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Vol. 1 No. 8 ' 40 Pence " May 1982 ELECTION FEVER
GRIPS SRI LANKA
All political parties are gearing themselves for the big battle. Sri Lanka is gripped with election sever. The media is afflicted with pre-election mania. The campaign has already begu P7 in earr est, although no announcement of
an election has been trade yet.
Under the constitution, the elections for the National State Assembly are not due until the middle of next year, and the Presidential elections Ilot until 1984. HOWEWET, political observers believe, that President J. R. Jayawardene has already decided on the clections for the latter part of this year. But he is keeping everybody guessing as to when they are to take place, and which will take place first - Presidential or general elec
iOS,
Sri Lanka is not unknown for political horse-trading between political partics. NOT there is any shortage of political punters and they are prepared to stake their bets in his guessing ga IIle in favour of the Presidential election saking place prior to the general elections. They suggest that if it takes place first and the present President is reelected, then he could use his elevated position and the illimense power, influence and patronage that go with it to Ilanouvre and politically manipulate the outcome of the general elections. The leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the only opposition party that is likely to defeat the present ruling party, Mrs. Bandaranaike, deprived of her civic rights by the government on charges of abuse of power, and therefore is not in a position to present herself as a candidate in the
PTesidential election, Inı addition, there is a lamentable dearth of candidates of national standing and pOpular appeal to be able to successfully challenge the present iIicu Ilben, J.R. wants to hold the IPTesideIntial electior before the opposition parties could regroup themselves from their present pathetic disiarray.
WOLATILE PICTURE
Political ob 5: VEITS beliew: that the general elections will definitely be held before the end of this year. The growing LII popularity of the gow, on the one hand and the ever increasing number of people who have begun to attend opposition rallies and meetings, particularly that of Mrs. Banda Tanaike, has pLursuaded the President to go to the country at the earliest possible opportunity because he realises that, as days and months pass, the situation is likely to deteriorate further for the
gow,
In the run-up for the elections, the entire situation presents a Wolatile picture. As far as the opposition parties are concerned, the SLFP suffered a major split about all year ago followed by a bruising campaign of clair115 and count-clairls, insults and insirituations and COLIrt battlc5 between the rival factions, Only recently, a bargain was
Contd. On page ll
 
 

“TIGERS’ SHOOT IT OUT INSTREETS OF S. INDIA
The fratricidal war between the two rival factions of the "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a Tamil youth proverrier I, took a tragic I urn when it spilled our beyond I he shores of Sri Lanka, with a shootour in public that took place in the streets of Pondy Bazaar, Thiyaga rayar agar, South Ir dia ar about 10 p. 777. O 77 May 9 Following this incident, a number of leading members of the movement have been arrested including Prabhakaran [Thamby and Uma Maheswaran [Muhunthan), the leaders of the rival factions.
One of the injured, Jotheswara I, is in hospital with serious bullet wounds under a heavily-armed guard. Prabhakaran and Siwakula T (Ragawan) were a TTested after a chase imInediately following
. ¬ 1 1
PRA EPTAKARAN the shooting incident. Siwa, Illeswaran (Niranjan) and Uma Maheswara Il werc appreheerlded after a few days of intensive search. It is reported that several others have also been rounded-up and detained pending investigation.
Already, the top brass of the Sri Lankan police force are in
Tamil Nadu to car Ty out their own investigations, and to explore the possibility of extraditing the arrested "Tigers' who a Te Teported to be "Walted
Other
i 1 STi La Ilka foT alleged
crimes. A5
LMA MAHE5 WARAN extradition proceedings cannot be completed within a short time, the Lankan police are in the meantine, keen to obtain the assistance of their counterpat 5 il Tai Til Nadu to delwe deeper into any possible LI Tildlcrg Tico u Ild link between the "Tigers' and Indian or other
Contd. Ėro-page 2
TWO MORE GUNNED DOWN
Ort HVeďresťďay 2óľh May a popular SCbCr 14'Lyrker ard 7 TFF I'W WEEG for 'ff' 5 f, M. WRA WIKILVMARAN [27] wa 5 ger arferid (de)' yw'r cloring with his frierid T, UMAKUMARAN [28] ar Allar vedady, Jaffra by a gaTrig of 5 E 1'Er y'olul 5.
The killings had occurred fri the sa te hours of the right.
According fej the Staferriert -{rtל ה"חurgנזTakturזen by UrיוEj Wher Sivakarrarar la group of sever persons or bicycles had Walked info fheir house drid woken up Lirflaktirfarar Who was sleeping ir rihe opert Persfridastr. PPher hg ård ofher
irrates also woke up arid
Carrie ou r, orie of the Frier had braridished a revolver and threateried ther to keep guier. They ordered Urrakri car ro Corre sorg Wffs rherr,
Lrfektrfffet koss Liske ro ger Cor. Corte of the r wo T#Tr}{r} r-CyCleo Parked frl The cyrrpgor radd arald Curie of the ging 71 Fred the like. The Other six your gsters had ther) deflated the tyres of the other rricotorcycle. Before irakirg Lorrakarr7 arar a Way, the garg Kad warred she Trof7a7fe5 Pdf fo raise an alarm, otherwise their h 045e WOLIld He razed f0 he grரrd,
Сопtd., оп page 13

Page 2
2 TAMIL TIMES LSLSLSLSLSLS
HARTAL AGAINST NEWCAPITAL
The widespread response from the Tamil speaking people of Sri Lanka to the call for a 'Hartal' - boycott against the shifting of the capital to Kotte and renaming it Sri Jayawardenapura and the opening of the new Parliament building there, must have sent shockwaves within the leadership of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). This was the first Hartal organised without the support
and in opposition to the TULF.
Sections which opposed the participation by the TULF in the ceremonies connected with the opening of the new Parliament building called for a Hartal on the day of the opening - April 29, 1982. All the reports indicate that the Hartal was un unqualified success. There was a considerable response to this call in the Tamil areas, particularly in the northern part of the country where shops were shut, schools boycotted and transport services seriously affected. The commercial life of the northern city of Jaffna was virtually paralysed.
The Hartal was called Jointly by the Tamil Eelam Liberation Front, Eelam Manavar Pera
mmunist
vai (Eelam Students Congress), Students' Association of the University of Jaffna, Tamil Ilaignar Peravai (Tamil Youth Congress), Revolutionary CoLeague and the Jaffna Branch of the Public Corporations Workers Union. They called upon the people “to observe a hartal on the 29th to maintain the self-respect of the Tamils and to renew the determination to re-establish Tamil Eelam”. Following a protest meeting Dr. S.A. Tharmalingam the
leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Front, garlanded the statue of King Sankili at Nallur, the capital of the old Jaffna Kingdom before it was
conquered by the Portuguese.
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Contd. from page 1 foreign groups or individuals. In appreciation of the arrests already made, and in anticipation of and as an incentive to further co-operation, the Lankan govt. has already announced a reward of one million rupees to the Tamil Nadu policemen who effected the arrests.
The Lankan govt. and the security forces, which had displayed a remarkable incapacity for the last several years to apprehend the "Tigers' who were alleged to have been involved in spectacular bankraids and several daring shootouts with the security forces, are reported to be thoroughly elated at the arrest of the leaders of the move| ment. They believe that these arrests will virtually cripple the movement totally.
"Liberation Tigers' have been a movement based on a section of the Tamil youth of Sri Lanka, who had become exasperated with the continued failure of the parliamentary leadership to solve the problems of discrimination and oppression facing the
Tamils. They set out on the road of armed struggle to liberate the people from oppression and to achieve a separate state of Eelam for the Tamils.
Ideological differences are said to be at the root of the split in the movement into two factions, one led by Prabhakaran and the other by Uma Maheswaran. The tragic aspect of this factional struggle was that they chose to sort out their ideological differences with the very weapons which they allegedly collected and used to 'deal with organs of oppression'.
Long before the tragedy that was enacted in the streets of Tamil Nadu, there were reports of a series of shooting incidents, in the course of which members on either side were killed. These suicidal escapades into the arena of mock heroism provided the Lankan security forces with the opportunity for which they had waited for long, to effect a large number of attests.
Some believe that the latest
arrests of the "leaders' them(Contd. on page 13)
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Page 3
WAR ON BBC
The War Party, otherwise known as the Tory Party, have
been preparing for battle under the generalship of Mrs. Thatcher to "make the world a safer place to live in' and to show the world that "Great Britain does not appease dictators' (supplying weapons of mass destruction in return for the dictator's money in peace time is another matter), and to show the 'Argies' a lesson. Unexpectedly it went into battle on a second front against the BBC.
Weapons like "traitors', "treason", "unpatriotic', 'odious and subversive” and 'stabbing our boys in the back' were liberally used in this war against the BBC. Why? The BBC had the cheek and ipudence not to follow the “hysterical blood lust' of the Sun, Daily Star and the Daily Mail. The BBC had the audacity to permit views to be broadcast of those who were critical of the government's war-policy.
To the eternal credit of the BBC, they withstood the onslaught with courage and independence. Richard Francis, the Managing Director of
BBC Radio, in an address to
the International Press Institute, said, “Our job is not jingo, it is to provide the most reliable account of confusing and worrying events, both for the troops themselves and the
families, the country at large
and for the rest of the world ... The BBC needs no lessons on patriotism. Truth is the best propaganda. Whatever reputation the BBC may have does not come from being tied to the government's apron strings'. In spite of accusations from Mrs. Thatcher and her Foreign Secretary, Mr. Pym, and the jingoistic rabble from the Tory backbenches and the bloodhounds of the Sun, Daily Star and Daily Mail, the BBC's coverage of news and views about the Falklands crisis has been
supported by oyer 81 per cent of the people in Britain according to a public opinion poll conducted by an independent research Company, Audience Selection.
POWELL ON HIS HOBBY-HORSE
If there is anyone in Britain
who has Sri Lanka in his mind di all the time it is none other
than that well known blackbaiter, Mr. Enoch Powell. Whenever he wants to make a case for his racist policy of repatriation of blacks from UK, he does not fail to cite Sri Lanka as a good example to follow. He explains to his audience as to how
the
UK LAW-BR The European Commissio,
accepted that a British immi many women from living wit
this country appears to be
Five examples of women affected by the rule were presented to the Commission ithis month, and three of them were ruled to be admissible. This means that the Commission sees a prima facie case which may eventually be judged by the European Court of Human Rights unless the
Government changes the rule.
One case was ruled inadmisible, because an application by the fiance of the woman concerned to come to Britain has not yet been formally rejected. The other was excluded because the Home Secretary decided at the last moment to allow the husband to enter,
The rule, introduced in 1980, says that the husband of a woman settled in Britain can only come to settle here with her if she is a British citizen who was born in the UK, or if one of her parents was born here. However, any man settled in the UK, irrespective of his citizenship, is allowed to bring his wife here to settle with him.
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the National Council for Civil Liberties say that the rule is sexually and racially discrimi
 

