13th Amendment, pluses and minuses:

What is important is to give power to the villagers

by Ranil Wijayapala

General Secretary of the Jathika Hela Urumaya, Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, Champika Ranawaka said the Tamils will continue to suffer, if Tamil politicians don’t abandon the Tamil Eelam concept. “They should first exercise the powers given to them in the local authorities and the Provincial Councils before demanding any other powers,” he said.

Excerpts:

Q:The Sri Lankan Government through the UNHRC Resolution has made a commitment to evolve a solution to the North and East problem through constitutional amendment. How do you view this situation? Do you think it is possible to make such a constitutional arrangement ?

A:If we need to change the Constitution, the whole country and Parliament should take the responsibility. The responsibility lies with Parliament and the people of this country. No government nor leader can impose any solution on the people. Power conspiracies will not be a solution to this problem. All the pacts signed by the so-called leaders, Bandaranaike and Chelvanayakam, the Dudley- Chelvanayakam, J.R. Jayewardene and Rajiv Gandhi pacts were total failures. Therefore, it should be the people and Parliament that should decide on this issue and it should be a consultative process.

Q:How do you think the issues of the Tamils in the North should be addressed ?

A:Tamil politicians should set aside the separatist idea and need to exercise their power in the local government authorities and in the Provincial Councils. They have turned those political institutions into talk shops. They are failures. The Northern Provincial Council is only a talk shop. It’s Chief Minister Wignesvaran is running the talk shop. Nothing substantial has been done in the Northern province. Nothing has been delivered to the people in the North. They have not initiated any development work in the North.

Q:What is your view about the implementation of the 13th Amendment. Does it need to be fully implemented or further expanded ?

A:The 13th Amendment to the Constitution was imposed on us by India. What has been practically delivered is now being practised in all the provinces. The Northern Province should also practise this just like the other Provincial Councils in the country.

Q:There were concerns regarding giving land and police powers to the Provincial Councils. Do you think the Northern Provincial Council should be given land and police powers ?

A: Regarding land and police powers, we can see what happened to India. India cannot suppress the terrorist problem, because each state has different police powers. Before asking Police powers, the Northern Provincial Council has to exercise what they have already been given. See the health sector and the education sector in the Northern Province. The Northern Provincial Council has to do something about them. Provincial Councils have to do something for the people. We have done enough for them. We restored what the terrorists destroyed during the 30- year conflict. We restored the power system, the road network and irrigation system. We also established the local authorities there and the Northern Provincial Council. But now, they are not allowing the Iranamadu tank to be used to solve the drinking water problem of the people of Jaffna. They are blaming the Sinhalese.

Q:What kind of mechanism do you suggest to address their issues?

A: Nothing. The DMK in South India has given up the so-called Dravidastan idea in 1962 and entered mainstream politics. These people must abandon the so-called Tamil Eelam idea. Else, it is the Tamil people who will suffer. I don’t think the Tamils will allow it to happen again. This is why ex-combatants were defeated at the last election. They were rejected by the people.

Q:Is there any change in the stance of the JHU regarding this issue ?

A:No we are fighting with the LTTE and we are fighting with the Tamils. If not for us the LTTE will still be here. It is our determination, our tactics and our strategies, which led to this military victory.

Q:What you emphasize is that the 13th Amendment is more than enough to address the Tamil question?

A:It was imposed on us. What is important is to give power to the villagers. Then the problems will be solved. That was suggested in our manifes to also and we proposed to have 2500 cluster villages and give power to the people.

Q:In which way do you think it can solve the issues faced by the Tamil people?

A:When people are given power, they will solve their own administrative problems and also development issues.