rapa
08-16-2006, 11:08 AM
Dear Mr. V. Anandasangaree,
President,
Tamil United Liberation Front
Dear Sir,
We received your letter titled "The solution for the ethnic crisis is with the JVP" dated 27th February 2006. We thank you very much for writing to us. As requested by your letter, the leader of our Party Comrade Somawansa Amarasinghe, General Secretary Comrade Tilvin Silva and Information Secretary Comrade Wimal Weerawansa met you at our office on 6th March 2006 to discuss the matters that were in the letter.
Subsequently, the letter you sent to us appeared in Sinhalese and English newspapers in the country. Certain newspapers even published editorials asking what the JVP's attitude was regarding the contents of the letter. Because of this public interest, we have decided to release this reply to your letter to all the newspapers.
The 'Daily Mirror' of 13 th March, 2006 quoted your letter as its leading news item. On the same day, we sent a letter to the 'Daily Mirror' stating that the views and contents of this news item were false, tendentious and invented. Only a portion of this letter was however published by the 'Daily Mirror' on the 14 th March, 2006.
We would like to repeat what we stated in that letter. We value you as a brave proponent of democracy for the Tamils now under the totalitarian dictatorship of one man, Parbhakaran. We also respect you as a veteran in Sri Lanka's political arena. Our admiration for you would not grow any less as a result of the different stands the JVP and TULF take regarding the National question and solutions for it. We believe that our two parties, which have complete confidence in democracy, have the right to have two different stands. We also believe that, while having two different stands, our two parties can see eye to eye when it comes to working broadly for the benefit of the whole country and all our people.
In the several rounds of talks our two parties had, the relevant facts and the stands of our two parties regarding the National question were widely discussed. We thought that a few of the details that were thus discussed should also be included in this letter. Citizens of this country, Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim alike should be aware of them.
We have no reason to disagree with your view that "The solution for the ethnic crisis is with the JVP". The JVP has presented a scientific and reasonable solution to the National question fitting into concrete Sri Lanka reality. The JVP has based its solution on a permanent and inviolable basis "total democracy and total equality in Sri Lankan society." The JVP is totally committed and struggle at every level to achieve this ideal of total democracy and total equality.
You had proposed that the time has come for all political parties and people to shed aside all differences and unite to help the Tamil people for their emancipation from the LTTE. We agree wholeheartedly with you. We believe that there is no reasonable political party committed to democracy and human rights that would oppose establishing total democracy in Sri Lanka, especially in the North and the East. Only the terrorist organization of Velupillai Pirabaharan, the modern Hitler, would oppose it. All national inequalities can be erased by establishing complete equality to members of all nationalities in Sri Lanka including those suffering under the arbitrary control of the Kilinochchi dictator.
Your suggestion that attention should be given to finding a solution to the crisis rather than only talking about its history is not correct. It is necessary to correctly study the emergence of the crisis and its history. Without it, it is difficult to understand how the question became complicated as at present and then find a correct solution for the problem as well.
Like you, we too recognize that all communities in Sri Lanka should enjoy equal rights without any ethnic or religious prejudices. The viable, vibrant, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious democratic society that the JVP stands for is best expressed in a unitary state with democratic rights for all. JVP does not accept devolution of power for various ethnic groups or a federal system of government as a solution for the national question in Sri Lanka. The outcome of such a course of action will be the intensification of the differences and inequalities that already exist among different communities;. Hence, your hope that establishing a federal system of government would bring about equality among ethnic groups (nationalities) in Sri Lanka would not materialize. Kindly note the following.
More than half the population of Tamils in Sri Lanka never lived in the North and the East but in other provinces. Even the Tamils who once lived in the North and the East have fled those provinces in thousands to live in other provinces or have domiciled in foreign countries. The Tamil population living in other provinces has clearly gone up. Why do you assume that the majority of Tamils who actually live in these other provinces should accept the federal system you propose?
Tamils living freely in other areas among these other communities are a living example of our goal of a viable, vibrant, multi-ethnic multi-cultural and multi-religious unitary state that we propose which fortifies total democracy and total equality for all. It is the rejection of an ethnically based federal system. It is the realisation of the longing of not only the Tamils but also of the Sinhalese and Muslims as well to live in harmony and together.
