{"id":26014,"date":"2013-09-22T03:43:07","date_gmt":"2013-09-22T07:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=26014"},"modified":"2013-09-22T03:43:07","modified_gmt":"2013-09-22T07:43:07","slug":"will-tnas-election-mandate-promote-northern-tamils-or-diasporas-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=26014","title":{"rendered":"Will TNA\u2019s election mandate promote Northern Tamils\u2019, or Diaspora\u2019s agenda?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n By <\/p>\n

Lasanda Kurukulasuriya
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is with a sense of disillusionment that many in the South will observe the final stages of the first ever Northern Provincial Council election process as the results start coming in today. Moderates and progressive minded sections in civil society, as well as those in government ranks such as the Left Alliance, had thrown their weight behind this historic event in the face of hawkish Sinhala nationalist sentiment that initially threatened to derail the election.<\/p>\n

President Rajapkasa for his part upheld his pledge to restore the political rights of Tamils in the North by holding the poll in spite of that opposition. Implicit in that move was an endorsement of the principle of power sharing based on the 13th amendment, under which provincial councils were established, as a basis for resolving the national question that has plagued the country\u2019s political landscape for decades. The president\u2019s message on the campaign trail in the North as well as the North Western and Central provinces, consistently included an appeal to resist the divisive forces of communalism (\u201cjaathi vaadaya avussamin may ratay jeevath venna bey\u201d)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It was hoped that the main Tamil political formation, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) would provide leadership to this same exercise in the northern constituencies. But this was not to be. On 3rd Sept the TNA released an unprecedented election manifesto calling for what it described as \u201cdevolution of power on the basis of shared sovereignty,\u201d with \u201cmerged Northern and Eastern Provinces based on a Federal structure.\u201d This terminology combined with the rhetoric of self determination has been interpreted by analysts as code for a separate state. <\/p>\n

TNA leader R Sampanthan\u2019s reported assertion at a press conference in Jaffna that a \u2018careful reading\u2019 of the TNA statement would show that it is \u2018not attempting to divide the country,\u2019 is hardly convincing. If the TNA was serious about it, the document would not require \u2018careful reading\u2019 but would be quite categorical, on a matter of such importance. The recent statement by the TNA\u2019s chief ministerial candidate C. V. Wigneswaran only adds to the confusion. The \u2018Hindu\u2019 newspaper quoted him yesterday as saying \u201cWe are willing to work in a unitary state without asking to divide the country,\u201d and that \u201cA federal state is something which could prevent a campaign for a separate state.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been no apologies for the manifesto\u2019s whitewashing of the LTTE, a terrorist outfit considered to be the most ruthless in the world, and recently described as a \u2018murderous organisation\u2019 by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. On the contrary this aspect of it has been aggravated by Wigneswaran, who according to reports not only hailed LTTE leader Prabhakaran as a \u2018great hero\u2019 in a speech in Velvettiturai, but declared that he was \u201cnot a terrorist.\u201d This gratuitous remark was perhaps the unkindest cut, coming from a retired Supreme Court judge. His nomination as CM candidate had earlier been welcomed by moderates in the South who thought that he might help build bridges and bring better judgment to the Tamil political project. The comment has not been contradicted or retracted upto now.<\/p>\n

This campaign rhetoric reflects a U-turn in the party\u2019s stance within a space of three months. On 8th July in an interview with the \u2018Daily Mirror\u2019 TNA leader Sampanthan said \u201cWe don\u2019t at all approve of or condone the acts committed by the LTTE, certainly not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The explanation for the shocking posturing of the TNA would seem to lie in a desire to impress pro-LTTE factions in Tamil Nadu and in the well-endowed diaspora based in the West. The so-called \u2018Trans-national Government of Tamil Eelam\u2019 (TGTE) and Global Tamil Forum (GTF) have issued statements endorsing the TNA in the election, calling upon voters to ensure their victory.<\/p>\n

In the same breath both organizations have expressed their disdain for the provincial councils and the 13th amendment that made the election possible in the first place. How helpful is this from the point of view of reconciliation?<\/p>\n

In his interview with the \u2018Daily Mirror\u2019 Sampanthan strongly asserted his party\u2019s independence from the diaspora\u2019s influence (\u201cI tell the Diaspora when I go abroad, \u201cwe know the ground situation, we know what our people need, our people have elected us, our people have reposed their confidence in us therefore please leave it to us to make the decision.\u201d) The GTF however has said in a statement that it has \u201cdeveloped a strong collaborative working relationship with the TNA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reports coming in from journalists who have visited the North during the run up to the election suggest that the concerns of voters revolve around issues such as livelihood, cost of living, land, education and employment. The TNA\u2019s campaign caught up as it is with ideological debate seems to have ignored these immediate issues. The government on the other hand has made its development thrust the main plank of its campaign. Ninety percent of the people acknowledge the improvement in development, according to a pre-election survey among registered voters in the Northern Province carried out by the Centre for Policy Alternatives. It says 63.7% of respondents thought development had \u201csomewhat improved\u201d and 26.1% thought it had \u201cgreatly improved.\u201d <\/p>\n

The TNA is still tipped to be the clear winner in this election. In the context of the communal brand of politics that characterized the party\u2019s campaign, the question that arises is, whose agenda the TNA will choose to promote on the strength of the mandate it receives. Will it be that of the Tamil people in the North, or that of the Tamil diaspora in the West?
\nCOURTESY:SUNDAY TIMES<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya It is with a sense of disillusionment that many in the South will observe the final stages of the first ever Northern Provincial Council election process as the results start coming in today. Moderates and progressive minded sections in civil society, as well as those in government ranks such as the Left …<\/p>\n

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