The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I was allocated 15 minutes, now reduced to 13. First, with your permission, I wish to place on record tributes to three of our departed elders.

¶ 02 Foremost, senior journalist Rajanayagam Bharathi—former Editor of Sunday Thinakkural and Editor of Thinakkural online; also Northern Edition Editor of Veerakesari—passed away on Sunday, 09.02.2025, at age 63. A native of Thirunelveli, Jaffna, he served at Eelamurasu and later Murasoli, moved to Colombo as Assistant Editor at Veerakesari, and from 1997 joined Thinakkural, serving as Editor of Sunday Thinakkural until 2021 and Editor of the Thinakkural online edition. He returned to Jaffna to edit Eelannadu and was Northern Edition Editor of Veerakesari at the time of his passing. Under the bylines R. Bharathi, Abhimanyu and Parthiban, he wrote numerous columns and gave interviews to international media, and served as resource person in media trainings. He was a founder member, later President and Secretary, of the Tamil Journalists’ Association. I pay my respects.

¶ 03 Next, veteran broadcaster Ananthi Suriapragasam, a longtime newsreader at the BBC, who showed deep concern for Tamil rights and highlighted issues of the North, East and the hill country, passed away on 21.02.2025. I pay my respects.

¶ 04 Then, S.P. Sami—Chellaiah Ponnuchchamy—founder and head of Thinakkural, Northern Thinakkural and Central Thinakkural, and a leading entrepreneur in the country, passed away in Jaffna on 19.02.2025, aged 89. Born in Delft on 01.01.1936, he lived long in Colombo, led the Food Importers’ Association and the Pettah Traders’ Association. With a strong Tamil identity and firsthand experience of atrocities against Tamils, he founded Thinakkural in 1997 as a voice of Tamil dignity, then the Jaffna and Batticaloa editions to bring out the sufferings of Tamils in the North and East. He also supported faith-based and social organizations assisting war-affected people and created “Karunaipalam” through Thinakkural to aid thousands in Vanni. I record my highest tribute.

¶ 05 Hon. Presiding Member, I must also record something important. Yesterday, the Hon. Speaker announced restrictions on MP Ramanan Arjunan: for eight days his speeches will not be broadcast, and unparliamentary words will be expunged from the Hansard. We accept the Speaker’s authority and abide by his decisions. However, we do not condone any Member using the privilege of this House to utter hateful words against women or the Muslim community. Tamils and Muslims, as Tamil-speaking peoples, have long had close ties, though war-time grievances have strained relations on both sides. We do not wish to reopen wounds. As Tamils, we respect others’ faiths, customs and culture; we are not opposed to them. If mistakes were made by the Hon. Ramanan Arjunan, we apologize to our Muslim brothers and ask that they do not take this as a broader issue.

¶ 06 Is it healthy that the first such restriction in recent times is on a Tamil MP? We have pondered this deeply. Hon. Presiding Member, in 1988–89 under the UNP Government of J.R. Jayewardene and R. Premadasa, you too suffered under the Prevention of Terrorism Act—arrested, tortured, fingernails torn. Today you preside over this House due to your five decades of patience and effort. Many have come and gone. If such a sanction is imposed on one MP today, how many more tomorrow? Who will be muzzled next? These concerns push us to reflect for the sake of national reconciliation.

¶ 07 Deputy Minister Periyasamy Chandrasekaran—a Tamil nationalist and patron of culture in Kilinochchi—had a cultural centre named after him removed under Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government; no trace remains. When he was arrested, no one here spoke up for him. This has long pained us.

¶ 08 When a No-Confidence Motion was brought against A. Amirthalingam in this very House, Shelton Ranaraja, the Sinhala MP from Kandy, opposed it, for which he was mocked as “Shelton Nadaraja.” Saumyamoorthi Thondaman, a Tamil, also opposed it. There was a time when such cross-communal principle existed.

¶ 09 Forty-seven years ago, in 1978, the PTA was brought by using a Tamil Minister from Batticaloa—A.A. Amirthalingam was then Leader of the Opposition; R. Sampanthan was a Member. J.R. Jayewardene, the “wily fox” of Sri Lankan politics, told TULF’s leaders—there were 18 TULF MPs but only 17 stood with Amirthalingam because Rajadurai had crossed over—that he would withdraw the law in three months if they did not oppose it. The TULF made a historic mistake by not opposing. For 47 years we have paid with thousands of lives and lost assets; even today we suffer under that law.

¶ 10 In 1977, Cyril (I record from memory) used extremely derogatory language against Tamils and national reconciliation in this House; no action was taken, no expunging occurred.

¶ 11 Please allow me one more minute. In a 11 July 1983 Daily Telegraph interview—just 12 days before Black July—J.R. Jayewardene said: “We are not worried about the opinion of the Jaffna people… We cannot think of them… about their lives or what they think about us.” A man who held ministerships, premiership and two presidential terms openly indicated indifference to Tamil lives. No action was taken then for national reconciliation.

¶ 12 Under Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, chilli powder was hurled in this Chamber; books, including those used for oaths, were thrown. Later President D.B. Wijetunga said, “If we are the tree, you Tamils may be like a creeper entwining us, but do not think you are the tree.” Such toxic words!

¶ 13 Our time is up, so I conclude: We accept the Hon. Speaker’s rulings on Hon. Ramanan Arjunan. But when anti-Tamil incidents occurred, they were not duly considered. When it happens to a Tamil MP now, remaining silent would be another historic mistake. Hence, I have recorded this. Thank you.