Sritharan sabotages reconciliation efforts

By Manjula Fernando

The speech that glorified the LTTE and its leader by TNA Jaffna district MP S.Sritharan on Tuesday was condemned by members from both sides of the House including the TNA which disassociated itself saying they were Sritharan's personal sentiments that 'transgressed the definite policy of the Party'.

Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said it breached the law of the country and merited tough action by the Speaker while SLMC General Secretary said it was a relief that the TNA leader had disassociated the party from the sentiments expressed by Sritharan.

A counter- terrorism expert Prof.Rohan Gunarata suggested that the Government should arrest, prosecute and rehabilitate TNA MPs with LTTE links to prevent a second generation being radicalised into forming another military outfit.

In a half hour speech by TNA MP, S.Sritharan during the second reading stage of the debate on Budget 2014, the MP called the LTTE leader Prabhakran a freedom fighter and a hero, veering off course glorifying the terrorist leader and his defeated terror outfit which is proscribed in over 30 countries including Sri Lanka.

Here are some of the comments different stake holders made to the Sunday Observer in this regard,

A premeditated statement - Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe

It was a premeditated statement by MP Sritharan coinciding with the birthday of the terrorist leader and the mass murderer Prabhakaran. It was done with the intention of glorifying him and breaching the law of the country.

There was the clear objective to get maximum publicity to his statement and send a signal that they are not scared to breach the law of the country.

Such behavior should not be condoned by anyone, especially the parliamentarians because a number of MPs from both sides of the House have been murdered either under the directives of Prabhakaran or with his own hands .

Sritharan's statement is also an insult to India whose much loved leader Rajiv Ghandi was brutally assasinated under the orders of Prabhakaran.

One must not forget that one of our own Presidents, President Premadasa was also assassinated on the directives of this assassin and the opposition UNP should support action to be taken against this TNA MP.

We are aware that Sritharan works closely with extremist diaspora groups whose agenda is to destabilise the country and assist in the formation of a another LTTE with a separatist agenda.

Parliamentary privilege is not a justification for such a statement to be made in Parliament. It violated the Constitution of the country especially the 6th amendment to the Constitution and other laws of the country.

It has been done with the specific intention of inciting racial hatred in the country and disturbing the move towards comprehensive reconciliation.

I know for a fact that there are a number of instances in other parliaments of the world where action has been taken despite privilege being given to Members of Parliament when they have crossed the line endangering the law and order of the country.

My personal opinion is action should be taken against this MP thus preventing any one in the future from creating intentional disturbances of this nature.

Don't call killers freedom fighters - Minister S.B. Dissanayake

Higher Education Minister S.B.Dissanayake who was next in line to speak at the second reading stage debate on Budget 2014 after TNA MP Sritharan's frenzied speech in Parliament said,

"I think it's better that I respond to MP Sritharan during the 20 minute time slot allocated to me to speak on the Budget.MP Sritharan says 'Prabhakaran is a hero, he is a freedom fighter and he is not a terrorist.' If a person like Sritharan who represents the ordinary people call a ruthless terrorist a hero, I think that is enough reason to have army camps in the North.

Prabhakaran killed leaders of all Tamil political parties of his time, including those who constitute the party this MP is representing in Parliament, the TNA. They killed leaders of TULF, TELO, EPDP, and EPRLF. Such man is called a Hero by MP Sritharan. The terrorist who killed Tamil leaders like A.Amirthalingam, Sabaratnam and Neelan Tiruchelvam. If people of this nature is representing the Northern masses, I think we need to increase the military camps in the North! To where do you think people like MP Sritharan leading this country?

The Indo-Lanka accord established Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka. The first person to reject provincial councils was Prabhakaran. MP Sritharan claim that there has not been demining and the resettlement program is a failure, how many arrested ex-cadres have been rehabilitated and released by now?Some university students who are ignorant to the LTTE's and Prabhakaran's past make pledges near the site where he was killed (on November 26) to carry on the LTTE separatist ideology. They don't know, that at this man's behest, over one hundred Tamil undergraduates from Jaffna and Batticaloa universities were shot dead for refusing to join the LTTE.

