Eastern election a big sham, claims Hakeem

By Sinniah Gurunathan

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem has slammed the upcoming eastern provincial elections as a big sham perpetrated by the government to sell its agenda to the international community by presenting a distorted picture of ground realities and showing scant respect to people’s democratic rights.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Times, Mr. Hakeem, whose party is contesting in alliance with the main opposition United National Party, also said they were conducting their election campaign in the east under trying conditions with one set of rules being applied to government politicians and another for the opposition.

Excerpts from the interview;

• What made you to sacrifice your parliamentary seat and contest the provincial council election?

I took the decision a day before the nominations closed. Having carefully analysed the political situation and the government’s deceptive agenda, beginning with the Batticaloa district local polls, it became obvious for us that the government would make use of the Pillayan group to intimidate the hapless Tamils and engage in election malpractices to the win the provincial polls.

The government’s motive, obviously, is to show the international community that it has ushered in normalcy after the so-called liberation of the east. But what is really happening in the east is majoritarian expansionism which was one of the root causes for the conflict in east. It is being implemented in a systematic plan. It was high time that someone came forward to call the bluff.

• What do you see are the major issues in the eastern province and what are the solutions you offer.

Creating conditions of normalcy does not simply mean removal of checkpoints alone though conversely we observe more checkpoints now than before the so-called liberation of east. The displaced people are living in open prisons with all types of vigilante and armed groups patronized by the government intimidating them. Intimidation and harassment with absolute impunity have made this election a sham.

We feel that it is our responsibility as a party fighting for the rights of the Muslims and the Tamil-speaking community to ensure that all the people in the east will live with dignity and enjoy freedom.

• But don’t you think that you will have a tough time in running the province if you win the elections because the President and the central government are from a different party?

The entire section of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution has been observed in the breach by successive governments. We have occasionally, had glimpses of judicial activism by courageous superior court judges who had interpreted the intention of the framers of the amendment in letter and spirit.

An SLMC-UNP alliance meeting in Mutur

The government’s defeatist mindset has left it with no alternative but to tell the voters that it holds the purse strings and therefore it could be futile to vote for an opposition party. The government and its extremist bandwagon should understand that a meaningful devolution could take place only if they recognise the rights of the Tamil-speaking people to internal self-determination as envisaged in the Oslo declaration.

• Don’t you think that this election is being contested along ethnic lines with the Muslims and Tamils being more divided than ever before?

The fact remains that every community is politically divided. But it is possible to achieve a high degree of unity through clear policies and sincere political commitment and courageous leadership. Despite somersaults by various avaricious political turncoats, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has managed to remain a dominant political force, mainly because of our high ideals.

As for the Tamils, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has unfortunately decided against contesting the election due to the prevailing climate of fear and genuine ideological reasons.

• The government is allegedly using the state machinery for its campaign work. How are you going to counter this?

From day one, we have been facing this disadvantage. The biggest difficulty is our inability to campaign after 6 p.m. Government politicians go on campaigning till 9 p.m. because they have adequate security. But we are told to wind up our campaign before dusk citing security reasons. Government politicians are using helicopters and hundreds of state vehicles are at their disposal. State-sector employees are given duty leave and sent to the east to carry out propaganda work. We find the task of enumerating these violations very tedious. It is up to the polls monitors and the Commissioner of Elections to take up this matter with relevant people.

• The refugee crisis is still an issue in the east. Do you have any solution for this problem?

The internally displaced persons (IDPs), as I observed, are forced to live in open prisons under the supervision of armed groups. They have been denied their basic necessities such as proper shelter. Attempts to resettle them without ensuring their freedom to engage in their livelihood, such as farming, fishing and animal husbandry will be counterproductive. The new provincial administration will have to look into the resettlement issue as a matter of urgency, giving priority to restore their dignity and freedom.

• Why do you think the voters in the east should vote for the UNP-SLMC alliance?

Primarily, there are three reasons. Firstly, the UNP-SLMC combination is committed to the most extensive devolution agenda. We have insisted that the UNP must honour its policy of extensive devolution and resume talks to work out a modified and acceptable ceasefire.

Secondly, the dictatorial attitude of the government must eventually be defeated. The seriousness of violating every conceivable notion of good governance under the pretext of maintaining executive convenience is totally unacceptable. Repeated appeals byopposition parties and civil and social organizations have been ignored. It is time that we be elected to restore law and order.

Thirdly, military operation should only be a means to an end and not an end in itself. We have this government whose only investment is the war. There again is manipulation of the state media and twisted truths. This will not correctly expose the truth of the factual situation on the war front. The operating condition for normalcy does not depend on holding hasty election and wasting public funds in a war fought for a futile political agenda. This has resulted in plunging the country towards economic ruin. The rampant corruption and the economic mismanagement need to be brought to an end.

