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2 TAM TIMES
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15 FEBRUARY 1995
I do not agree with a word of what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
· -- ከሃOዘኽaire.
ISSN 0266-4488
Vol.XIV No.2 15 FEBRUARY 1995
Published by
TAM TIMES LTD P.O. BOX 121 SUTTON, SURREY SM13TD UNITED KINGDOM
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CONTENTS
Pope's Visit to Sri Lanka. . . . . . . . . 4.
NeWS Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
People's immediate Problems Must be Solved First. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
We Will Not Run Away from the Peace Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Peace Process: Political Issues a Priority. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
US Endorses Govt. Peace ΜονeS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Time for a New Contribution. . . . . 13
The Case for a Federal Sri Lanka — II. . . . . . . . . . 16
Sub-Continental Scene. . . . . . . . . 19
Tamil Nadu Newsletter. . . . . . . . . 21
A Study in Tamil Biographies - Critiques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Classified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Pope
Whatever view O field of war and
significant one b. the ethnic Conflic destruction to the peace and recon
The response Pope's visit was I Some of the View, the Threshold misleading and m demanded an a boycotted the Po This is strong lan a pilgrim of good
it matters not interpretation' of which everyone interpretations o their inception ha basis of interpre splintered into v standing and inte been and are val history of Sri La clergy of one sec leading to Violen temples. Islam al differing interpre.
If the Buddhi Wisdom to the F have practised themselves of t understand whe thus bringing di
What is of in Buddhism whet kindness), Kar (equanimity) of the Sangha exp tures). ". He adde splendid words One single word the boycott of h, his highest este fears arising frc various kinds, th and the use oft
One does not question on ev arguments are 1 abOrtion that há attitude in respe
But the Pope' Welcome. Callin any form is opp human being; it, the ethnic Confli and persevering ethnic Conflict W destruction and
Urging all to respect for each and solidarity i recognise the li and developme put into practice both in the nort
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAMIL TIMES 3
's Visit and His Message
ne may have of the role of religion through history in the . peace, the visit to Sri Lanka of Pope John Paul II was a pth in terms of its context and message. The context was and the resulting war that has brought violence, death and people of the island, and the message was one for a just Ciliation.
of the leading lights in the Buddhist establishment to the amentable and unseemly to say the least. They objected to she had expressed about Buddhism in his book, 'Crossing of Hope', which they characterised as "mischievous, alicious misinterpretations'. They held demonstrations and Jology and a retraction from the Pontiff. Eventually they pe's visit alleging that it constituted "religious aggression'. guage against aperson who said he came to Sri Lanka as will, with nothing but peace in my heart'.
whether the Pope's views corresponded to the 'correct
Buddhism. He has the right to freedom of expression to alse is entitled. Even leading Buddhist scholars differ in their Buddhism, or for that matter scholars of all religions from ave differed, and in fact all religions have splintered on the tations'. Those who profess to follow Jesus Christ have arious forms of Christianity because of their own underrpretation of the Christian scriptures. Similarly, there have ious sects in Buddhism practised in the world, and ancient nka has been replete with instances when the Buddhist tor the other sought the Kings' patronage and support even t confrontations including pillage and burning of Buddhist ld Hinduism too have had their own division on the basis of tationS.
st Mahanayakes thought that they should contribute their Pope's understanding of Buddhism, they could and should the basic tenets of tolerance and compassion and availed he opportunity of a meeting with the Pope to make him re he had gone wrong instead of displaying their intolerance srepute upon the entire Buddhist population.
terest is that the Pope revealed his own scholarship of he referred to the four great values of Metta (loving una (compassion), Mudita (sympathy), and Upekkha Buddhism with its ten transcendental virtues and the joys of pressed so beautifully in the (Buddhist scripld To everyone extend the hand of friendship, recalling the of Dhammpada: "Better than a thousand useless words, is that gives peace. In spite of the offense offered to him by is visit by the Buddhist Mahanayakes, the Pope expressed em and regard for the followers of Buddhism. To allay the 'm complaints of religious conversions under pressure of e Pope assured that the Church firmly rejected proselytism Inethical means to gain conversions.
say that whatever the Pope says must be accepted without ery subject. Even among his own clergy and the laity, aging in respect of his views on such mundane matters as is a bearing on the daily lives of ordinary people, or his ct of spiritual matters like ordination of women. s message of peace and reconciliation was timely and most g for a definitive end to violence, the Pope said: "Violence in Osed not only to the respect which we owe to every fellow s opposed also to the true essence of religions'. Referring to t, the Pope said, "May all Sri Lankans of goodwill be strong in their efforts to find a just and peaceful solution to the hich has scarred the life of this nation. . . with its victims, its its terrible aftermath of suffering."
build the future of the human family on the solid ground of person's inalienable dignity, equal justice for all, tolerance human relations, the Pope asserted that they should nk between genuine democracy, respect for human rights it. One hopes that His message would be taken to heart and by all concerned including those belonging to the Church and South of the island.

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4 TAMIL TIMES
POPE’S VIST TO SRI LA
Pope Urges Defin End to Tragic Viole
Pope John Paul II wound up a gruelling eleven-day Asia-Pacific tour which took him to Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Australia with a 24-hour visit to Sri Lanka on 20-21 February with a Mass at the seafront of Galle Face Green in Colombo attended by an estimated huge crowd of over 300,000 people. He addressed the crowd from a traditional altar-platform designed by a Buddhist monk, Ven. Mapalagama Vipulasara, famed for his architectural abilities.
The Catholic flock coming from various parts of the island including an estimated 2,000 from the beleaguered Jaffna Peninsula had gathered there not only to see the Pope and take part in the celebratory mass, but also to be witness to the beatification of the 17th century missionary Fr. Joseph Vaz whom he described as a shining star in the Asian sky because of his charity and devotion to Christ.
Fr. Vaz, Catholic missionary from Goa in India had come to Sri Lanka disguised as a labourer in 1687. He worked among all sections of the people until his death 24 years later to consolidate the Catholic community and the Church which had been subjected to persecution for 150 years by the then Calvinist Dutch rulers of the island.
Although about 10,000 Tamil Catholics from the beleaguered Jaffna peninsula were expected to visit Colombo to see the Pope, it is estimated that only about 2,000 eventually made the journey. The absence of the right to freedom of movement for the people of the peninsula accompanied by the time consuming and financially expensive 'visa system' that is rigorously applied to anyone leaving Jaffna has been attributed as the primary reason for this low turnout from Jaffna.
Calling for a 'definitive end to the tragic violence which has cost so many lives the Pope said in his sermon, I encourage the Government and all other parties involved in negotiating a just end to the conflict which has marred Sri Lank
an life in recent are the peacemak peace comes, all S blessed and you restored to its full ness'.
In her welcome dent said: "This v ness cannot but hearts of Catholi and all others of th faiths in Sri La messenger of pea 900 million Catho but also to the el community. You h pied with promoti mony. Your Holin concern over the affected Sri Lanka period of time. Yo pleased to hearm given the highest ing peace’.
An otherwise come was sadly boycott by Sri religious leaders the Pope had in with his remarks sing the Threshol chairs reserved leaders remaine ecumenical meetir all religious leat BMICH In Colc attended, among ( du and Muslim r ties.
One of the passa which the Budd) exception reads: large measure an' We do not free ou through the good God; we liberate through detachme which is bad. The detachment is not but what is called of perfect indiffere the world'.
Characterising other passages in chievous, misleadi misinterpretations Buddhist Mahanay retraction and a

15 FEBRUARY 1995
itive ence”
fears. . . Blessed kers. When lasting ri Lankans will be r country will be dignity and great
address the Presirisit by your Holi
instill joy in the cs in this country ne diverse religious nka. You are a ce not only to the lics the world over, ntire international have been preoccung peace and haress has expreessed conflict which has for a considerable u will therefore be y Government has priority to achiev
tumultuous welmarred by the Lankan Buddhist who claimed that hsulted Buddhism in his book, “Crosd of Hope'. The six for the Buddhist d vacant at the ng of the Pope with ders held at the ombo which was bthers, by six Hineligious personali
ages in the book to hist leaders took Buddhism is in "atheistic” system. urselves from evil which comes from 2 ourselves only nt from the world, fullness of such a , union with God, "nirvana', a state nce with regard to
this and some the book as “misng and malicious' of Buddhism, the takes demanded a pology from the
Pope. While the local Catholic hierarchy tried hard to please the Mahanayakes by apologising for any unintended hurt that might have resulted, the Pope neither did retract nor apologise. However the Pope did make several conciliatory remarks and expressions 'esteem and highest regard for the followers of Buddhism' which were obviously not sufficient to satisfy the Buddhist Mahanayakes to abandon their boycott.
The following are excerpts from the Pope's address at the Presidential Secretariat on his arrival on 20 January:
"I am deeply grateful to you, Madam President and Madam Prime Minister, and to all of you, for your warm welcome to Sri Lanka. For many years I had hoped to visit the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean", resplendent with natural beauty, the land of the Mahavansa, a nation proud of its ancient culture, a country known for its smiling, hospitable people. I come as a friend from Rome, where two thousand years ago the venerable civilization which flourished in this country was known and esteemed. I come as a pilgrim of good will, with nothing but peace in my heart. I am keenly aware of your country's rich spiritual heritage, shown not only by the strength of your religious traditions but also by the remarkable harmony and mutual respect which has flourished among the followers of the various religions.
"I wish my visit to be a sign of my profound esteem for all Sri Lankans. In particular I express my highest regard for the followers of Buddhism, the majority religion in Sri Lanka, with its Brahmaviharas, the four great values of Metta, Karuna, Mudita and Upekkha: loving kindness, compassion, sympathy and equanimity; with its ten transcendental virtues and the joys of the Sangha expressed so beautifully in the Theragathas. I ardently hope that my visit will serve to strengthen the good will between us, and that it will reassure everyone of the Catholic Church's desire for interreligious dialogue and cooperation in building a more just and fraternal world. To everyone I extend the hand of friendshhip, recalling the splendid words of the Dhammapada: “Better than a thousand useless words, is one single word that gives peace".
How urgently necessary it is for society to support families, to edu

Page 5
15 FEBRUARY 1995
cate children in respect for others, and to defend the sacredness of life against every form of violence. May all Sri Lankans of good will be strong and persevering in their efforts to find a just and peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict which has scarred the life of the nation in recent times, with its victims, its destruction and its terrible aftermath of suffering. The most recent steps taken in this direction nurture the hope - which all people of good will share with you - that everyone involved will shun violence and will draw on your traditions of tolerance in pursuing a harmony born of reconciliation and full respect for the diversity of society's members.
"Tomorrow I shall gather in prayer with the Catholic community of Sri Lanka in order to celebrate the Beatification of Father Joseph Vaz, a holy man and a man of peace, who won the respect of his contemporaries by his humility, goodness and tolerance. I am certain that in honouring the memory of this saintly priest, Sri Lanka's Catholics will be inspired to continue to work for reconcilation and peace in a spirit of service to all their follow-citizens and in solidarity with them.
In thanking the Supreme Authorities of the State for their warm invitation to visit Sri Lanka on this occasion, I wish to assure everyone, of whatever religious, ethnic or cultural background, that the Beatification of the Servant of God Father Joseph Vaz, although principally a Catholic event, is at the same time a sincere tribute to the profound religious traditions of all the people of this land.
“God bless Sri Lanka May He grant you peace
Ayubovan Sinhalese: long life.
“Vanakkam Tamil: greetings!”.
The following are excerpts from the Pope's address to the ecumenical meeting of religious leaders on 21 January:
"I am very pleased to have this opportunity during my visit to Sri Lanka to meet representatives of the various religions which have lived together in harmony for a very long time on this island: especially Buddhism, present for over two thousand years, Hinduism, also of very long standing, along with Islam and Christianity. This simultaneous presence of great religious traditions is a source of enrichment for Sri Lankan society.
“Especially since can Council, the has been fully co suing the path of d eration with the r religions. Interrelig precious means by ers of the various shared points of co itual life, while at differences which them. The Church dom of individuals and to embrace it dictates of conscie light she firmly r and the use of ur gain conversions.
"The Catholic ( that through a cor of life" all believe willingly in orde promote moral val liberty and peace.
"I appeal to yo you, as the religio Sri Lankan peopl concerns which rather than the th them. The safegua a's spiritual herit nuous efforts on th to proclaim befol sacredness of humi the inalienable dig every individual family as the prim and the place whi humanity, genero
Air President' Fears: President at the gathering ists on 9 Februar despite her pe attempts to reach to the conflict, it she had received i that the Tigers assassinate her.
She said that arrested last mon home at Horogol some forty kilo capital, had confe gence service tha structed by the L the area and to ti places which M usually visited.
The Governme the LTTE leader ports and this is lated issues wo taken up during talks between thi

TAMIL TIMES 5
the Second VatiCatholic Church mmitted to purtalogue and coophembers of other ious dialogue is a which the followreligions discover ntact in the spirknowledging the exist between respects the freeto seek the truth according to the nce, and in this jects proselytism ethical means to
ommunity hopes tinuing "dialogue irs will cooperate r to defend and ues, social justice,
u and encourage pus leaders of the e, to consider the unite believers, lings which divide rding of Sri Lankage calls for stree part of everyone e the world the han life, to defend inity and rights of to strengthen the ary unit of society ere children learn sity and love, and
to encourage respect for the natural environment.
"Perhaps nothing represents a greater threat to the spiritual fabric of Sri Lankan society than the continuing ethnic conflict. The religious resources of the entire nation must converge to bring an end to this tragic situation. I recently had occasion to say to an international group of religious leaders: "violence in any form is opposed not only to the respect which we owe to every fellow human being; it is opposed also to the true essence of religion. Whatever the conflicts of the past and even of the present, it is our common task and duty to make better known the relation between religion and peace. The only struggle worthy of man is the struggle against his own disordered passions, against every type of hatred and violence; in short against everything that is the exact opposite of peace and reconciliation”.
"I am certain that the principles of mercy and non-violence present in your traditions will be a source of inspiration to Sri Lankans in their efforts to build a peace which will be lasting because it is built upon justice and respect for every human being. I express once more my confidence that your country's long tradition of religious harmony will grow ever stronger, for the peace and well-being of individuals, for the good of Sri Lanka and of all Asia'.
s Assassination Sumaratunga said of foreign journaly in Colombo that, ace efforts and a political solution was worrying that intelligence reports were plotting to
a photographer h at her ancestral a in Attanagalla, metres from the ssed to the intellithe had been inTE to photograph ake pictures of the rs. Kumaratunga
nt had written to ship about the resue with other reuld certainly be the next round of
two sides.
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Page 6
6 TAMIL TIMES
NEWS REVIEW
á Political Package is Almost Ready: A political package to resolve Sri Lanka's protracted ethnic conflict has been "almost finalised, and the Government was ready with plans for the commencement shortly of rehabilitation and rebuilding works in the war-torn areas of the north and east of the island, President Chandrika Kumaratunga announced in Colombo at a lunch hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association on 9 February.
The President said that she was hopeful of the resumption of talks with the Tamil Tigers, and described as satisfactory the way the current truce between the LTTE and government forces was working in the north and east.
"The Government has almost finalised the preparation of a draft of a political package which we are offering which will be up for discussion very soon with the LTTE and other political groups'. However the LTTE was still reluctant to set a date for the start of negotiations with the Government. 'We have been asking for a date to start negotiations on the political issues. But they appear to be reluctant. They seem to want to get the maximum out of the cessation of hostilities before they start talks the President said.
The LTTE was insisting that the army should withdraw from two camps in the north before establishing a safe land route with the mainland, but the Government had ruled that out, said the President. However she was confident that negotiations would recommence SOO.
Kumaratunga's Government initiated peace talks with the LTTE after winning the elections in August last year, and despite interruptions, both parties signed a declaration of cessation of hostilities in early January.
Referring to previous rounds of talks during which questions relating to the lifting of the ban on the transport of many items to Jaffna and matters concerning the restoration of other basic facilities to the people including the right to fishing in the northern waters were discussed, the President said that money had been allocated and plans for the reconstruction of roads, damaged hospitals, schools and the Jaffna
Library were read start in two wee equipment and b would be difficul route to Jaffna. If agree to a land rc then the equipm materials would
Sea.
She said that gineers were read northern Jaffna mence work with the LTTE.
The Presidents ernment believed would agree to a that involved ext of power rather t state they demar are a peoples' Go have complete fai We believe that th in particular, and Tamil people of th passionately and peace. All signs a President said.
The cessation of the Tigers to carry activities among til larly in the east earlier lost contr forces. She conced was more advant gers, but at the good for the milit did not have to fi thing that the Tig realise that they cally with the pec good', she added.
Taking a swipe President said, "If that with the wav we could within tw solve a problem allowed to rot in t way for several y vious government dreamland of theil
Yr Truce Moni Leader: Monitors ern nations observ of Hostilities betw forces and the L meeting with the l Tigers, Velupillai F February. Before went to Jaffna, F atunga had a brie them.
Two Norwegian a Dutchman, nor governments at til Sri Lankan Gove are heading them tees of the truce w

15 FEBRUARY 1995
y and works could aks. Transport of uilding materials t without a land the LTTE did not oute to be opened, ent and building pe transported by
government eny to travel to the beninsula to comthe cooperation of
aid that her Gov
that the LTTE
political solution ensive devolution han the separate hded earlier. “We vernment and we th in the people. Le people of Jaffna in general all the he north and east desperately want re this is so’, the
hostilities allowed out more political he people, particuwhere they had ol to the armed ed that the truce ageous to the Tisame time it was ary because they ght. It is a good ers have come to must work politiple for their own
at her critics, the anybody believed of a magic wand o or three months which has been he worst possible ears by the pre, they were in a
own’.
tors Meet LTTE from three westing the Cessation veen government ITE had a rare eader of the Tamil "rabhakaran, on 5 the foreign team resident Kumarfing session with
, a Canadian and hinated by their he request of the nment and who onitoring commitare flown into the
LTTE controlled Jaffna peninsula and had an unannounced meeting with the LTTE leader at an undisclosed location. No details of the thirty-minute session were revealed, but informed sources said that the discussions would have centred around operational aspects of the monitoring process and the appointment of LTTE’s nominees to the Committees which has not been completed yet. The government has already nominated its members to the Committees.
Army Brigadier Siri Peiris who accompanied the foreign monitoring team to Jaffna was not present during the team's discussions with Mr. Prabhakaran. It is expected that the discussions would clear the way for the Monitoring Committees to start their work.
In Jaffna, in addition to meeting Mr. Prabhakaran, the foreign officials also met other LTTE officials led by Tamilchelvam, head of the LTTE's political wing along with LTTE nominees to the Monitoring Committees.
The Monitoring Committees to be headed by the foreigners and comprising nominees from both the government and the LTTE are expected to function in Batticaloa-Amparai, Trincomalee-Weli Oya in the east and Vavuniya-Mullaitivu and Jaff. na-Mannar in the north. However the Government says that the work of these is being delayed because of the additional conditions put forward by the LTTE.
A Gamini's Assassin identified: The woman suicide-bomber involved in the assassination of the late UNP leader Gamini Dissanayake and over 50 others at Thotalanga in Colombo on 24 October has been identified as Ganesh Pushpamalar alias Jayanthi of Ariyalai in Jaffna, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Frank De Silva told a press conference on 1 February in Colombo.
Pushpamalar was about 30 years old and was living with a man named Ravi and two children in a
house at Sidharatha Place in Kirillo
pone for some time and had been travelling between Colombo and Kilinochchi very often. Twelve witnesses in the neighbourhood and another witness who had been seated next to the bomber at the election rally on the day of the assassination had all identified the picture of the bomber and that of Pushpamalar as being one and the same person.

