In a letter to the Editor in The Sunday Times of October 12, Mr. M. Sivasithamparam says I had distorted what he had written to the President about her speech inaugurating the 'Sama Thawalama' at Anuradhapura.
Mr. Sivasithamparam's point is that nowhere in his letter to the President had he said "One Nation - Many Peoples". What he had said was that focus should be given to "many people."
Mr. Sivasithamparam has the audacity to say that I am dishonest. In a recent television interview over Rupavahini on 2.9.97, Mr. Sivasithamparam showed the heights to which he would ascend to be dishonest when he said that during the UNP regime, when he was an MP, he had to obtain passes for himself in order to travel. Will Mr. Sivasithamparam explain the exact circumstances when he found himself in such a situation?
I wrote an open letter to all Leaders of Tamil Parties and had mentioned what various political analysts had to tell of the stand of the Tamil Parties at Thimpu in August 1985. The analyses clearly showed the dishonesty and duplicity of the Tamil Leaders, including Mr. Sivasithamparam. No Leader of the Tamil Parties had replied to the open letter or accused me of being abusive or dishonest. If Mr. Sivasithamparam is a man, or is the politician he holds himself out to be, he will do well to say what the TULF's real position was at Thimpu in August 1985.
In his Rupavahini interview he shamelessly says that those who had never sighted Thimpu, referring to me, are talking of the Thimpu Principles. At least the ACTC is today sticking steadfastly to the Thimpu Principles which "the Delegation of the Tamil People" (except the LTTE) has chosen to throw overboard! It is not for nothing, as Mr. Sivasithamparam confessed in that Rupavahini interview, that Tamils were writing to him addressing him as "Ettappan"!
Mr. Sivasithamparam said in that Rupavahini interview, that the ACTC did not refer to the Thimpu Principles when it came before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). Mr. Sivasithamparam even at this late stage will do well to refer to the written submissions the ACTC placed before the PSC.
All I wish to tell Mr. Sivasithamaparam is this - go amongst the Tamils, in any place he may choose, and let him see the reception he gets from the Tamils on the streets.
The idea of the accord had its beginnings in Cricket long before Mr. Dixit came into the scene. The Late Gamini Dissanayake could be rightly called one of the originators of this idea.
In early 1987 India and Pakistan were on the brink of another war over the terrorist issue in the Punjab. Cross border shootings had started and both countries were massing their armies across the Kashmir border.
At this time Pakistan was playing India in the Cricket Tests in India.
In order to diffuse the tension the then President of the Cricket Board of Pakistan General Butt arranged for General Zia Ul Haq the President of Pakistan to attend one of the Test matches being played at that time, I believe in Pune, India could not deny a visit by the Head of a "Friendly " country coming to see a Cricket match. This diversion at a time of grave crisis had the desired cooling effect on both countries and the crisis evaporated. President Zia is said to have played his cards well.
It was at this time that General Butt had suggested to the Presidents of the Indian Board of Control for Cricket Mr. Salve and the President of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board Gamini Dissanayake both of whom were Cabinet Ministers that they too should get involved in settling the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Salve and Mr. Dissanayake had taken up General Butt's suggestion seriously and quietly tapped Rajiv Gandhi and President Jayewardene with several alternative proposals and ultimately came up with the idea of a direct agreement with the two countries to solve the ethnic problem which was a serious problem to both countries.
The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord was the result. The proposals are said to have been seriously discussed in early July 1987 and brought to Colombo in draft form by Mr. Dixit on the 14th or 15th of July 87.
It had been discussed by senior member of our Cabinet with President Jayewardene and generally accepted. Mr. Premadasa the Prime Minister was out of the country at this time. On the 17th of July K. W. Devanayagam, Minister of Home Affairs visited Balangoda to present an award to the A.G.A Saman Ratnayaka as his A. G. A.'s office had been adjudged as the best office in the Ratnapura District.
Mr. Devanayagam at lunch informed me of the proposals and that except for two or three Ministers, President Jayewardene and the majority approved it. He told me that M. H. Mohamed had not made up his mind and requested me to see Gamini Dissanayake immediately.
I left for Colombo the same evening and met Mr. Dissanayake over breakfast at his Alfred House Gardens residence on the 18th July. He gave me a copy of the proposals and while discussing the report he told me that the President had contacted the Prime Minister by telephone and he is said to have generally approved of the idea but said he would give a final word on his return. Mr. M.H. Mohamed had originally opposed it, but after a discussion with the President had given his approval.
On 25.7.87 the UNP Ex-Co approved the accord. On the 25th evening the President was expected to be the Chief Guest at a Mahaweli Cultural Show which was to start at 7 p.m. at the BMICH.
Mr.Gamini Dissanayake and I were waiting with a packed house for the President to arrive. My Minister told me that the Prime Minister had just arrived from overseas. The Prime Minister and the President were in discussion at Temple Trees. We waited and the President arrived at the BMICH at 8.15 p.m. He looked grave. He told us that the Prime Minister was not in favour of the accord. He also told both of us that he was taking a firm stand that those who did not agree with the accord must leave the Cabinet and that if Parliament did not pass it, he would dissolve Parliament. Only Mr. Gamini Jayasuriya resigned after the Cabinet meeting on 27.7.87.
The Indian Prime Minister was to arrive in Sri Lanka on the 29th July.
Colombo was in a bad way because at that time over 3500 Policemen mostly from Colombo had been sent for the Perehera duty to Kandy. Very few of the armed forces were close to Colombo.
Mr.Gamini Dissanayake and I had a hurried lunch and went to the President's house. A curfew was imposed in the Kotte area from 12 noon. This area had been badly affected.
The whole of Colombo came under curfew from 3 p.m. on 27th July. The curfew was to be lifted at 6 a.m. on the 28th. While we were in President's House we heard that crowds were collecting in several places and at some temples to march on Colombo at 6 a.m. on the 28th as soon as the curfew was lifted.
On the night of 27th my Minister and I left JOC direct to India House to meet Mr. Dixit to re-assure him and persuade him to request Rajiv Gandhi to come to Sri Lanka as planned.
After a direct call to Gandhi he promised to come only to sign the accord in Colombo and return in the same plane back on the same day. The signing could have happened at Katunayake Airport itself.
My Minister had to use his super persuasive powers to convince Rajiv Gandhi that everything was under control and to come to Colombo on the 29th and leave as arranged on the 30th.
This is how the accord was signed at 3.37 p.m. on the 29th in Colombo
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