Report about the current Situation and the Sri Lankan Government Action::Specila Tamil Speaking Envoy

group of Tamil diaspora from the UK led by R. Jayadevan visited Sri Lanka from February 17-23 on a week long visit fully sponsored by the Foreign Ministry. The group met several members of the government and opposition parties. The visit was to take a controversial turn as Foreign Ministry officials clashed with the Presidential Secretariat as charges and counter charges of secrecy were traded between President Rajapakse and the Foreign Ministry over a programme drawn up by the protocol division of the Ministry. While the acrimony amongst officials and ministers within the government became obvious the group also accused EPDP Leader, Douglas Devananda of undermining the visit. Be that as it may, we give below excerpts of a report on the visit sent to President Rajapakse last week. His Excellency, Hon. Mahinda Rajapakse,

The President

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Dear President,We, the undersigned, who are Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims belonging to the diaspora community organisations in Europe, are concerned about the situation confronting the minorities in all parts of the island and very specifically in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. We have watched with alarm the dramatic downturn in the security and human rights situation, with particular reference to non-combatants across the communal divide.

Political resolution

Our meeting coincides with the government decision to find a political resolution to the long festering Tamil agitation for devolution of powers and their peaceful existence with due respect and recognition. We recognise the urgent need to create conducive conditions to proceed through a path of political resolution to the conflict. The government decision to fully implement the existing constitutional provision under the 13th Amendment reached under the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement in 1987 as an interim measure is welcome. Though this is a belated effort, we urge for its full implementation without any mitigation as an interim measure.

Minorities have been alienated

The most critical question confronting contemporary Sri Lanka relates to how the minorities will be accommodated to meet their aspirations as citizens of Sri Lanka. The Tamils and Muslims have been alienated from the national mainstream since independence in 1948 at an ever-accelerating pace. The specific issues involved are well known and well documented. Tamil aspirations have progressed from the demand for a federal structure of governance to the demand for a separate state.

The demand for a separate state is currently being spearheaded by the LTTE leadership and Sri Lanka is presently in the grip of Eelam War IV, which is bound to be the most destructive yet. However, successive Sri Lankan governments have paid scant attention to resolving the underlying issues relating to the structure and substance of governance, while engaging in a vicious no-holds barred war against the LTTE.

Successive governments in Sri Lanka, with the support of other Sinhala political formations, have sought to deal with symptoms rather than the causes of the problems. This has cost the Tamils in particular immeasurable damage in terms of life, injury, destitution, displacement, misery, human dignity, destruction of social structures and economic hardship. The war waged by the LTTE has also added to the misery of the Tamils and Muslims, while also affecting the Sinhala people to a comparatively lesser extent.

Inability of the Sinhala polity

The uncompromising stance of the LTTE on an independent Tamil Eelam, though unacceptable to a large number of Tamils, has to be understood as a response to the inability of the Sinhala polity to come up with acceptable alternative solutions. Acceptable alternative solutions, which have the consensus within the Sinhala polity have never been placed on the table for discussion yet. The rationale for the existence of the LTTE and its strength rests on this fact.

Tamils rely on goodwill of govt.

The underlying demand and desire of the Sinhala polity, as represented by the Sri Lankan government has been that administrative rearrangements would suffice to resolve the problems forgetting that these very arrangements in the past were thoughtlessly, and on most occasions viciously abused, to create the present situation.

No Tamils, irrespective of whether supporting or opposing the LTTE, will accept any arrangement that relied on the goodwill of the Sri Lankan government. The Tamils will not trust the intentions of the Sri Lankan governments anymore, in view of the unforgettable trauma they have been subjected to as a people by the Sri Lankan state. This is an unfortunate fact that should be understood and accepted while formulating future solutions.

Peace only through military action

A peace achieved through success on the military front is unacceptable, as this would lay the foundations for future conflicts of greater intensity. A hypothetical LTTE victory leading to an independent Tamil Eelam would definitely be unacceptable to the Sinhala people and will lead to continuous bloodshed and insecurity. Similarly, a victory on the battlefields by the Sri Lankan forces and a peace dictated by the Sri Lankan government — perceived by all Tamils as a government representing only the Sinhalese will not be acceptable to the Tamils. The LTTE or its successor will be the beneficiary of this resentment, leading to the resumption of hostilities, eventually.

