“Temporary military achievements have been glorified as permanent political victories and immoral terrorist acts have been portrayed as the struggle to win Tamil rights. This approach of the LTTE and its leader have only aggravated the problems of the Tamils and helped further marginalize them as a people within Sri Lanka.”-TMVP in 2007_____________________
(May 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) TMVP handed over its political proposals in three languages to the Chairman of All Party Representatives Committee, (APRC) minister Thissa Witharana on May of last year at his residence in No 408, Galle Road Colombo 3.
The Secretary of the Party, S. Padmini, (Today she is working as a mayor to the Batticaloa) and the Head of TMVP Peace Secretariat, Mr. K. Mahesh handed over the political proposals of TMVP in three languages to the chairman of All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) minister Thissa Witharana. Today TMVP marks their representatives’ landmark election for the Eaten provincial Council. Here we publish their political proposal to the Problem in Sri Lanka.
THAMIL MAKKAL VIDUTHALAI PULIKAL (TMVP)
Recommendations for permanent resolution of ethnic conflict within a
United Sri Lanka.
The TMVP recommends the full implementation of the Provincial Councils Act -as originally envisaged- brought-forth through the 13th amendment to the constitution following the Indo-Sri Lankan Agreement of 1987, with additional powers devolved to the Provincial Councils to address political realities that have since arisen.
The TMVP is convinced that the devolution of political powers from the central government to the Provincial Councils under the Indo-Lanka agreement must be the bottom line and basis to evolve solutions to the current crisis in Sri Lanka.
PREAMBLE
Three decades of civil war and the accompanying mindless, brutal violence has consumed over eighty thousand valuable lives, forced the migration of hundreds and thousands of people and left equal numbers internally displaced. The economy, development, stability and rule of law in our country have suffered serious adverse consequences as a result, with these consequences being more acute in the north and eastern provinces. The underlying cause for the problems besetting our nation is our single inability to find acceptable and durable solutions to the problems of the minorities, particularly the Tamils and other Tamil-speaking people.
Historically, in some multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural states, those in the minority in terms of numbers, are suppressed by the dominant majority, giving rise to minority resistance that when unheeded leads to violent upheavals. In some other states where such diversity exists and where minority rights, their security, equality in law and dignity are entrenched, national stability and economic and social progress have been enduring. The leading nations in the world today are shining examples of the latter reality.
Modern Sri Lanka, a comparatively small country, though rich in history and culture, has unfortunately been unable to integrate its diverse people-Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and others into a cohesive whole and has over six decades sown the seeds for national disintegration. Sri Lanka, instead of being a shining example for the kindness, compassion and tolerance expounded by its pre-dominant religion-Buddhism, has come to be identified with some of the most violent and intolerant nations in the world.
Sri Lanka, which gained independence from colonial rule six decades back, has singularly failed to make it possible for the diverse people in the country equitably share the fruits of freedom. The Tamils who were in the fore front of the demand for independence from colonial rule, had wanted the freedom to live with equal rights, security, respect, peace and dignity as citizens of the newly independent nation. However, the reality was different. The political process in independent Sri Lanka was geared towards the marginalization of the minorities, particularly the Tamils, whose rights, security and dignity were trampled in a cavalier manner.
The dawn of independence for Sri Lanka, opened a dark chapter in the history of the Tamils, characterized by the progressive debilitation and marginalization of a vibrant people. The Tamils have become a people under constant siege and on the edge of destruction as a distinct people, in terms of numbers, language and culture, livelihood and areas of habitation reflecting their way of life. The majoritarian and highly centralized system of governance in independent Sri Lanka has singularly failed to meet the aspirations of the minorities and has led to their oppression and suppression. The Tamils have borne the worst of this onslaught.
Tamil leaders and political parties had engaged in a dialogue with successive Sri Lankan governments since independence to reverse the creeping marginalization of Tamils within the country, which was subsequently institutionalized. Their efforts were belittled and they were subject to the heavy handed, undemocratic suppression of various governments. The Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact (1956) and the Dudley-Chelvanayagam pact (1965) that were negotiated, as solutions for the evolving problems of the Tamils, were discarded by the Sri Lankan governments even before the ink could dry on them.
