Love and protect thy neighbour specially if he is a Tamil

ETHNIC STRIFE: Lalith Weeratunga was the then Secretary to the Prime Minster. One day someone patted him on the back. When he turned, he saw the awesome figure standing behind him, like a colossus. Lakshman Kadirgamar was this man.

A man who had done so much for a country battered by the ethnic strife. He stood besides him and with a smile he asked Mr. Weeratunga how the Prime Minster was.

Thereafter, they got into an animated discussion. Mr. Kadirgamar made this prophetic remark, "Very soon the LTTE will get at me, and that day is not so long away, but please tell your Prime Minister that I am fully behind him and I will give him my fullest support to become the President of the country.

If he fails we all fail, if that man becomes the President the LTTE will have their Eelam within six months of his ascendancy to power. Please look after him. He is also in danger".

It was only after the newspapers announced the death anniversary of Lakshman Kadirgamar, that many people became aware of the date. Slowly, the people, who benefited most from his existence and the contribution he made to solve the ethnic strife, are forgetting him.

Ceremonial references are made in which we are told how Lakshman consulted the present President of the Bar before taking up this responsibility. How fortunate the Bar is to have a President who gave the correct advice to Lakshman.

Had he given the wrong advice and Lakshman heeded it, we would have lost one of the greatest politicians this country has produced this century. Photographs were unveiled. Speeches made. But why have the great majority of the people of the country forgotten the reason he was killed. Was he a traitor to the Tamil Cause? Was he against devolution of power? Was he against peace? If not then why was he so brutally assassinated?

It is now accepted by all, even by the UNP, that the best foreign minister we ever had was the Late Lakshman Kadirgamar, a Tamil, born in Manipai and educated at Trinity College.

He was an advocate par excellence, who had reached the dizzy heights within a very short time of his career, the dream of many other professionals.

He was thought to be the crown jewel of the Sri Lankan Ministers in the Cabinet. He was far ahead of others in many aspects. While commemorating him, have we given up the ideals he lived and died for?

He was only one of the many Tamils who had contributed immensely to the development of the country. The others may have not had the privilege of becoming Cabinet Ministers.

Even as a professional he was one of those, who from his very young days displayed extraordinary talent and learning and always had the interest of the country at heart.

Similarly there were others in the same community who would have done so much for the country if they were given similar positions.

The name of Neelan Thiruchelvam comes to my mind. A man who resolutely fought for a solution to the ethnic question. The memory of Neelan and the contribution he made to stall the ethnic strife is kept aloft by his dear wife and the institution which he funded.

But, is that sufficient? As Sinhalese are we grateful to these men who sacrificed their lives to bring peace and harmony to this country.

The pre-56 era was an era of tranquility and peace, where even the lower middle classes had enough money and time to spend in pursuit of happiness.

The Tamils, the Sinhalese and the Muslims lived in peace, harmony and tranquility. If you happened to be a student of a Colombo School, you would have experienced that there was only one stream.

Students of all communities studied together, they were like one absolutely united family. There was never any racial animosity. They played truant and proceeded to the closest cinema and then to a 'Lodge' for a thosai feed.

Some have even confessed that their best friends were from the other community, either Tamil or Sinhalese and they remain the same today. No one ever pondered, even for while, about ethnicity. Even before that, most of our leaders came from the Tamil community.

For instance, who was the first President of Ceylon National Congress, formed to be the vehicle of Independence and dominion status? He was a Tamil, a brilliant product of the Colombo Academy (Royal College) and the first Sri Lankan to be chosen to be a member of the prestigious Civil Service.

Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was the epitome of our intelligentsia at that time and an icon of the independence movement. He, with other leaders, was responsible in forming the movement and was in the forefront of the Independence struggle.

Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was elected as the first president of the Ceylon National Congress and no lesser person than late D.R. Wijewardene claimed, in his newspaper, that the speech made by him on assuming office was the greatest political speech made by any person in the past century.

On the subject 'Our political needs' he said "In our zeal for political reform we must be on our guard against making it an end. We must seek it only as a means to an end." Mr. W.Thalgodapitiya, retired Commissioner of Assize, said "No man in the last hundred years had done more for the political and social advancement of the country than Arunachalam".

