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Liberal Perspectives by Harim Peiris

"Peace in our times" Thus said Neville Chamberlain the pre World war two Prime Minister of Britain after the signing of the Munich accord with Adolf Hitler, which he believed, would prevent the outbreak of war in Europe. Hitler used the accord to rearm Germany, mobilise a German military machine and launch a war at the time of his choosing.

What history teaches us perhaps is that appeasement of a dictator or tyrant, with a settlement lacking a basis of natural justice has never prevented, averted or concluded a conflict arising out of the issues involved. An useful lesson perhaps in dealing with our own tyrant in the Wanni, now ensconced as the "sole representative" of the Tamil people.

significant milestone

The general election to Parliament due in a few days, marks a significant milestone in Sri Lankan political history with the advent of the LTTE to the political process in a clandestine manner. As the crucial issue in Sri Lankan national life the ethnic conflict quite correctly has centre stage in the national political debate. What is new though is the role that the LTTE is playing within the electoral process.

They have not eschewed armed rebellion against the State and entered the democratic mainstream, as has the EPDP. Nor have they decided to test their popular support by having its dormant political wing the Peoples Front of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (PFLTTE), perhaps in concert with the Political Wing led by Tamil Chelvam, contest the elections. Instead they have chosen an alternative path of great strategic advantage to themselves.

Obsessed LTTE

Within the Tamil community the LTTE has been obsessed about the existence of a leadership distinct from itself, politically represented by the TULF, the natural successors of the Federal Party.

The leadership of that party who attempted both a semblance of independence in views on relation to the LTTE and chose to engage the Sri Lankan state politically, through democratic channels were systemically gunned down or otherwise murdered, ranging from Amirathalingam to Neelan Tiruchelvam and including Sam Thambimuthu among a long list of many others. This calculated program has presently achieved for the LTTE, the goal it set out to achieve through the assassination program, that of receiving the status of "Sole Representatives" of the Tamil people.

The global community of nations, leave alone Sri Lanka, is moving towards a uni-polar democratic framework of governance. Within a democracy the concept of a sole representative is surely an anachronism. Particularly a sole representative, who has systematically decimated its opponents and has never been prepared to test its legitimacy through the consent of the people it claims to represent. LTTE apologists would well argue that in a liberation struggle, the luxury of a pluralistic leadership is not possible, but the nature of the struggle well portents the future it seeks to create.

Referring back to our analogy of Hitler and the Third Reich, the Nazis originally came into power through legislative elections when they secured sufficient support in the Bundestag, for Hitler to become Chancellor, while Hindenburg was President.

Nazis

How the Nazis systematically, jailed opponents, suspended parliament, disposed of President Hindenburg and established a totalitarian state, with the total connivance of the big German industrial establishment is a fascinating study and one wonders whether it was the inspiration for President JRJ who upon capturing power in 1977 systemically murdered and burnt political opponents, reminiscent of the "night of the long knives" of the Nazis, stripped opponents of their civic rights or had them jailed, postponed elections through deeply flawed and dubious referendums, changed the constitution to perpetuate and consolidate his own power, subjugated the judiciary and generally destroyed the post independence democratic fabric that existed in Sri Lanka, all with the connivance and tacit support of the business and commercial establishment, the BizCom, OPA and Sri Lanka first types.

The purpose of the above discourse on Sri Lanka's recent past is of course to asses if the so called "new" economic and social order touted by JRJ's nephew is in fact the proverbial old wine in a new bottle. Which of course unlike genuine aged wine would be an unmitigated disaster.

Link

The link however between the LTTE, the TNA and its potential coalition partner the UNP, is that this forms the first time in Sri Lankan politics when the Tamil moderate leadership has completely collapsed and the LTTE through several mechanisms is seeking to have a clandestine and key role in the Sri Lankan Parliament, with potentially devastating results for Sri Lankan democracy.

A word is perhaps in order regarding the return of Somawansa Amarasinghe, the leader of the JVP from self-imposed exile in the Untied Kingdom. The first aspect of the JVP is that it has eschewed the path of armed insurrection and re-entered the democratic arena.

Lnalogy

They also make the point that they are engaged in armed rebellion when they were unjustly shut out from the democratic process in 1983, falsely accused of complicity in the July '83 riots, a holocaust, admittedly of significantly lesser magnitude than the analogy of the Nazi's was unleashed by the then UNP regime.

With regards to the police not arresting him on arrival and the Attorney General and filing charges against him for his role in the 1988/99 instruction, all one can say is that the PA is consisted neither has it filed charges on Batalanda or those responsible for state terror believing perhaps wrongly, that people and the democratic process is the best arbiter of those what were responsible for the horrific bloodletting in Sri Lanka, together with the confidence that with a PA Government in power, the return of the bad old days would never occur.

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