By Kumar David –
Something is quietly happening below the radar; it is not declared, nor is it policy, and I think the TNA senses that all this complicates its life; but when there is a political vacuum other actors, inevitably, are sucked in. What is the political vacuum? Who is being sucked in? There is an empty space in southern (Sinhala) politics; the turncoat left which kowtows to Mahinda Rajapakse is dead; it’s now called the Dead Left. The UNP is as impotent as a surgically castrated eunuch. Hakeem and the SLMC are competing with the Dead Left for the rank of first licker of presidential boots. The radical left is splintered. The opposition is a vacuum that would do Evangelista Torricelli proud!
The reluctant floss breezing in to these vacated spaces, believe it or not, is the TNA and its spokesman Sampanthan (S1) and Sumanthiran (S2). It started before the Northern Provincial Council elections and reached a high point in S2’s address to parliament in early December in the budget debate. I am surprised how many Sinhalese friends and the flood on the web pointing out that S1&2 are taking up national issues better than the Sinhala opposition. Maybe people are impressed by the novelty of a party long identified with Tamil politics expanding its compass to national issues. Or maybe it is approval of the TNA for not playing dirty politics, at least not to the same extent as others. Either way it is a sign of puberty; the TNA is morphing. This is welcome; let us wish S2 ever thicker testosterone.
If the TNA enters national politics, without compromising its mandate from the Tamil people, (and why not? what’s the contradiction?), it would be a great gain. The fault with Tamil politics for seven decades is not that it focussed on Tamil issues, that is a must, but that by and large Tamil political ideology remained reactionary. You want examples? I will give you examples. Think of hardened old comprador GGP who voted to strip plantation workers of their citizenship; think of diehard SJV who opposed everything progressive that NM and the old-left attempted on the social and economic front. Think of the quintessential petty bourgeois Amirthlingam – in fairness, he was not a fossilised reactionary. Now things are changing. It is not that Ganesh, lord of wisdom, visited S1 in a trance, it is not that S2 experienced epiphany on the road to Jaffna, it is that if things that should happen don’t happen, then other things happen; my vacuum theory.
Mahatma, Madiba and Marx
A note on dates first; Mandela was born in 1918, Marx 100 years earlier in 1818. Gandhi’s birth was positioned almost exactly midway, 1869. The Federal Party (FP) and its successor the ITAK, if viewed in this background, is a pendulum. The FP and its founder SJV were avowed Gandhians, sworn to abide by the Mahatma’s path of satyagraha and ahimsa. This died with the rise of the LTTE compelling the ITAK/TNA, on pain of death, to submit to its gun. Post-2009 the Gandhian embryo has pupated into the voice of reconciliation, refusing like Mandela, to be defined by the enemy, the racist state. It is taking its first steps to reach over the head of the regime to the Sinhala people. The speeches and writings of S1&2 address national issues of relevance to all; abuses of the ‘royal’ family, corruption and venality of leaders, a budget which is a caricature of economic policy.
The argument, perhaps justifiable some decades ago, of why the FP/ITAK/TNA remained mum at best, backward reactionaries at worst, on social and economic issues is that it had to prioritise the national question and could not afford the divisive luxury of intra-Tamil conflict; divisive for class or cast reasons. After the LTTE, this is all gone; whatever its other faults and they were many and grievous, the LTTE impacted cast politics and women’s liberation, and gave voice to the poor and the underprivileged. The war could not have been fought without mobilising the great unwashed. Thousands of young women were armed and fought side by side with men. The significance of this for social and familial liberation of women will prove irreversible. Society has changed; the clock cannot be turned back.
The second reason that could prove important in forcing Tamil politics to face up to class issues is that a Northern Provincial Council Administration has come into being. The Administration has to make decisions, it has take actions; nothing can be class neutral. Developmental decisions have social and economic implications; they cannot remain class neutral. True, the NPC is not faced with a choice between fire breathing revolution and hardcore capitalism, but policy orientation will have a radical or a conservative tilt. S2 has done a good job championing bourgeois democracy, but though he may dread the day, fast moving events will not let him rest. He will, sooner than he thinks, have to take sides in the tussle between radicalism and social conservatism. He is a clever chap, and if he could cram up the law so well, surely he can pick up his Marx with modest effort!
