You need to remedy the cause and attend to the symptoms of the disease...!!! This is why a political solution is crucial....!!!

Solution to Tamil issue in neither main candidate getting 50%...
By Shakunthala Perera................dailymirror.lk

TNA Parliamentarian M.K. Sivajilingam on Tuesday handed over his deposit to Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake to contest the upcoming presidential election as an independent Tamil candidate, thus taking the number of contenders to 21. He explains to Hard Talk the rationale behind the decision.

Q: The TNA remains sharply divided over the Presidential Election with seven MPs from your camp wanting to field a common Tamil candidate while three other members including Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam are planning to boycott the election in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. How do you think the Tamil people will respond to your candidacy?

On December 9th the TNA Parliamentary Group's 18 members met to discuss this issue. 7 of the members agreed that we needed a Tamil candidate at the poll because we couldn't support both of the main candidates in view of the suffering of the Tamil people following the war. There have been no concrete steps laid on seeking a solution to the Tamil issue either. Five of the members however said that we should wait and see while one even said that we should go ahead and support Mr. Sarath Fonseka to ensure a change of government.

In that sense 12 members which accounts for the majority supported the view that we should support neither of the main candidates. However, we suspect Mr. Sampanthan's wait-and-see attitude as a move to support one of the main candidates at the last minute. We suspect that there is a secret understanding with one of the candidates with some international facilitation to this end.

Q: You accuse both the two main candidates of providing little focus on the Tamil issue. How realistic is it to hope to address this issue without the support of one of the main candidates?

We; as representatives of the Tamil people feel that there is an immediate need to address the issues of the Tamil people through a Federal solution or one that reconnects the North and the East. We will withdraw our candidacy and support any of the main candidates if either agree to this. We don't think any Southern candidate will agree, although they speak of a 13+ solution. The Tamil people need self determination and autonomy. The Southern people will vote for a change of government but its not based on our issue. Even implementing 13+ will not solve our problems as long as control is held in the center in Colombo.

Q: What then is the rationale for a boycott at this point as pushed by some members of the TNA and how will you move your own campaign in this scenario?

Both the main candidates will not get the Tamil vote because the Tamil people feel that both of them are responsible for the present plight of the Tamil people. I have therefore, decided to campaign with Mr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne because we are both aware that it is either the President or Sarath Fonseka who will become President. There is no doubt on that point. But if either fail to get a 50% of the vote, which we believe will be the outcome of the election, and this is also our target too, then we will be able to push for a solution through one of the candidates. If we can show that no one can get 50% to the international community we should be able to ensure a political solution through that, because we can then prove that governance would be impossible without offering a solution to the Tamil people.

Our next demand is an international inquiry on the war where some 50,000 people have died. There must be some justice for the deaths and the suffering of the Tamil people. If either of the candidates will support such an inquiry I will withdraw my candidacy. We will accept any outcome of such an international inquiry. We believe both the Sinhalese and Tamils must come together to ensure Tamil rights. We want one Prime Minister for the Sinhalese and one for the Tamils with a President on top.

Q: How do you think the Tamil vote will play at this election, especially those of the Internally Displaced?

The government knows very well that only 150,000 of the IDPs can vote at this election. Of that too I don't know if even 50,000 will vote. Each of these IDPs have to apply individually. How can voters be bothered with filling applications when there are more pressing issues of food and shelter? The government is also asking for their National IDs. Why can't they issue temporary cards for them? The government doesn't want these people to vote because their sentiments, which are of anger and frustrations will come out at the polls. If the government had done the sensible thing and released at least 1000 people a day from these camps, they would've solved this problem in 2 months. These people are today mentally down; at least half of them will need some form of psychological treatment. The government is responsible for this situation. The plight of the people since the end of the war and the situation of the hostages are all its responsibility. They can't shirk it away now. The Governor of the North East says that of those released only 90,000 have stayed back; this is because they have no where to go.

Q: How do you see the plight of the IDPs resolved on a short term basis?

