Life has dealt a heavy hand to Kanavathipillai Thangarasa. His face is wrinkled and his eyes are deep set. He looks older than the 62 years he has lived so far. He hates to hope.

"Let' see what happens," he says gazing into the dirt track road full of muddy potholes in Ichchanthivu, deep in Batti heartland.

Life has taught him not to hope extravagantly. Thangarasa, his wife and their two daughters have been on the run since 1990 when they first fled Eravur on the main road to Batti. That was when problems began in Batti.

Tragedy and flight

In 1991, tragedy struck the family when Thangarasa's only son went missing on his way to Colombo. The 15 year old youth who was travelling with a Muslim friend looking for work was never heard of since. "We don't know what happened to him," Irasamani, Thangarasa's wife said. After their last flight in March 2007, the family returned to their home in Ichchanthivu, in the Vavunathivu Division last June.

Thangarasa and his family were among the hundreds of thousands who fled the fighting in the east between August 2006 and March 2007 and have now returned. They live in large swaths of land from Somapura, Muttur, in Trincomalee stretching all the way to the Thirukkovil area some 150 km south in Ampara.

Over 31,400 families numbering over 104,000 people like the Thangarasas who have returned have been settled in the Batticaloa  District, and in Trincomalee over 15,000 are back in the villages they fled according to UN statistics. None have so far returned to Ampara where 5,000 IDPs are listed. Together in the three districts over 30,000 still remain internally displaced, according to numbers maintained by UN OCHA.

Like Thangarasa, Nallathambi Shanthi, 40 years his junior fled in the opposite direction when the army moved in on Vaharai in January 2007. She has returned to her village. Shanthi has not gone through two decades of being pushed and shoved by men and women holding guns, so she has bright ideas for the future.

"Give me a job, that's what I want," she said. "A year back I was a jobless woman running from shell fire. Now I am still jobless and living in a half blown out house."

Most of the returnees don't want to talk of comparing life back at home or at IDP centres. There is not much difference, sometimes. Most of the roads remain dirt tracks, there is an overwhelming military presence and  home can feel like a very large camp at times - access in and out of the newly resettled areas for the returnees as well as outsiders is still monitored.

Temporary shelter for the returnees and other basic needs were provided by the government as well as UN and other relief agencies. Even then there were issues of unequal distribution.

Unequal distribution

According estimates by members who form the emergency shelter coordination forum of the UN and other agencies, while returnees in one district in the east received an assistance package of Rs.30,000 another group in an adjoining district in the same province received Rs.75,000 worth of assistance.

Though there are plans, housing and major infrastructure projects are  yet to begin. One thousand houses are planned for the province under the Nagenahira Navodaya programme.

The two mainstays in the regional economies of areas like Vaharai or Kelliveddi have been agriculture and paddy.

The latter at least has been a sure bet of late, with rice prices soaring and farmers getting good returns. "This time it was good," Sinnathambi Wimalendran, a 29 year old farmer from Vavunathivu said.

The absence of shell fire and other ordnance flying about made it that much safer and easier to work in the fields.

For agriculture to work, stability is the key. But difficulties in access makes outsiders loathe to come in to buy the produce, and the native villagers can easily fall prey to middlemen.

Cashing in

Already there have been disconcerting stories of outsiders favoured with access abusing the rich fishing areas off Vaharai and the TMVP is also cashing in by making sure it is the only buyer in town.

Houses and jobs are the top two needs. Schools in the newly regained areas in the east need repairs as do the roads. Both have been neglected for almost two decades. Public transport, especially into the interior villages is still an exception than the norm, the push cycle remains the main form of transport followed closely by its motorised versions, bullock carts and hand tractors.

Healthcare is in the same situation. In October 2004,  near the Unnichchi tank about 10 km southwest of Ichchanthivu, residents pointed at a newly painted building and remarked - "there is the dispensary, but there are no doctors."

There is not much of a difference four years later. The Vaharai Hospital is working but overall, according to those who returned recently, they still have to reach the closest medical facility in areas that are always under government control for proper treatment, more often than not.

One of the big projects already underway is the water project and the renovation of the Unnichchi tank carried out with Japanese funding and a circular road in Sampur, Trincomalee.

