‘Govt. not keen on devolving power’
– Premachandran
TNA stalwart Suresh Prema-chandran questions the rationale in joining the Parliament Select Committee (PSC), ‘when the president and his siblings are speaking out against power sharing.’
Premachandran, a member of the seven-member TNA delegation that visited India last week says that the TNA did not agree to attend the PSC appointed by the president to explore a political solution. Speaking to LAKBIMAnEWS, he insisted that there should be an agreement between the TNA and the government on ‘substantial matters’ before the Tamil party joins the PSC.
– Premachandran
By Ranga Jayasuriya-Sunday 21 October 2012
TNA stalwart Suresh Prema-chandran questions the rationale in joining the Parliament Select Committee (PSC), ‘when the president and his siblings are speaking out against power sharing.’ Premachandran, a member of the seven-member TNA delegation that visited India last week says that the TNA did not agree to attend the PSC appointed by the president to explore a political solution. Speaking to LAKBIMAnEWS, he insisted that there should be an agreement between the TNA and the government on ‘substantial matters’ before the Tamil party joins the PSC.
Excerpt:
The TNA has agreed to take part in the Parliament Select Committee. Is that right? It was reported in the Indian media.
No, we did not agree. That is not reported in the media...not even in the Indian media.
No? The Indian newspapers reported that you, the TNA, have agreed to consider joining the PSC...
No. Actually, we explained (to the Indians) about the Parliamentary Select Committee, the 18 rounds of talks that were held with the government and what happened to them. We also told the Indian prime minister that we are willing to attend the Parliamentary Select Committee, provided that there is an agreement between the TNA and the government on substantial matters. If there is an agreement on substantial matters, those matters can be taken before the Parliamentary Select Committee to get the support of the other political parties. That is the best way to find a solution. If there is no agreement between the TNA and the government, what would happen is that the government would have more seats in the PSC and we would only have three or four members and would be outnumbered; and the government is not going to accept anything we would propose. That is not a conducive situation. That is the answer given to the Indian prime Minister and he understood our position. He said we must find means so that the Tamil people would get their due share.
The Indian media reported that the TNA agreed to join the PSC provided that you won’t be cheated again.
Not being cheated again, in the sense that there is an agreement on substantial matters.
Substantial matters – what are they?
There are a number of issues to discuss. They may be land power, police power, financial powers, taxation, etc. Also, powers should be vested with the board of ministers of the provinces but at the moment powers are vested with the governor. These are some examples.
You referred to a bilateral agreement. Are you suggesting that this agreement be reached at the two party dialogue between the government and the TNA? Do you want these talks, which have been at a standstill to be resumed?
The president told Mr. Sampanthan that ‘we will continue with bilateral talks and whatever agreement we reached would be put before the PSC.’ But after sometime, the president is not willing to stick to his promise. If the president says he is willing to start bilateral talks, we don’t have any problem.
When did the president give that assurance to Mr. Sampanthan.
The president met Mr. Sampanthan two or three times and on each occasion, he told Mr. Sampanthan we have to go to the PSC and it would be the forum to discuss matters.
Mr. Sampanthan in turn, told him that there were issues that need to be addressed, such as bilateral talks. He (president) said ‘that is alright, bilateral talks can continue.’
From last January, bilateral talks stalled. If the president wanted to, he could have continued the bilateral dialogue. He is not willing to do it. Now, almost 10 months has passed. I think he is thinking the only place to solve those problems is the Parliamentary Select Committee.
You have submitted your proposals (on a political solution) to the government. What happened to them?
We have given a set of comprehensive proposals to the government delegation.
We have been expecting a response from the government. Until today, there is no response, at all, from the government.
What is the Indian position, as they informed you? Are they trying to get the government to resume bilateral talks with the TNA?
I don’t know whether they need bilateral talks. That is a different matter.
But India seems to be concerned about the whole thing. India is very worried about the government’s attitude, because the government of Sri Lanka has given so many promises to the Indian prime minister, foreign minister and other delegates.
But all this time they never kept those promises. So India is very worried about it.
One thing that was clear in our dialogue with the Indian side was that they want the Tamils in Sri Lanka to get their proper rights. For that purpose, the prime minister of India said, ‘we will be with you and you have justifiable grievances.’ In this context, India would take necessary action to have a proper settlement as far as the national question is concerned.
In order to attend the PSC, do you have preconditions? It is widely reported that the Indians have worked out a deal, under which the government would resume the bilateral dialogue with the TNA and the TNA would attend the PSC.
So far no request has been received from the government to restart the bilateral dialogue. If they start the bilateral talks, we will think about it.
Did the TNA meet any of the government ministers after your Indian visit?
No, not yet.
