By Meera Srinivasan/The Hindu
Colombo, June 30:Mr. Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, who dedicated his political life to pursuing a just solution to the island nation’s Tamil question, passed away in Colombo late on Sunday. He was 91.
Mr. Sampanthan, of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), was a sitting MP from the eastern Trincomalee district, and led the Tamil National Alliance, the main grouping representing Tamils of Sri Lanka’s war-hit north and east. He was Leader of the Opposition between 2015 and 2018.
A parliamentarian for nearly half a century, Mr. Sampanthan was a bold and relentless voice in the House. Since the end of the civil war in 2009, he tirelessly demanded equal rights for Tamils, within a ‘united, undivided, indivisible’ country. Trained as a lawyer, he based his arguments for a political solution on Sri Lanka’s constitutional history and the many promises that the southern Sinhalese establishment made in the past but failed to keep.
In July 2022 addressing Sri Lanka’s Tamil national question is imperative for the island nation’s recovery from the crushing economic crisis it is facing, veteran Tamil leader R. Sampanthan said, contending that the unresolved issue had proved a major impediment for the country’s economic progress since Independence.
Speaking to The Hindu recently, the 89-year-old Parliamentarian recounted the many historic opportunities that the Sri Lankan leadership missed, allowing the ethnic conflict to fester, and push the country into a protracted civil war. While corruption, misgovenance, and skewed priorities have led to Sri Lanka’s current economic collapse, years of strife amid unfulfilled demands of the Tamil people impaired the country’s economic progress, he observed, drawing links between the island nation’s worsening economic crisis and its long-pending political question.
An economic crisis brewing over the last couple of years aggravated in 2022, with Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves dwindling amid a balance of payments crisis. The island nation has opted for a preemptive default on its nearly $ 50 billion foreign debt to cope, while citizens struggle to access essentials amid crippling shortages and record food inflation — 57.4 % in May — only expected to get worse. Protesting citizens have blamed the ruling Rajapaksa administration for failing to arrest the rapid decline of an economy that was already fragile.
Referring to a longer arc of the island’s history, Mr. Sampanthan said: “The unresolved Tamil question was the ground for the war that went on for about 30 years…colossal sums were spent on it. If not for the war, the country’s economy would not have got to this situation.” In his view, addressing the long-pending demand of Tamils for self-determination will allow Sri Lanka to project a new image internationally. “We can then show the world that we are a united country, where the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims – all communities can work together and build the country, through a constitution the enables all the peoples of the country to exercise their sovereignty,” Mr. Sampanthan said, adding: “I don’t see how our economy can improve without our conflict being resolved.”
The civil war itself may have ended in 2009, but the conflict that led to it remains unresolved, he pointed out. “The reason for the war to occur has not been resolved in all these years.” In fact, there are new reasons for concern. “It is a matter of utmost concern that the Sri Lankan government has been able to change the demographics of the north and east by settling Sinhalese families in areas traditionally inhabited by the Tamils. The Tamils are being weakened,” he said.
Unkept Promises
In March this year, a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that Mr. Sampanthan leads — it is the largest parliamentary group representing Tamils of the north and east — met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to discuss Tamils’ concerns and prospects of a political solution through a constitutional settlement. Mr. Sampanthan, in a detailed letter to the President ahead of the meeting, had emphasised the need for a political solution, tracing several past attempts and agreements that Sri Lanka’s southern leaders had committed to, but failed to implement. But the President’s meeting, twice postponed and held on March 25, focussed on four other areas that he said would be promptly addressed. He promised to look into the release of long-term detainees under Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), prevent land grabs in the north and east by different state agencies, probe cases of enforced disappearances and establish special development fund for the north and east. The TNA awaits action on all four areas. “At that time, Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris told us that the draft [constitution] would be ready in two weeks. I have serious doubts if it will ever come,” Mr. Sampanthan said.
Prior to that, the TNA submitted its proposals for a new constitution, and even met with an experts’ committee tasked with drafting a new constitution.