Fragile calm

A Japanese national was on his way to inspect the water project when a claymore mine explosion killed two policemen who were providing escort to his vehicle on the main access road between Vavunathivu and the former Tiger stronghold, Kokkadicholai at Kanchirankudah on March 26. The explosion triggered by remote control left four others including two STF members injured. It also showed how fragile the calm could be and the possibility of similar attacks without any prior warning.

Just 16 days before the attack, on the same road, voters ambled back and forth during the local polls in Batticaloa.

There has been no repeat after the March 26 attack. Frequent attacks can not only disrupt projects, like they did for the tsunami reconstruction. They  can also drive away potential donors as well. USAID last week announced that it was launching a US $12 million, five year project, to improve governance in the east. It is such sudden changes for the worse that make Thangarasa wary of high expectations; "Why hope now, we have lived through so much."

But there is always hope. Shanthi hopes for a better future for the children, so does Thangarasa's wife.

"We want schools and good teachers," she says, looking sideways at her husband, and adds, "give us peace, please, we want live like all of you," and her husband nods in acknowledgement.

Demilitarisation key to growth

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema

The Eastern Province has contributed between 4.2% to 5.5% of GDP since 1990 when the ethnic conflict broke out in the area, and economic indicators reveal that although the province is not the lowest contributor to the national economy, it is the worst off in terms of poverty and inequality.

The Provincial Gross Domestic Product (PGDP) data is available only from 1990 onwards.

According to Principal Researcher, Point Pedro Institute of Development, Dr. Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, in 1990 the Eastern Province had been the lowest contributor to the national GDP (4.2%) out of the nine provinces in the country, which is understandable given the fact that Eelam War II began in the east in 1990.

Surpasses

"The Eastern Province's contribution to the national GDP between 1990-2006 ranged from 4.2% in 1990 (the lowest) to 5.5% in 1998 and 2003 (the highest). Between the period 1990-2006 the annual average contribution of the Eastern Province to the national GDP was about 5%. Further, since 1997 the Eastern Province's contribution to the national economy has surpassed even that of the North Central and Uva Provinces.

"Therefore, the contribution of the Eastern Province to the national economy has been higher than the Northern, North Central and Uva Provinces in the decade (1997-2006)," Dr. Sarvananthan states.

Taking into consideration the official statistics, it could be said that the conflict has not affected the economy of the Eastern Province as much as the Northern and North Central Provinces.

The reason Dr. Sarvananthan explains is because the LTTE's control of the east was by and large confined to remote jungle areas where very little productive, economic activities took place.

The eastern economy is mainly composed of the agriculture and services sectors.

Main sectors

It has been reported that three quarters of the eastern economy is composed of the agriculture and services sectors. Farming and fishing in the agriculture sector, and public administration and defence, wholesale and retail trade and transport, storage and communication in the services sector are the largest contributors to the provincial economy.

"The main livelihoods of the people (in monetary terms) rest on farming (particularly paddy cultivation), fishing, employment in the public sector (including defence), trading, transport and communication. In terms of employment, according to the latest available data (2004), 46% of those employed in the Eastern Province are in the services sector (district-wise Ampara 40%, Batticaloa 44% and Trincomalee 57%) and 38% in the agriculture sector (district-wise Ampara 45%, Batticaloa 33% and Trincomalee 30%)," said Dr. Sarvananthan. 

However, there have been no official poverty figures for the Eastern and Northern Provinces due to the lack of district consumer price indices to determine the poverty lines.

According to Dr. Sarvananthan, the poverty level in the Eastern Province can be discerned from the several indirect measures/indicators. 

He states that according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) of 2002/2003 of the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) the Eastern Province had the lowest per capita income per month, which was Rs.1,777, among the nine provinces. Further, in terms of borrowing as a percentage of total household income, percentage of households with borrowings and monthly average commodity loans per household (proxy indicators of relative deprivation), the Eastern Province was the worst off among all the provinces, according to the Consumer Finances and Socio Economic Survey 2003/2004 of the Central Bank.

Moreover, among all the provinces the income inequality was the highest in the Eastern Province in 2003/2004 according to the same survey of the Central Bank.

