speaking people who have made this country their home. There should be no different
categories of citizens and no discrimination between them, and also no power to the
state to deprive citizen of his citizenship.
(c) The state shall be secular, while equal protection is afforded to all religions.
(d) The Constitution should provide for valid fundamental rights guaranteeing the
equality of all persons on ethnocultural grounds.
(e) The Constitution shall provide for the abolition of caste and untouchabilitty.
(f) In a democratic and socialist society, a decentralized structure of government alone
will make it possible for a participatory democracy where power will be peoples
power rather than state power.
The reasonableness of the demand put forward by the TUF is amply demonstrated by
the fact that every single political party with the Sinhalese leadership had accepted the
demands in some form or other both before and after independence, but this
Government has not even cared to consider these proposals.
The Tamils have traversed a long road and are now at the end of their tether.
When two nations cannot get on together they come to the parting of ways. Has
the parting come? That is the problem of the Tamils of Ceylon.
UNDER NEO-COLONIALISM.
The Sinhalese leaders have one objective, of converting the bi-national, bi-lingual,
multi-religious state of Ceylon into a uni-national state with one nation - the
Sinhalese, a uni-lingual state with the Sinhala only and with one religion - Buddhism,
involving genocide against the Tamils. This is substantiated by the following
statement to the Press by a Cabinet Minister of the present Government and reported
in the Ceylon Daily News of 27 th August 1974:
"In fact one of the things happening now is that, many Indian Tamils who were
earlier isolated are now learning Sinhala and even adopting our names and
religion This is part of the social assimilation."
For the sake of brevity we give, in some detail just six areas where there is pursuance
of the above policy, and list the others;
1. CITIZENSHIP AND DISFRANCHISEMENT.
Within a few months of gaining independence, it was not difficult for the Sinhalese
leaders to forget all the promises and assurances they had given to the Tamils, and by
the Citizenship Act. No. 19 of 1948 to make a million Tamils stateless, who prior to
Independence enjoyed the same rights as other Ceylonese.
This act affected adversely the totality of Tamils and even Muslims. Those who had
Tamil or Muslim names had to submit proof of Citizenship in regard to many matters
connected with the Government. The following are some of them:
(a) Employment in public sector.
(b) The issue of Passport or other travel documents.
(c) The issue of certificates of citizenship.
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