CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss has warned that any attempt by the Sri Lankan government to impose a unitary system of governance would only pave the way for a renewed Tamil Eelam liberation struggle, and insisted that a federal structure with meaningful autonomy for Tamils must be guaranteed.
In a statement, Anbumani said that leaders of Eelam Tamil political parties have expressed serious apprehensions that the Sri Lankan government is planning constitutional amendments aimed at strengthening a unitary system, thereby further encouraging Sinhala majoritarianism. Such moves in a country inhabited by two nationalities are dangerous and condemnable, he said.
Anbumani added that leaders of the Sri Lankan Tamil National Green Movement and the Tamil National People’s Front met him in Chennai and explained the alleged conspiracy by Sinhala rulers to amend the Constitution in a manner that would permanently deny political power to Tamils.
Recalling the 1987 Indo–Sri Lanka Accord, Anbumani said the agreement envisaged a federal system with autonomy for Tamils by merging the Northern and Eastern Provinces. However, Sri Lanka has consistently refused to implement this in letter and spirit. The 13th Constitutional Amendment, instead of empowering Tamils, reduced them to second-class citizens, he alleged.
He warned that even in the absence of the LTTE, the root causes of the Tamil liberation struggle persist. Any constitutional change permanently denying autonomy would rekindle suppressed liberation sentiments among Eelam Tamils and harm Sri Lanka’s future, he warned.
Anbumani urged the Indian government to intervene firmly, reminding that India had guaranteed dignity and political rights to Tamils under the Indo–Sri Lanka Accord.