Devananda was born in Jaffna on 10^th November 1957, as the second of the four sons and one daughter of Subramaniam Kathiravelu. His mother Maheswary died when he was only six years old. His father Kathiravelu was an active member of the Sri Lanka Communist Party, a leading member of the Government Clerical Service Union (GCSU), and the editor of the GCSU publication ‘Redtape’. Kathiravelu served in the Department of Inland Revenue and later joined the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, where he rose up as one of its Regional Managers.

Devananda had his primary and secondary education at the Jaffna Central College, where his mother was a teacher, till her death. While being a teenage student in Jaffna, he was exposed to, and influenced by his father’s political work and that of his uncle K.C. Nithyananda, who was a leading trade unionist of his day. In 1970, at the age of 13, Devananda joined the Maanavar Peravai (Students Federation), being distressed by the then government’s scheme of standardization of marks for admission to universities.

From Jaffna, in 1974, Devananda was sent to Colombo for further studies under K.C. Nithyananda’s tutelage. Nithyananda joined the government service as a clerk and was a President of the GCSU. He rose to become a member of the Ceylon Administrative Service (CAS) and served in the Ministry of Transport and the General Treasury. Nithyananda assumed the role of Devananda’s parent and mentor. In Colombo, however, it was not studies that interested Devananda, the teenager, but politics. Sinhala chauvinism and Tamil extremism enveloping the country disturbed him. He wanted to be actively engaged in the Tamil liberation struggle of the day. He joined the Eelam Liberation Organisation (ELO). In 1975, he became a founder member of the Eelam Revolutionary Organizers (EROS). He organised the General Union of Eelam Students (GUES) in Colombo, and coordinated its activities in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Being one of the pioneers of the armed struggle, it was then that he assumed the pseudonym of Douglas.

Nithyananda and his Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organisation (TRRO) worked tirelessly in the task of providing temporary accommodation and food to thousands of Tamil refugees when anti-Tamil riots broke out in the south and central Sri Lanka, following the Parliamentary general election in August 1977. Young Devananda threw his full weight behind that humanitarian task.

When President Jayewardene appointed Nithyananda as the Chairman of the newly formed Palmyrah Development Board, Devananda functioned as his personal assistant. This was only for a short period. In 1978, Devananda alias Douglas and two other EROS members left for military training with Al Fatah of the Palestinian Liberation Organization from Palaly, Jaffna. He successfully completed the training and returned to Sri Lanka.

Trouble was brewing in the hierarchy of the EROS. The organization, with its leadership based mainly in London, broke up into two. A section, including Padmanabha and Devananda left EROS and formed the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF). The student body GUES of the EROS, attached itself with the EPRLF. In the EPRLF, Douglas Devananda served as a member of the politbureau of the Central Committee and as the commander of its military wing, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

In 1980, the Sri Lanka government arrested Douglas Devananda twice under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He was incarcerated in the Batticaloa Prison, Colombo Magazine Prison, Panagoda Army Detention Barracks, and the Welikada Prison in Colombo. When the July 1983 anti-Tamil riots broke out, Douglas Devananda was an inmate of Welikada prison. He was one of the few prisoners who escaped death at the hands of the Sinhala criminals who were let loose by the authorities on July 25th and 27th to kill the Tamil political prisoners. After the two massacres in the Welikada prison, which resulted in the death of 53 inmates, Douglas Devananda along with 27 other survivors was transferred to the Batticaloa prison. In September 1983, he along with all the other Tamil political prisoners escaped from the Batticaloa prison and fled to Tamil Nadu in India.

