Massive Tamil Colonization of Colombo Threatens Security and Sustainability - a Response to Those Who Cry Sinhala Colonization of Jaffna

Colombo was known as the garden city sometime back. However all that splendour was lost within a few decades as massive Tamil colonization rapidly changed the city. To make matters worse they settled down mainly in the Greater Colombo area which was already crowded. In order to house this massive Tamil population that flocked to the city suddenly, many unplanned dwellings were built. However, the drains, roads, garbage collection and other infrastructure could not handle this sudden influx. Greater Colombo area gradually degenerated into something similar to a South Indian city.

Having done so, shameless racist elements within the Tamil community protest when Sinhalese and Muslims settle down in the north. This is outright racism and must be condemned by all. If the Sinhalese and Muslims cannot settle in their hundreds of thousands in the north, Tamils have no right whatsoever to settle down in Colombo. It is time to end this racism and aggressively create multi ethnic peace communities in the war ravaged north. Otherwise it is a matter of time since the Tamil Homeland struggle restarted.

Recently a prominent Tamil news website published an article alleging military fortresses and colonization in Jaffna choke Tamils, Threaten India. [http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=33025]. This article is in response to that rubbish claim. These false allegations by Tamil homeland theorists are an attempt to cover up the truth.

People must learn to live in multicultural districts right throughout the island nation. Those who cannot do so should find alternative places of adobe abroad. The purpose of this article is not to arouse any communal feelings but to highlight the hypocrisy of Tamil racists and their apparently innocent supporters (including some members of the clergy) who cry over alleged “Sinhala colonization” of the north. They must first take a hard long look at Colombo - the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. Here it goes, if you have not seen it before. 

Tamil Colonization in Colombo and Security Issues

All entry points to the Colombo City are choked-up by Tamil colonization. Peliyagoda/Wattala from the north, Dehiwala from the south and Wellampitiya/Kolonnawa from the east are colonized by Tamils within the last two and a half decades according to people living and lived in these areas. That is however, is only part of the story. All strategic locations within the City are also colonized by Tamils. The Colombo harbour stretches from Fort (Colombo-1) to Mattakkuliya (Colombo-15), through Pettah (Colombo-11), Kochchikadde/Kotahena (Colombo-13) and Hettiyawatta/Modara (Colombo-15). Except for Colombo-1, all the other areas bordering the Colombo harbour are occupied by Tamils making more than 90% of the population in these areas. During the war, this posed a huge security threat. LTTE made good use of this very high Tamil concentration to conceal suicide bombers especially in Colombo-13 and 15. Armed forces were deployed only in entry points to the harbour and the other 4km were saved only by a wall running alongside the harbour. Tigers twice attacked the Colombo port in 1998 and 2007 but both failed to cause any major damage.

Now is the time to plan the City to meet future national security threats. LTTE is still active in the Diaspora. Small scale subversive activity against economically important places by frustrated Tamil Elamist elements is still a possibility.

Bridges over the Kelani River were also targeted by the LTTE. However, stringent security measures saved these. The high Tamil resident population sympathetic towards the Tigers around this area was a decisive factor in harbouring terrorists.

Oil refineries and storage tanks in the outskirts of Colombo and in Colombo-15 became the targets of terrorist activities. Once again it was the large Tamil population around these areas that proved valuable to the LTTE to spy on these installations, hide sleepers in the vicinity and eventually attack.

Huge Tamil colonization of Colombo meant LTTE could very successfully maintain sleeper cells in the heart of the City! No other capital city of a nation faced such a huge terror threat from within. LTTE used it to the maximum by carrying out close to fifty bomb attacks within Colombo. The Central Bank attack (1996) showed how easily strategic economic targets could be reached by terrorists as they were residing just a few kilometres from the target for a while awaiting instructions.

Security establishments within the Colombo City limits must stay contrary to myopic thinking of a few. Colombo faced grave security threats time to time. A resident army is many times more effective than an army that could be deployed in the city from outside. In the last century Colombo faced dire security challenges coincidentally every 18 or so years. When Elam War-4 broke out in 2006, threat to the Colombo infrastructure was most threatening in 2007. By 2008 and 2009 it gradually reduced with the decline of LTTE’s capabilities. In 1989 JVP terror brought the City to a standstill. JVP carried out a number of assassinations within Colombo. Another 18 years ago JVP’s first insurgency threatened Colombo security. Insurgents unsuccessfully planned to abduct the Prime Minister in Colombo. A further 18 years ago there was a major strike in 1953 when the army had to be called in resulting in a number of casualties. Before that in 1939 and 1915, there were riots in upcountry that threatened to spread to multicultural Colombo. Going by these events, it is only prudent to retain security establishments within the City.

