Her Excellency the President,
Reverend Leaders of the Buddhist Maha Sangha and of the Hindu, Islamic and Christian Religious Faiths,
Hon. Prime Minister,
Hon. Ministers of the Cabinet,
Hon. Members of Parliament,
Leaders and Representatives of Political Parties,
Representatives of Non Governmental Organisations,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me at the outset, thank Her Excellency the President for having given me this opportunity to address this august gathering, and through it, the country at large and the international community.
I had been a gun-carrying militant leader. I had fought the armed forces of the Sri Lankan state. I fought for the establishment of a sovereign independent state comprising the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. I am also one of the many Tamil militants who gave up the armed struggle for the establishment of a sovereign independent state and joined the democratic mainstream of Sri Lanka following the Indo Sri Lanka Agreement of 29th July 1987.
I am one of the many Tamil militants, who, after the signing of the Indo Sri Lanka Agreement, were convinced that our armed struggle had proved the point that the Sri Lankan State could not continue to deny the legitimate rights of the Tamil people, and that it would henceforth be possible for the Tamil people to live as equals with the Sinhalese and the Muslims within a united Sri Lanka, if substantial devolution of powers to the Provinces could be guaranteed by the Constitution.
What the vast majority of the Tamil people of this country are yearning for is an honourable political solution within a united Sri Lanka, based on devolution of powers to the Provinces. Having taken note of this yearning of the Tamil people, the Eelam People’s Democratic Party, the EPDP, the party which I have the honour to lead, has right along clearly spelt out its solution to the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight what we consider should be the salient features of such a solution:
(1) Substantial powers to be devolved to the Provinces through a new Constitution.
(2) The Northern and Eastern Provinces of this country to be permanently merged as a single North-East Province.
(3) Special constitutional arrangements to be provided to safeguard the interests of the Muslims and the Sinhalese who live in substantial numbers in the North-East Province.
(4) The North-East Province to be bestowed with asymmetric devolution of powers in view of it distinctiveness.
(5) Police powers to be fully devolved on the Provinces.
(6) Provincial Governments to have the right to negotiate for and enter into agreements in respect of foreign loans and donor funds for development.
(7) Sri Lanka to be a secular state.
(8) The national flag of Sri Lanka to adequately reflect the multi-ethnic character of Sri Lanka.
(9) The national anthem of Sri Lanka to be recognised as having equal validity in both Sinhala and Tamil.
(10) Sri Lanka is to have a non – executive President and a non – executive Vice President, both of them not belonging to the same ethnic group at any one time.
(11) The armed forces of Sri Lanka to reflect the ethnic composition of the country.
(12) Both the Sinhala and Tamil languages to enjoy the status of official languages of the country.
(13) The Parliament of Sri Lanka to consist of two Houses, the House of Representatives and the House of the Provinces, and, both Houses to reflect to ethnic composition of the country.
(14) Every Provincial Legislature to reflect the ethnic composition of that Province.
(15) All citizens of Sri Lanka living abroad to be provided facilities to exercise their franchise.
(16) The North-East Province to be conferred the right to establish cultural and trade interest sections in Sri Lankan missions abroad.
(17) The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal to reflect the ethnic composition of the country.
and lastly,
(18) The Provincial Governments to have a say in the appointment of judges to the lower courts of justice.
Having spelt out from the standpoint of the EPDP, the salient features that the solution to the ethnic problem should contain, I would like to go back for awhile into our recent history, of which we cannot be proud of.
The recent history of our country, particularly in respect of the ethnic problem, has been a series of broken promises and betrayals. There was the Bandaranaike- Chelvanayakam Pact of 1957. That was the first serious attempt at resolving the problem. The Pact was torn up due to extremist Sinhalese pressures. Following that, there was the Dudley Senanayake- Chelvanayakam Pact of 1965. That too was not honoured.
In recent times, after a lot of bloodshed, came about the Indo Sri Lanka Agreement of July 1987 and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which flowed from it. Eight Provincial Councils were established, with a single Council for the Northern and Eastern Provinces, called the North-East Provincial Council. An election to that Council was held in November 1988 and a legislature elected.
