Wigneswaran Responds To President Gotabaya’s Policy Statement

Reply by Justice C.V. Wigneswaran – Leader, Thamizh Makkal Thesya Kootani in Parliament on 21st August, 2020 to the Policy statement made by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the inauguration of the First Session of the Ninth Parliament of Sri Lanka.

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Justice C.V. Wigneswaran

By C.V. Wigneswaran –AUGUST 22, 2020

Honourable Deputy Chairman of Committees!

I am happy that I get a chance to speak when Your Honour is presiding. Let me congratulate you on your being  elected to this honoured post.

I am indeed privileged to take part in this discussion with regard to the Policy Statement of His Excellency.

I must say I carry no – isms that condition nor motivate me. I have no prejudices against the President on Party lines nor racial lines. My sole purpose in participating in this discussion is to investigate the effect the Policy Statement might have on the people of the North and East. I would find no difficulty in praising the President for the good statements of policy enunciated nor seek to point out adversely comments relating to prejudicial statements of policy enunciated in the Policy Statement.

The most glaring aspect of the Policy Statement is that it puts forward a centralized perspective of a Government of the Sinhala Buddhists, by the Sinhala Buddhists, for the Sinhala Buddhists. There is no reference to the decades’ old problems of the Tamil speaking denizens of the North and East. The North and East while being part of Sri Lanka is majority Tamil Speaking. It would have been ideal if His Excellency would have had a holistic attitude toward the Island keeping in mind the necessity to view the problems of the periphery from the stand point of subsidiarity. Sadly this is a glaring shortcoming in his Excellency’s Policy Statement.

Nevertheless let me refer to some of the salient features of the Policy Statement which we agree with, since they form the substratum of the policies of the Tamizh Makkal Thesya Kootani which I represent today.

Let me refer to them –

1. The statement says the prime responsibility of the People’s Representatives is to serve the public.  I am glad that His Excellency considers our positions as responsibilities and not privileges. That is our view too.

2. We are in total agreement with him in saying “our duty and responsibility is not to distribute job opportunities but to generate them”. Generation of job opportunities is the need of the hour.

3. We agree that our basic aim should be to strengthen the local economy and to increase export income. But on our part we believe strengthening of the local economy should be viewed from the subsidiarity point of view. The Tamil Speaking areas should be able to strengthen their economy from their perspectives as conditioned by their tradition, heritage, needs and ethos. We should not clamp outside values and methods on the local population.

4. We agree that we should assist local entrepreneurs to use modern technology for value addition, to encourage innovation and to explore new market opportunities in a creative manner.

5. We agree the production of toxin free foods and ensuring total organic farming in Sri Lanka is an urgent necessity. I remember Madam Chandrika’s vision in this regard when I met her in 1994 or there about, to provide toxin free vegetables and fruits to consumers in Urban areas at an increased price. I am not sure her vision materialized.

6. Modernisation of fisheries harbors to provide facilities for multi day fishing boats that fish in deep sea is to be welcomed. But again the principle of subsidiarity must be followed providing facilities for those in the local areas to participate in such processes. If fishermen were to come from outside the Northern and Eastern provinces to benefit by these processes it would affect the livelihood of the fishermen of the local areas. Hence modernisation and strengthening of the fisheries sector must consider local needs and conditions.

7. New technology to develop inland fresh water fisheries industry is to be welcomed. We desire de-silting of tanks in our Northern areas. Some tanks could be fitted with solar panels installed on their surfaces to produce electricity.

8. We welcome State Ministers being given monetary provisions required to implement development projects and financial responsibilities directly being placed with them. This in effect is a principle of subsidiarity.

9. We fully agree with the steps to be taken to completely eradicate waste and corruption in all Ministries and institutions.

10. We agree that Members of Parliament must visit their constituencies to understand People’s issues and find solution to them.

Let me now come to our reservations.

1. His Excellency says he will not violate the trust placed on him by his voters. That is an admirable sentiment. But while carrying out his responsibilities he must be aware of the checks and balances placed on him by Law and social expectations. Legally, let me point out an example of a constraining factor. When His Excellency brings an end to the existing constitution he must realize the 13th Amendment therein was inserted under an Agreement reached with another  Sovereign Country at that time representing the interests of an important section of our citizenry. Hence that Country viz. India, must be a party to any attempt to delete the 13th Amendment inserted consequent to an International Agreement. He cannot put away the 13th Amendment arbitrarily however feeble in content it may be vis a vis our people of the North and East.

2. Next His Excellency says he represents the aspirations of the majority. Does that mean he would take into account the aspirations of the majority of the North and East viz. the Tamil speaking people in dealing with our matters and affairs?  Otherwise it would amount to arbitrary hegemony of the majority of the country over the majority of the North and East,  ###

3. Next His Excellency speaks of preserving the archaeological remains  in  various parts of this Island. Would His Excellency let us know if he is aware of the existence of  Demala Baudayos or Buddhist Tamils at a certain period of our history? If so would his Presidential Task Force make mention that those archeological remains found in the North and East are of the period when Demala Baudayos  lived in those areas? Otherwise a wrong perception would emerge that those  Buddhist areas were Sinhala Buddhist.

4. Next His Excellency is interested in securing the lives of our Citizens. That is an admirable sentiment. But any attempt to arbitrarily target minorities to show them as anti -social elements under the cover of security would prove counter-productive.

5. His Excellency’s attempts to encourage our journey towards a self -reliant economy are appreciated and welcomed. But if such attempts were to debilitate certain weaker sections of our Community, then they must be investigated and any imbalance must be corrected.

6. With regard to deeds being not available to our people in respect of the lands they occupy, the reasons must be investigated impartially and corrective steps taken as found necessary  in terms of the Law.

7. Regarding preventive fences against elephants so far constructed, such fences have not helped to solve the problem. There is an innovation recently introduced which should be considered in earnest, where hanging fences are used  instead of fences constructed on Land.   

8. Next a process to desalinate sea water at cheap rates might be considered for villages affected by shortage of water. Such small scale desalination plants are used by Israel and India successfully.

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