The Geneva game and the 13th Amendment: a geographical analysis -Part- II-To: Expert Committee to draft a new constitution
Posted on April 5th, 2021

C. Wijeyawickrema, LL.B., Ph.D.

As already intimated to you [to Expert Committee] orally and in writing, we are willing to evolve a settlement within the framework of a united, undivided and indivisible country: yet based on the principle of internal self-determination resulting in maximum possible devolution.” -TNA leader Sampanthan (Island newspaper, March 21, 2021)

The Tamils of Sri Lanka are the indigenous people of Sri Lanka. They have continued to live in this Island for over 3000 year  North and East of Sri Lanka are our traditional Homelands for over 3000 years. To expropriate such lands amounts to the destruction of our community. The Indo Sri Lanka Accord 1987 recognized the North and East of Sri Lanka as the traditional homelands of the Tamils. Thus expropriation of our lands amount to genocide.”

Ex-CM-NP, Vigneshwaran’s Zoom Conference (Colombo Telegraph, March, 22, 2021)

Introduction

Sinhala politicians today are divided into two camps on the crucial issue of the fate of the PC system: (1) those who oppose  13-A and (2) those knowingly or stupidly fighting for the continuation of the 13-A trap, despite the clear evidence that it will balkanize the island sooner than later. During 1994-2000, Mrs. Chandrika tried it but lost because she was short of just 7 votes. A second Orumitthanadu attempt was made in 2019 by the yahapalana cabal, but president Sirisena bombed it, last minute.

Part I of this essay discussed the origin of the pro-13A lobby which has different and hidden agendas. One who climbed up the PC ladder asked recently, what are we going to do the massive PC staff if PC system is abolished. Most probably he has a son or a nephew ready to be sent to the PC political Montessori. Similarly, Tamils democratic rights is what American and Indian politicians project via the agitation for 13-A plus, but their real aim is to use  it to resurrect the MCC Trojan horse.

It is clear by now that a win-win situation between the Tamil separatist TNA lobby and the Sinhala Buddhists is not possible via the 13-A path. Therefore, the Expert Committee has to escape from this balkanization trap  by taking an alternative path. That path is the empowerment of people at village level, because by trying to satisfy  a genocide-talking TNA MP set, Jaffna’s people suffering  cannot be ended. If the expert committee members watch you tube clips by Arun Siddharthan, they will see how discrimination of low caste Tamils is rampant even within the Jaffna MC limits. 

In my written submissions, I have explained in detail the solution to this 13-A dilemma. Part II of  this essay considers the efforts made by Tamil separatists and Sinhala-Christian-Marxist black-whites such as Dayan Jayatilleka to dishonestly (knowing that 13-A plus theory is not stop Eelam demand) justify their 13-A claim, hooking it up now with USA-India geopolitical strategy, after the MCC Trojan horse debacle. America will never give up it is strategy even if it takes decades to reach the goal.

How can you unite by dividing!

After a long discussion about Sri Lanka’s 13-A  formula for peace between Prabakaran and GOSL, an American once asked one of my friends, How can you unite by dividing?” This <dividing> idea has a history going back to years 1923-1924, when Ponnambalam Arunachalam took a decision to create an international organization to protect and promote Tamilakkam (Tamilness), influenced by the Dravidasthan movement started in the Madras Presidency in 1917. The two laughable statements above by Sampanthan and Vigneshwaran are the latest version of this Tamilakkam idea. In the case of Sampanthan, the real purpose of inserting a principle of an internal self-determination cannot be camouflaged by words like- united, undivided, indivisible  country.

Why are Tamil separatists so afraid of the term, UNITARY Sri Lanka, if not a simple name like the Sinhale (land of Sihalayas like Italy, land of Italians) used prior to 1815? By getting Tamils to vote en masse to Sarath Fonseka in 2010, the TNA crowds lost any legal or moral basis to talk about a Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka. Thus, by its last minute letter appealing for an invitation to appear before the Expert Committee,  TNA got itself automatically uninvited by revealing its hidden agenda! This kind of game is anathema to 6.9 million voters who wanted one country-one law.