A Chief Minister and a Board of Ministers took over the administration of the North-East Province. They, however, faced several obstacles from quarters that did not wish to part with power. Obstacles were placed before the representatives of the people of the North-East Province to even exercise the meagre powers devolved on the Provincial Councils by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. In course of time, due to a conspiracy that was hatched between a section of the Tamils and a section of the Sinhalese, the North- East Provincial Council was dissolved. It is really ironic that the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces whose armed struggle brought about the establishment of the Provincial Councils to this country do not enjoy the fruits of such a Council, even today.
During the last decade, we had the 1995 Proposals for a new Constitution aimed at finding a durable solution to the ethnic problem. These proposals were watered down in order to solicit the support of a section of the Sinhalese leadership. The Draft Constitution of August 2000 was the result. Even such a watered down Draft Constitution could not muster sufficient numbers in Parliament, as, a section of the Tamil leadership withheld support out of mortal fear of the LTTE, while a section of the Sinhalese leadership contended that the Draft Constitution was granting too much to the Tamils. Copies of the Draft Constitution were even burnt within the Chambers of Parliament.
Today, the country is at the crossroads. A Ceasefire between the armed forces of the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE has been in force for more then 30 months. This is a Ceasefire during which several members of my party had lost their lives at the hands of the LTTE’s death squads. The LTTE which commenced Talks with the Government in September 2002, pulled out from the Talks in April 2003. It has kept away from the negotiating table for more than 18 months.
We, of the EPDP, for our part, have always played our role in the interests of the Tamil people whom we represent. We had extended support to every Sri Lankan Government that had shown a desire to find a durable political solution to the ethnic problem. When the Ceasefire Agreement was signed, we returned the weapons that had been given to us by successive governments to protect ourselves from the LTTE. We did this in order to make the Peace Process a success, knowing very well that such action would expose our membership to physical danger.
The Tamil people had never wanted their cause espoused by a single representative, namely, a group of persons labelling themselves at the ‘sole representatives of the Tamils’. The Tamil people are firm believers in the principles of political pluralism and democracy. Their faith in democracy suffered a severe blow, when during the last Parliamentary Election, members of the LTTE prevented a free and fair election in the North and East. Despite that aberration, the Tamil people have not lost their faith in democracy. The concept of ‘sole representation’ is self-destructive. It precludes political pluralism and democracy. Consequently, it results in the loss of human rights.
We had never claimed ourselves to be the sole representatives of the Tamils. All we claim is that we are one of the representatives of the Tamil people inasmuch as the LTTE is another representative of the Tamil people. We too have made our sacrifices and contribution to the struggle of the Tamil people. Standing on that moral ground, I wish to make a fervent appeal to the LTTE, and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. It is this:
“If you really have the interests of the Tamil people at heart, if you do not want the Tamil people to suffer any more, and, if you really desire a political solution to the ethnic problem within a united Sri Lanka founded on the federal structure as agreed to by your representative in Oslo in December 2002, please return to the negotiating table. Any further delay in returning to the negotiating table would be a betrayal of the Tamil people. Please grab this opportunity presented to you once again by Her Excellency the President. If you would do so and help to work out an honourable political solution, the Tamil people would forgive you for the numerous killings you have carried out in their name. Even the families of great Tamil leaders like Appapillai Amirthalingam will forgive you.”
Lastly, before I conclude, I wish to make a fervent appeal to all southern Sri Lankan leaders, particularly, to those who for some reason or other have decided to keep away from this inaugural session of the National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation. It is this:
“All the peoples of this country, the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims have suffered for more than a quarter century due to the war. The war has resulted in thousands of death. It has produced thousands of widows and orphans. It is necessary to put and end to this cycle of suffering of our peoples. As leaders, it is your duty to rise above petty party politics. Please therefore, act with statesmanship. History is presenting you with another opportunity. Please grab it.”
In conclusion, I wish to thank Her Excellency the President for initiating this consultation within the Peace Process. I also wish to request Her to guide the Council’s deliberations to their logical conclusion.
I thank you all, for your patient hearing.