From Mahatma to Madiba, and from Madiba to Marx, that journey will mark the emergence of a next Tamil left; this chrysalis can emerge only out of the mass movement that flowered in September 2013, not out of thin air.
Internationalism
The strong relationship the TNA has nurtured with the Tamil diaspora is good and healthy. It listens and consults but makes decisions on its volition; the tail is not allowed to wag the dog. Some in the diaspora encouraged the LTTE to gallop to purgatory. Other movements have been constructive and served a vital role in mobilising international support on human rights issues and international pressure was a sine qua non in compelling the Rajapakses to reluctantly acquiesce to NPC elections.
There is a relationship maturing between the TNA’s proxy, the NPC Administration, and the international community. David Cameron’s visit to Jaffna and the invitation to Wigneswaran to drop in at No.10, and now Delhi’s invitation, bypass the despised Rajapakses. The BJP ousted Congress in Rajasthan a few days ago and the rout of Congress in Delhi Assembly elections may be the forerunner to defeat in national elections in March 2014. The Aam Admi (Common Man’s) Party’s impressive performance in Delhi shows there is room for a third force – not as a winner but as a player. The Indian state faces an uncertain short term future; changes will impact on the Tamils and the TNA.
As it moves closer to the centre of the national political stage, faces socio-economic choices in the North, and premiers on the international scene, the TNA will have to make decisions. These are challenges that call for great intelligence, flexibility and sensitivity.
*Version of this article appeared in Ceylon Today on December 12, 2013
sid / December 12, 2013
Good points here ! My thoughts exactly. Lanka may yet have a TAMIL PRESIDENT! Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister is of Ceylon Tamil descent – Tharman Shanmugratntam.
Also yes, Britain’s David Cameron invited WIgneshwaran to visit London, but Mahinda Rajapakse did not get any such invitation – he got a war crimes trial threat – a sword of Damoclese over his head after spending all our tax monies on the CHOGM circus!
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Dodo / December 12, 2013
Rajapakse and family of corrupt, uneducated and uncultured brothers ans sons are so power hungry and greedy that they have pissed off not just the minorities but the majority too by concentrating power and wealth in the family. Sumanthiran had the guts to say so – speak loud and clear about the STINK that is the Rajapakse Family.. he deserves the praise for saying what the cowardly Ranil Wickramasinghe and UNP will not say. Even the JVP has called for the resignation of that corrupt moron Dim Jayaratne so called Prime Minister of Sri Lanka a doddering 82 year old DISGRACE whose cronies brought the biggest haul of heroine into Lanka, but UNP is keeping mum…
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Wyatt K / December 12, 2013
I think Sumanthiran is Sri Lanka’s John F. Kennedy. If he becomes president, you will see the stock of Sri Lanka rise exponentially. Not only that, but people will not be told by the government what they can and cannot see in the news. Also, at least democracy will not be at risk under a President Sumanthiran. And, more importantly, the rule of law will prevail over the rule of a family who is abusing the privilege at every turn. People know and trust Sumanthiran will treat everyone equally. I am proud because I saw it early on and a lot of other people could see it to. It is because Sumanthiran’s ideas reflect the basic things that everyone agrees on, like freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law, that he finds support from a wide swath of diverse peoples. I am convinced that Sumanthiran is going to rescue Sri Lanka for ALL Sri Lankans be they Muslim, Buddhist, Christian or be they Tamils of Sinhalese. I think Sumanthiran is the one unique politician who can do what no one has before which is to unite them all under the same basic beliefs they all share. Sri Lanka deserves such a statesman after all this time. Now, they finally have him. The question is how does he become president.
