TNA goes for lesser of two evils

Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance, has announced that it will support former army general Sarath Fonseka in forthcoming presidential elections.

TNA Parliamentary group leader and Trincomalee district MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan on Wednesday January 6 said majority of 18 members of the alliance who were present at lengthy deliberations were of the view that the "only meaningful way" to thwart the desire of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to seek a mandate to hold office for a further term would be urging the Tamils to vote for the joint opposition candidate General (retd.)

Sarath Fonseka.

Sambanthan further added Sarath Fonseka had given "satisfactory" assurances about finding a political resolution to Sri Lanka's ethnic question and promised to consider Tamil demands for a meaningful devolution of power to the provinces, according to the BBC.

"The Tamil people have been itching for a change of regime and the Tamil National Alliance decision is reflective of that desire," Sambanthan told BBC Tamil.

Following TNA’s announcement of support for Fonseka, the Sri Lankan government accused Fonseka of signing a secret pact with the Tamil political party in return for its backing in the upcoming election.

Sri Lanka’s Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene said according to the information they received that agreement contains several conditions such as releasing hardcore LTTE terrorists in the custody, removing all high security zones in North & East, reducing the number of military camps and Police Stations in both provinces, re-merging of North and East provinces and closing of State Intelligence Unit.

Abeywardene said those conditions are very harmful to country’s national security and therefore it is the utmost duty of the Gen. Fonseka to make public that agreement completely, if he is a “clean man” as described by his own camp.

Reinforcing government accusations, one TNA Member of Parliament acknowledged the existence of an agreement in an interview with the state media, claiming that TNA’s support for opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was extended only after getting him to agree to those conditions.

K. Thurairetnasingam told the state-owned Vasanthan FM, a Tamil Radio channel, that Fonseka had agreed to comply with all their conditions and the party signed an agreement with him covering these issues.

However, speaking to reporters, Sambandan said that neither he nor anyone else from their alliance signed any agreement with General Fonseka or with any of his representative.

Whether a secret pact exist or not, neither candidate has detailed their approach to resolving the decades long Tamil national question in their manifesto.

Mahinda Rajapakse’s manifesto promises an undivided state with honorable peace. Rajapaksa’s promise of a honorable peace in his 2006 manifesto led to death of tens of thousands Tamils.

According to his allies, devolution of powers under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would be Rajapaksa’s political solution to the national problem.

Like Rajapakse, Fonseka also has stayed away from offering political solution and focused normalization, which he labels as “process of national reconciliation”

“I will help all Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese affected by the war. A program of immediate relief measures for war affected persons and areas will be implemented which will also address the burning problems of Tamil speaking persons. All remaining IDPs will be immediately re-settled and the grant for resettlement will be increased to a minimum of Rs. 100,000 per family and assessed upwards based on need.”

“Within the first month I will take steps to register all other persons displaced due to the war and see that they are re-settled without further delay. All detainees in relation to terrorism will be prosecuted, rehabilitated or released. I will promote and foster our Sri Lankan identity based on our ethnic, religious and cultural diversity. I will ensure the freedom of worship without any hindrance or discrimination" states Fonseka’s manifesto.

Although Fonseka’s manifesto details concretes steps to return the war ravaged North-East to some semblance of normalcy, it also proposes continued investment in the Sinhala security the apparatus.

On national security, despite the LTTE being defeated as a conventional fighting force, Fonseka’s manifesto  promises to create a state of the art, highly disciplined professional and committed Tri forces, Police and Civil Defence Force capable of safe-guarding the country and its citizens from external and internal threats and boost naval and coast guard capabilities to thwart smuggling of humans, weapons, drugs and all other illegal activities that compromises national security.

An interview by TNA MP Suresh Premachandran shows that such contradictions have not escaped the TNA.

Speaking to Dialy Mirror newspaper Premachandran said: “We’re not mad to believe that Sarath Fonseka will deliver everything- We believe the parties supporting him will send him in the right path.”

It should not be forgotten, not long ago Fonseka in an interview with Canada’s National Post newspaper said: “I strongly believe that Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese, but there are minority-communities and we treat them like our people ... They can live in this country with us. But they must not try to, under the pretext of being a minority, demand undue things.”