Process of granting solution to the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka reversed to 2005

Sri Lanka government is to have another round of talks with the major Tamil constituent Tamil National Alliance (TNA) today in Colombo, unconfirmed sources say.

This discussion was scheduled following the last dialogue held on June 23 in the Presidential Secretariat.

Today's discussion is believed an extension of the dialogue on the talks on the implementation of the 13th amendment to the constitution.

Reports say the TNA has proposed amendments to the concurrent list of the 13th amendment under which the central government and the Provincial Councils share equal powers in certain matters.

However, an earlier report said that TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran had told the government was expected to respond to their proposals regarding power sharing within a week.

Earlier reports said that the next round of talks were scheduled for July 9.

Despite the talks with the TNA, the President told the main opposition United National Party’s co-deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya on Friday that the UPFA government’s official position was that the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee would determine whether the 13th Amendment should be part of a settlement for Tamil grievances.

President Rajapaksa’s remarks came when he met Jayasuriya when the two leaders attended the Higher Ordination Ceremony of the Sri Lanka Amarapura Nikaya (including all its 22 sectors) at the Kandana, Walpola Sri Wimalaratanarama Vidya Nivasa Pirivena, as reported by the Sunday Times.

The newspaper reported, "President Rajapaksa is learnt to have told Mr. Jayasuriya that he had already conveyed to India the UPFA government’s position that a settlement of whatever Tamil grievances would be determined by a Parliamentary Select Committee represented by all political parties. He had told Mr. Jayasuriya the three member Indian delegation that visited Sri Lanka had been informed of this position. The delegation comprised National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar."

Government appears to go back to 2005 in which year the Rajapaksa regime summoned an All Party Conference (APC) to seek the so called consent of all parties for a solution. The All Party Representative Committee (APRC) that was appointed by the APC first rejected a set of proposals submitted by an expert panel appointed by it and then went on discussing more than 100 times. Nobody knows what happened to the report submitted by the APRC to the President. The Marxist opportunist Lanka Sama Samaja Party leader Thissa Vitharana, Minister who chaired APRC that wasted public money and time remains tight-lipped.

The proposed Parliamentary Select Committee will be another move of the old tactic of taking time for which India appears granting consent to the move as it did since 2005. But what will be the outcome of this move? Who will benefit eventually?

First and foremost Tamil moderates will be a set of failures once again and militancy will be proved once again the only way the Tamils have.

All efforts of building a Lankan nation through negotiated settlement with minorities will be tarnished. Minorities will continue their struggle for ceding.

With the deepened alienation of the Tamils from Sinhala dominated Sri Lankan state, the government will further estrange with the international community.

The legitimacy of the Tamil struggle will boost and the Sinhala polity as a whole and the government leaders as a unit will face severe pressure at the international front.

The repercussions will create a situation that will make drastic changes in the polity and the perpetrators will have to reap whatever they are sowing now.


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Fonseka-Sampanthan Pact and post-war reconciliation of Sri Lanka

By Ajith Perakum Jayasinghe

(January 16, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led present ruling coalition has once again resorted to racism targetting to win the early presidential to be held on January 26 seeking re-election of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.


Rajapaksa intended to investe the last year's war victory for his re-election but he was ill-fated to face a pitch battle in which the probability for losing is also high with the opposition deciding to set forth the former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka as the common opposition candidate. Fonseka though he was a hardline Sinhala chauvinist in the past took the capitalist liberal line during his campaign and mustered support of the majority of the minority community political parties pushing Rajapaksa into jealousy and further risk of defeat.


In 2004 general election, the present ruling coalition United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) concocted a story of 'an Elephant-Tiger Pact' that did an enormous damage to the United National Party (UNP) whose leader ex-Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe signed the 2002 ceasefire agreement. Ultimately, the UNP lost the election. In the Presidential held an year later, they performed extremely well and Wickramasinghe lost to the present President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a narrow margin. He was deprived of minority Tamil community votes by then powerful Tamil Tiger rebels who called for a boycott of the Presidential. Rajapaksas supported by Sinhala chauvinist 'Marxist' People's Liberation Front (JVP) thrived in their racist campaign based on the concocted story of Elephant-Tiger Pact. The so-called pact was for dividing the nation, the UPFA then said.

