Not devolution of power, but separation of power — Weerawansa

by Saman Indrajith

The Patriotic National Movement on Tuesday expressed its strong opposition to the LTTE’s proposals for an Interim Self-Governing Authority. It said this was nothing but "the final step to Eelam."

"It legitimizes handing over power to a terrorist outfit. It is not devolution of power, but separation of power," JVP parliamentarian and a co-convener of the PNM, Wimal Weerawansa said.

"We, the PNM will declare anyone who agrees with this a betrayer. It envisages power to a fundamentalist Fascist group of terrorists to levy taxes, maintain law and order, control internal and external trade, negotiate foreign loans and absolute control over 60% of marine and off-shore resources of the country thorough an LTTE-run ISGA. Where is the devolution of power? The preamble to the proposal itself describes it as ‘separation of power," he said.

By their proposals for ISGA, the LTTE itself has blasted off the balloon of myth it had been inflating during the past few decades. "They once called themselves the sole representatives of the Tamils of Sri Lanka. And again labelled themselves as the saviors of Tamil-speaking people. Now, this document talks only on behalf of the Tamils in the North and East. It talks nothing about the Tamil population living in the rest of the provinces of the country," he said.

"It has not only divided the country, but the Tamil community now divided into two groups," he said.

MP Weerawansa further said that through the ISGA proposals the LTTE was demanding legislative and executive powers, so that later they could simply pass laws to introduce a national anthem, national flag and currency for a separate state they are striving to carve out.

He said that the government will violate the Constitution if it agrees to even discuss this with the LTTE on the basis of these proposals.

Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thero said it is enshrined in the Constitution that Buddhism must be protected and safeguarded. "If the government agrees to discuss these proposals, they would definitely violate the constitution," he said. "This is separation of the country. It is granting Eelam on a platter to the LTTE."

The Thero said that the North and East provinces have 276 identified places of archeological value. "Most of them are already destroyed by the LTTE. If the proposed powers are given to them they will demolish the rest as a part of their ethnic cleansing and racial movement," he said.

Renowned writer Gunadasa Amarasekera said that this document deserves to be in the trash basket as it is nothing but the way to Eelam. The government and its cronies can define this as devolution of power. It is neither a confederation nor federal system that some of them were babbling about," he said.

Former world champion cricket captain and PA MP Arjuna Ranatunga said that the general public must be told of the danger behind the legal jargon of the ISGA proposals. The PNM will organize a mass rally in Colombo this Friday, to bring patriotic citizens from all over the country with national flags. PNM leaders requested the public to hoist the national flag in their houses, and display the national flag on their vehicles and work places in protest against the LTTE’s ISGA proposals. Leaders of the JVP, SLFP, MEP, Green Party and NUA will lead the patriotic forces in this protest to be held at the Town Hall grounds at 2 p.m. on Friday from which venue they will proceed to the Campbell Park for a rally. Today, the PNM will distribute ten lakhs of leaflets all over the island. As a token of the campaign the leaders of the PNM will distribute hand-bills at the Fort Railway Station this evening at 4.30 p.m.