Worst off

Therefore, although the Eastern Province is not the lowest contributor to the national economy, it is the worst off in terms of poverty and inequality. Although the Northern Province is the lowest contributor to the national economy it is not the poorest because of the inflow of foreign remittances to many households. "Nevertheless, it has to be noted that the Northern Province data on per capita income, proxy indicators of relative deprivation and income inequality do not include almost 35% of the population who live in LTTE controlled areas," Dr. Sarvananthan added.    

However, Dr. Sarvananthan notes that the future economic prospects for the Eastern Province were bright.

He said that after the establishment of total control of the east by the security forces (i.e. since the latter half of 2007) the eastern economy has begun to recover slowly but surely.

Rule of law

"However, stringent security measures since mid-2007 continue to prevent faster recovery, especially in the Trincomalee District. Recently concluded local government elections in the Batticaloa District and the forthcoming provincial council elections are expected to boost the environment for economic resurgence by way of political stability and gradual de-militarisation," he explains.

In order to ensure sound economic take off, Dr. Sarvananthan emphasised the importance of easing the stringent security measures like high security zones, road blocks/check points, restrictions on fishing, transport impediments to the rest of the country (especially to Colombo), total disarmament of non-state combatants and a complete stop to extortions from businesses and persons.

"In short, the re-establishment of rule of law and democratic accountability are a sine qua non for economic prosperity in the east," he said. 

Campaigning begins

By Arthur Wamanan

Campaigning is in full swing in the east following the New Year holidays.

The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) led by Pillayan is confident that the party would emerge victorious a second time, following its stupendous success at the recently held local government polls in Batticaloa.

The EPDP however is contesting only in Batticaloa, as it had to withdraw from Trincomalee following problems while filing the nominations list.

Contesting alone

EPDP Chief Candidate for the Batticaloa District, A. Rasamanikkam said that the party had begun its campaign for the upcoming polls.

He however stated that the party had not properly started its campaign so far, but added that the initial stages of its campaign have been successful.

The party has not organised massive campaigns in Batticaloa and has only held meetings with key persons among the general public.

He added that the EPDP had not widened its campaign to all areas in Batticaloa.

"Therefore, we cannot say about the environment in most of the areas so far," he told The Sunday Leader.

He stated that the EPDP was not contesting in Trincomalee and Ampara. "We cannot contest in Trincomalee due to problems with our nominations. We are also not contesting in Ampara," he said.

The EPDP is contesting alone under the veena symbol.

The TMVP however is contesting in all three districts - Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara under the UPFA banner. It also contested the local polls in Batticaloa town with the government, while it contested alone in the rest of the eight local bodies.

TMVP Spokesperson, Azath Moulana however stated that the party has not established itself in Trincomalee as much as in the other two districts.

TMVP opened more offices in Trincomalee to ensure that it would have a strong vote base in the region despite the fact that Trincomalee was multi-ethnic and multi-religious.

TMVP Trincomalee District Political Head, Jeganathan Jeyaraj alias Suranga told The Sunday Leader that they were campaigning in several places in Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

Confident

He stated that there were no problems in carrying out the campaign in Trincomalee despite the fact that it was a home for Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims adding that they had already started campaigning in Linganagar, Muttur, Verugal and several other areas.

The TMVP has already laid a condition that its leader, Pillayan, should be the chief minister in the event the UPFA emerges victorious.

Pillayan himself had taken part in at least one meeting. It was held in Kathiraveli, in the Trincomalee District. He spoke at the Kathiraveli Maha Vidyalaya on April 10 during an event that marked the fourth anniversary of beginning of fighting between the TMVP and the Tigers.

It was on April 10, 2004, Good Friday that the Wanni cadres led by Swarnam arrived at the Verugal River and began their drive to dislodge the Karuna loyalists. According to Pillayan over 175 Karuna cadres were killed on that day and an additional 600 died in the fighting that ensued.

Both insist

The TMVP had insisted that the chief ministerial post should be given to a Tamil.

M.L.M. Hizbullah, who broke away from the SLMC and joined the government, also wants the CM post if the UPFA wins.

However, Jeyaraja stated that there would be no confusion with regard to the appointment of the chief minister.

