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Leader of the Tamil People’s National Front, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, has urged Tamils to consider boycotting the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential election as a strong display of public distrust in the electoral system.
Ponnambalam notes that to participate in the upcoming elections would be “an acceptance of that state machinery”; when the reality is that “the entire government machinery is anti-Tamils”.
The TNPF’s leader’s position is in sharp contrast to the leader of the Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani (TMTK) party, C.V. Wigneswaran, who has publicly announced his intention to participate in the upcoming Presidential election.
Read more here: Wigneswaran announces presidential bid
Wigeneswaran warns that by engaging in a boycott there may be adverse consequences for Tamils and that they may have a powerful influence on the next Sri Lankan president. The example of the 2005 presidential elections has been cited by political pundits as an example in which an election boycott harmed Tamils as it enabled the Rajapaksa’s to cease power.
However, Ponnambalam counters this argument by stressing that it was not just the LTTE that supported a boycott but also the Tamil federation. He also rejects the claim that Ranil Wickremesinghe would have meant a radical departure from the politics of the Rajapaksa’s and notes that it would also have entailed war crimes and human rights abuses.
However, he notes that the conservative leanings of Wickremesinghe may have actually led to less international pressure on Sri Lanka given Western support for Wickremesinghe.
He stresses that we must “consider this presidential election as the best opportunity to convey a very strong message to the majority people and Sinhalese politicians without any losses on the Tamil side”.
“Tamil people should not be fooled again and again by believing in old stories, they should think carefully and take a decision in this matter” he added.
Read more here.
