The Sunday Leader

CWC Wants Indian Origin Tamils’ Rights

By Camelia Nathaniel

The Ceylon Worker’s Congress (CWC) says it will seek the rights of Indian origin Tamils to be protected by the Constitution if amendments are made.

Muthu Sivalingam of the CWC said that there had been representations on the Executive Presidency, both for and against, with most wanting it to continue with some amendments. Sivalingam said that the CWC is yet to present its demands, but will do so soon.

Asked what the CWC’s demands might be, he said, “Our demands do not relate to the basic structure of the Constitution. We want the Presidential form of government, with an Executive President directly elected by all Sri Lankans, to continue. This is because the person elected should be answerable to all the people, all Sri Lankans, not just to his parliamentary constituency, as Prime Ministers are in a parliamentary system of government. The minorities especially, need a President in whose election they will have had a role.”

However, the CWC, being a party of the Indian origin Tamils working in the plantation sector, will ask for certain rights for the Indian Origin Tamils, to be written in the Constitution, Sivalingam said. “We have two main demands. One is to allocate land to build houses and cultivate some crops, and the other is the resettlement of estate communities in village-like settlements, so that we are released from the decrepit line rooms in the estates and enabled to live with dignity.

We also want some kind of unofficial reservations in government employment, so that our educated youth can get absorbed into the state sector. When Premadasa was President, he had unofficially introduced recruitment as per the ethnic ratio, but a Tamil from the North East went to court and got it nullified. As per the ethnic ration we should be getting 5 percent of the jobs,” Sivalingam said.


4 Comments for “CWC Wants Indian Origin Tamils’ Rights”

  1. P.R.

    The building of houses and land to cultivate are reasonable and need to be allowed ASAP. But allocation of jobs on a ethnic ratio must be dissuaded. Any justification for employment should be on ability. If we all are citizens of a country, opportunity must be capability to perform.

  2. daggy

    hi Muthu.S,

    (CWC) says it will seek the rights of Indian origin Tamils from whom?

    Muthu, you should demand rights from the British Government. Demand that British Government issue you Indian Origin Tamils with a British national (Overseas) Passport as they issued to the mainland chinese who fled to Hong Kong under during Hong Kong Chinese.

    Then theirs and yours can be protected by the British Government by allowing you all travel visa free to many countries enter anytime to seek protection.

    It is a British sovereign responsibility.
    Muthu, Thondaman & crowd have overlooked this issue for a very long time.

  3. Mr. Muthu,

    CWC never did anything good for the Indian Tamils, except sucking thier blood and keeping them enslaved forever. Their emancipation is something of a mirrage since they were assimilated as citizens of Sri lanka. There are educated Tamil youth, who are unable to progress as their plight is so pathetic, they are not given an opportunity to learn and come up in the social strata. As is the tree that grows and perishes in the jungle, so are the Tamils born and die in the estate, without seeing the outside world. It is a dog eat dog case. Tamils enslaving the Tamils. Why did you wait for centuries to win back the rights of the Tamils? their rights are their, but the leaders of CWC trampling them. Your Arumugam thodaman has accumulated wealth in India for generation. How did he earned so much wealth. it is money given by the Indian Tamils from thier daily wages, as a fee to be a member of the trade Union. All these funds are now deposited and invested in India as tea estates, houses and other properties. You will be cursed with your projeny for barberic exploitation.

  4. daggy

    CWC need demand from Brittain for Indian Origin Tamil Rights and not from Sri Lanka.
    They brought them to Sri Lanka and exploited them as well. It was GOSL that have accomodated or provided whatever they have now..

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