Further National Security Issues of Tamil Colonization of Colombo

Tamil colonization of Colombo had far worse long term national security threats. Since 1994, Mano Ganesan was elected from Colombo to parliament at every election. In 2004 another pro-Tamil Elamist MP by the name T Maheswaran was elected. These two individuals stood in the way of many security operations in Colombo. They did everything they could to stop search operations and counter insurgency operations. One of them made a rowdy display of thuggery in parliament against inspection of lodges. The other admitted to keeping LTTE cadres at his residence during the ceasefire. He was indeed the contact point of the LTTE.

The ability to elect two MPs to parliament with pro-Tamil Elamist tendencies shows the damaging long term impact of Tamil colonization of Colombo.

To cater to the huge Tamil population in Colombo, a number of Tamil TV stations, Tamil radio stations and Tamil newspapers emerged. Most of these including a very prominent TV/radio station owned by a business tycoon, openly supported the LTTE. Had there not been so much Tamil colonization in Colombo, it would have been unprofitable to run these, especially when they had no access to the north. The Eastern and Upcountry segments were not very lucrative financially.

Wholesale and retail trade of the City came to be dominated by Tamil merchants. Some of them paid scant regard to price control and were powerful enough to arbitrarily increase the price of imported goods and blame it on the war. Today

Dam Street

,

Moor Street

,

Armour Street

and Bodhiraja Mawatha which are considered areas of high business concentration are totally dominated by Tamils and are Tamil only.

Cultural Changes

Unseen to many, a massive process of cultural degeneration has taken place in Colombo. Old Sinhala, Moor and Burger names have been changed to Tamil. Sinhala place names have been turned to Tamil. Examples include Wellawatta (meaning sandy gardens) has been turned to Wella’wat’tai. Kotahena has been turned to Kottan’chennai; Kollupitiya to Kollu’piddi; Bambalapitiya to Bamblapiddi; Hettiyawatta to Chettiyawattai and Mattakkuliya to Mat’tak’kooli. As happens in the north, self styles Tamil Elamists ‘scholars’ will soon find creative etymological evidence in these new names to claim ancient Tamil homelands.

Buddhist and

Catholic street

processions that were unique in the past have drastically gone down giving way to Tamil Nadu style Hindu processions. Ancient Buddhist temples in the City dating back to over 200 years have reduced in grandeur and attendance. In 2003 there were even attempts to hold Pongu Tamil in Colombo! Such is the degeneration of Colombo’s rich cultural heritage. Overcrowded apartments and flats in the City are heavily occupied by Tamils. Surrounding these crowded complexes, a Tamil Nadu style subculture has developed. Severe lack of social discipline, every imaginable pollution, immoral activities including prostitution, smuggle in of South Indian pornographic materials, drug use and other social cancers thrive in the vicinity of these overcrowded apartments. 

Colombo has become the venue of choice of Tamil Elamists and other highly anti-national elements to hold their functions and events. None of this could have been possible if not for the massive Tamil colonization in Colombo.  

Severe Setback to Sustainability

Sudden and massive influx of Tamils into the Colombo City had a huge impact on sustainability. Flood control, water supply, drainage and sewage systems, electricity and telephone infrastructure, the road network, recreational and sports facilities, waterways, schools, Hindu places of worship and hospitals are some of the structures that stretched beyond their sustainable limits. These structures simply could not keep up with the influx and growth. Today there is very little scope for expanding these facilities.

Water shortages are a regular occurrence in many parts of Colombo. This is solely due to the massive influx of people and unplanned apartments. Roads are overcrowded and there is no room for expansion.

Massive Tamil colonization had another longer term impacts. CMC elections returned municipal councillors who were sympathetic to the Tamil Elam cause instead of competent persons. They turned a blind eye to sustainability concerns, illegal constructions and cheap apartments. Improving the drainage system was certainly not in their agenda at all. Instead they would blame the government in power.

It is in this context Tamil racist elements cry Sinhala colonization of Jaffna when a handful of Sinhala families evicted from their homes in Jaffna try to return home after more than 30 years. Hypocrisy and racism are a very lethal combination and unfortunately they go hand in hand in northern politics. The only way to change this is to change the ethnic composition of the north not letting racist political parties any hiding place in the island. The good news is it is sustainable and economically immensely productive! What should happen is to encourage more multiculturalism in Colombo and Jaffna while maintaining sustainability, not the opposite.