Thera's encroachments are an attempt to recreate Prabhakaran - V.A.S. Jayapalan Special Interview | Virakesari.lk

நேர்காணல்: ஆர்.ராம் “நான் மரணிப்பதற்குள் இடைக்காலத் தீர்வொன்றைக் கொண்டுவராது விட்டால் உலகநாடுகள் அனைத்தும் சேர்ந்து எம்மை அழித்துவிடும் என்று அன்ரன் பாலசிங்கம் 2002இல் என்னை சந்தித்தபோது கூறினார்” “ரஜீவ்-மேனன் பாடசாலையின் இராஜதந்திர அணுகுமுறை பின்னடைவுகளைச் சந்தித்துவிட்ட நிலையி…

Interview: R. Ram “Anthon Balasingham told me in 2002 that if I do not bring an interim solution before my death, all the countries of the world will destroy us together.” “India should incorporate the issue of the umbilical cord relationship into its foreign policy strategy as the diplomatic approach of the Rajiv-Menon school has suffered setbacks.”

“I will work for the rest of my life to unite the three bells in the evening of the Tamil-speaking people: Tamils, Muslims and Malays.”

While the Sinhalese people understand that the Buddhist Theras created Prabhakaran, the government and the Sinhalese people should realize that the Theras’ reckless aggression is an act of creating Prabhakaran again,” said poet, actor and social activist V.I.C. Jayapalan, a multi-faceted personality, during a special interview with Weerakesari. The full text of the interview is as follows:

