By : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

While the main opposition UNP/SJB is in a perennial bout to defeat each other and capture/retain power in the  Sirikotha, the foreign servile JVP, NGO vultures and the TNA, as well as the racist constituents of the SJB, the JHU, Muslim Con-gross, A CMC and TPA, are in an endless fake news onslaught to prevent the achieving its goal of getting the two-thirds majority to get rid of the abhorrent 19th amendment, make appropriate changes to the  13th   amendment which had been forcibly enforced on us and repeal the 15th amendment which empowers the insignificant political bandits who get a minimum of 5% of the votes district-wise and island-wide to entitle for seats and thus blackmail major parties.                           

It is a practice all over the world to introduce amendments to their constitutions when there is an absolute necessity. Bu t in this country amendments except amendments No, 6, and 18 have been made to the so-called bizarre constitution merely for political expediency. For instance amendment No. 15 was adopted on the behest of Ashroff to get Muslim Con gross votes for Premadasa in the 1988 presidential election, just 48 hours before the election and it was political bribery.     

The  TNA which has not done any good at all for this country since its formation in 2001 as an appendage of the terrorist  LTTE continues with its Tamil supremacy obsession introduced by their racist grandfather Ponnambalam      Arunachalam( PA ) in the 1880s.  This concept would have vanished a long time ago if not for J.R.Jayawardene’s father’s brother Walter Jayawardene. (WJ)  When Mr. Mark Fernando announced his candidacy for the State Council  (SC) elections,   Walter Jayawardene without contesting him directly went to Madras to meet PA who was spending his retired life in Madras and persuaded him to return to Sri Lanka and contest the election against Mark Fernando and in addition to this he also espoused caste conflicts among the Sinhalese against Mark Fernando and got him defeated.

This stupid and antinational act done by Walter Jayawardene gave a boost to Tamil racists and encouraged them to form the Tamil supremacy concept and think that they could rule over the Sinhalese.  When the British colonialists were contemplating to grant independence to Sri Lanka, the Malaysian born alien S.J.V.Chelvanayagam (SJV) bloated by  PA ’s ill-conceived Tamil Supremacy concept told in the State Council that if Sri Lanka is to be granted independence,   Tamils should be granted the right of self-rule in the North and East as the inferior Sinhalese cannot be allowed to rule the superior Tamils.  This was vehemently opposed by the SC member Sir Marcan Marker saying that Sri Lanka belongs to the majority Sinhalese and they should be made the rulers of the whole country, (source Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka – a book written by SJV”s son-in-law A.J.Wilson published in the U.K.  The publishers of this book has made a note on the back cover of this book saying that it is not for sale in Sri Lanka).  

 Under the post-independent governments of D.S., Dudley, and Kotelawala, Tamil politicians were the real rulers of the country, and the North flourished with massive development work and many industrial projects were established in that part of the country.  Tamils were Secretaries to prominent Ministries and the PWD, Railways, Port, Health, Telecom  and many other departments were fully employed with Tamils opening up a money order economy in which Tamils employed in the South regularly sent money orders to North for their family expenses.   

 The advent of the populist government of Prime Minister S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike in 1956 changed this situation and then only the educated Sinhalese people started getting their due share in the administration of the country.  This unexpected loss of privileges made the Tamils unleash a confrontational attitude against the government and the Sinhalese people in general.  When the government as in almost all Middle East countries using their alphabets for vehicle number plates introduced the Sinhala letter SHRI for our vehicle number plates Tamils made it a ploy to launch a  Tar campaign” and apply tar on all Sinhala name boards in the North and East and this led to clashes between Tamils and Sinhalese. 

 In these clashes, the Tamils reportedly acted as barbarians and it was said that Tamil hooligans branded Tamil SHRI letters on the breasts of Sinhalese women with hot tar. One of our neighbors who returned from Mullaitivu at that time, named Wijepala had burnt marks all over his face caused by hot tar. Then this type of confrontation became frequent between the two communities on political issues and the Tamil politicians took maximum advantage of the new scenario to win elections just by spreading antagonism against the Sinhalese.  Rowdies and communal minded thugs in both communities took advantage of these situations and resorted to looting business premises, torching properties, and even to murder people belonging to the rival community.

