Issues

  Will the TNA fall along with the Tigers?

With the LTTE slowly being eradicated the question has now arisen as to who would take the place of the Tigers to solve the ethnic issue.

The LTTE has been a force to reckon with for the last 30 years, as far as the ethnic conflict is concerned. Unfortunately, its presence only resulted in more bloodshed and no solution.

The situation has now changed giving Tamil politicians an opportunity to stand up for the people suffering in the war zone. The question then is, are Tamil politicians capable of filling this vacuum?

Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka have kept a low profile over the past few months following the intensification of the war in the north.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) having the largest number of representatives in parliament has found itself in a  helpless position following the setbacks suffered by the LTTE at the war front.

TNA a non-entity

The TNA it appears is a non entity without the LTTE.  The party's only contribution to the welfare of Tamils in the north and east so far has been the fairly minor role it played in the agitation that swept Tamil Nadu last year. The TNA and the Tamil community in Sri Lanka believed that Tamil Nadu and the Central Government of India would work to bring about a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict.

The wave of protests in Tamil Nadu calling on the central government to press for a ceasefire began in October last year. Only the DMK and its allies however took to the streets. It was only this month that AIADMK General Secretary and the Opposition Leader Jayalalithaa Jeyaram who has been silent all these months came out strongly against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK Leader Muthuvel Karunanidhi and the others for failing to bring peace in Sri Lanka due to the fear of losing their positions.

The irony is that the Tamils especially in the war torn areas have now been pushed into a situation where even the position of their own representatives is weak. The only voice that speaks effectively on their behalf seems to come from across the Palk Straits.

The last time the actions of a local Tamil politician yielded any sort of result was when Democratic People's Front (DPF) Leader Mano Ganesan stood up against the abduction of Tamils in and around Colombo.

Though most of the abducted persons continue to be missing, the number of disappearances has  declined  to a great extent mainly due to the campaign by Ganesan and the Civil Monitoring Commission (CMC).

Humanitarian crisis

Today there is a grave humanitarian crisis in the country and so far the only politicians who have voiced their support for the people in the north are from Tamil Nadu. However, there is a school of thought that both Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa are only using the Sri Lankan Tamils' question  to win the next election. The argument appears to be valid considering the fact that nothing positive has come out of all the agitations.

This is the time for Tamil politicians to unite. The lack of unity among Tamil political parties is the key factor behind the rise of the LTTE . Whether the governments liked it or not, they were forced to interact only with the LTTE during any peace negotiations. Today the situation has changed dramatically and has created a platform for the other Tamil political parties to voice their concerns.

The TNA, unfortunately, has not lived up to the expectations of Sri Lankan Tamils and has proved to be dependant on the LTTE and lately on Tamil Nadu. The party had been invited to join the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) on several occasions but the TNA says that there has been no official invitation by the government and that they would consider it only if there was such an invitation.

Tamil reps

The likes of Douglas Devananda and Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan are with the government. They, being former militants who have joined the democratic mainstream, have a responsibility in guiding the government to bring a suitable solution. Tamils need a political representative who is both rational and strong enough to stand up to the government when necessary.

At some point Tamil Nadu will stop talking about the problems of the Sri Lankan Tamils, and what will be the plight of the people then? Those who are in temporary camps and transitional villages can be happy that they have managed to save their lives. But, the fact that they have left their homes and do not know when they will return will definitely create a scar in their minds.

On the other hand, those who are still trapped in the war zone are  not sure whether they would live to see another day as the war closes in.

Call from Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had expressed her concerns over the situation in the safe zones when she telephoned President Mahinda Rajapakse on March 13.

The government however has denied allegations of carrying out attacks on the safe zones and pointed the finger at the LTTE. The LTTE has been accused by UNICEF of recruiting children to its outfit. The situation will worsen as the fighting intensifies.

So far, the Tamil leaders in the country have not taken any positive action to alleviate the sufferings of the Tamils and have  only pointed fingers at the government or the LTTE on the plight of the civilians.

On the other hand the government together with the ICRC and the WFP has taken steps to send essential items to Mullaithivu.

No foreign government will openly criticise the Government of Sri Lanka and call for an immediate cessation of hostilities when the government is close to defeating terrorism in the country. It is the civilians who have been at the receiving end since the war erupted and it is the responsibility of both parties to ensure that they are not harmed regardless of the place they are in.