“All Tamils would get together under the leadership of Douglas Devananda and as Prime Minister he would be able to convince his people to choose the democratic ideals and the major player in conflict would tally with the propositions made by the new Prime Minister Douglas Devananda.”
by Dr.Tellipallai C Rajaratnam
(November 14, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I write by virtue of my right to reply to the Open Appeal to Douglas Devananda written by Mr.Rajasingam Jayadevan (from London) in the Sri Lanka Guardian(Nov 12) with reference me and my article. I was perturbed and sad to read the writings of an erudite writer that too a school mate of Douglas Devananda making insinuous remarks based on hearsay and insinuations. The article has been written in haste and with an emotional outburst probably ignited by vested interests supporting politicians in the daylight from the East and the shadows of shady twilight Politicians of the North.
Some Tamils have a peculiar habit of criticizing other Tamils without reason for want of power, fame and money. I am sure Mr.R.Jayadevan has not stooped to this probably he has been misled and misinformed by vested interests to exploit his classic style of writing and essence of relevance. The art of a good writer is to make something out of nothing and nothing out of something. I must congratulate Mr.Jayadevan on his skills of writing. When there is no unity amongst the Tamils, how can the Government of Sri Lanka help the Tamils? As a right of reply to Mr.Jayadevan’s contribution, let me state that Mr.Jayadevan is a good writer and that too an emotional writer. Without an iota of sarcasm to Mr.Jayadevan’s article, let me go straight into some of the assertions made by him.
For purposes of convenience and clarity I have analyzed the article in defense of Douglas Devananda :
1. “The two news items under the captions ‘Pragmatic Political Programme of the EPDP’ and ‘Douglas Devananda: The guardian of the Tamils’ published in the Sri Lanka Guardian prompted me to write this open appeal. The purpose of writing this appeal is to touch on issues that have not (and you are unable to) addressed in these two documents.” This reveals the innate urge to retaliate. The rest of the article does not speak of the issues of public importance but his own insinuations.
2. “As a school time friend at Jaffna Central College and having been involved in the political activities in the late 1970’s, I too sincerely extend my birthday greetings to you when you are celebrating your 52nd birthday.Your document titled ‘Pragmatic Political Programme of the EPDP’ gives a fair account of the overall historical circumstances of the conflict in a nutshell, but unfortunately, the stages suggested to resolve the conflict are very long drawn out and complex, when all out efforts are being made by the government to undermine any political resolution to the conflict. The 13th Amendment to the constitution has become an avenue to masquerade a military solution to the conflict with the view to force a Sinhala solution (or even a non solution) through the throats of the weakened Tamils in the country.” The only other alternative is to appoint Douglas Devananda , the Prime Minister. He would be the First Tamil Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. As it is, people like Mr.Jayadevan have compelled Authorities to consider appointing Douglas Devananda as the Prime Minister. There was speculation to appoint Lakshman Kadirgamar as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka during President Kumaratunga’s time. Even if he had been appointed the Prime Minister, the Tamils would not have been convinced of the sincerity of that Government. The position is different if Douglas Devananda is appointed Prime Minister.
3. “It is also feared the three stages suggested for a political resolution in your pragmatic program is only aimed to empower persons like you to preside over the running of the affairs of the north. This, I consider is a process to further weaken any permanent resolution to the conflict and only will help the government to play its rudimentary attitude towards the minority Tamil speaking people.
The drama that is unfolding in the Eastern Province claiming of Provincial governance to empower people there, regretfully is a naked reflection of the insincerity of the government to belittle the Tamil speaking people on the whole. In the name of democracy, the government is doing everything behind the scene to extent its age old agenda to further marginalise the Tamil speaking people.”
The indigenous Tamil speaking people are being strangled by the government and the LTTE. The self proclaimed protagonist of the Tamil cause (the LTTE) in their crusade is able to continue with their writ over the Tamil people due to the intransigence and arrogance of the supremacy of the un-accommodative majority rule.” This is an unpatriotic statement if Mr.Jayadevan holds a Sri Lankan Passport . If he is’nt then it is not his business.
