Referendum conducted in exemplary way in Switzerland

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 January 2010, 02:53 GMT]
99.49 percent of 16,441 Eezham Tamil voters who participated in the referendum in Switzerland Saturday and Sunday mandated the formation of an independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island of Sri Lanka. The referendum was organised by a coalition of 2nd generation Eezham Tamils in Switzerland and the task of conducting the ballot process was undertaken by an independent election commission that was headed by M. Pagani, ex-Mayor of the city of Biel and participated by journalists, politicians and members of Young Socialist Party (JUSO) of Switzerland. Well-covered by the Swiss media, Pia Holenstein, a member of the federal parliament, described the process as something neatly organised and is exemplary.



Estimating the number of eligible voters in Switzerland as 25,000 the organisers in their official website tamilelection.ch put the turnout at 65.76%.

Considering the given conditions of the Tamil diaspora in Switzerland, much varied in facing the brunt of the struggle in several ways, the turnout is considered to be very impressive by many diaspora observers.

In a country regarded as a nerve centre of international diplomatic manoeuvrings, where the very mention of the word Tamil Eelam is considered a taboo in the diplomatic circles, a side achievement of the referendum is that it has freed the taboo in the public opinion of Switzerland. The democratic way and the bold voice of a large number of Eezham Tamils in telling what they want is Tamil Eelam has made a big impact, says Tharsika Pakeerathan, the spokesperson for the election coalition and a computer science student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich).

Reporters of major media outlets such as NZZ Sonntag and Tages Anzeiger were present to cover the news of the referendum, the organisers said.

A touching scene at a voting booth was 90-year-old grand lady Arumugam Sinnathangam, who came in a wheelchair recounting the mandate she gave for Tamil Eelam in the 1977 general elections in the island of Sri Lanka. Ms. Sinnathangam, a native of Nayinaa-theevu, an island off Jaffna and came to Switzerland in 2000, remembered the infamous massacre of innocent passengers including children in the boat Kumuthini by the armed forces of Sri Lanka in 1985 and vowed Tamil Eelam will become a reality.



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