Successive Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan governments were more interested in catering to the interests of the Sinhala people who were in a majority and did not have the wisdom nor foresight to address the concerns of the minorities- particularly the Tamils. This narrow minded, majoritarian, parochial approach to governance has led to an ugly civil war and challenges to the very existence of Sri Lanka as one nation-state.
The Tamil people were forced to fight for their due rights, because recourse to any other civilized means was denied to them by the political system operating in Sri Lanka. The Tamils were forced to accept the reality that they could live with full rights of citizenship, dignity and honour, only if they overthrew the hegemonic domination of Sinhala majority rule. Towards the end of the 1970s the Tamils were convinced independence from Sinhala governance and self-governance were their right.
When democratic and peaceful expression of Tamil resistance was suppressed by the military might of the Sri Lankan state, Tamil resistance resorted to increasing violence beginning in the 1980s. The Sri Lankan government in turn resorted to greater violence using the army, police and thugs to suppress Tamil resistance. This infantile and unwise reaction by the Sri Lankan government encouraged further militarization of the Tamil struggle for their rights, entrenching the escalating cycles of government and Tamil violence.
The armed struggle, which commenced with the only aim of defending the Tamil identity and upholding Tamil rights, was gradually hijacked by a self-centered and visionless group, which made violence its founding philosophy, and debased and undermined the struggle itself. The Tamils have been alienated as the principle force behind this struggle because of the short sightedness of the LTTE, which has insisted that its interests were paramount over those of the Tamils. The legitimate Tamil struggle for their rights, has been transformed into terrorism transcending all moral boundaries by the LTTE, causing immense suffering and destruction for the Tamils themselves. Everything that contributed to the identity of the Tamils as a people has been destroyed by the violent philosophy that has underscored the LTTE leadership of the Tamil struggle.
Temporary military achievements have been glorified as permanent political victories and immoral terrorist acts have been portrayed as the struggle to win Tamil rights. This approach of the LTTE and its leader have only aggravated the problems of the Tamils and helped further marginalize them as a people within Sri Lanka.
In order to establish stability and peace, essential for the socio-economic progress of Sri Lanka, the agenda to defeat LTTE terrorism has to be combined with an urgent effort to bring forth political solutions to the festering ethnic problem. This twin-pronged approach is essential and unavoidable. Depending on defeating the LTTE only by engaging it in war, will at best provide a temporary respite and not provide an enduring solution. An acceptable political solution to the Tamils and other minorities should be offered immediately by the Sri Lankan government. This will also ensure the political defeat of the LTTE.
The root causes of the problems faced by the Tamils and other minorities should be identified through sincere and objective dialogue among the democratic political forces in the country. The legitimate problems of the Tamils should be viewed as separate from LTTE terrorism by the political formations representing the Sinhala people.If the Tamils are once again cheated and their legitimate problems remain unaddressed, the consequences will favour the forces such as the LTTE or their successors. Some of the key players presently on the political stage in Sri Lanka may live to regret such a calamity. The Sri Lankan government and the Sinhala people will be blamed for this failure at this critical juncture of our history.
The Sinhala people and their political leaders should come out with open hands and open hearts to embrace the Tamils and negotiate durable political solutions with them. This will be of equal significance as the visits of Lord Buddha to Lanka, will defeat the forces of evil and 'Himsa' forever, and permit the principles of Buddhism to truly permeate the socio- political life in Sri Lanka.
We welcome the approach of the present government to our foremost national problem. Unlike previous governments, it has taken a transparent, unambiguous and visionary approach to resolve the so-called 'Tamil problem'. It is engaged in a military confrontation with the LTTE to defeat terrorism and ensure the integrity and sovereignty of our island-nation, while also taking forward an All Party Representative Committee (APRC) process to find political solutions.
We of the TMVP were in the frontlines of the Tamil armed struggle for nearly thirty years. We realize that the government will not resolve the problems of our people, in response to only the armed struggle of the type led by the LTTE, we have waged. We have moved away from the armed struggle and have decided to pursue a democratic path to find lasting solutions to the problems of our people. In this spirit, we present our recommendations to the APRC.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
TMVP believes the solutions to the so-called 'Tamil problem' can be found within an un-divided and united Sri Lanka by extensively devolving political, administrative and financial powers from the centre to the peripheral units of governance. Our recommendations are restricted to certain fundamental issues that need to be considered by the APRC.
1. The root causes of the so-called 'Tamil problem' have to be identified and appropriate solutions found taking into account historical realities. Tamil individuals and political formation agreeable to a negotiated political settlement should be consulted and their views taken into consideration while formulating solutions. The Sinhala people and their
Politicians should come forward with an open and rational mind set to discuss the problems confronting the Tamils and share power with them.
2. The government should come forward to make new constitutional arrangements to devolve power to the Tamils and other minorities appropriately and adequately. The government must seek the Sinhala (Southern) consensus that is necessary to take this step. The government should have the strength and wisdom to overcome the opposition of narrow minded, selfish and chauvinistic elements who are a minority in the southern polity to move in this direction. It is essential that all political parties should step over the threshold of their parochial and vested interests to support the government in finding a permanent end to the on-going conflict, in the best interest of Sri Lanka.
3. The efforts to seek political solutions to this national problem in the recent past were aimed principally at appeasing the LTTE and consolidating the authority of its leader, which led to their failure. It is therefore necessary to formulate solutions that will be directed at the problems of the Tamils and other minorities. All communities in Sri Lanka should actively participate in seeking such a solution.
4. The urge to dominate fellow men belonging to other language speaking groups is not limited to only sections of the Sinhalese; it is also an urge inherent in sections of the Tamil community. Both the Sinhalese and Tamils should work to deal with such people and groupings appropriately. Terrorism has achieved ascendancy in Sri Lanka because of such people and groupings.
5. The unity that is needed in the Sinhala/Southern polity to defeat the terrorism of the LTTE, must also translate into an accommodative attitude to seek and offer political solutions to the Tamils. The awareness that only this two- pronged approach will permanently put an end to terrorism in Sri Lanka should be created among all people.
6. A militarily debilitated LTTE is preserving its hold on the Tamils through violence and the threat of death. A majority of the Tamils are no longer the willing and enthusiastic supporters of the LTTE. If the LTTE remains an obstruction to finding, reasonable and accepted solutions to the 'Tamil problem', the efforts of the government to defeat LTTE terrorism must be supported by all communities including the Tamils.
7. The role of ethnicity and religion in the political life of the nation should be minimized and individual and human rights permitted predominate. Sri Lankan citizenship should entitle all citizens to equal rights and equal privileges, irrespective of where they live in the island and their numerical strength.
8. Tamil has been recognized as a national language in the constitution. However, this constitutional recognition has not become an administrative reality. The use of Tamil by the Tamil speaking people in the island when dealing with the government and its institutions should become reality.
9. The Tamils must be chosen to serve the government and its various services, based on merit. They should be recognized for their merit and rewarded accordingly for their service. No Tamil should be excluded from any of the government services, because he/she is a Tamil.
10. State-aided colonization schemes in the north and east should be brought to an end, while the free movement of people across the island should be free and unrestricted.
11. Special arrangements should be made following agreement on constitutional changes, to provide adequate resources- financial and administrative, to re-build the north and east and catch up with lost time in terms of development and progress.
12. The powers to be devolved to the Provincial Governments, should be clearly defined and beyond restriction by the Central Government, unless under judiciable special circumstances defined in the constitution.
13. The Provincial Governments should be able to administer and develop their respective provinces independently, but with the support of the Central Government.
14. The government should be aware that a lack interest on its part to seek and galvanize public opinion in favour of acceptable political solutions would only give new life to terrorism.
15. Any solutions proposed should be enshrined in the constitution. The government needs the support of other political parties represented in parliament to achieve this. It is essential that such constitutional reform be unreservedly supported by all political parties in the interest of our country.
16. The TMVP will participate in discussions on constitutional reforms necessary to bring about solutions to the 'Tamil problem' and seek that the issues here-in highlighted are recognized, discussed and appropriately addressed.
Special powers to be vested to the North and East Provinces
1. Education:
Wide ranging powers must be vested to plan, make decision and to implement educational systems and procedures from primary and higher level education.
2. Economic development:
Adequate powers must be devolved to enhance the use of economic resources of the Northern and Eastern provinces in the best possible manner for the economic progress with powers to make decisions and with extensive implementation authority.
Powers must be vested:
a. To independently develop agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, irrigation and tourism.
b. To enhance self employment and rural industry.
