EPDP Offers Support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa with a Ten Point Program

The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Minister Douglas Devananda on Friday revealed that his Party had decided to support the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) presidential candidate President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the elections.

Addressing the media personal at the Government Information Department, Minister Devananda said that the ten point program drafted by them were presented to the President and as he agreed to implement those, they came to this decision. He said that the ten point program would determine the destiny of the Tamil people.

He further stated that he had never supported or opposed anything blindly and that offering support to the United Peoples Freedom Alliance government is on basis of a well-planned political program submitted to the President is bound to create a conducive political climate that can help his party to achieve its political objectives aimed at the progress and well-being of the people and the country.

In his ten point program, he asked the President Rajapaksa to implement the 13th amendment of the Constitution for the welfare of Northern Province soon, speedy re-settlement of IDPs in a number of welfare centres, general amnesty and rehabilitation for all Tamils who had been arrested or and detained for political reasons, withdrawal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and emergency regulations and several other issues.

Offering his support to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Electio, he also said that at a general election due in next year, they will definitely contest the as a separate party.

Following is the EPDP’s Ten Point Program.

“1. Starting with the implementation of the 13th amendment to the constitution as the initial step towards the solution to the problem of the political rights of the Tamil speaking people, to progress towards more and more power sharing in stages marching towards the political target of unified government in the centre with Regional Autonomy the Provincial Councils.

2. Ensuring the desire of the Tamil People to be Sri Lankans as well as Tamils at the same time

3. Fostering the concept and consciousness of the ‘Sri Lankan Identity’ of all the people of our country, plus appreciation and respect for the concept and reality of ‘ethnicity’ and ‘ethnicity cultures’, ‘equality ’among the ethnic groups in our country.

4. Speedy re-settlement of our displaced people in the Vanni and others who were displaced due to the setting up of High Security Zones, in their own areas. Speedy implementations of action-plans designed to ensure their rights to livelihood.

5. Steps to be taken to withdraw the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Regulations that have been in force for the past 30 years, plus the upholding of the democratic rights of the people in a violence-free society.

6. General Amnesty and Rehabilitation to all who have been arrested and detained for political reasons and those who have surrendered. Steps to be taken to locate, and to find the truth about, persons repotted missing.

7. Affected by the war, Tamil Regions have been lacking in economic development for a long time. Hence, such regions to be developed on a priority basis.
8. Ensuring free travel in Tamil Areas (including A9 Road) just as it is found in other parts of Sri Lanka.

9. Planning & Implementation of the plans to ensure that Tamil gains equality of status with Sinhala as the language of administration. This will remove the treatment of Tamils as ‘aliens’ by the state administrative apparatus, and will create the climate where Tamil speaking people are embraced as equal partners in the development of our country. And as a corollary, more Tamil speaking persons to be recruited to the police and the the armed forces on the basis of ethnic percentage.

10. Steps to be taken to ensure that the traditional homelands of the Tamils speaking people do belong to them while they live under a united, unified Sri Lanka.

- Asian Tribune -