APRC proposals should treat all Minorities in the same footing

Mano Ganesan notifies Tissa Vitharana

(November 13, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The political arrangements agreed in the All Party Representative Committee proposals for the Muslims and Sinhalese of the north and east should be extended to the Tamils of Indian Origins living in the south. It is only fair and right if the minorities of the north and east and the minorities of the south are meted with the same and equal treatments. We do not want to be the forgotten people when peace dawns in this country said leader of Western Peoples Front Mano Ganesan MP in a letter sent to the chairman of the APRC Minister Tissa Vitharana. Ganesan said further in his letter,

The government is supposed to be thinking of new peace initiatives. It may lead to talks with the LTTE under a new Indian facilitation. You have also invited Tamil National Alliance to the APRC. Please be informed that the LTTE does not provide representative leadership to the Indian Tamil minorities living in the south. Also my party and other Tamil parties of the south are not part of TNA. It would be wrong to assume that resolution of all problems of all the Tamils are rested on the conclusion of the proposed talks between the government and the Tamil leadership of the north and east. Tamil minorities in the south cannot prepare a catalogue of our issues and pass it to the LTTE or TNA and wait uncomplainingly until those parties take them up with government.

We are glad that the grievances and political aspirations of the Muslim people are discussed with the Muslim parties. Your committee has taken care of the aspirations of the Sinhala minorities in the provinces where the Tamil speaking are in majority numbers. You have identified agreeable positions for devolution of power in Amparai, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. In the same breath Tamil people living in the Nuwara-Eliya district too should be provided with the prospect to taste the concept of power devolution in the Ambegamuwa and Nuwara-Eliya divisional secretariat areas. We cannot afford to repeat the history of double standards in this country anymore. Our party has found commonness with the positions of Ceylon Workers Congress. We are also proposing to hold Up-Country Peoples Front too in this issue thereby bringing all the southern Tamil parties represented in parliament together to finalize the political proposals and pave way for peace in our country. - Sri Lanka Guardian