The
effort to marginalize of the Tamil community by the Sinhalese Government has
unfortunately remained unchanged even today following the genocidal war and its
aftermath. This plea by the veteran Father of Tamil Politics serves as a stark reminder
that nothing has changed in Sri Lanka almost 40 years on. It is disappointing that his
plea in 1974 went unanswered. The memorandum was not tabled in the Conference
despite his open request that it be considered citing former similar consideration of
Apartheid in South Africa. This lack of appreciation of the harm caused to Tamils
under continuous Sinhalese governments is a tendency that the Commonwealth seems
to follow to date. Today the Tamil National Alliance, the most popular Tamil political
party in Sri Lanka has also stated its intention to boycott the CHOGM being held in
Sri Lanka. This is a message that the Tamils have given throughout the last four
decades -- that Sri Lanka first put its house in order before playing host to a major
political conference.
FREE SPEECH AND SRI LANKA’S 6TH AMENDMENT
In Sri Lanka the 6th Amendment to the 2nd Republican Constitution of 1978 is itself
a violation of the right to freedom of speech and expression because it prohibits the
espousing of anything that is harmful to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the
State. In reality the definition of what pertains as harmful of the sovereignty and
territorial integrity is given a wide definition which seems to include support for
greater devolution of powers and for federalism. The danger that the 6th Amendment
and its corollary the PTA would be used is enough to make most media outlets engage
in self-censorship and leaves no room for alternate views in the mainstream media.
Paul Sieghart of the International Commission of Jurists stated in 1984 that the 6th
Amendment was “a clear violation by Sri Lanka of its obligation in international law
under the Covenants”.
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