Politics of election has exposed a giant black hole at the centre of Tamil politics
by Kumar David
The animation of election politics has exposed a giant black hole at the centre of Tamil politics. Understandably the destruction of the LTTE created a vacuum that will take time to repair. Understandably seven months is too short for a vibrant alternative leadership to take shape. But time and tide wait for no man and an election cycle is upon us; unfortunately, though, Tamil politics at this time is simply what it is. Let us undertake a quick survey and express some hopes.
Scattered around we witness frustrated old wheeler-dealers, who having completed a stint kow-towing to Prabakharan, are back to the discarded old tricks of the Ponnambalam era. In the Tamil diaspora we witnes s an ill-considered headlong charge into emotive Thamil Eelam secessionist demands. Both blind allies, as I will explain. Angry at these bankrupt options we also witness radical shoots motivating Sivajilingam’s presidential candidacy; but it seems that the TNAs Sampanthans, Gajendrans and Premachandrans are determined to cripple the Tamil candidate.
Sivaji himself, headstrong as an ox, refuses to offer Sampanthan the compromise on which he may win a degree of TNA backing. Sivaji must offer the second preference vote of his electors to Sampanthar, a.k.a. Fonseka. If he offers no compromise, he will receive no favours, obviously.
History sometimes rushes forward like a torrent, sometimes hobbles like an aged man upon a stick. In the Sinhalese South events have moved at lightening speed and Rajapaksa’s electoral defeat now seems possible. On the other hand, expectations of a progressive and independent Tamil political movement seeking mutually beneficial alliances with Sinhala mass forces are still embryonic – forgive the mixed metaphor with the old man and his stick.
Sampanthan is dealing with Fonseka and Rajapaksa, GG Ponnambalam style, not to be confused with SJV Chelva style. GG was a wheeler-dealer searching for compromises and sinecures, SJV campaigned for and won substantive reforms encapsulated in signed pacts with Sinhalese leaders, and his strength was the mobilisation of his people. That Sinhala politicians betrayed him is a separate issue that reflects on the former, not on SJV. To be fair I must also mention that GG was pushed into the much ridiculed 50:50 demand by none other than father of the nation DS Senanayake, whose step-fatherly Tamil aversion gave birth to the pan-Sinhala Board of Ministers.
What is the basis of Sampanthan and the TNA’s bargaining with Fonseka and Rajapaksa? Nobody knows because no programme has been issued, no manifesto published and no mobilisation of the Tamil people in support of these issues undertaken. This is cap in hand deal seeking, not using the opportunity to help the Tamil people renew confidence and raise their heads again. What about devolution, federalism, war crimes investigations? The acid test of Fonseka is the ten to fifteen thousand Tamil youth illegally incarcerated by the Rajapaksas and in danger of possible liquidation.
This is Sri Lanka’s Guantanamo Bay, and Mahinda Rjapaksa stands indicted as the Tamil people’s George Bush. Will Fonseka undertake to release all detainees against whom there is no criminal charge on 27 January 2010 if he is elected? Is he prepared to back the promise with international guarantees? Will Sampanthan boldly pose this question and to tell his people the General’s reply?
Had the TNA fielded a candidate, had it published a programme on devolution and federalism, had it offered its second preference (or for that matter the first preference of the large vote bank it can draw) on the basis of a publicised agreement derived from this programme, that would have been the bold agenda I have been advocating for weeks!
Don’t get me wrong; I see nothing wrong with Tamil political leaders entering into agreements with Sinhalese national leaders to secure agreements that will benefit their community. My case against the TNA’s supine approach to mobilisation and renewal of Tamil self-confidence is in no way incompatible with crafting agreements with the Sinhala State and its potential leaders. The B-C Pact, the Dudley-Chelva Agreement and for that matter the Oslo Agreement all fall into this category.
