Democratising the East: Challenges Ahead

by Ajit Kumar Singh

(May 23, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) The appointment of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, the leader of the Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) – the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) breakaway faction founded by ‘Colonel’ Karuna – as the first ever Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) on May 16, 2008, following the successful completion of the EPC Election held on May 10, marks the fulfilment of the Government of Sri Lanka’s well publicised commitment of establishing a democratic setup in the de-merged Eastern Province (EP).

The ‘liberation’ of the EP, which commenced with the Mavil Aru operation in July 2006 and culminated in the elimination of the LTTE from the entire region in July 2007, led to a process of ‘re-democratisation’ of the region, with local body elections held in the Batticaloa District on March 10, 2008. The EPC Election marked the completion of this process. Moreover, while reflecting the commitment of the Government to usher in democracy, the elections were also part of the process of consolidating the Government’s military gains by reinstalling structures of civil administration in the entire Province.

However, the Eastern imbroglio is far from over.

Unlike the Batticaloa polls there is no dispute over the legitimacy of the EPC election, as the main opposition United National Party (UNP) this time contested the polls in alliance with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). The UNP-SLMC alliance, however, reiterated their demand of disarming the TMVP before the elections, fearing violence. The UNP parliamentarian, Tissa Attanayake, speaking to the media on May 3, 2008, said that the UNP had already urged the Government to disarm all armed groups that do not have official right to carry weapons. "But the Government has not given any priority to this request, what it is up to is to win the election by force… This is a serious situation, we asked the Government to take immediate steps to disarm the armed groups…" Earlier, the Press Trust of India, in a report published on May 1, 2008, quoted another UNP Parliamentarian, Jayalath Jayewardene, as stating that the UNP was not merely depending on the Security Forces (SFs) for its protection, but "we are also having (sic) the protection of the common people and are risking our lives while campaigning".

Corroborating the claim that the TMVP still carries arms, former SLMC leader M.L.A.M. Hisbullah, who defected and joined the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) just before the Election, while showing confidence of gaining Pillayan’s support in governing the Eastern Province (as he was one of the two contenders for the post of Chief Minster), also stated, "I do not feel that Pillayan’s having an armed group under his command is a threat, or that it would hinder the development of the East if I am elected CM. I am confident that I would get Mr. Pillayan’s fullest cooperation and that we will be able to work together for the betterment of the Eastern people."


The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), closely allied to the LTTE, which once again boycotted the elections, claiming that these would not be free and fair, however, was reported to have urged voters to vote for UNP.

There were, however, numerous reported incidents of rigging, impeding polling agents or political party representatives at the polling booths, and impersonations on the polling day. Several attacks on vehicles and persons were reported in the polling area. Two vehicles belonging to the staff of Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, Abdul Risath Bathiyutheen, were smashed in Trincomalee. UNP sources said that there had been serious cases of Election malpractices at 80 polling booths in Ampara, Trincomalee and Batticaloa Districts, and accused the TMVP activists of stuffing ballot boxes in Batticaloa. However, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha, who was overseeing election activities in the Batticaloa District, said that the election was conducted peacefully, without any major incident, and denied allegations of election malpractices by the TMVP.

Meanwhile, the largest elections monitoring body in the country, People's Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL), which deployed over 2,500 election observers (including 20 foreign observers) and also joined by the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) and Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE), stated that, despite some scattered incidents, the election was conducted in a free and fair manner. Kingsley Rodrigo, the head of PAFFREL disclosed that they received 83 complaints of voter intimidation by the TMVP on the polling day and added, "Some of the polling agents were chased off and they intimidated the voters and the voters were not allowed to cast their vote properly." CAFFE, however, claimed that the election "was not at all free and fair". CMEV recorded 64 incidents of violence on the polling day, of which 48 were classified as "major". Earlier, according to a May 10, 2008, report, PAFFREL had indicated that it had already received 85 complaints regarding election malpractices, but admitted that most were trivial in nature. In one of the serious incidents, unidentified assailants lobbed a hand grenade at the house of a candidate contesting from the Eeleawar Democratic Front, in the Pooncholai area of Batticaloa District on April 28. Three persons, including two women, inside the house sustained injuries due to the explosion. The candidate was, however, unharmed.

Reaffirming the belief that the LTTE had lost its base among the masses in the EP, the Tigers once again called for the poll boycott ‘showing apprehensions’ that the elections would not have been fair and free of violence. The LTTE also initiated a series of attacks just before the commencement of elections, to drive fear into the hearts of the voters. On the eve of the elections, on May 9, 11 persons, including two women, were killed and 29 others injured in a LTTE-triggered bomb blast at the City Cafe Hotel near the Ampara Clock Tower in Ampara town, despite the heavy presence of security forces. Further, at 2:15 am on Election Day, an LTTE suicide bomber blew himself up, sinking the 213-foot cargo ship MV Invincible, the A-520 logistic vessel that was moored at the Trincomalee harbour. The LTTE claimed their Sea Tigers (the sea wing of the LTTE) launched a pre-dawn attack while the ship was loaded with explosives to be transported for troops operating in the island's north. Reports also indicated that the Tigers fired seven mortar rounds into the village of Pannalagama in the Ampara district on May 10, wounding four civilians — including a 10 year-old.