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punchinilame / December 13, 2013
“The question is how does he become president.”
Over to DJ and Rajiva for a considered timely response…..
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Wyatt K / December 12, 2013
I do think that Sumanthiran has the “testosterone” required. The problem is that you have a president now who won the war, but has severely mismanaged the peace to such an extent that Sri Lanka is a pariah in the international community in many respects. Nevertheless, while Rajapaksa is exploiting old hatreds between peoples to stay in power, Sumanthiran is out there trying to unite everyone behind what they all have in common. The problem is not that Sumanthiran lacks “testosterone” because he is methodically uniting the country behind some very common and basic themes such as equality for ALL, a free press and the rule of law. The problem is that even if you have someone who is the best and brightest for the job, how does such a person become president when you have a family that has effectively taken over the entire country? It is similar to being the best at your job, but you cannot move up the ladder because a family runs the business thereby limiting how far you can get. I would suggest that it is easier for Sumanthiran to win support from diverse peoples and to unite them all than it will be to become president when the country is run for the benefit of one family. That makes it very hard. That being said, Sumanthiran has what it takes to be an international leader every much the equal if not better than what the west has to offer. If he succeeds, Sri Lanka will win the peace and I believe you will see a more unified stronger Sri Lanka which will outpace its prior glory days. We are looking at a major figure in Sumanthiran. I am completely convinced of that and Sri Lanka deserves to have its own version of John F. Kennedy…
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Safa / December 12, 2013
It is good for TNA to normalise relations and enter politics at National Level. After all many Tamils live outside the NPC area. People of all ethnicities in Sri Lanka face similiar problems. If thesse problems are solved at national level it will benefit all people including Tamils. —————————————————— For instance the problem of extermism is not limited to one community. It is found in all communities. This needs to be solved at National Level. It cannot be a one sided solution. ——————————————–In the matter of Land, GR is grabbing in all parts of the country. In such matters even Sinhalese will not escape the greed of these vultures. ——————————————- By entering mainstream politics TNA will gain the support and appreciation of all communities and help solve the problems of Tamils.
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Fathima Fukushima / December 12, 2013
What rubbish!
TNA cannot get a budget passed. The Governor is the boss not the Tamil Nadu Viggi chief minister.
If the CM tries to be funny he will pay for it.
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manisekaran / December 12, 2013
Dear Prof, I too hope year 2014 will decide the freedom of Tamils of Srilanka.
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K.A Sumanasekera / December 12, 2013
Cameron and Manmohan may have invited the Vellala CM to visit them at Home…. Can they make him or his handlers Sambandan or the Deputy Sumanathiran a PM or President or even a Cabinet Minister ??….. Not in that Vaccuum David is on about…..Asaad is still hanging on despite Cameron hiring Sunnis , including even the LTTE equivalents to topple him…. Who can Cameron hire in Colombo when Keselwatta Kid and the Cinnamon Stick Mangalan are at each others throats and the great majority of the inhabitants are behind the Govt…..The Only way the LTTE proxy Sambandan can taste real Government and go down in History as a Tamil Leader who did something for his people after three decades of destruction is to become partners with the current Regime and allow the Vellala CM’s current captives to come to the same standards as their brethren in Colombo…….But having the Diaspora Monkey on the Shoulder won’t be conducive to any progress ,despite Dr Davids misguided advice….
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Navandenna / December 15, 2013
Wiggi not Vellala, but Brahmin
His kids married to Sinhalese
No easy life for Jaffna farmers
Have to drag water from wells
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ram / December 12, 2013
The 1st para is interesting. If your assessment of the TNA is correct then it has yet to appeal to the Sinhala massess. If it does cloak itself in an economic mantle rather than the discredited ethnic one, then that would be welcome to all Sri Lankans. It should be able to work hand in hand with the any other political party interested in working for the betterment of all and forever change the political dynamics of the nation. It is too early to tell.
