23 January 2009
Yes! His hopes and dreams have finally materialised in the form of an energetic human being called Barak Obama in the very country called United States of America. The presence of a Black President entering into the gates and doors of the White House, a historical symbol of universal apartheid since 1800, was watched, observed and recorded by the world with amazement and admiration.
This unique phenomenon of 2008 brought tears to the eyes of millions of people of this globe who prayed for a world of real democracy, peace, and justice. Questions were being asked by the international community to fully understand the dimensions of this change.
Is this an effect of a national mentality change towards humanity in America? Is this an effect of a global awakening to the call of justice and truth? Or, is this a result of all the global unpopularity built by the so called leaders of our time?
Whatever the reason behind this, no doubt this has brought hope to nations and people like the Tamils of Sri Lanka, who have been suffering under oppression and military action for more than sixty years.
At a time when the United Nations has been losing its credibility over its failure to solve the political problems of our world through peaceful means, the rise of Obama has brought light to the human race as a whole for peace, justice and democracy.
At a time, when the meaning of self determination was being abused and ignored, in order to safe guard the regional interests of the powers of the world, Obama appeared as a messenger of humanity and hope.
‘All people have the rights of self-determination. By virtue of that they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development,’ says Article 1.1, of the international covenant on civil and political rights of 1966.
‘The principle and fundamental right of self-determination is firmly established in international law,’ states the Barcelona UNESCO convention of 1998.
‘All too often self-determination is a right to be defended in lofty terms when it is politically advantageous or to be rejected when it is not.’- Rupert Emerson stated in his work, ‘Principle of self determination’ of 1964.
It is in this same way the international community and world leaders wanted to resolve political problems in the post millennium era. They have even gone to the extent of encouraging military action and allowing military dictators under the cover of democracy, to massacre, murder, bombard and shell civilian populations; to destroy schools, hospitals, houses, places of religious gatherings and to violate all international laws.
World leaders became deaf, blind and dumb with out the ability to stop the human right abuses in countries like Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, when parliamentarians, reporters, journalists were subjected to kidnapping, torturing and killing.
The years which followed the millennium brought with them the darkness of fear and sounds of global death bells. Military action was being chosen by states to solve national freedom struggles and political issues.
The so-called ‘peace-makers’ smashed our world into micro pieces. The concept of humanity and world unity were put to test by the mere ignorance and arrogance of self-centred and regionally originated leaderships.
In his speech in the annual six-week session of the security commission at its Swiss Head quarters, in 2005, Kofi Annan said, “Unless we re-make our human rights machinery, we may be unable to renew public confidence in the United Nation itself. We have reached a point at which the commission’s declining creditability has cast a shadow on the reputation of the united nation systems.”
Kofi Annan in his speech, on 19th.June 2006, at a conference on Human Rights violations, also expressed his frustrations through these very words: “No state can be secure if its people are condemned to poverty without hope. And no nation can be secure or prosperous for long, if the basic rights of its citizens are not protected. Lack of respect for human rights and human dignity is the fundamental reason why the peace of the world today is so precarious, and why prosperity is so unequally shared. I am glad to say that the world leaders, at the summit last September endorsed this vision.
“Never allow this council to become caught up in political point-scoring or petty manoeuvre. Think always of those rights are denied whether those rights are civil and political, or economic, social and cultural; whether those people are perishing from brutal treatment by arbitrary rulers or from ignorance, hunger and disease.
“The truth is that those denials go together. All too often, it is those who seek to improve the welfare of their communities who become the victims of oppression; and it is the lack of freedom and of legal safe guards that inhibits economic and social development.”
Hence, at a time when fear and deprivation were being used as tools to terrorise the human minds for the suppression of human aspirations and rights, Obama came to the international arena as the head of a super power.
When this globe was screaming aloud for a leadership which firmly believes in values, virtues, honesty, truth, love, and justice and world peace, Obama raised his vision.
‘All virtue is summed up in dealing justly,’ said Aristotle.
At a period in our life time when justice, peace, and democracy have become meaningless and void of value, when free speech and expressions of opinion became targets of bullets and knives, and when media and journalism have been brought under unprecedented scrutiny and persecution, Obama has come to lead.
He has refreshed the minds and hearts of ordinary human beings who lived under threatening dictators’ rule; of those who were longing for a change which can bring the dreams and hopes of real freedom and liberty.
Let us all hope again that Obama, a Professor-President, will influence world leaders to join him to bring peace, justice, democracy and prosperity to all their citizens, for whatever race, country, colour, and creed they belong to.
Let us all hope that Obama, a highly cultured and charismatic President, will empower and enlighten the world leaders to identify and recognise the difference between international terrorism and national freedom struggles.
Let us Tamils hope that Obama will take every political step to stop the genocide which is currently going on in Sri Lanka and to help our nation to enjoy the fruits of justice, peace and democracy under self-determination in their homeland, ‘Tamil Eelam’.
Dr. King once dreamt about a world of his choice: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident , that all men are created equal.’”
And Dr. King concluded his famous historical speech with these words: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”
Let us all hope that like the hopes and dreams of the African-American people came true, those of our people will also come true.
Let us all continue to shed sweat and tears to lay the foundation for world peace and unity by understanding the great importance of national aspirations and human rights.
Let us all work hard to stop racial genocide, destruction of civilisations and cultures which were brought into this planet by our beloved ancestors.
To finish with a quote from the former US President to whom Obama is most often compared – John F Kennedy – “We should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate.” Let us hope Obama shows similar sentiment.
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