Mere decentralization of power, via the 13th amendment, surreptitiously flaunted as devolution

The provisions of the 13th Amendment would in no way satisfy Tamil aspirations in respect of autonomy. Its inadequacy had been expressed over and over and no one, including India, seems to be listening. With the de-merging of the North and East, totally unmindful of stipulations by India that the North and East should be treated as a single unit in the context of implementing the13th Amendment, India’s role has been compromised. India has kept mum on this though the Sri Lankan Government unilaterally declared the North and the East as independent Administrative units, on the basis of a contrived judicial ruling.
Legal opinion avers: “that the creation of a Provincial Governor has been sought to be passed off as ‘devolution’ of executive power on the Tamil people! The constitutional reality is that the 13th Amendment does not devolve executive power on the Tamil people. That which the 13th Amendment does is to decentralize administration by creating provincial Governors appointed by the President and responsible to him for the performance of their functions in respect of provincial matters”.
Now, post LTTE, in the absence of any political leverage for the Tamils India seem complacent foisting the 13th Amendment as the solution for the Tamil ethnic problem and that without a word about the North East merger. India thinks that Tamils are in no position to demand anything, however reasonable. That the Sri Lankan Government has never been and never will be keen to concede any measure of autonomy to the Tamils is a foregone conclusion that no Tamil would care to refute. The recent pronouncement after the Sinhala Victory, to the effect that there are no minorities in the country is illuminative of Sinhala Government’s mind set. This comes as no surprise to the Tamils as they seem to have no qualms saying openly that the country belongs to the Singhalese and nobody else.
It would be relevant to quote Dr W.I. Suraweera who had this to say: “the Sinhala consciousness expressed today in the concept that Sri Lanka is the land of the Sinhala people of Aryan descent does not derive from the Island’s history. It is a myth that has developed to legitimize the claim of the Singhalese to sole ownership of this country”
Sinhala Academics and neo-historians are coming up with freshly minted ideas dismissing “Tamil Homeland” as a mythical concept. Of course, when they claim the whole country for themselves how could they accept the existence of a Tamil Homeland?
The question being posed is: Why should the Tamils need a homeland in Sri Lanka whilst there is Tamil Nadu, which is home to 60 million Tamils? Tamil Nadu is home for the Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka who were brought down during colonial days to labour in the Tea and Rubber Estates. The indigenous Tamils of the Island cannot claim Tamil Nadu as their homeland and neither could the Singhalese claim any part of India as their homeland, irrespective of the fact both the Tamils and the Singhalese owe their origin to the Indian sub continent. With respect to such claims there are limits to periods you could go back to. If there aren’t such, the European settlers in America should hand over the whole American Continent to the Native Indians and get back to the countries from which they migrated.
What is and what is not a “homeland” is well illustrated by contemporary events. The Congress Government at the centre totally ignored pleas of the Tamil Nadu State to withdraw Indian support to the Sinhalese Government with its agenda of annihilation of the ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka. On the other hand had Tamil Nadu been a sovereign State with its own military etc the Sinhala chauvinists certainly would have had something very different to contend with. So, it should be very clear that a “homeland” is not so defined by the ethnic concentration of the geographic entity alone. If that were to be so, the blacks in the Bronx could claim it as their homeland. The Tamil Nadu Government exists at the pleasure of the Central Government. It is in no position to assert its authority on any matter whatsoever of importance to the region unless it has the blessings and/or approval of the Centre. Therefore, the concept of “homeland” has to go hand in hand with the power for its inhabitants to exercise their collective will.
The Italians in the US, if they want to have their way, in any manner antagonistic to the government of the United States of America they better go back to Italy. And where are the Sri Lankan Tamils to go? To Tamil Nadu which could not even have its legitimate share of Cauvery water, even with central judicial intervention in its favour? It would therefore be stupid to suggest that the Tamils in Sri Lanka could consider Tamil Nadu as their homeland.
In the mean time the JVP appears very keen to cash in, following the Sinhala victory over the LTTE, with its ultra national stance by opposing ‘devolution’ through the implementation of the 13th Amendment. This could very well be a ploy learnt by the present day politicians from D.S Senanayake who would stealthily get one of his Tamil Ministers to propose a soft amendment to an otherwise radical piece of legislation having a far reaching adverse effect on the wellbeing of the Tamils. The bill gets passed with the Amendment incorporated and everybody looks happy while D.S gloats at his success in pulling the rug under the Tamils’ feet. It is quite possible that Mahinda Rajapakse, borrowing a chapter from the D.S era could have prompted the JVP to adopt this stance to hoodwink the Tamils into believing that there is substance in the 13th Amendment to merit acceptance. On the other hand JVP could very well be thinking of piggybacking on the Sinhala victory, hopeful of exploiting Sinhala chauvinism at its peak, decrying the Rajapases and also the UNP for even attempting to listen to India that appears keen on some ‘devolution’ of powers to the Tamils. Vimal Weerawanse’s position appears to be that the Sinhala victory has been at the cost of thousands of Sinhala lives and as such nothing need be conceded to the Tamils. Of course, to him Tamil lives do not matter! True, there will be quite a number even amongst the Sinhala elite to subscribe to this and the JVP or the JNP or whatever they call themselves these days, could very well build hopes of even overtaking the two major parties, a dream they have been stoking since breaking into mainstream politics, shedding its militant past.