 
Prior to these unfortunate incidents, both communities owned businesses in each other’s areas and were living in peace and harmony. .Matara Hotels and Matara bakeries were popular in Jaffna and Jaffna Cafes and Sarasvathi Stores frequented in the South.  Colombo was full of shops owned by Tamils. Several streets such as Sea Street, Keyzer Street, Dam Street, and some of the Cross Roads had Tamil shops together with shops belonging to Muslims and S9inhalese.  The confrontational atmosphere created by Tamil politicians forced many people to abandon their vibrant businesses and return to their home areas.

In 1976 the racist Tamil chauvinists held a Conference in Vaddukkottai and at this conference, many Tamil chauvinists delivered hate lectures depicting the concocted history of the Tamils similar to what is being done by  Wigneswaran and they emphasized the need for the Tamils to have a separate state named Tamil Eelam.  Their argument was that there is no country in the world that does not have Tamils but the Tamils do not have a country od their own and hence a Tamil nation, the Tamil Eelam should be established in the North and East of Sri Lanka.   Accordingly, they adopted a Resolution calling for the establishment of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka and to launch an armed struggle to achieve this goal. This conference authorized the Tamil youth to take up arms and launch an armed struggle to gain Tamil Ealam. 

  During the 2015 Presidential election campaign, the terrorist diaspora pumped a colossal amount of money to the UNP, the shameless and policy less greedy JVP, and the NGO vultures to carry out an unprecedented and an unbelievable smear campaign and many NGOs mushroomed overnight calling themselves as civil organizations to grab the fortunes being offered by the terrorist diaspora, Indian RAW, CIA, and other foreign bandits, and the UNP sources said that 49  civil organizations were in operation in this fake news crusade.

 With this election, the racist Tamil politicians and the stupid UNP assumed the misconception that hereafter Sri Lanka cannot have a functional government without the support of the Tamils and based on this misconception the despicable Sirisena/Ranil government was shamelessly appeasing the Tamils and the TNA as well as the Kallathoni descendant    Mano Ganeshan.  Ganeshan even without being a member of Parliament in February 2015 compelled the government to introduce singing of National Anthem in both Sinhala and Tamil languages while terrorist proxy Sumanthiran became the policy formulator of the government and even the Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella genuflected before him, within the chamber of Parliament itself, bringing shame to the Kandyan pride. Sumanthiran even attended the Working Committee meetings of the UNP without any objections from its docile members.  People wondered as to whether they were having a Sirisena/Ranil government or TNA/Ganeshan government?

It should be mentioned here that the Kallathoni descendent Ganeshan claimed that the Indian Origin Tamils (IOTs) must have 14 MPs in this country a separate contagious province in the hill country IOTs.  With this illusory dream in mind during the 2010 elections he went to contest from the Kandy district and the glorious people of the Kandy district humiliatingly defeated him and chased him to Colombo.

In this darkest chapter of Sri Lanka’s history, then came the much-awaited Presidential Election for which the people were longing to repent for the misery they got inflicted upon themselves by believing in the fake news crusade and for helping to topple development-oriented Rajapaksa government.  The War Hero Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (GR) was the candidate of the patriotic forces against the racist/extremist/reactionary candidate Sajith Premadasa (SP), the notorious treasure hunter of archaeological sites, the alleged plunderer of Rs. 11 Billion of the Central Cultural Fund earmarked for the development of religious sites, alleged to be responsible for misuse of Rs. 400 Million from the Ministry of Housing, and having many other allegations..   

