28 March, 2024

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TNA Needs To Ensure That Its Program Is Not Hijacked By Hardliners

By Chandre Dharmawardana

Prof. Chandre Dharmawardana

Prof. Chandre Dharmawardana

Writing to the Island Newspaper, 5-11- 2014, Dr. Nirmala Chandrahasan has contested one of the issues that emerges from the article published by Prof. Gerald Peiries (Island, 24 October) . In effect, Nirmala C suggests that, given the assertions found  in the TNA Manifesto, and the public statements of the Hon. Mr. Sampanthan, the issue of the fear of a secessionist policy is no longer a concern. In fact, Nirmala C writes  “am not sure whether the writer is aware that the TNA leadership in general and the leader of the TNA in particular Mr. R. Sampanthan have in Parliament and outside, and in their Manifesto categorically stated that they are for a United Sri Lanka, and are not espousing a separate state.”

Prof. Gerald Peiries, Nirmala C, and I myself were students at the Cambridge University and knew each other closely, and we all respect the advantages we had then, and  have today after the Eelam wars, in being able to discuss these issues openly and  as friends, even when we may hold somewhat differing political views regarding how to achieve a peaceful, “united Sri Lanka.”

As Poongakoothai Chandrahasan had noted in some of her film clips, the people in the south were immensely joyous  in May 2009  “because the war is over”, while those in the North were also overcome with relief, even if expressed in a more muted manner.

Sampanthan

Sampanthan

However, there rests  a vast bulwark of suspicion in the country, and also a genuine fear of the possibility of a recrudescence of terrorism in the country.  This suspicion  drives a  set of  low-key  gestapo tactics allegedly orchestrated by the state, and directed towards the Tamil minority in the North.

So it is necessary for the TNA to take some explicit steps to ally these fears, rather than referring to its Manifesto. Even in the case of the TNA manifesto, an official English and Sinhalese translation should be available.  Is it  13A, 13A+, federation, confederation, ISGA, or Arasu? The average person is confused. Federalism versus Arasu  is a question that has plagued the ITAK since its foundation in 1949.  The Tamil language election presentations since the 1950s,  often written to reflect, e.g., Mr. Navaratnam’s more militant views, differed significantly  from those written in English, and many Tamil-language documents are said to have talked of Arasu in its true sense, even in 1952. The Banda-Chelva pact was met with intense opposition by an important section of the ITAK who were secessionist, showing the deep divisions that existed even then.  This ambiguity in objectives still exists, perhaps in the minds of many people including those in the TNA.

What many people remember of the TNA is its clear support for the LTTE, as well as its refusal to categorically denounce the assassinations of people of the caliber of Amirthalingam, Kadirgamar  and hundreds of others. Unlike, say,  Mr. Anandasangaree, the leaders of the TNA have not taken a clear stand on the terrorism of the LTTE.

In France, after the World War II, the Vichy government leaders  who  collaborated with the enemy were prosecuted. The present government has, instead, very rightly accepted the TNA into the mainstream of politics, probably in the hope that the TNA would help in the reconciliation effort. It went ahead with the Northern provincial-council elections in spite of  hard-liner  attempts to prevent it. The conciliatory attitude of  the government towards the TNA that collaborated with the LTTE  has been met with bitter amertume and indictment by the TNA, with its effort to get the winners of the war in the dock.

A great step for confidence building would be for the TNA to clearly denounce the crimes committed by the LLTE – its  assassinations, abductions of children etc., even when the TNA was the political mouthpiece of the LTTE.  The impression that many observers have is that the TNA continues to  recognize Prabhakaran as their “guiding spirit” and  Talaivar.   That is a serious road-block to confidence building.

Given that most nations had listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization, what is the moral difficulty that the TNA faces in distancing itself from Prabhakaran and his legacy?

The other issue that most Southerners cannot swallow is the claim  that the North and the East , merged together, form the “exclusive” homeland of the Tamils. Prof. Michael Roberts has given an excellent narration of  the rise of Tamil militant nationalism” and the homeland concept (South Asian Studies, Vol XXVII.  2004, this can be downloaded here). Mr. G. G. Ponnambalam used to assert that the whole of Sri Lanka is the homeland of the Tamils. The latter, modified to mean that it is the homeland of all Ceylonese, was the position taken by the Hon. Mr. D. S. Senanayake  (Hansard, 1945, Nov. 8). The TNA has to clarify its stand on this “exclusive” homeland issue as well,  not just in legalistic jargon that means nothing to the ordinary person, but in actions, by being inclusive in practice, rather than by being “exclusive”.

Ladduwahetty characterizes  the policy of the Tamil leaders as  “the pursuit of territorially based political separateness”, i.e.,  separate regions for the Tamils and the Sinhalese – a kind of living apart or apartheid, although the leaders continue to live in Colombo.

However,  the TNA itself is not a monolithic organization. There are pragmatic moderates as well as hard-liner ideologues inside the TNA itself. It needs to ensure that its program is not hijacked by the hardliners and suffer the fate of the TULF in the aftermath of the Vaddukkoddai meeting. Ironically, Vaddukkoddai is a place name derived from the Sinhala place name “Batakotte” that  was in vogue even at the end of the 19th century, and meant “garrison fort”, i. e., a place were the Sinhalese forces were stationed in ancient times, in readiness against invaders from the subcontinent.