Page 7
15 FEBRUARY 1995
Ravi who was living with her, first denied but later confessed that the suspect bomber was Pushpamalar. Ravi was in detention and was to be indicted in connection with assassination of the late President Premadasa, the IGP said.
The IGP said that the reports of the DNA analysis on the blood samples and on the body fragments recovered from the scene of the crime had been received from Scotland Yard and the Defence Research Agency in the United Kingdom. The analysis disclosed that the blood on the pieces of cloth found on the body of the suspect bomber was that of the same person whose head was found blown off. The analysis also revealed that the body fragments recovered from the scene and the head found on the roof some distance away also came from the same individual. The mouth swabs of the bomber had indicated the presence of cyanide but she did not die of cyanide poisoning.
The IGP added that forensic experts of the Scotland Yard had also established the fact that the suicidebomber had strapped a bomb around her waist and had identified explosive substance used in the bomb as being composed of a mix of RDX and gelignite.
Asked whether there was any LTTE connection in Gamini's assassination, the IGP said that the presence of cyanide indicates its involvement, but there was no firm evidence yet.
Ar Commitment Reaffirmed: President Kumaratunga, in her address to the nation on Sri Lanka's Independence Day, 4 February, reaffirmed her commitment to the peaceful resolution of the ethnic conflict through negotiations with the LTTE.
This is a hard and tortuous path. I do not see ahead of me a path that is clear and easy and free of many pitfalls and dangers. However, this remains the only path to be taken. In order to obtain true freedom for our people, it is absolutely necessary that the war in the north and east should be ended.
It is my most fervent wish and prayer that all communities in our country would have the wisdom and the strength not to loose the hands of peace that have come together, but instead to bind them even stronger, the President said.
Peopl M
In a lengthy inte LTTE's main spo Balasingham er LTTE was not r on the political i and urgent prol people such as th restrictions on f fugees and the is passage between land had to be so,
Mr. Balasingh, Government sho army camp at Po to agree to the oj This should be d LTTE that the Gc up the military of There had been of the Cessation and the LTTE ex However there we that needed clarif the question of th cadres carrying a al security, in th These matter had both parties in a when the Moni assumed responsil out these probl Cessation of Host. a permanent Cea ham said.
The following a Balasingham's in Jabbar of the Sun ary 1995):
Q - Will the qu be discussed at t talks due to comm
A - We have b ernment that the take place stage b be advanced in : because the ethni plex one. The argu is reluctant to ta problem or devolu sense. Firstly, the gent problems fact to be sorted out, s embargo, restricti plight of the refug opening up of a pa various other iss people here. For immediate and ur ing work, food, an travel to Colomb contact his relativ his immediate prol or Provincial Cour

TAMIL TIMES 7
s Immediate Problems
ust be Solved First ANTON BALASINGHAM
view with the press, kesman, Mr. Anton phasised that the luctant to negotiate sues but immediate lems faced by the e economic embargo, shing, plight of resue of opening up a Jaffna and the mainved first.
am added that the uld dismantle the oneryn for the LTTE pening of this route. one to convince the vernment had given tion.
no serious violations of Hostilities so far lected it to continue. 're some other issues ication, for example, he mobility of LTTE rms for their persone Eastern Province. to be sorted out by written form so that toring Committees bility they could sort ems. The present ilities should lead to sefire, Mr. Balasing
re excerpts from Mr. terview with Zacki day Island (5 Febru
estion of devolution, he fourth round of ence shortly?
een telling the govpeace process should stage and it should progressive form, c problem is a comment that the LTTE k about the ethnic ion isabsolute nonimmediate and urd by the people has uch as the economic ons on fishing, the ees and the issue of ssage to Jaffna and les that affect the he Jaffna man his 'ent problem is findd also the ability to so that he could es abroad — that is lem not Federalism cils.
In the three rounds of talks so far none of these major issues were sorted - there was only a slight relaxation on the transport of certain items, the issue of the causeway has not been resolved, the embargo on fuel has not been lifted because the army says it is a military item - without fuel economic reconstruction of the north is impossible.
However, the LTTE's movements have not been affected because we have a supply of the necessary fuel from various sources, but it is the civilians who are suffering without fuel. So the fuel embargo should be lifted.
gb There is also the question of re
fugees numbering nearly 200,000 as a result of the army occupying several areas. The refugees are now living in camps outside Jaffna town.
We have expressed our regret for asking the Muslims to leave. We had to ask them to go for various reasons at that particular juncture. I do not want to go into those details now but we want the Muslim people to come back and occupy the Navanthurai area.
What we have told the government delegation is that we must first concentrate on the immediate problems, which is not separate from the totality of the ethnic problem. Once these problems are sorted out we could move to the question of devolution.
So after three rounds of talks I would say that we are disappointed that the government has not made any substantial contribution to resolve the problems.
Then comes the question of devolution you are talking about - we did not say that we will not look into the ethnic problem. We are told that the government is working on a substantial set of proposals. Once the proposals are given to us we will study it and respond accordingly - we will have to find out whetherit satisfies the aspirations of our people.
As you know the LTTE has been fighting for an independent state for the last two decades, but we are prepared to consider an alternative. If a regional autonomous model with adequate devolution is given to us we will look into it. So it is up to the government to work a satisfactory
Continued on page 8

Page 8
8 TAM TIMES
Continued from page 7
solution. We are not going to suggest anything.
Q- What exactly are you negotiating for uvith the government?
A - Firstly we have been negotiating for the establishment of peace and the restoration of normal civilian life and to resolve the immediate and urgent problems the people face. So we expect the government to resolve some of these crucial issues that are of paramount importance to the day to day existence of our people.
The delay has been caused by the government and not the LTTE. If the economic issues had been sorted out soon we would now be at a stage where issues such as the unit of devolution, north-east merger etc., could have been discussed. All we can do at this stage is to suggest a federal framework which recognises the historical habitations of the Tamil speaking people.
Muslims
We think that the problems of the Muslims particularly in the NorthEast is inextricably linked to the totality of the national question so any political framework should incorporate adequate devolution recognising the political and cultural identity of the Muslim people, and if the Muslims prefer an autonomous region of their own we would certainly welcome it.
Q - Is the LTTE prepared to give up the idea of a separate state for Federalism?
A - There are different forms of Federalism all over the world, with different levels of distribution of power. If an adequate Federal model which attempts to resolve the problems of the Tamils and the Muslims is put forward we would certainly consider it.
Q - Does the LTTE favour a Confederate State?
A - I do not want to comment on that. Now that the Government is negotiating with us, let the proposals come from the Government so that we can start from that point. It would not be prudent on our part to make any comments on the proposals at this stage. The confederation idea did not come from the LTTE but from an individual called Arular who has nothing to do with the LTTE.
Q - What made you break up your negotiations with President Premadasa. Didn't you suddenly let him down by attacking police stations and capturing policemen in the East?
A - It is true that the negotiations broke down because there were viola
tions of the ceasefir situation arose resu police stations duri people were killed. W an Government acc violating the ceasef the government wi the violations. Apar want to make any f Q - Will the L. Muslims and the back to the North.
A - Our intentio Muslim people baci there were a few Sin - people from any c to come but we are sponsored colonisati So far as the Musli we have expressed ( happened and are p) them in the north are allowed to go bac
G - What abo people?
A - The Muslims are two different e of Muslims were whereas the Sinha tered population in COIne – We are nOt (
Once the North South and thereisf then it is always po all communities to
Where the Musli they have a specific of their people are fugees, so we have resettle them in the
Q - Is the LTTE d accepted as the sol the Tamils reason prepared to hold a question?
A - The LTTE party. It is a nation nisation fighting for of the Tamil people decades. We have t people. When a poli worked out the LTT to face elections or the people and allo their representative it would be hypothet referendum.
Once a political sc not only the LTTE party could seek re free and fair electio LTTE undeniably h the people. We can guerrilla movement nisation without the ple give us.
C - Are you st referendum in the E

15 FEBRUARY 1995
e and a conflictual lting in attacks on ng which a lot of While the Sri Lankused the LTTE of ire the LTTE said as responsible for , from that I do not urther comments.
TTE agree to the Sinhalese coming
n is to invite the k to the North - halese people here ommunity are free opposed to state on in Tamil areas. ms are concerned ur regret at what repared to resettle once our refugees k to their villages.
ut the Sinhalese
and the Sinhalese ntities. Thousands
living in Jaffna lese were a scat
Jaffna. They can opposed to that.
is opened to the ree communication ssible for people of come here.
ms are concerned problem - several 2 suffering as rea responsibility to ir homes. emand that they be 2 representative of ble. Will you be eferendum on this
is not a political al liberation orgathe political rights 2 for the last two he backing of the tical framework is E will be prepared rather it will face w them to choose s. Until such time ical to talk about a
blution is reached,
but any political presentation at a in. Right now the as the support of not survive as a or liberation orgasupport the peo
ill opposed to a astern Province to
determine the question of a permanent merger of the North-East?
A-I do not think that the LTTE will agree to such a proposition because the North and East has been historically the habitation of the Tamil speaking people. This is recognised in all pacts and agreements entered between Tamil leaders and the government from Mr. Bandaranaike onwards up to the time of the Indo-Lanka Accord. Such recognition has been given even by India, so there is no need for a referendum in the East. We opposed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord because it called for a referendum in the East. Our position is that the Northern Tamils cannot be separted from the Eastern Tamils with a view to holding a referendum in the East.
C - You have been critical of President Chandrika Kumaratunga because the government has decided to purchase more arms. Do you still maintain that position?
A - Of course we will be critical if she continues to build up her armed forces. If she buys modern weapons it shows that the process of militarisation is continuing.
So we will certainly oppose and criticise the government's attempts to build up its armed forces while talking peace because such actions will not create mutual trust.
If the Chandrika Government continues to spend money on arms at this critical time when there is so much of industrial unrest in the south then one would wonder whether she has given up the military option and is committed to peace.
Q - Do your intelligence sources say that the government is purchasing more arms?
A - We read it in The Island which comes out with various purchases and allocation of funds etc. So that makes us worry - so you are the source of information not our intelligence sources. (Laughs).
ZJ - That shows our neutrality and independence.
Q - What difference do you see between President Kumaratunga and President Premadasa?
A - Ranasinghe Premadasa continued a different tradition of politics. What we see in Chandrika Bandaranaike is that she has obtained a mandate from the people on the crucial question of reaching a political solution to the ethnic issue. She is different from Premadasa because she has a mandate for peace from the people and that is one way or the other her strength.
Premadasa continued the tradition

Page 9
15 FEBRUARY 1995
of the UNP regime. The Premadasa regime did not make any serious attempt to resolve the problem. Once the talks failed they resorted to the military option which caused havoc. Further than that I do not want to comment.
G - There uvas a time uhen President Premadasa uvas considered a friend of the Tamils what happened for that thinking to change?
A - The early stages of the negotiations were very cordial and friendly,
both the LTTE and government had the throwing the India Indians started to le started to crop up.
recognising the LT sentative of the Tami the other groups f Conference and he indefinitely the ques the ethnic problem.
He was also relucta Provincial Councils.
We Will Not Run A From The Peace Pro
- FOREIGN M
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, strongly believes that the new government of the People’s Alliance Coalition government led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga can strike a deal with Velupillai Prabhakaran, chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and reach a solution to the violent ethnic conflict that has ravaged this island nation for more than 10 years.
In a recent interview with the press Kadirgamar, who was in the USA to brief Secretary of State Warren Christopher and other senior Clinton administration officials along with members of Congress about the peace process, said there were things that now point to the LTTE's bona fide quest for peace.
"I am not saying that striking a deal will be easy', he acknowledged. “There will be complicated questions of substance to be gone into, such as the meaning of devolution, the extent, the area, lots of problems of that kind. But these are problems that we can sit down and talk about'.
However, he said, "If you are asking me whether the LTTE has a hidden agenda and whether they are really taking us for a ride by pretending to be interested in peace, while all the time they are not, and they are merely going to use the ceasefire to recoup and rebuild, my feeling is that this time around there are a number of circumstances to point to the fact that they are prepared to talk seriously about peace'.
Kadirgamar, the first Minister in the new government to visit the United States, said: "Timing may be a difficult question. You must not forget that after 10 years of bitter hostilities, it won't be easy for them to come to the
table too quickly, b question of how th explain to their ow this must be respect be patient'.
The Foreign Min lieved "the LTTE is they also read anc wishes of their ow international commu ing is that they are an end to the conflic
Their plans and rent, he added, but what the differenc actually sit down ar
He emphasized, h then ‘we are not goi) down, that would b any government. W watchful, but we w from the peace proce India's role in the pri said he was confide would not torpedo ti between Colombo an
He acknowledged of the deep anger against the Tigers, the assassination Minister Rajiv Ga can't speak for th Analysis Wing (In agency) or what th be. I don't pretend about that or what can't possibly know'
“But I can teld you my impression after with Prime Minister in December “is tha ernment of today is peace process in Sri mean I did not get th India was going to si it in some way or i

TAMIL TIMES 9
the Premadasa single objective of is out. Once the ave the problems Premadasa while TE as the reprels suddenly called or an All Party
was postponing stion of resolving
ant to dissolve the Also the army
after crushing the JVP got confident that they could crush the LTTE. That is how the earlier euphoria died down and the ethnic problems surfaced.
I think the Premadasa government did not take concrete measures to resolve the problem at a time when they had a good opportunity to do so.
Q - At what stage do you think Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran will enter the negotiations?
A- only when we are about to sign a peace agreement.
Way DCCSS
INSTER
ecause there is a
hey are going to n and so on, and (ed. So we have to
ister said he bea pragmatic body, understand the Tn people, of the 1nity, and my feelalso searching for 忧”。 ours may be diffewe will only know es are when we nd talk',
owever, that until ng to let our guard be irresponsible of e will be alert and vill not run away Iss'. With regard to ocess, Kadirgamar nt that New Delhi he envisaged talks ind the LTTE.
that he was aware in various circles particularly after of former Prime ndhi. “Frankly, I he Research and dia’s intelligence eir agenda might to know anything their plans are. I
', he added, “that
my conversation : Narasimha Rao’ t the Indian govrelaxed about the Lanka. By that I 1e impression that abotage or scuttle mpede it. On the
contrary, I had a very clear impression that if we solve our problem, as Prime Minister Narasimha Rao said to me, it would be one problem less for India, and they wish us well'.
Kadirgamar said that when he asked Rao whether he could quote him, the Prime Minister "told me categorically that I could tell the world about it'. The Foreign Minister asserted: "I do know that the matter of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination is a matter of great concern to India.
"It's a matter of great concern to us in Sri Lanka, Kadirgamar said, 'because here is the Prime Minister of a friendly neighbouring country murdered and the first accused and the second accused in the case are leading members of the LTTE, which is an organization based in Sri Lanka.
"That very simple fact itself makes a major problem for us, of which we take full cognizance. There very well may be forces in India who may very well attempt to wreck this process, but our dealings with the Narasimha Rao government at the moment are perfectly straightforward'.
"There is absolutely no secret understanding between our government and the Indian government about the peace talks, he declared, "or about Prabhakaran. Nothing at all of that kind'.
Sri Lanka's chief diplomat, a lawyer by training who has practiced law both in Sri Lanka and in London, also noted that "there has been no request for Prabhakaran's extradition by the Indian government.
While refusing to go into the specifics of the peace proposals that would be offered to the LTTE, Kadirgamar acknowledged that you will find that there will be a large element of devolution of power from the centre being offered. But I am not in a position today to tell you the details.
"But you can take it from me', he declared, “the question of a separate state is not negotiable at all'. Kadirga
Continued on page 10

Page 10
10 TAMIL TIMES
Peace Process: Negot On Political issues A
by Rajan Hoole
There is today a general awareness of a drift in the peace process. The LTTE, while being evasive on discussing the political solution, is pressing the government to concentrate on reconstruction and demilitarisation. But this is not seen to be the agenda the LTTE has set for itself.
The army, distrusting this state of affairs and anticipating war, is reportedly obstructing the movement of goods to the North on which the ban has been withdrawn. Against this there is the danger that if war is to resume, there would be a strong lobby in the south questioning the need to offer a political solution. If a war is to be fought either way, we may find ourselves back in the desultory years that followed June 1990.
In the face of impending tragedy mainstream Tamil opinion and parties are indulging in evasion to the effect that the LTTE demands (e.g. Reconstruction and movement of goods) are reasonable. But they are not taking the responsibility of demanding that the LTTE go for political talks. It is elementary wisdom that without a political process reconstruction would remain impractical. This raises questions about whether the wishes of ordinary Tamils are being represented at all.
Take some recent statements of a leading TULF MP for Batticaloa. "The Tigers have demonstrated their sincere wish for peace by calling for a ceasefire', 'If this (PA) government does not solve the Tamil problem, we will not hesitate to topple it. Of
course the people vently wished for context of a polit not one which allo more ferocious w have its limitation credible that the representatives t government and Such game playin plight of the Tami Take the botto messages coming spokesmen throug other important peace by insistin package which g rights and democr Tamils from the paign calling for g man rights from ched by the Mov with Democracy h as provoking the ernment should fi reconstruction of of the North-East ing several years LTTE control) to c atmosphere and c cuss the political p Though coming independent sourc clear and cohesiv reflect what the L without doing so instance AGOTIC 1st January).
These messages ly as bait to sect movement in the premium on Tan tion and access t ership, over the l
Continued from page 9
mar reiterated, "that is completely out of the question, but short of that, very substantial devolution will be considered.
He said that tangible proposals would be on the table because "this government is committed to peace. We are not going to be deterred and distracted by obstacles, by problems that will arise'.
Kadirgamar emphasized that President Kumaratunga has to go ahead because she has this mandate that forbids her from standing still, she simply cannot. There is a contract with
the people of the co Taking a swip National Party tha for the past decade gamar said, "other not have that probl "They were basic out settling the pro that. There was a lo and fancy footwork eying for position charged.
Kadirgamar said ment was ‘in a diffe people have told us to go ahead and su

15 FEBRUARY 1995
iations Priority
of the East fera ceasefire in the ical solution, but ws a build-up for a ar. The PA may ns. But it is hardly Tamils want their o topple the PA install the UNP. g underscores the ls.
m line of recent from Tamil elite gh the press and fora: To pursue g on a political uarantees human acy is to divide the Tigers; The camguarantees on huboth sides, launrement for Peace as been described Tigers; The govrst attend to the devastated areas (presumably lastof unchallenged create the 'correct onfidence' to disackage.
from apparently ’es, the message is e. These no doubt TTE wants to say openly. (See for 3 statement, S.T.
also act effectiveions of the peace South that place a il elite participa) the LTTE leadong and arduous
untry now'.
at the United t ruled Sri Lanka and a half, Kadirgovernments did ΕΠ, ally concerned abblem, we all know t of shadow-boxing involved and jockand so on, he
the new governent situation. The clearly, massively,
for peace'.
task of working for a mass acceptance of the values of peace-namely democracy and human rights. The attack on a section of the peace movement was almost explicit and no doubt calculated to divide and to dictate an agenda.
Serious worry on the part of the liberators that people under their iron grip could be divided from them, characterises the pathological nature of the liberation struggle. The remaining phobias follow naturally.
There would be some sense in the attack if there was good reason to believe that a section of the peace movement was in collusion with the government on a psycho-military scheme to neutralise the LTTE and cheat the Tamils of a political solution. This is not just grossly unfair, but is also a wilful maligning of journalists, political activists and those like Vasudeva Nanayakkara in the south who have been active for 20 years and more seeking a just solution to the ethnic problem. The message they have been carrying to Sinhalese villages from Padaviya to Matara is that justice, democracy and human rights for the Sinhalese is inseparable from the Muslims and Tamils also enjoying these rights. We have here a glimpse of the morally decadent and selfdestructive impulse of Tamil nationalism.
How messages are signalled from Jaffna, transmitted through intellectuals, religious figures and other operators, and then picked up and campaigned upon by sections of the Tamil elite in Colombo and abroad, is also the story of a divided Tamil society. One, the ordinary Tamil people upon whom silence and suffering are imposed. The other, pandering to their egos at the expense of the former, having over the years surrendered their moral autonomy.
A significant section of the people in Jaffna do know that the LTTE's position of Pooneryn, Elephant Pass and political talks are utterly unreasonable, and have no connection with the Tamil peoples' interests. They also know and fear that if the problem is not settled now, under this government, it is going to be a long haul and a very destructive Oe.
If President Chandrika Kumaratunga is popular among Tamils because she is seen to offer them peace with justice and democracy, it is left to the LTTE to rethink what they themselves stand for. The

