{"id":67748,"date":"2017-07-11T23:14:14","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T05:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=67748"},"modified":"2017-07-11T16:11:06","modified_gmt":"2017-07-11T23:11:06","slug":"the-secret-that-the-tna-doesnt-want-exposed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/07\/11\/the-secret-that-the-tna-doesnt-want-exposed\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SECRET THAT THE TNA DOESN\u2019T WANT EXPOSED"},"content":{"rendered":"

DHARSHAN WEERASEKERA<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

It is reported that R. Sampanthan is to lead a TNA delegation to meet the Mahanayakes (\u2018TNA Delegation to meet Mahanayakes,\u2019 Sunday Times<\/em>, 9th<\/sup> July 2017.)\u00a0 On 4th<\/sup> July 2017, the Mahanayakes issued a formal statement where they totally rejected the idea of a new Constitution.\u00a0 No doubt Sampanthan and his cohorts are trying to get the monks to soften their stance.<\/p>\n

Sampanthan and his cohorts cannot deny that they were once the political arm of the LTTE.\u00a0 However, after the defeat of the LTTE, their story has been that they have given up separatism \u2013 the demand for Eelam \u2013 that they are now fully committed to the idea of an \u2018Eksath\u2019 (Undivided) Sri Lanka, and that all they want is sufficient autonomy in their areas, i.e. the North and East, to live in dignity and self-respect.<\/p>\n

The difficulty in refuting the above claim of TNA members has always been the difficulty in proving their intention<\/em>.\u00a0 When one accuses Sampanthan or his cohorts of continuing to harbor separatist intentions, they retort, \u2018How do you know?\u00a0 Can you get inside our minds?\u2019 \u00a0Needless to say it is a slippery but effective reply.<\/p>\n

In the course of my research for a case, I uncovered a certain fact that can overcome the aforesaid difficulty, and establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Sampanthan and his cohorts have never stopped being separatists. \u00a0I shall discuss it briefly because it is of particular relevance in these trying times.<\/p>\n

In case no. SC\/SPL\/03\/2014 (H. K. D. Chandrasoma v. Mervai Senathirajah, Secretary of the Ilangai Tamil Arasu Kadchi<\/em>) the court ordered an English translation be produced of the Constitution of the Ilangai Tamil Arasu Kadchi.\u00a0 All TNA MP\u2019s presently in Parliament or in Provincial Councils contested elections under the ITAK banner, so the ITAK Constitution is the official and definitive statement of their aims and objectives.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the ITAK Constitution on file at the Elections Commission is in Tamil, without accompanying Sinhala or English translations.\u00a0 So, court ordered that, for the purposes of the case, an English translation be produced by the Government Translator.\u00a0 (To the best of my knowledge, it is the first time such a translation has been produced.\u00a0 It is now a public document and can be accessed by any member of the public.)<\/p>\n

There are actually two documents:\u00a0 the original Constitution, and an Amendment brought in 2008.\u00a0 I am interested in clause 17(D) of this latter Amendment, which is as follows:<\/p>\n

\u201817(D):\u00a0 The General Committee of the Ilangai Tamil Arasu Kadchi dcided on 24.04.08 and 03.08.08 to approve all resolutions and actions taken by the Tamil United Liberation Front and the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi from 14th<\/sup> May 1976.\u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

What is the significance of the date, 14th<\/sup> May 1976?\u00a0 Anyone familiar with the history of Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka knows that the Vaddukoddai Declaration \u2013 the seminal document of the Separatist Movement \u2013 was signed on 14th<\/sup> May 1976.\u00a0 All the Tamil political parties and factions at the time came together as the \u2018Tamil United Liberation Front\u2019 (TULF) and signed the document.<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t know anything about the Vaddukoddai Declaration is, here is its penultimate section, which is self-explanatory:<\/p>\n

\u2018This convention resolves that restoration and reconstitution of the Free, Sovereign, Secular, Socialist State of TAMIL EELAM based on the right of self determination inherent to every nation has become inevitable in order to safeguard the very existence of the Tamil nation in this Country\u2026.And this convention calls upon the Tamil Nation in general and the Tamil youth in particular to come forward to throw themselves fully into the sacred fight for freedom and to flinch not till the goal of a sovereign socialist state of TAMIL EELAM is reached\u2019[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

So, what is the significance of clause 17(D) of the Amendment?\u00a0 The ITAK has deliberately endorsed all resolutions and acts of the TULF going back specifically to 14th<\/sup> May 1976.\u00a0 That necessarily means that the ITAK has deliberately endorsed and embraced the Vaddukoddai Declaration, including the clear and unambiguous separatist sentiments expressed in the words quoted above.<\/p>\n

To pass an Amendment to a Constitution is an act<\/em>, not just to make or issue a statement.\u00a0 Meanwhile, it is well-recognized in the law that, a person\u2019s intention can be inferred from his actions.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the deliberate act of the ITAK in amending its Constitution to endorse all resolutions and acts of the TULF and the ITAK going back specifically to 14th<\/sup> May 1976, is objective proof of the existence in ITAK members of the intention<\/em> to carry on the separatist struggle.<\/p>\n

I take as self-evident that to discuss reconciliation, particularly any concessions involving devolution of power, with committed separatists is suicidal. \u00a0Therefore, the first thing that has to be done before discussing constitutional changes to facilitate devolution is to ask Sampanthan and his cohorts to clarify their position with regard to clause 17(D) of their Constitution.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Power-sharing in Sri Lanka:\u00a0 Constitutional and Political Documents 1926-2008<\/em>, Rohan Edirisignhe, Marco Gomez, et al (eds.) Colombo, Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2008<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DHARSHAN WEERASEKERA It is reported that R. Sampanthan is to lead a TNA delegation to meet the Mahanayakes (\u2018TNA Delegation to meet Mahanayakes,\u2019 Sunday Times, 9th July 2017.)\u00a0 On 4th July 2017, the Mahanayakes issued a formal statement where they totally rejected the idea of a new Constitution.\u00a0 No doubt Sampanthan and his cohorts are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67748\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}