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Lanka Needs More Devanandas than Anandasangarees

Dilrook Kannangara

The tussle between the two instigated by Anandasangaree continues. This is actually the manifestation of an ideological battle that rages behind the scenes. The ideological battle is about the two pronged strategy the government is following. On one hand a military solution is needed for terrorist menace while a political solution is needed to reunify the country into its former de facto unitary status. The delicate issue is the compatibility of the military solution and the political solution. If the two are not compatible, its effects would be disastrous. Suppose the political solution is not compatible with the military solution and is dominant, then security would collapse once such a political solution is implemented. On the other hand if the military solution is incompatible with a future political solution and the said military solution is more dominant, it will kill the political solution. However, a politico-military group can bring on this compatibility with remarkable success. It can function as a go-between and reconcile the two. We have been seeing this at work and results are encouraging. However, some racial elements are against this compatibility for obvious reasons.

The more the development, rehabilitation and reconstruction work Hon Douglas Devananda carries out, the more vicious become attacks on him from the LTTE and its father - the TULF. This is a pathetic situation created by the leader of the TULF. Comparative to the LTTE and its proxy TNA, both these politicians are a blessing for this country. However, creating infighting is the most treacherous act one could imagine. LTTE and TNA in wide contrast avoid such disagreements. May be the TULF leader must learn from them.

Development work in the North is carried out by the government spearheaded by Hon Devananda amidst extreme difficulties. Every concerned citizen must appreciate this fact. Various terrorist, subversive and vandal elements are trying their level best to cripple development work as all the elected Tamil race-based political parties from ACTC, ITAK, TULF to TNA did in the past. They demanded a ?political solution' that destroys the unitary status before carrying out any development work. They deliberately starved the people of the North-East of development so that separatism could breed. They, unfortunately, succeeded and the whole nation is paying for it now. If we wait till a perfect system dawns upon the North-East to start development work, we will be waiting forever and development cannot be further postponed in these areas.

What Anandasangaree should be doing is to support the good work of Hon Devananda and tolerate his not-so-good work. It should be noted that areas that were under terror for decades cannot be democratized overnight. It is a slow process best handled through a politico-military group. The transition is from terrorist rule to military rule; military rule to politico-military rule and thence to a totally democratic rule. Bypassing one or more stages collapses the whole process.

Anandasangaree's contribution to the democratisation process has been mere empty words condemning LTTE attacks. Apart from these verbal gestures, nothing tangible has accrued to the people. They need development and democracy, not sympathy and condemnation.

As more and more areas are liberated in the North, there is an increasing need for more politico-military groups to get involved. This country is in need of the services of the likes of Hon Devananda more and more. Atop this EPDP (Elam Peoples' Democratic Party) is a non-racial, non race-based party as the name suggests. However, the Tamil United Liberation Front in contrast is still tied to the past Tamil liberation struggle that is ending up in utter disaster inside blood drenched trenches in Vanni. The Tamil ULF by definition is a race-based political party.

The last thing this unitary nation needs is to face Anadasangaree's separatist rhetoric after annihilating the LTTE. A terror free nation must without delay engage underdevelopment, poverty, corruption and the like in another battle. Wasting time on unpopular political solutions that are unacceptable to the majority will only prolong the misery. A political solution that strengthens the unitary status needs no forced-selling; people will embrace it voluntarily.

Devananda won the accreditation of the great patriot and intellectual Laxman Kadirgamam even after the 1994 general election. He held the able bodied MP from Jaffna in much higher esteem than he regarded the TULF leader. What more evidence is needed?

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