AMABSSADOR BERNARD GOONETILLEKE
TELLS US TV THAT THE LTTE DEMAND OF ASKING 30 PERCENT OF THE LANDMASS
FOR 6 PERCENT OF A POPULATION IS UTTERLY IMPRACTICAL
By Walter Jayawardhana
Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke told a US TV interviewer that that
the LTTE’S intransigent demand of asking thirty percent land mass
of the country for a population of six percent is utterly impractical.
Ambassador Goonetilleke said, “Sri Lankan Tamils,” earlier
known as “Ceylon Tamils,” today comprises less than 12% of
the population……. more than 50% of this less than 12% Tamil
population lives outside the North and the East. Then, you are talking
about less than 6% of the population demanding 30% of the landmass,
while ½ of that population would be elsewhere in the country….”
During a history of more than 2000 year in Sri Lanka in which all communities
lived harmoniously what is a 30 year long conflict asked Sri Lankan
Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke referring to the current problem existing
in the country
Answering questions during a television broadcast by the US station
WCCATV-13 in Massachusetts USA the Sri Lankan envoy in Washington DC
said, “Looking back at history, at our community relations, people-to-people
relationships go back to 2000 years. Our conflict has lasted about 30
years, and it seems a long time to us because we are living in these
times. But what is 30 years in relation to 2000 years?”
So, all these communities have lived together harmoniously in Sri Lanka
in the past, and it should be possible for us to live together harmoniously
again, he said.
Answering the television interviewer , Masha, the Sri Lanka envoy said
the proposed separate state solution put forward by the terrorists is
an utterly impractical one when the majority of Sri Lankan Tamils are
concerned as the majority of them live outside the putative state agitated
for by the LTTE. It is actually asking 30 percent of the country’s
land mass for six per cent of the population , he said.
Goonetilleke said, “Take, for example, the country itself. I always
bring the example of the size of the country, a small country, 25,000
sq. miles in extent, a size similar to West Virginia, or twice the size
of the island of Hawaii. Population of West Virginia something like
1.8 mn, and Sri Lanka’s population is something like 20 mn. And
so, there is a huge pressure for land, resources, water, and everything.
And this particular group, known as “Sri Lankan Tamils,” earlier
known as “Ceylon Tamils,” today comprises less than 12% of
the population.
There are two interesting aspects here – if this demand comes
to fruition, this less than 12% of the population, will get almost 30%
of the country’s landmass. That is going to be difficult. The other
issue is, more than 50% of this less than 12% Tamil population lives
outside the North and the East. Then, you are talking about less than
6% of the population demanding 30% of the landmass, while ½ of
that population would be elsewhere in the country, and one could ask
what kind of arrangement we would have to make to accommodate their
aspirations, desires ambitions etc.”
Ambassador Goonetilleke said, at a time when the whole world is turning
itself into a global village it is no longer possible to divide nations
according to ethnic or religious lines. After all, he said when one
considers the ethnic ratios of the multi-ethnic Eastern Province of
Sri Lanka it is utterly impossible to adapt that province as part of
the putative state of a mono-ethnic Tamil Eelam. He said : “the
demand made by the LTTE for a separate state, comprising the North and
the East, is not going to be something the government can agree to.
Take, for example, the Eastern Province. It comprises Muslims, Tamils
and Sinhalese – three different communities.
According to the latest statistics, it appears Sri Lankan Moors form
the majority of population in the East, Tamils comes second, followed
by the Sinhalese. So, how can you separate that particular province
and attach it to the Northern Province, which is predominantly Tamil?
– which is partly due to the fact there has been ethnic cleansing
starting in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time, large numbers of
Sinhalese and more numbers of Muslims were expelled from the Northern
Province.”
During the interview Goonetilleke warned that in the Western world
people should be aware of the purported charities connected to the LTTE
like TRO or White Pigeon since every Penney paid to these so called
charities end up in LTTE war chest. He said, : “Actually, there
are two things. Out of the goodness of your heart, you make contributions,
and people do not know where that money actually goes. If you make a
contribution in this country to the TRO, you can be 100% sure that the
money goes elsewhere.
In Canada, according to activities there, the WTM has been functioning
like TRO. Likewise, there are many such organizations in various parts
of the world, and people have no idea, when they make contributions
that they are funding terrorists. They believe they are giving to a
worthy cause. But they end up giving money to carry out acts of terrorism,
to commit murder and mayhem in a country like Sri Lanka. And while we
are trying to bring the conflict to an end, people in this country,
in most cases, unwittingly, pour oil onto a raging fire in Sri Lanka
- which is unfortunate.
