A deliberate false translation of its constitution is the reason the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) — the main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) — is being portrayed as a party that stood for secession of the Tamil parts from Sri Lanka, said TNA leader and MP M.A.Sumanthiran on Wednesday.
In a conversation with The Hindu, he said the sworn affidavit filed in the Supreme Court — the constitution of the party — which is in Tamil, was translated into English wrongly by a certified translator. This could only be done with motive, he said and added that the ITAK did not stand for a separate Tamil and a separate Muslim State in Sri Lanka. (A May 18 story in The Hindu had relied on the translated version of the ITAK constitution and sought the TNA's comments).
The Sixth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution (enacted in August 1983) prohibits political parties from having as one of their aims establishment of a separate State. The petition was filed in the Supreme Court by a little known advocateJayantha Liyanage, the general secretary of Sinhala Jathika Peramuna (an unrecognised political party). He named the TNA, ITAK, Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) and Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) as parties having constitutions aimed at creating a separate state. His plea was to declare that the parties be automatically disqualified .
None of the Tamil parties, barring those that are part of the government now, ever made a secret of their love for a separate Tamil nation.
In the latest instance, at the ITAK convention in Batticaloa, TNA leader R.Sampanthan detailed the issues confronting the Tamils and ways to solve them. One relevant part went like this: “The struggle for the political rights of the Tamil nation has now entered an entirely new chapter…We must clearly prove to the international community that the Sri Lankan government, which has delayed for so long in giving the Tamil people their rights, has never made any genuine effort to do so. In other words — we must prove to the international community that we will never be able to realize our rights within a united Sri Lanka. We must be patient until the international community realises for itself that the effort we are involved in is doomed to fail. To put it more strongly, the international community must realize through its own experience, without us having to tell them, that the racist Sri Lankan government will never come forward and give political power to the Tamil people in a united Sri Lanka.”
Keywords: Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, Tamil National Alliance, M.A. Sumanthiran
Sri Lankans of all races love to live in multi-ethnic communities. As Tamil speaking Sri Lankans live in the South, Sinhalese and Muslims were living in the North until a few decades ago. Their numbers were small but sizable. This was before communal politics hijacked Northern politics. It was very unfortunate. Never would this have happened had the North was a vibrant multi-ethnic community like the Central, South, East & West. The Tamil Elam concept was finally officiated in 1949 with the formation of the ITAK (Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi which means Sri Lanka Tamil Kingdom Party). This catchy name was a ploy to fool unsuspecting Tamils. Its English translation – Federal Party - was another ploy - to fool the Sinhalese. Using aggressive communal politics ITAK rose to prominence winning seats at the 1952 Parliament election and later expanding at the 1956 election much the same way National-Socialists won increasing number of parliament seats in the 1930s in Europe.
During my visit to north of Srilanka yesterday gave me the glimpse of the cruel protracted war in Srilanka.Visit to Pudumatalan,Nandikadal gave me the shock of my life of the cruelty of this un wanted war between two ethnic communities who were Srilankans. In this back ground the speech of Mr Sambandan does not auger well for the reconciliation of these two communities as the speech contains separatist views. Srilankan never allow an Elam in this land. He should not be mislead by the Diaspora who enjoys their life in foreign countries and put their own brothers in Srilanka at a risk. They did this for 30 years and never set a foot in this land to join the war. We have not forgotten the fact that TNA was a proxy of LTTE.Sambandan escape annihilation when his own colleges like Amirthalingam was gown down in cold blood by LTTE.He and the rest dance according to LTTE music in the parliament and out side. People of this country never forget their role when the LTTE was in full power.
International community why?. These sessionists will never be happy until their racist dreamland is achieved. The LTTE diaspora is what Sampandan is working for.
There's no Tamil Separate land in Sri Lanka. All people live in harmony. So don't bother.
ITAK stands for 'Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi' in Tamil. It means Tamil government or state party. But all the yesteryear Tamil leaders translated ITAK to English and portrayed to Sinhalese as 'Federal Party' or FP. Waddukkodai resolution of ITAK in 1976 had directly asked Tamil lads to take arms and never to lay them down until Eelam is won. Megalomaniac Pirapakaran and his beastly terrorist organisation LTTE is its direct result. All that Sambandan an original member of ITAK want is to revisit it.