From India, in 1984, he went for advanced military training, and led a group of other EPRLF members, both men and women, for training with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP). Following the training, he returned to North-East Sri Lanka and resumed charge as the commander of PLA of the EPRLF. Based in Jaffna, he was also in charge of all political and military activities of the EPRLF in the North and East of Sri Lanka. On May 5th of 1985, Devananda lost his teenage sister, Shobha alias Mathivathani in the Karainagar Naval Base attack. The searchlights of the navy gunboats caught up with her and she was shredded in a hail of heavy machine gun bullets. She was the first woman cadre martyr in the freedom struggle of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

In May 1986, serious internal contradictions relating to the strategy and tactics of the struggle and the internal structure of the organization cropped up within the EPRLF. As most of its politbureau members were based in Tamil Nadu, Douglas Devananda undertook a sea voyage to Tamil Nadu to sort out the problems. His first sea voyage on July 7th of 1986 ended up in a tragedy, which resulted in the death of seven of the nineteen-member entourage of Douglas Devananda. He lost his loyal comrades Imama, Ashok, Edward, Chenpagam, Sukirthan, Gnanam and Nagarajah to the Indian Ocean. Though Douglas Devananda arrived safely on the second sea voyage, the internal contradictions could not be resolved. Consequently, Douglas Devananda and his loyalists parted company from the others, and laid claim as the real EPRLF. The two factions were however dubbed as the EPRLF (D – Douglas Devananda) and the EPRLF (R- Ranjan alias Naba).

In October 1986, EPRLF (R) conspired and framed charges against Devananda for an incident in Choolaimedu in Chennai and had him arrested. He was however released on bail. Following this incident, cleavage between the two factions of the EPRLF became permanent. In May 1987, EPRLF (D) under the leadership of Douglas Devananda, together with Paranthan Rajan who led a breakaway group of the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) formed the Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF) in Tamil Nadu. However, this arrangement did not last long. Thereafter, EPRLF (D) transformed itself into the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP).

Following the Indo Sri Lanka Agreement of July 1987, the EPDP also decided to give up the armed struggle and join the democratic political mainstream in Sri Lanka. The earlier upbringing of Devananda by Kathiravelu and Nithyananda made it easy for him to decide to eschew the path of militancy and to work for the rights of the Tamil-speaking people with the cooperation of the progressive forces in the south of Sri Lanka. Douglas Devananda decided to enter the democratic mainstream as Kathiravelu Nithyananda Douglas Devananda.

The LTTE wanted to exploit the situation to wipe out all other Tamil militant organizations. The LTTE started wiping out the other movements in the latter part of 1985. They first eliminated TELO and PLOTE by killing many of its cadres and capturing some. Finally in the latter part of 1986, the LTTE started attacking the EPRLF cadres. While Devananda was in India the EPRLF members were captured, tortured and killed by the LTTE. By December 1986 EPRLF was also banned by the LTTE. EROS and its leader Balakumar of course gave into to the LTTE threats and agreed to dissolve their group and surrendered to the LTTE.

In September 1987 Devananda’s brother Premananda and some leading members of the EPDP returned from India and handed over the arms and entered the democratic mainstream. Premananada, Sivakaran alias Ibrahim, Ragavan, Sritharan and George, all, members of the EPDP, were also abducted by the LTTE in Jaffna and tortured. To date, their fate is not known.

Later while Devananda was making preparations to leave Tamil Nadu and resettle in Sri Lanka, once again fraternal organizations, envious of his new party and with the intention of crippling the EPDP, were conspiring and hatching a sinister plot to get him arrested in India. He was arrested for the 2nd time and later released on bail. He however managed to arrive in Colombo by the end of May 1990. When Padmanabha was assassinated by the LTTE in Chennai on June 19th in 1990, these very same forces were disappointed to discover that Devananda was in Sri Lanka, weeks before the incident.

Achievements as a Member of Parliament and as a Cabinet Minister

Having entered the democratic mainstream, Douglas Devananda and his comrades worked hard to build his party in the North-East Province of Sri Lanka. Their efforts paid dividends when nine members of the EPDP, including himself were elected to Parliament from the Jaffna District, in August 1994.  Douglas Devananda was re-elected to Parliament in October 2000, in December 2001 and again in April 2004, and is continuously representing the Tamil community in Parliament since August 1994. 

