Tamil nationalistic political parties are united in reiterating their stand for a federal system, while firmly rejecting the existing unitary state structure.
The National People’s Power (NPP) government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has vowed to continue with the unitary setup with foremost place given to Buddhism in the planned new constitution likely to be placed before the parliament.
After the recently concluded parliament election, this is the first time the Tamil nationalistic parties have met to discuss a subject that they consider the fundamental issue to the decades-long civil war and majoritarianism in the country.
The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) had taken the initiative to organize the discussion according to the leaders of various parties who exchanged their thoughts.
TNPF says the purpose of the interactive dialogues is based on the proposals put forward by the Tamil People’s Forum, a forum comprising various Tamil public organizations and activists in 2016, focusing on the issues faced by Tamils and solutions to them when the new constitution is being drafted.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led NPP government has expressed its desire to bring about a draft constitution based on the one devised by the Maithiripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe regime based on a unitary state structure with foremost importance given to Buddhism.
A resolution passed on the 31st of January 2016, under the chairmanship of the former Chief Minister of the Northern Province and a former judge of the Supreme Court C.V.Wigneswaran stressed Sri Lanka should be a Federal Republic. That meeting of the Tamil People’s Forum was held at the Veerasingham hall in Jaffna.
Local journalists say the leader of the TNPF and Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam met Vanni District MP representing the Democratic Tamil National Alliance and leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) Selvam Adaikalanathan at Mannar on the International Human Rights Day.
They are said to have discussed a common strategy about the stand to be taken by the representatives of the Tamils when the draft of the proposed new constitution is placed in the Parliament.
“At a time when a new constitution is planned to be brought that too where it has been publicly announced it will be a unitary state system, we discussed how we are going to face in parliament and shared the stand of the TNPF and the Tamil when such a draft constitution is placed in the house”.
Subsequently, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam met with another senior Tamil MP representing the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) from Jaffna, Sivagnanam Siritharan, at his house to discuss strategies.
Siritharan said the discussion focused on matters of common interest, the welfare, and future of the Tamil people, and the need for the Tamils to vote for a federal system when the voting on the referendum about the proposed new constitution takes place.
“When a new constitution is being brought, this government will definitely try to place a solution under the unitary system. If such a system is proposed and put to vote in a referendum, and if the Tamils vote for a unitary state, based on that vote, a message will be spread that Tamils have rejected a federal system and have accepted the unitary setup. So, when we are fighting for a federal system, there is a need to create an awareness among the people at this time,” he said.
Local journalists say the talks initiated and led by the TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam will continue into January 2025.
Tamil People’s Forum
The 44-page resolution passed by the Tamil People’s Forum (TPF) in 2016 pointed out, the fundamental problem for all the issues in Sri Lanka is the country being a Sinhala, Buddhist country.
They also proposed the establishment of a multi-national Sri Lankan state, while emphasizing the unique identity of the Tamils, their right to self-determination, and recognizing the political aspirations of the Muslim and upcountry Tamils.
International intervention
The Tamil People’s Forum also insists before writing a new constitution, an agreement should be reached between the Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim people about the long-term vision of the government, and such an agreement should be signed with the representatives of America, India, or the UN including them and signed in the presence of a third party.
The TPF also said that such an agreement should include the recognition of the Tamil Nation, their right to self-determination, sovereignty, power sharing in a Federal system, traditional homeland, accountability for alleged crimes during wartime, release of political prisoners, returning of lands under the control of the army, withdrawal of the army from the Tamil areas, stopping of forced colonization by the government, reforming the defence ministry, ensuring past crimes and atrocities are not repeated. All these were incorporated in their resolution passed in Jaffna in 2016.
The resolution also made it amply clear that Sri Lanka should be a Federal Republic and it should have two components, the state and the central government.
It also demands the merger of the North and East as described in the 1978 constitution and emphasizes the President should consult the Chief Minister of the province and seek his advice when a governor is appointed.
TPF in their 2016 proposal also states the role of the governor shall be ceremonial except when emergency is proclaimed in the country.
Talks with the President
Meanwhile, all the ITAK MPs elected in the recently held general election met President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka on 04 December at his office. After the discussion, MP Shanakkiyan Rasamanikkam told journalists in Colombo they discussed the political solution expected by the Tamil people, and long-term issues faced by the Tamils in the North and East, and briefed the President in detail about these and suggested solutions.
“We expect a Federal political solution with a united North and East. We informed this as our party’s stand. We spoke about the release of political prisoners. We expressed our opposition to the continued use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. We also discussed land grabbing, Mahaweli, Forest Department, Coast Guard, and the removal of military camps and the land grabbing taking place through those departments. We also talked about justice for our disappeared people.”
MP Rasamanikkam told journalists that the President told their delegation the political solution could be examined when a new constitution is being written.