It is commonsense that unless the Tamil people want to secede they have to reach a workable agreement with the Sinhalese people. True, there is no guarantee that a future Fonseka Administration will not sucker the Tamils like SWRD and Dudley did – OK to be fair, they capitulated against their better judgement, to intense chauvinist pressures in Sinhala society. I can also appreciate why Sampanthan does not wish to touch Rajapaksa with a barge pole – any Tamil who harbours illusions about the current administration needs therapy. The totality of these experiences, I believe, confirms the case for reliance on the mobilisation of one’s own people.
The Tamil diaspora is having fun and games, frolicking in the never-never land of an imagined Thamil Eelam of its own making; never mind what the ground conditions in Lanka are, never mind what the poor sods back home want or think.
This is the first time I have heard of the right to self-determination being vested in a diaspora, and a diaspora, at that, whose denizens are never going to come back and live in the promised land. Expatriate Tamil communities in Norway, France and Canada have conducted referenda at which 99% have voted for secession – mind you not from Norway, France and Canada, respectively, but right here at the doorstep of the poor fellows stuck in Mannar, Vavuniya and Arugam Bay!
I appreciate the importance and the contributions of the Tamil diaspora. After the LTTE was wiped out there was a collapse of Tamil morale and in those difficult days the diaspora rallied and kept spirits alive. I was one of those who called upon the diaspora to take the lead in fashioning the initial rethinking in post-LTTE community revival. This task the diaspora undertook and succeeded to a degree, though it failed to overcome its own post-LTTE fissures. The Trans-National Government concept, which I had hoped would develop into a democratic discussion forum, does not seem to be getting anywhere.
The significance of the diaspora needs to be underlined from another perspective as well. In recent times, all over the world, international pressure has become a significant factor in dealing with war crimes and human rights violations, and indeed even addressing protracted ethnic conflicts. There is no denying that the Tamil diaspora has done sterling service for its people in these respects.
Now it is time for the leadership of the community to come home; it is time for the people who are rooted in the land to set the agenda; it is time for the diaspora to fall back to a supportive role. It still has a hugely important role, but it cannot indefinitely play first fiddle. Above all, the diaspora must understand that the right to self-determination is vested in the Tamil people right here; it must not try to lead them by the nose on this critical issue, and it must not behave as if it understands nothing of the practicalities and compromises needed of politics at home. It must stop behaving as if the LTTE has not been erased.
Most of my associates and many of my friends are left inclined, and I also am quite chatty with lots of Tamils in the diaspora – many from university days. It amazes me that in so many cases their brain cells have become atrophied. It seems that the compatibility of the following two concepts is beyond their comprehension: (a) Fonseka and Rajapaksa are both awful options; the pot and the kettle, both quite black, more so for the minorities, and (b) nevertheless the defeat of Rajapaksa, albeit at the hands of Fonseka, that is regime change, will provide a substantial enlargement of the space for democratic activity and a setback for the forces of repression.
I ask you dear reader, are these two concepts utterly incompatible? Is it not possible that both are true? Or is it that collecting a degree in the relatively unchallenging discipline of civil engineering so exhausted the cranial cell-banks of these worthies that they have nothing left with to fathom the simple dialectic of this progression?
Of course the point is not to pin one’s faith on either Fonseka or Rajapaksa but to build the strength that is needed to face the tasks of the morrow. This is where I see the importance of the Bahu, Siritunga and Sivaji candidacies. In different ways they represent mobilisations that say: "Stand up! Strengthen democratic institutions that can fight back when repression returns; eternal vigilance and the fighting capabilities of the citizenry is our only guarantee". You want proof of this proposition?
Look around you; do you think the Rajapaksa regime would be in such dire straits unless a torrent of social forces, boiling over in anger, had not burst into the open? That is the proof of the pudding, and we are eating the first course right now.
Pluripotency is a new term in genetics to describe the ability of certain cells, such as stem cells, to cope with diverse settings and differentiate into a variety of forms (liver, kidney, muscle, whatever) as the foetus matures.
