Why Are The Tamils Of The North & East Wanting To Live Separately From The Sinhalese?

By C.V. Wigneswaran –

Someone has asked me; I heard your interview  given to Iraj in Sinhalese. Why are the Tamils of the North and East wanting to live separately from the Sinhalese? If you are not asking for separation what prevents you from living under a unitary constitution?

My response was; Good question! I think it is necessary for me to explain the different legal concepts. A unitary state is a state governed as a single entity in which the Central Government is the supreme authority. Normally in a mono-ethnic Country such a Constitution would be alright.But in a multi-ethnic country like Sri Lanka it would create serious problems. For example the Central Government may create (or abolish) sub-national units for administrative purposes.What that means is due to an area being a sub national unit consisting of another ethnic, linguistic or religious group different to the group holding powers in the Centre it may be necessary to allow administratioon in that area to be carried out by the local people there.Such units exercise only the powers that the Central Government chooses to delegate. Such delegation is called decentralisation. 

Although political power too may be delegated to the Regional or Provincial governments by innovations like the Thirteenth Amendment, the Central Government could abrogate the acts of such Regional or Provincial governments or curtail (or expand) their powers.That is what happened to us when we ran the Northern Provincial Council.We were not allowed to function in a way beneficial to us. The Central Government at all stages poked its nose into our affairs and would not allow even the Chief Minister’s Fund.

A unitary system of government can be considered to be the opposite of federalism.  In federations, the Provincial/Regional governments share powers with the Central Government as equal partners/actors through a written constitution, to which the consent of both is required to make amendments. This means that the sub-national units have a right to existence and to powers that cannot be unilaterally withdrawn or changed by the Central Government.

The Provincial Councils under the Thirteenth Amendment under our Unitary Constitution does not share powers with the Central Government. The Central Government could unilaterally change their powers and authority. In fact the land powers and police powers granted under the original Thirteenth amendment, the outcome of an agreement between two sovereign countries, were not allowed to be used by the Provinces by the Central Government.  For local technical reasons the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka demerged the North and East, despite the 1987 International Accord which had been signed by two sovereign countries.

Unitary Constitution gives extensive powers to the majority community by virtue of the greater number elected to the Country’s Legislature. Thus the majority community could dictate terms to the sub national units. And that is what is happening presently. The Sinhalese rule the Country including the majority Tamil speaking areas. If the Sinhalese as promised by DS Senanayake to the Soulbury Commissioners looked after the Tamils as their brothers we would not have asked for Federalism. It may have been possible to have had a fully devolved government within a Unitary State. But the Sinhalese let down the Tamils soon after so called Independence. First they stripped the Upcountry Tamils of their voting rights and made a million of them Stateless. Then they made Sinhala sole State language and forced the Tamil Government Officers to retire or leave the Country. When the Tamils pointed out that the North and East have always been Tamil – speaking and the Sinhalese had never lived there in large numbers and the acts by the Central Government amounted to aggression, the Army was sent in 1961 or so to the North and East and they continue to be there until today.  

The standardisation in higher education was brought in, mostly to deprieve our studious Tamil students a higher education.Our lands in the North and East were colonised through the Gal Oya Scheme first and The Mahaweli Scheme next. Under the pretext of bringing water from the Mahaweli to the North, lots of colonisation schemes were started to bring in people from the South to gain residence in the North and East. Up to date not a drop of Mahaweli water has come to the North and it will never come according to our Engineers. It is not feasible. 

The International Law says when attempting Colonisation Schemes the people of the area must be given priority to be selected as Colonists. Instead of a Divisional or District wise or Provincial Ratio, on a National Ratio people were selected and Sinhalese were brought in to be colonists in the traditional Tamil speaking areas. Even the National Ratio was not followed in the case of non Sinhalese. At least 25% should have gone to the minorities on a National Ratio. Even that was not done. But the North and East are predominantly majority Tamil speaking areas. The purpose of bringing in the Sinhala Colonists and many of them IRCs (Island’s Reconvicted Criminals) was to change the demography of the North and East and ultimately make both Provinces majority Sinhala speaking. This amounts to genocide. That is what is happening now in the North and East.

The Tamils do not want to live separately from the Sinhalese as you say.They already occupy separate areas which are traditionally Tamil speaking amidst a Country which is majority Sinhala speaking. But the Tamil speaking are the majority in their traditional areas from time immemorial or  from pre historic times. They want to protect themselves. If the Unitary Constitution as it stands today is continued, the Tamil speaking will cease to be the majority in their traditional areas. The Colonisation will continue, the Sinhalisation will continue, the Buddhistisation will continue, the land grabbing by Departments will continue, the Militarisation will continue, the expropriation of our natural resources will continue and the aggression taking place in our  fishing waters with the help of the Military to deprive our fishermen of their livelihood in their traditional fishing areas  will continue. And in time like the Burghers the Tamils would be a bygone community. Sri Lanka would become a Sinhala Hindu Country! Because while chasing out the Tamils from their areas of residence the Sinhalese are following mostly Hindu forms of worship and rituals! I hardly see a Buddhistic culture among the vast majority of the Sinhalese.

We in the North and East after the War, now live under the boot of the Military. Almost 14 years have passed since the end of the war.My grand daughter born on the day before the end of the war would celebrate her 14^th birthday in May this year! Even if she becomes a major there appears to be no chance of the Military leaving the North and East.

If we cease to live under a Unitary Constitution we could put an end to all these hazzles. We could stop colonisation from outside the Provinces.We could stop Sinhalisation and Buddhistisation and concentrate on improving the local language and religions. We could stop the land grabbing taking place now in a big way by various Central Departments. Militarisation will cease.That means Tourist hotels, Restaurants, Shops, Tea Kiosks now run by the Military or their proxies would revert back to the locals.  What is needed for our security would only be decided by us and not by the Sinhalese majority at the Centre. We would stop the expropriation of our assets and resources by outsiders if we are given the right of self determination in our traditional areas. We could allow our fishermen to continue their traditional livelihoods unrestricted and unhampered by outsiders. We would not be forced to live under a Militarily overlooked area. If the North and East need freedom from Sinhala aggression, Sinhala overlordship, Sinhala interference and Sinhala hegemonism we need to step out of the Unitary Constitution and have a Federal or Confederal Constitution. A Unitary Constitution will ultimately destroy our existence.

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