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Kiri Yakka / December 12, 2013
Great Observations. TNA is shedding the racist legacy of the Tamils. They are more likely to enlist enlighten Sinhalese supporters than racist reactionary Tamils – especially of the expat type. In all, Sinhalese tend to respect Tamils more than they do their own. If TNA does not threaten to break up their mother country they would be happy support Tamil Candidates – which is now as you correctly pint out is their only salvation.
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EW Golding / December 12, 2013
It is too early to talk of Sumanthiran as a common presidential candidate. If he continues to develop as a solid leader, maybe in 2022.
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Wyatt K / December 12, 2013
Sri Lanka cannot wait that long….
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Thondamanaru / December 12, 2013
Quote: “I do think that Sumanthiran has the “testosterone” required.
He does when other promote him with hallucination to become President.
I was of the view that the opposition wanted to do away with the Presidency and get back to Westminister System………
So, the Tamils too now aspire to lay claims to the Executive Presidency.
Mmmmmmm …………The Presidency looks good for them now. They are certainly salviating hoping for an International strategy to be in place to catapult them…………..
That Malcom Ranjith said…… We are no fools…………..
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Wyatt K / December 12, 2013
I disagree with your view that it is a hallucination. I think it is very realistic. Sri Lanka is not in good shape under Rajapaksa and that is an understatement. Sumanthiran is unique and I am proud and pleased to be a support of his. He attracts Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims for good reason. They all share certain things in common to wit: (1) They do not support a govt. that censors the news and what people can read; (2) They want Sri Lanka to have credibility internationally; (3) They do not want Sri Lanka to become a failed state; (4) They want attacks on different groups and religions to stop by holding EVERYONE accountable similarly for violations of the law; (5) They want the rule of law and not of a corrupt family clan; (6) They want government to serve the people and not just merely be a family run mafia; (7) They want to practice their faiths equally and I could go on and on. You have someone like Sumanthiran who comes along and lends a powerful voice for these shared values. In the face of all that is going wrong in Sri Lanka, it is not a hallucination for Sumanthiran to become president, it is a must. He is the man who will fix Sri Lanka and a lot of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims are backing him as well because they know that he is the hope for a much better day to come. I pray to Buddha, God, Allah or anyone else who will listen to please bless ALL Sri Lankans with a Sumanthiran presidency. After all that Sri Lankans have been through, they deserve to finally have a great leader advocating for common shared values…. I am proud to support Sumanthiran. Please consider joining us…
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Park / December 12, 2013
When TNA decided to contest the NPC election and when it won, the first thing I wrote was to suggest Justice Wigneswaran to change the name of TNA to National Alliance and contest all over Sri Lanka. The credibility that Justice Wigneswaran, Sampanthan and Sumanthiran bring to the political environment cannot be matched by any other political group. Others are spent forces. National Alliance if formed should appoint Sinhalese and Muslims also as their contestants and should enter elections at all levels.
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Wyatt K / December 12, 2013
Park, you did indeed make that suggestion after the election and I do remember it. You are very adept. I of course think Sumanthiran is great, but I do not know the path he needs to take to get the presidency. Maybe your suggestion is a good one. Personally, I think the UNP should form a coalition with him. If I led the UNP I would give him dual membership in the UNP and TNA. That way he could run as a candidate for either party at will.
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Park / December 13, 2013
I think it would be better for UNP and TNA to merge and then form a new party with a moderate common name. In fact JVP should also join hands. But definitely Ranil and Sajith should take a back seats. Both cannot be trusted.
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Abimanasingham Sitthawatthai Uthayakumar / December 12, 2013
Dear Prof. David!
You have stated that “Think of hardened old comprador GGP who voted to strip plantation workers of their citizenship.”
Are you sure that GGP voted in favour of the Citizenship Act of 1948?
Please go through the Hansard!!
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Anpu / December 13, 2013
It would be nice if some one could check the Hansard.