We need pluripotent mobilisation; that is public education, an understanding of democracy, and mass consciousness so that we can deal flexibly with evolving challenges in the coming period.
Strengthening the Bahu-Sivaji alliance among Tamils and boosting Siritunga among Sinhalese offers a troika of opportunities that cuts across moribund ethnic lines. A hundred thousand votes for the troika will unleash sensational opportunities; and believe me, revolutionary possibilities within a couple of years.
11 Comments
Sivajilingam is running for the Presidency???? LOL! Wait, Just give me a moment to stop GUT LAUGHING... once again the MUPPETS of Tamil Leadership engages in FUTILITY and STUPIDITY.
When will these donkeys learn that No TAMIL politician can ever get elected in Sri lanka without the SINHALESE VOTE... its just a plain fact of life. They should look at President Barrack Obama as an example on how to appeal to the Majority... instead these FOOLS continue to waste their time (and ours) by trying to achieve the Impossible and they do so at the expense of the Tamil people they claim to represent.
Dear Kumar, I must disagree with you on a couple of points. SJV hoodwinked the Tamils as much as anyone else. In the North and East, his party was known as the THamil Arasu Katchi (loose translation, Tamil Government Party) and in the South they were known as the Federal Party. They were firmly rooted in Colombo, and their children studied in Sinhalese while at the same time telling the Tamils in the North and East, learn only Tamil. Dr. EMV Naganathan was a perfect example of this kind of hypocrite.
What qualifications has this Sivaji character run for President? This another case the Tamils wasting their vote. Ponnabalam's Tamil Congress wants to boycott? Who cares? By disengaging the Tamils from the electoral process or supporting a marginal candidate is basically saying "we dont care" and we, the Tamils end up with the Government we deserve. Hasnt Thalaivar Prabha's deal with "Mahinda Aiya" tought the Tamils anything?
A hundred thousand votes for the troika will unleash sensational opportunities; and believe me, revolutionary possibilities within a couple of years.. Such talk of revolutions is at the best delusional and at the worst dangerous.
Hasnt the past 30 years taught us anything? We Tamils in Sri Lanka unlike other minorities are in a very unique disadvantage. We are in an Island. We have no porous borders. LTTE were slowly starved by the Sri Lankan Navy with not a little support from the Indian Navy. Then the twenty first century Army pounced on the ninetieth century equipped LTTE. It was only a question of when!
It seems like the world opinion is sympathetic to us right now. Even the great betrayer India is pushing for some kind of development. Not because they love us more, but because the love China less. Lets take advantage of the positive leads.
All these talk of leftists gives me a headache. The Sinhalese leftists are the least trustworthy. From NM Perera to Colvin R De Silva to Phillip Gunawardne to Vasudeva Nanayakkara leading up to our "friend" Comrade Dayan, they have stabbed the tamils in out backs over and over again. Do you recall that Colvin R. De Silva was the Minister of Constitutional Affairs and NM Perera was the Minster of Finance in the 1970 SLFP Government which brought us the 1972 Constitution? Or just a few months ago, Comrade Dayan's Oscar worthy performance in Geneva. Now that he has been kicked out by the royal family, he is deperately trying to make himself relevant by telling us that we should emulate N Ram and "The Hindu Newspaper"/
As Ebenezer Scoorge said... "Bah, Humbug"!
Restoring democracy and civil rights,Empowering the masses and strengthening the bond between oppressed across ethnic divide are the only ways to assure equality and fairness in any society.In this regard a reformed JVP With a pragmatic TNA and and accommodating UNP with a Retd General who is willing mend bridges will be best choice.This may be dream but alternate is nightmare.
Finally after 7 months my suspicans have been confirmed. Thambi Veluppilli Prabhaharn is alive and well. And has changed his name to "Devinda Fernando". And is playing the "concern troll" to start the New Viduthalai Pulihals.
Keep on trying, Prabha Devinda!
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I just feel sorry for Mahinda and Sarath.
