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"Division of Sri Lanka will be detrimental to Tamils"

S. Dorairaj

Ethnic divide will only pave the way for a "Sinhala Prabakaran," says R. Chandrasekar

— Photo: S.S. Kumar

R. Chandrasekar

CHENNAI: The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) favours a solution to the crisis in Sri Lanka without dividing the country on ethnic lines. Any such division will be detrimental to the Tamils living in areas outside the north and the east, according to party central committee member R. Chandrasekar.

The nominated Member of Parliament and trade union leader, who works in Vavuniya district, told The Hindu here that the JVP believed Sri Lanka belonged to the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims. Dividing the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation would result in the rise of more sub-national tendencies and in the fragmentation of the island.

He accused Britain, Norway and the United States of trying to interfere in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka by using the ethnic problem, more particularly the demand for a separate homeland for the Tamils, as a ploy. Actually, these countries had the "hidden agenda of plundering the rich oil resources of the island."

As the imperialist forces had been trying to create a power in South Asia akin to Israel in the Middle East to serve their interests, India should prevent the dismemberment of Sri Lanka, he said.

Though the activities of the Tamil parties and militant groups were confined only to Jaffna, Batticaloa, Mannar and Trincomalee, a large number of Tamils lived outside these areas also. In Colombo, the Tamils formed 35 per cent of the population. They lived in Galle, Matara, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla. Moreover, most of the Tamils from the north and the east had sought refuge in Colombo to escape the fighting, he pointed out.

The ethnic divide would only pave the way for the emergence of a "Sinhala Prabakaran," the JVP leader said, stressing the need for "liberating Tamils from the clutches of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam." Efforts must be made to restore normality in the country so that democratic and political movements functioned freely.

Denying that the JVP was anti-Tamil, Mr. Chandrasekar said the party, with 38 MPs, had been playing the role of a constructive opposition in Parliament. It was working for the progress and welfare of the Tamils and the Muslims. The party had constructed 500 houses in the tsunami-hit areas such as Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Amparai. Free computer education centres were run by the JVP for the benefit of the people in different parts of the country. The party was also working for the welfare of the estate workers.

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