The second thing is, they will have to bear in mind one factor –
that if they make contributions knowingly, they would be violating the
laws of this country.”
Goonetilleke speaking about human rights violation charges said, “when
HRW says that violations are taking place, we do not deny the charge,
we accept it. And when such violations take place, and credible evidence
is available, we take action.
You also need to remember that Sri Lanka is party to as many as 12
or 13 different international conventions relating to human rights,
and, under these conventions, we have to submit periodic reports to
the regimes of those conventions, where our reports are scrutinized,
and officials of the Sri Lanka government have to appear before international
panels who study our report and come up with questions, which we have
to respond to. Thus, there are mechanisms to check the performance of
the government with regard to our obligations in relation to international
conventions. But, when it comes to the LTTE, although they are bound
to protect the rights of the people living in the areas they operate,
because they are not a state party, there is no mechanism to make them
behave like a responsible party.”
Ambassador Goonetilleke explained the zero tolerance policy of the
government of child soldiers and doing everything possible working very
closely with the UNESCO to rehabilitate the child soldiers . He said,
Karuna Group, the TMVP, has released two groups of children – first,
11 child cadres, subsequently, 28. Altogether, 39 child soldiers. The
first batch was given to the government. Of the 28, 20 were handed over
to the parents and 8 decided to surrender to the government rather than
returning to their parents because they feared re-recruitment by the
LTTE. The UNICEF is associated with such releases and the welfare of
child soldiers. From the UNICEF perspective, the best place for these
child cadres is a return to their families. We do not disagree with
that point of view. However, in the case of LTTE child cadres, there
is always the danger of they being re-recruited by the LTTE –which
is eventually what happened when they return home to their families.
So, while home is the right place for a child, in this particular instance,
we believe that protection needs to be provided for the children, perhaps
under supervision of the government and international agencies, and
also to be provided with various facilities for skills development,
so they become employable once they are ready to leave the camps and
be absorbed into the community.
Ambassador Goonetilleke said that the LTTE came and sat at the negotiating
table six times most probably to convince the international community
that they are ready for negotiations and to buy time for them to re-arm
and they never abandoned the idea of the separation of the island nation.
Masha: So, it sounds to me that they had already decided before
they came to the negotiating table, what they really wanted to do.
Goonetilleke: Well, if you look back, on six different occasions
we sat down to negotiate, and on six different occasions, they got up
and moved out and never came back to the negotiating table. So, that
leads you to believe that they had their own motives, although they
sat down to negotiate. By sitting down to negotiate, they perhaps wanted
to either convince the international community that they are indeed
seeking a negotiated solution, or else they wanted to build up their
military strength, which they did, for example, during the post-2003
period. Whatever it is, the eventual result was that they would abandon
the negotiating table and go away.
The Sri Lankan Ambassador in Washington insisted that although the
LTTE control s two tiny districts in Sri Lanka today the government
of Sri lanka has not abandoned the people living in them and constantly
looking after them: “And one way to build trust is to let them
know we have not abandoned them. The government continued with its administration,
even in LTTE controlled areas – staffing and managing hospitals,
schools, providing drugs, paying for teachers – and so did not
abandon the people. Where necessary, the government took steps to inoculate
children against sicknesses. And, in conflict situation, in areas under
LTTE control, the state looked after the welfare of the people, to let
them know the government had not abandoned them, and even though they
were living under LTTE control, they were being treated no different
to people in government-controlled areas.
“I have been dealing with subject for a long period of time. In
the early 1990s, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General,
Dr. Francis Deng, a Sudanese national, came to Sri Lanka. He said that
Sri Lanka was an example for other conflict situations in the world,
where the state looks after the people in those conflict areas. And
coming from Sudan, as he did, it was a lot to say.
“There are also other ways to build trust and confidence. The
government has taken measures in the Eastern Province, to hold elections
so that the people will be able to express themselves, and there decisions,
what ever they are, will be good enough for the government. So, the
people will have to have trust in the government, and they will have
the freedom to select or elect their own representatives.
“There are other things the government could do with regard to
confidence building measures over a period of time, both in the East
and the North. And I am sure it will do what it can. Meanwhile, we have
to understand that civil society, various religious associations and
civilians in general, will also have a very important role to play with
regard to building trust and confidence among the various communities.”