The ennui, the tranquility and the simple pleasures of leisure and freedom we enjoyed is something that this generation is lost to. To achieve this status, the contributions made by the Tamils were enormous.

They, hand in hand fought for our rights, never fearing that their rights would be marginalised by governments that would be enthroned in the future.

Even today, the intelligentsia of the country, who found that the loss of Kadirgamar, like that of Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam of that era, cannot be filled by any Sinhalese that they know off, is eulogizing their life and times, but ignoring the principles they stood for.

When Lakshman Kadirgamar was asked about the political solution to the crisis, this is what he said, "The PA is for a federal-type structure which could give minorities, and particularly the Tamils, ample autonomy in their regional affairs without allowing the disintegration or break up of the Sri Lankan State.

Therefore, two principles are important - (1) to allow autonomy as much as it is necessary; (2) to ensure safeguards against any type of disintegration, break away or secession. We also believe that given current international developments and the challenges that our country is facing we need to have a rather strong system at the centre as well. Therefore, we propose considerable power sharing at the centre in addition to devolution of power to the regions or the periphery."

This is what Neelan Thiruchelvam and Lakshman Kadirgamar stood for. Neelan and Lakshman were able to persuade Chandrika to accept Neelan's draft proposal of the Constitution to Parliament, which was burnt by the UNP.

Neelan and Lakshman became traitors to the LTTE by their resolution to devolve power to the regions. Devolution of power, under a Federal State, is unacceptable to the LTTE as a solution acceptable to the world will be detrimental to their goals of achieving a separate state.

This could be achieved only if the majority community refuses to be reasonable and accept the genuine grievances and the aspirations of the Tamil people.

If that happens, the LTTE will be marginalised, by the Tamil people themselves and will not have any reason to continue with their terrorism, as liberators of the Tamil people.

We in the South, who opposes devolution, become the collaborators of the LTTE. In the process of our myopic jingoism we subconsciously contribute to the state of Eelam.

The time has come for a movement to spread the word of love and compassion among the Tamils and ensure protection to them upon any eventuality of racial intolerance and to make all parties opposed to devolution change their attitude.

This would be the greatest tribute one could pay to those great men of the Tamil community who had worked hard and sacrificed their lives to ensure that peace and stability would come upon this serene Isle of mercy.

The comrades in arms of the LTTE are those in the South, who spew the venom of racial intolerance and inculcate hatred in us, making us unable to draw a distinction between the LTTE and our Tamil brethren.

The enemies of the LTTE are those who support effective devolution of power and are vehemently opposed to a regime of fascist pol-pot style governance.

It is important for use in the South to remember the other leaders of the Tamil Community, who had sacrificed their lives by opposing the LTTE.

I can only recall the names of some of them, Alfred Duraiappah, (MP Mayor of Jaffna), V. Dharmalingam (MP), Alalasunderam (MP), A. Amirthalingam (Leader of TULF), V. Yogeswaran (MP), Dr. Mrs. Ranjani Thiranagama, Sam Thamabimuttu (MP), A. Thangadurai (MP), Sarojini Yogeshwaran (Mayoress of Jaffna) Pon Sivapalan (Mayor of Jaffna), C. Rajathurai (MP), K. Alalasunderam. These gentlemen and ladies sacrificed their lives to establish governance which would accept the rule of law, democratic principle and be governed by the 'Raja Dharma' of the Vedhas.

The sacrifices they and others have made should make us realize that these are the true saviours of our country, who prevented secession and separation.

So protect the Tamils and invite them to help the governance, use their knowledge and expertise in the fields of commerce, Law, Medicine and show that we respect their rights, their language, their religion and their culture the same way we protect ours.

We must protect them the same way we protect "Murali". As Robin Jackman said the batsman can score runs but we must have a bowler who could take 20 wickets. The joy and happiness Murali brings to us almost everyday is further enhanced by the fact that he is a Tamil.

He gives one hundred per cent to his team and for you and me and for the country. Never in the future we will find another Kadirgamar a Tiruchelvam or a Muralitharan.