It will be preposterous to suggest that Tamils could not claim the North and East as their traditional homeland. Well, could anyone dispute the fact that at the time the British left the Singhalese inhabited the South and West whilst the Tamils inhabited the North and parts of the East? Furthermore, how long will it take for the Sinhala Government to claim that Trincomalee, in view of its current Sinhala population and the number of Bo trees and Buddha statues all over the place, is traditionally a Singhalese homeland? With the contemplated Sinhalisation of the recently captured Vanni that too will be claimed as traditional Sinhala homeland.
It would be relevant here to recall that it was the Hindu New Year, as we knew it when we were boys, half a century ago. It later became Hindu and Sinhala New year and now, of course, it is the Sinhala New year. This ‘metamorphosis’ is most telling and is very illustrative and symptomatic of the progression of all Sinhala claims, past and present.
However much the Sinhala Government tries to distort reality it will be pretty tough to deny the fact that the indigenous Tamils of Sri Lanka held territory all their own in the North and East whilst the enterprising sections of Tamil society, to eke out a living as business people or employees in the Public or the Private sector and as entrepreneurs did come by territory in other parts of the country, paid for with their hard earned money. Yes, there had been no law against possession of property by any citizen in any part of the country. At least not till now!
With power in its hands the government can say anything it wants to but that does not mean that it can take it wherever it wants to be; it is not the way business is conducted in civilized society. The Sri Lankan government cannot be oblivious to reality forever .Its policy of baseless denial, all and sundry, cannot sustain the country for ever. Such, possibly, can only come in handy to tide over an impasse temporarily, like warding off the Human Rights censure at the UN the other day. In the long run truth catches up and even the International community that has grossly let down the Tamils will turn around in support, to free the Tamils from oppression.
India has been primarily responsible for the predicament the Sri Lankan Tamils are facing. Much to their chagrin the Sri Lankan Tamils realize the painful fact that the key to their salvation too is still with India. Like everything else, thinking has to and will change. There will be foreign policy revisions based on changed dynamic in the region. Erroneous value given by India to the Sri Lanka factor in the equation having a bearing on strategic importance to countries bordering the Indian Ocean will prompt such revision in the not too distant future. Somersaults in foreign policy are very much a reality, if one cares for stark examples. The Taliban fought alongside the U.S. during the Afghan war and now the U.S. is hounding the Taliban; During the Iran Iraq war U.S. was on side with Sadam Hussein and we know what it was with Iraq subsequently! We Tamils have to hope that India will side with Eelam Tamils sooner than later to free them from the oppressive Sinhala regime. This, not out of a sudden burst of love for the Tamils, but as a grave necessity to serve its geopolitical interests. An India -friendly entity such as a sovereign Eelam will be an imperative for India’s security with its traditional enemies China and Pakistan, the eternal antagonists, if they are to be held at bay. Though there is every reason for Tamils all over the world to despise India for its recent role in undermining the Tamils’ fight for freedom, the Tamil Diaspora, taking up the fight for Eelam, displays a welcome maturity, in identifying the inescapable fact that India and India alone will be capable of moves to make Eelam a reality.
Tamils have to understand that in the total absence of any devolution of central power there is absolutely no need to get excited about the 13th Amendment, “a constitutional sleight of hand par excellence” with its objective of perpetuating Sinhala rule of the Tamils of Eelam and yet appear not to do so. “The blunt reality is that those who proclaim that the 13th Amendment is intended to share power between the Tamil people and the Sinhala people are “trying to pull a fast one on the Tamil people”.
Implementation of provisions in the 13th Amendment will only translate into a few elected positions, such as a Chief Minister and a board of 3 or 4 Ministers, all of whom will only act in an advisory role to the Provincial Governor, themselves wielding no power at all. Therefore it will not be a surprise if the Tamil quislings espouse the 13th Amendment. It will be the responsibility of Tamil politicians, the untainted ones, to bring it home to the Indian Government that “the king, after all, is not wearing any clothes” and it should persuade the Sri Lankan Government to bring to the table a genuine devolution package by way of a solution to the Tamil ethnic problem, in place of the “13th Amendment plus” and “13th Amendment minus” as some of them have already started talking. The Tamils have been fooled enough and, at least, they should know what they do not need.


--By Sridas Sivasambo

http://www.tamilnational.com/worlds-view/tnn-ireport/1442-decentralization-via-13th-amendment-flaunted-as-devolution.html