plantation workers of Indian origin were rendered voteless, stateless and many of them forcibly repatriated.
The ethnic black population in Britain have become accustomed to hearing Mr. Powell's periodic outbursts calling for their repatriation.
Believe it or not, Mr. Powell recently spoke on the subject of "Racial Harmony' to the Rightwing Monday Club of the Conservative Party. In his speech, he returned to his favourite hobby-horse of repatriation of the black population to their countries of origin and those British born second generation to the lands of their forebears.
Not being known to be an
TAMIL TIMES3
enthusiastic advocate of assisting Third World countries, he called for the creation of a new Department of Immigration and Repatriation, and said that some of the money spent on Third World aid programmes could be spent on establishing such a department.
While Mr. Powell may camouflage his poisonous racism with his customary logic and inimitable eloquence, his followers in the National Front and British Movement accept his words as gospel and go about attacking, maiming
and on occasions killing people of a darker hue as part
of their contribution to keep
Britain white.
R EACH OF HUMAN RIGHTS
n of Human Rights has gration rule which prevents h their foreign husbands in a breach of human rights.
natory and contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights.
Miss Harriet Harman, the solicitor for the NCCL, said
yesterday that the European
Commission's decision was a recognition "of what we have said ever since the Government announced its
intention to introduce this rule.'
The next stage is for the Commission to attempt to produce a friendly settlement and, failing that, to draw up a detailed report of its own. Lawyers expect the earliest date the cases could reach the Court is early 1984. The Court has ruled against Britain eight times, more than against any other member of the Council
of Europe.
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Page 4
41 I ATV L l LM1ES
TULF LEADER succeeded one another, the
ON NEW CAPITAL
The following is the full text of the speech made by Mr. A. Amirthalingam Leader of the Opposition and TULF leader on the occasion of the opening of the new Parliament Building in the new capital of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenepura.
Your Excellency, I am very happy that I have been given this opportunity to speak a few words on this unique and historic occasion. A change in the Seat of Parliament from one building to another is a unique event, more so when it also means a change of capital, however close to each other the old and the new capitals may be. This change of capital from Colombo to Kotte is doubly significant. The declaration of Sri Lanka as a Republic in 1972 was hailed as a break with imperialism and the realization of the full sovereignty of the people. This change of capital means another break with the traditions introduced by the European conquerors, the imperialist rulers who
Portuguese, the Dutch and the British.
Colombo was made the Seat of Government by these foreigners from across the oceans who landed in the harbour and who wanted trade. Colombo was the harbour in which they could land their reinforcements of men and material to rule over the land and from which they could ship the merchandise for which they came. Colombo, the centre of trade and shipping, became the political capital as it suited the convenience of the foreign rulers.
The shift of the capital from Colombo to Kotte has been referred to as a prelude to the revival of the glorious heritage of the Sinhalese during the period of the Kingdom of Kotte, which was the highwater mark of achievement of Sinhalese literature. The Tamil people do not grudge the Sinhalese the restoration of what was theirs. We believe in a policy of live and let live. We believe in co-existence with the Sinhalese on a basis
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of equality and freedom. We certainly resent and will fight against any set-up under which we are made secondclass citizens and a subject nation.
The period when Colombo was the capital paved the way for the reduction of the whole population to a position of subjects of foreign imperialists, followed by the gradual emergence of the Sinhalese as the rulers, leaving the Tamilspeaking people as they were, a subject nation under different masters. As if to rub it in, the grant of Independence in 1948 was followed by citizenship laws which decitizenized and dis-enfranchised half the Tamil population and made the rest doubtful citizens, by language laws which enthroned Sinhala as the only official language, leaving the Tamilspeaking people out in the cold, and by amendments to the Constitution which made Buddhism virtually the State religion, leaving the Hindus, Muslims and Christians with a stamp of inferiority.
The Parliament in Colombo saw the emergence of the reaction to these measures in the form of demands for balanced representation put forward by the late leader Mr. G.G. Ponnambalam, the demand for a federal form of government put forward by the late leader Mr. S.J.V. Chelvanayagam and, ultimately and inevitably in the face of the total rejection of all these demands, the demand for the restoration of the sovereignty of the Tamil nation.
In the history of this Island the Kotte period has special significance. The name “Kotte' itself is a Tamil word, meaning a fort; and the city took its name from a fort built by a Tamil by the name of Alagakkonara.
At the time the capital was established at Kotte in the 14th century there were two other kingdoms in the Island. There was a Sinhalese kingdom in the central hills with its capital at Gampola and later in Kandy. There had been
a Tamil kingdom in the north
with its capital at Nallur. According to Professor K.M. de Silva, in his latest book "A History of Sri Lanka' at page 84:
“In the second half of the fourteenth century, the fortunes of the Sinhalese reached their nadir. True the writ of the Gampola Kings appears to have run in Rohana as well as on the western seaboand, but Jaffna under the Aryacakravartis was much the most powerful kingdom in the Island.'
Even the reasons for moving the capital to Kotte which Professor K.M. de Silva gives are rather interesting. This is what he says at page 86.
"The capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom was moved once more, this time from the mountains to the west coast near Colombo, where Nissanka Alagakkonara had built the fort of Jayawardhenepura (Kotte) ... and once more the reasons for the move were essentially defensive, to protect the west coast with its rich cinnamon resources which the Tamil Kingdom was so anxious to gain control of.'
No doubt, these three kingdoms had their ups and downs. Reference was made in the former Parliament to the conquest of Jaffna by Sapumal Kumaraya who was known in Tamil as Sampaga Perumal, an adopted son of Parakramabahu VI, who was the greatest ruler of the Kotte period.
This subjugation lasted only 20 years, and the Kingdom ol Jaffna became independent again and continued to be independent till 1619. Even after the Kotte Kingdom had passed under Portuguese rule, Kotte or Jayawardhenepura, the capital, one of the kingdoms that existed in this country contemporaneously, had come back to its own. The Sinhalese people are proud about it and we are happy.
Kandy, which was the last of all, has preserved its grandeur
and importance, but the third
Contid on page 13

Page 5
MAY 1982
MINISTER ALWIS REPLIES
The following are extracts from the speech made by Hon. Minister of State, Mr. Ananda Tissa de Alvis in reply to Mr. Amirthalin
gат.
Your Excellency, I do not intend on this historic occasion to cover all of the territory that has been covered by the Hon. Leaders and Members of the Opposition.
My hon. Friend, the Leader of the Opposition, rightly said that this city was discovered
by Alagakkonara and that he
was a Tamil. Of course that is true. No one will deny that history, least of all the Sinhalese. If you search through the annals of many nations, I would like to know of any other nation that is so generous to people who have come and are not of them.
Your Excellency, time after time the history of this country records how our kings of ancient times protected every religion, every visitor, and gave him honour except for once in Kotte when we were a little rough with the Chinese, and the Chinese came and took away one of our kings. They are making up for it now and they are our good friends.
ALAKESHWARA AND AMIRTHIASEKERA
There was a reference to Alagakkonara, but I must remind the Hon. Member that he later preferred to be called Alakeshwara. There is no time now, but I can take you and show you the road where Alakeshwara is still remembered. Why? So there is no objection whatsoever. We shall take you to our hearts. You have come here as Amirthalingam. You are welcome to be with us and go anywhere you like as Amirthasekera. I do not want you to give an interpretation to that remark which you know very well is not intended. I know that you have a sense of humour as we all must have in this Assembly. A country that is governed by a humourless people would be in great jeopardy. And in that same
tone may I say that if every want to resuscitate that an ent kingdom of Nallur, y will find in common with the difficulty that you cann agree upon who will lead it. such an eventuality we shall glad to persuade Mr. Cy Mathew to come and ass you as its king Your Excel ncy, I am told by the Ho Prime Minister that M Mathew has already desir that I should express that he ready, willing and able
Your Excellency, in concl sion, may I recall to the min of everyone present here a the nation through us that v are the heirs to a traditic which you so richly describ in your speech. May I al. recall to mind that in th moment of slight disputatic by the Hon. Leader of t Opposition, we the Sinha people must, on the Floor of House like this, express ol undying gratitude to the gre Sir Ponnambalam Raman than. When Sinhala leade were in prison and Britis imperialism had them in th palm of their hand, includin the redoubtable E. W. Pere of Sri Jayawardhenepura Kotte, who represented Hora na in the Sate Council in later period, one man, an one man alone, stood u against the might of Britis power and that man was Tamil, and to that Tam accustomed as we are to b grateful, accustomed as wear as a nation to face the trut with humility and gratitude, t that man I say on the Floor O this House “Thank you' That act made possible th growth of democratic freedor for our people and the powe that they now enjoy.
Let us hope, Your Excellenc that in the House we sha. always ensure that it will b the perennial spring of libert that all of our people wi equally enjoy and that ever deliberation that is undertake in this House will lead t prosperity and that we shall b able to be merely the source by which we will express wha