Six years have passed and none of the government politicians have disclosed a copy of that so called Elephant-Tiger Pact. Definitely, one such never existed.

History repeats. The UPFA has now resorted to a new racist campaign based on a so-called Sampanthan-Fonseka pact. They do not articulate clearly if it is to divide the nation like the fabricated 'Elephant-Tiger Pact'. Who cares? They need no content. When the content is secret, the fear created in the minds of the majority Sinhala community is endless.

Rajapaksa's campaign managers that know too well that people do not believe what the state media says manipulated several pawns that were planted in privately-owned Lankadeepa newspaper. They fabricated a story to be published on January 10 in which Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan says that the TNA had pledged support to Fonseka since the latter agreed to their 'conditions'.

'Derana TV' another television owned by the family members of a powerful cabinet Minister Sarath Amunugama was 'clever' in obtaining a statement from a junior TNA MP about an 'agreement'. The approach of these Sinhala media in interviews with the Tamil MPs is extremely racist. These MPs do not understand Sinhala language properly. On the other hand, these 'embedded' journalists are hard-boiled than them.

Now the story is published. The writer who wrote it failed to prove she was correct and resigned the job. She will definitely be given a good position in state-owned Lake House soon after the Presidential if Rajapaksas win. Now, the racist campaigners of the UPFA, including Mahinda Rajapaksa himself, are following up the fabricated story on the pretended assupmtion of it as a fact. Even the Norwegian embassy staff is also involved in the signing of the so-called agreement as witnesses, they say. Why Norway? Why was it not US or a any other European country? Norway facilitated the ceasefire and was subjected to the wrath of the Sinhala majority for a long time by the UPFA politicians.

This reminds us Barry Levinsons's movie 'Wag the Dog' in which a false war with Albania is created by a Hollywood cinematographer in media to deviate the voters' focus from a sex scandal of a US President seeking reelection, two weeks ahead of the polls.

One can say that the 'Sampanthan-Fonseka Pact' is a success of the campaign managers of Rajapaksa. But this trick is played on the ethnic reconciliation in the post-war period. TNA expresses the frustration in Tamil community over Rajapaksa rule. The backing Fonseka received from the majority Sinhala community is also caused by similar frustration. It is democracy the TNA pledges support to any of the candidates of the presidential. They could have supported to Rajapaksa. TNA says that the support pledged to Fonseka is not conditional. Fonseka has said he will work for a political solution based on power devolution that exceeds the perimeters of the Provincial Councils that were introduced under the 13th amendment to the constitution, two decades ago.

Are conditions and agreements are so important, if they exist? Have Sri Lankan politicians kept all promises, pledges, conditions and agreements so far in the history? We do not believe in these pledges etc. But, we believe in the joint actions of Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and other communities of Sri Lanka. One day the ethnic unity will bring results although it will not be tomorrow.

They can do any gimmick to win elections.That is capitalist democracy. They do not stuff ballot boxes by force like in some past elections in Sri Lanka. Instead, they subtly manipulate media to build opinions in your mind to compell you to vote to them. That is their democracy that we have had to accept for the moment. The problem here is that this game is played on the potential reconcilation among ethnicities in the post-war period. It is The UPFA is campaigning against a negotiated settlement. They are creating fear and hatred  in the minds of the Sinhala majority people. Their campaign is Sinhala racist and anti Tamil now. This campaign violates all the norms of the democracy, rule of law and the codes of ethics of politics and social life.

There are two sectors in Sri Lankan polity that is happy about this development. They are the Tamil extremists that do not accept anything less than seperate state irresepective of whatever amount of blood is needed to be shed and years are needed to achieve this goal as a solution for the problem of the Tamils. Steps towards Tamil-Sinhala reconciliation are allergic to them. The other group is the Sinhala racist forces that are risked of losing their livelihood following the unexpected defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). These two groups are a single bunch of opportunists with good mutual understanding, respect and rapport. By circumstances, one was made to defeat the other militarily. For them, blood is not more worth than any other object they meet across their path. They need the other for their existence. That is why the Sinhala chauvinists are giving a hand to the Tamil nationalist extremists.

