By IANS
Colombo : Sri Lankan Tamil and Muslim intellectuals are urging President Mahinda Rajapakse to avoid the ‘unitary’ label as Sri Lanka braces for a new power sharing formula for the island’s northeast.
In an open letter to the president, the intellectuals have urged him to keep away from both ‘unitary’ and ‘federal’ labels in any devolution package so that no community feels offended.
Many in the majority Sinhalese community are bitterly opposed to their country becoming a federal entity, arguing this will be the first step to separation. Tamils in particular are opposed to a ‘unitary’ state, saying minorities would never get a fair deal under such a dispensation.
“We plead with you to … show leadership, and create a constitution without labels, one that will make all communities of Sri Lanka feel equal participants in working towards peace and prosperity,” they said in the letter, a copy of which was made available to IANS.
Among the signatories are professors Mohamed Nuhuman, Santasilan Kadirgamar, Kumar David and Vijaya Kumar, Minna Thaheer, Faizun Zackariya, Rohini Hensman, Krishna Velupillai, Subra Jayanthan, D.B.S. Jeyaraj and Rajan Philips.
Also among the signatories, living both in Sri Lanka and abroad, are Bala Sooriyan, Leah Marikkar, Najah Mohamed, P. Rajanayagam and A.R.M. Imtiyaz.
The letter said that the deliberations of the All Party Representative Committee to create a new constitutional framework were stuck over two key issues: whether the constitution should be labelled ‘unitary’ and whether the northern and eastern provinces should be remerged.
“As members of Sri Lanka’s minority communities, we ask of you, as president, to avoid labelling the constitution ‘unitary’ or ‘federal’ and (to) facilitate reaching consensus over power-sharing units for Tamils and Muslims in the northern and eastern provinces instead of isolating them from one another.”
Referring to a recent interview distributed by IANS, the letter writers said it was disappointing President Rajapakse had said that he would uphold the unitary character of Sri Lanka’s constitution.
“We are both disappointed and disturbed by this assertion,” the letter said. “We are disappointed because your assertion shuts out the opinions of large numbers of Sinhalese who have consistently voted for constitutional change involving devolution of powers in every election since 1994…
“And we are disturbed because your assertion is also a rejection of your responsibility to serve all Sri Lankans and not just those who voted for you.
“More important, the assertion alienates the minority communities who want to abide by a Sri Lanka that politically and constitutionally includes them as equal citizens despite their lesser numbers.
“The unitary label that was first inserted in the 1972 constitution has since produced the biggest threat ever to the island’s unity. Even if that threat were to be defeated militarily, persisting with the unitary label will leave the cancer of alienation.”