TAMIL TIMEss
is there deeply implanted in S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, I mankind. In the words of the would call that "the uncongreatest orator who ever spoke quered and unconquerable in this House, the late Mr. spirit of man'.
VERSE & WORSE
We ruled whole Sri Lanka for uncounted years Until it was spoilt by the heathen Portuguese Dutch and the English we kicked out And waved high the Lion of Sinhalese Once again we've built our fortress in Kotte Ready to march on ahead Anybody not infected by our Elephantitle Will bury in our blind stampede. We're so generous to people who've come and not of us' And accept we are of truegrit But if Eelam is a serious demand We'll drown you in our own shit. If Lingam becomes Sekara and Singam, Singhe We night exchange wedding rings But if Nallur is to be revived Well send the Mathews to be your Kings. We'll parody the spirit of democracy And make sure we win the race To suffer the loss of a Neville Fernando Is better than losing face Burning a library or two and a kovil here or there Can sometimes be political butter and bread While we have Alwis and his gang Who Said GAMUNU was dead?
MANO Colombo 15 Courtesy of 'Saturday Review'
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Page 6
6 TAMIL TIMES
MOORTHY ON WAY OUT
London is buzzing with rumours, particularly among circles close to the Sri Lanka High Commission, that the High Commissioner in UK, Mr. Moorthy is certain to be
removed shortly.
The move to remove Mr. Moorthy would appear to have been already taken by the highest in Sri Lanka following a spate of petitions by some Sinhala extremists living in the UK.
It may be recalled that, when Mr. Moorthy was nominated to succeed Mr. Wimalasena, the previous High Commissioner, petitions were organised, particularly mastermiinded by the notoriously racist Sinhala Association of Sri Lankans in UK, protesting against his appointment on the grounds that, London being the foremost international centre, should have a Sinhalese as High Commissioner for Sri Lanka.
Mr. Moorthy, to prove his loyalty to the government which appointed him, and recognising the oppsition he faced before his appointment, did his utmost, as a career diplomat, to satisfy the Sin
attending each and
hala Buddhist sections in London by accommodating most of their demands, by
every minor social or religious function they organised, and above all by his strenuous efforts to defend the indefensible - the blatant discrimination and oppression of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. He faithfully and parrot-like repeated the propaganda put out by his political masters in Sri Lanka. Alas, his efforts would appear not to have satisfied the racist gangs of the Sinhala Association. They commenced a secret campaign against Mr. Moorthy which increased in its intensity and venom, particularly after the Sri Lanka Exhibition held in July last year.
Mr. D.P.R. Rajapakse, a UNP politico was appointed Deputy High Commissioner a few months ago. He is no man to play second fiddle to
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MAY 1982
anyone, particularly to a Tamil. From the time of his appointment, he would appear to have begun to cultivate the vociferous sections of the Sinhala community in London. he began to make his presence felt in almost all the social and religious functions associated with the London Sinhala community. He frequently spoke in Sinhala and never failed to utter the 'SinhalaBaudha” mantram. The Sinhala Association, which was kept away at a convenient distance by the previous High Commissioner, Mr. Wimalasena and to some extent by Mr. Moorthy, because of its extreme racist position, begar to move into the inner
sanctum of the High Commission through the good offices of the Deputy High Commissioner.
Mr. D.P.R. Rajapakse is a powerful man. He belongs to the ruling UNP. He is a Sinhalese and a Buddhist. He does not fail to circulate amongst the influencial Sri Lankan social circles.
Sources close to the H.C. deny that Mr. Rajapakse is in any way connected with or instrumental in the campaign to replace Mr. Moorthy with a Sinhala Buddhist High Commissioner. But they seem to be confident that he is the best man to succeed Mr. Moorthy in the event of his removal.
PATIENT'S PLEA WINS DOCTOR'S FREEDOM
The Court of Appeal in London recently directed the immediate release of Dr. Wilegodawickremage Daya Silva, a Sri Lankan, who was serving a prison sentence of 18; months.
Dr. Silva of Craven Road, Bayswater, London was jailed at Knightsbridge Crown Court on February 12 this year on charges of forgery and uttering forged documents. He had forged bills for the treatment given to his Arab patients. He stood to gain £2570 by his forgery.
Dr. Silva, who was a General Practitioner, was supported by several of his patients in his
appeal. Lord Justice Watkins, sitting with Justice Drake said it was rare for the court to have heard such widespread praise for the GP from so many quarters. The court had received 80 letters from residents and a petition bearing hundreds of names begging the doctor's release. The court was now minded to treat him with leniency, said the Appeal Judge. An order enabling the immediate release was substituted for the prison sentence.
Dr. Silva, although released from prison, still faces an inquiry before the Disciplinary Committee of the General Medical Council.
BUDDHIST CONFERENCE
A conference of Buddhist leaders and Scholars is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka from June 1 to June 6. This is the sequel to a resolution adopted at the 13th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists held in 1980 in Thailand.
The Conference will discuss the future of Buddhism and the conditions of Buddhists everywhere in the world with a view to spreading the peaceful message of the Buddha to all mankind.
The Ven Narada Thero, the i well-known and respected Sri
Lankan Buddhist monk, in a
letter concerning the Conference, has expressed his belief “that Buddhist leaders and scholars will discuss Buddhism and its inherent message of peace and NOT politics or political dogmas.”
The government of Šri Lanka has decided to accord full diplomatic recognition to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO).
The PLO which has hitherto
maintained a resident mission in Colombo for the past
several months is expected to be upgraded into a full
embassy after the formal announcement of recognition.

