CTTU leads Rights Conference in Batticaloa
[TamilNet, Friday, 06 December 2002, 17:51 GMT]
"Human rights abuses in Sri Lanka abound because people refuse to accept other people's views. If every community
develops the mindset to listen and understand views of others, there would be no war and destruction," said Mr. K. Velayutham, the Badulla district member of parliament (MP), speaking at a conference on "Human Rights and Democracy" in Batticaloa today.
The conference organized by the Ceylon
Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU), the Power Foundation and the Frederick Ebert
foundation, was held at the Lake View Inn in Batticaloa. The district leader
of the CTTU, Mr. S. Tharmarajah chaired the conference. The chief guests
included the Batticaloa government agent Mr. Mounakurusamy, and the
additional director of education Mr. T. Ponnampalam Mr. Velayutham said that the decision by the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to seek a political
solution is a wise decision that has moved not only Sri Lanka but also the
international community in a new direction. "Now Piraparharan's name is uttered with
respect in the Sri Lankan parliament as well as in the international fora. Our community once had self-rule
and there is nothing wrong in seeking self-rule again. The current
environment and the past struggle have proved this," he said. "Some elements do not want peace and are trying to sabotage the peace process in Sri Lanka. We should
not give them an opportunity to do that," said Mr. Velayutham. " Without
distinguishing ourselves as Tamils, Muslims and Upcountry Tamils, we should
all unite as a Tamil-speaking minority. All political leaders should also
understand this." Recalling the disenfranchisement of the upcountry Tamils, he said, "Though
it has been 20 years since the war started, the rights of the upcountry
Tamils have been denied since independence itself. When their citizenship
was denied, G.G. Ponnambalam supported it while 'Thanthai' Chelva (S.J.V.
Chelvanayakam) opposed it." "Even then, the lack of unity among Tamil leaders caused the deprivation of
our people at the hands of chauvinists. Many of their rights continue to be
denied. Such a situation should not arise again," the MP observed. "The
denial of rights and oppression of the Tamil people of the North-East caused
the armed struggle and war. Human rights will be respected when the views of
an individual or a community is respected by others."
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