Question: What is your observation after returning to Sri Lanka after a short gap? Answer: No matter how many problems the Tamils, Muslims and Malays face, they are all on the same ship called Sri Lanka. Currently, this ship is crashing on the rock of economic crisis. At such a time, each ethnic group has a big task to save the crashing ship without surrendering their struggles and demands. In this context, the Tamil-speaking factions, who are struggling for their aspirations, have to think about how to save their struggle and the crashing ship (Sri Lanka). Question: Given that the aspirations of the three Tamil-speaking ethnic groups have not been accepted by the majority so far, is it possible to forget the bitter past and join hands to rescue the country from the economic crisis? Answer: The Tamil, Muslim and hill people do not have to give up their demands and struggles and surrender. However, all ethnic groups live on the same island of Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is necessary to consider this opportunity seriously when the recovery from the economic crisis has become a major struggle for the majority. Question: At a time when the economic crises are intensifying, occupations continue in various forms in the North and East. How can the Tamil and Muslim communities participate in the economic recovery struggle when the mentality of the majority has not yet changed? Answer: If the majority Sinhalese people are to recover from the economic crisis, they must accept that Sri Lanka is a vessel inhabited by four ethnic groups. They must avoid giving it a Sinhalese and Buddhist color. During the Galle Face protests, no voice was raised to ask the Buddhist monks and forces who were systematically occupying and abusing the lands of the Tamil-speaking people in the North and East to stop their activities. Only the progressives who participated in it spoke about the problems of the Tamils. Others expressed their views under the ideology of ‘modern liberal Sinhala chauvinism’. That is, the JVP also made mistakes. The Tamil struggle movements also made mistakes. They perished because of this, which is their expression of thought. This is a very dangerous chauvinistic thought. This should be nipped in the bud. In the history of Sri Lanka; leaders including Bandaranaike, built an unjust ‘social justice’ by laying the foundation of the Sinhala and Buddhist empire on the tears and blood of the Tamil-speaking people. In such a situation, if there is no just social justice between the races, any efforts towards prosperity will surely fail and will not succeed. The current economic crisis has also shown this. Moreover, this economic crisis is not something that has happened in a short time. To think so is a kind of mental illness. This economic crisis was caused by an unjust social justice system. Everyone from Senanayake to Gotabaya is responsible for it. The majority of the people must first accept it. Only then can a ‘political and economic system’ be built that everyone accepts. Question: Is ‘systemic change’ possible when Buddhism is being promoted and aggressive activities are being carried out centered around it? Answer: There are histories of Tamils following Buddhism even before King Ashoka embraced Buddhism and before Sangamiththa visited Sri Lanka. There are oral historical records of Buddhists escaping in the boats of the Mukkuvars of Nadeeve when the Cholas expelled the Buddhists. They are also subject to study. There is a Tamil school in Anuradhapura and a Raja Raja Perumpalli school in Tirumala. Both of them are well known as Tamil Buddhist monasteries. The Sinhalese people would also know that. Therefore, the Sinhalese people are not unaware that there were Tamil Buddhists. In such a situation, when Buddhist relics are found in the North and East, they should have the mentality that they belong to Tamil Buddhists. Unfortunately, the mentality of using Buddhist relics to encroach continues in their minds. At the same time, the Sinhalese people should understand that it was the Buddhist Theras who created Prabhakaran. It is time for the government and the Sinhalese people to realize that the Buddhist Theras are committing acts of encroachment again, which is an act of creating Prabhakaran. Buddhist Theras are spreading seeds of hatred on the soil of Tamils. If the ‘Aragalaya’ have any real morality, they should oppose such Buddhist Theras. Question: How do you see the attitude of the political representatives of the Tamil, Muslim and Malay nationalities? Answer: Tamils live in the North in the majority, while the hill people and Muslims are in the minority. In such a situation, there is still hesitation among the Tamil people to fully accept the aspirations of those people. Similarly, there is hesitation among the Tamil and Muslim ethnic groups in the Eastern Province. These conditions must be changed. If the Tamils of the North and the East are to demand a self-determination solution in their united homeland, due faith must be given to the aspirations of the Muslims. Similarly, the hill people should also be given benefits in the national stream. When ordinary daily wage workers earn 3000 to 4000 rupees, they do not earn a thousand rupees. It is unacceptable that many workers are still trapped in slavery. Therefore, representatives of the three communities must come together and make proper plans and approaches. Question: Is joint action possible when the expulsion of Muslims from the North and the bitter incidents that have occurred between Tamil Muslims in the Eastern Province are scars? Answer: I pointed out through Balakumaran that the decision and action taken by Prabhakaran to expel Muslims from the North was wrong. After that, I was able to put pressure on him to correct that mistake. At that time, I was told that Prabhakaran expressed concern about the expulsion of Muslims. At that time, I sent a reply saying that instead of being concerned, try to correct that mistake. At the same time, it was said that during the violent incidents of 1985, except for the areas near Maruthamunai, other Tamil villages were seen as mounds of ash. At that time, my friend, the late Ashraf, had publicly stated that he was ashamed of being a Muslim and had withdrawn from politics. I still respect his action today. Question: Is the merger of the North and the East possible? Answer: Tamils have no right to urge