Eezham Tamils were not a party and will never accept the one-sided constitutions Sri Lanka enacted either in 1972 or in 1978, said former TNA parliamentarian MK Sivajilingam speaking in Jaffna on the 40th anniversary of the 1972 republican constitution of Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The 1978 constitution not only continued the unitary concept but also made it more autocratic under executive presidency. The Amendments, including the 13 Amendment only strengthened the unitary character. Therefore, Tamils will not accept solutions bound by these constitutions. Based on the right to self-determination we demand the right to rule ourselves in our land, Sivajilingam said.
The former TNA parliamentarian in his address brought out the long history of deception, beginning from the unitary constitution of the times of the British.
He made a particular reference to Colvin R de Silva, who when in opposition verbally stood for Tamil rights, but when in power and when in-charge of drafting the 1972 constitution, conceived a unitary Sinhala-Buddhist state.
Sivajilingam also recollected SJV Chelvanayakam burning the draft constitution in May 1972 at the Navalar Hall of Saiva Paripaalana Sapai in Neeraaviyadi, Jaffna.
Independent political observers commenting on constitutional explorations in the island commented that repealing the 6th Amendment that prohibits talking secession is more important to democracy in the island than the powers pestering Tamils on the13th Amendment.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow TNN on Facebook and Twitter )