Vigneshwaran’s performance is no better in this regard, at his ‘historic’ Zoom conference. He thanked Sampanthan for conducting him in to Jaffna-TNA politics. The island of Sri Lanka in his book was originally a Tamil land. Then  he talked about, north and east of the island as the Tamil homeland for over 3000 years. For some mysterious reason/s, his original Tamil population moved to the limestone region of Jaffna and coastal strip of the eastern province! He has forgotten his previous story of a five Siva lingams brought down from India in pre-historic times to bless the entire island

One cannot justly and rationally handle or convince this kind of delusional minds. In 1958 prime minister SWRD identified this delusional mind of SJV Chelvanayagam, recorded in the Hansard (Vol. 31 (June 3, 1958) cols. 244-5). But about his story on the <expropriation of our land>, historian K. M. de Silva (The traditional homelands” of the Tamils, ICES, 1987) and geographer G. H. Peiris have separately published  objectively convincing facts and data relating to the myth of a Tamil homeland and the so called Sinhalization of that homeland. With colonial administrative data on Sinhala Purana Gam, professor Peiris has shown that nothing adverse had happened to Tamil settlements in the EP. The responsibility for killing of a futuristic <Tamil homeland> goes to the malaria mosquito.

Homeland is a tiger’s tail

SJVC’s son-in-law A. J Wilson, was honest in this regard. In his book about his father-in-law, (SJV Chelvanayagam and the crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism, 1947-77: a political biography, 1994). Wilson records how, after landing in Colombo via the South Indian church, SJVC had to invent a homeland story to carve out a larger land area for his Kosovo plan, (page 42) because Jaffna limestone region was not a viable piece of real estate. Ever since separatism-bent federalists  had to dig for anything written to keep this myth running. They could not get any help from Robert Knox. Instead, they thought the Hugh Cleghorn’s Minute dated June 1, 1799 would supply the desperately needed oxygen. Upon analysis it was found to be a stupid minute non-starter.

Then came Karthigesu Indrapala’s University of London doctoral thesis (1965, 1969) which went against the homeland myth. He could find  notable Tamil settlements only from about the  10th century A.D. Apparently, with Prabhakaran coming to the scene in a cruel manner he could find (dig) new evidence (2007 book) to change his previous research, which was challenged by independent critics (Justifying a change of heart: Indrapala’s evolution of an ethnic identity, Gaston Perera, Island, 2008/2/6).

With Christian influence on the Federal State Party waning and Prabakaran becoming history, Vigneswaran began developing a new front. Sunil Ariyaratna while hiding in Madras with Nanda Malini collected data on buried Buddhist ruins there and wrote a book titled, the Demala Bauddhaya. Vigneswaran capitalized on this and used it as a political tool for the homeland myth. Thus, the new version is Tamil Buddhists in the island became Siva Hindus overpowered later by Sinhala Buddhists! He says five Siva lingas were brought from South India to bless the island.

Suren Raghavan, ex- NP governor and now SLFP list MP, who says he is a Tamil Buddhist, has taken this a step further by blaming Sinhala Buddhist monks for not taking Buddhism to Tamils in Jaffna.

He cannot understand that, monks do not take Buddhism to places as if looking for herds of lambs. Federal State party hated Buddhist monks ‘roaming’ in Jaffna. Monks did not go to help Ambedkar to convert Dalits to Buddhism. They went to Europe and America because they were invited. Suren as the only Tamil Buddhist in the parliament, fails repeatedly to tell in Tamil to Vigneswaran and others that there was no Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka, then or now.

Unreasonableness

Tamil separatist ideology was based on unreasonable demands in 1921 or now in 2021. They are unjust, un-scientific and irrational propositions. For example, governor Manning, Arunachalam, other minoirites and Sinhala Christian black whites agreed then, to balance (control) the Sinhala majority in the legislative council by giving minorities collectively the needed numerical strength. At a later stage GG Ponnambalam did not want accept 45-55, instead of 50-50 formula. Small amount of money allocated for the preservation of Anuradhapura ruins was cited by Tamil leaders, before the Soulbury commission, as an example of discrimination against them by Donoughmore ministers.

