Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran who is contesting on the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) ticket from the Jaffna district says the remerger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and power devolution are not only their main campaign themes but also their political slogan after the polls. Excerpts:
What is the focus of the ITAK’s campaign?
Though we are contesting under the ITAK symbol, we are part of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Our main focus is the Tamil question.
We have categorically said in our manifesto that the North and East must be merged and power should be devolved to the merged province under some kind of federal set up.
We are also campaigning for the speedy resettlement of the displaced people, the demilitarization of the North and East and the dismantling of the High-Security Zones.
Don’t you think that the Tamil vote bank will be split with too many parties in the fray?
A: I could see that. Many government-sponsored independent groups are contesting with the aim of dividing the Tamil votes. They are hell bent on preventing the TNA from sweeping the polls in the North and East.
At the last general elections, the TNA won 22 out of 23 seats in the North and East. The government does not want the TNA, which is the only alliance that stands for Tamil people’s rights, to emerge victorious. The government wants some of its candidates also to win.
What about the split within the TNA?
The TNA is an alliance of different parties. Some MPs left the alliance to join the government. Some members, including a presidential candidate, are contesting from a left front. Gajendranath Ponnambalam also left the party. But I am 100 percent sure that the entire Tamil people in the NE are with the TNA and we will sweep the polls.
You are talking about the merger. But there is a court ruing against it.
The court ruling is a different issue. The Supreme Court never said that NE cannot be merged. So, if the government gets a bill passed in parliament, the NE can be merged again. It only needs political will.
The President has said the 13th Amendment cannot be implemented fully. How do you see it?
That is the stand the president has taken.
The Tamil people’s stand is different. The North and East are historical habitat of the Tamil people. They have to be merged. This was accepted by the J.R .Jayewardene regime and India. It is on that basis that the Indo- Lanka accord was signed. The government has to be flexible. S.J.V. Chelvanayakam entered into pacts with government leaders. But the Sinhala leaders abrogated them. For 30 years, Velupillai Prabhakaran carried out an armed struggle. Though he was defeated by the government, the Tamil grievances remain unaddressed.
Are you for a federal system or self determination?
A When we say self determination, it means we want to decide our own destiny. We are prepared to live within a united Sri Lanka provided there is a federal system with a merged North-East Province. Now that the LTTE is no more, the Tamil people are offering the government another opportunity to come up with a political solution.
We do not want to be subordinate to any community in this country. We have been living in this country for thousands of years. We do not subscribe to the view that the Tamils are a subordinate community.
How many seats, do you hope to win this time?
The people are always with the TNA. They will elect TNA candidates as their representatives. |
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