Save the country from TNAs Treachery – Part VIII
Posted on December 13th, 2018

BY A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

Political parties in Sri Lanka other than the SLPP/SLFP have become afflicted with the chronic disease of election phobia. During Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Presidency the mere mentioning of elections legs of UNPers used to shiver as they were so fearful of facing the people in elections as there is a saying that even a calf that mingles with pig lings would eat excreta the TNA, JVP and other fringe political groupings have developed this fear due to their association with election phobic UNP.

Recollect your memories and remember how many times Ranil Wickremasinghe led his UNPers to Courts seeking injunction orders against holding elections.  Despite all this he had lost 29 elections.  The treacherous TNA has now become fearful of elections due to the possible political wipe out they are facing from the rival political groupings, despite the electoral advantage they used to enjoy as pointed in my previous article that the JEEPPOs got  only 6 sears with 4,87% of votes while  the TNA got 16 seats with only 4.62% of votes in the 2015 August elections. Now the excuse being presented by these bluff masters   is that they would agree to hold an election under a legitimate government. But when Ranil Wickremasinghe e had a so-called legitimate government he did his utmost to postpone elections. It should also be mentioned that circumventing Supreme Court rulings these enemies of elections adopted many shameless methods to postpone elections and the people had to wait for over three years to  get their members elected to local government  institutions  and they are now without elections for 6 Provincial Councils for more than one year.
From the inception of Ranil Wickremesinghe Govt in 2015, the TNA has pursued a non – confrontational, conciliatory approach towards the regime. Despite TNA parliamentary group leader Sambandan becoming the leader of the opposition with only 16 seats against Joint opposition’s 54 seats the TNA has co-operated with the Govt in many ways like voting for the Budget etc.  The TNA even voted against the no confidence motion brought by sections of the opposition against Ranil Wickremesinghe. Despite much criticism from hawkish elements on either side of the ethnic divide, the TNA has adopted this collaborative relationship with the ruling regime for the primary purpose of enacting a new Constitution. The TNA has been hopeful that a new Constituted formulated through a consensual approach with the full participation of the Tamil MP’s .

Reports indicated that the TNA had demanded for a written assurance to fulfil their demands to extend their support for the petition calling to appoint Ranil Wickremasinghe as Prime Minister.  .It said that a meeting between Ranil Wickremsinghe and a group of TNA parliamentarians was held today (Tuesday 11th December) and this demand for a written assurance has been presented at this meeting.  The report stated  that Ranil has agreed to give this written assurance before the parliament meets tomorrow (Wednesday) which was described by certain prominent UNPers as divisionary and misleading claim. .  It further stated that a party leaders meeting is also to be held tomorrow morning to decide to extend support or not on the proposal to appoint Ranil Wickremasinghe as Prime Minister. Despite all these convenient denials when that the requested e voting was taken this evening all TNA members voted in favour of the proposal confirming that the requested assurance had been given.

The TNA demand for a written assurance included:

  • Expeditious to be taken the adoption of the Federal and Secular const4itution;
  • Merge Northern and Eastern provinces;
  • Take expeditious to release all former terrorists amount 12,000 whom the TNA refers to as political prisoners;
  • Repeal the PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act);
  • Return all lands under occupation of security forces and drastically reduce security forces in the North and East;
  • Devolve Police and Land powers;
  • Curb settlement of outsiders in the North and East and erection of new temples and planting of Bo-Trees;

The Terrorist grandpa Sambandan with the formulation of a new constitution has dedicated himself to the task of achieving political equality for Tamils through this envisaged constitution and n meetings with International leaders, diplomats and senior official of western countries and India ,the TNA leader terrorist grandpa has consistently and continuously requested, rather urged them that the Govt should be compelled and pressurised to enact the new Constitution ensuring equal rights and power sharing arrangement to the Tamils but this dream has now being shattered by the October revolution and realization his dream can only be achieved by re-installing a Ranil government,

Top of Form

In English.

Why it has been requested to give the premiership to Ranil again (Caption)

Box 1) The Federal demon jumps out – vomits Sumanthiran.

Box  2) To ban construction of Temples in the North and East.  Requests support of Tamils.

Box 3) I also do not like this National Flag – Sumkamthiran.

Box 4) To make the country secular by amalgamating the North and East

Footnote :

Although the UNPers who  say  their blood is green even if they were cut into pieces  and they would become slavish on behalf of their party, the Northern separatists only dedicate their self for a Separate Country

Unlike other political parties representing the Muslim and Up-Country Tamil communities the TNA did not s eek ministerial office in this Government. The TNA cannot show the fruits of cooperation by way of jobs, development schemes or projects because it does not have ministerial portfolios. The TNA has only sought to redress Tamil grievances and accommodate legitimate Tamil aspirations (non-existing and illusory)   through cooperation with the Govt. Although there had been some progress in issues like return of military held lands back to civilian owners and release of Tamil detainees etc there is little progress in the prized objective of the TNA namely Constitutional reform or a new Constitution. To the TNA in general and for Sambndan it was a single item political agenda -a new Constitut5ion.

