Current Rajapaksa govt. best suited to settle Tamil issue – A’sangaree

By Shamindra Ferdinando

General Secretary of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) V. Anandasangaree says the current Rajapaksa administration is best suited to address what he called the grievances of the Tamil community.

In a statement issued in Sinhala, the former parliamentarian said that though the war- winning Rajapaksa administration had squandered that opportunity, the incumbent government could do so.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009.

Referring to the President who holds the defence portfolio, Prime Minister and Finance Minister being members of Rajapaksa clan, Anandasangaree said that the war winning side could ensure genuine post-war reconciliation.

Reiterating his long standing call for Indian style political solution, Anandasangaree said that the current positioning of the Rajapaksas would enable the relevant stakeholders to reach consensus on a permanent solution. Both the Indian High Commission and the US Embassy had been engaged in consultations with politicians representing minority parties and even ex-LTTE personnel regarding a political solution though Anandasangaree was yet to receive an invitation.

Anandasangaree, who has been at loggerheads with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), warned those who represented the community in parliament not to squander the fresh opportunity. Anandasangaree said that the community wouldn’t get another chance again.

Anandasangaree urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government not to leave the problem for a future administration to resolve, but address it now.

Acknowledging that the Tamil community since the end of the war in May 2009 primarily backed the TNA, Anandasangaree alleged those who opposed governments as well backed them and pursued personal agendas at the expense of the people. They had never been concerned about the aspirations and requirements of the community, the former Jaffna MP, who was once high on the LTTE hit list said.

Anandasangaree emphasized that the TULF couldn’t be denied the credit for taking the Tamil issue to the international level in the 80s. However, battles among Tamil groups for superiority ultimately ended up with the LTTE’s defeat at Mullivaikkal 12 years ago, he said.

The TULF Leader said that the international community was aware of the circumstances leading to the conflict, accountability on the part both the government and the LTTE and the justification of the struggle undertaken by the Tamil community  to win their rights.

Anandasangaree faulted the UNP-SLFP administration for failing to address their grievances, though the TNA backed them to the hilt. Now that those who had waged war to a successful conclusion were back in power, tangible measures should be taken to settle the national issue for once and for all.

The TULF is now not represented in parliament or in local government bodies. The TULF didn’t have any representation in the Northern or Eastern Provincial Councils.

Anandasangaree said that the incumbent government was powerful than any other administration as it represented those who successfully waged the war.