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| Sunday, 9 June 2002 |
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'We cannot afford to point fingers' - Pararajasingham by FRANCES BULATHSINGHALA
The TULF General Secretary R. Sampanthan opined that the Prime Minister proved to be 'pragmatic and realistic' 'understanding the need of the moment which would enable peace talks to be held without undue delay'. The TNA members also said that they had got assurances from Prime Minister Wickremesinghe that the military presence from religious places, schools and public buildings in the North East would be duly removed in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the LTTE. Below are excerpts of the interview with TULF senior MP Joseph Pararajasingham based on his opinion about the present situation with regard to the MoU and the overall aspects in the milieu of the ceasefire. Q. What is your reaction to the completion of one hundred days after the signing of the MoU? A. As any peace-loving person would agree, I consider this a milestone, but there is a lot more to be done for the establishment of a normalcy in the country, in the areas in the North East and we have brought this to the attention of the Government. Q. What was the outcome of the meeting the TNA members had with the Prime Minister last Wednesday? A. We have met the Prime Minister as moderate democratically elected MPs. It is our right to bring to the notice of the Prime Minister the importance of seeing the peace process through as fast as possible by fulfilling the prerequisites for the talks. Q. Would you describe the lifting of the ban as a prerequisite and not a pre-condition? A. It is a prerequisite. I would not opt to call the lifting of the ban a pre-condition. Q. However, it was clearly pointed out at the press conference held by the LTTE leader that the LTTE would refuse to come to the discussion table unless the ban was removed. Would you, despite this fact, which proved that the removal of the proscription of the LTTE was a pre-condition imposed by the LTTE, continue to call the lifting of the ban a prerequisite? A. Yes. I am making my comments as a moderate Tamil Member of Parliament. It is my opinion that the LTTE cannot go in for talks while the tag of terrorists are still pinned on them. They have to talk as equals. Q. There were protests in the North East demanding the removal of the military from schools, places of worship and public buildings and this issue was one of the priority matters put forward to the Prime Minister. What are your comments on this matter? A. The objective of the MoU was to create a conducive atmosphere for peace and is based on a total trust building effort, the goal of which is to bring back normalcy to the North East. There is no normalcy when the military continues to occupy public buildings, schools and places of worship as they did during the days of war. Although the process of the military being removed from such places have commenced we are concerned that some of the schools and places of worship still have military presence. Q. You have explained what you wish the Government to carry out with regard to the peace process and the overall establishment of normalcy in the region. As a moderate politician as you describe yourself are you not perturbed by alleged violations of the ceasefire by the LTTE and the allegations that the LTTE is continuing in its accumulation of ammunition and recruitment of children into its cadre? A. I am not perturbed. These are only speculations. There is no proof that the LTTE is shipping arms or that they are violating the ceasefire in any other manner. There is also no proof that they are at present recruiting children into their cadre. Taking all these into consideration I could clearly say that I am not worried about the manner in which the LTTE is carrying out its part of the ceasefire. Where the LTTE's overall recruitment is concerned, it has to be understood that the strength of the LTTE lie in its military might and that it was unreasonable to expect the LTTE to deplete themselves militarily. Q. Would it then be correct to say that your view is that the LTTE is at present adhering one hundred percent to the clauses in the MoU? A. It has to be understood that there may be minor pitfalls. Q. Would you as an example describe the incident at Vakarai, Batticaloa where LTTE boats were found with ammunition, as a minor pitfall? A. Here again there was no proof that the boats were those belonging to the LTTE. We are at a juncture where we cannot afford to let anything come in the way of the path to the last chance for peace. We cannot afford to point fingers. We have to let trust prevail. Q. The LTTE is a reputed guerilla organisation which has gained much publicity worldwide for its ruthless tactics of the past. Given the fact that such an organisation has seemingly embraced peace, would it not be better if constructive criticism was offered, especially by democratically elected Tamil politicians, instead of expecting only the Government to usher in a conducive atmosphere for a permanent peace? A. We want both the LTTE and the Government to play equal roles with regard to the peace process. The LTTE is answerable to the Tamil people. The LTTE has become a strong force because they have tried militarily what other Tamil politicians over the years tried to achieve in a passive manner with Ghandian attitudes. In the present context where the MoU and the ceasefire situation is concerned we understand clearly that both parties want peace. If we however feel that the LTTE is indulging in something we feel is wrong or going against the cause of the Tamil people we will raise it up as an issue. As Tamil politicians our interest is total peace. Q. What is your opinion of the taxes and its rates imposed by the LTTE? A. It has to be understood that the LTTE is an organisation heavily dependent on the Tamil community for funding. It is an issue within the Tamil community because they are only imposing the taxation on the Tamils and not the Sinhalese. Q. Yet, in the past the Muslims were heavily taxed? A. There are no complaints at present that the LTTE is imposing taxes on the Muslims. |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
While the Tamil National Alliance is at present making preparations to
meet the ceasefire monitoring mission this coming week, last week proved a
successful week for the coalition Tamil party members who met Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last Wednesday regarding the lifting of the
local ban on the LTTE. The meeting was described as 'very positive' by
many of the TNA members whom the 'Sunday Observer' interviewed including
TULF General Secretary, R. Sampanthan, All Ceylon Tamil Congress MP,
Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy and senior MP of the TULF Joseph
Pararajasingham.