Sinhala polity should approach solutions from the Tamil and Muslim perspectives:

It is thus incumbent on the Sinhala polity to come up with acceptable solutions to the Tamils and Muslims based on constitutional arrangements that take into consideration their aspirations. If the ‘national problem’ is to be settled soon and in an amicable manner, the Sinhala polity should approach solutions from the Tamil and Muslim perspectives and not from the Sinhala perspective, as it has been inclined for the past several decades.

The silent majority of Tamils considers themselves to be a part of Sri Lanka. They do not want to be the victims of the caprices or aspirations of the Sinhala polity, any longer. Solutions presented to the Tamils and Muslims should be based on irrevocable constitutional changes permitting power sharing at the centre and extensive and unambiguous devolution of power to the periphery, especially the north and east.

The principles underlying the Tamil aspirations are:

1. Recognition of Tamils and Muslims as distinct peoples in Sri Lanka.

2. Recognition of the areas where the Tamils and Muslims are the majority, as areas of their traditional habitation.

3. Recognition of the rights of the Tamils and Muslims to manage their internal affairs in areas where they are a majority. This would translate into a mechanism for self-governance with the widest possible powers.

4. Recognition of the right of the Tamils-Muslims and other minorities in Sri Lanka, to meaningfully share power at the centre, and be represented in government services and armed forces, as equal citizens of Sri Lanka.

5. Recognition of the principle that state-sponsored colonisation in any province in Sri Lanka is unacceptable, if it leads to changes in existing demographics.

6. Recognition of the right of return of the internally and externally displaced, to their original places of residence and they being appropriately compensated.

7. Recognition that merit should be the only criterion for selection to the government services, armed forces and higher educational institutions.

What is required by the Tamils and Muslims is very clear and it is up to the Sri Lankan government, which is at present largely, if not only, representative of the Sinhala people, to come up with solutions encompassing these principles.

The government must create the climate and must progress to implement the fundamental rights provisions in the constitution without undue delay.

13th Amendment

It is our opinion that the 13th Amendment be implemented in full as an interim arrangement, through interim councils appointed by the government, which are non-partisan. Elections to the provincial councils should be held only if they can be carried out in a free and fair manner, meeting international standards. The members elected to the provincial councils should be acceptable to the people and be their unfettered choice. This is a prerequisite for their success.

The 13th Amendment should pave the way for reconciliation and not further turmoil and bloodshed. The latter outcome should be avoided in view of the short-term goal of achieving some success in satisfying the aspirations of the Tamils through the 13th Amendment. The Tamils and Muslims should not perceive the government as trying to hoodwink them once again through this manoeuvre. Implementation of the 13th Amendment could be only an interim measure and nothing more. Full implementation of the 13th Amendment through interim councils will go a long way in convincing Tamils and Muslims of the government’s sincerity.

Statutory powers to bring race equality

It is also imperative that laws must be enacted to give public authorities a statutory general duty to promote race equality. The aim of the general duty is to make promoting race equality central to the way public authorities work; and this includes schools. The general duty says that the body responsible for the implementation of race equality must have ‘due regard’ and judicial powers to the need to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination; and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial groups. Such laws will go a long way to make political dialogue civilised, rational and democratic. Rabblerousers have a free hand in Sri Lanka at present in the absence of such laws, and are dictating the national ethos in such matters.

Human rights violations

It is also our opinion human rights of non-combatant civilians must be respected and the highest standards in this regard should be observed everywhere in Sri Lanka and be monitored by a respected independent grouping. Any violation of human rights must be fully investigated and judiciously dealt, and government must be seen acting above board on this. It is imperative that armed cadres of the LTTE surrendering to the government forces be treated according to the Geneva Conventions and rehabilitated to enter the normal life stream.