Page 7
MAY 1982
FILM STARTURNS POLITICIAN
Following on the foot-steps of MGR (Mr M.G. Ramachandran, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) and perhaps the foot-steps of President Ronald Reagan, another film star has decided to enter full-time politics.
Veteran of the Telugu screen, Mr N.T. Rama Rao, was unanimously elected the founder president of the new party "Telugu Desam', formed in Andhra Pradesh. At his inaugural address he said that the new party would work
within the framework of th Constitution and strive to giv the State a clean Governmen According to Mr Rama Rac if the Telugu Desam part came to power, the name C the State will be changed fro1 “Andhra Pradesh' to Telug Nadu”.
Mr Rama Rao freely adm tted that he was inspired b MGR. "He has achieved h: objective. He has been able t successfully project himself a the hero standing on the sid of suffering people'.
TAMIL NADU TURNS To coloMBC
People in Tirunelveli, a small
town in Tamil Nadu, are glued to their TV sets every day from 6 to 10 PM watching programmes beamed from Colombo. The transmitter is only 160 km away and “Rupavahini”, the Sri Lankan colour TV transmission makes it easily to Tamil Nadu coastline over the sea. The range of the 20 kW transmitter located 2500 m above sea level is about 200 km and therefore the reception is very clear. With booster antennae people
in certain parts of Trivandrun in Kerala State are also ablett receive signals from Sri Lanka
The programmes beamed b Rupavahini are in Sinhalese Tamil and English. The Tam programmes of which there i at least one hour each da include Carnatic music, Bha rtha Natyam and Tamil films The English cartoons an other comedy programme: English films and sport features are the other attra tions.
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TAMIL TIMES 7
It is a worthy thing to fight for one's freedom; it is another sight finer to fight for another
man’s.
MARK TWAN.
LIFE AFTER REPA TRIATION
The economic and social distress of the repatriated Tamil estate workers from Sri Lanka is gradually gaining publicity in India.
The shattered dreams of those who thought that they were going to the bountiful bosom of the motherland and that an affectionate welcome was awaiting them are only
now attracting public attention.
Socially the repatriates did not find acceptance readily
forthcoming. Instead of the
expected warm, embrace for brethren returning after a long and traumatic separation, they encountered ridicule and contempt as indicated by the uncomplimentary terms they were referred to.
Economically, most of the rehabilitation and resettlement schemes are turning out to be fiascos. Recently Tamil workers who were "rehabilitated' in Andhra state, had to march
back to Madras to draw attention to their grievances. In Tamil Nadu itself various rehabilitation schemes are in the process of closing down, thus making repatriates destitute as in Neiveli and Kanchipuram. Repatriates have been driven out of estates in Neelagiri and Kodaikanal and
they have to resort to begging
in the towns.
The latest tale of woe is about families numbering over a hundred, sent to settle in Kerala. Newly cleared land for cardamom plantation; unclean water; provisions to be bought from a town about 20 miles away; no health facilities and no schools; daily wage of Rupees Ten per person and no work during rainy days. After a number of days of starvation and deaths of children through accidents and illnesses, the families decided to march to Madurai.
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Page 8
8 TAMIL TIMES
SRI LANKA
A new chapter was opened in the history of Sri Lanka on April 29, 1982 when Colombo ceased to be its; capital city and Sri Jayawardenapura | in Kotte was declared the new political capital of the country. On the Same day, a new Parliament building, sited in the new capital and costing: several hundred million rupees, was ceremonially declared open with great pomp and pageantry by President J. R. Jayawardene.
The country or its people did not demand a new capital. Nor were they able to afford an ultra-modern luxury building for their leaders to debate as how best they could squander the peoples' money. The whole idea of the new capital and building was of the President himself.
One should not be deceived that the new capital city has been named after the present President because of the similarity between his name and that of the new capital. Although the two names sound similar, one can easily easily note the difference in their spellings. This is not the only difference. The new capital derives its name from the old times of the Sinhalese Kings of Kotte, which was known as 'Jayawardenapura', meaning "City of Victory'. The present President has absolutely no claim of any historical relationship with that city.
Mr. J.R. Jayawardene, the self-confessed shrewd schemer he is , has an eye for history. For sometime now, he has been exercising his mind as how best he could earn a place in history and be remembered in the future. He probably and genuinely entertains the fond belief that, in course of time, the gullible people of Sri Lanka and, for that matter, innocent foreigners will relate his name to the name of the new capital and mistakenly come to believe that the new capital is named after him.
Besides, Mr. J.R. Jayawardene's predisposition and predilection to personal glory, and almost paranoid obsession about his personal position in the country's history, the transfer of the capital to the seat of the old Sinhalese Kingdom of Kotte, from where the last Sinhalese King surrendered his kingdom to the Portuguese colonisers in 1505 A.D., is of enormous and unparalleled significance to the relationship between the two major ethnic communities,
Sinhalese and Tamils, in Sri Lanka.
A
The eminent Sri
Professor K.M. de Sil 'Discrimination in
'THE SINHALESE THE LARGEST A DOMINANT ELEM POPULATION OFS) ARE THE MASTER THEY HAVE REGA POWER AFTER MA AND ARE FULLY PERHAPS OVER A OTHER ELEMENT transfer of the capital symbolises that poli Sinhalese Buddhist d
country.
SEVERAL KI
Except for brief perioc history, Sri Lanka w several kingdoms. At arrival of the Portug there were four kingdo sovereignty within the limits. These were t Kotte, Sitawake, Kand Kingdom of Jaffna were predominantly T. their own Tamil King.
The Portuguese conqu provinces, that is all th except the kingdom of failed to conquer attempts. The British, Dutch, succeeded in Kandyan kingdom in 1 military struggle. For t modern history, th politically and organica by the British followin tion of the recomm Colebrook-Cameron C sals. This unification c effected from above masters, without the having had any say i. their economic, politic tive convenience.
UNIQUE OPPC The unification of t from the other m provided a unique a opportunity for the communities of the together, particularly development of the constitutional reform l independence. Initiall confined itself to con towards more and mor to local representativ Although this campai restricted to the Englisl
 

MAY 1982
NEW CAPITAL & A NEW
Lankan historian, 'a on the subject of Sri Lanka”, said: BUDDHISTS ARE ND ALSO THE (ENT IN THE RI LANKA. THEY S AND RULERS. NED POLITICAL NY CENTURIES, AWARE OF IT, WARE ...... NO COUNTS'. The to Kotte concretely tical reality, the omination in the
NGDOMS
ls in its 2000 years as comprised of
the time of the uese in 1505 AD, ms exercising total ir own territorial he kingdoms of y and Jaffna. The whose inhabitants amil-speaking had
ered the maritime le three kingdoms Kandy, which they despite repeated who followed the conquering the 815 after a bitter he first time in its e country was lly united in 1833 g the implementandations of the bmmission propof the country was by the colonial so-called natives the matter, for l and administra
RTUNITY
e country, apart any advantages, ld unprecedented wo major ethnic country to get with the gradual campaign for ding to complete , the campaign titutional reform legislative power of the people. n was primarily educated sections
FOR A DIV
of both communities, it cannot be doubted that it assisted in the process of developing a closer and better relation. ship between the communities as a whole.
The election in 1910 of Sir Ponnampalam Ramanathan as the first and only elected representative to the Legislative Council symbolised the trust and understanding that had developed between the two communities during the preceding period. It was not an accident that Sir Ponnampalam Ramanathan was elected by a constituency (however small or limited it may have been), the majority of which was Sinhalese and who voted for him in preference to Dr. Marcus Fernando, an influential medical practitioner.
RAMANATHAN AND SINHALABUDDHIST REVIVAL
Sir P. Ramanathan had already displayed his dedication and commitment to serving the cause of the entire Ceylonese nation during his tenure as a member of the Legislative Council between 1879 and 1892 and later when he occupied the position of Solicitor General. Although he was a Tamil and Hindu, Ramanathan's contribution to the nationalist renaissance amongst the Sinhalese and Buddhists was immense. Presently, when any small concessions to the Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka are deliberately and unjustifiably misrepresented as a threat to and betrayal of the Sinhala-Buddhist cause by substantial sections of the Sinhala political leadership, it is relevant and appropriate to recapitulate, for the record, certain instances of Ramanathan's contribution to Sinhala-Buddhist revival.:
(a) In 1880 Colonel Henry Olcott, the great Buddhist revivalist, arrived in Ceylon, founded the Buddhist Theosophist Society and worked for the revival of Buddhism. He found in Ramanathan a close ally and lieutenant who worked with him shoulder to shoulder. His faith in Ramanathan was demonstrated when Olcott made Ramanathan joint-treasurer with himself of the immense funds he raised for the furtherance of Buddhis? education.
(b) Ramanathan, together with Olcott, was largely responsible for organising the agitation which eventually made Wesak Day a public holiday.
(c) Ramanathan strongly advocated the passing of the Buddhist Temporalities Bill to safeguard Buddhist temporalities

Page 9
MAY 1982
PARLIAMENT BUILDIN DED NATION
“I see no signs of a
from fraud, misappropriation, misuse and
mismanagement. In his celebrated speech in the Legislative Council on the Bill, Ramanathan said, 'The Buddhist clergy are really objects of worship and, therefore, theoretically purity itself. The action of the British Government has reduced a large proportion of them to a state of impurity'.
(d) Sarasavi Sandaresa of May 28, 1889, commenting on the contribution of Ramanathan, commented:
“The Buddhists, as a national sect, owe Mr. Ramanathan a deep debt of gratitude. His interest in the question of the Wesak Holiday and the Buddhist Temporalities Bill, his encouraging words to the Buddhist students of the Pall College and Theosophical Society, and a host of other services to Buddhism, have endeared him immensely to the Buddhists of Ceylon'.
(e) In recognition of Ramanathan's services in the cause of Buddhist revival, Colonel Olcott sent the following letter to him enclosing the manuscripts of Sir Edwin Arnold's 'Light of Asia':
"Dear Mr. Ramanathan, “In redemption of my promise, I send you a sheet of the original Ms. of Sir Edwin Arnold's "Light of Asia'. It was given me by him personally in London in July, 1884. I need scarcely tell you that this is a literary treasure that one day must have a great value apart from its historic interest, and in giving it to you, I feel that you have richly earned it by your chivalrous help in the Legislative Council to the Buddhist community of Ceylon. If good wishes coming from a thankful heart have any dynamic value, then shall mine follow you to the end of your public career.
Faithfully yours, H.S. Olcott.” IN DEFENCE OF SINHALA
(f) At a time when the culture, tradition, language and religion of the Ceylonese ran the risk of being completely submerged by Western influences, Ramanathan, more than any other man of his time, threw himself firmly and forcefully behind the nationalist cause.
The clarion call he made to the Sinhalese in his celebrated and generally much acclaimed speech on the subject of DENATIONALISATION OF THE SINHALESE' delivered at Ananda College on September 3, 1904 was typical of the genuineness with which he applied himself to raise the consciousness and pride in their language. In a long, hard-hitting and thought-provoking speech, he directly and bluntly told his Sinhalese compatriots who were becoming obsessed with anything English:-
denationalization that the country. First an neglect of the use of amongst those who English ... many of their whole heart into I have asked these da “Will you tell me wha man?” Not knowing remained silent. I the take delight in speakir language at your hic friends whom you m and other places, and They feebly smiled. travelling in a railwa four or five Sinhalese and the party inclu found them all en English language. , will not speak the Sin is there to speak it?' “If the leaders of a they are no longer foi amongst that people, of the nation, its lea For the sake of the your own sake, you Sinhalese language; y It is your duty to ca, Sinhalese language to and to speak it, ignor on all occasions an English has no busine do so and delight in a epheneral phases of cannot or will nic language... and will national institutions, deserve to be called S
IN DEFENCE OF
(g) Sir P. Ramana of the Sinhalese du days of 1915 requir The venerated Sin rika Dharmapala, having read Ra sioned speech in th wrote a long and October 21, 1915 in
'Please accept my for the historic speech Legislative Council, “Ceylonese”,
The day that you Ceylon, from that di defend the poor, negl a doomed people, 5 protect them. Unhap
Dr. C.W.W. Ka became Minister speech referring to during the Marti
“When the fair nan been traduced, when was about to be wipe

