Sritharan’s remarks draw widespread condemnation

TNA Jaffna District Parliamentarian S. Sritharan, with his pro-LTTE sentiments on the floor of the House on Tuesday, attempted to portray LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran as a national hero and called upon Tamils to commemorate his death. Government and Opposition members who vehemently condemned Sritharan's controversial remarks said that he was attempting to deliver the Mahaveer commemorative lecture in Parliament.

Amidst the protests by Government legislators, Sritharan, who joined the debate on the second reading of the Budget 2014, read out a statement to justify the cause advanced by the ruthless LTTE terrorists as a freedom struggle and stressed the need to commemorate the LTTE leaders and cadre on Mahaveer Day. Sritharan's prepared speech, delivered for nearly half an hour, glorified the atrocities of Prabhakaran.

Sritharan's remarks drew widespread condemnation from Government ranks. UNP Parliamentarian Akila Viraj Kariyawasam also condemned Sritharan’s attempt to glorify inhuman LTTE terrorists as freedom fighters. National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara also opposed the statement by the TNA MP.

UPFA Wanni District MP Hunais Farook, who raised a point of order, called upon the Deputy Chairman of Committees, Chandrakumar Murugesu to expunge the controversial remarks in Sritharan’s speech as it promotes ethnic and racial disharmony. The Deputy Chairman of Committees ordered all those remarks of Sritharan's speech, which had violated the Standing Orders of Parliament, to be expunged from the Hansard.

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake, who spoke after Sritharan, responded that Prabhakaran was responsible for the killings of many leaders of the two major communities. The Minister told the Deputy Chairman of Committees that though he was prepared to speak on the Budget, he was compelled to respond to Sritharan's statement. Minister Dissanayake accused the MP of violating the country’s laws. He vehemently condemned the attempts by the TNA MP to promote Prabhakaran as a ‘War Hero'.

The Minister, in his speech, described Prabhakaran as a notorious murderer who killed not only the Sinhalese, but also his own people. It was Prabhakaran who killed prominent political leaders of the EPDP, TULF and TELO. Prabhakaran caused irreparable damage to the Tamil community by killing illustrious Tamil politicians such as Lakshman Kadirgamar and Neelan Thiruchelvam. Minister Dissanayake told Sritharan not to fan the flames of racial hatred and eulogise a ruthless terrorists like Prabhakaran as a hero. The Minister told the House it was deplorable that Sritharan called for a Mahaviru commemoration to mark Prabhakaran's birth anniversary. He asked Sritharan to treat Sri Lanka as a country of one nation comprising several communities.

Minister Dissanayake said that Prabhakaran destroyed the North and killed even undergraduates of the Jaffna University who opposed his ruthless terrorist activities. He outlined how innocent Tamil civilians who crossed over to the Government-controlled areas with white flags during the final phase of the humanitarian operation were shot by the LTTE terrorists. Prabhakaran also killed infants and looted the jewellery and salaries of Tamil public servants. The Minister, in his hard-hitting speech, stressed the need for all communities to rally round to build a unitary Sri Lanka.

Post-CHOGM developments turned into a central topic during the Budget debate due to various issues raised by the Government and Opposition members. Chief Government Whip and Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that as citizens, everybody should be happy and proud of the glory achieved by Sri Lanka as the host country for CHOGM. The Minister said that the Government could successfully defeat various conspiracies hatched by certain elements to sabotage CHOGM in Sri Lanka.

This is a clear reflection of the firm confidence reposed by world leaders in President Mahinda Rajapaksa's leadership. Minister Gunawardena said that certain elements were all out to sabotage CHOGM 2013 being held in Sri Lanka. However, the people didn’t permit them to realise their petty political objectives.

UNP Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera, who joined in the debate, attempted to project CHOGM 2013 as a failure. He said CHOGM showed how Sri Lanka was being isolated internationally. He said CHOGM 2013 would go into the annals of Commonwealth history as the summit which had the least number of Heads of Government.

Coconut Development Minister Jagath Pushpakumara, who spoke after Samaraweera, was very critical of his remarks. The Minister pointed out how Samaraweera made a big hue and cry those days by categorically stating that Ranil Wickremesinghe would never come to power. The Minister said today Samaraweera has become one of the front-liners aggressively campaigning to bring Wickremesinghe to power. He also queried as to who attempted to isolate the country internationally and was involved in bringing Channel 4 to Sri Lanka.

External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris gave a clear definition of the Government’s foreign policy. He said the prime objective of the Government’s foreign policy is to safeguard the country’s image before the world community. Prof. Peiris said, as Sri Lankans, we should be proud of hosting CHOGM without courting narrow-minded criticisms over it. He said world leaders who attended CHOGM 2013 described it as a benchmark for the future. They commended the manner with which Sri Lanka organised the summit. The Minister also quoted from several statements by world leaders on the recent progress in Sri Lanka.

Delivering the reply speech on the Second Reading of Budget 2014, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa made a comprehensive analysis on the significant developments in the North after LTTE terrorism was eradicated. The Minister presented statistics on the colossal amount of money spent by the Government on various infrastructure development projects in the North over the past three years. He also referred to the rapid progress on the agriculture and fisheries sectors in the North. The Minister told the House that he presented those facts and figures as some Opposition MPs, during their speeches, had attempted to give a wrong impression to the international community on the Northern problem. He reminded the House of the ruthless killings committed by the LTTE including some prominent Government and Opposition politicians.

Minister Rajapaksa told the TNA that we should sort out our internal problems ourselves. Some countries which are shedding crocodile tears today for the cause of Tamils wanted Sri Lanka to eliminate the LTTE leader Prabhakaran during the last days of the humanitarian operation. The Minister said that some Western countries had forgotten what they had done at the final phase of the operation. British Prime Minister David Cameron could not even visit Northern Ireland in his own country, but he had no such problems in visiting the North of Sri Lanka.

The Minister told the House that there may be some shortcomings, delays or more things to be done to make the lives of those in the North better. “But one should appreciate what the President had done on their behalf. This Government restored peace and democracy in the North. It is entirely in our hands to sort out whatever problems and differences ourselves. We all should work for it. President Rajapaksa is a leader who treats all communities equally.”

After Minister Rajapaksa concluded his speech, the vote on the Second Reading of the Budget was taken up. Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga asked for a division. The Appropriation Bill for 2014 received 154 votes in favour and 55 against. Therefore, the Second Reading of Budget 2014 was passed in Parliament on Friday with an overwhelming majority of 99 votes. The UNP, DNA and TNA members voted against the Budget. The third reading of Budget 2014 will commence tomorrow and continue for 16 days until December 20. The final vote on Budget 2014 will be taken up on December 20 at 6.00pm.