In October 2000, Douglas Devananda was appointed as the Minister of Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of the North, and Tamil Affairs, North and East, in the People’s Alliance Government headed by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. During the very short stint as Minister of Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction he worked tirelessly to provide means of livelihood to thousands, and improve the lives of the people who had placed faith in him.

During his tenure as the Minister of  Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of the North, the Jaffna Central College, Vembadi Girl’s School, Chavakacheri Hindu College and Jaffna Hindu College were able to build new upstair buildings in their premises with his help. 140 schools in the peninsula were repaired. Schools were provided with computers, sports and educational equipment. Douglas Devananda established the first computer centres in Mannar and Jaffna known as the IT Parks. The old buildings at the Chavakacheri, Thirunelveli, Kokuvil, Palai,  Karaveddy and Jaffna Central Markets were rebuilt and new buildings were constructed. Storage rooms and new buildings were constructed for some of the cooperative stores in Jaffna. Many worship places and the historically famous temples like the Keerimalai Naguleswarar Temple, Mavidapuram Kandasamy Temple and Naga Viharai were renovated during his period. The Nallai Aathinam got its religious school for children and a new wedding hall was also built. New buildings were constructed at the Thirunelvely and Chunnakam orphanages and the Kaithadi Home for the Aged was fully renovated. Hospitals in Punguduthevu, Karampan, Nedunthevu, Chavakacheri and Velanai were renovated. The Ayurveda Hospital in Kaithady and the Thellipalai Cancer Hospital were fully renovated. A new building to house the new medical interns and a rest room for the employees were built at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. The Karamban and Punguduthevu Hospitals were provided with ambulances. Most of the roads were reconstructed. The Jaffna Bus Stand and the Thirunelvely Metrology Department buildings were  newly built. The agricultural sector was developed and ACAS was provided with fund  to produce vegetable seeds. The Thirunelvely Dairy Farm was provided with a generator and land to produce dairy products. The fertilizer and seed storage facilities were renovated. The Palmyrah employees were provided with equipment and the Thickam Distillery was renovated and funds were provided for palmyrah preparation. Assistance was provided to replace the Thondamanaru Sluicegate. Resting places were built at various jetties in the Jaffna islets. A Conference Hall was built at the Jaffna Secretariat. Funds were allocated for the working programmes of the 15 Pradeshiya  Sabahs in the peninsula and all of them were provided with pickup vehicles. Vocational Training Centres were established. Equipment to enhance the working skills using palmyrah products were provided. Assistance for resettlement was also provided to the coastal area fishermen and palmyrah workers. They were provided with dry ration as well. In the same manner the unemployed were also provided with dry ration and assistance. The community centers and other infrastructure  facilities, and the churches and mosques seen today in the North and the some other Tamil areas of the country are  testimony to his work.

Later with the formation of a United National Front Government headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in December 2001, K.N. Douglas Devananda sat in the official opposition in Parliament.

In the General Election held in April 2004, he was again elected as Member of Parliament and was appointed as the Minister of Agricultural Marketing Development, Co-operative Development, Hindu Affairs and Assisting Education and Vocational Training in the People's Alliance Government headed by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge

Later, with the change of office of the President in November 2005, President Mahinda Rajapakase appointed Douglas Devananda as Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare.

When the A9 Road was closed on August 11^th 2006, there was a severe shortage of essential items in the Jaffna Peninsula. The people of Jaffna underwent immense difficulties. With the greatest difficulty and the help of the Government, Douglas Devananda made arrangements to bring the essential items from Tamil Nadu in the early part of January 2007. Once again he was personally present in Jaffna during the most difficult time, to share the sufferings of his people. His actions reveal his sincere concern for his people. Recently he has obtained the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for establishing Rehabilitation Centers for males and females who surrender to the authorities in Jaffna.

He also participated in the Sri Lanka Development Forum held in Galle at the end of January 2007, as a panel member.

