“…While no doubt in a democratic state the will of the majority should prevail, the principle of majority rule can operate fully only in those states which have a homogenous population. In multinational states, this principle cannot apply in determining matters relating to the rights of national minorities. If this principle is applied to such questions then it would amount to the rule of the national minorities by the national majority. The minorities will thus be denied their ordinary human rights of self-expression and self-determination and will he subject to the tyranny of an impersonal majority….if the Tamils as a result of a plebiscite in the Tamil areas opt for a federal constitution, they will be exercising their right of self-determination and it is not for somebody else to say “nay”…”
Posts Categorized: Politics
TNA Leader MP P. Sampanthan’s Speech
22nd August, 2012 [2.17 p.m.] ගරු ආර්. සම්පන්දන් මහතා (மாண்புமிகு ஆர். சம்பந்தன்) (The Hon. R. Sampanthan) Thank you Mr. Deputy Chairman of Committees. I move, “Whereas more than three years have lapsed since the conclusion of the war on 19th May 2009 during the course of which grave violations of international human rights laws… Read more »
Statement by TNA Leader Sampanthan
Statement made by Mr. Sampanthan, MP leader of the Tamil National Alliance following his meeting with Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa on September 18 2012
TULF Leader A. Amirthalingam’s 1978 Speech
In this connection there was a lot of agitation and Mr.Bandaranaike thereafter clarified his position and issued a statement on 16th August 1957. This is the policy which he laid down, and I am sure that it is a policy which all fair-minded people will accept as just:
‘The instrument of colonization should not be used to convert the Northern and Eastern Provinces into Sinhalese majority areas or in any other manner to the detriment of the Tamil-speaking people of those areas.’
That is the policy which he adopted and accepted, and I should say in fairness to him that thereafter, during his tenure of office between 1957 and 1959 this planned colonization ceased for a time.
G.G. Ponnambalam’s 50-50 Speech to Sri Lanka’s State Council 1939
‘G.G. Ponnambalam The Marathon Crusade for 50-50 (Balanced Representation) in the State Council 1939′ is a booklet published Chennai, 2001 with an introduction and background political sketch.
True State of Affairs Regarding Govt-TNA Talks
The third attempt was an initiative made by the Leader of the Opposition in May 2012. The Leader of the Oppossition and other UNP leaders met with the President and several Ministers at which they were told that there had never been any TNA- Government talks and that it was TNA-SLFP talks! Apart from the original letter from the Presidential Secretariat, the joint statement issued after every round of talks clearly identified the delegation as Government delegation…
The text of that agenda was agreed upon after several drafts were exchanged… It had been agreed that the Government would endorse the agenda suggested by the Leader of the Opposition. But sadly again, no such endorsement was made on the floor of the House!…
Despite this the Government continues with its misinformation campaign blaming the TNA for its inability to evolve a political solution.
It even has the temerity to ask the TNA to forget all of this and start afresh by walking into the PSC empty handed. That is not a bona fide invitation. That is a ruse to cheat the TNA and the Tamil People yet again. The TNA is not about to make such a historic blunder.
Sen. Nadesan on Language Problem
Link to the PDF
Burma’s Suu Kyi Urges Minority Rights
“To become a truly democratic union with a spirit of the union, equal rights and mutual respect, I urge all members of parliament to discuss the enactment of the laws needed to protect equal rights of ethnicities,” she said, in support of a motion by a ruling party MP…
“The high poverty rates in ethnic states clearly indicate that development in ethnic regions is not satisfactory and ethnic conflicts in these regions have not ceased,” she said during her brief speech.
Act Fast for Reconciliation
Not only the TNA, even India, the United States and other countries have called for immediate elections in the North as a first step towards giving self-determination to the Tamil-speaking people. The TNA has warned that if self-determination is not given by peaceful means, the international Tamil diaspora might push for a separate state. Instead of making claims on 5 Rs or 4 Rs, the Rajapaksa Government needs to take immediate and urgent steps to find a just and fair political solution to the national crisis.
