Northern people seeing development

Dr P Sivapalan

I was surprised and shocked to read a statement of the Tamil National Alliance regards their visit to America on invitation by the American State Department, in a Tamil daily. All peace loving, true, citizens of Sri Lanka, especially the Tamils, should condemn it. The statement is full of distortions, fabrications and lies. Any decent law-abiding man with a conscience who has lived in the North, who has the guts to tell the truth, would say that life has improved many fold and that after more than 30 years, the people are breathing the air of freedom peacefully and they are seeing development.

The people, like members of the TNA, who didn't live in the North during the darkest days won't know that. Even if they come to know they won't like to tell the truth. They do politics on a communal basis using an anti-government stand to get the votes of the brainwashed gullible sections. The misdeeds of the Tamil politicians since the inception of the Federal Party, cunningly called Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi, made life miserable for Tamils.

They are misleading the people and the international community on the situation in Vanni. I visited Vanni and also spoke to many people coming to Colombo from Vanni. The area is fast improving and for many people life is better than what was there before the end of the war. It may not be so for those who had good links with LTTE, TNA and TULF.

Social functions

TNA had made many allegations against the Army. They state that even for social functions like weddings, puberty ceremonies and for funerals, permission should be obtained. It is not true. There were two wedding ceremonies in Jaffna among our relations, my niece’s wedding in February 2011, and my nephew’s wedding in September 2011. In the latter part of May 2009, my brother died and in October, 2010 my sister-in-law died. Both the funerals were in Jaffna. We didn’t have to get permission from the Army neither for the wedding nor for the funeral. There is an army camp nearby. They never interfered in the affairs of my relations.

I personally know that the Army had built a house for a poor destitute family in the neighbourhood of my brother in Kopay and two houses for two other families in Neervely. Major General Hathurusinghe, Commander of the Security Forces in Jaffna had said that they had built more than 1,000 houses for the people. Can the TNA, Ilangai Thamil Arasu Kadchi and TULF and their supporters who instigated the boys to wage war against the Sri Lankan government, say that they built a house or helped the people in Shramadana? They can only carry tales against the people who help Tamils. They do only malignant lip service to Tamils. The Governor of the Northern Province Major General Chandrasiri and the Commander of the Security Forces in Jaffna Major General Hathurusinghe are really serving the people like social workers quite opposite to what TNA and TULF say. People can get better service than some corrupt officials.

People of the North can't forget the dreadful days when there was no Army or Police and only boys of different armed organizations were there keeping the people under their control.

There were many murders, burglaries, tortures, confiscations of vehicles and properties, ransom and many other unpleasant activities. Armed youths took the law into their own hands. Elders were not respected. Parents lost control over their children. Many clever boys gave up their studies and joined the armed organizations and lost their lives in vain.

Members of one organization were killed by members of another organization. The opponents of Ilankai Thamila Arasu Kadchi and TULF, popular among the people, were murdered. The presence of Army might hinder those political parties to renew what they did earlier. They demand devolution of power to keep Tamils under their control and destroy democracy. If the devolution of power is given to the North-East, what will be the fate of the Sinhalese and the Muslims in those Provinces? The President and others know that and hence the devolution will not be agreed on. The TNA knowing that are demanding for devolution to drag on the talks. All the Sri Lankans, whether they are Sinhalese Tamils, Muslims or Malays, should get together and oppose the devolution of power demanded by the TNA.

Signs of reconciliation

As Sri Lankans, Tamils have equal rights like others in Sri Lanka. No doubt, there was discrimination under previous governments. Former President Chandrika Kumaranatunga herself had admitted it when she formed the government and she tried to remedy that. Now under this government there is hardly any discrimination and there are good signs of reconciliation.

There is an allegation that Tamils are getting letters in Sinhala from some government offices. That is an administrative problem and not a political problem since Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages according to the constitution. The government officers concerned are to be blamed for that.

There are remedies for it. But Tamil politicians are trying to destroy the process of reconciliation using various canards.

It is time that all patriotic Sri Lankans, including professionals, unite and identify who are working for foreign forces to make Sri Lanka another playground to play the game played in the Middle East countries. Campaign done to tarnish our motherland internationally by the traitors, should be neutralized.