Given the vast amount of incomprehension that exists between the North and the South, perhaps the TNA politicians should hold workshops, seminars and “town-hall dialogues” in the south, explaining their position (in Sinhala), and also understanding for themselves the thinking of the average Southerner in  the process.  Similarly, some Sinhalese politicians might find it useful to hold Town-Hall meeting encounters in the North, using their new-found competence in Tamil, in the recently launched  trilingual Sri Lanka!

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  • 7
    5

    “A great step for confidence building would be for the TNA to clearly denounce the crimes committed by the LLTE – its assassinations, abductions of children etc., even when the TNA was the political mouthpiece of the LTTE. The impression that many observers have is that the TNA continues to recognize Prabhakaran as their “guiding spirit” and Talaivar. That is a serious road-block to confidence building.”

    While you keep harping on the TNA’s past, coerced, subservience to the LTTE, you conveniently ignore the many grave human rights violations, including murders and gang rapes by the SL military, and diabolically justify it by the suspicion of separatist activity, saying it “drives a set of low-key gestapo tactics allegedly orchestrated by the state, and directed towards the Tamil minority in the North.”

    Aahithyan Ratnam, whose real identity should be clear to those who understand his use of certain words and references to the bible, has recently shown on CT how a Tamil youth who sought to be part of a multi-ethnic youth group, supposedly working for reconciliation, was let down by his Sinhalese colleagues when he brought up the gang rape by bestial SL military soldiers in the Vanni, and was hounded out of the country.

    Despite your “friendship” with Ms. Chandrahasan, you seem very much in the same mold of those Sinhalese colleagues of that youth that Mr. Ratnam brought up.
    You can keep hoping that we would all forget your own Sinhala hardline sympathies, as evidenced by the way you compared LankaWeb and DBSJ’s blog. No matter. Keep continuing to comment on CT under your alias ‘Kautilya.’

    • 3
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      There certainly was no coercion when the TNA leader Wigneswaran extolled the virtues of the murderous leader of the LTTE, his very first act on being elected leader.
      Batakotte it may have been in the past, but the history of Sri Lanka is still being re-written by the same man. It will never become Batakotte again. Neither will many other places the names of which have been bastardized.

      • 6
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        Ram you Sinkalam;

        Can you explain the above in English. Get some basic facts right before you embark on commenting and if you want to keep your virginity ( I mean dignity) refrain from commenting on things which are outside your intellectual capacity Sinkalam.

        Mr.Wigneswaran is not the Leader of TNA. It was Mr.Sambanthan and now it is Mr.Mavai Senathirajah.

  • 4
    3

    “Ironically, Vaddukkoddai is a place name derived from the Sinhala place name “Batakotte” that was in vogue even at the end of the 19th century, and meant “garrison fort”, i. e., a place were the Sinhalese forces were stationed in ancient times, in readiness against invaders from the subcontinent”

    “There was no Sinhala before the 13nth century”. http://jeevaninsahaa.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/srilanka-sinhala-country-are-you.html

    • 7
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      Please Prof Chandre Dharmawardana respond to this. If Prof does not, Colombo Telegraph please ask him to respond.

      Like many who makes comments on CT, I would like to know the FACTS.

      I checked with a historian and this is what he says.

      There is absolutely no truth in the statement that Vaddukkoddai was derived from the Sinhala place name ‘Batakotte’. Few years ago some one wrote an article in a Sri Lankan weekly giving fanciful Sinhalised names to the place names in Jaffna. ‘Batakotte’ was one of them. Like Anaikoddai, Vaddukoddai is a pure Tamil name.

      1. Historically Jaffna has never been under the direct rule of any Sinhalese kings at any time for them to have a garrison at Vaddukkoddai. Only during the latter part of the 20th century the Sri Lankan army was stationed at Palaly and other places.

      2. Until about the fifth century the Capital of Jaffna was at Kantarodai. The land was known as Naganadu/Nagadipa. According to Manimekalai, written during the 3rd century, Valaivanan, the king ruling Nakanadu was a Tamil Buddhist. During that time many of the Tamils living in Jaffna were Buddhists. This Tamil epic speaks of Buddhist temples and institutions in the place. The heroine of this epic visits all these Buddhist temples at Nakanadu, as well as the Buddha’s temple at Manipallavam.

      The Buddhist ruins at Kantarodai are the remains of this glorious past. Because of the presence of these Buddhist remains people who do not know the history of Ancient Jaffna mistakenly believe these were built by the Sinhalese at Kantarodai.

      It was after the resurgence of Saivism in the 7th century and following the invasions by the Cholas that the people of Jaffna resorted to Saivism in a large scale. During this period, there was a sect called Siva-bauddhas in Tamil Nadu and Jaffna who believed that Buddha was an incarnation of God Siva and prayed them both.

      3. The Pali chronicle Culavamsa speaks about conflicts between the Sinhalese kings and the Damilas occupying Uttaradesa (North) during 6th-10th centuries indicating that the Jaffna region was never under their control.

      4. By the 11th century Kalinga-Mahan, a Hindu king captured Polonnaruwa and ruled the north from there.

      5. By 1215 the Kingdom of Jaffna was established. This village was called Vaddukoddai. There were some Sinhalese people living in Jaffna at that time. But they migrated to the South when the kings of Jaffna totally adhered to Saivism.