3. Powers to procure finance independently for economic development.
In addition to funds allocated by the central government, the councils must have powers to raise additional finances independently from locally and internationally. The councils must be empowered to raise finances through local authorities and the authorities coming under the provincial council.
4. Social and infrastructural development
a. Empowering special powers to develop transportation, road network, electricity etc.
b. Sufficient powers vested to carryout rehabilitation and regeneration work.
c. Extensive powers granted to manage the land and land development.
d. Powers to halt any forceful and systematic colonization programmes of the central government, its agents or its delegated authorities.
e. Adequate and extensive powers must be granted to develop and manage health and health related welfare projects and improve the social and municipal services.
f. Adequate powers must be vested to improve the quality of life of women and children.
5. a In case the Tamil youths desire they should be given the due place and the importance as well in the police and three armed forces according to their qualification and skills.
i In relation to the sinhala and Muslim people living in north and east:
1. It is of paramount importance that solutions to the on-going conflict recognize the political aspirations and rights of the Muslim people. The Muslim leadership should be also involved in discussions to seek appropriate solutions.
2. Muslims forcefully evicted from the north and east should be enabled to return to their homes and lands. Those who were responsible for this dastardly act should apologize to the Muslims.
3. The TMVP recognizes and respects the rights of the Sinhalese and Muslims who live in the northern and eastern provinces. They should be partners in finding solutions to the conflict. The TMVP opposes any attempt to divide the north and east based on race, language or religion. All the people living in the north and east should be enabled to co-exist peacefully and prosper.
4. One ethnic or religious group should not be permitted to interfere with the political and citizenship rights of the other groups. The TMVP asserts that all the different people living in Sri Lanka have the right of self- determination.
5. The disputes relating the lands of the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims must be resolved amicably and speedily. An appropriate mechanism involving the concerned communities in different areas of the north and east must be created to deal with such issues.
6.In order to strengthen inter-community relationships in the island, multi-ethnic associations should be formed. These associations must have equal representation from all communities living in a district and have legal status and powers of decision making. These associations should be consulted by the Chief Minister on matters relating inter-communal relationships and harmony.
ii In relation to the north and east provincial council election and the merge of north and east:
1. The TMVP recognizes the merger of the north and east brought through the Indo-Lanka agreement. The 13th amendment to the constitution as originally brought forth through this agreement, should be the starting point for further constitutional reform.
2. Taking the de-merger as a reality that has to be accepted under the present circumstances, TMVP demands that a referendum should be held in the east with regard to the question of the merge of north and east after the completion of two years of north east provincial council elections.
3. Elections for the Northern Provincial Council in areas under government control should be held as soon as possible and the Council should be permitted to function without any let or hindrance.
4. Conditions must be created in the north and east for people who are living as refugees in India and the IDPs to return and resume their normal lives, in areas of their original habitation. Elections for the provincial Councils should be held only after such conditions are created.
iii In relation to the estate people
1. The so-called 'Up Country Tamils' should be recognized for the services they have rendered over several generations and their rights to equal citizenship and the accompanying privileges upheld.
iv In relation to the minority living out side of north and east:
1. Tamils living outside the north and east must be permitted to exercise their citizenship rights without any restrictions and pursue their cultural and religious lives without any interference.
v. In relation to the Central government:
1.The Cabinet Ministers of the central government must not exceed the number defined by the constitution.
2.The President and the Prime Minister are answerable to the parliament.
3.The President will be the commander police, army, navy and the air force. Independent regulatory bodies must be setup to investigate complaints, oversee their operations and appoints officials and provide recommendations.
4.The government officials and state forces must be made accountable to human rights violations. Appointment of Human Rights Commission must be constitutional provision with extensive powers to investigate, produce accused before courts and publication of reports and recommendations.
5.The President must work with the Chief Minister of the provinces on security related matters.
6.The appointment of Central government officials to the provinces can only be implemented after consultation with the provincial governments concerned.
7.The present parliamentary system must be changed to incorporate an elected parliament and second chamber consisting of appointed members. The appointed members to the second chamber will be nominated members from the provincial councils.
8.The constitution must encourage wider participation of women in socio-economic and political programmes. In order to encourage wider participation of women in decision making, transitional arrangements must be made to allocate 35% of the elected and appointed representation in the parliaments and the provincial governments.
Post a Comment