As the Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare and the Chairman of the Council for the persons with disabilities he is accelerating the activities of the National Council for Persons with Disability. He submitted the Disability Rights Bill and The Accessibility Regulation to the Cabinet in 2006 and the Regulation was passed by the Parliament on 20^th March 2007, while the Disability Rights Bill is under submission to the Legal Draftsman Department.  Under his leadership, access facilities for the disabled have been introduced to some important public buildings in the Sri Lankan capital-Colombo and suburbs.

International Conferences

In November 1995, Douglas Devananda was in the parliamentary delegation that accompanied President Chandrika Kumaratunge to the historic 50^th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations Organisation and the UN Assembly

In October 2004, Douglas Devananda was one of the main speakers at the conference on “India's Sri Lanka Policy, the Perception of the Problem and the Search for a Solution”. This conference was held on October 30, 2004 at the Habitat Centre in New Delhi. A resolution was adopted at the end of the meeting.

In November 2004, Douglas Devananda, along with President Chandrika Kumaratunge, participated in the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi. The "India and the World" conference was the second conference of the Hindustan Times Leadership Initiative. This summit was held at the Kamal Mahal, ITC Maurya Sheraton Hotel in Delhi, India on November 5^th and 6^th in 2004.

Douglas Devananda attended the Forum of Ministers on Social Development from Asia at the invitation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, held in Bhurban in Pakistan in May 2006. This was the first such meeting and it was co-organized with UNESCO and with the assistance of UNDP: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

In September 2006 Douglas Devananda was in the Presidential delegation, which attended the Non-Aligned Summit Conference held in Cuba. Here , he met his Cuban counterpart 

Mr. Alfredo Morales Cartaya, the Malaysian Prime Minister and other Heads of States along with President Rajapakse. From Cuba he proceeded to New York, to attend the 61^st UN General Assembly along with the Sri Lankan Presidential delegation.

In pursuance of his commitment, he took initiatives and went to the United Nations and signed the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30^th March 2007 on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government.

In April 2007 Douglas Devnanda went to South Africa with the TULF Leader Mr. Anandasagaree, at the invitation of the South African President. Douglas Devananda with President Mahinda Rajapakse met the South African President in Cuba during the Non-Aligned Summit Conference held in Havana in September 2006. The two democratic leaders, Devananda and Anandasangaree explained the current situation to the South African leaders and the Indian Tamil Community, who have made South Africa their homeland. In SA he met his counterpart Dr. Z.S.T. Skweyiya, SA President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki ,leaders  of the political parties of South Africa.

He accompanied President Rajapakse to the 96^th International Labour Organization (ILO) conference held in Geneva in June 2007, where he met several dignitaries.

He participated in the Eight Session of the Intergovernmental Council (IGC) of the Management of Social Transformation (MOST) Programme organized by UNESCO, held in Paris in July 2007, in the capacity of the Social Services and Social Welfare Minster of Sri Lanka. 

As a mark of appreciation of his unstinted commitment towards the cause of persons with disabilities, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP) accorded Douglas Devananda with the highest order of honour. Having duly recommended the policy formulations, and taking into consideration the commitment to the persons with disabilities during a comparatively short spell of time of holding the portfolio of Social Services and Social Welfare Ministry in Sri Lanka, the UNESCAP  extended an invitation to Minister Devananda to chair a high level inter-governmental conference in September 2007. The Conference was on mid-point reviewing of the policy declaration for a 10-year period of the persons with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific countries.

Once again he attended the 62^nd UN General Assembly in September 2007 in New York as a member of the Sri Lankan delegation

Political aspirations

Since August 1994, when he was first elected as the Member of Parliament representing the Jaffna District, to date, Douglas Devananda has been involved in negotiations and other activities relating to a lasting political solution to the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka. Though he has not yet succeeded in bringing a solution to the ethnic problem he was instrumental in bringing normalcy in the Tamil areas. When the other political parties were reluctant to contest the elections the EPDP came forward to contest the elections, after which the rest of the political parties followed suit.   Mr. Douglas Devananda for the first time in Sri Lankan history took care of the administration of his Ministry from Jaffna, while he was the Minister in President Chandrika’s cabinet. By attending to the day-to-day problems of the masses, he and his party immensely contributed, in lessening the sufferings of the Tamil-speaking people. The courts and government offices started to function again and normalcy was restored.

