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Meenakshi Iyer (HindustanTimes.com)
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New Delhi, November 4
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He has survived
ten attempts on his life and continues to be on the LTTE's
hit list. But nothing will stop Kathiravelu Nithyananda
Douglas Devananda, leader of the Eelam Peoples' Democratic
Party (EPDP) and Minister of Hindu Affairs in the Sri
Lankan cabinet, from opposing the hegemony of the Tigers
and their "sovereign" Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Devananda
believes that only India can bring peace to Sri Lanka and
that Sri Lankans, Tamils as well as the Sinhalas, had
missed a "golden chance" to solve the ethnic problem when
they opposed the India-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987.
In New Delhi
recently to canvas for a pro-active Indian role in the Sri
Lankan peace process, Devananda spoke to Meenakshi
Iyer of HindustanTimes.com.
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Excerpts
from the interview:
Q:
What role do you want India to play in the Sri Lankan
peace process?
A:
We want India's 'active' participation in the peace
process. We want
India to
help the Sri Lankan government bring a honourable
political solution to the Tamil question. If there are
problems about implementing that solution, India should
help the Sri Lankan government overcome the obstacles.
We have met
various Indian leaders here and our message to them is
that they should help us bring peace to the island nation
smoothly and swiftly.
Q:
Of late, prominent leaders of Sri Lanka have been saying
that India should mediate in the peace talks. Why is India
being pestered to play a role when it had burnt its
fingers doing just that earlier on, and had lost its most
charismatic leader, Rajiv Gandhi?
A:
Firstly, I want to apologise from the Tamil side for Rajiv
Gandhi's assassination. It was brutal. One can never
forgive the people involved in it. But still, India should
play a role. India got involved in the Tamil issue in the
1980s, but it couldn't solve the problem fully. So, it
should get involved again and solve it fully. Sri Lanka
and India are bound together by religious, cultural,
historical and linguistic ties.
Q:
But most Sri Lankan Tamils don't seem to want India to
play an active role because they fear the return of the
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)….
A:
No! There is no feeling like that. Moreover, memories are
short-lived. Now the Sinhalese as well as Tamils are
seeking Indian participation. Had the IPKF stayed for some
more time, the problem would have been solved.
Q:
What is the current status of the peace process?
A:
The LTTE is dragging the peace process. The Tigers don't
want the problem to be solved peacefully and amicably.
It's in their character to make demands after demands
after demands! They keep changing their stance. For
example, the major parties of Sri Lanka say that they are
prepared to talk within the framework of the Oslo
Declaration (that is, find a federal solution within a
united
Sri Lanka).
But the LTTE
says that there is no such thing as Oslo Declaration! I
know the LTTE's mind, having been a militant myself. As
you say in Tamil, one snake knows another!
Q:
You have recently told a conference that Prabhakaran is
actually an impediment to the solution of the Tamil
problem. Why?
A:
Prabhakaran's real problem is that he cannot survive in a
democratic set up. He wants to get a piece of land,
P-I-E-C-E, and not peace, to rule as a dictator. That is
his real goal. But people don't understand what he is up
to.
According to
Prabhakaran, everybody but himself is wrong - Rajiv
(Gandhi) is wrong, Chandrika (Kumaratunga) is wrong,
(President) Premadasa was wrong. He is a fascist. But he
was not like that in the beginning. He was dedicated to
the Tamil cause, the Tamil people. But now greed has got
the better of him.
Q:
The India -Sri Lanka Accord signed on July 29, 1987 by
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President JR Jayawardene
is generally criticised in Sri Lanka, but you seem to
support it. Why?
A:
The India-Sri Lanka Accord was a golden opportunity for
Sri Lanka
to solve the ethnic question. The opportunity was given to
the LTTE and the EPRLF (Eelam People's Revolutionary
Liberation Front), which was another prominent Tamil party
in Sri Lanka.
While the LTTE
threw it away because of a vested interest, the EPRLF
misused it. I would not blame the Indian and Sri Lankan
governments for this. The Tamil leadership didn't handle
it properly. We missed an opportunity to bring peace to
the nation.
(The LTTE
had alleged that the problems of the Tamils hadn't been
taken care of in the Accord and had characterised it as an
"agreement concluded in haste". Reports said that the
accord failed because it fell short of recognising the
reality of Tamil nationalism.)
Q:
Norway's endeavours to bring peace to the teardrop island
have yielded no results so far. Do you think that the
Norwegians will be successful in their efforts?
A:
The Norwegians thought that they could handle the problem
easily. It is tough to handle Prabhakaran. Thay have
failed in their mission. They are trying. But if you want
to succeed in this mission, you should know the real side
of the LTTE.
Q:
Since both your party and the LTTE are for the Tamil
cause, is there any chance of a truce between the EPDP and
the LTTE?
A:
No! Prabhakaran is fighting just for himself.
Q:
It seems that the LTTE will not rest till it eliminates
you. It keeps attacking you off and on. Being a central
minister in the cabinet, is your security taken seriously?
A:
(Laughs aloud!) The government cannot be held responsible.
What happened to President Premadasa? He was President
when he was assassinated! (President R Premadasa was
killed by a LTTE suicide bomber in 1993). |