Page 11
15 FEBRUARY 1995
Tamil people deserve that choice as much as other human beings. Setting up people to make allegations of foul play is just nonsensical.
The articulated hesitancy about political talks as against reconstruction, leaves the feeling that recruits from the East were killed on Northern battlefield just so that the people of Jaffna could have some material benefits and electricity. That would be an insult to the long-suffering people of the North and East alike. The war rather received legitimacy from the absence of a political solution, and that is what the ordinary Tamils want first and foremost. Moreover, in rural areas the course of Tamil politics has trapped people into the vicious cycle of believing that if the LTTE is defeated, they would be cheated of a political solution and be left with nothing for all their loss. The outline of a political solution is the necessary first step, and the government need not feel intimidated or confused on this
SCOTe.
It is also significant how the East does not feature in this Jaffnacentred discourse. If there is no political process, there can be no significant reconstruction. War will resume after about three months of electricity etc. to Jaffna. The LTTE would vacate the East taking along a new batch of recruits they could not have got otherwise. If all that elected MPs have to offer is to take cover behind asking the government to talk to the LTTE, why did they go to parliament at all? After all, Tamil people elected them to lead, and not the LTTE.
Several soldiers have told pressmen and relatives that they are confused by what was going on. At present the soldier is at a loose end. During the early days of the PA government the Deputy Defence Minister went about talking to soldiers, telling them that the government would not allow a division of the country. That was neither new nor helpful. The LTTE would feel the pressure to enter political talks if it is convinced that it cannot take the military initiative as in June 1990, and then also regain the political initiative through using reprisals against civilians by the forces. The safest course is for the government to take the political initiative, while preparing the army for a clearer role that is sensitive to the people's expectations. (Courtesy of The Sunday Times, February 12, 1995).
U.S. En
In a sweeping end People's Alliance ment’s efforts to a rights situation i Secretary of Sta opher said here Lanka was one of that the State De port on in its anr Review.
Speaking to re. photo opportunity his meeting with Foreign Minister I mar, the Secretar progress made by rights, which as y human rights rep one of our happy s In its report, rele 1, the State Depan man rights condit had improved sign it was in the pa government took improve its human said and noted that committed signific rights abuses in 1 human rights viola
The report, sen January 31 to assi deliberations, said extrajudicial killin ances virtually enc controlled areas', a lishment of three sions to investigate
Asked if Wasl qualms that the S ment was trying tC the LTTE (Liberat. Eelam), which the several occasionsh of the most ruthless tions in the world, the analogy of the struck between thi Army (IRA) and t ment, the Palestin nization (PLO) an African National C the former white S ernment in Pretori intractable conflicts through intense ne;
Christopher decla great confidence il government, and I have negotiated a ( ties is highly desira
He pointed out troubled world of o some barriers br Northern Ireland, i and South Africa'. tion of hostilities a

| AML TIMES - 11
lorses Govt’s Peace Moves
rsement of the new
coalition governleviate the human n Sri Lanka, U.S. e Warren Christast week that Sri the "happy stories' partment could reual Human Rights
orters briefly at a before going in for visiting Sri Lankan akshman Kadirgay lauded the "great Sri Lanka in human fu can see from our rt on Sri Lanka is tories. ased here February tment said the huions in Sri Lanka ificantly from what st few years. "The important steps to rights practices', it , the 'security forces antly fewer human 994, although some tions still occurred'.
it to Congress on st in its foreign aid that "political and gs and disappearled in governmentnd noted the estabregional commis: disappearances.
hington had any ri Lankan governstrike a deal with on Tigers of Tamil United States on as described as one | terrorist organizaChristopher drew peace agreements 2 Irish Republican he British governe Liberation Orgad Israel, and the ongress (ANC) and south African gova, where virtually had been resolved gotiations. ured that “we have In the Sri Lankan think for them to essation of hostilible”. that 'around this irs, we are finding 2aking down, in in the Middle East He said the cessa
nd the envisaged
peace agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE is another important step and we hope that it will lead to a resolution' of the ethnic conflict. h−
Christopher congratulated his Sri Lankan diplomatic counterpart Kadirgamar for "being deeply involved in the recent negotiations to end the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka'. He said now that a cease-fire has been achieved, which was indeed 'an important step', it was imperative to "move as promptly as possible toward a final resolution of these matters', of reaching a comprehensive resolution to the conflict.
But he was noncommittal when asked whether the United States would assist Sri Lanka with bilateral aid to push through a settlement and begin the process of rehabilitation, particularly of the areas wracked by violence for the past decade.
Christopher said that Kadirgamar was visiting the United States at a time of 'severe budget stringencies, (but) we will try to keep up some kind of aid program and we will do what we can. That's the best I can say today.
Kadirgamar in his remarks declared that the relations between the United States and Sri Lanka "have always been warm (and) cordial’ and said Christopher's 'expressions of support for our peace efforts is indeed wellcome'.
He said that Sri Lanka was looking to the international community for support and the European countries "have supported us in a very handsome manner, and I was hoping very much that the U.S. would also bless our efforts'.
Kadirgamar said Christopher's "very encouraging words' were very reassuring as the Sri Lankan government tries to move the peace process forward.
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12 TAM TIMES
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15 FEBRUARY 1995
Time For a NeW COns
(by Dr. S. Narapalasingam)"
The voters from all the communities in Sri Lanka had given a clear mandate in the two successive national elections to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to settle the ethnic conflict peacefully. Despite some initial difficulties in continuing the peace talks started after the victory of the People's Alliance in the August general elections, the formal declarations to cease fighting with effect from 8 January 1995 (for two weeks initially) and to start the negotiations for power-sharing on 14 January 1995 have given renewed momentum to the peace process in Sri Lanka. A Select Committee of Parliament has been constituted earlier by the new Government as a matter of urgency to undertake comprehensive reforms of the country's constitution including if necessary the repeal and replacement of the existing constitution. It is expedient now to focus on the inadequacies of the present and previous constitutions of Sri Lanka in so far as the rights and aspirations of the Tamil speaking people are concerned. Equally important to another national effort in formulating the constitution are the lessons learned from previous exercises not only in their final outcomes but also in the approaches followed.
The paradigm of regional union of states
The current trends readily observable in the whole world around us appear on the surface to be utterly confusing. Many countries have signed eagerly trading and economic cooperation agreements and some are even prepared to give up some of their rights in favour of common policies hitherto closely safeguarded as strictly sovereign (e.g. currency). Customs and transport barriers that stood along countries' borders are being dismantled. The North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union are steps taken towrds greater integration. Despite the very slow progress made, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is moving the international economy towards globalism. Common defence agreements have been in existence among states for some years. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization continues to remain the
* This paper is dedicated to the memowry of late Mr. K. Rajasingham (passed away on the eventful day 8/1/95) ho inspired me to write on the topic.
most active. Citize countries of the E entitled to its pas tional travel.
At the same tim agitating for great in existing state measure of indep pean states of the bloc — Georgians, T Serbs Croats, M Slovenes, Chechen been battling for g. and some have a selves from the ce tries outside Eur numerous) like Ca Iraq, Indonesia, t. many African sta communities ther autonomy. The m trend is the fear (r the minority grou mon religion, cult guage or some otl and importantly would be lost as a political power exe ity groups.
There are two different commun mon bonds like thc to have lived calm geographic border one while the oth ism. There is also brings together te communities in a h try when they all common enemy. T as long as the exte) The apparent unit groups in the forr readily explained rian regime and invasion by the U so effectively incu of the people by mass media.
The political Lanka after inde seen in this perspe from being just a community, the T encountered all s tions, deprivations violence under the dominated by the ity. This was poss. ary constitution diverse characteri tion and gave abs majority communi
The world has n cantly. Colonialisr

TAM TIMES 13
titution
ens of the member uropean Union are sports for interna
e we witness groups er sovereignty withs, intent on some 2ndence. The Euroformer communist artars, Ukrainians, uslims in Bosnia, , Slovaks, etc — have reater independence lready freed themntre. Even in counope (the number is Linada, China, India, he Philippines, and tes, diferent ethnic e are agitating for Lain reason for this 'eal or imaginary) of ps that their comure, ethnicity, lanher shared heritage their basic rights
result of dominant rcised by the major
major reasons for ities with no comse mentioned above lly within the same 's. Colonialism was er was totalitariananother factor that imporarily different heterogeneous coun
have a formidable his unity lasts only rnal threat remains. y of different ethnic ner Soviet Union is to both the totalitahe threat of major .S.A. and her allies lcated in the minds the state controlled
nappenings in Sri pendence must be :tive; in this case far fear of the minority amils actually have orts of discrimina, intimidations and past governments majority communble under the unitwhich ignored the stics of the populasolute power to the ty. ow changed signifin has virtually dis
h
appeared and people everywhere do not want totalitarian regimes. People prefer the democratic system especiallly after its virtues are visible following the end of the cold war and the dismantling of the iron curtain. The vast strides already made in the flow of information which is capable of reaching every corner of our planet have had a great impact in enhancing the awareness of the people about the right to self-expression, freedom and the possibility of developments. Their knowledge on the technological developments and improvements in liv
sing standards taking place elsewhere
in the world is also expanding. Literacy rates are rising in the less developed countries and autocrats can no longer exploit the ignorance of their subjects to exercise unquestionable authority over them. The life styles of the people in the developed countries (the economies are also market-oriented) cannot be hidden from the people in most developing countries in the new technological era.
The above reality suggests that in multi-racial countries where the different races are settled separately in distinct territories, it is prudent to embody the nation as the microcosm of a regional grouping such as the European Union in respect of its economy, defence and administration. Only then political stability and equitable economic and social development can be assured. In this form the nation will embody the hopes and aspirations of all the different communities domiciled there. The European Union is chosen here as the paradigm of the union of states in view of the great differences in ethnicity and language. Importantly, the arch-enemies in the last world war have joined together to form the Union. The British and the French did not trust each other for decades.
Failure of Past Constitutions
The failure of the various unitary constitutions adopted by successive governments of Sri Lanka since independence to meet the hopes and aspirations of the Tamil community, can be readily understood from the above comments concerning: (i) the historical, ethnic, cultural and territorial differences of the different communities that had lived in the island for centuries; (ii) the absence of any external threatening force after the departure of the British colonialists to unite all communities against a common adversary; and (iii) the absence of a strong national
Continued on page 14

Page 14
14 TAM TIMES
Continued from page 13
leader capable of either repressing all dissent through terror (as happened in the Soviet Union under Stalin) or getting the support of the members of all the communities by his benevolent rule over all citizens regardless of their race, caste and creed. (There is no doubt that a benevolent ruler, though not expected to be permanent, is much more desired than a ruthless dictator).
The very first constitution of independent Ceylon was accepted finally in good faith by the then Tamil leaders after expressing strong opposition to it. The opposition was based on the fears that the minorities will not have the same rights under a unitary form of constitution without adequate safeguards to protect the minorities against majority domination. The assurances given by the national leaders that the rights of all minority groups would be safeguarded after independence together with the inducements given by way of ministerial appointments to the then Tamil leaders led to the dropping of the earlier demand for further constitutional safeguards for the minorities. Section 29 of this constitution was intended to safeguard the rights of the minorities. The disfranchisement of the Tamils in the estate sector and the legislation enacted by the Parliament compelling Sinhala, the language of the majority community, as the sole official language of Sri Lanka were possible despite this assumed constitutional protection. The disregard of the rights of the minorities was perceived by the Tamils as betrayal of the confidence placed in the earlier assurances given by the Sinhalese leaders. The abolition of the right to seek justice from the appeal court in London and the upper house of the Parliament – the Senatealso consolidated power at the centre where the minorities were powerless.
It is significant that the first constitution of independent Ceylon, written shortly after the end of the Second World War when Britain was united in rebuilding its economy and strengthening its security, would have fitted a country like Britain at that time. Although subsequent constitutions of Sri Lanka were indigenous products, in so far as the rights of the minorities were concerned the first one set the direction for them.
Following the 1948 constitution in which the ceremonial head of State was the Governor General appointed by the British monarch, different Republican constitutions were adopted in 1972 and 1978. These too did not specifically recognize at their very core
the diverse charact tion. In addition to they were unsuitabl Sri Lanka once the lief, on the part of a they individually re ing to different e areas of domicile w mit wholeheartedly power at the centre, by the very actio authority.
The joint state governmental Org 50th Session of the Human Rights held is explicit on the following excerpts
"The Tamil popu and East of the isla from ancient time well defined geogr in the north and share an ancient culture, and a livi traces its origin ta years ago. . . The the Sinhalese peo within the confines first time by the Br the departure of th an alien Sinhala language differen Tamils and claimi distinct heritage h nied the rights and doms of the Tamil
Only after prolo the Tamils to recog and language right recently with the d rate state of Tamil arrangements wer the current consti 13th amendment to
WaceS.
These were supe provincial councils this amendment, (f ment reached by governments of Indi 1987) had very limi ern. Subjects which ance over the years development, reso and allocation and a ticularly to the T upon the subjuga through the excessiv the powers of the considered to have r lly addressed.
The present con Lanka reduced the liament and introc Presidential system previous Westminst ment. Since the ade stitution in 1978, se

15 FEBRUARY 1995
eristics of the naother drawbacks, e for a country like self-conscious bell her citizens that gardless of belongthnic groups and ere willing to subto the collective had been negated hs of the central
ment of 17 Nonanisations at the UN Commission on l in February 1994, above fact. The are relevant here:
lation in the North ind, who have lived s within relatively aphical boundaries east of the island, meritage, a vibrant ng language which o more than 2500 Tamil people and ple were brought of one state for the itish in 1833. After he British in 1948, people speaking a t to that of the ng a separate and as persistently defundamental freepeople'. nged agitation by nize their regional s, intensified more emand for a sepaEelam that some e incorporated in tution under the appease their grie
rficial in that the established under ollowing the agreethe heads of the a and Sri Lanka in ted powers to govassumed importsuch as security, urce mobilisation dministration par'amils consequent tion experienced e centralisation of government were not been adequate
Institution of Sri powers of the Parluced a powerful in place of the er form of governoption of this converal amendments
have been introduced by the UNP government chiefly for meeting the ad hoc needs of the party. The Presidential system of government has been criticised by national experts as undemocratic in that the Cabinet of Ministers appointed from the members of the Parliament elected by the people has diminished powers in policy making. The President who presides at Cabinet meetings enjoys sweeping powers over all Ministers and Ministries. The President is also entitled to be a Minister in charge of one or more Ministries, although he or she does not sit in the Parliament and, therefore, is not answerable to this august assembly of elected representatives.
It virtually facilitated an authoritative one-person rule and this was interpreted by some commentators that the 1978 constitution was introduced to satisfy the ego of one individual. Under this constitution which has inadequate checks and balances, the intrinsic opportunities for misusing the Presidential powers were blatantly exploited. No president can remain immortal and in writing constitutions the legislators should give pre-eminence to the interests of the nation and its citizens. This was a flagrant mistake made when the current constitution was written.
The 1978 constitution which deviated significantly from the previous ones by the introduction of the Executive Presidential system of government, has various provisions regarding freedom of thought, freedom from torture, of the right to equality, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, and a host of other fundamental rights of citizens. Nevertheless all these rights have been violated because the powers of the Presidency are overriding. Moreover, it is alleged that the Parliament passed bills which were inconsistent with the 1978 constitution using the powers under article 84 of the same constitution. The previous constitutions were not any better in this respect. The abuse of constitutional provisions was also seen from the excesses of the 1970-1977 government.
The important lesson that the Tamils, in particular, have learnt from their experience of having been ruled by various central governments acting under the different constitutions of Sri Lanka, is that constitutional safeguards alone are inadequate. Unless there are effective mechanisms to prevent (by dubious methods) the subversion of the constitutional safeguards written into the document, these cannot guarantee fairness and the fundmental rights of citizens. It can be

Page 15
15 FEBRUARY 1995
argued that if an incumbent government is determined to abuse the constitutional safeguards, ways will be found to by-pass any checks and balances loosely written into the document. Recent political history of Sri Lanka seems to point in that direction.
Another feature of all the constitutions Sri Lanka adopted so far is the ability to change existing provisions or introduce new ones by two-thirds majority of the members of the Parliament. The 1978 constitution has provided for conducting a referendum in certain cases (though these are not unambiguous) prior to the enactment of the relevant law by the Parliament. These arrangements stipulated under a consolidated authority without any other provisos had not provided any protection to the minority community when matters that concern them are legislated. Issues presented as extremely vital to the protection or advancement of the Sinhalese race, even if they infringe on the rights of the minorities are likely to get the two-thirds majority in the Parliament when the voting is mainly along communal lines.
The temptation to subvert democracy through constitutional machinations is great in any country without a strong political culture. Often this is done not in the real interest of the entire nation but for parochial reasons. In Sri Lanka the word "nation' was used by the narrow minded politicians to mean the country of the majority community. The concept of democracy has considerably wider meaning than what is perceived by many in multi-racial countries. The periodic election of members to the Parliament or the Presidency by the exercise of adult suffrage is only one aspect of democracy.
Great Britain has no Written constitution but the principles that determine good and impartial governance are observed by all parties elected to govern. These stem from the long democratic traditions which are firmly rooted in British politics. Written constitutions of other countries where the spirit of democracy is entrenched in their ways of governance have various checks and balances to ensure that the fundamental rights of all citizens are safeguarded. For example, the President of the United States of America can be impeached if he or she has violated the laws of the country. The Watergate scandal that forced President Richard Nixon to step down from the most powerful office in the country is only one recent example to illustrate the point just made.
Leaders and Their Assurances
Time and again the Tamil politicians
had made the eno accepting the assur of governments wi rights of the people substitutes for safeg be enshrined in th protect permanentl gardless of changes governments. Ironi pacts entered with leaders were broker leaders who succun ures of political
Sinhala chauvinists
Even after year, committing the sar astonishing to rea the leader of the TU assurance given b. Minister of India, E the signing of the Accord with regard a referendum on Northern and Easte Lanka was forsake Sri Lanka governm It is foolhardy to su of the entire comn matter the entire n ance given by an i standing his or her
The Western le servedly backed th Boris Yeltsin must after the manner Chechnya killing ci all norms of civilise failed to judge th dictatorship to del ways the country ha cratic principles, or institutions and rights. Instead t assumed that the f individual, Boris Ye change towards c cherished by W. Moreover, the Chec perceived by the which supported th Yeltsin as purely a But when the Russ indiscriminately Ch property and kill population, question within and outside wisdom of the inter ity to regard the internal matter. It w pointed out by analy parents of a family i. prevent the mental velopment and ev. lives of their own ch bours in a civilised watch such atrociti plight of these chil they belong to oth accept such parent their fraternity unle

TAMIL TIMES 15
rmous mistake of ances of the heads ith regard to the
they represent as guards that should he constitution to y their rights re
in leadership and cally, the various the government by the very same nbed to the pressopportunists and
s of experience of ne mistake, it was d the complaint of ULF that the verbal y the then Prime Rajiv Gandhi, after
1987 Indo-Lanka to the provision for
the merger of the
ern provinces of Sri in by the previous ent after his death irrender the future munity or for that ation to the assurindividual notwith
sincerity. aders who unrehe Russian leader now be regretting his army attacked vilians disregrding 'd behaviour. They e transition from mocracy from the as embraced demoganized democratic observed human hey superficially riendship with one ltsin, reflected the lemocratic values astern societies. zhnya conflict was Western countries le regime of Boris n internal matter. sian army bombed echnya destroying ling the civilian ls were raised both Russia as to the national commun
SSaCS 8S 8 was very succinctly ysts that when the nhumanly assault, and physical deen endanger the hildren, the neighsociety just cannot es and ignore the dren even though ers. They cannot s as belonging to 2ss the miscreants
change their ways conforming to the accepted norms of civil conduct.
The point is that although leaders with a clear vision of the future are needed to bring about the desired changes in a country, it is unwise to assume that the tasks are over until these can remain permanent even after the leaders are no longer in power. Without such type of leaders implementation of the changes cannot be guaranteed and hence the need for foolproof provisions to ensure that it continues under all future leaders as originally intended by the reformers.
The above comments should not be construed as questioning the sincerity of the leader of the new Government of Sri Lanka with regard to the courageous steps being taken towards the settlement of the ethnic conflict through negotiations that will, hopefully, lead to lasting peace throughout the country. Even those sceptics who had some doubts initially based justifiably on the tactics and performances of previous leaders had subsequently changed their attitudes to trust the personal bona fides of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. The quality of real national leadership, which has been blatantly absent in Sri Lanka over the past several decades is evident from her ideals revealed at the time she entered national politics in 1994 and her steadfastness to achieve them against considerable difficulties. This quality is conducive for rewriting the constitution of Sri Lanka but as emphasized earlier is not a substitute for the desired constitution itself.
Towards a New Constitution
All political parties in Sri Lanka agree that the present executive Presidential system of government is unsatisfactory and must be changed. Thus an opportunity exists to draw up another constitution for Sri Lanka which, hopefully, will remain permanent and sacred for several generations. For this to happen it is essential that the lessons of the past blunders are considered together with the promised extensive devolution of powers to the North-East region with a view to incorporating, inter alia, the fooliproof safeguards against the diminution of the devolved powers by future governmentS.
Unless there is extensive devolution of the powers currently exercised by the central government, any regionalistic system of government will not satisfy the aspirations of the Tamils. The ethnic problem has been allowed to intensify, since the original demand for a federal state was raised by the
Continued on page 29

