Firstly my enormous gratitude for the way in which you took joint ownership of our “European election project” and for the zest and energy with which it was executed. It is difficult to distinguish between “voters” and  “campaigners” because in this campaign, the voters were also the campaign activists. In one of our very first campaign emails we asked for every home to be a campaign office – and we can see from the results that there were thousands of “campaign offices”.

The dust has still to settle on the outcome and our analysis of the results is still not complete. However there are many lessons that I would like to share.

Firstly, that we live in a connected world. This means that events that happen far away can and will have an impact on our lives. This is due not just to the reach of global technology, such as the Internet but also because of the movements of people internationally and the increasing presence of “Diaspora”.

While it was always clear that the Tamil community in Britain would be immediately touched by the genocide of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, what became apparent in this election campaign is that many other communities – whether they were ethnic groups or issues oriented campaign groups or online music communities - noted and were touched by that genocide.

Consequently the fabric of British politics will also be changed as a result of the Tamil genocide: and rightly so. That is exactly how a connected world should be.

Most historic genocides have been committed by UN member states. Many groups have experienced acts of genocide. This is not an experience one forgets readily and today, communities across the world who have resisted or opposed genocide find it hard to speak out because of the criminalizing, “catch-all” effect of vague anti-terror legislation.

I am extremely grateful for the energy that the Tamil community brought to the issue of exposing genocide and I know that many other communities appreciate our efforts.

While genocide is by definition an issue of the destruction of an ethnic, national or racial group, the means and methods of genocide can be applied to any dissenting community.

Genocide is an extreme form of discrimination. Its intent is to destroy the target group. Just because one opposes it abroad does not mean that one should ignore lesser forms of discrimination at home.

Equally the suppression of dissent via broad legislation is a source of frustration to many people who are passionate about their beliefs. One of the longest conversations I had on the campaign trail was with a pensioner who has been involved for many years in Animal rights.

Diverse issues have connecting factors. Intolerance towards minorities of any type may increase in times of economic downturn as groups compete for resources.

Financial transparency and anti-racism were both key issues in this European election and will remain key issues for the next few years.

Financial transparency takes many forms. While we may complain about MP’s excessive expense claims at home, we may not have been told that international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations, are also misusing taxpayers money, to the extent of indirectly financing and/or helping to cover up mass murder and genocide, thereby abusing the trust of the citizen who finances them through taxes.

As an activist group, we need to recognise the connected nature of the world and its inter-related issues. Going forward, we will need to continue to build alliances and to educate our friends, neighbours and colleagues about the issues of concern to us, explaining why they should be of concern to them too.

While this campaign grew spontaneously and organically, we need to assess what we can learn from the way established parties “get out” their vote. We have, for example learnt the critical importance of voter registration among under-represented ethnic communities, especially the Tamil community, and among young people.

It is not necessary to participate as a candidate in an election in order to influence its outcome. The group of people that came together behind this campaign this last month will certainly influence politics in the years to come. The extent of how we leverage what we have learnt this month and hence the extent of our influence is in your hands.

Lets look forward to the change we can make.

Jan

UN said it will never happen again.

300,000 Tamil are in internment camps in Tamil area occupied by Sri Lankan army.

Can we turn a blind eye?

Jan Jananayagam, an independent MEP candidate for the London Region, thanked her supporters for helping her achieve an unprecedented number of votes in the 4 June 2009 European Parliamentary election.

With 50,014 votes, she received over 10 times as many votes as the next independent candidate, coming eighth overall in the London region and amassed more than all other independent candidates across the country combined. A result of this magnitude has not been achieved before by any independent candidate with no past affiliation with a major political party.

Jan’s result is all the more astounding considering her decision to run was made just days before the deadline for nomination and barely a month before election day.

She offers her profuse gratitude to the many people who stepped forward to dedicate their time, energy, ideas and sheer hard work to collectively achieve this impressive result.

Jan campaigned on the themes of civil rights, financial transparency, diversity, ethical foreign policy and support for small businesses.

Jan, a Tamil born in Sri Lanka , felt compelled to stand for election after seeing the inaction of governments and international bodies in the face of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity, in Sri Lanka and in other countries.

She also keenly feels the need to do more to end the continuing intolerance and discrimination against minorities of all kinds, underlined by the rise of racist parties across Europe, and to stop the blanket criminalisation of communities through anti-terrorism legislation.

Jan’s genocide centred campaign drew enthusiastic support from the Tamil community in London, as well as from the many other communities seeking to strengthen international protection for human rights, civil liberties and political freedoms, both abroad and within Europe.

The cause was also taken up by many students and volunteers, who were indefatigable in publicising the campaign’s themes through leafleting, numerous meetings and social networking sites.

The endorsement by internationally renowned hip hop artist, M.I.A., helped Jan’s stop-genocide campaign to reach important audiences that might otherwise have been inaccessible.

Jan and those who came forward to campaign for her hope to build on this success in future elections and give a voice to the many Londoners whose concerns are un-represented by the main political parties.

