Statement of Group of Concerned Tamils of Sri Lanka
We appeal to all concerned to attend to the pressing needs of the time. We appeal to the government of Sri Lanka and all other concerned parties to allay the fears of the Tamil people and to address the dire needs of all those affected by the recent onslaught of war. The end of the war is most welcome, but the enormous death toll is a cause for great concern, as also the condition of very many survivors. The immediate and most pressing needs in relation to close to 300,000 recent IDPs include the following:
1) Emergency relief in the form of food, water, medical services, shelter etc
2) Information and contact with family members and other loved ones
3) Escape from isolation through freedom of movement and communication
4) Expediting the transfer of all IDP camps from military to civil administration with lead roles for the relevant Provincial, District and Divisional level administrative officers
5) Assurance of a short time frame (the 180 days announced by the state after the meeting with the Indian delegation on May 21, 2009 is too long a period) within which IDPs will be assisted to resettle in their original homesteads
6) Any screening, to identify those against whom the state may wish to frame charges, needs to be done speedily and transparently in the presence of ICRC and UN agencies; family members need to be promptly informed of any arrest, detention or release
We ask for a quick and effective delivery on all these above issues as this would help alleviate the plight of the people who have already undergone extreme hardship.
The administration of the entire region has become highly militarised. While a measure of militarization might have been unavoidable in war time, the restoration and strengthening of civil administration throughout the region is now due. This would be a major step towards normalcy and securing the cooperation of the local population in reconciliation and peace building activities.
The Resettlement and Rehabilitation programme should cover not only the new IDPs of the past few months but all those displaced in earlier years, of all ethnic communities, whether in the course of war or in acts of ethnic cleansing.
De-mining is of the highest priority. The next priority is restoration of damaged infrastructure (roads, public transport, public utilities, health services, educational services, commercial institutions etc). Returning IDPs need to be assisted to rebuild their homes and livelihoods, with due compensation paid in respect of injuries and deaths on account of war / terrorism, as in the case of citizens elsewhere.
The IDPs and the elected leaders of the region, assisted by a team of serving and recently retired public servants familiar with the area and to the local population, should participate in the planning and implementation of programmes to Resettle, Rehabilitate and Reconstruct.
Many state, non-state and private sector institutions involved in Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and other Development activities in the region would need to recruit very large numbers of personnel with a range of skills as required. Since the bulk of the IDPs and other local population have become unemployed and impoverished in the course of the war, they are entitled to priority consideration in such recruitment. An official statement proclaiming such a policy would be appropriate.
The resettlement of IDPs should precede the holding of Local Government, Provincial and National elections so as to enable IDPs to participate in electing their political representation.
Every citizen, wherever resident, is entitled to protection from any harassment on account of ethnicity or political orientation. But even from Colombo there are disturbing reports such as of Tamils, “ being ridiculed after the LTTE defeat was announced and harassed for money by groups of thugs. Even in government departments this had happened… if these conditions continue, before long a neo- LTTE group will spring up”. The situation is such that the problem needs to be urgently addressed, even though victims may not take the initiative for fear of further harassment.
To avoid further conflict erupting and to assist in nation building, the causes of the war need to be addressed effectively and without delay. We welcome the reference in the Human Rights Council Resolution adopted on May 27,2009 to the commitment of the President of Sri Lanka “ to a political solution with the implementation of the 13th Amendment[ and ] to a broader dialogue with all parties in order to enhance the process of political settlement and to bring about lasting peace and development in Sri Lanka based on consensus among and respect for the rights of all ethnic and religious group inhabiting it “.
A political package acceptable to all ethnic groups does need to be worked out and implemented without delay, drawing inspiration from but going beyond the various earlier proposals developed over the decades. That political package would provide for the equality of all the citizens, for regional autonomy and for the integrity of Sri Lanka.
