By Chanackiyan The end of the 26-year civil war has left Tamils on the island of Sri Lanka and around the world at a critical juncture in our collec- tive history. Tamils have not only lost tens of thousands of our own, but the community’s position at the bargaining table has been weakened. As Tamils in Sri Lanka and Diaspora go forward, the question becomes how the com- munity rebounds to become a political force to be reckoned with once again. If the community hopes to bargain with strength about our future, it is essential that Tamils stand together, in unity won through open and vigorous debate, from the North to the South to the East to the West. The road ahead will not be easy as forces against this unity are many.
Since 2005, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has used all types of methods to strengthen his power and weaken all those who opposed him. During his first term, he weakened the opposition in the South, UNP and JVP and today, he is applying the same theory in a different way towards the Tamil polity. On the ground, divisions have emerged. Before May 2009, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had 22 MPs. Two of the 22 were sacked, M.K. Sivajilingam and N. Sri Kantha, while the other three joined with Rajapaksa:
Kishore Sivanathan, Kanagasabai Kanagaratnam and Thangeshwari Kadirgamar. Meanwhile, one, Jayananda Moorthy stayed over- seas. Only two were denied tick- ets, Selvarajah Gajendran and Pathmini Sithamparanathan. Is a fair reason to split a for- midable force like the TNA over two nominations? Furthermore, the only party contesting every electorate in the traditional Tamil homelands is the TNA. Areas like Trincomalee, Ampara, and Batticaloa are already particularly in danger of losing Tamil representation due to colonization, militarization and interference from Colombo. During the last 100 years, the Sinhalese population in Trincomalee, Ampara, and Batticaloa has increased substan- tially and the Tamil population has been reduced to a much smaller majority.
The most vulnerable of these areas is Trincomalee, which the TNA won last time through fielding two candidates. If the vote is split and a non-Tamil can- didate is elected in Trincomalee, the little voice that Tamils in Trincomalee, dubbed as the capi- tal city of Tamil Eelam, will be weakened even further. But things will not stop there. Already, these divisions have created havoc in the vulnerable areas such as Ampara, Batticaloa, Vanni dis- tricts. This writer is pretty sure if we don’t do the damage control and back TNA whole-heartedly, the Tamil representation on the whole island in the upcoming parliament will be weakened forever and the ultimate losers will be the Tamil population. If Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA) had genuine con- cerns, it could have fielded candi- dates in all areas in the tradition- al Tamil homelands and asked for the mandate from the community. But the TNLA’s decision to field candidates in only the vulnerable constituencies such as Trincomalee raises serious ques- tions. Is there a hidden hand behind them to weaken Tamil rep- resentation on the island of Sri Lanka?
Who will their actions benefit the most? This is the time diplomacy and logic must be used to get back into the political scene instead of succumbing to emotional and inaccurate arguments and becom- ing a spent force. The accusations the TNLA throws around revolve around TNA leader, R.Sampanthan, being out of touch with core nationalism principles. Anyone who listens to his speeches or reads TNA’s state- ments knows how false this argu- ment is. Sampanthan has stayed true to the traditional Thimphu princi- ples and no one can find fault with him for that. However, TNLA is fielding candidates who have stood against Tamil nationalism and switched parties. In contrast, the TNA is fielding candidates who have impeccable records when it comes to the people and the nationalism question. It’s our historic duty to back the TNA and help ensure the Tamil representation grows strong on the island of Sri Lanka so Tamils can be a political force to be reckoned with in the years to come. Time to back Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in Sri Lanka parliamentary polls Rajavarothayam Sampanthan