"The Sinhalese and the Muslims are also beginning to place their trust in the TMVP," he said. He also stated that the Muslims had lost faith in Muslim parties due to the splits within the SLMC.

"The TMVP has shown it is a strong political party with no internal clashes. Even the Muslims have come to place their trust on us due to the clashes within the main Muslim parties such as the SLMC," he said.

Both parties however stated that the situation in the east was peaceful and that no serious incidents that would hamper the election process had occurred so far.

First killing in Batticaloa

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

As the Eastern Province prepares to conduct the postal vote on April 28 and 29, the first politically associated killing amongst the Muslim community has been reported.

While the campaign began to gather momentum, the killing of one government supporter in Batticaloa was recorded on April 6.

Eastern-based sources confirmed that M.T. Abdul Majeed (31), a strong supporter of the ruling UPFA's ally, All Ceylon Muslim Congress(ACMC) was killed in Valachchenai, Batticaloa on April 6 evening over a political dispute.

Villagers attribute the killing to an enraged SLMC supporter, Mohammed Usanar Naseer, who is also an independent candidate for the SLMC. The victim was stabbed to death. Both are residents of Birainthuraichenai, a small village in Valachchenai which is now tense in the aftermath of the first election related killing.

The Muslim Mosques Federation and SLMC defector, Minister Ameer Ali supposedly intervened to defuse the tension that gripped the tiny village, consequent to this first political killing among the Muslim community in the east as the campaign was launched.

Grappling with issues

Besides signs that indicate a violent poll, political parties are having other issues to grapple with - such as a ban on campaigning after 6 p.m. that significantly affects their political fortunes.

So much so that the premier Muslim political party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) is poised to write and request the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Elections Commissioner to relax the ban and to permit evening campaigning at least during the final 10 days.

"Our request is that it should be extended up to 9 p.m. The east is supposed to be cleared, so why can't the candidates freely campaign?" questions SLMC Leader, Rauf Hakeem. 

The region is largely a mixture of farmers, fisherfolk and traders who find it difficult to participate in the campaign process during daytime. Hence the need for more evening programmes.

"But the government is having the edge because UPFA candidates have various programmes under the guise of developmental projects and the Eastern Resurgence programme. The ban is only for us," adds SLMC General Secretary, Hassen Ali.

Contentious

UNP General Secretary, Tissa Attanayake who is also critical of this limitation fears that violence might mar the election during the last stage. "This is a contentious poll. We are very competitive. I would like to see a lot of foreign and local monitors at ground level, not on poll day but during campaign time because that's when we need their presence the most," adds Attanayake.

For monitoring purposes, PAFFREL has deployed six international observers, two in each district along with 2,500 local observers with two for each of the 122 polling centres in the east.

"We have doubled our monitoring efforts since April 17. Six more international observers will begin work from April 30," adds PAFFREL Head, Kingsley Rodrigo who is equally hopeful of a peaceful poll. "It has all the signs of a keenly contested election and the UNP's entry has made it very competitive."

Meanwhile political parties have made representations to the Election Commissioner about airtime only to receive disappointing news. The Commissioner had claimed that there were some overdues from previous election campaigns and that he had no funds to support the same this time.

Among the serious issues raised with the polls chief was the issue of openly wielding firearms, despite him warning that no such party would be entertained.

Serious objections

K. D. Lalkantha of the JVP had raised serious objections when political party representatives met the polls chief recently alleging that the government had no excuse for the prevalence of a gun culture as the Pillayan Group was not a separate entity but a part of the government since their common campaign began.

Election officials have clearly issued warnings on two matters - carrying weapons and the use of government vehicles for campaigning. But warnings appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

According to SLMC General Secretary and contender in the eastern poll Hassen Ali, the SLMC defector, M. L. M. Hizbullah enjoys more security than SLMC Leader Rauf Hakeem, this despite Hizbullah's status as an ordinary candidate.

"The disparity shows government candidates have STF and army personnel besides regular police personnel. And they also have back-up vehicles. We only have police personnel," adds Hassen Ali.

Police recruitment

In the meantime, the Defence Ministry has recruited 175 Tamil police officers just prior to the recently concluded local authority elections in Batticaloa. They were taken for training in October last year and passed out after training in February this year.

