Wimal decries TNA’ call for exclusive land rights in North
National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and housing minister Wimal Weerawansa said that the Tamils couldn’t have the exclusive right for land in the Northern Province.
Addressing a public gathering at Daminnagahawatte, Katana following the launch of ‘Janasevana’ housing project, Minister Weerawansa emphasized that the ongoing campaign by Tamil politicians to pressure the government over the land issue wasn’t fair, therefore it was not acceptable.
Tamils live in the Western Province. The recently concluded LG poll for the CMC highlighted the fact that the Sinhalese were a minority within the city limits. Those demanding the Northern Province for the Tamils had conveniently ignored that the Sinhalese never objected to being outnumbered in the city, the MP said.
An irate Weerawansa urged Tamil political parties and groups not to look at the issue through what he called ethnic eyes. The bottom line was that the government couldn’t adopt a land policy based on ethnic lines whatever the Tamil politicians said.
MP Weerawansa criticized the TNA, TELO, PLOTE and EPRLF for launching a protest in Vavuniya over the land issue. In spite of the LTTE being defeated over two years ago there were those who still pursue Prabhakaran’s eelam dream, he said. Nothing could be as reckless as the effort to provoke Tamil speaking people living in the
Northern and Eastern Provinces, he said. Those seeking to undermine post-war recovery process were now working overtime to cause chaos, the minister alleged.
The NFF leader urged the people to be cautious in the wake of the ongoing sordid operation to trigger fresh ethnic hostilities.
MP Weerawansa paid a glowing tribute to slain SLFP heavyweight Jeyaraj Fernandopulle. Jeyaraj had the talent to counter the Opposition in and out of parliament, the minister said adding that the assassination deprived the country of Jeyaraj’s services. Had Jeyaraj been alive, he could have played a crucial role in the post-war era.
Tamil political parties want India to pressure the government over the land issue. V. Anadasangaree, D. Siddharthaa and T. Sritharan representing the TULF, PLOTE and EPRLF (Pathmanaba faction) respectively met on Oct. 10 Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai at the India House to discuss what a spokesperson called urgent and important matters in the present context.
Alleging that the move to re-register land was unjustifiable, they said the government’s action caused suspicion among the people. They also expressed concern about taking over of 8,000 acres for the proposed Sampoor coal-power plant. They alleged that the government was planning to utilize a section of the land to set up a settlement. They urged India to intervene on behalf of some 1,400 families denied of their land due to the coal-fired project spearheaded by India.
They also opposed the creation of a new Divisional Secretary’s Division in Mullaitivu, alleging the government was planning to accommodate outsiders in the area.
Courtesy: The Island
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The seeds of separation were sown 60 years ago and have been pursued relentlessly by leaders through consistent settlement of aliens in traditional lands belonging to indigenous peoples.
Hon WW as a leader of the JVP gave unconditional support for the genocidal war that culminated in mass genocide Jan-May 2009.
The World is now opening its eyes to this behaviour and atrocities and hopefully shall resolve this issue towards lasting finality.
DC, the diaspora Tamil/LTTE voice is expressing the same hackneyed cry of separatism. Majority Tamils do not subscribe to this extremist, racist view. They are fed up of TNA leadership who are agitating for another LTTE uprisin, hoping for US-British-NATO intervention this time, in the manner they invaded Libya. We do not have oil, fortunately at the moment. So they are not going to intervene. Their economies are struggling. I hope Russian and Chinese combined stregth will give the imperial West their come-uppance.
SL is one nation, one country. Sinhalese, Tamils and other minorities are all Sri Lankans. Any Sri Lankan can settle anywhere in SL. There are no no-go areas. Tamil radicalists/separatists can express their radical view but we decry them.
They claim Sinhalese and Muslims are ‘colonising’ Jaffna. They claim these ‘colonists’ are ‘aliens’ and not welcome. They make such ridiculous claims because of their radical view that the North is a separate country, exclusively for the Tamils.
There are more Tamils in the South than in the North and East togther. But we, Sinhalese, do not call for them to be driven back to where they came from, as refugees from the separatist LTTE terrorist wars. This is because SL is one country, one nation. We follow a policy of amity and unity.
Since the seventies, Tamils and Muslims drifted into Colombo in small groups, driven from the North and East. It was a planned move by the Tamil extremists, to re-settle them in Colombo and the suburbs. Today, the Tamils and the Muslims in Colombo outnumber the Sinhalese, who have moved out of Colombo through intolerance of living with Tamils and Muslims who are radicalists, for fear of their lives. UNP, especially, aided and abbetted in this plan for ‘colonising’ Colombo with Tamils and Muslims from the North and East, for cheap political gain. I have borrowed the word ‘colonising’ from the TNA lexicon, to hit back at them.
One such place that has been ‘colonised’ is the Buddhist temple lands of Abhayasinharamaya, in Maradana. My ancestor, who was Mahamudaliyar of Colombo and the Sabaragamuva Provinces in the Dutch era in 18th C donated this land and built the Buddhist temple. However, UNP and Muslim Mayor of Colombo conspired together to grab some of the Tample land and establish a Muslim ‘colony’, in the eighties. They have done so in other areas as well, in and around Colombo. They thereby ensured the Muslim/Tamil votes blindly at general and local elections for the UNP candidates. This is to be decried because they robbed the Buddhist Temple of its lands. These ‘colonists’/refugees should be made to return to the North or East, wherever they came from, because they have no right to occupy forcefully a Buddhist temple land. I will not object if these peole had occupied government land. In like manner Tamils should not object if Sinhalese were to migrate to the North or East and re-settle to pursue a farm life or whatever they want.
good one nicho,
Nicholas you are right any one shoud be able to live any where they wish to live and the government should not give in to these stupid ideas coming from the dreamers who stil think sri Lnka is going to be devided.
Dear Sir, Mr. Wimal Weerawansa is correct.
We sinhalese wait till all land occupied by tamils and muslims,ONLY majority Sinhalese have no land to buy & build even a small house, Sinhalese face immense difficulties even NOW.
This land beongs to ALL Sri Lankans, as General Fonseka said aafter defeating LTTE, you are a minority & we ALLOW you to live in peace with us.
DO Not ask unnecessary demands, because we have allowed Tamils who number around 5% or less(NOW) demanding EQUAL language rights,when the majority populaton is diminishing day by day. THIS IS NOT RACIL or anti minority IT IS PRO SINHALESE & PRO SRI LANKAN.
Even when we got Independence tamils were around 12 % according to some publications. Yet they managed to get equality, WHERE In the world such luxury is afforded to a MINORITY.
Even if we look at Canada, minority FRENCH being a founding Community of Canada, got only very few in the way of equality. British rejected the WHOLE automatic Citizenship to people lived in the country for 5 years.
According to then Prime Minister Mrs.Margaret Tatcher, she said giving citizenships ALL new comers, will make the Britain a NON – ENGLISH country.
WAKE UP Sri Lanka FIGHT for your Motherland. Sinhalese have ONLY one country to live, where as Tamils have Tamil Nadu, MUSLIMS have many Muslim countries for then settle in.
As such we MUST preserve our CULTURE, HERITAGE & BUDDHA given rights to prosper as a Sinhala Buddhist Nation.
Thanks for the opportunty to comment on this article.
Gamunu Alahakkone.(Retired Engineer – Canada)