      6. In 1621 the Portuguese captured Jaffna. In their documents Vaddukoddai was written as Bathucothe (Rf: Paul Pieris: The Kingdom of Jafanapatam 1645). During the British Period, the American Missionaries who established a seminary at Vaddukoddai called it the Batticotta Seminary. The term Batakotte was never in vogue. There is no epigraphic evidence to support this claim.

      • 4
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        This comment by HL Seneviratne (I am assuming this is Prof Seneviratne)

        https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/elections-mahinda-and-the-tiger/comment-page-1/#comment-1699485

        The Sinhalese are a variety of Tamils. The Sinhala script is clearly a south Indian script. The reservoir (vava), considered the nucleus of the Sinhala village is a Tamil engineering idea. The popular religion and the kinship system of the Sinhalese are closer to those of the Tamils than of the north Indians. That the Sinhalas are a north Indian people is a myth perpetuated by Anagarika Dharmapala and other “Aryan” fanatics.

        Tamil is spoken by some 80-100 million people and carries in it a vast literature whereas Sinhala is a small tribal language spoken by about 14 million people. The Tamils have been residents of the northern and eastern parts of Lanka for as long as the Sinhalese have.

        Our great literary figures like Totaganuve Rahula, his pupil Vattave, and Alagiyavanna Mukavati were inspired by, or plagiarized Tamil literary works. The Sinhala language has a large number of Tamil words. The very term URUVA the Sinhala chauvinists use to label their distinctive national marker is derived from Tamil. The poet Alagiyavanna says he is composing his poem the Subhasitaya for the benefit of rustics illiterate in sophisticated languages like Pali, Sanskrit and Tamil.

        • 2
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          If Seneviratne is right and the Sinhalese are just tamils, then the Jaffana tamils are even more definitely just tamils who might as well amalgamate with the Tamil Nadu tamils, instead of this talk they being Eezaham Tamils difefrent from the tamil nadu tamils, and talking about a “unified Sri lanka”.

          Seneviratne is a sociologist who has little knowledge of linguistic history and said things that looked explosive to get attention to himself.

          He only has to go to Sigri Lion Rock and read the Griffti there to see sinhala poems and messages written in the 7th and 8th century, by people who have even come from Weligama (Walikkamam). But there are no tamil griffiti!

          Mr. Anpu and HLSeneviratne can go to Anuradhapura or Mannar or even the Northern Peninsula and read the thousands of stone inscriptions detailing donations given by Buddhists to the sangha. Or he can just consult the compendium by Paranavithana and Nicholas.
          If they were “Tamil Buddhists”, why are these inscriptions written in old Sinhala (Sinhala prakrit), while there are virtually no inscriptions of donations in Tamil.? The rare one or two show that there were a small MINORITY of Tamils here and there, as discussed by Karthigesu Indrapala, who is a distinguished historian who knows tamil history better than Mr. Anpu.

          • 2
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            sinhala-buddhist aka Prof. CD

            “Mr. Anpu and HLSeneviratne can go to Anuradhapura or Mannar or even the Northern Peninsula and read the thousands of stone inscriptions detailing donations given by Buddhists to the sangha.”

            First of all, let us not think of the past in today’s context. Even scholars like K. M. de Silva and many others have accepted the fact that there were Tamil Buddhists in the past. Why should we assume that the stone inscriptions detailing donations given by Buddhists to the Sangha in the Northern Peninsula and other places as Sinhala Buddhists? Why cannot they be Tamil Buddhists?

            “If they were “Tamil Buddhists”, why are these inscriptions written in old Sinhala (Sinhala prakrit), while there are virtually no inscriptions of donations in Tamil.?”

            This is absolutely hilarious.
            People such as William Geiger and Paranavithana called the prakrit (language of the inscriptions) as Sinhala prakrit (old Sinhala) because that or something similar to that later developed into the Sinhala language.

            Now to the question of why it is written in Prakrit and not Tamil, irrespective of who the people were and what they spoke, everything concerned with Buddhism is written in the language of Buddhism. This Prakrit may have been the language spoken either by Buddha (Magadhi) or Emperor Ashoka. Even today, other than a few Buddhist monks and linguistic Archaeologists, none of the Sinhalese can understand this so called ‘Sinhala’ Prakrit language.
            Similarly, everything related to Hinduism is written in Sanskrit and everything related to Islam is written in Arabic even though the people who use them speak many different languages.

            Assuming that the Buddhists who gave donations to the Sangha as per the inscriptions written in Prakrit were Sinhalese is totally incorrect and biased.

            The rare one or two show that there were a small MINORITY of Tamils here and there, as discussed by Karthigesu Indrapala, who is a distinguished historian who knows tamil history better than Mr. Anpu.

            Please do not mislead the readers by quoting Karthigesu Indrapala’s obsolete/abandoned history that he wrote when he was a history student in 1965 with a lot of limitations. Why not talk about his present stance?

