{"id":92774,"date":"2019-09-01T23:53:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T05:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=92774"},"modified":"2019-09-01T16:34:03","modified_gmt":"2019-09-01T23:34:03","slug":"old-wine-in-old-bottles-coordinator-for-tamil-affairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/09\/01\/old-wine-in-old-bottles-coordinator-for-tamil-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Old wine in old bottles-coordinator for Tamil affairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

C. Wijeyawickrema<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

A news\nitem that Tissa Vithrana (TV) has been appointed by SLPP as coordinator for\nTamil affairs, took my mind back to the days of the majority and minority\nreports of the infamous APRC chaired by LSSP\u2019s TV. His majority report was\nsigned by members including a husband and wife team! TV even suggested to have\na Tamil policeman in Sinhala villages to protect Tamil families. Following NM,\nhis maternal uncle, who went to the Dalada Maligava with jasmine flowers in\n1964, TV also carried a tray of flowers to DM, as if he had become a converted\nor tempered old Marxist. This was the time that TV agreed not to have\nadministrative divisions based on language or religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are\nso many past federalist supporters within the SLPP such as G.L. Peiris, Dilan\nPerera, Dullus A. I hope they no longer support 13-A which is federal as the\nSupreme Court has concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wrote\ntwo essays about the APRC then but could not locate them on the Internet. From\nwhat I could remember APRC majority report of TV was as bad or even worse than\nthe Jayampathy- Sumanthiran-Lal Wijenayaka draft constitution of 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately,\nI was able to dig another essay that I wrote in 2007 as an e-mail, and I think\nit will be useful to SLPP leaders and TV to remind them their past before their\npresent reincarnation, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subject:<\/strong> A Critique of the Vitharana Proposal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Critique\nof the Vitharana Proposal <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the essay given below C.\nWijeyawickrema<\/strong>, also known as Chand Wije (CW), gives a critique of the\nviews of Minister Tissa Vitharana<\/strong> , Chairman of the APRC (q.v. = see glossary<\/a>. While\nhis basic criticism of Vitharana’s views is correct he combines this analysis\nwith several of his pet ideas which are questiionable. The problem is to\nseparate the two. I note that CW’s essay has not received much comment from the\n‘Patriots’ even though it has been repeated.  But then there is very\nlittle sensible comment coming from the Patriots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW shows that Vitarana’s\npolicy gives a one-way trip to Federalism even if he does not actually use the\nF-word. There are two amendments to be made to this. Firstly it will not stop\nat Federalism and sooner than later it will lead to full separation which is\nthe ultimate goal not only of the LTTE but also of the non-LTTE Tamils.\nSecondly the views advanced by Vitharana are not his own but those contained in\nthe Mahinda Chintanaya<\/em> (q.v.). This so-called ‘Chintanaya’ gave the\nmonstrous formula of “maximum devolution within a unitary state”. The\nplain fact is the devolution (q.v.) is incompatible with a unitary state, so we\nare dealing with a basic contradiction in terms. CW is correct in pointing out\nthat the Indian system will work in India but not in SL. His\nHimalaya-Pidurutalagala analogy is quite appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The APRC or APC was simply\nset up to find a formula that will satisfy (a) the international community and\n(b) the Tamils who are a minority, and (c) those cowardly Sinhelas who think\nthat they can get out of the current mess by giving the Tamils a bit of the\ncake but not the whole. These are not considerations that should determine the\nsearch for a optimal system of Government for any country. The APRC has not\nbeen able to find a solution that satisfies the Mahinda Chintanaya <\/em> as\nno such solution exists. So far we have had the Majority Report, which is\npresumably supported by Vitharana, and the Minority Report supported by some\nnationalists. They differ only in one particular, viz. whether the North and\nthe East should be amalgamated in one Provincial Council or not. But both are\nwrong (see ACSLU Blogs ID 6.1 and 6.2<\/a>). No\nwonder GOSL is afraid to adopt any of these versions, or an alternative to\nthem,  and keeps on advancing the date they are supposed to announce their\ndecision. CW calls Vitharana “an anti-Mahinda Chinthanaya agent”. He\nis in fact a trusted agent of MahindaR. How could be have become the chairman\nof the APRC is he is not approved by the largest party in the Parliament. I\nregard him as a stalking horse for MahindaR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW seems to think that the\nAPRC should produce a grand plan for the development of the country. This is\nthe responsibility of the ruling Party and GOSL, but we know that they are not\ndoing this. What they do is to build grand projects (with money begged or\nburrowed) such as the airport at Weerawila, the cricket stadiums in Hambantota,\nMihinair airline, etc. all meant to perpetuate the Mahinda dynasty rather than\nthe develop the country in the most efficient way. What the APRC is entrusted\nto do is the produce a plan for devolution of power while maintaining the\nfacade of a unitary state, and this is the impossible thing they are trying to\ndo. This too should be the responsibility of GOSL if they do what is expected\nof them rather than shift the responsibility to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having given credit to CW\nwhere credit is due some comments are necessary on some of his other ideas and\nhow his pet theories square up with the Vitharana phenomenon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n