The Tamil community will perhaps not be in the proper frame of mind disposed toward New Year greetings. The wounds of war run deep and have not healed. The Tamil community's collective psyche has been grievously battered and bruised.
High security zones have not been dismantled in the North and East. The homelands of the Tamils ravaged. Tamil youth languish endlessly in prisons though no action is taken to investigate and clear them or prosecute them. The Tamil people are up against unprecedented sufferings in the lands of their births. But the government merely offers them concessions such as opening of roads and lifting of fishing prohibitions to lure them to the polling booths.
Attempts are made to delude the people into believing that normalcy has returned to their lives. Neither emergency regulations nor curfews have been lifted as yet. The extension of emergency regulation in parliament every month has become an institutionalized tradition. There are no more search operations and arrests in the Jaffna Peninsula. Perhaps the government has suspended these things with the objective of winning the hearts of Jaffna's citizens and securing their votes. But arrests and search operations continue unabated in southern Sri Lanka as a strategy to lure the voters there.
High security zones have not been dismantled in the North and East. The homelands of the Tamils ravaged. Tamil youth languish endlessly in prisons though no action is taken to investigate and clear them or prosecute them. The Tamil people are up against unprecedented sufferings in the lands of their births. But the government merely offers them concessions such as opening of roads and lifting of fishing prohibitions to lure them to the polling booths.
Attempts are made to delude the people into believing that normalcy has returned to their lives. Neither emergency regulations nor curfews have been lifted as yet. The extension of emergency regulation in parliament every month has become an institutionalized tradition. There are no more search operations and arrests in the Jaffna Peninsula. Perhaps the government has suspended these things with the objective of winning the hearts of Jaffna's citizens and securing their votes. But arrests and search operations continue unabated in southern Sri Lanka as a strategy to lure the voters there.
Election Strategy
By resolving the immediate needs of people which were lost as the fallout of the war the government is making a great show that they are the decade's long grievances of the Tamil community. Because Sarath Fonseka says that expediting resettlement is another election strategy the government retorts by saying it cannot waste time by relating tales about landmines.
Meanwhile, huge crowds throng to see Sarath Fonseka at rallies. The upcoming Presidential Election will decide whether the crowds gathering at his rallies are idle spectators or not.
The United National Front (UNF) Alliance feels that if the Tamil National Alliance lends its support to Fonseka's candidacy that along with the split in the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) would help him to secure a considerable number of Tamil votes.
R.Yogarajan who was the national organizer of the CWC and party member and Deputy Education Minister Satchithanandan, have crossed over to United National Party.
R.Yogarajan is of the view that the All Party Representative Committee [APRC], which held more than 100 sessions, will not produce any meaningful results as far as the Tamil community's grievances are concerned. He says that the Mahinda Rajapaksa government's thinking is that there is no need for any devolution of powers for the Tamil community.
Since Prof. Tissa Vitharana has not released the APRC report, Yogarajan appears to be entertaining some suspicions relating to the credibility of the report.
It is said that the Democratic People's Front leader Mano Ganeshan has been unsettled by the crossover of these two hill country politicians. Mano Ganeshan should realize the fact that crossing over is very common at this time and is an inherent feature in a democracy. Further, there is also the fact that the APRC was only a tool used by the government to lull the international community and Tamils in the country into a false sense of satisfaction.
The split in the CWC would have shocked the main political leaders. At the same time Wimal Weerawansa, leader of the National Freedom Front says the international network of the LTTE has exerted pressure on Sampanthan to back the candidacy of Sarath Fonseka.
Southern Chauvinism Continues
His statement proves the fact that southern chauvinism continues to cling on to the LTTE to press on with their political activities. And they cannot dabble in politics sans the involvement of the rebels.
While Sampanthan says it was the wrong decision taken by the LTTE at the 2005 Presidential Election because it led to their destruction, Wimal Weerawansa expresses exactly the opposite opinion.
Sampanthan seems to have accepted the reality that if he announces a TNA decision to back the candidacy of Sarath Fonseka there would be chauvinistic elements to brand him an LTTE sympathizer. And that is why he appears to be adopting the strategy of expressing anti-LTTE opinions.
He also seems to be under the impression that the Tamil population has rallied round his leadership.
But the people in the North and East are more concerned about living in an atmosphere that's free of armed groups.
Tamils and Muslims who have spent their lives in areas under the control of the armed forces look forward to an ambience that is free of armed groups and the armed forces.
Even when the LTTE conducted peace talks with the government they attached priority status to the need for a return to normalcy in the lives of the Tamil people.
Meanwhile the Jaffna university students, who released a statement during the period when the election for the Jaffna Municipal Council was held, have released another statement relating to the presidential poll.
The secretary of the Students Union of the University says that either boycotting the Presidential Election or contesting the election independently cannot be welcomed.
Contesting or voting in the election is the democratic right of the people. There is also the fact that this election is not a political battlefield for the Tamils. Tamils should understand the fact that the man elected as president will have power to rule the entire nation. Further, this election is also a war of sorts for western and regional powers who seek to dominate the Indian Ocean. These powers are the driving force which makes both presidential contenders dance to their tune.
Opportunity for Tamil Community
Nowadays, Somali pirates tend to often prove the significance of the Indian Ocean. The incident involving a Chinese merchant vessel that was commandeered by the pirates has made China feel the need for positioning a deterrent Chinese naval vessel in the region.
China recently built a commercial harbor in Gwader in Balochistan, located inside the maritime boundaries of Pakistan. But since a liberation struggle is being waged in the region China feels it is not safe to construct a naval harbor there. As such, China might propose to establish a naval harbor close to Hambantota where construction of a modern commercial harbor is underway under its supervision.
At the same time India would prefer the election of a pro-India president in Sri Lanka before China strengthens its hold in Sri Lanka.
This presidential election offers an opportunity to the Tamil community to hit back at India for having helped the Chauvinistic regime in Sri Lanka on a large-scale to completely suppress and devastate the liberation struggle of the Tamil community. And Tamils have the power to accomplish this task.
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