Muslims in the Eastern Province to join the North. Similarly, if the Tamils of the Eastern Province are going to unite with the North, the Eastern Muslims do not have any fundamental right to stop it. At the same time, the Tamils of the Eastern Province should think about whether it is good for the Tamils for the Muslims to separate from the North. Similarly, the Muslims should think about whether it will be beneficial for them to negotiate with the Sinhalese instead of uniting with the Tamils. Based on this, all levels, including the leaders of both communities, are starting to think. If such a situation were to arise, there are only two solutions. The first is that the Muslims can form a separate entity without land ties and hold talks with the Sinhalese people and resolve their own problems. The second is that the Tamil people can also form a separate entity without land ties and move together with the North to gain power through it. It is best for the Tamils and Muslims living there to understand the field conditions and decide which is better. Question: What will be your role in repairing Tamil-Muslim relations? Answer: Not only between the Tamil and Muslim people but also the hill people should be included in it. For me, the Tamil-speaking people are a garland. The three beads in that garland are Tamils, Muslims and the hill people. Unless these three parties work together, it will be a very difficult journey to achieve the goals. This is a lesson learned from past history. Therefore, without any personal agenda for me, I am ready to carry out all the tasks in the remaining time to achieve these three beads in one garland. Question: Has India's diplomacy failed in Sri Lanka while Tamils have immense faith in it? Answer: The 'Rajiv-Menon school' has faced setbacks in India's diplomacy. India should accept this bitter truth. In such a situation, India should realize an important thing. It is necessary to first deeply understand and accept that the umbilical cord of Bangladesh is formed from West Bengal, the umbilical cord of Nepal from Gurgaon, and the umbilical cord of Eelam Tamils, Muslims, and Malayans from Tamil Nadu. In addition, the umbilical cord relationship that India has with the South Asian regions should become a part of India's diplomatic strategy. Diplomatic parties should not simply continue their strategy as a chess game. It is wrong for Rajiv Gandhi to try to manipulate the formal Sri Lankan government and the informal Tamil armed liberation struggle with more thought. If the Indian central government had handled the issue of Eelam Tamils, Muslims, and Malayans together with the Tamil Nadu government, which is their umbilical cord, no mistakes would have been made. Now the Tamils have started moving towards the West. Therefore, the Indian central government needs to realize the situation and change its foreign policy. Even if Tamils consider India as a friend, Indian-Tamil friendship cannot be built on lies. Therefore, it is easy to improve the processes of building new relations by overcoming past mistakes. For that, India should first publicly apologize for the incidents that took place during the Indian Peacekeeping Force period. Change can begin from there. Question: Do you think that international parties, including India, will accept the irreversible power sharing based on self-determination in a ‘united North and East’ to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamils? Answer: The Tamils’ theoretical demands are politically correct. They put forward such demands in Cocoa, South Sudan, Eritrea, and East Timor. But during the negotiations to achieve those principles, if the demands to achieve their goals did not work, they made agreements with Western countries with alternative ways and conditions for moving to the next stage. Because of that, later on, the above countries were formed as separate countries. But, we Tamils did not have a second choice. When I met my brother Anton Balasinghe in 2002, he said an important thing. “If I do not bring an interim solution before my death, all the countries of the world will destroy us together. Currently, Ranil Wickremesinghe has the power to put pressure on the West. At the same time, he also has relations with Ranil that can reach an agreement.” He may have shared this matter with me because he believed that I would convey this matter to Vanni (Prabhakaran) as a second or third party opinion. Not only that, when Bala Anna and Ranil met in Oslo, the US Secretary of State was also present at that meeting. At that time, there are reports that Bala Anna and Karuna signed an agreement with the Sri Lankan government to move towards an interim solution. Question: Did you send the things that Anton Balasingham told you to Vanni? In particular, did you receive a response from the leader of the LTTE, Prabhakaran? Answer: I did not have contacts with individuals. But there were organizational relations. There were conditions for accepting my views. On that basis, I had sent Bala Anna's views. I had also informed them of my position on that. Two-way relations are not usually maintained with armed liberation organizations. In that sense, I did not have two-way relations with the LTTE. But when my views were sent, attention was paid to them at some level. The issues of the Malayali people and Muslims in the North and East can be cited as examples. Question: Finally, in the current global and regional context, can we hope that there will be a time of awakening for the Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka? Answer: At present, a situation has arisen where India considers the northern and eastern hills of Sri Lanka as its part, America considers the western and coastal areas as its part, and China considers some areas including Kandy as its part. The ideology of the Sinhalese people and their leaders that they can sell the country and be prosperous by excluding the Tamil-speaking community has failed. In addition, Sri Lanka has nothing left to sell. That is why a situation has arisen where it is impossible to recover from the economic crisis. Therefore, the time has come for the Sinhalese people to embrace the Tamil-speaking people and not exclude them. If the Sinhalese people avoid that moment, global competition will intensify in Sri Lanka. It is not surprising that the above countries will station their forces in their respective areas.