All the World’s a University
by Janadas Devan, The Straits Time, Singapore, December 2004 WHEN Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested by the British in 1942, he traipsed off to prison clutching, among other things, Plato’s Republic and Marcel Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu (in the original French, of course). This Indian freedom fighter was nothing if not inward with high European culture. He… Read more »
Stranglehold on Peace
Kumaratunga will not sacrifice power for peace by Tamil Guardian editorial, December 22, 2004 Fear of a renewed war has become all pervasive. Tamils, both in the homelands and the diaspora are closely following developments in the Norwegian peace process, albeit with deepening pessimism. Even the usually upbeat Norwegian Special Envoy, Erik Solheim, could not conceal… Read more »
Notes on Political Instability in Divided Societies
Some Notes on Political Instability in Divided Societies with Reference to the Sri Lankan State and Conflict by A.R.M. Imtiyaz, Ph.D. (Visiting scholar, Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, USA), December 21, 2004 Form of governments Recent political disturbances in ethnically, religiously and linguistically divided societies including Sri Lanka reminds one of Max Weber,… Read more »
Brief History of the Stalled Peace Talks
by Wakeley Paul, Esq., December 21, 2004 In December, 2000 the LTTE declared a unilateral ceasefire. Four months of negotiations toward a mutual ceasefire with the President’s PA government came to nought. In July, 2001 the LTTE attacked the Katunayake Airport, but followed this up with a second unilateral ceasefire. In late 2001, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s… Read more »
Revisiting Rwanda’s Horrors
With an Ex-National Security Adviser By JOHN DARNTON, The New York Times, December 20, 2004 It was “shameful,” he added, that his administration refused to employ the term “genocide” for a period of six weeks. “It was based on the belief that if you used the word, then you’re required to take action,” he said…. Read more »
Going Nowhere
by Sunday Leader Editorial, December 5, 2004 Sri Lanka’s tragic fate took yet another twist last week, with the government demonstrating yet again that it doesn’t have a clue what it is going to do to address the National Question. Two and a half years after the event, the international euphoria that greeted the government-LTTE ceasefire agreement… Read more »
TAGOT: War Drums in the South
by The Action Group of Tamils (TAGOT) PRESS RELEASE 21 December 2004 We, The Action Group of Tamils (TAGOT), unhesitatingly compliment the Sinhala President Chandrika Kumaratunga for her political skill. She is implacably opposed to negotiating a political settlement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But she has cast the ultra-Sinhala Jathika Vimukthi… Read more »
Human Rights Watch and Tamil Children
by S. Makenthiran, B.A., FCCA, Canada, December 19, 2004 There have been some reports by interested parties about the so-called seminar held on December 12, by Human Rights Watch in Toronto. It is made to appear that those who spoke out at the Seminar were Tamil Tigers. It was nothing like that. Many of us… Read more »
Talking with Tigers
Negotiations with suicide bombers can end violence, as Sri Lanka demonstrates Jonathan Steele in Kilinochchi, The Guardian, UK, Friday December 17, 2004 Come to Elephant Pass to witness a rarity: a place where the contradictions of the “war on terror” have not produced the usual regression. In most of the world the fight against “international… Read more »
India’s Sri Lanka Policy: Need for a Review
by Ana Pararajasingham, South Asia Analysis Group, Delhi, December 13, 2004 It is only natural that India, the regional power, should have an abiding interest in the manner in which the conflict in the Island of Sri Lanka is resolved. The Tamil National Alliance MP, Mr Gajendra kumar Ponnambalam’s declaration that the Tamil Nation has… Read more »
IFT Dec. 10 Press Release
8 Rue Des Pâquis, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland – Tel/Fax: +41 22 732 08 31 – Email:ift /A_T/ bluewin /D_O_T/ ch 10.12.2004 Urgent press statement Government’s suggestions sabotaging the Tamil people’s struggle for equlity and justice International Federation of Tamils (IFT), a confederation of Tamil organizations around the world, urges the President of Sri… Read more »