The political analysts opine thus the TNA will face the prospect of further political decline within its constituency due to its continued cooperation with the Govt without gaining anything on the Constitutional front. The TNA is in a dilemma. Either it gets the Govt to deliver the new constitution o which has become illusory now or it must exit from its current stance of lending constructive support to Ranil Wickremasinghe and the UNP.

It is against this backdrop that TNA leader Sambndan had separate meetings with President Sirisena  and ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last month. Sambndan urged both to revive and renew the Constitution making process. Both assured the opposition leader that the Constitutional Assembly Steering Committee would be convened after the re-allocation of portfolios to cabinet ministers, state ministers and deputy -ministers. Now that the scientific re-shuffle” is over the TNA expects the President and Ranil to demonstrate their bona fides by delivering the new Constitution which is a dead subject at present.

It is learnt reliably that despite the lull” in the convening of the Constitutional Assembly steering committee, considerable progress has been made in drafting by the management committee co-chaired by Jayampathy Wickramaratne ( a staunch pro-separatist) and Sumanthiran despite mounting opposition in the South from the Maha Sanga, the patriots and the masses in general.

Sumanthiran in an interview given to a Tamil TV on April 21st, 2018 made an announcement t that if the Govt does not deliver within a reasonable period of  time the TNA would launch ay non – violent protest campaign to demonstrate to the world at large that the Govt is not fulfilling its promises about formulating a new Constitution. According to informed Tamil sources the TNA game-plan was urging the Govt to show progress on the Constitutional front by convening the Steering Committee and working on a Constitutional draft in May and early June. Meanwhile the chief constituent of the TNA the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi(ITAK) will hold its biennial party convention in late June,  and  if the Govt does convene the Steering Committee and there is forward movement by that time the ITAK convention will approve and endorse the efforts through a resolution. If on the other hand the Govt does not move forward and defaults on its assurances before early June, the ITAK Convention would pass a different resolution calling or large -scale non – violent direct-action protest the Government’s inaction and drawing the attention of the world. Thereafter the TNA also would meet and ratify the ITAK resolution and it would be followed by the launch of a non – violent protest amounting to a civil disobedience campaign on Gandhian lines of Ahimsa” and Satyagraha”.

. In 1961 the ITAK/FP launched a Satyagraha” campaign that paralysed the work of Kachcheris in the Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. (There were no Mullaitheevu or Kilinochchi districts then). The campaign lasted for weeks and was finally crushed by Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike Govt through the deployment of the armed services and the house arrest of prominent Tamil leaders. Prior to the commencement of the campaign the  ITAK held its party convention and passed a unanimous resolution calling for a non – violent campaign.

Likewise, the ITAK convention in 2014 during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime also passed a resolution calling for a massive non – violent protest campaign. The ITAK was planning to launch its campaign in January 2015 and began preparing. Thousands of headgears known as Gandhi caps” had been stitched. The Congress party in India launched many non – violent campaigns under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi against  British rulers during the colonial period. All Congress volunteers participating in the non – violent campaigns wore the Gandhi caps. The ITAK which has a history of being inspired by Gandhian ideals and methods planned to stage a non – violent campaign with volunteers wearing Gandhi caps then. However, the political situation changed in November with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa calling for an early election. The TNA backed the common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena who defeated the former President on January 8th, 2015. Thereafter the TNA shelved the idea of a non – violent campaign as unnecessary and commenced it co-operative phase with the new President and Government.

Now due to the forced shelving of the Constitution by the October revolution the TNA may be compelled to launch a non – violent campaign again. According to TNA sources have said that the campaign unlike in the past would not be confined to Tamils alone and it would seek to embrace all shades of opinion supportive of greater devolution in a new Constitution. By this the ITAK/TNA will seek to De-ethnicise” the quest for a new Constitution and greater devolution.

(Let us vote for the UNP to segregate and divide the country)

They have also said protest demonstrations would not only be held in Sri Lanka but will held simultaneously in all international cities in the West with substantial Tamil Diaspora concentrations and in India ,Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore and Mauritius. The idea of holding protests  overseas  they have said is to draw attention to the legitimate Tamil cause and enlist international support for a new Constitution.

Should we allow this kind of blackmail? If a Ranil Wickremasinghe or UNP government stays by that time they would also extend their fullest support for this plan and they also would participate in it.  Let the TNA launch this plan and it should be curbed with all might and with no sympathy and wipe out this blackmailing and threats forever as our gallant war heroes did on 18th May 2009.  It could be successfully and certainly done under a government of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa the second Dutugemunu of Sri Lanka.

(To be continued)

 

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