These 175 police constables are mostly from the Batticaloa District and formally enlisted to the regular police force just before the Batticaloa Districtlocal elections. Theyare posted to the recently cleared Tamil dominated areaswhere new police stations were set up.

And the TMVP is proving difficult with no reluctance to carry arms. The excuse is that they are under a grave security threat from the LTTE, a claim supported by the government campaigners.

There are more brickbats thrown in the TMVP's way. The eastern-based Muslims have alleged that the Pillayan Group has cleared some eight acres in Vavunathivu in the Batticaloa District to erect camps, according to UNP Parliamentarian Johnston Fernando. He has been agitating for the removal of these camps and further alleges that the STF had allowed the Pillayan Group to build camps in areas vacated by the STF.

Political humbugs and the forgotten proletariat

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

There is an unbearable stench of a political kind that emanates from Pelawatte. But the big stink that has swiftly spread countrywide is not only linked to the now visible fragmentation of the Marxist JVP but has more to do with the ugly deeds that followed the defection of Party Spokesman Wimal Weerawansa.

By now, the two camps are well defined with the leader of one camp, JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe cracking his whip on the leader of the other camp, Party Spokesman and Parliamentary Group Leader Wimal Weerawansa.

Opposing sides

The country has now evidenced how both camps have begun to show their strength in a bid to keep the disgusted cadres with them by committing a series of offences ranging from theft, criminal trespass, assault to obstruction of duty.

Before dealing with the drama, it is important to note that besides the specific allegations against Weerawansa, what needs to be identified is also a huge ideological gap between the two camps, the two men belonging to the 1971 and 1988 groups and deeply at variance with regard to political convictions.

Somawansa keeps the old guard with him together with young members who still prefer to adhere to the Marxist ideals contained in Das Kapital, though by now, most of them have collectively done the dirty on Marx's ideology despite the party considering Marxism their religion.

These ideological differences are such that the JVPers of the 1971 style are often seen militantly refusing to be identified with the 1988 lot alleging they have neither ideology nor a cause. Needless to state that the Weerawansa led JVP faction is a hotchpotch of post modernist chaos that lacks a real political identity which, when the cover is blown could prove unashamedly ultra capitalist.

Unfolding drama

With the JVP's fragmentation starkly obvious, the party treated the population to undiluted drama of the worst soap kind during the past two weeks. It began with a defectors press conference and a double defection by Parliamentarian Ranaweera Pathirana and peaked when an elected representative together with two henchmen committing criminal trespass and theft when they entered the parliament car park to remove two parliament-owned vehicles.

The two vehicles were used by Weerawansa loyalists, Piyasiri Wijenayake and Achala Suranga Jagoda and the man who took it upon himself to teach them a lesson in 'JVP style discipline' was none other than Trincomalee JVP legislator, Jayantha Wijesekera.

And now, Wijesekera is remanded till April 21 for illegally removing two parliament vehicles from the parliament car park. Nobody should ask what prompted the man to perform the 'heroic deed' which is self explanatory.

Just as the country prepared to herald the New Year, the JVP treated the citizens with further drama. Wijesekera was initially remanded till April 17 compelling him to celebrate New Year in the Welikada remand prison.

Damage control

On April 12, MPs Piyasiri Wijenayake and Achala Jagoda wrote to the IGP seeking the release of parliamentary colleague Wijesekera. The remanded MP with his associates had happily driven the two vehicles to the JVP headquarters in Pelawatte and parked the vehicles.

The embarrassed twosome, having played to the gallery with the vehicle issue was seen backtracking and dabbling in some damage control.

What's more, the two MPs claimed in their letter to the IGP that they had no intent to set the law set in motion against Wijesekera adding that it was evident to them that the MP was instigated by a group of party officials who had lost their 'sense of balance.'

What truly defies explanation is as to how anyone could enter a car park that is primarily within a high security zone and within the parliamentary premises. Mind you, not just enter but take two vehicles and drive off as well.

