Minister threatens Tamils with 'hundred more massacres'
- Post 17 June 2012
- By JDS News Desk
A Sri Lankan cabinet minister has threatened with 'hundred more massacres' unless the island's Tamil population avoid following the politics of the main Tamil parliamentary group. The warning came during a news conference on the 8 June in Colombo.
"One Mullivaikkal is enough. Don't try to get 100 more" said Power and Energy minister Champika Ranawaka, the leader of Sinhala right wing Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a main constituent party of the ruling coalition headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The threatening comments were made as a response to a speech delivered by the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R.Sampanthan during the national convention of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), the chief constituent party of the TNA.
'Forgive and forget'
"Does Sambanthan want to create 100 more Mullivaikkals? We are ready to forgive and forget the past and think about the future" said the minister. "But, if Sambanthan is calling us to a fight, our nation would proudly accept the challenge" he further said.
The leader of the TNA, 79 year old veteran Tamil politician while delivering the keynote speech at the ITAK national convention the week before, said: "The position that the North and East of Sri Lanka are the areas of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking people cannot be compromised. We must have unrestricted authority to govern our own land, protect our own people, and develop our own economy, culture and tradition. A meaningful devolution should go beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution." If the Sri Lankan state continuously deny this right, "we will claim our right under international law to external self determination" he said.The ITAK convention was held following failed attemps by the TNA to arive at an agreement with the government on an acceptable solution to the National Question.
Expressing anger over the remarks of the Tamil leader, the Sri Lankan minister cautioned the island's Tamil population saying "we appeal to the Tamil people not to go behind this kind of people and end up in getting 100 more Mullivaikkals".
Mullivaikkal is an area on the northeastern coast of the island where tens of thousands of Tamils were cornered and massacred during the final stage of the war between Sri Lankan troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. Since then the area has become known as the final 'killing field' of the war and Tamils around the world hold annual commemorations named "Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day". (Video courtesy: ETV)
© JDS
Comments
Shame on you! If Sri Lanka have couple of racists like you the country would never grow.
When you speak why don't you speak in English? At least then the world can see how you act.
World is only interested in exploiting the country to sell their products---arms /food/equipment etc
They don't care how this third world country treat its own citizens.
Was this a slip of the tongue, or just arrogance that his boss will not reprimand him?
Not only the Rajapaksha clan, but also other political leaders, diplomats, civil servants, military commanders and soldiers who incited, abetted, aided, perpetrated and and advocated the violence against innocents must be brought to justice.
Only an international and impartial investigation and accountability mechanism will stop the Sinhala extremist from repeating they heinous crimes against the Tamils.
Why is the UN so sleepy and impotent?
Sambanthan's statement also needs to be criticized equally, which provoked Sinhala politicians to make such short sighted statements. At least now all of us have peace. The challenge is to find ways to preserve it further. No point in running around one man's statement.
he would have been removed from office and legal action would have taken againt the Minister.
But our country is different. Heads are elected by uneducated masses, and they continue in power by amending the constitution illegally.
Normal response ,Yes ,past may be forgotten but not forgiven unless the criminals are brought to justice for genocide.
Ultra-religous and ultra-nationali stic Ranawaka is as rotten as Sampanthan or Hakeem. No difference.
These people along with corrupt, family run SLFP & UNP will ruin Sri Lanka and her future one more time.
Ranawaka is indirectly helping the cunning LTTE rump overseas. LTTE diaspora will lose no time in manipulating this kind of statements to further devide us. The Sri Lankans!
well said Mr Ranawaka!!