Page 16
16 TAMIL TIMES
The Case For A Fel
Sri Lanka -
by Rohan Edrisinha and Paikiasothy Sarava (The Centre for Policy Research and Analysis
University of Colombo)
(Continued from last issue)
Devolution in Sri Lanka: A Critique
The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution which was enacted in November 1987 introduced a system of devolution of power based on a system of Provincial Councils. The Amendment and the Provincial Councils Act No.42 of 1987, constituted part of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, signed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayewardene in July 1987.
It now seems clear that the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution has failed to introduce substantial devolution of power and that the widespread apprehension that the unitary character of the constitution had been violated, is completely unfounded.
Constitutional theorists generally agree that there is a wide spectrum of federal constitutions which contain different degrees of power for the central governments vis-a-vis the devolved units or states.
However unitary and federal constitutions contain certain essential features which make it possible to distinguish between the two. In a Unitary state all legislative and executive authority is vested in a single legislature and a single executive. While certain powers can be devolved or delegated to smaller authorities such as municipal councils or other local authorities, since there is ultimately one source from which these smaller institutions derive their authority, powers delegated can either be withdrawn, or the subsidiary institutions even abolished, at the whim of the central legislative source of authority.
Under a Federal constitution, on the other hand, an essential feature is that there is a clearly defined division of legislative and executive authority. Power is divided between the centre and the states or provinces so that they constitute coordinate sovereignties with regard to powers and subjects assigned to them. Furthermore, since federal constitutions are deemed to have
been drawn up as the consent of both state/provincial amendment of a fed can only be made wi both the central anc governments.
In Sri Lanka how clear cut division of Thirteenth Amenc the central governm vincial Councils. Amendment conta spelling out the sub the Provincial CouI subjects retained b the Reserved List (I Concurrent List (Li 154 G (5) (a) provi ment may make law the subjects specifie rent List “after su with all Provincial ( liament may conside the circumstances Article 154 G (5) () Provincial Councils statutes on subjects rent List after consu liament. The mech consultation was no the Constitution. 22nd December 198 after the enactmer teenth Amendmen ment decided to ame Orders to set out : adequate process of
Article 154 G (6 vides that with rega the Concurrent List, of any statute made Council is inconsiste visions of any law p ment in accordance o (G), the provisions prevail and the pr Provincial Council || the extent of its inc the law, be void. T provision is therefor ultimately all the si in the Concurrent the control of Parlia
Another major fla teenth Amendment tion is that the firs Reserved List com
an

15 FEBRUARY 1995
dera
|namuttu (CEPRAj
a compact, with the central and governments, eral constitution th the consent of state/provincial
ever, there is no power under the lment, between ment and the ProThe Thirteenth ins three lists jects devolved to ncils (List I), the y the centre in List II) and also a st III). Article e des that Parliais with respect to d in the Concurich consultation Councils as Par2r appropriate in of each case'. b) provides that may also make ; in the Concurlation with Paranism for such t provided for in it was only on 9, over two years ht of the Thirt, that Parlia2nd its Standing a somewhat inconsultation”.*
) however, prord to subjects on if any provision by a Provincial nt with the proassed by Parliawith Article 154 of the law shall ovisions of the statute shall to onsistency with he effect of the e to ensure that ubjects specified List, are under ment. aw in the Thirto the Constitut phrase in the pletely under
mines the devolution of power apparently devolved under the Provincial Councils List: "National Policy on all subjects.' Thus the policy even on those subjects in the Provincial and Concurrent Lists can be determined by the central Parliament.
A clear example of how devolution of power can be undermined by this provision is the National Transport Commission Act of 1991. The preamble to the Act begins with the words,
Whereas as it is the policy of the Government of Sri Lanka. . . .,”
thereby seeking to justify all the provisions contained therein. Apart from prohibiting a Provincial Council or local authority from having any interest in the ownership or operation of omnibus services, the Bill established a National Transport Commission consisting wholly of central government bureaucrats or nominees, which was empowered inter alia, to specify conditions for the issue or renewal of route licences, monitor conditions of passenger service, prescribe the form in which passenger service permits may be issued, determine the rates to be charged for the issue of route permits, to issue such permits, and to ensure the provision of omnibus services on unremunerative routes, determine the fares that may be charged on such routes and to arrange for carriage of goods on omnibuses. This is in spite of the fact that Provincial Council List of powers included the regulation of road passenger carriage services and the carriage of goods by motor vehicles within the Province and the provision of intra-provincial transport services.
The power of the Central Government over Provincial Councils can be seen in several other provisions in the Thirteenth Amendment. Article 154 G(2) provides that Parliament can legislate on Provincial Council subjects if such legislation is passed with a two thirds majority. Article 154 G(11) provides that Parliament can, with a simple majority, make laws in respect of any matter set out in the Provincial Council List, if such law is necessary for implementing any treaty, agreement or convention with any other country, or even any decision made at an international conference, association or other body, Furthermore Article 155 (3A) provides that emergency regulation made under the Public Security ordinance can

Page 17
15 FEBRUARY 1995
override, amend or suspend the operation of Provincial Council statutes. Since the past twenty years have demonstrated that emergency rule is more the rule rather than the exception, and since the previous government passed legislation by emergency regulations on a number of issues which are really outside the ambit of the Public Security Ordinance, there is a real likelihood that this Article could be used to substamtially undermine the autonomy of Provincial Councils.
Article 154 Q is another provision which, by virtue of certain sections which seem overbroad and vague, has the potential to permit excessive intrusion of Parliament into Provincial Council autonomy. While Parliament has the power to determine how members of Provincial Councils are elected, their qualifications, the procedure for transaction of Provincial Council business, and the salaries and allowances of members of Provincial Councils, Parliament can also legislate on
any other matter necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the principles of provisions of this chapter, and for any matters connected with, or incidental to, the provisions of this chapter."
Given the lack of political will at the centre to really devolve power, and the tendency of central government institutions to retain power, the broad and ambiguous provisions of this section could be used to undermine the devolution of power.
The Provincial Councils Act No. 42 of 1987 is an example of legislation passed by Parliament under powers vested in it by Article 154(Q). The Act clearly establishes that the financial powers of Provincial Councils are vested in the Governor who, in fact, functions like the Minister of Finance of the Province. Apart from his/her powers over finance, the general position of the Governor under the 13th Amendment is a major impediment to substantial devolution.
The ambiguities in the Thirteenth Amendment were highlighted in a recent Supreme Court decision where the court, rather unusually, rejected both the submissions of the petitioner and the respondents and adopted a position that had not been canvassed by either of the parties to the dispute. The question for determination by the court was under which List did the provisions of the Agrarian Services (Amendment)
Bill fall.
The Provincial tained the followin
9. Agriculture a vices - 9.1 Agriculture Cultural exten and educatior purposes and vices (other provincial irrig Settlement Sch and plantation
The Concurrent tains the following
8. Agricultural a vices -
8.1 Establishm tion of agro-li the establishm nance of farms of private nurse
The Supreme Co ing the subject ma osed Amendment did not come with and held that sin rights of appeal o tors, the determin the payment of Amendment came served List (List II the Court reveale faced by the judge the confusing pa dealt with the divi
While there are which create the im Governor is meant head of the provin position of the G and the President bury and First Rep tions respectively, sions which indicat more tham a nom province. For exam is appointed by th holds office at the President in accord 4(b) of the Constitu cial Council cannot ernor from office bu President to remov regard to the su roguing and dissolu Councils, the Gove to act on the adv Minister, but only,
"So long as the ters commands Of the GOVernO the majority o COUncil“.° Article 154 F (1) Governor is to act the Chief Ministe Ministers, except :

TAMIL TIMES 17
List (List I) cong entry: ind Agrarian Ser
, including agrision, promotion n for provincial agricultural serthan in intergation and land emes, State land agriculture). . .
List (List III) con
entry: and Agrarian Ser
ent and promonked industries, ent and mainteand supervision eries; urt after examinatter of the propconcluded that it in either section ce it dealt with f tenant cultivaation of disputes, loans etc., the under the Re). The decision of d the difficulties is in interpreting ragraphs which sion of power.
some provisions pression that the to be a nominal ce, similar to the overnor General under the Soulublican Constituthere are provie that s/he is far inal head of the ple, the Governor e President and pleasure of the ance with Article tion. The Provinremove the Govut only advise the fe him/her. With ummoning, protion of Provincial :rnor is required ice of the Chief
Board of Minis, in the opinion r, the support of if the Provincia
provides that the on the advice of ir and Board of in so far as he is
by or under the Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion'. There are several provisions with regard to the Governor's assent to Provincial Statutes, the Governor's power to report to the President that the administration of a Province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, inter alia, which authorise the Governor to act in his discretion, Article 154 F(2) provides that:
“if any question arises whether any matter is or is not a matter as respects which the Governor is by or under this constitution required to act in his discretion, the decision of the Governor in his discretion shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the Governor shall not be called in question in any Court on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted on his discretion. The exercise of the GOVernor's discretion shall be on the President's directions. "The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by the Ministers to the Governor shall not be inquired into by any Court.' Furthermore, the fact that the Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President in accordance with Article 4(b) which vests the executive power of the Republic in the President, demonstrates that while the Governor is required to act on the advice of the Chief Minister with regard to the more formal or ceremonial aspects of his functions, substantive executive power remains with the President and his agent, the Governor of the Province. An analysis of the provisions of the Thirteenth Amendment and the Provincial Councils Act reveal therefore, a) that the Central Parliament and Provincial Councils are not 'coordinate sovereignties.' b) that there is no clear cut division of power between the centre and the provinces; c) that the powers of Provincial Councils can be abolished by the central government acting unilaterally; d) that there is no subject over which a Provincial Council can claim to exercise exclusive competence or jurisdiction; e) that central government institutions either directly or indirectly Continued on page 12

Page 18
18 TAMIL TIMES
Continued from page 17
exercise considerable control over Provincial Councils. These aspects of the legislation and the fact that the discretion exercised by the President or the Governor are couched in subiective terms and are invariably insulated from judicial surveillance, suggest that on the face of the legislation in question, Sri Lanka's unitary character, enshrined in Article 2 of the Constitution, has not been violated.
It is therefore not surprising that Tamil political parties now clamour for 'substantial devolution', totally rejecting the existing constitutional framework, and the views of several of the dissenting judges in the Thirteenth Amendment case, that the unitary character of the constitution had been violated, today seems completely untenable. | representatives of the major parties have sometimes, argued in favour of "full implementation' of the Thirteenth Amendment and the Provincial Councils Act. While there have been major impediments to the implementation of the existing package of devolution, mainly in the form of central government politicians, officials and legal advisors clinging on to power at the centre, it is clear that the constitutional provisions are themselves fundamentally flawed as excessive power remains with the centre or its agents, within a wider constitutional framework which is itself highly centralised in character. Tinkering with the Thirteenth Amendment is doomed to fail. Fundamental constitutional reform, including the introduction of a federal constitution, may be the last chance to preserve a united Sri Lanka.
Federalism : A Panacea?
The case for a federal Sri Lanka has therefore, gained momentum in recent years as attempts to devolve power within the unitary framework of the Constitution, have demonstrably failed to address the demand for autonomy for the Tamil speaking people in the north and east of the country. The increasing awareness among all communities that a political and not a military option is the only realistic basis for a solution to the ethnic conflict, has also highlighted the need to consider imaginative and new models.
There are, however, several challenges, faced by advocates of federalism. Dueto historical reasons, feder
alism has been essentially Tamil also, popular mis federalism; that
and unitary meae federalism necess ognition of the Constitutional ob Since the Article Sri Lanka is a specially entrenc tion of a federa require the sup thirds of the majo Parliament, and Referendum."
Furthermore, federalist constitl agreement on th that surfaces in a tions; what subje volved and what by the centre? A has observed that
Ensuring a fai choice about tions of policy tends to pron tion, diversity There must, c vices by whic governments frustrate legiti terests or to i liberties. The tensions b and diversity is Lankan federalist man rights and d If the principle applied, should su al procedure and tion, for example trend towards th tion of human ri favour the probut the danger i the devolved unit. little autonomy if a human right assigned to the ce becomes particu dealing with iss guage, gender, ra environment an laws of the count
The case for u areas is supporte erations. Uniforn cy conform with t Rawls has conclu of a just society same basic rights
This accords w of what rights common notions lish a sense of ná it easier, for the

15 FEBRUARY 1995
identified as an lemand. There are conceptions about the terms united n the same, that arily includes recight of secession. stacles also exist. that declares that unitary state is hed, the introduc
constitution will bort of both two rity of Members of the People at a
even within the ency, there is dise vexed question ill federal jurisdiccts should be deshould be retained A.E. Dick Howard
r measure of local
important quesand government note experimentaand pluralism. of course, be deh local and state are not allowed to imate national innfringe individual
etween uniformity a dilemma for Sri s committed to hu2volution of power. of subsidiarity is bjects like crimin
secondary educabe devolved? The e internationalisaghts norms would uniformity school, s that ultimately, might be left with every subject with s perspective is ntre. This dilemma arly acute when les involving lance, education, the d the customary ry. niformity in these by several considlity and consistenhe notion of justice. ded that: "citizens ought to have the y 9 p
ith lay perceptions mean. Uniform or also help to estabtionhood. It makes egal community in
particular, to protect and monitor human rights. It also tends to be advantageous to minorities within devolved units, a factor of particular relevance to the Sri Lankan context.
On the other hand, the case for diversity would stress the fact that Constitutions are not only meant to protect rights but also to create structures and institutions which respect and foster pluralism and diversity, and that this too is a human rights imperative. Local choices encourage civic participation, participatory democracy and ultimately, civic education. Diversity allows different systems to flourish, creating a healthy dialogue at different levels of government. Diversity enhances choice and the freedom to choose is the essence of political freedom. Diversity also promotes experimentation with the states/provinces functioning as laboratories grappling with human rights issues.
If Sri Lanka opts for a federal constitution, these issues are bound to surface. For the past 150 years our constitutional evolution and our political culture have encouraged centralisation and a centralised mindset among our political leadership. The tensions are bound, therefore to be great.
Conclusions
Despite these inevitable challenges when the details of a federal constitution are spelled out, the concept offederalism is not as unacceptable as it once was. The stumbling block for a political solution to the ethnic conflict will be the issue of the unit of devolution, or the issue of merger as it is popularly known. The question whether the northern and the eastern provinces should constitute one unit ofdevolution perplexed the Mangala Moonesinghe Parliamentary Select Committee. Here a series of imaginative proposals including a re-demarcation of boundaries, substantial decentralization within the provincess, or even the notion of an Apex Council, where the separate provinces meet separately for certain purposes, but together for others, might have to be considered.
The experience of the Thirteenth Amendment, has demonstrted the urgent need for provincial representation at the Centre. A Senate consisting primarily of elected representatives of the Provinces will be a vital check on the inevitable tendency of the central government to

Page 19
15 FEBRUARY 1995
undermine devolution of power. The Sri Lankan situation also requires power sharing in various areas. The management of ports and harbours, land and environment are sensitive subjects where Boards and Committees consisting of nominees both from the centre and the provinces might have to be created. Regular meetings of political leaders of the centre and the provinces, similar to the First Ministers Conferences held in Canada and Australia might have to be expressly provided for in the Constitution to facilitate the concept of co-operative federalism.
As identified at the outset, there has been the beginnings of a paradigm shift on constitutional reform
with the recognitio constitutes the be framework for na cause it is a partn ment between the island. Moreover, flict resolution . through genuine el the acceptance strength. The key whether all the acta come to this conclu not, then the peop to it, in the way tha Cal.
Notes:
The Indo-Lanka A tore Peace and Norm:
War of Attrition
Political Crisis Deepens in Ba
Haroon Habib in Dhaka
"As you are probably aware, Lady Stephen and I will be leaving Bangladesh tomorrow. I will be making a full written report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General. Unfortunately, barring unforeseen and unlikely developments in the next 24 hours, I will not be able to report a successful outcome to my mission and, in recognition of this, I have regretfully come to the conclusion that my continued presence in Dhaka will serve no useful purpose.' These were the concluding remarks of the former Australian GovernorGeneral, Sir Ninian Stephen, at the conclusion of a 39-day mission as envoy of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, to resolve the complex political crisis in Bangladesh.
The unceremonious end of the Commonwealth-brokered dialogue between the Government and the Opposition has suddenly changed the political scene. The country is again witnessing the boycott of Parliament and the intense agitation by the Opposition, which were started in March and suspended for a while. The demand for a neutral caretaker government to hold fresh elections has now been strengthened with accusations that the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP) manipulated two byelections through violence and fraud.
In his concluding the Commonwealth litator' is the word Opposition - did I question put by jou he put forward som Bangladeshis to through discussion. are the great stren try, a strength v never undervalue win for Banglades provided that wisd can prevail and yo past enmities and t lems of the present
These suggestior disclosure that he warded a proposa crisis, and that the accepted it, invitec from the Oppositi League, led by Wazed, the main ( the Jatiya Party of Gen. H.M. Ershad the fundamenta Islami, came out mediator for his "p First, the Oppo Stephen should no proposal of his own ment it denied hav proosal from the Co voy. “The proposal from the Governm said. Stephen had
 

TAMIL TIMES 19
n that federalism st constitutional tional unity beership in governpeoples of this it facilitates conand democracy mpowerment and of diversity as question is as to ors involved have sion: if they have le will lead them at only the people
greement to Resalcy in Sri Lanka,
July 29, 1987.
See Standing Order No. 46 A. Bills and Proposed Statutes Dealing with Matters in the Concurrent List.
See the Hansard of 20 August 1991. “ Article 154 Q d.
In Re a Petition filed by Somaweera Chandrasiri re A Bill to Amend the Agrarian Services Act No. 58 of 1979. S.C. 2/91.
o See Article 154 B (S) d.
See Article 83 of the Constitution. * A. E. Dick Howard, Protecting Human Rights in a Federal System. p.
115 in Comparative Constitutional Federalism ed. Dick Howard.
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice p.
211.
ngladesh
press statement, mediator — ‘facipreferred by the not reply to any rnalists. Instead, he suggestions to solve the crisis 'You, the people, gth of this counwhich you must and which will h a great future pm and tolerance u can rise above he political prob
ns and Stephen's had himself forto resolve the Government had sharp criticism on. The Awami Sheikh Hasina Dpposition party, former President (now in jail) and list Jamaat-e-
heavily on the artisan attitude'. sition argued, t have given any ... In a joint statering received any ommonwealth enwe received was ment,” its leaders mentioned in his
final remarks that after several rounds of conversation with all concerned, he had put forward his own proposal and it was accepted by the Government.
The Opposition's reaction was communicated to the Commonwealth Sectetary-General by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, who alleged that Stephen played a “partisan role' and the remarks he made were "beyond his jurisdiction'. In his statement, Stephen had appealed to the people not to go in for street agitations. Violence and uproar will achieve nothing. I urge the people of this country not to go down that road, which leads only to anguish and despair, he had said.
Several political parties, including the Left parties and the fundamentalists, have expressed reservations about foreign interference in the internal affairs' of Bangladesh. Stephen also faced street protests in Dhaka and elsewhere by a number of organisations which demanded his expulsion from the country. One of his comments that 'the Commonwealth will not abandon Bangladesh', also invited sharp reactions.
In her fax message to Anyaoku, Sheikh Hasina said that "Sir Ninian, in his statement, made himself partisan, which has tarnished the image of Commonwealth organisation. Though it contained the SecretaryGeneral's proposal for dialogue and was a decision of both sides not to give any statement without concurrence of the two sides, Sir Ninian gave the said statement siding with the ruling party and without informing the Opposition. The Opposition
Continued on page 20

