19 June 2021
President
South Indian Artists Association (SIAA)
Chennai, Tamilnadu
India
Dear Sir
We presume that you are well aware of the release of “The Family Man a Web Series” in Amazon Prime.
The falsification and misinterpretation of the true history of Eelam Tamils and their freedom struggle in this web series containing portrayal of debauched & shady stories and slander dialogues have caused us severe pain. Portrayal of military atrocities against Tamil civilians as attempts at abatement of terrorism conceals the genocide committed against Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka. No wonder that this series has created shockwaves of agony to all Eelam Tamils.
Following the Mullivaikkal massacre, the Tamils in Eelam and dispersed around the world are living a life of unspeakable sorrow. The Sri Lankan government continues to slander and marginalise the Tamil people by portraying the Tamils as a terrorist community. As law abiding citizens in many of their adopted countries, Tamils continue their struggle to seek justice and establish that they were subjected to Genocide by the Sri Lankan state. While the world at large begins to recognise us as the victims of oppression, the ‘Family Man 2’ series deliberately paints the malicious picture that Eelam Tamils are committing terrorist acts in collaboration with international terrorists breaching the laws of the countries they live in.
We sense that this series helps the Sri Lankan government to characterise the Tamils around the globe as terrorists and to disguise its genocidal acts. The series is a politically motivated sinister plot to transform the freedom seeking Tamil community as a violent people. We strongly condemn the characterisation of the liberation struggle against subjugation as terrorism.
This series tries to picture the community that fought for the liberation as immoral radicals, violent extremists, sexual predators. alcoholics, users of foul languages, wanderers with revenge motives and similar numerous degraded images to tarnish the truth.
The producers cannot relinquish their responsibility by merely stating that it is fiction. Through various screenplays, the series directly relates its story to the Eelam Tamil people by using the words such as “Eelam Tamils”, “Point Pedro” and “North Sri Lanka”. Even the scenes match the events of the last phase of war that occurred in Eelam. It clearly shows that the series was planned and produced to criminalise Eelam Tamils. It is an instrument designed to show the world that the Eelam Tamils remain terrorists no matter where they live.
We, the Eelam Tamils, are fighting against injustice on international platforms in a peaceful manner for the past 12 years. The Sinhala Buddhist nationalists, despite the worst genocidal acts in Mullivaikkal, see the rise in international support to the Tamil victims as a threat and thus would exploit the opportunity presented by the Family Man 2. After seeing the series in full, you will realise the true motives of the producers.
The Tamil Nadu people were with us at all times when we suffered. They sympathised, voiced and supported us during our struggles. They are still with us as inseparable with the same feelings. The participation of the film industry is also substantial in our struggle. The diaspora of Eelam Tamils’ has made significant contributions to the incomes of the Tamil film industry by the countless release of the Tamil films overseas. The good relationship between Eelam Tamils and the Tamil Nadu film industry should continue.
For the foregoing reasons, we appeal to your Association to request the South Indian Tamil actors to refrain from accepting part in any screen production that discredits, defames, twists of Eelam liberation struggle. We strongly feel that such a request from you and from the film producers and directors would not only serve to soothe the pain of Eelam Tamil community, but also will curtail the continuing genocide.
We call upon all of you to unite with us in carrying forward the struggle for justice and rights to Tamils.
Thank you.
Yours truly,
Diaspora Tamil Organisations
Contact details:
Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) – T: +61 300 660 629, Email: Mano_manics@hotmail.com
British Tamils Forum (BTF) – T: +44 (0) 7814 486087, Email: info@britishtamilsforum.org
Irish Tamils Forum (ITF) – T: 00353 899592707, Email: irishtamilsforum@gmail.com
La Maison du Tamil Eelam (MTE) – T: +33 652725867, Email: mte.france@gmail.com
Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) – T: +47 90 64 16 99, Email: stevenpush.k@gmail.com
National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) – T: +1.416.830.7703, Email: krishanthy@ncctcanada.ca
Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice (SGPJ – South Africa) – Email: pregasenp@telkomsa.net
United States Tamil Action Group (USTAG) – T: +1(202) 595 3123, Email: info@ustag.org
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