      • 1
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        it says they were buddhists and where the hell it says they were tamils…

      • 1
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        Mr. Anpu, you say:
        By 1215 the Kingdom of Jaffna was established. This village was called Vaddukoddai. There were some Sinhalese people living in Jaffna at that time. But they migrated to the South when the kings of Jaffna totally adhered to Saivism.
        There is neither literary, no epigraphical evidence for this claim.
        Anyway, what does “Vaddukoddai” mean in tamil, or malayalam? Koddai alone has meaning, and both tam,il and sinhala come from the sanskrit “Kottasha”.

        If Vaddukoddi was the name, why did the Portuguese and Dutch map makers call it battakotte, Battoekotte and such names and MARK it as such in their maps?

        As for proof of the name BattaKotte, just check the Dutch maps where it is written as Batoekotte, noting that “oe” is exactly the sound in the a of the sinhala bata, or sanskrit “Bhatta”.

        http://www.atlasofmutualheritage.nl/nl/Kaart-provincie-Walligammo-indeling-kerkelijke-gebieden.6451

        Then go to the earlier Portuguese maps, and confirm for yourself, the name Batakotte found in them as well.

        But there is NO early map with Vaddukoddai, and no literary or epigraphical references; in fact nothing prior to the very late 19th century.

        The American missionaries changed bata to bati, just as the sound “madakAlapu –> MattAk-kalappu –> BattI-coloe where an “A” has been anglicized to an “I”.

        The rest of the history of the Island that you give is not found in any standard works, be it Codrington, G. C. Mendis, K. M. de Silva or who ever.
        So it has no scholarly support, and is the unfounded stuff that nationalists of all hues like to believe in.

        • 4
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          Anpu,

          If you happen to go to the Kannyakumari beach in Tamil Nadu, you will find another Vattakottai, a circular fort standing surrounding the wide seaside.

          Looks like the Sinhala-Buddhists have built another Sinhala Battakotte in Tamil Nadu as well.

          The meaning of Vatta or Vattu in Tamil is round or circular and the meaning of Kottai is Fort.

          If you see the Portuguese records, they have miss-spelled most of the Sri Lankan names. Calling Vattakottai as Battakotte is not a big mistake when compared to many others. What the Dutch did was, they simply followed what the Portuguese did in misquoting and mis-spelling. The Sinhala-Buddhists like Prof. CD are trying to take the maximum advantage from those mis-spellings and coming up with huge assumptions and definite conclusions.

          • 4
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            Kumar

            “The meaning of Vatta or Vattu in Tamil is round or circular and the meaning of Kottai is Fort.”

            A Tamil from the North once told me that Paththar Moolai (Goldsmith corner) had over many years evolved into Battaramullai

            • 4
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              Native,

              Antiquarian aka Prof. CD does not sound like a product of Cambridge. By looking at a misspelled Portuguese map, he is coming to conclusion that the Tamil Vaddukoddai is the Sinhala Batakotte. To understand why the Portuguese misspelled these words, one must analyse the 16th century Portuguese language before coming to such controversial assumptions and conclusions.

              One reason for this may be that the 16th century Portuguese language did not have the proper phonemes to denote the voiced grapheme of Tamil/Sinhala languages.

              • 4
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                Is there any other purpose of building a Fort other than for garrison (a fortified military post) where troops are stationed? Why should anyone call it a Garrison Fort or Batakotte (obviously a kotte is where Bata is stationed) when it is obvious that a Fort is for garrison. Will anybody call Chandre Dharmawardana as Human Chandre Dharmawardana when it is obvious that Chandre Dharmawardana is a human?

                Vattukottai or Vaddukoddai is a circular (Vadda/vaddu) masonry structure or fort (Koddai) for defence. Calling by the Sinhala word Batakotte does not have any logic because there is no Kotte without Bata whereas the Tamil word Vaddukoddai has a very clear and logical meaning.

                Prof. Chandre Dharmawardana is a fraud who is trying to mislead the innocent Sinhalese to believe his concocted stories. What he should remember is that he can fool the Sinhalese but not the Tamils.

  • 4
    4

    Amirthalingam,Kadirgamar…killing
    Not only TNA leaders didnt condemn the killings of A,K etc,etc.,but also the TULF leaders were also responsible for the killings of Duraiyappa and others.TULF leaders branded their political opponents as traitors in the mid seventies and then in the political platforms they openly said ” the traitors will not have NATURAL DEATH”.That means,to kill them. The Tamil youth took their words as bible and killed the “traitors”. Sammanthans didnt condemn the killings of Duraiyappas also.The ones who killed Duraiyappa were served with tea by Mrs.Yogeswaran.

    TNA leaders worked hand in glove with the Tigers and accepted them as the SOLE REPRESENTATIVES.Even after after Amirthalingam,Yogeswaran,Mrs.Yogeswaran etc.,etc. were killed they enjoyed honeymoon with the Tigers.

    Recinciliation effort….
    Even in the last general election,after thousands of innocent lives being lost,in the TNA election platforms they thundered “we will give pain to those who gave us (Tamils) pain,we will teach a lesson to the Sinhalese” et al.Eye for an eye will make world blind.If we adopt the policy of giving pain to those who gave us pain,then there wont be peace in the country.
    Our readers must not be fooled by the speeches of the TNA leaders they make in the parliament and in the South.We must make note of what they in the Tamil media.In the parliament they will talk about the solution in the united SL,but among the Tamil diaspora they will talk about Tamileelam.

  • 2
    6

    Vibushana,

    Do you really think there is a peaceful solution to this problem?