Vehicle drama

And the pathetic Sri Lankan Police, emasculated and oft times incapable of crime busting (the statistics will prove this beyond doubt) quickly apprehended the MP associated with the vehicle removal. The two others were missing until they themselves decided to surrender themselves to the Welikada Police on Thursday (17).

Besides the political stench, the JVP in this regard must be made answerable to some pertinent legal issues connected to the vehicle drama.

It would be truly interesting to find out from the high security zone personnel on duty that night of the 'vehicle abduction' along with the parliamentary police on duty at the parliamentary car park, how this was indeed possible.

It was pathetic to watch Wijesekera, heroically raising his manacled hands to the cheers of hundreds of JVP supporters who gathered to see him being driven away in a Black Maria on the 17th to be remanded until April 21.

Meanwhile, the two men assisting Wijesekera to carry out the JVP style 'heroic deed' surrendered to the Welikada police on the 17th and are now in remand prison along with the people's representative.

Causing more ripples of the ugly kind was JVP Parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti, a man who was recently under a cloud of his own making his first independent public appearance as well as utterance.

Handunnetti's tirade

Handunnetti found his voice to attack the Police Department, some comments quite justifiable but pathetic in his defence of the two men who accompanied MP Wijesekera to complete the midnight vehicle theft in the parliament car park.

Handunentti told the media that the police that is quite useless when it comes to apprehending criminals of the worst order were quick to apprehend the MP and were out to get the two party supporters. He claimed that there was no need to conduct an identification parade which was what the police indeed had planned, given the fact that the party was aware of their identities and had no qualms in handing them over to the police, as they were 'party drivers.'

He also inferred that the powers that be were out to penalise the members and the JVP using the recent events. He also condemned the cops eager beaver attitude that is absent with regard to busting big crimes.

Boru show

Ever since the JVP's entry into the legislature, requesting the unsuspecting voters to hand over the 'parliamentary key' into their hands, there had been no show like this one. This is a party that claims ad nauseum that they did not own any vehicles but the party did, that except for a handful, none of the provincial council vehicle permits were utilised and that they selected cheap vans and cabs for their transport as opposed to the luxurious metal contraptions the other MPs purchased through special credit facilities for MPs.

It is also important to ask the JVP to explain how that party can 'own' vehicles that are issued on individual permits and until payments are completed owned by parliament. Further, the party should explain as to how the salaries of MPs are credited to the party account whilst in the same breath claiming that JVP legislators do not take their salaries. If they do not draw salaries, how do they credit their salaries to the party account?

Mega star

In the meantime, JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe has styled himself a mega star, taking his story from one television station to another. In the process, his Party Spokesman and Parliamentary Group Leader has been exposed unlike never before. Amarasinghe openly accuses Weerawansa of hijacking party opinion and not representing the party's political stances on many an issue.

In the meantime, Weerawansa who is now seeking martyrdom is maintaining a low profile.

The battle has been passed onto his acolytes who are taking it to the masses in the most ugly manner.  And so skilful is Weerawansa that a large majority of media institutions show direct sympathy for the 'fallen' or 'axed' Weerawansa than the JVP, the party that created him and the party's principles against which Weerawansa has conduced himself.

On Friday (18), the ongoing JVP drama took a new turn, and a bloody one. JVP's Kalutara organiser was attacked by a goon squad and is now warded at the Horana Hospital and receiving treatment.

In the meantime, the JVP intends holdings its party convention next month and to elect new office bearers. The party leaders have publicly invited the defectors but there is little likelihood of the Weerawansa faction attending the annual event.

Basil's handiwork

As Das Capital, the bible of these self-confessed Marxists falls into disuse amidst sleaze and crime, the detractors may quietly cheer the President's politically crafty brother, MP Basil Rajapakse for a job well done. But for those who kept faith with the Marxists' lot so far, it must be truly disappointing to find those who took high moral ground on every issue from corruption to patriotism to the non-use of government vehicles or to drawing a MPs salary slide so quickly and easily in to the muck of dirty politics.

In the relatively short space of eight years since the JVP entered parliament augmenting new hope, the red brethren have achieved one thing that goes well beyond the mere issue of fragmentation. Those who recently coined a popular text message that is doing the rounds these days summed it up beautifully: "Unuth ekai, munuth ekai, apith ekai."