition of self-determination, groups who show that they have been subjected to racist policies over a prolonged time with little or no chance of change have the right to resist that racism with the same means -- including the use of force -- that groups meeting the traditional definition of peoples have to resist colonization. Such is the case in Sri Lanka.

IED is convinced that the Tamil people on the island of Ceylon clearly meet the test of peoples with the right to self-determination under the classic international law model: they were an independent country prior to the colonial period but forcibly amalgamated with another country under the colonial administrative policy of "unitary rule"; they have an identifiable territory, distinct language, culture, religion and ethnicity; and they have made their choice of separate sovereignty clearly and with strong leadership. They have the capacity and will for self-governance.

We understand that certain countries, for covert and overt political reasons related to their foreign policy and economic objectives in the region, try to deny that such a right exists. Yet even these countries cannot deny the application of the right to self-determination from a racist regime.

The Tamil people have suffered extreme racism at the hands of the Sinhala majority in Ceylon since the end of the British colonial period. The Commission is aware of this as there have been literally hundreds of statements, both written and oral, governmental and non-governmental, at sessions of both the Commission and the Sub-Commission since 1983. A very brief review of pertinent acts includes: 

(1) the 1948 Citizenship Act which disenfranchised over 1 million plantation workers, originally brought to Ceylon over 115 years ago; 
(2) the "Sinhala only" Act of 1956; 
(3) the anti-Tamil riots in Sinhala areas in 1958; 
(4) the violations of the two Tamil-Sinhala political pacts; 
(5) the Srima-Shastri pact which made over 650,000 "plantation Tamils" stateless; 
(6) the denial in 1972 of equal education rights for Tamil children; 
(7) the anti-Tamil riots in Colombo in 1983 which resulted in 2,500 Tamils killed by Sinhala rioters and produced 250,000 refugees. 

This last event was the final blow for the Tamil people, who immediately thereafter began an armed struggle in exercise of the right to self-determination based on both classic international law and their rights against a racist regime. The war, a "last resort" response to a racist regime, continues to this day.


The government of Sri Lanka, in the course of this now eighteen-year war has developed and used anti-Tamil rhetoric of the most extreme kind. It has reached such proportions that any -- I repeat any -- attempt by human rights groups, religious groups or other charities to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the now estimated 900,000 Tamils living in shelters or even without shelter in Sri Lanka is violently opposed by the Sri Lanka government.

 The regime writes menacing letters to churches, newspapers, indeed to any group that seeks to ameliorate the plight of these Tamil war victims. The regime goes so far as to openly threaten such aid providers and has an almost total blockade to Tamil areas. It appears that even Tamil children are the enemy. Our organization must stress that under the applicable rules of armed conflict, humanitarian aid cannot be criminalized nor can any party to a war impede fair distribution of humanitarian aid to victims.

Anti-Tamil rhetoric is so constant and so pervasive that even governments that should know better are infected by it. Some governments seem to only relate to the Sinhala people -- not even nodding to the Tamil or Muslim population of the island. 

As an example of this, an ambassador of a major European power was recently interviewed by a newsmagazine from her country. In it, she commented on how she was happy to be posted in Sri Lanka because Sri Lanka was a Buddhist country and she "has always been passionate about Buddhism." She was photographed participating in Buddhist ceremonies. 

But the Tamils in Sri Lanka are Hindu and Christian, and a sizable portion of Tamil-speaking people are Muslim. It is inexcusable that an ambassador would single out one group in a supposedly multi-cultural/multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, and in the context of the war in Sri Lanka must be viewed as racist. We can only point out the political furor that would arise if a European ambassador to the United States was photographed attending a Southern Baptist ceremony and quoted as saying "I have always been passionate about Southern Baptists."

The government has clearly shown that it seeks a military solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka rather than a negotiated one. It has not reciprocated the LTTE unilaterally declared cease fire -- as of last Thursday extended to its third month. 

The government also appears to not cooperate with the Norwegian peace initiative undertaken in a spirit of neutrality and with no perceivable national interests other than a sincere search for peace. 

International Educational Development would like to take this opportunity to thank the government of Norway for this action and encourage them to persevere. We hope that the Commission of Human Rights will also recognize and support this gesture so needed to bring peace, racial and national harmony to the island. We hope that the Durban Conference will fully address remedies for victims of racist regimes.