{"id":81735,"date":"2023-04-15T00:45:42","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T04:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=81735"},"modified":"2023-04-15T23:33:27","modified_gmt":"2023-04-16T03:33:27","slug":"tpa-leader-mano-ganesan-moots-propsal-to-set-up-a-tamil-caucus-in-parliament-that-would-enable-tamil-legislators-to-express-the-collective-desire-of-the-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=81735","title":{"rendered":"TPA Leader Mano Ganesan Moots Proposal to set up a \u201cTamil Caucus \u2018in Parliament that would Enable Tamil legislators to express the \u201ccollective desire\u201d of the island\u2019s Tamil speaking peoples."},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a bid to ensure Sri Lanka\u2019s main political parties do not \u201ctake numerical minorities for granted\u201d anymore, Opposition MP Mano Ganesan has recently mooted setting up a \u201cTamil caucus\u201d in Parliament.<\/p>\n

The \u201ccaucus\u201d, he said, would allow Tamil legislators to express the \u201ccollective desire\u201d of the island\u2019s Tamil speaking peoples. Although Sri Lanka\u2019s Tamils in the north and east, the Malaiyaha Tamils living across Central, Uva, Southern and Western Provinces, and the Tamil-speaking Muslims, may have different aspirations and political aims, their shared desire to live \u201cwithin an undivided Sri Lanka, sharing wealth and power as combined stake holders of national sovereignty\u201d must be collectively articulated, the leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt [the caucus] will help us commence a collective dialogue with all the national political parties, and beyond politicians, reach out to the Sinhala community leaders and organisations; as well as the international community and development partners, and urge them to use their good offices to ensure Sri Lanka stands by its international commitments,\u201d Mr. Ganesan told The Hindu at his Colombo residence. So far, some parties have responded positively, he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Currently part of the main Opposition alliance led by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB or United People\u2019s Force), the TPA, representing Malaiyaha Tamils, was among the few political groups to retain all of its six parliamentary seats in the last general election. Mr. Ganesan\u2019s recent outreach comes amid speculation over national elections next year. Sri Lanka\u2019s twice-postponed \u2014 owing to \u201clack of funds\u201d \u2014 local government elections may not be held anytime soon, despite Sri Lanka\u2019s Supreme Court restraining authorities from withholding funds, but all signs point to a presidential poll early next year, according to the legislator.<\/p>\n

Presidential poll<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI met President Ranil Wickremesinghe one-on-one recently. He told me that he would run [for President],\u201d said Mr. Ganesan, who was a Cabinet minister in the former Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration.<\/p>\n

Six-time Prime Minister Mr. Wickremesinghe was elected President through an urgent parliamentary vote in in July 2022, after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was unceremoniously ousted by a people\u2019s uprising at the height of Sri Lanka\u2019s crisis. The country\u2019s constitution bars a President elected by Parliament when the office falls vacant as it did last year, from calling for early elections. Such a move would require a constitutional amendment, and possibly a referendum.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ganesan said his efforts in uniting Mr. Wickremesinghe\u2019s United National Party, diminished to a single parliamentary seat in the last election, and the breakaway SJB proved futile. Predicting a three-cornered contest in the next presidential election, Mr. Ganesan said Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa, and the Leader of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), were the other likely contenders to the country\u2019s top office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears that Mr. Wickremesinghe hopes to be the common candidate in an entity that brings young members of both, the SLPP [Rajapaksas\u2019 ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna or People\u2019s Front], and the SJB, along with the minority parties together,\u201d the MP said, adding that the TPA would engage with all parties and decide closer to the elections. \u201cWe will fit in with any government,\u201d he said, if it is receptive to the Malaiyaha Tamils\u2019 demands.<\/p>\n

In Mr. Ganesan\u2019s view, it is \u201ctoo early\u201d to comment on the President\u2019s efforts towards economic recovery, but the increase in tourist arrivals and worker remittances are \u201cpositive\u201d signs, although much remains to be done. \u201cThe Sri Lankan economy crashed due to three main reasons \u2014 corruption, mismanagement & wastage. I have not seen any serious efforts from the government other than the notice of the anti-corruption bill. Pity, President Wickremesinghe is living with the wolves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making a case for closer trade ties with Sri Lanka\u2019s international partners, the TPA Leader said greater access to the Indian market, with preferential trade terms, will help small and medium enterprises in Sri Lanka. \u201cIndia is booming as the world\u2019s 5th largest economy. Look at booming Tamil Nadu, the closest Indian state [to us]…We must grab this opportunity and grow with India.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s first meeting with the TPA delegation in Colombo years ago, Mr. Ganesan said: \u201cHe [Mr. Modi] told us \u2018Tamils should be united\u2019, but immediately qualified his statement saying that \u2018Tamil unity should strengthen Sri Lankan Unity\u2019. <\/p>\n

Whether it is the BJP or the Congress, Indian national policy is unity in diversity. They preach to us what they practice at home,\u201d he said, adding that India was Sri Lanka\u2019s \u201cgreatest security shield\u201d against any internal or external challenges. \u201cSri Lanka should understand this basis and come over semi-hostile phobia.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, Sri Lanka must stop playing India and China against each other, he contended. \u201cMainstream Sinhalese politicians thought they were being clever in using India-China rivalries. But this foolishness has brought this country to this level,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cIndia is our greatest security shield against any internal or external challenges. Sri Lanka should understand this.\u201d
\n200th year<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka is marking the 200th year since the British brought down indentured labourers from south India to work in the island\u2019s plantations. The British government has a \u201cmoral responsibility\u201d towards the community who developed the profitable tea export industry, the island\u2019s motor and railroad network, and the Colombo port in then Ceylon, he stressed. \u201cI have started a dialog with the British establishment on this recently.\u201d<\/p>\n

The responsibility of Indian state \u201cis equal or even more\u201d. \u201cOur people were subjected to arbitrary and involuntary repatriation to India, notably by the Sirimavo-Shastri pact (1964)\u2026We were not consulted, but treated like cattle,\u201d he said. \u201cIndians thought keeping Colombo happy served its national interests. <\/p>\n

This greatly diminished the political status and socio-economic wellbeing of our community. If not for this repatriation pact, the current strength of our MPs in Parliament of Sri Lanka, which is nine today, would have reached not less than 25.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian government and policy makers have been briefed \u201cmany times,\u201d Mr. Ganesan said, expressing disappointment over the execution on ongoing projects. \u201cIndia is helping build [14,000] houses for the families living in the plantations, but it is going on at a frighteningly sluggish pace. At this rate, it may take another 50 years to complete the project. Generous socio-cultural- economic development projects of India in Sri Lanka seldom reach our community,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven in Tamil Nadu, most think that Sri Lanka\u2019s Tamils live just in the north and east. Their awareness of the plight of Malaiyaha Tamils is very low,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Meera Srinivasan In a bid to ensure Sri Lanka\u2019s main political parties do not \u201ctake numerical minorities for granted\u201d anymore, Opposition MP Mano Ganesan has recently mooted setting up a \u201cTamil caucus\u201d in Parliament. The \u201ccaucus\u201d, he said, would allow Tamil legislators to express the \u201ccollective desire\u201d of the island\u2019s Tamil speaking peoples. Although …<\/p>\n

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