Comments on: TAMIL NADU, THE INDIAN MODEL AND DEVOLUTION

By: aadhavan

aadhavan — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:54:57 +0000

That is absolute rubbish. Pure unadulterated politically illiterate garbage. If you want to contest this, state your case.

By: Vichara

Vichara — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:13:41 +0000

13th Amendment goes beyond the powers enjoyed by an Indian State. Please read the three part article titled “13th Amendment is Indian Constitution Plus” which was carried in the Island News Paper, starting from Saturday the 8th.

By: dayan jayatilleka

dayan jayatilleka — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:05:36 +0000

let’s get off this sinhala-tamil kick for a while. the perils of excessive provincial/ regional autonomy are on full view of the world in the form of the current events in Bolivia.

so, from a strictly political science perspective (reinforced by my exerience with the vardarajah perumeal adminstration) i oppose tokenistic devolution as well as excessive devolution.

let’s stick to — and push for — the full implementation of “13”.

By: nathan

nathan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:18:04 +0000

The great fear of the sinhalese is that if tamils are allowed to manage their own affairs, especially in education and finance, they will progress far beyond the sinhalese and achieve prosperity long before them.
This will happen as tamils are disciplined, hardworking, incorruptible and consider education as most important in their lives. These traits along with honesty and trustworthyness are why the english colonial rulers entrusted many of them with tasks in their governance.
After 1948, the canard was spread that tamils were “favoured” by the english rulers.
When disproportionate numbers of tamils qualified for and passed out of, university during Sirimavo’s Regime a hue and cry arose that tamil dons favoured tamil students ! The infamous “mediawise standardisation” was thrust on tamils. This along with “sinhala only” and periodical attacks on tamil citizens, strengthened tamils’ cry for separation.
The british “favoured” the sinhalse too – by entrusting them with supplying their troops with beef and other logistcs and rewarded them with titles and vast tracts of land.
Hence full devolution under the 13th Amendment will never be granted by any sinhala dominated state.
What is happening in the “liberated east” is a military government run by paramilitaries of the TMVP, EPDP and the STF with Pillayan as the figurehead
The same happens in the north with Devananda as the figurehead.
Noone dares to complain about anything.

By: dayan jayatilleka

dayan jayatilleka — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:59:31 +0000

why bother with all this speculation when the answers are already on this website, in the form of the centre for irish studies’ opinion poll, and the director’s own reading of the results?

By: Ekcol

Ekcol — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:58:12 +0000

Nihal Pathirana,
Can you suggest a solution that you think the two warring communities will accept? Please do not suggest the same solution that Dayan and others have suggested that either one or both communities have already rejected. Why can’t the two communities govern themselves and lay the foundation for cooperation, peaceful coexistence and work slowly towards a unity in the near future?
Ethir

By: nihal pathirana

nihal pathirana — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:06:43 +0000

Sam its silly to say why cant the Srilankan goverment ask the UN to call for a referandum in the NE surely your Tamil diaspora could convence and do it with your powerful lobby in the UN
Sam i understand you live in sydney enjoying the hospitality of the Australian goverment and getting a good education for your children due to unfortunate event in 1983 which you all had to leave Srlanka for foreign countries, which all polliticians of Tamils and Sinhalese have to take the blame for spitting communal venom for political gains. I do not think your second generation of your people living in foreign would ever go to Tamil eelam and work with their foreign accent under Prabhakren. The innocent tamil children in the north of srilanka who has never gone to school being used as cannon fodder, where as children of tamil diaspora enjoying going to foreign schools and universities dying daily for Eelam which is only a dream.The tamil girls used as suicide bombers its like destroying your future generation.

Why i say Annandasagaree now belives Eelam is not acheivable , the day that LTTE assasinated Shri Rajive Ghandhi the greatest son of India, when his body was in flames he knew the corpse of Eelam too went with the same flames.
Well the International community earlier had sympathy soon after 1983,all that is lost now, for killing innocent pilgrims at Anuradhapura bombing secred tooth relic in kandy,massurcering innocent civilians and mothers and babies, while sleeping in their villages during nights,killing buddhist priests at Arantalawa, the international community fully aware its the Tamil tigers who are responsible. The Eropean Union branded LTTE as trrrorist organisation after killing the oxford educated Kadragammer who is a Tamil respected by presidents and priministers of all over the world.The IC knows the tiger do human smuggling,drug trafficing arms dealings, fraudsters of credit card all over the world, and are languishing in jails today.please refer Dr Ranjan hoole adress to the Tamil diaspora in canada which i quoted from Srlanka Guardian 19/08/08.
Iam quite happy that atleast Kauna, Pillayan who is responsible for many murders in the east now have embraced democracy, as they know that terrorism is not accepted in a civilised society to achieve goals.