Commenting on President Gotabaya’s position on the issue, he said: “I don’t think the President is unwilling to do the right thing. Even if he is willing to do the right thing, it appears that others are preventing him from doing it. Sometimes I have asked myself if President Gotabaya is impeded by some sources close to him from moving forward…I have not come to a conclusion, but I wonder if the clergy and army could be involved [in that].” All the same, whether President Gotabaya and his government will come up with a new constitution “remains a matter of great doubt”, the Tamil leader said, adding: “which means that the country’s main problem that started over 70 years ago, continues.”
Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987
In this context, India has a “special duty”, Mr. Sampanthan noted. The Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 was signed in July 1987, about 35 years ago and is “yet to be fully implemented”. The Prime Minister of India offered India’s good offices in 1983 and has been involved ever since then. In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Sri Lankan parliament and spoke of his belief in “cooperative federalism”, Mr. Sampanthan recalled.
“We should all come together and resolve the Tamil question. It will be in the best interests of Sri Lanka and India,” Sri Lanka’s senior most politician said.
January 2018 Interview with The Hindu
It is three years since Sri Lanka’s national unity government came to power with the overwhelming support of ethnic and religious minorities, including the Tamils. How do you reflect on that moment and your decision to support President Sirisena?
I have not the slightest doubt that we made the correct decision in backing Mr. Sirisena. We were sick of the Rajapaksa government which had been particularly unjust and unfair to the Tamil civilians.
President Sirisena had been involved with Tamil politics even before he stood for election. He was one of the strongest supporters of a just and reasonable solution to the Tamil question. He supported the constitutional proposals put forward by President Chandrika Bandaranaike, between 1994 and 2000. That, no doubt, influenced our decision. We were also influenced in our decision by the fact that Mr. Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe were willing to work together. For the first time, this provided an opportunity for the emergence of a multi-party consensus, particularly between the two main political parties, on the Tamil question.
I have no regrets about the decision we made, though the Tamil people, and consequently those of us who represent them, expected greater performance from the government.
Assessing this government’s record, especially in relation to a political solution to the Tamil question and constitutional reform, what are the substantial gains made by the Tamils?
The Constitution process commenced in 2016 to evolve a reasonable political solution to the national question and considerable work has been done.
The steering committee [appointed with 21 members under the chairmanship of the PM] met regularly for discussions and submitted an interim report, which has been debated in Parliament. After the local authority elections [in February], we expect the Constitution process to move forward more rapidly. The process has been somewhat delayed because of certain positions taken by certain political parties.
The issues that have been of concern to the Tamil civilian population are the release of [civilians’] land held by the armed forces, the question of continued detention of political detenues and missing persons. I will not say that nothing has been done. I would certainly say that much more could have been done.
Some of the lands [previously held by the military] have been released both in the north and east, after we exerted much pressure on the government. Release of land is a continuing phenomenon. It is not easy, but it is happening. Even a few days ago, 133 acres was released at Keppapilavu in Mullaitivu. I worked very assiduously on that.
In regard to persons detained, about 40-50% of them have come out of jail. On the question of missing persons — apparently there have been about 20,000 complaints — it is a very large number. What their families fundamentally require is some information on their missing relatives. Some conclusion about whether that person is alive or not. There must be some solace, reparation, and some forms of assistance that will enable them to come to terms with reality and be able to pick up their lives and proceed.
The government has not yet addressed its commitments on the question of accountability adopted by the UN Human Rights Council, and co-sponsored by the Government of Sri Lanka in 2015. The Tamil civilian population is bitterly disappointed about the delay.
The constitutional reform process that the TNA is supporting, even prioritising it over war crimes accountability mechanisms, has slowed down with the many deadlines set by the government having lapsed. The debate is mostly stuck on abolishing the executive presidency, according Buddhism the foremost place and initiating electoral reforms, and little on devolution itself. Do you feel that the coalition government is letting down the Tamil people?
We are not able to come to any conclusion on what would eventually happen. But if there has been no serious debate on a certain matter, it can also be for the reason that there is not much disagreement on it. I will not go into the nuances of the issue now, for it is well known that the Chief Ministers of all the provinces of this country, particularly those from outside the north and east, have been very strongly supportive of extensive sharing of power between the centre and the provinces. But of course, I will hold my breath until we see the final formulations.
Are you optimistic?