On the other hand, we should not forget that federalism in ethnically highly mixed up societies such as ours has an inevitable outcome. The federal system you propose would definitely have the outcome of further dividing the ethnic groups that are already united. This is a reactionary process. We should also mention that there are federal systems that have evolved that reject ethnic boundaries and ethnic divisions. The best example of that is the USA.
You have observed that the people are gradually rejecting communalism and are uniting. We agree with you. The vast majority of the people in this country are not communalists. The JVP too, from its inception, rejected communalism. Whenever race riots occurred, members of our party risked their lives to protect Tamil people. It is the JVP that declared, publicly, that all three languages - Sinhalese, Tamil and English should be recognized as National languages by the Constitution. At that time, some said that it was difficult to use three languages for administrative purposes. However, everyone today accepts that it is not as difficult as making war. If our ruling parties had been far-sighted, we believe that there wouldn't have been a Pirabaharan or a war in our country. As you have observed, if the path of the people has been directed in the correct direction, there would have been no war. The principal agent of raw racism today is Pirabaharan. The decisive contribution of the JVP towards these principles of equality cannot be denied. What is needed today is to direct the masses especially in the areas controlled by Pirabaharan away from communalism and separatism towards winning total democracy and equality.
In a question you have asked us why the Tamil people who suffered for 23 years have to go looking for a solution in a unitary state. It is not only the Tamil people who suffered. Even Sinhalese and Muslims have also suffered during the last 23 years, remember among others the total ethnic cleansing of Muslims and Sinhalese by the LTTE in the areas they control. A federal system however would also never emancipate Tamil masses from their present major plight, which is to be under one-man rule. Instead, it would increase their suffering.
It is the masses who should ultimately select a system. Political parties or any other person have no right to impose a system on the masses. The JVP is always prepared to agree to any system accepted by the majority of the people in a democratic way. We accept the right of the political parties including the JVP to apprise the people of the good and the bad aspects of different systems of government.
We agree to study constitutions of various countries including that of India. One observation we have to make of some of the Federal states of India. They too have ethnic minorities apart from the major community within such individual federal states. And sometimes the percentage of these minority ethnic communities is as large as those of the percentage of Tamils in Sri Lanka. And as we mentioned the most powerful country in the world namely the USA has a federal system without any ethnic boundaries. And we should also point out that by far, most of the constitutions of the world are unitary, federalism is only an exception not the norm. However, no one has the right to impose a solution on the people of this country.
People have come to suffer under the iron heel of the LTTE not because of the policies or activities of the JVP. It is because of the wrong, short-sighted policies and activities of those others who ruled the country and because of the wrong policies and activities of all types of communalists including foremost among them the LTTE.
We oppose some of your views not because you are not a representative of parliament. If democracy is restored in the North and the East, we are confident that you will once again be definitely elected to the parliament. Our admiration for you is much more than that for those present parliamentarians "elected" by Pirabaharan's decision not to allow democratic rights to the Tamils.
Though you hesitate to accept that a mandate was given by the masses for a unitary state at the presidential election, we believe that it was indeed given. It is no secret that one candidate at the presidential election was for a unitary state and the other for a federal state. As you correctly say Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse has been given a mandate to solve the National question. However, he has not been given a mandate to establish a federal system.
We also don't believe that Sri Lanka will be able to solve the National question in a very short time, (as you have stated in your letter), with the support all international forces, just because the JVP accepts a federal system. The National question could be solved in a short time only if total democracy and total equality could be established in a short time in the areas under LTTE control.
We appreciate your statement that our party is not a communalist one. We also respect your right to say that you don't agree with us. We are fully aware of your experience and finesse in the political field. We know that you are respected by the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim people in the country for your courageous views.
We accept several of the points in your letter. However, we cannot accept your proposal on a federal system (and certain other matters). We hope you would understand our policy. We believe that you too would accept that the essence of the democratic process is to agree to disagree. But we agree on a most fundamental point. The most important task now is full freedom for the Tamil people in the North and East living under a dictator. Let us jointly fight for the freedom of speech, freedom of Association, freedom to practice democratic rights, freedom from the kidnapping of little children, and freedom to vote freely for the people in the North and East. This dictator, we are sure, will face the same fate as all such dictators around the world.