Lost in translation? That is why we should have one language to administer Sri Lanka as in the case of countries like England.
"In other words - we must prove to the international community that we will never be able to realize our rights within a united Sri Lanka." - R. Sampanthan. The implication behind that declaration is that the ITAK will do everything in its power to prove that a 'united Sri Lanka' is not possible. It is there - clearly stated! In other words, per Sampanthan, a Separate State is the Only Option - for the ITAK, and to achieve which, he also calls for 'patience'. But Sumanthrian tries to pass things off as being 'lost in translation'? Evidently, Eelamists'efforts at deception never change! I agree with Hasthi that these crafty politicians should be exposed and the GoSL should work with those sincere to Sri Lanka, both nationally and internationally, towards finding solutions.
When we look closer and question ourselves what kind of development and for whom; it leads us to something different.
The Gallup statistics released last week has revealed that of the persons living in SL, about 70% are suffering, 22% are struggling and 8% are thriving.
Obviously “Development” is a facade erected by the GOSL and the elite to deceive the IC and refrain from addressing the rights issues that caused the war in SL.
Who is crafty? The Sinhalese parties have proved to be more than crafty. They are Tamil genocidal. The president of Sri Lanka(SL) uses the catchword 'Development' whenever he is abroad or meets dignitaries visiting the island. It is now the 'official currency'of GOSL to camouflage its Human Rights violations, war crimes, Tamil genocide, and 40 years of institutionalised racism. 'Development' also diverts attention from accountability and justice demanded by the International Community(IC). 'Development first' policy of SL raises questions on the fundamental responsibilities vested on governance. Andrew Carnegie said "Success is the power with which to aquire whatever one desires of life without violating the rights of others." But Sinhala racist governance since 1972, has created rights issues for the people of Tamil Eelam(TE) such as; a) Military occupation, b) Colonial repression, c) Violation of Rule of Law, and d) Gross Human Rights violations.
Has not all the efforts taken by the Tamil parties in a peaceful manner have not brought tangible results due to the stubborn unwillingness of the political leadership of the Sinhalese. Then what is the alternative for the affected Tamil people.
Srilanka is a small island compared to India. Total population in Srilanka is just 20 million while there is a 50 million Tamil population living in India. Because of the availability of limited resources we cannot have a federal system in this small island in a similar manner to India, America or Australia and must continue to remain as a unitary country.
The Srilankan-Tamil community must realise this issue as well as the majority of the wealthy Tamil community also living outside the North and East of Srilanka, where they need to establish so called separate administration.
Finally end result of a separatist ideology is that they need to unite with the Tamil Nadu to establish a Tamil regime to represent their status as the Tamil voice within the world.
It is true that the Tamils, Thelingus or Malayans do have a voice among the other reputed countries. But it is not possible in Srilanka due to the low population in number and the small territory. Therefore, if they need the best place is India.
It will never happen in Srilanka, it is just wasting money and time and also it is reversing the development of country as a whole.
Now we must forget the past and live as one nation “Srilankan nation” though your origin is Tamil, Burgher, Muslim, Malay or Sinhala.
@Hasti
They are spending time on the effort in the vain hope that the Government will see
the light and stop acting like the way they are today. This statement by Sampathan
is made after 3 years of failed negotiations where the Government always
backtracked on negotiations. The PSC is another in a long list of committees that
will do nothing and is a mere time-waster. The international community can see
who is genuine and who is not. This sudden PSC idea did not go down well with
India, the US and others who clearly see it as another delaying tactic by Rajapaksa.
After 2 years of direct face-to-face talks between the TNA and the Government,
suddenly, no more talks according to the Government - now a nee committee, the
PSC. The whole world knows this is going to go the way of the APRC.
"We must be patient until the international community realises for itself that the effort we are involved in is doomed to fail."
So why are they wasting time on this 'effort'?
It is more likely, that in order for the international community to get thsat impression, the tamil parties with an agenda will ensure that the 'effort' will fail. this is the approach the separatist tamil political parties have always taken. The people suffer in the end. The Government as well as the Genuine International Community should expose these crafty politicians and work with only those who are genuinely seeking a solution.
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