“The end of war and the decimation of the LTTE have yet not ended the problems of the Tamils on many fronts. Life is yet full of misery and many issues of major concern for the Tamils are at a low point. The Tamils are mostly a confused people bereft of a leadership to lead them towards a new vision.”.........................................
By: Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
(February 02, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)The results of the recent presidential elections are being analyzed and interpreted in clinical detail by many commentators from their respective vantage points, experiences and predilections. While in Sri Lanka in December'2009, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Jaffna. Based on the interactions I had with the Sinhala people belonging to different strata of society, I formed the impression that Mahinda Rajapakse would win this election. It was obvious that although most Tamils in Colombo and its environs, and the Sinhala middle and upper classes were taking a pro-Fonseka stance, the majority of the ordinary Sinhala people were clear they would vote for Mahinda Rajapakse.
Their deliverance from the LTTE blight played a major role in their preference. This segment of the Sinhala population also wanted the problems facing the Tamils addressed. They were also quite clear that Mahinda Rajapakse was the driving force behind the defeat of the LTTE, although appreciative of the role played by Sarath Fonseka. It would be wrong to conclude from the election results that Sinhala chauvinism/ triumphalism was the driving force behind the Rajapakse win, from the impressions I formed.
It was the ordinary Sinhala and Tamil people who had paid the price in blood and misery, during the prolonged conflict and the intermittent wars. The relief that the war had finally ended and the LTTE decimated was most felt by the ordinary Sinhala people, who bore the brunt of LTTE terror and soldier casualties. Their relief and gratitude to Mahinda Rajapakse should be understood in this context. They were reacting as absolutely normal human beings relieved that three decades of terror and war had ended, and not as triumphalist Sinhalese. To name this response 'triumphalism' is to insult their genuine decency. Communalism and racism (If at all there is racial divide in Sri Lanka!) are the main preserve of the middle and upper classes among both the Sinhalese and Tamils.
Ordinary Sinhalese were very clear in accepting that the Tamils had suffered, the Tamils had grievances and the problems of the Tamils should be addressed within the context of a united Sri Lanka. They were also proud of the manner in which Mahinda Rajapakse had stood his ground among manifold pressures during the war. Mahinda Rajapakse had definitely sparked a sense of national pride in these simple people. Whilst they may not be aware of the intricacies of the devolution debate, they were quite clear that any solution should not lead to the break-up of Sri Lanka. They considered Mahinda Rajapakse the most likely to deliver on this score and their other day- to- day concerns that are quite different from those of the upper and middle classes.
The end of war and the decimation of the LTTE have yet not ended the problems of the Tamils on many fronts. Life is yet full of misery and many issues of major concern for the Tamils are at a low point. The Tamils are mostly a confused people bereft of a leadership to lead them towards a new vision. The voting patterns of the Tamils in the north and east, Colombo and the rest of the island should be viewed in this context.
The impression I have is that many are yet sore that the LTTE was defeated before the problems of the Tamils were resolved. Many Tamils, including those who were opposed to the LTTE, had considered the LTTE a bulwark against Sinhala extremism. Further, the dream of 'Eelam' had been so deeply embedded in the psyche of Tamils by the Tamil political parties and the LTTE over several decades, that the defeat of the LTTE had led to a sense of political paralysis and repressed frustration. The light that was promised at the end of a very dark tunnel never materialized. The Tamils yet feel they are yet in a dark tunnel haunted by many ghosts- some real, others imagined. The induction of the yet- armed Tamil paramilitary groups by the government to fill the leadership vacuum among the Tamils, has further added to Tamil fears, frustration and anger.
The TNA tried to win back its long lost leadership role, by exploiting this anger and frustration to support Sarath Fonseka. The TNA has largely lost its place in Tamil politics, which would be difficult to reclaim. The situation of the IDPs and the unsatisfactory manner in which they have been resettled, have added fuel to fire in the Tamil mind. Most Tamils, who refrained from voting, were in no mood for elections at this point in time and had concerns that involved their very survival as human beings. The Tamil votes cast in the north and east for Sarath Fonseka should be considered a protest vote against their present circumstances.
It is time for the Tamils to claw their way out of their 'victim' mindset. There is future to think of, plan for and live for. Tamils have to take advantage of the good will currently prevailing among most Sinhala people, to resolve their outstanding problems within the context of a united Sri Lanka. Tamils have to join the national mainstream. Tamils should seek a new leadership that is attuned to their current needs and is qualitatively better than what they have now. The TNA and the so-called democratic 'paramilitary ' groups should be rejected. It would be better for the Tamils to vote for Tamil or Muslim candidates representing the national parties in the north and east in the forthcoming general and provincial council elections, than vote the TNA or the paramilitary groups masquerading as newborn democrats. This is a historical moment for the Tamils to clean their Augean stables.
The Sinhala polity and the government on the other hand have to trust the decency, good sense and intelligence of the Tamils, sympathize with their current plight and take them into confidence. The paramilitary forces should be disbanded and disarmed as an issue of utmost priority. Their leaders should seek public support on their own without arms and government patronage. Any gratitude owing to these individuals for their role in winning the war should not be paid at the expense of the Tamils. The TNA should be left to fend for itself and not permitted to become part of any alliance with national political parties.
The national political parties should select and field Tamil and Muslim candidates who are above board and are capable of providing a forward- looking leadership to the Tamils and Muslims, at the general elections in the north and east and the provincial council elections in the north. The national political parties should reach out to the Tamils in an honourable manner at the forthcoming elections and win their hearts and minds with programs geared to the welfare of these unfortunate people, who have been through hell.
The government should resettle the IDPs in an open and inclusive manner, as per the original plans it had formulated and presented to many. The 'IDP' resettlement program should preferably be on the lines of the 'Marshall Plan' for West Germany after the Second World War, if the required funding could be obtained. The captured and surrendered cadres should be quickly re-integrated and made productive members of society. They should be one major component of the resettlement program. The north and east require a special and concerted effort on the part of the government for upliftment on many fronts- poverty alleviation; health care; programs for the long term care of widows, orphans, injured and the maimed; education; agricultural development; social development; tourism development and industrial development. To these are tied issues of land distribution and ownership, which are the breeding ground for much dissatisfaction and rancour. Further, the need to preserve the cultural identity of the Tamils in the north and east while integrating these provinces into the national mainstream, are daunting tasks that have to be approached with sensitivity and honesty and in a transparent manner.
The peoples of Sri Lanka- Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims should not missed the historical congruence of many factors that have come about to heal our national wounds, reconcile and forgive the past to build a new and bright future for all citizens. I hope President Mahinda Rajapakse will do what needs to be done to achieve this.
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