Dr. Devanesan Nesiah * S. Malavayar
Prof. Karthigesu Sivathambi * S. Nanthikesan
Subramaniam Sivathasan * Dr. Anita Nesiah
Thangarajah Biriyanthan * Lanka Nesiah
S. Chinniah * Dr. Vasuki Nesiah
S. Ganesan * V. Ponnambalam
Kirupa Hoole * Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu
Prof. S. Ratnajeevan Hoole * Dr. Muttukrishna Sarvanandan
Dr. M. Ratnarajan Hoole * Nagendra Subramaniam
Leela Isaac * Dr. S. Sumathy
Dr. T. Jayasingam * S.V. Thambar
D.B.S. Jeyaraj * R. Visagaperumal
C. Kanagasabai * Ehambaram Vivegananthan
Dr. S. V. Kasynathan *
Bhawani Loganathan
7 Comments
Dear all:
Apart from the points mentioned in this open letter, the "economic" aspect of reconstruction needs to be included and emphasised. In this regard, the view of Mr.Muthukrishnan Saravanandan seems to be apt:
http://www.island.lk/2009/06/08/business2.html
Its a rather pointless excercise appealing to this governement. It is hell bent on implementing the so called Mahinda Chintana in the North and East and is not prepared to listen to anyone else. The three R's Mahinda, Gotha and Basil rule the roost and all others are merely their hinchaiyas and boot lickers. So much so for freedom and democracy in Sri Lanka.
Last two paras must be deleted and replaced with: Full practical immediate arrangements must be made enabling the Tamil speaking people to carryout all their transactions with the state in Tamil language.
The views are no different to what was done by
similar Groups prior to the birth of LTTE. All
available Democratic means have been tried in
keeping with the times. Under the current Autocratic set-up no input from "Tamils" to the MR Regime
will be considered, as a Palitha-Rajivan-Dayan-Wimal-
Sarath Team aided and abetted by white-vanners
including Douglas-Karuna quislings exist!!!!
I fully concur with the excellent and succinct comments made by Sri Lankan and ardneham above. They have both admirably explained the dilemma, like them, I too face, in trusting Sinhala governments. In the 20-member panel appointed for the disbursement of 500 crore donation, agreed by the Indian government without conditions, for the establishment devolution of power, in the north and east, not one of them is a Tamil. We know where most of the money would find its way in this concubine-friendly government. Obviously, some of it will be spent grudgingly for the establishment of a shell of devolution of power to the Tamil areas, to hoodwink the Indians. Even this shell would be a boon to quislings and no real long term benefit would accrue to Tamils where Tamil identity and their homeland too would be preserved!
I Have little doubt that a decent percentage of the signatories to the ‘Statement by concerned Tamils Of / IN (??) Sri Lanka are well meaning. However, I fail to understand how stating the obvious and known is going to make any (ideally) tangible difference to the lives of the people we seek to assist in this case. Perhaps this gives some sort of pseudo closure to the literati that an attempt is made to ‘something’ about the sorry state of affairs. What follows is a harmless opinion not meant to offend anyone.
Unfortunately, I have compelling reason to believe futile, self serving efforts such as these [statements] serve no purpose whatsoever. I am also led to believe that some of these signatories are simply hell bent on calling ‘a spade a spade’ that making an actual difference is only secondary; a by product of their actions at best. Getting of their high horses to work within the systems and structures that exist [that are far from being ideal] is hardly ever considered.
The point I wish to raise is this, we [Majority of Sri Lankans] share the same goal in terms of what we are striving for [peace, equality, justice et al for my country and all her people.] even though we might not be on the same frequency as yet on how we need to get there and what it actually entails. But we will make it.
In this context, I would like to appeal to these signatories to exercise your respective intellect’s sensibly in order to ensure you don’t make things any more difficult than it already is through such meaningless efforts that makes no difference except to strengthen the resolve of ‘opposing forces’ that we need to win over through compassion and understanding.
In a nutshell; those who can do, those who can’t teach [or preach]. Kindly stick to the latter.
very good statement coming from eminent Tamils who have never backed the LTTE. Hope the IC and the Sinhala majority take notice of the concern of the genuine Sri Lankans who belong to the Tamil race