The president of the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) Fr. S. J. Emmanuel has reportedly ccepted an invitiation from Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Foreign Minister Managala Samaraweera to visit the island.
Ceylon Today reports the GTF chief as having told Dr Wickramabahu Karunaratne,
"Although I have accepted the personal invitation of the President and of the FM to come home and work for reconciliation, I depend very much on the cooperation of the progressive forces of the South to explain the whole truth to the Sinhala masses and I hope we have at least made a start in liberating the masses from the falsehoods of politicians."
Fr. Emmanuel has confirmed in an interview with the Sri Lanka Guardian earlier this week that he had accepted the invitation “but it will take time to see how the country is developing now”.
The GTF is one of 16 Tamil diaspora organisations that are currently banned in Sri Lanka (see here). The government pledged to review the proscription in March, but no action has been taken yet to remove any of the bans.
“The majority in Sri Lanka think: We are Buddhist Sinhalese, we are the owners of the country, and all the rest are minorities and thus second class citizens,” added Fr Emmanuel in his interview. “In order to change this perception and to understand the country as a multi-ethnic and a multi-religious country we will take a lot of time and courage. Whether the current government has this perseverance, we do not know.”
Speaking on an accountability process he said “Tamils have no confidence in the national judges,” adding that “all Tamils request at least one internationalised court”. Calling for sustained international involvement, he added “it is the only hope for the Tamils that the government is put under pressure to take further steps here”.
“For the Sinhalese… They see themselves as a peaceful nation,” he said. “This is the image that the majority of the Sinhalese have. But the truth is quite different. The war is over, but there is no real peace, and above all, no understanding”.
“The way the new government is taking small steps forward gives cause for hope. But whether it will be able to comprehensively revise the existing attitude towards the Tamils, whether it will change the constitution etc., we cannot say now, but it has taken the first steps in this direction.”
See his full interview here.
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