The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) came in for strong condemnation from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA)-the largest Tamil party in parliament accusing the state of insulting and ‘murdering’ the Tamil language during a debate in the house.
Vino Noharathalingam, Vanni district TNA MP, slammed the GOSL for murdering their ‘classical’ language.
“The consecutive governments which killed our people are murdering our language too”.
Waving the speech copy of President Ranil Wickremesinghe who’s also the finance minister the MP said, even the title of the booklet containing his budget speech is not in Tamil. Annual reports, development reports and important documents presented to the MP’s don’t have the Tamil translation- Vino Noharathalingam accused.
“Language is our life, and It hurts when our language is being murdered”.
The Vanni MP went on to add that even when Tamil copies are provided occasionally, the translation is ‘awful with innumerable spelling mistakes.
We are unable to read those reports, it’s not Tamil, so how do we read them and react he questioned in parliament.
He further demanded the GOSL to appoint competent translators in the respective departments to ensure the Tamil language is not murdered any further.
“Spelling mistakes may happen inadvertently but if it continues unmindful, we can’t remain mute spectators and we have a responsibility to condemn it”.
Language-based discrimination has been the prime reason behind the decades-long ethnic issue leading to the armed struggle which came to a brutal end 13 years ago, with thousands of Tamils killed and made victims of enforced disappearances.
