National coexistence, the best proof
The ruling United People's
Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has amply proved national coexistence by
appointing Chief Ministers from the minority communities consecutively
for the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC). When the first ever EPC was
set up, Sivanesathurei Chandrakanthan, a rehabilitated LTTE child
soldier, was appointed the Chief Minister. Notwithstanding the fact that
one-third of the Eastern population is Sinhalese, the Chief Ministerial
post has now gone to a Muslim from the earlier Tamil.
The UPFA's M.N. Abdul Majeed who was last week appointed the EPC's
Chief Minister, took his oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at
Temple Trees on Tuesday. He came third in the list from the Trincomalee
district, obtaining 11,726 preferential votes at last week's EPC poll
where the UPFA emerged victorious.
President Rajapaksa has called upon Eastern Province Chief Minister
Majeed to serve the public in the East with fairness and equality
towards building a prosperous future for one and all. The President
reiterated that the newly elected members of the Eastern Provincial
Council must pool their strength to fulfil the aspirations of the public
by serving them well.
The UPFA, which topped the EPC elections with 14 seats, has been
assured the support of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the
National Freedom Front (NFF). Accordingly, the UPFA has taken over
governance of the Eastern Province, respecting the supreme verdict of
the Muslim, Tamil and Sinhala communities.
The UNP and the TNA made a despicable attempt to form an
administration in the East. It is an open secret that there had been
unprecedented foreign funding for these Opposition political parties at
the EPC elections as the Tiger cohorts were under an illusion that the
TNA could secure power. Though the TNA was relegated to second place by
the Eastern voters, R. Sampanthan and his henchmen made a shameful
attempt to secure power by disregarding the people's mandate.
Thanks to the historic decision taken by the SLMC and its leader,
Minister Rauf Hakeem, the anti-government elements who had been in a
dream-world had to eat humble pie eventually. It was indeed deplorable
that power-hungry Opposition politicians even resorted to give a racist
bent to the EPC elections.
Nevertheless, the masses in the East, had in no uncertain terms
demonstrated that they were above petty communal differences and the
UPFA triumphed at the EPC election. It was a simple majority, but it
sent a clear signal to Opposition politicians who attempted to rouse
communal passions.
On the other hand, Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has exposed
the UNP's political nudity by dragging religion into politics. He seems
to be perturbed after the TNA's dream of forming an EPC administration
at any cost was shattered due to the SLMC's people-friendly decision.
This would have perhaps prompted Wickremesinghe to declare that the SLMC
had set aside the Quran and exemplified the Mahinda Chinthana .
Rather than criticising the SLMC or dragging the Holy Quran into the
vortex of politics, Wickremesinghe should have first and foremost
evaluated as to why his party had slid to fourth place in the East, far
behind the UPFA, TNA and the SLMC. Even at the Sabaragamuwa and North
Central Provincial Councils - the UNP's strength had been reduced by
four seats which too went to the UPFA.
Wickremesinghe is now kicking his heels in despair and blames the
SLMC and the CWC for contesting separately though the two parties are
constituents of the ruling UPFA. Isn't it up to the UPFA and the leaders
of the respective parties to decide as to what is advantageous for them?
Is there any earthly use in Wickremesinghe pontificating to them on
election strategies? On the other hand, no political leader worth his
salt would take Wickremesinghe's political theories seriously as the UNP
had lost 25 successive elections under his tottering leadership.
In like vein, the JVP too is making a desperate attempt to cover up
its political bankruptcy. It was Tilvin Silva who said that the JVP's
strength could be measured by the number of votes it polled at the
recent Provincial Council elections. Silva's political knowledge is
woefully lacking in that his criteria is to measure the strength of a
political party by the number of demonstrators, protest marchers and
those present at political rallies and not by the number of votes a
party polls at an election.
Not to be outdone, his colleague Anura Kumara Dissanayake has also
highlighted the true nature of the JVP's dirty politics as he had
unceremoniously dragged racism into EPC politics. He alleged that the
election racism continues to thrive even after the conclusion of the EPC
election.
JVP politburo member Dissanayake seems to be languishing in the
political wilderness after the SLMC extended its unconditional support
to the UPFA. Having won the wooden spoon behind its breakaway group NFF,
the JVP is apparently making a subtle attempt to revert to its 'jungle
politics'. The Eastern Province has a good mix of races and the election
results provided the ideal platform to set an example for the rest of
the country. The Government made the first move by appointing a Muslim
as the Chief Minister since the post was previously held by a Tamil. It
was heartening to see the former Chief Minister Chandrakanthan welcoming
his successor Abdul Majeed shortly after the latter took oaths. This
alone is an ample testimony of promoting national coexistence and an
occasion that gave the minority its rightful place.
It is needless to state that the international community, too, should
take serious note of these developments. Over the years, the Sinhalese,
Tamils and Muslims have lived in a spirit of camaraderie, helping one
another. The East is the best example of national coexistence. The Tamil
Diaspora, over the years, has been projecting a dismal picture to the
world, that the Tamils are confined to the North. However, in reality,
the Tamils live in all other parts of the country including the East. It
goes without saying that there are more minority communities in Colombo
compared to the Sinhalese. All of them live in peace and harmony,
contrary to the gloomy picture projected by the LTTE rump abroad.
The Government has, moreover, demonstrated its sincerity by providing
more opportunities to the Tamils and Muslims in the North and the East.
The Tamils and Muslims do not have problems unique to them. Similarly,
the Sinhalese in the North and the East also face problems, which are
not due to their ethnicity but rather to its geographical locations.
There is no discrimination whatsoever against the Tamils, as claimed
by the Tiger cohorts to woo international sympathy. Western countries,
which shed crocodile tears over Tamils in the North, should take serious
note of these stark facts before swallowing the concocted stories
disseminated by Tiger supporters in the West.
The recent Commonwealth Parliamentary Association sessions in Colombo
helped all critics to get first-hand experience on the true ground
situation in the country. Likewise, Western politicians who are
ill-informed about the positive developments in Sri Lanka must visit the
country and see for themselves. Those who are conversant with the true
situation in Sri Lanka and its recent developments would certainly not
make such wild allegations. |