Anandasangaree optimistic that SLFP Convention will give President mandate to solve ethnic problem

COLOMBO: TULF President V. Anandasangaree in a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressing his sincere greetings for the Annual Convention of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to be held today, is optimistic that the Convention will give him the mandate to solve the ethnic problem to the entire satisfaction of the minority communities of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Anandasangaree's letter further states:

"I sent my sincere greetings for the successful completion of the annual convention of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to be held today, September 4. As a keen student of politics, I remember taking part as an observer in the inaugural meeting held at the Colombo Town Hall fifty-five years back.

Interestingly, one of the resolutions passed at the convention was the adoption of "Swabasha" meaning Sinhala and Tamil as official languages of Sri Lanka. I understand that one of the important issues to be taken up at the convention is the "solution to the ethnic problem."

I hope the convention will give you a mandate to solve the ethnic problem to the entire satisfaction of the minority communities of Sri Lanka. Due to the ethnic problem the country as a whole has suffered enough and can't go on like this any more.

Several thousands of valuable Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim lives have been lost and is being lost everyday. We have thousands of widows and orphans most of whom are not cared for by anybody. Billions and billions worth of valuable private and public property destroyed.

Thousands of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims are languishing in refugee camps without any privacy, proper food and other basic needs for several years.

Here comes an opportunity for you to ask your party that moulded you as a respected leader, as to whether they want an end to all types of killings and atrocious activities or to allow the ruthless killings and such other activities to continue.

If you get a positive answer then ask the party to give you a mandate to solve it in the typical humanitarian way that you think is reasonable.

I am blamed by a few Tamil chauvinist elements that I am exposing the LTTE. The Tamils who are left in the lurch by their elected representatives speak only for the LTTE and keep mum relating to the people's problems, mainly the sufferings of the people.

You are aware, the country too, that I face grave risk to my life from the LTTE for exposing them off and on. There was an air-raid in Mullaitivu in which 62 students were killed. The casualties are no orphans.

They are all students almost of the same age, 18 years. I do not condone the killing but I equally condemn the training programme organised by the LTTE for these victims. The propaganda all over the world deliberately done by the LTTE was that an orphanage was bombed and the casualties were orphaned. The LTTE thrives on false propaganda.

The LTTE has lost its credibility. The Tamils in the LTTE controlled areas of the North and the East are very much fed up with the so-called freedom fighters and want to be liberated from them.

They are fed up with the claymore mine attacks and the hand-grenade attacks that cause death not only to the forces but to the innocent civilians as well, without being condemned by the TNA Parliamentarians who were fraudulently elected and have no right to be in Parliament. This is the democracy we have in our country today.

I caution you to be careful in offering a solution. The rivers do not flow backwards. The founder of your party the Sri Lanka Freedom Party was the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike whose dream was a federal constitution for Sri Lanka. He envisaged this long before we had any such problems.

Your predecessor in office and the daughter of the late S.W.R.D. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga had in an interview to Dr. V.S. Sambanthan of "The Hindu" on 15th November 2004 said, "Yes. Quite definitely yes."

To a question "Do you think Sri Lanka is ready for federalism?" Former President J. R. Jayewardene on his retirement had in an interview said "Federalism is the only solution to the country's problems."

The government is committed to finding a solution based on federalism, as agreed at the Oslo agreement and the Tokyo declaration. Any deviation from this position will cause discredit to the government.

The United National Party has offered to give you all support to solve the ethnic problem based on the Oslo and Tokyo declarations. The UNP candidate at the Presidential election, polled 49% of the votes cast, for a federal solution.

The leftist parties are committed to a federal solution right throughout. What you need today is courage which I do not think is lacking in you.

The International Community hopes that your solution will be based on federal constitution. My suggestion to consider an Indian Model is purely to save some, who are opposed to the terms "Federal" and "Unitary" and to satisfy the People of Tamil Nadu who are being misled by some Tamil Nadu politicians who will be compelled to agree to powers devolved on various regions in Sri Lanka like the power enjoyed by the Indian States.

As for the Tamils, on whose behalf I have every right to talk, the only solution acceptable to them, as an alternative for the demand for separation, is a federal solution. I strongly believe that there cannot be a compromise on this position and failure to find a solution on the basis of the federal structure, will once again leave the problem unsolved.

I sincerely believe that the Sinhalese people will not expect the Tamils and Muslims to be satisfied with a solution under a unitary Constitution, which did not grant them relief for the last fifty years and after so much of sufferings and loss of life and property.

Wish you all success."