“When the Indian and Pakistani (Residents) Citizenship Bill came before the Parliament there were two Tamil Ministers in Cabinet of D.S. Senanayake. On the issue of this Bill, namely the Indian and Pakistani (Residents) Citizenship Bill, there was a split between the Tamil Members of the then Parliament. G.G.Ponnambalam, despite the pledge he had signed with the party representing the Plantation Tamil interests (i.e. the Ceylon Indian Congress as it was then known) in respect of Citizenship for the persons of Indian origin, voted for the Bill, while C. Suntharalingam voted against the Bill, and resigned his portfolio. The Tamil Congress broke into two and Mr. S.J.V.Chelvanayagam, with his supporters formed the Federal Party….” – http://tamilnation.co/indictment/indict001.htm
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Manoharan / December 14, 2013
The citizenship act was drafted with consultations from Kandiah Vaithyalingam and others; and GGP was in the loop as DSSenanayake neeeded GGPs support. GGP and many other Tamil leaders were staunchly against Marxist, and had no wish to see plantation tamils falling into the hands of “marxists and creating trouble” if they get political franchise. The Bracegirdle case was enough to frighten them totally. Prior to that and the leftists creating havoc, even D. S. Senanayake was partially willing to accommodate the up-country Tamils, esp. after he met the intransigent Nehru around 1939. DSS had to find ways to re-assure the “Radala” Kandyan sinhalese and also Peri Sundar and other Vellala Kandyan Tamils. This was impossible after Bracegirdle. It was the marxists who destroyed the chances of the hill-country tamils, a fact appreciated by the politically astute Thondaman who steered clear of the marxists. Chelvanayagam was opposed to up-country tamils getting any headway, until he realized that GGPonna was going to support Senanayake’s moves. Then he strategically started supporting the up-country Tamil’s cause, although he and EMV Naganathan avoided even shaking hands with them or meeting them even by accident. There was this innate fear of “pollution” and “purity” from these “coolies”, even though SJV and EMV claimed to be of the christian faith!
If Kumar david makes some political predictions you can be sure that they will not be right. These leftists have always been looking through the wrong end of the telescope. Not so long ago he wanted every body to rally behind the Pinochet-like Sarath Fonseka, an out an out right-wing racist. Today he is supporting Sumanthiran who fits in well with the Colombo urban bourgeois types, but he is a fish out of water with the ordinary man. Yester year Kumar Daavid was pushing this Buddhist monk of the Naga Vihara “as a one issue candidate”.
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Ramany K / December 13, 2013
Professor KD is a prolific writer. But his writings are divorced from realities. During the last presidential election he wrote an article highly praising Sivajilingam who broke away from TNA and contested on his own .KD did not support TNA ‘s common candidate SF.At that time he did not think it fit to go in the TNA way. He says Sammanthan and Sumanthiran are raising their voice for the people in the south. Fishermen in the north are angry with the TNA as the TNA never raised their voice against poaching of Indian fishermen in the northern sea.TNA’s own MP Ariyanethran publicly accused TNA of not speaking for the people in the east. Professor KD doesn’t seem to read even Tamil papers.For him he wont have any problem as they are pro Tigers. KD should realize the TNA politicians are good at deceiving all people all the time.So far they have achieved nothing to the Tamil people.They know how to blow hot in the warmer north and how to blow cold in the cooler south.In their previous avatar the TULF -precursor of the TNA –played the same dirty game.They used V.Dharmalimgam ,MP to visit soviet embassy and used V.N.Navaratnam and Sellathambu to meet the western ambassadors. They know how to speak to the different audiences. If you read their speeches and interviews in the Tamil media you would come with the conclusion that they are Tamil warriors. If you read the English media you would think that they are innocent people seeking reconciliation. Only two days ago the TNA NPC minister Ainkaranesan arrogantly refused to hoist the national flag at a ceremony in Mannar.It may be recalled that Sammanthan raised national flag with Ranil some time ago.We all know that Sritharan mp praised Prapakaran in parliament and then Sammanthan contradicted his view saying that it was his personal opinion.Does KD know what is their personal opinion and what is TNA’s opinion.Many of us know their games. Alas! the poor professor takes TNA’s uttering at their face value.
