Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Religious Freedom

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Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Religious Freedom

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Religious Freedom

What is the position of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on religion? Are the Liberation Tigers anti-religious? Are they against freedom of religious worship? What is the ideological view of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on religion? This article attempts to provide a clear policy explanation to the questions raised among the people.

Our policy statement clearly explains the position of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on religion. It states the following:

‘‘The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will obey to a non-religious stance. At the same time, our movement will guarantee the fundamental right of people belonging to all religions, freedom of worship. Our movement will encourage people of all religions to fulfill their spiritual aspirations and to preserve and develop their religious and cultural characteristics.

This explanation, which is given in a nutshell in the LTTE’s manifesto, prioritizes three important aspects related to religion.

One is secularism.

Second, the freedom of worship of the people.

Third, the national cultural life of the Tamils.

We will now look at these three aspects in detail.

When the LTTE movement is secular, it means that it is not affiliated with any religion. The secular position is to embrace and respect all religions embraced by the people of Tamileelam and to maintain a common stance towards all religions.

It is wrong for a liberation movement that has set itself the ideal of Tamil ethnic unity and national independence to adopt religious policies. This narrow religious tendency will be a great obstacle to Tamil ethnic unity and Tamil national unity. It is with this in mind that our movement has embraced secular neutrality from the very beginning.

The Sinhala government is religious. It has given national status and honor to a particular religion, namely Buddhism, and has alienated people of other religions. This narrow religious tendency has led to Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism and has intensified the Sinhala-Tamil national ethnic conflict. The Tamil national race, which is facing the religious and communal oppression of the Sinhala nation, cannot remain divided based on religious beliefs. It will weaken our national struggle. The liberation movement, which is leading the national liberation struggle of our people, has embraced a secular position, standing beyond religions, and is adopting an approach to mobilizing and uniting our people on an ethnic-national basis.

As the freedom movement of the people of Tamileelam, we are fighting for the fundamental freedoms and rights of our people. Freedom of worship is important in this. Worship is a fundamental right of humans. Our movement honors this sacred right.

The spiritual quest of man, who desires to see the truth, continues as an endless ideal journey in all times and in all societies. This desire continues as the deepest aspiration of man, who desires to understand the meaning of life and the miracle of the universe. Both spirituality and science are concerned with the manifestation of this desire.

Man has the right to seek truth in any way and in any form. This is his spiritual right. A man has the right to think, act, seek, believe, disbelieve, worship, and disbelieve to satisfy his spiritual aspirations. In this sense, the right to worship depends on the freedom of thought of man. Our liberation movement respects and honors this right. Because it is essential for a free human life and noble human development.

Religious worship is intertwined with the cultural life of our people. Cultural life is the basis of our nationality. Our nationality is the foundation for the construction of an independent state.

Our basic political goal is to mobilize our people on a national basis as a liberation movement that is waging a heroic war of independence based on national entitlement and demanding autonomy. To achieve this goal, it is essential to preserve and protect our cultural forms, which are the basis of our nationhood and the pillars of our national construction. In this regard, we value the religious life that our people have established as their cultural sphere. Our movement will work for the development of their religious worship life.

Human life will excel only in a social world where basic individual rights and freedoms are maintained. Complete human liberation is possible. Humanity and morality will flourish. Without the maintenance of individual freedoms, an egalitarian society with social justice cannot be built. Social experiments that have tried to reform the material world by denying individual individuality have met with failure.

The Tamileelam society seeks to free itself from the shackles of foreign domination. This desire for liberation is not aimed only at the liberation of the land. The goal of our liberation revolution is to build an independent nation where every individual Tamil can fulfill his spiritual aspirations.

Religions must also support the idealistic war of our liberation movement, which is fighting for the fundamental freedoms of our people, respecting the right to worship. A religious war is taking place in our nation for the liberation of oppressed people. Our religious institutions must raise their voices in support of this true war. This is an unavoidable moral obligation of all religions.

The sacrifice of a freedom fighter who dedicates his life for the liberation of the people is also sacred in essence. It can also be said to be spiritual in a deep dimension.