Arun wants Provincial Councils scrapped
Chaminda PERERA
Arun Thambimuttu saw the flames of terrorism sweeping across the
country when he was in his teens. His parents like many families in the
North, East and the South became the victims of bloody terrorism that
engulfed the nation destroying the very ethnic and social fabric of the
country.
Arun Thambimuttu who left for the UK for higher studies soon after
the assassination of his parents is SLFP organizer for Batticaloa today.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Sam Thambimuttu who was a
parliamentarian representing the Batticaloa electorate, Arun says he
decided to venture into politics to save the Tamil people from the so
called Tamil Nationalist leaders who are in the business of hijacking
the interests of Tamil people for their own benefit.
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Arun
Thambimuttu |
In an exclusive interview with the Daily News, Thambimuttu says that
country has reached a juncture where it has become imperative to do away
with a system which has done nothing for the benefit of the people of
the country. He says the Tamil intellectuals in the country and abroad
have started rallying themselves to demand the government to repeal the
13th Amendment through which the provincial council system was
established.
Thambimuttu says this organization of Tamil intellectuals will go to
every city and town in the country to educate the public on the
importance of abolishing the provincial council system which has proved
highly ineffective for the past two and half decades.
This organization demands the government to devise a viable mechanism
to promote closer amity between the communities and ensure equal
opportunities for all.
Q: Why did Tamil leaders fail to address the burning issues of
the Tamil people in the country?
A: The Tamil leaders who identified themselves as the sole
representatives of the Tamil community wanted to grab power at any cost
and they hijacked the burning issues of the Tamil minorities for their
benefit. The Tamil leaders took the Sri Lankan Tamils down the path
towards destruction. These leaders have tried to come into power fanning
the flames of Tamil racism.
Q: Why do you say that Tamil leaders incited racism in order
to grab power?
A: Since the days of Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan and Sir
Ponnambalam Arunachalam, the Tamil leaders have taken a very
questionable stance. GG Ponnambalam demanded 50 – 50 representation for
ethnic minorities in the legislature when the Governor General was Lord
Soulbury.
Ponnambalam's 50 – 50 demand laid the foundation for the suspicion
among the Sinhala majority. It is natural when you consider the fact
that the British had brought a large number of Tamils to the plantation
sector from India. They were brought into their areas and a conflict was
brewing. G.G. Ponnambalam was racist who wanted to grab power by telling
the Tamil community that power is centred on the Tamil community
ignoring the historic and demographic realities .
SJV Chelvanayakam was brought into politics in 1948 – 1949 by G.G.
Ponnambalam who wanted to defeat Arunachalam Mahadeva who was
Ponnambalam Arunachalam’s son because he thought that Chelvanayakam
would be the way. My view is that S.J.V. Chelvanayakam made a severe
miscalculation. He raised the issue of federalism believing former Prime
Minister S.W.R.D Bandaranaike will ascend to power in due course.
Prior to 1925, former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike was a
proponent of federalism. However, the electoral and demographic
realities and the politics in Sri Lanka had changed by that time.
Through Chelvanayakam’s demand for federalism, he thought he has
softened the stance of G.G. Ponnambalam who demanded parity in terms of
power for minorities. He wanted to grab power through the concept of an
ethnic homeland.
The Tamil leaders in 1948, were critical of India – Pakistan
Citizenship Act which was brought by former Prime Minister D.S.
Senanayake as a reaction against huge demographic imbalance created by
the British.
Tamil leaders such as G.G. Ponnambalam, Chelvanayakam opposed this
move. They were never able to champion the real interests of the Tamil
people of Sri Lanka. The Tamil leaders sowed the seeds of ethnic
disharmony in Sri Lanka. Whatever the happenings in the 1970s and 80s,
we have to first discuss what happened before independence. The Tamil
leaders took the Sri Lankan Tamils down the path towards destruction.