Sri Lanka ruling coalition likely to resort to racism as the minority community leaders express support to opposition presidential candidate

(January 09, Colombo - Lanka Polity) “Sri Lanka ruling party is likely to resort to Sinhala racism or ethnic chauvinism in the days ahead up to January 26 presidential since major elements of the ethnic minorities of the island nation are bent to express support to the opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka.

Sivageetha Prabakaran, the lady Mayor of Eastern Province Batticaloa Municipal Council has expressed her support to Fonseka breaking away from the ruling alliance while Minister Segu Isadeen, a Muslim leader of the ruling coalition also did the same on the same day.

Ms. Prabakaran was elected the Mayor via Tamil People's Liberation Tigers (TMVP) ticket in the local government elections held immediately after the state forces wiped out the Tamil Tiger rebels from the Eastern Province.

Rumours are spreading that her former colleague, Eastern Provincial Council Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan, an ex-rebel, is also likely to express support to Fonseka's candidature. No wonder if former Deputy of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, a Minister of National Integration will also cross over to the opposition in this context..

Two political leaders of the Upcountry Tamils recently expressed support to Fonseka and rumors are spreading that Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) leader and powerful Minister Arumugam Thondaman will also express support to Fonseka before January 26.

The major Muslim party Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) is supporting the opposition candidate from the beginning.Ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Muslim leader Minister A.H.M. Fowzie is also slated to express support to the opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka.

There is a long list of names of the Ministers that are to express support to Fonseka and it appears that the opposition campaign managers are using these 'resources' thriftily.

In this backdrop, the campaign managers of President Mahinda Rajapaksa have already turned to brand Fonseka as a traitor who is backed by the remnants of the LTTE despite the claims that Rajapaksa led the forces to wipe out the rebels outright. The major evidence cited is the backing of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Fonseka is receiving. TNA was considered a proxy of the LTTE when the latter was powerful. In any case, the TNA is still strong among Tamil people and Rajapaksa also discussed with them to win their support before it discovered the TNA was the same LTTE, as a Minister stated on Friday.

Analysts point out that Rajapaksa regime will resort to racism and ethnic chauvinism as they have decided to lay all their eggs in the basket of Sinhala vote base. Sinhala polity is also divided since opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka is also an arch-Sinhala nationalist who in September 2008 said to Canadian National Post "I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese but there are minority communities and we treat them like our people...We being the majority of the country, 75%, we will never give in and we have the right to protect this country...We are also a strong nation ... They can live in this country with us. But they must not try to, under the pretext of being a minority, demand undue thing."

Fonseka, the ex-Army Chief led the state forces to an outright win over the Tamil Tigers and he claims for equal credits with Rajapaksa for the war victory.

Sri Lankan Tamils Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

(January 05, Colombo - Lanka Polity) The decision of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to support opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka at the January 26 presidential is a crucial victory for the opposition and the TNA move has potentials to make impact on the voters of the other minority communities as well.

In 2005, United National Party (UNP) candidate Ranil Wickramasinghe lost the presidential to the current President Mahinda Rajapaksa since he was deprived of the Tamil votes by the election boycott of the then powerful Tamil Tiger rebels.

Sinhala polity is divided with the candidature of the ex-Army chief Sarath Fonseka and Rajapaksa can claim for the arch-chauvinist Sinhala votes and his campaign will be more Sinhala-centered in the days following the TNA decision.

Already the Upcountry Tamil party Ceylon Workers' Congress is divided and the government is receiving half-heated support from major political parties of the Upcountry Tamils. UNP bagged 128,289 votes at the Central Provincial Council election last year while the ruling coalition was able to achieve only 146,418 despite all its war successes and the state-sponsored propaganda. UNP also won the Nuwaraeliya-Maskeliya electorate that is the heart of the plantations. The decision of the TNA can have a great impact on the Upcountry Tamil polity. The same happened in the 2005 presidential and the turnout in the plantations was also low.

Although the leaders of several Muslim splinter groups are with the government, the major Muslim party Sri Lanka Muslim Congress supports opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka.

