Gota wants demographic change in North : TNA
Of the 954,000 residents in the North 900,000 are Tamils
TNA MP Suresh Premachandran dismissing recent remarks made by Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa charged that his statement was a prelude to changing the demographic pattern of the North.
“The most recent census revealed that of the 954,000 residents in the North 900,000 are Tamils and 23,000 Sinhalese,
so what is the Defence Secretary trying to say? Almost all the census carried out by all governments have revealed this demographic pattern. Is he saying that this is not true?”, the TNA spokesman asked.
Mr. Premachandran alleged that the acts of the government were clearly set on an agenda. “The growing number of Buddhist temples in the area, the militarisation of the north and the emergence of new Sinhala settlements in many areas of the North show that what the Defence Secretary wants to do is to change the demographic patterns in the Nothern province” he said.
When the Daily Mirror pointed out to the MP that what the Defence Secretary pointed out was that the country belonged to all communities with no racial segregation, Mr. Premchandran said the Tamils did not possess equal rights.
“We are well aware that this country is multi religious, multi lingual and multi ethnic and that is not being denied. But at the same time we demand that our people have equal rights and are treated as equal citizens of this country which is what successive governments including the present government has failed to address” he said.
The TNA spokesman further pointed out that there is no change in the TNA’s decision to abstain from participating in the Parliament Select Committee proposed by the
government.
We are well aware that this country is multi religious, multi lingual and multi ethnic and that is not being denied The growing number of Buddhist temples in the area, the militarisation of the north and the emergence of new Sinhala settlements in many areas of the North show that what the Defence Secretary wants to do is to change the demographic patterns in the Nothern province