Contradicting the fundamental basis of the whole Tamil struggle

“The de-merger was the call of certain parties in the government’s Sinhala extremism to which your friends in the government most willingly subscribed to. It was therefore a plain bifurcation of the “Tamil homeland” that all of you accepted as a cardinal principle at Thimpu.”
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by Kusal Perera

(April 04, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I chose to write this essay as an open letter addressing you, after reading the news item “Grave concern over STF pull out from East; TULF” in the online edition of the DM on 22nd March, that quotes you very much on that issue. As a prelude to this essay, let me go on record that I respect you as a Democrat who stands for a politically negotiated settlement of the “ North-East War” though I have my own reservations on how you approach it. Of course, you are now compelled to live with State security I presume, but I would not hold that against you as long as that armed security remains personal and not part of your politics.

Now we come to the concerns you raise over proposed PC elections in the East. Agreed, it would never be free and fair with Pillayan and his cadres roaming the area, weapons in hand and with tacit government approval. You would therefore agree, the Batticaloa district LG elections were never free and fair despite PAFFREL stamping it so, for reasons they should know. The total process from nominating candidates through election campaigns and then up to the day of voting, Batticaloa was never without armed coercion, was always living with threats on lives and punctured with abductions and killings. None could openly and publicly campaign against the TMVP, although PAFFREL claims TMVP candidates did not carry arms. Why should they ? They had their cadres for the dirty job. Therefore the TMVP was able to pose without arms on elections day, for PAFFREL to certify them as “good boys”. You would also agree to disagree with the type of democracy the President speaks of after Batti LG elections. If that is the democracy the President wants the North to have through these fake elections, let’s pray to God Mr. Sangaree, to please save them from tortured and traumatised life. Death for the North would be far more relieving.

That much and more you are aware of and that is more than good enough reason to register your concerns over PC elections as the DM quoted you saying [quote] “The withdrawal of the STF will do more harm than good. It is a well known fact that there are armed groups in the East creating a fear psychosis among the people. The government’s decision to withdraw the STF without disarming these armed paramilitary groups will definitely affect the conduct of a free and fair election,” [unquote] But let me tell you fair and square Mr. Sangaree, you were too much with the government prior to and during the Batti LG elections silently watching the government tie up with the TMVP, your argument though valid, most unfortunately, your voice wouldn’t be seriously heard. Now that the government had allowed the TMVP to be part of the local governing process while carrying arms, the TMVP and the government would argue they cannot be disarmed, for they need security to run the Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas as elected representatives of the people (sic). In the South, that would be a sound argument for the war cry to sustain this government.

Worst is your own dilemma and contradiction in meeting the challenge of armed electioneering in the East. TMVP is the “armed group(s)” you refrain from naming but say would ‘definitely affect the conduct of a free and fair election’. You are no doubt right on that even without names. Yet the reason(s) why the TMVP live with arms is no different to the reason(s) why those armed groups that you coalesce with, carry arms. The PLOTE and the EPRLF (Pathmanabha) have not laid down arms either, as you know quite well. They are very much ‘para military’ as the TMVP. Mr. Siddharthan being in parliament once before, does not metamorphose his PLOTE into any democratic form. Your alliance with these two para military groups will not be any different to the PA –TMVP alliance.

How on earth can you “contest the polls on a common list” with the armed PLOTE and the EPRLF (Pathmanaba) “for the purpose of preventing the East from falling into the grip of an armed group”? Your presence with two armed groups would only have the people of East living through nightmares with bitterly opposed and competing armed groups wanting to silence each other during elections to win at any cost. Win to be heir to the Chief Minister’s post.

The issue of PC elections for the East, Mr. Sangaree, does not restrict itself to the issue of ‘how free and fair’ it would be, although like every one else you are also trying to hype that issue as the only major issue. It raises a more fundamental issue from the side of Tamil politics that you wish to ignore right now. Where do you stand on the de-merger of the two provinces ? The very argument of those who took recourse to legal action in asking for the “de-merger” of the North – East province was that there is no “Tamil homeland” in Sri Lanka. The de-merger was the call of certain parties in the government’s Sinhala extremism to which your friends in the government most willingly subscribed to. It was therefore a plain bifurcation of the “Tamil homeland” that all of you accepted as a cardinal principle at Thimpu.

To date, neither you nor other Tamil groups including EPDP have publicly dissociated yourselves from that joint “Thimpu Declaration” made in July 1985. The Tamil Delegation at Thimpu discussions consisted of representatives from the LTTE, EPRLF, TELO, EROS, PLOTE and your own TULF. The LTTE, EPRLF, TELO and EROS were also constituent members of the then ENLF. All of them together signed the Joint Declaration at the conclusion of Phase I of Thimpu discussions, which very clearly said [quote] “It is our considered view that any meaningful solution to the Tamil national question must be based on the following four cardinal principles” [unquote] and of the four, the last one being no more valid, the first three remain as [quote]

recognition of the Tamils of Ceylon as a nation
recognition of the existence of an identified homeland for the Tamils in Ceylon
recognition of the right of self determination of the Tamil nation [unquote]

Most signatories (except the LTTE) to this “Joint Thimpu Declaration” including you as the TULF now accept elections to one half of your own “identified homeland” as the de-merged Eastern Province. Accepting PC elections to the East only means an acceptance of the argument put forward by the Sinhala extremism in de-merging. Can you therefore explain where you stand on these “cardinal principles” now ? Do you now disagree and reject the Joint Thimpu Declaration ? You have to answer that single question before deciding to contest PC elections for East.

The moment you accept PC elections to this bifurcated “Tamil homeland” you become a traitor to the Tamil Nation, who voted en-bloc for a “Separate Tamil State” in 1977 responding to your call for a separate State. Remember also, the argument of “a Tamil Nation” can not be defined and accepted without a historically claimed “homeland”. That was reason why Sinhala extremism wanted the North – East de-merged. Now at this point, your acceptance of this de-merged East with the PC elections, negates the “homeland” argument on which the Tamil people could claim nationhood. Thereafter Mr. Sangaree, there is no issue as recognition of the right of self determination of the Tamil nation. There is no reason for power sharing. And no argument as you had made previously for a federal system of governance to accommodate Tamil aspirations.

Again, you are not only accepting East as a separate political constituency, you are accepting the powers vested under the 13th Amendment too. Powers you were adamantly refusing to accept as far less than required for resolving long felt Tamil grievances. With all that you also subscribe now to the argument that Eastern Tamils have a different ethnic right and has to be liberated from the hegemony of Northern Tamils, as Karuna Amman argued after his break with the LTTE. In fact and in plain language, you are now contradicting the fundamental basis of the whole Tamil struggle in which I thought you represent that part which is democratic.

Where are you heading to now in the dust of your political career and in whose political caravan ? You are apparently travelling in a government bus that has a very conspicuous sticker in Sinhala that says “This is Gauthama Buddha’s Land”. Your little faint note asking for Tamil rights therefore go unheeded and without credibility. And, I am sorry about that.
- Sri Lanka Guardian