Three elections and two ‘funerals’: Beginning of a new cycle

"Abandonment of our people seemed to have brought in an abundant of choices, to those in a position of nothing, what a bother? Yet, they are at least supposed to bring a sort of elation?"
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By Ravi Sundaralingam
Exclusive to Sri Lanka Guardian

(January 14, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Cycles that define different stages in peoples’ life come when they are totally unprepared. A psychological condition individual and collective self seem to prefer even if there were indications of huge changes, as though were they needed dramatic events to turf them mentally to the next stage. Those study intensely the various fields foretell these changes, only to be derided out of our attention. It is when decision-making becomes an unavoidable task, the old predictions become new knowledge, and those speak them the ‘discoverers’ of the truths, which ceremoniously mark the time of changes.

Tamils in Sri Lanka are going through very difficult times, but the media want to give the impression of returning of normalcy. What is normal is anyone’s guess except the Tamils, whose experience hardly counts. To top it all up, now an illusion is being created that even if lives don’t count their votes do. So, for those used to seeing their votes cast by someone else or hijacked by one or the other armed group, there is a election feast and apparently there are three of them to talk about. Amid this hullabaloo one could be forgiven for not noticing GOSL’s slyness, slipping two ‘death-certificates’, on Pirabaharan and his trusted lieutenant Poddhu Amman, under the paper-weights in one of its courts.

“How should they make their vote count?” is a puzzle Tamils and the other ethnic communities haven’t come to term with.

It is certainly not as easy for the brilliant people among us. They make the transition from an ardent Pirabaharan supporter to back his executioner, general Fonsehka, via a phase of interludes with TELO Sivajilingam, so simply principled.

Just as in death, the simple people suffer the most in life; especially when they try to live by the principles set for them by their smart peers, except in the case of Tamils they notice that their numbers have been dropping drastically since the British left.

Once, a long time ago, when they thought their votes mattered the Plantation Tamils paid the penalty, and a parliament act rendered them stateless and more than half of them were expelled to India. Then the Federal Party played the number game and tried to strike deals with the UNP and the SLFP, only for the ‘experts’ to discover something called a Southern consensus, which is there for the Sinhala parties to use it in turn to scupper any deal to solve ethnic issues.

Perhaps learning from trade union block voting in the advance nations, LTTE changed the meaning of one-man-one vote, and thought they cracked the Southern consensus; Pribaharan voted on behalf of the Tamils and, decided on the Sinhala president either by killing or exchanging stuffed boxes of votes for hard cash. He also selected the present incumbent say the experts, only for him to learn he and the LTTE had to die for it. Since then, only those wise in the world of Southern consensus are allowed to advice or lead the retche Tamils.

While our brethren worry about the pieces of paper in their hands and the daily-changing advices from the new wise-ones and try to forget their disenfranchised kith and kin languishing as IDPs or held in military camps or ‘free’ under some shacks exposed to all elements, except mercifully to the advices of the wise-ones, we the Expatriates are amusing ourselves with the prospect of voting in two Tamil elections.

Back to Vaddukoddai

One ‘election’ is for the nostalgic among us, who cannot go back to Jaffna and want to be back in time in Vaddukoddai in the 70s to utter the famous proclamation for a separate state word by word, one more time. Those new to this question should know, it was in Vaddukoddai in May 1976 the TULF declared for a Sovereign Socialist state of Tamileelam, if our memories serve correctly, only to enter into the following Elections accepting the Development Council proposals (Act No 35 of 1980). They did qualify their participation by saying it was not a solution to the ethnic problem.

Some say, our long march towards our present collective depression started with this dithering and conniving of the TULF leadership, which undermined the whole purpose of the declaration. Perhaps, it was even the cause for the confusion among the Jaffna youth, for not understanding a bargaining position and a call for a concerted effort and sacrifice. Add to this situation Tamil nationalist literatures tell us that the struggle for Tamileelam started with the denial of university allocation to the Jaffna Tamils in the 70s.

These are non-academic arguments unnecessary at this stage. For us the MOU agreement between the GOSL and the LTTE in 2002 seems a far superior political position Tamils arrived at than the Vaddukoddai declarations. Furthermore, it isn’t a declaration or party proclamation, but an agreement attested by more than 40 countries of the International Community. One can see our naivety in thinking it as a legal document, superseding anything Tamils have agreed with Sinhala state.

