By C.V. Wigneswaran –

Someone asked me: Hon’ Rohitha Abeygunawardena M.P has asked what problems the Tamils are having in this Country, meaning they have no problems. Would you respond to that?

My response was: Only after understanding certain basic facts about Tamils should the Sinhala Politicians pose questions of this nature.Without understanding the historical background of the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Sinhalese if anybody asked such questions, responding to them would be difficult akin to answering the questions of nursery children.

The Tamils are the original inhabitants of this Country. The Sinhala language came into being only 1400 years ago.Before that there was no race called Sinhalese living in this Island. Even the first Sinhalese inscription is very recent. If these basic facts are grasped, treating North Eastern Tamils as mere minorities would cease.We Tamil speaking people are the majority in the North and the East from ancient times and even now. 

Until this Country received Independence, the Tamils lived all around the Country with acceptance and security.During the time of the British relatively all were equal before the  Law. The English language bound all people. In the villages if some one did not understand English they would consult someone proficient in English to find out the contents of documents in English. There were several people proficient in English in most villages. 

Tamils living in the South were proficient in Sinhalese.Sinhalese living in the North were proficient in Tamil. When I was a child the person who sold bread and buns to us in Manipay was a Sinhalese and he would speak to us in typical Jaffna Tamil proficiently. When we visited towns with Sinhala majority in the South we would speak to our Sinhala brethren in Sinhalese.We all felt that we were Ceylonese at that time. 

Like how Rishi Sunak identifies himself as a Britisher today, Tamils, Sinhalese, local Muslims, Malays, Indian Tamils, Chinese and others who studied with me at the Royal College, Colombo all identified themselves as Ceylonese then.In fact we all felt that way. We were proud to be Ceylonese then.When Sinhala Only Act came, that closeness, that camaraderie, that brotherhood  among all of us, vanished. Those of us who identified ourselves as one community now started to identify ourselves as “I am Sinhalese’”You are Tamil” “You are Muslim” “You are Malay” “ You are Chinese” and so on. Our bondage was broken by the single stroke of a pen.

Thereafter the Sinhalese often asked a question from the non Sinhalese.The Sinhala language has been accepted as an alternative to English and it is an indigenous language. Yet we do not identify ourselves as Sri Lankans.Why? 

The majority language in the North East was and is Tamil. The Sinhalese do not for a moment ask the question why was Sinhala language forced upon the majority Tamil speaking living in the North East? After all the North Eastern Tamils are a Nation having all the attributes of a Nation in terms of the principles of International Law. 

Let us say that we Sinhalese and Tamils together visit a place where those who lived there are Tamils. Once we go there we Tamils start speaking to them in Tamil. We cease speaking to the Sinhalese who came with us. How would the Sinhalese look upon it? Would they not ask“Why have our Tamil friends changed? Why do they speak to us in Tamil only?” Would it not hurt the feelings of the Sinhalese? Earlier the English language bound us. We all spoke in the English language. Suppose Tamil or Hindi  is forced upon the Sinhalese how would brother Rohitha Abeygunawardene look upon it and react to it? This is why Singapore granted official status to the Chinese language, Malay language, Tamil language and to English. As a result no Singaporean feels that he has been segregated by his Country. Nor does anyone feel that he is a second rate citizen. Today Singapore is economically well placed but we are bankrupt.

In Sri Lanka not only did the Government bring the Sinhala Only Act but it aided and abetted riots, pogroms, land grabbing, use of a single official language in Government transactions and thereby drove away Tamils from predominantly Sinhala areas and from Government service. As a result the Tamils from the South either went abroad or  sought asylum in the North and East. The Tamils speaking are the majority in the North and East. 

Colombo is the Capital of the Island.The continued residency of Tamils in Colombo despite the pogroms has posed a problem to the radical, racial Sinhalese. But in 1958 and 1983 steps were taken in Colombo to chase out the Tamils.Yet in all areas in the South (of the North East) except for Colombo the Tamils have been driven away. In Anuradhapura one Mr. Nadarajah was Chairman of the Urban Council continuously for 17 years during the time I resided there before Independence, when I was young. There were many Tamils living in Anuradhapura at that time. The Government by various activities chased away over 95% of those Tamils who peacefully resided there. 

Thus many Tamils have left the Island as Refugees from Sinhala majority areas. Others have gone to their birth places in the North and East. Even such people were targeted to be chased out during the time of the war by the successive Sinhala Governments. The Military still occupies the North and East in large numbers even after the war. Our lands are in their possession. They cultivate them and take the income. Our places of businesses are in their hands.Tourist hotels on one side Tea kiosks on the A9 Road run by the Military and Police through their proxies on the other side. 

Buddhist places of worship are being built in areas where Buddhists do not exist. Land grabbing and Sinhala colonization in Tamil areas continue in order to change the demography of the area and to reduce Tamil population. 

The Military are allowing fishermen from the South to displace our fishermen from their traditional fishing areas and allowing those fishermen from outside to use illegal methods of fishing and to send their catch to the South direct. All income in this regard are taken by them. Licenses are given to those from outside our Provinces to rear sea cucumbers and those local fishermen who rear sea cucumbers are arrested and prosecuted. Our local fishermen are being controlled in every way and they have lost their freedom and their livelihood. 