TAMIL TIMES 9
By R. GANESHAN
baement in the spirit of has taken possession of d foremost is the utter the Sinhalese language have learned to speak them have not thrown
the rational movement...
enationalized gentlemen, at constitutes a Sinhalese the answer they have n asked them, "Do you ng the beautiful Sinhalese omes, and among your leet in railway carriages it on public platforms?'
The other day, I was y carriage where I met gentlemen of first rank, led a Sinhalese lady. I gaged in speaking the Ah! If Sinhalese lips halese language, who else
People get denationalised, rces for permanent good Therefore, for the sake ders must be national. people, then, if not for must take delight in the ои тиst not sрит it.... tltivate the study of the the best of your power, ng the English language 'd at all places where SS. . . . . But if you do not lonning the external and Western civilisation and pt speak your native not stand up for your then I say none of you inhalese.” F THE SINHALESE
than's heroic defence ring the Martial Law es no elucidation. hala scholar, Anagawho was in Calcutta, umanathan’s impase Legislative Council, moving letter dated which he said: sincerest congratulations you made at the Ceylon which I read in the
are taken away from ly there will be none to acted Sinhalese. They are 'ith none to guide and y Sinhalese'
1nangara, who later of Education, in a Ramanathan's role al Law days said: le of the Sinhalese had he whole Sinhalese race d out of existence by a
LSLSLSLSLSLSLSLS LLLLC LSLLL
muddle-headed Government, it was Ramanathan the Tamil, who raised his mighty voice and fought on behalf of the Sinhalese. His name will ever be inscribed in the loving hearts of a grateful people. Mr. E.W. Perera had this to say:
"It was Sir Ramanathan who ght manfully and strenuously for the Sinhalese, who, though not of his the speaker's blood, yet feeling as a child of the country for his mother-land, did all he possibly could as the one Ceylonese member to vindicate the Sinhalese and help them in their great agony and in their great travail.''
The pioneer Labour leader of Sri Lanka, Mr. A.E. Goonesinghe, said many years later:
The history of Martial Law in Ceylon cannot be concluded without mentioning the part played by that great man Sir Ponnampalam Ramanathan, who stood like a colossus alone in the Legislative Council and vindicated the honour and dignity of the Sinhalese nation. I was present in the gallery on that day in September 1915, when Sir Ponnampalam spoke for several hours. With tears in his eyes, he described the brutalities committed by Englishmen with impunity under the name of British justice. He said it was not justice but downright murder by the ruling race and it was an act of misgovernment for the ruling race to ignore all these atrocities.
“Up jumped Sir Reginald Stubbs, the then Colonial Secretary, and said that Sir Ponnampalam was accusing the government of misgovernment and wanted the word withdrawn. Sir Ponnampalam refused and enumerated one by one the acts of misgovernment.
'No Sinhalese who had heard Sir Ponnanpalam in defence of the Sinhalese people in the Legislative Council that day will ever raise his hand, or say anything against the Tamil race, The actions of the Sinhalese in 1958 against the Tamils make me ashamed as a Sinhalese, and I decried them then and ever after. This hatred and contempt engendered by designing politicians against our own brothers the Tamils must cease.'
CEYLON NATIONAL CONGRESS The 1920's witnessed the first cracks in the unity that had been forged between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities during the preceding period. The Ceylon National Congress had been formed on December 11, 1919 with Sir P.Arunachalam as its founder President. Sir Arunachalam had succeeded in merging the three principal political organisations in the country - the Ceylon Reform League, the Ceylon National Association and the Jaffna Association - into a single national organisation. In the words of Arunachalam, the Ceylon National Congress had "achieved a position of
Contd. on page 10

Page 10
10 TAMIL TIMES
Contd. from page 9
power and prestige that could not be ignored by its foes and made its influence felt both by the local government and the Secretary of State.'
But by 1921, the Congress had split. Arunachalam was replaced by Mr. James Peiris who became its President. The split arose as a result of the repudiation of a pledge given in writing by Mr. James Peiris and Mr. E.J. Samarawickrema in regard to a seat for the Tamils in the city of Colombo. The Congress had reduced itself from being a "National Congress to one representing mainly a section of the Sinhalese, destroyed the feelings of mutual confidence and co-operation between the various communities.'
FRAGILE FOUNDATIONS CRACK The debate in the Legislative Council in 1928 on the question of franchise and the position adopted by almost all the well known Sinhalese leaders of the Ceylon National Congress in opposing the grant of the franchise to the plantation workers of Indian origin demonstrated the growing gulf between the leaderships of both communities. The fragile foundations that Ramanathan so laboriously laid for a united Ceylonese nation was further weakened when leaderships of both communities began to pursue policies which had the main aim of promoting sectional interests.
Big doors swing on little hinges and the whole future of the relations between the ethnic communities depended on the way the leaders of the nation set about their tasks in the post-independence era.
However with the transfer of political power and Ceylon achieving dominion status, the edifice of a united "Ceylonese Nation' began to crack to its very foundations.
In India, which was granted independence at about the same time, and which had over 400 dialects and 18 major languages, and a multitude of religious and other fissiparous tendencies operating, the leaders of the country made every effort to galvanize the nation into a single whole unit by implementing
appropriate constitutional arrangements to ensure that the minorities felt secure
and not discriminated. But in Sri Lanka,
every successive post-independent govern
ment made it their preoccupation to undermine national unity and harmony between the communities. With absolutely no conception of the past history of the country prior to its unification in 1833, and without any regard to or perception of the calamitous and destructive consequences for ethnic
relations, they set about pursuing policies as if they were only acting for and on behalf of the majority Sinhala commu
the Tamil
nity. The policies independence were tory, but were deli re-establish the domination over the
POLICIES OF DI
Atticle 29 of the Co the enactment of a impose disabilities confer advantages C members of any cor This had been don entertained by the probable domination strong majority col neither constitutiona demands of justice inevitable and justif breach of faith and prospect of racial co. post-independent go controlled by leade community from un policies of discrimina of the minorities:-
O SINHALA Ll obtaining independel an overwhelming selected “Asoka Cha peace of the ancien of India, Asoka, as national flag. But government adopte which was the flag Predictably the T minorities protested. tions were depicted b anti-Sinhala and a m made by adding two yellow (purporting Tamils and Muslims Thus the first post-i was made on nation
O PLANTATION NIED FRANCHISE tions with the Britis the Board of Min Council, in the Men to Whitehall, put fo representation under ved the Sinhalese Ceylon Tamils 15 plantation workers seats and the Muslim Parliament. It was p of this Scheme that independance. At no of the majority Sinh even an indication t plantation workers o
voting rights immedi dence. However, wit an Act of Parliamen plantati deprived of their citiz

MAY 1982
ST LLLSS STSSSTTSSLLLSTTS SMSASCSMMSSSLSSSLSSSLSSSMSSSMSSSS
they pursued since not only discriminaperately designed to
;tamp of Sinhala
minorities.
SCRIMINATION
nstitution prohibited ly law which would or restrictions, or r privileges, on the mmunity or religion. to allay the fears ethnic minorities of by the numerically mmunity. However, constraints nor the or fairplay, or the table accusations of perfidy, or the ugly nflicts prevented the vernments led and rs of the majority ashamedly pursuing tion and oppression
ON FLAG: Upon hce, India which had
Hindu majority, kra', the symbol of t Buddhist Emperor the emblem in their in Sri Lanka, the il the "Lion' flag, of the Sinhalese. amil and Muslim
But their protestaly the government as inor concession was strips in green and
to represent the ) to the Lion flag. ndependence assault al unity.
N WORKERS DE: During the negotiah for independence, isters of the State orandum submitted orward a scheme of which they conceito have 59 seats, seats, the Tamil of Indian origin 14 Is 8 seats in the new imarily on the basis the British granted time did the leaders ala community give ) deprive the Tamil
their citizenship and
ately after indepenone fell stroke of , over a million of on workers were enship and rendered
stateless, and in the following year they were disfranchised. To this day, besides the large number of plantation workers who had been forcibly repatriated to India, many remain stateless and voteless. The treatment meted out to the plantation workers, who were almost the sole breadwinners of the entire nation, should go down in thick bold black letters in the annals of Sri Lanka as the most shameful and barbarous act o' inhumanity ever perpetrated during the 2500 years of the country's history.
O MINORITY REPRESENTATION HALVED: The deprivation of franchise to the Tamil plantation workers had the effect of depriving the Tamil speaking people of the country of almost 50 per cent of the political representation to which they would have been entitled in Parliament.
O WEIGHTAGE OF REPRESENTATION TO THE MAJORITY: To protect minority representation, the Constitution granting independence gave some weight to area as well as population in delimitation of constituencies, 75,000 people per constituency plus one constituency for every 1,000 square miles. While enjoying no vote, nearly a million Tamil plantation workers have: been and are counted for the purpose of delimitation of constituencies, and this anomaly has helped and continue to help create thirteen additional seats for Sinhalese members. Although the Sinhalese population constitute 70 per cent of the population, they enjoy nearly 85 per cent of representation in Parliament. Sri Lanka is unique in that it is the only country in the world where the majority community enjoys weightage in representation at the expense of the minority.
O STATE-SPONSORED COLONISATION: Successive post-independent governments have followed a policy of land alienation, under which lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, which are the traditional homelands of the Tamil speaking people, have been distributed to people belonging to the majority community accompanied by vast amounts of financial and other forms of assistance from the state. The net result of this policy has been the transfer of several hundred thousands of people belonging to the Sinhala community into areas mainly inhabited by Tamil speaking people, both Tamils and Muslims. This . state-aided transfer of population has over the years grown to such an extent, particularly in the Eastern Province, that some constituencies of traditional Tamil areas have begun to return Sinhalese Members of Parliament.
Contd. on page 12

