We need to get back to the situation where we have Electorates and Members of Parliament for those electorates.

Call it whatever name you like THIS IS THE requirement.

Then we should have a separate chambers to represent group rights like minority in a senate. That is ALL.

We should abolish this Proportional Representation System of Elections WHICH IS A NUMERICAL FRAUD.

Let the people elect their representative. Let the parties select their representative based on local politics that is ALL

The present method of holding ad hoc discussions among a selected few and deciding on the fate of many is not a sustainable model. Key decisions should always be taken after consulting all stakeholders.
Further once a decision is arrived at then it should be implemented and all will be collectively responsible for the results.

There is no need for fake elecoral reforms. Nothing good, ever, can come from the Sinhalese who are genocidal towards Tamils.

Mahinda Rajapakse had come to Kilinochi to strengthen the colonial hold and military occupation of SL on TE.

He blatanly lied when he said "There is no minority in the country but all are majority in the sense that all are Sri Lankans,” Is that what the constitution says.

Unfortunately, the people of TE will have to live with such war criminals and liars till the criminals are brought to justice by internaional courts, and TE becomes independent.

Mr. Ganeshan; why not you take a cue from Malaysia and look after the interest of the minorities. Now, don't get me wrong; I am not talking about promoting the 'bhumiputra law', I am talking about minorities joining national parties like in the UK. Not entering in to pacts like you did with the UNP to bite the ear dwelling in the horn.

Did not Mr. Mohammed contested the Borella seat from UNP and won it under the old system. If we go back further, did not Sir Ramanathan defeated a Sinhalese and won Colombo. Now take today, it is Sinhalese and not Muslims that voted Mr. Fousy in to the parliament.

Problem with you is that you want to promote communal policies and politics. If I were the President, I would scrap this PR system altogether. People like you must be made to strive hard to get elected by Sinhala vote as well. That way, you can be the Prime Minister if not the President of this country. Had he not been assassinated Laxman Kadiragamar would have been the Prime minister of this country today.

You see, we must gradually get rid of homogeneous ethnic enclaves. If this country is to be truly multi racial, We shouldn't have 100% Tamil areas or Sinhala areas or Muslim areas.

Mano, why dont you fly a kite? Please make these comments outside Sri Lanka, b'cos you have already shown the stripes on your skin. Sri Lanka is not the country for you. So be a good boy, ok?

Many Tamils in the political structure view the so-called Electoral Reforms as a further and a more devastating blow calculated and aimed against the minorities. Chairman Dinesh Gunawardena himself is a product of Sinhala supremacy. The real purpose of the Bill is to rid the Sinhala majority party/ies from the bonds of Coalition governments. The latter, admittedly, is not the best example of the democractic system of government when it comes to plural societies. In the Lankan context, where the main two Sinhala parties - the UNP and SLFP - share an electorate of nearly 70% almost equally, Coalitions are invitable. Even Britain that used to lock coalition governments overseas is now fated to live with one. India cannot free itself of this reality for a long time but has managed to develop the country in most levels via this system in recent decades. The challenge for those leglislators expected to be learned, articulate and capable of overcoming challenges of the day is to produce an effective form of government within this
reality. Why we have failed is the poor quality of ministers and legislators we have. In 1956/57 the more enlightened Parliament- formed of fine lawyers and other from both sides - despite a racially-charged atmosphere did come out with a solution that can be described in today's terms as Win-Win. But religious intervention put paid to this.

In the present context, if we assume the more healthy feature of an MP for every 100,000 voters, then the Tamil-speaking people (excluding Muslims) should have something like 35 MPs for their estimated 3.5 million electorate. Muslims should come out with a minimum of 10 (excluding those Muslims coming from the ranks of the 2 major parties) I suspect the plans behind those behind the Bill is to limit Tamils from the NEP to around 15 and those from the hills and Colombo to around 5. The plans for the Muslims is no different.

Irrespective of whether we have the PR or a mix of PR and 1st-past-the-post system, in the interest of an effective and representative parliament, the number of MPs for the Tamils should not be reduced to a point where they are further pushed from governance.
I am not referring here to the 1st-pp system as the instrument for this change because this is a non-starter and will de-franchise Tamil voters in non-contiguous concentrations - which is how most of them they are located now outside the NEP.

ISS

Mano Ganeshan supported the LTTE all along and tried to put a positive face to the LTTE specially among the Western countries.

Then he joined the brain dead ex General's campaign to destabilize the country and failed miserably.

Then he went to bed with Ranil Wickremasinghe to get him and his sibling parliamemtary seats through the back door and the outcome is history.

With 70 % of the poulation in Colombo what stops him getting elected by contesting on his own.

If he is so devoted to the Tamil people, and has the backing of them, winning a couple of seats will be a cake walk.

Now he reckons the minorities in the South are more fundamenatal than the Tamils in the North and the East.
Helloooooooooo

Does he expect the Government to give self rule to ethnic minorities in Colombo as well?

president fool you guys all the time first prabakaran thatwas end of LTTE then you guy you realy dont know who is MR

To Leela of July 15, 2010 07:06 AM

There are fair minded individual political leaders in Sri Lanka. But they are very few in numbers. Their journey is restricted by the hegemonic wave. There are no ‘national parties’ in Sri Lanka today. Make no mistake about it. There are only Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim parties . The so called national parties are ethnic parties in practice. As long as the so called national parties promote hegemonic policies, Tamils and Muslims have to live with their own ethnic parties. Therefore blame the hegemonic policies of the so called ‘national parties’ for the emergence of the Tamil and Muslim ethnic parties. The Tamil and Muslim parties are only reacting to the hegemonic policies of the so called national parties.

Sri Lanka is not UK. It is neither India nor USA. The sense of accommodation towards the numerical minorities is visibly in practice in UK, India and USA but not in Sri Lanka.

Talking about late Laxman Kadirgamar is factually wrong. He was the most accepted ‘Tamil’ for the so called national parties. But he was not appointed as the prime minister though he had all the ‘qualifications’ otherwise. His chances for being the prime minister of Sri Lanka were not deprived by the assassin. In fact; Kadirgamar was politically assassinated long before his death when he was not appointed to the office of prime minister. He was a man with a broken heart at the time when the assassin killed him.

Ask yourself why the office of vice presidency in Sri Lanka was scrapped during the constitution making process. Ponnampalam Ramanathan’s brother Pannampalam Arunacahalam was cheated by the then so called national parties in Colombo. It forced him to get back to Jaffna and form the Tamil league. So the hegemonic policies of the so called national parties started way back. Those who advice Sambanthans, Rauf Hakeems, Mano Ganesans and Thondamans to drop ethnic parties for national parties should first advice the so called national leaders and parties to drop communalism.

Days of Mohameds and Fowsies are numbered in Sri Lankan politics. They are not any more examples. Tamils are not asking for the posts of president and prime minister of Sri Lanka. It is only the political devolution and equality, they demand.

To Anonymous of July 15, 2010 06:10 PM

Tamil population is not 70% in Colombo. Do not comment without checking the facts and statistics.