He has presented the Tamil cause from the view of the Tamil speaking people, to many diplomats of various countries. During his long and exciting political career, Douglas Devananda has attended many international conferences, meetings, forums, seminars etc. and works tirelessly to find an amicable solution to the National problem in our country.

As the national problem has been dragging on for a long time and crippled without a solution, with over fifteen years of experience in the armed struggle as well as more than fifteen years of experience in the political process, Douglas Devananda and his party have put forward a three phase practical solution to solve the National question in Sri Lanka.

The Three stage proposal of the EPDP –

• The first stage is to implement the 13th Amendment, which was the outcome of the Indo-Sri Lanka  
      Accord, to the constitution in full. The amendment is aimed to hand over the North-East provincial
      council to the democratically elected representatives of the North and East. This move will not have
      any opposition since the provincial council system has already been accepted by almost all political
      parties and is being implemented in the south.
   

• The second stage is to reinforce the 13th Amendment by conferring additional powers on the North
      and East Provincial Council to make them centres of greater authority and adding the concurrent list to
      the provincial list. This will instil confidence amongst the Tamil speaking people that their political issue
      could be resolved in stages. This will also convince the Sinhala people that devolution of power would
      not lead to separation but would bring about peace, harmony, trust and confidence among all the
      ethnic communities.

    With the implementation of the first two stages, without much effort, the country would start moving
    towards finding a final solution to the National problem in a healthy atmosphere.

• The third stage would be, with the consent of all the political parties find a lasting final solution to
      resolve the aspirations of the Tamil-speaking people by incorporating the proposal of the APRC. This
      would also compel the LTTE to join the process without any choice. Such a final solution would ensure
      equality and the rights of all communities and regions

His life under the shadow of death

On October 9^th of 1995, Douglas Devananda’s residence in Colombo was attacked by the LTTE. This was the first commando style attack of the LTTE in the South. He survived this attack due to the valiant efforts of his party cadres and bodyguards, four of whom paid the supreme sacrifice in the incident. EPDP lost Comrade Ragu alias Balan Selvakumar of Vavuniya, Comrade Das alias Asaipillai Mohanadas of Jaffna, Comrade Varathan alias Uthayakumar Krishnapillai of Mullaithevu and Comrade Kutty alias Arasanth Uthayanath of Trincomalee.

Once again on June 30^th in 1998, Douglas Devananda was brutally attacked by the LTTE mafia detained at the Kalutara Prison, when he visited the detainees who were on a hunger strike to air their grievances. He survived this attack as well, due to the excellent medical attention given by Sri Lankan medical personnel, his own will power, and the prayers of the populace that loved him.  He however lost his sight in one eye.

On July 7^th, 2004, another attempt was made on his life by a LTTE female suicide bomber while the Minister was seeing the public on a Public Day at his Ministry. The woman suicide bomber, identified as Thiyagaraja Jeyarani, was reportedly on a mission to assassinate Douglas Devananda. She had gone with an accomplice to his Ministry in Kolpity and insisted on seeing the Minister without undergoing a body check. When the security staff of the Minister became suspicious, they informed the Minister. At the instructions of the Minister, his security staff took her to the Kolpity Police Station to investigate, at which time she detonated the explosives strapped around her body killing herself, four police personnel and injuring eleven persons.  The suicide bomber’s accomplice, Sathyaleela Selvakumar was also arrested on the Ministry premises. The good instinct of the Minister and the alertness of his efficient security staff saved the Minister’s life once again.

