-By A Staff Writer
(Lanka-e-News -08.Sep.2024, 11.30 pm) UNP leader and independent presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe recently stated in Jaffna that Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the National People's Power (NPP) and a presidential candidate, should immediately apologize to the Tamil people.
According to media reports, Ranil clarified his point by referencing Anura’s visit to Jaffna, saying:
"What did Anura say when he came? When the people in the South are rallying for change, if you stand against that change, imagine the mindset it will create among the people in the South. Do you want to be identified as standing against change? As being against that progress in Jaffna? In the North? Let me assure you once again, we will win. But you must become part of that victory, not oppose it."
This was by no means a threat against the Tamil people from Anura. However, Ranil added further statements claiming that Anura had said something more, alleging:
"He said, ‘Watch what happens if you don't vote for me,’ and I completely reject such a statement."
The NPP believes that this false and serious statement, especially coming from a sitting president and a candidate in the upcoming presidential election, warrants further action.
Anura's message to the Tamil people in Jaffna was very clear. In the last three presidential elections - 2010, 2015, and 2019 - the majority of Tamil voters in the North have consistently supported the UNP or candidates backed by the UNP.
Yet, in two out of these three elections, the candidate who won was not the one supported by the majority of Tamil voters.
Only in the 2015 election did the winning candidate receive the majority of Tamil votes.
In 2019, the president-elect secured 69% of the vote, primarily from areas outside the North.
Looking ahead to 2024, it is clear that Sri Lankan politics are set for a revolutionary change, and there is little room for debate on this.
Given this political reality, the victory of the NPP is already evident, particularly with strong support from the South.
Anura's message in Jaffna was simple: he urged the Tamil people to join in this victory. A united victory, combining the North and South, would be a powerful force to rebuild the country.
In essence, Anura was calling on the Tamil people to reclaim their voting rights, which had historically been auctioned off by the Northern elite to the Southern elite.
In every presidential election, the majority of the Tamil voters in the North have cast their ballots for the UNP. Yet, no party has wreaked more devastation on the Tamil people than the UNP.
The 1983 Black July, the anti-Tamil pogrom, was orchestrated by the UNP government. Ranil's uncle, J.R. Jayawardene, was president at the time, and Ranil's political mentor, Cyril Mathew, a key figure in J.R.'s cabinet, was the mastermind behind the massacre.
From Colombo to the rest of the island, Cyril Mathew’s UNP thugs set fire to Tamil-owned businesses, killing countless Tamil citizens. This violent, anti-Tamil pogrom was incited by the UNP government, of which Ranil was a part.
Cyril Mathew even publicly declared that he wouldn’t rest until the last Tamil person’s shoes were turned into sandals, and Ranil remained a leader in that same government.
It is Ranil, not Anura, who should apologize to the Tamil people.
In 1981, during the District Development Council elections, Ranil, alongside Cyril Mathew, led UNP thugs to the North and burned down the Jaffna Library, one of the largest libraries in South Asia and a symbol of Tamil heritage.
It is Ranil and the UNP, not Anura or the NPP, who owe the Tamil people an apology for this destruction.
Ranil and his uncle J.R. Jayawardene’s legacy of devastation in the North is significant. The civil war that followed, lasting 30 years, was a direct consequence of the actions of Ranil and the UNP.
The war claimed countless lives and caused immeasurable property damage, affecting not only the people of the North but also the youth and innocent civilians of the South. Therefore, Ranil owes an apology to both the Tamil people of the North and the Sinhalese people of the South.
Ranil Wickremesinghe’s and the UNP’s dark past will never be forgotten by the majority in the South. For years, the people have expressed their rejection of Ranil and the UNP. It is clear that the people of the South will never again allow Ranil to gain power by deceiving them.
The Northern Tamil people, however, have been slow to recognize this, largely because the Northern elite have continued to present Ranil as a savior of the Tamil people.
Yet, after six years since the end of the 30-year civil war, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Tamil people’s expectations, even after electing President Sirisena with Ranil as Prime Minister in 2015, were not met.
If anyone in the North still doubts this, I urge them to revisit the speech given by UNP MP Vijayakala Maheswaran, the then-Minister for Women and Child Affairs, on July 2, 2018, in Jaffna’s Veerasingham Hall, where she stood alongside Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena.
If there is any Tamil national who can still call on the Tamil people to cast their votes for Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP, then it is essential to fully understand their motives in this regard.
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by (2024-09-08 19:01:16)
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