{"id":68896,"date":"2020-05-29T01:11:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T06:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=68896"},"modified":"2020-05-30T03:11:10","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T08:11:10","slug":"tna-spokesperson-sumanthiran-in-the-eye-of-a-political-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=68896","title":{"rendered":"TNA Spokesperson Sumanthiran In The Eye Of a Political Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

By
\nD.B.S.Jeyaraj<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Jaffna District Parliamentarian and Spokesperson of the Tamil National Alliance(TNA) and Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi(ITAK), Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran is currently in the eye of a political storm. The you tube interview given by the 56 year old Presidents counsel cum politician to the \u201cTruth With Chamuditha\u201d show conducted by senior journalist Chamuditha Samatawickrama is the reported cause of the controversy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few of the questions and answers in Sinhala were picked up by sections of the Tamil media who seem to have deliberately mistranslated the words of Sumanthiran with duplicitous twists and mischievous slants. Many Tamils opposed to Sumanthiran either believed or pretended o believe this and indulged themselves in an orgy of \u201cmanufactured rage\u201d. This in turn led to a cacophony of angry voices , over the mainstream Tamil media and social media – within and outside Sri Lanka – berating Sumanthira n for what he had \u201cpurportedly\u201dstated. He was \u2013 and is being – attacked viciously.
\n
\n\u201cTruth With Chamuditha\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Political attacks being launched against Sumanthiran is nothing new. The lawyer -politician with liberal, relatively moderate views is the favourite target of \u201c hawks\u201d on either side of the ethnic divide. As far as Tamils are concerned, the green-eyed monster runs amok in the hearts and minds of many Tamil politicians both within and outside TNA\/ITAK folds. This is due to the remarkable rise of Sumanthiran in both Tamil and national politics within a comparatively short period.Thus the \u201cTruth With Chamuditha\u201d interview provided an opportunity for these elements to draw their daggers separately and strike jointly at the ex-Jaffna district MP.<\/p>\n

Many TNA ex-MP colleagues of Sumanthiran including ITAK leader Somasundaran\u201dMaavai\u201d Senathirajah issued statements critical of Sumanthiran without even contacting their erstwhile fellow parliamentarian to verify facts. This was followed by many Tamil media reports about a series of \u201cconsultations\u201d organized by Senathirajah among TNA ex-MP\u2019s to discuss the removal of Sumanthiran as party spokesperson and ouster from the ITAK. There was also a botched attempt to sabotage a meeting scheduled between Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sumanthiran. The meeting however took place as scheduled despite these underhand efforts.<\/p>\n

Origin Of The TNA<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the interesting aspects that was highlighted in this anti-Sumanthiran drama was the origin of the TNA itself. Chamuditha Samarawickrama in his interrogative style harped on the TNA being the creation of the LTTE through a barrage of \u201chostile\u201d questions. He even charged that LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran had chaired the inaugural TNA meeting. Sumanthiran denied the charges with unflappable dignity. He emphasized the fact that the TNA was not formed by the LTTE in 2001.Sumanthiran also poined out that his party the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi(chief constituent of the TNA) had been formed (in 1949) long before the LTTE came into existence.<\/p>\n

This provided further ammunition to the anti -Sumanthiran elements within Tamil politics. They began stating that the TNA was indeed formed by the LTTE leader. Many kept insisting that the TNA had been founded by Tiger leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran himself and therefore Sumanthiran being a member of the TNA had to support the LTTE.<\/p>\n

Although TNA leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan has consistently stated that the TNA was not formed by the LTTE, critics of the TNA continue to accuse the TNA of being a tiger creation. What has complicated matters further is the tendency in recent times of several TNA personalities to claim that the party had been formed by the LTTE. Since some of the anti-TNA Tamil hardliners like CV Wigneswaran,Ananthy Saitharan, MK Sivajilingam, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Selvakumar Gajendran are singing the \u201cPulippaattu\u201d or Tiger song, these TNA politicians also pose in \u201ctigerish\u201d garb. They think (erroneously) that by saying the TNA was created by the LTTE, they can score over their political rivals. Incidently many of the TNA persons claiming to be the offspring of the LTTE nowadays were not around when the TNA was formed in 2001<\/p>\n

Sumanthiran\u2019s 12 Minute YouTube<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally Sumanthiran released a twelve minute you tube where he gave an \u201cexplanation\u201d of what had actually transpired and how his interview in Sinhala was being distorted by interested parties to vilify and attack him. The ex-MP from Jaffna stated that he had responded to many hostile questions by the interviewer with restraint as he wanted to explain some points to a Sinhala audience.Sumanthiran pointed out that a TV aligned to the ruling regime had taken a few of his comments out of context and publicized them in a distorted manner .<\/p>\n