Successive Governments with the help of Buddhist priests and the Military have claimed sea frontage for their land locked Sinhala Provinces and are intruding into the traditional homelands of the Tamils in the North East with a view to disturb the contiguity of the majority Tamil residencies in the North and East. 

Land grabbing is taking place daily by Government Departments such as Forest Department, Archaeological Department, Wild Life Department etc. as well as institutions like the Mahaweli Authority. 

Our Hospitals lack adequate medical facilities and many medicines are not available in hospitals.We must not forget that during the War the successive Governments purposely reduced the statistics regarding our population and sent only about one fourth of the medicines wanted for the North and East and thereby killed number of patients in the North and East who could not find medicines. The Countries who came forward to help our war affected people were given these reduced numbers.

The state of our Education has dropped considerably. We were in the forefront earlier. We are fighting for the last place now. 

Without holding Provincial Council Elections the Central Government continues to administer the North and East by itself.These Elections are not wanted in the other Provinces.In fact having and maintaining them in the Sinhala areas is a white elephant. It was designed by India and Sri Lanka for the North and East though utterly inadequate to the Tamil speaking people under a Unitary Constitution.When other parts of the Island have seen modernization, the Tamil speaking areas have been prevented from being developed and modernised. 

There is an important matter that needs immediate attention.In addition to the economic impasse the rest of the Island faces today, the Tamil speaking in the North and East face an additional serious handicap of losing their traditional homelands to land-grabbing by Government Departments, by Buddhist Priests, the Military and by others. 

First the Tamils were chased out from Colombo and its suburbs.Thereafter from most of the other Sinhala majority Provinces. Today steps are being taken to chase us from the North and East too. It appears that the plan of the Sinhalese seems to be to chase out as many Tamils as possible out of the Island step by step and then enslave the others in due course. 

Persons like Rohitha Abeygunawardene complain that Sinhalese are being not allowed to live in Tamil areas. Earlier if the Tamils have been not chased out from Sinhala areas his complaint might have sounded genuine. Having chased the Tamils out of the Sinhala areas  he and his ilk complain that they unable now to enter the Tamil houses in our  areas and take them over! Rohitha Abeygunawardene has asked what the problems of the Tamils are meaning in effect that we have no problems that others do not have.

Let me list some of them – 

1. Earlier the Tamils were chased out from the Sinhala speaking areas. Now steps are being taken to displace the Tamils from their own traditional Northern and Eastern Provinces.

2. The Military are virtually keeping the Tamils imprisoned in the North and East.Our lands, agricultural fields, trading areas, tourist centres are in their hands or within their control.The Tamils have lost their freedom in their own areas.Our womenfolk, especially the females in women headed families have no security. 

3. Severe unemployment prevails among the Tamils much more than in other areas.

4. An unseen hand seems to be encouraging the use of drugs and its trade in the North and East. In fact a drug free North and East during the time of the Tigers have now become a haven for drugs with such large contingents of the Military and the Police posted here.

5. Government itself is the obstacle against the economic regeneration of the Tamils.As a former Chief Minister of the Northern Province,  I could identify the areas where the successive Governments acted contrary to the welfare of the Tamils. 

6. Our Doctors perform in Hospitals which lack adequate medical facilities. 

7. State of our education is pathetic. 

8. Since the Provincial Councils are not functioning, institutions including schools which came under the administration of the Provincial Council lack proper planning and supervision now.

9. Fishermen from outside have taken over fishing in our traditional fishing areas displacing local fishermen. Licenses are granted for the rearing of sea cucumbers and other sea resources only to those coming from outside our Provinces.

10. Our manufactured articles lack marketing. Transport costs are heavy.

11. The successive Central Governments interfere with foreign investments coming into the North and East and do not allow such investments to  bring  benefits to the people of the North and East.

12. Government is promoting Chineses presence in the North and East which would be prejudicial to us in the future.

13. Our Agriculture has been seriously affected due to lack of fertilizers. Due to the increase of the prices of all articles and agricultural implements our production costs have increased manifold.

14. Due to unemployment and rise of prices the youth have taken up to criminal activities.There is considerable doubt as to whether the Sinhala majority Police Force are taking adequate steps to control such criminal activities or tacitly supporting them.As we find it, they are pinching the child and swinging the cradle! 

15. Many of our roads are in dilapidated condition unattended to.

16. While prices of articles increase without control, the income of the people are stagnant or decreasing considerably.

17. Those affected by the war have not been paid compensation. Those who lost their houses during the war have not been compensated with built-houses. Those affected by the war are in a pathetic condition.

18. Nearly 14 years after the War, we have not prepared a needs’ assessment for the North and East.

19. Expropriation of our resources including granite and ilmenite take place ceaselessly by those coming from outside our Provinces, thanks to the help given by our Police and Military to them.

20. Sinhalese staff officers such as Chief Secretary NP, PD Health Services,NP,  and others are being posted more and more under the present Government displacing Tamil officers often senior to these Sinhala officers.

While our people in the North and East face many such problems the question as to what problems the Tamils face in this Country, sounds hilarious!

Yet, the most crucial and important problem the Tamils face is that the Sinhalese are governing them, keeping them under their Military boot.There is only one solution to this.That is to prepare a confederal constitution to this Country and allow Tamils to govern themselves in their own areas. The Muslim problem in the East would be solved between the Tamils and the Muslims after discusion.

*Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, Member of Parliament, Jaffna District.