Whilst Presidential election race heats up in Sri Lanka’s south, in the island’s Tamil areas, there is a continuing distinct lack of interest, with many voters telling journalists they are awaiting a signal from the Liberation Tigers as to how vote, if at all.
The LTTE itself has said it is neutral in the race, described as too close to call, between leading contenders Premier Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Many analysts have suggested Mr. Rajapakse’s pacts with Sinhala ultra-nationalist parties makes Mr. Wickremesinghe the de-facto choice for the Tamils.
But the Tigers argue that there is little to choose between the two Sinhala heavyweights, and the sentiment is reflected in the Tamil press and, as journalists in Jaffna and the Vanni found this week, amongst voters too.
‘We will act according to what the LTTE tells us. If they tell us to vote, we will vote. If they tell us not to, we will not,’ Kilinochchi storekeeper Suppiaah Ravi told Reuters.
‘If Mr. Rajapakse wins, we will move towards war. But the LTTE has not yet advised us and if they do we will follow. The LTTE is the people, and we the people are the LTTE,’ one trader in Kilinnochchi, Nadesan Thanigasalam, told Reuters.
Unlike in the last Parliamentary election, when 650,000 Tamils voted to elect 22 MPs from the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance, the Tigers are not making a concerted effort to mobilize Tamil votes for either candidate.
LTTE political head S.P. Tamilchelvan told Reuters the LTTE remains disinterested because both candidates are manipulating the issues of peace and conflict to garner Tamil votes.
‘After the election, all promises are forgotten. We are totally unconcerned about the outcome of this election. We are a responsible political organization and have decided that people are at liberty to decide whether to vote and how to vote,’ Mr. Tamilchelvan said.
Sri Lankan newspapers quoted some Tamils saying they did not wish to vote against the LTTE’s wishes.
‘In addition to the doubts of the benefits of voting, one of our main problems is whether the LTTE wants us to vote or not. Everybody knows the influence they have even over the government-controlled areas and nobody would want to take a risk by going against its wishes. But I am sure there are people who want to vote. We will have to wait for the LTTE’s orders,’ school teacher Kanageshwari Thangamma told the Sunday Times.
However, Thangamma admitted said there was minimal enthusiasm among Tamils since they are disillusioned that voting can resolve their problems.
Practical difficulties further dissuading many voters. Many Tamils in LTTE-held Kilinochchi described the time-consuming efforts needed to travel the 33 kilometres to Muhamalai to cast their vote. Voters have to leave early in the morning, undergo security checks and return home late after missing a day of work.
LTTE official K.V. Balakumaran stated on the Tiger’s Voice, their radio station, that Tamils are neglected by the presidential candidates.
‘This election conveys a message to the world. That is the Tamil people have nothing to do with the Sri Lanka presidential election. Our position is that both the candidates have not shown the least consideration toward the Tamil people’s problems,’ he said.
The Tamil Government Clerical Services Association also asked all government workers in Jaffna to boycott the upcoming election to send an unequivocal message to the international community.
‘Both presidential candidates are focused on becoming the supreme commander of the Sri Lanka Security Forces to continue suppression of the Tamil people. Neither is interested in finding an amicable solution to the burning Tamil National question,’ the group stated.
This comes a few weeks after the Jaffna Student Organization of Higher Education Institutions called upon Tamils to boycott the elections to show the world that ‘the land of the Tamils will no more trust Sinhala leaders.’
If the Tamils adopt the LTTE’s disinterested stance, election analysts believe Rajapakse, campaigning on a strident Sinhala nationalist platform, will win.
Last week posters bearing the LTTE emblem and signed by the movement’s Political office in Jaffna appeared in the town exhorting the people to turn out and vote. The LTTE swiftly denied the posters were theirs.
Meanwhile pamphlets have been distributed in Jaffna by a hitherto unknown group calling itself People’s Force, or ‘Makkal Padai,’ asking people to abstain from voting.