Her achievement has attracted praise from several London, UK and European press statements and she has received numerous requestsed for interviews.

She and the volunteers who did so much in just one month are dedicating themselves to take forward the important themes they have been highlighting. They urge everyone concerned by the persecution of peoples, the erosion of civil liberties, the corruption and unconcern for suffering in the corridors of power as well as unethical foreign policy decisions by EU member states, to support their work.

Jan’s background:

Jan Jananayagam has been a human rights activist since 1995 and is UK spokesperson for “Tamils Against Genocide”. She is also a Director of a Law Foundation focusing on public and international humanitarian law.

Her support for Jananayagam looks set to be immortalized in a song, which will be available to Londoners who vote for the candidate. It’s not yet clear what the song is called or how it will be distributed to voters, but it wil l inevitably leak online once M.I.A. has made it available.

M.I.A. has also issued a fresh batch of lyrics via a MySpace blog post, although it’s not yet clear whether these will feature on the new track:

“so u wanna hear about my politics?

well i can show u things that can make u sick

theres a saterlite above me thats takin picks

the people from the east hav started sendin migs

and im sat in America doin twitts

and the armys lookin at me like im a bitch

but im thinking bout the babies lyin in the ditch

thinking if they had a kite fone u ll see the shit”

by Nick Neyland

Tamil Writers Guild is delighted to fully endorse Independent (Tamil) MEP Candidate Ms. Jan Jananayagam - Your Vote Counts!

On behalf of the Tamil Writers Guild, we seek your immediate support to help elect Ms. Jan Jananayagam, who is standing as an Independent candidate in the forthcoming European Parliamentary Election for the London constituency on Thursday 4th June. This message is particularly relevant to those of you who are on the electoral list for the London region and also, for those of you who have family, friends and colleagues who live in that region and are entitled to vote.

Please use your vote (and your influence) to help to elect Ms Jan Jananayagam, as she will be a much needed voice for peace and justice for all Sri Lankans and especially, the recently traumatised and brutalised Tamils in the northern parts of that country. Her commitment to an ethical foreign policy will also benefit the long suffering Palestinian and Tibetan communities. Her other priorities include:

* Civil Rights and Individual Freedom
* Financial Transparency and Effective Regulation
* Equality and Diversity
* Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship
* Animal Welfare

More detailed information about these commitments can be found in www.vote4jan.org and you can also see her in a recent debate on the Genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab_AzQ7voSU&feature=channel

Please remember she needs only 150,000 votes to be elected – every vote you can help to deliver is one more towards that winning goal!

It is absolutely imperative that you get your relatives, friends or neighbours who live in Greater London, UK to get out and vote (Jan is 17th on the list to ‘x’ it) without fail on Thursday, 4th June 2009!

Thank you for reading this email and we look forward to your active support.
Best wishes.
Priya Thamotheram
Vice Chair

Tamil Writers Guild, UK
www.tamilwritersguild.com
A Cogent and Effective Response
From a Tamil Perspective
Email: info@tamilwritersguild.com

Barnet

Bexley

Brent

Bromley

Camden

Croydon

Ealing

Enfield

Greenwich

Hackney

Hammersmith and Fulham

Haringey

Harrow

Havering

Hillingdon

Hounslow

Kensington and Chelsea

Kingston Upon Thames

Islington

Lambeth

Lewisham

Merton

Newham

Redbridge

Richmond Upon Thames

Southwark

Sutton

Tower Hamlets

Waltham Forest

Wandsworth

Westminster

020 7641 6000
P.O. Box 240, Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street,London SW1E 6QP
www.westminster.gov.uk
http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/index/council/regional-gov/london-boroughs.htm

Tamils for Obama endorses the candidacy of Ms. Jan Jananayagam, who is standing as an Independent candidate in the forthcoming European Parliamentary Election for the London constituency, on 4 June.

Ms Jananayagam has been an enthusiastic campaigner for human rights, with special interest in the campaign against genocide.

We Tamils need voices at this critical time to save the Tamils from extinction in Sri Lanka.  Ms Jananayagam is a voice we need in the E.U. parliament.

She is intelligent, a quick thinker, and brave.  We Tamils need a person like her desperately, since there is no voice in Sri Lanka for Tamils and no voice like hers in the E.U..

She needs only 150,000 votes to win the election. So if you are able to vote in this election, please on June 4, 2009, go and vote for Ms. Jananayagam. Also ask your Tamil and non-Tamil friends to vote for her; we have a duty to save the helpless Tamils in Sri Lanka.

We in the Tamil Diaspora have to do more in the future. One important thing is to elect our members to political office in our refuge countries wherever we are.

Please visit her web site www.vote4jan.org

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Tamils for Obama

Note: Look at her debating and quick thinking with our Tamil issues  at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab_AzQ7voSU&feature=channel

MIA  comments
http://twitter.com/_M_I_A_