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dated August 14, 1957: Ceylon PM defends accord

Mr. Solomon Bandaranaike, Ceylon Prime Minister, on August 12 defended his agreement with the Federal Party on Tamil-Sinhalese relations as one that would make for realisation of the ideal of a united Ceylon. In a statement, he said some Tamil leaders had characterised the agreement as “betrayal of the Tamils,” while some Sinhalese, including the former Prime Minister and acting President of the former ruling United National Party, Mr. Dudley Senanayake, had accused him of being “treacherous” towards the Sinhalese. “The fact that certain extremists on both sides condemn the pact is sufficient proof that it has followed the golden middle way.” He said he had discussed with the Federal Party the language problem arising from the adoption of Sinhalese as the sole State language and the setting up of regional councils to decentralise administration. In his agreement, the position of Sinhalese as the State language was recognised so that fears of the Sinhalese that if parity of status to Sinhalese and Tamil were granted the Sinhalese language would suffer were removed. The fears of the Tamil people in regard to their language were also removed by recognition of Tamil as the language of national minority.

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