Tamil parties reject unitary state for Sri Lanka as ‘no solution’

It’s a quarter of a century since Kumar Ponnambalam, a Tamil nationalist politician and Presidential candidate was shot dead in the capital Colombo in broad daylight and the case has still not been resolved.

His case does not find a place in the seven high-profile cases ordered to be investigated on a priority basis by the new NPP government.

Such is the continuing apathy, critics point out, among Sinhala politicians and successive governments in ensuring the safety of the Tamils, in particular politicians, journalists, and activists who have been voicing continuously for the welfare, equality, and sovereignty of the Tamil people.

Now, speakers at his 25th death anniversary in Jaffna have reiterated their opposition to a unitary state.
The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) headed by the slain Kuman Ponnambalam’s son and current Jaffna district MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam says they categorically reject the draft constitution drafted during the period of the Maitri-Ranil rule.

“50,000 Maaveerars (brave heroes) have sacrificed their lives. A lakh and a half people alone have lost their lives during the final phase of the war. Even after such huge losses a unitary state proposal for a political solution is unacceptable which has been the core of the draft constitution being prepared since 2016 which we have rejected. A social agreement recognizing our nation, sovereignty, and right to self-determination has to be written. And, such an agreement should recognize the Tamil nation and its sovereignty”, said Selvaraja Kajendran, Secretary of the TNPF at Kumar Ponnambalam’s 25th death anniversary.

He was shot dead in Colombo during the Presidency of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge. Speakers at his memorial service strongly condemned the proposal of the government to take forward the unitary state proposal.
The NPP government led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake has expressed its willingness to take forward the draft constitution written during the reign of Maithri-Ranil explicitly saying to protect the primacy of Buddhism and emphasizing the unitary state system.

The TNPF General Secretary and former MP Selvarasa Kajendran speaking at Kumar Ponnambalam’s 25th death anniversary said it would be foolish to grant time to the government in the south to secure the rights of the Tamil people.

“The Sinhala Buddhist hegemony is digging its grave by indulging in corruption, fraud, and misuse of authority thereby falling into an economic crisis. In such a situation the more we exert pressure, they will think about embracing the Tamils and only through that, they could create stability in Sri Lanka. Only in such a situation, they will at least think about giving us our rights at least for that stability. If not they will strengthen their economy, but Tamils would get their rights. Hence us thinking about giving them time would be foolish”.

In his tribute, Selvarasa Kajendran also emphasized the need to unite the Tamil people and the need to build a democratic political organization to achieve a political solution based on self-determination.

“The earlier we act to mobilize our people and strengthen a democratic political organization to emphasize our rights, that would give us an opportunity to speed up our liberation. Those rights should be granted immediately. A political solution based on recognizing our nation, sovereignty, and right to self-determination is needed. A constitution based on what we wish should be brought in. To put such pressure, we should join together both locally and abroad”.

To mark the inauguration of the memorial meeting of the assassination of Kumar Ponnambalam, a lamp was lit by his son and TNPF leader and Jaffna district MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam.

Dean of Arts faculty of Jaffna University Dr.Sivasubramaniam Raghuram delivered the memorial oration on “The need for people-centric politics”.

“Kumar Ponnambalam was a fearless politician who never hesitated to express his views on power sharing to those in the South” TNPF’s spokesperson and attorney Kanagaratnam said while paying tributes to him.
“He was very clear in his thoughts that power sharing and power devolution are different. We Tamils are asking for power sharing and not power devolution, which he made it clear. He spoke so not only in the Tamil nation but also in the lion’s den”.

Adding further, attorney Suhas stressed that Kumar Ponnambalam had clearly understood that Tamils will not get justice under the present constitution.

“Many attorneys, many president’s council attorneys are committing an error and searching for a solution for the Tamils within the ideologies they learned and under the unitary system of governance in Sri Lanka. But he had understood that the solution and justice for the Tamils is not under the Sri Lankan constitution he had read or the judicial system in which he worked as a legal professional”.

Senior Tamil MP from Jaffna representing the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, Sivagnanam Siritharan, representatives from other political parties, heads of Tamil media, and editors participated in the 25th memorial service held in Jaffna for Kumar Ponnambalam.

Even after 25 years, the killers of Kumar Ponnambalam have not been found, nor the governments have expressed their inclination to expedite the investigation and bring the perpetrator before the law.