Page 11
MAY 1982
Contd. from page 1 struck between the majority of
one faction led by Mr. Anura
Bandaranaike and the other led by Mrs. B. and consequently the SLFP are presently engaged in undoing the damage caused by the split.
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) recently suffered another split, when the proSLFP Anil Moonesinghe led his followers out of the party. The Communist Party (CP) is presently following an isolationist policy but this is not expected to last long. True to their past record, these parties are expected to line up behind the SLFP to avoid being wiped out of parliamentary
existence. A repeat of the 1970
scenario under the SLFP is their best, hope for parliamentary political survival.
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) is faced with open challenge from groups which have hitherto operated from within it. These groups have already laid the foundations for a new political party and the leadership of the TULF is under heavy fire.
The Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), led by that skillful organiser and political impressario, Rohana Wijeweera, is the only party in opposition, which is determined and resolved to go it alone and take on all the parties, both of the opposition and government, single handed. They are staking a claim to be the biggest left party after next elections.
The Nava Sama Samaja Party(NSSP), led by its charismatic leader, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, a former MP, have ruled out any alliance with the SLFP and are campaigning for a United Front of all left parties.
The ruling United National Party, although afflicted with internal rivalries, is not threatened with any major split. But it has its share of the problems. The govt. is demonstrably unpopular owing to its inability to control the twin problems of rising unemployment and escalating cost of living.
GOVT. ROCKED BY SCANDALS
The UNP, which came t power in 1977 on an ant corruption and anti-nepotisn platform, has recently bee rocked by a series C scandals. The govt. MP fo Hewahetta, Mr. Anura Danie was caught red-handed b customs officers while attemp ting to smuggle in tw. suit-cases full of gold bars expensive wrist-watches etc worth several million rupees The damaging publicity tha followed caused the Presiden to compel the MP's resigna tion frpm his seat.
The Minister of Agriculture Mr. E.L. Senanayake, wa forced to tender his resigna tion after charges and countel charges of impropriety bel ween him and his Permaner Secretary. The allegation were inquired into by Cabinet sub-Committee head ed by the President himsel and the Minister had to go There have also been allega tions against other high-ups i the govt. of using thei position to feather their ow. nests, sending their children ti schools run only for childre. of foreign diplomats and als Western countries for educa tion, helping friends an relations and generally abus of power and position. Al though mud-slinging an muck-raking are normally ti be expected in the politica game, the opulence an luxury that characterise th living of some of the govern ment’s leaders give weight ti allegations of shady deals an shadowy connections.
The situation had become sc serious that the Presiden sought and obtained from hi. party exclusive power fo himself to investigate compla ints and sack any minister o. MP or govt. official withou reference back to the party. A new Code of Conduct fo Ministers and MPs was draw and given wide publicity. Thi VIPs lounge at the Katuna yake International Airpor which was generally used, o rather abused in the past ha
Contid on page 13

TAMIL TIMES 11
LLLLLSLLGLLLSLLLSLLLLLLLS LL
LANKANS HIT TENNIS FORM Lankan tennis players are making a name in oil-rich state of Bahrain. Former National Champion, Frank Sebaratnam in particular displayed his outstanding tennis
prowess by winning
Sebaratnam won the Men’s Singles title for the second consecutive year defeating Egyption Abdul Jawad Mohamed 6-3, 7-6. He earned his second title when he won the Mixed Doubles event partnered by Shalini Panditharatne, who formerly captained the Colombo Ladies College tennis team.
Bahrain conducted its annual Davis Cup style tournament.
MADRAS-COLOMBO A direct speech circuit between the air traffice controllers of the Madras airport and Tatmalana airport (Colombo) was commissioned this month to ensure greater safety of air travel between India and Sri Lanka. The new circuit will provide instantaneous communication between the twto air
t WO. Cathey-Pacific Open Tennis Championships.
titles recently at the
competition were India, United States and Great Britain. However, this year, the Lankans created a major upset by winning the tournament. The Sri Lankan team comprised Frank Sebaratnam (Captain), Anu Karunaratne, Neil Seneviratne, Jaye Thalayasingam and Neil C. Wijeratne. They beat Bahrain, who had previously defeated India, Rest of the World and European Select, by three matches to
The previous winners of this Sli
ports.
A teleprinter circuit between the two air traffic services also began regular operation. The new land-line teleprinter circuit makes use of the Indo-Sri Lankan microwave link and will be used to exchange messages concerning aircraft movements, flight plans, weather data, etc.
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Page 12
12 TAMIL TIMES
Contd. from page 10
O SINHALA ONLY: At the time of independence, it was the policy of all political parties that English should be gradually replaced by Sinhala and Tamil as Official languages of the country. Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike (leader of the SLFP), after resigning from the United National Party, said: "It is most essential that Sinhalese and Tamil be adopted as the official languages immediately so that the people of this country may cease to be aliensin their own land; so that an end may be put to the iniquity of condemning those educated in Sinhalese and Tamil to occupy the lowliest walks of life'. But in 1956 he became Prime Minister following a highly charged racialist campaign of "Sinhala Only in 24 hours', and enacted the Official Language Act which declared Sinhala as the sole official language of the country. When Ramanathan lambasted the westernised “denationalised' Sinhalese leaders in 1904 for not taking "delight in speaking the beautiful Sinhalese language', he would not have ever imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that his own Tamil language would one day be denied official recognition.
O DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT: The extent of discrimination practised by the governments against the minorities was such that in the year 1980, of those who were selected for appointments in the public sector, less than 3 per cent were from the Tamils although they constitute nearly 22 per cent of the population. There has been a virtual moratorium on the recruitment into the army and the police from among the Tamils. Of the 17,000 police force, only about 800 are Tamils, and even they are mostly senior officers who joined the force several years earlier.
O DISCRIMINATION IN EDUCATION: The Tamil people face discrimination in the field of education too, and this is most felt in higher education. Admission to universities on the basis of merit has been undermined and replaced with a system of admissions which operates to the benefit of students from the Sinhala community.
O VIOLENCE AGAINST THE TAMILS: If Ramanathan fought "to vindicate the Sinhalese and help them in their great agony and in their great travail'', as Mr. E.W. Perera put it, during the dark days of Martial law in 1915 under the British, it is under and during the post-independent governments of Sri Lanka that the Tamil speaking people of the country had suffered their worst agony and found themselves in their greatest travail.
Besides the overt
discrimination the TI face and the conti citizenship and voti million plantation
origin, both these
subjected to wides repeatedly over the The intensity and violence has increa
four to five years.
For the first time
the Tamils were : violence in 1958
countrywide campai President Mr. J.R. , a pact (popularly knc entered into betweg Minister, Mr. S.W. and Mr. S.J.V. C leader of the Feder
which represented a
of the Tamils. Under Language was to language of admi Northern and Easte the majority of the p speaking, and these have a limited degr matters of . admini alienation. The pr association with a m Buddhist clergy in campaign in 1958, pc a betrayal of th majority and success much racial tension not only did the th unilaterally abrogate the country was plun racial violence, them were the Tamil peopl Since the racial viol have been several violence, the worst o 1977, 1979 and 1981. in 1977 and 1981, ni living in Sinhala area violence, but also tho nds of plantation wol gin were attacked, 1 their properties set ali ty forces actively coni blind eye. These viol invariably preceded b sustained campaigns some Sinhala politicia belonging to the p party. It was the reprehensible role that the August 1981 ra compelled even this to publicly state: '' sorrow than in ang throughout the Islar and South, show we profess do not see

