LTTE not the sole representative:

‘Solution only through political means’

Ananth PALAKIDNAR

Dr. Rajasingham Narendran, a veterinary expert who was the key speaker at the diaspora - dialogue which was held between the government and the Tamil diaspora representative last week in Colombo in an interview with the Sunday Observer said that it was time to think afresh instead of clinging on to the unpleasant experiences of the past. Militancy will not help to address the grievances of the Tamils. In this through healthy political means only a solution could be found for the Tamil question in the country.

Q: How do you describe the dialogue that took place between the Government and the Tamil diaspora last week?

A:It was very positive, interactive and answered many of the questions we sought answers for and has convinced us that the Government is genuinely interested in resolving the problems the Tamils confronted with.

Q: What made you to engage in a dialogue of this nature?

A:In the diaspora the campaign by the LTTE is so negative and exaggerated. The LTTE is trying desperately to convince the foreign leaders and politicians abroad. But we really wanted to come and see what is going on and to speak to the Government leaders of Sri Lanka. Therefore we took part in the dialogue with the representatives of the Government and got the real picture of what is happening with regard to the North and East crisis.

Q: What is your observation on the current state of affairs in the areas hit by war in Vanni?

A:We could not go into the war zone, but we went to Vavuniya and met the Internally Displaced Persons. It is very pathetic to listen to them. Most of them had injuries and several of them were shot at by the LTTE when they were escaping. Some of them were with amputated legs with serious injuries. Families have been separated, husbands have been separated from their wives. Some even paid ransom to the LTTE to flee from their grip. But now almost everyone of them are happy with the IDP centres created in Vavuniya. The Government is doing its best to see that the IDPs are safe and looked after well. The people in the IDP centres are happy. There are shops, banks, medical centres, libraries and places of worship within the centres look into their needs.

Q: How does the Tamil diaspora react to the situation in the North and the East?

A:Most of them do not see the wood for the trees. The propaganda of the LTTE abroad is so powerful. The diaspora is suffering from a syndrome. As a result they are unable to forget the past. They are ready to swallow whatever is told to them. Any story you tell about the Lankan Government or the Sinhala people, they believe. It is very difficult to bring out from their present mind set. It is only the actions by the Lankan government on the ground can bring the change.

So if we take the stance of the diaspora 40 per cent are fully committed another 40 per cent stand in the middle and 20 per cent are totally convinced that the LTTE is not the way forward.

Q: How do the Governments of the respective countries of Tamil diaspora see the Lankan situation?

A:Apparently they are very confused. Because there is a very vociferous campaign going on. Lack of true information has made the foreigners confused. However they are very much aware of the attitude of the LTTE and they won’t be simply carried away by the adverse propaganda of the LTTE.

Q: How do you see the liberation of the Eastern province from the clutches of the LTTE?

A:Definitely from what we have heard from the Government they have done a tremendous job in the East since the region was liberated from the LTTE. Specially in providing the infrastructure - road building, house building and in reviving the agriculture. Plenty of things have been done. We hope that they could maintain this trend and improve further.

Q: LTTE claims that it is the sole representative of Tamils. What is your opinion on this claim?

A:It is a misleading claim.You cannot become a sole representative at the point of a gun or by killing the dissidents people who disagree with them. It is the people who create leaders. Leaders don’t create people. The LTTE claims that they are the sole representative of Tamils by controlling them arrogantly and not by popular choice. So it is something like Hitler claiming himself to be the sole leader of Germans.

Q: What is your observation on the Tamil political leadership in the country?

A:Disgraceful - that is the best I could say. The Tamil National Alliance looks a lame duck. I do not want to amplify anything more on them. Where as the others who are aspiring for leadership in the future are caught up in their own personal ambitions. Lot of efforts have to be made in the Tamil front to evolve the next generation of leadership. We have to worry about the current bunch of people who claim that they are the leaders of the Tamils.

Q: What sort of a settlement do you expect for the Tamil strife in the North and the East?

A:I would say the 13th amendment could be a good starting point, if it is implemented fully in both letter and spirit much can be done. The present government really want to come out with a durable solution for the crisis by burying the past. So we would support whatever the good effort made in the right direction to solve the problem peacefully.

Q: What message are you all taking back to your respective countries from the dialogue with the Government?

A:Some of us carry very bad memories of the past. However we cannot live in the past. But it is time to forget.

Tamils are not the people we were thirty years ago. In every socio-political parameters Tamils have been weakened, brutalised and traumatised. The militancy has overtaken us.

It is time for recovery. We have to rejuvenate our society, cultural values and we have to be the people that we were thirty - forty years ago. Then naturally our political rights can be achieved.

Among the Tamils of Sri Lanka, the diaspora has the cream of our society. Willingly or unwillingly most of them have migrated to the west and they have also produced the next generation with good education exposed to modern civilisation in all its facets.

They have the financial resources. The leaders of Sri Lanka should see the greater participation of people in the peace efforts and the development activities.

Once peace is established the Tamil diaspora will not only confine to the development activities in the North and the East but will do its best in covering the entire country.