‘Land grabs part of structural genocide’ - interview with Tamil Nadu journalist Maga Tamizh...

8/13/2019 ‘Land grabs part of structural genocide’ - interview with Tamil Nadu journalist Maga Tamizh Prabhagaran

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‘ Land grabs part of structural genocide’ - interview withTamil Nadu journalist Maga Tamizh Prabhagaran

10 February 2014

Speaking to the Tamil Guardian, Indian film maker Maga TamizhPrabhagaran condemned the procurement of Tamil land by the Sri Lankangovernment as part of a structural genocide, after the London screening ofhis film This Land !elongs to the "rmy#$Prabhagaran, %ho %as detained by Sri Lankan security forces %hilst visitingthe Tamil homeland in the &orth'(ast of the island, %as eventuallydeported by )olombo$ *pon arrival in London, Prabhagaran also describedbeing held and interrogated for over + hours by !ritish police, uestioninghim on the LTT( and on protests held by the Tamil diaspora$

-is film, detailing state procurement and Sinhalisation of the Tamilhomeland, %as screened at an international conference on land grabsearlier this month in London$Land grabs, the Sri Lankan state#s forcible and militarised procurement ofTamil o%ned land in the &orth'(ast, has seen international condemnation%ith a resolution having been presented to the *S Senate this %eekoutlining .ongoing concerns regarding lando%nership and propertyrestitution/$See his full intervie% %ith the Tamil Guardian, %here he talks about hise0perience on the island and future pro1ects, belo%$

http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=9912









Object1

Tamil Guardian2

3our film .This Land !elongs to the "rmy/ premiered in London this%eek$ )ould you tell us more about it45

Prabhagaran2

5The first thing that I %as shocked on %as regarding6 many of the lands

included .This Land !elongs To The "rmy/ .This is "rmy Property/ .ThisIs &avy Property/ like this65

5So only then I got the thought to make this documentary, especially onthis land grabbing issues65

57uring my visit the main thing is the today the ongoing land grab is the

main issues, going on today in &orth (astern Sri Lanka$ This is an

ongoing %ar, this is a .peace/ %ar$ This is a structural genocide 8 landgrabs is a structural genocide$ !ecause land is inherited for the people$$$It is the main investment for people$5

5That is also being grabbed by the Sri Lankan "rmy or Sri Lankangovernment or by all Sri Lankan security forces including the police$5

59e kno% about the last : decades they took land in the name of

development pro1ects or in the name of giving land to the poorSinhalese farmers$ !ut the aim of the government is %e %ant to

Sinhalese the total nation$ Total Sri Lanka, they %ant a colonisation, thetotal of Sri Lanka as a Sinhalese nation$ That#s the main aim they %ant

to do$ In future %hat that means is after ;< years, %e also talk about

land grabbing issues, but at the same time, they#ve finished all the landgrabbing and colonisation$5

5=or e0ample, if the %orld nations or the international community givethe chance for a vote for a separate Tamil (elam, it means they %ill also

take a vote$ The Sinhalese also %ill be in Tamil areas and get to oppose

a Tamil (elam$ That#s the aim of the Sri Lankan government$5



Tamil Guardian2

59hat happened %ith your arrest by Sri Lankan security forces45Prabhagaran2

5In >illinochchi6 the Sri Lankan "rmy surrounded me, about ?<army persons, surrounded me and checked my camera$ "fter thatthey took me to &achchikuda Police Station$ 7uring that, I had lifethreats also$ They gave me petrol to drink instead of %ater$ "fterthat they took me to >illinochchi police station then to )olombo$)olombo is %here the main )I7 office, near to the =ort "rea$7uring that time all the human rights, all the la%s %ere violated bythe Sri Lankan "rmy regarding my arrest$ !y the basics of anormal case, they %ill take me to court %ithin ?@ hours$ If I amput under a terrorist case, they should take me %ithin A? hours$!ut after A? hours only the submitted me in the court$This arrest totally it is6 it is an unla%ful thing$ If I am doing %rongand they investigate me, that#s not a problem$ The violation of la%is a problem for me during my detention$55"fter I %as removed from Sri Lanka I got to )hennai "irport onthe ?Bth of 7ecember in the night$ "ll the media and my friendsand some of my friends in the media and movement friends all

came and invited me from the airport$ I think so many of the tamilnadu people and also the diaspora people supported me, asking torelease me$55Mr Caiko also %rote a letter to the Prime Minister of Indian for myrelease, that is also a reason that led to my release$ "lso the)ommittee to Protect Dournalists and all the diaspora movementssupported me to be released from Sri Lanka$ I thank them all forhelping me to be released$5



