Do you want the N&E not to develop?

Can you deny that the armed forces are helping the people in many ways?

In this handout photo provided by the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lankan army soldiers attend a wounded ethnic Tamil civilian in Kariyalamullivaikal, Sri Lanka - File Photo

Mr. Rajavarodayam Sambanthan
Member of Parliament & President, Tamil National Alliance.

Dear Mr.Sambanthan,

An open letter to Mr.Sambanthan, President of the TNA

(August 09, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Please accept my apologies for not addressing you as Sir. I do not address any one so, except my teachers. However, please do not consider this an attempt at disrespect. You have many attributes needed to be a ' leader' of the Tamils, but for the lack of courage and a vision, have not been able to become so. You continue to be a typical Tamil politician of the old mould. This is unfortunate, because the Tamils desperately need a 'Leader'
President Rajapakse at one meeting referred to you as a good and experienced lawyer.

I am sure you are. This reminds me of a verse from the Thevara-Thiruvasagam. In essence, it says the following cannot attain freedom from the cycle of birth and death:

" Kaathi moethi vathaadum nool katriduvorum( lawyers) , Kaasu thedi eeyaamal waala paduvorum ( those earn money but live without doing charity)—
I hope you are not a lawyer without principles. Your recent interview with Rohan Abeywardene, published in transcurrents, proves you debate for the sake of debate, argue for the sake of argument and, are yet a common politician but not a leader. This is unfortunate, because you have it in you to be a great leader. You have nothing to fear, except fear itself, because of your age and the tragedy you have seen unfold in your lifetime. You have nothing to gain personally either, because of your age. However, the Tamils will gain much if you provide them the leadership and vision required.

I have heard of two incidents that involve you. The first of how you were intimidated by Anton Balasingham at a meeting in the British parliament. The language used by Anton Balasingham had been apparently filthy. Inability to stand up to the LTTE was a big mistake. I am sure this was because of fear. The second involved your apparent unwillingness to talk to Ven. Rathana thera, who sat next to you in parliament for several years. His English was poor, but you are very conversant in Sinhala. It is necessary in your position to talk to individuals like Ven Rathana thera who are opinion makers among Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. I am sure you did not engage in bridge building because of your fear of the LTTE. One has to be fearless to be a leader! To be fearless, one has to be truthful.

Why did you and your party ( I shall refer to the combination as 'you' in the following sentences) demand the LTTE release the civilians they held captive in the last stages of the war? Were you unaware of LTTE intentions and the obvious outcome? Were you unaware of the murderous nature of the LTTE? Were you unaware of details of what the LTTE was subjecting the Tamils in their iron grip? Did you think the war was a game and would end without tragedy? Did you not think the LTTE would ultimately win? Did you not think and act as if the government and the Sinhala people were enemies? Were you not aware the government was determined to end the LTTE menace, once and for all? After meeting president Rajapakse for the first time, soon after he was elected, I told those close to me that the LTTE would be finished soon, unless they act wisely.
What moral rights have you to accuse the government of war crimes, when you were on the side of the LTTE, which also committed war crimes. You were fellow travelers of the LTTE (some willingly and others unwillingly) and hence should also stand trial for the war crimes committed by the LTTE. I am sure the armed forces too committed various war crimes, although they may not be of the nature being portrayed.

In your interview, you accuse the UPFA/GOSL of many things. Was everything they did after the war ended, wrong? I remember, you criticized the government for keeping the people in IDP camps . I remember, you demanded from the government the IDPs be released immediately. You criticized the government for not permitting your party to visit the IDP camps, knowing very well that your party was working as a proxy for the LTTE. I remember one of your party parliamentarians telling me that the LTTE cadres were scattered in groups of two hundred and would emerge to continue the war. Would any government permit members from a party that had such hopes, to enter IDP camps?

I know the government had plans to develop the war-affected areas before moving the IDPs back to their villages. The plans were impressive. Pressure from your party, the Tamil Diaspora and the International community, forced the government to let the IDPs go with only a handout, twelve galvanized roof sheets, plastic sheets and dry rations. The IDPs suffered. Many regretted leaving the IDP camps. Were you and your party concerned? Why did we deliberately miss the chance to prove the government bonafides?
If you can raise funds, why did you not do so after the war ended? Did you make an appeal and rally the Diaspora to help? The funds could have been collected in a bank account in a foreign country, initially. Did you discuss with the government the possibility of setting up such a fund in Sri Lanka? Did you discuss with the government a mechanism to do this with your participation, considering the circumstances?