Q: Sri Lanka has witnessed many Tamil leaders who emerged as
sole saviours of the Tamil community. A number of parliamentarians
represents the Tamil community in parliament too. Are they not
representing the Tamil people and serving the Tamil community?
A: For the last 80 years we have not found a credible Tamil
leader admitting and acknowledging these historic blunders. I feel with
the exception of late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar no Tamil
leader has emerged with a clearly established principle of one nation
and the notion that this island is for all of us to share and not for
one single community. This is an island which belongs to all.
Today, the most pragmatic solution will be to foster ethnic harmony.
One has to think from a national perspective and devise a mechanism to
ensure equality for all . Equality should prevail in terms of
opportunities to all citizens of the country.
Q: Is this not in the agenda of Tamil leaders at present?
A: That is not in the agenda of Tamil nationalists. They are
hell bent on working for political purposes. They have no interest in
achieving equality for the Tamil people living in this country. They
could have done a lot to ensure equality in terms of opportunities for
the Tamils. We can do a lot. Tamils both Sri Lankan Tamils and the
Tamils of Indian origin form 15 per cent of the population. What we feel
today is all of us are Sri Lankans. If you look at the Cabinet only two
Cabinet Ministers represent the Tamil community.Of the 61 member Cabinet
only two ministers are representing the Tamil community.
In many areas you do not find the representation of Tamils in
proportion to the population. The Tamil leaders never looked at ways and
means to ensure that their community is part of the national fabric.
The government opened doors for the Tamil youth too. The Tamil youth
who joined Sri Lanka Armed Forces are being branded as traitors by the
Tamil nationalists.
We have to ensure equality in all departments and segments
If you create equality of opportunities, people will automatically
come into positions. What we are talking of is not advocated by the
Tamil leaders. How can the Tamil leaders win the trust of the Sinhala
majority when they have not come out and spelt clearly that the Sinhala
majority is opposed to the concept of an ethnic homeland.
Q: The government is to hold the Northern Provincial Council
election by end of this year. Don't you think that the provincial
council system established under the 13th amendment to the Constitution
is a viable mechanism to solve the issues confronting the Tamil
community?
A: The country is paying a heavy price for a system that is
nothing but a white elephant. The time has come to do away with this
system which we do not accept as a solution to the issue of the Tamil
people. The solution should be for the nation as a whole and it should
not be for an ethnic group.
We demand from the government that this provincial council system be
abolished forthwith and to devise a mechanism to ensure equality and
tangible reconciliation among the communities. The government should not
pursue with the provincial council system which has been proven highly
ineffective for the last two and half years.
I think the time has come for the government to evolve a system that
directly reaches the people such as the Panchayat sytem in India.
The district can play a pivotal role in bringing the State closer to
the community.
The district level administration system in place of provincial
council should be given more teeth and it will promote closer bonding
between the State and the community.
Provinces should no longer be the meeting point between the community
and the State.
The provinces demarcated by the British colonists should be scrapped.
The real administration should be closer to the people at grass root
level.
The Northern provincial election will be held but it would not solve
anything. The TNA itself does not accept the provincial council system
as a solution to the Tamil question.
Q: Are the people in the Eastern province satisfied with the
provincial council system?
A: In the Eastern province, the Tamil people are today
disillusioned with the provincial council system. They have seen that
the PC system has done nothing to enhance their livelihood and it is
rather proving to be a mechanism that goes on without really solving
their problems.
The land and police powers demanded by the TNA for the provincial
councils are vehemently opposed by the people in the Eastern province.
The people in the Eastern province would not believe that the land and
Police powers would be in their interest.
If we ask a person in Matara whether he is benefited by the
provincial council system which has been active for decades in all
provinces other than the North and the East, the answer would be no. The
people as a whole have hardly benefitted by this system.
Q: How are you going to demand the government to do away with
the 13th amendment on which the provincial council system has been
formed?
A: In fact a group of Sri Lankan Tamils have started gathering
Tamil intellectuals in the country and overseas to develop a dialogue
supporting the abolition of the 13th amendment as it has become a white
elephant to the economy .
