NPC: Path of Violence and War is too Costly
[Full Text of Press Release by national peace Council of Sri Lanka]
The assassination of Minister of Highways and Road Development, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and the killing of 14 others including some of the country’s athletic stars, and the injuring of over 80 others by a suicide bomb attack at a new year Marathon race adds to the long list of political leaders and civilians whose lives have been cruelly taken due to the long unresolved ethnic conflict. The National Peace Council condemns this bombing which is suspected to be by the LTTE. Targeting of civilian events for violence is reprehensible.
Minister Fernandopulle belonged to both a religious and ethnic minority and could have played a greater role in rebuilding relations between
the ethnic communities and the warring parties. Instead he was a proponent of the government’s strategy of military confrontation with the LTTE which claimed his life. At the same time he assisted civil society groups such as ours when it fell within his domain of authority despite our critical stances.
Minister Fernandopulle was one of the government’s key speakers, and his absence will be felt at the forthcoming Eastern Provincial elections where
he would have played an important role. We urge the government to ensure that all high risk candidates at these elections, including leader of the
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Rauf Hakeem whose security is being sought to be reduced, should be provided with additional security.
Once again we urge the government to reconsider its strategy of violence and war towards the resolution of the ethnic conflict. The loss of life and the disruption to the life of the people make it clear that the path of violence and war is too costly for any democratic society to bear. We also urge the LTTE to make it known in a convincing manner that they will be ready to respond positively to political initiatives, instead of persisting in their campaign of violence and war.
Executive Director
on behalf of Governing Council
M.Thiru said,
April 10, 2008 @ 7:42 am
Unfortunately this ( state terror against ‘ ahimsa struggle ‘ and against ‘Sinhalese youths ,and later both state terror & war against the Tamil youth who rebelled ) has been the stance of every successive governments since 1956. In the early days LSSP and CP was hammering economy is the issue but they also jouned the governments and never solve the economic & political problem.
As a sort of motherhood statement NPC press release is good. Will NPC able to change the mindset of the Sinhalanation a.k.a GOSL to table a political solution through a third party like UN, EU, India or China so that it is properly legitimaised?
MR regime wants winner takes it all out come and are continuing with the war by allying with which ever countries supports them to win the war. Tamils are left with no choice but to enhance their unity to fight with the help of global powers who are for real devolution of power through UN intervention.
S Rasalingam said,
April 10, 2008 @ 11:52 am
I am amazed at this letter of the” executive director of the National Peace council (EDNPC) “. We HAD a respected minrotiy leader who had attempted to bridge the gap between the ethinc divide in Mr Jeyraj FernandoPulle.
HE HAS BEEN MURDERED BY THE LTTE MAFIA.
This is what LTTE agents have been doing since Black July 13 !975 when they killed Duriappah.. Before that they kiilled smaller fly. They Killed Kadirgamar and many others while a ceace-fire was on.
So what concrete steps are evisaged by the “Executive director ” of the NPC?
Send the security forces to the Barraks and go to Killinochchi? And will the LTTE leader hold talks?
How come the leader of Killinochchi has even refused to talk to the Japanese envoy Akashi?
How come all peace negociation agreements are renaged by this secret leader? Every time some one attempts to bridge the gap, be it Neelan Thiruchelvam or Rajeev Gandhi, they get assassinated?
Mr. Executive Director, I see that you are another one of the many obstructors of peace in Sri Lanka, who do NOT understant the plight of the Tamil minorities. Perhaps you are a secret sinhalese chuvinist, happy that the Tamils have been kept trampled for 30 years by a psychopathic megalomanic who has killed more tamils than all the Sinhala Generals and commanders put together.
While the sinhala areas are developing with record growth rates, the Tamil areas have NO VOICE, cannoit change their leadershpi, exercise basic rights, because Tamils are prevented from having any political activity other than hose dictated by the LTTE. The so called “Self-determination for the tamils” has been replaced by rigid conformism to LTTE dicta or suicide.
This “executive director” is craftily executing the continued subjugation of the Tamils, and NOT calling for the absolutely needed iradication of the MAFIA LEADER who is holding the Tamils to ransom. The cancer cells must be targeted if the healthy cells are to thrive.
