TNA should turn to “People” to come out of political wilderness

At times one hits front page when one would not want to and for reasons one would not agree. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Sumanthiran had that unfortunate experience after their public meeting in Toronto, Canada was disrupted allegedly by a pro-LTTE group on Saturday November 20. Sumanthiran who at times is shouted down in our parliament by Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinists as “Tigers” was this time shouted down and insulted by “Tigers” in far off Canada. 

Focus here is not about that sectarian thuggery one would not hesitate to condemn and rundown. This is about how the TNA leadership in post-war Sri Lanka was “root-balled” to be transplanted in Colombo’s comfort to play elite politics. How they got restricted and dependent on Western power blocs lobbying for sympathy and support, no country or People anywhere had ever received.    

The story begins with Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) more popularly called the “Federal Party” completely controlling the TNA and its politics. The PLOTE and the TELO still remaining within TNA are political discards, more like “Vasus, Tissas and DEWs” in Sinhala politics. Led by veteran politician R.Sampanthan, ITAK was in a leadership crisis when they came into active politics after the war was militarily concluded in 2009 May. Sampanthan certainly needed a “crown prince” to take over ITAK after him and by default the TNA too. 
A political understudy of “Thanthai” Chelva a “Christian by faith and Hindu by Culture” as Chelvanayagam himself described his political profile, Sampanthan may have seen a moreassertive “modern SJV” in Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran. Having earned due respect in Hulftsdorp circles as well, Sumanthiran pre-qualified himself with his Vellala ancestry from Inuvil, his links to “Church of South India” and as a practising Christian Methodist. In parliament as a national list MP after the 2010 elections, it was quick work for Sumanthiran toestablish himself in about 02 years as one of the two Assistant Secretaries of ITAK and to be projected as “next in line” to Sampanthan. He also became spokesperson for the TNA thereafter.  

After the 2015 January presidential elections ITAK leadership of Sampanthan and Sumanthiran was devoted in ensuring the UNP led “Yahapalana” government continued and backed PM Ranil Wickramasinghe openly before and after 2015 August parliamentary elections. Their trust on PM Wickramasinghe was so blinding, Sampanthan promised Tamil people during his election campaign in August 2015 a final and a complete political solution through a “New Constitution” before end December 2016. 

Elections over with North-East electing 16 TNA MPs the leadership moved to Colombo and was wholly occupied in guaranteeing the Yahapalana government a readymade majority in parliament even if other allies moved out. They lived on the promise of a New Constitution, one with provisions Sumanthiran was absolutely confident he could entrench in the new draft. It was to have far more devolved power than in 13A in a Constitution for “a united, undivided and an indivisible country”. Thus, they did not want mass agitations and protests in North and East over disappearances, military interventions in daily life, allegations on Sinhala colonisations, displacements and land disputes to embarrass and push the government into difficulties. 

ITAK thinking came out clear in early 2016 in a discussion I had with a visiting European delegation in early 2016. My reading was, there will be no new Constitution anytime during the “Yahapalanaya” government. Stunned as they were, they asked me “What? No new Constitution?” and told me, “Yesterday we met with TNA leadership and they told us it is being written with their contributions and would be ready before end of the year.” ITAK believed PM Wickramasinghe would push through parliament the draft Constitution they were providing inputs for. That was all what they wanted politically and worked for.

ITAK’s reading of Southern politics was completely on the rocks and left them lost with the most racist Sinhala political party in the South. UNP is responsible for disfranchising and de-citizenising upcountry Tamils in 1948, introduction of PTA, brutal attacks on Tamil people in 1979, burning down of the prestigious Jaffna library in 1981 June and ’83 July Tamil pogrom in a long list of brutal racial interventions and competing to be better Sinhala-Buddhists in the present day politics than Rajapaksas. I therefore told the European delegation quite casually, “Okay, let’s talk about it next year if you would come again” and bid them adieu. 

Colombo-centred politics of ITAK with more trust and faith in the UNP leadership gave space for smaller groups in North-East protests though without clear perspective and with no practical programme for mass participation. Yet they fractured Tamil politics as clearly seen this 2020 August election. TNA was reduced to 10 from the 16 seats they won in 2015 with a reduced vote of 327,000 from over 516,000 previously. They lost six seats broken up between four Tamil groups. 