It is not an assertion out of our love for the LTTE or our gratitude for their murderous 30 years reign. Whatever the LTTE leadership may have been, it was the ordinary Tamil cadres, largely from poorer backgrounds, including those killed by the LTTE, suffered the pain and deaths. Therefore, what their sacrifices have earned belonged to the Tamils, indelibly written in the island’s political history. That is single most important reason why we don’t see the need to shy away from the MOU.

How it was agreed and how its was translated as the ISGA, incur just criticism from every Tamil speaking community for many different reasons. However, even the sum all those cannot amount to denigrate the newer principle established through the MOU, based on more equitable relationship as exclusive entities for the Tamil speaking communities with the Sinhala state.

Thus, an election for the Expatriates to show their feeling towards a declaration undermined by those proposed it, surpassed by of the MOU by the spilling of blood by thousands of young men and women and civilians in its making, may be an emotional need for some, as ill-considered reactive response to the military defeat of the LTTE. Instead it is a political assessment of where the Tamils are now, not just with the Sri Lankan state, but also with their fellow Tamil speaking communities what is required.

When no such attempts are made and, no one is courageous enough to pursue with the MOU and translate it into practical political reality, to suit every Tamil speaking community in their homelands, ‘election’ on Vaddukoddai declaration is only a gesture, empty as the declaration itself.

Sri Lankan Presidential election

Very few Tamils would have thought they would be discussing about the next president of the Sinhala state, in that the two main candidates would be those killed off the LTTE as an organisation along with 20-30 000 civilians during its final days. One, the political Tsar and other his military commander and, worse still, the TNA would tear itself apart and spill its guts, in order to be part of it. The shock to the collective will is not about the events we catalogued, but the speed of their arrival; first the complete collapse of the LTTE military machine within a short space of time, then the disarray within and KP’s defection, collapse of its external structure and, now its hold over the TNA, and more defections of LTTE personalities to the government side.

Apparently, there are several candidates in the Sinhala Presidential election, but we are concerned with only four of them. The one Tamils generally like, Dr. Vickramabahu, for his principles, unerring commitment to his principles, intellect, etc, etc, they would not vote, because, er, well, he cannot win?

But, some of us are backing our own principled one, Mr. Sivajilingam, who couldn’t even dream of winning. Wait a minute you pea brain, “Tamils won’t vote for Bahu, that’s why.”

But sir, “If so, then how would they even consider voting for Mahinda or Fonseka, the killers of our people?”

The strange thing it seems either our people know power politics better or knew what is good for them. Hoping for good things has been a bad to worse experience for all of us. Most of us willing to put our lives at risk in the hope of ‘freedom’ only experienced triple oppression; as ordinary working people and Tamil speaking at the hands of the Sinhala state and, then to our horrific amazement, at the hand of our liberator, the LTTE. They hoped they can trust in the words of the our great neighbour; “there won’t be any military solution”, “13-plus”, etc, it said, only to swipe all away in one clean movement, and the Tamils are now displaced, depleted, and dispelled of all the hopes in humanity.

“Ah, because, the Tamils understand the greater picture, which you will never see young man,” said Mr. Lanka Baldric, with a seriously cunning plan. “You see we need a regime change, as the Rajapaksas are bad for all of us, we don’t want Sri Lanka becoming a going concern of a single family.”

