Sri Lanka’s race troubles no nearer to solution

Press, 6 September 1983, Page 8

Sri Lanka’s race troubles no nearer to solution

NZPA-Reuter Colombo Sri Lanka seems no closer to finding a permanent solution to the race problems that recently erupted into widespread violence, despite seven days of intense talks in Colombo with a special Indian envoy.

The Indian Prime Miniter, Mrs Indira Gandhi, sent a seasoned diplomat, Gopalaswami Parthasarathi, to the island late last month after pressure from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu to ensure the protection of Sri Lanka’s 2.5 million minority Tamils, whose ancestors came from that state.

More than 385 people

died, hundreds of homes, shops, and factories were damaged and some 100,000 Tamils were made homeless when long-standing grievances between the Tamils and the Sinhalese community erupted into nine days of violent riots in July and August.

But after talks with the Sri Lankan President, Mr Junius Jayewardene, Opposition parties, and leaders of the Tamil community, Mr Parthasarathi flew back home last week having apparently wrested few concessions from the Government.

Mr Parthasarathi’s negotiations were held in

secrecy except for two general statements issued by the Presidential secretariat and himself at the end of the visit. But they shed no light on any progress made in narrowing the differences between the Government and the Tamil leaders. The Presidential secretariat said that Mr Jayewardene had briefed Mr Parthasarathi on measures taken by the Government since it came to power in 1977 to resolve the minority problem and the background to the recent distur-

“He (Jayewardene) explained that neither the Government nor the people

of Sri Lanka would agree to a division of the country,” the secretariat said.

Mr Jayewardene had an amendment to the Constitution passed in Parliament last month banning all calls for division and effectively outlawing the Tamil United Liberation Front, which has campaigned for a separate State for Tamils.

The amendment requires all members of Parliament to take an oath denouncing separation and vowing allegiance to a unitary State. Mr Jayewardene has said that he would hold discussions with the Front only if it abandons its call for a separate State.