[TamilNet, Friday, 05 August 2011, 11:54 GMT]Rejecting outright the demands of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a typical Sinhala hegemonic manner, the militaristic government of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday said that the demands set out in the TNA’s ultimatum for future talks have reflected the attitude of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
According to a statement from United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) parliamentarian Sajin Vas De Gunawardane, the Rajapaksa regime is now set to embark on the process of Parliament Select Committee (PSC), unable to carry on with its never ending deceptive effort to drag the time on in the name of holding political dialogue with the Tamil representatives on the non-existing devolution plan.
At a time when the Tamil political circles were sceptically pondering the motives behind the talks between the government and the TNA, a section of the TNA on the “supreme advice” of the Indian bureaucracy, held ten rounds of talks with the government since January 2011 aiming to reach what it called an “acceptable political solution” despite very negative ground realities. Full story >>
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SRI LANKA: Elections to Local Bodies – An Indian Perspective
05-Aug-2011 Guest Column by V. Suryanarayan and Ashik Bonofer
The results of elections to local bodies, held on March 17, 2011 and July 23, 2011 and subsequent comments made by Sinhalese and Tamil leaders clearly indicate that the ethnic divide in Sri Lanka is getting sharpened. Two years after the decimation of the Tigers the Government is determined to impose a solution which reflects the will of the Sinhala majority. There is no attempt to win the hearts and minds of the Tamils by convincing them that they are equal stake holders in the present and future of Sri Lanka.
Basil Rajapaksa’s comment is an illustration of heightened Sinhala chauvinism. Asked for his comments on the TNA winning majority of local bodies in the Tamil areas and the necessity to devolve powers, Basil Rajapaksa brushed it aside and said, “The President has a bigger mandate not to give those powers”. He added “they are talking of the mandate, how about ours, one accepted by a larger majority in the country?” On the other hand, speaking recently in Chennai Suresh Premachandran, the TNA Member of Parliament asserted that the electoral verdict is a vindication of the party’s stance. The Tamils should not be treated as a minority, but as an ethnic group whose cultural identity should be fostered and promoted. Premachandran maintained that the massive mandate was an endorsement of the Party’s demands for speedy rehabilitation of the internally displaced people, rapid development of the war ravaged economy and substantial devolution of powers to the north and the east. Full Story>>>