Dr Sudath Gunasekara President Mahanuwara Senior Citizens Movement 10.5. 2015.

I want all patriotic citizens, more particularly the Kandyan Sinhalese, to draw their serious attention to the news item below that appeared in the Daily FT of 5^th May 2015 on a 10-year National Plan of Action for Plantation Infrastructure Development

 The Ministry of Plantation Infrastructure Development has initiated an action to formulate a 10-year National Plan of Action 2015-2025 for social development of the plantation community with the technical assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The key objectives of the National Plan of Action (NPA) are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the plantation areas, especially in the estate sector.

The comprehensive 10-year NPA is expected to be finalized by end of July 2015.
Given the national importance of this”

The 10-year National Plan of Action for Plantation Infrastructure Development is intended for social development of the plantation community with UNDP assistance to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the plantation areas, especially in the estate sector. This is also classed as a Top Development Project of the present Government. The short period of completion stipulated, broad areas of development covered and the tight time frame and the national importance given to it clearly show the high degree of priority the Government has assigned to the estate Tamil votes, while neglecting and betraying shamefully all the native people particularly living in the Central, Sabargamuwa and Uva Provinces

 Going by past experience I am convinced neither the Minister of Plantation, nor the government or any other politician representing the Kandyan areas will take any notice of this news item as a discrimination against Kandyans, as none of them cares a damn for the Kandyan peasants.

Because firstly they know that Kandyans are a dead entity (as they have already killed them) as a social group who have no leadership or organized political or civil lobbying power unlike the Estate labour and they will cast their vote in any case like a heard of cattle to the candidate of the pre-selected political party of their choice. Secondly, since it is not the vote of the Sinhalese but the vote of the Tamils that is critical to form the Government. As such it is politically suicidal to disappoint the Tamils. If you talk against this ill treatment of the Sinhalese then you will be branded as a chauvinist Sinhala communalist who is trying to create ethnic trouble. I think Kandyans are the only social group in the whole world who are treated like this in their own motherland by their own politicians.

I have no grouse at all for improving the standards of life of the Estate Tamils or any other human being. But my grievance is as to why the Governments of this country are giving this type of preferential treatment for a foreign labour force brought from South India to work for the British planters just to get their vote for temporary political gain, while they betray and discard the Kandyan Sinhalese who have a millennia old birth right over this very territory from the dawn of history. This was their beloved land inherited from their ancestors that was taken by force by the British; this was the land their ancestors lost for the British and on which they died in battle in thousands; this is the only land in the world they have to fall back and pray and get buried when they die where as the Tamils have South India to rush in as they do even for a piss. These estate Tamils have never considered this country as their mother land. The fact that going back to India is called repatriation also shows that they consider India as their motherland. They came here to earn a living and all what they earned including gold and money was taken back and deposited in India which they do even now. They even repatriate all what they earn here to India. All these clearly conclude that they have no permanent interest or love to this country. My question is as to why the Sri Lankan Governments are so concerned with such a pack of alien people while they ignore and betray their own men and women. Now the latest they call themselves IOTs (people of Indian Origin) and they want to increase the number of seats to 14 that is double the present number. Remember this is not to serve this country but to get more political clout to earn more and repatriate more Sri Lankan wealth to India.

