Dear Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam,
This letter is written to formally and respectfully register deep concern regarding your recent international engagements and public calls seeking support for federalism within Sri Lanka as a political solution for the Tamil people.
At this critical historical juncture, your advocacy for federalism does not merely represent a difference of strategy—it directly contradicts the democratic mandate of the Tamil people, undermines Tamil Nadu’s strongest legislative positions, and embarrasses the legacy of leaders who explicitly called for self-determination through an international referendum.
1. Jayalalithaa and the Tamil Nadu Assembly Did Not Endorse Federalism
Under the leadership of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed resolutions calling for:
- International accountability for genocide and war crimes, and
- A UN-supervised referendum among Sri Lankan Tamils and the Tamil diaspora to determine their political future.
These resolutions did not call for federalism, devolution, or power-sharing within Sri Lanka’s unitary state. They explicitly recognized self-determination through an internationally conducted referendum as the appropriate path.
To now advocate federalism is to retreat from—and effectively negate—this historic Tamil Nadu position.
2. The 2024 Tamil Nadu Joint Declaration Reaffirms Referendum, Rejects 13A and Imposed Solutions
In February 2024, political parties, elected representatives, civil society leaders, and legal experts from Tamil Nadu jointly adopted the “Joint Declaration by the People of Tamil Nadu”, which:
- Reaffirms the Tamil homeland in the North-East,
- Explicitly rejects the 13th Amendment as a solution,
- Calls for international recognition of the Tamil right to self-determination, and
- Demands steps toward a UN-facilitated Independence Referendum, including transitional international mechanisms .
This declaration reflects collective Tamil Nadu political consensus—not fringe opinion. Your federalism advocacy stands in direct contradiction to this documented position.
3. No Tamil Mandate Exists for Federalism
The only clear democratic mandate given by the Tamil people was in 1977, when Tamils voted overwhelmingly for self-determination.
No election—before or after—has authorized:
- Federalism,
- 13A-based devolution,
- Or constitutional accommodation within a Sinhala-dominated unitary state.
Federalism is not self-determination.
Federalism does not recognize Tamil nationhood.
Federalism operates inside the very state structure that continues land seizures, militarization, and demographic alteration.
4. Federalism Is Politically and Morally Indefensible After Decades of Failure
For more than three decades, the Sinhala state has demonstrated—through land grabs in Kinniya, Kurunthoor, Thaiyiddi, Mahaveli schemes, and military occupation—that it will never permit genuine Tamil autonomy.
In this context, advocating federalism internationally misleads the global community, weakens the Tamil political case, and signals a retreat from the principled demand for freedom.
5. A Respectful but Clear Request
If Tamil leaders cannot clearly tell the international community:
“The Tamil people seek to live freely in their historic homeland, with dignity and self-government, determined by their own democratic will,”
then they do not have the moral authority to redefine the struggle.
Your current advocacy places you at odds with:
- Jayalalithaa’s legislative legacy,
- Tamil Nadu’s 2024 Joint Declaration,
- And the historic Tamil mandate itself.
We therefore urge you to reconsider and correct this course, in the interest of political clarity, historical truth, and respect for the sacrifices that brought the Tamil cause to the international stage.
Sincerely,
US Tamil Diaspora