The Hon. Jeevan Thondaman

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees. Recently, civil society leaders and activists from the hill-country communities, including Jeevaratnam Suresh and Anthony Jesudasan, facilitated a discussion between representatives and civil leaders. They submitted a document titled “Relief, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction: Challenges Faced by the Hill-Country People and Proposed Solutions,” which I table in Parliament on their behalf. I thank them.

¶ 02 Thousands of families have been affected by Cyclone “Titva.” I expect the Government will call a vote at the end of today’s debate. I supported the previous vote so that all of us in this House could speak with one voice. This calamity has affected everyone. Whether government or opposition, Members should refrain from blaming each other and instead look at what each can do for their constituencies.

¶ 03 As General Secretary of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress, I have done what I can. I especially thank Janik Jayasuriya representing “CELESTE,” as well as Sivaraman and Dr. Ramasubbu of the Sri Lanka–India Social Forum, Selvakumar Kandhasamy, Danush Devanayagam, and Balraju Arunachalam. We raised nearly Rs. 6 million and assisted 2,137 families. I have all related accounts, which I table.

¶ 04 I also wish to raise an issue. I heard the Hon. President is in the Parliamentary Complex and hope he listens. In the last sitting, I spoke about the Kotmale incident and raised that the Divisional Secretary had failed to act properly. I believed that Ministers or Government Members would act. Yesterday, local community websites publicly repeated these allegations. What I highlighted then as negligence has worsened. The Divisional Secretary is completely neglecting the people there.

¶ 05 In my parliamentary tenure I have never spoken on ethnic lines. Not only in Kotmale and Udapussellawa, but in areas where the Sinhalese are the majority, Tamil people are being neglected by certain officials. The Government must act. I raised it at the request of the people of Vewandan Estate; they asked me to bring it to Parliament. Today, those people are being ignored. This situation exists in many areas.

¶ 06 Hon. Minister, I know your intentions are good. Please act on this. I am not saying everyone is bad, but the actions of a few damage not only the Government’s name or ours, but the country’s name.

¶ 07 Similarly, some Grama Sevakas go to many places by name, record things, yet fail to act properly.

¶ 08 On 9th, the DCC meeting in Nuwara Eliya was held. The Hon. President stated there are 150,000 families and that 900,000 perches of land are needed. That comes to 6 perches per family. When Hon. Digambaram was Minister, legal provision set 7 perches per family; during our administration, we moved to 10 perches. The Hon. President must clarify his position.

¶ 09 As Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe said, people placed their great hopes in this Government. We respect that and vote for what helps them. But restricting our people again to 6 perches is not fair. This is the best opportunity to grant land rights.

¶ 10 At the 9th DCC, we also raised that people in estate areas covered by existing circulars were being neglected. The GA said a new circular was issued; indeed, a new one was issued on the 12th. Yet hill-country people are still being overlooked, and correct information is not reaching them.

¶ 11 Finally, to my voters: some accuse me of giving relief from subscription funds, or that I joined Namal Rajapaksa when he came. Everyone collects subscriptions. I have tabled the accounts. How many have tabled theirs? I told all party leaders, including Namal Rajapaksa, that Nuwara Eliya has been hardest hit. Relief must be given. Provide whatever you can, regardless of whether it comes from the Government, Opposition, or civil society.

¶ 12 Please conclude, Hon. Member:

¶ 13 I am concluding. Namal Rajapaksa donated around 8,000 books. We must all work together. I request the Hon. Minister to take note of my points and convey them to the Hon. President. Thank you.