Thank you.
Political Bureau
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
22.03.2006
President,
Tamil United Liberation Front
Dear Sir,
We received your letter titled "The solution for the ethnic crisis is with the JVP" dated 27th February 2006. We thank you very much for writing to us. As requested by your letter, the leader of our Party Comrade Somawansa Amarasinghe, General Secretary Comrade Tilvin Silva and Information Secretary Comrade Wimal Weerawansa met you at our office on 6th March 2006 to discuss the matters that were in the letter.
Subsequently, the letter you sent to us appeared in Sinhalese and English newspapers in the country. Certain newspapers even published editorials asking what the JVP's attitude was regarding the contents of the letter. Because of this public interest, we have decided to release this reply to your letter to all the newspapers.
The 'Daily Mirror' of 13 th March, 2006 quoted your letter as its leading news item. On the same day, we sent a letter to the 'Daily Mirror' stating that the views and contents of this news item were false, tendentious and invented. Only a portion of this letter was however published by the 'Daily Mirror' on the 14 th March, 2006.
We would like to repeat what we stated in that letter. We value you as a brave proponent of democracy for the Tamils now under the totalitarian dictatorship of one man, Parbhakaran. We also respect you as a veteran in Sri Lanka's political arena. Our admiration for you would not grow any less as a result of the different stands the JVP and TULF take regarding the National question and solutions for it. We believe that our two parties, which have complete confidence in democracy, have the right to have two different stands. We also believe that, while having two different stands, our two parties can see eye to eye when it comes to working broadly for the benefit of the whole country and all our people.
In the several rounds of talks our two parties had, the relevant facts and the stands of our two parties regarding the National question were widely discussed. We thought that a few of the details that were thus discussed should also be included in this letter. Citizens of this country, Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim alike should be aware of them.
We have no reason to disagree with your view that "The solution for the ethnic crisis is with the JVP". The JVP has presented a scientific and reasonable solution to the National question fitting into concrete Sri Lanka reality. The JVP has based its solution on a permanent and inviolable basis "total democracy and total equality in Sri Lankan society." The JVP is totally committed and struggle at every level to achieve this ideal of total democracy and total equality.
You had proposed that the time has come for all political parties and people to shed aside all differences and unite to help the Tamil people for their emancipation from the LTTE. We agree wholeheartedly with you. We believe that there is no reasonable political party committed to democracy and human rights that would oppose establishing total democracy in Sri Lanka, especially in the North and the East. Only the terrorist organization of Velupillai Pirabaharan, the modern Hitler, would oppose it. All national inequalities can be erased by establishing complete equality to members of all nationalities in Sri Lanka including those suffering under the arbitrary control of the Kilinochchi dictator.
Your suggestion that attention should be given to finding a solution to the crisis rather than only talking about its history is not correct. It is necessary to correctly study the emergence of the crisis and its history. Without it, it is difficult to understand how the question became complicated as at present and then find a correct solution for the problem as well.
Like you, we too recognize that all communities in Sri Lanka should enjoy equal rights without any ethnic or religious prejudices. The viable, vibrant, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious democratic society that the JVP stands for is best expressed in a unitary state with democratic rights for all. JVP does not accept devolution of power for various ethnic groups or a federal system of government as a solution for the national question in Sri Lanka. The outcome of such a course of action will be the intensification of the differences and inequalities that already exist among different communities;. Hence, your hope that establishing a federal system of government would bring about equality among ethnic groups (nationalities) in Sri Lanka would not materialize. Kindly note the following.
More than half the population of Tamils in Sri Lanka never lived in the North and the East but in other provinces. Even the Tamils who once lived in the North and the East have fled those provinces in thousands to live in other provinces or have domiciled in foreign countries. The Tamil population living in other provinces has clearly gone up. Why do you assume that the majority of Tamils who actually live in these other provinces should accept the federal system you propose?
Tamils living freely in other areas among these other communities are a living example of our goal of a viable, vibrant, multi-ethnic multi-cultural and multi-religious unitary state that we propose which fortifies total democracy and total equality for all. It is the rejection of an ethnically based federal system. It is the realisation of the longing of not only the Tamils but also of the Sinhalese and Muslims as well to live in harmony and together.