The problem of the IDPs need to be resolved fast. 200,000 have already been allowed to go, but only 50,000 have resettled in the Wanni. The remaining 150,000 are either with their relatives or in some Transit camp, in Jaffna, Batticaloa, Ampara etc. It is these people whose issues must be met immediately. We want to the government to get some UN monitoring for this. Today they are like stray dogs and beggers. All they get are rice, sugar, dhal and coconut oil. Can a 2 year old child eat any of this? They don't get any milk powder. How can the people live without money to purchase anything else? They give 12 aluminium sheets to build a house, but can you do that with just 12? These are very serious issues. They initially said they were giving Rs. 25000 to help with resettlement each, then they raised it to Rs. 50,000. But today they've only been given Rs. 5000 saying they will invest the remaining 45,000 in the bank. How can this situation be fine?

If the war is over then what is the security threat that prevents the government from letting these people just go? We demand that there is some form of UN involvement and the presence of international community. If this situation continues we will be worse than second class citizens in this country.

Q: You accuse the government and Opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka of ignoring the need for a political solution to the Tamil problem at the polls. But didn't the government delegation assure the Indian government last week of a political solution to the issue?

We don't believe that. Look at what happened to the APRC; it is in the dustbin today. They make all these pledges and false claims every time they go to India, but forget about them the moment they return. The reality is that they can't honestly address this issue with the people of the South. We ask both the main candidates to tell the Sinhala people what their solution to the Tamil problem will be. This is why we know that neither will go for a political solution. All the deaths on every side have been in vain. Over 250,000 Sri Lankans have died in this war, but we are still unable to seek a solution. This is the seriousness of the situation. How can we believe their pledges on development or employment in this scenario?

Q: One of the main issues of the Opposition platform is the abolishment of the Executive Presidency. How serious an issue is this for the minority communities?

We don't believe they will abolish it at all. This has been a broken promise from 1994. Even Sarath Fonseka when he says he will abolish the Presidency, knows he can't do it. How can he without a two thirds majority in the house? How does he plan to get the majority? Of course if they are serious they can do it with our support.

There is bad and good for the minorities from the Executive Presidency. The only good however is that at times of elections like now, they remember the minorities! But soon afterwards they are forgotten. There is discrimination from the system otherwise to us minorities. We need to look after our issues. This is why we can't even believe in a solution like the 13th amendment because although there is some devolution of power the real power is still centered in Colombo. You still have to come to Colombo to resolve much of the issues. Even after 22 years powers vested under lands and police are not granted.

Q: But the TMVP which also commands a significant portion of the Tamil vote maintains that they are satisfied with a full implementation of the 13th amendment.

Pillayan is Chief Minister so he is happy with whatever he has, even if this means that he has no power over law and order or land. Can he honestly say he has the necessary powers? Can either Sarath Fonseka or the President say that they will grant these powers? Why not?

Q: There are many allegations and counter allegations on the manner in which the war reached its end and denials about how the leaders of the LTTE were killed etc. How do you think the Tamil people will view this situation?

A lot of our people died and the end of the war; at least 50,000. This is why we demand an international inquiry and justice for the dead. The government says one thing and Sarath Fonseka another. How can we trust either? There are death certificates issued even. We want to know who died and how. Will either of them say how the war ended? Both Sarath Fonseka and the President are responsible for the killing of the LTTE leaders.

Q: There are reports to indicate that the LTTE is once again raising its head in the West with a possibility of it turning to militancy once again. How do you view this situation?

All I can say is that the LTTE's arms struggle only reflected the Tamil national issue. LTTE simply took over the Tamil militancy as a solution to the problem. Today at the end of the war Tamil militancy stands defeated. If however, they will reawaken will depend entirely on the ability of the government to offer a viable political solution. If there is no solution not just LTTE even another armed gang gaining strength cannot be overruled. You need to remedy the cause and attend to the symptoms of the disease. This is why a political solution is crucial.

..........................................DAILYMIRROR.LK

Comments

What Mr.Sivajalingam says, the problems encountered by the Tamils and the solution as mentioned by him is also realistic - provided it is achieved. Hope he will get enough votes with his running mate to sway the final outcome in the election results. Good luck.

Posted By: Ganesh