This group called Tamils for Sri Lanka will demand that the
government devise a mechanism to ensure equality and a more tangible
reconciliation among the communities rather than nurturing a white
elephant.
This organization consisting civil society representatives and
representatives from almost all political parities in the country will
be launched soon as an alternative to the pseudo representatives of the
Tamil community who have been in the habit of hijacking the Tamils'
issues for their own benefit throughout history. In fact we of the Tamil
community also oppose an ethnic homeland for any part of the country. We
want the national identity to prevail over the ethnic identity. Our
organization wants to ensure that the Sri Lankan identity prevails.
The next six months will be a crucial period for Sri Lanka after the
country was saved from the clutches of terrorism. We are coming to a
juncture where a decision has to be taken whether we should continue
with the existing provincial council system or not.
The government has to take a serious decision. Civil society
representatives and those who held very senior positions in the LTTE
politically at one time are also coming for this discussion. We have
opened a dialogue within the Tamil community including the former LTTE
high-rankers in the LTTE's political wing.
Q: The TNA is demanding Land and Police powers to the
Provincial Councils ignoring the existence of the vast number of Tamils
living outside the Northern Province. What have you got to say about
this?
A: The Tamil nationalists have completely ignored that Tamils
live in vast numbers in areas outside the Northern province. What we
felt is that the whole issue has been hijacked by a few over a period
ignoring the existence of Tamil people living in large numbers in many
areas outside the Northern province.
Today, more than 400,000 Tamils are living in the Nuwara Eliya
district while 100,000 people live in Ratnapura. Kandy district has a
Tamil population of over 150,000. Over 95,000 Tamil people live in the
Badulla district. Matale and Puttlam districts have a Tamil population
of over 50,000 each.
The best way to solve the issues faced by the Tamil community is to
foster ethnic harmony and everyone should start thinking from a national
perspective. Equality should be the underlying theme .
The present day demographic realities are that only 21 per cent of
the Tamil population live in the Jaffna district but dispropotionately
the political platforms are being dominated by a single district
ignoring the plight of a significant number of Tamils in Ratnapura and
many other districts.
Q: The government has already promised India that it is for
the full implementation of 13th Amendment. What type of repercussion,
would Sri Lanka face if she fails to comply with what it has promised to
India?
A: We also apprise the Indian side the benefits of a viable
mechanism which would reach the people at grassroots level more
effectively. We appreciate India’s concern for the Tamil people living
in our country. Their belief in the provincial council system is
misplaced. It is important that Indian leaders understand the ground
realities. India should not see this as Sri Lanka taking a step hostile
to India. The bottom line is India would see the benefits of the system
that we are advocating in the interest of Sri Lanka.
The 13th Amendment has good aspects. The Tamil language has been
given parity with the Sinhala language through the 13th Amendment. We
all agree that certain elements of the 13 A has positive attributes .
However, the aspect that we need to rethink is the unit, ie the
provinces.
It is important that when we look at the whole Indian interest, the
Tamils in Sri Lanka have a peaceful coexistence with other communities.
That is what I think, India wants in Sri Lanka.
The Western governments will also understand the benefits of
political reform along the line we are advocating. The system what we
are advocating will bring about true ethnic harmony in Sri Lanka.
Q: What is your comment on the massive campaign launched by
LTTE rump against Sri Lanka holding the CHOGM in Colombo at end of this
year?
A: The propaganda machinery has already started in Canada
where the electoral realities are the driving force specially in Toronto
where the Tamil population is quite vocal and significant in numbers.
The same thing goes on in the UK, where in marginal constituencies
with a significant Tamil population it could have an impact. The Queen's
decision not to participate in the CHOGM in Colombo on health grounds
has been given a political twist.
For the first time the Queen is not travelling due to health reasons
though Prince Charles has already announced he is representing the Queen
at the Colombo summit. |