    I don’t think so. And I don’t think the govt. thinks so either.

    SL’s defence expenditure today is 50% higher than in 2009.

    Whatever that works!

  • 5
    3

    Chandra Dharmawardana,

    The SL government should apologise for the past and present murders, gangrapes and atrocities commited by the armed forces, and for the even now ongoing crimes against citizens in the north as part of the reign of terror to keep them under subjugation and repression.
    Even ‘white flag surrendees’ were shot dead.

    Ongoing arrests and incarceration of hundreds of citizens under the PTA – like Jeyakumari Balendran who is held incommunicado, without trial for many months, and her daughter – are common.
    Many are killed in detention. Many citizens with past LTTE connections are regularly assassinated.
    University students are too arrested for “rehabilitation” when they protest the atrocities.

    TNA are/were not responsible for what LTTE did as they had no control over the LTTE – in fact, LTTE killed many tamil MPs.
    They need not apologise for what the LTTE did.

    CD, get your historical facts correct.

  • 7
    2

    You make a reasonable point.

    The TNA can do more to separate it’s self from LTTE ideology. As you have skirted the issue may I give it a little more clarity. It is in this Government’s interest that they keep the TNA within the LTTE empathiser’s list despite its clear denouncement of a separate state. Sampanthan says he was on the hit list of the LTTE long before MR was. This Government leads by instituting fear psychosis on the people to advance its own agenda of eternal and nepotistic rule over its people. Its their own personal family agenda and not a national agenda. They have found an ideal scapegoat in the TNA and link them to the diaspora who are about revenge for this Government than actually trying find ways to unify the Tamils and Sinhalese under a peaceful Sri Lanka. Unfortunately unification and reconciliation will only work against them as they will not be able to separate their popularity with the majority without instilling the fear in them through the minorities.

    The LTTE was not created by the Tamil people but was thrust upon them by the regressive mentality of the Bandaranaiake policies and are now being carried forward by the Rajapakse’s in a more sophisticated way. The Tamils and now the Muslims are toys in their hands. The Tamil’s were interested in only one thing- Education. This nerve was touched by the SLFP led Bandaranaikes through the standardisation of education. This was one of the key starting points and many more subsequently were added to the list.

    The ploy of winning elections using the minorities must stop. I think it was Thisaranee Gunasekera who once wrote that the ” the majority Sinhalese live with a minority complex”. This is so true of us as we have unknowingly fallen prey to these toxic policies mainly brought about through successive SLFP led governments. The Sinhala people are big hearted and a capable community of doing much more professing a more TRULY Buddhistic view than trying to believe the lies that this regime keeps propagating. In this respect the TNA also can do much more by making the Sinhala people comfortable.

    This can be countered if the TNA as you point out redefine its role. For starters I would suggest that the TNA spells it manifesto clearly by writing it in Sinhala. They should also address the Sinhala people directly and not assume that their audience is only Tamil. They should not exclusively lead the Tamil community but inclusively allay the fears of the majority. The Rajapakse’s think that they can buy Tamil confidence in them through their carpeted roads and handing back stolen gold to 25 people and giving back a few plots of land to a few others to win the confidence of an entire community that have been oppressed for the last 40-50 years. Again I say that it is his and his band of brother’s village mentality that is holding an entire nation back.

    • 0
      4

      Pot Shot .
      How many in the TNA, or for that matter any leader in majority.community, will have the sense to do whatever that ought be done what you have mentioned in the final para.of your comment.
      I would say the village mentality on both sides holds the country to ransom.

      • 0
        0

        Uthungan,

        I agree that both communities posses basic village mentality skills to lead a nation in the 21st century. However it must be said that politicians use the rural folk who represent the majority of the voter base to win themselves into government by manipulatively controlling their minds and not allowing them to progress. Politicians are the sole cause of the people not being able to be productive in their thinking and progressive in their actions because they are told that responsibility is vested in the Government. They become subservient to Politicians whereas it should be the other way around.

        In more advanced democracies like the US, UK, Japan, Australia etc Politicians are held to account of what they do and say by the people who are provided with all the necessary laws through the constitution so that they can keep their gov in check. It is in the interest of the Sri Lankan politicians to keep our rural folk at bay and telling them that they need to be dependant on them. MR flouts this big time. I am not even sure if the Sri Lankan voters no of their democratic rights or else there should have been a revolution by now to over throw this family and note I am separating the family form the SLFP led government.

  • 3
    2

    What the author has written is eminent good sense. If we are to have normalcy
    Suspicion has to be removed. So people of the south need to dialogue with the people of the North. This has to happen, irrespective of the TNA or the UPFA etc.
    Given enough time, if trade is allowed to develop, these problems will get eroded.
    There will be no justification for troops in the North.

  • 7
    4

    Prof. D,

    At your level of education you should know the difference between trivia and serious engagement. The Southern Sinhala political parties were kept silent under Wijeweera’s gun (1988/89) as the TULF were fated under the LTTE. So the German Right under the Nazis in the latter 1930s. Unless your objective is more to catch the eye of the regime to keep to their good side irrespective of what is right or wrong, those of your standing are in a good position to help in the search for the solution of the National Question. I would urge you to please do that. The time has come for the learned to join forces across the religious and ethnic divide and save the country for the present and future generations from the creeping danger of fascism that has destroyed all those features of good governance in the country in the past decade.

