The constitution of Sri Lanka, since 1987, states that there are two official languages in the country, that is, the Sinhala language and the Tamil language. From 1956 to 1987, Sinhala was the only official language of the country. Now, very little had been done, and very little is being done in terms of making sure that the official language provisions of the constitution in the law are actually implemented on the ground, that is to say, to ensure that Tamils...[Technical difficulty—Editor]...to be able to make statements, and can make statements at police stations, for example, in Tamil, and that when they deal with state officers, they can deal with them in Tamil. In fact, in the north, in particular, where you have a heavy military presence and you have police officers, etc., who do not speak Tamil, it only accentuates and exacerbates the divide.
There is a Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration, too, which is a national ministry, but it has a paltry sum of money allocated to it in the national budget, which again reflects the importance with which this issue is being perceived and taken by the government. Earlier this year we had a situation where the military in the north were telling schoolchildren that they couldn't sing the national anthem in the Tamil language and that it should only be sung in Sinhala.
What I am trying to point out to you is that here is an issue that common sense simply tells us could be one that will bring communities together. It does require a diligent investment of a certain amount of resources to ensure that the state speaks to its citizens according to the laws enshrined in the constitution, and does not, in effect, alienate them by forcing them to be signing papers and documents, for example, in a language they do not understand. This is an area that will go quite far in ensuring there is conversation, dialogue, and communication among the communities, which will of course only enhance reconciliation and unity.