Are you planning to meet the president any time soon?
I don’t know. I did not discuss that matter with Mr. Sampanthan.
About the Northern Provincial Council. The TNA has gone to court over as to whether the governor’s verdict on the Divineguma bill could be tantamount to the will of the people, in the absence of elected members. Constitutionality of the matter apart, I understand that the TNA wants to have early elections in the Northern Province.
You can interpret the matter in your own way. But the governor is a government employee and is appointed by the president. He is not an elected representative. He cannot give his approval to a bill, which is against the provincial council system. That is our position.
About the provincial councils, we have this strange situation. The provincial councils were meant to devolve powers to minority dominated areas. Now, we have eight provincial councils, but not the one that is most wanted. During your deliberations with the government, has the TNA insisted that the Northern Provincial Council elections be held?
We have not insisted. But we know some countries such as the United States, India and civil society have demanded that the Northern Provincial Council elections be held. If the government can hold the Eastern Provincial Council election during the war and if they can dissolve the other provincial councils before their term expires to have new elections, I don’t know why they cannot hold Northern Provincial Council elections. Now, the government is saying that the electoral list is not in the proper order. That is not correct.
The government held the presidential election and parliamentary election in the North. And the election commissioner has the 2011 electoral list. In that situation, why does the government not have elections in the North? Because, they know that the TNA is going to win the election in the north and have power in the Northern Provincial Council. They don’t want that to happen. Even though the 13th Amendment is meant to devolve powers to the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils, the government still wants to control the Northern and Eastern Provinces and keep that under its control. Therefore, there is no point of talking about the 13th Amendment.
While we were talking to the government, the president was telling in other forums that: ‘I won’t give police powers, I won’t give land powers, etc.’ Then why did he send a delegation to talk to the TNA about power sharing?
Number two is that Basil Rajapaksa under the Divineguma bill has taken back powers given to the provincial councils. Now, another brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa says that the provincial councils be abolished. That is the clear attitude of President Rajapaksa and his siblings. They don’t want to devolve powers. They don’t want to share power with the Tamil people. So what’s the point of talking in the PSC?
If the president’s attitude is like that, you can understand the attitude of the government members he would appoint to the PSC. That is the problem. That is the basic problem.
At the end , there should be a solution to the ethnic question and one that is good for everybody. What do you think is a good starting point?
First, the government should have the right mindset. If they think that ‘we don’t want to share power with the Tamil people’ there is no point in talking. Also, there should be clarity among the president and his minister that they are ready to share power. Second, there should be willingness in the government to discuss matters with the elected representatives of the Tamil people. Then if they want to get the approval from the larger Sinhala community, we are willing to go to a Parliamentary Select Committee. But there is a way to do it.
The first and foremost question is whether the government is in a position to discuss with us about power sharing because the president and his siblings are speaking out against sharing powers. Therefore, we need a change in the mindset of the president and his siblings that they are ready to share power with the Tamil people. Only then we can discuss matters.
No, we did not agree. That is not reported in the media...not even in the Indian media.
No? The Indian newspapers reported that you, the TNA, have agreed to consider joining the PSC...
No. Actually, we explained (to the Indians) about the Parliamentary Select Committee, the 18 rounds of talks that were held with the government and what happened to them. We also told the Indian prime minister that we are willing to attend the Parliamentary Select Committee, provided that there is an agreement between the TNA and the government on substantial matters. If there is an agreement on substantial matters, those matters can be taken before the Parliamentary Select Committee to get the support of the other political parties. That is the best way to find a solution. If there is no agreement between the TNA and the government, what would happen is that the government would have more seats in the PSC and we would only have three or four members and would be outnumbered; and the government is not going to accept anything we would propose. That is not a conducive situation. That is the answer given to the Indian prime Minister and he understood our position. He said we must find means so that the Tamil people would get their due share.
The Indian media reported that the TNA agreed to join the PSC provided that you won’t be cheated again.
Not being cheated again, in the sense that there is an agreement on substantial matters.
Substantial matters – what are they?
There are a number of issues to discuss. They may be land power, police power, financial powers, taxation, etc. Also, powers should be vested with the board of ministers of the provinces but at the moment powers are vested with the governor. These are some examples.
You referred to a bilateral agreement. Are you suggesting that this agreement be reached at the two party dialogue between the government and the TNA? Do you want these talks, which have been at a standstill to be resumed?
The president told Mr. Sampanthan that ‘we will continue with bilateral talks and whatever agreement we reached would be put before the PSC.’ But after sometime, the president is not willing to stick to his promise. If the president says he is willing to start bilateral talks, we don’t have any problem.
When did the president give that assurance to Mr. Sampanthan.
The president met Mr. Sampanthan two or three times and on each occasion, he told Mr. Sampanthan we have to go to the PSC and it would be the forum to discuss matters.
Mr. Sampanthan in turn, told him that there were issues that need to be addressed, such as bilateral talks. He (president) said ‘that is alright, bilateral talks can continue.’
From last January, bilateral talks stalled. If the president wanted to, he could have continued the bilateral dialogue. He is not willing to do it. Now, almost 10 months has passed. I think he is thinking the only place to solve those problems is the Parliamentary Select Committee.
You have submitted your proposals (on a political solution) to the government. What happened to them?
We have given a set of comprehensive proposals to the government delegation.
We have been expecting a response from the government. Until today, there is no response, at all, from the government.
What is the Indian position, as they informed you? Are they trying to get the government to resume bilateral talks with the TNA?
I don’t know whether they need bilateral talks. That is a different matter.
But India seems to be concerned about the whole thing. India is very worried about the government’s attitude, because the government of Sri Lanka has given so many promises to the Indian prime minister, foreign minister and other delegates.
But all this time they never kept those promises. So India is very worried about it.
One thing that was clear in our dialogue with the Indian side was that they want the Tamils in Sri Lanka to get their proper rights. For that purpose, the prime minister of India said, ‘we will be with you and you have justifiable grievances.’ In this context, India would take necessary action to have a proper settlement as far as the national question is concerned.
In order to attend the PSC, do you have preconditions? It is widely reported that the Indians have worked out a deal, under which the government would resume the bilateral dialogue with the TNA and the TNA would attend the PSC.
So far no request has been received from the government to restart the bilateral dialogue. If they start the bilateral talks, we will think about it.
Did the TNA meet any of the government ministers after your Indian visit?
No, not yet.
Are you planning to meet the president any time soon?
I don’t know. I did not discuss that matter with Mr. Sampanthan.
About the Northern Provincial Council. The TNA has gone to court over as to whether the governor’s verdict on the Divineguma bill could be tantamount to the will of the people, in the absence of elected members. Constitutionality of the matter apart, I understand that the TNA wants to have early elections in the Northern Province.
You can interpret the matter in your own way. But the governor is a government employee and is appointed by the president. He is not an elected representative. He cannot give his approval to a bill, which is against the provincial council system. That is our position.
About the provincial councils, we have this strange situation. The provincial councils were meant to devolve powers to minority dominated areas. Now, we have eight provincial councils, but not the one that is most wanted. During your deliberations with the government, has the TNA insisted that the Northern Provincial Council elections be held?
We have not insisted. But we know some countries such as the United States, India and civil society have demanded that the Northern Provincial Council elections be held. If the government can hold the Eastern Provincial Council election during the war and if they can dissolve the other provincial councils before their term expires to have new elections, I don’t know why they cannot hold Northern Provincial Council elections. Now, the government is saying that the electoral list is not in the proper order. That is not correct.
The government held the presidential election and parliamentary election in the North. And the election commissioner has the 2011 electoral list. In that situation, why does the government not have elections in the North? Because, they know that the TNA is going to win the election in the north and have power in the Northern Provincial Council. They don’t want that to happen. Even though the 13th Amendment is meant to devolve powers to the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils, the government still wants to control the Northern and Eastern Provinces and keep that under its control. Therefore, there is no point of talking about the 13th Amendment.
While we were talking to the government, the president was telling in other forums that: ‘I won’t give police powers, I won’t give land powers, etc.’ Then why did he send a delegation to talk to the TNA about power sharing?
Number two is that Basil Rajapaksa under the Divineguma bill has taken back powers given to the provincial councils. Now, another brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa says that the provincial councils be abolished. That is the clear attitude of President Rajapaksa and his siblings. They don’t want to devolve powers. They don’t want to share power with the Tamil people. So what’s the point of talking in the PSC?
If the president’s attitude is like that, you can understand the attitude of the government members he would appoint to the PSC. That is the problem. That is the basic problem.
At the end , there should be a solution to the ethnic question and one that is good for everybody. What do you think is a good starting point?
First, the government should have the right mindset. If they think that ‘we don’t want to share power with the Tamil people’ there is no point in talking. Also, there should be clarity among the president and his minister that they are ready to share power. Second, there should be willingness in the government to discuss matters with the elected representatives of the Tamil people. Then if they want to get the approval from the larger Sinhala community, we are willing to go to a Parliamentary Select Committee. But there is a way to do it.
The first and foremost question is whether the government is in a position to discuss with us about power sharing because the president and his siblings are speaking out against sharing powers. Therefore, we need a change in the mindset of the president and his siblings that they are ready to share power with the Tamil people. Only then we can discuss matters.
