‘Sinhala only’ implemented in Trinco DDC, DAC meetings

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 June 2011, 14:00 GMT]
Conducting meetings of the Trincomalee District Coordinating Committee (DDC) and District Agricultural Committee (DAC) and other important conferences by the Trincomalee District Secretariat solely in Sinhala language has caused dissatisfaction among the Tamil speaking members. Two third of the population in Trincomalee district is Tamil speaking people. Most of the Rajapaksa appointed heads of government departments and officials attending the conferences are Sinhalese. Earlier, there was a translator to translate Sinhala and Tamil at meetings and conferences held in Trincomalee district secretariat to facilitate members of all communities to understand the proceedings. Now the translator is removed by the Trincomalee district secretariat.

Most of the Councilors of the Eastern provincial Council, local authorities and non-governmental organizations who attend the conferences are Tamil speaking.

At one of the DDC meeting when a Tamil provincial councilor pointed out the difficulty in understanding the proceeding conducted in Sinhala only by members who do not know Sinhala, he was asked by a Sinhala parliamentarian of the district that why he was worrying about others as he knew Sinhala well.

The Government Agent Mr.R.R.T. de Silva, who was a former Major General of the Sri Lanka Army, kept silent, informed sources told TamilNet.