The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam

¶ 01 Alright. Give me 15 or even 20 minutes; I will conclude around 12.15 p.m.

¶ 02 Hon. Speaker, I must clearly state to the Government that our party is not like other parties. Our party is a very clean party. Since 1949, our party has stood for the rights of the Tamil people. Today, we are the oldest political party still in this Parliament. For example, although Hon. Jeevan Thondaman is an MP from the UNP, he represents the CWC. While other parties have withered away, the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) remains. My grandfather represented this very party in this Parliament and was its leader. Why is it that even after 75 years, the Tamil people of the North and East continue to vote for us? Remember, we are not a party that has stolen. We are clean.

¶ 03 The sudden allegation made against me by the Hon. Minister of State for Housing was based on a mistake. Ask anyone whether there is even a single allegation against me in the Batticaloa District. He checked about a stadium and realized it was false. So please do not drag us into your Government–Opposition tussles. Our main objective is to resolve the issues of our people.

¶ 04 During elections, there were criticisms against us because we needed to retain the trust of our people and carry them with us. We criticized by saying “this person is corrupt” or such—yet we ourselves do not have such allegations. When we raise legitimate issues, please give us fair time, including some time from my slot to my colleagues today. Madam Secretary-General, take two minutes from my time and apportion fairly so our MPs can also join this afternoon’s debate. Today we have several pressing issues to raise that we do not get to raise every day.

¶ 05 Hon. Speaker, the matters I mention regarding lands taken over by the Forest Department apply to all districts in the North and East. Likewise, what I am going to say about military camps applies to all those districts as well. But I speak as the MP for Batticaloa, using my district as an example. At 1.00 p.m. today, there is a meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence. At the last meeting, we requested that the ground located within the Kurukkalmadam Army Camp be released for the use of schoolchildren.

¶ 06 [At this stage, the Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake entered the Chamber.]

¶ 07 Hon. President, today we alone are here representing the Opposition. Had we also left, you would not have been able to proceed with the debate. We remain to cooperate so that the House can function. Some of your Ministers do not understand that.

¶ 08 I recall on a previous occasion that when a question was asked from former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte about prisons, you allowed a related question on lynching because the rope involved had been bought with Ministry funds; you said it was in order to discuss it within that debate. Using that example, I too connect my points today.

¶ 09 We are debating regulations under the Convention against Doping in Sport Act regarding prohibited substances in sports. In order for sports to thrive in our areas, lands under the Forest Department must be released so that grounds can be built. If we have grounds, our youth can engage in sports and be deterred from using performance-enhancing drugs. Some do not understand even when we give that example.

¶ 10 Since the Hon. President is present, let me be direct: please give us a timeline. You know ITAK is the third largest party in Parliament and the principal Tamil party representing the North and East. We have certain requests.

¶ 11 The Local Government Elections are over. Because of disputes surrounding them, we do not want to spend the next two to three years fighting with you. We want our people’s legitimate demands met. We are ready to work with you to achieve those. But give us a minimum timeline—something concrete so we can tell our people that we can work with this Government and that their issues will be resolved.

¶ 12 We have asked you to hold the Provincial Council Elections. I understand that holding elections continuously is difficult—Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Government have been held, and Provincial Councils are also due. It is difficult for the public as well. But give us a fair timeline. Give the ITAK—or the people of Sri Lanka—a firm assurance that at least within this month, or on a specified date, the Provincial Council Elections will be held. If you do that, through the Provincial Councils we can build grounds and support curbing the use of prohibited stimulants. Provide a time frame.

¶ 13 You know I presented a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Provincial Councils Act. At the last Parliamentary Business Committee, I requested that the Government adopt my Bill as a Government Bill and pass it so we can proceed to hold the Provincial Council Elections and then fix a date. Those speaking to us insist that the Government is willing to hold the elections but that there is a legal issue with the law. So let us resolve that legal issue.

¶ 14 Next, you know we have massive land issues. We have discussed this with you. Lands under the Forest Conservation Department are at issue because of gazettes issued around 1983–1985. Not only in Batticaloa or the North and East; in many areas like Polonnaruwa and Monaragala, people’s cultivated lands have been blocked with stones by the Department and they are told they cannot enter. Yet in some places, we see excavators clearing inside Forest Department lands. In Ampara, adjoining my district, the Department is using excavators to clear lands. Small farmers are stopped when they cultivate a small paddy plot, but large-scale business interests are allowed to grab lands within Forest Department areas.

¶ 15 Our request is this: people displaced by the war are returning and need to clear their lands—after 30 years, forests naturally regrow. To prevent problems, act according to the relevant gazettes of 1983–1985 and resolve this.

¶ 16 At the last Defence Consultative Committee meeting chaired by you, we made requests regarding some schools in our area. The Kurukkalmadam Army Camp has within it a sports ground that belongs to the school. Our children will one day represent Sri Lanka internationally; the anti-doping regulations will apply to them as well. But for now, we need that ground within the Kurukkalmadam camp to be released for students’ use.

