People in the North should vote wisely

At the time Velupillai Prabhakaran led the world's deadliest terrorist outfit, he was deeply cognizant that moderate and tight-thinking Tamils in the North and the East would prefer democratic Tamil leaders rather than the Tiger leadership. He adopted a strategy to tackle this problem and summoned almost all Tamil leaders of political parties and former terrorist groups which had entered mainstream politics. The only two prominent Tamil leaders whom he could not take under his wing were Minister Douglas Devananda and TULF leader V. Anandasangaree.

All other Tamil political leaders succumbed to LTTE pressure and toed Prabhakaran's line. The LTTE leadership ordered Tamil political parties and ex-militant groups who held diametrically opposite views to come under one umbrella. All of them did so due to mortal fear for their lives.

Thereby, Prabhakaran took full control of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in next to no time. Though TNA parliamentarians were democratically elected by the people in the North and the East, they cared two hoots for those who had voted for them. On the other hand, TNA parliamentarians gave free rein to Prabhakaran to do as he pleased.

TNA parliamentarians were remote-controlled by Prabhakaran from his Wanni jungle hideout and summoned time and again to be given strict instructions by the LTTE's political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan. The LTTE used its political wing to give it a democratic face to his terrorist organisation in the eyes of the international community and got the TNA to take his message to the grass roots level.

There were a few TNA parliamentarians who did not fully endorse Prabhakaran's views but dared not open their mouth as death loomed large for those who opposed the Tiger leader. In this scenario, all Tamil political leaders save Devananda and Anandasangaree, had no option but to become the LTTE's mouthpiece.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan and his party seniors acted as mere puppets until the Security Forces crushed the LTTE in May, 2009. Until then, the Tiger-proxy TNA leaders were under tremendous pressure and were the obedient servants of Prabhakaran and his goons who purported to be the sole representatives of the Tamils.

As a result, the Tamils in the North and the East were subjected to severe mental and physical agony during the LTTE's three decades of terror. There was a time when the LTTE held hapless Tamil civilians as a human shield, subjecting them to untold misery. However, the TNA leaders remained mum and did not utter a word of consolation on behalf of the suffering civilians.

Now that the LTTE is no more, and the Government is making every effort to restore the democratic rights of the people in the North and the East, the TNA has awakened from its deep slumber like Rip Van Winkle. Sampanthan and his men are now shedding buckets of crocodile tears for people in the North and the East.

The notorious LTTE had a track record of brutally assassinating anybody who opposed Prabhakaran. Many moderate Tamil leaders who reposed faith in democracy such as the late Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, fell prey to LTTE terror. The Tigers even assassinated former Opposition Leader and TULF head, T. Amirthalingam in broad daylight, showing scant regard for the wishes of Tamils in the North.

Hence, it is deplorable, to say the least that the TNA, which had done precious little for the Tamils is now putting on a different show to grab power in the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) at the forthcoming elections next month. Does Sampanthan and his TNA leaders have a moral right to go before the people in the North and the East as it were the Security Forces who had sacrificed their life and limb to liberate over half a million Tamil civilians from the jaws of LTTE terror?

In the event the TNA had any genuine concern for the Tamils, Sampanthan and his cohorts should have enlightened the international community by voicing against the merciless acts of the Tigers.

The TNA's deafening silence gave the upper hand to the LTTE to indulge in its terror acts against their own brethren.

With Prabhakaran and his barbaric Tiger leaders out of the way, the TNA is making a desperate attempt to project themselves as the sole representatives of the Tamils.

The appointment of retired Supreme Court judge C.V. Vigneshwaran as the TNA's chief ministerial candidate for the NPC elections too has been made due to pressure from extraneous forces. Sampanthan himself had openly conceded that the TNA was obliged to pick Vigneshwaran due to pressure from two foreign Governments.

Does this mean that Vigneshwaran is an agent of extraneous forces which create divisions in the country? These international interlopers, along with LTTE cohorts and a section of the Tamil Diaspora, are working round the clock to put their hidden agendas in motion.

The TNA may be in a dream world that they could democratically achieve what Prabhakaran had failed to gain through a 28-year military battle. If the TNA gains control in the NPC, it may permit terrorism to raise its ugly head again in a different form. This would not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Nevertheless, the Government is determined to restore the democratic rights of the people in the North and the East. The LTTE had suppressed the ballot through the bullet for many years.

The Tigers did not let democratic Tamil leaders to emerge as it feared they would pose a threat to the LTTE's claim as the sole representative of the Tamils. The Government has afforded an opportunity to people in the North and the East to elect representatives of their choice to run the provincial administration.

However, it would be detrimental if power goes into the wrong hands in the guise of democracy. It could pave the way for international elements to poke their fingers in Sri Lanka's internal affairs via the NPC. The selection of Vigneshwaran could be the first step towards this goal with the blessings of foreign nosey parkers which had picked him under the TNA's patronage.

Recent statements by TNA's chief ministerial candidate for the NPC shows that Vigneshwaran is making a shameful attempt to play the old racist card to win the people's hearts in the belief that all of them are LTTE sympathisers. If he thinks so, he is sadly mistaken. The outburst by Vigneshwaran about the Sinhalese and their language is highly inflammatory and runs counter to promoting reconciliation. At a time the nation has embarked on reconciliation after establishing peace, it is unpardonable that an educated person such as Vigneshwaran could make such sweeping statements. In so doing, he has let the cat out of the bag and showed that he is no different to yesterday's man as his senior colleagues in the TNA.

In the event Vigneshwaran is voted NPC chief minister, he could pollute the minds of moderate Tamils in the North with his racist ideas. Although he tries to distance himself from Prabhakaran, saying that he believes in Chelvanayakam's federalism and not separation, there is barely any difference between Vigneshwaran and Prabakaran as regards their views on the Sinhalese.

There is no doubt that Vigneshwaran strongly believes in federalism which has been rejected by most people. There is no constitutional provision in the Provincial Councils Act in relation to independent economic affairs, law and order, security, land matters and administration. Prabhakaran demanded separation to achieve the self-same goals. Does this imply that Vigneshwaran intends to democratically win those identical demands which Prabhakaran failed through three decades of terror?

Hence, one cannot rule out the possibility that Vigneshwaran would give a democratic face to Prabhakaran's ghost, in the event he becomes the NPC Chief Minister. It would have been a different scenario altogether had the TNA gone for a seasoned, mature and moderate Tamil leader such as Anandasangaree. People in the North should think twice before they cast their precious votes at the forthcoming NPC elections and not dig their own graves by electing extremist and opportunist politicians.