{"id":65680,"date":"2021-05-28T10:38:01","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T10:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=65680"},"modified":"2021-05-28T10:38:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T10:38:01","slug":"sri-lankas-language-problem-explained-by-kalani-kumarasinghe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/sri-lankas-language-problem-explained-by-kalani-kumarasinghe\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka\u2019s language problem explained-by Kalani Kumarasinghe"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 28px; color: #008000;\">Sri Lanka\u2019s language problem explained<span style=\"color: #800080;\">-by Kalani Kumarasinghe<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-65681 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Sri-Lankas-language-problem-explained-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The Attorney General and the Chinese ambassador unveiled the plaque which carried the controversial Mandarin text<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Source:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/recomended-news\/Sri-Lankas-language-problem-explained\/277-212821\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dailymirror<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-65682 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kalani-Kumarasinghe-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"332\" \/>The Attorney General\u2019s Department has come under fire since the opening of an internal library facility on Wednesday, May 19. Attorney General Dappula de Livera and Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong were photographed unveiling a plaque, of which the text appeared in Sinhala, English and Mandarin. Following social media backlash, especially on Twitter, the Attorney General\u2019s Department said that the plaque was removed on Saturday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u201cThe plaque did not contain the script in Tamil, by an inadvertent omission,\u201d a spokesperson for the outgoing Attorney General said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">A new plaque with all four languages will soon be erected, the Department assured.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">The Chinese Embassy was quick to respond on Twitter to mounting criticisms, that as the facility was an internal E-Library of the Attorney General\u2019s Department, funded by the Government and People of China, the Chinese script was placed on the plaque as a kind gesture towards China.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><!--more--><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">This however has not been the first instance where the Tamil script has been replaced by Chinese. In 2019 a name board appeared with Sinhala, Chinese and English Script at the Aruwakkalu sanitary landfill project, which raised similar questions and criticisms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">It was also pointed out that several project sites, especially ones led by Chinese corporations had signboards erected with only two languages, Chinese and English, inconveniencing local workers. Similarly, shops and restaurants operated by Chinese nationals with only Chinese and English language signage had also popped up in central Colombo from time to time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-65683 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Sri-Lankas-language-problem-explained-2-350x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-65685\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Sri-Lankas-language-problem-explained-3-600x337.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Although Tamil script being replaced by Mandarin is a relatively new phenomenon, the issue of Tamil language being omitted in official signage is not. Many critics of the government view this as a reflection of continued discrimination against the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka. Former Minister of National Integration and Official Languages and Tamil Progressive Alliance leader Mano Ganesan taking to Twitter said that the removal of the plaque which violated the Official Languages Act was commendable. But he questioned as to who was responsible for the omission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u00a0\u201cPlaque of #Chinese gifted Smart Library at AG\u2019s Dept \u201cinadvertently\u201d failed to contain #Tamil script, violating Official Languages Act is being replaced. Commendable..! But who\u2019s \u2018misadventure\u201d was it? #AG, #ChinainSL or #GoSL? #lka\u201d Ganesan tweeted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-65684\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Central-Park-600x331.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"331\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><strong>Patterns of omission?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">A week earlier, MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickan observed a similar pattern when he tweeted a photograph of a sign stating \u201cCentral Park\u201d in Colombo\u2019s Port City, where once again the Tamil script was omitted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u201cTamil text is missing, that\u2019s alright. Soon Sinhala will be missing too. Hope Sri Lankans wake up at least then,\u201d he said. The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka responded to the text stating that they respected the trilingual rules, urging Chinese companies to follow suit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara, who once held the ministerial portfolio of Official Languages has spoken of the issues that upcountry Tamils faced in obtaining State services in the Tamil language. During his tenure, he has also attempted to resolve several key issues with the National Languages Commission, including the provision of State services in all three languages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><strong>\u201cWe have seen several instances in the past where the Tamil language was omitted from official plaques, violating the Official Languages Act. This has occurred even very recently. But it\u2019s more worrying when the Attorney General\u2019s Department \u2014 the office of the government\u2019s chief legal officer \u2014 makes such blunders\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">In 2016, following Former President Maithripala Sirisena\u2019s approval to sing the national anthem in Tamil, Minister Nanayakkara, an Opposition party member at the time, stated that he saw no problem in allowing a Tamil language national anthem to be in use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Former Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse too has spoken publicly of the importance of bridging the language divide, without which, he said progress would be impossible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran has drawn the attention the struggles citizens face in obtaining police services in the Tamil language in the past. However, not all members of 225 lawmakers display similar sensitivity to the matter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">The Sri Lankan Constitution recognizes that Sinhala and Tamil are both recognised as official languages, while English serves as a link language. Yet, language parity has been one of the key challenges to reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka, a need that was recognised by some governments more than others. While the Constitution states that that Tamil and Sinhala are both official languages, the wording is crafty, in a way that it can be interpreted that the Tamil language has at some secondary level importance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u201cThe official language of Sri Lanka is Sinhala\u201d while \u201cTamil shall also be an official language,\u201d with English as a \u201clink language,\u201d the Constitution states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><strong>The Chinese Embassy was quick to respond on Twitter to mounting criticisms, that as the facility was an internal E-Library of the Attorney General\u2019s Department, funded by the Government and People of China, the Chinese script was placed on the plaque as a kind gesture towards China<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-65686 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Sri-Lankas-language-problem-explained-4-152x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"152\" height=\"400\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><strong>The history of language parity<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Sri Lanka\u2019s language divide has deep roots until the Sinhala-only Act of 1956, which fuelled long-standing tensions between the Tamils and Sinhalese. For the majority of Sinhalese, it was embracing nationalism and stepping away from colonial ways. For many Tamils, this was a tipping point, and the cause of widespread anti-Tamil riots, which claimed the lives of hundreds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Recommendations had been made under the J.R. Jayewardene leadership to establish local languages as official languages, replacing English. However, the proposed changes were time-consuming and slow-paced. In 1951, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike departed from the United National Party, citing inaction to address the language dispute. In 1956, the new government of S.W.R.D Bandaranaike passed the \u2018Sinhala Only Act, as the initial step in realizing one of the main campaign promises of the election which assured Bandaranaike a landslide victory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Not all Sri Lankans were in favour of this bill. The Sinhala Only act essentially made Sinhala the sole State language, downgrading both Tamil and English. Following major opposition, S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, the leader of the Tamil Arasu Katchchi (Tamil Federal Party), demanded that the country be made a Federal State. The negotiations resulted in what was named the 1957 Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam pact, which allowed the official use of Tamil in Tamil-speaking provinces, especially in the North and East.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">In April 1958, while J.R. Jayewardene-led opposition grew, Bandaranaike buckled under pressure from both within and outside of his party, and nullified this pact. The decision paved way for the anti-Tamil pogroms of Sri Lanka.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><strong>More than just a language problem<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">The language problems Sri Lanka is facing at present, however, has far-reaching implications, according to one political activist. Taking to Twitter, Rasika Jayakody, Propaganda Secretary of the Samagi Tharuna Balawegaya questioned why the AG\u2019s Department allowed the Chinese government to fund this facility. To which the Chinese officials swiftly responded:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u201cDear Rasika, You won\u2019t be surprised to learn that the Supreme Court Complex was constructed by Chinese aid in 1989, under a request by the Ranasinghe Premadasa Govt.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><strong>It was also pointed out that several project sites, especially ones led by Chinese corporations had signboards erected with only two languages, Chinese and English, inconveniencing local workers. Similarly, shops and restaurants operated by Chinese nationals with only Chinese and English language signage had also popped up in central Colombo from time to time<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">But Jayakody believes that this only adds to a growing list of concerns. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Jayakody said it\u2019s even more worrying when the Attorney General\u2019s Department makes blunders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u201cWe have seen several instances in the past where the Tamil language was omitted from official plaques, violating the Official Languages Act. This has occurred even very recently. But it\u2019s more worrying when the Attorney General\u2019s Department \u2014 the office of the government\u2019s chief legal officer \u2014 makes such blunders,\u201d Jayakody said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u201cWhat is most unfortunate is that until the newspapers pointed this out, no one in the Attorney General\u2019s Department \u2014 including the AG himself \u2014 realised how deep this issue is.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u201cHow is this even possible? This a serious indictment on the Department,\u201d he charged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><strong>Former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran has drawn the attention the struggles citizens face in obtaining police services in the Tamil language in the past. However, not all members of 225 lawmakers display similar sensitivity to the matter<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u201cI am thankful that the media institutions pointed this out. But this should not have happened in the first place. We also hear that the plaque in question has been removed and will be replaced with a new one. It\u2019s important that the Department tenders a public apology over this oversight. The problem does not end with the replacing of the plaque, however. It was while the Colombo Port City Bill was being debated in Parliament that the Chinese Embassy participated in the opening of the \u2018Smart Library\u2019 for the AG\u2019s Department that they had funded. It came amidst serious questions as to how the Attorney General gave his approval on the Constitutionality of this controversial Bill,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Jayakody also stressed that our collective memory should not stray away from the fact that the AG\u2019s Department earlier accepted a multi-million dollar cheque from the Chinese construction company involved in Port City during a fund-raiser for the Easter Sunday victims.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">\u201cHow credible does this make the AG and the Department? The Department should have looked at these so-called \u201cfavours\u201d more judiciously without risking questions over its integrity. It is very sad to see that the AG\u2019s Department act in this manner, without assessing these issues carefully, as it is expected to,\u201d Jayakody opined.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sri Lanka\u2019s language problem explained-by Kalani Kumarasinghe The Attorney General and the Chinese ambassador unveiled the plaque which carried the controversial Mandarin text Source:Dailymirror The Attorney General\u2019s Department has come under fire since the opening of an internal library facility on Wednesday, May 19. Attorney General Dappula de Livera and Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong were [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":65681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[34503,34940],"class_list":{"0":"post-65680","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-dappula-de-livera","9":"tag-rasika-jayakody","10":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sri Lanka\u2019s language problem explained-by Kalani Kumarasinghe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Attorney General\u2019s Department has come under fire since the opening of an internal library facility on Wednesday, May 19.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, 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