They just won the war (with the help of Karuna, China, India and Pakistan) and say they are the Heroes.
But now, they are going after Tamils begging for votes.
Shame, shame, puppy shame.
:-)
Dear Devinda,
"When will these donkeys learn that No TAMIL politician can ever get elected in Sri lanka without the SINHALESE VOTE... its just a plain fact of life."
Sivajilingam is not running with the intent of actually winning the election. Like the boycotters, his primary goal is to protest against both main candidates by mobilizing the Tamils. However because of the preference system which will transfer any vote for him to the candidate of second preference, he could potentially play kingmaker if ALL Tamils vote for him. Therefore I think that this is a more sophisticated strategy of dissent than the boycott while delivering the same message, as Kumar David also appears to believe, but it won't work if the Tamils are split between supporting him and boycotting.
Mr. David also points out that the Sampanthan strategy of supporting the anti-Tamil Fonseka would open possibilities (though not certaincies) for change by dislodging the entrenched Rajapakses. Once again, though, ALL Tamils would have to support this approach for Fonseka to get enough votes to defeat Mahinda. A division among the Tamils between these strategies will result in none of them working.
Seriously, can anyone claim surprise here? Prabhakaran KILLED off and CHASED away all the good, moderate and Intelligent leadership of Tamil politics and replaced them with these TNA SOCK PUPPETS... and now that the LTTE is no longer around to provide the LIP MOVEMENTS of these STUFFED IDIOTS what did you expect them to do???
David,
There are three elements in Tamil politics: Tamil voters; Tamil politicians; Diaspora.
Tamil voters do not have the mental agility to comprehend Sinhala chauvinism; Tamil politicians do not have the nerve to admit their moral deficiency; Dispora do not have the intelligence to recognise that they would pretty soon be a spent force should they fail to strike a chord with mainland Tamil citizens.
There is nothing postive in the outlook emerging from any of the three actors.
But, even with better dialogue and clear heads emerging, the critical factor in Sri Lanka is the Sinhala theatre. The actors of that theatre hold the stage.
Revolutionary thinking, coupled with visionary approach is crucial for a breakthrough. Suffice to say that however daunting it would appear, unless the Tamils make a headway into imparting the same kind of thinking in the minds of the Sinhalese people, there will never be a democratic, - peaceful - change in the country.
There was never a political partnership between a truly patriotic Sinhalese and an equally sensible Tamil. Unless, a clear thinking Tamil leader emerges and forges alliance with a progressive Sinhala son, to cause monolithic thinking among the majority community, democracy in Sri Lanka will always be a dream.
Making political deals is simply a ploy to remain visible. It is recognition that Tamil political leadership, as usual, has run out of ideas!
As a participatory Tamil thinker, you could play a role in beginning that most urgent dialogue.
I think the diversity of views and the inability to compromise on ones thinking is the main reason why Tamils do not have a coherent voice. Maybe the high level of education among the Tamils is the cause for this. Tamils need to be united to achieve not fragmented. As long as ones Principles remain intact compromise should be possible. Compromise is not a bad word but an democratic means of achieving at least part of ones goals as opposed to none.
My friend Kumar is always forthright and sometimes appears to be rude. But, his analysis, logic and argument are spot on. There are 3 aspects to this article; 1) the role of Tamil Diaspora after LTTE 2) State of Tamil politicians in Sir Lanka; lack of statesmanship, not so astute politicking, lack of leadership, no clear with the communication with constituent etc 3) SF VS MR for the presidency.
Regarding the Diaspora, if you know the anatomy of Diaspora, its psychic and the organisations, you would have much realistic expectation. As Kumar pointed out, a section of Diaspora is running around and conducting referendums. If you ask them why? Many answers; some are funny; some are ridicules, some are very damaging to the Tamils cause. When you ask what right you have as a non residence and non citizen (most of them have given up Sri Lankan citizenship) to hold referendum on another country’s make up, you get a blank face. Only response you get is, “if you don’t do this, the Govt. will think the Tamil resistance has been subjugated and we should show we are here”. This is the only reason the Transnational Govt. was setup in a hurry without discussion among ordinary people or at intellectual level or realising the consequence to the people living Vanni,Mannar or Ampari.