Page 20
20 TAMIL TIMES
Continued from page 19 was not informed of any proposal.... Moreover, Sir Ninian has claimed the ruling party's proposal as his own proposal'. Anyaoku later denied that his envoy played a partisan role.
Stephen, arrived in Dhaka on October 13, and left on November 21. During his stay, he managed to bring the Government and the Opposition to the negotiating table on a few occasions. His mediation went out of gear finally, but the process of dialogue kept the political atmosphere relatively calm for a few weeks. The situation, which was almost explosive due to the war of attrition and the strong agitation by the combined Opposition, eased so much that Government and Opposition leaders often visited the state guest house, 'Padma', where Stephen stayed. But once he left, both sides again started exchanging hot words, blaming each other for the failure of the talks. The Opposition quickly resumed the agitation programme and the ruling party vowed to resist the "enemies of democracy', if necessary on the streets.
The mediation failed because the Government and the Opposition refused to budge even an inch from their declared positions. When the negotiations began in the third week of October, most people did not expect a miracle, though there were signs of optimism. What has intrigued many is how Sir Ninian Stephen, who has had a chequered career both in Australia and elsewhere, chose to break the norms and opt to 'side with one party'.
The proposal, claimed to be Stephen's was as follows:
1. The leaders shall agree that: 45 days before the expiry of the 5th Parliament by affluxion of time, the incumbent Prime Minister shall: a. Procure the resignations of all Ministers; b. Select in their place nine members of Parliament for appointment by President to Cabinet as Ministers without portfolio, four to be nominated by her and five by the Leader of the Opposition;
2. The Prime Minister shall thereafter until the expiry of the 5th Parliament only exercise the executive power of the republic in an interim capacity and with the assent of the majority of the Cabinet. In reaching such majority, each Minister and the Prime Minister shall have one vote.
3. The Prime Ministers may, other candidates al election for t. and campaign b and for their pa for that purpose ment employees ment transport except for the p and protection. T way interfere wit cess or with the Election Commi Minister and th continue in office of the general officially and shal Whoever may appointed Prime President pursua of the Constitutic ceed to designate Ministers of St Ministers.
The leaders fur
1. There shall national consult comprising 10 m ment (five from th and five from the may be chaired b Parliament, whose discuss in detail quired to strengt Commission, such the powers, proc sources and indep to ensure that th elections are free content of a legal conduct to guide p
2. The national mittee's decisions consensus. In cas chairman of the c cuss the issues Minister and th Opposition to arri
3. The leaderse consultative comr an agreed interim month of its inau sittings will be in
4. In agreemen the Government a all Opposition par Parliament and in tary activity will I
5. These proposa expectation that th will provide app assistance for the , in other appropria facilitate the impl understanding, if :
6. As regards a

15 FEBRUARY 1995
Minister and the in common with contest the generhe 6th Parliament oth for themselves ties, but shall not mploy any governDr use any governand local protocol, urpose of security ney will not in any h the election profunctioning of the ssion. The Prime e Ministers shall until the outcome lection is known thereupon resign.
thereafter be
Minister by the nt to Article 56(3) on shall then proCabinet members, ate and Deputy
ther agree that:
be established a lative committee embers of Parliae government side Opposition) which by the Speaker of purpose will be to , a. Changes rehen the Election that it will have edures, staff, re2ndence necessary he future general
and fair; b. The ly binding code of olitical activity.
consultative comwill be reached by se of failure, the ommittee will diswith the Prime Leader of the ve at a decision. xpect the national nittee to produce report within one gural sitting. All Parliament.
to the above by nd the Opposition, cies will return to ormal parliameneSue. ls are made in the e Commonwealth opriate technical above process and e ways assist and mentation of the equired. mendments of the
rules of procedures, it will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the procedure laid down in the rules of procedure of Parliament.
This proposal was rejected by the Opposition on the plea that the proposed national government would not be able to function as the Government and the Opposition would have similar voting strengths and in case of any crisis, there would be a deadlock. In its final formula presented to Stephen, the Opposition proposed an interim caretaker government headed by a neutral person or by a sitting or retired Judge of the Supreme Court. It said the neutral person would be jointly chosen by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, and suggested that 10 other neutral persons be inducted into the Cabinet. This was handed over to Stephen on Noyember 17, three days before his departure.
The main point of difference in the two proposals is, while the ruling party is trying to avoid a constitutional amendment, the Opposition is trying to change the Constitution to have a provision for a neutral caretaker government to conduct elections. The other point, possibly a vital one, is that the ruling party is unwilling to reach any understanding leaving out Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, even if she is made an ineffective head of government under an interim national government. But the Opposition is not ready to give any concession by allowing a caretaker government in which Khaleda Zia will have a say. The rigid postures are understandable. If the Opposition agrees to participate in elections under a caretaker government with Khaleda Zia as its head, then its nine-month movement would have been futile. On the other hand, if the ruling party, which has virtually accepted all but one condition of the Opposition, sacrifices Khaleda Zia's position, it will have disastrous results in the election.
The BNP also faced a minor internal revolt, with the vocal Information Minister, Nazmul Huda, and two MPs issuing press statements contradicting the party's stand. Huda, who had been a vocal critic of the Opposition's demand for a caretaker government, suddenly changed his position and suggested that the crisis could be defused only by forming an interim government headed by the Chief Justice of the

Page 21
15 FEBRUARY 1995
country with the judges of the appellate division forming the electionconducting Cabinet. Khaleda Zia sacked the Minister but later pardoned” him. One of the MPs, Nurul Islam Moni, was suspended from the party.
The Opposition parties now plan en masse resignation from Parliament. Members of all parliamentary groups have submitted their letters of resignation to their party chiefs, following a joint decision. Sheikh Hasina has decided to leave her official residence. The situation seems to be gloomier than ever before. Tension is mounting all over, as both the Opposition and the Government flex their muscles.
Immediately after the Commonwealth mission failed, a number of Western diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador David Merrill and British High Commissioner Peter Fowler, tried initiatives to narrow down the differences. They maintained contact with both the sides. They are yet to see any sign of a solution. And Anyaoku is likely to visit Dhaka once again, to initiate a fresh dialogue.
The Opposition is preparing for a final battle to make the Government swallow the bitter pill. The Government too is determined not to give its enemies a free hand. While Sheikh Hasina threatened to create 'a total deadlock' by enforcing a series of anti-government programmes, the Prime Minister, in a sharp riposte, said the student activists of her party, belonging to the Jatiatabadi Chhatra Dal, were “enough to resist them (Opposition) and thwart their destructive designs.
This, however, attracted sharp criticism. “We are astonished at her remarks. How can a Prime Minister ignore the administration and want to let loose her students on the street to combat the Opposition's constitutional movement?" Opposition leaders wondered at the end of a meeting in Parliament the next day.
The series of Opposition street programmes, including hartals, gheraos and rail and roadblockades have hit the economy. Countries giving aid to Bangladesh have repeatedly cautioned that unless conditions are made peaceful, they might reconsider the question of annual aid. Britain, which recently signed several important investment contracts with Bangladesh, said categorically that the failure of the Commonwealth-brokered dialogue may force it to do this.
Even as the ( planned their co ades, 48-hour h marches, the rul important Bill pas - the Representa (Amendment) Bill empower the Ele “to ensure a foolp tem and enable identity cards fo) Zia said identity false voting an would give more p mission.
But the Opposi party meeting, ac ment of closing return to Parliam by passing an ele ernment was try real demand - fi caretaker gove which free and fai be held. The ame sweeping powers Commission.
A potent weapo tion is en masse re which would caus Parliament. The c to be decided, bu down may come to an important leader. In such a
The La
Nothing can shak hold on the thror George (the Chief it looks like. Co dals, concerted c: ciations in the pr platforms, nothi thing seems to u least. She continu rious ways ever her critics left in this new phenome
Ever since the at a Hindu religio ary 1992 sparke security measures ing her — which lives, her regime h sensational scand troversies, the lat ous godman from conveniently behi nections are saic

TAM TIMES 2
Dpposition parties puntrywide blockartals and street ing party got an ssed in Parliament tion of the People l, 1946, which will ction Commission roof electoral sysit to introduce r voters. Khaleda cards would stop d the legislation lowers to the Com
tion, after an allcused the Governthe door for its ent. It argued that :tion law the Goving to bypass the or a non-partisan rnment without tir elections cannot nded law will vest in the Election
n with the Opposi2signation of MPs, se the collapse of late for this is yet t the final showshortly, according
Awami League n eventuality the
ruling party has only two options - mass byelections or dissolution of Parliament and fresh elections. Opposition leaders have warned the Government that if it decides on byelections, they will put up an 'all-out resistance' to stop such 'farcical polls'.
The only hope on the horizon now is an intiative by the Bangladesh Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (BFCCI), which convened a meeting of political leaders on December 4 to listen to business leaders on the impact of the political crisis. Salman F. Rahman, BFCCI president, said: "The parties have asked for a schedule.' But it is uncertain whether the business leaders will make any headway.
The developments indicate that general elections are coming closer. The ruling party believes it will win the next polls. The Awami League considers the coming election as its finest chance to recapture power after 20 years. Both of them, however, ignore the possibility that the Jatiya Party and Jamat-e-Islami may bag enough votes to become key players in forming a new government.
Courtesy of Frontline, December 30, 1994.
dy With An Iron Grip
T.N. Gopalan, Madras
e Ms. Jayalalitha's he in the Fort St. Minister's Chair), ntroversies, scanampaigns, denuness or from public ng, virtually nonsettle her in the les with her impemore arrogantly, a daze as to what enon is all about.
ghastly stampede us festival in Janud off by mindless s aimed at protectclaimed several nas been dogged by als and lurid conest being a lechern Sri Lanka, now ind bars. His conto stretch right
upto Poes Garden (Ms. Jayalalitha's residence).
But, by hijacking the International Tamil Research Conference, she was able to attract hundreds and thousands of Tamils to a tawdry show she put up in Thanjavur in the name of promoting Tamil language and culture, thus once again proving her hold on the masses. Crowd turnouts at any kind of rally have always been a rough indicator of the popularity of the organisers. And in this instance Jaya’s storm-troopers had shamelessly converted a purported assembly of scholars into an interminable adoration session, something of a secular equivalent of worship of Hindu gods spread over several days.
Sweeter moments for her to savour were still ahead. A couple of
Continued on page 23

Page 22
22 TAMIL TIMES
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Continued from page 21
weeks after he turned up at the valedictory session of the International Tamil Conference in the face of stiff opposition from many Congressmen, Prime Minister and Cong-I President Narasimha Rao, struck at a bitter critic of the lady - he removed Mr. Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthi as the president of the Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress and installed in his place Mr. Kumari Amanthan, a powerful orator with literary inclinations, but a pussy-footer par excellence.
Nothing could be more pleasing to Jayalalitha than seeing Vazhapadi Ramamurthy deported from the Sathyamurthi Bhavan, the TNCC-I headquarters.
Ramamurthi was made the TNCC-I president nearly six years ago by the late Rajiv Gandhi at the instance of Ms. Jayalalitha herself because he was an inveterate enemy of Mr. G. Karuppiah Moopanar, a leading figure in the Congress who had refused to pay homage to the "revolutionary leaderine'.
Together the Jaya-Ramamurthy team toppled the then Karunanidhi regime of the DMK through a series of blatantly unconstitutional and unethical manoeuvres, and shortly thereafter Jayalalitha rode to power with a massive mandate. The TNCC-I president gloated in his new found role as a side-kick of the lady, and in and out of turn he indefatigably sang her praise. But something went wrong somewhere, and the relationship soured.
"I'll topple her the way I eased out Karunanidhi”, swore a peeved Ramamurthy and for the last two years he had been carrying on a running battle with her, presenting memorandums to the centre, filing cases against her in the courts, organising rallies against her and so on, on the basis of a series of massive corruption scandals in which Jayalalitha was involved.
And now he finds himself stripped of the very position he was making the most of to embarrass her. His successor, Kumari Ananthan, has made it clear that he has no independent mind of his own when it comes to his party's relationship with Jayalalitha's AIADMK.
“We shall abide by the high command's decision in the matter', Ananthan declared in his first press conference as the TNCC-I president and would not breathe a word of criticism of the state government.
Though he is camp follower of M not take kindly to than could be tru promptly if and \ cides to revive the AIADMK. Moopa not be averse to s Congress could g deal in such an ev, been the case in t
Jayalalitha's ne the State Govern himself. A volati the Prime Ministe was brought in tw widespread spec Jayalalitha govel dismissed, the AI. party split and a tion government i But this man w ernor of four other his Chief Ministe) some consideratic constitutional nic happened to be m base happened to — and got awal Jayalathata, witl base and little re: of norms, a difficul hit back strongly in coarser langua In December la apparently peeve was not taking seriously, came nouncing Jayala counts. Promptly demanding in pl recalled forthwith
Incidentally it Jayalalitha called and is said to be ned reshuffle of he to avoid calling connection. She e location of portfol invoking some spé It was in this co cipation in the In Research Confere the government st from inviting Cha tion — and the latt from the state dun assume significan No doubt the sp keeps people gues: himself is beleag the dismal show A.P. and Karna elections only a ye find it difficult to tion of clinging to tails in the hope

supposed to be a soopanar who does Jalalalitha, Anansted to fall in line when Mr. Rao de2 alliance with the nar himself might such an idea if the et a much better entuality than has he past.
xt target has been or Channa Reddy le politician from r's home state, he o years ago amidst ulation that the rnment would be ADMK legislature n anti-Jaya coalinstalled. tho had been Govstates and bullied rs - men who had on for protocol or eties but who also ten whose political be rather tenuous y with it, found h a strong mass spect for any kind lt nut to crack. She , and her minions ge. st Channa Reddy, d that the Centre his complaints out in public delitha on various she responded by ublic that he be
is months since on the Governor postponing a plander cabinet in order on him in that ffected some reallios sometime ago 2cial powers. »ntext Rao's partiternational Tamil nce - even while udiously refrained unna for the funcer's keeping away ing the PM's visit Ce. hinx-like Rao still sing. But when he uered, what with of the Cong-I in taka and general 'ar away, he might resist the temptaJayalalitha's coatof wrapping up
TAMIL TIMES 23
20-odd seats to the Lok Sabha.
And so the likes of Vazhapadi Ramamurthi, Channa Reddy and the political maverick Dr. Subramanian Swamy, another anti-Jaya crusader, have all been left to stew in their own juice thanks to the realpolitik of Mr. Rao.
Especially the last mentioned is a hatchet man of the PM, though he is supposed to be heading a nonexistent political party. Many a time he has bailed out his friend through such manoeuvres he only is capable of. That such a person has not been able to move the PM to initiate any kind of action against Jayalalitha is an indication of the state of mind of the PMI.
Even a more telling commentary on the way corruption charges are handled in this country is the fact that Dr. Swamy's own petition to Channe Reddy seeking permission to prosecute the Chief Minister on various counts is yet to be processed by the Governor for the last one year.
Another petition from the selfsame Swamy seeking to unseat Jayalalitha on grounds of corrupt electoral practices still remains locked up in the courts. It looks like almost all the institutions in the Indian civil society have become ethics-proof.

Page 24
24 TAM TIMES
A STUDY IN TAMIL BIOGR
(Responses to Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole's
Times, 15 December 1994)
CRITOQUE 1
by S. Sivasegaram, London
The article entitled “Thamotharampillai and Navala' by S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole in the Tamil Times of December '94 purportedly seeks to point out the three major weaknesses in biographies of Thamils by Thamils, namely those relating to a tendency to boast about the subject, make claims of greatness based on caste, and allow religionationalism to cloud the judgment of the biographer. The writer's call for objectivity in writing biographies is commendable but, sadly, historiography has seldom been entirely objective in a world of conflicting interests and the writing of biography even less so.
Weaknesses arising from subjectivity are not unique to writings in Thamil. Even civilisations with long standing traditions in recording events have not been free of subjectivism in the interpretation of events. The demand for a kind of objectivity that portrays the subject of a biography with spots and all is a recent phenomenon. This has, however, not eliminated the tendency to present personalities of certain kinds in a favourable light and those of other kinds less favourably. The tabloid newspapers have perhaps got fairly close to the target of objectivity which Hoole has sought to achieve in relation to C.W. Thamotharampillai, but one would not dare accuse the tabloids of historical objectivity.
Biographical accounts of people considered to be great, generally fail to present the darker side of the individual concerned and writings do tend to be of a propagandist nature. Accounts of the lives of Gauthama Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohammed Nabi, the naayanmaar, the aalvaars and many sages and saints venerated by people in many countris have invariably failed to report the negative side of their subjects. To me, what matters is the contribution of people to the rest of mankind. The value of a contribution is not altered by recognition by fellow beings or by the lack of recognition. Idle gossip, whether it be hero worship or total condemnation of an individual, is of no real value. The importance of C.W.T. and Naavalar lies in their contributions to the Thamil language and its literature. Naavalar unlike C.W.T. was a subject of public controversy even during his time. There is much of what Naavalar stood for that I consider wrong and
unjust, but that c positive contributio modern Thamil prc his anti-imperialist that of Anagaarika flawed because of t ture of the national Hoole, in the proc case for objectivity suade us to believe incidentally was a ism, was a nasty litt other descendants o ancestors. Hoole al to claims that Naav Bible. He goes furth was the Christian salvaged the Thar guage, literature : their state of decay a that the Thamils in ism via Buddhism aggressively prose that demanded con death to a more s which owes much 1
eCe.
I am little inti squabbles, even m. consider these matt al, but I should po tary conversion to more often than no gain. There is far le the way the Jaffn took to Christianit. conversion to Saiv motivation was a Hoole. I have respe of the oppresed ca religion, in recent t to drive home a poi sors. (This is, howev ment of the politics missionaries.) I al. the Thamil and Si the island for their the face of anti-Cat their Protestant D ters.
I sympathise wit. by Hoole on the que tion of Naavalar's the Bible since I am circulation about N translation from H this, the fact that N after all an agno. ignoramus), was as the task of revision Christian text is n can readily ignore. considered the possi lier version of the unreadable. As one

15 FEEBRUARY 1995
APHIES
Article in Tamil
annot negate the ns of the man to se. Naavalar had side which, like Dharmapaala, was he social class naism it represented. :ess of arguing the , attempts to per
that C.W.T., who
convert to Saivale so and so, unlike fHoole's Christian so takes exception alar translated the er to assert that it
missionaries who mil race, its lanand culture from and stagnation and moved from Animand Jainism to an lytising Saivaism version on pain of ober religion now to Christian influ
erested in family y own, and do not ers very educationint out that volun
any religion has, t, been for material ss to be proud of in a Thamil Vellalar y that in C.W.T.'s aism, even if the is interpreted by ct for the members stes who changed imes to Buddhism, int to their oppresrer, not an endorseof conversion of the so greatly admire nhala Catholics of show of defiance in holic oppression by utch colonial mas
h the stand taken 2stion of exaggerarole in translating aware of myths in saavalar doing the ebrew. Despite all Naavalar, who was stic (non-believer, sked to undertake of the most sacred lot something one Has Hoole even bility that the earBible was rather
who had recently
done some work in polishing up some poor translations, I can assure that revising a bad translation is no less a task than carrying out an original translation. A comparative study of the early Christian missionary translations and that by Naavalar can be revealing in more than one way.
The questionable claim that Christian missionaries salvaged the Thamil race and its language and culture also needs to be seen in the context of centuries of colonial oppression that did immeasurable harm to the culture and self esteem of the people in the colonies. I hope that Hoole does not expect the Amerindians, the Australian aboriginals and Afro-Americans to be grateful to their colonial masters for their civilising influence. It is perhaps a miracle that the Japanese managed to advance culturally and materially without the benevolent influence of colonialism and all that accompanied it. It may also be useful to remember that not long ago, the most advanced centre of learning was in the Islamic world.
Hoole's view of the history of the religion of the Thamils seems to be a little warped. The Thamils did not arrive at Saivaism via Buddhism and Jainism. Brahminist influence preceded other North Indian influences. The attribution of aggressive characteristics to Saivaism by Hoole ignores the fact that all major religions have had aggressive phases as a result of historical circumstances, and that the religions of Indian origin have had a better track record of religious tolerance than those from the west of the sub-continent.
The fact that Buddhism and Christianity in Sri Lanka came to terms with the caste system is hardly surprising and the resistance of the Muslims to caste considerations is an admirable feature of Islam. Nevertheless, religion does become a tool of oppression when religious establishments have a vested interest in the state, and not merely the caste system but also apartheid, slavery, war and genocide have been condoned if not justified in the name of God and religion.
There are many holes in Hoole's arguments and it will require a lot of space and time to deal with each of them in sufficient detail. I will just deal with a few to illustrate the kind of prejudices that dominates the work contained in his article.
Hoole takes exception to Pathmanathan's notion that “the Hindu tradition, along with the Thamil language, forms the basis of Thamil identity' on the ground that nonHindu Thamils would not be Thamils

