The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna

¶ 01 Good evening to all!

¶ 02 Invoking the name of Chenthanal Selvan Velupillai Prabhakaran, I am proud to participate in this debate where you seek justice. Whether man or god—if my Tamil nation has a god, if there is one Tamil, it is Velupillai Prabhakaran, the guardian of the Tamil nation. Likewise, if your 159 MPs have a god for your brothers who were killed for political reasons, it is Rohana Wijeweera. There is no difference between them: both raised their voices against State oppression and sacrificed themselves for this land. I also remember my 44,000 deities—those who died before me.

¶ 03 The important matter is that you have not mentioned the 1983 pogrom or the burning of the Jaffna Public Library. You feel the pain of your 40,000 killed. I ask you: why can you not take up for debate the killing of 300,000 in Mullivaikkal in 2009? The problem here is inter-ethnic: one race does not love the other. The Sinhala race does not love the Tamil race. But as a Tamil, I love every Sinhala MP here; you know how I interact with you.

¶ 04 When the photo emerged of my National Leader’s son, Balachandran, with three bullet holes in his chest, you did not feel that pain. You feel only your pain. As they say: “When it happens to me, it’s blood; when it happens to others, it’s tomato chutney.” Ask your conscience whether you have any concern for these. There are countless incidents like Isai Priya’s; we do not expect justice from you, because you are not in a position to deliver justice—you are doing politics.

¶ 05 Let me say this: the mercenary squads of Karuna, Pillayan, Douglas Devananda, “PLOTE” Siddharthan, Suresh Premachandran and the “Mandayan” group, who worked with governments, vilified the Tamil nation, and brutally burned, killed and buried Tamils on the roads. Sinhala governments used Tamil quislings to kill Tamils, just as the Sinhala race did. Today you arrested Pillayan, but not Karuna.

¶ 06 Let us forget all that! My concern: your Chief Government Whip, Bimal Rathnayake, committed a grave betrayal against me—a Tamil-speaking Independent Group MP. He told the Speaker that I said something in this House about an attorney named Swastika Arulingam that is in neither the edited nor unedited Hansard. Look at the screen: it is blank. In a year, when I rise to speak, these lights will be switched off—I guarantee you.

¶ 07 When you rise and the screen is blank, how would you feel? He reported to the Speaker that I said something I never said. Under the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act’s Schedule, Part A(5): “Wilfully publishing any false or perverted report of any debate or proceedings of Parliament or committee or wilfully misrepresenting any speech made by a member ...” And under Penal Code Section 190, telling the Speaker that a Member said something he did not is punishable by the Supreme Court. If you can act against Bimal Rathnayake, you are the true JVP; but now you are the NPP. I asked him in the canteen, “Aiya, did I do anything wrong? Why did you say I said something I did not?” He just said, “No, no, you cannot speak,” and left. This is the kind of injustice your Government does. You now demand justice. A President once sat in this very Chair; it deserves respect. Yet when I speak, the screen is white. I will go to court; if I win, what you called truth will be proven false. Tell Bimal: Ramanathan Archchuna said this.

¶ 08 Thank you.