Tamil aspirations and Tiger terrorism -two different entities Marx said end justifies the means

- Douglas Devananda

By Thava Sajitharan                                           Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Minister Douglas Devananda tells LAKBIMAnEWS that ‘the military approach of the Sri Lankan government is justifiable since it is necessary to achieve the desired good results’. Excerpts:

Ln: as a Tamil minister in the government representing the north, how do you assess the present situation of the north in terms of the ongoing war?
DD: The main cause for the problems facing the Tamil speaking people here during the last two decades has been the prevalence of an undemocratic milieu. It is because of this undemocratic situation that we are unable to solve our problems whether they are political or other issues related to day- to -day life. As a result of it, freedom of expression, freedom of movement etc. remains restricted for the Tamil speaking people. People need to be able to emerge from this situation. The group led by Prabhakaran is the obstacle in this path and that obstacle needs to be cleared. The president and the government are engaged in the process of removing that obstacle. We are giving our support to that. It is not because Prabhakaran belongs to one organisation and Douglas to another. Our support for the government’s effort should not be seen as a reflection of internecine conflict.

Ln: Talking about freedom and rights, one cannot forget the government’s role in this regard. The government refers to the military effort as a ‘humanitarian mission’. Yet the very humanitarian mission is said to have created a grave humanitarian crisis in the Wanni... Several civilian casualties including infants have been reported from the war areas... And the issue of internally displaced People (IDPs) is also serious...
DD: I am not justifying war. I do not believe that problems can be solved through violence. Nonetheless, this is a war foisted on the government by the Tigers. You see, medical surgeries are performed to save one’s life. And we are bound to face some difficulties in the process of healing the ailment......

 Ln: But how do you think the government should as a representative body obligated to protect its citizens address those ‘difficulties’ arising in the process? Even though the government has instructed the IDP to move towards areas controlled by it, these people are said to be heading towards LTTE-held territory...
DD: Moving towards LTTE-held areas and being forced to move towards the LTTE-held areas are entirely two different things. This has happened in the past. The LTTE has used the people as human shields on several previous occasions. That is what’s happening now.

Ln: It could be true. Yet the reality is that those IDPs remain stranded in areas where battles are being fought. And the government has asked NGOs and other humanitarian agencies to vacate these areas saying they cannot assure the security of the employees of such agencies. The UN has already decided to leave. Wouldn’t that aggravate the plight of the IDPs? With the absence of those NGOs, how are we going to tackle the IDP problem?
DD: I’d like to put it this way. Thiruvalluvar, the Tamil saint poet says: “even falsehood is of the nature of truth, if it gives good results free from fault” ..... Karl Marx says “ends justify the means”. We need to get rid of the LTTE. To achieve that end, we will inevitably have to face some problems.

Ln: There is much talk about the military now being placed in a situation where the LTTE can be thoroughly defeated. Do you think it’s going to happen this time around? If that happens, how significant would that be in relation to the political aspirations of the Tamils?
DD: There are two separate issues that are in no way connected to each other: one is Tiger terrorism and the other is the aspirations of the Tamils with regard to their political rights. We need to adopt different strategies to deal with these different issues.
The Tiger leadership ought to be defeated. It has harmed not only the Tamil people but the human race in a broad sense. Measures are afoot to address the political problems of the Tamils. Democracy has been restored to a considerable extent through conducting elections in the east. It’s only the first step. The stalemate has been brought to an end. Whether Pillayan was correct or not is immaterial. What is important is the progress.
Similarly, the president has appointed a special executive committee for the north with the approval of the cabinet. It will function until a provincial poll is held for the Northern Province.
So democratization of the north is important. I am not sure if we can talk of achieving it within a given time framework. But the sooner it happens the better. That is all that I can say.

Ln: You are from the north. Yet, the EPDP as a Tamil political party would no doubt have aspirations of expanding its political sway in other regions such as the east where Tamils are densely populated. Aren’t you disappointed or dissatisfied that the ruling UPFA opted to align with the TMVP in the last two elections held in the east? Don’t you feel being let down by the government?
DD: I have a clear idea as to what politics is and what governments are. When there is a coalition government, there are various elements comprising it. It is composite and has to be flexible. Our party was established with a view to serving Tamil people from both regions - north and east.
Yet, the EPDP has relatively less influence in the east than the north. Isn’t that so?

Ln: How do you measure that?
DD: There was a time when UNP had 2/3 of the parliamentary seats. But now? Does it mean that the UNP is insignificant? You cannot judge a political party based solely on the number of seats it procured. These things happen in politics.

Ln :Do you still stand for a merged North-East now that the government has legally de-merged it?
DD: Yes, we have not changed our position on that matter. But we are willing to adopt new strategies.

Ln: What are your present thoughts on the ‘Eelam’ notion? None of the Tamil militant groups-turned-political parties have done away with the term 'Eelam' except the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal..
DD: The term Eelam is different from ‘Tamil Eelam’. You would have studied in your history lessons that Sri Lanka has several other names. Eelam is just one of them. But the term Tamil Eelam has a separatist implication. The term we use is ‘Eelam’.

Ln:Doesn’t ‘Eelam’ have any implication connected to the political aspirations of Tamils?
DD: It does, but within the ambit of an integrated, united Sri Lanka. We have Ruhunu, Wayamba etc... Eelam can be one of those...

Original Link :- http://www.lakbimanews.lk/special/spe8.htm