Page 25
15 FEBRUARY 1995
according to this point of view. The Islamic tradition forms the basis of the identities of the Arab world and Iran. Christian traditions form the basis of the identities of most European peoples, even after religion has ceased to be an important part of European life. The Thai identity is strongly Buddhist. The fact that many centuries of Saivaite Hinduism conditioned the culture of the Thamil people does not mean that the identity is exclusively Hindu. It has been enriched by other religions and cultures. Even the wholesale conversion of the community to another religion may not be able to eliminate the deep impression of the culture of the past several centuries. I like a secular identity for the Thamil people, but that cannot be achieved by trying to wish away what is reality. It is, however, inevitable that the Thamil identity will change with the changing socio-economic conditions and that, I believe, will be in the direction of secularism. Hoole does not spare the Marxist Kailaasapathy either, and accuses him of religio-nationalistic weaknesses, all because Kailaasapathy accepts the generally extant view that Naavalar translated the Bible. Kailaasapathy is neither biographer nor historian and his acceptance of the prevalent view was not altogether unjustified in the context of the contribution of Naavalar.
Hoole also seems to be offended by the fact that names such as his are considered foreign by Thamils who accept names of Sanskrit origin as Thamil. Thamil was not Sanskritised in the way other major Indian languages were. The language resisted non-traditional sound and sound sequences for a very long time. Rules for Thamilisation of foreign words were strictly applied and even some available consonant sounds like r and were not accepted initially in words. Efforts to Sanskritise Thamil during certain periods failed, although there are some Hindu traditionalists in Thamilnaadu who still persevere in using a severely Sanskritised language which hardly sounds like Thamil. Most Sanskrit names entered Thamil in their Thamilised form as did words borrowed from Portuguese and Dutch. Thamil Muslims tended to Thamilise their names of Arabic origin and Catholics too used Thamilised forms of Biblical names. The current affinity for North Indian sounding names has little to do with the Hindu identity and this is not something restricted to the Vellalar. The notion that names should mean something is beginning to fade out, and that may not be a bad thing, ultimately.
Hoole also seems to get some plea
sure out of draw mythology which ru rather puritanical at lala Saivaites. I thin of the Hindu towa healthy at one tim bited attitude of som the puranas stands i those which associat the fall of man. I
Hindu polytheism is which can coexist w nomenon (not the vidual). This flexibil healthy and should develop greater tole modation of various ism as well as agnost acceptable alternati
Finally, Hoole's ( Saivaite contributio not acknowledged i Viiramaamunivar a var have been held this day and Thanin not likely to be for time by those interes the language. If an tion to Thamil has any reason, it is the know to enlighten th dead right in his bigotry and I need that bigotry is not tl Saivaite Vellala Tha
CRITIG
by E. Sangarap
eacher
Histories of great m ies of nations. Ther ing Sri Lankans in headed Jaffnese in accept most of the been written by najeevan H. Hoole Thamotharampillai the Tamil Times iss 1994 for the simpl history of Sri Lanka ence to Jaffna can without the biogra great scholars.
As a graduate of versity and that to ceived such liberal Madras Christian C standing Christian Dr. A.J. Boyd and as my great teach lieve that though I no one can and w honest motive wh honour of such grea
Professor S.R.H. taken the laborio through very m periodicals before

TAMIL TIMES 25
ng upon Hindu ns counter to the titudes of the Vel... that the attitude ds sex was very and the uninhi2 of the authors of stark contrast to e sex with sin and also believe that a beautiful thing ith God the phealmighty indity in approach is be built upon to rance and accomfaiths and atheicism as valid and
feS.
harge that nonns to Thamil are s not fair, since nd Umarup pulain high esteem to ayagam's name is gotten for a long ted in the study of 7 useful contribubeen ignored for duty of those who le others. Hoole is condemnation of
not remind him he preserve of the mil.
illai, Universal
len are the historefore, sane thinkgeneral and level particular will not
things that had Professor S. Rat
about the great
and Navalar in ue of December 15, 2 reason that the with special refernever be complete phies of the two
the Madras Unio as one who reducation from the ollege having outscholars like Rev. Rev. J. R. Macphail rs, I strongly beam a true Hindu, ll ever doubt my tle defending the t personalities.
Hoole no doubt has is task of going any books and vriting his article
though it is evident that while pretending to deal with the three characteristic weakness of Tamil biographies, he is swayed by a strong fanatic intention which I think is unbecoming in a person of his calibre.
My grand-father the late Vallipuram of Atchuvely died in August 1953 as a centenarian. He knew all about C. Wairavanathar Thamotharampillai since he came of a neighbouring village and was junior to Thamotharampillai only by nineteen years. "Wairavar' is the name of a Hindu Deity. From what I gathered from my grandfather Thamotharampillai was a Hindu by descent as well as by conviction, but for reasons of English education he pretended to be a Christian as most of the people in those days did. It is a naked truth that if it were not for his pretension he wouldn't have become the first graduate of the Madras University along with Carol Viswanathan. It is quite evident that in his later days he regretted having left his original faith and went back to it in the way Appar Adigal left Jainism and went back to Hinduism. Thamotharampillai had no other consideration such as a desire to be ranked with the Velalas of India. It may be that he had problem children - a daughter who eloped with a Christian young man in the absence of her father and that too in an ugly manner and a son who was heartless to the extent of insulting his dead mother by refusing to perform funeral rites as a son. Our learned professor shouldn't have come forward to wash such dirty linens in public since they were family matters pure and simple.
It is my belief that an average Jaffna man has as his weakness to slander great men like Thamotharampillai and Navalar and more so it is a rude shock to me to see Professor Hoole stoop to such petty level of slandering his forbear Thamotharampillai for the obvious but hidden reason that he had betrayed Christianity. My uncle the late Mr. K.S. Arulnandhy the first indigene to become the Director of Education in independent Sri Lanka had his father who was a staunch Hindu and his mother a true Christian. They both lived a happy and harmonious family life and brought up their son Arulnandhy along Hindu line. Mr. Arulnandhy even used to do readings from the Bible and give explanations to his old mother. That would very well speak to a Hindu son's magnanimity unlike the fanatic behaviour of Thamotharampillai’s stubborn Christian son Francis Kingsbury.
To be a Tamil is different from being a Tamil speaking person. Muslims are
Continued on page 26

Page 26
26 TAMIL TIMES
Continued from page 25
not Tamils. If they have Tamil as their language of communication, they become Tamil speaking Muslims. In the same way, anyone who doesn't know Tamil (Thamil) cannot claim to be a Tamil or Tamil speaking somebody. To a considerable extent Hinduism with Saivaism as its inner circle has been considered as something synonymous with the Tamil Culture. In that aspect Thamotharampillai as one “who ferreted out lost Tamil manuscripts through thorough searches including advertisements in the press, comparing the manuscripts found and publishing them with commentary” rendered no less service than Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer. Can't he then be called a great Tamil Scholar? Missionaries no doubt learnt Tamil but learnt with the sole purpose of communicating with the local flock of Jesus Christ. Some of them even learnt Tamil with the sinister motive of picking holes with Tamil works and twisting certain Hindu thoughts to suit their sermons. Dr. G.U. Pope who learnt Thiruvasagam and Thirukkural and wrote objective commentaries was one of the rare exceptions. And none of them can be favourably compared with Thamotharampillai or Navalar. It is a historical fact that the Vaddukkodai Seminary was ultimately closed down by the missionaries on the recommendation of a Commission which pointed out that it was foolish to run the Seminary when their policy of conversion had failed miserably.
Learned professor has even done some character assassination of Arumuga Navalar. Navalar was hailled as the fifth "Samaya Kurvar after Appar, Sampanthar, Suntharar and Manicka Vasagar for the simple reason that if it were not for his deep knowledge of Saivaism and rhetoric, professor's materialistic minded ancestors would have connived with the Missionaries and succeeded in destabilising Hinduism. Professor must not forget that it was real condescension and magnanimity on the part of Navalar to have agreed to help in the translation of the Holy Bible. Professor's accusation that Navalar supported the Velala people and ignored the so called low-caste people is again baseless in that Navalar belonged to the time of orthodox Hinduism or Saivaism and he had no need to become a convert to Christianity in the way Cyrus Kingsbury became a convert. Cyrus Kingsbury was neither so knowledgeable as Navalar nor so economically well off to resist the temptation of becoming a Christian. It is an admitted fact that in those days most of the people who embraced Christianity did so in order to enjoy
certain privileges there were many forced by the crue swords in their Catholics. Thought ican Mission Engli to the Jaffna Colle from our home, m father who was the hamlet Thoppu refu my father admitted the simple reason t ies would use their convert him to thei was ninety three wh as a highly litera mother tongue.
According to the weakness of Tamil "their proclivity on subject of the bio scholar will ever go engage in destructiv out the bright side o this fashion that Th and Navalar's biogr their biographies. E contention is that ". arise from the fact Velalas by Velalas.' it difficult to find a puzzle. Unfortunatel Velalas had the sir over the so-called biographies of Velala Velalas. But with th ern Hinduism which anyone who was wor praised irrespective And according to t third Tamil weakne raphies "is to allow th al sensibilities to clou judgment. In this c found fault with Pro pillai, Justice H.W. TI sor S. Kailasapathy distinguished scholar ful to see the profess courage to criticise Gandhi by mention t of this tendency that that Gandhi held fort er The Harijan comp gence of the lower-ca cow’. Gandhi as ever knows treated ever love and compassion or her parity of statu calling them "Harijar children. When that pity to see professor them so uncharitably lars all over the worl
Professor's knowle of Tamils is indeed in ing to his theory “Ta from animism to Buc ism to an aggressiv Saivaism that dema

15 FEBRUARY 1995
hough of course indus who were Portuguese with ands to become ere was an AmerSchool affiliated e a quarter mile
paternal grandichest man in our ed to have his son to that school for at the Missionarskilful tactics and faith. My father en he died in 1975 e person in his
rofessor, the first biographies was ly to praise the raphy.' No true out of the way to 2 criticism leaving things. It was in amotharampillai's aphers dealt with rofessor's second amil biographies that they are of One need not find n answer to this y, at a time when gular advantage low-caste people, is were written by e advent of Modignored casteism, thy of praise was of social status. he professor the ss of Tamil biogeir religio nationld their academic onnection he has essor Kanapathihambiah, Profesand some other s. It is more painir summon all his even Mahatma nus: “It is because few of us know, n in his newspaparing the intellite with that of a one in the world low-caste with nd fought for his s in society even s' meaning God's tas so, it is a real lsh in to criticise when real scho
fear to do so.
ge of the history ; sound. Accordnils have moved lhism and Jainly proselytising ded conversion
on pain of death and confiscation of property to now a more sober Christianised, monotheistic, monogamist and egalitarian Saivaism that is even a little Victorian'. I cannot understand what he means by 'sober Christianised. . . . Saivaism'. Is he unaware of the history of the Holy Roman Empire and its instruments of torture especially the cruel practice of burning the non-conformists at the stake? While appreciating his highsounding language I totally deride his misconceptions or pretensions. Tamils belong to one of the oldest races in the world and our evolutionary Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world, if not the oldest. I entreat the learned Professor to read Dr. S. Radhakrishnan's works such as "Eastern Religions and Western Thought”. To quote Vincent Smith "Buddhism is a product of but protest against Hinduism' in the way Protestantism is a product of but protest against Catholicism. Hinduism originated thousands of years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Indus Valley civiliation was a Hindu civilisation and that too a Dravidian civilisation. It is therefore a thoughtless criticism to make such unwarranted remarks about the Tamils and their traditional faith Hinduism.
"Seeing is believing. If we look at the first leaf of Meihandan Calendar that reminds us of 1st January, 1995 we can see a great tribute given to C.W. Thamotharampillai with the following words: "C.W. Thamotharampillai's Memorial Day.’ When Pillai had left such an indelible mark on the Tamil society, it is a wild goose chase on the part of Professor S.R.H. Hoole to try to undermine his ancestor's greatness with some unacceptable ulterior motive. Let us go by the golden words of great Milton:
"Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime.'
Professor S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole's proper field is Engineering. It is therefore best that he refrains from dabbling in such literary matters so prematurely even if he is an adjunct Professor of the Humanities and Social Sciences. If he oversteps his limits, it will do him more harm than good. I have every reason to believe that there will be a prolonged debate on this sensitive subject since many other ripe scholars will come forward to express their own opinions based not on prejudice but on objectivity.
I am rather optimistic that this humble self will never be taken as a Hindu fanatic since he opted to do Bible study in preference to Moral Instruction during his stay at the Madras Christian College for four years. He followed the Bible class not

Page 27
15 FEBRUARY 1995
to please the College authorities and win favours but to take the best thoughts from the Holy Bible and incorporate them into his belief as Mahatma Gandhi himself did by reading certain important sections such as the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments. Had this humble self not been properly understood by the student population, he wouldn't have been elected Chairman of Bishop Heber Hall during the academic year 1954/55 in preference to a well accomplished Christian student who is still working there as a Senior Professor. More thoughts from other scholars on this important subject are most welΟΟΥΘ.
CRITIOUE 3 by Sanmugasuntharam, Florida,
USA.
I am compelled to reply to the very illuminating article by Professor Hoole appearing in your December 1994 number. He has indeed done a great deal of research evidenced by the copious footnotes and the stated gravamen of this article — the tendency of Tamil biographers to take a partisan attitude towards their subject matter - is tenably true. Traditional Indian (and Tamil) biography is mythologised, idealized portaiture. There is no place for human foibles in it nor is historical authenticity considered relevant. We learn in Tamil to state the merit Nayam of poems and not their defects. As Valluvar says "To speak ill of some (one) when there are good things to say is like plucking the raw one when there is a ripe fruit'. Nevertheless I agree with the professor about the need to reveal the whole spectrum of a subject's character without tabloid sordidness. From thereon however I disagree with almost everything else he has to say and the revealing footnotes are a bonanza to me to refute his theses which are as tendentious as those he finds fault with in the authors we have just discussed. Take for example his mention of the conflict between the Jains and the Saivities. It is indeed a dark page in the history of saivaism and is very regrettable. But what should be remembered about the episode is that it was mainly palace politics and not an act of fanaticism. The Pandyan King the chief player in that incident, was under the influence of the Jains and Queen who was a Saivite was very concerned about the effect it was having on the king and the kingdom. And when the king fell seriously ill the challenge was thrown to the Saivites
and the Jains ali the prize for th king's patronage the losers being the victors' relig palement. Had t would have suffer befell the Jains event. Compa thousands burnt Christians on doc slavement of Christians in Afri whole civilization tral America anc Islam from Spai glorious years of and splendour. D. hint at these (th dious, is it not pri Let me say that professor and I professional repu Engineering) is hi him. There is abs all felt towards h. (some of my best ians) in spite o mouthed about th
The author is Mr. Thamothara to his roots. Here ly full of sensibili tion for a heritag is rich and the m the more he was relevance to him Jew who was a cross in far aw 1900 years agob ities for calling Jews and for otl political subvers was a colonial r which was an alb how his parents gaged to the n souls sold for a s Quite naturally, have looked do whose father bet timeless faith. A he must have kn he converted to salvation of his s less credible thar ku who climbed to get a view of S
Thamotharam thing that a man ty and moral cou One can only s chant for the ch least among the lar that suffix is not signify anyth could call himsel chooses. (On sec better not!).
I can in fact co.

TAMIL TIMES 27
ke to cure the king, victors being the and punishment for lither conversion to on or death by ime Saivites lost they ed the same fate that In that unfortunate e this with the at the stake by the (rinaire grounds, enmillions of non2a, the destruction of s in South and Centhe banishment of n after nearly 700 Islamic scholarship ". Hoole did not even s habit is very insiofessor?).
I greatly respect the am aware that his tation (in Electrical gh and I am proud of olutely no animus at m or any Christians , friends are Christf not being mealyeir exploits. evidently angry with mpillai for returning was a man apparentties and a deep affece which is as old as it hore he delved into it in thrall of it. What was the story of a llegedly nailed to a ay Palestine nearly y the Roman authorhimself King of the her perceived acts of ion? What a stigma lame like Kingsbury atross reminding him * minds were morthissionaries and the oupson of sour soup
the Indians would wn upon this man, rayed his forefathers' s an intelligent man own that to say that Christianity for the oul would have been the proverbial Bhikthe kitul (toddy) tree ri Pada! pillai did the only of intellectual honesage could have done. peculate about penoice of "Pillai' but at Jaffna Tamils Wellafreely used and does ing. Even the author Hoole Pillai if he so ond thought he had
trovert almost every
one of his significant statements in the article and it is not a vain boast. But I want to deal with at least two of them here. He implies somewhat selfconsciously if not self-servingly and with consummate antilogy that some non-Tamil names are not accepted by Tamils as truly Tamilian Come now, Dr. Hoole you knew all the time that the professional predatory proseletyser's program of changing the name of the prey is one of the initial steps in stripping him/her of identity as a prelude to brainwashing (or psychedestroying) of the individual. Have we not learnt anything from the Negombo Tamils with names like Fernando who now think that they are Sinhalese because Sinhalese also have Portuguese names, which, of course, they (the Sinhalese) hastily changed to pristine Sinhala name in the recent past. (This ironically leaves Negombo Tamils double outcasts!). Tamils converted to Islam assumed Arabic names p and are almost lost to the Tamil community for all practical purposes. There was even a movement amongst them to change Tamil scripts into Arabic
Dr. Hoole does indeed make a good point in an amusing way about Sanskritization of Tamils' names. (He surely must be aware that "Ratnajeevan' is Sanskrit.) This is another unfortunate manifestation of some Tamils' deep seated feeling of inferiority while at the same time they go whistling past the graveyard about the greatness of their culture. (Following the Sinhalese, may be, one day Tamils will start naming their kids with chaste Tamil names.) However, it could be said in their defence that at least in the early days, Sanskrit names were chosen for their religious association just like Biblical (Jewish) first names are continued to be used by almost all Christians. But choosing names deliberately not to sound Tamil-like is downright ludicrous.
One last point, for this concerns every person of Dravidian, particularly Tamil origin not just the Vellalars. The word Sudra has absolutely no application to the Tamil community as the word is purely of North Indian provenance. To call a Tamil from Ceylon a Sudra is like an Afrikaner referring to all dark skinned people as "niggers'. I do not want to appear to hold a brief for the Vellalars but it is significant the Tamil dictionary (I consulted) defines the word Velanmi () as generosity, philanthropy, magnanimity', etc., and therefore by extension Vellalar must have been held in esteem as decent and paramount member of the Tamil society. Valluvar
Continued on page 28

Page 28
28 TAMIL TIMES
himself has apotheosized him, thus: The one who earns his living by ploughing is the one who truly lives; others are sequacious and serve. It should be recognized that it is not the Aryans' taxonomy that matters but it is one's status. Vellalar of Ceylon as land owners built temples and were employers of Brahmins as functionaries therein. In so far as one has no choice about one's birth a Vellalar could be excused for being thankful for his good fortune without being hubristic or even apologistic about it as long as he is not a cultural or a religious renegade.
Saivism is the pre-eminent faith of the Tamils, without a doubt. Our ethos and ethnicity are deeply embedded in Saivaism. It is founded in our yonder yesterdays and is coeval with the origins of our people. Its essence is all our mystic musings in our misty past and the distilled wisdom of its distant devotees. Its inspirations are indigenous, its "lares and penates'' local and its invocations vernacular; Its ardent votaries have been steeped in it heart and soul, intellect and emotion.
It is this love and dedication of countless generations that established Saivaism as "the most ancient living faith in the world'. While recognizing
the great antiquit saivities have ne amongst their mi tolerance and equ were spiritually s gnated with alien dants and all their ever one might t have strayed for w the nobility of Sa enduring legacy.
* Sir John Marsha Tomlin's GREAT OF THE EAST. A
CRT
S. Kandiah, Otti
The contributions o ampillai and Nava guage and Saivism
honoured and fond ever. The central early Christian mis selytation. Educa means towards tha theless the Tamil remember with g. tribution of the mi education.
Incidentally Prof
HINDUPAYING HOMAGE
I WAS taken aback by the comments in the last paragraph of the article. "The Subcontinental Scene; Ayodhya, Seshan and Muslims' (T.N. Gopalan, Tamil Times, December 1994, pages 20-23).
Mr. Gopalan writes "... But when you have a Prime Minister who would reverentially touch the feet of a Shankaracharya with his head in public. . . .things are not obviously very rosy.'
Prominent Christian political leaders all round the world kneeling in front of the Pope and receiving the Pontiff's blessing, is quite all right. Muslim monarchs, Presidents and Prime Ministers filmed praying to Mecca with foreheads touching the ground, is admirable. But a Hindu paying homage to a religious leader? Not done, old boy, seems to be Mr. Gopalan's view. I wonder whether he would like to explain?
If Mr. Narasimha Rao is a devout Hindu and if he respects the Shankaracharya, why should he not pay
homage in public? upset people pract gions? Mr. Seshar other hand, are of: and there is no ( tween the two.
138 Ilford Road, Forest Gate, London.
ANNA: “SAC
OR SACRED
SO your erudite T.N. Gopalan think disciplinary contri Annadurai "might dubious if any disp sis is undertaken' Bravo! Before Gopa such a 'dispassion him convince me fi paper his own crede of the areas, Anna to so gallantly for a (1944-69).
Gopalan indulges asure by calling An In my opinion Ann compass who navig (then suffocating fr of Brahmanism a into the 20th cen
 

15 FEBRUARY 1995
of their heritage ertheless accepted st with exemplary nimity those that duced and impreaith, their descennstitutions. Whatink of those who atever inducement vaism remains an
quoted in E.F.W. PHILOSOPHERS row Books, 1959.
у Pwa, Canada.
FC.W. Thamotharlar to Tamil lanrespectively will be y remembered for motive behind the sionaries was proion was only a t objective. Neverpeople will always ratitude the conssionaries towards
Hoole do you not
realise that there was opposition to the Christian missionary activities in South Ceylon almost at the identical time as that of Navalar in North Ceylon. In the south the opposition was led by Anagarika Dharmapala.
I have heard from my father, how my grand-father and my maternal grand-uncle, both teachers, had under the direction of Navalar along with others had opened Saivite schools and also held regular public religious discourses to stem the tide of missionary crusade in proselytation. They had to exhort the people not to sell their soul for a mess of pottage.
I have also my personal experience of the odds we had to face to start a Hindu school and then to register it as a grant-in-aid school, because of missionary objections, of course behind the scenes.
Thanks to Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara, the entire scenario changed with the introduction of the free education scheme in early 1943 or thereabouts in
the face of stiff opposition, media included.
The persons who have written the Biographies are eminent scholars and educationists. They have sought for the honey like bees and not garbage like flies.
Why should that icising other reli's antics, on the a different nature :ommon link be
C. Thilakan
RED COW COMPASS
?) commentator s that the multibutions of C.N. be found rather assionate analyTT, Nov. 1994). an ventures into te analysis', let st by putting on ntials in any one had contributed quarter century
in perverse plea a 'sacred cow'.
was the sacred ated the Tamils m the firm grip d superstitions) ury humanism
and self respect. He ploughed many fields; Tamil literature, drama, music criticism, journalism, movie script writing, oratory and politics. And his stamp in each of these disciplines has been firmly visible for those who can see without the blinders, Among his contemporaries, only C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) can be counted as an equal to Anna in versatility. But Rajaji flopped badly in politics, after he formed his Swatanta Party.
Gopalan tries to eat his cake and have it also by placing the 1967 Madras state assembly election verdict on the strength of Tamil student revolt against Hindi imposition. Then how come the Congress Party could not reverse the trend in the subsequent elections, if it was such a political force in Tamil Nadu? If the 1967 election routed the Congress Party beyond expectation, the 1971 state assembly election in Tamil Nadu delivered the death nail to the Congress Party's coffin. Was there a comparable student revolt prior to the 1971 election for the DMK to cash in? Then came MGR's three election sweep in 1977, 1980 and 1984. Why the Congress Party could not resurrect itself, even though the Centre ruled by Indira Gandhi dismissed the Karunanidhi's regime in

Page 29
15 FEBRUARY 1995
1976 and MGR's regime in 1980. If Anna's contribution to the Tamil society is so ephemeral, how come the voters continued to place their faith on his proteges (Karunanidhi and MGR) or his protege's protege (Jayalalitha) for a quarter century?
I wonder why the arrogant Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan did not go one step further and state that the CIA arranged with the Yale University to award the honorary degree to Anna. That would have made a fantastic climax to his cock and bull story.
It is within the parish of Tamil Times to publish commentaries which freely indulge in "freedom of expression'. But, why should I (a long term subscriber) pay for such a third rate commentary? If you are not going to improve om the selection of opinion pieces or exercise your editorial scissors, I'm seriously thinking of cancelling my subscription to the Tamil Times in the near future.
Sachi Sri Kantha,
Osaka BioScience Institute, 6-2-4 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka 565, Japan.
FOR A FEDERAL SOLUTION
WE ARE pleased to note that the Government of Sri Lanka and LTTE have agreed to a truce in their conflict. As written in the Boston Globe Editorial of January 9, 1995, First grant a federal constitution and then talk about the minor details:
"The simplest and most effective political solution to the conflict between Tamils and Sinhalese would be for the government to grant a federal constitution and then negotiate the precise details of local autonomy with the Tigers. Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity could be preserved at the same time the state recognized the reality of Tamil autonomy in the northeast. This is a formula borrowed from American history and is applicable to other intercommunal wars'.
Let us not make the mistake of piece meal solutions like Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact of the past era. The President has been given the mandate by the people to achieve peace, and the President should not waste this opportunity.
We must remember, once the so called Tamil problem is resolved the Sinhalese problem will start, like the
upcountry and lo will not want ea the other. A fede pre-empt that
federal states w. rule themselves.
Since all the have been bro 're tee Tamils can to a federal cons
Once peace is ciation will wor US and other g money for the de federal units.
President, Eelom Tamil Ass America, 31 Albamont Roa Winchester, MA.
OF FRI EN
YOUR correspo manathan (TT, not at all const ism, and in fact he thought tha taken' for being nothing to say views contained those of Rajan complaining oft Having been servant for a nu his retirement, become familiar in files to pen his lines. Not used te research in an Mr. P could be Prof. Ratnajeev ing what he reg tails' in what is paper about “Tall Having comp columnists usin carry on a pers Pathmanathan warranted pe against Prof. S because Rajan H reference to him ably this may h without the Pro and without any his part as Mr. E the learned Prof valuable contrib ification of issue relations, would the innuendos o One must con that he held pos where even cla was within his re

TAM TIMES 29
wcountry Sinhalese ch other to rule over ral constitution will
problem. All the ll have the right to
past agreements n, the only guarannave is in changing titution.
achieved, our Assok hard to lobby the overnments to raise velopment of all the
Sri Thillaiampalam,
ociation of
ld, O1890.
ENDS AND EMES
ndent Mr. T. Path15 January 1994) is ructive in his critiche was right when t he could be “misnit picking. He had about the ideas or in the articles like Hoole. He was just he jargon'. a self-confessed civil Lmber of years until Mr. P must have with minute sheets' s comments in a few the methodology of academic exercise, 2xcused for blaming an Hoole for includgards as "boring deno doubt a research mil Biographieso. lained about some g your journal to onal vendetta, Mr. indulges in an unrsonal vendetta uriyakumaran just oole made a passing in his article (probave happened even ofessor's knowledge personal claims on Palleges). I am sure essor, who has made butions to the clars relating to ethnic not be belittled by f Mr. P. cede Mr. P's claim itions in Sri Lanka ssified information ach. He was Secret
ary to the Ministry of Information (or should we call it Ministry of Misinformation) and Chairman of the State information network, 'Lankapuvath' during the post July 1983 period. This was the time Mr. P's Ministry and Lankapuvath indulged in the most virulent antiTamil propaganda on an international scale with the help of the British public relations firm Satchi and Satchi, and no one would underestimate the contribution made by Mr. P in this connection.
Mr. P also recommends to you that there is a "need for editing some parts of some of the contributions to keep it (sic) in line with the broad guidelines' you have set for yourself. What an idea coming from the man who held the position of the chief censor of newspapers in the 1980s when newspapers were required to submit every article, editorial, and news report which were invariably subjected to the most rigorous censorship Sri Lanka had ever known before or since! What he is recommending is nothing short of censorship.
You do not require enemies when you have friends like Mr. P to offer you unsolicited advice. Besides the sensible editorial line you adopt, what is redeeming in your journal is the variety of views expressed in the material you publish. I have no doubt that you would treat the idea of “editing” contributions by others with the contempt it deserves.
P. Shanmugalingam” Bambalapitya, Colombo 4.
Continued from page 15
then Tamil leader the late Mr. S.J.V. Chelvanayagam, consequent upon subsequent actions (and inaction) of successive governments. The earlier modest demand was then an anathema to the Sinhalese as a result of the scare raised deliberately for political gain by the main political parties whose supporters were predominately Sinhalese. They propagated the false view that federalism and separation meant the same concept and conceding to the demand would lead to the annihilation of the Sinhala race
On previous occasions, the voice of the minority community was not taken seriously by the assembly responsible for preparing the country's constitution. If a constitution is to be accepted by all the communities, it is important that the opinions of the Tamil community are also considered
Continued on page 34

Page 30
30 TAMIL TIMES
s
MATRMONAL Hindu parents seek professional partner for daughter, 36, divorcee, no children, professional, living in Colombo. M768 C/o Tamil Times.
Srilankan Tamil parents, looking for professional attractive girl, 20-23 years for their US born son, 25 years, US qualified M.B.A. holding professionall position. Send recent photo, horoscope, details. M 769 C/o Tamil Times.
Jaffna Hindu brother, Ph.D., Research Analyst in U.K. seeks groom for sister, 26, chartered accountant in London firm. Reply with horoscope. M 770 c/o Tamil Times.
Jaffna Hindu parents seek bride, professionally qualified and preferably living in USA for only son, 28, MS (MBA). Send details, horoscope. M 771 C/o Tamil Times.
Hindu parents (professionals) seek alliance for their daughter, 24 years, 5'2", graduating shortly in Computer
Science in U.S.A. Contact 0493
440788 (UK).
Catholic doctor, 57, widower, no children, British Citizen, (origin Sri Lanka), seeks suitable partner, 35-45, religion immaterial, photo appreciated. M 773 C/o Tamil Tinnes.
Jaffna parents permanently settled in UK seek suitable professionally qualified Christian partner for daughter, 31, qualified and in employment in UK. M 774 C/o Tamil Times.
Malaysian Hindu parents seek professional partner, fair and tall, resident or P.R., for son, B.A., M.A., A.C.C.A., aged 32 working in London. Send details. M 775 C/o Tamil Times.
Matrimonial
Confidential introduction undertaken for Tamil Christians only. Feel free to communicate. Nominal fee becomes payable. Dr. Royce Arasaratnam, Doctors Mess, Ipswich Hospital, Ipswich.
CLASSIFIED ADS
is 10. Each additional word 60p. Charge for BOX NO. 3. (Wat 17/2% extra) Prepayment essentia
the Advertisement Manager, Tamil Times Ltd., PO Box 121, Sutton, Surrey SM13TD Phone: 08-1644 0972 Fax: 08-241. 455
OBITUARIES
Mr. Joseph, 73, (Nalayan) of Sillalai, Pandatherippu, Jaffna; beloved husband of Annamah, loving father of Anand Joseph, Jean, Basil and Emil; father-inlaw of Ramani, Winston Bastianpillai and Cynthia passed away in Edmonton on 30 DeCember 1994. Funeral took place on 2 January 1995. - 17333-85 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5T OP7. Canada.
Mrs. Sivagamasunthary SitSapesan, beloved wife of Mr. K. Sitsapesan, Ex Director, Department of Water Affairs, Zambia presently of Putney, London; loving mother of Manoharan and Savithiri (UK); loving mother-in-law of Varathan and Rebecca, loving grandmother of Holly, Daniel, Luxshimmi passed away peасеfully on 19th January at Queen Marys Hospital, Roehampton and was cremated according to Hindu rites at the N.E. Surrey crematOrium.
The members of the family thank all friends and relatives who helped in many ways, sent floral tributes, messages of sympathy and attended the funeral. — 6 Cambria Lodge, 2c Oakhill Road, London SW15 2QV Tel: O81 87O 1072
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

15 FEBRUARY 1995
Mr. Kandiah Mailwaganam - born 3.10.22, (Retired irrigation Engineer), beloved husband of the late Sugirthamalar (Pathma); loving father of Sivakumar (UK), Dr. Gowry Aum Bahavan, Premakumar (Canada); fatherin-law of Pamini, Dr. Aum Bahawan, brother of Nagapoorani, Kanagasingham and the late Mr. Balasingham, brother-in-law of the late Mr. Thillainadesan, Sambasivam, Dr. Paramathasan (UK), Mahade van, Vimalendran (UK), Mrs. Indrani Jeyapathy; son-in-law of the late Mr. Ratnam and Mrs. Sivayogamalar Ratnam; grandfather of Rajeevan, Sangeeta, Suhania and Ayisha passed away peacefully in Canada on 22. 12.94. An Athma Shanthi poojah was performed in his memory at the Archway Murugan Temple on 28. 1.95. The members of his family thank all friends and relatives for their messages of sympathy and support during the period of grief- M. Sivakumar, 91 Capthorne Avenue, Harrow, Middlesex, U.K. Tel: O81-868 7054/M. Premakumar, Apt 1712, 65 Thorncliffe Park Drive, Toronto, Ontario M4H 1 L4, Canada. Tel: 416 467 7476.
K. Manivanan, born 174.70, beloved son of Dr. Kanapathipillai and Kamala of Canvey Island, Essex passed away peacefully on the 21st of January 1995. The Cremation took
place on the 26th of January. He is sadly missed by his loving parents and brother Rishikeswaran.
May his Soul Rest in Peace.
- 2 Cleveland Road, Canvey Island, SS8 OAU. Tel: 0268 514624.
Mr. P.V. Mahadeva (76), beloved husband of Kamalam, loving father of Saratha (UK), Rabi (New Zealand), Raji (Australia), Shantha, Yaso, and Prem (all of UK); father-in-law of Kumar (UK), Marie (New Zealand), Anna (Australia), Thiru, Ramana and Yoga (all of UK), grandfather of Easan, Uma, Kumaran, Devi, Murugan and Krishika (UK), Ramesh (New Zealand), Rebecca and Rachial (Australia), passed away in Maidstone, U.K. on 6th February 1995. - 1 Bonnington Road, Vinters Park, Maidstone ME14 5Q R Tel 0 1 622 7.55076.
Sinnathankachchy (88), beloved wife of the late C.S. Muttu Tamby of Kantharodai, Sri Lanka; loving mother of Gnanadhevi, Paskaradhevan, Kangadhevi, late Karunanandan, Seethadhevi and Jeyadhevi; mother-in-law of Rajendram, Rathymalar, late Sangarapillai, Vasanthathevi, late Subramanian and Kulasingam passed away in Kantharodai on 9.2.95 and was Cremated on 10th February. She leaves behind 14 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren - Mrs. Seethadhevi Subramaniam, 129B Seely Road, London SW17 9CX. Tel 0181 715 6O99.

Page 31
15 FEBRUARY 1995
8ಳೆ Mr. Spencer Selvadurai Sabalingam, Retired Cooperative linspector, Sri Lanka, born in Nallur and lived in Manipay; beloved husband of Megalambigai; loving father of Puvirajan (Australia), Jeyarajan (Canada), Ranarajan (New York), Vasa n t ha rajan (Virakesari), late Gowry, Mano (UK) and Esha (Canada); father-in-law of Latha (Australia), Thaya (Canada), Bavanie (New York), Suganiya (Sri Lanka), Sivanandan (UK) and Lakshman (Canada), loving grand father of Nishanth, Cynthura (Gowry) and Sayon - passed away in London on 24.12.94 and the funeral took place on 31st December. - 91 Edna Road, Raynes Park, London SVV2O 8BS. Tel 0181 543 8716.
Nagaretnam Shanmuganathan (63) of Karampan West, Kayts and Nalur, a teacher in Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Siera Leone, Nigeria and England; beloved husband of Varatha (Malar); loving father of Sutharshini and Ambalanath (U.S.A.), Priyatharshini and Rupatharshini (U.K.); son of the late Nagaretnam and Nagammah of Karampan West; Sonin-law of the late Ponnampalam and Thillaiammah of Velanai West; brother of the late Maheswari, Pathmanathan (Canada), Vamadevan (Sri Lanka), Thiagarajah (U.S.A.), Ramachandran, Chandrakanthy, Varathaladchumy, Puvaneswari (all of Sri Lanka), Pushpakanthy (U.S.A...), Wiljayanathan (Canada); brotherin-law of the late advocate Thuraiappah, Arumugam (S. Africa), Balasundaram (Canada) - passed away peacefully in St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington on 6.2.95. Cremation took
place on 122.95 at the Golders Green Cremation Grounds. Sadly missed by family, relatives and friends. - 9 Wolseley Road, Wealdstone, Harrow, Middx., HA35RZ. Tel: 0181427 1549.
Pasupathippillai Periyathamby - beloved wife of late Periyathamby, loving mother of Dr. Arasaratnam (UK), Rajanayagam (Solicitor and Editor of Tamil Times, UK), Parameswary, Nadarajah, late Shanmuganathan and Maheswary, mother-in-law of Lihini (U.K.),
Regina (U.K.), Selvaratnam (Male), Sivasothy, Sumana and Sivayoganathan (C. MV.E.), grandmother of Ananthi, Ananda, Rudran (U.K.), Shanthi Manohar, Selva barathy,
Krishanthi, Thama yanthi,
Priyanthi, Subothiny, Vasuki,
Sivachelvan and Menaka, ex
pired on 12 December 1994.
Cremation took place on 17 December 1994 at the General Cemetery, Kanatta, Borella,
Colombo. - 19, Park Street,
Dehiwala.
IN MEMORAM
First death anniversary of Saravanamuthullakanathan (Kuddy Mama), Retired Shroff, Hatton National Bank Ltd., Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka; son of Late Mudaliar and Mrs. Saravanamuthu of Sandilipay North; sonin-law of late Dr. and Mrs. Subramaniam of Malaysia (formerly of Thirunelvely North and Uyarapulam, Anaicoddai), who passed away on 18th February 1994.
Sadly missed and affectionately remembered by sister
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAMIL TIMES 31
Mrs. Ratnamathy Ratnarajah, dearest wife Leela, loving daughter Urmila; son-in-law Kuharajah; fondest grand daughters Shobana and Ranjana; all his in-laws, friends, nephews and nieces in Sri Lanka, U.K., U.S.A., Canada and Australia.
Kuddy Mama i No one can take your place for your sense of humour, jokes and affection. Sweet memories of you will always remain fresh in our thoughts. - Mrs. Leela llankanathan, 58 Ringwood, South Bretton, Peterborough PE3 9SH. Tel 0733 26276O.
ང་྾ * 3 In cherished memory of Dr. K.S. Nadarajah, llakkia Viththagar Navatkuliyoor Nadarajan, Retired Director of SLBC/ Rupavahini/Film Corporation who attained Moksha On Februay 17th 1994.
Life's race well run Life's work well done".
Thangaranee Nadarajah, Mahinan and Malathi Nadarajah, Vatsala and Karuna Chinniah, grandchildren Diva Sudha, Praveena, Anchela and Aron and The Tamil Literary Community of Sri Lanka and Canada.
away on 9th March 1992.
Sadly mised and fondly remembered by his two sons. - 15 Wolsey Way, Chessington,
Surrey KT9 1XQ.
in loving member of Mr. Chelliah Sivasampu on the third anniversary of his passing
In lowing memory of Mrs. Rasamah Appiah of Kondavil East, Sri Lanka on the first anniversary of her passing away on 12.1.94.
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by her children Saraswathy Kanagasabapathy, Panchalingam, Pusparanee Somasundaram, Jeyaranee Ratnarajah, Dr. Balasunderam, Vimalaranee Vamadevan and Indranee Rasiah sons-in-law Vamade van and Rasiah; daughters-in-law Rajeswary, Monique, Shantha, grand children Kirupaharan, Karunakaran, Ranji Mahaligam, Kunam Satheesan, Dr. Nirmalakumar, Pathmini Yogaratnam, Tharmakumar, Chandrakumar, Kalanithy, Shamala Pangayatselvan, Pascal, Raviraj, Prabalini Gnanasagaran, Sunilraj, Nimalraj, Shiralini Kajendran, Utha yaraj, Anusha Path
manathan, Sanjit, Anusiya, Anoja, Vasuki de Silva, Hari Pradeep, Vamini, Girija, Rajeev and Praieev.
in loving memory of Mr. Chittampalam Subraman iam (Orator) on the first anniversary of his passing away on 18th February 1994.
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by his wife Annaratnam, children Kandasamy, Gnanarangini, Pathmasany, Chitsabesan and Dr. Vasanthan; son-in-law Dr. Puvanarajan; daughters-in-law Malini, Kunnuthini and Dr. Premila, Sister Mr.S. Sinnan mah Somasegeram, nephews Dr. Sothinathan and Kanagasabai; grand children Janani, Vaani, Senthuran, Yamini, Lohita, Praneeta, Thayalan, Anjali, Mahen, Mithran, Lakshman and Rishi.

