Chris Slee
The Tamil National Alliance will contest the April 2 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections on a platform calling for the creation of an interim self-governing authority for the north-eastern part of the island. The TNA, an alliance of four Tamil parties, hopes to win an overwhelming majority of the vote in Tamil-majority areas, thereby demonstrating the support of Tamils for self-government.
Ever since Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, successive governments have discriminated against the Tamil minority. Tamil plantation workers who were born in Sri Lanka but whose ancestors had come from India were deprived of citizenship rights. The Tamil language was denied equal status with Sinhalese, the language spoken by the majority of Sri Lanka's population. Anti-Tamil riots were instigated by racist Sinhalese politicians, culminating in a massive pogrom in 1983.
After peaceful protests failed to end the discrimination and oppression, an armed organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, was formed to fight for an independent Tamil state. War between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army continued with brief interrruptions between 1983 and 2001.
In February 2002, a ceasefire was signed between the newly elected United National Party (UNP) government, led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and the LTTE. However the presidency remained in the hands of Chandrika Kumaratunga, leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which opposed the agreement.
The LTTE has recently expressed a willingness to accept something less than a fully independent Tamil state. It would agree to the Tamil areas remaining within a united Sri Lanka, provided that they are run by a single self-governing authority with a high level of autonomy. But negotiations for a permanent solution have stalled due to the UNP's reluctance to allow real autonomy for the Tamils.
The government has failed to end or even scale down the military occupation of Tamil areas by the Sri Lankan army. The army has designated large tracts of formerly civilian areas, including homes and public buildings, as "high security zones" and barred civilians from resettling in these areas. In the Jaffna peninsula in the north, an overwhelmingly Tamil area, 18% of the land is included in the high security zones. Hundreds of thousands of Tamils remain in refugee camps, unable to return to their homes.
Kumaratunga, taking advantage of the loss of momentum in the peace process, went on the offensive in November, first sacking three ministers in the UNP government, then calling parliamentary elections.
The LTTE is supporting the TNA's election campaign, believing that strong vote for the TNA in Tamil areas will put pressure on whichever party wins the elections to grant Tamil demands.
Kumaratunga's SLFP has formed an alliance with the JVP (People's Liberation Front), a party which claims to be Marxist but rejects the right of Tamils to self-determination. Although claiming to support equal rights for Tamils within a united Sri Lanka, the JVP's opposition to self-determination means that it gives political support to the occupation of Tamil areas by the Sri Lankan army, which has a history of atrocities against the Tamil people.
The main Muslim party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, has supported the UNP government and its negotiations with the LTTE. However a section of the SLMC has broken away and formed an alliance with the SLFP and JVP.
The LTTE is also trying to win the support of Muslims in the east of Sri Lanka. While the northern part of the island of Sri Lanka is overwhelmingly Tamil, the eastern part is ethnically mixed, comprising Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims. While the Muslims of the east speak the Tamil language, they don't necessarily identify as Tamils.
The LTTE claims the east as part of the Tamil homeland, since a majority of the people in the area speak Tamil. Successive Sri Lankan governments have countered this by making use of Tamil-Muslim divisions.
Today efforts are being made to overcome these divisions. A Muslim candidate has been included on the TNA's list in the district of Trincomalee in the Eastern region. The TNA has promised that the rights of Muslims would be safeguarded in a self-governing north-east.
Nevertheless, the east remains a potential flashpoint. Tamil-Muslim clashes in the east have been an excuse for Sinhalese chauvinists to oppose any reduction in the powers of the Sinhalese-dominated central government.
Recently Colonel Karuna Amman, the LTTE's commander in the Batticaloa district (part of the eastern region), was expelled from the LTTE for alleged corruption and disloyalty. Karuna, who has accused LTTE leader Vellupillai Pirapaharan of discriminating against the people of the east, and of planning to break the ceasefire, refused to relinquish command over LTTE troops in the Batticaloa area. The LTTE has claimed that Karuna was encouraged and assisted in his revolt by some elements of the Sri Lankan military.
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, March 31, 2004.
Visit the