National Reconciliation Commission

A ‘National Reconciliation Commission’ with wide powers should be appointed to oversee the process of national reconciliation at all levels and segments of society. This commission should educate the people in general on the meaning of democracy, rule-of-law and equality of people within the state. The commission should work to disinfect the effects of years of false propaganda from the minds of people. It should be also the mandate of this commission to explain the after effects of the war and expose the misery of the people affected, to all the people.

This commission should explain the political options available to the people, with examples of how such political arrangements are working successfully around the world. The government cannot claim the Sinhala people do not support power sharing and devolution, without first educating the people on the implications in an objective manner.

Fund for rehabilitation and reconstruction

A fund for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the north and east should be set-up and managed by qualified persons with unimpeachable credentials. This fund should be open to contributions from the Sri Lankan government, foreign governments, international organisations, private sector and individuals. The funds should be managed independently of the government in accordance with well publicised criteria and be subject to stringent accounting controls. Rehabilitation facilitating gainful employment for the war affected people and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in the north and east, should be the primary focus of this fund.

APRC Process

Our foremost ‘national problem’ has been a political football for long. This situation should be changed at the earliest and serious efforts should be made to resolve it. Long-term proposals to resolve these problems should be presented by the government through a national consensus reached via the APRC process and presented to the Tamils, Muslims and the world at large, without undue delay.

Bipartisan agreement and road map:

The government must sincerely enter into a bipartisan agreement with the opposition United National Party and ensure to achieve consensus to progress the political resolution to the conflict. A bipartisan agreement must ensure continuity of the peace process even if the government changes. Areas of the conflict must be clearly identified and a step by step approach must be taken to deal with causes of the conflict, and resolutions must be found within a clearly set time-table.

All political parties should participate in this process, setting aside political differences. Any proposal made, and changes suggested by the general public and the international community, should be considered objectively. Once finalised these proposals should be presented to the wider Tamil community for further inputs. If the LTTE does not participate in the process sincerely or refuses to do so, the proposals should be made part of the Sri Lankan Constitution and its laws, and implemented with international support and participation. The Tamils and Muslims should be made active partners in the solution, if the LTTE is to be brought into the mainstream or marginalised.

Conclusion:

The ‘national problem’ cannot be resolved through military means. Reliance on the military option to resolve this problem will only drain Sri Lanka’s meagre national resources and prolong the national misery further.

Yours faithfully

R. Jayadevan, (Mrs) R. Balasubramaniam, M.C. Mohamed Rauf, S. M. M. Bazeer, A. K. Vivekananthan, S. Krishnan, N. Satchithananthan, A. Muthuku-marapillai, N. Mohamed

Jaffna TNA MP Sivanesan killed in SL Army’s Claymore attack

Jaffna District Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian, K. Sivanesan, was killed in a Claymore attack carried out by the Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit on A-9 road, 30 minutes after he crossed into Vanni through Oamanthai / Pu’liyangku’lam entry point Thursday. The Claymore attack has taken place between Pu’liyangku’lam and Maangku’lam around 1:20 p.m., according to initial reports. The MP’s vehicle was targeted when he was returning to his residence in Mallaavi, after attending the parliamentary sessions in Colombo. His driver was also killed in the attack. The DPU attackers have exploded four Claymore mines in a row, Tamileelam Police officials told TamilNet.

K. Sivanesan MPMr. Sivanesan’s driver, Periyannan Maheswararajah, 27, father of one, from Cheddiku’lam, Vavuniyaa, was killed on the spot. Sivanesan MP succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to Maangku’lam hospital.

A 13-year-old cyclist, Arulnaathan Louisnathan, on A9 road was also injured in the attack.

K. Sivanesan, born on 21 January, 1957, was General Manager of Northern Region Palm Development CO-OP society’s Uni-Cluster, between 1996 and 2004, before being elected to Sri Lanka Parliament. He has worked as accountant of the palm development co-operative society’s union of Jaffna and a secretary of Federation of popular association in Mallaavi, Vanni. He was a former student of Nelliyadi Maththiya Mahaa Viththiyaalayam.

Mr. Sivanesan leaves behind his wife and four children, 2 sons and 2 daughters. 

Sri Lanka is th eonly country that kills it’s own MPs