Dear Friends,
In this interview, sent to me by Nadarajah Thirugnanasothy, Mr.Sumanthiran gave an account of what TNA did for the last six years. The main complain the Tamils have against TNA is their actions were not transparent. We do understand that the leaders have to keep many matters confidential, but it is essential these leaders carry along their people with them. For this a certain degree of transparency is necessary in one form or the other.
The present generation is paying for the mistakes of their past leaders. To expect them to trust their present leadership wholesale without asking questions, is just asking them for the moon. What is disturbing is Sumanthiran and Sambanthan are willing to accept verbal promises made by Ranil, Chandrika and Sirisena - all three of them have Tamil blood in their hands. If the three of them had honestly believed that the Tamils have a space in Sri Lanka, they would have brought about an honest settlement on the allusive ethnic question during the 2002 ceasefire, especially when the Tigers had accepted a federal structure by the Oslo Declaration. They had no such intention; they just wanted to see the Tamils associated with the Tigers finished off in Mullivaaikkal in May 2009 and that is exactly what they did. On what basis is Sumanthiran saying that TNA has accepted their verbal promises? We have to wait and see.
In this interview, sent to me by Nadarajah Thirugnanasothy, Mr.Sumanthiran gave an account of what TNA did for the last six years. The main complain the Tamils have against TNA is their actions were not transparent. We do understand that the leaders have to keep many matters confidential, but it is essential these leaders carry along their people with them. For this a certain degree of transparency is necessary in one form or the other.
The present generation is paying for the mistakes of their past leaders. To expect them to trust their present leadership wholesale without asking questions, is just asking them for the moon. What is disturbing is Sumanthiran and Sambanthan are willing to accept verbal promises made by Ranil, Chandrika and Sirisena - all three of them have Tamil blood in their hands. If the three of them had honestly believed that the Tamils have a space in Sri Lanka, they would have brought about an honest settlement on the allusive ethnic question during the 2002 ceasefire, especially when the Tigers had accepted a federal structure by the Oslo Declaration. They had no such intention; they just wanted to see the Tamils associated with the Tigers finished off in Mullivaaikkal in May 2009 and that is exactly what they did. On what basis is Sumanthiran saying that TNA has accepted their verbal promises? We have to wait and see.
A degree of trust is essential for any negotiation, but it must be based on ground realities. Here the ground reality is that the Tamils are dealing with people, who in the past had torn off written agreements. What about verbal understandings? This time the Sinhalese leaders are aware that the international powers are watching them. Yet we never know.
President Sirisena has already said the army will not be withdrawn from the North, nor will he allow international observers entering SL. Justice Wigneswaran has publicly stated that when he visited lands that were reported to have been returned to the rightful owners, the army stopped him from going in. On what basis are the Duo expecting a stronger OISL report or the Trio will keep their verbal undertaking? Please remember history repeats itself.
To date Hon. Wigneswaran has shown signs of good leadership. He showed himself a greater legal luminary, when he got Genocide Resolution passed in the NPC unanimously, against the opposition of lesser legal luminaries. He personally went to see the lands, returned by the army to the rightful owners, only to find the army still there. Have the Duo any such record of them going to the people and finding out how they lived? The ultimate crime the TNA leaders can commit against their Tamil brothers, is to crave for ministerial posts in the Sinhala government. Please view the tube.
Regards,
Visvanathan
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