சி.அ.யோதிலிங்கம் தமிழ் அரசியலைப் பொறுத்தவரை இரண்டு விடயங்கள் முக்கிய பேசுபொருளாகியுள்ளன. ஒன்று ஜனாதிபதி ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்கவின் கொள்கை விளக்கவுரை, இரண்டாவது ஜனாதிபதியுடன் இடம்பெற்ற கூட்டமைப்பின் சந்திப்பு. இரண்டுமே தமிழ் மக்களைப் பொறுத்தவரை பெரிய நம்பிக்கைகள் எவற்றையும் கொடுக்கவ…
C.A. Yodhilingam
Two issues have become the main topics of discussion in Tamil politics. One is President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s policy statement, and the second is the meeting of the coalition with the President. Neither of these have given the Tamil people any great hope.
The President mentioned two issues in his policy statement. One is to provide a political solution for the Tamil people, and to obtain the cooperation of the Tamil diaspora to rebuild Sri Lanka. He may have mentioned both since both are related to each other.
He said in general terms that it is necessary to provide a political solution for the Tamil people, but he did not say anything clearly about what the solution is and what the roadmap is for it. He may have said this even for a ritual, since it is necessary to talk about a political solution to mobilize international opinion.
For the Tamil people, the content and roadmap of the political solution are important. It is never acceptable to try to impose the 13th Amendment on the heads of the Tamil people in the name of a political solution. To make a political solution possible within the power structure of Sri Lanka, a political cultural change is needed in South Sri Lanka. Before it can be established among the Sinhalese people, it must be developed among the Sinhalese political parties. It is deceptive to simply say that a political solution is necessary for the ritual without making any effort for a cultural change in the Sinhalese nation. At least strong signals of goodwill for reconciliation with the Tamil people could have been shown. An assurance could have been given that the immediate problems of the Tamils would be resolved within a month. But nothing of the kind was given. Obtaining the cooperation of the Tamil diaspora to resolve the economic crisis depends entirely on the efforts to resolve the ethnic issue. Without credible assurances in this regard, cooperation from the Tamil diaspora cannot be expected. In particular, the Tamil people are not part of the state power structure. They stand outside it. The Tamil people have been pushed out of that structure by successive governments. If they want to come in, a Sri Lankan nation must be built. Within that nation, guarantees for the Tamil people must be guaranteed. Unless this is guaranteed, the Tamil people will remain outside. Sumanthiran made attempts to blend in with the power structure without any guarantees for these. He failed every time. Many issues for democratizing the Sinhala nation have come up in the President’s speech. There is also an appearance in the speech that the political positions of the Galle Face protesters have been absorbed. On the one hand, giving the appearance of suppressing the protesters and absorbing their positions is also a kind of tactic. The proposed National Programme and the National Council will be formed by including only the political parties that are members of Parliament. The Galle Face protesters had asked that those who are conducting the protest outside Parliament should also be given a share in the National Programme. At the same time, the President has said that the People’s Council will be an independent organization. In addition to these, the Parliamentary Oversight Committee and the Task Force to Protect Protestors have also been mentioned. They have also been asked to cooperate in the unanimous passage of the 22nd Amendment. The precondition for democratizing the entire island of Sri Lanka is the inclusion of the oppressed nationalities with their identities in the power structure. Unless this process is carried out, no matter how democratic proposals are brought forward, it will never bring democracy. The statement of Kalmaks that “No nationality that oppresses another nationality will ever be free” is noteworthy here. The second issue is the meeting between the President and the Alliance. The Alliance has made its usual mistakes in this regard this time too. The Alliance’s members of parliament did not have a clear theoretical perspective on the current crisis. The light of theory is essential for any action. It is theory that guides action. This crisis is caused by the conflict between the liberal wing of the Sinhala nation, the communal wing, the interests of the oppressed nationalities, especially the Tamil people, India, China and America. Therefore, it must be understood first that the Tamil people also have an honorable place in this crisis arena. Sumanthiran Thiruvai has spoken out that Sampanthan said that the alliance would provide full support to the formulation of an all-party national program. How many people did Sampanthan consult with before making this decision? Did he consult at least with the partner parties? Is this Sampanthan’s own family issue for him to decide alone? How can we support without a guarantee that the aspirations of the Tamil people will also be included in the national program. It would have been appropriate to say that we will support if we were guaranteed that opportunities will be provided for the aspirations of the Tamil people to be included in the national program. Before going to the meeting, the members of Parliament should have discussed among themselves and drawn up a resolution draft and held a dialogue based on it. The written draft should have been submitted to the President. If the President does not implement them, that draft will at least remain a historical document. This is not the right time to talk about a political solution. There are reports that Selvam Adikkalanathan and Sirtharthan had said that we will only talk about other issues and therefore other issues were discussed to the detriment of talking about a political solution. If now is not the right time, when will the right time come? Siridaran went with his own preparations and had also sought advice from sectoral scholars about it. He put forward proposals such as not banning commemoration events and forming an interim administrative council. The President did not give any favorable answers to those either. In fact, if the President implements something within a few months of taking office, if it is not right, nothing will happen! Historical experience. Therefore, the pressure from the Tamil side should have been to resolve the immediate issues within a month, and to create a timetable for a political solution to the missing persons issue, but they did not happen. They did not even consider the self-respect of a nation and behaved like mere slaves. It is worrying that they do not even have the self-respect that Mano Ganesan has. As if that were not enough, there was a discussion about voting in the presidential election. They have made the unity in the alliance public. The frontliners have decided to stay away from everything. This is the easy political path. If they cannot loudly and openly speak out on the issues of the Tamil people in the political arena, then it is clear to them that they are the representatives of the people. In total, those who have leased the politics of the Tamil people have badly ruined the 13 years since 2009. There is no point in relying on them anymore. It is healthier to think about creating everything anew.