MAY 1982
and covert forms of amil speaking people nued deprivation of ng rights for about a workers of Indian sections have been read racial violence years beginning 1958.
frequency of this sed during the last
since independence, ubjected to racial which followed a gn by the present Jayawardene against wn as the B-C pact) in the then Prime R.D. Bandaranaike helvanayagam, the al Party. - a party substantial majority this pact, the Tamil pe recognised as a nistration in the rn Provinces where opulation was Tamil provinces were to ee of autonomy in stration and land esent President in ilitant section of the a well orchestrated ortrayed this pact as e Sinhala-Buddhist fully whipped up so in the country that, men Prime Minister the pact, but also ged into a storm of ain victims of which
C. ence of 1958, there outbreaks of such f which occurred in During the violence ot only the Tamils s were subjected to usands and thousakers of Indian ori'obbed, raped and ght with the securiliving or turning a ent outbreaks were y concentrated and of racial hatred by ns including several resent Government despicable and they played during cial violence that present President I speak more in er. Recent events ld, North, Centre hat the religions m to influence for
the good of some of our people. I regret that some members of my party have spoken in Parliament and outside words that encouraged violence and the murders, rapes and arson that have been committed.'
The horrifying tale of the May–June 1981 violence in the Northern city of Jaffna by the security forces has been so widely and well documented in the international news media that it is not necessary to recount its gory details. ALL PARTIES ARE ETHNIC
Except for the far left political parties, which count for very little influence in parliamentary terms, almost all political parties in Sri Lanka today can be described as ethnic political parties. In the absence of "national' political parties, which pursue policies irrespective of ethnic considerations, national politics has over the years degenerated into racial politics.
The United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the two biggest mainstream political parties, have pursued and do pursue policies which are essentially pro-Sinhalese and pro-Buddhist. They attempt to outbid each other before the Sinhala and i Buddhist masses to prove that one party is more pro-Sinhala and pro-Buddhist than the other. If one party attempts to grant even a minor concession to the ethnic or religious minorities, the other party accuses the former of 'betrayal' of the Sinhala race and Buddhist religion. Irrespective of their differences and open hostility on other matters, the UNP and the SLFP are basically united in one matter - in the pursuit of policies that ensure and guarantee majority Sinhala domination over the minorities.
The minority Tamils, by and large, have been and are being represented by their own ethnic political parties. When the major mainstream political parties, the UNP and the SLFP, continued to follow discriminatory policies, it was natural and predictable that the Tamil minority gravitated towards parties which professed to protect their interests. The vast majority of Tamils have in the recent past and do at present support the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). Having committed itself to parliamentary polities and non-violence as the means to achieve its aims of protecting and promoting the interests of the Tamil people, one would have expected the TULF to have developed a stratagy to form alliances with those parties which represent the oppressed sections in the majority community. This the TULF has signally failed to do and repeatedly had
(Contd. on page 14)

Page 13
MAY 1982
(Contd. From P. 11)
been restricted for use by the President, the Prime Minister and certain specified category of diplomats. All others and their families are expected to use the normal channals and every govt. Minister or MP are required to declare everything om depature and arrival to the Customs.
It is believed that these measures have been adopted and given publicity under the direct authority of the Presi
dent, who has become more
and more alarmed at generalised allegations made against almost everybody connected with the govt. He hopes to salvage, at least to some extent, the much tattered and tarnished image of the govt. in the public eye before the elections. While the much publicised so-called anti-corruption drive by the President has been widely welcomed, observers doubt whether he had left it too late for the cancer of corruption to be cured sufficiently enough to be able to present a clean and healthy
image before the people ir
ime for the election.
Contd. from page 4
Capital, Nallur in Jaffna. which was the seat of government from the thirtee. nth century to the seventeenth century, for a much longe period than Kotte, is completely neglected. Are you surprised if the Tamils regard this neglect as symbolic of the subject status of the Tamil nation, of their not being free yet?
Your Excellency, under your
government, District Development Councils have beer
established in all the districts with power to look after certain matters at the district level. May I make use of this opportunity to ask that the District Development Council established in Jaffna be given the necessary authority to locate, revive and resuscitate the glorious palace and capital that was occupied by the last Tamil King of Jaffna, Sankili. While there is an attempt to
revive and resuscitate ancient Sinhalese greatness, let there
be a similar revival of ancient
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TAMIL TIMES
—ത്തണയു -—
Tamil greatness, both of which bloomed side by side. Let not one wilt and wither while the other revives and blooms. Both nations were free during the Kotte period. Both languages flourished during that period. All religions, particularly Buddhism
during that period. Let us hope that the new Kotte era
and Hinduism, were thriving right
which is being inaugurated today will lead to the revival of the Kotte spirit, the spirit of equality, the. spirit of freedom for all, Let us find a modus vivendi, a means of co-existence as friends, recognizing the equality and the tight to self-determination, the to freedom of the nations occupying this Islau d. I thank Your Excellency.
Contd from page 1 The gang had then proceeded to Iraikumar's house where they had forced Umakumar to call out Iraikumar's name. Iraikumar's father had replied that his son was sleeping in a hut in the garden.
The bullet-riddled bodies of Iraikumar and Umakumar were discovered the following morning lying side by side in a paddy field.
Iraikumaran, a Cultivation Officer, was the Organizing Secretary of the Thamil Illaignar Peravai Viduthalai Ani Thamil Youth Front-Liberation Wing). He had previously been a member of the youth front aligned with
Front and edited a pro-TULF paper ILAIGNAR KURAL The voice of youth) in 1976.
When the TULF decided to support the District Development Councils Bill, Iraikumaran had broken away from the party and had since then remained a critic of the leadership.
Contd from page 2 selves would render these two factions totally ineffective and the rank and file disoriented. However, some express the hope that at least the rank and file of these factions would soon realise that, engaging in acts of bovine criminality is not the way to settle ideologi
cal differences.
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Page 14
14 TAMIL TIMES
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
ത്തnmബത്ത -—ണത്ത
- TAMILASSN. OF
AUSTRALASIA
The Ceylon Tamil Association of Australasia celebrated Tamil New Year in Sydney on 17th April. Hon’ble Kerin, Shadow Spokesman for Primary Industries, was the Chief Guest. In his speech he referred to a letter he had written to Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in Canberra and was amazed by the reply he had received. The tone of the reply showed a totally racist attitude towards the Tamils and no sympathy whatsoever for the suffering of this minority community.
He promised to do everything within his power to get the Australian Government to help in alleviating the plight of this important sector of Sri Lankan society. The evening's programme included dance performances by Shanti Kathirgamasekaran, -- Sumathi Rajakopal, Brarthana Janarthanam, Devika Balasubramaniam, Vasanthi Craig and Sasi Thuraisingham, and a music recital by Mrs Devi Pavan, accompanied on the Mridangam by Dr A. Charavanamuttu. There were also speeches by the President, Dr. V. Sundrasingham, and by Mr. Tom Whelan of the World Development Tea Cooperative.
S. Thuraisingham Joint Secretary 33 Brabyn Street
Eastwood, N.S.W. 2122,
John
TAMIL ASSOCIATION OF BRENT The Tamil Association of Brent (London) celebrated the Tamil New Year Day on 17th April in London. Dr S.K. Subramaniam delivered an eloquent and lucid speech on the question 'Will the Tamil Language Survive?
At the Annual General Meeting that preceded, a constitution was adopted and the following officers were elected: Mr J.J. Shakespeare (President), Mr K Sothinathan (Secretary) and Mr M Mohandas (Treasurer).
WIND OF CHANGE'
The Tamil Youth Association of London, formed last year, held their third function entitled "Wind Of Change' on 24th April 1982 at the Kenneth Black Memorial Hall, Wimbledon. A revue comprising dance routines, songs both eastern and western, and comedy items was extremely well received by an unexpectedly large but nevertheless responsive audience. In particular, a dance to the recent hit "Ever So Lonely", and the characterization of Raguthasan - "father of Tamil consciousness in Britain' - were the favourites of the evening.
The show was followed by K.S. Colour Sounds Disco. A crowded yet lively disco topped an evening in which over £600 was raised for the Jaffna Public Library Fund.
Contd. from page 12
voting and citizensh plantation workers a
found itself entering into pacts, either in secret or in the open, with the UNP or the SLFP with a view to obtaining some minor concessions, only find at the end of the day that they have been betrayed. There was a lingering hope, that so long as the traditional left parties in the country, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party (CP) followed non-racial policies and policies which promised to guarantee the rights of the Tamil minority, racial harmony and national unity could be re-established if and when they came to power. To the credit of these parties, it must be recorded, they consistently opposed anti-Tamil measures like the imposition of the Lion Flag, the deprivation of
Sinhala as the only However, their stan cost them dearly in
Gradually, as their
ment began to wa capitulation to politi means to gain a p governmental power principles and trimr suit the requirement which they entered alliances. With this capitulation to the racialism, the last II national unity was s
Although Sri Lanka terms, united, the na a Sinhala nation, lex

MAY 1982
LLLLSSMSMSCSCS GSGSTLL SLSLSLSLSLLLSLSLLkLLLSLLLSLLLLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSkkCSM SLSSMSS
We would like to thank all
chose who have supported us
so far, and hope that they will continue to do so under the T.Y.A.'s new leaders. If you would like any information on the T.Y.A. please contact one of the following:
Vigna Emmanuel 01-4603959 Mathumathy O-949 1788 Kathirgamarajah
Nira Rajeswaran 01-856 0596
LOFUJ-AGM
Mr. N.Vamadeva was elected "Secretary at the Annual General Meeting of the League of Friends of the Univer
1982 at Tooting, London.
Raja Chandran (President), Dr T Ratnavel (Vice President) and Mr R. Sarvananthar (Treasurer) continue in office.
It was disclosed that over hundred books had been sent
that the intended target is 1000 books before April '83. On the day of the meeting donations totalling over É800
sity of Jaffna held on 9th May
The other officers, Dr T.
to the University library and
were collected.
Please send donations to: The Treasurer, LOFUJ, 44 Lorne Road, Wealdstone, Middlesex, U.K.
ZAMBIA TAMIL ARTS
& CULTURAL ASSN.
The New Year/Easter programme took place on 1st May at Hindu Hall, Lusaka. A large number of children enthusiastically took part in the various events. The dances and plays were well received by the audience. Christian songs were sung by Mr. J.M. Rajakariar. Miss P. Saravanamuttu, Mrs. Sarojini Asirvatham and Mrs. Mythili Raghavan were among those who helped in organising the evening's programme.
Mr. K. Jeganathan, Chairman of the Association, has left the country for Sri Lanka on completion of his contract with the Ministry of Education. His successor will be elected on 13th June. P.O. Box 351.57 Lusaka J.J. Bernard Hon. Joint Secretary
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A nominal charge will be made for hall-hire and the balance proceeds will be sent to a Charity in Sri Lanka. For particulars, contact Advertiser, 13 Nightingale Lane,
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tip rights to Tamil nd the enactment of official language. i on these questions parliamentary terms. ideological commitne and with their cal opportunism as a olitical foothold in they abandoned all ned their policies to s of the SLFP with into parliamentary act of opportunist SLFP politics of ail in the coffin of ruck. remains, in physical tion stands divided -
by leaders who are:
determined to maintain their domination, and the Tamil nation sgruggling for survival and its identity.
Unless a revolutionary transformation takes place in the relationship of social
forces bringing in its wake the right
balance of power among the ethnic groups in the country resulting in a true sense of security and freedom for all the people, one can bid good-bye to national unity forever, and the country will continue to progress towards the quagmire of national disintegration. The majority will continue to impose its will and the minority will never give up fighting.
R
No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of minorities.
FRANKLND, ROOSEVELT.