On the other hand, we should not forget that federalism in ethnically highly mixed up societies such as ours has an inevitable outcome. The federal system you propose would definitely have the outcome of further dividing the ethnic groups that are already united. This is a reactionary process. We should also mention that there are federal systems that have evolved that reject ethnic boundaries and ethnic divisions. The best example of that is the USA.
You have observed that the people are gradually rejecting communalism and are uniting. We agree with you. The vast majority of the people in this country are not communalists. The JVP too, from its inception, rejected communalism. Whenever race riots occurred, members of our party risked their lives to protect Tamil people. It is the JVP that declared, publicly, that all three languages - Sinhalese, Tamil and English should be recognized as National languages by the Constitution. At that time, some said that it was difficult to use three languages for administrative purposes. However, everyone today accepts that it is not as difficult as making war. If our ruling parties had been far-sighted, we believe that there wouldn't have been a Pirabaharan or a war in our country. As you have observed, if the path of the people has been directed in the correct direction, there would have been no war. The principal agent of raw racism today is Pirabaharan. The decisive contribution of the JVP towards these principles of equality cannot be denied. What is needed today is to direct the masses especially in the areas controlled by Pirabaharan away from communalism and separatism towards winning total democracy and equality.
In a question you have asked us why the Tamil people who suffered for 23 years have to go looking for a solution in a unitary state. It is not only the Tamil people who suffered. Even Sinhalese and Muslims have also suffered during the last 23 years, remember among others the total ethnic cleansing of Muslims and Sinhalese by the LTTE in the areas they control. A federal system however would also never emancipate Tamil masses from their present major plight, which is to be under one-man rule. Instead, it would increase their suffering.
It is the masses who should ultimately select a system. Political parties or any other person have no right to impose a system on the masses. The JVP is always prepared to agree to any system accepted by the majority of the people in a democratic way. We accept the right of the political parties including the JVP to apprise the people of the good and the bad aspects of different systems of government.
We agree to study constitutions of various countries including that of India. One observation we have to make of some of the Federal states of India. They too have ethnic minorities apart from the major community within such individual federal states. And sometimes the percentage of these minority ethnic communities is as large as those of the percentage of Tamils in Sri Lanka. And as we mentioned the most powerful country in the world namely the USA has a federal system without any ethnic boundaries. And we should also point out that by far, most of the constitutions of the world are unitary, federalism is only an exception not the norm. However, no one has the right to impose a solution on the people of this country.
People have come to suffer under the iron heel of the LTTE not because of the policies or activities of the JVP. It is because of the wrong, short-sighted policies and activities of those others who ruled the country and because of the wrong policies and activities of all types of communalists including foremost among them the LTTE.
We oppose some of your views not because you are not a representative of parliament. If democracy is restored in the North and the East, we are confident that you will once again be definitely elected to the parliament. Our admiration for you is much more than that for those present parliamentarians "elected" by Pirabaharan's decision not to allow democratic rights to the Tamils.
Though you hesitate to accept that a mandate was given by the masses for a unitary state at the presidential election, we believe that it was indeed given. It is no secret that one candidate at the presidential election was for a unitary state and the other for a federal state. As you correctly say Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse has been given a mandate to solve the National question. However, he has not been given a mandate to establish a federal system.
We also don't believe that Sri Lanka will be able to solve the National question in a very short time, (as you have stated in your letter), with the support all international forces, just because the JVP accepts a federal system. The National question could be solved in a short time only if total democracy and total equality could be established in a short time in the areas under LTTE control.
We appreciate your statement that our party is not a communalist one. We also respect your right to say that you don't agree with us. We are fully aware of your experience and finesse in the political field. We know that you are respected by the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim people in the country for your courageous views.
We accept several of the points in your letter. However, we cannot accept your proposal on a federal system (and certain other matters). We hope you would understand our policy. We believe that you too would accept that the essence of the democratic process is to agree to disagree. But we agree on a most fundamental point. The most important task now is full freedom for the Tamil people in the North and East living under a dictator. Let us jointly fight for the freedom of speech, freedom of Association, freedom to practice democratic rights, freedom from the kidnapping of little children, and freedom to vote freely for the people in the North and East. This dictator, we are sure, will face the same fate as all such dictators around the world.
Thank you.
Political Bureau
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
22.03.2006