A foreigner's view:

NPC can address development issue

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) swept the recent provincial election with 30 of the 38 seats in the Northern Province. From reports we have heard here in the US, it appears that the election was fair and properly conducted. There had been no reports from the foreign observers adverse to this view.

"I think this is a victory for the people of Jaffna as well as a victory for President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Against a chorus of opposition from within his power base he stood firm in holding this election in the North. This could prove to be his finest hour.

The end of the war against terrorism in 2009 made President Rajapaksa the undisputed hero.

But the real test of war heroes is in winning the peace. The artful strategies of choosing the right generals and seeking international support to defeat home grown militia will give him immortality in the war histories, but it is in seeking and finding peace that his legacy will be written into eternity in stone here and in life hereafter. I think with this election now over the Tamil people are finally able to live under a political arrangement.

The only restraint a human can endure for long is the one he imposes on himself. Any restraint placed by someone else will never last. History has taught us that humans had been in state of war for protracted periods when the war had been considered a just war. We have seen brave men and women going to certain death when they felt they or their compatriots will someday see freedom.

The people of Jaffna now feel that they can make economic and political decisions. The Sri Lankan Government has effected monumental infrastructure improvements in Jaffna. I saw that myself late last year. The rail track is being relaid and soon we will have the old train chugging along familiar scenery.

There innocent faces say it all

While these gifts to the North are well intentioned and useful, the donor is suspect as Homer said in his narration of the Trojan War, 'Beware of Greeks bearing gifts'. This was true even here in the United States when the North was developing the defeated South after the Civil War.

A politically justified regime will now give legitimacy to government actions if it acquiesces in such actions.

The rail road being built, will be more acceptable to the Jaffna population if the Provincial Government had voted on it. The people in that province will be satisfied that such action has been whetted and examined and therefore, legitimate.

In contrast, the same project delivered directly to the people from a Minister in Colombo through the Military Commander based in Jaffna and a Governor who is a handpicked former military man, will seem suspect. It is for this reason that the President should embrace this development and move a political solution quickly. There is no another solution in peace time.

I can only dream now that the Provincial Government will move into action and address the development issues. There are children who need to grow up to be men and women who can bear the yoke of a new Jaffna. Children must grow without the animosities we endured when growing up. This is a new Sri Lanka where there will be no room for bigotry or chauvinism. Let's all gather around and build this country to fulfill the promise of our fathers and mothers.

George R. Willy, USA