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Anton Balasingham, a senior LTTE political fighter and ideologue who could wield influenced over the LTTE leader Prabaharan has passed away.
‘Bala Annaai’ had been with us in our freedom struggle facing challenges, sharing trials and tribulations. He was in the fore front in devising our political and diplomatic strategies”. These are the words of praise showered on Anton Balasingham by leader Prabaharan.
It will be appropriate here to recall how Balasingham, “voice of the nation” came into the arena of politics or how he was drawn into politics. In the mid fifties, Tamil nationalism blossomed forth consequent to Buddhist Sinhala majority chauvinism and political oppression.
It was the moderate Tamil leaders who led this rise against that oppression. This sense of nationalism transcended the boundaries of cast, religious, regional and class bias and brought the entire Tamil nation under one umbrella and paved the way for a mass struggle.
The moderate Tamil leadership made a historic blunder by failing to take appropriate measures and by committing themselves to a non-violent political approach for more than thirty years. The Tamil youths who became politically conscious lost faith in the leadership of the moderate Tamils.
They wanted a revolutionary political approach to challenge state terrorism and communal violence unleashed on the Tamil community. It was this uprising among the Tamil youths took the form of violent political approach and led to the birth of freedom struggle. It was then that Anton Balasingham came into the political arena. He gave a political shape and philosophy to the freedom struggle of these youths.
Having committed himself fully and dedicatedly to this cause and having contributed effectively to the cause of the Tamils both nationally and internationally, Balasingham passed away peacefully and with the moral satisfaction of having played his role well.
An English translation of the Editorial in Uthayan, a Tamil daily, based in Jaffna
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