The Sovereignty Question
A civic framing of the international legal question — not a declaration, not a claim of statehood, not a government-in-exile. TLTE hosts the question, preserves the evidence, and prepares civic capacity for when a legitimate process emerges.
Now · Aarambam
- · No declaration
- · No recognition claimed
- · Citation-grounded only
Becoming · Nilaiththanmai
- · This is not a declaration of independence.
- · This is not a government-in-exile.
- · This is not a substitute for a UN-supervised referendum or peace process.
- · Zero states have recognised Tamil Eelam.
The legal basis (cited)
- UN Charter, Article 1(2)
Self-determination of peoples as a purpose of the United Nations.
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter - ICCPR, Article 1
All peoples have the right to self-determination.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights - ICESCR, Article 1
Identical Article 1 to ICCPR — economic, social and cultural self-determination.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-economic-social-and-cultural-rights - ICJ Advisory Opinion on Kosovo (2010)
Held the declaration did not violate international law; did NOT rule on legality of secession itself. Cited as context, not as direct precedent.
https://www.icj-cij.org/case/141 - Bangladesh precedent (1971)
Historical example of state emergence after mass atrocity. Not legally precedent-setting; cited for historical context.
The historical basis (cited)
- Vaddukoddai Resolution (1977)
Tamil United Liberation Front resolution articulating a claim to self-determination. What followed: the 1983 pogrom and three decades of civil war ending in 2009.
- Thimphu Principles (1985)
Four principles tabled at the Thimphu talks. The talks broke down; war continued.
- Merged North-East Provincial Council elections (1988)
Held under the 13th Amendment and Indo-Lanka Accord. The merger was later de-merged by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court in 2006.
- UN-supervised referendum with multi-community franchise and international observers.
- Federal arrangement within a reformed Sri Lankan state with constitutional guarantees.
- Regional autonomy under international guarantee, with reviewable safeguards.
None of these is endorsed as the route. They are imagined pathways; the choice belongs to the people, not TLTE.