There has to be an alternative to a separate state
“There has to be an alternative to a separate state” – Suresh Premachnadran
TNA Member of Parliament Suresh Premachnadran speaks to C.A.Chandraprema about the war, Indian intervention, the bus bombings, and the possibilities of a negotiated settlement.
Q. What does the Tamil National Alliance actually stand for, a separate state or the devolution of power?
A. From the 1950’s onwards, the Federal Party has consistently won in the North and East in the Tamil speaking areas. There was thus a mandate for a federal system. No government took this mandate given by the Tamil people into consideration. At one point, one Mr Navaratnam from Kayts formed a new party and said that a separate state was the only way forward for the Tamils because all the pacts entered into by Chelvanayagam with SWRD Bandaranaike and with Dudley Senanayake, were broken by the Sinhala leaders. But Chelvanayagan opposed this and said, “We have to be within a united Sri Lanka.” He fielded another candidate in Kayts and defeated Navaratnam. So till the 1970s, Chelvanayagam was for a federal state. But by 1976, Chelvanayagam himself had arrived at the conclusion that the only answer was a separate state. So we see a moderate political party being pushed into the position of advocating separatism. After that, various groups that emerged decided that violence was the only way to achieve this goal. When the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed, all Tamil groups accepted the accord and were willing to give it a try. The EPRLF formed the government in the north and east and was supported by various other groups. But even here, President Premadasa and other forces did not accept the Indo-Lanka Accord. They sent back the IPKF. Thus, whenever there is an attempt to work with the government, someone opposes it. There was also the case of the P-TOMS proposal by Chandrika Kumaratnga in the wake of the tsunami. Everybody supported this arrangement – the international community, the government, the LTTE, and even the United Nations. But the JVP went to courts and the courts put a stop to it. Before that, the LTTE had put forward the suggestion for an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA). The demands they put forward, were very high. We are not denying that. But the LTTE was prepared to discuss it. They said, “Give us a time we can discuss the matter and come to some solution.” But when Ranil Wickremasinghe was willing to give a date for the discussions, Chandrika took over the three ministries and this proposal was shelved. Chandrika won the subsequent Parliamentary election with the support of the JVP and the ISGA proposal was put in the dustbin. Then again, after eighteen years, the north east merger has been declared null and void by the Supreme court. This was on a technicality. The court said that the two provinces could not be merged on a Presidential proclamation, and it had to be done through Parliament. But the government is doing its best to keep the two provinces separated with separate governors for the north and east being appointed. On the P-TOMS and North-East Merger, the Supreme Court bench that gave judgments on these matters, was entirely Sinhalese. There were no Muslims or Tamils. What the government is telling the TNA: “You can’t live with the Sinhalese. That is what they are telling us again and again. Even if we are trying to live in a united Sri Lanka, the government is pushing us in a different direction.
Q. Why do you consider the merger of the north and east to be so important? Two thirds of the Eastern province is Sinhalese and Muslim.
A. If you take the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam pact or the Dudley-Chelvanayagam pact, colonisation was one of the main points raised. If you go back beyond 1921, the proportions of Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils in the Eastern province were different. By 1947, the demographic pattern in the east was totally changed because the government brought Sinhalese colonists into the east. We are not against the Sinhalese living in the east or in the north. You can check the census reports to see by what proportions the population of the eastern province grew as against the population growth in other areas of the country. This will show you how the Tamils and the Muslims are becoming minorities in their own area. This is the main reason why Chelvanayagam said that the Northern and Eastern provinces should be merged . Even today, the Muslims are blaming the government for implementing colonisation schemes in Potuvil and Panama. In the Amparai district, Muslims are the majority, but they have only 20% of the land. And the Sinhalese who constitute 24% of the population have 80% of the land. What we are saying is that in the north and east, the Tamil speaking people are in the majority. In a power sharing arrangement, or in an autonomous state, what we expect is that the Tamils will control the north and east while the Sinhalese will control the rest of the country. Just as there will be Tamils and Muslims in the Sinhala controlled area, there will be Sinhalese and Muslims in the Tamil controlled area.
Q. When you speak of autonomy and power sharing, are you expecting anything more than what the Indian states have got?
A. In various countries, there are various models for the devolution of power. The USA, Canada, Switzerland, all have their own systems. We fought for a separate state and 65,000 people have died. In that situation, there has to be some alternative to a separate state.
Q. India is also a participant in this process. We cannot think of any devolution package without taking into account India’s interests as well. If the powers devolved in Sri Lanka exceed the powers given to the Indian states, that will set off a chain reaction in India. There is a history of separatism in Tamil Nadu long before it started here in Sri Lanka.
A. India has already said that it is for a federal system in Sri Lanka. India itself is not a fully fledged federal system. It’s a quasi-federal system and the central government has most of the powers. The Indian government has never said that Sri Lanka should not go beyond the Indian model. Take for instance the 13th amendment which stipulated that the Sri Lanka central government can’t dissolve the north eastern provincial council for five years. But according to the Indian constitution, the Indian central government can dismiss a state government at any time. This provision was later amended by Premadasa and the north east government was dismissed. India is not rigid. India has never said that Sri Lanka has to follow the Indian model. We have held discussions with many important Indian personalities and they have never said that we should follow the Indian model.
Q. Do you seriously believe that after so many years of fighting for a separate state, the LTTE will settle for a federal System? In the late eighties the JVP had a slogan “The motherland or death!” Isn’t it the same for the LTTE?
