Solving Tamil problem is the way out of economic crisis: Rasamanickam

by Sujeeva Nivunhella

reporting from London

TNA Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran and Trincomalee District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam were in London last week on their way back home from New York and met with British Government officials and members of Tamil and Muslim diaspora communities living in London.

Talking exclusively to the Sunday Island, Rasamanickam said that they had fruitful talks with British government officials and diaspora communities. Tamils in Sri Lanka have been aspiring for self-determination since independence and they are still where they were.

They are not looking for a separate state but a Quebec/Tamil Nadu style of administration within one country. If the government is willing to fulfill Tamil aspirations, they can easily bring foreign currency needed to escape the present debt trap.

Some excerpts of the interview:

Q: What is the purpose of your visit to London?

A: MP Sumanthiran and I had a four-day visit to the UK, when we met various groups including Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia in the Foreign and Commonwealth office and the Tamil and Muslim diaspora. We reiterated the need for a political solution in Sri Lanka because that is what is needed to uplift the country’s economy.

Representing my generation, I have a responsibility to ensure that Lankan youth remain in the country. There is a trend of people trying to move out with long lines outside passport offices. They want to leave in the context of the terrible shape of the country’s economy and this must be addressed. For that, we need a political solution to communal differences within the country.

This is something that has been unresolved for 73 years since 1948; and our party has been working on it for many years. We met the Muslim community because in the North and the East more than 90% of the population are Tamil speaking people and Muslims are a part of that group. This is not a separatist agenda.

If you take Canada as an example, despite special arrangements Quebec remains a part of Canada. In India, there is Tamil Nadu includes Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh where the people speak Tamil. They have the right to exercise their franchise and retain their identity. We want to live as Sri Lankans but we don’t want to give up our identity.

During our visit, we talked about this at different levels, with three or four meetings with British Government officials and 10-15 with diaspora groups.

Q:  What kind of a political solution are you searching for?

A: A political solution that could be acceptable for all Lankans – Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim. A solution where Tamil people’s genuine interests are accepted. We don’t want to go into details but what we want is something acceptable to all communities. We are never going to do anything not acceptable to the Sinhala people. We are not seeking a separate state. We want to work with the Sinhalese. We want to work with the government and come to an amicable solution.

Q: Have you put forward your proposal to the government?

A: Well, the government of Sri Lanka denied us a meeting for almost a year and a half, since the present parliament convened. We are yet to meet the President. Hopefully, he will give us an opportunity to meet him now. British ministers want to meet us. US delegates want to meet us. Canadian delegates want to meet us but our own President doesn’t want to meet us. That’s the irony.

Q: You mentioned Quebec and Tami Nadu. Do you want a separate state?

A: No. We want a solution where our rights are respected. We want to be able to govern our people. We want to be able to have our own administration. That is within Sri Lanka as one country. No separatist agenda here. But we don’t want to lose our identity. Tamils are not refugees in Sri Lanka. The reason why I mentioned Quebec and Tamil Nadu is because a structure that has worked and proven exists there. We want to be in one united country but we want our political rights.

From 1948 since we gained independence from the British till 1978 there was no violence. For 30 years, our leaders and our community struggled for a political solution through dialogue. It was when that was rejected that the war started. When legitimate concerns are not addressed, people tend to resort to violence. We are against violence. But how long can we keep it that way? It’s already 13 years since the war ended. When we cannot offer a solution to the people, then they resort to other measures.

Q: You and MP Sumanthiran went to the USA and Canada and met some government officials and then came to England and met British officials too. Are you asking these countries to push the SL government to find a solution for you?

A: Everyone is fully aware of what the Sri Lankan government did. At the height of the war in 2009, all these countries helped Sri Lanka to end the war and restore peace in the country on the basis that all Lankans will be treated equally. But the SL government has failed to do that and those western countries now have a responsibility to ensure that the Tamil speaking people are not marginalized. Mahinda Rajapaksa promised devolution beyond 13A, now they are trying to get rid of 13A. Therefore countries like Britain, USA and Canada have a responsibility to ensure that Tamils in Sri Lanka have equal rights.

Q:  Does the Tamil community in Sri Lanka believe they still do not fit in with society?

A: Absolutely. Tamils in Sri Lanka are given second-hand treatment. We are treated like second-class citizens. Look at the President’s most recent address on the One Country, One Law concept. There’s no Tamil on the committee. Even if there was one, it doesn’t mean much. They are not even worried about the optics. At least they should have thought, we have to make sure there is a Tamil in the committee even as a namesake. The President did not bother. That is the best example of our being second class citizens in the country.

 Q: You first contested through United People’s Freedom Alliance in 2015 and in 2020 you contested through Tamil National Alliance. What was the reason for this switch?

A: I was the SLFP organizer in 2013. I joined Mahinda Rajapaksa. At the time I was only 22-years old. I joined on the promise that Tamil people will be given an equal place in the country. But he failed to do that. He promised to go beyond 13A. I even worked with President Maithripala Sirisena. TNA backed Sirisena at that election. But both these politicians fooled the Tamil people. I was driven to the TNA three years after I joined politics.

Q: Can you see any future Sinhala leader who may listen to the Tamil community?

A: I don’t want to mention names. But if there is no Sinhala leader who listens to the Tamil people, then there is no Sinhala leader who can bring Sri Lanka out of the debt trap. There is no way Sri Lanka has a future if there is no one willing to do that. If you leave Tamil and Muslim people out, there is no future for Sri Lanka.

Q: What do you think about the current economic situation in Sri Lanka?

A: We are facing a major economic crisis. We have got debt payments of USD 5 billion a year for the next five years. We have large budget deficit and no plans to fix it. The only alternative is to go to the IMF. But if you go there, they will impose very strict conditions on economic spending in SL making the government more unpopular – not that it is popular now.

The only option is to solve the national Tamil question and we can bring in money. It’s only USD 35 billion. If the Tamil people’s quest for their rights is resolved, we can bring 35 billion in five years. That is not a problem. We have so many friends and nations who are friends with Tamils who will help on the promise that Sri Lanka will be a human rights-respecting country. If they fail to do that there’s no future for this country. With the economic crisis so bad, the only way forward is this.

Q: My understanding is that the government wants the Tamil community to come and help them out.A: We will be happy to help them and have said so openly. We will support any government that can solve this problem.Q: Dr. Harsha de Silva recently said that good people from all political parties including the JVP and TNA should join together to form a future government. What do you think about that?

A: Dr Harsha or whoever else wants to do that need to articulate their position on the Tamil national question first. We don’t want to be always be in the opposition opposing everything.

Campaigning in Batticaloa I never promised to build roads or houses. I told the people that I will try to the best of my ability to create an environment where Tamils can live in peace in this country. That is why they voted for me. If someone thinks that there is a way to form a government including all of us, they first need to articulate their position on our issue. We are not going to support any government unless they are happy to solve our problems. Q: You keep talking of the Tamil National problem. What is your main problem?A: That there is no devolution of power. Our people are unable to exercise their franchise the way they want. In Sri Lanka, we are a minority but we must have all the rights everybody in the world should have.Q: If all the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people can live together in one country, why do you want to have a separate administration?A: Sinhala people are most welcome in the North and East. We love the Sinhala people.  In fact, my mother is Sinhala.  We are only opposed to the idea of trying to artificially de-legitimize our identity. District of Ampara was only created in 1960. Landless people from Matara and Galle were brought into Ampara and settled there whilst Tamil people in those areas were landless.

I heard that the government is planning to create a project of 500 houses a district, based on the national ethnic ratio. In Batticaloa out of 500 houses, 350 houses will be given to the Sinhala people when there are over 300,000 Tamil people in Batticaloa with no houses, how can they give houses to the people who came from outside?  Up to now, the Mahaweli Authority has given 95% of the land to the Sinhala people, 1.9% to Tamil, 1.7% to Muslim and 1.5% to Indian Tamils. We are not against the Sinhala people. We are against the government that is trying to divide us.

Q: How do you see the future of Sri Lanka?

A: The future is going to be very bleak unless they resolve this issue. We already see hundreds of people outside passport offices seeking to migrate to other countries. That is not because they don’t want to live in Sri Lanka. They can’t live in Sri Lanka because the economy is so bad.Q: Do you think Tamil people might take up arms again in the future?A: Well the world has moved from armed rebellion.  Violence is not something that we believe in. I don’t know about others, but as for me I’ll never encourage taking arms again.