    R. Varathan

  • 3
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    If the TNA want to be taken seriously they must denounce the LTTE. The TNA manifesto:

    http://tnapolitics.org/?page_id=1845&lang=en

    or

    http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/document/papers/TNA_Manifesto.pdf

    • 4
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      Manifesto is very clear on Tamils aspirations.

      This is a comment by Dr Kumarakuru Vasanthi to an article on another website before the previous presidential election.

      “GOSL must discharge its duties to ALL citizens.

      any GOSL must be by now fully aware of aspirations of Tamil population.
      any GOSL ( Rajapakse or Fonseka ) should come out with an internationally acceptable solution instead of RE INVENTING THE WHEELS by appointing different committees. There is NO NEED OF ANY COMITTEE.
      Enough committees had been appointed enough proposals discussed from SWRD to current. If ANY GOSL has genuine plan to solve this problem. They don’t need ANY COMMITTE.

      Learn from past come out with a solution.

      NO NEED FOR RE INVENT THE WHEEL AS IT IS ALREADY THERE”

      • 1
        1

        Learn from past come out with a solution. NO NEED FOR RE INVENT THE WHEEL AS IT IS ALREADY THERE”

        If you know the solution, say it for our benefit!
        But you clearly cannot state what the solution is either!

        I don’t know what the solution is. The TNA doesn’t know. Eric Solheim didn’t know.
        Thiruchelvam did not know and got killed. Rajeev Gandhi didn’t know and got killed.

        Are you pretending to be as wise as Godess sarasvathi?

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    Confidence building of Tamils started with Sinhalese Intellectual like Chandre Dharmawardana as early as 1915. Sir Pon. Ramanathan went to London to save the country against the white masters through the flying shell of war ships of the First World War. Yet, Ramanathan had low class friendship with a notorious racist, religious extremist named Anakarika Tharmapala. So Ramanathan’s action was not viewed by Muslims as an action to save the country, but an action to help an extremist, who has been seeking to sideline western religions, under which, the rulers’ Christians had some relief but Muslims suffocated a lot. Ramanathan went to save the country from the Sinhala-Muslim riots, but isolated the friendship of Muslims- Tamils, by creating a suspicion on the minds of Muslims. When Ramanathan came back to Colombo, Sinhala Buddhists pulled the couch. This is where the Sinhala Intellectual conceived the Sinhala Only concept. That is their way confidence building. Sheer jealousy, just like now this goon is trying show against his class mates at Oxford.

    Rest of the history, that is after 1915, is recorded everywhere. The unread- Prof. need not to know, because the relationship of Tharmapala reared Sinhala Intellectuals and Tamils are like Fresh Clay and Baked Clay. Essentially they are one material, but the one has been backed by Tharmapala will never ever take the clay with it anymore.

    The Sinhala propaganda newspapers and other materials started to spew poison as early as 1928. In the subsequent councils, Sinhala intellectual, without shame asked the Sinhala Buddhist, to push away the Tamil leaders and select them only. G.G.Ponnampalam, seeing the reconciliation and the confidence building effort of the Tharmapala reared Chandre Dharmawardanas, the Sinhala Intellectuals, he asked for 50/50. That was the last time the Whites had opportunity to save Lanka after their departure. But they needed Cheenankuda. DS promised them that. They ignored GG and sided with Sinhala Intellectuals.
    If that option (50/50) is restored, even now, in Lanka, Sampanthan like Tamils will be able to save Sinhala Buddhist one more time from Sinhala Intellectual Rulers, like Ramanathan saved them from white rulers in 1915. There is one more effort Tamils have taken, that is going to UNHRC. If they win on that, there is last hope for Sinhala Buddhist to live in this land. Otherwise Chandre Dharmawardanas, the Sinhala Intellectual will set fire like Hanuman did and will burn down Lanka.

    GG’s failure to achieve anything and DS’s promise to Tamils that he will take care of them and subsequent action of disenfranchising them did not build confidence in SJV’s mind. He openly spoke in the stages that the Sinhala Intellectual, unlike the way India did, did not fight and get their freedom from England. Their juggling is going to destroy the freedom at their earliest. According to his foresightedness, India Invaded in 1987. Pirabharan saved the day. Now Chinese have taken control of the land. Unless a chance given to Sampanthan like real cannons, Lankave will be here after known as “Sinh Lank”, the latest Chinese Province.

    In 1974 SJV openly declared that he did not have faith at all in Sinhala Intellectuals, so he needed clear cut separation. Badiudin Mahmud released the Tamil Children from schools to go and be armed. So now the unread Sinhala Intellectual is mixing with the stories of before 2009 and after 2009 to cast doubt on Sampanathan’s activities. That is fulfilling the hidden agenda of nakedly showing the Sinhala Intellectual jealous feeling towards their classmates and fellow workers.