Such person is venerated by MP Sritharan simply because he wants Prabhakaran to be seen as a hero. MP Sritharan may not have faced the wrath of the LTTE, but didn't Prabhakaran rob innocent Tamils, order extortions, did he not shoot innocent undergraduates for the mere reason that they wished to stay away from his violent campaign, rob teachers of their salaries? Did he not forcibly take away small children from schools to be conscripted as child soldiers?This so- called freedom fighter killed more Tamil leaders than ethe Sinhalese! President Mahinda Rajapaksa restored peace in that region and gave democratic rights to the people of the North after 109 years. It's a fact and you need to accept it.

There was a Sinhala Vidyalaya in Kilinochchi. There were Sinhala people. But these people cannot go back to their homes. They will not go back. Don't make statements based on unverified facts that Sinhalese are being settled there, to please the diaspora.

The Army presence in the North is still there because the Government wants to make sure that Tamil children will not be once again forcefully conscripted like in the past, that they will not be dragged to the jungles, handed rifles and forced to undergo military training. And that the LTTE may never call over at Tamil houses demanding money. Forcing small children to fight bloody wars is your freedom fight? We want every Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim to live like kith and kin, as Sri Lankans. You need to change those destructive sentiments to bring peaceful reconciliation to this country.

As far as the allegation about the 'the university quota for Tamil students have been curtailed' is concerned,the quota is based on population. The drop is on par with the new census carried out and there has not been a wrongful cut down of admissions. If we think in communal terms, do you think a new Engineering Faculty would have been established at the Jaffna university? Don't say malicious things to please malicious people. The Government would not have developed the Jaffna university to its present level if the decisions were marred by communal sentiments. Go to the Eastern Province and witness the development taking place in the Eastern university.

We would like to help you develop your region but you should not call those who killed thousands of Tamil children freedom fighters!"

Prabhakaran - no freedom fighter! - Gen. Sec. of SLMC Hassen Ali MP

The Muslim community can never recognise Prabhakaran as a freedom fighter. What he did is against our beliefs. If you set up a noble target, according to Islam the method used to achieve that target should also be noble.

Prabhakaran set a target but the methods adopted to achieve this target were all wrong. They were neither humane nor acceptable.

This is the reason why Prabhakaran failed. He killed their own political leaders, recruited Tamil child soldiers, Tamils were the victims of LTTE extortion groups, committed genocide killing innocent people in the border villages and evicted Muslims from the entire northern province which was ethnic cleansing.

These are not methods that should be adopted to achieve a noble target. But there is some solace that TNA leader Sampanthan had distanced himself and the party from the statement made by Sritharan.

Sri Lanka is a democratic country. You must try to convince people through dialogue. It may take a long time. But violence is not an acceptable method.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress(SLMC) was founded by A.H.M. Ashroff and a few of us to prevent the Muslim youth from taking to arms. In the 1980s Muslim youth were also dragged into the Tamil militancy.

In the Eastern province Muslims were part and parcel of the Tamil militant groups. I am a founding member of the SLMC. We wanted them to be liberated from that situation and we were successful. I think however, the parliamentary select committee constituted to find a lasting solution to the existing problem is not inclusive.

The SLMC, the leading Muslim party in the country has been left out. Whoever who wants to bring lasting peace must listen to all sides of the story.

Unethical to glorify a terrorist leader - Dy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody

Any member of Parliament must keep in mind that he represents Sri Lanka not just one part of Sri Lanka.

It is unethical for any parliamentarian to glorify a terrorist leader who deprived an entire nation of human rights and the freedom to live and development for nearly three decades. Praising Prabhakaran and his conduct cannot be approved by anyone legally or ethically.

During the time we were going through the menace of terrorism, the TNA members who were elected to Parliament had to have the blessings of the LTTE leader and they were even nominated by him.