“But, sir, Sri Lanka has been ruled only by a few families…”
“Wait for it…. True, the rulers are all related etc, but this time we can make a big change altogether, once and forever.”
“A revolution?”
“Don’t be stupid, you with half-baked witticism”
“Sorry, but how would the Tamil votes going to count? What does it mean?”
“Tamil votes can make a difference, since the winner must have more than 50%?”
“Yes, of the votes cast! But, wouldn’t that be wrong for the minority to decide that fate of a presidency of a majority just as much as the majority trampling on the rights of the minorities?”
“Don’t be pedantic and dull, if the Fonseka wins, the 8 point program agreed with the TNA will be a big benefit for them.”
“Is that what13-plus means… only if he would want to deliver?”
“He promised, hasn’t he? If he reneged, then we must act to make him honour them.”
“What about the principles Madinda agreed with the JVP? Are the JVPers now supporting Fonseka to make Mahinda honour his words?”
“You have a weird sense of logic.”
“Lets see now, the JVP support the General, but it is firmly against the 13 amendment or any devolution of power, just as Mahinda is. General ‘promises’ 13-plus, doesn’t have a party based organisation and relies on the JVPers or the UNP to provide it, but needs Tamil votes to win. Tamils won’t vote for Bahu, therefore his candidature couldn’t harm the vote bank for the ‘candidate for change’, and therefore it’s ok. Then, it leaves Mr. Sivajilingam, who will benefit from his votes?”
“Tamils of course! Look, without Sivajilingam, either Mahinda or Fonseka wouldn’t have even talked about Tamil issues, and there wouldn’t be even secret deals.”
“Then, why would Mahinda, one candidate, hand over Pirabaharan senior’s body to Sivagilinagm, another candidate, especially when the election is only two weeks away, and the death of Pirabaharan is still a taboo subject, and when Sivagilignam started to talk about separate state?”
“Because, he is a close relative. Do you know his pedigree, history? Stop talking with your ar.., and stick to your day job and leave these matters to us, we are of course expert at this” said Lanka Baldric with the authority of a man who recently retired form his day job.

Yeh, just as the broiler chicken an expert on eating-out!

This election doesn’t divide the Tamils into optimists and pessimists or Sri Lankans and separatists. In fact, they are aware they have been manoeuvred into a position where the given options are simple and limited, and the decision-making is easier for the non-leadership. A people forced by the dictum of the LTTE on how to vote until recently, and endured so much pain, they are not waiting for the underlings of government or LTTE for instructions.

It is very likely they had their minds were made up a long while ago, after their fateful days, two years ago in the East and six months ago in the North.

It is the alleged leaders, who need to think about their political careers, their bank balances and the advices from elsewhere, and switch sides. Beside, the promise of new ‘opportunities’, to free themselves from their past as political servants and murderers to powerful politicians and sponsors of terrorism, and the amount of money changing hands for ‘consciously-clean-political-switching’, are enough incentives for any self-respecting politician to advocate for the ‘wind of change’ or ‘not to rock the boat in the middle of the river”.

Many brilliant Baldrics employed by various parties wouldn’t allow for any let up, and have to keep the fictitiously generated momentum going. If the distance relations and friends of Mahinda are leaving the country with the booty they plundered from the state coffers, allowed for by the relaxing of foreign exchange restrictions just now, they would want to claim some responsibility for it. For some, it is a restart of their own campaign, so there are the great debates to be had about the second preferences of the candidates.

How much this election means for the ordinary Sinhalese people is hard to say. The media spin for a ‘regime change’ is as hollow as that rose after the dethroning of Sadam in Iraq and the “Tamils love me” speech by Mahinda.

As we said in an earlier article, those gave the green light to the dismantling of the LTTE, along with it passed a long noose around those executed the job.

The job was at least in two parts firstly, to address it as a military problem with a particular model of operation in mind, with a view of applying it where there is a low-intensity but popular anti-state militancy. Secondly, attend to it as a global problem to sort out future ‘national questions’ as societies transform in the 3rd world.

How can you allow an explosion of countries of the size of Estonia to emerge in these parts of the world? What would the new order be, and who will police them? Who owns how much would itself bring additional problems to those in charge of the global economy, and the situation is not easy as when they carved up Africa and Middle East among a few European nations. Therefore, preserving the old-colonial entities as small units of order is what required at present. If situation demands, and dissecting them into smaller units become necessary, then the policies can be revised. But, importantly those decisions cannot be left to the people on the ground. Therefore, Tamils cannot be allowed to shape their destiny even if were possible under the LTTE or any other group.

By deciding eliminate the LTTE with outside help, while not willing to sort out its national question, Sri Lanka may have become a confirmed state, but has lost most of its sovereignty as a people. Whether Ban ki-Moon talking about an inquiry about the executions of the LTTE cadres or the proposal by the Milan based PPT of a panel of eminent judges to investigate crimes against humanity to be hosted in Ireland, they are consequences of that political perspective. Meanwhile, the investment portfolios of the companies apparently interested in mooring in Sri Lanka tells you the economical decisions will also be soon out of the government’s hands, though done through the state, with huge prospects of development dangled in front of it.