    I do not think Sampanathan is going on the path that this Sinhala Intellectual is paving. After the 2009, he went against the diaspora and declared that he is not for International Inquiry. He wanted a negotiation. (But diaspora was working to build confidence on the international level, that in Lanka, with the masters of Sinhala Intellectual charters, negations will not work and it has to be international inquiry used to solve the National problem. Eventually Sampanathan realized, even after 2009, there is no change in the Sinhala Intellectuals mood. Now he asks the foreign countries to conduct the inquiry.) For his invitation to negotiations, the Sinhala Intellectuals’ government’s repose was, “If you want war we can give you war, sorry, but if you want negotiations, we cannot give it”. King rigidly refused that he will not have any pact with anybody on the question of National Problem. With that word, government refused to answer the written request TNA gave on the negotiations and it withdraw from it. It did not attend to 17, 18,19th meeting of January 2012.

    Western countries, who were fooled by Kathirgamar’s tactics, armed Lanka to destroy Tamils. But at the last minute they show the Lankan government has changed the game plan. That is not unusual for the Sinhala Intellectuals’ government which has been giving one promise to Tamils and doing the opposite. The Tamil traitor had shadowed this from foreign countries for a moment. He had built lot of confidence for the western countries in Sinhala Intellectuals’ government. But they shot him too. Then the built confidence on them started to crumple. Blake asked the government to investigate circumstances of Kathirgamar’s death. Government closed the Bahawathi commission, appointed by UN, and sent them homes.

    Now western countries have lost all the confidence that Kathirgamar built. British Foreign secretary indicated that to Sir Chris Norris. They have decaled that they do not have confidence in the commissions that Lanka had appointed to investigate, and they set out to do it themselves. That is the condition of the confidence building of Lanka with Western counties.

    The drug, currency and other business deals Lanka and India had during the Sonia is gone after Modi’s arrival. To make Modi bent and get back into business, Lankan Royal government had set date to decapitate five Tamil fishermen like ISIL style. That is the confidence building with India.

    China has secured the Lands, Buildings and the assets of the projects it did in Lanka (indicating lot of confidence). Last time when Lanka refused to give that on Nooraichchoolai, China hacked 50 important computers in Lanka, including the defense department media service’s one. (The boss of that division tried to commit suicide two times.) Lanka bent on that for China. No longer computer hacking. As full surrender, the maintenance of the computer security is given to China. That is lot of confidence in China, but on the opposite, China did not have any confidence in Lanka; It does not want Lanka secretly pass the arms’ information that it has stored in Hambanttoa bunker and in Colombo harbor. So has taken the job of safeguarding the Sinhala Intellectuals’ government’s’ computers. That is the confidence China has on Lanka.

    This Sinhala Intellectual comedian has a long gab between him and the Sinhala Buddhist; while he pretends to show that he is close to Tamils by associating him with the ones studies in oxford. He did not notice, the Sinhala Buddhist are not protesting when Chinese Criminal coming to this land stealing their jobs. They are not jealousy of Chinese workers unless the Sinhala Intellectuals teach them to be, like they did it against Tamil workers. But he is jealous of Tamil workers. This Sinhala Intellectual is feeling jealous with the Tamils whom studied in Oxford and working now. So he coming here to show his hatred feelings, just like the way the Sinhala Only oxford graduates had jealous feeling towards the Tamil government workers in the 1950s.

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    The TNA as it is constituted now cannot do what this writer is asking for.

    TNA leaders may be genuine in their aspirations, but these Tamil leaders are too stuck in their past, with their close associations with the LTTE ideology that destroyed the tamils.
    Of course, some of the support to the LTTE was under threat, but on the whole the TNA leaders approved the LTTE. The TNA leaders supported the military solution to the National Question because they thought they can win (showing how dumb they are, to expect a win when going against a majority 10 times larger, and with India, Pakistan and China against them, while the West prented to to support them but looked for furthering their own interests).

    The TNA are staying with the LTTE strategy even now, although they are talking of a “united Sri Lanka”.

    This same article has been uploaded in another cite, (Thuppahia blob of Michael
    Roberts)

    http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/apartheid-praba-loyalism-questioning-the-tna-stand-today/#more-14684

    There the webmaster has uploaded an image which is a poster from the 2004 elections. This shows the TNA position at the time. It would indeed be a good thing if the TNA were to explicitly disavow that legacy if they want to REALLY break away from the LTTE position. Otherwise the Rajapaksa government can continue to point to the TNA to raise of Sinhala nationalism in support of the government.

    If not it should openly and bravely declare that it believes that the only option available to it is Eelam.

    Breaking away from the LTE legacy can happen only when a new, younger set of leaders take over the helm of the TNA. In the meantime, many things can happen. The TNA can split between the moderates and the hardliners. The hardliners can go underground, and the Rajapaksas will take advantage of it to tighten the screws even further.

    It will be the tamils who will suffer most in all this.

    India will NOT help the Tamils. Tamil Nadu leaders too will not help the Tamils, since the tamil Nadu leaders are not helping even their own Tamils who languish in poverty and caste exploitation. Meanwhile, the Tamil nadu leaders make money by various rackets and corrupt deals. Some get caught, likem Jayalalitha, but she is replaced by others fresh on the gravy train, and eger to take their cut.

    Now, the TNA has also got SUVs from the Indians. The tune that the TNA will play will be that dictated by those who pay the piper! Paying pooja to India may produce some crumbs to the TNA leaders, but there will be no benefit what so ever coming to the tamils.

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    A few more views like those expressed by Nirmala will greatly help the reconciliation process.