Professor,please don’t forget the past.The ones who introduced the magic word traitor to tamil youth are the same TNA leaders.They went on propagating the theory that there is no natural death for traitors. The tamil youth understood the message correctly and put TNA’s words into action.TNA also should take responsibility for the loss of lives of our people.
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Wyatt K / December 13, 2013
Ramany: Keeping the hatred brewing is a great way for the current regime to stay in power. Rajapaksa has been an abject failure in the peace. I think Sumanthiran has a chance. He has the same experience that Abraham Lincoln had when he ran for president. At least Sumanthiran will not be running a corrupt regime for the benefit of his family. He will represent ALL Sri Lankans. My question is why would you not want him to be president? Sri Lanka is perilously close to being a failed state. Its credibility abroad has tanked. The government is now in bed with China. For all the investment of China in Africa, there is a lot of unhappiness in Africa with China for very good reason which is the Chinese have benefited far more than the Africans who cannot even get jobs in the industries the Chinese have there. Also, you can see every day that the Colombo Telegraph is censored by simply going to the home page. Do you think Sumanthiran would be censoring what information people can access? He has come out strongly against censorship and the murders of journalists. He is a national politician because he has spoken of the attacks on Muslims many times. In fact, the Secretariat of the Muslims in the last year recognized that officially. He is also appealing to the Sinhalese as well who see that the country is in the hands of a corrupt family and is being ran to benefit them. They also see the country is becoming militarized which was also noted in a recent article in the economist. The Sinhalese value the rule of law and constitution just like everyone else. They to can see that Sri Lanka is on a downward slope to losing its freedom and democracy. Those things are precious for ALL Sri Lankans. That is why Sumanthiran is the one man in Sri Lanka who can bring these people together. If he were president you would see Sri Lanka’s credibility rise once again. You would also see the law applied equally and uniformly to EVERYONE. He would also unify the nation and as you can see, that is his goal and his speeches make it clear. He is looking to move forward from the past into brighter days ahead and a lot of people want that to. If he were to become president, he will, like Lincoln, assemble the best and brightest in government. A lot of people would like that a lot better than the current regime which has turned government into a family mafia. All people who love freedom, democracy and the rule of law are supporters of Sumanthiran. I believe he can do it. Please get on board with us!
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Kautilya / December 14, 2013
Ramanya K has made some astute observations. It is not only the TNN, or the TULF, that blew different tunes in Colombo and in jaffna. The Ilankai Arasu Kadchi also called it self the “federal party”, while its 1949 maradna declaration written in Tamil talked of creating an independent tamil Kingdom in the North, “in the EXCLUSIVE homeland of the tamils, where no sihlase aor Muslims would have any citizenship. Remember the Arasu stamps printed in the North, with the claim that “we will print our own currancy soon etc”, while a very different tune was sung in the south. When the Banda-Chelva agreement was signed, Chelva himself told in jaffna that this is the plan of getting Arasu bit by bit, while in Colombo he blamed the Buddhist monks of scuttling the deal. His own forces in jaffna wanted it scuttled!
The first step in reconciliation is honesty and transparency from politcians of the tamils and the Sinhalese. The Marxists are never honest, as Lenin pointed out that “promises are to be broken as pie crust” since the end justifies the means.
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S. Makenthiran / December 13, 2013
It is heartening to see that there are enlightened Sri Lankans who can think objectively like Kumar David. The Northern Province Council and Ministers are of a very good caliber compared to Rajapakses and their collaborators.
