Joining the debate on the Vote on Account in his maiden speech in Parliament today, Weerasekara called for MP Wigneswaran and MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam to give an explanation to parliament regarding their actions of taking oath at Mulliwaikkal prior to taking oaths in parliament. He said that their attempts to reignite racial discord should be condemned.
He said that Rs. 174 billion has been allocated for Defence expenditure at a time when there is peace in the country. “After 30 years of war, there is peace in the country and in case this peace is compromised, the government would allocate more from the VOA for defence expenditure.”
The minister said that if anyone is trying to instigate the youngsters and create hatred between the Sinhalese and Tamils and is laying the foundation for another conflict, then their true nudity should be exposed. In the event these unscrupulous elements manage to mislead these youngsters and there is unrest in the country again, the defence expenditure would be many folds of what is allocated now, he said.
“On the inaugural day of the Parliament one party leader went out of track and mentioned about self-determination and supremacy of the Tamil language. This august Assembly is not a place to decide whether one language is superior than the other. But, we can sympathise with him thinking that he is clueless of the true history of our mother lanka, Weerasekara noted.
He went on to state that, “Not only are we a country with a written history of over 2500 years, but with an even longer Sinhala history. The ruins and historical monuments spread throughout the country is testament to the history of the country based on Sinhala civilization. Hence, knowing of this past very well, these statements intended to ignite disharmony should be strongly condemned.”
However, he said that there is reason for concern regarding Wigneswaran’s statement about self-determination. “This particular MP is asking for self-determination like a child demanding for stuff from his mother at a supermarket. He is asking for self-determination to fulfil the aspirations of the Tamil people. Now, if self-determination is given to the North to fulfil the aspirations of the Tamils living in the North, then what about the Tamils living in the South? More than 50% of the Tamils are living in the South among the Sinhalese and the Muslims. Does this mean he is not concerned about the aspirations of the Tamils living in the South or is he fully convinced that their aspirations have already been met?” he asked.
Weerasekara noted that when this particular MP was holding a very responsible position in Jaffna, he had said that the Sinhalese and the Muslims had no right to live in the Jaffna Peninsula. “It is a fact that Wigneswaran attended the Colombo Royal College and studied among the Sinhalese, then went to Law College and studied with the Sinhalese, then went on to become a Magistrate and High Court judge and became a Supreme Court judge and lived among the Sinhalese and Muslims for 65 years and has the audacity to go to Jaffna thereafter and claim that the Sinhalese and Muslims have no right to live in the North.”
He accused Wigneswaran of eternally insulting the government and the Sinhalese people, Buddhism and the Sinhala language and engages in protests in Killinochchi demanding the removal of Buddhist statues. “This same MP takes his oaths in Mulliwaikkal prior to taking oaths in parliament. This spot is where the most intense battles took place. There, many were killed and the battle was for a separate state and him taking oaths at this very spot is a clear manifestation that he too is of the same agenda. Hence, he definitely needs to give an explanation for his actions. As pointed out by MP Manusha Nanayakkara, such racist statements should be removed from the Hansard.”
Similarly, condemning the statement by MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, alleging that the Sri Lankan forces committed war crimes and committed mass murders, which is why President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa lost the election in the North, Weerasekara asked the Jaffna MP how come the former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka who commanded the Army during the war won so many votes in the North when he contested the Presidential election? “Therefore, I don’t think his utterances should be taken seriously as they are baseless.
Moreover, he said, although Ponnambalam claims the Sri Lankan forces committed war crimes and heinous crimes, experts in the field such as Sir Desmond de Silva, Sir Geoffrey Nice and David Crane, Prof. Michael Newton, Rodney Dixon QC and Maj Gen John Holmespic, after extensive investigations cleared the Sri Lankan armed forces of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the last phase of the war.
Minister Weerasekara further exposing the hypocrisy of Wigneswaran and Ponnambalam said that although they claim to be fighting for the rights of the Tamil people, this has not been proven by their actions.
“I ask these two members of Parliament if they have ever donated blood for their own people. When the Jaffna Hospital runs out of blood it is the Sinhalese soldiers who donates blood. The Vellalas’ will never donate their blood as they don’t want the low caste people to receive their blood. These are the very people who are talking about the aspirations and welfare of the Tamil people. They don’t have the right to talk about the aspirations of the Tamil people. We have greater right to talk about the Tamil People,” he added.
In addition, he said that money for the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP) is also allocated under the defence expenditure, but considering the conduct of its members such as Saliya Peiris, who was appointed by Mangala Samaraweera who co-signed the UN resolution and Nimalka Fernando whom I have seen having coffee with the Tamil Diaspora and has insulted the Sri Lankan forces, we need to rethink of the allocations being made to such institutions in the future too.
