Media Release : Tuesday, 14 November 2006

http://www.spur.asn.au/SPUR_20061114_De-Merger.htm

Respect the Supreme Court Decision. The President must Establish Separate Provincial Councils for the North and the East of Sri Lanka

The Society for Peace Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (SPUR) welcomes the historic judgement of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on the 16/10/2006, that declared that the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces as illegal, and calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately implement measures to give effect to this decision.

This Supreme Court verdict has redressed an injustice committed against all citizens of Sri Lanka who oppose ethnically based separatism. It also provides an opportunity for all Sri Lankans to challenge and destroy the myth propagated by the Ealamist separatists that the North and East of Sri Lanka constitute a 'Tamil Homeland' or form areas of "Historical Habitation" of the Tamil people.

As confirmed by the Supreme Court, the voters of the Eastern Province had been continuously denied their democratic rights to lawfully elect a Provincial Council. The temporary merger had also resulted in the Muslim and Sinhala communities, which together form the majority of the Eastern Province, being artificially reduced to a minority, which has been exacerbated by the "ethnic cleansing" carried out by the LTTE.

In addition to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which initiated the Supreme Court Challenge, the de-merger of has been also widely applauded by a range other political groups and individuals.

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) which had repeatedly called for a de-merger, and the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), whose leader Dinesh Gunawardena had previously recommended that the two Provinces should remain separate to the Mangala Moonesinghe Committee, has strongly endorsed the decision.

Eastern Province Muslim Leader Minister A.L.M. Athaullah also told the Sri Lankan Parliament that Muslims in the east welcomed the de-merger, and stated that the two provinces were merged only to please the interests of one community disregarding the aspirations of the Sinhala and Muslim people. The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP), the political arm of the Karuna Group, has welcomed the de-merger as a victory for the Eastern people, and added that it provided the chance for the people of the East to elect their own representatives and decide their own future.

SPUR also notes that several cabinet ministers of the incumbent government have questioned the "timing" of the judgement while some members of the UNP has offered to lend support to the government if it decides to merge the two provinces again. It is disappointing to note that some politicians are happy to continue with an arrangement that is unconstitutional and illegal, has no historical basis and which has not taken into account the aspirations and concerns of the people of the Eastern Province. We can only conclude that such politicians are ignoring or ignorant of the historical background of the two Provinces and the aspirations of the Eastern Province and are merely trying to satisfy the claim of the LTTE terrorists and other Ealamist separatists. While Prime Minister Mr Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, has recently said in Parliament that the Government of Sri Lanka was taking initial steps with regard to the recent Supreme Court decision, it is not clear as to what these measures are. It has also been reported that the Government intends to hold a referendum in the Eastern (and possibly the Northern) Provinces to determine the future of the two Provinces.

SPUR appeals to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Government of Sri Lanka to give immediate effect to the Supreme Court decision by appointing separate Governors to the two Province, conducting Elections for the two individual Provincial Councils. This will allow the people of all ethnic groups to exercise their democratic rights to elect their own representatives and benefit from the much-needed developmental assistance that should be provided to these areas.

SPUR also urges extreme caution in holding a referendum in the North or East of Sri Lanka because it has been amply demonstrated that the LTTE and its front-organisations including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have consistently subverted the will of the people in both these Provinces during previous Parliamentary and Presidential Elections.

The Supreme Court decision on the illegal North-East merger, and the past use of non-democratic means to perpetuate this illegality, exemplifies how Sri Lankan issues are mishandled through political expediency. We therefore request President Rajapaksa and the Government of Sri Lanka to take all possible steps to change this culture and to uphold rule of law and the democratic aspirations of all Sri Lankans.

Furthermore, we are of the firm belief that if the boundaries of any unit of administration in Sri Lanka are to be redrawn, it should be done as part of a comprehensive solution and should follow due process while taking into account the aspirations and concerns of all the people of Sri Lanka and not as a knee jerk reaction in to satisfy the dreams and the greed of Tamil separatists and other shadowy parties who would like to destroy the Unity and Territorial Integrity of Sri Lanka.

Dr Dasarath Jayasuriya

President (SPUR Vic)

Society for Peace, Unity & Human Rights in Sri Lanka (SPUR)
Reg No. A 003 07777 M
P.O. Box 4066
Mulgrave, Victoria, VIC 3170
Australia

http://www.spur.asn.au/SPUR_20061114_De-Merger.htm

Back to Latest News on LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists