The choice before Tamils

By I. S. Senguttuvan

(January 15, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The delicate choice before the Tamils on Jan 26 is an unenviable one. Both main candidates President Mahinda Rajapakse and General Sarath Fonseka inflicted, no matter by ommission or commission, maximum collective pain and indignity on them. Mass displacement from their ancestral homes , villages and towns; pre-meditated genocidal action including destruction of the educational careers of their children, destruction of places of worship, the illegal arrest and detention of Tamils of both sexes of ages from inffants to octogenarians, denial of livelihood to nearly 200,000 dependent on fisheries, the subtle denial of ancestral avocation in paddy, subsidiary crops, animal husbandry and other on which over a million depended.

That they were all evicted from their places of livelihood is well known and documented. Thousands were brutally thrown out of their homes, farms, places of religious worship under the controversial HSZ programme - that still remains in force despite the intervention of the Supreme Court. President Rajapakse was widely expected to make an announcement on the release of this on his recent visit supposed to be a major gift to the Tamils. It is learnt he refused to do this as the crowd that greeted him was dissappointingly small in number and also because some of them heckled him. My essay will lose credibility if I do not mention militants in general and the LTTE in particular too made their own contribution to the Tamil plight in the pursuit of their reckless political objective of an illusionary separate State of Eelam. That was at variance with many Tamils in the NEP is a crucial point that the State and other media paid hardly any attention to. Many in the Southern political arena and the national political landscape gained for long in keeping the communal fire burning.

That a large number of Tamils did in fact appear to have supported the insurrection is only due to coercion and intimidation in an environment where the Sri Lankan state allowed its writ to collapse. This too was never focused upon either by the Press or the Southern academics. Every endeavour made by the Tamil intelligentsia to set matters in perspective was dismissed as an attempt by “Tiger sympathizers” to legitimate Tamil militancy. Lankan Tamils are not alone here. It happened in Cambodia, Vietnam, Peru, Bolivia, Nepal and in other lands in recent times when the official State was over-run, weak or gave in at least in certain areas of their domain where unconnected civilians suffered. The Tamil tragedy reached its nadir in late May 2009 where nearly a third of a million civilians – babies, pregnant women, the sick and elderly (Prabakaran’s parents were in their 80s), men and women of all ages responding to the call to “come to the cleared areas of the government” instead of the expected release to freedom were, in fact, interned. They were involuntarily held and displayed like animals in the sun and rain. This included infants and octogenarians. Instead of the assured relocation to their homes, farms and villages they were consigned to sub-standard and overcrowded mostly tin-roofed enclosures where food and water was short. In the 90F sun staying within was extremely difficult.The media described these as “Concentration camps” which the truculent government took issue with.. All this was relayed to the minute by the global media to the chagrin of HR watchers all over.

Even when “cleared” relatives approached camp officials and offered to take in their “clean” incarcerated relatives this was refused on flimsy grounds. Predictably, HR organizations in the ground protested which moved the Red Cross, MNS, UN and other neutral bodies to censure GoSL. Probably with the object of converting the high-profile event to an instrument of election victory ( Provincial Elections in the UVA, Southern and Western Provinces were in the horizon) the government gave the global protest a subversive and sinister face more for local consumption. The government called these protests “only an attempt to save LTTE leaders and their cadres who had blended with those civilians held in the camp.’ While months before May 2009 the army claimed LTTE strength to less than 6,000 post-May 2009 (probably accurate) this curiously became “over 10,000 cadres are hiding among the civilians held.” Insides feel this charade was to provide some justification for the government majority held Parliament to pass the Emergency Regulations that come up for review monthly. While sections of the government - with the aim of securing larger aid allotments from foreign governments and donors - were placing the number of those held at 300,000 that part of the State dealing with charges of HR violations were massaging the figures as much lower.

At the beginning of the year Army chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka declared “we will kill a minimum of 1,000 LTTERs a month” He probably realized this objective with his oversized ultra-modern army, which would, in effect, mean by mid-May there would have been less than only a few hundred low-level LTTErs among those incarcerated among the civilians. I need say no more as the country and the world have their own understanding of this massive human tragedy. It is a badly kept secret large sums of money were made by camp sources and politicians aligned to the government where “the release of detainees” became a roaring business. Whether they were suspected hard-core or not was not of interest to those camp men in-between deep in the racket. The openly discussed tariff varied from (1) release from the camp to the outside gate (2) a total package of release from the camp to the Palaly airport by vehicles provided for those with the right kind of money (3) There was even a Group-Discount for families.This ensured getting past the myriad of army-controlled check-points - with consumate ease.

Not for the first time in its recent history, Sri Lanka is coming out again with unpredictables. The Mother of All of this could be the Govigama Rajapakse Vs Karawe Fonseka bout now in full swing. The UNP, JVP and the Mangala Samaraweera supporters have duly lined up behind the General. Sampanthan has brought in a large slice of the TNA and Rauff Hakeem a substantial portion of the Eastern Muslim vote – possibly many from the rest of the country too. Anti-LTTE Batticaloa Mayor Ms Sivageetha Prabakaran defecting to the General’s side this week is a big blow and could be followed by major sensations in that part of the world where the disillusioned Pillaiyan can sail with the trade winds. Mahinda Rajapakse is fated to uneasily manage to keep his jumbo Cabinet with the remaining Tamil and Muslim factions within offering the needed succour.. Will the major defections of Wijedasa Rajapakse and Arjuna Ranatunga see a repeat of seniors from the government side? Navin Dissayanayake – son-in-law of UNP supremo Karu Jayasuriya - may show his displeasure on the unwelcome return of the prodigal son S.B. Dissanayake to the Rajapakse ranks. The names of at least 7 senior ministers are being mentioned – 3 of whom understood to have been at various times promised the PM mantle - now offered to SB Dissanayake. Arumugam Thondaman is virtually all alone in the Titanic and has a propensity to move with the wind – as he did in 2000.

Naturally “all in the good interest of the struggling and starving estate worker.” Deaths and defections have weakened the Plantation Tamil sector leadership and in the Battle to Win over the Tamils it looks like the General’s many sins have been – at least for the time being – placed under the carpet for retrieval at times more opportune. The IDP issue, scenes of helpless fleeing Tamil families in unwelcome boats in the sea, in hostile camps in Thailand, Australia, Christmas Islands are all fresh in wounded Tamil minds thirsting for change. The indignity regularly suffered in check-points, the forced banishing of Tamils to Vauniya at midnight from sleazy lodges with insensitive police asking them “get lost to the places where you rightly belong” will take a long time to forget. Not only to those involved in the ground but to the entire Tamil nation that was lined up for collective punishment - the Sinhala schadenfreude.

Meanwhile, plantation political parties and the government hushed up the ill-considered directive to the Police where Tamils from the Plantation areas could come to Colombo and the South only on “special Police permits” valid for 14-40 days. This was not known publicly until Basil Rajapakse let the cat out when he went to woo the votes of Plantation Tamils in Hatton a few days ago. Opposition politicians in the hills are quick to remind their now-educated voting youth this is no different to the “ Soweto-type passes to the Blacks” in South Africa during the despised Aparthied regime. The weight of the punishing high cost of daily essential foods has not spared the Tamils. In fact, they suffer more with less income coming their way. Its worse among the Plantation Tamils..

Within a few months after the victory the political C-in-C and the field Commander of the Army – virtual Siamese twins in the relentless, no-quarters given, to-hell-with-world-opinion project are now at each others throats. Both super patriots are now trading the “traitor” label with the C-in-C brushing the former Army Chief with LTTE paint – the standard smear weapon by the government to anyone crossing their lines. Previous winners of the dubious title were Ranil Wickramasinghe and Mangala Samaraweera. General Sarath Fonseka – until recently the darling of the Buddhist Sinhala Supremacist cabal - easily found solace with the SL Gunasekera doctrine “All tigers are Tamils and, therefore, all Tamils are tigers” For good measure the uniformed General, whose English vocabulary span is somewhat limited, took a swipe or two across the Palk Straits “at those Tamilnadu jokers” as well. His ire in that direction is now somewhat diminished as he moves towards rationality and in the civil world. He realises the importance of dealing diligently both with Tamilnadu and New Delhi. Since of late, he has taken a refreshingly new attitude and says “the country belongs to all – Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and others.” He describes Tamilnadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi as a senior Indian politician whom he respects. As to his previous friendsd the Rajapakse trio are called as “ those fellows” while in fair mood and indeed “those b..g..r..s” in foul.

Meanwhile, both Fonseka and Rajapakse made hasty visits to Jaffna and wasted little time in throwing their upper garments to stand in dutiful conformity, folded hands, pottu and all in veneration to Nallur Kandasamy – all of which was promptly relayed to the South instantly by the media. That the JVP leadership – virulently anti-Tamil in private from 1971 until recently – also joined the queue is a fresh development in our local political history. This is more a crucial political statement that should be welcome - than just a visit to the Temple.

President Rajapakse realises creating the conditions for large numbers of IDPs to be denied their right of franchise alone (estimated to be around 300,000) will not do. Neither will impersonation that has now entered the Lankan voting lexicon in recent years guarantee victory. The dubious specialist from Hanguranketa who openly claimed he is a "vote-producing machine" is in Rajapakses camp having been unceremoniously ditched by the General's team. Both main Sinhala candidates seem to tell the North-East Tamils "We are now ready to forget the past. We are all one in this country. Do you reach for our extended hands?” In many theatres of conflict peace and harmony have emerged from the battle field to sastisfy a war-weary people. Will this work here in Sri Lanka after 3 decades of continous war.Tamils may gather their traditional wisdom and want to bury the past for the sake of a more peaceful future. The question is not whether between Rajapakse and Fonseka whom they like less or more. The question is a peaceful and orderly life for Tamils in their home (veedu) and village (ur) grotesquely denied for over a quarter of a century.

An entire generation lived - some in the epicentre while the luckier ones under the shadow of a cruel and meaningless war. They have to live for now and the future. Do they want to get back to the foxholes and bunkers again or are they prepared to take a risk with the Sinhala leadership before them asking for their support? The Sinhala duo seem to concede they realize Tamils have been cheated for so long – and this will not recur. They also will remember cheating the Tamils gave birth to a monster that sapped both men and the depleting resources of a near-empty national coffer - for three decades. They will recall their lay and ecceleciastical leaders have read the Tamil tale wrong for earlier. There is no substitute for genuine unity and the need to come together in peace. The answer is blowing in the wind for the Tamils to chose wisely - on January 26.