Interview to SUNDAY LEADER on 25/05/2008 by Srikantha MP
Resuming talks only a matter of time
TNA ParliamentarianN. Sri Kantha

Both the government and the LTTE will come to the negotiating table as neither party will win militarily, TNA Parliamentarian N. Sri Kantha said in an interview with The Sunday Leader.
He said that a political solution was still a possibility, as the war would not solve the ethnic conflict.
Sri Kantha also stated that India should lift the ban on the LTTE to maintain a neutral stance in the event it plays the role of facilitator to future peace negotiations.
He also urged the disarmament of the Pillayan Group in the east, 'as the whole democratic system would be affected due to its presence.'
"These armed groups should be disarmed. Otherwise, the entire democratic system of this country will become a mockery. The party in power under the present circumstances can easily manipulate the parliamentary elections in the northeast using their armed groups and succeed in mustering a majority to form the next government. After all, the northeast accounts for 31 elected MPs. This number is significant," he said. Excerpts:

By Arthur Wamanan

Q: The TNA has been silent during the recent past. Why?
A: We the TNA having decided to boycott the elections have been watching the developments viz a viz the Eastern Provincial Council. The political moves and counter moves centred on the Eastern Provincial Council are not of much interest to us, for we are concerned with the larger and most pressing question of stopping the war and thereby end the untold sufferings of the people that include the terrific human rights violations on the Tamils. This is our priority. But for many others, their priorities are different.

Q: How do you view Pillayan's appointment as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province?
A: As the renegade leader of the splinter group of the LTTE that has become the convenient mercenary of the government, Pillayan has been rewarded with the office of the Chief Minister. Fraud coupled with force has yielded rich dividends for the ruling alliance and its mercenaries, the TMVP.
With the gun in his hands and the blood of innocent civilians on his fingers, Pillayan has taken oaths as Chief Minister. As a nascent politician still wedded to weapons, he is least suited to hold any democratically elected office. Yet, he has been picked to achieve the sinister political goal of dividing the Tamil homeland once and for all. The TNA is determined to resist and defeat this design of the majoritarian racialism.

Q: The TNA parliamentarians representing the east have continuously faced threats by the TMVP. The MPs have not been in a position to work in areas like Batticaloa for a considerable amount of time. What steps have you taken to make sure that the TNA could go back and work in these areas?
A: I think very soon the MPs concerned would go to their respective districts. It is true that imminent danger awaits them in the east. Yet, duty demands that they take the calculated risk of visiting their districts. It is unavoidable.

Q: There are reports that the role of the peace facilitator would be passed on to India. Which country's role do you prefer? What impact would it make on the whole process given that India has been involved in Sri Lanka's issues?
A: If India wants to play the role of facilitator, it is all the more welcome. But to play the role, it should first lift the ban on the LTTE in order to acquire a neutral position and image. Is India ready to do that?

Q: Balraj was a key member of the LTTE military wing. How would his death affect the Tigers in the future?
A: I don't know much about the internal mechanism of the LTTE military apparatus to talk on this matter. Yet I can say that the demise of Balraj is indeed a big loss to the LTTE. The military capability of any army with a proven track record of its potential and prowess cannot be impaired drastically by the loss of two or three of its top commanders. Ultimately in the battlefield, what matters is the morale of the fighters and the overall leadership that guides them. In this context, LTTE continues to be a terrible fighting machine.

Q: There is also speculation that Balraj died due to an air strike or bombing and not due to a heart attack. How do you respond to this?
A: What you say is news to me. What we understand is that Balraj died of a massive heart attack.

Q: Would you say that with the appointment of Pillayan as Chief Minister, the north-east demerger is permanent?
A: Every politician of this country except a few has been talking about finding a political solution to the ethnic conflict. If the ethnic question is to be resolved politically, then, two matters need to be accepted. One; it has to be within a united island of Sri Lanka. Two; the solution should provide for a unified northeast autonomous region. Given this reality, the Eastern Provincial Council can only be a temporary one. It has to vanish into thin air in the event of a political resolution of the ethnic conflict.