4. “As the leader of the undemocratic EPDP, it is time (though belated) to review your role in the socio-political environs of Sri Lanka for over thirty years. Dr Tellipallai C Rajaratnam’s restrictive analysis of only self-elongating of your achievements failed to address the adversities our people are encountering with the EPDP, due to the same fear they have for the LTTE. Even Kings, their Kingdoms, Emperors and their Empires have made history. History speaks of plus and minus points. There is always misinterpretation . Mr.Jayadevan’s animosity is on a personal tone and note. I have factually stated what I know of Douglas Devananda. Let me state that Douglas Devananda has helped and saved Tamils unlike the TNA members who only take care of themselves. The TNA members who shout against the Government in the Chamber of Parliament have visited in the past Ministers like Jeyaraj Fernandopulle – then Chief Government Whip to obtain favours –personal favours not for the people but for themselves and their respective kith and kin. Douglas Devananda is an Honourable man he helps others not himself. He leads a pauper’s life but I would not say the same about those around him who may overstep their mark without his knowledge. Should Mr.Jayadevan have any evidence of any malpractices purported to be done by the alleged EPDP cadres, then he should act with responsibility and notify Douglas Devananda
5. “I fully condemn the dastardly violent attempts on your life by the LTTE. There was all the purpose and need for you to protect yourself to confront the threat of LTTE violence against you. But unfortunately, your activities have gone beyond limits and your EPDP is one of the most detested paramilitary groups accused of committing untold crimes by enjoying impunity from the government for its violent conduct. Over many years, numerous accusations have been levelled that your paramilitary outfit has carried out murders, kidnaps and all kinds of other human rights violations. Though some of them have been denied, I am privy to some of these accusations. It is an established fact that your paramilitary group gave birth to the white van abduction culture in Colombo and in the northern Jaffna peninsula. With the overall violent situation prevailing in the country and the government’s indifference and inaptitude to deal with these crimes, a climate has been established for the paramilitary groups to enjoy the uninterrupted freedom to engage in human rights violations against their own people without facing the laws of the land. . In every Political Party, organization or group there are scapegoats and black sheep so isolated incidents could be falsely attributed to such scapegoats. I am surprised that he speaks of Maheswaran’s killing. This was a calculated attempt by vested interests. In fact Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, Maheswaran and Douglas Devananda were very close friends, although on the floor of the House the debate is hot, along the corridors of Parliament they were best of friends. His brother is a good friend of Douglas Devananda and his neice works for Douglas Devananda.
6. “It will be unfair if I do not touch on few specific human rights violations of your paramilitary group. The murder of the parliamentarian Maheswaran on the New Years day this year in a Hindu temple in Colombo is widely believed to have been carried by your group. The murder of BBC reporter Nimalaraj in Jaffna; causing serious bodily harm to the TNA parliamentarian Sivajilingam and threatening the doctors in Vavuniya to handover millions of rupees to your paramilitary group recently are some of the very serious crimes widely spoken in the community. These are crimes that have seen silent burial due to the indifference and inaptitude of the government.” Has this TNA MP made a complaint? He is a very good friend of Douglas Devananda. The TELO website recently carried the same article written by me about which Mr.Jayadevan is harping on. As I mentioned the TNA members have several sides to them and they are the sole beneficiaries- who is there Leader? Jeyaraj Fernandopulle maintained files on every one of them. It is presently with the appropriate Authorities. It may be brought to light at the opportune moment. Mr.Jayadevan should focus his attention on them and not Douglas Devananda.
7. “At the time when self elongation of your achievements are being made in the media, it is also expected a clear statement from you to respond to the various very serious allegations against you are responded and a public apology is made for the sins that were committed. Those who are working to eradicate the LTTE cannot enjoy the freedom given by the government to perpetrate the very same violations the LTTE is condemned for.” Mr.Jayadevan is in the UK and is misinformed. His allegations are false and pathetic. Should there be an iota of evidence, then certainly the Government would have investigated.
8. “It is also regretted that, being a Tamil minister, you have done very little to campaign against pro-government human rights violations against the Tamil speaking people. Most recently, when the Hindu Priest Siva Sri Siva Kadachcha Sivakugarajah was allegedly assassinated by the military in Trincomalee, you did not make any public statement to condemn the killing. Your silence over the human sufferings in the military operations in Vanni, further confirms your inability to go further than your remit as a party to the government. The Government Agents will bear witness to the tremendous service done by Douglas Devananda. I invite Mr.Jayadevan to Sri Lanka to come as the guest of the Government and see for himself the enormous number of people who seek Douglas Devananda’s assistance both in Colombo and Jaffna. Douglas Devananda travels to Jaffna very often and like in Colombo he gives them a hearing and solves their problems on every conceivable matter.
9. You were telling your colleagues including me recently, that you have rightly reflected to the President Mahinda Rajapakse, that you feel hopeless that you could not achieve anything for your people by aligning with the government for nearly two decades. You had told the President, unless there is substantial shift in the government’s attitude to resolve the conflict politically, you will be left with no alternative other than to either commit suicide or claim political asylum in another country to keep away from politics. But your pressure has not worked and the agenda of the government which you are part of has not changed an iota even.
The President is claimed to run a manipulative government and his scheming to undermine democracy are limitless. He is extending the age old concept of Sinhalisation of the Island with the sheer brutal determination under all sorts of pretexts. Regretfully, as a party to this government and involved in the violent paramilitary campaign against the nation’s people, you have also become a participant to extend the state agenda against the Tamils. It is my humble request for you to change your course of direction in the interest of your people and the country as a whole. Time has come for you to play a different role to the one that has failed you for such a long period. Whatever your circumstances may be, it is time that immediate steps are taken to give up your paramilitary campaign against your own people. We all detest the LTTE. Let us defeat it by political means. Let us implore on the government to offer tangible political resolution to empower our people. By this process the LTTE can be withered from the society wholeheartedly. Mere military campaign and bogy stories that the Tamils must not even claim a federal system of governance must be campaigned against. The government must be compelled to invest in socio-economic-educational infrastructures without wasting the resources on its military efforts. I trust that you will consider this appeal in an overall context and in the spirit in which it is written and hope you will consider overhauling your future direction to help the suffering Tamil speaking people to redeem from their never ending sufferings”. Whether this is true or not the readers would have now assessed the motives.
I am not a member of the EPDP. I work for the Government and this way I officially associate with Douglas Devananda. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had deep admiration for him m. Are the hands of Mr.Jayadevan clean? I did search for his name under the Google and Yahoo search engines and was shocked to learn that there are numerous allegations about Mr.Jayadevan which I would not like to mention as it is not proper. Now readers could determine the veracity of the claims made by Mr. Jayadevan. Mr.Jayadevan may claim that these allegations are false. The same way, rumour could sound truer than fiction. If it be false then he would realize how he has hurt Douglas Devananda and the Government which is a very serious offence.
Mr.Jayadevan seems to be dissatisfied and traumatized by some personal experience yet again he seems to have met Douglas Devananda recently according to his own admission.
Mr.Jayadevan seems to have been misled about the Government as well. He seems to be dissatisfied with the Provincial Council system in the East. The Tamils would be satisfied only if Douglas Devananda is made Prime Minister. This would help the Government in the eyes of the International community and many countries including India would be convinced of the sincerity of the Government. The grund norm of the resolution of conflict would be the appointment of Douglas Devananda as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. All Tamils would get together under the leadership of Douglas Devananda and as Prime Minister he would be able to convince his people to choose the democratic ideals and the major player in conflict would tally with the propositions made by the new Prime Minister Douglas Devananda. Devananda, of course is an idealist. He professes to people the importance of discipline in public policy, government and democracy.
With a toughness unseen for a long time, Douglas Devananda stood face-to-face with successive Governments. And, with an unexpected diplomacy which confused his foes and even some of his friends in successive Governments, he reached out to that hierarchy, perhaps no longer evil, but still formidable. He met its leaders on their turf, but on his terms. He should to continue to fight injustice and strive for human dignity and for the freedom of the Tamil people. The confidence of the Tamil people can be won only if a Tamil is appointed as a Prime Minister. The only suitable candidate is Douglas Devananda. Douglas Devananda is so devoted to our system of Government and our Constitution .The idea that reasonable people could solve any human problem if they work together in good faith. In a time of Politicians, he proved himself a Statesman. When others speak of the fear of war, Devananda speaks of the need for peace through strength. When others bewailed the failure of big government to provide for the collective good, he speaks of self-reliance, of personal responsibility, of individual pride and integrity. When others demanded compromise -- when others demanded compromise, Devananda, professes conviction.
Whilst congratulating Mr.Jayadevan , I invite him to join hands and advise us in bringing peace and a lasting solution to Sri Lanka and let him be advised not to continue this mud slinging campaign against a Government Cabinet Minister who reserves the right to inform the Interpol through the C.I.D. to charge him under the British Terrorism Law for creating unrest and inciting the people by his advocating racial hatred and making allegations against a duly elected Government and President. Let us not waste our energy by dissipating in allegations, let us join hands to solve this national crisis. He must also refrain from making derogatoty statements for he could be deported to be tried in Sri Lanka.
I convey my warm regards to Mr.Jayadevan and extend our invitation to join our Government for the resolution of conflict. The destiny of our nation lies in our hands.
Dr. Tellipallai. C.Rajaratnam LL.B(SL)., LL.M(Lond)., Ph.D(Lond)., was the Co-ordinating Secretary to the Chief Government Whip of Parliament, Late Jeyaraj Fernandopulle; The Member in charge of the English Media of the Media Observation Unit founded by Late Jeyaraj Fernandopulle for the Presidential Election Campaign of President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2005; Candidate for the Colombo District for SLFP-PA in the 1994 Parliamentary General Elections; Author; Orator; Member of the World Lawyers & Poets Society ; International Legal Consultant; CEO of the Chambers of Academic & Professional Studies] E mail: tcrajaratnam@gmail.com . - Sri Lanka Guardian
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