Sadly, ITAK learns nothing from their political beating, coming out after five years without even a draft copy of a Constitution in hand and electoral presence badly reduced. They have not learnt even the basics any small-time trade union activist would tell; no bargaining is successful without conspicuous support of members. In politics leaders need people on the streets demanding what they would negotiate for. Strength of a political party is not its mere presence in parliament, but it’s strength out on the streets. 

Thus, instead of getting back to saner politics with people, Sumanthiran with young MP Rasamanikkam Sanakkiyan went on a tour lobbying Western powers. Sumanthiran tweeted on  November 27 “The meetings, discussions and talks held by the TNA in the USA, Canada and the UK are of great political significance” adding that USA under President Biden has returned to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) “with a bang”. 
It is pathetic to see Sumanthiran tweet with glee, the entry of USA to the UNHRC. What is so special about USA? Only thing special about USA is that it is held responsible for stalling 131 UN Security Council Resolutions and 45 UNHRC Resolutions by 2013. UN General Assembly thus adopted Resolutions that say, “Israel’s strategic relationship with the United States, a Superpower and permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, encourages the former to pursue aggressive and expansionist policies and practices in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.” (Check Resolutions 36/226 A and B of 1983 and A/Res/39/146 of 1984).   

Then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told BBC World Service, invasion of Iraq in 2003 March by USA with coalition partners including Tony Blair’s Britain, was “illegal” violating the UN Charter. The 2016 British Chilcot Inquiry into the invasion said it was “unnecessary” and both the US and UK undermined the UN Security Council. In Washington, Committee investigating the 9/11 terror attack said US claims of Iraq facilitating al-Qaeda and possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction was “based on sketchy information rejected by intelligence”. During the first three years of the invasion over 150,000 Iraqi civilians were killed.

With nothing on record about USA contributing towards democracy and peace, it has a string of allegations for overt and covert interventions on “regime changes” in countries they believe are geo-politically important to them. Talking of covert “regime changes” by the USA, “Even more problematic for broader American statecraft, the pursuit of regime change has led to consistent accusations that democracy promotion, humanitarian aid, and civil-society support programs are merely Trojan horses …..” (Stay Out of the Regime Change Business – Benjamin Denison / War on the Rocks – 2020 June 16). Anything there to be proud of US coming back to UNHRC “with a bang”?  

After the 2015 January regime change we saw a major compromise between USA and the new “Yahapalana” government on the “co-sponsored” UNHRC Resolution 30/1 in 2015 October. To be able to “co-sponsor” a UNHRC Resolution with the USA itself was projected as an achievement by the new government, with ITAK agreeing. Yet they meant almost nothing for the agitating, protesting mothers and wives demanding justice for the “involuntarily disappeared”.

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) established on the UNHRC Resolution itself was rejected by North-East Tamil people for interpreting “involuntarily disappeared” as “missing”. What is OMP now with the return of the Rajapaksas to power? For Rajapaksas it is good legitimate cover in Geneva. They have the OMP established by the “Yahapalana” government, voted on by TNA in parliament to pay off “disappearances” without investigations.
For TNA/ITAK leadership to switch completely to a suspect USA and an ineffective UNHRC instead to “People” in North-East proves they have more faith in “outsiders” than on their own People. What impact People could make with “collective effort” should by now be known to young politician Rasamanikkam Sanakkiyan, who marched all five days in the “P2P” across East to North in early February. 

This long quote from one of the chief organisers S.C.C. Elangovan who spoke to “The Hindu” while on the historic march that for the first time brought Tamil and Muslim people together in thousands, speaks sanity. He told “The Hindu” it was reassuring to meet youth who see the need for “inclusive politics”. He said, “In fact they see value in such inclusive space, where they can engage with not just fellow minorities, but with progressive Sinhalese people to forge a strong and meaningful alliance to fight oppressive, divisive ideologies.” He admitted it needs much hard work and time. This is politics the TNA/ITAK leadership should take up. Not depend on quacks for democracy and peace.