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In an article published in the Colombo Telegraph website last week former Supreme Court Judge and current Parliamentarian Dr. C.V. Wigneswaran raised the question as to what the Tamils would gain by voting for Sinhala politicians at the Presidential Elections of 2024. He was responding to the United National Party Chairman Vajira Abeywardena’s advise to the Tamils not to put forward a Tamil candidate for Presidency and divide their votes. Dr. Wigneswaran then proceeded to give reasons in support of his claim that the Tamils would not gain anything by voting for a candidate of the majority community.

A few excerpts from his article will help to understand his thinking on the matter and are therefore set out below along with some comments and suggestions to address his concerns:

“We Tamils have continuously voted for Majority community candidates so far. All promised to solve our political problems. After Election, we were not even known to them. They simply ignored us.”  

(As a general premise probably voters from all communities including the majority community would articulate such disappointment to a greater or lesser degree. The country’s experience is that politicians generally overpromise and underperform on their promises. The assertion that majority community candidates promised to solve the problems of the Tamil community but chose to ignore them after being elected to office may not quite accurately reflect the situation. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga made a strong effort to do so through the 2000 draft Constitution. President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as Prime Minister of the Yahapalana Government was able to reach consensus on many contentious issues with the Tamil National Alliance. Both these attempts failed for a variety of reasons but not for want of trying.

One of the primary reasons that contributed to the failure of both attempts was the time taken during the process as a result of which the political environment had changed making adoption of such changes that much more difficult. )

“We have an ethnocracy in Sri Lanka today – a Government of the Sinhalese, for the Sinhalese and by the Sinhalese.”

(One is not sure how to understand this statement. If it is meant that the majority of those who man the administration are Sinhalese that would not be unusual because by numbers the Sinhalese are the majority. What would be objectionable would be if the minorities are discriminated against in appointments, promotions, delivery of services and treated unjustly. While there are many instances of the above not only against minorities but also against members of the majority community because of political or administrative reasons it may be stretching it to say that there is systemic discrimination against the Tamils. )

“The news of what happens in the North and East are purposely kept away from the Sinhalese masses even today by the majority community politicians and journalists. Neither the English nor Sinhala newspapers carry any news about the plight of the Tamils.”

(There is a great deal of truth in
this statement but it applies both ways. The Tamil media too does not greatly interest itself in the matters of the south. This certainly needs to be addressed but it may not require fielding a common Tamil Candidate.)

“The North and East are under the Military boot even after circa 15 years since the end of the War. With Military help Dagobas and Buddhist temples and Buddha statues are constructed or erected in areas where no Buddhists live, by mainly Buddhist Priests. The Archaeology Department officials help them from behind.”

(Again there may be a great deal of truth in this allegation and a fair and just Government can be persuaded to deal with it in a sensitive manner. Although the military footprint has been reduced to a great extent since the end of the armed conflict, their limited presence is still problematic particularly in the context of the unresolved problems after the conclusion of the war.)

“A common Tamil Candidate could refute all these erroneous beliefs among the Sinhala masses and explain the truth to the Sinhalese through Rupavahini programmes and other means. Unless the Tamils are understood by the Sinhalese, especially by the Sinhala youth, the older generation of politicians who brought about the present impasse would never consent to solve the problems of the Tamils.”

(The need for the Sinhalese and the Tamils to understand each others problems can never be overemphasized at any time. This requires sensitive communication in a painstaking and unemotional exchange of views. The election platform is never the place for such exchange of views as it is often the case that politicians usually up the ante in order to get the support of the voter thus creating further misunderstanding among communities.)

This column would therefore argue that at the Presidential Elections of 2024 the Tamil voters should look for a candidate who is best suited to undertake the task of Nation Building irrespective of whether he is Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim or other. An examination of the candidate’s past record, his policy program and his political allies could help in identifying who is suitable.

Going beyond the Presidential Elections of 2024, it may be useful for the Tamil community to look at the past and engage in introspection with regard to whether the path chartered by its politicians have benefitted the Tamil community or been counterproductive.

When the old left parties like the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party were in the forefront of fighting for the rights of the Tamil community risking their support among the Sinhalese, they were repeatedly rejected at elections in the North. One reason attributed to this trend among Tamil voters was that the leftists were revolutionary and could incline to violence to which the Northern voter was averse to. However as fate would have it the emergence of the LTTE and other groups forced the North into a path of violence.

The LTTEs reign over the North and East during the 30 year old conflict probably did more harm than good to the Tamils. Culturally and economically it virtually destroyed the Tamil community without winning any of its demands. While many intellectuals in the Tamil community like Rajani Tiranagama foresaw the dangers and fought valiantly to arrest the trend they were unable to achieve any degree of success.

Indeed the successes of the Tamil community in achieving their rights and aspirations have been more due to their engagement with enlightened leaders from the South rather than through the use of violence which has taken a toll of its youth as well as society at large.

The effectiveness of hard and persuasive bargaining rather than violence can be seen by the consensus arrived at during the talks between the Government and the TNA during the Constitutional Reform process of the Yahapalana Government. TNA leader R. Sampanthan himself announced the formula for one of the contentious issues in the southern town of Matara in August 2016 at a Samurdhi event where he stated that “The country will be one united, undivided, indivisible country which cannot ever be divided. I convey that message to you as the democratically elected leader of the Tamil people.”

It is also useful to note that merely being governed by representatives of one’s own community is not a guarantee of good governance. The experience of the Tamil community under Ealam Peoples Revolutionary Front rule soon after the Indo Lanka Accord of 1987 was one such bad period. During this period sections of the Tamil community were harassed and ill treated and underwent untold suffering.

Dr. Wigneswaran was greatly respected as a Judge and functioned with great acceptance in the Supreme Court and other Courts in Colombo. He had the ability to hear cases and dictate judgements in the Sinhala language with ease. He interacted a great deal with the majority community and thus had a profound exposure to Sinhala society. This experience must be utilized to influence the task of nation building. One hopes that in the future he will be able to help build the bridge between the wide chasm that exists between sections of the Tamil community and the Sinhala community.

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)