The Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika

¶ 01 Speaking of Hon. R. Sampanthan, he was born in 1933 and passed away on 30 June 2024, just a few days before the recent Presidential Election, at the age of 91. Representing the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), he entered this Parliament in 1977 and then served from 1977 to 1983, and again from 1997 until his passing in 2024 as a Member of Parliament. In the meantime, from 2001 he served as Leader of the TNA, continuing until his demise, and after 2015 he also served for several years as Leader of the Opposition in this Parliament.

¶ 02 Amidst all that, I wish to draw attention to two points as to why speaking about Hon. Sampanthan is important. He is not merely an individual; he is an emblematic figure—a reflection—of one side of this country’s history. By 1977, before the war had ignited in Sri Lanka, he was among the first to pursue a democratic resolution to the national question, without resorting to the violent conditions we later witnessed. As the North and East heated up in 1977, he helped form the TULF to seek a democratic mandate. There was debate and dialogue then about whether this issue could be pursued democratically. He intervened to build that confidence and was elected to Parliament from the Trincomalee District. Unfortunately, despite efforts by leaders like him to resolve the issue democratically, he did not receive sufficient support from the South. Thus, though democratically elected, he left this Parliament in 1983. We know how history unfolded thereafter. Yet, regardless of agreement with his views or not, he stood and fought democratically for what he believed until the end of his life. For that, he marks a place in Sri Lanka’s history.

¶ 03 Further, as young politicians who represent a new political change, we see another aspect in his life. Before the 1970s, there were leaders in this country from whom we can still learn: politics was not about entering to make money, to advance one’s family, or to accumulate wealth. Over the last 20–30 years, we have seen politics become that, and it has now come to an impasse. Hon. Sampanthan practiced politics as politics until the moment of his death and lived his private life as private life. He was a statesman whom we can call a true gentleman. Such politicians have become fewer in our time, though the previous generations saw them. Among those principled, policy-oriented leaders stands Hon. R. Sampanthan. He deserves that respect. We may or may not accept all his views, but even when his views were unpopular, he held to them and fought democratically. His name should be written in Sri Lanka’s history with due honour. With regret at his passing, I conclude my remarks.

¶ 04 Thank you very much.