CWC, UPF join the Govt: Now its SLMC's turn?

by Thava Sajitharan

The country saw major developments in the political sphere last week with the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) and United Peoples' Front (UPF) joining the Government and speculations rife that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) too would pursue the same path.

Yet, the SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem has said that his party would back the Government on matters concerning the national interest for the time being. He was reported to have told the Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa in a meeting at his residence last Friday that his party's main focus would be on the 'urgent need of attending to the grievances of displaced Muslims in Mutur. He is yet to take a decision on whether to 'join' the Government or not.

However, what many political analysts believe to be significant is that the two important political parties representing the Upcountry Tamil communities have extended their support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a time when there are hostilities going on in the North and East of the island between the Sri Lanka forces and the LTTE.

CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman, who was sworn in as the Youth Empowerment and Socio Economic Development said at the press conference held after the swearing in ceremony that his party wanted to be with the Government in order to strengthen the President's hand. He urged both the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to come to the negotiation table.

When contacted by this newspaper, the UPF leader P. Chandrasekaran who is known to be a strong supporter of the 'North-East Tamil cause' said: "We, as a political party, are concerned about the future of the upcountry plantation community whom we represent. We cannot let our people down in looming gloom. By aligning with the ruling Government, we can do good for our people. That is the prime reason why we joined the Government. As far as the national question is concerned we have not wavered from our stance. We have been pressurising the government for a negotiated settlement ever since 1994. We will keep on urging the government to take measures to achieve lasting peace".

Although these two parties have expressed a sense of concern on the national conflict, analysts say that people would have to wait and see what benefit their decision would produce.

Asked to comment on this move by the two parties, Dr. Pakkiyasothi Saravanamuthu of Centre of Policy Alternatives said: "I hope and pray that the CWC and UPF joining the government would bring about good for the country. If they could bring about any progress with regard to alleviating the present crisis, that way one can be hopeful. There are humanitarian problems in the country that need to be addressed immediately. We will have to wait and see if these two gentlemen (A. Thondaman and P. Chandrasekaran) can ensure this." Dr. Saravanamuthu said that he didn't see any contradiction in P. Chandrasekaran joining the government while still advocating the North East Tamil cause since the government too claims that it has an 'interest in problems facing the Tamils'.