• The government is claiming that the UNP and the SLMC have an agreement with the LTTE on the eastern elections. Any comment?

This has been a favourite hobby horse of the government. What more have I to say except to ask those who advance this argument to reflect upon the LTTE’s boycott call to the Tamils at the presidential election – a move that facilitated the victory of the incumbent president?

• How serious is the threat from the Pillaiyan group? Are you facing difficulties to carry out you campaign due to the presence of the Pillaiyan group?

Our main complaint has been that the Pillaiyan group is allowed to carry arms and enjoy the patronage of the government to create a climate of fear in Tamil areas of the east. They have prevented several prominent people from coming forward to contest the elections from other parties. It has already made the election a total distortion. I dare say that even our victory could not render any credibility to the mandate since it is flawed from the outset.

A new era will dawn in Sri Lanka soon

By Chris Kamalendran

King maker in the east, Sivaneshathurai Chandrankanthan alias Pillaiyan who is contesting the provincial council elections from the Batticaloa district on the UPFA ticket says that he is confident that the government would devolve full powers to the Eastern Provincial Council under the 13th Amendment. In this interview he says that the TMVP had to arm to defend themselves, but when they come into office their armed cadres would be enrolled in the police.

Excerpts of the interview:

• What is the main reason for the TMVP to contest the Eastern Provincial elections in the light of the demerger of the Northern and the Eastern Provinces and given your past record of fighting for the merger when you were part of the LTTE?

There is little point in talking about the demerger now. But since the East has been separated, we have to participate in the election. The people in the east have been suppressed for many years and we had to form a movement to give them back their rights. Therefore it is imperative for the TMVP to take part in the elections.

• The Eastern Provincial Council has not functioned for the past 20 years. Although J. R. Jayewardene introduced the provincial council system in 1987 to resolve the ethnic problem nothing has been resolved. Do you think anything will be achieved by forming the eastern provincial council?

Definitely. A major war is still being fought in the north. The war in the east is over and a democratic governing body is to be set up. Power will be delegated to the victorious party. I am hopeful that day to day issues, development and security issues of the east would be resolved.

• Has President Mahinda Rajapaksa given you assurance that full powers would be devolved to the Eastern Provincial Council under the 13th Amendment.

Even though President Rajapaksa has not the given the assurance directly, other high ranking officials in the government have assured us that the 13th Amendment would be fully implemented. The 13th Amendment will help the Tamils to govern themselves and get their rights. I am confident that the government would implement it fully as proof that terrorism has been wiped out from the east.

• In 1988 former north eastern chief minister Varadarajah Perumalal also asked then President, R. Premadasa to allocate funds and devolve power to develop the northeast. Eventually, Mr. Perumal made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) claiming that promises were not fulfilled. In the process, he forcibly enrolled about 3000 Tamils to form a police force. What do you hope to do with your armed cadres? Will you enrol them in the police.

Yes. We have decided to recruit our youths into the security and police forces when we assume power. You referred to V. Perumal but we are not going to take decisions like him. We don’t want to cheat our people as Perumal did. He declared Tamil Eelam and ran away. We will learn from his mistakes.

• There are allegations that armed members of your party are a threat to other political parties in the fray.

These are merely attempts to label us as an armed group and not as one that has entered the main political stream. Anyone who comes to the east will see how freely other parties are carrying on with their work even at 1 a.m. As far as I’m concerned there is 100 percent democracy here.

• There is a general opinion in the south that the Pillayan group still possesses arms. Why is it necessary to be armed if your party has joined the political mainstream.

This is connected to the unresolved crisis in the north east. The TMVP is a party in the east and there are forces to wipe it out. We have to be able to defend ourselves. This is the only way we would be able to give security and benefits to the people in the east. Our arms are not being used against anybody. They are now in a dormant stage.

• Last week when I was in Ampara the general question that was being asked was why have you allied with a government that has done so much harm to the Tamil people. The general belief there was you would get more support if you go alone.

It is only by contesting with the party in power that we would be able to come to office to implement development projects for our people. We are not prepared to make the same mistakes of our political parties in the past and be in the opposition.

• What kind of relationship do you have with the ruling party?

It is strong and success in this election will only strengthen this further. This is a fine opportunity and if we can capitalize on it properly we will see a new era dawn in Sri Lanka.

• At the last presidential election the LTTE told the people not to vote. Do you think such a scenario could arise this time too?

The people now know what the LTTE has gained in its fight for Tamil Eelam. Only the people who have suffered know the reality. I hope they will make the right decision. We will be a great party in the future and the polls will be conducted democratically.