A number of paramilitary based political groups of Tamil origin support Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Eastern Provincial Council election was held in 2008 just after the province was cleared of Tamil Tiger rebels. The TNA had no opportunity to contest due to the prevalent conditions. Tamil People's Liberation Tigers (TMVP) leader ex-paramilitary cadre Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan swore in as the Chief Minister after the government coalition won the election. Due to the clashes with ex-TMVPer Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman and due to the displeasure caused by the sidelining of the Chief Minister from the development work in the province handled by the President's all powerful brother Basil Rajapaksa, the TMVP is also not offering fullest corporation for Rajapaksa's presidential campaign at the moment.

The major Tamil constituent in the parliament is TNA. It was branded as a proxy of the Tamil Tigers before the latter's defeat. TNA has lost gravity since then but it performed unexpectedly well in the local government elections of Jaffna Municipal Council and Vavuniya Urban Council. They won the Vavuniya Urban Council while they were placed second to the government coalition in Jaffna Municipal Council through a low profile campaign vis-a-vis state-sponsored propaganda of the opponent.  The ruling coalition collapsed to third position in Vavuniya Urban Council.

All these facts lead to the argument that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has poor support from the minority communities of the country. Quite extraordinarily the Tamils have opted to Sarath Fonseka who was equally Sinhala chauvinist and equally instrumental in the brutal repression of the Tamil struggle. Jaffna University Teachers for Human Rights identified the war victory in the terms "For both parties, the key to military dominance lay not in brilliant strategies, but in an utter disregard for the lives of civilians and combatants alike, driven by their leaders’ single-minded pursuit of personal power."

However, the Tamils appear to be tired of the Sinhala chauvinist rule of the Rajapaksa regime and they have expressed their displeasure through choosing Fonseka but with less hopes for a better future.

Senthan Nada, a Toronto spokesperson for the Coalition to Stop the War in Sri Lanka, told Digital Journal in an e-mail on Sunday that Tamils in Sri Lanka are like “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” because both candidates were partnered together during the military operations.

“I think The Tamils have to choose between the lesser of the evils. Tamils are considering Sarath Fonseka as a common opposition candidate and lesser evil of the two evils,” he says.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's maximum to Tamil demands

(January 03, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's maximum reaction to the long-standing Tamil demand for autonomy is to be the 13th amendment to the constitution minus the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces that came under the Indo-Lanka accord that preceded the constitutional amendment.

The jubilant President who successfully suppressed the three decade old armed struggle of the Tamils last year is struggling to win the support of the Tamils ahead of the early presidential poll in which he is facing a pitch battle with his ex-Army chief retired General Sarath Fonseka.

However, he has laid his hopes basically on the Sinhala chauvinist votes and unwilling and afraid to go beyond  the line of 13th amendment. Even in the latter years of 1980s, the Tamils rejected the 13th amendment and the Provincial Councils that were in fact imposed on them parallel to an Indian military intervention. Then the two provinces were merged and later the Sinhala nationalist Marxist People's Liberation Front (JVP) carried out a successful lawsuit in 2006 to demerge the two provinces in a judgment delivered by the ex-Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva whose role is highly questioned by media and civil society. The problem now remains is if the Tamil nationalists have the moral right to accept a lesser version of the 13th amendment after more than two decades they rejected it and following so much blood was shed.

Rajapaksa regime reportedly intends to hold elections for the Northern Provincial Council in coming June. They held elections for the Eastern Provincial Council in 2008 immediately after the areas under the rebels in the Eastern Province were 'liberated.' However, the Eastern Province Chief Minister, ex-rebel and ex-paramilitary leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan expressed displeasure several times over the way the central government deals with the powers of the Provincial Council. It is an open secret that the President's all powerful brother Basil Rajapaksa and the President-nominated Governor of the Eastern Province Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama have sidelined the Chief Minister that hails from a subaltern background in the development work in the province that are directly handled by the central government.

The Rajapaksa regime is violating the fundamentals of power devolution even in the nominal decentralization they have offered to the Tamils. The fate of the would be-Provincial Council in the Northern Province will be the same if it goes to the hands of the pro-government ex-paramilitary elements groups the likes led by Ministers Douglas Devananda and Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman.