Courtesy: The Island
TULF President, Mr. V. Anandasangaree, has issued a statement relating to the January 26 Presidential Election endorsing neither of the two main contenders nor any other candidate and has also not asked supporters of his party to boycott the election.
He had instead set down 15 proposals for implementation in the event of any of the contenders getting elected and asked the voters to pressurize candidates of their choice to implement these proposals if elected.
“(The proposals) concern every section of the people of Sri Lanka and (relate to) the promotion of good governance under which all ethnic groups can enjoy all rights equally with the others,” the statement said.
The TULF sought to create a contented society where nobody will feel superior or inferior to another, it explained.
Anandasangaree said his party believed that any solution to the ethnic problem under the unitary system may be subject to review by a future parliament and all past efforts at the heavy cost of life and property will go waste.
For the past five years the TULF had advocated a solution under a Federal constitution and also offered to accept the Indian model as an alternative.
“This proposal should satisfy those who were opposed to both the Federal and Unitary systems,” Anandasangaree said. “The TULF is fully convinced that no acceptable solution can ever be found under a unitary system.”
The statement urged that the North East merger will not be detrimental either to the country or to any ethnic group but would help promote goodwill and harmony among various communities living in the two provinces.
“The TULF is of the view that if it is left in the hands of the people of those two provinces, as promised by the Prime Minister in parliament, a lot of misunderstandings could be cleared.”
The statement also complained about the delay in resettling IDPs in their original places of residence and urged that all the displaced, be they Sinhalese, Muslims, Tamils or Tamils of Indian origin (or any other ethnic group) must return to their original homes.
If resettlement was left in the hands of the respective GAs, the task would have been completed by now, he said adding that the arrest and detention of Kilinochchi GA and some Grama Sevakas was delaying the resettlement process.
He called for compensation to be paid immediately for the loss of life and property of the IDPs, whatever their ethnicity, and also called for quick action to compile a list of the missing and dead of those who lived in the Vanni during the war.
The statement also called for the dismantling of the High Security Zones now that the war is over as there wasn’t the slightest chance of the LTTE reviving. Immediate action should be taken to compel armed groups now occupying houses forcibly to return them to their owners or their heirs.
Anandasangaree said that the TULF sincerely believed that the implementation of the proposals they have made will clear the prevailing mess and appealed to all voters to pressurize the candidate of their choice at the forthcoming election to accept the proposals they have made.
Their implementation will lead to a lasting solution to the ethnic problem and bring back peace and tranquility, he said.
http://www.island.lk/2010/01/03/news6.html
