Lobby

An emotional Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district MP Suresh Premachandran raised a very pertinent question in Parliament from the government on Thursday on behalf of his fellow legislators from the north and east. “Are we citizens of Sri Lanka or do you want us to go back to the north and east?” he asked.

There was no answer to the question by government members reeling under heavy criticism for a hasty decision to evict Tamil civilians from Colombo city the very same morning. The drama began with UNP Colombo district MP T. Maheswaran going to the extent of removing his shirt and demanding the House address the issue claiming that hundreds of Tamils from Colombo were being forcibly transported in buses to the north and east. The TNA MPs and Mr. Maheswaran walked to the Well of the House shouting that other business of the House be postponed and that they be heard on the issue.

It was amidst this melee that speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara suspended sittings and called a meeting of party leaders. Sittings commenced more than an hour later to debate the eviction issue. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe set the trend for the debate by quoting the Constitution, saying the move was a violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed to every Sri Lankan citizen. He went as far as to compare the government’s move to the eviction of Jews in Nazi Germany and racial segregation practised in South Africa during Apartheid.

But it was the speech by JVP Kurunegala district MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake that took everyone by surprise. He came out very strongly against the Government decision calling it stupid and incorrigible. “This is similar to what happened to the Tamils in 1983. If you push them straight to the lap of the Tigers, you can’t stop them from coming back to Colombo with bombs,” he said.

His dramatic speech drew comments from the Chief Government whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle who said that had the JVP spoken in this manner a few years earlier, then the situation of the country would have been more peaceful today. “We have always stood for equal status for the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims but no one was listening to what we were saying. If we want to bring peace to the country, the support of the Tamil people is essential,” Mr. Dissanayake said and ironically this time the Tamil legislators thumped their tables endorsing his views.

The JVP stance was welcomed by Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage who said it was indeed a beautiful day with the JVP expressing support for the Tamil people. “Now we can get together and bring peace to the country,” he said. However he did not have kind words for UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe whom he called the international representative of the LTTE. “Mr. Wickremaesinghe goes around the world criticising the government. After Anton Balasingham died, he has taken up the job on behalf of the LTTE,” Minister Aluthgamage said. Several other government MPs too criticised the Leader of the Opposition for making statements detrimental to the government on his overseas trips.

However Mr. Wickremesinghe responded to his critics saying that there was no need for him to do so because by its own actions, the government is losing support from the international community. Minister Keheliya Rambukwella tried to clear misgivings about the transportation of Tamil civilians saying only those who had volunteered were being taken. Not many people were convinced by his explanation including several Tamil legislators who are now in the government.

Deputy Minister P. Radhakrishnan of the Up Country People’s Front said his party would have to reconsider its decision to support the government if Tamils continued to be treated in this discriminatory manner. Minister Rauff Hakeem too came down hard on the government saying the eviction order was worse than the 1983 anti-Tamil riots as the present situation was created with government intervention. “The Sinhalese and Muslims too come from outside and live in Colombo, does the same rule not apply to them,” he asked.
Minister Rajitha Senaratne wound up the debate on behalf of the Government. A one time champion of human rights, he chose to climb down from his strong advocacy on the issue in the past saying that human rights violations were inevitable when the country is at war. However he said he was not in support of such a move but the security situation demanded such action.

With a blunder like the eviction fiasco, the government faces the possibility of losing the support of Tamil and Muslim members who are now on its side and give it the much needed numbers to sustain a simple majority in Parliament. The interim report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms headed by Minister Dinesh Gunawardena presented to Parliament on Tuesday has already put the government on a collision course with the Tamil and Muslim ministers in its government.

While engaging those on its side, the government needs to heed the concerns aired by the 22 TNA MPs in Parliament as well. In October 1983, all 16 TULF legislators in Parliament had to forfeit their seats in Parliament by their refusal to take the oath renouncing support for separatism following the introduction of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. The government must ensure by its actions that it does not push the TNA MPs in the same direction.

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