May Day: path for ushering unity

Wasantha Priya Ramanayake - Translated by A. A. M. Nizam

It is due to the emergence of Mahinda Rajapaksa as President in 2005 and due to certain policies adopted by the United National Party from time to time, that its political base collapsed. Minority groups distanced themselves from the UNP and joined the United People's Freedom Alliance and the Tamil and Muslim political parties. Prior to this, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party had only imported Tamil and Muslim Members of Parliament. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party did not have a Muslim Member of Parliament elected by the popular vote, except Minister A. H. M. Fowzie. C. Kumarasuriar was an appointed Member of Parliament during the time of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

But now all this has changed. Even the Tamil people of Colombo did not vote for the UNP at the 2005 election. On the other hand, the Tamil and Muslim base in the UNP has started to dwindle. In addition, the Sinhala Buddhist vote base in the UNP is also eroding. It seems that it is to protect this voter base that the Deputy Leader of the United National Party Sajith Premadasa is making a great effort.

Different nationalities

Therefore, it is like the Leader and the Deputy Leader addressed these two voter bases in different ways through the Jaffna May Day rally and the Premadasa commemoration ceremony in Colombo. At the same time, this year's May Day goes into history as a one in which the split in the UNP was clearly evident.

On the other hand, the United People's Freedom Alliance has become successful in consolidating with the representation of all different nationalities. It is a victory achieved by that party to have a Tamil organizer representing the Jaffna district attending the rally in the Colombo Municipal grounds with a group of Tamils from Jaffna under the Sri Lanka Freedom Party banner when Minister Douglas Devananda was holding a separate May Day rally in Jaffna.

When Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe went to Jaffna to hold a joint May Day rally with the Tamil National Alliance to win over the Tamil population of Jaffna, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was successful in getting down the supporters of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in Jaffna to Colombo. Similarly, some Opposition groups raised doubts recently whether the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will leave the government on the issue of Dambulla. From the speech delivered by the leader of the Muslim Congress at the May Day rally, it became clear that it was only a dream.

Foreign force

The Muslim Congress leader has entrusted the decision on the Dambulla mosque issue to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. They are prepared to accept whatever the decision the President will make. Therefore, the future politics of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will be decided only in the shade of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In the meantime, we do not know whether the United National Party went to Jaffna to resurrect the lost voter base in Jaffna or whether they were sent there by a foreign force. Sometimes, both may be the reasons for their visit to Jaffna. It is in such a background that former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi called for an Eelam conference. At this conference he has called upon the United Nations, the United States and the Indian government to mediate for holding a referendum for establishing a Tamil Eelam.

Tamil Diaspora

It need not be mentioned that he will get the support of the overseas Tamil Diaspora on this matter. At present, extremist political elements in Tamil Nadu are collaborating with the pro- LTTE Diaspora.

At the time Karunanidhi was talking about a Tamil Eelam, a group of Indian Parliamentary representatives that visited Sri Lanka upon returning to India, said that none of the political leaders in Sri Lanka talked to them about a Tamil Eelam. The statement made by the Member of Parliament of the Indian Communist Party T. K. Rangarajan in this regard is very important. He said that Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sambanthan told him: "I was born as a Sri Lankan. I will die as a Sri Lankan and I do not need an Eelam." It was this Sambandhan who joined hands with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in Jaffna on May 1 and raised high the Lion Flag of Sri Lanka. It may be a significant event for a person who impartially analyses the May Day rallies this year. At the same time the statement made by the leader of the Tamil National Alliance R. Sambandan at the May Day rally is important for all those who do politics in this country.

"We should live in unity. We should work by thinking anew. On this May Day it has been shown that all people can live in brotherhood. Some political parties hold May Day rallies to create divisions among the people. They think that if the communities are divided it will be easy for them to take forward their political projects. After the 2010 General Election, we announced that we will support the government to find political solutions for the Tamil people. Several steps were also taken in this regard. We announced to the government that we will support a political solution within a united Sri Lanka". (Extract from R. Sambandan's May Day speech - Lankadeepa May 2, 2012)

Although the leader of the Tamil National Alliance spoke with such flexibility and although he agreed to have political devolution within a unitary state, they continuously refuse to attend the Parliamentary Select Committee appointed by the government for that purpose. Even the UNP does not attend it because the Tamil National Alliance is not attending it.

Parliamentary Select Committee

Sambandan too, has various arguments for not attending the Parliamentary Select Committee. The government has also responded to it. In the meantime, the time is opportune for finding a solution to the question in the North. The speech made by the leader of the Tamil National Alliance by holding high the Lion Flag at the May Day seems to be a good response to this. What is needed is to change the extremist views of everyone.

In finding a solution through the Parliamentary Select Committee, everyone represented in Parliament will have to present their political stance on the relevant question. The United National Party, the Tamil National Alliance and even the Sri Lanka Freedom Party cannot hide their solutions and suggestions.

Provincial Councils

They cannot say one thing within the Parliamentary Select Committee and something else to the people outside it. Similarly, the government should also remember things of the past. It is not a secret to the country that the most progressive proposal so far of removing the Concurrent List of the Provincial Councils and devolution of power within a united Sri Lanka has been presented by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. It was included in the draft constitution of 2000 presented to Parliament during the time of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

Approval for it was given by all the old Sri Lanka Freedom Party members represented in the present Parliament. Otherwise, such a proposal will not have been presented to Parliament as a draft. Therefore, it cannot be difficulty for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which gives leadership to this government, to bring in once again a proposal. At the same time, the United National Party which had a safari for 'fun' and held a joint May Day rally with the Tamil National Alliance in Jaffna has a responsibility of bringing that Alliance to the Parliamentary Select Committee.

Extremist proposal

Similar to holding the May Day rally jointly, their next responsibility should be to bring their Tamil brothers with whom they have entered into an alliance to the Parliamentary Select Committee. Otherwise, anyone can argue that the UNP is indulging in opportunistic politics.

Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sambandan who accepts a united Sri Lanka, who rejects Eelam, and who is prepared to die as a Sri Lankan, is in the twilight years of his life. It rests with everyone who is engaged in politics today to decide whether they will solve this question or not. The main responsibility for this rests with the government. It is only then can the country be preserved as one nation in the future.

Delaying by days, weeks, months and years without finding a solution will ultimately pave the way for Karunanidhi's extremist proposal. Politics will then remain a miserable game in the hands of extremists of both sides.