Durban - It came as a surprise when a prominent leader of a conflict resolution organisation indicated he and his wife intend to spend their holiday in Sri Lanka.
Clearly, Sri Lanka is rapidly making up for lost time in its efforts to bring back tourists to its war torn island when even former human rights activists feel all is well in Sri Lanka.
Promises of low cost and five star service accommodation has attracted tourists mainly from the West, while an increasing number of tourists from South Africa have also been reported visiting the island.
Within this framework, South Africans are urged to boycott this war ravaged country that is yet to answer to allegations of war crimes in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
This call has been made by a number of Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora organisations, such as the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, International Council of Eelam Tamils, British Tamil Forum and South African based organisation, the Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice in Sri Lanka (SGPJ).
The logic of these organisations is to put pressure on the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to reach a political solution with its Tamil minority who mainly occupy the north and east.
Diplomacy as a strategy for achieving human rights for the still marginalised Tamil community has proven to be futile, due to the protection and immunity Sri Lanka enjoys from hegemonic world powers. Therefore, a tourism boycott of the island will send a strong message to the GoSL to comply with the UNHRC resolution which the GoSL co-sponsored.
What is important to note, however, is that when an oppressed people decide to appeal to the world to help them achieve self-determination and freedom through boycotts and other pressure mechanisms, as the vast majority of Tamil civil society has done, then the response of all conscientious people would usually be to respect that appeal directly and immediately.
This was certainly the case in South Africa.
Tourists with a conscience and respect for humanity did not have the temerity to visit our country while it was ostracised by the world..
In general, conscientious citizens are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the logic and aims of the boycott and to abide by its spirit if situations other than the ones noted above are encountered.
Since Tamils, including academics and their representative bodies have called for a tourism boycott, it is the view of Dees Pillay, chairperson of the SGPJ, that these views ought to be respected.