The most recent advancements made by the Sri Lankan government, in that country’s 30 year civil war, have evidenced sheer brutality.  Whilst the official target of the government’s campaign is the notorious rebel group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), this has frequently operated as a smokescreen for institutional persecution of the islands Tamil minority.  Hospitals have been consistently targeted, and civilian life disregarded.  Such tactics have been a frequent fixture of the all too often ignored civil war.  Only following the death of over 10,000 people since January have media outlets, and elements of the ‘international’ (ruling-class) community began to concede, albeit in an entirely inadequate fashion, that humanitarian crisis is a reality.  Even a momentary glance at the Sri Lankan army’s operations make a mockery of the claims of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the government’s apparent victory in the conflict will see the Tamils, thirty percent of Sri Lanka’s population, awarded equal citizenship rights.  In reality there can be little hope of an increase in fortunes for Sri Lanka’s long persecuted Tamil minority.

The situation has provoked demonstrations in solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamils across the globe, with over 100,000 protesters estimated to have congregated in London this January.  Despite this, the participation of the left appears to have been minimal on the whole, particularly compared with its involvement in Gaza solidarity demonstrations.  This was most clearly evidenced by the failure of the Stop the War Coalition (STWC) Conference to even pass a motion recognising the plight of the Tamils.  Instead, the decision was referred to the steering committee so it could choose the attitude the STWC would take, behind closed doors.

In an effort to publicise the atrocities taking place in Sri Lanka activists, largely mobilised via the Southampton University Socialist Students society, gathered in Southampton city centre on Monday 18 May equipped with banners and leaflets.  We initially marched to the Civic Centre aiming to distribute a letter to the councillors highlighting not only the crimes of the Sri Lankan government, but also the complicity of the British government in its actions given its colonial legacy in Sri Lanka, and its continued supply of finances for the current government.  Some of us were restricted entrance to the Centre due to our banners, and forced to protest outside the ‘private’ grounds of the Civic Centre.  However, the councillors P.A. met with some of our contingency, and pledged to help publicise the plight of Sri Lanka’s Tamils.
Next we headed to the BBC Radio Solent Broadcasting House to highlight the BBC’s biased coverage of the conflict.  Until recently reporting of the developments in Sri Lanka have been given little prominent exposure, and when the BBC has dared to comment, its sympathy toward the Sinhala chauvinist Rajapaksa regime has been thinly veiled.  We spoke with the regional BBC’s regional manager, who was once again sympathetic.  Whilst he claimed to be powerless to influence the reporting angle of the BBC over Sri Lanka, he pledged to ensure our letter reached those who could.
Finally we headed to the high street to speak to the public, and distribute our remaining leaflets.  Whilst we cannot expect either the councillors or the BBC to demonstrate the active solidarity necessary, it is nevertheless vital that communists seek to expose the complicity of the British establishment in the persecution of Sri Lanka’s Tamils.  Whilst also aiming to win the mass support for consistent, working class internationalism, necessary if we are to successfully counteract such atrocities as that in Sri Lanka, and others similar to it all across the world.

By John Sidwell