The racist politicians all over the country and the NGO ruffians joined together in a massive crusade against GR and made all efforts to prevent him from contesting and ultimately to defeat him.  These ruffians filed several petitions against GR to disqualify him from contesting the election while the Tamil racist politicians carried out an intensive campaign in the North and East in support of SP who had consented to grant the 13 anti-national demands put forward by the TNA and the Jaffna University students.  Sumanthiran took a leading role in SP’s campaign and addressing many meetings he boldly urged the Tamils to vote for Sajith to defeat the Sinhalese.  The election results showed that the Tamils in the North and East had en-masse voted positively in responding to Sumanthiran’s Defeat the Sinhalese” call. 

The election result also confirmed that the Sinhala Buddhist majority of this country has given a firm mandate to GR and accordingly he launched an admirable country re-building program with equal treatment to all Sri Lankans devoid of ethnicity, religious and other petty differences and at the same time he faced the Covid-19 pandemic in a very systematic manner which even the so-called developed countries such as America and the U.K could not combat successfully.  Even a book can be written on the President’s successful virus combat operation but let us observe it separately later.

 The growing popularity of the President became a bitter pill for Tamil racist politicians and they realized that hereafter they should adopt a cunning strategy and get their aspirations fulfilled without adopting a confrontational attitude.  The diaspora proxy Sumanthiran took the lead in this respect and he self-arranged an interview in Sinhala with the well known Sinhala media personnel Chamuditha Samarawickrema and in this interview, he denounced the LTTE atrocities.  This interview became a storm in a teacup which brought severe condemnation from many racist Tamil politicians of TNA and pro terrorists in Tamil Nadu and they burnt effigies of Sumanthiran in protest and demanded the TNA leader Sambanthan take disciplinary action against Sumanthiran and dismiss him from the TNA immediately but despite these protests, Sambanthan who even graced fundraising campaigns for LTTE in Canada and U.K endorsed the stand taken by  Sumanthiran. 

The question that needs to be asked why Sumanthiran who was having a safe posh life in Colombo and there was no possible threat to his life from LTTE as it was for some other TNA members who were living in the North and East took all these years to condemn the LTTE and why he remained silent when the LTTE was forced conscripting school children for their auxiliary forces and sometimes even for frontline combat duties and why he kept silent when the LTTE was forcibly taking the innocent civilians from place to place as human shields to provide protection for their cadres and why he did not hail the vanquishing of the LTTE on 19th May 2009?

The UK based Suren Surendiran, the spokesman of the Global Tamil Forum GTF)  who maintained a high profile close contacts with Sumanthiran to protect and promote Tamil separatism too, has defended Sumanthiran. Surendiran is reported to have held discussions with Sumanthiran on the future strategy to be handled and he  has asked whether unqualified and uncritical support for the armed struggle of the past, is a must, to play a leading role in Tamil politics  today?’ Reports said that Sumanthiran’s declaration that he wouldn’t approve terrorism, under any circumstances, received Surendiran’s approval. Surendiran categorized the Tamil community into three segments (a) those who unreservedly backed the war, waged by the LTTE, but blamed the group’s defeat on external factors (b) the second group comprised Tamils who accepted the war, in its entirety, while finding fault with all stakeholders for not doing everything possible to save the LTTE (Surendiran called it …to prevent its catastrophic end) (c) and the last group opposed violence without exception.

In their latest move, Surendran’s GTF has urged the Tamils to vote for those only contesting the northern and eastern regions. In addition to the TNA, the Thamizhi Makkal Tesiya Kootani or the Tamil People’’s National Alliance led by former Northern Province CM C.V. Wigneswaran are in the fray in the North and East.

 The GTF, in a statement issued on 31^st July, has said: First and foremost, ensure that people appreciate the significance of this election and the power of their vote – every vote matters. Second, no vote should be wasted on the multitude of independent groups and those representing countrywide parties, as these could only dilute the strength of the Tamil representation for future political engagements. Overly unrealistic agenda and an inward-looking insular political strategy is not the most suited in the present circumstances. The question for the Tamil voters is among the parties that represent Tamil national interest, which party and candidates are the best suited to navigate Tamil politics through the turbulent times ahead.”