That is a known fact but presently people of the North should be able to elect Members of Parliament independently without any influence of the LTTE thus the MPs need not trumpet the LTTE voice.

They should work for the betterment of the North and its people, they should always promote reconciliation and have the interest of the Tamil people at heart.

What is expected is their contribution towards uniting the people, bring in harmony not the vise versa.

If not they will not just bring the country down, but will create an atmosphere which is not favourable to the people of the North where they will also have to suffer again.

I will not approve of his speech under any circumstances.

Under parliamentary democracy it is up to the Speaker to decide as to who shall be allowed to speak. A No Confidence Motion can be mooted against the TNA MP who made the grave mistake of glorifying a known and proscribed terrorist in Sri Lanka and the world.

Neo-Nazi elements should be dealt with - Minister Champika Ranawaka

Sritharan's statementin Parliament could be a preamble to a new separatist movement backed by TNA politicians. The LTTE has caused serious devastation to the country. They killed Tamil political leaders, the future of the Tamil people, not just the Sinhalese. The LTTE used innocent Tamils in the Wanni as a human shield and the responsibility of those killed lies with the LTTE not the armed forces. The entire Tamil community should condemn this dastardly act to revive an extinct outfit.

These Neo-Nazi elements should be legally and socially dealt with. They should not be allowed to raise their ugly head again.

According to our Constitution, Article 157 clearly spells out the provisions with regard to those who advocate separatism. I think Parliament must take stern action against these separatist elements in the TNA.

A parliamentary member can be expelled from the House by a majority vote. Admiring and hero worshipping a terrorist outfit and its leader, I think is reasonable ground to consider just that. This is similar to Hitler being glorified as a hero in Germany and Mussolini in Italy. Prabhakaran and his ruthless mafia team should not be considered heroes. Before a statement is made in the House it must be tabled, the Speaker and the Secretary General of Parliament must look into it if there has been a lapse in this quarter. The Speaker has the power to expel any member who has acted in breach of these rules.

Must not transgress official position - TNA Leader R.Sampanthan

Every Member of Parliament has the independence to say what he desires but then any speech that a Member of Parliament makes must not transgress the official position of the party on any issue.

This is not the official position of the party and Sritharan has no authority from the party to make such a statement.

The Northern provincial election and the Eastern PC election was contested by the TNA on the basis of a reasonable, workable, durable political solution being achieved within the framework of a united, undivided Sri Lanka,

This is the position to which we are firmly committed and no member of the party is entitled to speak in a manner that contravenes this very definite policy of the party. Sritharan himself campaigned during the Northern Provincial council elections and he campaigned on the basis of the policy statement issued by the party, and enunciated by the party at every political platform.

That day happened to be Prabhakaran's birthday and Sritharan may have been personally moved by that fact in making this statement. That maybe his personal view and did not have the blessings of the party. We don't know what action is being contemplated against Sritharan in Parliament. Our party has not discussed this matter as yet, because we were busy with the second reading of the Budget. The vote is due to be taken today (Nov 29). Maybe in the course of the next few days the party will meet and discuss this matter.

Poses grave threat to social harmony and national security -Prof.Rohan Gunaratne

Sritharan's conduct damages reconciliation efforts between the Tamils and Muslims and the Tamils and Sinhalese. Driven by the LTTE ideology, he is advancing LTTE aims and objectives. Today Sritharan is acting as a bridge for the LTTE international network and Tamil community is Sri Lanka. He seeks to radicalise and militarise the Tamils.

He poses a grave threat to social harmony and the national security of Sri Lanka. If the Government permits Sritharan to promote Prabhakaran and his separatist ideology, terrorism will re-emerge and affect another generation.

It is paramount for Sri Lanka to formulate legislation to promote harmony. The same legislation should have provision to arrest, charge, and prosecute extremists who glorify terrorists, terrorism and engage in other support activity.

When the conflict ended the Government should have prosecuted the TNA MPs with links to the LTTE and rehabilitated them.