Q: With the TNA boycotting the EPC and the TMVP asserting their authority, would it not be extremely difficult for the TNA to make a comeback at a general election in the east?
A: There cannot be any free and fair election, not only in the east, but also in the whole of northeast, as long as paramilitary groups, armed to the teeth and operating under the protective wings of the politico military leadership of this country are permitted to have their own way. These armed groups should be disarmed. Otherwise, the entire democratic system of this country will become a mockery.
The party in power under the present circumstances can easily manipulate parliamentary elections in the northeast using their armed groups and succeed in mustering a majority to form the next government. After all, the northeast accounts for 31 elected MPs. This number is significant.

Q: Given the current state of play, would you say there is no prospect of a negotiated settlement to the ethnic crisis?
A: We don't say that. There is every prospect for a negotiated settlement, for this war cannot be won by either party through the military conflict. The question is when. It is only a matter of time before both parties again meet at the negotiating table. But this time, I do think the talks will be crucial and with more international involvement, including of course, India.

Q: In your view can either the government or the LTTE win militarily and if not how do you see the issue getting resolved given the reluctance of both parties to resume talks?
A: I think time will tire out both parties with the end result of their shaking hands at the negotiating table.

Q: The Prime Minister has announced that there will never be another ceasefire in the country. Can you see the prospect of talks in such a backdrop and does that not leave a military solution as the only option?
A: The Prime Minister is a very good person personally speaking. But, please don't take him seriously on this matter. Very many bigger men have said very many bigger things on the same lines only to swallow their words ultimately.

Q: There is a view that the LTTE's campaign is self defeating because over time the Tamil population in the north and east has dwindled rapidly due to migration and other factors and that before long, Tamils will not be the majority in a combined province. How would you respond?
A: Well, it is an alarming situation. But the fact remains that all the Tamils who have been displaced internally and those who have gone to India wish to come back once there is normalcy in the northeast. Apart from that there remains unshaken, the determination of our people to live as equals with their brothers and sisters of the majority community. Given this fact, the struggle is bound to go on unless it is politically resolved. Furthermore, under any circumstances the Tamils will continue to be the majority in the northeast.

Q: It is said that though the Tamils are numerically larger in the east, in reality there are more Muslims living in the province and that the election results reflect that. What do you say?
A: In spite of migration and internal displacement, Tamils continue to be the single largest community in the east, closely followed by the Tamil speaking Muslim community. It is true that at the time of independence, the Tamils constituted 50% in the east with Muslims accounting for 42% and Sinhalese 8%. All that is drastically changed thanks to state-sponsored Sinhalese colonisation and the war.
Yet even now, the Tamils account for more than 40%. The disparity evident in the election results is due to a sizable section of the Tamil voters boycotting the election, more particularly in the Trincomalee District. A comparative analysis of the statistics of the last parliamentary election in the east with that of the latest provincial council election would clearly reveal it.

Q: Given the fact that the TNA has not called for the disarming of the LTTE, can you justifiably ask for the Pillayan Group to be disarmed?
A: There is a world of difference between the LTTE and the Pillayan Group known as the TMVP as they are now. One is a militant organisation waging war against the state. The other has become a political party, contested elections and assumed office. All of these achievements while clinging onto its guns.
Now Pillayan, sorry, Chandra-kanthan and his comrades have taken their respective oaths under the constitution to uphold and defend the constitution. Does the constitution permit anybody to possess and carry unlicensed weapons? This is totally against the law. If a Appuhamy or Arumugam or Anwer carries an unlicensed gun, he will be arrested and prosecuted. Then what about Pillayan and his comrades? Are they above the law just because they are former LTTEers? Even if the LTTE enters the democratic mainstream and contests elections, it cannot under the law, keep its weapons. Let there be no mistake about it.