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The last two weeks have witnessed numerous tributes, especially in the print media, to late Lakshman Kadirgamar, who was assassinated in a brutal act of terrorism by the LTTE.

To us, most of these tributes, which addressed Mr. Kadirgamar’s dedicated efforts towards striving to maintain, promote and strengthen democracy, peace and security in our country, while fighting terrorism and safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, fell far short of doing justice to certain aspects of Mr. Kadirgamar’s personality, sense of judgement, and ideals.

Just over a year has passed since Mr. Kadirgamar was killed on August 12. In this brief span of time, the proposals made by the JVP in 2003 to the then President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, to appoint Kadirgamar as the Prime Minister of this country, seem to have slipped from people’s minds.

To us in the JVP, it was indeed a sad moment when no one seemed to stand up in support of our proposal at the time. If Mr. Kadirgamar was granted the opportunity to serve as Prime Minister, not only would it have been an acknowledgement of the services he thus far rendered to his motherland as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, but it would have also served to reveal to the world the atrocious lie propagated by some, including the LTTE, that a Tamil citizen would never be allowed to hold the office of Prime Minister of our country.

Prime Ministerial office would have provided Kadirgamar the necessary access to the international community to effectively campaign against the scourge of terrorism that our country is faces, and the resultant threats posed to democratic institutions and the social fabric of Sri Lanka.

We wanted Kadirgamar to be appointed Prime Minister because in our eyes, he was a true Sri Lankan in every sense of the word. He was an example to those of us within our country of the model Sri Lankan embodied within himself, the characteristics of what being a Sri Lankan was all about – rising above narrow racial, religious and other divisions, but at the same time being a personification of all that is Sri Lankan – tradition and culture, tolerance, patience, and equanimity. Although he was, as most would acknowledge, the best Foreign Minister of independent Sri Lanka, we felt that the Foreign Minister’s portfolio was too small a place for a man of his stature.

The Prime Ministerial portfolio would have provided him, the quintessential Sri Lankan, an opportunity far greater than that provided to a Foreign Minister, of striding the international stage to speak and act on behalf of our country. He would have, in that role, also served to inspire those within our country of what we should all aspire to become.

Those who praise Mr. Kadirgamar today, a year after his killing, have either forgotten or have chosen to forget the request by the JVP for him to be appointed Prime Minister. This could perhaps be their way of denying acknowledgement of the far-sighted request made by the JVP at the time, which, if granted, may have even saved Kadirgamar from sniper bullets, or their way of refusing to acknowledge that the JVP is not a communal political party. We in the JVP look forward to the day when enlightened thought and objective analysis would prevail in our country.

We saw in Mr. Kadirgamar a person who was proud of his origins. He was proud to be a Sri Lankan. He stood up to the international community and spoke to them as their equal.

When most around him, for whatever reasons, indulged in the practice of caving into demands made of us by the international community, Kadirgamar stood up to them as a colossus in defence of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. We remember how he turned down requests made by those such as the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a number of European leaders to visit the Wanni. His argument was that if they want to visit, they should prior to doing so, be forthright in speaking out in public in condemnation of LTTE terrorist practices such as the conscription of children, elimination of dissenting opinion etc.

Wimal Weerawansa and I were witnesses to such an occasion once, when we were having a discussion with him at his official residence. Mr. Kadirgamar stood firmly by his principles. We learned that he did not hesitate to voice his criticism even to Mr. Chris Patten when he visited the Wanni, despite Mr. Patten being a personal friend for long years.

Kadirgamar was one of the few people I have met who was genuinely and sincerely concerned and committed to safeguarding the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and independence of Sri Lanka, while others around him were prepared to overlook and relinquish these fundamentals, often for narrow political gain.

We in the JVP and Kadirgamar came from different social and political backgrounds. But we could work together for the mutual betterment of our country. It is our opinion that this was because he was a true democrat who believed in the principle of “agreeing to disagree” on almost any issue, but not allowing such disagreement to make either party lose sight of, or get in the way of our ultimate aim which was working towards the betterment of our country and our people, and in the best interest of our people. Mr. Kadirgamar never got annoyed when we criticised or rejected his views and thinking on certain issues.

He understood the JVP as it is. He praised our idealism. He believed that the country needed our idealism to progress. He read our thinking accurately. We know that he often described the JVP to those who were reluctant to accept us, especially those in Western capitals, as a serious political party that was committed to democracy and pluralism. He praised our party when he was interviewed on BBC. He believed that he could work with us. He believed that we could work together to rebuild this country although we belonged to two different political parties.

Before we met him, we knew that he was an honest person and an intellectual. But we never expected him to be so humble. We learned much from him. And we believe that he too learned much from us. He used to praise us whenever we came up with new ideas. He encouraged us.

If Mr. Kadirgamar had been appointed Prime Minister, we are certain that he would have served his motherland with distinction and dignity. Having had the opportunity of interacting with him, and gaining an insight into his political thinking, we also believe that if anyone had suggested to him that he contest the Presidential election, he would have most certainly refused such a request firmly and forthrightly.