Now let us take a closer look at how the successive Governments have treated the sons of the soil. Although the KPC report that was the Magnum Opus on the problems of the Kandyan Peasants and proposals for their alleviation was out in 1951 no government or politician ever took the kind of interest they are taking now to solve the problems of the Tamils. Mean while last year, finally the previous Govt closed down the third grade department, KPC Department as it was called. It was a lame duck that had no teeth or money or political backing to implement an effective development plan that could have covered at least 5% of KPC recommendations. Though it had been in existence for 64 years since it was mooted in 1951 it had not done anything substantial for the Kandyans. Basil Rajapaksa did this treasonous act to create his pet Divineguma Department and he will go down in history as the biggest betrayer of the Kandyan Peasants. Isn’t it a shame for the MPP and politicians representing at Provincial and Divisional levels in Kandyan electorates to have behaved like deaf, dumb and blind stooges when Basil severed the neck of the Kandyans in this manner, fearing the loss of their positions and privileges, thereby criminally betraying the people whom they are supposed to represent. Did a single Mp from these areas speak a single word against that decision? What a bunch of betrayers we have sent to Parliament to represent our interest. Their attitude clearly shows what interest they take to look after our interests. The estateTamils have Thondamens, Annamales, Puthrasigamanis, Karupaiyas Suppaiyas and now Digabambarans. But we have none among the 80 odd ‘Magodistumas’ who have snatched our votes and gone to heaven. Should the people curse these MPP or curse themselves for voting them in to Parliament.

Look at the mighty hurry with which Minister Kiriella and our politicians act when it comes to an alien set of people who have just come here to earn a living and especially who have become a burden to this country, while they have miserably failed even to set up the Development Authority proposed by the KPC in 1951, For 64 years, what have they done. They have failed to ‘Return’ even an inch of land to the rightful owners of the motherland, they have failed to carry out any meaningful work to alleviate the poverty, landlessness, infrastructure facilities like roads, housing, health facilities and schools of the Sinhala villagers even though 66 years have passed since Independence.

Besides not taking any taking any interest in the Kandyan people isn’t it a big tragedy that none of these politicians including the present Minister of Plantations understand the seriousness of the real problems of the central Hill Country in a broader national context of this country. All our politicians think social development of the plantation community” is the most critical problem. To address that problem, on the one hand they create many Ministries including one for Estate Infrastructure Development, another for housing etc catering only to the estate Tamils, while not doing anything to the natives. In the process the they also continue to dig and disturb the highlands which the British had done for centuries and thereby destroy the physical stability of the heartland of this Island nation that decides the fate of the entire life system in this country. Do our politicians think that what the British had done over the years is not enough? Either they don’t have the brain to understand the gravity and the seriousness of this national problem or they don’t want to see it either as they are only a set of fire fighters who are looking forward only for the Tamil votes. They all betray the motherland and the heritage to realize their mean and short term political ends.

This is why I have been repeatedly saying that the destiny of this country should never be left only in the hands of politicians. Do these vote hunters know that all the rivers that keep the entire life system of this Island have their sources on these hills? Do they know that if these rivers run dry due to the wanton destruction taking place on the hill country and if the hill country gets degraded this country will end up as a desert sans any form of life. Do they know that if we don’t restore the physical stability of the Central Hill Country early, including its forest cover, rivers, mountains and the soil cover all development in this country will come to an end? Do they know that if we fail to arrest this destruction immediately, in few decades from now, the curtain will fall not only on the entire life system of this country but it will also wipe out the very civilization from the face of this Island.

Therefore I strongly suggest that the Government should immediately declare the Central Hill Country above 5000 ft Msl as a reserved forest and a protected area, stop all new development activities that disturb the forests, rivers and the land and soil on these fragile hills and start an aggressive development programe to arrest further soil erosion and degradation of these natural resources and restore the physical stability before they embark on any haphazard vote catching development activities that are definitely going to bring disaster to this Island nation in the not so distant future. Weaning out settlement from the hill country should be another strategy we may have to seriously think about as increasing human settlements in any case will affect the physical stability of the land and environment

Protecting the physical stability of the hill county therefore SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY Number ONE OF all DEVELOPMENT IN THIS COUNTRY AS IT FORMS THE bed rock on which rests the entire life system and the Nation’s survival both as a habitable land and a prosperous nation.

Finally I also strongly reiterate the need to solve the problems of the Kandyan people first, before any action is taken to solve the problems of estate labour, taking the recommendations of the KPC Report as the basis. Re-establishing the Kandyan Peasantry Development Authority directly under the Head of the State with sweeping powers as recommended by the KPC in 1951 (of course with additional power and new mandate to suite the current situation) should be the first logical step that any Government must take in this regard.