Tamil Guardian23ou also faced problems at London$ )ould you tell us %hathappened4

Prabhagaran25They kept me for + hours and they doubted me due to mydetention and removal from Sri Lanka$ They doubted me as a

.Tiger/ or being .pro'LTT(/$ They asked uestions like that andalso asked .The LTT( %ill again come4/$ They also asked uestionsabout my book and %hat I came to London for$ They asked if Icame to arrange any protests also$5

Tamil Guardian29hat is your impression of the political climate in Tamil &adu andIndia4

Prabhagaran253es there is more support for Tamil (elam$$ I kno% for the last +<

years they supported the Tigers struggle also$ !ut the (elam issueis not only a Tigers issue$ (elam is all for Tamils, not only forTigers$ People have this idea and realise that Tamil (elam is forTamils$55"lso due to the pressure of Tamilians and Tamil &adu people onlythey supported the March resolution, they took action against theSri Lankan government activities$ I also during my &orth'(asternIndia travels, all the peoples and all the protestors and all themovements6 they kno% about the (elam struggle$ They kno%about the independence struggle of Tamils in &orth'(astern Sri

Lanka and they get impressed by the protests$ They like it somuch, they have an independence model from the protests$559e %ant to %ork more apart from Tamil &adu and apart from ourrace6$ 9e#ll take this thing bigger and around the %orld$5

5I think the parliamentary elections are in May ?<;@$ !efore that%e have the March resolution6 so the government and the !DPand congress can take actions regarding support for Tamils$ !ut Idon#t have any hope for parties like the !DP or )ongress$ !ecausethe parties only change, the government machinery does notchange$ The outer thing only changes6 so in the future I don#thave much hope for the Indian government$55I only hope in the people$ Caiko held a protest against theEa1apaksa visit to India, ? years before$ 7uring that time, Icovered that ne%s in Madhya Pradesh$ 7uring that time they gavenotices in -indi6 they heard about the ne%s and they cried aboutthe killing of Tamil people$ The main things is they still do not



kno% about the killings of Tamils in Sri Lanka$ 9e %ant to %orkmore apart from Tamil &adu$ 9e %ant to %ork %ith people not%ith governments$ That is the thing that %ill make an impact onthe actions of any government$ People#s support means thegovernment %ill definitely support the actions$5

Tamil Guardian2 )ould you tell us more about your other %ork and futurepro1ects4

5I am not only %orking on the (elam issue or the Sri Lankanissues, I am also %orking on the &orth'(ast Indian conflict and onthe nuclear issues going on in Tamil &adu$ !ut the (elam and SriLankan issue is the specialised issue in %hich I %rite or take anydocumentaries regarding the today situation$55I do not talk so much about the past or historical things, but %e%ant the current things on %hatever is going on in Sri Lanka$

Solely I go to Sri Lanka and took a film on the current situation on%hat is going on in the &orth and (ast$55I did an intervie% %ith Iron Sharmila %ho is hunger striking for ;+years against the "rmed =orces Special Po%ers act %hich iscurrently in &orth'(astern India and also in >ashmir$ I took a caseagainst the Manipur government and I gained permission to meetSharmila6 during the month of &ovember ?<;+$55"part from this I also covered &orth'(ast Indian statespersonalities and human rights activists and some movementsalso$$$ &o% I am %riting a series about the nuclear po%er plant

issues in >udankullam$5Fn another pro1ect he is %orking on, Prabhagaran added,

5This book fully includes the situation of post'%ar Sri Lanka6 Itincludes all the past, present and future$55"fter the %ar in ?<< a lot of books came in tamil %ithout a fullstudy, so I thought I %ant to %rite a book about the full study6$The one book that I %as so inspired by after returning, it %as abook by Malathy 8 " =leeting Moment in my )ountry$ I %asimpressed so much by that book$55My book, .Tracing the mark of the Tiger2 " 1ourney of ?: days inblood'stained Sri Lanka/ includes the details of land grabbing andongoing structural genocide and also issues of harassment of%omen$ 9e also took intervie%s %ith former LTT( members, someimportant members$ It includes the total landscape of the Cannitoday$5

‘Land grabs part of structural genocide’ - interview with Tamil Nadu journalist Maga Tamizh...

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