Recently, on November 28^th, the fascist LTTE once again sent its woman suicide cadre to take his life.  A young woman had gone to his Ministry at Isipathana Road and requested to see the Minister to get a transfer. She had gone through the normal procedure of identifying herself at the counter and proceeded to the screening section. On a Public Day (Wednesdays) the Minister’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Stephen Peris is in charge of screening the visitors.  He was not happy with the answers the woman had given him and so he had asked her for a referral letter from the party office in Vavuniya. Since she did not have a letter in her possession and also after observing her behavior Stephen became suspicious. He had obtained the assistance of the Minister’s Chief Security Officer Sithran. After consultation with Sithran they both had decided to bring this matter to the attention to the Minister and get his view, hence they had asked the woman to be seated till they got the approval from the Minister. At which time the woman realized that she would not be able to reach the Minister, became agitated and detonated the bomb strapped to her breast killing herself and Mr. Stephen on the spot and injuring Sithran, another security officer and five other civilians.  On this fateful day, the Minister’s loyal PRO and senior EPDP member Mr. Stephen Peris sacrificed his life to save the life of his leader Douglas Devananda.

He still continues to be the Minister of Social Services & Social Welfare under President Mahinda Rajapakse's cabinet and is strongly advocating an interim administration for the North and East Provinces.

Douglas Devananda is a self-confident idealist, who is a unique fighter against fascism. He is kind, humble, simple and a believer in humanism. He respects the views of the other democratic forces and believes in promoting pluralism and parliamentary democracy. He is a champion of human and democratic rights. He is determined and loves to serve his people, despite the fact that he has been wounded, scarred and blinded in one eye, and compelled to live a life in the shadow of death. 

Updated: December 10, 2007.

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EELAM PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY (EPDP)

Introduction

Sri Lanka has been going through a very difficult period over the past quarter century. Following independence from the British rule, the Tamils and Muslims had been facing discrimination in respect of citizenship, franchise, use of language and state-sponsored colonisations undertaken with the intention of changing the demographic pattern of the country.

The Federal Party dominated the Tamil political scene from 1956 to 1972, a period during which the problems faced by the Tamils and Muslims got worse. The Tamils lost their due share in the state services, the armed services, the police service and even in admissions to the universities.

In 1972, Sri Lanka became a republic severing its links with the British Crown by enacting a republican constitution. The Tamils declined to be a party to the new constitution. Following the worsening political scenario, the All Ceylon Tamil Congress and the Federal Party merged to form the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). The TULF declared that the Tamils should exercise their right to revert to the status quo ante, that is, to re-establish the independent Tamil state that had existed prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in Ceylon. At the Sri Lankan Parliamentary election held in 1977, the vast majority of the Tamils endorsed the leadership of the TULF. This support shown to the TULF resulted in another anti-Tamil pogrom. The Tamils and Muslims had been subjected to several pogroms in the history of the country.

The TULF which promised to agitate for the establishment of an independent state of Tamil Eelam did very little on the political front to win back the rights of the Tamils, despite the fact that the TULF was the second largest party in Parliament. It was therefore no wonder that the people turned to the Tamil youths who were already branding themselves into different armed militant groups to achieve the goal of an independent state.

Birth of the EPDP

The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) was formed in November 1987. Its leadership and members comprise of persons who had been involved in the armed struggle to set up an independent state of Eelam in the North and East of Sri Lanka, and others who had supported the armed struggle of the Tamil speaking people. Following the Indo Sri Lanka Agreement of July 1987, these persons disavowed the armed struggle for the setting up of an independent state, and decided to work towards autonomy for the North- East Province within a united Sri Lanka. The name ‘Eelam’ is now used to refer to that Province within a single Sri Lankan state. The autonomy is to be achieved through asymmetric devolution of powers to the ‘Province of Eelam’.

The EPDP considers the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a liberation movement that had with time degenerated into a terrorist movement. It is a fascist organization which has done harm to the Tamil cause by its actions over the past 15 years.

EPDP and Democracy

The EPDP is a party committed to democratic ideals, pluralism, human rights, social justice and the alleviation of poverty. Members of the EPDP pioneered the re-establishment of the democratic way of life in the North after the Jaffna Peninsula was cleared of the LTTE, in 1995. Despite threats to their lives from the LTTE, members of the EPDP boldly participated in three parliamentary elections and in the local authority elections in the North - East Province. Ever since 1994, the EPDP has been elected by the people to represent them in Parliament.

Today, EPDP controls 10 out of 17 local authorities in the Jaffna Peninsula. It has a substantial number of members in the other 7 local authorities. Recently, the EPDP was elected without a contest to a local authority in the Amparai district.

EPDP’s Contribution to the Resolution of Ethnic Problem

The EPDP made valuable contribution in drafting a new constitution for Sri Lanka, which was presented to the Sri Lankan Parliament in August 2000. Unfortunately political expediency on the part of certain sections of the Sinhalese and the Tamils sabotaged the passage of that new Constitution.

The EPDP firmly believes that while a political solution to resolving the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka is an immediate need, such a solution should not be achieved by sacrificing democracy, pluralism, and human rights of any section of the Sri Lankan society.

The EPDP supports the current Ceasefire between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE, and the Peace Talks between them, which has already begun in Thailand. The EPDP is however of the view that durable peace would not be possible unless democratic Tamil and Muslim parties which clearly enjoy substantial support of the people and other parties representing the Sinhalese are brought into the political negotiations. The EPDP believes that the path to success is the South African way and not the Israeli-Palestinian way.

Social and Economic Policy

Sri Lanka faces a daunting task in respect of providing relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction in view of the quarter century old civil war. With a political resolution of the ethnic problem on the top of priority list, rehabilitation would logically take second place.

Rehabilitation means the provision of housing, water supply and sanitation, health and education facilities, electricity, roads, community services etc. to all affected persons. The Sri Lankan experience has been that rehabilitation has to be coupled with development, as otherwise areas affected by decades of war would be decades behind areas physically unaffected by war in the country. Such disparity is bound to give rise to social friction in the years ahead.

The Leader of the EPDP, K. N. Douglas Devananda, was the Minister of Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of the North, and, Tamil Affairs, North and East,in the last Government. That Ministry achieved considerable success in the resettlement of internally displaced persons on state land in the Vavuniya and Mannar districts, the rehabilitation of places of worship, rehabilitation of community buildings, rehabilitation of roads and infrastructures, the revival of dead industries in the North, educational developments in schools and imparting vocational training to thousands of youths in the North and East. It is during his period that the first Information Technology Park, commonly known as the IT Park, which is the gateway to the world of knowledge through the Internet was established with the provision of more than a hundred computers in the Jaffna town.

In the EPDP's scheme of things, creation of employment opportunities in the agriculture, fisheries and other sectors comes next in priority. Social programmes to alleviate poverty would also fit into this activity. In a country that had been affected by war, the role of the state sector has to be substantial as the private sector is generally motivated by profits while the state sector is essentially motivated by social justice. The role of the state sector however has to decrease and the role of private sector increase in proportion to normalcy in the country. It is the characteristic of the private sector to look for political stability and cheap labour in its quest for profits.

Every country is now becoming part of the regional economy and the global economy. There are those who say that privatisation is the only route to join the global economy. But the EPDP does not subscribe to such a view. In developing countries, certain sectors must necessarily be controlled by the state to prevent the collapse of its economy due to mismanagement or fraud in multi-national corporations.

Organisational Structure

The EPDP has its headquarters in Colombo and has its branch offices in all the districts of the North-East Province except in the Mullaitivu and Killinochi Districts. There are party offices in Jaffna Town, Chavakachcheri, Karavetty, Point Pedro, Chunnakam, Manipay, Achchuvely, Changanai, Karainagar, Kayts, Velanai and Delft in the Jaffna District, in the Vavuniya town in Vavuniya District, in the Mannar town in Mannar District, in the Trincomalee Town in Trincomalee District, in the Batticaloa town in Batticaloa District, at Karaitivu in Amparai District, and also in Puttalam town.