If this election is to mean anything, it must provide some semblance of a settlement for the national question. If the Tamil backers of Sivajilingam, just as with the LTTE, always in a hurry to put one feet forward only to get knocked two steps backwards, suddenly found themselves short changed a bit they should not worry. Maverick or a put up candidate, he fits neatly into the scheme of things, spelling out not setting up the upper bound of a possible solution, if there were a need that is, while playing a role of a spoiler, stopper in terms of the votes for the General.

In the end, the stickability of any solution is possible only when it is between those represented polar-positions in any political spectrum, in our case the nationalists on both sides. Just as it is pointless to talk peace with the Tamil groups and personalities, who were with the government in its war against the LTTE, it would be extremely pointless for those to make the General marshal his ‘assorted all sorts’ towards a permanent settlement. In this sense, if there is to be a real deal, it more probable through Mahinda than the General. Winner or not, the General can only be a Trojan horse towards this objective, if not by Mahinda, but by the winner of the next election, provided the need for a solution is still a priority.

Transcendental Tamileelam

Finally, for Expatriates enjoy psychedelic or twilight zone experiences there is the offer of Trans-National Tamileelam.

No one has explained what it is or its vision clearly, to the simple minds like ours. All we hear is of the satellite-conferences among the faithful, from the US, Canadian, European and Australian Tamil communities, and some of their intention to become elected representatives of sort. They will, of course, continue with the LTTE tradition of not allowing anyone other than their members to contest these elections, to be the ‘soul-representatives’.

The idea is not new, and the Islamic community has been playing with it as a ‘separate state’ for the various Islamic peoples in Britain, but only to represent those in the country than those all over the universe. They don’t talk about Iraqi or Afghan Islamic parliament in Britain, but about the views of their ‘brothers’ in the UK, as its citizens, as a means to alternative policies to that of the Westminster government.

Trans-global Tamileelam is not the same, therefore leads to the questions about its jurisdiction or representation, whether it will also represent the people in the Tamileelam. With it the principle of the value of the Expatriate votes against those having that privilege in their homelands.

The process would have been meaningful exercise if the ‘Vanni government’ had made attempt to extend its legitimacy during its time perhaps, by turning the LTTE’s offices into some sort of ‘Embassies’. Instead it made Anton Balasingam as the one and only Ambassador extraordinaire, and reduced every LTTE stalwarts to the status of a willing servant to the raving, roving minister of LTTE’s foreign affairs.

If the LTTE had set up a precedent, by holding ‘elections’ to take Expatriates views about its decisions in the past, the idea could be accepted as a process worth, at least, participating, and that is also not the case.

Abandonment of our people seemed to have brought in an abundant of choices, to those in a position of nothing, what a bother? Yet, they are at least supposed to bring a sort of elation? Yet, mindful of our moral dilemma, and the predicament of those on the ground the expatriate Tamils have their work cut out. Even our foreign partners can vote in these elections they say, how nice? All this at the time our headaches are about our duel citizenships, and its worth in retrieving our private properties lost to the Sinhala security zones in the North and East, while as Al-Qaeda is using them to send human bombs with us in the air.

A psychologist friend assures that our depression and dribble are due to the absurdity of over analysing, a craving to be intellectual than what we really are and, more importantly, lacking the will to do the right thing at the right time; we readily agreed with him.

Meanwhile, the death certificates on Pirabaharan and his lieutenant will still be there, under those paperweights, unattended until the end of elections. The outcome and its aftermath will decide of their worth in the immediate future. In their deaths they had proved, foolishly perhaps, the value of standing by the decisions they made however stupid they were, unlike the ever-changing advices of our brilliant peers and their politicians. At least in this respect, their comrades, supporters and admirers, hitherto ashamed to admit their demise or the association with the great military commanders of the Tamils, must come forward and be counted, and give the two funerals they sincerely deserve. Until then those paperweights will weigh like million tons on our heavy hearts, irrespective of the winners and losers in the three elections, whether we ever accepted them as our leaders.

(The writer can be reached at academic.secretary@gmail.com )