 The GTF alleged the election was being held amidst authoritarian presidential rule through decrees and task forces, key civilian functions entrusted to serving and retired military officers in` an atmosphere of intimidation and fear leading to media self-censorship and silencing of civil society activists, and insecurity among the minority communities.

 The GTF has further stated that: It is in this atmosphere that Rajapaksas are seeking 2/3rd majority to change the constitution, in particular, to abolish the 19th Amendment, and in the last two attempts at constitution-making (1972 and 1978), where the political parties that drove the process had 2/3rd majority, were disastrous, and their effects are still crippling the country.

.The long statement of the GTF also states that  The Tamil political leadership during the recent past has earned some positive marks on the national politics of the country and the Tamil community should never take its eyes off from achieving political outcomes, and the Sri Lankan political leadership’s intransigence in accommodating the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community, made the Tamils look to the international community and India, with hope and expectation.

The double-tongued hypocrite Sumanthiran while condemning the LTTE in a tactful move has justified the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks saying that such attacks should be expected if the government did not address the grievances of the minorities. He has made this remark at a function held at the B MICH, to mark the first anniversary of the political weekly ‘Anidda in which Karu Jayasuriya, Human Rights Commission Chairperson Dr.  Deepika Udagama, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and several others have attended.

Reportedly on the instigation of Sumanthiran, members of the TNA including its leader Sambanthan, making a major split in the opposition camp made a strategic move by accepting Prime  Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s invitation to attend a meeting, chaired by him, at Temple Trees, on May 04^th. The TNA participation at the Temple Trees meeting also led to a private meeting between the Prime Minister and Sumanthiran at his official residence, on the night of May 4^th The TNA broke ranks with the UNP, and its breakaway faction, the Samagi  Jana Balavegaata (SJB), as well as the JVP, to attend the Temple Trees meeting.

The pro-LTTE elements formed the TNA in 2001 as part of its overall strategy to promote a separatist ideology, both in and outside parliament. The original grouping, having contested the Dec 2001 parliamentary polls, under the TULF symbol, secured 15 seats. The ITAK hadn’t been part of the TNA, at that time.

The signing of the Norway-arranged Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) took place on Feb 21, 2002. By then, the TNA had recognized the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil speaking people. The LTTE exploited the recognition received from the TNA. Then the TNA threw its weight behind the LTTE’s absurd demand for ISGA (Interim Self-Governing Authority) in the run-up to Prabhakaran walking out of the negotiating table. The LTTE quit tripartite negotiations, in late April 2003. The TNA played ball with the LTTE. They took a common stand. TULF leader, Veerasingham Anandasangree, quit the TNA as the LTTE-TNA bond grew stronger. But, the vast majority of Anandasangaree’s colleagues, including Sampanthan, reiterated support to the LTTE’s macabre cause. They resurrected the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), ahead of the 2004 parliamentary polls. The TNA swiftly reached an agreement, with the LTTE, to contest the parliamentary polls, on the ITAK ticket.

The LTTE unleashed violence in the North-East Province, in the run-up to parliamentary polls. The LTTE operation was meant to strengthen the TNA, at the expense of other political parties, including the ruling UNP. The European Union Election Observation Mission declared that the TNA achieved success at the 2004 parliamentary polls as a result of the LTTE’s unleashing violence. Local monitors refrained from commenting on the TNA-LTTE project. Parliament, and the international community, refrained from taking up this issue, for obvious reasons. The LTTE-TNA project received international blessings, even after the EU forthrightly condemned the LTTE-TNA relationship.

The LTTE mistakenly felt that Mahinda Rajapaksa’s victory would give them an excuse to launch an all-out war. The TNA certainly subscribed to the LTTE’s assessment. Within two weeks, after Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa election as the President, the LTTE resumed claymore mine attacks, in the Jaffna peninsula, and expanded similar attacks to the Mannar region.