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Ramany K / December 13, 2013
It is unfortunate that many Srilankans especially Sinhalese do not know the past or the present of what the TNA leaders and its precursors have been doing or saying. The Tamil leaders promoted violence and created militant movements for their political ends. During the 1970’s TULF did not allow the opponents to operate in the Tamil areas. Many of their political opponents were not allowed to have “natural death” at the instigation of Tamil leaders. That was the Time when even the insurance companies refused to sell life insurance to their political opponents. Such was the political climate “Gandian “ bequeathed to the Tamil youth.
Isnt it a fact that their political opponent Mothilal Nehru was not allowed to have a meeting even in his birth place Valvettithurai. Later Mothilal was not allowed to have “natural death”.The world knows how the Tigers manipulated the 2004 parliamentary election in favor of TNA. Do we want another 2004 parliamentary election under future president Sumanthiran? Future president Sumanthiran goes all over the world and address meetings organized by the Tigers.Has anyone with a sense of mind expect the Sinhalese to vote for such a LTTE Lite.This is wishful thinking.
Not a single TULF politician attended the funeral of mayor Duraiyappah who was killed by Prapakaran.TULF mouth piece Suthanthiran rejoiced over the killing. To his eternal shame, even the Gandian Chelvanayagam who was still alive did not want to condemn the killing. Why?Because the TULF who instigated the Tamil youth to do such things.Former mayor Sarojini Yogeswaran ,wife of Yogeswaran MP ,gave an interview to Veerakesari saying that she prepared and offered tea to Prapakaran while sheltering at their house. Such was the ambilical cord between violence and Tamil leaders.
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Kautilya / December 14, 2013
All this is true. read the blook-curdling poetry of Kasi Ananthan, a great favourite of the “Gandhian” TULF types in the post-vaddukkoddai era.
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Wyatt K / December 13, 2013
Ramany, to try and connect Sumanthiran with Tiger violence is not justified. I put it to you that had someone like Sumanthiran been active in politics in the 1970’s and early 1980’s the Tamils probably would not have turned to violence because they would have had a significant and reasonable voice. The only thing that I hear from Sumanthiran is talk of peace and unity. To try and connect him with Tiger violence is simply not going to work because he actually has a record and what he says is documented. You just want to see the same corrupt family run mafia run continue to run Sri Lanka into the ground until it is a failed state. And, who do you think will suffer the most? It will be regular people of all faiths and ethnicities. The Rajapaksa’s will do fine. They are robbing the nation so they will always be okay. And, they can read whatever they want because the laws do not apply to them.
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Ramany K / December 13, 2013
Mahindas may come and go.They may not last for ever.They are short term phenomenon.Where is JR now?Ranil also could come to power tomorrow.But we should not allow foreign interference in our country.What happened when we invited foreigners to settle our power struggle? Remember!the European rule lasted four hundred and fifty years.Dont forget Iraq.They came under the guise of bringing democracy and human rights in Iraq.Aiyo ! people are getting killed in hundreds everyday. Do we want another Iraq? May be the Tiger proxies who dont accept the national flag want.
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Wyatt K / December 13, 2013
I don’t think European rule is necessary and I am not an advocate for it. That being said, Rajapaksa may indeed come and go, but I prefer someone like Sumanthiran who I know is an honorable man and I believe that you can see that as well.
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L. Pereira / December 14, 2013
Keep dreaming people. The Rajapakse’s have replaced the Senanayake’s,
Kotelawela’s, Bandaranaike’s and Jayawardena’s and will prevail for another decade or two. In the interim Cameron, Harper and Singh will be has beings. The most that Tamils will achieve in SL will be no more
than what their counterparts in Singapore, Malaysia and Fiji have. The now young and middle aged radical Tamil diaspora will be old or too old and more concerned about their hearts, arthritis ridden limbs and enlarged prostrates whist trying to keep body and soul together on the pension income. Their off spring will reading about Prabakaram and Rajapakse like we now do about King George I or Julius Caesar.
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Ramany K / December 14, 2013
Sumanthiran himself is not an elected MP,national list MP.TNA could not even captue the EPC,do you think that S can become the president?When the election is announced,you will see the true racist colours of TNA.
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