Siva Parameswaran
War-affected Tamil mothers have strongly opposed Tamil politicians sharing the stage with President Ranil Wickremasinghe when he visited the Northern province recently.
Tamil mothers searching for their kith and kin who were handed over to the Sri Lankan Army during and after the end of the war have alleged that Tamil politicians who have turned a blind eye towards their search for over a decade and a half, have now come forward to support Ranil Wickremasinghe in his Presidential campaign.
Tamil mothers protested in front of the Vavuniya secretariat while the President had discussions with the officials inside. They also protested against the police violence while distributing ‘Mullivaikkaal Kanji (gruel) in memory of those Tamils who died during the war.
Protestors under the leadership of Sivananthan Jenita, Vavuniya District President of the Association for the Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances in the North and East (ARED) waved black flags as part of their protest.
“The AERD has been roaming like street dogs searching for their relatives since 2009. Those who support the development plans of the state are abetting their support for the killers. Hence, this president is enacting his dubious drama with an eye on the next Presidential election. A President who came to power without the people’s mandate is now trying to secure that mandate. Our politicians and ministers are supporting him”
ARED in the North and East Provinces is a civil society group created to search for the tens of thousands of people who disappeared during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict. Led by women their continued peaceful protest continues in its 8th year non-stop irrespective of the harsh summer and pouring monsoon.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe was in the Northern Province on the 25,25 and 26th of May to discuss development plans in the province according to the government post.
Before the arrival of the President, the members of the ARED expressed their reservations about holding talks with the Head of the state citing the failure of the state to render justice for their loved ones who were handed over and surrendered to the Sri Lankan Military during the final phase of the war.
Vavuniya district president of the ARED Sivananthan Jenita strongly criticized the pro-government Tamil politicians calling them “those hanging around for the bones thrown by the government”.
“For the sake of their lavish life, these politicians are joining hands with the President without taking notice of the misery of the Tamil people and have closed their eyes to the oppression against the Tamils. We are being subjugated and jailed and are unable to protest on the streets demanding justice. Those politicians who don’t question these are Tamils themselves”.
Meanwhile, the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) led by Jaffna district parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has appealed to the Tamil people in the North and East to boycott the ensuing Presidential election alleging the Head of the State is functioning only for the majority community in the country.
TNPF says the Tamil people will never surrender their rights even under the fear of oppression and the only way to prove it is to boycott the Presidential election.
One Country –Two laws
Sivanathan Jenita also questioned the duplicity of the Sri Lankan state regarding the distribution of the ‘Mullivaikal Kanji’ and the distribution of alms during the Buddhist festival of Vesak. She said while the ‘Kanji’ was served to the Tamil people who were starving in the final days of the war due to heavy shelling and air attacks and a barrage of artilleries the alms distributed during Vesak were not so. However, the crackdown on Tamils distributing ‘Kanji’ as a symbolic act recalling the misery during the final phase of the war was an act of oppression.
“When we were preparing the ‘Mullivaikkal Kanji the state agencies stopped it and kicked it citing health and sanitation reasons. But during the Vesak holidays, food including ice creams was distributed in the Police stations, roadside, and other places and no health or sanitation restrictions apply to them. Hence seeing this it is evident that there are two sets of laws in this Country, one for the Tamils and the other for the Sinhalese”
Vavuniya District President of the ARED also questioned the representatives of the Tamil people in the North is it not “shameless” to support the President who says he is not aware of what happened to the kith and kin handed over to the state agencies by the Tamil mothers during the war.
“I am asking these politicians and ministers. Are you shameless? Don’t you have self-respect? Are you the people who are going to seek justice for the Tamils? If you people seeking justice think about us who are in the streets. Ask the President what happened to our relatives whom we handed over. Ask him who came here for Pongal. It is to him you are seeking developments and what next”.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe was in the Northern Province to participate in various events on the 24, 25, and 26th of May.
Former state minister Vijayakala Maheswaran, Cabinet Minister Douglas Devananda, Parliamentarians Tharmalingam Sitharthan, M.A.Sumanthiran, Charles Nirmalanathan, Kulasingam Thileepan, S.Noharathalingam, Selvam Adaikkalanathan and former chairman of the Northern Province CVK Sivagnanam participated in the meetings with the President according to the President’s Media Division.