These leaflets have been distributed throughout the region and have been posted in government offices and private buildings, according to Sri Lankan papers, which also said the Makkal Padai is an LTTE front.
The LTTE itself has said it is neutral in the race, described as too close to call, between leading contenders Premier Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Many analysts have suggested Mr. Rajapakse’s pacts with Sinhala ultra-nationalist parties makes Mr. Wickremesinghe the de-facto choice for the Tamils.
But the Tigers argue that there is little to choose between the two Sinhala heavyweights, and the sentiment is reflected in the Tamil press and, as journalists in Jaffna and the Vanni found this week, amongst voters too.
‘We will act according to what the LTTE tells us. If they tell us to vote, we will vote. If they tell us not to, we will not,’ Kilinochchi storekeeper Suppiaah Ravi told Reuters.
‘If Mr. Rajapakse wins, we will move towards war. But the LTTE has not yet advised us and if they do we will follow. The LTTE is the people, and we the people are the LTTE,’ one trader in Kilinnochchi, Nadesan Thanigasalam, told Reuters.
Unlike in the last Parliamentary election, when 650,000 Tamils voted to elect 22 MPs from the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance, the Tigers are not making a concerted effort to mobilize Tamil votes for either candidate.
LTTE political head S.P. Tamilchelvan told Reuters the LTTE remains disinterested because both candidates are manipulating the issues of peace and conflict to garner Tamil votes.
‘After the election, all promises are forgotten. We are totally unconcerned about the outcome of this election. We are a responsible political organization and have decided that people are at liberty to decide whether to vote and how to vote,’ Mr. Tamilchelvan said.
Sri Lankan newspapers quoted some Tamils saying they did not wish to vote against the LTTE’s wishes.
‘In addition to the doubts of the benefits of voting, one of our main problems is whether the LTTE wants us to vote or not. Everybody knows the influence they have even over the government-controlled areas and nobody would want to take a risk by going against its wishes. But I am sure there are people who want to vote. We will have to wait for the LTTE’s orders,’ school teacher Kanageshwari Thangamma told the Sunday Times.
However, Thangamma admitted said there was minimal enthusiasm among Tamils since they are disillusioned that voting can resolve their problems.
Practical difficulties further dissuading many voters. Many Tamils in LTTE-held Kilinochchi described the time-consuming efforts needed to travel the 33 kilometres to Muhamalai to cast their vote. Voters have to leave early in the morning, undergo security checks and return home late after missing a day of work.
LTTE official K.V. Balakumaran stated on the Tiger’s Voice, their radio station, that Tamils are neglected by the presidential candidates.
‘This election conveys a message to the world. That is the Tamil people have nothing to do with the Sri Lanka presidential election. Our position is that both the candidates have not shown the least consideration toward the Tamil people’s problems,’ he said.
The Tamil Government Clerical Services Association also asked all government workers in Jaffna to boycott the upcoming election to send an unequivocal message to the international community.
‘Both presidential candidates are focused on becoming the supreme commander of the Sri Lanka Security Forces to continue suppression of the Tamil people. Neither is interested in finding an amicable solution to the burning Tamil National question,’ the group stated.
This comes a few weeks after the Jaffna Student Organization of Higher Education Institutions called upon Tamils to boycott the elections to show the world that ‘the land of the Tamils will no more trust Sinhala leaders.’
If the Tamils adopt the LTTE’s disinterested stance, election analysts believe Rajapakse, campaigning on a strident Sinhala nationalist platform, will win.
Last week posters bearing the LTTE emblem and signed by the movement’s Political office in Jaffna appeared in the town exhorting the people to turn out and vote. The LTTE swiftly denied the posters were theirs.
Meanwhile pamphlets have been distributed in Jaffna by a hitherto unknown group calling itself People’s Force, or ‘Makkal Padai,’ asking people to abstain from voting.
These leaflets have been distributed throughout the region and have been posted in government offices and private buildings, according to Sri Lankan papers, which also said the Makkal Padai is an LTTE front.
