There Is Something In The Air In The North Of Sri Lanka

By TU Senan -September 23, 2013 

TU Senan

‘It’s a ghost of the past,’ shouted the media in the south. The northern media, however, was relentless in creating the ghost of a new future.

The North had not seen an election of this kind for decades. In the first and only Northern Province Council (NPC) election, held in 1988, a dismal number of people turned out to vote – so embarrassing that the number of votes were not even widely published!

Then the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) in control of the north, with the Indian army, won all seats. Contrast that to the second NPC election 25 years later. On a 68% turnout 78.48% of the votes went to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) under the party name of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK). The TNA won 30 out of the 38 contested seats.

Voting did not take place under normal conditions. The government will most likely use this result to boost their false propaganda that democracy is blossoming in the country. Basil Rajapaksa declared that the very holding of an election in the north is itself a ‘victory’. But the level of election-related violence and the numerous breaches of electoral rules give the lie to any such claim.

The reaction of Tamils in the north to the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and their puppet, the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), had an element of being a ‘political revolt’. The ruling party, their candidate, and the authorities tried many tricks – not to win the election but at least to prevent an outright majority for the TNA.                                                         Read More

Must Not Rest On Oars: The EPDP In Rage Must Be De-Fanged

By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole -September 23, 2013

Prof S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

Congratulations are due to Chief Minister-Elect C.V. Wigneswaran, the TNA and to the many observers whose vigilance and reporting made the usual ballot-box-stuffing difficult for the government and its EPDP ally. The TNA’s performance turned out to be better than even the Federal Party’s best under SJV Chelvanayagam. Even in landslide victories we do not see the winning party reaching nearly 80% of the vote as did the TNA. It goes to show how this government has totally alienated the Tamil people. The meager 6 seats out of 36 for the government are likely from the votes of soldiers and die-hard EPDP persons whose days of terror need to be ended.

Reports from the islands off Jaffna say that on Sunday Sept. 22, between 1PM -4PM, EPDP goons have severely assaulted with batons 26 persons who worked for the TNA in Puliyankoodal, Oorkavat-thurai, Velanai, Thambaati, Chaati and Naranthanai. It would appear they are unable to bear the loss in democratic spirit.

This kind of retaliatory violence no longer has a place in the North. It is time for the government to disarm the paramilitary personnel of the EPDP whose guns are used only to terrorize the public. Even during the LLRC hearings armed members of the EPDP came into hearing rooms with guns in their waistband to intimidate witnesses who might have given evidence against them. Even though present, the police did not ‘see’ what the public saw.                                        Read More