The “executive director” and his agents are indrectly responsible for the execution of countless tamil children who are abducted and trained to become child soldiers, only to be sacrificed into the killing machine of the LTTE MAFIA.
An alternative Tamil leadership, perhaps built around new people like Thondaman Jr, Mano Ganesan, Piliyan, Douglas Devanathan, even older people like Ananadasnagaree and others, have to come into being. Such a group can CUT OUT the racist politics started by the Colombo Tamils (G.G.Ponna, S.J.V Chelva), and attempt to bridge the gap of understanding and amity between the two communities. This involves the REJECTION of the Colombo-7 Tamil concept of two nations advocated by the Tamil Arasuk Kadchchi right from 1948 and expressed in Vadukkoddei and Thimpu. It requires going back to the “Ceylonese” (or Sri Lankan) concept of D. S. Senanayake, Arunachalam Mahadeva and others, that Chelvanayakam worked so hard to destroy.
These absantee land lords of the North, living in Colombo, wanted to protect their real estate at the expense of the “low-catste” Tamils who lived in thier real estate.
People like Thondaman Jr. have NOT inherited the racist myths built up by SJVChelva, EMVNaga and others who took the Tamils on a confrontational path of NO RETRUN. Thonda Jr. has successfully and diplomatically solved the internal political strife in his own estate-Tamil community way beyond what his father could do. He has good relations with the Sinhala Leaders of all parties. Perhaps the estate tamil leader can aspire to be a statesman who can see beyond his own group and take up the cause of the upcounrty sinhalese? The cause of the nothern Tamils? Me be young Thondaman can become a national statesman and not just an ethnic leader?
People like Jeyraj Fernandopulle, NOT copnnected with th the Colombo-7 vellalar Tamils, stood in that tradition of Tambimuttu of Batticale, Senanayake and others, although he was probabaly too young to have known about the confrontational politics of the 1940s that were launched by the Colombo-7 Tamil leaders.
The “peace council” and its executionists are masked individuals, who are ensuring the distruction of the ethnic minority.
Who funds this “peace council”?
Is it an arm of the TNA?
Sebastian Rasalingam
Devinda Fernando said,
April 10, 2008 @ 5:41 pm
Jeyaraj was a True Patriot and a Son of Sri Lanka. His death emphasizes the Increasing Necessity to once and for all Wipe these BLOODY TERRORIST MONKEYS off the Planet. There is no comprimise, no bowing to these cowards who detonate explosives killing athletes and bystanders and on buses full of women and children. Wipe them Out, All of them!
“KILL THEM ALL AND LET GOD SORT THEM OUT”
Anyone who so much as utters a word of support for the LTTE are now Enemies of the State. We must strengthen our resolve, not come out making comments like this Turn-Tail author says above. The LTTE chose violence, if you think we’re going to cave to their Terrorism then you are sadly mistaken. Minister Fernandopulle’s death strengthens the resolve of the Sri Lankan people against these Scumbag Terrorists.
and Rauf Hakeem is a Waste of space. He deserves NO Security from the government, he is no longer an MP – let him pay for it himself, I’m sure he’s got enough money from Milking the Muslim Masses of his district while simultaneously achieving them nothing for all these years. Communalists like him deserve to get taken out.
selva said,
April 10, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
Will this suside attack bring Eelam to the Tamils. This movement is run and backed by most stupid group of Tamils. Always when a sympathy gather in the West and when they are trying to take some steps to press the Government to solve the problem they will do a suside attack and make them to forget about it for years. Then Kilinochi will complain their supporters living abroad are not doing enough propaganda. They don’t realize after killing so many civilians just to kill one person, if the foreign living Tamils go on campaining in public places the people passing by won’t spit on their faces. IRA did attack like this but that brought the government to the negotiating table. LTTE cannot say they too are trying to bring them to the Table because so many times they went for negotiation and they never talked about devolution. Anyway Pirabaharan is very interlligent because he knows how to brain wash the people and keep them behind him.