Q: My last question, to resolve a conflict like Sri Lanka’s
armed conflict, there are several factors which have to come together.
Unfortunately, there are no magic solutions, so everyone has to work
together as a team. It has to be the people, the Sri Lanka government,
the LTTE and the international community. From your perspective, how
can each of these parties participate in Sri Lanka’s peace process?
A: Very important question. You have brought four different
groups. From the government’s point of view, it has been doing
what it can. I have explained with regard to the Eastern Province. It
appointed a Parliamentary committee to come up with proposals for devolution
of power to the provinces. That particular committee consists of all
13 or 14 different parties – some have decided not to take part,
but a large number of parties in parliament are participating. That
is one step the government has taken. The government has also agreed
to the first proposal made by this committee that the government should
fully implement the 13th amendment to the constitution, which came into
being as a follow up of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, which will provide
separate administrative powers, police powers to the provinces. Already,
the government has taken steps to recruit men and women from Tamil and
Muslim communities in the east, to the police force there. The intention
is to recruit about 2000 police personnel to police the area, so any
criminal activities taking place there could be taken care of by the
people in the area. Most of all, giving an opportunity for the people
to vote their own representatives in after a lapse of 14 years, is a
great step the government has taken.
Then, take the LTTE. What could it do? It is very difficult for me to
speak on behalf of the LTTE, but perhaps, it could see that things are
moving, and perhaps decide to change its policies and to adapt new policies
so they would be able to work for the welfare of the Tamil people whom
they want to represent. Beyond that, I do not want to comment on the
LTTE.
And one way to build trust is to let them know we have not abandoned
them. The government continued with its administration, even in LTTE
controlled areas – staffing and managing hospitals, schools, providing
drugs, paying for teachers – and so did not abandon the people.
Where necessary, the government took steps to inoculate children against
sicknesses. And, in conflict situation, in areas under LTTE control,
the state looked after the welfare of the people, to let them know the
government had not abandoned them, and even though they were living
under LTTE control, they were being treated no different to people in
government-controlled areas.
I have been dealing with subject for a long period of time. In the
early 1990s, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General,
Dr. Francis Deng, a Sudanese national, came to Sri Lanka. He said that
Sri Lanka was an example for other conflict situations in the world,
where the state looks after the people in those conflict areas. And
coming from Sudan, as he did, it was a lot to say.
There are also other ways to build trust and confidence. The government
has taken measures in the Eastern Province, to hold elections so that
the people will be able to express themselves, and there decisions,
what ever they are, will be good enough for the government. So, the
people will have to have trust in the government, and they will have
the freedom to select or elect their own representatives.
There are other things the government could do with regard to confidence
building measures over a period of time, both in the East and the North.
And I am sure it will do what it can. Meanwhile, we have to understand
that civil society, various religious associations and civilians in
general, will also have a very important role to play with regard to
building trust and confidence among the various communities.
Q: My last question, to resolve a conflict like Sri Lanka’s
armed conflict, there are several factors which have to come together.
Unfortunately, there are no magic solutions, so everyone has to work
together as a team. It has to be the people, the Sri Lanka government,
the LTTE and the international community. From your perspective, how
can each of these parties participate in Sri Lanka’s peace process?
A: Very important question. You have brought four different
groups. From the government’s point of view, it has been doing
what it can. I have explained with regard to the Eastern Province. It
appointed a Parliamentary committee to come up with proposals for devolution
of power to the provinces. That particular committee consists of all
13 or 14 different parties – some have decided not to take part,
but a large number of parties in parliament are participating. That
is one step the government has taken. The government has also agreed
to the first proposal made by this committee that the government should
fully implement the 13th amendment to the constitution, which came into
being as a follow up of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, which will provide
separate administrative powers, police powers to the provinces. Already,
the government has taken steps to recruit men and women from Tamil and
Muslim communities in the east, to the police force there. The intention
is to recruit about 2000 police personnel to police the area, so any
criminal activities taking place there could be taken care of by the
people in the area. Most of all, giving an opportunity for the people
to vote their own representatives in after a lapse of 14 years, is a
great step the government has taken.
Then, take the LTTE. What could it do? It is very difficult for me to
speak on behalf of the LTTE, but perhaps, it could see that things are
moving, and perhaps decide to change its policies and to adapt new policies
so they would be able to work for the welfare of the Tamil people whom
they want to represent. Beyond that, I do not want to comment on the
LTTE.
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