Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission:

Thera calls for proper implementation of language policy

Chaminda PERERA

Sri Jayawardenapura University Chancellor and Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya Chief Incumbent Prof Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera yesterday said that Tamil people feel that they have been marginalized by the way the language policy is being implemented in the country.

“We should accept that the Tamil people are unable to work in their own language though Tamil language has been recognized as a State language in the country,” the Thera added.

The Thera was giving evidence before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission on behalf of the Religious Congregation of which he is the President when it met at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Centre. He said the Tamil people should be able to do their transaction in their own language.

The Thera said the implementation of language policy in a proper manner would instill an idea among the minority communities that they are equally treated by the Government.

The Thera said that North and the East issue is not an ethnic conflict. He attributed the North and the East issue to a problem that arose from the longstanding shortcomings and negligence existed in the administrative and judiciary systems of the country.

Prof Wimalarathana Thera said this problem can only be solved by political solution. A large number of people died due to hasty decisions by politicians. He said there should be a viable political solution to this problem and it should instill an idea among the people of all communities that Sri Lanka is their motherland.

He said they know what the people want and what they do not. The Thera said the Religious Congregation is ready to play a proactive role in enhancing reconciliation among the communities.

When he was inquired about the Standardization policy adopted by the Government led by former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the 1970s, the Thera said that it was done in good faith though there were shortcomings in its implementation.

The number of Tamil students who could enter the university decreased with the implementation of this policy but it was not done deliberately,” the Thera said.

He added that some schools in the Jaffna district maintained higher standard of education. He emphasized that it was not an issue of such magnitude to demand for a separate State in the country.

He was of the view that the issues related to Standardization policy in the 1970s could have been solved by the Tamil legislators in Parliament at that time. Prof Wimalarathana Thera added that the Sansoni Commission later upheld that Tamil students faced injustice due to Standardization policy of the then Government.

Commission Chairman C.R. de Silva said A/L science students had to do practical exercises in laboratories those days and each school was not provided with laboratory facilities.

Prof Wimalarathana Thera said the Standardization policy of the then Government has been replaced with Z score system and all facilities should be provided to each and every school of the country to quell the gap between the have and have nots.

The Commission Chairman added that a student who lives in Kadawatha which is few miles away from Colombo comes under Gampaha district while another student living in Avissawella which is close to the Ratnapura district also belongs to Colombo district. He inquired the Thera whether the district wise marks system is fair.

The Thera said the Government should give serious attention on the demarcation of districts by the British rulers. He opined that the colonial rulers demarcated the district for their convenience and the country should reconsider weather that division is useful.

The Thera said religious dignitaries in the village know the requirements of the people very well and they should be consulted before the development projects are implemented in the village.