The TNA cannot absolve itself of the responsibility for setting the stage for Eelam War IV. Political analysts point out that there is no point in seeking an explanation from Sumanthiran, as regards the wartime TNA-LTTE partnership, as he joined the TNA parliamentary group, after the demise of the LTTE. But, Sumanthiran, who received recognition as a President’s Counsel, in 2017, knew the TNA’s wretched past. Having joined the TNA parliamentary group, in 2010, he spearheaded a high profile international campaign to haul up Sri Lanka before hybrid war crimes investigation mechanism. In fact, no one has done so much for their cause since the eradication of the LTTE. However, if the LTTE somehow survived the final onslaught on the Vanni east front, Sumanthiran wouldn’t have received an invitation from the TNA to join its parliamentary group. The elimination of the LTTE automatically gave the TNA an opportunity to take control of the situation. Gradually, Sumanthiran became the most influential person, among the parliamentary group. Sumanthiran maintained excellent relations with the top UNP leadership, and Western diplomatic missions, in Colombo. Sumanthiran never found fault with the LTTE. The TNA, right throughout the Eelam War (August 2006-May 2009), stood steadfastly with the LTTE.

The demise of the LTTE allowed the TNA to charter its own course. At an early stage, the TNA reached consensus with the UNP, on a common political programme. Both parties wanted to see the back of war-winning President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sumanthiran played a significant role in the shaping of the TNA strategy, since entering parliament, in April 2010. However, the TNA adopted an unprecedented strategy, at the January 2010 presidential poll. TNA’s decision to back General Sarath Fonseka proved the grouping’s readiness to do whatever necessary to achieve their overall political objectives. The UNP-led political alliance, which backed Fonseka, included the JVP, the TNA, the SLMC, and the ACMC. The same grouping backed Maithripala Sirisena, at the January 2015 presidential polls. Although the project failed, in 2010, in spite of the TNA ensuring Fonseka’s victory, at all northern electorates, and making a significant contribution in the East, the former Army Chief lost to Mahinda Rajapaksa, by a staggering 1.8 mn votes.

The Manifestoes of Tamil chauvinists in all elections since 1977 demands Tamil self-rule in the North and East of Sri Lanka saying that it is their homeland.  This demand has been produced in their manifesto for the August 5th election as well, in which they demand amalgamation of the North and East as a non-divisible territorial unit to be under their self-rule.  Their arrogance, invalidity, and the stupidity of their demands have reached intolerable limits and the need to curb presentation of such demands has become extremely vital.

There are only 29 seats in the North and most of these seats except in the Jaffna peninsula can be won by non-Tamil candidates if they employ a collective understanding devoid of the party and religious affiliations and if they collectively decide to vote for the most suitable/popular candidate in each district and reduce the total Tamil MPs getting elected from the two provinces to less than 15 seats.  Please remember that this is not a difficult task as Sambandan was defeated in the 2000 election.  Therefore all Sinhalese and Muslim voters should join hands to defeat racist politicians in their respective areas and elect non-racist politicians to the new Parliament. These criteria should be applied not only to the North and East but all other districts and the Sinhalese and Muslims should make all efforts to defeat the racist JHU, TPA, SLMC, and ACMC candidates as well and make them understand those racist politics has no place in this country.    

A Special and kind appeal to Muslims:

Please use your precious vote with firm determination to defeat the rogue separatists and communalists who continuously hinder the progress of this country and minimize their representation in the parliament and help establish the virtuous and harmonious nation envisaged by the past Muslim leaders such as Sir Marcan Marka Sir Razik Fareed, Dr. Badiudeen Mahmoud, Dr. T.B.Jayah, Dr. M.C.M.Kaleel, C.A.S.Marikkar, (SinhakaMarikkar), Muttur Majeed, A.C.S.Hameed and M/H.Mohamed.  At the same time ensure the defeat of Munafiqs (Hypocrites), nepotists, and the alleged rogues in the Muslim garb such as Rishad Bathiudeen, Rauf Hakeem, Mujibur Rehman, Kabir Hashim and their ilk who bring forth disgrace and shame to the peace-loving Muslims in this country.