Peasant colonization schemes aimed at helping villagers squeezed out of up-country tea estates were cited as Sinhalization of a Tamil homeland. All most all technical cadre in such projects were Tamil officers who knew little Sinhala to speak and who could not or did not help hard-working farmers. Take over of Trinco naval base from the British, nationalization of schools, nationalization of estates, all were hostile acts directed against Tamils. Any  Tamil leader who escaped from this separatist trap and joined with the Colombo government was branded as a Tamil traitor. Even GG Ponnambalam was one of them, who got chemical, cement and paper factories to Tamil areas.

No win-win situation

With regard to the recent Asath Saali episode, Sepal Amarasinghe pointed out an interesting game people play with freedom and human rights. In countries like Sri Lanka, there is a play between legal and illegal (what is allowed and not allowed). This is like the play (not too tight and not too loose) between two cogwheels. Wise men or crooks know how to operate (use words) within this play area, but sooner or later unwanted/unexpected words jump out of their mouth. This was what happened to Asaath Saali, Ranjan Ramanayaka and most recently to Vigneswaran who is now asked to appear before the CID.

What is clear from this collective Tamil separatist behavior is that the expert committee cannot try to create a WIN-WIN situation to both the TNA crowds and the Sinhala Buddhists using the 13-A path, which according to the Supreme Court a federal path. The expert committee ought to call as witnesses two Tamils. On one end is Tamara Kunananyakam, who says 13-A will divide the island into two ethnic states. She says as a Tamil she has found no discrimination against Tamils. The other end is Arun Siddharthan, a Tamil Che Guerra coming from two toddy-tapping caste grandfathers.

The prevention of social disabilities act was passed on April 13, 1957, to bring social and economic justice to non-vellala Tamils in Jaffna. In fact, fishing caste Prabakaran was a result of not implementing this law or sabotaging it by the Federal State Party TULF and TNA. Prabakaran was treated  like a paraya by the FP central committee (I was told this by a close relative of P when he was with me in Canada as a student). By exposing the game played by Vigneswaran, TNA, Gajendra Ponnambalam, Arun has begun an unexpected social revolution in Jaffna. The abject poverty in pockets in Jaffna landscape that he brings to light by you tube Video clips put to shame the Tamil politicians, NGOs and even the GOSL since 2010. Just like the PC system failed to make the South better place to live, 13-A will not help the Jaffna common man and woman. What are Tamil aspirations for  Sumanthiran and Vigneswaran living in Colombo 7 or Ponnablam  domiciled in London and for the low caste Tamils living within the Jaffna MC limits without water or toilets for 40 years!

Part III- Why geography is against 13-A

3 Responses to “The Geneva game and the 13th Amendment: a geographical analysis -Part- II-To: Expert Committee to draft a new constitution”

  1. Sirih Says:

    Why are we talking about 13th on racial issues?
    We have great opportunity to modify 13th to remove foreign and land powers plus any central powers that may have adverse effects on SL.
    Colombo central planning have created most of countries ills and also started parasitic culture and all races are on to this gravy train.
    Create regions based on population + area and apply development rules so that badly affected regions should have greater allocation of funds and better planning and also create development targets to each sector. Encourage and award each region if they have achieved targets and wealth including social welfare.
    Starting with proper constitution to create wealth and social welfare and distribute wealth to regions are way to achieve peace in the country. We have so many areas and policies in this country to create wealth and instead certain groups from both parties have corrupt policies and agitation rather than doing the right by the people.
    I would say, country need major structural reform from major areas.

  2. Priyan Wijeyeratne Says:

    Excellent article, but there is no one with a strong back-bone who can abolish 13 A.

  3. dingiri bandara Says:

    So much is said and written about the 13th amendment signed by Sri Lanka under duree. Am curios to know, if India kept their side of the bargain and eliminate the LTTE terrorists from Siiri Lanka?

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

 

 


Copyright © 2024 LankaWeb.com. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Wordpress