¶ 17 Regarding the Morakottanchenei Army Camp too, we are not asking you to jeopardize national security. The army can be relocated to a suitable place. The school currently lies within the camp. We have already managed to get part of that land released. We now ask that a small access road be built to the school and that the school area be released; later it can be fully relocated when a suitable site is found. The Kayankerni school is also inside a camp; please release it because students have to walk long distances.

¶ 18 Further, in Palaiyadivaddai, the village market lies inside an army camp. A new market was built two kilometres away, but nobody goes; people do business by the roadside because the market is within the camp. These are reasonable requests. If you fulfill such legitimate demands, we will be able to tell our people we can work with this Government. We do not need positions; we need solutions.

¶ 19 I must also note that in the past six months, your party’s popularity has decreased in our areas. In Batticaloa’s 12 local bodies, not a single administration could be formed; similar in Jaffna. As the principal party for our people, we are ready to speak with you to resolve their issues.

¶ 20 Hon. President, I will end with two more matters. In Chemmani, human skeletons have been found. I understand the Hon. Minister of Justice and National Integration gave a reply this morning to a question under Standing Order 27(2) raised by Hon. S. Shritharan. Nineteen skeletons have been found. Funds have been allocated by the Ministry of Justice and National Integration for excavation. Of those 19 skeletons, experts say around five or six belong to children between three months and ten years of age. There were no clothes; the skulls show severe trauma. This is a serious issue that must be addressed. In 1999, human remains were also found adjacent to the current site, and the then Government sought assistance from international agencies like the Office of the US Secretary of State and the French Government, because Sri Lanka lacks expertise in historical forensic investigations. Even today, it is evident from published reports that we lack such expertise. We urge you to involve international experts so investigations are free, fair, and credible.

¶ 21 In Kokkuthoduvai as well, skeletons were unearthed; I believe the Minister updated on the mass graves. Because you are in the Chamber, I ask you: give our people hope so that the largest Tamil party and the third largest in Parliament can tell our people, “We jointly defeated the NPP in Jaffna, Batticaloa and most Tamil-speaking areas; now let us work with this Government to resolve our issues.” For that, we need assurances from you.

¶ 22 First, adopt my Provincial Councils (Amendment) Private Member’s Bill as a Government Bill, pass it and fix a timeframe for elections. In this country, many promises have been given to Tamils over seven decades—including during my grandfather’s time—but not kept. Give an assurance and keep it so we can agree to a truce and resolve some issues. In other areas, a road or bus stand might satisfy people; but in our areas, unless you address these concerns, your popularity will erode further. You received a mandate, then failed at the Parliamentary Election to deliver, and received the verdict at the Local Government Election. If promises are not kept in the coming months, public opposition will grow and we will have to take to the streets with them.

¶ 23 Therefore, treat the Chemmani skeletons with utmost importance; involve international investigators and observers; allocate funds. Those crimes were not committed by you or your party in power then—why protect anyone? If atrocities were committed in the 1990s, let us work together to find the culprits. We stood by you on Matale mass graves and raised concerns about Colonel Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s involvement. Why hesitate now to deliver justice to our people, when among those skeletons there could be a three-month-old child?

¶ 24 The issue of missing persons is similar. We have repeatedly asked for a justice mechanism; successive Governments have only promised truth and reparations—truth without justice. A transitional justice mechanism without justice will fail because victims will not accept it. At least on emblematic cases, give us assurance.

¶ 25 Hon. Joseph Pararajasingham, former MP from my District, was shot dead on Christmas Eve inside a church. It is common knowledge that Pillayan and his group were involved. How can your party seek their support just to get a Local Government Councillor elected? I believe the NPP top leadership is unaware; local organizers are tarnishing your image. In Chenkalady Division, merely to capture power, the NPP and TMVP were ready to work together; similarly in Kaluwanchikudy to defeat ITAK; and now we hear that on the 20th, to form the Vakarai Council—the only council left for us in Batticaloa—the NPP is ready to support the TMVP. I am certain your top leaders would not agree, but this is what is happening.

¶ 26 So, we seek justice at least for emblematic cases. Hon. President and senior NPP leaders present, please assure that: - Our issues will be addressed; - Archaeology will not be used to take over lands in the North and East; - The Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department will act within its mandate and not be used to take over Tamil lands; - The Mahaweli Authority will not, by September, use pasturelands to change the demography of the North and East.

¶ 27 Sir, I can see your patience has reached its limit; I will conclude. I thank the Hon. President, the Hon. Speaker, and the ruling party for the opportunity. Please show us the Government’s path. Since last December, our party has not had a meeting with you; grant a meeting for ITAK so you can outline the Government’s programme and we can discuss whether we can support it.

¶ 28 When we criticize Government mistakes, some accuse us—especially me, because I speak in Sinhala—of trying to bring back the Rajapaksas or the Wickremesinghes. Remember, I shouted “Go home Gota!” in almost every district. We have no desire to bring any Rajapaksa back to power. My past with the SLFP is no secret; do not pretend it is.

¶ 29 We hope the anti-doping regulations are approved and that the Hon. Sports Minister advances sports. But beyond sports, we have our people’s issues. Please give us a discussion so we can decide how to work together going forward. Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for your patience.