Col. R. Hariharan
About 78.5 percent of 4.25 lakh people of Northern Province who
voted in the Provincial Council elections on September 21, 2013 have given the
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) a thumping victory. The TNA won 30 seats including
2 bonus seats in the 38-member council while the ruling United Peoples Freedom
Alliance (UPFA) secured 7 seats and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) won 1
seat.
The results were not unexpected; but the large
voter turnout of 67.5 percent evidently boosted the TNA figures. TNA’s
performance point to the broad acceptance of its reading of political
aspirations reflected in its manifesto.
The TNA went into the election after some
introspection with its Diaspora patrons and Tamil intellectuals.This resulted in
TNA naming an apolitical personality - retired Sri Lanka Supreme Court judge CV
Wigneswaran - as its chief ministerial candidate. This prevented TNA from
dissipating its energies in a leadership struggle between the three major
parties that dominate the five-member conglomerate.
Justice Wigneswaran enjoyed excellent national
reputation as a jurist and did not belong to any party. Any doubts about his
belief in the Tamil Cause vanished after he delivered the Thanthai Chelvanayagam
Lecture “Whither Sri Lankan Tamils” at Colombo on April 25, 2013. The rhetoric
and the nuance of speech appealed to most of the Tamils, despite some unorthodox
views. Undoubtedly, choice of Wigneswaran helped the TNA’s to broaden its
support base as he was apolitical and belonged to no special interest group.
Probably this persuaded large number of voters to support TNA after their
energies have been sapped by two and a half decades of war.
He also fitted in the TNA bid to project a new
image distancing itself from its tainted political association with Prabhakaran
while retaining the idiom of ‘Tamil Nation’ at its core. This desire has made
the manifesto more a vision statement than a mission statement listing specific
objectives of the Party.
For instance, it reaffirmed the Tamils right of
self determination and the desire to find a solution to satisfy the Tamil
aspirations within a federal structure as stated in Oslo Communiqué. TNA failed
to pursue this objective when it meekly bowed down to Prabhakaran and allowed
him to be the sole arbiter of Tamils in the peace process with disastrous
results. To resuscitate this objective in the present context of Sri Lanka is
going to be an uphill task because much water has flown in Kelaniya River since
then. The reality is the LTTE has been eliminated as an extra constitutional
rider on finding a solution to the Tamil issue. President Rajapaksa has been
elected twice after disowning the federal solution and wishing away the
existence of any ethnic problem in Sri Lanka. Tamils have been reduced to play
their weakest political wicket now. And last but not the least, there is a
government “showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian
direction,”(to quote UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mrs Naveneetham
Pillay at the end of her recent visit to Sri Lanka).
Now TNA in office in NPC has no choice but to
build an equation with Colombo to fulfil the expectations it has kindled among
the people. This is going to be a trying task for the TNA as a whole and the
chief minister in particular. lf there is anyone who can undertake the task of
striking an equation with an intransigent government, it is probably the chief
minister designate Wigneswaran. As a Tamil judge at the highest court of the
nation he had walked the tight-rope through the trying period of ethnic
conflict. Though he is a non-political personality he has the acumen and ability
to take informed decisions while dealing with the government.
Fortunately, he appears to have more confidence
in finding home grown solution (Rajapaksa’s much maligned usage) without
external intervention than other TNA leaders. Already he has shown signs of
keeping an open mind on issues like participation in the CHOGM (Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting) being hosted by Sri Lanka. He will also be facing a
challenging task ahead as he has to carry the disparate and divided TNA polity
with their own agendas to tackle a scheming UPFA out to pull the rug from under
his feet at the first opportunity. if Wigneswaran has to arrive at a working
relationship with Colombo, it is essential for TNA to shed the ghost of
Prabhakaran driving from the backseat throwing broad hints at separatism.
On the other hand, the election results have
also showed the total rejection of President Rajapaksa’s strategy of using
development needs as an alternative to fulfilling political aspirations. He
could have helped the UPFA put up a better show at the polls, if only he had
adopted in an inclusive approach in the development process to involve the
people in the traumatic years after the end of Eeelam War. But it seems that is
not his style not only in respect of Northern Province but also other provinces.
For others it may not matter; but the voting has shown that UPFA has not
endeared itself to the people of Northern Province. After losing their kith and
kin, livelihood and habitat in the humanitarian warm they have to be satisfied
with a retired General sitting as a Governor and arbiter of their fate with a
sizeable army breathing down their neck in their daily life even four years
after the war. This is no advertisement for the UPFA.
President Rajapaksa’s post war strategy had
always been a mystery. As Dr Dayan Jayatilleka wrote if only he had held the
Provincial Council elections say immediately after the war, he could have given
form and content to his claim of waging a war of freedom. Politically it would
have made sense as TNA was in disarray and the UPFA had an opportunity to make a
real difference to the people. Evidently, he decided to sacrifice the advantage
to get a huge majority in parliament and get elected for a second term.
Even as the election results were streaming in
President Rajapaksa was off to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. He
can now confidently face the audience to point to the successful conduct of
elections in the Northern Province, as promised. In a way he is correct, by and
large the election was conducted peacefully in spite of the invisible dirty
tricks department’s clumsy attempts at confusing the voters and sporadic cases
of intimidation of voters and a reported case of opening fire at a van carrying
voters. One can only hope Rajapaksa takes note of the thumping chit people have
given to TNA and facilitates building a working relation with Chief Minister
Wigneswaran.
And one can only hope Wigneswaran’s troubles as
chief minister are not beginning. He needs every ones good wishes to succeed in
his thankless task of getting the job done. And that includes not only his
electors, but also TNA leaders and the government of President Rajapaksa.
(Col R
Hariharan, a retired Military Intelligence specialist on South Asia, served with
the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka as Head of Intelligence. He is
associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies and the South Asia Analysis
Group. E-Mail: colhari@yahoo.com Blog: www.colhariharan.org)
- Sri Lanka Guardian