Sam your Eelam is only a dream , for your informationthere will be many sovereign states in india if call for referandums and plebicites, read Dr. Ranjan Hoole s adress to the Canadian Tamils, he is a interlectual man go for some settlement that is acceptable to tamils muslims and sinhalese so that all can live together Tamils are my friends we lived togther in Batticalo for many years at Bar road which i cannot forget.

By: Ekcol

Ekcol — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:50:57 +0000

Wijaepala,
Am Amb Blake may think 95 percent of Tamils may accept such a solution, but that is Am propaganda and no one pays attention to it. But when well informed person like you say Tamils will accept any solution under a unitary state I have to assume that there is no solution in sight. Tamils know from recent history that Sri Lanka is no UK or Spain. Sinhala Sri Lanka policies, democratic or otherwise suit it, but it has no conception of what is it to consider the Tamil community as equals and share power.

I am surprised that you still use the term minorities to denote a community of people. Tamils are not anybody’s minority. Nor are Sinhala a minority language in Asia. A language is a language, so are communities irrespective of their numbers. It is best, in discussion of ethnic conflict, to let the term “minority” to voting in parliaments or any other group meetings where those who lost have less votes than who won.

The concept of devolution of powers assume that, in the case of Sri lanka, the powers are visted in the Sinhala majority that forms the gosl. “Sharing of Powers” is a better term because it assumes sharing between equals. To me it is commonsense. I think many others have expressed these ideas elsewhere. I think Sanjana does not use the term minorities when he refers to the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

By: Sam Thambipillai

Sam Thambipillai — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:29:16 +0000

Nihal

The problem with Sinhalese is they “buy out” Tamil politicos in position. If the South is sure that the Tamils do not want Tamil Eelam, why can’t the governemnt ask the UN to hold a referendum in the North East to see the popular demand of the people there ?

You know the answer. That is why you do not speak about it.

Karuna and Pillayan has categorically will have to say that they do not want Eelam because they are the mouth piece of Mahinda Rajapakse, who popped him from nowhere to power.

.They want the Colombo to decide what North East Tamils should get. Don’t you see a slave there !! He is not interested in rights of even his own people. He is only interested in pleasing the master !!!

You say that the ” TULF leader former Member of the parliament for Killinochchi is one of the signitary to the Vaddukkoddy convention has appealed to Prbhakren to to give up this unachievable dream of Ellam”

If he did not believe in Tamil Eelam why did he sign it in the first instance ? Is he not a real fake ? It is such fakes that have made Tamils to be more slaves and the Sinhalese to be very oppressive. The problem has deteriorated to this level because of such fake politicos.

He is not the “leader of TULF” per se. He is a rebel who holds that position because of the “judiciary” of the goverenment. If he does not say it he will fail to make the Tamils to be more slaves.

Starngely, you see only few rebels who support your views. I repeat again let us ask for a referendum in the North East to see what the people want. Pillayan, Karuna and Sangaree are not the only persons living in the North East.

The East is yet to be liberated. It is in the hands of a prar military. North East will be liberated only when people there start to rule themselves under a sovereign Tamil Eelam. As I said earlier, let us wait and see what would happen.

By: wijayapala

wijayapala — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:14:45 +0000

Ekcol,

“Seriously, can you propose something, in or out of the box, that is reasonable which the Tamils and Sinhala will agree on???”

Perhaps.

The Sinhalese ideally want no devolution, because for them devolution adds another layer of useless politicians who waste precious resources. The Tamils want devolution for their areas, but they have not thought out very well what form it should take (which is one reason among many why there are stuck with the LTTE).

What is needed is a flexible model of devolution that will give devolution to ***only those areas which desire it.*** To my knowledge there are two countries that have followed this concept- UK and Spain. Both are unitary states which pursued devolution to meet minorities’ needs. In my view Spain’s example has the most to offer SL.