    There is no point in continuing to worry about the war etc. Let us all unite and work for better future as Sri Lankans.

    I am sure Nirmala’s husband Chndi, as I know him as a class mate of mine at Royal, will handsomely support.

    Let ‘s call it a day for the past and start living as we did as students of peace as we did at our venerable, respective, schools. This is how Chandi and I and many others at Royal were modeled at ROYAL.

    FLOREAT ROYAL

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    Prof. Chandre Dharmawardana:

    Having read your article the Tamils cant help feeling that you are no different to the 20 million other racists except for a few who decent and civilised Sinhalese.
    It is because of this abundance of Sinhalese hate that we are where we are. The Sinhalese prejudice and hatred towards the Tamils is Genetic and unless we have a Gene mutation that will never change. So where does that leave us and quite in the hands of the so called extremists who we like to call Freedom Fighters seeking to counter the Sinhalese Hegemony. We tried the armed struggle but failed but now we pin our hopes on the International community delivering Peace Justice and Equality.
    You lament about the TNA supporting the LTTE but my friend it is the Tiger message which is reverberating through Eelam and any one who ignores that will do so at their own peril and this was made clear by the people of Eelam at the last election. Mr.Sambanthan learnt from his mistakes when Prabakaran was alive. I am sure you know that during the campaign for CM he had to sing the songs of praise for VP to win votes. We are not convinced that MR or any other geezer is going to right the wrong.
    So don’t waste time preaching to us. It is 20 million vs 3 million.

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    The edited version as there were some mistakes in the first one which was written in a hurry.

    Prof. Chandre Dharmawardana:

    Having read your article the Tamils cant help feeling that you are no different to the 20 million other racists except for a few decent and civilised Sinhalese. It is because of this abundance of Sinhalese hate that we are where we are. The Sinhalese prejudice and hatred towards the Tamils is Genetic and unless we have a Gene mutation that will never change. So where does that leave us and quite frankly in the hands of the so called extremists who we like to call Freedom Fighters seeking to counter the Sinhalese Hegemony. We tried the armed struggle but failed but now we pin our hopes on the International community delivering Peace Justice and Equality. You lament about the TNA supporting the LTTE but my friend it is the Tiger message which is reverberating through Eelam and any one who ignores that will do so at their own peril and this was made clear by the people of Eelam at the last election. Mr.Sambanthan learnt from his mistakes when Prabakaran was alive. I am sure you know that during the campaign for CM he had to sing the songs of praise for VP to win votes. We are not convinced that MR or any other geezer is going to right the wrong. So please don’t waste time preaching to us to moderate our demand. What we seek is Just and Genuine which has been recognized by the civilised World. No doubt you would have noticed that the new UNHCR chief is even more hawkish compared to Mrs.Pillai in demanding MR to comply ( or DIE). It is 20 million vs 3 million.

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    Kali says I am sure you know that during the campaign for CM he had to sing the songs of praise for VP to win votes. We are not convinced that MR or any other geezer is going to right the wrong. So please don’t waste time preaching to us to moderate our demand

    If so why is Nirmala Chandrahasan talking of a unified Sri Lanka instead of saying that the TNA is for Eelam and secession from the Sinhalese?
    The TNA election manifesto of 2004, and 2001 can be restated without all this Sham.

    What you are saying is that Nirmala Chandrahasan and/or the TNA manifesto are misrepresenting the actual situation and just shaming.

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      Sinhala Buddhist:

      Let me give you an honest answer. MR is not a man to grant Tamils the minimum we need to survive within a United Sri Lanka , a Fedreral Structure which is the prefered option. MR is a liar and a Thug and he doesnt understand the language of peace. He has to be brought to his knees. For that to happen We have to convince the World that we are Genuine is seeking parity under a Federal System and we have tried all avenues and when the World realizes that it is not going to happen then we can and will up the ante. It is a Step by Step approach. So be patient and Eelam will arive by default.
      I am sure the attack on the new UNHCR chief has reached fever pitch and that doesnt augur well for Sinhala Lanka or shall I say Buddhist Lanka.

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    You may be happy with Federalism. When this was offered at the Oslo talks and Balasingham approved it provisionally, Prabhakaran virtually struck him out. So federalism is NOT the position of your Hero or youe associates.

    The TNA is a party that collaborated with the enemy. They should have been tried for treason and treated in the same was as the people who collaborated with the nazis in World War II. But we are Sinhla-Buddhists, and so we have given the TNA a second chance and basically pardoned them by bringing them into political life – we haven’t shot them or sent them to the gallows. But we are not fools, and Buddhists are also prudent people. WE DON’T GIVE THE TRAITORS or TERRORIST-side kiks ANY POWER, just as the Hammas does not get power even though they get elected.

    The day the TNA rejects violence, and its violent past links with the LTTE, the people in the south will look at them a little more favourably. Even then you and the TNA have to PROVE YOUR BONA FIDES.

    However, when a new set of civilized rulers (and not the upper-caste slippery lawyers who sided with the terrorists who killed more tamils than Sinhalese!) come to power in the North, and when we can have confidence in them, we will give them more powers. Till then they can get their SUVs from India.

    Until then, neither India, not the western-puppet organization known as the UN can do anything in Sri Lanka. If they step in, they will face a worse fate than the IPKF from our valiant forces.

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