So, unfortunately, it is going to take some time before Diaspora will play a constructive role in shaping the makeup in Srilanka. Until, Diaspora realise that their role is to support the political and non political institutions by initially keeping them to stand up on their feet to have a voice, making them transparent, increase their capacity, bring in new blood etc. Once you have reasonable institutions, support them financially and take up their demands and aspirations to the international community to get their support with their local political muscle. Hope Diaspora will move along these lines quickly.
[Note: your reference to people with “unchallenging discipline of civil engineering” degrees and their thinking is not very similar to many people with other engineering discipline in Diaspora population!!!!!!]
On the state of Tamil politicians who lived using LTTE as an excuse (this is true for all shade of politicians) for not conducting transparent, engaging, responsible service to the people (rather than serving them and their relatives) will take time to prune out of these aging politicians out of the system (hopefully!!!). Until this happen, you will see all kinds of rhetoric and grandstanding by these politicians.
You are advocating for the lesser of the two evils to be the next president and asking Tamils and Tamil politicians to come to the sense and ditch all other consideration/differences to promote SF, for strategic reasons. I agree both of them won’t offer anything to the minorities or change the constitution or implement the existing constitution.
I would like SF for one important reason. MR and his cronies including the brothers/relatives have hold on this country already. Another term for MR will make this hold on the country to a iron grip. That is a disaster to the country and particularly to the minorities.
Even though, SF is not going to be any better towards minorities, his regime will provide a space for the minorities to get their act together as SF term will be an unstable and chaotic administration without a coherent plan or vision and will trip from one disaster to another. Minorities need time and space to come together under a common program to press for power sharing and devolution.
Several wrong assumptions:
"destruction of the LTTE created a vacuum"
-LTTE created the vacuum-
"After the LTTE was wiped out there was a collapse of Tamil morale and in those difficult days the diaspora rallied and kept spirits alive."
-there is a diffecerence between Tamils and LTTE and the general Tamil morale, whether local or diaspora is understanfably high as seen on 27th November 2009.-
"GG Ponnambalam style, not to be confused with SJV Chelva style"
-there is no fundamental difference berween them. If we have to compare, we have to compare them to Ramanathan/Suntharalingam or Thondaman/Ashraff or to the pesent day Douglas/Karuna/Pillaiyan/PLOTE.-
"had TNA fielded a candidate,.. (or for that matter the first preference of the large vote bank it can draw"
-There is no such thing as block vote nowadays for TNA and it would be proved after the Presidential election. They, like in the past, only bring sensational issues negative propaganda to get purely protest votes. People are sick of it but the Candidates are not aware of that fact and still trying to woo them.-
"Angry at these bankrupt options we also witness radical shoots motivating Sivajilingam’s presidential candidacy"
-Sivaji is not angry at them, he is just trying to help one of the candidate indirectly at the instigation of the unstable Srikantha for whom he once worked as a court clerk.-
"Had the TNA fielded a candidate, had it published a programme on devolution and federalism, had it offered its second preference .... that would have been the bold agenda"
-For what? The candidates are promising skies and moons even now and everyone knows what would happen to these promises after the election.-
"Expatriate Tamil communities in Norway, France and Canada have conducted referenda at which 99% have voted for secession"
-who conducted these referanda and what percentage of the population did not bother to vote and why?.-
"Strengthening the Bahu-Sivaji alliance among Tamils and boosting Siritunga among Sinhalese offers a troika of opportunities that cuts across moribund ethnic lines."
-another bad assumption. Why forget Dr.I.M.Illiyas?, a very suitable person. It would be better for the Tamils as well as Muslims to strategically vote for him to prove many vital points and give the second preference to one of the main candidates.-