I am not pessimistic. This country needs a political solution to embark on a journey towards genuine development and progress, based on the equality of all its people. In these circumstances, what we can do is to remain steadfast in the pursuit of these processes, towards an early and successful conclusion. We can’t despair, we can’t abandon things.
Those of us entrusted with the responsibility have a duty to continue to repose at least a measure of trust in the process. We have to play a role that is responsible, pragmatic and oriented towards achievement of what is important for the Tamil people, rather than make a noise about everything and be a source of disruption and disturbance.
What is the alternative? Do the people want the return of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government? I am not saying that is a good enough reason for nothing to happen, but one must realise that under this government, the rule of law is maintained, we don’t have the culture of impunity that prevailed earlier, and the independence of the judiciary and civilian institutions has been restored.
When you take an overall picture of the situation, this is an environment conducive to the resolution of the issues pertaining to the Tamil people.
As Leader of the official Opposition, in what ways do you think you have been able to represent the concerns of Sri Lankans of other ethnicities and in other regions?
I have not ignored that aspect completely, but it may be that there is an expectation from some people that I could play a more constructive role. I will not disagree with that view, but at the same time, I think the most critical issue facing the country is the national question. If this country has not been able to get to where it should, it has been largely on account of this failure. I think the role that I am playing in that effort is probably not appreciated sufficiently by persons who think differently.
The country’s ethnic conflict was provoked and intensified by competing nationalisms — though arguably unequal — of the Sinhalese and Tamils. Even today, the dominant discourse of Tamil politics continues to be nationalist and ethnically polarising. How do you see Tamil nationalist politics, often evoking the LTTE and its relevance to the post-war context? Can it speak to the apparent religious intolerance and caste discrimination within Tamil society?
There are no doubts that there are certain fissures within Tamil society. These exist, I suppose, in every society.
The Tamil people need to come out of this sense of them being second class citizens in this country and not equal citizens. They don’t have the same rights that the others in the majority community have. The war was fought for that reason. The fact that the war has ended does not mean that the conflict itself has been resolved.
While I do think that there must be a greater appreciation of the need for balance and a cautious approach to different issues, there is a basic root cause that also needs to be addressed. If the new Constitution is able to provide the Tamil people with some belief in their future, these issues can probably be better addressed at that point of time than now.
The historic Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections of 2013 gave the TNA its first opportunity in regional government. Despite the known limitations of inadequate power devolution, in what ways has the NPC served the people of the north? There is an accusation that much of the funds allocated remains under-utilised, with the provincial administration not passing necessary statutes.
From all reports that I received and which I read perhaps the NPC could have done better. The 13th Amendment has its shortcomings, but more could have been done within its framework. Initially, the governor was being difficult, he was a military person, but since 2015 there have been new governors who are quite liberal and progressive. The NPC should have addressed issues pertaining to the people, their daily needs, in a much more constructive way than they have done.
Tensions within the TNA keep surfacing frequently, with some constituents accusing your party, the ITAK (Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi), of dominating the alliance. Could you comment on how the imminent local elections may impact Tamil politics and national politics?
Local government elections are held at the lowest level of the society and it is possible that under the new Constitution there will be a list of local government functions, like a list of national functions and a list of provincial subjects. If the provisions contemplated under the new Constitution are adopted, local government institutions can become reasonably important.
At present, I see people raising national issues at the electorate. I would think that a majority of the people would be supportive of the politics of the TNA, as of now comprising the ITAK, the PLOTE (People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam) and the TELO (Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization). Only the EPRLF (Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front) has gone out. I am reasonably confident that the people in their wisdom will appreciate the policies being pursued by the TNA.
And Nationally?
We don’t know what is going to happen. There are three main players in the south, SLFP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party), the party of the President, the UNF (United National Front) of the Prime Minister and the SLPP (Sri Lanka People’s Front) led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. I don’t think one is able to yet discern the trends. We have to wait to see how it turns out.
Have you thought of succession plans for the TNA leadership?
I have not been really planning anything or having any definite focus on anyone or any particular course of action. I think it must play out over a period of time, as early as possible. Let us see what happens as we go along. I cannot be there forever, we need to have someone take over. It is not easy — you have to be cautious, you have to be patient and you need not be answering everybody, that is not possible.
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