Nevertheless, a total number of 591,676 (65.78 per cent) voters exercised their franchise, out of a total of 982,721 – a clear indication of the LTTE’s loss of control over the Province. A 20,000 strong security contingent was deployed to ensure security during the polls at 1,022 polling stations. Election Authorities had also taken steps to deploy more than 15,000 personnel on Election Day. Earlier, postal voting took place on April 28 and 29.

The UPFA, which contested the polls in alliance with the TMVP, emerged victorious at the first ever Provincial Council Election in the East, securing 20 (18+2 bonus seats) out of 37 seats on offer – Ampara 14, Batticaloa 11 and Trincomalee 10 – while polling 52.21 per cent of the total votes. The UNP, with 42.38 per cent of votes, secured 15 seats; while the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Tamil Democratic National Alliance secured one seat each. The UPFA won two out of the three districts, Batticaloa and Ampara, while the Trincomalee District went to the UNP. A record number of 1,342 candidates were in the fray from 18 political parties and 73 independent groups.

With these elections, the Government may have been able to ‘legitimize’ the TMVP, which still carries arms, by appointing Pillayan as the Chief Minster, in the hope that conditions would soon be created which would make the TMVP give up arms altogether. The Government’s intentions were clear when several ministers stated, on May 6, that the Pillayan group "came out of the jungle", but must not be forced back into the jungle. Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the two victims of election-related murders that have been reported so far were also Pillayan supporters. Consequently, he said, it was not the Pillayan group that committed violence but was subjected to violence. TMVP is an important player in President Mahinda Rajapakse’s scheme of operations in the Eastern Province, as he wants to partially devolve power from his ethnic Sinhala-dominated Government to ethnic Tamil allies in the East. The Government, which unilaterally pulled out of the Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA) with the LTTE in January, believes this will undermine the LTTE demands for a separate ethnic State and could provoke further splits in its ranks.

The new order in the EP will, however, be confronted with several intractable challenges. The province, which accounts for 16 percent of the total land mass of Sri Lanka and engulfs a multi-faceted environmentally rich 420-kilometre coastline, contributed less than five percent of national GDP during its occupation by the Tigers, according to Sri Lanka's Central Bank. After the final eviction of the LTTE from the Eastern Province in July 2007, the Government embarked on the Nagenahira Navodaya (Reawakening of the East) Programme, seeking $1.8 billion in aid to rebuild the province and bring investment and tourists to the region.

The Government has also embarked on a programme to re-settle refugees. On April 4, A. M. Razick, secretary to the Ministry of Re-settlement, disclosed that over 50,000 families displaced in clashes in the east during 2006 have now been resettled. This represents over 150,000 individuals. Over 8,000 families are yet to be resettled, he stated.

The Province houses all three major communities the Sinhalese (22.7 percent), Tamil (48 percent) and Muslims (28.2 percent) in substantial proportions, making it the most equally ethnically divided population. The acrimonious relations between these communities may destabilize the nascent democracy. Significantly, soon after Pillayan’s appointment as the Chief Minster, M.L.A.M. Hisbullah, describing the appointment as illegal, told BBC Sandeshaya that he and two other Muslim members would not support the ruling UPFA. He stated, further, "The President and the Government deceived not only me but also the whole Muslim community and the 12 Muslim ministers." Ensuring ethnic harmony will be a critical challenge, and is also necessary in order to counter the menace of terrorism, which is far from over.

The most important task before the EP Government, however, will be to ensure the safety and security for the common man. Terrorism related fatalities in the entire EP have, of course, witnessed a steep decline – from 1,782 in 2006, to 845 in 2007, and just 60 in 2008, till May 18, according to the data compiled by the Institute for Conflict Management. Nevertheless, insecurity and fear remain pervasive. There have been almost daily occurrences of incidents of violence and evidence of a pervasive anarchy – abductions, disappearances, extortion and intimidation in the entire Eastern Province.

The scourge of LTTE terrorism is yet to be completely eliminated in the East and the outfit has the wherewithal to fight back. According to the SFs nearly 1,000 ex-LTTE militants are now living in the EP under close observation, and it is possible that the LTTE may reactivate some of these at some stage. Moreover, while they have lost the EP and appear to be engaged in a losing battle in the North, their capacities to carry out terrorist strikes even in the highly fortified capital, Colombo, time and again, could constitute a significant threat to the EPC Government as well.
- Sri Lanka Guardian