Give official receipts in our own language !
Ravi Dennis Branson of Batticaloa has complained to the Human Rights Commission on behalf of his sister that non-communication in his mother tongue and non-issuance of receipts in Tamil is a gross violation of human rights.
The complaint was filed on March 14, 2022.
He is a resident of Shastriyar Road, Murakkottanchena, Batticaloa and has lodged a complaint against the Traffic Police and the People’s Bank.
Dennis Mahaka has brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission the incident that befell his sister on February 10 and the difficulties he faced at People’s Bank, a state-owned bank.
He said in his complaint,
‘A charge sheet was handed over for speeding on a motorcycle and talking on the phone. But because it was written in Sinhala only and the error was explained in Sinhala, it was difficult to know what the fines were and how much the fines were without proper understanding and realized that the language rights were completely affected.
Also, the officer working at the pawn branch of the People’s Bank branch was also a Sinhala speaker, making it difficult to communicate. We could not speak our language and do what was required.
He said that as a result of this incident, human rights were violated on the road and in the bank.
Everyone considers the issue of language rights to be normal. Therefore, the Tamil people in the North and East have to obtain government services in the midst of severe difficulties, he said.
If there is a facility to obtain any relevant form or receipt in their mother tongue when obtaining government services, the people can obtain those services without any hassle. But unfortunately due to the failure of the government to implement the Tamil language properly, the Tamil people across the country are facing severe difficulties and are unable to get proper service. Realizing this, he has requested through this complaint that steps be taken to resolve this issue and at least the forms, receipts and documents issued to the public be made available in their mother tongue.
He has pointed out in his complaint that the Human Rights Commission should put pressure on the government to do so.
– Batticaloa Ravi Dennis
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