Page 32
32 TAMIL TIMES
FORTHCOMING EVENTS March 1 Ama Vasai, Ash Wednesday. Mar. 5 Sathurthi; first Sunday of Lent. Mar. 12 Second Sunday of Lent.
Mar. 13 Eekathasi. Mar. 14 PirathoSam.
Ciation.
Mar. 16 Full Moon.
Mar. 17 Pankuni Uthiram; Feast of St. Patrick.
Mar. 19 Third Sunday of Lent. Mar. 25 Feast Day of Annun
Mar. 26 Fourth Sunday of Lent. Mar. 27 Eekathasi.
LLLLLL LL LLL LLLL LL LLLLLL
Mr. Katiravelu Rajasingham - An Appreciation
January 8, 1995 is an eventful day for all Sri Lankans. It was the day the ceasefire agreed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam came into effect removing a major obstacle to the peace process. Sadly to many Sri Lankans who were fortunate to have had some acquaintance with Kathiravelu Rajasingham, it was also the day that shocked them. Mr. Rajasingham passed away on the same day unexpectedly after his second bypass heart surgery in London. He was nearing his 70th birthday, which WOuld have been On 18 March 1995. He hoped to witness the return of serenity to Sri Lanka and the Tamils in the North and East to live in dignity as equals to their counterparts in the rest of the country.
I came to know him in January 1950, when I was just a schoolboy unaware of the world I would be entering after completing my school education. To many boys of my age, he was the intellectual we all aspired to be one day. He had already obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree of the University of London before I knew him. Unlike other degree holders known to us then, he was different in that he had a broad perspective of the Western and Eastern ways of life. He was pragmatic and accepted, without forsaking our culture, those customs of the Western Society, which he considered as worthy for him and his family.
Mr. Rajasingham remained throughout a humble person and never boasted his academic achievements even when We were adolescents. I became aware of his extraordinary intellect, after 1 grew up and started discussing worldly matters with him. His knowledge of English literature was vast having been interested in the subject since he was a youth. I was fascinated by his passion for reading.
I was a Ceylon Government University Scholar studying in England, when Mr. Rajasingham came here first in 1962 on a private visit. I was able to feel the desire he must have had for a long time to visit the land of Shakespeare, Milton, Byron and Wordsworth. It was for him a dream that came true. He considered voyaging to foreign lands an important part of education, useful for gaining firsthand knowledge about other Societies and Cultures. During his visit he also travelled to France, Spain and Italy. His subsequent travels took him across the globe from Guyana to New Zealand and to Countries in Asia and Africa.
To him the learni less. He firmly be, maxim "Kattathu lathathu Ulakalvu'. F appetite for learning.
it was around this my friend and conten
the late Professor A.
Dean of the Faculty versity of Peraden Chancellor of Unive Fajasingham || neve both had so much retired from Govern served in various pos Assessor to Deputy inland Revenue Dep quarter century. He a for a short period as subsequently served first through the o which operated in Jat the 'Data Dev' which With others in Colom assisted the Tamil Tin the periodical to main and usefulness.
Having known the airajah very intimatel that he was invited by be the Chief Guest of Ceremonial release O CROSSROADS" (A c way of life) in Colomb l Could visualise how minds had been so ea of this book. It is a gr community that both a to render service at book reveals the inte truth Characteristic of who had in the past Ventional beliefs.
The July 1983 col profound effect on his his notherland. He w the organization - C tee of Displaced Em formed in the afterma assess the situation thousands of his corn to take remedial me This arrangement he placed Tamil employe again.
I have known Mr. F very methodical and When he set a ta achieved it. He adn made and the determ Tamil youths in fighti rights of the commun any doubts about th taken to win the right
 
 

Mar. 28 PirathoSam. Mar. 30 Amavasai.
April 29 6.30pm MIOT Annual Muthamil Vizha at Kelsey Park School, Manor Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3SJl. Tel: 0634 376517, 0181 460 5235.
At the Bhawan Centre, 4A Castletown Road, London
15 FEBRUARY 1995
W149HQ. Te: O71-3813086
4608. March 47.00pm Bengali Music Concert by Shynali Basu and her students.
Mar. 19 6.30pm Flute Concert
by Pan dit Ha ripra sa di Chaurasia. Mar. 26 6.30pm Variety Entertainment.
MMMMMMMMMNMNMMMNMMMMMMNMMMMNMNMMMMMMMNMNMMMM
ng process was endlieved in Auvaiyar's Kaiman Alavu, Kalfe had an enormous
time that introduced porary in Cambridge Thurairajah, formerly of Engineering, Uniya and later Vicesity of Jaffna to Mr. 2r realised then that in COmnon. He had ment service having Sitions from Assistant Commissioner in the artment for nearly a lso worked in Zambia Tax Consultant. Both the Tamil community rganisation 'Oottru fna and later through they founded along po. Mr. Rajasingham Tes in 1987 to enable tain its high standard
late Professor Thury, it was quite fitting / Mr. Rajasingham to the OCCasion of the if his book AT THE 'ritique on the Hindu o on 10th April 1993. the meeting of two sy from the contents eat loss to the Tamil are no longer with us his Crucial time. His lect of a Searcher of * those philosophers questioned the con
nmunal riots had a vision of the future of as the President of poratinating Commitployees - that was rth of the pogrom to
in which he and patriots were in and asures for redress. lped the many dises to be on their feet
Rajasingham to be a determined person. get, he invariable aired the sacrifices nation shown by the g for the legitimate ty. He did not have e Course of action s of the Tannis. The
only time to my knowledge his determination failed was when he did not return alive to Kingston from the hospital in Ealing after his second heart surgery. All of us were Confident as he himself was that he would recover soon to give guidance to his family and serve the community at large.
I know the difficulty he experienced to Conne to London in 1994 with his beloved wife to get treatment for his deteriorating heart condition. All of us were glad when the efforts made by his two sons to bring the parents to London succeeded and they arrived on 23rd October 1994. But no one expected his demise within such a short period. There is, however, a small Consolation that during his final visit to England he has been cheerful in the company of his loving wife, all his four children, all his six grandchildren and other close members of his family.
He had dedicated his book quite deservingly to his beloved wife. She was a part of him in as much as he was a part of her and their mutual affection and love admired by all who knew the couple well were unique. It is difficult for meat this time to contemplate how she will come to terms with herself without the most precious possession she had with her for 45 years. Her devoted husband had mentioned in his book, that she adhered to rites and rituals meticulously and he was inspired by her firm dedication to her faiths and beliefs. Perhaps she will find some solace from continuing these acts as before. Humans need to have faiths and beliefs to overCome Such ordeas.
I consider writing this appreciation as my duty that I should perform with veneration to Aththan' as I have always addressed him, who has been to me an inspirator as
well as a mentor.
Dr. S. Narapalasingam.
Taprobane Travel Reigns Supreme As Air Lanka's Top Agent
Taprobane Travel, Sri Lanka Tours, London has been rated Air Lanka's Top Agent for each of the three consecutive years 1992, 1993 and 1994 with record sales of £4 million, making them the highest producing agent for Air Lanka in the entire UK and Europe region. Taprobane Travel has recorded a peak performance, steadily increasing it during the last 16 years, after becoming in 1979 Air Lanka's first consolidators. The company has a fully automated reservation and ticketing system and has over the years provided an excellent service to its clients who number over 110,000 up to date. The company hopes to improve its performance by 15% in 1995.

Page 33
15 FEBRUARY 1995
Mr. Kandiah Thirugnanachandran - An Appreciation
Born in the Small town of 3atu Pahat in Malaysia, on 9th July 1940, Mr. Thirugnanachandran was the second son of Mr. & Mrs. Nagamutthu Kandiah of Pannalai, Telipallai. The family returned to Sri Lanka in 1949.
Thiru had his early education in Mahajana College, Telipallai, entered the University of Ceylon, when he was seventeen and obtained his B.Sc. in mathematics. In 1974, he married Dhayalaguneswary, second daughter of Mr. M. Vairavapillai, retired Deputy Auditor-General and Mrs. Vairavapillai. They had two daughters Thiru Nayani and Tharani who are students of University of North Middlesex and Latimer Girls School, Edmonton respectively.
Thiru had completed a few parts of Cost and Management Accountancy before coming over in 1981 to the U.K. where he completed his final examination. He had worked as an Internal Auditor in the Central Bank, C.T.B., Leather Corporation and was Accountant of the Reclamation Board.
Known to his friends as Thiru and to his .
family as Chandran, he was a quiet person by nature. The basic tenet of his personality was to endure any hardship in life, with forbearance and courage. He always refrained from being 'a source of trouble to others' and disliked all trivialities in life and was aware of the frivolous nature of things which tend to attract the ordinary mortals. Even during the period of his brief illness he manifested his strength of will, by showing courage and independence in his actions. He was much concerned with his family's welfare and showed great devotion towards his daughters' education. His honesty and integrity at work earned him high regard from his employers and colleagues alike.
His mortal body has departed from our midst but the fondest memories about him will always remain with us.
V. Rajayogeswaran.
Sivatharini P Veena ,
Sangeetha Vidwa Sahade van, Direc Academy of Veenap artistes Miss Ghaya Gheetha Sunderaling BalaVigneswaran at Kalai Vizha of the Sangam at Walthar 21st January 1995.
The audience was lent recital of the mel Veета атd was app standard achieved b They have a bright f and most of the Cre teacher, who is a proc Carnatic Music, Mad On her the title of Sar WaS under the tute
Vocal (
'Full many a gem of The dark unfathoned
Manorana Prasad 28th January at Wet mind the above line, Arts Promotions Sho for having 'discovere artiste.
The concert begar nam in the Raga Na Nalinakanthi has bee plored raga, the artist its Characters in full. the Krithi "Sri Vathapi is a popular raga both Usually it is presented a COICert in Order to nature.
Manorama's Swift jane added momen Both the violinist a equally demonstrated Pancharatina Krithi. Was evident in the sh the strong Arabhi a Sahana. Then came kurinji - a delightful plored by the artiste ir Rupaka Krithi — Mam in charismatic style.
It is difficult to say t Bhaiyaravi was the Ragam-Thanam-Pall
 
 

TAMIL TIMES 33
resents Three Artistes
in Smit Sivatharini for of the London resented three veena thri Veeravagu, Miss an and Miss Anusha he Tenth Anniversary
Walthamstow Tamil Forest Theatre on
treated to an excelOdious tunes from the reciative of the high y the young artistes. uture ahead of thern dit should go to their luct of The College of ras, which Conferred geetha Vidwan'. She »lage of Sangeetha
Mamani Professor K.P. Sivananthan and upholds the high tradition of the college.
P. Shan. Canadian Parliamentarian Congratulates Chandrika
Mr. John Sola M.P.P. for Mississauga East in Canada has congratulated President Chandrika Kumaratunga on her decision to extend the ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers. He states, "what a wonderful way to begin your presidency, setting the stage to potentially resolving the civil war through diplomacy and negotiation rather than conflict, and save innocent lives from further destruction. If you succeed in bringing a permanent and just peace to your country, perhaps other areas of conflict such as Bosnia and Chechnya, will follow your lead. As a Canadian, I am proud that my government was among the first to agree to monitor the Ceasefire.
Doncert - Manorama Krishna Prasad
wwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
purestray serene,
Caves of ocean bear 's vocal concert on mbley brought to my S. The Eastern Fine Luld be congratulated d" such a captivating
briskly with a Varalinakanthi. Although 2n a rare and unexe was able to portray This was followed by '' in Sahana. Sahana sweet and pleading. fat the later stages of explore its intricate
'ransition to Saathinum to the Concert. nd the miruthangist their mastery in this Manorama's artistry arp contrast between rid the much Softer the Alapana in Nataraga which was exevery direction. The avasa was delivered
hat Balagopalam“ in 2 main item. The avi set to Kalyani
Raga and Thripudai Thala itself had created another climax along with the Ragamalika in Hindolam, Sama and Kanada. The timely delivery of the Danasri Thilana brought the concert to a rhythmic close.
The two highlights of the concert were the Krithi in Bhairavi and the Ragam Thanam Palawiin Kalyani. The artiste took the Raga Bharavi step by step from its depth to its heights - at every relevant Swara, she was able to bring out the fineness of the Raga. Also of exceptionally high standard were the Niraval and the subsequent Swara.
I believe this performance marks the entry into the London musical scene of an exceptional vocalist. It is the musical maturity of the young instrumentalists that enabled them to give appropriate support on this occasion. The renderings of Kartik Ragunathan, a student of Dr. Laxmi Jayan, of the Ragas — Natakurinji, Bhairavi and Kalyani reflected his talent and commitment to music. Jason and Jonathan Pararajasingam, disciples of Kripakaran, exhibited professional traits in their Thani Avartanan with a switch into "Thisran, Kandam and Misram'. The Thambura was serenely played by Gayitri Manikkavasagan, who herself has been active in the arts world along with her medical studies. The programme was ably announced by
Sri Ranjan.
Jana.

Page 34
34 TAMIL TIMES
Continued from page 29
and discussed in earnest with the view to arrive at a consensus. Partisan interest must give way to the broader national interest aimed at ensuring unity in known diversity. It is harmful to the national interest to pretend that there is only one supreme race in Sri Lanka.
All communities in Sri Lanka are in favour of a democratic and socialist system of governance. The present constitution of Sri Lanka notwithstanding the contradictory and unacceptable dictatorial powers it bestows to the Executive President is referred to as that of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The 1976 Vaddukkodai Resolution of Tamils mentions the word socialist as seen in the relevant part reproduced here - ". . . . the restoration and reconstitution of the Free, Sovereign, Secular Socialist State of Tamil Eelam. . . .”. There cannot be objection from any side in accepting the principles of democracy and socialism in the new constitution. Similarly, the need to provide absolute safeguards in the constitution to prevent violation of human rights has been demonstrated by the horrible massacres which occurred in the recent past in Sri Lanka.
There should not be any room for abusing power at all levels and all persons elected or appointed to power
SERVICE
experience.
For further information write to:
7 Sebert Road Forest Gate London E7 ONG
or telephone:
0181 519 3354
interview date: Job Ref: 95/1
NEWHAM ALCOHOL ADVISORY
Wishes to appoint A TAMIL SPEAKING COUNSELLOR
The successful applicant will be a trained counsellor and have a minimum of one year's counselling
Pay £48.00 for 3 hours weekly; in addition counsellors must attend supervision between 4.30 and 6.30pm on one evening a fortnight, which is not paid.
Newham Alcohol Advisory Service
Application closing date: 9.00am, Monday 27th March
Tuesday 4th April
Section 5(2)(d) of Race Relations Act 1976
Newham Alcohol Advisory Service is an
ful positions must b to adhere to the e conduct. No one, should have the lee the law. Those who methods of conduct instigate or take p violence and violate governance should their treacherous ac cerning impeachmer of civic rights of leac positions should be q constitution.
Just reforming the tion without changil ture will be ineffecti ethnic issue as well a tic features in it. Bes independence of the interference by any head of government functions must be as to be an impartial b citizens either as iı groups can seek redre that their constituti violated by the collec individual establishm drawn to the Europe: tice which fits in w paradigm.
With regard to th powers, the paradigm Union highlighted in trates how unity in achieved while retain
Equal Opportunities Employer
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

15 FEBRUARY 1995
:ompelled by law blished codes of wever powerful ay to act outside sort to unlawful g public affairs, it in communal he rules of good hy the price for Provisions conand deprivation rs in responsible te explicit in the
present constituits basic struce to address the the undemocraes, the complete ldiciary without ther body or the in executing its ured. There has dy to which all dividuals or as is when they feel onal rights are ive body or any ent. Attention is un Court of Jusrith the chosen
e devolution of of the European this paper illusliversity can be ing the identity
NATURAL CRUNCHY GOODNESS
NEEDS DISTRIBUTORS IN U.K., EUROPE AND AUSTRALIA FOR OUR NEW EXTENDEDLINE OF PRODUCTS
JYOTH MIXED SNACK....
of different groups. The whole economy of the union will have to be strong and its growth self-sustaining and balanced between different states for its security and existence in a unified form. The mobilisation and allocation of funds from the EU budget especially to develop the less developed areas of the member states according to predetermined criteria is also worth noting. The pro-Europeans strongly believe that the current and the anticipated changes towards integration without surrendering their national identity are essential for strengthening the security and the economy of individual states. No one in their normal senses can claim that their own national identity, language and ethnicity are being forsaken by the union of bordering states. The same concept can be adopted with regard to the diverse regions within countries in arriving at an acceptable and viable system of governance. The emphasis is on the concept and the union in our context must be considered as the whole nation just as the United States of America. Will Sri Lanka take this reliable path to permanent progress and unity or that which leads to discontent, unrest, instability and eventual fragmentation of the nation? The answer should be obvious to those keeping abreast with the global trends discussed in this paper at the very outset.
YOUR GIFT FROM CANADA
CALL OR FAX FOR INFORMATION (416)283-5196 Fax: (416) 7553010
SPECTRUM FOODS INC.
60 Venture Drive, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada M1B 3S4

Page 35
BRUARY 1995
GLEN EXPRES
155 Notting Hill Gat Telephone: 071221 34
| 29 FIT
FARESTO
COLOMBO, MADRAS, T TRWVANDRL SINGAPOR AUSTRALIA
2 AMTALE
Kuwait. Airl Emil
ALL MAJOR CREDIT COMPETITIVE FARES TO OTHE
 

s TRAVELLTD
e, London W113LF (i. 98 Fax: 071. 243 8277
VE
RICHWYZ JM7
En STOP W Colonso,
VIT STOP FM COLOBO)
Airways anka 'ates
CARDS ACCEPTED R DESTINATIONS AVAILABLE

Page 36
SHIPPING AIR FRE TO COLOMBO AND OTHER
PERSONAL EFFECTS, HOUSEHOLD GOODS Appointed MAIN AGENT
Passenger Tickets & Unacco
Special low fares so: Lowl, MADRASTRIWENDRUMITRICHY to C.
| No Slop in Colombo) 蛇 410 Sea F
COLOMBO: AR LANKM fr{T) 한 435 ዕir F፡
GLIJLF է 115 KUWAIT AOC) EMIRATE 空 575 MAI) ROYAL JORDANIAM ኗ ,1፭፻] TR|''
YOUR GOODS GO TO OUR BONDED Wy
GLEN CARRIE
Alec Way of Warple Telephone 3,740-8579. Fer ma T-4.2g IEEx.
INTERNATIONAL (SHIPPING) LTD
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Hanjin Oakland 4 February 17eth Marchn A
Hanjin Harriburg Oth March St March
O? April- Wessel for Hanjin Singapore? T17th March Sri ໄອກ.
Hanjir Bremen hı M3 Tch gth April
Hanjin Rotterdan 7th April 23rd April
Our modern warehouse and clifices are under are ral with ample Car parking ":i:illies, where gur ClustCTL:rs ria','E the Uxtr:+ := reli! J| packing their goods themselves with our assistance LLLLLL LLLL LL LaEkSLLS LHGLLH LmLLLLLaL LLLLLLL g LLLLCHLHHtaLa GLGL Ortes your g2005 are in nur Hands wL quaränge à SafE I Til eficien de ver, le your destinaton, We aso ofe" FREE STOFAGE г. stomers c anariog of ONE MONTH ir our tired ựyreha Luis in CallTilt) Tri E. TE, MI) / INI (15 H''' L. L. "Hal" H PIN, 1NT FEIHT
II IN, ITT PANT INTE F. LH, F], EIGEHT "l 'i'Y'I4.‘F. h. WEEK WYEdheid: & FILIIIIII i Trico International Shipping Ltd Unit d, Building "C"The Business Centre it
ClarendJ DI Rd., London N22 fill Tel - 878" Fax: 081-38) -
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EIGHT TRAVEL
WORLWIDE DESTINATIONS S, WEHICLES AND MACHINERIES
fOT AIR LANKA yimpanied Baggage
JrlacCOTipanied Baggaga rates - 3 LOMBO; }>
reight - E 2.00 per Tea Chest
---- f 2. CC per C.J. fl.
"eight - F 3.00 per 10 Kg.
50 for acdcd:Lional Kg.)
RANS ---- E 1.5 C për Kg ENDRU M ---- F 1.30 pst Kg.
ay Acon London WE ORo
E-5 EEGGENGANG
UNIVEST
INTERNATIONAL
30 Friert BaГПсI RJad. Liridon N11 || NA Tel: 81-31.5087 4937 S-38 9544 Fil* : (181-3Ճ1 8498
I gOOd5 are lodgcc in a modern, Illy COTyleriSed.
Borded Warehou5ę (Outside 118 POrt| Ceylor Shipping Lines. 294.10 D.F, Wijgwardena Mawatha, ColorTED 10. Tel: 4329345
ME ARE THE BEST AND THE CHEAPEST
NOHIDDEN CHARGES
5 PER TEA CHEST
TO COLOMBO
Paras Ingw & used and ali Duly Free goods supplied 'r awel Agents for Air Lanka, Kuwait, mirates, Gulf Air, Air France, KLM, Royal prdanian, PIA and Balkan Airlines. atunayake International Airport Duty Free hopping Guide available to our customers
ld permissible Duty Free allowance on ods shipped.