Page 15
MAY 1982
Balasingham Jayarajah (Lep
OBITUARY
MRS. NAGARATNAM
THAMOTHARAM
Mrs Nagaratnam Thanotheram died at the age of 82, recently in Jaffna. Relict of Dr T.P. Thamotheram of Chavakachcheri (retired SHS Ratnapura); mother of Sara of St John's College, Jaffna (husband of Sundari), Kamala (wife of Mr A. Mandaleswaran), Pathma (wife of Dr. V. Amarasingham) and Meena (Consultant Microbiologist, West Middlesex Hospital and wife of Dr. C.C. Mahendra).
RUBY
MUTTUNAYAGAMPLLAI
Mrs Ruby Beatrice Leelawathy Muttunayagampilai died on 2nd May 1982 at Bagshot, Surrey, UK. Wife of late Vethanayagam Thomas Muttunayagampilai (Surveyor); daughter of late Mr & Mrs C.A. Gnanapragasam of Manipay; mother of Chandra (B.A.A.), Cherish (Fiat), Noel (New Testament Church of God), Vino (Bechtel), Mano (Renault) and Jemima (Allied
Suppliers); mother-in-law of
Air), Somanather Rajkumar (South Bucks District Council) and Nava Veerasingham (Tonbridge Wells Council) and Nava Veerasingham (Tonbridge Wells Council) sister of the late Keerthisingham (Stan Vac), Nancy, Lily, late Jeyasingham (G.P.O.) and Muriel. Cremation took place at East Hampstead cremato
1.
M.SRI KANTHA
The loss of a friend with whom I first became acquainted in my young days, fills me with sadness. It is not this sadness but the pride with which I recall the achievements of Mr Sri Kantha, that I wish to convey here. His personal achievements are well known and documented. His successful stewardship of many responsible positions in the then Ceylon Civil Service to which he gained entry in 1973, brought him the honur, O.B.E., in 1954. From that year till 1961 he served as Government Agent of Jaffna. This was a time of trial. The tribulations of the Sri Lankan
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r TAMIL TIMES 15 SSSSSSSSLLLSSSSSSSSSLLSS
Tamil community were begi- concern for the common man. nning to mount. The actions His retirement in 1969 from of those Tamils in positions of the position of Permanent running the State machinery Secretary meant to him only were understandably often that he was moving from misunderstood and misinter- public service to more intense preted. community service. This peOnly those who were closely riod till his death on 4 associated with Sri Kantha February 1982 was filled with knew of the torments he social service, educational and endured because of the con- religious activities. I do not flicting loyalties and of his wish to repeat the various firm determination to adhere details affectionately recorded to noble guiding principles by many who knew him, in and personal integrity. Having the souvenir published in lost his mother in his young March in his memory. days, emotional suffering was mot new to him. His active encouragement of the Tamils to settle in and develop their own lands by creating several townships in the underpopulated Kilinochchi area and his pioneering Youth Settlement Schemes for educated unem
ployed youths are just a our sympathies. couple of examples of his S.R.PARAMSOTHY
LSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSLSSLSGSSS S.C.O.T.
The Standing Committee of Tamil Speaking People held its annual Tamil New Year Lunch on 9.5.1982. The lunch was followed by a cultural programme. The function was attended by over 350 people. The proceeds were in aid of the Jaffna Public Library Fund.
m NEONYRMORGAN ANDSSOCATES
IP. S. RINIVASIANI
(S&De Propretor)
In his nineties, Mr Mylvahanam, the father who brought up his illustrious son on his own must be a proud man, inspite of his sorrow. His wife Maheswari, children and others who supported and encouraged Sri Kantha deserve
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Page 16
TAMIL TIMES
TULF & THE COMINGELECTONS
The campaign for the next general elections have begun in ful earnest in Sri Lanka. Elections are held. Governments come ana
go. But the situation concerning the Tamil speaking people has
continued to 6e the same. Indeed their position has deteriorated more and more under successive governments, whether they be of the United National Party (UNP) or the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
The coming elections can be different from all previous elections in more than one sense. The first-past-the-post system of voting has been replaced with a variant of proportional represenatation. This system of voting is unlikely to enable either the UNP or the SLFP from winning a massive majority of seats as it happened in 1956, 1970 or 1977. It also has the effect of enhancing the decisive nature of ethnic minority votes. While all other opposition parties are poised for an electoral battle with the ruling UNP, the TULF, at present, gives the impression of being tied to the apron strings of the UNP. However, in spite of the protracted negotiations with the UNP, the TULF has very little to show to the people who elected them.
The SLFP would appear to have gained substantial support among the majority Sinhala community and there is every likelyhood that it may come to power after the elections. Recognising this possibility, the traditional left parties, the ISSP and the CP are eager to jump onto the SLFP bandwaggon. What the TULF cannot fail to realise is that, if the UNP wanted to resolve the problems facing the Tamils, they had the power to do so with over 140 members in Parliament since 1977. Not only did it fail to solve their problems, but also the worst ever violence suffered by the Tamil speaking people occured under this government in 1977, 1979 and 1981. The UNP government also has within its Cabinet confirmed recists like Cyril Mathew etc.
What the TULFought not to forget is that the problems facing the Tamils cannot be solved by the UNP or the SLFP without the support of the majority of the Sinhala people. The TULF, for its part, has misserably failed, over the years, to devise ways and means to convince the Sinhalese people of the nature and extent of the injustice and discrimination faced by the Tamils. The substantial majority of the Sinhala people, having been dispensed with liberal doses of biased racist propaganda by the media and polititions alike, mistakenly equate the protests by the Tamils with obstinacy, unreasonableness and Tamil соттитаlisт.
The TULF also cannot be oblivious to the emerging Sinhala-Buddhist backlash against the re-invasion of Sri Lanka by, what the late Philip Gunawardene picturesquely described as Thupahi Culture. The vulgar consumerism, the expansion of tourism with all its attendant evils of gambling, prostitution and drugs, the re-emergence of values befitting the old colonial days and thể general cultural devaluation have given rise to this developing nationalist backlash. Unfortunately this movement also encompasses within itself anti-Tamil racist elements.
In this context, the political conduct of the TULF during the coming elections is crucial. Whichever party - UNP or SLFP - wins the next elections, there is a danger of a repeat-performance of the racial violence and outrages against the Tamil speaking people that followed the July 1977 elections. The TULF owes nothing to the UNP or the SLFP. Its paramount duty is to the Tamil speaking people to ensure that their interests are protected under any government. It should be
PUBLSHED BY TAMIL TIMES LTL 8/16 CORONETST)
 
 
 

UNDERGRADS DEMAND RELEASE OF DETAINED YOUTH
Undergraduates and students in the North and East in Sri Lanka boycotted lectures and classes on 14 May to protest at the continued detention, without trial, of
MøžaJAvvoožyzzogzazae 47ravara Vomaázzar for over a year at the Panagoda Army Camp. The undergraduates of the University of Colombo too joined in the protest by boycotting lectures in the afternoon while telegrams asking for the release of Vimalarasa have been sent to President J. R. Jaya wardene by undergraduates of the other Universities.
The almost hundred per cent boycott was in response to a call by the Students Assembly of the University of Jaffna which is carrying on a campaign to free Vimalarasa, a Science Faculty student of the University of Jaffna, who was arrested by army personnel at 4 a.m. on 24.4.1981, a few hours before he was due to sit the Final Examination.
The Students Assembly had, in a leaflet issued in Tamil, Sinhala and English, called
Friday morning.
S. Ragupathy and S. Tharmaratnam, first year Arts Faculty undergraduates of the University of Jaffna were arrested at Kilinochchi along with two students of the Kilinochchi Maha Vidyalaya whose names are not known.
In Batticaloa, five undergraduates of the Batticaloa University College and seven students were arrested by the Police. The undergraduates taken into custody are Thiya
upon students to boycott all schools, private educational institutions and universities on 14 May in the fight to free Vimalarasa.
Some undergraduates and students issuing these leaflets in Kilinochchi and Batticaloa were arrested by the Police on
ganathan, Prabhakaran, Indrakumar, Mohideen and Mansoor. The names of the students are not available.
Following a massive protest demonstration on May 15, the arrested student leaders were released.
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prepared to struggle with any government for the restoration of the lost rights of the Tamils. To side or give the impression of siding with the UNP would be suicidal.
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