TNS Corner
Resounding 99.49 % Switzerland Tamils Mandate Tamil Eelam

Jan 26, 2010, 00:47

More than 99.49 % people who have voted in the referendum polls in Switzerland Saturday and Sunday gave the mandate that they support the independent Tamil Nation and reaffirmed the Vaddukkoaddai Resolution of 1976, which was mandated by Tamils in the north and east of the island of Sri Lanka in the 1977 general election.

The referendum was organised by a coalition of 2nd generation Eezham Tamils in Switzerland and the task of conducting the ballot process was undertaken by an independent election commission that was headed by M. Pagani, ex-Mayor of the city of Biel and participated by journalists, politicians and members of Young Socialist Party (JUSO) of Switzerland. Well-covered by the Swiss media, Pia Holenstein, a member of the federal parliament, described the process as something neatly organised and is exemplary.

The Vaddukkoddai Resolution states, "I aspire for the formation of the independent and sovereign state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east territory of the island of Sri Lanka on the basis that the Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka make a distinct nation, have a traditional homeland and have the right to self-determination."

In a country regarded as a nerve centre of international diplomatic manoeuvrings, where the very mention of the word Tamil Eelam is considered a taboo in the diplomatic circles, a side achievement of the referendum is that it has freed the taboo in the public opinion of Switzerland. The democratic way and the bold voice of a large number of Eezham Tamils in telling what they want is Tamil Eelam has made a big impact, says Tharsika Pakeerathan, the spokesperson for the election coalition and a computer science student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich).

Reporters of major media outlets such as NZZ Sonntag and Tages Anzeiger were present to cover the news of the referendum, the organisers said.

A touching scene at a voting booth was 90-year-old grand lady Arumugam Sinnathangam, who came in a wheelchair recounting the mandate she gave for Tamil Eelam in the 1977 general elections in the island of Sri Lanka. Ms. Sinnathangam, a native of Nayinaa-theevu, an island off Jaffna and came to Switzerland in 2000, remembered the infamous massacre of innocent passengers including children in the boat Kumuthini by the armed forces of Sri Lanka in 1985 and vowed Tamil Eelam will become a reality.