Unity is strength

The call made by Eastern Province Chief Minister Pilleyan to all his colleagues in the fledgling Provincial Council to unite shedding all differences to showcase the East as a prime example of multi ethnic democracy, we hope would be heeded by all actors in Eastern power play.

It goes without saying that unity is vital if the people of the East are to enjoy the fruits of democracy which they had at last being bequeathed after decades of trial and tribulation. Instead if fissiparous politics enters the body politic of the East all efforts of transforming the province into a model of development and ethnic harmony is bound to fall by the wayside.

We are already witnessing a sample of the consequences of this disunity in the incidents that have occurred in Eravur and Kattankudi. There are no doubt sinister forces including the LTTE at work attempting to destabilise the new Council and turn the East into a powder keg once again and reverse the gains achieved by the Government. Unity therefore should be the buzzword if the people of the East are to see the dawn after years of darkness.

As the Chief Minister said in his address at the inaugural sessions of the PC "democracy in the East was gained at a price with thousands of lives being lost to a conflict which plagued the province for over two decades".

He also pleaded for the banishment of petty political rivalries to make way for the Eastern Resurgence to fulfil the aspirations of the masses who had undergone enough suffering.

One should understand that the Eastern Provincial Council is unique by all accounts.It is the first experiment of democracy in a region which was under the control of the LTTE for over two decades. It is also a PC where a one time diehard LTTE cadre is at the helm after opting to forgo his past and embrace democracy. It is also the first PC born out of the demerger. All this calls for unity among Eastern polity if the experiment is to succeed.

Therefore it is of paramount importance to allow the Council to function without unduly disturbing its activities or attempting to scuttle its functions.

Regrettably the UNP has failed to realise the importance of forging unity to deal with the unique situation in the Eastern province. The party has singularly failed to act with responsibility going by the comedy that was enacted at the Opposition Leader's office where all UNP Provincial Councillors were sworn in by the Opposition Leader to coincide with the taking of oaths by the rest of the councillors in the East.

The fledgling council could well have done without this side show at a time when the need of the hour was unity that is needed to resurrect and rebuild the battered province and deliver the fruits of freedom to the people.

The UNP which prides itself as a party with a liberal outlook and a friend of the minorities, by this act had betrayed the large number of Easterners who voted for it at the hustings. It tantamounts to treating their mandate with contempt.

Will the UNP members forego their perks and privileges as members of the Council ? This is what the party did even after the notorious Wayamba PC poll where after all the brouhaha it settled down to enjoy the largesse dispensed by the impugned council.

The party owed a duty to its voters in the East to have been present at the inaugural session as representatives of their sovereign will. The boycott would no doubt act to the detriment of the party who will be branded as poor losers not to mention the image it portrays to the general masses.

Above all else it was a body blow to the unity that is a sine quo non for the smooth functioning of the Council which unlike its counterparts in rest of the country would have to grapple with problems unique to its special circumstances.

Sowing the seeds of discord and disunity as displayed by the country's main opposition at the very outset is certainly not going to endear itself to voters in the East who may have expected it to work in unison with the ruling party to address their urgent problems more expeditiously.

True the boycott stemmed from allegations of irregularities at the Poll. But this has now being taken up before another forum namely the courts of law. Hence it would have been prudent for the UNP members to be present at the inaugural ceremony, if for nothing else but to reassure the people of the East of their genuine commitment to serve them. It should now atone for its mistake and work for the uplift of Eastern masses.