The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which holds 22 of the 225 seats in Parliament and had polled 6.9 per cent votes in the 2004 general elections is likely to reveal its decision on supporting either of the two main presidential candidates, only next month. The alliance which arguably is the largest political representative of the Tamil community in the country appears to be still caught in a dilemma over whom it should side with-- President Mahinda Rajapaksa or Gen. (retd.) Sarath Fonseka.
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| R. Sampanthan |
TNA leaders are hoping to meet Opposition and United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday to gauge the multiparty opposition coalition’s response to unresolved issues such as a political settlement for the Tamil people and more immediately the economic rehabilitation of the 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are either living in transit government camps in the north and east or are being temporarily hosted by relatives. TNA leader R. Sampanthan had earlier met President Rajapaksa and Gen. Fonseka to find out their respective views on such matters.
During his meetings, first with President Rajapaksa and senior presidential advisor Basil Rajapaksa and then with Gen. Fonseka and Mr. Wickremesinghe, Mr. Sampanthan had told the two main candidates that de-militarisation of the north was essential for people to live there freely.
“We have to look at the election very carefully,” Mr. Sampanthan told the Sunday Times on Saturday after returning to Colombo from a brief stay in Vienna where he along with two other leaders from the alliance had gone to meet members of the Tamil diaspora – potential donors for rehabilitation and resettlement of the war-displaced people. In the Austrian city, representatives of Tamil political parties and the diaspora had discussed what Mr. Sampanthan described as “ways and means to rehabilitate and resettle the IDPs.” The TNA leader however, did not disclose the diaspora’s interactions with him on the political situation back home.
At a recent meeting in Colombo, the TNA had decided neither to field a Tamil candidate nor to abstain from voting in the upcoming presidential election. Yet, Mahalingam K. Shivajilingam, a TNA MP from Jaffna filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate on December 17. Supported by a handful of his colleagues from the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), Mr. Shivajilingam entered the fray, making the TNA look less consolidated. “I think that’s a foolish decision,” Suresh Premachandran told the Sunday Times referring to Mr. Shivajilingam’s candidacy. Mr. Premachandran is another Jaffna parliamentarian and leader of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF-Suresh wing).
A third parliamentarian from Jaffna and TELO leader N. Sri Kantha told the Sunday Times that he had endorsed Mr. Shivajilingam’s bid for presidency due to the lack of options. “There’s not much to choose between Rajapaksa and Fonseka. A Tamil candidate could be our only electoral expression,” Mr. Sri Kantha added.
While January 26 may be battle day between two southern Sinhalese candidates, it is the estimated 2.8 million Tamil voters nationwide who will possibly decide the margin of victory. |
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