Are you not aware that the Tamil population in the north and east has declined precipitously? Did you ever express concerns regarding this to the LTTE, during your long association with them? Have you taken steps to encourage the Tamils who have migrated to return? Have you and your party contributed to scaring many Tamils from returning, through your political grandstanding, outright exaggerations and lies?

Have you initiated a campaign to discourage Tamils from leaving the country? Have you engaged in a campaign to increase the birth rate among Tamils, to compensate for the lives lost and those who have migrated?

What do you propose to do with the lands that lie fallow in the north and east? How will you populate them and make them productive? Please explain this, without whining about Sinhala colonization. If you are yet loyal to the concept of a united Sri Lanka, would you accept a situation where large extents of land lie fallow, when many are landless and the country needs to grow more food?

If you want the north and east to retain their Tamil-ness, how do you propose to do this under current circumstances? Where are you going to find the Tamils to occupy the empty lands? Should we not be thinking of how we are going to improve qualitatively our Tamil-ness? We could be fewer in numbers, but we could be better Tamils! Do you think Tamil students are receiving a proper Tamil education? Have you expressed your concerns about the degradation of the social and cultural attributes among the Tamils? What do you propose to do about this? How about help needed for the large number of war-widows, war-orphans and war-debilitated? What are your plans for them?

Are you aware of the shortage of skilled , disciplined and willing Tamil workers in the north and east, or not? Is it not natural that workers from the south will fill the void?

Without workers, how could development take place? Do you want the north and east not to develop?

Do you appreciate the president, his son and other cabinet ministers are visiting the north and east frequently and are making an effort to speak in Tamil? Has this happened before? Should this not be appreciated? Is there development taking place in the north or not? Should this be appreciated or not? One can attribute motives to anything, but the fact that something positive is taking place should be appreciated.

Is the south militarized too after the two JVP insurrections? Given the long Tamil insurgency, the prolonged war , the nature of the LTTE, the utterances of some members of your party and the activities of some in the Tamil Diaspora, can you expect the GOSL to demilitarize the north and east soon? Are you concerned about reports that the LTTE is reorganizing itself in Tamil Nadu?

Can you deny that the armed forces are helping the people in many ways? Some soldiers are sharing their dry rations with the poor. Others are collecting money from their salaries to help the poor. They are also the conduit for distributing donations from various sources from the south. Why not highlight this aspect as well, instead of playing up the negatives and the imagined? Is the building of a few Buddhist temples and shrines a threat to our Tamil-ness? Are they not serving the function of serving the spiritual needs of the soldiers? Are they in such large numbers that we have to cry foul? Is the number of roads named in Sinhala, by soldiers in camps in the vicinity, a threat to the cultural identity of these areas? Has Colombo assumed a Tamil identity because large numbers of Tamils live there?

Yes, there are problems with the Paramilitary groups wielding political power in the north and east. However, many in your party are not saints. Have you taken action against them? Did your party not engage in vote buying at the recent elections? Can you deny it? Yes, the UPFA did shower many gifts on the people. In normal circumstances, this would have been absolutely wrong. However, the people in Jaffna and the Vanni are in desperate need of help. The elections made it possible for these people to get some help. It was a blessing in disguise.

What is the priority for the people of the north and east? Is it political power or good governance? Do they need cake or bread? Do you think your party has the capacity to provide a better administration? What is happening at the Vavuniya Municipal Council, your party controls? Would it not be prudent at this stage to work with the government to improve the lot of the people in the north and east and postpone discussions on political issues for a later date? Would it not be prudent to heal wounds first? You should be applying balm, instead of pouring fuel on yet smouldering embers.

Do you think it is not important to win the heart, minds and souls of our Sinhala brothers and sisters, whom you say you love? Can we stand up again and get our share of the national pie, without their sympathy and support? Can we achieve this by cursing and finding fault with them at every turn? Yes, the Sinhala politicians have made terrible mistakes. However, do they deserve not to be forgiven in our own interest? Should we also not apologize to the Sinhala and Muslim people for crimes committed against them, in our name.

I have asked you questions that every Tamil should also ask and ponder. I do not expect your answer. However, I hope there will be changes in how you act. If not, we will continue riding the old merry-go-round and Tamils will go the way of the dinosaurs in Sri Lanka, in the near future. The ball is in your court.

With best regards,

Dr.Rajasingham Narendran