A. But the JVP joined the democratic mainstream and now they are in Parliament…
Q. That’s after they were defeated.
A. The LTTE is prepared to talk. Their willingness to talk means that they are willing to come to a settlement within a united Sri Lanka. The LTTE knows that they cannot win a separate state through talks, so their willingness to negotiate is an indication that they are willing to come to an agreement short of a separate state. We have to sit and work it out. But successive governments of Sri Lanka have not made an effort in this direction.
Q. Do you think the LTTE can ever win a separate state through military means?
A. I do not know whether they can win the war. In 1979, Bull Weeratunga was sent to Jaffna to wipe out terrorism. What happened? That was twenty eight years ago. At that time we had only Shotguns. Now, they have artillery and multi barrel rocket launchers. And they have sea tigers, air tigers and black tigers. I don’t know whether the LTTE can win this war, but I am sure the Sri Lankan government can’t win this war either. They can win some battles. The LTTE also won some battles. They overran Elephant Pass, they attacked Katunayake. Likewise the Army can also overrun camps.
Q. Do you envisage a never ending war?
A. I strongly feel that this is a political matter, we have to negotiate a settlement. The entire international community accepts that the Tamils are having problems which need to be solved. Even the Sri Lankan government accepts it. They have to sit and discuss the issue. Various people like the present Army commander may be advising the President that the LTTE can be defeated. Since the time of J.R.Jayewardene, how many thousands of government soldiers have been killed? Of course the LTTE also has suffered. What happened in Mulleitivu and various other places? Sarath Fonseka will be in the Army for another year. During that time he will say “Look, I can defeat the LTTE.” But by the end of next year, he will be at home and somebody else will take over. But they will not be able to defeat the LTTE totally. You can brand the LTTE as Fascists, but they are fighting for a cause and the people are with them. Now they are controlling a large area. Later they may decide to go back to the jungles and resort to guerrilla war. So these things will drag on…
Q. There have been ups and downs in the LTTE campaign. There was a point when they could overrun camps like Elephant Pass. Today, they have come down to individual assassinations and bus bombs. What would you say to this?
A. The government tried to overrun Muhamalai and come down to Elephant Pass. The Army Commander himself has accepted that over 300 soldiers died. Now the LTTE is having battle tanks as well – which were captured during the Muhamalai battle.
Q. Coming back to the bus bombs, this is exactly the kind of tactic used by terrorists in the West, bombing buses and trains. When the LTTE resorts to bus bombings, the west is going to stand up and take notice because this is what is happening in their own countries as well. Your comments?
A. I do not know whether the LTTE is to blame. They have denied involvement. There is some talk that Sinhala nationalists who have a history of armed uprisings have carried those out in order to pressure the government to ban the LTTE. That is one school of thought. The TNA is totally against this kind of killings. This is a case of killing innocent civilians. From the beginning the EPRLF was against this. There is also another matter to take into consideration. There is so much aerial bombardment in the north, and civilians are getting killed, as in Mannar and in Vakarai. We told the President several times not to do it. The government is trying to show the world that it is the LTTE targets that are being bombed. That however, is not the case. The LTTE is very much intact. They have been targeting civilians. The government says that the LTTE is using civilians as human shields. If people live in proximity to a Army camp and the LTTE attacks it killing civilians in the process, are we going to say that the Army was using civilians as human shields? An elected government has a duty to protect the ordinary people. If you take the past few months, there were no killing of civilians. There were no bus bombs and things like that. It is the government that started killing civilians. I do not know whether these bus bombings are in retaliation for that. But we as the TNA, totally condemn the killing of civilians.
Q. Would you be in favour of Indian intervention in Sri Lanka again like in 1987?
A. I don’t think India is in a position to send the Army once again. But India wants to solve this problem through negotiations.
Q. How is a solution going to be implemented without sending an Army?
A. If both the parties agree to a settlement, and agree to a settlement that won’t be necessary.
Q. Are you saying that you are against Indian intervention?
A. I don’t think the government of Sri Lanka or the LTTE will invite the Indian Army. Through various sources, we have come to know that India is not in a position to send an Army. We can talk and come to a settlement without the Indian Army. With the participation of Indian experts and officers, we can solve this through negotiations, without the need for an Army.
Q. When you are thinking of negotiations, who is the leader that you are talking of? Are young thinking of Mahinda Rajapakse or Ranil Wickremasinghe? Who in your view is the leader who would be most amenable to a solution?
A. It is the Sinhala people who have to decide on the best leader to solve this problem. We have seen so many leaders from J. R. Jayewardene’s time onwards. Chandrika Kumaratunga also said she was for peace, but what happened? She ended up saying it was “peace through war”. After Ranil Wickremasinghe was elected, he spoke of an international safety net, and Milinda Moragoda said that if the LTTE started a war, it would not be the Sri Lankan Army that will fight the LTTE but the American Army. Such nonsense was uttered by the UNP also. We have leaders but not statesmen. Here everybody is thinking about the next election.
Q. If the two provinces are merged and powers devolved, will you be willing to devolve similar powers to the Muslim and Sinhalese minorities living in the east?
A. If you envisage a scenario where the north and east are merged and power devolved, there will be Sinhala and Muslim minorities living in the east, and Tamil and Muslim minorities living in the south. Whatever the powers given to the minorities living in the south will also be given to the minorities living in the north and east. I strongly feel that there should be some sort of institutional arrangement in the east for the Muslims. They have issues of religion and security and they do not have much faith in the Tamils. As a Tamil I feel that there should be some sort of an institutional arrangement with the Muslims in the east which should be worked out through negotiations. [island.lk]
